Notes: Sorry it's been so long! I had to finish a project for work. Sigh. So, here you go... I hope you all like it.
....................
A few days later Jayne was finally up and about. He was able to walk without pain and, according to the doctor, with a day or two of extra sleep in the infirmary he would be back to his usual. Of course, no one - doc included - knew that he had actually been sleeping in River's room each night, sprawled out in the chair by her head. He didn't know why he returned night after night... it just felt more comfortable there. He liked being close to her.
River was careful though; waking him minutes before Wash, the earliest riser, would begin to prowl the corridors.
Today would be the first time Jayne would be eating in the dining room with the crew since he'd been stabbed. Kaylee and Inara had been bringing him his meals. Kaylee would stay while he ate, filling him in on ship gossip, which basically extended to whether the engine was humming smoothly and how well or poorly Mal and Inara were getting along. Inara would just hand him his food, look at him all puzzled like, and then speak gently to River while keeping a close eyes on Jayne.
River had taken up residence in the infirmary, which was unusual since she normally tried to avoid the area. But now she was constantly perched on the bed opposite Jayne's – singing to him, telling him stories, trying to get him to play cat's cradle with her. Whenever Simon would come in to check on Jayne, River would fake a stomachache, stubbed toe, or any variety of rare, communicable space disorders. Anything to justify her staying. She and Jayne were together constantly. The only time she left his side was to eat or to sleep. And Jayne always followed her to bed.
But now he was on his way to the dining room. Mal wanted him to be there after dinner because he was going over the plan for the gold exchange with the Juggernaut.
Slowly, Jayne walked up the stairs. His abdomen was still tight and he was stiff from the lack of movement. He tried stretching, then yelped at the pain of his shoulders lifting. Ow. Wouldn't do that again.
Finally, he reached the landing and turned into the dining room. Everyone was just finishing their dinner and Mal stood, preparing to address his crew. Jayne scooted in to the last empty chair, between River and Book. Jayne grinned as he sat down, imagining how River managed to keep an empty chair by her, then laughed under his breath as he saw the dangerous-looking pin cushion that River had stashed under her chair.
River patted his thigh under the table, beaming up at him.
"You molted!" she exclaimed happily. Jayne didn't even blink at her odd phrasing.
"Yeah, the doc took 'em out this afternoon while you were at lunch."
Book looked across at him oddly. "You understood her?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's obvious. The weaves look like feathers...kinda."
River gently prodded Jayne's belly with the tip of her finger. "You'll fly soon."
"Yeah, another day or two."
From across River's head, Book lifted his eyebrows at Jayne.
Jayne sighed. "I'll be able to lift weights soon. Doc promised."
He was embarrassed by all the attention. Fortunately, Mal began his speech and explained his plan.
"Okay, folks. We'll be at the rendezvous point in two weeks. It's an easy switch, which means lots of stupid things will go wrong, so be prepared."
Jayne quietly tried to grab the bowl of potatoes from across the table, but winced at the searing pain in his back and stomach. He looked pitifully at River, who, smiling in sympathy, snatched the bowl and dropped a heap of the rehydrated food on his plate. "Thanks, darling," he whispered in gratitude as he began to shovel food in his mouth.
Mal continued, not noticing the distraction.
"Kaylee, I want you to prep the engine for any necessary yet wacky maneuvers we might need."
River toed Jayne's calf under the table, running her foot up to the back of his knee. Jayne leered down at the pixie smile on her face.
"Inara, you stay in your shuttle while we're in contact with the ship, in case anything goes wrong, which it probably will."
Jayne leaned over to River, whispering, "Apple?" She took an apple, neatly cored and quartered it before setting it on Jayne's plate. Jayne took a slice of apple and popped it into his mouth, stretching out his lips into a wacky grin, then waggled his eyebrows at River, who giggled quietly.
"Wash will be in charge of flying... as usual. Work with Kaylee on it."
Jayne grabbed River's knee and squeezed making her squirm from the tickling.
"Zoë, you and Jayne will come with me to the trade and look as tough as possible. Got it, Jayne? Jayne? Jayne!!"
Jayne snapped to attention with his mouth wide open. He'd been in the middle of catching bits of food River had been tossing to him. An apple chunk was still in mid-flight and made a wet splat on Jayne's cheek. He grinned sheepishly at the captain.
Mal just stared at Jayne and River. "Pay attention Jayne!"
"I heard you, every word!" he protested. "Go with you, don't get shot..." Jayne squeaked as River sneakily pinched his backside. "Uh, trade stuff..." He twisted his leg around River's, trying to tip her off her chair. "Look fearsome... got you, Captain."
Mal sighed. "Fine, you're done here," he said, tossing his hands in the air.
