Surprise
Chapter 1
I expanded my mind to cover the ship, seeing where all the people were. Mal and Zoe had gone planet-side to meet with Badger. Simon was out getting more of his useless drugs for me-little did he know that in the past six months we've been traveling on Serenity the drugs had only made me crazy, my consciousness lost so I could do little more than keep the illusions cast on myself. Kaylee was with Inara in her shuttle, and Jayne was in the Mess Hall cleaning his girls. I wouldn't be bothered in my room, and I was relieved to be able to drop the illusions cast to rest and save energy for a few minutes until Inara or Kaylee came to check on me for Simon. I was absolutely exhausted. I had been casting illusion upon illusion for the past six months, catching a bit of rest here and there. Sometimes I threw fits, throwing things and screaming, just to get them to leave me alone. However, no matter how exhausted I was, when I looked into the icy blue eyes of my daughter I knew it was all worth it.
I knew I wouldn't be able to care for the five week old infant for long, and if Simon kept giving me the meds it might poison my baby through my milk. But I also knew that once I told Simon would take over care of her and Mal might even kick us off the ship. I was torn between escaping planet-side where I knew my baby would be safe or staying in my home, Serenity, where it was practically guaranteed my baby would get hurt. In the end, I knew Serenity was where we belonged, no matter the danger. I cast the illusion up again and fell into a restless sleep. I only slept to pass the time, as holding up such a complex illusion gave me no rest, even in my sleep. I had fitful dreams of the Academy, flashes of the blue hands, the mind-breakers, the beautiful blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty who convinced me he was there to help me, to save me, only to brutally force my purity to him and implant me with his spawn. When the mind-breakers found out, they pushed harder and harder, not knowing that the blue hands had planned it all along.
My baby's soft cries woke me hours later. I brought her from her makeshift crib to my bed, laid down, and let her suckle until she was full. I thought of my hunger while she was still inside of me and the numerous times Jayne or Wash had caught me in one of my midnight excursions to the kitchens. I knew Wash would accept my baby, tell her fantastical stories about dinosaurs on Earth-that-was. Kaylee would, too, as she was a playful spirit. She was the sun; she always burned brightly and happily, and a baby would make her even brighter. Inara would like her, and when she was older she would enjoy teaching her, as Mal would call it, 'whoring arts.' Jayne would find it as more reason to kick to moon-brain off of the ship, although he may come to accept her; even teach her about weapons. Mal wouldn't like it at all; he would most likely kick us off his Serenity. I just hoped I could get them to understand, as mine and my baby's life depended on them, and I had no idea what I would do if we weren't allowed on Serenity.
I was exhausted, way too exhausted to do anything; I couldn't cast out my senses, I couldn't keep up the illusion; so I fell asleep with my baby curled up next to me, my first restful sleep in a long time. After a blissful, dreamless sleep I woke up slowly. I felt refreshed, truly awake for the first time over six months. Since I was awake, I immediately started to cast out my senses, only to be blocked by a confusing wall; the man-called-Jayne was standing next to me, his emotions so overpowering that I couldn't focus on anything. His words were the biggest shock of all.
"What in the gorram hell is that!?!?!"