BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - DRAMA

MEAHRA

The Prodigal Mother 18/?
Thursday, June 21, 2007

eventual Rayne. Jayne finds out his blood might just be bluer than Simon or River's. IN THIS CHAPTER...What you've all been waiting for, the big revelation. Not Mine it all belongs to JOSS


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2569    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

"There some reason why this aoman bai ozi is here?" Jayne growled. Somethin' about the stuck up Alliance woman made his skin crawl. Didn't see why she should be here. It was for family only.

"Bi zui ni shagua nansheng! I know I taught you some manners, boy! Just cause you chase criminals to the ass end of the 'verse with guns, don't mean you gotta act like one," his mother snapped with vigor.

Jayne blushed. "How'd you—"

"Boy, I'm your mother, not stupid. Your pa and Mattie done a good job hidin' it, but that don't mean I can't put two and two together. Now, you apologize to Lady Vera this moment." "Ma—," he didn't finish. He took one look at his mother's face and clammed up his protest.

He turned to the silent woman, "Sorry, ma'am."

She gave him a soft smile and nodded.

"Lady Vera, I'd be much obliged if you come sit on my other side," she held out her hand.

Jayne looked ready to protest. Should be his pa on her one side and him and Mattie on the other. Not that woman, and him. He scowled but said nothing.

"I ain't got much time, my lady, so's I gotta just come out and say it. Beg your pardon if it makes it harder on you," she whispered and took her hand. Her eyes were beginning to droop. Lady Vera pressed her lips together tightly but nodded.

Turning to Jayne, "This is real hard for me to say, Jayne. Specially since we shoulda done told you years ago. But seein' as I ain't got much time... here goes."

She pulled there hands together and wrapped them between her hands.

"Ma, what are you—"

"Hold still boy, didn't I ever tell you not to let go of your ma's hand?" she held his hand in place. She let her hands fall away slowly, Jayne and Lady Vera's hands still intertwined.

"What?"

"I ain't your ma, Jayne. And neither is he your pa. Lady Vera here, well she had a difficult decision to make years ago, and she made sure you went to someone that would love you. Can't say that it's my place to tell you as to why she gave you up, that's her story to tell. Just know that she loved you when she placed you in my arms, still loves you." She paused and took a deep breath.

"Ma... you ain't... what...," his voice cracked. He looked to his father who nodded his head in agreement. Mattie refused to look at him.

"Lady Vera and her husband Lord Adam are your parents, Jayne. Your blood parents. And as I lay here, I want you to promise me... promise me you'll see her as family. And that you'll forgive her someday. If she hadn't given you to me, I'da never known you. You were a gift from God. Maybe not from my belly, but still a gift...." she groaned. Jayne nodded in agreement.

Mattie and Mr. Cobb came forward. Jayne and Lady Vera released their hands.

"Adam... I'm sorry," a single tear sprung from her eye.

"Shh... baby. Ain't like we won't see each other again. You just wait for this old hwoon dun , I'll be along as soon as I can," he kissed her on her dry lips tenderly.

She reached for Mattie. "Honey, take care of Jayne. He's gonna need it."

"I will ma, I... I love ya," he squeezed her hand gently.

"I love you too, all of you," her voice switched to a Core accent that she'd lost so many years ago.

Her eyes were heavy, she was nearly asleep. She reached for Jayne and Lady Vera's hands again and held them together. "Family's more than just blood. It's the ones that love you the most. Whether it's to love you enough to let you go or to fight for... you."

Her hands fell away and she was fast asleep.

Jayne stood up and stared down at his mother. He knew in his heart she wouldn't wake up again. He walked towards the door.

"Jayne."

"Pa, I ain't exactly in a talkin' mood, so's I suggest you let me be for now. Ain't everyday a man learns he's been livin' a lie," he reached for the doorknob.

"Jayne, I—"

He whirled around. "You knew, didn't you?"

Mattie looked down. "Yes."

"And you didn't have the guts to tell me? You lied to me just like they did. What the hell did they teach ya at preacher school?" Jayne demanded.

"Jayne, he only found out a couple a' days ago. Lady Vera and us asked him to keep quiet about it. We thought—"

"I don't give a good gorramn what ya'll thought!"

