Title: First Job
Series: Crazy's rescue mission
Author: Sevangel
Disclaimer: Not mine
Rating: R
-
"Why didn't you tell me?" Wash questions Zoe as they're getting into bed. "How long have you known?"
"I suspected for a month or so." Zoe answers. "Guess the doc did too cause he ran some tests after River rescued us."
"You've known for 3 weeks?" Wash gasps.
"Yeah." Zoe answers. "And before you go blaming Simon, ain't his fault. I told him not to say anything and he agreed. Plus he's got that whole doctor-patient secret thing."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Wash asks again.
"I was trying to deal with it myself." Zoe answers, moving over to rest her head on his chest. "Talking about having kids is one thing, having them is a whole nother issue. I just needed time to accept it and what it means. But Simon is right; it ain't safe for me to do jobs. Jayne and Mal depend on me to watch their backs; can't very well do that if I'm all passed out."
Wash sighs with relief, glad his wife agrees with Simon. He knows if she really wants to go on jobs, Simon's warning isn't gonna stop her, not unless she believes it. He gently moves her off his chest and sits up. Pulling her shirt off, he takes in her much fuller breasts and the slight bulge off her stomach.
"Hello unborn child." Wash says to her stomach, his hand caressing the bulge. "I hope you're comfortable in there."
Zoe smiles at Wash's conversation with her stomach, her eyes filling uncharacteristically with tears. "I just don't get how you didn't notice." Zoe comments. "My pants ain't been closing and my bras don't fit."
"I just thought you were gaining weight." Wash replies as he presses his face against her stomach. "I didn't want to make you feel bad by mentioning it."
"You thought I was getting fat?" Zoe asks. "And it didn't bother you?"
"I love you wifey." Wash answers. "If you gain some weight, it ain't gonna change that."
Zoe swallows heavily, her throat filled with emotion. Sometimes it amazes her how much she loves this man. She manages to blink back the fresh tears and remembers with a laugh how Simon said the hormonal changes in her body was going to make her emotionally unstable.
"What's so funny?" Wash asks, lying back down to pull Zoe into his arms.
"Just thinking bout what the doc said?" Zoe replies.
"What?" Wash questions quickly. "Is something wrong?"
"No." Zoe assures him. "He just said I would be emotionally unstable; one minute I might be pissed off, the next laughing, and the next crying."
"Oh." Wash replies, relieved. "That's good."
Zoe yawns widely and snuggles her head against his side.
"Wifey?" Wash probes.
"Yeah?" Zoe mutters.
"How long until we're parents?" Wash questions, realizing he doesn't know how far along she is.
"Bout 4 months." Zoe mumbles.
"What?" Wash squeaks. "Four months. That's too soon. I'm not ready."
"Nothing I can do about that." Zoe replies. "This baby is coming out in four months, whether we're ready or not."
"But four months." Wash mutters. "That means that four months from now, we'll have a tiny person to take care of. I can barely take care of me; without you I'd be completely lost. How am I going to take care of a baby too?"
"You won't be doing it alone." Zoe says with a small smile. "Now, go to sleep."
Wash continues to mutter but obediently closes his eyes, his mind whirling with worry.
-
Mal leaves the bridge, Zoe and Wash cuddling in the pilot's chair. He still don't know how he feels about the baby. On one hand, he's happy for Zoe, and Wash he supposes, but on the other, he's worried. He's had Zoe by his side for almost 10 years; he knew things changed a bit when Zoe married Wash but they still never lost the bond they formed during the war. Now he's afraid he might lose her, that they might decide to leave. He knows he needs to talk to Zoe about this but is afraid of what she'll say.
"Doc, you okay?" Mal questions when he sees the doctor sitting on the couch outside of the infirmary, Inara on one side and Kaylee on the other.
"He's a bit worried." Kaylee answers, looking up at the captain. "River's goin' on her first run and he's a scared."
"She'll be fine." Mal assures him. "Long as her and Jayne don't get all distracted with the sex, they'll both be fine."
"Oh, that's reassuring." Simon replies sarcastically. "The only time they've left Jayne's bunk in the past week is to eat."
"Then it should be outa their systems." Mal replies. "They've done all the sexin' a person needs to do for a bit and should be ready to focus on the job."
"You're probably right." Simon agrees reluctantly. "Surely they've sated their appetites for a while."
Kaylee giggles and looks at Inara who smiles back.
"What?" Mal questions his mechanic.
"Nothin'." Kaylee replies between giggles. "Not a gorram thing."
