Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did the show would still be on.
Authors notes: Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, my muse left me for a while, and been having wrist problems. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And thank you to everyone who has followed this story, and who has reviewed it, you don't know how much it means to me. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. If anyone has any requests as to see anything, go ahead and send me a message. Also may be writing another Rayne fanfiction soon, based on a roleplay.
"Captain, have you noticed that Jayne is being…well a bit different lately?" Simon asked as he sat in the co-pilots chair, looking out into the black with Mal.
Mal looked over at the doctor, his hands never leaving the helm, "Weird in wha' way Doc? You think somethin' is wrong wit' my Merc?" he asked, thinking something was medically wrong with the wall of muscle named Jayne.
Simon shook his head, "I don't know, he hasn't insult River in a few days now, and it is starting to worry me. Usually by now they have threatened to kill each other." Simon said, his body slumped in the chair he was in, his eyes hard dark circles under them. He had been working around the clock for the past few days, ever since he found out Kaylee was pregnant. And of course the ball on Sunshine which was Kaylee, had told everyone the moment she had found out. However Simon had been doing everything to somehow make the engine room a bit safer, for the baby's sake as well as Kaylee's.
Mal looked at the worn out doctor, and seemed to smirk, it was his own damned fault for knockin' up the mechanic of the ship. He did wonder why the hell Jayne and River weren't trying to tear each other's throats out lately. It wasn't like them, but he didn't really want to jinx it, with the two of them getting along, it might mean that missions would go smoother. That and non-angry gun men on his boat were always a good thing.
However they didn't have much time to enjoy it, as they were heading towards Persephone, Badger had waved, and said he had a small job for them to do, and he that he wanted it done as soon as possible. Mal didn't like being ordered around by the short little man, but they hadn't had a job in a while, and the could use the cash for supplies. They hadn't been too far out when they first got the Wave, and it was during the night cycle, as Mal decided to fly all night to get there on time. At the rate he was going, they should be there by mid morning.
The doctor and the Captain seemed to sit in silence, it wasn't something they tried to break, they had come to a mutual understanding, not always having to break the still of the air with nonsense words. Each man was lost in thought, the black not seeming so cold as the ship purred beneath them. However sounds of laughter seemed to carry from the cargo bay, as it seemed Kaylee and River were playing jacks yet again, anything to keep them busy. River however seemed to keep looking back to Jayne's weight bench, remembering a few nights before. He hadn't approached River for a few days, and it seemed to eat at her. He would just disappear as soon as she entered a room, as soon as she could, and she started to worry that she did something wrong. However she didn't mention it to anyone, however much it seemed to hurt her. She had become more quiet, more withdrawn from everyone. She had been doing so well, and she just tried to stay in her room, though Kaylee had dragged her out that day. "So c'mon River! Tell me wha's eatin' ya!" Kaylee demanded to know. She had been tired of seeing River mope around, "If ya don' tell me, I'll tell Simon 'bout this." she warned her.
However the young Reader stayed silent, her eyes had been darker, and her hair, well lanky, and just seemed to lay there, almost as if she had regressed back to when Simon rescued her from the Academy. River had even been eating less, and it worried Kaylee. "Riv, I don' wanna tell Simon, bu' if ya don' tell me wha's wrong, I will." she assured her.
River didn't even really care. She was broken anyway, that was Jayne had gone back to ignoring her. He had only been pitying her, nothing more. It meant nothing to him, she was just a broken toy he had thrown to the ground. For some reason, it hurt her more thinking like that, than she thought it would.
Kaylee sighed and got up, making sure to be careful, as Simon had been on her ass lately about being careful for the babies sake. She wandered around, trying to see if she could find Simon in the infirmary, but he wasn't there. So she wandered towards the galley, and he wasn't even there, though eternally, she was thankful for that. She walked up towards the cockpit, thinking Mal would know where the Doctor was, and was shocked to see Simon was there with the Captain, that wasn't something she expected. However she walked over to Simon, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Simon, you might' wanna check on River, she's been actin' odd." she whispered to him.
Simon looked up at Kaylee, worry in his eyes. "Not again…" he muttered as he stood up. He looked at Kaylee, with a gentle smile as he kissed her cheek. "Thank you, why don't you sit up here with the Captain, talk about the new parts Serenity needs." he said with a grin. Kaylee's eyes lit up as she sat down. Mal looked at Simon with a bit of a glare. But said nothing as Kaylee started to ramble on about how Serenity needed some new parts. However the Captain would never say it, right now he would end up ordering them just to keep the mechanic happy. He didn't want the doctor breathing down his neck because 'stress was not good for the baby.'
