Serenity, having landed on Persephone and dropping her load, headed off to the rim for some much needed R&R.
Jayne wonders around the ship trying not to wince with each step. Gorram Badger, had to ruttin shoot me. Why does everyone always shoot at us? I knew flyin with Mal was going to be an adventure but I'm so full of lead I coulda set off metal detectors in the Earth that was. As he hobbles into the dinning area to grab a snack a thoughts crossed his usually one-track mind, 'I aught to go see what Kaylee is doing.' huh? Wonder where that came from, normally when I'm feelin wonky I head to my bunk for some alone time with Vera or Lex. He sits down and takes out an apple and proceeds to cut into it, just one of the things he had learned from cap'n Mal.
Mal himself was making his way to 'Naras little piece of the ship to have a talk with her. As he enters the pleasantly perfumed room he breaths in deeply like he did every time he took a trip to visit the ships ambassador. "Knock, knock, knock." he calls out.
"Mal" 'Nara responds, "How can I help you?" A slight edge to her voice, put there to both warn him off and keep him on his toes. Really she enjoyed their 'little talks' more than she ever let on.
"Just stopping by to see how your.. Um.. Time at Persephone went." He muttered uncomfortably. He truly cared about his friend, but didn't like that her position as companion took her into danger. "Any men beg you to stay with them? You know 'save the whore' syndrome?"
"I know you just didn't call me what I think you did!" She raises her eyebrow at him.
"Me?" He points to himself "Never. That's not how I feel at all. If you want to keep being a who…companion then more power to ya." Choking back his typically antagonistic comment. "I worry about you is all." His eyes flick to hers, a warm smile curves at his lips.
"Oh is that all, Mal? Just making sure I want to keep coming back to your bucket of bolts." She taunts back. Trying to get a rise out of him, her last defense. "Don't worry, I'll come back to this ship. After all I have Kaylee and River to protect from you men." She laughs hoping he with take this at face value rather than the cover for why she really comes back.
"So it is just for the ladies you come back for is it? Not someone else. Someone who makes you laugh and who knows you better than…" He stammers "never mind. Nice talking to you as always 'Nara" He turns towards the door and starts to head back to the main part of the ship.
She considers reaching for his shoulder to stop him but decides against it. Stopping would do nothing to help either one of them and could potentially ruin her lively-hood it not her life. As she watches him go a single tear traces a trail down her cheek.
In the cockpit Wash and Zoë are catching a few moments of alone time. Zoë sits on Wash's lap smiling at something he just said. "But honey I don't know if the Caption will lets us have the time off. I think he is just on his way to another score."
"Zoë, we need this time together. I love you and I want to spend the next few days wrapped in your arms." Wash whispers in her ear.
Zoë chuckles deep in her throat and kisses her husband. "I'll talk to him about it, but I make no promises."
Mal walks in at that exact moment. "Talk to who, about what?"
"Caption," his first mate starts "the crew needs time away from the stress of work. We just pulled down a big score." Mal stands with his arms crossed tapping his foot. "I want to spend more than 30 min with my husband. You know Kaylee wants to get to know Simon better and River would prolly like to dance in the woods of something. Jayne, well Jayne can get some target practice in if we can't find a lady for him nearby." she finishes lamely.
Mal looks at them both hard and breaks into a huge smile. "I agree wholeheartedly. We need time away from bein chased and shot at." He wonders how 'Nara will take it. She depended on a heavy populated place for work. Maybe she could find someone out on the edge who wanted to book the whole week. He shivered at the thought, not wanting her to be with any guy let alone the same one for a week.
Kaylee walks into the kitchen looking for a little snack and finds Jayne there finishing up his apple. She smiles and watches him take the final few bites, clearly enjoying the fruit. She clears her throat to let him know she is there. "Hiya Jayne," her ever bouncy and perky voice sang "do you think Cap will really let us have a whole week off?"
"Kaylee girl I have no doubt that's exactly what he wants to happen but you know Mal like I do. Do you think it will last a week?" He gave her a rare real smile that reached all the way to his eyes. "You know one of us will go and do something ruttin stupid, prolly me, and we will have to hightail it out of there fasten en Simon when the Alliance is chasin him." He laughed forgetting her feelings for the doctor.
"Jayne Cobb you take that last bit back right this instant!" Her tiny ineffectual fist pulled back like she was fixin to punch the big merc. "I ain't got to listen to you bein mean to Simon. He saved my life they first day we met him."
"Yeah but only after he was promised a place on the ship, not to mention he was also the reason you was shot." Jayne volleyed back.
Kaylee stopped short all of a sudden running out of steam, he was right and what was more he sounded like he cared about it when she was shot. She thought, and not for the first time that something was up with Jayne. That he was thinking about more than the next score or the next woman he could get to share his bed or about Vera. "You are right Jayne. That still doesn't give you the right to gripe about him. Since that day he has been nothing but professional towards me." She looks into Jayne's eyes and as much as she wanted to say different she couldn't. Simon didn't look on her like she wanted him to.
Seeing how much that cost her to say Jayne took Kaylee in his arms and held her close breathing in the scent of her; lavender, soap and engine grease. "I know how you wish that was different Kaylee, I wish to Hades that I could make his see you differently. You deserve a man who wants to be with you in everyway. Someone to kiss and sex you up every night. Someone who could listen to you talk for hours. Gorramit you need a man who will love you 8 ways from Sunday and back again. You deserve so much more than what we got here." Jayne finished happy she couldn't see his face.
That was a big speech from the big man, Kaylee didn't know he had it in him. She was touched that he felt that way about her. Stunned to find she felt safe in his arms and that she loved the way he covered her in manliness. She smiled into his chest and hugged him back, snuggling in closer. "Why thank you Jayne," she said " I'm, well I don't know what I am after that little speech but I liked it."
River, standing just outside the door stopped short and 'listens' to what is happening in the minds of her shipmates. She is happy for them, also she wants to start dinner. She walks into the room startling the two from their embrace. Jayne looked like he wanted to kill her and Kaylee looked flushed.
"Um, I guess we should start dinner then." Kaylee turned to River and the two went to the pantry. Kaylee turning back to look at Jayne as she did so. His eyes were dark and he clearly didn't want to talk anymore at the moment. Jayne left the room and went to find Mal or maybe Wash, he would have talked to Book about it but they had dropped him off a month ago.