Mal looks at her weirdly. "Okay then, little Kaylee, you just keep your jokes." Mal replies. "I'm gonna go find my two hired guns and see how they're doin' on the weapon thing."
"I'm going to go with you." Simon says as he stands up. "I want to make sure that River's okay before going on the job."
Mal and Simon start to the mess where the two hired guns are supposed to be preparing the arsenal. Inara and Kaylee glance at each other before following the two men.
"Preacher, where are you headed?" Mal questions when they run into the Shepard.
"I thought I'd fix myself a cup of tea." Book replies. "It seems to calm me before you guys go on your jobs. I have a feeling I'm going to need it today."
"We was just headed there." Mal says.
Mal starts walking towards the mess again, the crew following behind him. He turns into the mess and comes to a stop at the scene in front of him.
"Guess it ain't out of their systems." Kaylee comments with a grin.
-
Jayne glances over at River and sees her loading up Missy. "Baby girl, you takin' Missy with us?"
"Yes." River replies. "I like her. She's small and deadly, just like me."
"Yeah." Jayne agrees with a smile. "She's too gorram small for me to use, bout the perfect size for you."
"Hmm." River murmurs. She looks over to where Vera is lying on the table. "Is Vera going with us?"
"Not sure yet." Jayne replies. "Gotta check with the cap to see if'n he thinks we'll need her."
River reaches out to run her finger down Vera gently. "She's so pretty." River whispers huskily, her head moving up to look at him.
Jayne watches River caress Vera with a groan. Her fingers gently play over the gun, the same way her fingers play over his body. They've had more sex in the past week than he did last year and his body should be completely drained. But its not. He can feel himself harden and sets Katie on the table. He reaches over to pull River out of her chair and onto his lap.
"I just can't get enough of you." Jayne growls, slamming his mouth onto hers. He funnels his hands into her hair and angles her head to deepen the kiss. He's addicted to her mouth; didn't right matter where it was, just as long as he can feel it somewhere on his body. Although he does gotta admit he enjoys kissin' her, a lot. His tongue seeks out her and he rubs it against hers before sucking it deeply into his mouth.
River moans against his mouth as she rocks her hips against his erection. She's addicted to him; the way he feels, the way he tastes, and the way he makes her feel. Like she's a real woman and not a weapon or a broken girl. She wraps her arms around his neck with a moan.
Jayne slides his under the shirt she's wearing and cups her breasts. She's not wearing a bra and he groans at the feel of her naked breasts pebbling against his palms. Her breasts are small but not too small and he likes the feel of em in his hands and loves the taste of em in his mouth. He palms the mounds roughly, knowing that's what she likes. He pinches her nipples making her moan into his mouth before running one hand down her stomach and legs to burrow under her skirt. She parts her legs eagerly and he growls when he realizes she's not wearin' panties.
"Baby girl, ya gotta wear panties." Jayne growls. "Specially when we're bout to go on a job."
"I was going to put them on." River moans, pushing against his unmoving hands. "Touch me."
"But I am touchin' you, baby girl." Jayne smirks against her mouth, liking the restless way her body shifts and the frustrated moans she's making. He slowly caresses his way down her thighs and away from the apex of her thighs.
River bites his lip and reaches down to grasp his hand. She moves it up her thigh and pushes two of his fingers inside of her.
Jayne laughs against her mouth, amused by how eager she is. He knows he's got an unnaturally high sex drive, reason why he's always lookin' to get some trim, and never thought he'd met a woman with one as high as his. But River's drive is. She initiates sex just as often as he does; waking him up from a dead sleep, her mouth wrapped tightly around his cock or his cock deep inside her wet core.
River moans against Jayne's mouth as he pumps two fingers inside of her shallowly. She moves her hands to his waist and untucks his shirt to move her hands underneath. She plays her fingers gently against his abs before moving up to pinch a nipple between her fingers.
Jayne growls against her mouth and starts pumping his fingers faster.
"Gorramit, you're supposed to be gettin' ready for a job." Mal's voice yells from behind them.
Jayne groans loudly and stops pumping his fingers. River growls against his mouth and moves her hips, trying to get him to pump them again.
"Jayyyyne." River whines against his mouth.
Simon looks down at his feet, not wanting to watch his little sister groping Jayne.
"Baby girl, we gotta stop." Jayne says as he drawls back from her mouth and pulls his fingers out with a slurp.
"Don't wanna." River whispers, looking up at him with lust-filled eyes.
