Disclaimer: See chapter one.

A/N: Just a reminder – still not romance.

Brompton Cocktail

Chapter Ten

The remaining time spent on Persephone passed far too slowly for Jayne's taste, but he managed to keep himself busy. Kaylee worked her little heart out in repairing the ship's artificial gravity drive, and finished a whole day ahead of when she had estimated. All the needed restocking had been done, and Zoë lived up to her word – now they had a licensed pilot, it only took her a couple of hours of poking around to land a nice, legal cargo of mobile cortex connections and other assorted computer bits to take to Jiangyin which would pay a pretty sum on delivery, too. The only thing bugging Jayne about it all was the three weeks it was going to take to get there.

And bug him it did. To the point that he'd managed to pass his irritation off onto the rest of the crew, one by one. With all his girls clean enough to eat with and his knives in a similar state, he didn't have anything to do – not with the gorram medications messing up his balance all the damn time. His energy kept on building and his mouth just wouldn't stop running and he'd even managed to cause Kaylee to burst into tears during dinner one night, which he felt bad about, but try as he might, the edginess wearing on him wasn't something he could help. The only member of the crew who actively tried not to get insulted by his behavior was Zoë, and that was simply because she figured it was just an odd, but very Jayne, way of dealing with his rapidly-approaching death.

Everything came to a head one evening, still five nights out from landfall. They'd just finished dinner and Oriole was gathering the dishes. During the time since leaving Persephone, Oriole's wardrobe had tended to loose skirts that were just past knee-length and thick, baggy sweaters. On this day, however, she was wearing a pair of dungarees only slightly looser than the skin-tight suit she'd worn that first day, paired with a soft blue t-shirt. Simon and Kaylee were trying to talk the captain into playing cards while Zoë watched and River picked at the last few shreds of food on her plate. The only warning anyone got was River's voice saying, "I wouldn't do that," before the noisy clatter of wooden and metal dishes being dropped startled everyone out of their chairs.

Immediately following was a hiss of pain, and Jayne's voice repeating 'ow, ow, ow,' over and over again. By the time their eyes managed to comprehend what they were seeing, Oriole was speaking. "Grab my ass again, Cobb, and I'll cut off your jiba and feed it to you." One of her hands was clutching his right ear, the other had his elbow and was pushing it up his back towards his shoulder blades. "Dong ma?"

"Yes! Whatever ya want, Oriole. Sorry an' it ain't gonna happen again!"

Oriole let go of him. "Good," she said, her voice approaching Kaylee's normal level of cheerfulness. Jayne got to his feet and fled to his bunk. The rest of the crew just stared at Oriole. "What?" she asked. "I have eight brothers. Most of them are bigger than he is," she jerked a thumb in the direction Jayne had gone.

While the others laughed in disbelief, River slipped away from the galley and down to her room. Being what she was, none of the crew had any secrets from her, they'd all but shouted them at her every day since she woke up from the cryo box. For example, she knew the tight black catsuit that Oriole wore when looking for a job was so that she had an easy way to tell when a crew wasn't worth signing up with – particularly if the men she talked to spoke to her breasts and not her face, and doubly-so if anyone actually tried touching her. She knew what nightmares haunted the captain and how they subtly differed from similar memories Zoë had. She even, unwillingly, knew all of Kaylee's erogenous zones – something that even her brother had a hard time keeping straight. So she also knew what was weighing on Jayne's mind, and it wasn't what Zoë thought.

He's still in denial, lying to himself that he's accepted it. Sure, he's accepted that he was going to die a long time ago, the first time he got shot. He's even prayed for death on more than one occasion. But this isn't something he's ever really thought about. He'd always figured that he would wind up catching a bullet or a knife in the back. Since the catalyzer blew, he's even entertained the thought that he might die in some sort of accident. But sickness? That's never once crossed his mind, save for idle thoughts on illness being how the old and weak die. He's not yet realized that disease doesn't care how old or strong you are and that it is what will kill him.

The thoughts flitted through her mind in a matter of microseconds. She dug through the various cubbies in her quarters, looking for a particular cardboard box. She'd purchased it shortly after Miranda, then abruptly forgot she even had it.

No, it's not Kurohaima that has him acting this way. It's pre-fight jitters. Normally, he doesn't get enough notice prior to a fight for him to get nervous, and what little nervous energy builds beforehand is always burned off during the event itself. This time, though, he's got weeks of notice and a marked lack of ability to burn off that energy in constructive ways. The pentazonithal gives him dizzy spells while the amoxytrosin keeps him from feeling hungry, which adds to the lightheadedness, so he can't trust that he won't cause himself any harm if he takes his energy to his weights or the punching bag. He really ought to make himself eat more. It would help.