River immediately grabbed an apple and took off running.
"Hey, wait!" Jayne tried to chase her but she had somehow managed to tie his shoelaces together.
"Imp!" He shouted. He kicked off his shoes and hobbled barefoot after her.
"Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" he heard River calling back at him.
He laughingly threatened back as he practically tumbled down the stairs, "When I catch you..."
"Won't! You're slow and gimpy!" she teased.
Once the pair was out of sight and the dust settled, the dumbfounded crew stared at one another with their mouths agape.
"Well," Kaylee said, "Jayne's feeling awful chipper."
Simon frowned. "He's acting like a five-year old."
"Aw," Wash chimed in. "You're just jealous she's found a new playmate."
"Don't be ridiculous," Simon scoffed back.
Zoë and Inara remained silent, both having their own interpretations of the oddball behavior Jayne was exhibiting.
"Helloooo..." Mall waved his arms, trying to get their attention back to the meeting. "Remember me? The captain? The owner of this big damn ship ya'll are flying on?"
And everything returned to normal. They forgot River's latest wackiness and Simon tried to calm the sudden burst of irrational jealousy.
..............
Jayne clomped down the stairs, still looking for River. He crept through the kitchen, scanning the room with his eyes for any sign of her. He continued on, down another flight of stairs to the cargo hold, going quietly on his bare feet.
He grinned as he walked into the middle of the hold. He knew she was down here... he could smell her. He snuck amongst the various cartons strewn about the room, trying to pinpoint her location. Little nutball, tying his shoes together. Wait till he got his hands on her...
Suddenly, he froze in his tracks, stopping beside a particularly large container left over from a previous job that had been tucked under the catwalk. It was so tall that Jayne couldn't see over it. But, he had heard the slightest whisper of fabric brushing across skin. He smiled broadly and prepared to pounce.
River sank back against the cold metal of the containers and stretched out onto her stomach, waiting for Jayne to find her. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. She hadn't played hide-and-seek in such a long time. It was nice to be able to play again, without fear smearing the edges. Not having to worry if she would frighten Jayne, or if he would frighten her. Jayne was never afraid. Only confused sometimes. Her ruminations were interrupted as warm fingers tightly clamped over her ankle and dragged her out of sight behind the carton.
She stifled a happy squeal as Jayne effortlessly flipped her onto her back.
"Well, now," Jayne purred as he leaned over her supine body. "Know what happens to naughty imps what try to trip good, kind mercenaries?"
River smiled and shook her head.
"They get tortured to death! No quarter!" he rallied as he pushed up her red knit shirt and prepared to blow raspberries into her belly.
He fully intended to tickle her, he honestly did. But the sight of her stomach, bare and undulating beneath his lips stifled the idea. As he gazed at the pale skin, a dark red flower of passion bloomed in his throat, choking his breath. He pressed his lips against her flesh and breathed in the scent of her skin as the now all-too familiar ache pulsed in his groin.
River felt his warm breath tickling her skin, then his mouth press into her. She sighed happily and ran her hands down Jayne's face, pulling him up to her. This was hers, she thought happily, tracing her lips across his cheeks and his neck. An animalistic urge overcame her. She wanted her ownership to be visible, a mark, a stain, a tattoo. A small rumble escaped her lips and she clamped her teeth down on his shoulder, through his t-shirt.
As her teeth closed on his skin, Jayne hissed out his breath and gathered her up in his arms. Wounds be damned. He slammed her back against a nearby support beam under the catwalk, cradling her derriere in his palms. She unlatched her mouth from his shoulder and tangled her lips with Jayne's, scratching her fingers up the muscles of his back. The fuel was in the fire, now. He felt the flame kindling into an inferno. The heat between his legs needed an outlet... now. Her legs were pulling him closer to where he needed to be. If only he could have her, really have her... and he would. As he continued to kiss her, he moved one arm down to his belt. Nothing would stop him now, he crowed, burying his head in her hair.
"Tzao-gao, River, I... tyen, River, you know I...," he panted, trying to let her know what he was thinking. But his thoughts were being burned away. He was definitely missing some verbs or something. So, instead, he kissed her. As sweetly and delicately as he knew how. But then... she suddenly stiffened in his one-armed embrace.
Bringing her lips to his ear, she whispered, "Little mousies are here."
Mousies? Lao tyen! Gorram Kaylee! He looked up to try to figure out exactly where River meant. While his attention was distracted, River squirmed like water out of his grasp and was gone. And he was left alone. In the cargo bay. His arms still wrapped around the support beam. Damn.
...........
Kaylee crouched in the doorway to the cargo bay, completely stunned. That certainly wasn't what she was expecting to find when she came to rescue River from grouchy old Jayne.
