Ursa Major, Ursa Minor

Chapter Thirty-One: Mother

After River woke Jayne and they gorged themselves on fruit and champagne, she pranced over to their bags and pulled out some clothes.

“Dancing,” she explained. “Must stretch those muscles again.”

Jayne caught the pants she threw at his head and slid them on—watching avidly as she poured herself into one of her dresses.

“Marry me,” he said—the words tumbled out before his brain could catch them.

River clutched his new dress shirt to her chest and gave him those big hopeful eyes.

“Mean it?”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I love ya. Don’t got a ring or nothin’, but I mean it.”

She stepped closer and circled around behind him—kissing a scratch mark her nails had left on his broad back. “Then… Yes. And I mean it as well, zhang fu.”

River held out his shirt and gestured for him to slide into it. Jayne twisted around once the fabric cleared his shoulders and bent down to kiss her.

*

Regan Tam adjusted the expensive necklace against her collarbone and smiled warmly at her friends (well, neighbors, actually). They were all chatting noisily about how much they preferred Verbena to Hera where resorts were concerned.

Her friends were terribly boring people.

Regan shifted and fought the urge to drop her chin into her hands and just nod off but was saved the trouble when the management started piping in some waltz music.

“What is this? I thought we had the ballroom to ourselves,” Lucinda—Regan’s only real friend at this outing—said with a frown.

Way down at the opposite end of the ballroom, the women could see a man in a brilliant blue shirt dancing with a smaller woman in a grey dress.

“They must have asked for a bit of time in here,” said Regan.

Geneva practically slammed her flute of champagne onto the table and flicked her hair back with a newly manicured fingernail. “Well I, for one, won’t stand for this.”

“Gen, they’re not bothering anyone,” Regan laid a hand on her neighbor to get her to calm down.

“They’re bothering me,” said Kathleen. “I hate this song.”

There was just no other way of slicing it. These women were bound and determined to ruin someone else’s private time.

I’m here with a gaggle of bobble headed idiots, Regan mused.

“Hey!” Geneva yelled—grabbing the attention of the man long enough to make him pause mid-dip. “We rented out the ballroom for two hours today—no interruptions! Who let you in?”

She stamped closer in her three inch heels and vowed to make this man see how much of an idiot he was. The only problem with this plan was the fact that Geneva was only five feet tall without her heels.

“Management didn’t see a problem in it,” he said in a low rumble that was meant to be quiet, but it just reverberated throughout the long room. He subtly shuffled his dance partner behind him.

Geneva slapped a hand against her forehead and flicked at her light brown hair again. “Ai ya hua le, you’re from the Rim. Well, let me put this in words you’ll understand, you pernicious oaf.”

She leaned up and peered into his eyes. “Get. Out.”

The woman darted out from behind the man and glared at Geneva. “I remember you,” she said venomously. “Ran over my duck…” she murmured mostly to herself. In the meantime, she mentally answered Jayne’s question as to the meaning of the word “pernicious.”

The man crossed his arms and licked his lower lip. “Now, I ain’t gonna argue about the ‘pernicious’ comment, ‘cause I can be pretty damn destructive, but nothin’ you just said changes the fact that management took my request, saw no problem with it, and told me an’ my girl here that we could go ahead and use the ballroom.”

At the sight of the young woman, Regan abandoned her seat and ran across the ballroom.

“River?!”

That yer ma?

Yes…

You alright? Yer feelin’ a bit grey…

Nervous.

She looks happy to see ya, baby. Yer ma ain’t gonna be as cold hearted as yer pa.

River nodded up at Jayne and smiled widely. She turned to face her mother and kept her grin in place. “Hello, Mother,” she greeted.

Regan actually shoved Geneva away from the pair and hesitantly reached both hands out to light upon her daughter’s bared shoulders. “My little girl… You’re so grown up, Pebble! Where… How….?”

“Simon saved me. We’ve been living on a cargo ship,” she tugged on Jayne’s hand. “This is my fiancée, Jayne.”

Regan’s face went white. “Your… Fiancée?”

Across the room, Simon emerged with Kaylee attached to his side—fully intent on joining Jayne and River in their idea of dancing. He caught the tail end of River’s words and found himself smiling down at his sister when they joined them.

“Good news,” he commented.

“Simon!” Regan felt as though her heart was intent on jumping through her chest. “You’re both alright!”

“Mother?!”

She could no longer hold back. Regan Tam engulfed her children in a hug—smashing them to her.

Kaylee hung back and looked to Jayne for a way to respond to this development and found him looking back at her with a smile tugging on the side of his mouth—dimple forming in his cheek. Apparently, finding Regan Tam on Verbena was a good thing.

“My babies are okay…” Regan was gushing.

“Mother,” Simon groaned, “what are you doing here?”

She ignored his question and smooched his cheek—leaving a bright red lipstick mark behind that sent Kaylee into a round of giggles that drew Regan’s attention to her.

“Simon Tam, if you found a girl and didn’t write me about her…”

The doctor managed to worm his way out of his mother’s grasp and held his hands up in warning. “Mother… You know I couldn’t write you.”

“Well, your warrants were removed—you could have written then. And you still haven’t answered my question. Who is this lovely young woman who seems intent on hiding behind my baby girl’s large man?”

