Someone to Watch Over Me

PART 9

River walked into the mess very late one night. Well, it was late planet time, but since the ship had been in the black for the past three weeks, the crew was still on whatever time they wanted to be on. With assigned chores and with just plain being human, the crew generally all went to sleep and woke up around the same time, keeping regular meal times. But without orbiting a sun, night and day became flexible ideas that one could buy into if one felt like it.

"Hey, sweetie, why're you still up? Emi giving you trouble?" Kaylee asked.

"No." River held up the comm unit that Kaylee had altered, making it a baby monitor, "She's almost asleep, quiet. She's always quiet." She mumbled the last bit, but everyone still heard it.

Kaylee jumped up and wrapped an arm around her best friend. "Ah, honey, are you still upset about that?"

River shook her head quickly, "No, no, I love my baby just as she is, I will never try to change her, that's wrong." She sighed, "I just miss my friend that I got to know for 6 months. I just . . . miss my guardian angel."

Kaylee gave River a tight hug, which she returned gratefully.

"So, did you want something?" Mal broke through the sad mood, putting down his cards, and folding the hand to Simon.

"Yes," River pulled herself back together quickly, "I will need help getting Jayne home."

Simon looked up, "I thought he was with friends."

"He was, but now he's too drunk to walk back to the ship without assistance. He's too heavy for me. Would you and Simon come with me?"

"Sure, we'll drag that good-for-nothing back here."

River chose to ignore the dig, "Thank you. Kaylee, would you check in on Emi? She just ate and we shouldn't be gone too long."

"Of course, honey, I'd be happy to."

River handed Kaylee the monitor. "We should go."

"Do you know where he is, mei mei?" River sent Simon one of her looks. "Right, lead the way."

--

Ten minutes later, Simon and Mal stared at the whorehouse with their mouths hanging open while River walked right up to the door and knocked.

"Lil' witch, tell me he ain't in there."

"I thought he was visiting old friends."

"Well, for Jayne, I'm sure this counts, that bastard." Mal would have continued ranting, but at that moment the door opened.

"Can I help you?"

River smiled brightly at the older whore who stood there looking at her curiously. "Hi, I'm River, I'm here to collect my Jayne."

The whore's face cleared and she smiled down at River. "Oh good. I woulda let him sleep it off here, but I'm sure he'd rather his own bed. Come on in, sugar, he's upstairs. These your boys?" She flicked her eyes at the statues that were formerly the Captain and Simon.

"Today they're my mules. I'm certainly not carrying the big lug."

The whore laughed. "Well, then get in here." The woman stepped back into the entryway of the house.

River followed her into the doorway, then turned to look at her statues. "Come on little mules, I want to get back before Emi wakes up." She whistled softly and patted her leg.

Simon scowled, "I am not your pet, River." River just smiled like she knew better and went inside.

Mal looked at Simon, "I don't like this."

"Me either. I don't like where we are and I don't like that Jayne is so drunk. I mean, you've seen him drink, he has an incredibly high tolerance."

Mal was about to respond when they heard another whistle from inside the house. Simon sighed, "Come on, we did say we'd help her."

The two men stepped inside to find River and the older woman waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"This way," River beckoned cheerfully and they all went upstairs and into a large room that looked like it was used for private parties.

In the middle there was a table strewn with dozens of bottles and around it were strewn piles of pillows, lots of women, and Jayne. He was cuddled up and entangled with at least four of the women.

Simon and Mal glanced at River nervously, worried about what was about to happen. Simon wondered if the safe words still worked.

But River just tiptoed over to Jayne. Leaning over one of the women she gave Jayne a gentle kiss. Jayne's eyes fluttered and then opened.

After taking a moment to focus, he asked, "River?"

"Time to go home. I need my teddy bear, can't sleep without it."

Jayne shifted a little. "Join on in, you're all small, it'll be nice and cozy."

"I'd love to join in the snuggle pile, she looks so soft and warm." Simon choked. "But Emi will wake up."

Jayne moaned a bit as he extracted all his limbs from under the whores. He tried to sit up. "Um, my legs still there?"

"Yes."

"Ya sure?"

