DISCLAIMER: I never said I owned anything so ……PLEASE don´t sue me for my complete and utter devotion to this show!

NOTES: YES , Yes …I´m going as fast as I can here!!!!!! And I try to write longer chapters ….I´ll be a good girl, I promise!!

Thanks again for your nice feedback! …it definitely makes me write faster!!

LINGER

River didn´t hear him chuckle so much as she felt the rumble in his chest.

She looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

" What ?"

" You know, I´ll never get tired of hearing that…..but I still hate it that you somehow manage to find new, sneaky ways to make me do what you want….Like that time in the gorram´ shuttle when you gave me that fancy knife of yours."

River nodded, biting her lip.

" You just straight out told me to kiss you."

" That is nothing like this you big oaf!" She squealed mockingly, pushing away from him.

Jayne just laughed and grabbed her upper arms to make sure she didn´t get away.

" Oh …you ruddin´ well know it is!"

" You wanted to kiss me so badly and you know it!" Finally she managed to slip from his grip. Trying to look superior she flung her hair over her shoulder and moved back to her bed, sitting down in a huff.

" I know it, Jayne Cobb,  because I can read it in your dirty mind!" River pointed an accusing finger at the mercenary in a manner that managed to be both teasing and sulking at the same time.

" Don´t you dare  pretend ….you never needed to be tricked into anything you did not want to do!"

Jayne couldn´t help but flash her  an evil smile before he grew a little more serious just by looking at her. Mal was right, they sometimes forgot how young she was, he sometimes forgot …..

Sure, he had never been a man with many scruples and he wasn´t going to loose sleep over taking her into his bed. After all River had not been dragged to his bunk by her hair or against her will……and it didn´t seem as though she´d start protestin´ or complainin´ anytime soon. Still……the way she sat there, huddled into a thick blanket, she looked very young, so very dainty and pale.

" I wasn´t suppose to want that." Jayne ground out before he even realized that he was talking. River looked at him, sensing the change.

" Sometimes I´m not even sure if I´m supposed to want this now….."

River lifted a brow.

" Oh !That'd be a shame…." She whispered in a tone of voice so low that it took him a moment to comprehend that the words were indeed coming from her. She sounded husky, even sultry as she let the blanket slide from her shoulders.

" You´re so good at it!"

Jayne threw his head back and laughed. The gorram´girl …..trust her to make him feel better, bringing him back from the edge in no time with some little retort or such.

" I knew there was some ruddin´ reason for you to keep me around!" he growled.

River rubbed her palms against each other, feeling the warmth coming back to her fingertips ever so slowly.

" You want to protect me …I knew that even before I heard you and Mal talking today!"

She said with a hesitant smile.

" I can do things, but don´t ever think that your wanting to protect me will make me angry. It´s what makes me feel save enough to do all these things."

Jayne nodded slowly and came towards her with a mischievous grin.

" I think I wanna kiss you now."

" I was counting on that!"

He leaned down the same moment she rose from where she sat on the bed, meeting him half way until he cradled her face in his big hands.

It didn´t surprise Jayne that she felt still cold to the touch, but he could feel the warmth of her body returning  slowly. Her lips felt cool, but soft and inviting as always.

The gorram' girl was going to be the death of him one day!

River sighed, stretching her body for one luxurious moment. Slipping back into her own mind was getting easier and easier every time. She could actually feel the warm, lush grass underneath her. Hear the birds and the bumblebees around her and the frogs in the pond. She could feel the sun on her skin and smell the flowers. Only the faint purring sound was new.

River opened her eyes to find herself on the green in the vicinity of the silvery lake where she had seen the other thing for the first time. It was still a beautiful, idyllic sight to behold, full of tranquillity and peace.

River turned to the right to find an ginger tiger-cat curled up next to her, purring in a very contented way.

" Oh …how cute!" River cooed as she got to her feet. The cat opened her eyes lazily, giving her a tiny meow. It took its time to stretch before it moved towards her in order to rub its furry side along River´s legs. The purring grew louder still.

 " What a cute kitty you are!" River smiled at the cat, even though her tone of voice had taken up a more ironic note. She leaned down as if to pet it, but instead the smile fell from her lips as she looked into the cat's dark eyes.

" Aw …you turned yourself into a cat, how sweet…..cut it out!"

As though somebody had turned a switch the purring stopped. The cat sat down on it´s hind legs, looking at River in an almost annoyed fashion. Despite its appearance it didn´t look like a cat at all anymore. Without a moment of transition it turned into River´s mirror image.

" Learned a new trick?" River asked almost amused. The thing cocked its head to one side. A gesture that still struck River as incredibly artificial and unnatural for something resembling a human being. It would forever serve her as a reminder that, despite its form, the other thing was everything but….

" I found this in your memory, but I admit I don´t understand its worth or meaning. Your knowledge of this seems to serve no particular purpose. It is a story about ……a girl and a rabbit and a mirror….and for some reason this cat!"

River lifted one brow, trying not to laugh.

And here she had been thinking that her former nemesis could not surprise her anymore. Some part of her couldn´t help but hope that it wouldn´t turn to Grimm´s fairytales next.

" So you like it?"

The thing tried to imitate her facial expression but failed.

" We both know that I lack the capacity to like or dislike anything. But I find these memories…intriguing. I need something to occupy myself with …..when I´m in here alone."

River nodded in fascinated understanding.

The other thing was like a very isolated, wilful child. A dangerous, potentially cruel and ruthless child, that bored easily.

" Well …we are on this rescue mission, so I think you will get a chance to ….go out and play….very soon."

" You have use for me?"

The way the thing´s face lit up, River half expected it to jump up and down and clap its hands.

 " It is about the pretty lady we went to see and the temple…out in the cold? And that Niska man?"

River nodded again. The thing looked at her, suddenly standing very still and folding its hands.

" That would serve me  as an interesting occupation."

Then it smiled. River stared at her own empty face being lit up by the imitation of her own, full smile. It seemed wrong and twisted. It was a sight disturbing enough to make her blood run cold. She wasn´t afraid of the other thing anymore, they were sisters now, but it bothered a part of her none the less.

With a suppressed gasp she let go of that place in her mind, allowing herself to float back to the surface of her consciousness.

She opened her eyes, rolling onto her side to lean her head onto Jayne´s shoulder again.

" What´s she have to say?"

River pressed her lips to the warm skin of his shoulder, right underneath a slim scar of what she guessed to be a knife- wound. She breathed deep.

" Let´s just say for the ecord that we´d better be glad that she´s on our side now!"

" That´s the plan?" Wash said, gawking at the captain from his seat at the mass table. The silence that followed was deafening. Pretty much every member of the crew seated around the long, wooden table was staring at Malcolm Reynolds.

" You got a better one?"

 Sorry……will update again soon. Could not resist evil cliffhanger! It´s stronger than me!!!!