Moonbeams & Sunshine - part one
Title: Moonbeams & Sunshine
Author: Ru_salki99
Rating: PG (will go up)
Pairing: Jayne/Zoe
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss.
Author's notes: Written in response to fandom_fairytls prompt #3 Donkeyskin
Summary: Post BDM - "Your first love is not always your truest love."
Prologue
Fixing her hair up in a leather thong, Zoe studied herself in the mirror. The black bags under her eyes were slowly beginning to recede as she was sleeping a bit better nowadays. But they were still there, and more than likely probably always would be. Evidence of the fact that part of her was and forever would be, missing.
Wash had been dead just over a year now. They had visited his grave two weeks ago and all the heartache that Zoe had learned to deal with over the past year had resurfaced and she hadn’t been able to contain the tears that bubbled out of her.
Mal had looked terrified and completely unsure of what to do when he saw her crying, as had the others. They weren’t used to seeing her so weak and broken, not even as Wash’s body was put into the ground in the first place had she allowed herself to let them see her weep. But the emotion had just been too much for her, and it obviously scared everyone else to see her that way, everyone bar Jayne that is.
He had just stepped forward and put a strong arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him and allowed her to cry into his shoulder.
Zoe had never been more thankful for the big man’s presence before. And it was only then that she realised that she and Jayne had become close friends, and that perhaps she was closer to him now than she was Mal as he had Inara to confide in now. Jayne had been a rock for her over the year, being there for her when she needed some friendly companionship and making sure that she had space and that the others left her alone when she needed that too. In all honestly, she wasn’t sure what she would have done without him.
Realising that she looked as good as she was going to, Zoe turned and climbed out of her bunk.
It was early still. Breakfast wasn’t for another twenty minutes and so she didn’t really expect to see anyone else up just yet, so she was slightly surprised to find Jayne munching on a bit of toast as he made what smelled like scrambled egg.
“You’re up early,” she said as she walked over to make herself a coffee.
Jayne looked up at her and smiled, “Mornin,” he said with a toothy grin, “You want some eggs?”
Zoe leaned over to look in the pot, they sure did smell good, “If you have enough to spare,” she told him.
“Course I do. Wouldn’t make eggs without sharin it,” he said before thinking about it, “Well actually, I reckon you and River are the only ones I would share it with… and maybe Kaylee.”
“River?” Zoe asked in surprise.
“She’s already up too. Saw her comin out of her bunk same time I did. She’s up on the bridge just now.”
“So if she wasn’t awake…”
“Well then it’d be eggs for two now wouldn’t it,” Jayne said with a wink.
Zoe turned and looked inside the coffee pot, it was empty and so turning to the sink, she filled it up with water and set it down on the heat to boil.
“The love birds ain’t up yet I take it?” she asked Jayne as she leaned back on the worktop.
“Well, they ain’t appeared yet, could be wide awake though,” he said as he lifted a bit of egg out the pot to taste, “What do you think?” he asked holding the spoon out to her.
Zoe stepped forward and took a small bite off the spoon, “I think we should have eggs more often,” she told him with a smile.
Jayne grinned again and took the eggs of the heat. He then dished equal amounts onto to three different plates and took them over to the table, coming back seconds later to take the plate that was piled high with toast over too.
Zoe finished preparing the coffee and brought it over to the table herself before sitting down.
Jayne pulled his seat out to sit down, but just as he did so he turned his head towards the bridge and whistled rather loudly. Seconds later River appeared at the door, “I don’t appreciate being called like a dog,” she said as she sat down.
“Well if you don’t want your eggs, me and Zo will split them,” he told her flatly.
“No I still want them,” she said pulling her plate closer to herself, “Thank you.”
“Yeah Jayne, thanks,” Zoe said with a slight smile, helping herself to some toast.
Jayne practically beamed at her, so happy that he was able to put a smile on her face. It wasn’t something that they saw often enough from her, but she was starting to do it more and more often now and that, in his eyes, could only be a good thing.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Zoe sat staring out at the stars. It was late and she was on the evening shift on the bridge. It had been a quiet day. They were currently on their way out to Boros to pick up some goods and so there really hadn’t been much to do but laze about.