"Cap'n, Simon, time to do your part."

Simon was trying to figure out how to get around the whores to Jayne when Mal just picked up the one that was in the way and carried her to another pile of pillows where she curled up once more, never waking.

Mal turned around to see Simon's eyes on him, "What?"

"I don't think I would have ever thought of that."

Mal shrugged and they went over and between the two of them they – barely– got Jayne to his feet.

River turned to the older woman, "Tell them that he had a wonderful time. We'll be back in about 6 months. I won't be breast-feeding anymore, I'd love to come and join in the fun."

"That'd be great, hon', and here." She handed River a couple of captures, "He was showing off Emilia earlier, but he asked me to hold onto them so they wouldn't get hurt none. She's 

beautiful."

River beamed, "Thank you."

River gave her a hug and, beckoning to her pack mules, she went downstairs. They all walked back to Serenity, Jayne already passed out again.

--

The next morning, Jayne woke up alone. It took him a moment to realize that he was back on Serenity and something didn't quite add up in his memory. He remembered the party and he remembered the whiskey . . . and the rum. After that nothing.

He abruptly stopped trying to remember or use his brain at all when his head started to throb. He hadn't been this hung over for a long time. He prided himself on his high tolerance, he'd won many a drinking game against people who had underestimated him. So just how much did he drink last night to wake up feeling like this. He groaned.

Then he moaned as the door slid open and light fell across his face. He pulled a pillow over his head to block it out.

He heard a faint 'tsk tsk' sound and knew that River was looking down at him.

"The light is gone now." She whispered.

Jayne cautiously lifted the pillow and was relieved to see that she was telling the truth.

"Here, take these." She continued softly. She reached down and put three painkillers into his hand, then held out a glass of water.

The throbbing in his head got worse as he sat up enough to swallow the pills. As soon as they were down, he collapsed back onto the wonderfully soft mattress.

River rolled her eyes, but looked down fondly at Jayne. "I'm leaving this here." She refilled his water glass and put a pitcher down beside it on the night stand. "When you feel up to it, drink lots, ok?"

"Mhmm," Jayne grunted out, his eyes firmly closed once again. He smiled when he felt River place a soft kiss on his forehead followed by a cool cloth. He loved this woman, no lecture, no torture in his weakened state, just painkillers, water, and a wet cloth.

He heard the door slide open again, but this time the cloth protected his eyes from the light, and he let himself doze as the pills took effect.

River closed their door and walked up the stairs to the mess. When she stepped in the rest of the 

crew looked up at her and she sighed. She went over to Emilia in her high chair and gently pushed Simon out of the way. He was sweet to offer to feed her, but it looked like that last mouthful of carrot-like mashed protein was about to decorate Simon's crisp white shirt.

River sat down and gave Emilia a stern look. The baby looked back at her for a moment before she bravely swallowed the goop in her mouth. River smiled and gave her a kiss before rewarding her with some apple-flavored cereal O's.

Mal couldn't wait any longer and he cleared his throat to get River's attention.

She didn't look up at him, though, choosing to focus her attention on the baby food jar she was closing. After he cleared his throat a second time, River casually remarked, "I have some cough drops if your throat is bothering you, Cap'n."

"Gorramit, you know what's bothering me. I'm bothered that we had to go out in the middle of the night to pick up a falling down drunk Jayne from a whorehouse."

"Yes, I know you're bothered, but now you're just being bothersome. What is your point?" River finally looked up at him.

"I think I just made it. Jayne screwed up, what do you want me to do about it?"

Even though he was behind her, River could feel Simon nodding his agreement, willing to back up the captain. The women were watching with some bemusement. Kaylee could barely contain her giggles as she watched Simon take up what she called his 'puffed up' posture, ready to fight for his sister's rights.

Inara blew out a breath of frustration as she saw Mal preparing to protect the honor of the womenfolk once again, whether the women in question wanted him to or not. Zoe began to clear the table and decided that she would not be lending her support to the captain in this fight.

"I got a whole list of vile chores that he could do or I could confiscate his alcohol supply. Seeing as you're the wronged party, what do you want me to do?" Mal looked almost gleeful at the idea of inflicting River-sanctioned punishment on his miserable merc, so he was extremely disappointed by River's response.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Ya, but, nothing?"

