Notes: Hello... thanks for the reviews, they are much appreciated. I know the
writing's rocky. Still working on it! I struggle something awful with
dialogue. Hope this is better.
River waited alone in the blue moon shadows. She felt someone coming. She felt the flickering against her mind, tickling her thoughts. She felt gentle waves of excitement, anxiety, restlessness. It wasn't Simon. This one was full of power and no regrets. Except for one. But she already knew about that, and brushed it out of the way. Jayne. Jayne was coming for her. Not what she was expecting. She closed her eyes and floated through his thoughts again. They were hot and passionate, not cool and viscous like her brother's. She sighed and let the warm feelings wash gently over her. Before she could hear him, he dropped by her side and nudged her in the ribs.
"Hi," she smiled up at him. He gave her a cross look and grunted in return.
"Get up, girl. I brought your shoes." He held up her boots for her. She gave him a weary look.
"I get lost with my shoes on."
"Fine. Have it your way. I just carried these heavy-ass shoes of yours a thousand miles for nothing then."
"Thank you." She gently took her shoes from him and sat on them, giggling quietly. Jayne sighed and stood up.
"Get off your ass, let's move! We got to get back to town to meet up with everybody. Don't know why you had to go and take your little promenade. You got me in a heap of trouble." He stood and pulled her up by the hand. Her hand was so small in his, so warm. She held his fingers tightly, far too trustingly for her own good. He tried yanking his hand away, but she held on tight. He gave up. She felt better holding onto him. She'd forgotten what it was she was trying to do when she left Serenity. Was she trying to find Jayne? But he had been on the ship... River felt around in her brain for the answers to her own motivation, but returned empty-handed .
They started walking back towards town together, their hands still clutching, when River suddenly dropped to her knees, pulling down on Jayne.
"They're swarming," she whispered to Jayne. She crawled up close to him, knee to knee, and held his face between her hands.
"Be good, Jayne." He was confused. He couldn't decipher what she was talking about. What was swarming? He gazed back at her bewildered. She was staring right in his eyes, holding him spellbound. Her eyes were so dark. Downright mysterious. Her hands were stroking his cheeks as she started whispering to herself in a panic.
"Hey, calm down." He grabbed her shoulders to still her movements. His hands squeezed not too gently, and then instinctively brought her flush against him, smoothing his hands slowly down her back. He couldn't resist. He was in a trance. Everything was forgotten... the cold night air, the hostile desert environment, the impending badness River was predicting. All he could think of was the dip in River's back where his hands rested. Gorramit. If anybody saw him like this, the crew of Serenity would be lining up to kill him. He quickly dropped his hands and sat back on his heels, watching River's face.
She felt their stealth, their greed, their hunger. Bandits. They had already seen Jayne, he was too tall. River could see the different possible outcomes flash like timelines through her mind, confusing her, forcing her to motionlessness. Shouts rang out from the darkness. She could barely make out the dark-clothed figures surrounding them. With a loud crack, a bullet ricocheted off the rock nearby, and sent a flake of stone into River's arm. She cried out in surprise. Immediately, Jayne wrapped his arms around her and rolled, pulling River over him, pressing her back into a boulder and covering her with his own body. Lying on their sides, River gasped at the pain from the cut in her arm and clutched at Jayne's shirt, pressing her forehead into his neck. She startled at the shock of his skin against hers. It was warm and soft.
"It hurts," she whispered. He was trying not to think about her cool forehead, the press of her hips against his stomach.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Where's my gorram gun?"
River pulled her face back and looked into his eyes.
"Are you going to be my hero?"
"Hell, no! I'm trying to stay alive here. Quit distracting me."
Jayne finally managed to wiggle his gun out from under his side and swung his arm out behind him and let off a couple shots. Chopped shrieking let them know he had hit at least two of the bandits, as did the sudden rain of gunfire around them.
"Quit shooting, you niao se dub doo guay!" shouted Jayne.
"They want peace," explained River.
"Then why the rutting hell are they killing us?"
"To scare us. To get to calm."
"To calm? I thought you said peace?"
River sighed with frustration and waggled her fingers like a bird's wings.
"Oh, Serenity. Why didn't you just say that?"
"Thoughts got squished."
"Sure, sure. Shut up while I shoot these guys."
Jayne and the bandits kept trading bullets. Jayne would have eventually been able to kill them all, but he ran out of ammo. Mal rushed him. Didn't have enough time to get his good guns. Course, he didn't think he'd be duking it out over the crazy girl. Letting out a string of curses, Jayne growled and moved even closer to River, trying to hide her beneath him. They waited for the thugs to surround them. When one unlucky devil got close, Jayne flung his 30 pound automatic machine gun at his head in a last ditch attempt, knocking him unconscious.
