Fic-Children in Bloom
Nov. 1st, 2005 04:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesTitle: Children in Bloom
Series Title: None
Author: walkwithheroes
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. May have light spoilers from the show and film.
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: Takes place in the same ‘verse as the ‘The More Things Change’ three part series and the one-shot ‘Make Things Even’. I think I aged some of the kids up, but that really shouldn’t matter. Oh yeah, it’s a Rayne!older kids fic! Oh, is ‘unsure-ness’ a word? It is now. Unbeta’d.
Jayne Cobb had started his life late, gotten married in his early forties and he had started a family fifteen or so months later. A few years after that, the whole gorram crew of Serenity had settled down on a big old ranch on Shadow. Now they all lived together on a ranch and bugged the hell of each other. As for Serenity? The old ship had a place of honor out back; she was just waiting for the day that the new generation of big damn heroes was ready to take her up and find some sky.
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Jayne Cobb was sixty years old. He was sixty years old and if someone were to ask him what his greatest achievements were, he would not say anything about his weapons or past jobs; Jayne would answer that his greatest achievements were his children. It was extremely corny and he knew it, but it was the truth.
There was his oldest, Jayne Junior, or Jay for short. Jay was nearly a man, hell the boy was nineteen years old. The boy had grown up tall and full of muscles, kid had an intimidating manner a mile long. He was dark, too; dark hair and chocolate eyes that always seemed to be looking into a person. Jay was a Jayne Junior, right down to his protective streak. Why Jayne always remembered when Jay used to get in fights with some of the local boys over River and how “off” she always seemed to the locals.
Next was Matthew, Matt for short. The boy, was fifteen, and was smarter then a whip. Pretty too, with dark hair and crystal blue eyes that shone so bright. He wanted to be a doctor, or at least that’s what the boy had said everyday since he was eight. Jayne thought his son would make a fine doctor; he had the graceful hands and the level head for it. Matt’s had always been the mature one and level headed one; made Jayne wonder where Matt got it from.
Last was little Rayne, Ray to her brothers. She was just seven years old and people tended to mistake her for Jayne’s grandchild. The girl always reminded everyone of River and in some ways that scared them. Rayne was always too smart and always seemed to know too much. She was a little graceful thing that stared up at everyone from behind a mess of dark and tangled hair, her dark eyes always stared into people-it was always unsettling.
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Jayne Cobb found his youngest just outside one of the barns. The little girl was standing, her neck cocked to one side, and she was staring straight at Serenity. Jayne noted that her mouth was moving, but that no words were coming out.
“Rayne?” He put the bags he had been carrying down and gave her a worried glanced. “Who ya talkin’ ta taday, Sweets?”
Rayne didn’t even look his way, she just answered in a tiny voice: “Ghosts.” Then, a half crocked smile formed on her lips and she actually laughed softly to herself.
Yup, Jayne’s little daughter was down right unsettling. “A’right.” He offered her a little smile, which she didn’t seem to notice. “Jus’ let yer Daddy know if they say t’ings they shouldn’.” He picked the bags back up and headed toward one of the barns, sparing the girl one last worried look.
As Jayne disappeared into the barn, he could have sworn he heard her whisper: “It’s okay, that’s jus’ my Daddy. You remember him, don’t ya?” Jayne shook his head, such a strange girl.
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Once in the barn, Jayne tossed the bags to the ground. “Hey?”
“Pa, over here.” A male voice called out from behind a huge stack of hay. “Jus’ gittin’ ready ta feedin’ the horses.”
Jayne put the bags in a corner and headed toward the voice. “Jay, you seen yer brother?” He asked as he came around the corner to find his oldest feeding some horses.
Jay glanced up at his father and shrugged lightly. “Uh, he’s wit’ Lee and Derri. Captain wants the engine ta the mule ta be fixed ’fore tanight.” Before Jayne could make a comment about it, Jay went back to work.
Jayne joined his son and they were silent for sometime. Jay was the strong and silent time, something that Jayne was never sure about. His boy was all kinds of intimidating, but whenever he got silent, well that usually meant something was brewing in his mind.
“Ya got somethin’ ta say?” Jayne questioned, without looking up from his work.
Jay nervously cleared his throat. “I jus’…ya t’ink Serra’s seein’ clients, yet?” Jay’s voice was low and a little sad.
It was no secret that Jay Cobb had had a major crush for Serra Reynolds for years. That crush made it all the harder for Jay when Serra went off to get Companion training years before.
