Disclaimers in Part 1

River curled up on her bed with her cortex screen. Everyone had gone to town except for Simon and Kaylee, and Kaylee was busy fixing the engine. So River had to watch her soap operas by herself.
She didn't mind so much today. Today was Jocelyn's 18th birthday, and Dominic had planned an incredibly romantic evening to celebrate. River did more connecting in her head. Jocelyn was 18 now, a woman in the eyes of the law. She and Dominic were going to have sex.

River would be turning 18 in three days. She realized suddenly what the problem was, why Jayne wouldn't have sex with her. She wasn't yet legal. Jayne was simply scared that someone would find out and then send him to prison.

She felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. Surely, she had solved all her problems. On her 18th birthday, she could have sex with Jayne.

Still, she figured she'd need some kind of seduction technique as well. She was pretty sure just announcing, "I'm 18!" and then jumping him would be ineffective.

She watched as Dominic and Jocelyn kissed amidst the candles and flowers and scrunched her nose up. She wasn't quite so sure that candles and flowers would really do it for Jayne. But then, Dominic wasn't exactly a candles and flowers guy, either.

Then Jocelyn told Dominic how special he made her feel because it was her first time. Of course! That sort of thing made a guy feel special, powerful. Jayne liked power.

She smiled to herself as she tried to figure out how she'd get Jayne all alone…

"Come on, River!" Kaylee said excitedly as she eyed the cake. "Make a wish! Blow out the candles!"

River closed her eyes, made her wish and blew out the candles. Kaylee, Simon, and Wash clapped excitedly. Mal, Book, Inara, and Zoe watched, smiling. Jayne just grumbled. "Can we cut the gorram cake already."

"What's you wish for, River?" Wash asked.

"Can't tell. Won't come true," River said, smiling dreamily at Jayne.

That made him a mite uncomfortable.

"I'll be I know what she wished for," Kaylee said to Wash conspiratorially.

"What?" Wash and Simon asked.

"I'll bet she wished for Marcus and Chastity to get together. She's been hoping for them for awhile now."

"Ugh, the teen angst doesn't really do it for me. I lean more toward the storylines with powerful mean old men. And panthers," Wash said.

Mal ran his hand down his face wearily. "What did I say about talking soap operas at the dinner table."

"Ain't dinner, cap'n," Kaylee argued.

"Okay, then let's amend the rule. No soap opera talk around me."

"But it's River's birthday."

"Right, her 18th. Which means, if we're all lucky, she'll grow out of this obsession of hers soon enough."

"Ke wu de lao bao jun," Kaylee muttered under her breath.

River ignored the entire exchange, keeping her eyes fixed on Jayne, smiling at him. Jayne tried as hard as he could to avoid her gaze, glancing up every once in awhile to see if she had looked away yet, only to have his eyes lock with hers. Just downright unsettling. Especially since he'd been thinking for days about how good her body had felt pressed against his.

He shook his head to try to get rid of the thought. "Just cut the stupid cake."

"Okay, okay. Calm down grumpy-pants," Kaylee said as she cut into the cake.

It was serendipity. It had to be. She'd been sitting on the catwalk for hours, trying to figure out a way to get everyone off the ship so she could be alone with Jayne, when she heard Mal and Jayne coming toward the cargo bay. She heard their thoughts first, both angry and frustrated in different ways. Then she heard their voices, loud and arguing.

"Mal, you can't leave me alone with the crazy girl. I ain't a gorram babysitter," Jayne was saying.

"You're the only one that don't got plans once we land on Beaumond. Process of elimination, Jayne. You're looking after River tonight."

At first River thought they just didn't see her sitting there, but then figured that they probably just didn't care.

"Well, if I'd known I was gonna get stuck her on this boat with the moon brain, I would have made plans."

"I'm done having this discussion. Book got off at Haven, Inara's got to see to a client, Kaylee and Simon are going out on a real date, Zoe and Wash are checking into a hotel, and I've got some old army buddies to meet up with. And you….you have fun with River."

That last part made Jayne's stomach clench a bit. Girl had some weird ideas about what was fun lately.

He leaned toward Mal, keeping his voice low. "Seriously, Mal, you can't leave me alone with her. She's messing with my head or something, I swear."

Mal just glared. "I'm not asking you to bond with the girl or anything. Just make sure she doesn't hurt herself or the ship. That don't sound too hard, right?" He didn't wait for an answer, he just turned around and left.

For the first time since he walked into the cargo bay, Jayne chanced a glance up at River. She was smiling widely.

Yep. Serendipity.
-
Jayne had gone to hide in his bunk while everyone else got ready to leave Serenity for the night. Simon was fussing over River while Kaylee waited patiently to leave.

"If you need something to help you sleep tonight, I put some medicine in your room. Don't forget to eat dinner, and don't stay up too late."

"Okay, Simon," River responded.

"And if that ape tries anything with you, you kick him in the groin."

"Simon!" Kaylee exclaimed, laughing.
He shook his head. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"I'll be fine," River tried to convince him.

Kaylee tugged on Simon's arm. "Come on, she's a woman now. She can take care of herself."