It made a nice change though. More often than not they were caught up in some gunfight or another. And so Zoe had enjoyed her day, spending most of it in the galley, chatting to the others or sitting cleaning her guns with Jayne and Mal. She had also spent some of the afternoon, finishing up packing away Wash’s things.
A couple of months ago, after having a late night chat with Jayne about how, when his sister had died when they were little, his Ma had kept her stuff for all of six months before packing it up and giving it all away to the local orphanage. She had kept a couple of items, but most of it was gone and his Ma, had been like a new woman for it. She had grieved for her daughter, but life goes on and so had she.
She knew that Jayne wasn’t saying to her that she had to hurry up and finish grieving, what he was saying was that it might help her process what she was going through that little bit easier.
And so, once a week she would take a couple of Wash’s things and pack them away in a box. Today, she had put the last of his items away; his toothbrush, his aftershave and his favourite pair of underwear. When she’d bent down to place the now sealed box under the bed, she found one of his dinosaurs. It was a plateosaurus. She had never heard of it before but Wash had given her a lengthy description of the life of the plateosaurus and where it fitted in the dinosaur world. It was probably the only one she knew anything about. The others she just knew by the names Wash had given them.
She decided not to put it in the box with everything else, instead taking it with her to put with the others up on the bridge.
“How goes it?” Mal asked as he stepped onto the bridge and handed her a cup of coffee.
“All quiet so far,” she said.
Mal nodded and sat down in the seat opposite, “Look uh, I got somethin I have to tell you. And apart from the Doc, and possibly River, you’re the first one to know.”
“Know what?” Zoe asked, sipping at her coffee.
“Inara’s pregnant,” he said with a nervous sigh.
Zoe knew she should be happy for him, that this was something that both Mal and Inara never thought they would have, and she was happy for them both but she couldn’t help but also feel a little bit jealous too, “Congratulations,” she said with a small smile, “How far along is she?”
“Eleven weeks,” Mal said, smiling himself now, a huge weight having been lifted from his shoulders, “Simon says everything’s fine and that there ain’t nothing out of the ordinary with both her and the baby.”
“Good,” Zoe nodded, “If either of you need anything, you know you can ask me right?” she said.
“Thanks Zo,” Mal told her with a nod. Out of everyone, she was the one he was most worried about telling. Not just because she had known him longer than anyone else and that he always sought her approval for everything, but because of what she had lost and that it was very much doubtful that she would ever have a family of her own.
“Think we might make a stop by Sihnon to visit her Momma and collect the rest of her things. We’ll probably need your help…”
Mal paused as a beeping from the cortex screen beside Zoe interrupted him. Zoe too turned to look at it. A wave was coming in from a little moon called Richmond, which was actually, one of the moons off Sihnon. Putting down her coffee, Zoe hit the ‘accept’ button.
“Uh, hello?” a rather hardened elderly woman said, “Is that Serenity?”
“Depends on who’s askin,” Zoe said to the woman.
“Name’s Cobb,” the woman told her, “Lookin for my son. This is the number he gave me to call in case of any emergencies.”
Zoe nodded, “I’ll go get him,” she said before turning in her chair and standing up.
Mal frowned at her, but didn’t object, instead staying where he was and waiting for Zoe to return with Jayne.
Reaching Jayne’s bunk, Zoe kicked open the hatch, “Jayne you sleepin?” she called. There was no answer and so realising that she would probably have to wake him, she climbed down the ladders, freezing when she reached the bottom as there, sat on his bed and wearing what appeared to be head phones that were blasting out music, was Jayne… masturbating.
“Jayne!” she called, trying not to look at him. But again he just continued his ministrations. Realising that he wasn’t about to notice her any time soon, Zoe took the two steps to reach him and knocked his head phones off, “Your Ma’s on the cortex.”
Jayne froze as he realised that Zoe was standing there, in front of him, while his pants were round his ankles, “Can’t you knock?” he asked as he finally managed to get his limbs moving and pulled his pants and underwear back up.
“I did, but you were obviously too busy to hear me,” she told him with a small smile before turning and heading back up the ladders.