Jayne growls at the look in her eyes and stands up. She locks her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck.
"We're goin' to my bunk." Jayne tells Mal as he carries River past them. "We'll be back in a bit. Don't touch my girls." With that said, he walks out of the mess and towards his bunk, River raining kisses down his neck as they go.
"Aren't they supposed to be prepping for the job?" Zoe questions as she walks into the mess, Wash right behind her.
"Yeah." Mal replies. "Guess it's better that they're gettin' it done with now."
"So, how's this going to work?" Zoe questions. "Jayne standing with you and River doing the sweeps?"
"Yeah." Mal replies. "River ain't gonna intimidate anyone and we don't need to take the chance of anybody really gettin' a glimpse of her. Jayne'll stand by me and work out the deal and River will take out anyone tryin' to get one up on us."
Simon stiffens at the plan but pushes past it, trying not to think about his sister's part in the plan.
"You okay, doc?" Mal questions.
"I don't really know." Simon replies. "I mean I know this is what she does, what the academy made her but it's still unnerving to hear you talking about her killing people."
"It ain't like I'm tellin' her to just kill the people we're dealin' with." Mal says. "Just be ready to do what's necessary as a backup plan. Most likely, it won't be needed."
Wash moves around Zoe to examine the weapons laid out on the table. Jayne isn't one to leave his weapons unattended or have them out unless he's using them, besides the 1 or 2 guns stashed about the bay in case of emergencies. And those were just pretty common pistols, nothing like the weapons in front of him. He reaches out to pick one up when Zoe grabs his arm.
"Don't, husband." Zoe says. "You heard what Jayne said, not to touch his girls. He means it."
"Yeah." Mal agrees. "Remember one of the first runs he went on with us, we got ambushed and I grabbed one of the guns he had with him. He flipped. Didn't matter that we was bein' shot at, he don't want other people touching his weapons."
"It's a rather impressive arsenal." Book comments as he looks down at the guns.
"Specially Vera." Mal agrees. If he knew what was gonna happen, he just might have traded Saffron for Vera.
"And I honestly don't think this is half of his collection." Zoe says as she looks at the weapons covering half of the table.
"He has more weapons than this?" Simon asks, a little shocked by the idea. He's counted 20 guns on the table and an assorted amount of other things that he doesn't recognize.
"Yeah, there are at least 10 guns missing that I know he has." Zoe answers.
"He's not planning on taking all of them, is he?" Simon questions, getting more nervous. "They won't all be needed, will they?"
Mal laughs. "We're just picking up the cargo, doc, not occupying a planet." Mal says. "Just think Jayne was having a hard time choosing what's coming with us."
"Didn't right know what we needed." Jayne says as he walks up behind them. "If'n this was gonna be a heavy job or just a light one."
"We won't be needin' Vera." Mal replies. "Or anything close to her amount of firepower."
"Alright." Jayne grunts. He turns around to look at River. "You sure it's on there tight enough?"
"Yes." River replies. "You made sure it was tightened."
"That's good." Jayne says as he picks up Missy and checks the ammo. "Here you go, baby girl." He holds out the small but deadly gun to River. She places her booted right foot on a chair and pulls up the bottom of her dress to show a holster strapped to her upper thigh. She slips the gun into it and then takes the knife Jayne is holding out to her, placing it under the strap beside the gun. She drops her foot off the table and then kicks her leg into the air until toe of her boot is even with her shoulder.
"What the gorram hell are you doin?" Jayne growls when he catches a glimpse of her white panties.
"Ensuring that the holster won't effect my movement." River replies.
"Oh." Jayne mutters. He grabs a rifle and checks the ammo on it before also handing it to River. He waits until she slips it over her head before turning her around to adjust the strap above the rifle. "That easy nuf for you to reach?"
"Yes." River answers, turning around to face him.
Jayne glances over her once more before grabbing his own weapons and stashing them periodically over his body. Once he's loaded up, he grabs Vera and a couple of the other weapons left on the table. "Baby, wanna grab the rest of em so's we can take em back to my bunk?" Jayne says, indicating to the few guns left of the table.
"Okay." River agrees, grabbing the rest of the weapons and following him out of the mess.
"What was that?" Mal asks once they're gone. "Since when does Jayne let anybody touch his guns let alone use them?"
"Guess River is a little different." Inara comments.
"Yeah, he does kiss her on the mouth and call her sweet names." Kaylee adds. "Looks like River's gettin' special treatment."
