Taurus
Taurus (The Bull) : Keyword: "I have". Resourceful, thorough, devoted, patient, indulgent, sensual, affectionate, possessive, cautious, acquisitive, musical, artistic, stubborn, solid, earthy, strong, sturdy, slow, kind, just. Ruling Planet : Venus ; Relationships and partnerships of all kinds, romantic love, desire for beauty, harmony and co-operation, personal comforts and possessions, the arts, fashions and social life. Ruler of the zodiac signs Taurus and Libra.
It became apparent that no one was allowed to tell Ma Cobb 'no'.
After he'd built up the strength to write out the words, Jayne wrote to his mother that he'd gotten himself hitched while out in the black. It took only three days for her to receive the letter and trek in to town to wave Serenity. Wash was the unfortunate soul who answered the wave, and the same man who poked his head down into Jayne's bunk to let him know that someone was wanting to speak with him.
"Hell, Wash, you look like you seen a ghost," Kaylee remarked as she walked by.
Jayne shook his head, smirking as River helped him climb out of the bunk. "Naw," he clarified with a laugh, "he just seen my Ma."
Jayne settled into the pilot's chair, grinning widely at his mother. They looked almost eerily alike; the same blue eyes, the same high forehead, and identical noses. Her dark hair was pulled back away from her face in a bun, with greying strands hanging in her face. She looked a delightfully portly woman, but at the moment, she wasn't smiling.
"Howdy, Ma," he said first to initiate conversation. River watched placidly from the copilot's seat, smirking pleasantly at her man.
Wash had caught them just short of ripping one another's clothes off, and in Jayne's excitement to see his mother, he'd completely forgotten to find his shirt again. The healing wound just near his heart was still red and loud, on which his mother's eyes fixed immediately. River was out of the view of the camera in her little blue nightie, something Jayne was quite fond of. He flicked his glance to her momentarily, then looked back to his mother to find her frowning at him.
"Jayne Mortimer Cobb," she scolded right off the bat. Jayne's grin dropped off upon hearing his well-hidden middle name out of the blue. River stifled a giggle. "Why ain't I ever heard a lick 'bout this girl yer alluva sudden hitched ta?"
"I ain't had time t' write, Ma!" He tried desperately to redeem himself, looking desperately over to River at intervals. "'Sides, you know I ain't good with the words, and writin' 'em is even harder!"
River couldn't help herself and finally laughed. "Story of his life," she muttered. Ma Cobb's ears perked up.
"Who's there with ya, Jayne? That yer Missus? Get 'er on here so I can see 'er, Jayne." Ma Cobb brought her battered glasses from her dress pocket and adjusted them on the bridge of her nose.
Jayne looked over to River, who stood. In one slow, fluid movement, the lithe girl sat gently in Jayne's lap, avoiding any place she knew him to be sore. As River smiled politely into the camera, Ma Cobb brightened considerably.
"Salutations," River said. "River Andromeda Cobb, née Tam. The pleasure is mine. Shall I call you Mother?"
Jayne tried his hardest not to laugh, gripping River's thigh fondly as his only response. Ma Cobb blinked slightly, not sure what to say. Almost at once, she regained herself.
"Pleased t' meet ya, darlin'. Y'all can just call me Ma." She turned her eyes back to Jayne, and instantly was melded back into a frown. "So, yer headin' home, then, ain't ya?"
"What?" Jayne exclaimed at once, looking quickly at River, then back. "I don't fly this thing, Ma. I ain't got no say on--"
"Well, if that scared little redheaded fella was yer pilot, I reckon won't take much doin' t' get that ship on down t' see yer Ma. And tell that crew 'a yours that they're all invited."
"Invited t' what?" Jayne asked, knowing he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Why, yer weddin', Jayne!"
This was when the crew of Serenity learned that no one argued with Ma Cobb. One look at the screen was all Wash needed to convince him to set a course for Jayne's home moon of Aberdeen as quick as humanly possible. A stare-down quickly ensued between Jayne's mother and Malcolm Reynolds, the latter of which surprisingly caved. His excuse later was to include the need to consume large amounts of cake and alcohol, not necessarily in that order.
Unsurprisingly, Kaylee and Ma Cobb got along famously.