“I’d image, so.” Jayne answered simply. “Likely she’s off bein’ all fancy in the Core.” He shook his head and laughed softly to himself. “Pretending she’s never cleaned horse shit.”
Jay shot his father a look. “That ain’t even so, Pa! Serra’s real proud of her upbringin’.” Jayne just rolled his eyes. With a huff, Jay moved to the other side of the barn.
If there was one thing Jayne could say for Jay it was that he took after the Cobb side of the family when it came to love; Jay had fallen in love with a woman higher then himself, and if he were anything like his father, Jay would get her in the end.
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Hours later, Jayne and Jay exited the barn to find Rayne gone and the sun setting. The two men headed back to the huge farm house and were greeted by Matt halfway there. Matt was full of grease and walking up to the house; he gave his father and older brother a little nod.
“Full day?” Matt asked them as they headed up the large porch.
Jayne shrugged. “Same as any other, son.” He paused. “Ya seen yer sister?”
“She ain’t in trouble.” Both Cobb boys said at the same time.
Jayne didn’t even bother asking how they knew that; his kids had the Cobb instinct and the Tam bond. Jayne was sure that all three of his kids could tell what their siblings were feeling at any given moment. Plus, Jay and Matt always seemed to know when something bad was going to happen and who to trust and not trust. It seemed they had a little reader in them, after all. As for Rayne, well, Jayne knew he wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be a full reader.
“Well, where is she?” Jayne pressed. He glanced back at Serenity. “She ain’t lookin’ for ghosts in the ship, again?”
Matt and Jay shook their heads ’no’ at the same time. “She’s…” the two boys shared a look, as if telling the other they did not want to speak at the same time.
“She’s…” Jay started.
“playin’ out back.” Matt finished.
The two boys exchanged a look before heading into the house and up the stairs. Jayne watched them for a second before turning into the doorway of the large dinning room, where his extended family was getting things ready for dinner.
Kaylee and Inara were in the large kitchen, finishing things up. While twelve year old Shadow helped his father bring extra chairs into the dinning room. Simon, twenty-one year old Lee and fourteen year old Derri set the table. Finally, Zoe, Wash, and twenty-three year old Rex all moved extra things out of the room. Jayne noted that both River and Rayne were missing.
“Matt was covered in mule blood.” A tiny and sweet voice said at Jayne’s shoulder. The ex-mercenary glanced over to see that River was standing beside him. She looked up at Jayne and offered him a loopy grin. “It was black and it smelt like Kaylee. He washed it away, though.”
Jayne put an arm around his wife’s shoulder. In the nineteen years that they had been married, he had gotten used to her ‘River-speak’, though there were still times when no one knew quit what she was saying. “He was jus’ workin’ on the mule, baby doll.”
River snuggled into his side. “We have very unusual, but brilliant offspring.” She stated.
“That we do.” Jayne agreed as they made their way into the large dinning room. “Smells like Ma used to make.”
“You say that every day, Uncle Jayne.” Lee thought out loud as she passed them and headed into the kitchen.
“That’s ‘cause it’s true.” Jayne called after her. He turned his attention back to the others. “There a reason ya’ll are makin’ it all fancy?” Jayne gave Simon a teasing smile. “Doc missin’ the Core?”
Zoe gave Jayne a ‘duh’ look. “It’s the anniversary of the day we broadcasted the signal.”
Mal offered River a smile. “The day little River helped get the message out. ‘Course, that started another war, but that’s besides the point.”
“It’s an excuse ta pretend we’re fancy.” Derri stated with a shake of her head. “Idle hands. We should be thankin’ God for this fest, not a signal.”
Mal gave her a look. “You sure you ain’t the Shepard’s kid?” He raised his voice, though playfully. “ ‘Nara, you had an affair with Book thirteen years ago?”
“Mal, don’t speak ill of the dead!” Inara called back. “You know perfectly well Derri is yours. She has your rebelling nature.”
“And your way with words.” Wash added.
The room was peppered with light laugher as Jay and Matt entered.
“W’at?” Jay asked them.
“Did we miss somethin’ funny?” Matt added.
“We always…”
“Miss the funny.”
The boys exchanged a look, sighed, and went to help the girls and Mal finish setting the table. It really was annoying the way they always seemed to finish one another’s thoughts.
As the others settled in for the meal, Jayne wondered where Rayne was. He was about to send Matt or Jay after her when River and the boys froze. All three of them had terrified looks on their faces; looks that made Jayne want to kill whatever was making them feel the way they currently were.
