DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters or Serenity ..all belongs to Joss Whedon…Yada ydada …Fox Blabla…..
NOTES: SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY!!! Ashes on my head!!! Please forgive me for not updating! Had Computer trouble ….the thing kind of developed a mind of it´s own and work had just been crazy!! I promise to not let you wait this long for the next Chapter. Originally Niska´s coup was part of this but then it got too long and I needed to cut it in two …so here is more …Jayne and River …….I think you can wait for Desaster to strike until next chapter, right???
Sp please bear with me a little longer!
The quotes in the first part are taken from Sarah Brightman´s beautiful song " Deliver me"
Enjoy and let me know if you have suggestions!!
THANX!!!!
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
What are they doing?"
Mal asked calmly. Only seconds ago had he joined Kaylee and Zoë on the catwalk overlooking the cargo-bay.
" I believe they said they were training, Sir." Zoë answered without looking at him.
On the floor beneath them River and Jayne were circling each other like sharks. A feral grin was spread widely over the mercenary´s features while River´s face betrayed nothing.
" Well, ain´t that something…" Mal said, trying to ignore Kaylee´s delighted giggle as she watched the two of them.
" What kind of training exactly would that be?"
" Man to man combat, by the looks of it."
Mal turned his head to see the preacher standing a little way off, leaning against the railing with a very amused but worried look on his face.
Mal lifted an eyebrow at Zoë.
" Lil´River Tam…….trying to beat Jayne Cobb? He´s twice her size!" he thought about it for a moment. But then again …River had taken on a whole ship filled with Reavers……
" Sounds like something she would do…."
Mal stepped closer to Zoë.
" How´s she doin´?"
Zoe turned towards him with a serious face.
" I can´t really say ,Sir. It looks like she´s not the only one home. I think she´s got help…kind of a team effort." It took him a moment to catch her drift.
"Well…..then we should see if they are as good as we think….."
" That´s what I´m afraid of, Sir!"
" Me too!"
Deliver me
Out of my sadness
Deliver me
From all of the madness
Jayne had known he was in trouble the moment she had entered cargo-bay in shorts and a comfortable shirt. He had watched her warm up and stretch her arms and legs, trying to concentrate on something …anything else.
But seeing her like that, seeing her slender legs not hidden under some skirt or dress was quite distracting. Sure they were pale and white, but she sure moved them very gracefully ….even when she was trying to drop-kick him in the head. And he remembered all too well how smooth and warm the skin of those legs felt when he moved his fingers over them.
Her unruly hair was tied into a long ponytail that fell almost down to her waist and swayed behind her when she moved.
" C´mon girl…." He had said when they had started.
" Show me you can dance."
Deliver me
Courage to guide me
Deliver me
Strength from inside me
River moved her upper body slightly forward, trying to give her breathing a steady rhythm.
Her naked feet made no sound on the metal floor on the deck; each step was light and well calculated.
She had breathed deep before they had started almost half an hour ago, reaching inside, calling out.
The other one had approached like a child, spying through a half opened door.
The thought had made River smile.
" Do you wanna play?"
In her mind River cold see the thing cock it´s head to the side like a curious, but careful bird.
" Do you want me to?"
" He´s bigger than me, stronger than me and his reach is twice mine ……what do you think?"
The thing had laughed, a strange sound…….the mimics of real laughter that sounded a little stale and unnatural, but it did not scare River anymore.
" We can take him, little sister!"
Now the thing was looking out through her eyes as though they were windows. River was in full control, accepting guidance and pointers from her mirror-image. She knew her reactions would be quicker if she gave it more access…..but she wanted to see what she could
do……what the alliance had taught her…..
" How…"
" We´ll use his strength against him. We are smaller, quicker ……and he is watching your legs too much to really keep his mind on things."
The dry remark made River smile.
All of my life I was in hiding
Wishing there was someone just like you
Now that you're here,
Now that I´ve found you
I know you're the one to pull me through
With a sound that came low from his throat Jayne launched herself at her. It seemed as though
he was going to slam into her body with all his weight. A split second before he reached her, River stepped aside. As Jayne´s hands grabbed thin air, River whirled her body around in one swift motion. Her leg came up in a blur of speed, fluent like she was indeed dancing, and the heel of her foot hit the mercenary square in the back. It sent him sprawling on the floor, cursing under his breath.
Lying on the floor, Jayne rolled onto his back to find River standing over him, extending a hand to help him up with a triumphant grin on her face.
There was a fine sheen of sweat on her pretty face.
Jayne couldn´t help but laugh, while he kicked her legs from under her. With a surprised screech River felt her legs buckle from under her, making her land in a heap on his chest.
" That was not fair!" she yelled, laughing.
" Oh….is that right?" he said, grabbing her around the waist.
" Asking that gorram´thing in your head for help is?"
" She is very good!"
Mal nodded his assent to Zoë, still a little puzzled.
" That she is …..but right now I´m not too sure if this whole thing we just saw is really training, or………?"
"Foreplay…" A gentle voice said smoothly.
Mal turned around to find Inara standing behind them.
For a moment they just stared at each other.
" And on that note, I´m delighted to inform you, that we´ll be arriving on Remus in less than two hours!"
Inara gave him another taunting look before she turned to leave again, passing Simon on the catwalk.
River and Jayne were still wrestling on the floor, laughing.
" I think I earned those leather pants!" River told him, breathing heavily.
Jayne cocked an eyebrow at her.