Aberdeen was a ways off from Demeter, the site of their last job, and it took a good five days. This, of course, included a stop off on Persephone to pick up a few things they found necessary for the celebration. Zoe was in charge of the female procession, and Mal lead the male contingent. While the girls searched for the most absolutely shiny dresses possible in their price range, the boys bought the booze. Jayne insisted on a box of celebratory cigars, despite Simon's warnings. They fitted Jayne up for a new tux, Mal grinning like a little boy at the ridiculousness of his big ol' merc in a penguin suit. Said merc complained on and on, but in the end seemed satisfied with what he was able to get his hands on.
They arrived on Aberdeen the following Wednesday, just before evening set in. The port in the nearest town, Gabriel, was small and nearly empty when they arrived. The daily influx of traders had already shipped out, which left plenty of room for Jayne's reception.
Mal was fairly sure that the rabble in Canton had been fairly tame in comparison to the crowd of family and friends that met Serenity in Gabriel. Ma Cobb was the first one up the ramp, intercepting her boy and grabbing him in a fierce hug. Most were surprised to find that she barely reached mid-chest on him. A few words were exchanged, and Ma moved away from Jayne to take the skinny girl next to him in a broad, suffocating embrace. Jayne laughed brightly at the face River pulled at the sudden affectionate gesture, like her eyes were likely to pop from their sockets.
The entire wedding party was marched to the Cobb homestead, a good three miles out of town. On the way, Ma explained to Mal the reasoning behind this little venture. She was an old woman. Jayne was her oldest son, and it didn't look like Mattie was ever going to find a good wife. All she wanted was to see her boy get married, and if it meant pulling that ship down out of the sky herself, that was what she was going to do. Mal then explained the circumstances behind Jayne's impromptu marriage in the first place, which made the woman go pale with worry. She watched the two newlyweds with a different eye after that.
Jayne and River walked hand in hand the entire time. She was somehow managing to worm his entire life story out of him now that they were tangibly there on his dusty home world. He had three brothers, one of which was dead, and another of which was Mattie. This second-oldest brother had been sickly ever since childhood, and most feared he wouldn't make it past 18. But here he sat now, a pretty 25, and still sickly. The remaining brother, Geoff, was even younger, just turned 20. Apparently, ever since Jayne left Aberdeen for work, Geoff had taken up the job of being the man of the house, and was doing a damn fine job of it. All three of them looked exactly like their mother.
Around the enormous bonfire that night, much was discussed about the second wedding Ma Cobb had planned. Jayne had decided to detach himself from the hullabaloo and just let things run their own course. River leaned sleepily on his shoulder as he plucked away at his guitar near the fire. A chord progression here and there was all he played, but that was all she needed. Far off, Mal was laughing as he recounted the hilarious happenstance that lead to his finding-out about Jayne and River, eliciting mirrored laughter from onlookers.
"He jests at scars that never felt a wound," she murmured, rubbing her cheek fondly against his shoulder. Jayne plucked out a series of three notes, then looked down at her.
"What you on about, little bear?"
"Romeo and fair Juliet," she clarified, meeting his eyes. "Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. Are you my Romeo, Jayne?"
He thought on this for a moment, as if he actually knew the answer. "Ain't that Romeo fella the one that dies in the end? 'Cause I don't much feel like dyin'."
"Very romantic," she added quietly, resting once again on his shoulder. "Best love story of all time."
Jayne paused, and she felt his smile curl up on its own. "I dunno, I kinda like how ours is turnin' out."
A long, bright smile spread over her face as she looked back up at him, like a rosy dawn after a cold night. For the first time in she didn't know how long, everything else in her head went blank as she leaned up to kiss him.
"Yore that little girl's brother, ain't ya?" Ma Cobb asked as she sidled up beside Simon. The doctor looked up, a little startled. The old woman had an almost River-like way of sneaking up on people, it seemed. After the initial shock, SImon nodded.
"Yes," he extended his hand politely, "Simon Tam." As they shook hands, Simon was able to observe the woman more closely. "I'm sorry if this is rude of me, but you and Jayne look frighteningly similar."