She'd better have a talk with Simon.
....................
A few days later Jayne was finally up and about. He was able to walk without pain and, according to the doctor, with a day or two of extra sleep in the infirmary he would be back to his usual. Of course, no one - doc included - knew that he had actually been sleeping in River's room each night, sprawled out in the chair by her head. He didn't know why he returned night after night... it just felt more comfortable there. He liked being close to her.
River was careful though; waking him minutes before Wash, the earliest riser, would begin to prowl the corridors.
Today would be the first time Jayne would be eating in the dining room with the crew since he'd been stabbed. Kaylee and Inara had been bringing him his meals. Kaylee would stay while he ate, filling him in on ship gossip, which basically extended to whether the engine was humming smoothly and how well or poorly Mal and Inara were getting along. Inara would just hand him his food, look at him all puzzled like, and then speak gently to River while keeping a close eyes on Jayne.
River had taken up residence in the infirmary, which was unusual since she normally tried to avoid the area. But now she was constantly perched on the bed opposite Jayne's – singing to him, telling him stories, trying to get him to play cat's cradle with her. Whenever Simon would come in to check on Jayne, River would fake a stomachache, stubbed toe, or any variety of rare, communicable space disorders. Anything to justify her staying. She and Jayne were together constantly. The only time she left his side was to eat or to sleep. And Jayne always followed her to bed.
But now he was on his way to the dining room. Mal wanted him to be there after dinner because he was going over the plan for the gold exchange with the Juggernaut.
Slowly, Jayne walked up the stairs. His abdomen was still tight and he was stiff from the lack of movement. He tried stretching, then yelped at the pain of his shoulders lifting. Ow. Wouldn't do that again.
Finally, he reached the landing and turned into the dining room. Everyone was just finishing their dinner and Mal stood, preparing to address his crew. Jayne scooted in to the last empty chair, between River and Book. Jayne grinned as he sat down, imagining how River managed to keep an empty chair by her, then laughed under his breath as he saw the dangerous-looking pin cushion that River had stashed under her chair.
River patted his thigh under the table, beaming up at him.
"You molted!" she exclaimed happily. Jayne didn't even blink at her odd phrasing.
"Yeah, the doc took 'em out this afternoon while you were at lunch."
Book looked across at him oddly. "You understood her?"
"Yeah, I mean, it's obvious. The weaves look like feathers...kinda."
River gently prodded Jayne's belly with the tip of her finger. "You'll fly soon."
"Yeah, another day or two."
From across River's head, Book lifted his eyebrows at Jayne.
Jayne sighed. "I'll be able to lift weights soon. Doc promised."
He was embarrassed by all the attention. Fortunately, Mal began his speech and explained his plan.
"Okay, folks. We'll be at the rendezvous point in two weeks. It's an easy switch, which means lots of stupid things will go wrong, so be prepared."
Jayne quietly tried to grab the bowl of potatoes from across the table, but winced at the searing pain in his back and stomach. He looked pitifully at River, who, smiling in sympathy, snatched the bowl and dropped a heap of the rehydrated food on his plate. "Thanks, darling," he whispered in gratitude as he began to shovel food in his mouth.
Mal continued, not noticing the distraction.
"Kaylee, I want you to prep the engine for any necessary yet wacky maneuvers we might need."
River toed Jayne's calf under the table, running her foot up to the back of his knee. Jayne leered down at the pixie smile on her face.
"Inara, you stay in your shuttle while we're in contact with the ship, in case anything goes wrong, which it probably will."
Jayne leaned over to River, whispering, "Apple?" She took an apple, neatly cored and quartered it before setting it on Jayne's plate. Jayne took a slice of apple and popped it into his mouth, stretching out his lips into a wacky grin, then waggled his eyebrows at River, who giggled quietly.
"Wash will be in charge of flying... as usual. Work with Kaylee on it."
Jayne grabbed River's knee and squeezed making her squirm from the tickling.
"Zoë, you and Jayne will come with me to the trade and look as tough as possible. Got it, Jayne? Jayne? Jayne!!"
Jayne snapped to attention with his mouth wide open. He'd been in the middle of catching bits of food River had been tossing to him. An apple chunk was still in mid-flight and made a wet splat on Jayne's cheek. He grinned sheepishly at the captain.
Mal just stared at Jayne and River. "Pay attention Jayne!"
"I heard you, every word!" he protested. "Go with you, don't get shot..." Jayne squeaked as River sneakily pinched his backside. "Uh, trade stuff..." He twisted his leg around River's, trying to tip her off her chair. "Look fearsome... got you, Captain."
Mal sighed. "Fine, you're done here," he said, tossing his hands in the air.
River immediately grabbed an apple and took off running.
