NirSighted Chapter 7: Give Us the Good News, Please

Moments later, Serenity was in the air, bound for Irving-Keene. Mal stepped into the bridge to find Wash still scowling as he flew. "Don't ya worry none, Wash. I'm sure you'll beat th' crazy girl 'fore the week is out."

"There's a wave fer Jayne," Wash related as though he hadn't heard Mal's comment.

"Who's it from?" Jayne asked as he appeared.

Wash hit the connecting wave button, and Jimena's face appeared on the screen. "It's yer lady-love," the pilot replied.

Jayne looked over at the wave screen. It was indeed Jimena Flavez. He and the rest of the crew of Serenity had met Sergeant Flavez on Snozlund awhile back. While he and Jimena had shared what some would refer to as "an enchanted evening," and some would refer to as "blatant sexual role-playing with odd consequences," he had been of the mind that he would never see her again. "Why, howdy, Jimena," Jayne said, trying to cover up his surprise.

"Hello, Jayne," Jimena said warmly. "It's very good to see you again. I expect you're rather surprised to see me."

"Uh... no," Jayne replied rather lamely.

Jimena smiled, but her smile looked as though it was tinged with sadness and maybe a little anxiety. "I've missed you very much," she said. "I was hoping you and your crew are somewhere near Snozlund so I could see you soon."

Jayne looked at Mal, who was standing just outside the scope of the wave's camera. Mal shook his head in the negative.

"Well, no, not at th' moment," Jayne answered. "We've got a passenger bound fer... Irving-Keene, I think."

"Oh," Jimena said, and it was plain to see that she was sad. "Well then, I guess that's all." A hand snaked out and moved to turn off the wave on Jimena's end.

Wash glared at Jayne, his gaze seeming to say "You FOOL, ask her what's wrong!" Mal nodded as though to agree with Wash.

"Uh... what occasions th' wave?" Jayne questioned. "Not that it ain't lovely t' see ya, but..."

Jimena's hand stopped mid-way to the wave controls. For a moment she looked as though she was going to cry. "Jayne, I have some news."

"Oh," Jayne said densely, for he didn't understand what she meant.

Jimena swallowed. "Jayne, you're going to be a father."

"What?" Jayne asked, not sure if he'd heard Jimena correctly.

"I'm pregnant."

No one in the bridge moved for a split second. Then a crash reverberated through the ship as Jayne fainted.

"So, this is yer bunk," Kaylee said cheerfully as she unlocked the door to one of the passenger bunks and slid open the door. "Not much, but cozy 'nough for ya I hope."

Dr. Burk looked into the bunk. He wasn't too surprised at what he saw, and his face gave away none of his emotions. "Thank you," he said.

"If there's anythin' ya need, don't hesitate t' ask," Kaylee continued. "Dinner's gonna be served sooner er later, just come up t' th' galley whenever."

The doctor didn't say anything, so Kaylee smiled at him and left, heading back towards the engine room. She didn't like the scientist, but she wasn't sure what exactly she didn't like. Something was "off" about him; something was odd, something wasn't quite right. Maybe River would know.

She found River and Catie in the galley with Simon. The six-circle board was still set up, but the pieces were scattered all over the table, as though a fight had taken place. "What happened?" Kaylee asked as she came in.

"Wash got a bit angry when Catie beat him," Simon answered with a smirk. "He upended the board."

Mal came in. "Doc, we need ya in th' bridge."

"What's wrong?" Simon asked, standing up.

River reached across the table and began to put the six-circle pieces back in color-order on the board, her sightless eyes focused on her brother.

"Jayne, he's passed out. Had a bit o' a nasty shock," Mal answered.

"What happened?" Zoë asked, entering.

"Jayne got some bad news," Mal said.

"Not his Ma, was it?"

"No, much worse."

"What could be worse than his Ma dyin'?"

"Findin' out that after all these years, all o' his measures t' protect 'gainst his legacy carryin' on have finally failed."

It took a moment for this information to sink in to those gathered around the table. "Wait a moment," Simon said. "You mean to say..."

"I mean to say that Jayne's going to have himself a bit o' a family comin' soon," Mal replied.

"Oh. Well, in that case..." Simon stood from the table and followed Mal into the bridge.

"Wanna play six-circle?" Kaylee asked, sitting down across from River.

River shook her head as she carefully set the pieces back into place, still sightlessly. "No."

"Why not?"

"Have to play another game," the girl replied.

"No syrup," Catie said hurriedly.

"No, no syrup," River agreed, but her voice sounded as though she was very far away.

"Does it haveta do with the scientist?" Kaylee asked, watching River roll the ball-bearing-sized pieces into their grooves. "I think somethin's not right with him."

"Twelve daughters in fourteen years," River said softly, still far away, an orange piece slipping from her fingers but miraculously hitting its groove. Somehow she knew exactly where each color went, even though Simon had said she was completely blind. "Never seen two of them, can't remember his wife touching him, only wants to get away from the bad. Secrets? Maybe."