Jayne quickly followed her, buckling his belt as he stepped onto the bridge, “Hey Ma,” he said as he sat down, Zoe going over to stand next to Mal, “Everythin okay?” he asked.
Jayne’s Ma shook her head, before she started sobbing, “It’s your brother and his wife.”
Jayne could feel his heart sinking, “What happened?” he asked quietly.
“Someone broke into the house, took everything. Mattie tried to stop them, but… they shot him. And then they shot Ashleen too.”
“What about Junior?” he asked, fearing the worst.
“He’s fine, we was babysittin. It was Mattie and Ashleen’s anniversary. Thought we’d give them the night off,” Jayne’s Ma managed to get out before breaking down completely.
Jayne too could feel himself beginning to well up. He’d always hated to see his Ma upset. And apparently so did his Pa as his hand appeared on the screen as he removed his Ma from the seat she was sitting in and sat down on it himself.
“Hi son,” he said, his big blue eyes full of sorrow.
“Hi Pa,” Jayne said back, not really knowing what else to say.
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to get here on time, or if you’ll be able to get here at all, but the funeral will probably be a week from now,” he said, “We gotta wait until the police release the bodies first.”
Jayne turned to Mal to ask if he could have time off to go. Mal didn’t even have to think about it before he answered, “We’ll be there,” he said with a small nod.
“Thank you,” Jayne said quietly before turning back to his father, “I’ll be there Pa,” he told him.
Jayne’s Pa gave a sigh of relief, “Good,” he said, “Good.”
“Um, how are the girls?” he asked, wanting to find how his two remaining siblings were doing.
“As well as can be,” his Pa told him, “They got their own to look after just now, but they was both over here all day, helpin your Ma with Junior.”
Jayne nodded, “Okay, well, give them my best. I’ll see you when I see you.”
“Yeah, take care son,” his Pa said before terminating the call.
Jayne just sat and stared at the blank screen. He couldn’t believe his baby brother was gone. And his wife, he hadn’t even met his wife. He’d seen pictures sure, but he’d never had the chance to meet her in person. She and Mattie had only been married a year. Their baby, Matthew Junior, was only two months old.
“Jayne?” Zoe asked, breaking the horrible silence that had fallen over the room.
Jayne snapped his head up to look at her, “I’ll be in my bunk,” he said quietly before standing up and marching out of there.
“Leave him,” Mal said as Zoe made to go after him, “He probably just needs some space.”
Zoe bit her lip but knew he was right. Jayne would need some time to himself before he would allow anyone into his space.
However, later that night as she lay in bed, listening to Jayne sobbing through the wall, she couldn’t stay away any longer. Silently she made her way up out of her bunk and down into his.
“Jayne?” she asked as she squinted in the darkness.
“Go away Zo,” a voice from the far corner told her.
Using the light coming from the corridor above, Zoe made her way over to him, “That can’t be comfortable,” she said as she noticed that he was squeezed in between his bed and a crate of ammo.
“I’m fine,” he told her, using the heel of his palm to wipe at his face.
“No,” she said, crouching down and taking his hand in hers, “You’re not.”
Jayne allowed her to pull him out of his hidey hole and got him to sit on the bed. Once there he burst out crying again, collapsing against Zoe as he began weeping once more.
Zoe cradled him against her chest, brushing what she hoped was comforting strokes through his short curls. He had been there for her when she needed it, now she was going to be there for him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“So, we got good news and bad news,” Mal said just as Zoe stepped into the galley.
Everyone was there for breakfast, well everyone except Jayne who Zoe had only managed to persuade to go to sleep a couple of hours ago. She had stayed beside him for a while longer, holding his hand and stroking his hair until he was in a deep slumber and she was able to creep back to her own bed without disturbing him.
“Good news is, we’re gonna get a new crew member… in about seven months.”
Kaylee, being the only one who didn’t already know, stared at Mal in confusion.
“Inara’s pregnant,” he clarified.
It was instantaneous. Kaylee began squealing, jumping up to congratulate both Inara and Mal before being pulled back into her seat by Simon.
“What’s the bad news?” Simon asked as he tried to keep Kaylee calm.
