A/N - Thankyou all so much for your lovely reviews! Glad to know I'm getting it right so far! Here is the eagerly awaited second chapter! ENJOY!
Chapter 2
How was it possible? When did it happen that the merc Jayne Cobb had turned into the sap with a girl's name hankerin' after Moonbrain? Jayne just couldn't bring himself to do it, on Ariel. He had looked into those dark eyes of hers, after them hun-dans double crossed him, and he felt this dragon rise up inside of him, driving him on. He had to bust them out. He couldn't let her go back to the "Two by two, hands of blue". His little cool-off in the airlock and chat with Mal hadn't been necessary. Jayne was guilt-wracked enough.
It was still a bit of a surprise though, when he woke up in the infirmary after the second run-in with Mal's so-called "wife", to find Simon looking down on him with a strange look in his eyes.
"Can you move your legs?" Simon asked casually.
"-Ey're naw movin'!", Jayne exclaimed incoherently.
"I gave you something to knock out your motor functions so you wouldn't wrench your spine when you came to. It should wear off in about half an hour." After this mere formality, Simon moved on to what he really wanted to talk about. " How much did they offer you to sell out River on Ariel?"
"-At's crazy talk," Jayne replied.
" Well then let's talk crazy."
Jayne looked around himself as best he could when he was paralysed. "Anybody there?" he called hopefully. Not a soul around. "Figures." he muttered.
Simon spoke again, " You're in a dangerous line of work - odds are you'll be under my knife often, and I want you to understand one thing very well. No matter what you say, do or plot, no matter how you come down on us, I will never harm you. You're on this table, you're safe." With that, Simon left.
River poked her head around the infirmary door. "Also," she said in an innocent voice with a significant look, "I can kill you with my brain." It was worth it, River thought, just to watch the look of terror, the chemical reaction which releases the hormones which caused the muscles in his eyes and jaw to take on that mask.
Gorram that girl for makin' him wanna wet his britches at the same time as wantin' to rip off hers. River smiled as she walked away, having heard that last thought of his.