A/N: These two are my guilty pleasure. I have a habit of finding my two favorite characters in new shows and forcing them together. And that's when you get a little something like this. The timeline is during episode 10 (War Stories).

Fight/Flight

Jayne is the fight, Kaylee is the flight.

It had always been that way. Everyone else was a bit in between. But not them. They were the extremes. Kaylee couldn't even hold a gun without shaking, and Jayne felt naked without one.

That's why he was the one going with Zoe and Wash. Guns blazing, not worried about being hit, not even realizing that no money would come out of this. Did he even realize he was doing this for free?

Zoe stayed back, clinging to the wall behind Simon. She had her hand gripping the gun with almost all of her strength. Her muscles were rebelling. They shook and tried to make her drop the gun and run. The only thought that kept her in that room was saving the Captain, and having Simon in front of her.

He went in first, killing off men like he was flicking off fleas. A bullet grazed his arm and he cursed, but shot once more before Zoe stepped forward and cleared the hall. Jayne ignored the sting from the wound and continued forward, emptying bullets into the enemy.

The moment the men came around the corner, Sheppard started shooting kneecaps, and Kaylee found herself backing up. She gasped and nearly lost hold on her gun when Simon stepped forward to shoot as well. In a blur, the two men were barreling down the hall, leaving her alone. She saw the Alliance men coming and her courage failed. She stumbled back into Serenity and collapsed on the floor, heart beating wildly.

Jayne must have set off seven bullets in that guy. Zoe and Wash let loose just as many. The guy was riddled with holes and fell to his gravesite into the engine. The Captain was bloody, but alive. Jayne covered them as Zoe and Wash helped Mal back to the ship.

Kaylee sat there in shock at what River had just done. Closed her eyes and shot the three men, killing them. That look on her face was scary, paired with the words, "Nothing in the 'verse can stop me," was going to give her nightmares over the innocent looking girl.

As soon as they were all on Serenity, Wash ran to the bridge and Zoe and Simon took Mal to the infirmary. Everyone had come back bulletless when it came to wounds. Jayne wasn't going to make a big deal over his arm. When the Doc noticed, he'd let the kid patch him up.

Kaylee felt better for a moment when everyone came back safe…maybe alive is a better word. She was still shaken up and her legs weren't themselves, so she stayed in the cargo hall and sat instead of going with everyone to the infirmary to look after the Captain and make sure he would be okay. Simon knew what he was doing; Mal would be fine.

They found themselves alone.

Jayne might give her a hard time, and sure, his people skills could use fine tuning, but he wasn't completely stupid. Kaylee looked white as a ghost, and she was shaking. He would think she had gotten hit if there was any blood on her. There wasn't, but he still walked her way instead of taking the closer stairs. Taking a few steps up, he paused her hers and awkwardly patted her on the head.

She was surprised to say the least, but none the less thankful. Having a bit of attention on herself was good. She liked not being alone, in case River showed up, looking innocent. As Jayne slowed by her steps, she felt a lot like a dog when his head came down on her hair, but that's when she tilted her head upwards and noticed his arm and the trail of blood that had reached his elbow.

He took another step, and felt her grab his hand, which made his freeze for a moment before he realized she was using him to help herself up.

Once she was standing, she slapped her hands together and put on a faux smile. "I know where Simon keeps some extra med stuff," was all she said, slipping passed him on the stairs and waving at him to follow her.

He had nothing better to do, and it would beat dealing with the Doc, especially after what happened on Ariel, and followed the perky mechanic.

Fight or flight.

That was okay. Not everyone could be either extreme. Not everyone could handle it. It was fine for both of them. As opposite as the instincts were, maybe there was some reason why they had both ended up on Serenity, not just for the engine or the money.

Jayne is the fight, Kaylee is the flight.

A/N: Debating turning this into a Jayne/Kaylee set of one shots focusing on their relationship growing from this point on. Shall I?