Jayne sized up the situation. There were seven bandits still approaching, stepping over their knocked-out compadre. They were all armed, and Jayne had his hunting knife hidden in his pants, but if he tried to take them all out, River would get hurt. Normally, this probably wouldn't matter. But Mal had threatened him. He was supposed to take care of her. Yeah, he would have fought them. But... her hands were so warm. And... he looked down into her eyes. Why did she look at him so trustingly? He sighed. He was acting like an idiot.
River smiled. Jayne's thoughts were tangling up on themselves. There was aggression, he was looking forward to a good, brutal fight, but he was frustrated also. River could feel a strong thread of feeling that was slightly scented with devotion running straight through this labyrinth. Jayne was a warrior... he would follow the thread out of the maze. River laced her fingers in his and waited for the bandits.
River was touching him again. It was making him nervous. Girls did not hold his hand. They avoided him mostly, unless they were monetarily compensated. He would have complained and pulled his hand away if he wasn't busy worrying about what the bandits were going to do to them. They didn't seem too interested in shooting them anymore. While he waited for one of them to speak, he softly began rubbing his thumb across River's palm. Just to make her feel better, of course.
One of the seven, and appropriately filthy, men stepped forward, motioning with his gun for Jayne to stand. Slowly, Jayne moved to a crouch, still keeping River from view.
"All the way up, pig," ordered the stocky man. Jayne sighed and stood. Now they saw River. She quickly jumped up and stood by Jayne's side, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Well, well, well... what a lovely little lady you got there. How nice to have an extra surprise like this," cackled the leader. One of the lankier, blonder bandits stepped forward, and walked towards the pair.
"Not too old, either, Jake. Come here, you pretty little thing," he whistled through crooked teeth. The skinny man reached out a hand towards River. She tightened her grip around Jayne and hid her face in his side.
"Come on! What are you, shy? I'm better looking than this fool." He started to grab her arm to pull her away, but before he could even touch her, Jayne had shot out his hand, grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him up to eyelevel. Now River watched the confrontation play out from behind the safety of Jayne's back. With his facial expression livid and feral, he growled at the bandit,
"Keep your gorram hands off my..." he faltered at his accidental use of the possessive.
"Wife," River whispered quietly.
"...off my wife. Or I'll snap your gorram chicken neck after I rip your gorram innards out your gorram peegoo. Dong ma?" Wife? Why the guay did she say wife? Why the guay did he go along with it? Maybe she had a plan? Or was she just teasing him. Huh... River his wife? What idiot would believe that? He glanced behind him at River. She was leaning her head into his side and staring up at him with an inquisitive look on her face. She looked so sweet standing there. Jayne started to smile at her, but then remembered he was supposed to be big and tough.
River closed her eyes in pleasure when she heard Jayne say 'wife'. A wave of peace flowed over her. She looked up at Jayne. Could she be his wife? They would be bound to one another. No more secrets, no more betrayals. They would be back to back, facing out, forever. The two black sheep of the crew together could be dangerous, though. She thought about Wash and Zoë. They were like sky and earth. Complete opposites but perfect complements. The captain was like a stone, stoic, but Inara was a clear stream. Together they could shape worlds. Kaylee was sunshine and Simon was an oak that could flourish under her attention. They all could work together. It was symmetry. They fit one another. But her and Jayne... he was flame and she was fuel. Too dangerous a combination. But... he felt so good next to her... when she touched him she was home. Even her mind was focused near him. He distracted the chaos in her head.
Meanwhile, the lecherous bandit was slowly strangling to death. The leader of the bunch shouted at Jayne to drop him, or he would soon become a holey man. Jayne relented, and threw the man off to the side like a rag doll.
"Now, now. I understand your protective streak for your wife. Perfectly reasonable. So, man to man, let's talk some business." He walked up to Jayne, keeping his hand on his gun. "We've got a... financial interest in your ship."
"What do you mean?" Jayne muttered.
"We're going to sell your ship and make us a heap of finances. After we use it to get off this rock."
"Don't be loopy. There's fifty strapping, goateed, mercenaries guarding the ship. They'll kill you dead if you try to snatch it," Jayne bluffed poorly.
"Go se. You are a lousy liar. They're all off on a job. The ship is all alone, ripe for plucking. We'll wait till your crew returns. And then you are going to get us on." With that, he motioned two of his henchman up and they bound Jayne and River's wrists in front of them, then prodded them to start walking.
