Pinky Swear

1.0Red

Jayne had been enjoying a nice bowl of soup for a midnight snack, when a slim figure with long hair glided into the room, her head bowed.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Jayne determined to ignore the crazy girl in the room. Since Miranda, she had pretty much kept to herself on the bridge, and so long as she didn't pick a knife up in his direction, Jayne could deal.

He heard the faucet turn on, but didn't look over his shoulder. He slurped his soup loudly, finishing off the noodles he had saved for last.

When the sound of running water didn't end, Jayne frowned a little. He picked up his bowl and walked over to the sink.

"Yer wastin' water," he told the girl, watching as she buried her hands in the forming pool of soapy water. She remained silent save for a soft grunt of frustration.

Feeling an edge of nervousness, Jayne set his bowl on the table, crossing his arms. "What ya got there, Crazy?"

"It won't come off," River murmured, sliding her hands out of the water. She set the scrubber for dishes next to the sink.

Jayne watched as pink water dripped down her arm as she wiped at the streaks of tears on her cheeks.

"What the—" he stopped himself, his jaw tight. "Yer hands are rubbed raw."

A quivering sigh escaped her lips. "It stains hers digits, the creases and wrinkles. It won't fade away…it just seeps into her pores." Her voice cracked painfully.

"Aw hell," Jayne grumbled. "Yer gonna need special stuff for yer hands." He reached behind him for a towel, tossing it to the girl.

It just hit her chest and fluttered to the ground. She didn't even register the gesture, just kept staring at her hands.

"How can I continue my activities if I leave stains everywhere? Captain would not be pleased if I left a mess. Equations must remain indisputably balanced," she muttered shaking her head.

"There's nothin' on yer hands, girl. Just yer feng-le brain talkin'," Jayne told her. "Now, go git the doc for some ointment stuff."

"But there is," she whispered fearfully. "Ghosts coat my hands red, red, red."

Jayne paused. "Blood?" He heard himself asking.

"Sustains the body," River murmured. "Layers upon layers, so hard to distinguish where it all begins."

"'s just Reaver blood," Jayne tried, "don't matter none. They is too gone after…well, ya know."

"No…" River's voice was so quiet; Jayne had to struggle to hear it. "Triggers render the girl helpless to implications and instructions planted inside the bruised brain. She…I…did not will it so. But they did."

Jayne felt his whole body tense. Here it was, the dirty truth nobody, especially not the Captain or her brother, wanted to know. She had killed before. She really was dangerous.

"Oh!" River gasped, meeting Jayne's face with wet eyes. "I broke it! Oh no. Certain pieces need to stay confined to their boxes in dusty rooms. I violated this decree."

Muttering, she continued, "Broken doll with leaks everywhere. Now the missing bits have voice and sound…Oh, I opened the box." Her fingers danced around her face in nervousness.

Jayne stood there, his mouth slight open. He had his chance, right now. He could get the prissy doc and his feng-le sister off the boat. Right now.

He opened his mouth to holler for Mal, but something stopped him. He couldn't tell what it was, but staring down at her big, luminous whiskey eyes shifted something.

"Don't be sayin' this stuff, dong ma?" Jayne told her fiercely. "An' this con-vo-sation never happened."

"I comprehend," River blinked slowly. "Just a dusty room," she nodded. "Pinky swear?" She held up her raw little digit.

Jayne scoffed, but held up his larger, calloused one. "Yeah, pinky swear."

They linked fingers and River leaned forward, biting her thumb. "Your turn."

Rolling his eyes at the childish move, he complied, biting his thumb too. He immediately stepped back, letting go of her finger, not sure how he felt about touching any bit of River.

"Go ta yer room," he told her. "Doc'd be madder than hell if he knew ya were wanderin' 'round at night."

River drew back, her posture straightening. "He'll never know. Quiet as a church mouse."

Jayne nodded jerkily. "Right." He watched as she gracefully moved, nearly hovering over the floor. This made them even. She had saved him, and the others, and he kept her secret. All evened out.

"Hey," he called.

River paused, glancing over her shoulder.

Before he could stop the gorram stupid words coming out, he said, "I've killed folk an' I'm alright. So… y'll be fine, someday an' all."

River smiled faintly. "Someday over the rainbow."