The Annunciation (Firefly/Sandman)
Author: Bitterfig
Title: The Annunciation
Fandoms: Firefly/ Sandman Crossover
Pairing: River/Delirium
Summary: The crew of Serenity is surprised when they learn that River is expecting a child and even more surprised to find out how she got pregnant.
Beta Reader: Fedink
Word Count: 1323
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied sex and sexual innuendo. Also something sort of new (at least I’ve never run into it). I expect you’ve heard of MPreg so let’s just call this FPreg.
Author’s Note: This was written for prompt Sandman/Firefly Delirium/River #36 - Brightness Hiding/Darkening of the Light.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any illegal acts taking place within that fiction are NOT condoned by the author. Depictions of any questionable, illegal, or potentially illegal activity in said fiction does not mean that I condone, promote, support, participate in, or approve of said activity. I grasp the distinction between fiction and reality and trust that readers will do the same. I do not profit from the fan fiction I write, and all rights to the characters remain firmly in the hands of their creator.
The Annunciation
“River, this is very important, okay?” Simon said. “I need you to tell me what happened to you about four months ago, can you do that? I know you might have promised not to tell but it’s okay, no one’s going to be angry with you, no one’s going to hurt you. You need to tell me the truth.” He was holding her hands, the tone of his voice serious, somber, like someone had died but it wasn’t that way. Someone was going to be born.
“Happy news,” River said. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Then she looked at his face, at his very livid black eye and she understood why he wasn’t very happy about the happy news. “Hurt yourself,” she said laying a tender hand on her brother’s bruised cheek. “Black and blue flower growing on your face. What flower is purple, black and blue? Iris? Funny kind of orchid? Periwinkle sky before the thunderstorm? What happened?”
“What happened is that when your brother noticed you was expecting he went off half-cocked accusing innocent bystanders of bringin’ on your condition.” Jayne volunteered. “Not all of us take so kindly to havin’ our virtue questioned.”
“Your virtue?” Mal asked, having a hard time stifling a smile despite the considerable gravity of the situation.
“Well look,” Jayne said, mustering something almost like dignity. “I got nothing against taking a roll in the hay with a consenting adult but I ain’t the sort that goes around ruttin’ on crazy half-grown girl children and I won’t have anyone saying I am.”
“’Sides, Jayne wouldn’t go near River with a ten-foot pole,” Kaylee piped up. “He’s pee-in-your-pants afraid of her.”
“I am not. I just happen to be a gentleman.”
“Kaylee, Jayne, that’s enough from the both of you,” Mal said, cutting in like a mediating parent. “How about we all shut our mouths and listen to what River’s got to say.”
“Happy news,” River said, smiling broadly, cradling the swell of her belly.
“Four months ago, River,” Simon urged. “That was when your happy news started. Can you tell us what happened?”
“Once I lay down in the river.”
“I remember that,” Simon said, an edge of excitement in his voice. “You wandered away from the ship, you came back soaking wet…”
“I remember that too,” Kaylee interrupted. “We were on that crazy moon made out of wood but nothing could have happened that day, she weren’t away for more than five minutes…”
“Days and nights,” River sing-songed languorously. “Days and nights down the river.”
“River, can you tell me what happened during those days and nights?” Simon asked.
“Lay down in the river, carried along, mermaid-like, incapable of distress,” she said. Her eyes were distant but she was smiling. “Carried me to her, like falling in the mirror. I understood her, she understood me. She said her name used to be Delight, but then she changed. She said I made her feel delightful again. We talked for hours about the way sunset tastes and the way chocolate sounds. She tied ribbons in my hair, a hundred ribbons in a hundred different colors. We kissed. We kissed for days and days. We never slept. We danced and danced and never got tired. We made love. L-U-V. Love in opium smoke entranced. I stayed for a year and a day then I said I had to go back to you, back to Serenity. She knew I’d be lonely without her, so she gave me a baby that would be her and me.”
“That’s nice, River, I’m glad you made a friend but there must have been someone else there, a man?”
“No one else, just she and me. She was pretty, her hair was pink and orange, a wasted candy-colored angel, a doll left out in the rain. She smelled good, liquorish, licorice, like Great Aunt Clara.”
“Absinthe, our Great Aunt Clara took to drinking Absinthe after her husband died.” Simon muttered. “It was a horrible waste.”
“Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder,” River said dreamily.
“Sounds to me like some cross dresser got her drunk and knocked her up,” Jayne volunteered.
“No.” Inara stepped forward, small, bright and vivid as a ruby amidst pebbles. “I think I know who River is speaking of and if I’m right, there wasn’t a man. There wouldn’t have needed to be a man.”
“Now you’re talkin’ as crazy as she is,” Jayne said.
“I realize you’re something of an expert in this area,” Simon said sharply. “But it’s not biologically possible for a woman to get another woman pregnant.”
“It may not be biologically possible but it’s sure something I’d like to see,” Jayne muttered.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing that myself,” Mal agreed then cleared his throat, remembering his place. “You say you’ve got an idea what River’s going on about, Inara? What say you enlighten us because I for one am completely in the dark regarding this matter.”