“Rayne.” River whispered, causing a few people to jump. “Blood. Bad.”
With those last two works, the entire room went flying out the back door. Rayne was nowhere to be seen. Jayne looked to River and the boys, knowing all three knew where Rayne was.
“Serenity, she went ta see the ghosts, again.” Jay offered.
“She wanted ta…last night, she told me she was gonna dance with Shepard Book taday.” Matt added nervously. “I shoulda said somethin’ earlier.”
“Weren’t your fault, Matt.” Mal stated firmly. “Girl’s been chasing ghosts since she could crawl.”
“There ain’t need ta worry.” Jayne stated quietly. “Mal an’ me will go an’ git her. Everybody else go on in.” He shared a look with River and she nodded, letting him know their only daughter wasn’t hurt-yet.
There was a moment of unsure-ness among the others, but they quietly went back inside the house. Jayne and Mal would get Rayne and bring her back home in no time.
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Entering Serenity was always like going back into a dream; so familiar and yet so different then anything they remembered. Jayne could still hear the echoes of the years he and the others had spent of the ship, he was sure Mal heard them too. Laugher and screams and noisy meals and loyalty that could only come from family. It was no wonder that little Rayne thought she heard ghosts coming from the ship.
Once, years ago, Jayne had asked River if Rayne heard people’s thoughts and if she’d end up like River. River’s reply had been simply and utterly direct: “Rayne Tam Cobb takes after her mother more then her father.” That, Jayne supposed, was why Rayne was always wondering off after things that no one could see or hear.
“Might be on the bridge again.” Mal suggested. “That or Shepard Book’s ol’ room.”
Jayne nodded. “I’ll take the preacher’s room.”
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He found her curled up in the bed that had once been Book’s. She wasn’t sleeping, just curled up. She was also bleeding from the right arm. Rayne glanced up at her father and looked at him through her messy hair.
“I cut myself, today.” She told him sweetly.
Jayne gave her a little smile. “I see that. Why?”
Rayne gave Jayne a look, as if asking him ‘don’t you know?’ “To see if I still bleed, silly Daddy.” The girl sat up and showed him the large and nasty looking cut on her tiny arm. “It wasn’t hard, Shepard showed me how.”
He didn’t want to look alarmed; to show his own child that she scared him. Yet, he was sure that she already knew that she scared everyone. “Yer goin’ have ta let yer uncle take a look at that, Sweets.” Jayne reached down and picked the girl up. “Best tell Mal I found ya.”
Rayne snuggled up against her father and sighed happily. “Daddy, Daddy, I have a new question f’r ya.”
“W’at?”
“Where do dead men go?” Jayne didn’t answer, so Rayne just told him: “Only dead men can know. Though, I knows it ta.”
This time, Jayne knew that she felt the fear and worry inside him.
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When they returned to the house, Simon fixed Rayne up and no one asked how she had cut herself. It was better not to ask her such things, because her answer was sure to be more confusing then anything. Though, River did stare deeply into Rayne’s eyes for a moment.
Later, River told Jayne that Rayne had gotten help from Book. Jayne was not sure how to take that. He decided to chalk it up to his and River’s kids being strange, brilliant, and utterly confusing and totally unique in the ‘verse.
They were his greatest achievements and while there were times when they scared and confused him, Jayne knew he’d always be proud of them. They were the Cobb siblings and they were unique in the ‘verse; children of a stone cold mercenary and a crazy, genius, reader, assassin.
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Years later, when Serenity’s second generation, would take her up to find sky, Jayne would turn to River and ask: “They gonna be okay, baby?”
River would look up at him, smile, and answer: “They’re a mix of the best, they’ll see the end of the day.”
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Date: 2005-11-01 11:22 pm (UTC)Me like!
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Date: 2005-11-01 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 12:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 01:01 am (UTC)Awwwwwww, that' so sweet! I really cryin' sad, ain't it!
Rayne, hee hee, but what a ...just like her mother.
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Date: 2005-11-02 01:08 am (UTC)Ywah, Rayne is a bit more like her mother then her brothers are. It makes a person wonder what will happen in the future...
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Date: 2005-11-02 01:06 am (UTC)(Oh yeah, and strike should probably be streak in the 3rd paragraph)
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Date: 2005-11-02 01:11 am (UTC)(Oh dear, I'll have to go back and fix that when I have more time.)
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Date: 2005-11-02 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 03:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 07:13 am (UTC)Aw. That was so sweet!
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Date: 2005-11-02 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-03 05:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-03 06:15 am (UTC)