Simon walked towards the galley, only to see a certain muscle bound mercenary sitting there, cleaning his firearms as usual. Simon watched him for a moment, and then left the room, heading to find his little sister. "River?" he called out as he walked back.
Jayne didn't even look up, even though he could hear the concern in the doctor's voice. He had been avoiding the Reader lately, as he felt…well odd around her. He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to. He didn't like that feeling, he felt venerable, and Jayne Cobb hated that feeling. Not in all his years working in the black, or men who would kill you for just a couple of copper, he never felt that way. Yet lately he had. It scared him to be honest. So he had been avoiding her, leaving the room as soon as possible whenever she had entered it. Most of the time even after leaving the room, he felt dizzy. He had been friendly lately with her, thinking that maybe they had overcome the hatred which used to be there, and would be able to be comfortable at least. However this came up, and all he wanted now was for that feeling to go away.
Hell, some would say he was going soft since he was in his thirties now, though only thirty-two. Mercenaries didn't live long out there, and he was nearing the end of what he considered would be his life span in his work. Though he was pretty sure working for Mal might squeeze out a few more years in that. He had been living this way since he had left home at the age of seventeen, and hadn't gone home since. He had a falling out with his family a long time ago, and truth be told, he really only contacted them to send money back for Mattie's meds, and a little letter stating basically that he was still alive. He knew he should write them a bit more often, maybe wave them, he hadn't seen Mattie since he was just a tike, only a few years older then Henry. However he could never bring himself to do it, the years hadn't been all that good to him mentally. And he didn't want old memories brought up about why he left. His siblings and his parents had been getting along well without him, so he didn't want to mess all that up by contacting them more now.
However before he could think much more, there was a crash towards the cargo bay, and a shout from Simon. Jayne's ears perked up, and as usual, he reached instinctively for a gun, though realized, they were still up in the black, Mal would of known if someone boarded the ship. Maybe the doctor just had something fall on him or something. However he found himself getting up and heading that way to check on him anyway. He could hear everything moving towards the infirmary, and his steps slowed, as he could hear Simon screaming, "Mei mei! It's going to help you calm down, please just take it." he said.
The sight through the windows for the infirmary was one to behold. Simon seemed to have a bruise blooming on the side of his face, and he was a wreck, almost as if he had been thrown into a wall. However if River had been having one of her fits again, he thought that it was likely.
"She said no!" River screamed at her brother, as she seemed to keep close to the corner of the room. She had been doing so well, though the crew had still been expecting her to lapse back into things like this. The meds never held out long. Her senses were alert, and her eyes were darting around, as if trying to see what she could use as a weapon if it came to that.
Simon was in shock, his body seemed to be shaking from the pain, and the fact River had not had a fit like this in a long time. However the boot steps near the door, and a sarcastic voice from the door way. "So th' lil' ta mógui is at it 'gain?" the crude mercenary asked as he watched the scene with his cold blue eyes. Both River and Simon seemed to freeze.
Simon glared at the taller male, "Well if you are there, why not help me, instead of just watching this you ape." he snarled. He wasn't in the mood for Jayne's usual antics.
However to his shock Jayne did move, "Ya, wha'ever." he said as he went to get River, hold her down so the doctor could inject her with medicine again or whatever he did to calm her down when talking didn't work. However he hadn't expected the boot to the mouth as he got closer. The sheer force of it caused him to fall backwards, hitting his head against the metal of the infirmary floor. The pain flared up, and his mouth filled with blood pretty quickly, as he had bitten his tongue hard. He rolled over for a moment, spitting the copper tasting liquid out of his mouth, as his eyes seemed to ice over.
"Th' fuck!?" he roared as he pushed himself back up to his feet, by this time more of the crew had come down, though Kaylee had been forced to stay up in the cockpit. Mal watched as his hired gun spit out a mouth full of blood, and had been about to step in when River seemed to scream.
"Ni zhège yúchun de húndàn!" she yelled glaring at Jayne as he stood there. The words seemed to echo around the room as everyone froze. "You are the reason she is like this!" she yelled as she went to lunge for Jayne again, who was quick enough to avoid it and grabbed her, one of his big hands encircling her wrists, at least restraining her from punching him or anyone else. Everyone's eyes were on the two of them, as River seemed to struggle trying to get her hands free, only Jayne tightened his grip every time she tried.