River huffed, "Captain, I do not wish to punish Jayne because he did not do anything wrong."

Simon had stayed silent long enough, "Yes he did, he went to a whorehouse, got drunk, and didn't come home."

River just turned and said plainly, "All of which would have been fine, except I don't like to sleep without him. That's my problem, though, not his."

"Ya really ain't worried about Jayne spending the night with all those whores?" Mal had expected a reaction, what he didn't expect was to have Inara and Kaylee both yelling at him while River calmly untied Emilia's bib and wiped her mouth off.

"Cap'n! How can you even imply that? Jayne's been good for a long time now! He'd never hurt River!

"Even if you're thinking it, you certainly don't have to voice every thought that passes through your head, especially to River, and especially not when Emilia is in the room!"

Mal looked down at the table, trying to make it look like he wasn't bowing his head in shame. Simon stopped nodding agreement and pretended that he had never been on the punish-Jayne bandwagon, sitting down next to, but out of the eyeline of, Kaylee.

"Captain." River's voice quieted the other women. She picked up Emilia and put her on her hip, standing up, "I'm sorry that you have trouble trusting people, but I trust Jayne. Even if I didn't, he is at a distinct disadvantage with me being a reader. He is not stupid regardless of your meanspirited comments and he really is devoted in his own way to us."

She turned and started to walk out of the mess, but at the doorway, she paused and turned back. "And if he ever truly makes a mistake, I will be the one to punish him, not you." With a final sniff, she walked out.

Inara hid a grin behind her hand while Kaylee picked up a few dishes and took them over to Zoe at the sink to try to stop her fit of giggles. Zoe was doing the dishes a little too casually for it to be natural.

Mal and Simon just sat there trying to stop the blood from rushing to their faces. Simon recovered first, "Well, I suppose that's the last time I try to get River to go against Jayne. I should have remembered, as a child, she never did like other people messing with her things."

--

Jayne woke up again, feeling much better. His earlier trip to the bathroom followed by drinking most of water in the pitcher River had left had helped a lot with his vastly improved state.

Curious, he wondered what the soft bundle in his arms was. He lifted the now dry cloth and when he looked down he realized that Emilia was cuddled up next to him napping. Jayne stared 

for a long moment, still not quite over the fact that she was his. He had never had something be completely his before.

Growing up he had had to share everything, even his own mother, with his four older siblings and his father. All of his guns, while being his now, started out used. He didn't mind that though, because it meant that they all had stories and that he had put effort into earning every single one.

But Emilia, she was all his, bright, shiny, and new. He stroked one finger through her extremely soft hair and bent to kiss her forehead.

The sound of the door sliding open made him look up. River smiled at him and closed the door behind her, coming over to the bed.

"Hi." She whispered. "Feel better?"

"Um hum, much." He replied just as softly.

She bent down and gave him a kiss, "Good."

"How much longer does she have."

"I just put her down a few minutes ago and then went to the bathroom, so we have at least another half an hour."

"Wanna join?"

River smiled and nodded and then crawled up the bed, fitting between the wall and the baby, who squirmed a tiny bit. With a kiss to her cheek, the baby quieted once more.

"How'd I get home?" Now was as good a time as any to fill in the missing pieces of last night.

"Simon and Mal carried you."

"Oh, I'm sure they enjoyed that a whole bunch."

"Mhmm, we are not speaking to them, just to warn you."

"Sounds good to me. What'd they do?"

"They questioned my judgment and my Bluejay. And they did it in front of Emi."

"You'd think they'd know better by now."

"You really would wouldn't you."

"Ya, you'd think they'd get that if I screwed up, you'd be the one that would kick my ass."

River nuzzled into his neck and said sweetly, "Twice."

Sort of The End


AN: I know this isn't really an ending, exactly. That's because I had to break up the stories, it's now a trilogy! There's this part with pregnant River and baby Emi, then the next story that's all Zoe, angsty with her hitting rock bottom, and finally the conclusion with Emi as a child. Hope you enjoy, I love all of you guys!