"His letting her use his guns is special treatment?" Simon questions.
"For Jayne, yeah." Zoe answers, sitting down heavily.
"Wifey, are you okay?" Wash asks worriedly.
Mal sees the whiteness of his first-mates face and squats down in front of her. "Zo, you alright?" Mal asks. "Doc, I think something's wrong with her."
"Simon, what's wrong with my wife?" Wash questions, looking over at the doctor.
"Is Zoe gonna be alright?" Kaylee whispers anxiously.
"Son, maybe you should take her down the infirmary and examine her." Book suggests.
Simon sighs heavily and prods Mal's back to get him to move. The captain stands up and moves over slightly. "I am starting to understand why you wanted to keep this a secret." Simon says to Zoe as he checks her pulse.
"Yeah." Zoe agrees with a small smile.
Simon walks over to the counter and starts fixing a glass of tea.
"What the hell are you doin?" Mal yells, causing Inara and Kaylee to jump. "We got a person over here that needs doctorin'. This ain't the time for a tea party."
Simon ignores Mal and finishes making the tea. He warms up some of the leftovers from last night's dinner and carries all of it over to place in front of Zoe.
"Thanks doc but I really don't need you freaking out on me too." Zoe says.
"I'm not." Simon replies. "You haven't eaten this morning, correct?"
"No, I haven't." Zoe agrees.
"You have to eat." Simon says. "It's extremely important, especially in your condition."
"Fine." Zoe mutters, picking up the fork and putting a bite in her mouth. She shifts uncomfortably, feeling everyone's eyes on her.
"Shouldn't you take her down the infirmary?" Mal questions.
"She's fine." Simon replies. "She just got a little light headed from not eating."
"Are you sure?" Wash asks, looking over his wife with worried eyes.
"Yes." Simon replies. "Can I speak to you two outside?"
Mal and Wash nod and follow the doctor outside of the mess, surprised when he shuts the door behind them.
"You can't do this." Simon says.
"Do what?" Mal growls.
"Automatically assume the worst whenever Zoe makes a sound or moves funny." Simon answers. "I understand how much she means to both of you but she is just pregnant, not sick. If you two are always standing over top of her, waiting for something to happen, you're going to stress her out and that isn't good for her or the baby. Zoe is smart enough to know if something is wrong and I'll keep an eye on her."
"You can't ask us not to worry." Wash says.
"I'm not." Simon replies. "I'm just suggesting you keep your worry to yourself or address most of your concerns to me. I may not know Zoe as well as you two but I do know her well enough to know she doesn't like people fussing over her."
"True." Mal agrees with a smile. "Woman is too damned independent for her own good."
"Yeah." Wash agrees with a frown. "It worries me sometimes."
"Lighten up, Wash." Mal says with a smirk. "You'll have a baby to fuss over in a good while."
"Four months." Wash corrects and then has to smile when Mal's face goes white.
"Four months?" Mal gasps. "That's too soon. I ain't ready yet."
"What do you have to be ready for?" Wash questions. "She's my wife, not yours."
"I know that." Mal replies, rolling his eyes.
"This. Is. My. Baby." Wash says slowly.
"Know that too." Mal growls. "Don't change the fact that 4 months is too gorram soon. Where's the baby gonna sleep? What's it gonna wear? What's it gonna eat? Does anybody know how to change a diaper?"
"Hell, I don't know, Mal." Wash says, his face going pale.
Simon can't hold back the laughter at seeing the stricken looks on their faces.
"What's so funny?" Mal growls.
"You two." Simon answers. "Zoe is not the first woman to have a baby and she won't be the last. Everything will work out. But if it makes you two feel better, my portable encyclopedia has a lot of information on pregnancies and the care of infants. You can download it onto the onto the screen on the bridge, if you want."
"Why don't you and Wash do that while we're makin' the pickup." Mal orders, finding the idea rather reassuring.
The door opens suddenly and Zoe walks out of the mess. "Everything okay here?" Zoe questions.
"Fine." Mal replies, running his gaze over her but keeping himself from saying anything.
Zoe raises an eyebrow but doesn't argue. "Sir, shouldn't you and Jayne get the mule lowered?"
"Yeah, if I knew where the ruttin' hell he was." Mal agrees.
"M'right here." Jayne says.
Mal jumps and then spins around to see the merc and genius standing right behind him. "Jayne, follow me down to the bay." Mal orders. "Wash, shouldn't you be bout to land my boat?"
"Yeah." Wash agrees. "Wifey, you coming with me?"
