Duplicity
Pairing Jayne/other
Rating pg
feedback: Yes please deementedb@aol.com
Archive: fine with me.
Disclaimers: Characters are not mine, just moving them around to my liking
Spoilers: little reference to Ariel
Summary: A betrayal from the past finally catches up. Chapter 8: summary. Mal has a son he's never met, who's been kidnapped. River wants to help
Chapter 8
Mal's mind was spinning; he felt an ache in his heart he hadn't felt since leaving Bella all those years ago. Sitting in the dark in Jayne's room he had realized that Bella's son Rey was most likely his. He had a son. A son he didn't know. A son he abandoned though he didn't know why Bella never told him she was expecting. A son that had been looking up to Jayne and was now kidnapped.
He realized Bella probably had ill feelings towards him and he couldn't blame her for that. They would have to forget the hurt they had caused each other to get Rey back. He couldn't make up his absence to his son, but he had to make sure the boy got back to the safety of his mother.
He knew Zoe and Wash's earlier fight probably was fall out from Zoe finding out that Bella was on board, he knew he should find her and make sure she treated Bella with kid gloves. The future of a relationship with his son could depend on it. He went to find Zoe.
Zoe couldn't find Wash anywhere; she suspected he left the ship to cool off. She had seen Mal go into Jayne's bunk, but after listening at the hatch she realized he also was alone. Bella was on this ship, she had to find her, find out if somehow she could apologize to her, if she were in Bella's position she would do her best to make things hard for her, still she had to try. Once Bella and Mal compared stories she would have some serious explaining to do, she knew Mal had more than likely put together the fact that he was Rey's father. She also knew that he possibly thought that Zoe had known about it all along. Bella wasn't in the Medlab, or the mess, she went to Inara's shuttle next.
Isabel jumped when the knock came to Inara's door, Inara looked at Bella to see if she was ready to face whoever was on the other side, Isabel nodded, eager for news on her son. As soon as Inara unlocked the door Zoe flew in, she ordered Inara "Get out" Inara almost obeyed her but Isabel's face was just as grim as Zoe's, besides the fact that this was her home and she didn't take orders from Zoe, she wasn't sure the two women didn't need a referee.
Zoe stared expectantly at Inara, seeing she wasn't about to budge and wondering what Bella had already told her. She decided to ignore her and said to Bella.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your son, and anything in the past I've done."
Isabel's look was steely "I don't care about anything but Rey right now, we should stay focused on getting my boy back"
"Don't worry Bella, I don't believe anything could stop Mal or Jayne from finding your son, the resemblance is eerie. Why Rey?" Zoe asked
"Hmmph, guess I know now why Jayne thought he was so familiar, Rey is short for Reynold, so Mal knows?" Isabel assumed
"Haven't spoken to him, but he's no dummy, sure he can count, and when he saw the picture of Rey he commented on how he looked like his youngest brother as a boy." Zoe explained
Inara fought to control her emotions, the missing boy was Mal's unknown son, Izzy was Bella, her given name Isabel. She tried to remain calm but couldn't wait till the two women left and yet was not willing to miss anything they were saying.
"Things will not change once I get him back, I don't think this would be a good time to bring his paternity to light. He looks up to Jayne, they have been good for each other, I don't want to undermine that." Isabel said
Zoe pushed her growing anger down, forcing herself to keep her voice even. "Why didn't you ever say anything? Didn't know you were expecting when we left."
Isabel stared coldly at her "You would have if you had come back that evening, didn't we just agree to shelve the past for now? Besides what difference would it have made, he didn't even say goodbye? He left like a cad, I meant nothing obviously except more money for his stupid ship fund. He didn't just leave me, he left me penniless and pregnant" Isabel's voice had slowly risen.
"You are right, this should be left for after his father saves your son. Malcolm Reynolds is not a coward, or a cad, he deserves to know his son. The whole thing was my doing, the money, Mal never even knew I took it. He believed you were seeing other men, for money. I admit I encouraged him in that belief."
Isabel interrupted her "You expect me to believe that? I know you were the one feeding him lies about me seeing other men, was that because you wanted him for yourself? I can't believe you are still with him, or do you think it's alright to have a lover and a husband? I wouldn't be surprised considering you thought nothing of taking him to your bed while he was with me."
