No Power in the "Verse
Disclaimer: Joss is Boss! He owns theses fine upstanding characters I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
A/N: This is the first story I've written in a long time and I hope it's as good as my friends think. Please r & r! That way I'll know if I should keep posting.
Thunk, thunk. "Hush little weights", said River quietly, "don't want to wake the others." After Miranda and the events on Mr. Universe's moon River's mind had begun to clear. She and Simon believed it was due to having recovered the memory of Miranda's horrors and so purging some of the trauma. An unfortunate side effect of having a clearer mind was remembering more and more about the Academy and what had happened to her there. And so River had taken to using physical activity as a way of soothing her mind and exhausting her body so she could sleep. Tonight, as usual, she had come down to the cargo bay after everyone had gone to sleep. She adjusted the weights and began her repetitions. Secure in the knowledge that everyone was asleep she focused her thoughts on her breathing and the effort required to keep the barbell moving steadily up and down.
However, while River was absorbed in her activities she failed to feel a mind stirring. Jayne had heard the noise of River adjusting the weights and had come out of his bunk to investigate. After what had happened with Early there was no way Jayne was gonna be left out of the action again.
Jayne had never been a complicated man. It was one of the reasons River liked him so much. The others' thoughts were constantly filled with conflict and layers of swirling loyalties and desires. With Zoë it had been a constant tug-of-war between her loyalty to the Captain and her devotion to her husband. Now it was a chasm of grief over his loss and joy over the life growing inside her. Mal and Inara were on a seesaw of emotions about one another, never certain. Even Simon was conflicted; his attentions were divided between Kaylee and his sister. It was almost as if he were afraid that if he stopped worrying about her for an instant she would disappear again.
All the voices and emotions, they were very loud. All of their thoughts constantly swirling and changing made empirical study impossible. Like the pebbles on Lilac, her first job with the crew, completely random and going by too fast to be counted. That was why River enjoyed spending time around Jayne. His thoughts were usually much more straightforward. They centered on things like getting paid and what was for breakfast. Up until recently that is.
When Jayne reached the cargo bay he first noticed that she had only taken 20 lbs off the weights from the way he had left them earlier that evening. The next thing he saw was the barbell beginning to slip from her hands. Without thinking he raced over to the bench and put his hands under the bar giving River a chance to recover her grip. She then completed her set as Jayne spotted her.
Oddly, River seemed no where near as surprised to see him standing there helping her as Jayne was to find himself there at all. He wondered just when his instinctual response had changed from watching her drop the 100+ lbs and laughing his ass off to rushing to her aid.
"Mr. Universe's moon" came River's voice softly. "When the girl ran into the room full of Reavers to give the others a chance and then reemerged unhurt and alive."
"What?!" Jayne asked surprised out of his thoughts.
"The answer to his question. His attitude towards her changed then."
"Gorramit girl! I told you to stay out of my head!"
"Can't help it if his thoughts are so loud she can't block them out." River said calmly sitting up. "This girl finds his thoughts comforting. They go in straight lines. Not like the others. No swirls or conflicts. Less confusing when Jayne is next to her."
"Humph. I ain't no comfort girl. I'm a mean scary merc. And what are you doing in here anyway? If I hadn't come in here you mighta cracked your moonbrain open."
"She has taken to using the weights and other physical activities as measure to calm herself at night when the others are asleep. Memories keep her awake and she is restless. The events in the Maidenhead and on Mr. Universe's Moon demonstrated that her physical skills have begun to deteriorate. Her reflexes have slowed by 4.6 and her strength has decreased by 5.3 from what they were when she was rescued from the Academy. This is not acceptable to the girl. Although she does not wish to be used by the Blue Hands as a weapon, her fighting abilities are of use to her Serenity family and so she wishes to maintain them as well as possible given the lack of the Academy facilities."
"4.6…well lifting weights by yourself in the middle of the gorram night ain't gonna help none." Jayne stood for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. He understood the desire to remain in top fighting condition. Hell, in their line of work it weren't just a desire it was survival. On any given job Zoë and Mal and everyone else's lives could be in his hands. Having another person around with similar abilities could only aid them in their fight to stay alive and one step ahead of their enemies. But the girl was right; the weights on the ship were good for keeping a basic level of strength, but to keep a body and mind in fighting trim required more.
"He could help her." Jayne started as the sound of River's voice broke his train of thought. "They could help each other to remain in good physical condition. They could also trade knowledge." Jayne snorted. "What kinda knowledge you think we could trade?" Jayne quickly made a mental list of the things he knew best; food, fighting, guns, knives, women…wait that couldn't be what she wanted could it? River shook her head and her tangled hair flew around her face. "She meant she could teach Jayne more advanced and complex fighting and he could teach her about weapons. The other is not something she is ready to pursue. Her mind must be clearer for that."
"I gotta think on it a minute," said Jayne as he absentmindedly sat at the end of the bench. "It does make a certain crazy sense but what about your brother and Mal? They're libel to throw me out the airlock if they think I've hurt you." "Won't tell them," River replied. "Train at night so no one knows." Nodding, Jayne stood up. "Ok crazy, we'll try it. See ya here tomorrow night after everyone has gone to their bunks."