"In a second." Zoe replies.
"Come on, baby." Jayne orders. "Let's go down to the bay."
"In a second." River replies.
Jayne looks weirdly at her but follows Mal to the bay. Wash looks at the two women before moving towards the bridge quickly.
"Follow me, River." Zoe orders.
River nods and follows Zoe down the hall.
-
"Alright, little assassin, you go find a good spot to watch." Mal orders. "Anybody tries something, you know what to do."
"Kill them." River replies.
"Well, yeah,." Mal agrees, still a little uneasy hearing the teenager talk about killin' folk.
"Crazy, you better be ruttin' careful." Jayne growls, pulling her against his chest.
"I will." River assures him. She stands up on her tiptoes and gives him a brief kiss. "You be careful too." River whispers against his mouth before pulling away.
"Always am." Jayne grunts. He watches as she walks away, his hand gripping the handle of his gun tightly.
"You plannin' on shootin' me?" Mal questions upon seeing the tight grip Jayne is using.
"Only if somethin' happens to her." Jayne growls.
Mal stops walking for a second before starting again with tense shoulders. He was wonderin' when the bad part of Jayne and River hookin' up was gonna come out. He knows how possessive Jayne is about his things and how violent he can be when something happens to his stuff. Now it seems as though River's fallen into the category and Mal's actually a bit scared of what Jayne'll do if something does happen to her.
"Alright, I'll do the talking, you just stand there and look intimidating." Mal orders.
"That ain't gonna be a problem." Jayne replies briskly.
Mal sees a large vehicle pull up and park a few feet away from them. Three men climb out of it, all of them armed.
"You Reynolds?" The smallest man asks.
"Yeah, you Smith?" Mal questions.
"Yep." Smith answers. "Badger never said you was a Browncoat."
"That gonna be a problem?" Mal questions, his hand automatically going to his pistol.
"Not a bit." Smith replies. "Fought for the independents myself. Just wonderin' why Badger never mentioned it."
"Badger is a monkey's pigu." Mal replies.
Smith laughs. "Can't agree more." Smith says. "Russ, Tony, load that cargo into their mule."
Jayne and Mal watch as the two men load the various crates into the back of the mule, stacking them in the backseat.
"Well, it was nice doin' business with you." Mal says once they're finished loading the cargo.
"Yeah." Smith agrees.
Mal looks at Jayne and the two start back towards the mule when a gunshot goes off. They both dive to the ground, pulling weapons out as they go.
"These your people?" Mal yells at Smith, who also dove to the ground, his men right behind him.
"No." Smith yells back. "Group of gorram bandits. Somebody must have told em we was makin' an exchange today."
"Where the ruttin' hell is River?" Mal growls, not understanding why she isn't knocking people off.
Jayne doesn't answers; just picks off one of the bandits. He looks around and notices they're pretty well surrounded and that the bandits are smart enough to use Smith's vehicle as a cover.
"Who's the girl?" Smith yells over at them. "Bunch of low-life bastards usin' a girl as cover."
Jayne growls loudly and jumps up despite the bullets flying around him. Mal groans and follows Jayne's lead. He cusses under his breathe when he sees a tall guy dragging River into the middle of the field.
"She's with us." Mal says to Smith.
"Well, well, well." A fat, bearded man says, walking towards the man holding River. "Look what we got here. Now, I want the cargo and I think I'll be takin' both mules."
"Let her go." Jayne orders with a growl.
"She's means somethin' to you." The bearded guy comments. Before Jayne can reply, the guy raises his gun and shoots River in the chest. The small girl goes flying backwards with the shoot and doesn't get back up.
Jayne's heard the expression 'seein' red' but he didn't really believe it until now. The second the bullet hits River's chest, he loses it. He doesn't remember pulling out a second gun or taking out the guy who dragged River in or even the guy who shot her. He can't see past the red fuzz covering his eyes, the desire to kill everything in the area.
Mal dives at Smith and takes the smaller man to the ground when Jayne starts shooting wildly. He feels a bullet break the skin of his shoulder and grinds his teeth against the pain. He sees a man sneaking up behind Jayne and starts to shoot him when a knife whirls through the air. The knife hits the man in the throat and he goes down with nothing more than a gurgle. A bullet flies over Mal's head and he looks behind him to see another of the bandits hit the ground.
Jayne sees his knife flying through the air and looks over to see River sitting up, Missy held tightly in her hand. He takes out the three remaining bandits before running over to her and dropping onto the ground.