Kaylee popped her head out from underneath Jayne’s elbow and tugged nervously on the back of his shirt. She reminded him so much of his sister Jenny that Jayne had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing.

“I’m Kaylee, ma’am.”

Regan Tam smiled warmly and motioned toward the table that her neighbors were sitting at (the group was grilling Geneva for information). “Why don’t we all sit down and have a talk. I’ve been worried to death about you two…”

River grabbed onto Simon’s arm and they followed their mother across the ballroom. Jayne hung back with Kaylee for a moment before he jerked back into action when River mentally goosed him.

Please don’t leave me…

Jayne stepped closer, taking her arm and wondering about how he could sooth the yellow feeling she was bleeding everywhere. Unconsciously, he did the same thing she often did when his own emotions were boiling over—he gently squeezed her hand and pushed a wave of that warm orange contentment through her fear.

She immediately stopped walking and aimed him a startled look.

I’d never leave you, River.

*

Mal poured himself a fresh flute of champagne and laughed at Zoë’s story—one he’d heard over twenty times that had yet to lose its humor.

They’d checked into their suite, cracked open the bottle, and set into some good tales about Wash.

After about half a bottle, Mal was really beginning to remember just how much he relied on Wash for certain things—especially that brilliant levity he would bring to situations.

Zoë waved her empty flute at him. “Fill ‘er up.”

Mal wavered a moment as he poured more champagne in the glassware. As he slowly filled it, Zoë tugged on a braid and frowned a bit.

“River’s been talkin’ to me.”

“What ‘bout?”

“Lady stuff.”

“Serious lady stuff then, huh?”

Zoë yanked the bottle out of his hand and abandoned her glass for the source. “That girl… Them Alliance hun dans took more than parts of her head, Mal. Case you hadn’t noticed, her an’ Jayne’ve been gettin’ ‘bout as serious as my Wash’s ma and pa.”

Mal’s drunkenness evaporated. “River can’t have little’uns?”

Zoë shook her head. “Said in that creepy imitatin’ voice of hers that they were ‘spaying the bitch’ to keep anything from ruining her performance on missions.”

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”

“’S an operation Simon could reverse, but I don’t think she’s told him ‘bout it yet.”

Mal sunk down to the plush carpet and buried his head in one of the pillows she’d chucked at his head earlier in their tale-swapping. “Jayne wants kids?”

Zoë lay on her stomach against the chaise lounge and tilted her head to try and catch his eye. “You seen that man when he gets waves from his nieces and nephews? He adores children.”

Mal thinks back and sighs. “Five credits him an’ the little witch get hitched before Doc and Kaylee.”

Zoë snorted and took a swig from the bottle. “Ain’t no bet, sir.”

*

Regan’s friends skedaddled as soon as they caught sight of Jayne walking closer—which gave the four crewmembers a chance to sit down with Mother Tam.

“I saw the Miranda wave. And your father uncovered a security feed from a bar…”

River twisted her fingers together—suddenly flaring with that yellowish-grey emotion again. Jayne grabbed her cheek and stared in her eyes. Stop that. You’re safe.

“River?” Simon whispered.

“Played on a loop, over and over again… Tape begins to crackle and tracking is skewed as it’s repeated. Can’t stop it…”

Jayne took her face in both hands and bored his eyes into hers.

Look at me. You’re fine. We’re gonna head back to Kerry and get married. Ma’s gonna hug ya to pieces. Bruce is gonna bowl you over with his tail waggin’.

River’s gaze flickered between his eyes. But you are not fine, Jayne. I’m bleeding into you…

Regan cast a worried glance in Simon’s direction.

Simon cleared his throat and took Kaylee’s offered hand. “The Academy… Was, um, still after River when they called off our warrants. They caught Jayne in an attempt to weed River out. They preformed some of the same experiments on him and now…”
He trailed off.

“They’re both readers,” said Kaylee.

River and Jayne were still conversing silently.

Simon cast a nervous glance at them. “But from what I’m seeing, Jayne is actually… Getting worse.”

His mother was on the verge of tears. “Simon…”

“There’s nothing you can help us with now, Mother. We’ve got good work on a cargo ship,” he glanced at Jayne and River in worry. They’re faces were completely blank. “I need to get them to their room. Kaylee?”

The mechanic stood from her chair and grasped River tenderly by the elbow. “It was nice meetin’ you, Mrs. Tam. Sorry we couldn’t talk more…”

Regan Tam smiled warmly at the young woman and watched her son and daughter shuffle out of ballroom. “Simon?”

He paused in his poor attempt at leading Jayne. “Yes, Mother?”

“I’ll wave you later.”

She wished that his smile could have reached his eyes.

“Yes, Mother.”

Regan missed her children.

*

Zoë maneuvered her bare foot around Mal’s exposed arm and pinched him with her toes.

“What the hell was that?!” he shot up off the floor and smacked her with his pillow.

“Someone’s at the door and you’re closer.”

Mal snorted. “Oh, bullshit, sister!”

He answered the door anyway.

“Hey, why’re Jayne n’ River impersonatin’ Siamese twins? Doc?”

TBC


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