DISCLAIMER:  Right...been there, done that …Y´all know

NOTES: So here is the little Post – Thesis Fluff I allowed myself to write! Sorry it doesn't really move the plot along …but I'm sure I know some girls (hello group!) who might appreciate it!! It's just an interlude anyway!

Also sorry to miss beta Miss Malfoy whom I did not mail due to thesis annoyance and can't mail now thanks to ….

My parent's computer won't let me log on to aol, so I cannot answer the Jaynegroup mail …soooo there's a lot of bouncy bunnies and I'll do my best to get to all of them!

Thank you Tory for the great vids! Thank you Wen for all the positive vibes!!

IM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bring on the bunnies!

FLOW

It felt close to floating….the sensation of coming back to herself. The transition between the real world and her mind had become so very easy, like flipping a switch, like diving into warm, soft water. Not too long ago this realization would have alarmed her, but now it was a comforting feeling and she took it as a sign of her ever growing control of her abilities.

"I still don't know what it means …."  The image of the blue sunrise on the back of a black lacquered armour still loomed in her memory. Even though she had returned to the conscious world, she could still feel the other thing's present like a cool breeze caressing her mind and its voice was like a fleeting whisper inside her head." But you understand …."

River sighed, becoming more aware of her surroundings; her own cabin, her own bed ….the feeling of cotton sheets underneath her fingers as she lay on her side.

-------------------------------------

"You look tired." River's eyes fluttered open at the sound of Jayne's growl, calling a small smile to her lips. Even when he was trying to be quiet his deep voice still rumbled in his chest.

He leaned in the doorway, arms crossed in front of his massive chest.

"Keep disappearing on me like that, middle of the night and all…."

River bit her lip; she had retreated to her own cabin in an attempt to not disturb his sleep, while she figured out what it was the other thing was trying to tell her. She hadn't thought about how it might look to him.

"I didn't mean to get you worrying." She whispered. She could see him shrug those broad shoulders, obviously struggling with himself over the decision to enter or leave.

"I'm sorry. I ….I went to see her in ….that place in my mind. I didn't want to do it while you were sleeping, after I had already disturbed you before."

Jayne scratched his head, nodding. "You look exhausted. Get some ruttin´ sleep then…"

"Don't go…." River said softly as he turned away to return to his bunk, yawning. She hadn't meant to wake him again, but she also hadn't meant to make him feel as though he was being left out or unwelcome. "You said I'd figure it out and I think I will …..I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'm getting close. You were right."

Jayne stepped inside, looking around the tiny cabin hesitantly; the room was hardly big enough for her narrow bed. "

Knew ya´ would. Didn't have to go and get it done right away though." He looked down at her until River held out one hand, looking back at him with that tiny smile and those knowing eyes.

"Come to bed …" she whispered, her hand reaching out for him. She scooted over just a little as he sat down next to her, the bed dipping under his weight.

"You alright now, Miss Tam?" 

River nodded." I think I understand her now. I'm not sure where it will lead, but it doesn't matter now."

She reached upward slowly, fully aware that his eyes were following her movements. River let her hand run over his chest until she caught a hold of his shirt and pulled him down towards her. With a low chuckle Jayne followed her lead, hovering over her in a sort of push- up position so that their bodies didn't touch. He was close enough to see her face more clearly now, even in the dark. She pushed upwards just a little, far enough to lean her forehead against his for a moment. The warmth emanating from his body made her pulse speed up, before she put her hands around his face. He hadn't gotten around shaving in two days, but she didn't mind the stubble. Jayne shook his head, giving another throaty chuckle. The reaction this tiny slip of a girl could coax from his body never ceased to amaze him. He really couldn't say why that was ….because she was just that, just a girl.

His breath came out in little puffs while his face split into his familiar, feral grin. "

Got me unhinged like no one in the whole gorram´ verse ever could …."

River answered with a husky laugh, right before her mouth covered his lower lip, lightly nipping until his mouth opened to her. Her slender arms slid around his neck, pulling him downwards.

"Not just yet …" he growled at her, crushing his lips unto hers again.

Jayne suppressed a groan, pulling a deep, hissing breath. His arms started shaking with the effort to stay in his position. River slid one leg from under his body, still hovering inches above hers, and let her naked foot travel upwards on the back of his thigh.

The gorram girl!

He could do a hundred push- ups easy, bench press more weight than Mal and the preacher combined and still ….then and there his arms simply would not hold him any longer.

Jayne let his left shoulder crash into the mattress. It was the only way to go if he didn't want to fall off the bed. After all he was only a man and his self- restraint was by no means endless.

River had managed to follow his movement seamlessly, as though she had anticipated is. Her kiss grew even more insisted, not that Jayne was complaining, but if she went on like this she'd undo him. He had just gotten dressed to find her, only to have her trying to get him out of his ruttin´ clothes again. Jayne let his hand slide down her waist and down her free leg, hooking it behind her knee. Underneath his hands she was all heat.

"Better stop your squirming, sparrow ….or this might not last." He whispered roughly into her ear as his lips moved from her jaw to her neck. River gasped, arching into him while her warm hands pushed under his shirt.

"Gorram´hell …" Jayne hissed into her ear only to be rewarded by another husky giggle.

"Figuring this out sure took a load of you shoulders, darlin´, ha?"

River stopped in the midst of the motion of trying to pull his shirt over his head, looking at him. She swallowed, breathing deep, her hands rested on his chest, over his beating heart.

After a moment she put her hands around his face again, kissing him deeply, languidly.

"That fear, to loose my mind, control over myself again was like a weight bearing down on me. Now …my heart and soul are free, the weight is gone." She answered him between kisses.

"Ah …no I get it." He told her, his thumb moving over her knee in circular motions. It was a strange thing, but he understood maybe even better than she could imagine.

"Won a battle, got away, now you wanna feel alive. I ´ve been there."

He'd been there   more than couple of times. It was the way he felt every time he got away with his life.

"Hell, sparrow, I'm not ´bout to complain!"

River laughed again, it was a sound low in her throat that sounded a lot older than she actually was. She pulled his shirt of his head in a quick, clumsy motion, throwing it onto the floor carelessly. Her fingers were busy dancing up and down his back. "Gorrammit!" Jayne jumped up and away from her quickly, as though touching her would sear his flesh. Breathing heavily he glanced around the cabin. River stared at him with a bewildered expression.

"What?"

He scowled at her.

"I just remembered who's sleeping one cabin over ….."

"What?" River repeated, completely taken by surprise.

"You brother …." He whispered harshly, trying to keep his voice down." Your gorram´ brother is right next door!"

River stared at him in complete confusion.

"Yes …..And? Since when does it bother you where Simon sleeps?"

Jayne's scowl deepened. She had to be kidding, right? Now …he was not the bashful kind, quite the opposite really, but ….

"I sure as hell don't fancy your brother bursting in here in time to see me ravaging his little sister!"

"Ravaging?" River said, raising one eyebrow.

"You know damn well what I mean …."

"Jayne…." She whispered. "….I really don't see that being a problem. If Simon would really walk in on us, he'd most likely have a stroke and drop dead where you stand."

Now it was Jayne's turn to raise an eyebrow ……that didn't sound half bad now that he thought about it! Not that he was sold on killing the doctor, but giving him the scare of his lifetime sure did have its appeal……

"Now come back here and get on with the ravaging part, because some time tonight I would like to get some sleep."

Jayne grinned at her, crawling back onto the bed.

"Oh ……you ain´t sleeping tonight Miss Tam!"