"Please, you're disturbing your mother," Lady Vera said quietly but firmly.

"I don't recall askin' you into this here conversation," Jayne snapped. He turned and stomped out of the room.

Simon sat, sweating profusely, in the front seat of the mule. He suppose he could have stayed in the parlor of the Cobb house and waited, but he felt that whatever Jayne was to find out, it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Tell me again why we're sitting in this huangpi place, when we could be waiting for Jayne on Serenity. Where it doesn't feel like a hot desert; where the best mechanic in the 'verse keeps her environmental levels at a constant seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit," Simon wiped his forehead with what used to be a white pristine handkerchief.

"Because," Mal's muffled voice . He was leaning back in his seat, his feet up on the steering wheel, his hat tipped over his face. "Little River done said it's time to go. Given that Mrs. Cobb's asked for Lady Vera and Jayne's up there, I've come to a simple conclusion that the go se is gonna hit the fan pretty soon. Somethin' I ain't willin' to miss, if it involves two people that will be on my boat together for the next three weeks."

Simon sighed. He turned to River. She lay on the dry grass staring at the nearly cloudless sky. A finger, twirled around a strand of her long hair. It made her look no older than fourteen. He smiled.

"River, perhaps you shouldn't stare at the sky so much. The sun is fairly bright," he suggested.

"I'm listening to the owl's call. She visits only when it's time to take them to the architect," she murmured.

"Well, at least she made sense," Mal said from under his hat.

"What does that have to do with the sky?" Simon asked, ignoring the captain's sarcastic remark.

"I can see the future in the clouds," River said deadpan and rolled her eyes. "Just like looking at the clouds, that's all."

Simon smiled at her when she shrugged her shoulders. It was such a River gesture, the River he knew before the Academy...

"Yeah, doc. Ain't you ever just looked at the clouds and tried to guess what they looked like?" Mal tipped his hat back and stared at the almost empty sky. The wispy one to the west looked almost like a necklace Inara owned, if he squinted.

"Staring at bright lights or anything that contains UV rays too long can severely damage your retina," Simon stated.

"You sound like me," River smirked. She sat up suddenly. Mal let his feet fall abruptly, his hand going automatically to his pistol.

"What'sa matter? We got unfriendlies about?" Mal asked looking alert.

"He knows." Was all she said.

Before either Simon or the Captain could ask her to clarify her meaning, Jayne burst out of house, looking like he was ready to murder. Mattie and Lady Vera trailed him.

"Jayne, would you hold up a gorramn minute?" His brother yelled.

"Go to hell," he rounded on him. "You knew, and you didn't tell me!"

"They asked me—" "My brother! You're my brother! We don't keep no secrets from each other. Ain't I always looked out for you? Made sure you knew how to take care a' yourself 'fore I left, didn't I? And this is how you repay me?" He gestured to the pale looking Lady Vera.

"Please, Jayne—"

"I thought I told you I ain't talkin' to you!" He barked. "Far as I'm concerned, my only ma is the woman layin' up there dyin'. I don't know you and I don't want to know you."

Lady Vera reeled back physically and emotionally. Her lip trembled.

"How can you speak to her like that knowing who she is!" His brother demanded.

"You ain't no one to be standin' up for her."

"I'm your brother—"

"Not accordin' to what she claims," Jayne jerked his thumb to a trembling Lady Vera.

"What the hell is going on?" Mal demanded.

"Keep your nose outta this Cap'n," Jayne said bluntly.

Mal's nostrils flared and he looked like he was rarin' for a fight. But River didn't allow him.

"You promised," she said gently.

Somehow her soft voice was heard over all the ruckus. All eyes were on her, but she had eyes only for Jayne. His jaw tightened. He took several quick steps towards her until he was merely inches away, towering over her.

"I don't recall askin' your opinion crazy girl. You don't want to get in the middle a' this mess right now. So I suggest you shut your Reader mouth nice and tight or so help me I'll shut it for you, psychic assassin or not," he'd bent down to where his nose nearly touched hers.

"You promised!" she said more forcefully.