"I get it all the time, darlin'," Ma assured him. "Jayne ain't tellin' me a thing 'bout that little wife 'a his, and I was wonderin' why, s'all."
Simon marveled at the likeness between the two even in accent, then shook his head. "River and I have a long a sordid history behind us, and that's where we'd like to keep it. Again, not to be rude."
"Course not," Ma said, looking slightly disappointed. She tried a different tactic. "I mean, just met 'er and all, but feels like there's somethin'--"
"Off?" Simon suggested, throwing a pebble into the dark twilight. "Yes, she's a bit off. And the more you get to know her, the more of her seems to be that way. But she's my sister, Mrs. Cobb, and I plan on doing what I have to in order to protect her best interests."
Ma Cobb politely took her leave. He wasn't going to give her anything. Thankfully, Wash was a little more talkative.
"Oh, you should've seen them at first," Wash said dramatically, grinning like a fool. "She has this knife--don't ask me why she had the knife; some people juggle geese--and Jayne's just minding his own business sharpening his own scary knives. Then bam! Slices him right there." He mimed the action across his own chest. Ma's eyes widened in fright, but she said nothing. "Lover's spat, I think. Then again, Zoe's never taken a knife to me. Not that she hasn't threatened--"
Ma Cobb quickly took her leave. This wasn't painting a pretty picture so far.
"Don't you like River none?" Kaylee protested, looking awfully put-out. "She's got a circuit or two missin' and she runs a little different, but that don't make her less of a girl."
Ma Cobb decided it was time to talk to this River. She hitched up her skirts, ready to speak her piece, but when she rounded the bonfire, she lost all that resolve. The girl was asleep, draped comfortably in Jayne's lap with his fingers in her hair. He looked just about ready to drop off too, but it was the look in his eye that spoke volumes to his Ma. She was very familiar with that look. Her late husband used to look at her like that, like someone had taken all the stars from the sky and put them inside that girl.
The woman sat heavily down beside her son, and he glanced up with a yawn.
"Howdy, Ma," he smirked.
"Jayne," she breathed, exhausted from her information-gathering, "you know I'm all manner 'a happy for ya, that ya finally found yerself a little woman, but I gotta say, that gal ya picked is a piece 'a work."
"Yeah," Jayne agreed, which frankly surprised her, "you're damn right she is. She's been through hell, Ma, and she's a gorram handful. Mood changes quicker'n you can blink. She gives ya that look, she knows just what you're thinkin' on. She's a right li'l witch, but... well, she's my li'l witch."
Finally, a smile broke over his mother's face. "Them's some purdy words, Jayne. Think she'd like 'em."
"They ain't fanciful or anythin' like she can pull out on me. She's been teachin' me some real good ones, like 'obstreperous.' Means loud 'n noisy."
"When Jayne is sexually excited, he is obstreperous," River said sleepily from his lap. A hot blush flashed across Jayne's cheeks at the look his mother gave him, and River yawned and returned to sleep.
"She's just sleep-talkin', Ma," Jayne assured his mother, thinking more on whether he was obstreperous or not. To quickly get off the subject, he added, "I was thinkin' I might get the Doc t' be my best man. Seems fair, don't it?"
"He's got t' walk your gal down the aisle, Jayne," Ma reminded him, her mind still clinging furiously to River's comment. "She ain't got anyone else t' give 'er away."
"Yeah, guess not then. How 'bout Mattie?"
Their talk melded into the night, and eventually, all split apart to sleep. Jayne carried his wife up to the room he used to share with Mattie when they were younger. It was empty now, his brother having moved to room with Geoff. They tried their best to be as un-obstreperous as possible, but once Geoff banged on their door shouting in a sleep-drenched voice, they knew they should get to sleep. They had quite a day before them.
The girls rushed River away early in the morning, wrenching her from the sleeping Jayne's arms. He grunted, turned over, and fell back asleep. The bride had much to prepare before they got her down that aisle that afternoon. It took both Mal and Geoff to wake the sleeping bear, who tried to bat them away like gnats. He finally pulled himself out from under the sheets, looking fairly pissed-off that not only was he awake but without his girl, something that made the Captain back off considerably. Geoff knew his brother better.
The name-calling that ensued would never be bested by any contest in history, Mal decided.