"Baby girl, you okay?" Jayne asks hoarsely.
"Yes." River replies, slipping the gun back into the holster. She holds her hand out to him, wanting his help up.
Jayne looks at her hand and then reaches down to pick her up. She wraps her arms around his neck and burrows her face in his shoulder. Jayne buries his face in her hair, his heart pounding as the fear races through his body. He tightens his arms around her and starts walking towards the mule.
"Well, if that wasn't bracing." Mal says as he stands up. He reaches down to pull Smith to his feet and then collects the knife that River threw and the rifle the bandits took from her. "We gotta be goin' now, cargo to deliver and all."
"Who was that?" Smith questions, his eyes zooming in on the back of the large mercenary cradling the girl to his chest.
Mal glances behind him just in time to see Jayne step into the mule, River cradled against his chest. "My niece." Mal lies. "And that's her husband and let me say he don't like other men round her. Add in the fact that she just got shot in front of him, it'd be best if'n you left without any other questions."
Smith nods and motions for his 2 men to get back into the mule. Mal waits until they're gone before joining River and Jayne and driving the mule back to Serenity.
-
Simon places a card down, his mind not really focused on the card game. He knows Kaylee, Book, and Inara only started the game to help get his mind off River. So far, it's not working. Book gathers the cards and starts to deal again when the boat starts up suddenly.
"What's going on?" Simon questions, glancing at Kaylee for an answers.
"Don't know, Simon." Kaylee answers. "Wash is probably just warmin' her up."
Simon glances up when he sees Zoe walking towards them. He jumps to his feet and runs towards her. "What's going on, Zoe?"
"Don't know, doc." Zoe answers. "Captain just radioed ahead and told Wash to be ready to leave."
"Something happen." Simon whispers.
"You don't know that son." Book replies.
"I appreciate your attempts at comforting, but we all know Mal doesn't take off immediately unless there was trouble on the job. Or if there are Reavers. And since Zoe just came from the bridge, she'd know if it is the latter."
Zoe nods her head in agreement but is unsure what happened. She grits her teeth, hating have to stay behind. She knows River is a trained professional but the genius lacks the experience with these types of jobs that Zoe has herself. She sees the mule driving towards them at a rather fast speed and looks over at Kaylee.
"Kaylee, shut the door once they're on and then tell Wash to take off." Zoe orders.
Kaylee nods and runs over to the panel by the door a few seconds before the mule pulls inside of Serenity. She shuts the door once the mule is past the opening and hits the com. "Everyone's on." Kaylee tells Wash. "We can go."
The boat lifts up immediately.
Simon starts toward the mule and sees Jayne holding River tightly against his chest. His heart starts beating quickly and his palms start sweating. Even when he sees the reassuring fall and rise of River's chest, he can't push the worry and fear out of his mind. Jayne moves out of the mule and starts out of the bay.
"What happened?" Zoe questions Mal.
"Got ambushed, what else." Mal mutters, reaching up to touch the graze on his shoulder.
"You got shot." Inara gasps.
"Kinda noticed that." Mal agrees. He starts towards the infirmary, the rest of the crew on his heels.
"Was it the men we was exchangin' with?" Kaylee questions.
"Nope." Mal replies. "Bunch of low-life bandits."
"And they shot you?" Zoe prods.
"Nope." Mal answers. "Jayne did."
"What?" Simon gasps. "He shot you? Why?"
"Somethin' happened to River, didn't it?" Kaylee asks.
"Yep." Mal replies. "Took a bullet in the chest. Jayne kinda lost it and started shootin' at every person standin'. Hell, he took out 7 or 8 guys and I don't think he even realizes it."
Simon's face goes white and he runs past Mal to the infirmary, planning on getting a first aide kit and going down to Jayne's bunk to examine his sister. Needless to say, he's a bit shocked to see River sitting on the sickbed, Jayne in front of her.
Mal follows Simon into the infirmary and looks at the pile of metal lying on the table. "You lent her your armor?" Mal questions Zoe.
"Yeah." Zoe replies. "Thought it'd be a good idea. Guess it was."
Simon stands next to Jayne and looks at the merc to see an expression he's never seen on the large man's face. Sure, he's Jayne pissed and seen the look when River was arrested and had the hell beat out of her, but he's never seen this look of pure, undiluted rage on the man's face. Actually, now that he thinks about it, he's never seen it on anybody's face. Mentally preparing himself, he looks at his sister to see a large bruise forming on her pale skin, right over her heart. He looks at her confusedly, not understanding why she's not bleeding, or more accurately, why she's not dead.
