Disclaimer: I owe it all to Joss.
Author's Note: Okay, so here's the next chapter in Fainting Spells. Hope y'all are enjoying it and I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed it or added it to their favorites or added it to their alerts. You all made me so happy. Remember that reviews and critiques are always welcome. Sorry it took so long. Sorry if the next one takes even longer, but its November now which means Nanowrimo. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Most Stubborn Man in the 'Verse
"Jayne, you got the mule loaded up? Don't wanta be caught unawares if Badger tries ta pull a fast one on us." Mal dictated, walking around the cargo bay giving petty orders while avoiding doing anything himself."Kaylee, that mule'll run, right? You patched her up all nice and pretty?"
"Pretty as she can be, Cap'n. But more importantly she'll hold ya." Kaylee flashed her optimistic smile as she wiped the grease off her brow and rubbed her stomach in a habitual way.
"Good. Doc, you're sister ready to go?"
"She is lucid today, but, Mal, I really must express once again the fact that my sister is not a weapon." Simon argued, though he knew it was futile. River had gone on almost every job since Miranda, and Mal hadn't forced her to go on a single one. It was her choice.
"The girl will be fine, da ge. Worry only increases susceptibility. Be aware." River's soprano voice emphasized as she came up behind the two men. "'Shoot to kill. Kick to hurt. Don't jump off the mule.' She remembers all the rules they taught her. 'It's okay to leave them to die.'"
"I'll vote for the no one's gonna die option. Why don't either of you trust the plan?" Mal said, oblivious to the fact that Jayne had began to complain about the fact that every time they tried to follow one of Mal's plans, someone ended up wounded. He was, however, aware that River had dissolved into a fit of giggles. Spreading her arms wide, the young girl spun around in dizzying circles, chanting "Ring around Serenity, nothing can catch me. I am the mother bird, I protect my herd."
"Did you say she was lucid today?" Mal questioned Simon, after watching this vomit-inducing activity for a few minutes.
"She…appeared to be lucid earlier, I don't understand—!"
"Oh, hell. I'm gonna be sick!" Inara, having just entered the cargo bay to this sickening scene, dashed back out the door holding one hand to her mouth and the other to her stomach. For once playing the role of the appropriately concerned and brave boyfriend, Mal ran up the stairs and followed her.
She had run into the shuttle that had previously been her's to relieve herself of her morning sickness. It had been her's before Mal had insisted that she quit her job as a Compassion and live in his bunk. He had been very insistent in his demands.
She had known Mal would become protective of her once she came back to live on his ship. It was obvious the way he felt towards her, and she reciprocated those feelings secretly. She had known the difficulties their complicated relationship would face. She had known it wouldn't be easy.
She hadn't known it was going to be impossible.
Looking back on it now with pleasure, Inara knew that she should have realized what falling in love with one of the most stubborn men in the 'verse would truly entail.
"That's it, 'Nara!" Mal had announced in his best Captain voice one day when they were together. The two of them were alone in her shuttle, with all of their clothes still on, something Mal considered impressive considering they were in a Companion's home. "It's time for you to retire."
"What?" She shrieked, jumping up from the couch they were seated on. "You can't be serious, Mal!"
"Of course I'm serious!" Mal exploded, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Mal! You have jobs about as often as I have clients, and I am not asking you to give up your life as a p—as a thief even though I do not wholeheartedly approve! Our relationship does not affect your work, and therefore, it should not affect mine." Sitting down, Inara prided herself on the logical argument she had just given Malcolm Reynolds.
"Yes, but do I go out and sexed by another girl every time I've gotta job?" Mal replied sharply.
"Mal, you cannot…oh. Oh." Inara repeated, thinking for a minute of what it must be like to be Mal in these situations.
Inara smiled briefly, thinking of how surprisingly easy it had been settling into life without her profession. Though Lord knows Mal never made it easier.
"'Nara? You all right, darling?" Mal called, running into the shuttle. Seeing her bended over a toilet retching, he moved to hold her hair and stroke her back, trying to figure out what the best thing to say right now was. "There, there." He said lamely, for loss of anything else to say.
"I blame you for this, Malcolm Reynolds. This is all your fault."
"All my fault? I seem to recollect you having some parttin this, too, 'Nara. I'm pretty sure I didn't knock you up by standin outside your door begging you to let me in. There was some cooperation there." Mal denied, slipping easily from awkward comforter to witty opponent. "Anyway, I've been…um…thinking…Verena."
"Verena." Inara repeated, an extremely annoyed, questioning look in her eyes as she finished puking, stood up straight and brushed herself off. Walking over to a desk drawer she withdrew something and sprayed a liquid several times in her mouth. Probably killing the stench.
"Verena. For our little girl. Verena. It just has a nice ring to it. River says it means truthful in Latin. Verena or Melina. You can choose." Mal looked like he couldn't decide whether it would be better to look embarrassed or proud over his outburst. He went for an awkward combination of both. Inara, suddenly feeling much better, broke into a wide smile over his uncertainty. He smiled nervously back, afraid of her reaction. She pulled him close to her and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Verena it is. If it happens to be a boy, it will be mighty unhappy, but Verena is a good name." She whispered to him, smiling.
Looking relieved he put his arms around her. "It won't be a boy. We can name her Verena Malcolm Reynolds." He kissed the top of her head and chuckled, holding her close.
Laughter in her countenance, she looked up at him and replied innocently and truthfully, "I will kill you if you name our child that."