Outside, the friends and family were setting up a ridiculous amount of chairs in the yard. From where Jayne was watching from a window, it seemed to be just over 100 in total. He wasn't sure that many people on Aberdeen knew who he was, let alone cared who he got himself hitched to. Geoff told him to stop gawking and get his gorram bow tie on.
Kaylee had a time keeping River and Jayne separate before the wedding. She knew it sounded silly, but it was tradition for the bride and the groom to see one another before they walked her down the aisle. River was shoved into more broom closets than she'd ever been in before, and in her new dress. But, she reasoned as she pulled a cobweb from her hair, it was tradition.
The tents of the reception were being erected in the field nearby, and the food was arriving from all around Gabriel. And, finally, the shepherd arrived, which signaled the beginning of the ceremony. Jayne grumbled about this and that, about how he didn't know half the people there and didn't want them to see him all mush-i-fied as he was like to get. He and Geoff stared one another down, and Jayne relented at last, stalking down to the shepherd, crossing his arms and looking generally displeased. Mal laughed, Inara looking beautiful on his arm; that was the Jayne he was used to.
Jayne paid the procession no attention: Kaylee linked with a well-dressed Mattie, looking pleased as punch; Mal and Inara following, somehow completely comfortable linked at the elbows and looking just fine; Wash and Zoe contrasted almost as much as any two people could, but they wore identical smiles that day, looking knowingly at Jayne and just grinning.
That scowl fell off Jayne's face when River appeared, Simon beside her. Flabbergasted was the word that came to Inara's mind as she watched the groom practically dissolve right then and there. He straightened himself up as best he could, after the look Simon shot him. Her walk down the aisle was perfect, and her dress couldn't have been shinier. It was white, and long, just like it should be. It hung just off her shoulders, leaving everything upward exposed. Her hair was done up, like a fancy knot tied on the top of her head. And she was smiling. That's what did him in.
He wasn't paying much attention as Simon handed her over to him. Simon waved his hand once in front of Jayne's eyes, and he started, making the assembly giggle to itself. Something rumbled far off. When it came to the "I do's" Jayne answered in the affirmative, followed by his gal. As the preacher finally got around to "You may kiss the bride," the deluge started. Women screamed, covering their hair and dashing for the reception tents. Chairs were toppled over, and flowers were strewn every which way. Water mixed with earth, and all became a muddy brown.
Kaylee looked back over her shoulder as she helped Mattie limp to the tents. There, in the middle of the dark pouring rain, River and Jayne were locked together at the lips. Her dark hair was coming down out of its knot, plastered wet against her face. Clothes clung and the water ran down their faces, but at that moment, none of it mattered. It was them, and nothing else. Mattie had to tug on Kaylee's arm to keep her moving.
It was a full half an hour after Geoff had pounded on their door to no avail when River sat up with a gasp. Jayne snorted in surprise, nearly falling off the bed and tangling himself in the sheets.
"What? What's up?" He was looking about, patting around for his knife. River was deathly silent, looking straight forward into the darkness. Jayne ceased his movement, looking at his wife with one cocked eyebrow. "River?"
She settled her hands gently on her lower abdomen, not saying a single word for a long time. Finally, she turned ever so slightly to face her husband, and to this day he swore that she was literally glowing.
"Jayne," she said softly, "we've made a little bear."
He blinked slowly, not comprehending. "Huh?"
"Complete," she said, suddenly grinning. "Mama Bear, Papa Bear... Baby Bear."
She could see his eyes widen even in the darkness. He glanced down at her stomach, back to her eyes, and remained silent.
"Well," he said at last, "that's somethin'."
AN: Hello all and welcome back! You've just read the first chapter in the tri-quel! Congrats! So, I've looked up all this stuff on wikipedia, because I'm no expert. I've decided to work as many words from the decription into the story as possible. Hope that doesn't disappoint anyone. I, for one, am just elated that there's a Baby Bear in the picture, and I wrote the gorram thing! On a personal note, I really like Geoff Cobb, and Ma Cobb reminds me of my Mamaw--so, expect to see more of them sometime soon. Thanks so much for reading and sticking with me so far. Stay awesome!!