Mal looked at Zoe, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that spoke of a sleepless night and knew that she had more than likely sat up all night with Jayne. Zoe gave him a small nod to let him know it was okay to tell the others. Once he had calmed down, Jayne had told her that he wouldn’t be able to do it himself.
“Jayne got a wave from his folks last night,” Mal said, “Seems that some folk decided to break into young Mattie’s house. Mattie tried to fight them off and well… he and his wife got shot.”
Kaylee gasped, putting her hand to her mouth in shock, “Please say they’re alright,” she demanded of Mal.
“Wish I could,” he told her, “Truth is, he and Ashleen both passed away. The funeral’s next week. I told Jayne he could go, so we’ll stopping off there on the way to Sihnon.”
“Sir can I have a word?” Zoe asked.
“Sure,” Mal said, leaving his solemn crew to their breakfast as he stepped out into the hallway, “What’s on your mind?”
“Last night, after he stopped cryin as much, me and Jayne got to talking,” she explained. Mal just nodded encouraging her to continue, “I told him about Inara and about you needing to stop of on Sihnon. Seems he’d rather y’all stopped off there and let him take one of the shuttles to Richmond by himself.”
Mal frowned, “Why?” he asked.
Zoe shrugged, “I don’t think he likes the idea of us all seeing him crying,” she suggested, “Or being pitied.”
Mal sighed, “Well as much as I respect his wishes, I ain’t happy about him goin off on his own like that.”
“Thought you’d say that,” Zoe nodded, “It’s why I offered to go with him.”
“You did what now?”
“I offered to go with him,” Zoe explained, “And he agreed.”
“I get that,” Mal said, “I just can’t figure out why is all.”
“You six are all I left in this world,” she told him, “You’re my family. Jayne’s my family. He was there why I needed him after Wash died and so it’s only right that I return the favour.”
“Okay,” Mal said, knowing not to argue with her especially when it concerned anything to do with Wash, “I’ll let the others know,” he told her, “But just… make sure he don’t do anythin yúchûn. Can’t be bailin him outta jail too.”
“You should really have more faith in him,” Zoe told Mal before going back to finish her breakfast.
TBC
CHINESE
Yúchûn - stupid
Author: Ru_salki99
Rating: PG (will go up)
Pairing: Jayne/Zoe
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss.
Author's notes: Written in response to fandom_fairytls prompt #3 Donkeyskin
Summary: Post BDM - "Your first love is not always your truest love."
Prologue
Fixing her hair up in a leather thong, Zoe studied herself in the mirror. The black bags under her eyes were slowly beginning to recede as she was sleeping a bit better nowadays. But they were still there, and more than likely probably always would be. Evidence of the fact that part of her was and forever would be, missing.
Wash had been dead just over a year now. They had visited his grave two weeks ago and all the heartache that Zoe had learned to deal with over the past year had resurfaced and she hadn’t been able to contain the tears that bubbled out of her.
Mal had looked terrified and completely unsure of what to do when he saw her crying, as had the others. They weren’t used to seeing her so weak and broken, not even as Wash’s body was put into the ground in the first place had she allowed herself to let them see her weep. But the emotion had just been too much for her, and it obviously scared everyone else to see her that way, everyone bar Jayne that is.
He had just stepped forward and put a strong arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him and allowed her to cry into his shoulder.
Zoe had never been more thankful for the big man’s presence before. And it was only then that she realised that she and Jayne had become close friends, and that perhaps she was closer to him now than she was Mal as he had Inara to confide in now. Jayne had been a rock for her over the year, being there for her when she needed some friendly companionship and making sure that she had space and that the others left her alone when she needed that too. In all honestly, she wasn’t sure what she would have done without him.
Realising that she looked as good as she was going to, Zoe turned and climbed out of her bunk.
It was early still. Breakfast wasn’t for another twenty minutes and so she didn’t really expect to see anyone else up just yet, so she was slightly surprised to find Jayne munching on a bit of toast as he made what smelled like scrambled egg.
“You’re up early,” she said as she walked over to make herself a coffee.
Jayne looked up at her and smiled, “Mornin,” he said with a toothy grin, “You want some eggs?”
Zoe leaned over to look in the pot, they sure did smell good, “If you have enough to spare,” she told him.