River waited alone in the blue moon shadows. She felt someone coming. She felt the flickering against her mind, tickling her thoughts. She felt gentle waves of excitement, anxiety, restlessness. It wasn't Simon. This one was full of power and no regrets. Except for one. But she already knew about that, and brushed it out of the way. Jayne. Jayne was coming for her. Not what she was expecting. She closed her eyes and floated through his thoughts again. They were hot and passionate, not cool and viscous like her brother's. She sighed and let the warm feelings wash gently over her. Before she could hear him, he dropped by her side and nudged her in the ribs.
"Hi," she smiled up at him. He gave her a cross look and grunted in return.
"Get up, girl. I brought your shoes." He held up her boots for her. She gave him a weary look.
"I get lost with my shoes on."
"Fine. Have it your way. I just carried these heavy-ass shoes of yours a thousand miles for nothing then."
"Thank you." She gently took her shoes from him and sat on them, giggling quietly. Jayne sighed and stood up.
"Get off your ass, let's move! We got to get back to town to meet up with everybody. Don't know why you had to go and take your little promenade. You got me in a heap of trouble." He stood and pulled her up by the hand. Her hand was so small in his, so warm. She held his fingers tightly, far too trustingly for her own good. He tried yanking his hand away, but she held on tight. He gave up. She felt better holding onto him. She'd forgotten what it was she was trying to do when she left Serenity. Was she trying to find Jayne? But he had been on the ship... River felt around in her brain for the answers to her own motivation, but returned empty-handed .
They started walking back towards town together, their hands still clutching, when River suddenly dropped to her knees, pulling down on Jayne.
"They're swarming," she whispered to Jayne. She crawled up close to him, knee to knee, and held his face between her hands.
"Be good, Jayne." He was confused. He couldn't decipher what she was talking about. What was swarming? He gazed back at her bewildered. She was staring right in his eyes, holding him spellbound. Her eyes were so dark. Downright mysterious. Her hands were stroking his cheeks as she started whispering to herself in a panic.
"Hey, calm down." He grabbed her shoulders to still her movements. His hands squeezed not too gently, and then instinctively brought her flush against him, smoothing his hands slowly down her back. He couldn't resist. He was in a trance. Everything was forgotten... the cold night air, the hostile desert environment, the impending badness River was predicting. All he could think of was the dip in River's back where his hands rested. Gorramit. If anybody saw him like this, the crew of Serenity would be lining up to kill him. He quickly dropped his hands and sat back on his heels, watching River's face.
She felt their stealth, their greed, their hunger. Bandits. They had already seen Jayne, he was too tall. River could see the different possible outcomes flash like timelines through her mind, confusing her, forcing her to motionlessness. Shouts rang out from the darkness. She could barely make out the dark-clothed figures surrounding them. With a loud crack, a bullet ricocheted off the rock nearby, and sent a flake of stone into River's arm. She cried out in surprise. Immediately, Jayne wrapped his arms around her and rolled, pulling River over him, pressing her back into a boulder and covering her with his own body. Lying on their sides, River gasped at the pain from the cut in her arm and clutched at Jayne's shirt, pressing her forehead into his neck. She startled at the shock of his skin against hers. It was warm and soft.
"It hurts," she whispered. He was trying not to think about her cool forehead, the press of her hips against his stomach.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Where's my gorram gun?"
River pulled her face back and looked into his eyes.
"Are you going to be my hero?"
"Hell, no! I'm trying to stay alive here. Quit distracting me."
Jayne finally managed to wiggle his gun out from under his side and swung his arm out behind him and let off a couple shots. Chopped shrieking let them know he had hit at least two of the bandits, as did the sudden rain of gunfire around them.
"Quit shooting, you niao se dub doo guay!" shouted Jayne.
"They want peace," explained River.
"Then why the rutting hell are they killing us?"
"To scare us. To get to calm."
"To calm? I thought you said peace?"
River sighed with frustration and waggled her fingers like a bird's wings.
"Oh, Serenity. Why didn't you just say that?"
"Thoughts got squished."
"Sure, sure. Shut up while I shoot these guys."
Jayne and the bandits kept trading bullets. Jayne would have eventually been able to kill them all, but he ran out of ammo. Mal rushed him. Didn't have enough time to get his good guns. Course, he didn't think he'd be duking it out over the crazy girl. Letting out a string of curses, Jayne growled and moved even closer to River, trying to hide her beneath him. They waited for the thugs to surround them. When one unlucky devil got close, Jayne flung his 30 pound automatic machine gun at his head in a last ditch attempt, knocking him unconscious.