Inara walked over to River, stroked her tangled, dark hair.
“Congratulations,” she whispered to the girl. “I’m very happy for you. Everyone is happy for you, just surprised. Your brother was worried that someone had hurt you but I’m going to explain everything to them now.”
“She loves me when she remembers me,” River said. “She might forget for years and years, but when she remembers, she loves me.”
“I know she does.” Inara said gently then she turned to the rest of the crew.
“I was away when you visited the moon where River met this woman. Kaylee, you said it was made of wood. What did you mean?”
“It was a real strange place,” Kaylee explained. “Something must have gone wrong when they were terraforming it, the trees had grown out of control till the whole thing was nothing but a big ball of roots all the way through.”
“I’ve heard of places like that,” Inara said. “They’re called Wormwoods. There are only a handful of them known, most aren’t populated. They’re said to be twisted places, twisted as the living roots that form them. When I was at the Academy I heard stories about Wormwoods, respectable settlements turning into bands of mad cultists…”
“You’ll pardon me for interrupting but what do slumber party stories have to do with my sister?” Simon asked.
“Years later I had a client who was an anthropologist. She’d studied Wormwood settlements, actually lived on several. I remember her telling me that every Wormwood, even those that hadn’t had outside contact for generations had similar mythologies. In all of them if you followed the tunnels formed by the roots into the Wormwood you would enter the realm of a girl with bright colored hair who lives outside of time and possesses all the power of intoxication, madness and wonder.”
“Delirium,” River cooed. “Her name is Delirium.”
Simon was very pale, and holding her hands very tightly.
“Are you saying that some sort of a Goddess has gotten my sister pregnant?” He asked haltingly. “That’s not possible….”
“She isn’t a Goddess,” River said. “She just is. She always has been. She used to be happy all the time, but then she got older and fell through the mirror to the other side of happiness. Bright made dark, she says I bring her light. She’s pretty when she remembers to have a face. We understand each other.”
“This can’t be.” He said weakly. “This just can’t be.”
He held her tightly, burying his face against her and wept. The others tactfully stepped back, drifted off to other parts of the ship.
“River, how can this be happening?” Simon asked. “It’s insanity…”
“Shhh. Don’t be sad. The place you call insanity is home to me now, her realm. Sometimes it’s bad, it hurts, it’s dark but this time it’s bright, it’s bought me love. I’m having a special baby, Simon. I want to, I can’t wait. Let me glow bright. Let me shine.”
Title: The Annunciation
Fandoms: Firefly/ Sandman Crossover
Pairing: River/Delirium
Summary: The crew of Serenity is surprised when they learn that River is expecting a child and even more surprised to find out how she got pregnant.
Beta Reader: Fedink
Word Count: 1323
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Implied sex and sexual innuendo. Also something sort of new (at least I’ve never run into it). I expect you’ve heard of MPreg so let’s just call this FPreg.
Author’s Note: This was written for prompt Sandman/Firefly Delirium/River #36 - Brightness Hiding/Darkening of the Light.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any illegal acts taking place within that fiction are NOT condoned by the author. Depictions of any questionable, illegal, or potentially illegal activity in said fiction does not mean that I condone, promote, support, participate in, or approve of said activity. I grasp the distinction between fiction and reality and trust that readers will do the same. I do not profit from the fan fiction I write, and all rights to the characters remain firmly in the hands of their creator.
The Annunciation
“River, this is very important, okay?” Simon said. “I need you to tell me what happened to you about four months ago, can you do that? I know you might have promised not to tell but it’s okay, no one’s going to be angry with you, no one’s going to hurt you. You need to tell me the truth.” He was holding her hands, the tone of his voice serious, somber, like someone had died but it wasn’t that way. Someone was going to be born.
“Happy news,” River said. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Then she looked at his face, at his very livid black eye and she understood why he wasn’t very happy about the happy news. “Hurt yourself,” she said laying a tender hand on her brother’s bruised cheek. “Black and blue flower growing on your face. What flower is purple, black and blue? Iris? Funny kind of orchid? Periwinkle sky before the thunderstorm? What happened?”
“What happened is that when your brother noticed you was expecting he went off half-cocked accusing innocent bystanders of bringin’ on your condition.” Jayne volunteered. “Not all of us take so kindly to havin’ our virtue questioned.”
“Your virtue?” Mal asked, having a hard time stifling a smile despite the considerable gravity of the situation.
“Well look,” Jayne said, mustering something almost like dignity. “I got nothing against taking a roll in the hay with a consenting adult but I ain’t the sort that goes around ruttin’ on crazy half-grown girl children and I won’t have anyone saying I am.”
“’Sides, Jayne wouldn’t go near River with a ten-foot pole,” Kaylee piped up. “He’s pee-in-your-pants afraid of her.”
“I am not. I just happen to be a gentleman.”