"Armor." Jayne growls, nodding his head towards the table.
"That's a hell of a bruise." Mal comments.
River squeals and moves her hands to cover her bra-clad breasts.
Jayne steps in front of River and turns around to glare at Mal. "Thought we done talked bout you lookin' at her naked?" Jayne growls. He's glad he made her put a bra on with the panties, otherwise he'd be libel to knock the captain out for seeing her topless.
"What's going on?" Wash questions as he steps into the infirmary. He leans sideways to look behind Jayne and then squeaks loudly, covering his eyes with his hands. "And couldn't somebody warn me she was half-naked?"
Jayne glares at him.
"Alright, little assassin, you wanna explain how you managed to get taken?" Mal asks, turning his back to the genius. "Cause I thought you had all that government training and all that kept you from getting yourself caught like that."
"Was ensuring that the job got finished." River replies.
Mal furrows his brows for a second, confused by her comment. "Wait one gorram second, you tryin' to say you let yourself get takin'?"
"WHAT?" Jayne yells. Simon jumps back a few paces from his tone.
"There was too many of them." River says. "I can run the numbers as much as I want, but in the end, I can't hold more than 2 guns at a time and I can't make a bullet go through steel. The only way to ensure that the job got done was by using myself as a diversion."
"This ain't one of those gorram missions the academy sent you on." Mal yells. "You don't let yourself get kidnapped to set a trap, dong ma?"
"I think we're missing something." Book says.
"Oh, those ruttin' bastards used to make her let herself get taken by child molesters and the like so's she could kill em." Mal explains. "Which, we don't do that."
"It was the only way to ensure the job got done successfully." River replies, turning her head from Jayne's angry glare. "I weighed all the options and this was the safest."
"You got ruttin' shot." Jayne growls lowly. "If'n you weren't wearin' Zoe's armor, ya'd be dead now. How's that safe?"
"It was." River argues, looking up at him.
"It was a gorram dumb thing to do." Jayne growls down at her. "You're supposed to be a ruttin' genius, what the hell would possess you to do somethin' so stupid?"
"I didn't want you to die!" River yells, completely frustrated. Her head hurts from keeping all the thoughts out and her chest is burning.
"Well, I don't want you to die either!" Jayne yells back.
They stare at each other, both tensed furiously. Jayne sees her wince and turns his head to glare at Simon. "What the hell are you doin?" Jayne yells at Simon. "You're supposed to be a ruttin' doctor, get to doctorin'."
Simon glares back at him but doesn't move closer.
"Gorramit, what the hell are you waitin' on?" Jayne bellows. "An gorram engraved invitation?"
"Jayne, I think he's waiting for you to put the gun away and step back a bit." Book says calmly.
Jayne glances down and sees the gun in his hand, not remembering when he pulled it out. He looks at River and then at then gun before pushing past the crew and out of the infirmary.
River sighs deeply and looks at her brother. "Simon, give me the salve." River orders. Simon hands it to her without questions. "Everybody close their eyes."
"Why?" Mal questions.
"Because I'm going after him and he tore my shirt to get it off." River replies.
"Oh." Mal mutters, closing his eyes.
River waits until everyone's eyes are closed before slipping past them and out of the infirmary, the salve clenched tightly in her hand. She can practically feel the rage rolling off Jayne and follows it to his bunk. Kicking open the hatch, she climbs down to find him throwing stuff around.
Jayne hears River open the ladder and tosses the full cartridges into the corner of his bunk. He's not used to this feeling, being worried and it's pissing him off. He turns to face her and his temper boils over. "What the hell are you doin?" Jayne yells. "You best not of walked round this boat without a shirt on."
"You ripped mine off." River points out. "I had not other choice. I made them close their eyes first." She slips her hands in the waistband of her skirt and pushes it off. Reaching down she unstraps the holster and sets it and the gun gently on the chair in the corner of his bunk. She places her right boot on the chair and unties it and then kicks it off before repeating the action on her left one. She removes her socks, pushes ger panties off, and then straightens up to see Jayne staring at her lustfully.