A big gasp escaped Inara's lips and she could no longer stay in the same room with these two women. Zoe had always claimed to her and to Wash that she and Mal had never been intimate. According to this woman that was a lie. She got up and quickly left.
Zoe and Isabel just stared at each other; Jayne's voice over the intercom broke the standoff.
"Jayne doesn't know" Zoe stated.
"How could he?" Isabel said as she left the shuttle to go see what Jayne had found.
All crew members convened in the mess, all but Wash who was still m.i.a. The tension was palpable as Mal saw Zoe and Bella staring daggers at each other, he tried to make eye contact with both women but each refused to look at him. Inara looked down at the floor and Kaylee and Book tried to figure out what was going on, only Simon seemed disinterested.
Jayne went excitedly to Izzy giving her a comforting hug.
"Rey may still be on the planet" He showed her a note. "This was left at your room by a boy who waited till I checked before delivering it, but I had set Kaylee up to keep an eye the whole time we were out. Boy stays at the same boarding house, seems his ma's boyfriend is working for Jimmy Lasskiee. We caught up to the boy who overheard them talking bout a double cross and the arrival of a slaving ship tomorrow"
Isabel screamed "No" Mal was right there reading the note over her shoulder.
"He says to meet him on Barland where we can exchange my winnings and confession for Rey" Isabel recapped, Jayne held her close.
"Diversion, possibly, know it'll take us days to get to Barland, think we'll leave right away. Could be he is gonna be on Barland to make sure you admit to cheatin, take yer money, but Rey wont be there. He'll have this other fellow sellin him to the slavers, trail would be so cold almost no chance of finding him then." Jayne said
Isabel sobbed, "No, they can't sell my boy, not Rey."
Mal felt the urge to comfort her, he couldn't imagine her pain, he had yet to meet Rey but felt ready to search the verse till he found his son.
Zoe spoke up "We stake the man out, follow him if we can, send Bella on to Barland in case the info's wrong, Wash, Book and I can watch out for her while the rest look here."
Mal looked around "Where is Wash?"
Jayne looked confused "Who's Bella?"
Just then River came into the mess looking even more upset than usual, she pointed at Mal, Zoe and Isabel, her voice rising "Too much, too much, too much pain, betrayal."
Simon ran to her, trying to quiet her down, she avoided his grasp running to Isabel
"Momma, cold, dark, hurt, they bite." She cried grabbing Isabel's arm, Mal along with Simon tried to pull River from her.
Inara ran to their side. "Wait, stop" She raised her voice, "Maybe she can help, she might know something"
Jayne stood in front of River "She's right, wouldn't be the first time, make some good use of that creepy thing she does"
River put her hand on Jayne's chest; she smiled up at him "Be a real hero this time. Reasons are all right."
Simon pulled River from Jayne, sitting her at the table, he asked gently "River, do you know where this boy is?" he showed her the picture of Rey
"He's cold, hurt, wants his momma." River said sadly.
Kaylee left the mess.
"Is he still on this planet?" Jayne asked trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.
"Cavern, dark, scared" was all River said
"On this planet?" Jayne repeated
Kaylee came back with a map of the region, she unfolded it on the table, there were quite a few communities in the area but there were also a range of rocky mountains throughout the planet
"River, honey, can you show us where?" Kaylee asked gently
River looked up to see everyone looking at her expectantly; she put her head down shyly, effectively shutting everyone out behind her curtain of hair.
Mal almost lost it, his haste to find a solution bearing down on him, if River could help it would mean he wouldn't have to split the crew to look both here and on Barland for his son, which would leave both teams weak. He couldn't stand for this operation to not go smoothly. He begged silently for River to come through, as if he had spoken aloud she raised her head and set her finger on the map.
"Mountains, these mountains?" Mal jumped on the information. "We'll fly down there, split up into teams"
Zoe interrupted "Wash isn't on board"
"Where is he?"
"Don't know sir."
Mal thought he knew what the problem was, he sighed but told Zoe firmly "Find him, fast. This ain't no time for this."
Kaylee and Simon were shocked to see tears swimming in Zoe's eyes.
"Yes, Sir." Is all she said.
Inara and Book tried to comfort Isabel as Mal asked Kaylee to find more detailed maps of the Area River had pointed out.
