A/N: The guilt has been killing me! I have finally got my act together and written another chapter, here it is – enjoy :D
For the first time in the last few months they were between jobs, leaving the crew to enjoy some down time. It also meant Mal had time to check up on everybody – every single person that stepped onto his ship became his responsibility, something he didn't take lightly. He did his best to keep close tabs on all his crew, so he knew that Simon and Kaylee had finally begun hitting the sheets together, that Wash was at Zoe again about them getting off Serenity for a holiday, and he didn't need to cop another earful from the Doc to notice the odd…friendship that had sprung up between Jayne and his lil 'tross.
After Jayne got knifed by that back-berth Hwen Dan who had tried to lift their cargo right out from under them, River had stuck to the man like white on rice, despite the sidelong glances from the rest of the crew and getting a whole lot of crap about it from her over-protective brother. Even now, while Jayne sat at the kitchen table dismantling and cleaning his guns River sat on the floor next to him quietly sketching in a blank notepad. Every so often she would silently hand her pencil up to Jayne, who without complaint would put down whatever was in his hand, pull out his knife, and with a few quick movements put a sharp point on her pencil before handing it back to her, and returning his attention back to the equipment spread out in front of him.
To say Mal was a might puzzled would have been putting it lightly. The gruff merc hadn't taken such a shine to a female in all the time Mal had known him; sure he had liked to hit on Inara, occasionally tussle with Zoe, and secretly indulged Kaylee's playfulness, but never had he seen the man act the part of momma bear over a mere slip of a girl before. Lost in thought, Mal continued to sit and brood until River suddenly lifted her head and met his gaze. She tilted her head slightly while staring intently for a few moments before dropping her gaze and picking up her things from the floor. Fluidly rising from the floor, she ran her hand lightly across Jayne's forearm before turning without a word and gracefully dancing off to who-knows-where.
Grabbing the opportunity that River had created for him, Mal moved over to the table and sat down, well out of Jayne's swing zone in case things got heated. Not one to dance around an issue, Mal cut straight to the point "Simons got some concerns 'bout you and my co-pilot, and I have to say I've got some of my own."
Jayne glared at him "Should'a known that Chwen sissy-boy woulda sic'd you on me rather than say nothing to my face."
Mal's tone sharpened "I'm captain of this boat – every single one of my crews business is MY business. That includes you, and no amount of grousing is gunna change that."
Jayne sighed, deciding he may as well confide in the captain if he wanted any peace in the next century. Besides, having Mal see things from his point of view sure would go a long way towards making his life easier with the other crew members, as he had learned in the past. "That's just it Mal – you got the whole ruttin' crew to look after. Zoe's got Wash, Wash and Kaylee have got the ship, Simons got River and now Kaylee. Who've I got? Ain't nobody on this boat gunna go missing me if I end up in a hole after the next job. Maybe I want someone to look out for aside from myself, somebody who can look out for me – what's so gorram wrong with that?"
Mal sat in stunned silence, trying to come up with a good answer. Jayne was paid to be tough, so Mal couldn't say he'd ever given much thought to the mercs emotional state. Pondering the matter some, he decided that there weren't really no problem; Jayne seemed to be treating the girl respectfully enough, and if he stepped out of line River would be the first to kick his ass back to the Yong Chwen Mien dried up moon he had sprung from. The only one who seemed bothered was Simon, which was understandable considering the hell he'd gone through to get her back, but Mal had no doubt that the more romantically inclined Kaylee would soon talk him 'round.
Glad that he'd rationalized the situation to his satisfaction, Mal stood up and patted him on the shoulder "Quite right, nothing true awful bout that at all." Leaving it at that, Mal strode out of the room in search of a quiet spot to ruminate on the events of the last hour, while Jayne sat slack-jawed, not quite believing how easily the conversation had gone.