Jayne sized up the situation. There were seven bandits still approaching, stepping over their knocked-out compadre. They were all armed, and Jayne had his hunting knife hidden in his pants, but if he tried to take them all out, River would get hurt. Normally, this probably wouldn't matter. But Mal had threatened him. He was supposed to take care of her. Yeah, he would have fought them. But... her hands were so warm. And... he looked down into her eyes. Why did she look at him so trustingly? He sighed. He was acting like an idiot.
River smiled. Jayne's thoughts were tangling up on themselves. There was aggression, he was looking forward to a good, brutal fight, but he was frustrated also. River could feel a strong thread of feeling that was slightly scented with devotion running straight through this labyrinth. Jayne was a warrior... he would follow the thread out of the maze. River laced her fingers in his and waited for the bandits.
River was touching him again. It was making him nervous. Girls did not hold his hand. They avoided him mostly, unless they were monetarily compensated. He would have complained and pulled his hand away if he wasn't busy worrying about what the bandits were going to do to them. They didn't seem too interested in shooting them anymore. While he waited for one of them to speak, he softly began rubbing his thumb across River's palm. Just to make her feel better, of course.
One of the seven, and appropriately filthy, men stepped forward, motioning with his gun for Jayne to stand. Slowly, Jayne moved to a crouch, still keeping River from view.
"All the way up, pig," ordered the stocky man. Jayne sighed and stood. Now they saw River. She quickly jumped up and stood by Jayne's side, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Well, well, well... what a lovely little lady you got there. How nice to have an extra surprise like this," cackled the leader. One of the lankier, blonder bandits stepped forward, and walked towards the pair.
"Not too old, either, Jake. Come here, you pretty little thing," he whistled through crooked teeth. The skinny man reached out a hand towards River. She tightened her grip around Jayne and hid her face in his side.
"Come on! What are you, shy? I'm better looking than this fool." He started to grab her arm to pull her away, but before he could even touch her, Jayne had shot out his hand, grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him up to eyelevel. Now River watched the confrontation play out from behind the safety of Jayne's back. With his facial expression livid and feral, he growled at the bandit,
"Keep your gorram hands off my..." he faltered at his accidental use of the possessive.
"Wife," River whispered quietly.
"...off my wife. Or I'll snap your gorram chicken neck after I rip your gorram innards out your gorram peegoo. Dong ma?" Wife? Why the guay did she say wife? Why the guay did he go along with it? Maybe she had a plan? Or was she just teasing him. Huh... River his wife? What idiot would believe that? He glanced behind him at River. She was leaning her head into his side and staring up at him with an inquisitive look on her face. She looked so sweet standing there. Jayne started to smile at her, but then remembered he was supposed to be big and tough.
River closed her eyes in pleasure when she heard Jayne say 'wife'. A wave of peace flowed over her. She looked up at Jayne. Could she be his wife? They would be bound to one another. No more secrets, no more betrayals. They would be back to back, facing out, forever. The two black sheep of the crew together could be dangerous, though. She thought about Wash and Zoë. They were like sky and earth. Complete opposites but perfect complements. The captain was like a stone, stoic, but Inara was a clear stream. Together they could shape worlds. Kaylee was sunshine and Simon was an oak that could flourish under her attention. They all could work together. It was symmetry. They fit one another. But her and Jayne... he was flame and she was fuel. Too dangerous a combination. But... he felt so good next to her... when she touched him she was home. Even her mind was focused near him. He distracted the chaos in her head.
Meanwhile, the lecherous bandit was slowly strangling to death. The leader of the bunch shouted at Jayne to drop him, or he would soon become a holey man. Jayne relented, and threw the man off to the side like a rag doll.
"Now, now. I understand your protective streak for your wife. Perfectly reasonable. So, man to man, let's talk some business." He walked up to Jayne, keeping his hand on his gun. "We've got a... financial interest in your ship."
"What do you mean?" Jayne muttered.
"We're going to sell your ship and make us a heap of finances. After we use it to get off this rock."
"Don't be loopy. There's fifty strapping, goateed, mercenaries guarding the ship. They'll kill you dead if you try to snatch it," Jayne bluffed poorly.
"Go se. You are a lousy liar. They're all off on a job. The ship is all alone, ripe for plucking. We'll wait till your crew returns. And then you are going to get us on." With that, he motioned two of his henchman up and they bound Jayne and River's wrists in front of them, then prodded them to start walking.