Pairing Jayne/other
Rating pg
feedback: Yes please deementedb@aol.com
Archive: fine with me.
Disclaimers: Characters are not mine, just moving them around to my liking
Spoilers: little reference to Ariel
Summary: A betrayal from the past finally catches up. Chapter 8: summary. Mal has a son he's never met, who's been kidnapped. River wants to help
Chapter 8
Mal's mind was spinning; he felt an ache in his heart he hadn't felt since leaving Bella all those years ago. Sitting in the dark in Jayne's room he had realized that Bella's son Rey was most likely his. He had a son. A son he didn't know. A son he abandoned though he didn't know why Bella never told him she was expecting. A son that had been looking up to Jayne and was now kidnapped.
He realized Bella probably had ill feelings towards him and he couldn't blame her for that. They would have to forget the hurt they had caused each other to get Rey back. He couldn't make up his absence to his son, but he had to make sure the boy got back to the safety of his mother.
He knew Zoe and Wash's earlier fight probably was fall out from Zoe finding out that Bella was on board, he knew he should find her and make sure she treated Bella with kid gloves. The future of a relationship with his son could depend on it. He went to find Zoe.
Zoe couldn't find Wash anywhere; she suspected he left the ship to cool off. She had seen Mal go into Jayne's bunk, but after listening at the hatch she realized he also was alone. Bella was on this ship, she had to find her, find out if somehow she could apologize to her, if she were in Bella's position she would do her best to make things hard for her, still she had to try. Once Bella and Mal compared stories she would have some serious explaining to do, she knew Mal had more than likely put together the fact that he was Rey's father. She also knew that he possibly thought that Zoe had known about it all along. Bella wasn't in the Medlab, or the mess, she went to Inara's shuttle next.
Isabel jumped when the knock came to Inara's door, Inara looked at Bella to see if she was ready to face whoever was on the other side, Isabel nodded, eager for news on her son. As soon as Inara unlocked the door Zoe flew in, she ordered Inara "Get out" Inara almost obeyed her but Isabel's face was just as grim as Zoe's, besides the fact that this was her home and she didn't take orders from Zoe, she wasn't sure the two women didn't need a referee.
Zoe stared expectantly at Inara, seeing she wasn't about to budge and wondering what Bella had already told her. She decided to ignore her and said to Bella.
"I'm so sorry to hear about your son, and anything in the past I've done."
Isabel's look was steely "I don't care about anything but Rey right now, we should stay focused on getting my boy back"
"Don't worry Bella, I don't believe anything could stop Mal or Jayne from finding your son, the resemblance is eerie. Why Rey?" Zoe asked
"Hmmph, guess I know now why Jayne thought he was so familiar, Rey is short for Reynold, so Mal knows?" Isabel assumed
"Haven't spoken to him, but he's no dummy, sure he can count, and when he saw the picture of Rey he commented on how he looked like his youngest brother as a boy." Zoe explained
Inara fought to control her emotions, the missing boy was Mal's unknown son, Izzy was Bella, her given name Isabel. She tried to remain calm but couldn't wait till the two women left and yet was not willing to miss anything they were saying.
"Things will not change once I get him back, I don't think this would be a good time to bring his paternity to light. He looks up to Jayne, they have been good for each other, I don't want to undermine that." Isabel said
Zoe pushed her growing anger down, forcing herself to keep her voice even. "Why didn't you ever say anything? Didn't know you were expecting when we left."
Isabel stared coldly at her "You would have if you had come back that evening, didn't we just agree to shelve the past for now? Besides what difference would it have made, he didn't even say goodbye? He left like a cad, I meant nothing obviously except more money for his stupid ship fund. He didn't just leave me, he left me penniless and pregnant" Isabel's voice had slowly risen.
"You are right, this should be left for after his father saves your son. Malcolm Reynolds is not a coward, or a cad, he deserves to know his son. The whole thing was my doing, the money, Mal never even knew I took it. He believed you were seeing other men, for money. I admit I encouraged him in that belief."
Isabel interrupted her "You expect me to believe that? I know you were the one feeding him lies about me seeing other men, was that because you wanted him for yourself? I can't believe you are still with him, or do you think it's alright to have a lover and a husband? I wouldn't be surprised considering you thought nothing of taking him to your bed while he was with me."