"Hey, wait!" Jayne tried to chase her but she had somehow managed to tie his shoelaces together.
"Imp!" He shouted. He kicked off his shoes and hobbled barefoot after her.
"Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" he heard River calling back at him.
He laughingly threatened back as he practically tumbled down the stairs, "When I catch you..."
"Won't! You're slow and gimpy!" she teased.
Once the pair was out of sight and the dust settled, the dumbfounded crew stared at one another with their mouths agape.
"Well," Kaylee said, "Jayne's feeling awful chipper."
Simon frowned. "He's acting like a five-year old."
"Aw," Wash chimed in. "You're just jealous she's found a new playmate."
"Don't be ridiculous," Simon scoffed back.
Zoë and Inara remained silent, both having their own interpretations of the oddball behavior Jayne was exhibiting.
"Helloooo..." Mall waved his arms, trying to get their attention back to the meeting. "Remember me? The captain? The owner of this big damn ship ya'll are flying on?"
And everything returned to normal. They forgot River's latest wackiness and Simon tried to calm the sudden burst of irrational jealousy.
..............
Jayne clomped down the stairs, still looking for River. He crept through the kitchen, scanning the room with his eyes for any sign of her. He continued on, down another flight of stairs to the cargo hold, going quietly on his bare feet.
He grinned as he walked into the middle of the hold. He knew she was down here... he could smell her. He snuck amongst the various cartons strewn about the room, trying to pinpoint her location. Little nutball, tying his shoes together. Wait till he got his hands on her...
Suddenly, he froze in his tracks, stopping beside a particularly large container left over from a previous job that had been tucked under the catwalk. It was so tall that Jayne couldn't see over it. But, he had heard the slightest whisper of fabric brushing across skin. He smiled broadly and prepared to pounce.
River sank back against the cold metal of the containers and stretched out onto her stomach, waiting for Jayne to find her. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing. She hadn't played hide-and-seek in such a long time. It was nice to be able to play again, without fear smearing the edges. Not having to worry if she would frighten Jayne, or if he would frighten her. Jayne was never afraid. Only confused sometimes. Her ruminations were interrupted as warm fingers tightly clamped over her ankle and dragged her out of sight behind the carton.
She stifled a happy squeal as Jayne effortlessly flipped her onto her back.
"Well, now," Jayne purred as he leaned over her supine body. "Know what happens to naughty imps what try to trip good, kind mercenaries?"
River smiled and shook her head.
"They get tortured to death! No quarter!" he rallied as he pushed up her red knit shirt and prepared to blow raspberries into her belly.
He fully intended to tickle her, he honestly did. But the sight of her stomach, bare and undulating beneath his lips stifled the idea. As he gazed at the pale skin, a dark red flower of passion bloomed in his throat, choking his breath. He pressed his lips against her flesh and breathed in the scent of her skin as the now all-too familiar ache pulsed in his groin.
River felt his warm breath tickling her skin, then his mouth press into her. She sighed happily and ran her hands down Jayne's face, pulling him up to her. This was hers, she thought happily, tracing her lips across his cheeks and his neck. An animalistic urge overcame her. She wanted her ownership to be visible, a mark, a stain, a tattoo. A small rumble escaped her lips and she clamped her teeth down on his shoulder, through his t-shirt.
As her teeth closed on his skin, Jayne hissed out his breath and gathered her up in his arms. Wounds be damned. He slammed her back against a nearby support beam under the catwalk, cradling her derriere in his palms. She unlatched her mouth from his shoulder and tangled her lips with Jayne's, scratching her fingers up the muscles of his back. The fuel was in the fire, now. He felt the flame kindling into an inferno. The heat between his legs needed an outlet... now. Her legs were pulling him closer to where he needed to be. If only he could have her, really have her... and he would. As he continued to kiss her, he moved one arm down to his belt. Nothing would stop him now, he crowed, burying his head in her hair.
"Tzao-gao, River, I... tyen, River, you know I...," he panted, trying to let her know what he was thinking. But his thoughts were being burned away. He was definitely missing some verbs or something. So, instead, he kissed her. As sweetly and delicately as he knew how. But then... she suddenly stiffened in his one-armed embrace.
Bringing her lips to his ear, she whispered, "Little mousies are here."
Mousies? Lao tyen! Gorram Kaylee! He looked up to try to figure out exactly where River meant. While his attention was distracted, River squirmed like water out of his grasp and was gone. And he was left alone. In the cargo bay. His arms still wrapped around the support beam. Damn.
...........
Kaylee crouched in the doorway to the cargo bay, completely stunned. That certainly wasn't what she was expecting to find when she came to rescue River from grouchy old Jayne.
She'd better have a talk with Simon.