Sacrifices
Friday, December 16, 2011
Inara reflects on her feelings about having Children and telling Mal.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 6441 RATING: 10.0 (PG) SERIES: FIREFLY
Title: Sacrifices
Author: 2x2
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set post BDM.
Characters: Mal/Inara
Author's Note: Woah! I seem to have drabbled, or something. Written for the Firefly Friday Challenge #001 - Childhood over on LJ, though I cheated a bit and it's really more Children. Something actually came to me though, so, I ain't complaining. Just seein' if I can still actually write something here :)
The truth was she had no real love of children.
She’d never been one to coo over babies; had no interest in holding them, and certainly no desire to have one of her own. She’d been adamant that she would never have children as far back as she could remember.
One of the advantages of having committed to the Guild so young was that there had been no expectation for her to get married or provide grandchildren. Some of her sisters had mourned that ‘loss’, she knew, but it hadn’t felt that way to her. As far as she was concerned, babies were an unwanted side effect of poorly planned intercourse and something she had no intention of ever experiencing.
And things had gone perfectly according to plan in that regard.
Until now.
Now, with Zoe’s little bundle of joy soon to join the crew, everything these days seemed to be about babies. What would they name the baby? What was the sex of the baby? Who would babysit the baby? Couldn’t she just not wait until she got to hold the baby?
And as Zoe’s pregnancy progressed and the topic of babies remained the main focus of the crew, the smiles and comments had inevitably started.
“When are you an’ the Captain gonna make one of your own?”
The first time Kaylee had asked her she’d been unprepared for the question, even though she’d known it would come eventually. Discomfited, she’d s
*Reads*
Normally when I think of her, I think it might be the other way around and she's unconsciously nesting in that shuttle of hers. In Our Mrs. Reynolds she snaps at Mal when he mentions children. Is that because she wants to have HIS children but doesn't think that will happen, or because he wants children and she doesn't? I could see it both ways.
I've been writing a bit with Charlie lately, which has helped rekindle the writing urge... well, I've had the urge for a long while now, but the muse hasn't been as cooperative. This morning all the elements seemed to be there :)
Also, I need to go pull out my Atlas for you! I keep forgetting!
Sacrifice, compromise... no matter how much you may love another person, and how similar you may be, no relationship can survive without a little of both, IMO. So I'm glad you like that point! :D
Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
@Byte I miss all the Mal/Inara fics that used to be written too :( I have never stopped wanting to write more, but the muse just hasn't been with me in forever. I'm really happy to have been able to write this. I can only hope that I'll be able to do some more
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Personally, I am of the stance that if the intended direction of Inara's character arc was she was dying of something nasty and trying to make the most of her remaining days, then I think she would be of two minds. She's against having children for the same reasons she would be against letting herself fall fully for Mal or try to have a relationship...but I think a part of her would be on-board with being a mother and lamenting her illness would rob her of any perceived opportunities to apply her lessons being a parental figure for Kaylee (and I would imagine River, to a lesser extent) to a child of her own.
Still, how you have presented Mal here - caring and understanding but not completely dismissive of his own desires - feels right for a version of Mal whose let some of the emotional armour fall away and is working on finding the right middle ground for being with Inara!
:D
I'm very very pleased you find my Mal feels right! Thank you!
@Amdobell I think Compromise often involves a little bit of sacrifice, IMO ;) And, yeah, it would be Kaylee, hehe :)
In turn, Mal would definitely choose her over no children with her.
Enjoyed reading.
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