"Girl, I—"

"Your mother isn't even dead yet and already you're breaking promises." She cut in.

"Well accordin' to what she done told me, she ain't my mother, which makes my promise forfeit," he growled.

River's eyes flashed with anger. "She may not have borne you in her womb, but she loved you just as much as if she had, maybe enve more. It was her arms that carried you until your limbs were strong enough to carry you. Her lips that kissed away your tears and made your bumps and bruises better. She fed you, bathed you, clothed you, like a mother. Even after you no longer needed her, she still sent love in the guise of hats and letters filled with kindness and thoughts."

Suddenly, her eyes went dull and she spoke eerily. "Family's more than just blood. It's the ones that love you the most. Whether it's to love you enough to let you go or to fight for... you."

Jayne's anger evaporated and it was filled with grief and pain. Seizing her roughly by her shoulders, she began to shake her. "Bi zui! You shut your mouth! Don't know what you're talkin' about!"

In the back of his head, he could hear the Captain and Simon yelling for River's release, but he did not care. All he wanted was to shut her up, to shut everyone up. He wanted for everything to be back the way it was suppose to be. His ma to be healthy and whole, this woman claiming to be his mother gone and for River to stop reminding him that it wasn't going to be like that, ever again.

"You promised," she said again.

"I know!" his voice cracked. "I know! And I wish to God I hadn't, I wish she weren't dyin'."

"If wishes were horses, we'd all be eatin' steak," she stated simply.

Staring at her, he began to laugh. His laugh turned into a maniacal one, then suddenly, he dropped to his knees and broke down.

It was too much for a man. Too much. Somewhere he heard a woman shushing him sweetly, he latched onto her and she took him into her arms, giving him the comfort he needed. Strange, it was not unlike his own mother had done years before. What was even stranger, was the fact that he didn't give a wit that it was River doing the comforting.

A few minutes later, Jayne released River and turned away. He noticed that they were alone, something he was highly grateful for. He didn't think he could face Mal or the prissy doc right now. Course, he'd like to see them go through what he'd just—

"They did." River said quietly. She sat not two feet away, playing with the dried yellowing grass.

"Huh?"

"They've both had their world upended, turned upside down, inside out. Forwards is backwards, up is down, dark is—"

"I get it. Mal done lost it all in the war and yer prissy brother done lost it all when he rescued you," Jayne snapped.

River smiled at him.

"What's so gorramn funny? Ain't you ever seen a grown man break down before?" Jayne demanded.

"No, but it isn't that. You called Simon prissy. You've reverted to your normal behavior of insulting Simon for fun. You're going to be all right."

"Never said I wouldn't," he grumbled.

"She's your mother. She needs you right now, and so does your birth father," she said solemnly.

"I promised I'd see her as family. Didn't say nothing about no father," he snapped.

"He's dying."

"So?" but the fierceness in his voice was gone. After a pause he asked: "Why?"

"I don't know all of it, but I'm sure Lady Vera can tell you. All I know is that he's sick and he'll die soon. He needs a piece of tissue from a relative that could easily fix his condition."

"Can't they look for other people to match up with him? They got money—"

"No. It has to be you. She'll die too, you know. She was lost once, like you, in many ways. Selfish, egotistical, and cared little for others. Until she met him. She hated him at first. Still he showed her kindness and to believe in others, she grew to love him for it. Now she can't live without him. He's all she has... and you." She looked straight into his eyes.

His face went stony again. "Yeah and all I had was my ma and my family, and turns out that ain't even mine."

He stood up and walked away.

"Yes they are... we all are," she whispered to the wind.

COMMENTS

Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:37 AM

WYNTER


Wow. AMAZING! I felt Jayne's pain, but I'm so glad River was able to comfort him a little bit. And so begins the Rayne-iness right?! I'm excited :-D

Great chapter, I loved the last line. Can't wait til Jayne realises that the crew and Lady Vera ARE his family.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 4:14 PM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER


Oooh...some definite Hundan!Jayne work here and it was awesome! Definitely can't wait to see what happens next!

;D

BEB

Sunday, October 14, 2007 7:42 PM

BADKARMA00


This is so great! I've read the whole thing like ten times! Love to see more!


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