“Course I do. Wouldn’t make eggs without sharin it,” he said before thinking about it, “Well actually, I reckon you and River are the only ones I would share it with… and maybe Kaylee.”
“River?” Zoe asked in surprise.
“She’s already up too. Saw her comin out of her bunk same time I did. She’s up on the bridge just now.”
“So if she wasn’t awake…”
“Well then it’d be eggs for two now wouldn’t it,” Jayne said with a wink.
Zoe turned and looked inside the coffee pot, it was empty and so turning to the sink, she filled it up with water and set it down on the heat to boil.
“The love birds ain’t up yet I take it?” she asked Jayne as she leaned back on the worktop.
“Well, they ain’t appeared yet, could be wide awake though,” he said as he lifted a bit of egg out the pot to taste, “What do you think?” he asked holding the spoon out to her.
Zoe stepped forward and took a small bite off the spoon, “I think we should have eggs more often,” she told him with a smile.
Jayne grinned again and took the eggs of the heat. He then dished equal amounts onto to three different plates and took them over to the table, coming back seconds later to take the plate that was piled high with toast over too.
Zoe finished preparing the coffee and brought it over to the table herself before sitting down.
Jayne pulled his seat out to sit down, but just as he did so he turned his head towards the bridge and whistled rather loudly. Seconds later River appeared at the door, “I don’t appreciate being called like a dog,” she said as she sat down.
“Well if you don’t want your eggs, me and Zo will split them,” he told her flatly.
“No I still want them,” she said pulling her plate closer to herself, “Thank you.”
“Yeah Jayne, thanks,” Zoe said with a slight smile, helping herself to some toast.
Jayne practically beamed at her, so happy that he was able to put a smile on her face. It wasn’t something that they saw often enough from her, but she was starting to do it more and more often now and that, in his eyes, could only be a good thing.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Zoe sat staring out at the stars. It was late and she was on the evening shift on the bridge. It had been a quiet day. They were currently on their way out to Boros to pick up some goods and so there really hadn’t been much to do but laze about.
It made a nice change though. More often than not they were caught up in some gunfight or another. And so Zoe had enjoyed her day, spending most of it in the galley, chatting to the others or sitting cleaning her guns with Jayne and Mal. She had also spent some of the afternoon, finishing up packing away Wash’s things.
A couple of months ago, after having a late night chat with Jayne about how, when his sister had died when they were little, his Ma had kept her stuff for all of six months before packing it up and giving it all away to the local orphanage. She had kept a couple of items, but most of it was gone and his Ma, had been like a new woman for it. She had grieved for her daughter, but life goes on and so had she.
She knew that Jayne wasn’t saying to her that she had to hurry up and finish grieving, what he was saying was that it might help her process what she was going through that little bit easier.
And so, once a week she would take a couple of Wash’s things and pack them away in a box. Today, she had put the last of his items away; his toothbrush, his aftershave and his favourite pair of underwear. When she’d bent down to place the now sealed box under the bed, she found one of his dinosaurs. It was a plateosaurus. She had never heard of it before but Wash had given her a lengthy description of the life of the plateosaurus and where it fitted in the dinosaur world. It was probably the only one she knew anything about. The others she just knew by the names Wash had given them.
She decided not to put it in the box with everything else, instead taking it with her to put with the others up on the bridge.
“How goes it?” Mal asked as he stepped onto the bridge and handed her a cup of coffee.
“All quiet so far,” she said.
Mal nodded and sat down in the seat opposite, “Look uh, I got somethin I have to tell you. And apart from the Doc, and possibly River, you’re the first one to know.”
“Know what?” Zoe asked, sipping at her coffee.
“Inara’s pregnant,” he said with a nervous sigh.
Zoe knew she should be happy for him, that this was something that both Mal and Inara never thought they would have, and she was happy for them both but she couldn’t help but also feel a little bit jealous too, “Congratulations,” she said with a small smile, “How far along is she?”
“Eleven weeks,” Mal said, smiling himself now, a huge weight having been lifted from his shoulders, “Simon says everything’s fine and that there ain’t nothing out of the ordinary with both her and the baby.”