She finally located the box she was looking for at the back of one of the drawers under her bunk. Grasping it firmly with both hands, she hurried back to the galley where Zoë, Mal, Kaylee, and Simon were now playing cards while Oriole washed up the dinner dishes. None of them paid her any mind as she passed through the room, towards the crew's quarters.

Jayne was pacing his bunk like a caged tiger and making himself dizzy in the process since it was only four long strides from one end of his bunk to the other. A tentative knock on his hatch halted his steps and he had to reach for the corner of his desk because that gorram medication kicked his sense of balance again. "Ta shi kaifang de," he called out once the room quit spinning. River dropped lightly into the room, not bothering to use the ladder at all. Jayne scowled at her. "What the hell you want, moony?"

She cocked her head to one side and blinked at him. "I was wrong."

Jayne sighed and thought about telling her to just get out, but she'd managed to poke his curiosity. "What about? Thought you was the genius. Didn't think a genius could be wrong."

"One's comparative level of intelligence means little in the grand scheme of things," River replied. Jayne took that to mean that even smart folk could be wrong about things. River smiled at him. "You're not an onion. Even though you can make a person cry and your appeal is rather an acquired taste, your inside layers are bigger than your outside layers."

Jayne had no idea what she was talking about. Not uncommon an occurrence for anyone flying on Serenity. "Shen me niao?"

She let out a small laugh. "You need a distraction." She held up the box she was carrying. "I provide."

The side of the box showed a crowded underwater scene of brightly-colored fish and coral and other things Jayne couldn't even begin to name. The Chinese characters were a little easier to decipher. Universe's Largest Jigsaw Puzzle! 50,000 Pieces! Days of Fun for the Whole Family! Under that, in smaller writing, were the dimensions of the finished puzzle. 30 feet by 10 feet. Jayne let out a low whistle. "Impressive distraction, but I ain't one for puzzles, girl. Now, gundan. Go on," he made a shooing motion in her direction. "Git."

She ignored the command. "But you are good with puzzles. Every time you acquire a new gun, you can break it down for cleaning and reassemble it without need of its manual. A jigsaw would be even easier, as it only builds in two directions, not three."

I got the feelin' she ain't gonna let go of this one. Jayne sighed.

River smirked at him. "I will wait for you in the common area."

As she disappeared up his ladder, Jayne shook his head in exasperation. Gorram ruttin' moonbrained –

"Don't finish that thought!" River's voice echoed towards him.

Several hours later, the card game in the galley wound to a close. Kaylee stretched and yawned. "I'm gonna check the engines, then turn in for the night," she said, heading for the door. She got as far as the corridor that branched off and lead down to the infirmary and common area before halting in her steps. She could hear music. That ain't what River usually dances to. She likes that fancy music, like was at the ball Mal took me to. What was playing was the music she knew best. Homestyle, with plenty of guitar and fiddle. She rushed through her check of the engines then hurried down the side-passage. She came to a dead stop not even partway down the stairs.

River was resting on her stomach, her ankles crossed and hovering over her rear end, toes twitching to the beat of the song. Her hands were deftly picking up piece after piece of what seemed to be a puzzle and fitting them into place. Not six feet away, Jayne sat on the floor, a pile of puzzle pieces mounded next to him. His eyes were closed and he hummed along to the music while his hands dipped into the pile of pieces and came up with one that fit the growing piece of finished puzzle laid out face-down on the coffee table.

Kaylee's mouth dropped open, then she sprinted back to the galley. "Guys! Guys! Ya gotta come see this!"

"What?" Mal asked, only a little concerned. "My ship about to blow up or somethin'?"

Kaylee just shook her head and latched on to his arm with one hand and Simon's arm with the other, dragging them behind her. Amused, Zoë followed. Oriole was already on the bridge, making her own last-minute checks of the systems before retiring for the night.

"Now that's disturbing on a whole host of levels," Simon muttered on seeing what Kaylee had wanted them to look at.

"Can't say as I disagree none, doc," Mal replied with a melodramatic shiver to punctuate the comment.

Standing behind them, Zoë just rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm for one impressed." Three faces turned to stare at the first mate like she'd just grown a third eyeball. "What? Like any of you can put together a jigsaw without lookin'. Besides, they're bein' quiet and they ain't in anyone's way. I say leave 'em be." She turned and headed back to the galley, leaving the captain, doctor, and mechanic gaping after her.

A/N2: I'm a little uneasy with my portrayal of River. I know that fanon seems to have it that she speaks in third person, but I don't know why – she didn't really do that much on either the show or the movie.

Anyway, remember to lemme know what y'all're thinkin'. Thanks.