"Something's wrong with him," Catie murmured, watching River roll the six-circle pieces onto the board.

River looked up suddenly, her fingers freezing with a handful of blue pieces. When she spoke, her voice was absolutely clear. "He's coming."

Before Kaylee could ask what was going on, Catie began to scream. It was like nothing Kaylee had ever heard; it was a scream of unearthly proportions. River's hands were hit with a sudden spasm and the handful of twenty-or-so blue six-circle pieces she had been holding scattered every-which-way, hitting the table like hail, dropping off the table and spreading everywhere on the floor. Without even looking – though why was Kaylee so surprised? – River grabbed her new friend's hand, yanked Catie out of her chair, and pulled the girl from the galley, her booted feet clanking on the grate, Catie's stumbling, as the two of them disappeared.

"What's going on?" Kaylee heard Dr. Burk's voice ask as the man appeared. He had brushed his unruly red hair and sported a confused expression.

Simon reappeared at that point, he and Mal supporting Jayne. "Was that River?" he asked worriedly.

Kaylee shook her head wordlessly.

"Okay," he said, realizing that there was a time and place for an explanation and this clearly wasn't it. "Let's get him in here," he said to Mal as they moved Jayne towards the couch. "I suspect he'll be around in a moment."

"Is something wrong?" Dr. Burk asked.

"Jayne's just had a bit of a shock," Mal explained as he and Simon dropped Jayne onto the couch. The mercenary's eyes flickered and he grunted, but he made no move to wake up.

"I heard screams," Dr. Burk continued, still looking worried.

"Doc, I ain't gonna lie t' ya, yer prob'ly gonna hear those a lot onboard this ship," Mal related. "We got two girls onboard who ain't quite right, and either o' them is liable t' start screamin' at the wrong look. Speakin' o' which, where'd they go?"

"I'll find 'em," Kaylee offered, glad for an excuse to get away from Dr. Burk and his eyes.

She disappeared as Jayne grunted again. "Jayne!" Mal yelled. "Jayne, wake up, ya big goon!"

Jayne opened one eye suspiciously and looked at Simon and Mal, who were standing over him. "What's goin' on?" he asked. Then he seemed to remember the events of the past few moments. "She wasn't serious, was she? Just a joke, right?"

Simon shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, ta ma de," Jayne muttered, dropping a large hand over his eyes. "Ain't good news… ain't even remotely good news."

"I think it's right sweet yer gonna have a baby," Mal said, even though he wasn't quite sure if that was true.

"Who's having a baby?" Inara asked as she appeared, blue gown flowing around her. She moved towards the cabinets and retrieved a foil packet of crisped-rice crackers, which she opened delicately, popping a cracker into her mouth.

"Ya remember Sergeant Flavez from Snozlund?" Mal replied, turning to face her.

She put another cracker into her mouth, chewed, swallowed. "Yes, I do. Who's the father?"

Jayne groaned.

"Not Jayne… oh. Congratulations," Inara said.

"I don't believe you've met Dr. Burk, 'Nara," Mal said. "Dr. Fred Burk, this is Inara."

"Pleased to meet you," Inara said, shaking Dr. Burk's hand. "What sort of work do you do?"

Dr. Burk was fairly blushing under the Companion's gaze. "Uhh… I'm a scientist. Molecule reproduction, genetic splicing, that sort of thing. All purely legitimate, all purely legal."

"How fascinating," Inara said. Mal had to give her credit; it sounded as though she was genuinely interested. "You're bound for Irving-Keene, is that right?"

Dr. Burk nodded. "That's right. Been living on St. Florin's for most of nine years now, but Irving-Keene is still my home base."

"Irving-Keene is a lovely place," Inara said. "I've been there a few times myself. Do you know the Reverend Father Peter-Paul Magellan? He's a close friend of mine."

"Can't say I do," Dr. Burk replied. "My family's not the religious sort, except for my wife. But she attends the Seventh Church of the Seven Saints."

"Oh," Inara said. "Well, welcome to Serenity."

With that, she took her foil packet of crackers and disappeared back to her shuttle.

"We gotta go t' Snozlund," Jayne managed to mumble, his hand still over his eyes. "Gotta get Jimena."

"Wait a tick," Mal said.

"Mal, I know it ain't a good idea, but, heck – it's my kid. We gotta go get her."

"And what, she's just gonna live on Serenity?"

"Seemed t' enjoy bein' here last time," Jayne muttered. "Maybe too much, I'm thinkin'."

Mal sighed. "I'll tell Wash t' set course fer Snozlund; we can pick up Jimena tomorrow and still make it t' Irving-Keene on time. That all right with ya, Doc?" he asked Dr. Burk.

"That sounds fine," Dr. Burk agreed. "I'm not in any hurry to get back to Irving-Keene as it is; I haven't waved my wife yet."

"Ya might wanna do that," Mal suggested.

"Yeah, she might have a surprise fer ya," Jayne grumbled. "A right gorram surprise…"