“Good,” Zoe nodded, “If either of you need anything, you know you can ask me right?” she said.
“Thanks Zo,” Mal told her with a nod. Out of everyone, she was the one he was most worried about telling. Not just because she had known him longer than anyone else and that he always sought her approval for everything, but because of what she had lost and that it was very much doubtful that she would ever have a family of her own.
“Think we might make a stop by Sihnon to visit her Momma and collect the rest of her things. We’ll probably need your help…”
Mal paused as a beeping from the cortex screen beside Zoe interrupted him. Zoe too turned to look at it. A wave was coming in from a little moon called Richmond, which was actually, one of the moons off Sihnon. Putting down her coffee, Zoe hit the ‘accept’ button.
“Uh, hello?” a rather hardened elderly woman said, “Is that Serenity?”
“Depends on who’s askin,” Zoe said to the woman.
“Name’s Cobb,” the woman told her, “Lookin for my son. This is the number he gave me to call in case of any emergencies.”
Zoe nodded, “I’ll go get him,” she said before turning in her chair and standing up.
Mal frowned at her, but didn’t object, instead staying where he was and waiting for Zoe to return with Jayne.
Reaching Jayne’s bunk, Zoe kicked open the hatch, “Jayne you sleepin?” she called. There was no answer and so realising that she would probably have to wake him, she climbed down the ladders, freezing when she reached the bottom as there, sat on his bed and wearing what appeared to be head phones that were blasting out music, was Jayne… masturbating.
“Jayne!” she called, trying not to look at him. But again he just continued his ministrations. Realising that he wasn’t about to notice her any time soon, Zoe took the two steps to reach him and knocked his head phones off, “Your Ma’s on the cortex.”
Jayne froze as he realised that Zoe was standing there, in front of him, while his pants were round his ankles, “Can’t you knock?” he asked as he finally managed to get his limbs moving and pulled his pants and underwear back up.
“I did, but you were obviously too busy to hear me,” she told him with a small smile before turning and heading back up the ladders.
Jayne quickly followed her, buckling his belt as he stepped onto the bridge, “Hey Ma,” he said as he sat down, Zoe going over to stand next to Mal, “Everythin okay?” he asked.
Jayne’s Ma shook her head, before she started sobbing, “It’s your brother and his wife.”
Jayne could feel his heart sinking, “What happened?” he asked quietly.
“Someone broke into the house, took everything. Mattie tried to stop them, but… they shot him. And then they shot Ashleen too.”
“What about Junior?” he asked, fearing the worst.
“He’s fine, we was babysittin. It was Mattie and Ashleen’s anniversary. Thought we’d give them the night off,” Jayne’s Ma managed to get out before breaking down completely.
Jayne too could feel himself beginning to well up. He’d always hated to see his Ma upset. And apparently so did his Pa as his hand appeared on the screen as he removed his Ma from the seat she was sitting in and sat down on it himself.
“Hi son,” he said, his big blue eyes full of sorrow.
“Hi Pa,” Jayne said back, not really knowing what else to say.
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to get here on time, or if you’ll be able to get here at all, but the funeral will probably be a week from now,” he said, “We gotta wait until the police release the bodies first.”
Jayne turned to Mal to ask if he could have time off to go. Mal didn’t even have to think about it before he answered, “We’ll be there,” he said with a small nod.
“Thank you,” Jayne said quietly before turning back to his father, “I’ll be there Pa,” he told him.
Jayne’s Pa gave a sigh of relief, “Good,” he said, “Good.”
“Um, how are the girls?” he asked, wanting to find how his two remaining siblings were doing.
“As well as can be,” his Pa told him, “They got their own to look after just now, but they was both over here all day, helpin your Ma with Junior.”
Jayne nodded, “Okay, well, give them my best. I’ll see you when I see you.”
“Yeah, take care son,” his Pa said before terminating the call.
Jayne just sat and stared at the blank screen. He couldn’t believe his baby brother was gone. And his wife, he hadn’t even met his wife. He’d seen pictures sure, but he’d never had the chance to meet her in person. She and Mattie had only been married a year. Their baby, Matthew Junior, was only two months old.
“Jayne?” Zoe asked, breaking the horrible silence that had fallen over the room.
