A/N: Here's a one-shot that was requested by Lianne Rose that I hadn't really thought about writing... Hope I did it justice ;-) Thanx to all for the feedback! :-)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
4. Wanna Know A Secret?
Meal times aboard Serenity were the favourite of every member of the crew. Not that the food was grand or usually anything like tasty, but this was one time each day when everyone was guaranteed to be in one place, enjoying each others company for just a little while.
The band of misfits who had somehow made a family here aboard the old Firefly-class ship told stories whilst they ate, shared jokes, and exchanged pleasantries. There was a connection between each and every person at the table, some links very literal like brother and sister, parents and child, others less obvious but none the less real, such as the Captain and his pseudo-daughter mechanic, the Pilot and his newest student, and the Preacher's strange respect for the Companion.
Of course, there was one amongst the crew that was more perceptive than any other, that had the ability to connect with any person in an intimate way, feeling what they felt, thinking what they thought. River was sometimes frightened by the things in her head that did not belong, ideas and memories and such that were not her own. Here on the ship she found the serenity suggested by its name, no matter how many of the crews brain waves she received at once. They were family, one and all, despite the fact she was only the blood of two. She was sister, daughter, lover, mother, all this and more. She belonged here more than she ever had in any other place to be called home, and River was sure she would belong here forever.
"Family matters" she said aloud without really meaning too, catching the attention of the entire crew around the table.
"True enough, mei-mei" the Captain agreed with her, before other conversations around the table began to resume.
"Not just blood, bond too" River continued, her tone a little too loud to be ignored by anyone, "Greatest bond and greatest love brings greatest gifts" she grinned, looking to Zoe sat at her side and then across the table where Wash sat opposite his wife, "Da bianhua" she declared as Mal stopped with his chopsticks half way to his mouth and looked between the Reader, his oldest friend, and the Pilot of his ship.
"What in the gorram 'verse is she talking about?" he asked the entire table when River seemed unwilling to explain further, just filling her mouth up with food and enjoying the meal, as if nothing of consequence had been said at all.
Jayne looked to his left and frowned a little at his woman. He loved her always, but the girl could be damn infuriating with her riddles, and the only one who ever seemed to know just exactly what she was yammering about was Daniel, who nodded approvingly even now as his father glanced his way.
"You wanna explain, bao-bei?" he asked River then, and she rolled her eyes at the question.
"Not my secret to tell, silly Jayne-man" she giggled, continuing eating, as her friends and family became more and more intrigued, setting down their forks and chopsticks, paying far more attention to River than their food by now.
Zoe was the odd one out, who seemed all too distracted by her food, the sounds of her utensils against the plate and the clearing of her throat making it all too clear she was nervous somehow. That wasn't an emotion anyone was altogether used to seeing in the woman who was as tough as any man they knew, maybe even more so.
"You know what she's gettin' at, Zoe?" her Captain asked her, narrowing his eyes a little as he looked her way.
His second shared a look with her husband across the table and smiled just a little.
"Reckon I might, sir" she agreed, turning her eyes to Mal, "but I didn't..."
"I'll help" River's interruption was loud and clear as she grinned like a prideful cat of some kind, "So much to learn before the big day, before the arrival, but I'll help. Tell you everything you need to know to be a good mother" she nodded vigorously as Daniel did the same, keen to agree that his Ma was well-qualified for the task.
"D'un yi shia..." Mal exclaimed, "Wash, you knock up my second?"
"No, Mal, I made a child with my wife" the Pilot protested at the way he was being spoken to, though his tone was barely less than even as Zoe's hand crept across the table and covered his.
"Wuh di tyen, ah! What in the hell did you do that for?" Mal continued in his frustration that boarded on anger, but nobody was really listening.
Zoe and Wash were stunned that their news had come out this way, but kind of pleased that it had. After all, they'd been wanting this a while, and now it had happened. Happy news was to be shared with family, not least because it was all so rare aboard such a ship as this.
"Zoe's havin' a kid?" Jayne looked equal parts stunned and weirded-out by the concept, perhaps only because it made him think of the Amazon woman and the little man bumping uglies.
"Well, well..." said Shepherd Book with a smile, "Congratulations you two"
"Yes, this is a cause for celebration" agreed Inara, giving Mal a look and a signal with her eyes to not only close his gaping mouth but also not to make a scene here.
"No alcohol for the mother to be" River threw in quickly.
"I agree" her brother added as he looked toward Zoe and she rolled her eyes, though she meant no offence when she answered him.
"Thank you, Doc, but I knew that part without medical help" she smiled.
"Uh, you did know you was pregnant before River said it, right?" came a question from Kaylee, just a little troubled that her almost-sister-in-law might be knowin' secrets of others without them knowing themselves, 'cause that'd be awful weird.
"We knew" Wash assured her, with a grin so wide it threatened to split his face in two, "but only just" he admitted.
"Will be first baby born on the boat" declared River, "but not the last" she added, an almost wicked smirk playing at her lips as she went back to her dinner.
The looks shared between Mal and Inara, and Kaylee and Simon both, were amusing to the young woman who saw them without ever looking. Still, she knew the most concerned face would be that of her darling Jayne man, even though she knew he had no need to worry ...not yet anyway.
The End