Conscious Thought
Author: Kryptonite
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly. Though I wish I could kick Fox executives in the ass.
Summary: What if River wasn't always totally insane? Third person following River mostly.
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" River?" Simon called, looking for his sister on the ship as they neared the planet. Mal had given them permission to leave the boat for a few hours and Inara had communicated ahead and secured them a room with a real shower.
" Looking for somethin' doc?" Jayne asked, suddenly stepping in Simon's way just as he was bending to look around the corner.
" Just… River." Simon said slowly, staring at the bigger man and being aware of the fastest escape route.
" She's not any where near me." Jayne answered before going to the hatch into his bunk and kicking it open. Jayne glanced at the doctor before securing the piece of food between his teeth and climbed down.
" What the- get the gorram hell out of my bunk!" Jayne called after the hatch had clunked shut, turning around to see River sitting calmly on his bed.
" You heard."
" Heard what?" He growled, trying to pace somewhere and not being able to put enough distance between the two of them considering all she had to do was reach back and grab one of his guns.
" What I said about 'Nara."
" Yeah I heard. So what?" Jayne grumbled, feeling more and more like a trapped animal.
" I'm not going to shoot you." River mumbled, looking down at her bare feet. Jayne didn't say anything, just continued to stare. " Why don't you trust me?" She asked quietly.
" Maybe because you sliced my chest?" He burst out. His ears picked up River mumbling something or other about logos and he just snarled at her. " Get out."
Shaking her head sadly River stood up, her dress falling back around her legs.
" You…" River trailed off, still not looking at Jayne. After a few moments of increasing tension Jayne finally stopped fidgeting.
" What?" He snapped. River took her eyes off the floor and stared right into his. For a moment Jayne felt like he was going to fall over, like he was moving a million miles a second and he was going to slam into a wall. Then River turned her eyes away from him and grabbed onto the ladder.
" You help." River spoke quietly before climbing up the ladder and disappearing out the door. Jayne could hear Simon through the metal, seconds after it clicked shut.
" I help? Help what?" He muttered to himself before going to lay down on his bed. Taking a deep breath he noticed it smelled like strawberries. " Gorram girl." He muttered again before his eyes closed for a few moments of sleep."
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A/N: Third chapter, yay me. This one really wasn't all that hard to write. Finding time was what was hard. Yes I know it's short but all my chapters are so far so *shrugs*.
I really haven't been doing much with Firefly lately but (consider this a warning) I believe strongly in certain pairings on Firefly. Mal/Inara, Zoe/Wash, Kaylee/Simon and, yep you guessed it, Jayne/River. That's also the pairings that will appear in this story.
Enjoy the 'verse, tell me what you think.