Jayne snapped his head up to look at her, “I’ll be in my bunk,” he said quietly before standing up and marching out of there.
“Leave him,” Mal said as Zoe made to go after him, “He probably just needs some space.”
Zoe bit her lip but knew he was right. Jayne would need some time to himself before he would allow anyone into his space.
However, later that night as she lay in bed, listening to Jayne sobbing through the wall, she couldn’t stay away any longer. Silently she made her way up out of her bunk and down into his.
“Jayne?” she asked as she squinted in the darkness.
“Go away Zo,” a voice from the far corner told her.
Using the light coming from the corridor above, Zoe made her way over to him, “That can’t be comfortable,” she said as she noticed that he was squeezed in between his bed and a crate of ammo.
“I’m fine,” he told her, using the heel of his palm to wipe at his face.
“No,” she said, crouching down and taking his hand in hers, “You’re not.”
Jayne allowed her to pull him out of his hidey hole and got him to sit on the bed. Once there he burst out crying again, collapsing against Zoe as he began weeping once more.
Zoe cradled him against her chest, brushing what she hoped was comforting strokes through his short curls. He had been there for her when she needed it, now she was going to be there for him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“So, we got good news and bad news,” Mal said just as Zoe stepped into the galley.
Everyone was there for breakfast, well everyone except Jayne who Zoe had only managed to persuade to go to sleep a couple of hours ago. She had stayed beside him for a while longer, holding his hand and stroking his hair until he was in a deep slumber and she was able to creep back to her own bed without disturbing him.
“Good news is, we’re gonna get a new crew member… in about seven months.”
Kaylee, being the only one who didn’t already know, stared at Mal in confusion.
“Inara’s pregnant,” he clarified.
It was instantaneous. Kaylee began squealing, jumping up to congratulate both Inara and Mal before being pulled back into her seat by Simon.
“What’s the bad news?” Simon asked as he tried to keep Kaylee calm.
Mal looked at Zoe, noticing the dark circles under her eyes that spoke of a sleepless night and knew that she had more than likely sat up all night with Jayne. Zoe gave him a small nod to let him know it was okay to tell the others. Once he had calmed down, Jayne had told her that he wouldn’t be able to do it himself.
“Jayne got a wave from his folks last night,” Mal said, “Seems that some folk decided to break into young Mattie’s house. Mattie tried to fight them off and well… he and his wife got shot.”
Kaylee gasped, putting her hand to her mouth in shock, “Please say they’re alright,” she demanded of Mal.
“Wish I could,” he told her, “Truth is, he and Ashleen both passed away. The funeral’s next week. I told Jayne he could go, so we’ll stopping off there on the way to Sihnon.”
“Sir can I have a word?” Zoe asked.
“Sure,” Mal said, leaving his solemn crew to their breakfast as he stepped out into the hallway, “What’s on your mind?”
“Last night, after he stopped cryin as much, me and Jayne got to talking,” she explained. Mal just nodded encouraging her to continue, “I told him about Inara and about you needing to stop of on Sihnon. Seems he’d rather y’all stopped off there and let him take one of the shuttles to Richmond by himself.”
Mal frowned, “Why?” he asked.
Zoe shrugged, “I don’t think he likes the idea of us all seeing him crying,” she suggested, “Or being pitied.”
Mal sighed, “Well as much as I respect his wishes, I ain’t happy about him goin off on his own like that.”
“Thought you’d say that,” Zoe nodded, “It’s why I offered to go with him.”
“You did what now?”
“I offered to go with him,” Zoe explained, “And he agreed.”
“I get that,” Mal said, “I just can’t figure out why is all.”
“You six are all I left in this world,” she told him, “You’re my family. Jayne’s my family. He was there why I needed him after Wash died and so it’s only right that I return the favour.”
“Okay,” Mal said, knowing not to argue with her especially when it concerned anything to do with Wash, “I’ll let the others know,” he told her, “But just… make sure he don’t do anythin yúchûn. Can’t be bailin him outta jail too.”
“You should really have more faith in him,” Zoe told Mal before going back to finish her breakfast.
TBC
CHINESE
Yúchûn - stupid