"Mal! I could us' a bit o' help in here!" Jayne yelled as River seemed to then notice that her feet were free, and was about to start kicking at the one holding her, yet Mal grabbed her, by the legs, and both Jayne and Mal carried her over to the bed in the infirmary, holding her down as she seemed to buck and try to free herself. However Simon darted forward, and strapped her down, to restrain her. Jayne and Mal both let her go, as Simon busied himself with getting the medicine in her. Everyone relaxed as River's thrashing seemed to slow down, and her eyes went blank, the medicine was working at least.
However something still plagued Mal, and he looked at Jayne, "What in the hell is goin' on here?" he asked, as Jayne seemed to try and stop the bleeding from his tongue, "Why is River blamin' you for what happened to her?" he asked, his eyes narrowing a bit.
"How th' hell should I know?" he snapped, his eyes glaring at the Captain, he wasn't in the mood to talk, his tongue was bleeding, and it felt like he had a cracked tooth from that kick. Simon was still fusing over his sister, so he wouldn't get it looked at for a bit, and this was the time Mal decided to question Jayne, not a good idea.
"Well you two were getting' along for a while, wha' happened?" Reynolds pressed, his eyes watching for any reactions. Though he didn't see any which would cause alarm.
"Jus' was that, bein' friendly, nuthin' more." Jayne said as he looked at Mal, his mouth was still bleeding pretty bad, and the pain was there, only Jayne was pushing it back. However that conversation was cut short by the sound of Simon clearing his throat.
"Jayne, sit down on the couch, so I can take a look. You have been spitting up quite a bit of blood." he said motioning towards the sitting room. Jayne listened, if only for a excuse to get away from Mal, that and Simon knew better than that Jayne did anything to River which made her crazy. He sat down heavily as Simon brought out his medical bag. He looked around, noticing the deep cut to Jayne's tongue, and also the cracked tooth. He sighed and gave him a general numbing medicine for that, at least until he got the things for his tooth, and stood up. He peeled off his gloves, though as Jayne went to stand, he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Can I talk to you a bit first?" he asked.
Jayne looked at Simon, a bit of shock in his eyes as they never really went out of their way to try and talk to each other, but nodded, relaxing back into the couch. Simon sat down next to the older man, watching him from the corner of his eyes. Something caught his eyes which shocked him.
Jayne was watching the infirmary, with something which one would usually call worry, though not for himself. "Tell me sumthin' Doc, why you thin' she got tha' bad?" he asked. He could feel that vulnerable feeling again deep in him, but with the sissified Core-boy next to him, he didn't really care about it.
"Truthfully, I don't know. She hasn't been having nightmares of anything, it could be that her medicine has finally stopped working. Or it could be that she is under some form of stress." Simon said as he was deep in thought. He hadn't expected her to suddenly snap like she had, she had been doing so well, and now she was strapped down in the infirmary. He hated putting needles in his sister, yet if he had to, he would.
Jayne suddenly had a idea on why it happened. They had been spending time together, and then he went and started to ignore her. Had it really upset her that bad? Was River actually right, and he was the cause of her crazy fit this time. He placed his face in his hands, "Gorammit." he muttered. He stood up and went into the cargo bay, looking at the weight set, remembering when River had come down there when he had been smoking. How happy she seemed to look, and the feeling of having someone who could understand someone like him. And knowing that he threw that away like a child with a toy which had lost it's shine. Now he really felt like a screw-up. Even more of one than he had been fifteen years ago, when he felt home after a fight with his father, when he decided to quit working in the mine. He had a few scars from then too, though he never talked about it. He had quit school at a young age, since Mattie was sick, just so he could help with the money issues. However it had built up and he exploded at his father, and he had ran off that night, taking the first ship out of there.
Now all he could think of, was his mother's face when him and his father had been shouting, and the fear on his younger siblings faces. He felt horrid, and now with the light throb from his mouth, all he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts. And maybe even try to figure out a way to make up for acting the way he had, but that was still eluding him even as he stayed in the cargo bay, thinking about it way after everyone else had been asleep.
Translations:
ta mógui: she devil
Ni zhège yúchun de húndàn: You stupid bastard