Jayne tries to hang onto his anger, but the moment she touches the holster strapped to her thigh, it slips away. He knows she's doing this on purpose, using sex as a way to calm him and tries to get mad that it's working, but he can't. He can feel his body harden and can't help but stare at her. She looks back at him and walks past him to lie down on his bed. He slips his shirt off and kicks his boots off before pushing his pants down his hips and off his body. He takes tube of salve out of her hand and sets it on his weapon rack before moving over her. Straddling her hips, he drops a kiss against her mouth while his hand runs down her body to slip between her folds. He pumps his fingers shallowly and quickly, just wanting to get her as wet as possible. His mouth moves off hers and runs down her throat to suck softly at her neck.
River moans Jayne's name and tilts her head to allow him better access while at the same times spreading her legs further. She moans as he fingers work her body, his intent not to get her off, only get her more turned on. It's working. She tries to grab his hand to force it to move faster but he just growls at her and pulls his hand out to push it away.
"No." River moans when his fingers leave her body. "Put them back, please, Jayne, put them back."
Jayne growls at her begging tone and slips his fingers back into her welcoming body, a third finger joining the other two. He runs his mouth down her collarbone, nipping on his way before pulling up to look at the bruise over her heart. His mind goes red again as he thinks about what could have happened, but her nails digging into his back brings him back. He kisses the bruised skin gently, his tongue moving out to lap at it. His fingers continue to pump shallowly and he can tell River's getting very frustrated. He drags her right nipple into his mouth nibble and suck on as his fingers continue their torture.
River moans and writhes under Jayne, trying to get him to push her over the edge. His fingers feel wonderful in her body, stretching and working her into a frenzy but she needs more. She needs to cum so badly she could cry. She may be a government trained assassin that could kill the man on top of her faster than he could drawl a gun but she is completely at his mercy at this moment. And she loves it. Loves that he's so strong, that he can make her feel like she's not a weapon; that he can make her feel like a normal girl in the arms of her normal boyfriend.
"Jayynne." River begs. "Please, I need you to make me cum. Please."
Jayne glances up at her and sees the pleading, almost painful look in her eyes. He pulls his fingers out with a pop.
"Shh." Jayne hushes River, when her eyes fill with tears. "It's okay, baby girl. I'm right here." He drops his mouth onto her and pushes deeply inside of her. She cums instantly.
"Jaayyyne." River moans against his mouth. She feels the tears slip down her face and feels Jayne's mouth moving off hers to sip them up but can't form the words to tell him she's okay. He stops pumping, pulling out of her body until only the tip of his cock rests inside of her.
"You okay?" Jayne grunts, his body clenched tightly with the pain of holding back.
"Wonderful." River whispers, opening her eyes to look up at him. She wraps her legs around his ass and pulls him back inside of her. "Don't leave."
"M'not." Jayne growls. He pushes himself up on his forearms, wanting to keep his body off the bruise on her chest. He starts pumping into her quickly and deeply, his eyes closing and his body shuddering at the feeling of her body gloved around his. She pulls head down to hers and their tongues battle as their bodies' pound against each other.
River grunts into Jayne's mouth at each thrust, pretty sure that he's never gotten this deep before. It feels like he's going to poke right through her body and out of her mouth. She knows it should be painful, and in a way it is, but she welcomes the pain, feeling closer to him than she ever has to another person. Like he's a part of her and she's a part of him.
Jayne feels the sweat rolling down his face and hears the grunts escaping River's mouth at each thrust. He almost stops but knows she'd tell him if he was getting too rough. He somehow manages to prop himself up on his left elbow and continue to thrust deeply into her, though he don't know how. He knows he's about to cum and wants her riding it with him. He snakes his free arm between them, feels it getting smooched between their bodies but ignores that as he searches for her clit. He finds it and gives it a rough roll. She screams.
"JAYYNE!" River screams into his mouth as she orgasms. Her body bucks against his once more while her walls milk his cock tightly. She can feel the rush of Jayne's fluid as he cums inside her and can feel the rumble in his chest as he shouts his release against her mouth.
Jayne manages to flip them over until she's cradled against his chest. He doesn't know how long he lies there panting but figures it must have been more than a few minutes when he hears a small snort from the body next to him. He glances down to see River sleeping, her face buried in his side and her leg thrown over his hips. He reaches behind her to grab the salve with his left arm and opens the tube. Squeezing some onto his finger, he gently rubs it on the bruise, kissing her forehead when she moans. He screws the lid back on and drops it back on his weapon rack before reaching for his blanket on the floor. He looks down at River and kisses her lightly on the lips before covering them both up, turning slightly on his side, and wrapping his arm around her. She moans again before settling against him once more. He briefly gives thought to her worried brother and the probably very pissed off captain before closing his eyes and joining her in slumber.
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