A big gasp escaped Inara's lips and she could no longer stay in the same room with these two women. Zoe had always claimed to her and to Wash that she and Mal had never been intimate. According to this woman that was a lie. She got up and quickly left.
Zoe and Isabel just stared at each other; Jayne's voice over the intercom broke the standoff.
"Jayne doesn't know" Zoe stated.
"How could he?" Isabel said as she left the shuttle to go see what Jayne had found.
All crew members convened in the mess, all but Wash who was still m.i.a. The tension was palpable as Mal saw Zoe and Bella staring daggers at each other, he tried to make eye contact with both women but each refused to look at him. Inara looked down at the floor and Kaylee and Book tried to figure out what was going on, only Simon seemed disinterested.
Jayne went excitedly to Izzy giving her a comforting hug.
"Rey may still be on the planet" He showed her a note. "This was left at your room by a boy who waited till I checked before delivering it, but I had set Kaylee up to keep an eye the whole time we were out. Boy stays at the same boarding house, seems his ma's boyfriend is working for Jimmy Lasskiee. We caught up to the boy who overheard them talking bout a double cross and the arrival of a slaving ship tomorrow"
Isabel screamed "No" Mal was right there reading the note over her shoulder.
"He says to meet him on Barland where we can exchange my winnings and confession for Rey" Isabel recapped, Jayne held her close.
"Diversion, possibly, know it'll take us days to get to Barland, think we'll leave right away. Could be he is gonna be on Barland to make sure you admit to cheatin, take yer money, but Rey wont be there. He'll have this other fellow sellin him to the slavers, trail would be so cold almost no chance of finding him then." Jayne said
Isabel sobbed, "No, they can't sell my boy, not Rey."
Mal felt the urge to comfort her, he couldn't imagine her pain, he had yet to meet Rey but felt ready to search the verse till he found his son.
Zoe spoke up "We stake the man out, follow him if we can, send Bella on to Barland in case the info's wrong, Wash, Book and I can watch out for her while the rest look here."
Mal looked around "Where is Wash?"
Jayne looked confused "Who's Bella?"
Just then River came into the mess looking even more upset than usual, she pointed at Mal, Zoe and Isabel, her voice rising "Too much, too much, too much pain, betrayal."
Simon ran to her, trying to quiet her down, she avoided his grasp running to Isabel
"Momma, cold, dark, hurt, they bite." She cried grabbing Isabel's arm, Mal along with Simon tried to pull River from her.
Inara ran to their side. "Wait, stop" She raised her voice, "Maybe she can help, she might know something"
Jayne stood in front of River "She's right, wouldn't be the first time, make some good use of that creepy thing she does"
River put her hand on Jayne's chest; she smiled up at him "Be a real hero this time. Reasons are all right."
Simon pulled River from Jayne, sitting her at the table, he asked gently "River, do you know where this boy is?" he showed her the picture of Rey
"He's cold, hurt, wants his momma." River said sadly.
Kaylee left the mess.
"Is he still on this planet?" Jayne asked trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.
"Cavern, dark, scared" was all River said
"On this planet?" Jayne repeated
Kaylee came back with a map of the region, she unfolded it on the table, there were quite a few communities in the area but there were also a range of rocky mountains throughout the planet
"River, honey, can you show us where?" Kaylee asked gently
River looked up to see everyone looking at her expectantly; she put her head down shyly, effectively shutting everyone out behind her curtain of hair.
Mal almost lost it, his haste to find a solution bearing down on him, if River could help it would mean he wouldn't have to split the crew to look both here and on Barland for his son, which would leave both teams weak. He couldn't stand for this operation to not go smoothly. He begged silently for River to come through, as if he had spoken aloud she raised her head and set her finger on the map.
"Mountains, these mountains?" Mal jumped on the information. "We'll fly down there, split up into teams"
Zoe interrupted "Wash isn't on board"
"Where is he?"
"Don't know sir."
Mal thought he knew what the problem was, he sighed but told Zoe firmly "Find him, fast. This ain't no time for this."
Kaylee and Simon were shocked to see tears swimming in Zoe's eyes.
"Yes, Sir." Is all she said.
Inara and Book tried to comfort Isabel as Mal asked Kaylee to find more detailed maps of the Area River had pointed out.