8/1/10

Jayne/Simon

Prompt: After the events of Ariel, Simon is determined to get Jayne on his side, so he does everything in his power to win him over.

Simon picked at his protein in the mess hall. River had refused to eat, turning over chairs and knocking over any unlucky moveable object that was left on the counters in her flight. He rubbed at his eyes with his free hand, mulling over the events at Ariel. He had always known Jayne wasn't to be trusted, the new problem, or rather, the ongoing struggle was how to become something more than just hindering cargo to the mercenary.

But how?

He continued his absent minded picking when Jayne stepped into the mess hall. Simon looked up and smiled, trying to be endearing, but Jayne wouldn't meet his eyes. He quickly grabbed whatever it was he had come in for (a spork, it looked like) and quickly skirted out.

Simon furrowed his brows. It was a little disconcerting that he found a sick sort of pleasure that the other felt uncomfortable around him (It wasn't more than he deserved) but if he was going to make sure Ariel never repeated itself, he'd have to make Jayne need him—want him there.

Once again, the age old question—How?

His chair scraped the metal flooring as he scooted back, picking up his protein and tossing it in the waste with more force than necessary. Simon made his way to his quarters, trying to figure out what exactly made Jayne so nervous. So far, Simon hadn't revealed the fact that he knew Jayne had sold out River and himself, but why was Jayne feeling guilty? Surely he didn't actually care? But to feel guilt is to have an emotional attachment. He smiled, encouraged. "It's a start."

Simon couldn't help torturing Jayne just a little longer, but eventually, after the rescue of Mal, Simon had Jayne on his operating table.

Jayne startled to wakefulness—or at least would have if he weren't medically paralyzed.

"What did you do to me?" The undertone of fear was obvious in his voice.

"I've just given you a sedative so you don't aggravate your spine, it'll wear off in a couple hours." He fiddled with some of his medical instruments, watching Jayne look around the room hurriedly out of the corner of his eye. Simon turned and bent over Jayne, close enough to feel his warm, ragged breath on his face. "How much did you sell River and me out for?"

Jayne's eyes widened, no doubt shocked that Simon had known about the real going ons at Ariel. Simon continued in an attempt to alleviate Jayne's stress, "No matter how many times you try to sell us out, just know that on my operating table, you'll always be safe."

Surprised shock quickly morphed to confusion, "W-why?"

"…You're part of the crew. That practically makes us family." He left the room as Jayne called out for help and stepped past River. He smiled as her words echoed down the empty hall.

"Also, I can kill you with my brain."

Jayne was finally acting like normal, despicable Jayne again by the next morning. Phase two of Simon's attachment plan was going into effect.

The next hurdle was figuring out what, exactly, phase two entailed.

Who better to ask than Mal?

The captain sat alone on the bridge slicing an apple with his knife, as he was customary to do, reading up on a new file. Simon approached the captain awkwardly stalling for how best to broach the subject. He opened his mouth a few times but lacked the courage to stumble around for the right wording.

Mal's back was turned to him, but regardless, turned and acknowledged the young doctor.

"You got som'in ta say or are you jus' gonna stand there flappin' that pretty mouth o' yours like a fish outta water?"

"W-well…" He stopped at the stern look Mal shot his way over his shoulder and cleared his throat.

Mal turned back to his reading material, "You know, the feds just raised the bounty on yours and River's heads 'gain."

Simon leaped at the chance, "That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering how it was that you've been able to keep Jayne's loyalty over the years."

Mal shifted in his seat.

"So that the events at Ariel don't repeat themselves…?" Simon prompted

"First off, only reason I was able to get out of a sticky situation was because I was able to offer Jayne a better deal than what he was cust'mary to."

Simon's brow furrowed. The information was of absolutely no use to him. While he got a cut of the profits from jobs the crew took, those opportunities were steadily becoming fewer and what he had amassed certainly couldn't be called a fortune.

Simon couldn't keep his dismay from showing on his face. "So the only way to Jayne is money?"

"I think the easiest an' mos' likely way to get Jayne on yer side is a pocketful o' credits."

"Then, how else can I keep him on my side?"

"You've gotta be worth stickin' around for… mean somethan', you know?"

"But how?"

Mal pierced the young doctor with a meaningful look. "I think you can figure that one out on yer own. Turns out you've got some brains in that skull o' yours. Time to put 'em to work." He put serenity on Auto-pilot then stood and made his exit leaving Simon alone once more with his frustration. He clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists that quivered.

What was Mal playing at? He had already deduced everything Mal had told him… and what the hell was that look for!

Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He'd have to be convincing, completely infallible to suspicion. Bat-shit-insane was an understatement, but if Simon knew one thing about Jayne, it was that the man had a flavor for crazy.

It was time to pay Inara a visit.