Simon glanced at Kaylee before hugging River. "Remember. Go for the groin," Simon whispered to her. River suppressed a giggle. She would be going for that area, just not in the way Simon wanted her to.

"Bye, River!" Kaylee called, waving, as she and Simon left the ship.

Mal was next. "If he doesn't come out of his bunk in the next hour, little witch, you have my permission to go down there and drag him out."

River smiled. "The knight will be leaving his castle soon enough."

Mal just smiled at her and patted her head affectionately before leaving.

"You sure you'll be okay, sweetie?" Zoe asked as she and Wash headed out.

"Yes, don't worry about me," River responded.

"It's not really you I'm worried about," Zoe said under her breath as Wash waved goodbye.

Jayne had lumbered off to this bunk in the hopes of dozing off and killing a few of the hours he had to spend with the moon brain that way. But he was too angry to sleep. And nervous. Mostly nervous.

So he just sat in his bunk, praying that River didn't come down there, trying with that whole seduction thing again.

He decided to just wallow in his anger. He was good at wallowing. It might help him take his mind of the nervous tickle that spread throughout his body whenever he thought about the girl.

Soon, though, he thought he heard music. Either he was going crazy, or that feng le girl was up to something. He debated just staying in his bunk, hiding from her. But he knew that if he didn't go up to find her, she'd eventually come searching for him. And he figured it was safer to find her in the cargo bay or the galley or wherever than for her to find him in his bunk. He groaned as he crawled out of his bunk and followed the music to the cargo bay. It was there that he found River, with a box of matches, apparently setting fire to the ship. Jayne rushed down the steps and ripped the matches from her hand. "What do you think you're doing, playing with fire?"

River looked at him, her face marked with a little bit of confusion, and a lot of exasperation. "I'm not playing with fire. I'm just lighting candles."

Jayne looked around and saw that the cargo bay was filled with candles. He looked from the candles to her face. The lighting made her look like an angel.

"Uh…..what's goin' on?" he muttered.

"I'm 18 now," River explained.

"Yeah, I know. I was at that stupid party we had for you, remember?"

"18. Legally allowed to make my own decisions. Legally a woman."

Jayne looked down at her, uncomprehending, until he noticed she was wearing that same white nightgown she had been wearing the first night she'd brought up that seduction business.

He pushed away roughly. "No. No, no, no. You need to get these ideas out of your head right now."

"Why?" She asked.

"Why?" He echoed, and she nodded. "Well….because they ain't right"

"Why?" She asked again.

"Because."

"Because is not a reason."

"Sure it is."

"No, it's not. It's a word that preludes a reason but it is not, in itself, a reason."

"Okay, none of your crazy logic."

"It's not crazy logic. It's common sense."

"Okay, is this 'making Jayne feel stupid' thing part of your whole seduction plan."

River fell silent, then looked at her hands ashamedly, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well….don't do it again," Jayne finished lamely.

"But I had to make you understand," she said, looking up at him. "There are no hindrances anymore. I'm 18. You won't be thrown into prison for having sex with me."

"You know, the way you're so forward about this whole thing is downright disturbing."

"I'm legal!" she said, frustrated.

"Yeah, but you're still crazy."

"Not a lot. And even then, I'm still a woman," she said, walking up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Jayne felt his resolve slipping.

"Nah, you ain't nothing but a slip of a girl."

"18. Woman," River whispered, leaning toward him. With her lips that close to his, Jayne really couldn't think of a good reason not to go ahead with it. Hell, she was right. She was legally a woman now, and wasn't like she didn't want it. She was practically begging for it. Wasn't like she was going to scream rape or anything.

Unless she was messing with his head.

"Not messing with anything," she said quietly. "Want this."

She was 18. And he hadn't gotten her a birthday present. He owed her something.

He leaned forward to kiss her collar bone, and River shuddered slightly at the feeling of his lips on her skin. He wound his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, dragging his mouth up her neck to nibble on her earlobe.

River moaned. "So we can have the sex now?"

Jayne stopped. "You really gotta stop talking so matter of fact about this, baby. It kind of kills the mood." He dipped his head back down to her neck, licking at the hollow of her throat.

"Sorry," she said, but it came out as a moan.

Jayne dragged his hand up River's thigh, grasping her hip firmly. River took the action as her cue.

"Jayne?" she whispered.

"Yeah, baby?" he said into the skin of her shoulder.

"You're my first."

Jayne was concentrating so hard on River's shoulder he didn't quite catch her words. "What's that?"

"You're my first."

Jayne froze. Had she really said that? Why would she say that?

He pulled away from her neck and looked into her wide eyes. "Say that again."

"You're my first," she explained for a third time. She was confused. This was certainly not the way this was supposed to be going. Her confession was supposed to make him feel powerful, more manly. It was supposed to be encouraging.

Instead he dropped his hand from her hip and made a small screaming noise. River thought he sounded a lot like Banning had when she finally confronted her stalker.

He pushed her away quickly and muttered something unintelligible as he headed toward the stairs. River looked at him incredulously. "Where are you going?"

"To my bunk," he grumbled before disappearing.

River stomped her foot. She was so close! What had she done wrong?

She looked around her at all the candles that were burning away. "Qing wa cao de liu mang," she cursed. "I spent two weeks allowance on those."