" Soon as we touch down on that gorram rock…..and then you can feel free to strut around in that getup as long as you like!"
" Oh you´d like that, wouldn´t you…."
" You bet I do, lil´girl!"
" Oh ..look how happy they are!" Kaylee said dreamily. Mal gave her an odd look and turned back to Zoë.
" Frightening thought, really…to say the least!"He mumbled under his breath.
His first officer gave him a dry smile indicating that she knew exactly what he meant.
Now that Mal thought about it, he couldn´t really remember whether he had ever seen the grumpy mercenary in such a good mood ever since their first encounter.
Simon frowned at him.
" Do they have to do that?" he asked in a very resigned tone that hinted at the fact that he could obviously do nothing but tolerate his sister´s relationship, but was still very far away from accepting it.
" I can´t believe she´d let this …..this man -ape touch her!" Simon added unhappily while observing the two struggling on the floor.
Mal followed his glance. At this point of time Malcolm Reynolds was pretty sure that Jayne had done a lot more than simply touching River, but he thought it wise to keep that thought to himself.
" Don´t know, doctor…….from what I can tell Jayne has done nothing but right by your sister. More so than I ever thought him capable of …..believe me it´s a very scary thought even for me……taking into consideration that I was the one who hired him! But his feelings for your sister seem nothing if not genuine. "
Simon pursed his lips.
" He´s gonna buy her pants!" Kaylee chimed in without even looking their way.
Mal gave the doctor another odd glance.
" I can´t help myself, doctor, but I think I like Jayne a whole lot better since he´s in love with your sister!"
" Please don´t say that!" Simon cringed at the very thought of love between his little sister and Jayne.
" You think he´s in love with her?"
"Hate to be the one to break it to you, doctor. But if Jayne Cobb is willing to spent money on your sister he´s gotta be in love!"
" So …what do you think?"
River stepped out of the changing room she had been hiding in for the last ten minutes, trying on several different pairs of leather trousers.
Jayne was leaning against the wall, leisurely gnawing on an apple, clearly amused by the very uncomfortable looks the salespeople were giving him. They had had been eyeing him suspiciously since they had entered the place, probably wondering if he was planning on robbing them.
The fact that he had entered the shop with a girl River´s age, who was quite obviously not his daughter or in any other way a blood relative of his, didn´t seem to go over too well either.
He knew River had noticed, but she just smiled wickedly, pretending not to notice a thing. Least of all that the women, who had been assisting her in finding the right size for her leather pants, were all kind of appalled by the idea of her belonging to the massive mercenary.
Jayne swallowed the piece of apple in his mouth, trying not to choke.
The pants fit perfectly in all the right places. The black leather rode low on her slim hips, accentuating her tiny waist. Jayne forced himself not to look at her butt.
" Well, well Miss Tam, this could be dangerous…."
River looked at him.
" I think they fit…or are they too tight?"
Jayne shook his head, grinning. There sure as hell was not a thing as "too tight" when it came to her and those ruddin´pants!
" Nope…, but this might lead to a whole lotta killing!"
The saleslady nearest to them gave a little squeak and bustled away. Jayne chuckled under his breath.
" What are you talking about?" River asked nonplussed. In her mind the other thing lifted it´s head curiously at the mention of killing.
Jayne´s face split in an even wider grin. He walked over to her, carefully laying a hand on her now leather clad hip.
" Sparrow……I was talking about all the necks I´ll have to wring for staring at you wearin´these pants once we enter that ruddin´ bar, where we´re supposed to meet the crew later."
River could hear the salesladies whispering harshly, but she did not care. He thought she was pretty. That thought alone warmed her heart.
She stepped closer, craning her neck to look into his face.
" You think?"
" Can´t have no scallywag staring at my girl!"
River laughed at that, raising her eyebrows.
" You´re a scallywag yourself, if I recall correctly…."
Jayne snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close to lean in for a kiss.
" Am I now?"
" Just ask my brother!" she whispered into his lips.
Jayne kissed her quickly. Stepping back, he ripped the price tag off the pants.
" Lemme just take care of that and then…."
" And then?"
" I´ll take you some place nice."
River raised her eyebrows in a playful manner.
" You know places that are nice?"
" You better watch your gorram´mouth!" he laughed, sauntering off to pay for the leather trousers and the white shirt she hade chosen. It made him crazy that she almost looked exactly like in that dream…….
If they did not get out of that store fast, he might do something that would really set these shopkeepers off.
River watched him walk across the shop in that swagger she had gotten used to so quickly.
One of the women who had helped her earlier appeared next to her, giving River a slightly nervous glance. This was one of the better shops on Remus, River realized, even though it did not compare to the expensive places her parents used to frequent………back home.
Remus really was better off than any world they had visited so far…….amazing if you took into consideration that it was quite far away from the core.
The woman next to her cleared her throat.
" Yes?"
" Oh ..nothing.." she said pleasantly but with a fake smile.
" It´s just …..me and my friends were wondering how you ended up with this …interesting man."
River´s eyes narrowed slightly.
" Pure dumb luck!"
Jayne waved at her across the room.
" All taken care of, sparrow……now let´s get those pretty legs moving! Spending a ruddin´ fortune on pants made me a very hungry man!"
" Yes..I can see he is quite a catch…"
River pursed her lips, shooting the saleslady a bold look.
" Oh this is nothing…." she said sweetly. "….. you should see him with his clothes off!"
Next ….Niska …..I promise!!