“Kaylee, Jayne, that’s enough from the both of you,” Mal said, cutting in like a mediating parent. “How about we all shut our mouths and listen to what River’s got to say.”
“Happy news,” River said, smiling broadly, cradling the swell of her belly.
“Four months ago, River,” Simon urged. “That was when your happy news started. Can you tell us what happened?”
“Once I lay down in the river.”
“I remember that,” Simon said, an edge of excitement in his voice. “You wandered away from the ship, you came back soaking wet…”
“I remember that too,” Kaylee interrupted. “We were on that crazy moon made out of wood but nothing could have happened that day, she weren’t away for more than five minutes…”
“Days and nights,” River sing-songed languorously. “Days and nights down the river.”
“River, can you tell me what happened during those days and nights?” Simon asked.
“Lay down in the river, carried along, mermaid-like, incapable of distress,” she said. Her eyes were distant but she was smiling. “Carried me to her, like falling in the mirror. I understood her, she understood me. She said her name used to be Delight, but then she changed. She said I made her feel delightful again. We talked for hours about the way sunset tastes and the way chocolate sounds. She tied ribbons in my hair, a hundred ribbons in a hundred different colors. We kissed. We kissed for days and days. We never slept. We danced and danced and never got tired. We made love. L-U-V. Love in opium smoke entranced. I stayed for a year and a day then I said I had to go back to you, back to Serenity. She knew I’d be lonely without her, so she gave me a baby that would be her and me.”
“That’s nice, River, I’m glad you made a friend but there must have been someone else there, a man?”
“No one else, just she and me. She was pretty, her hair was pink and orange, a wasted candy-colored angel, a doll left out in the rain. She smelled good, liquorish, licorice, like Great Aunt Clara.”
“Absinthe, our Great Aunt Clara took to drinking Absinthe after her husband died.” Simon muttered. “It was a horrible waste.”
“Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder,” River said dreamily.
“Sounds to me like some cross dresser got her drunk and knocked her up,” Jayne volunteered.
“No.” Inara stepped forward, small, bright and vivid as a ruby amidst pebbles. “I think I know who River is speaking of and if I’m right, there wasn’t a man. There wouldn’t have needed to be a man.”
“Now you’re talkin’ as crazy as she is,” Jayne said.
“I realize you’re something of an expert in this area,” Simon said sharply. “But it’s not biologically possible for a woman to get another woman pregnant.”
“It may not be biologically possible but it’s sure something I’d like to see,” Jayne muttered.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing that myself,” Mal agreed then cleared his throat, remembering his place. “You say you’ve got an idea what River’s going on about, Inara? What say you enlighten us because I for one am completely in the dark regarding this matter.”
Inara walked over to River, stroked her tangled, dark hair.
“Congratulations,” she whispered to the girl. “I’m very happy for you. Everyone is happy for you, just surprised. Your brother was worried that someone had hurt you but I’m going to explain everything to them now.”
“She loves me when she remembers me,” River said. “She might forget for years and years, but when she remembers, she loves me.”
“I know she does.” Inara said gently then she turned to the rest of the crew.
“I was away when you visited the moon where River met this woman. Kaylee, you said it was made of wood. What did you mean?”
“It was a real strange place,” Kaylee explained. “Something must have gone wrong when they were terraforming it, the trees had grown out of control till the whole thing was nothing but a big ball of roots all the way through.”
“I’ve heard of places like that,” Inara said. “They’re called Wormwoods. There are only a handful of them known, most aren’t populated. They’re said to be twisted places, twisted as the living roots that form them. When I was at the Academy I heard stories about Wormwoods, respectable settlements turning into bands of mad cultists…”
“You’ll pardon me for interrupting but what do slumber party stories have to do with my sister?” Simon asked.
“Years later I had a client who was an anthropologist. She’d studied Wormwood settlements, actually lived on several. I remember her telling me that every Wormwood, even those that hadn’t had outside contact for generations had similar mythologies. In all of them if you followed the tunnels formed by the roots into the Wormwood you would enter the realm of a girl with bright colored hair who lives outside of time and possesses all the power of intoxication, madness and wonder.”
“Delirium,” River cooed. “Her name is Delirium.”
Simon was very pale, and holding her hands very tightly.
“Are you saying that some sort of a Goddess has gotten my sister pregnant?” He asked haltingly. “That’s not possible….”
“She isn’t a Goddess,” River said. “She just is. She always has been. She used to be happy all the time, but then she got older and fell through the mirror to the other side of happiness. Bright made dark, she says I bring her light. She’s pretty when she remembers to have a face. We understand each other.”
“This can’t be.” He said weakly. “This just can’t be.”
He held her tightly, burying his face against her and wept. The others tactfully stepped back, drifted off to other parts of the ship.
“River, how can this be happening?” Simon asked. “It’s insanity…”
“Shhh. Don’t be sad. The place you call insanity is home to me now, her realm. Sometimes it’s bad, it hurts, it’s dark but this time it’s bright, it’s bought me love. I’m having a special baby, Simon. I want to, I can’t wait. Let me glow bright. Let me shine.”