Notes: I caved! Here's the followup to The Highwayman...because the River/Jayne muse would not leave, and my reviews were so very kind. This one is to the traditional Irish standard, The Night Visiting Song. Kate Rusby sings a lovely version. All characters belong to Joss.
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Night Visiting
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She's raised her up
from off her pillow
She's raised her up from off her bed
And
through the window she's whispered soft
Who's that disturbeth my
own night's rest?
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She could hear the rain from here. River was supposed to be in her room, or that was what Simon had told her. But then it had started raining outside and she'd slipped away, up through the stairs and her various hiding places, mindful of her wound, until she was inside of the tiny, claustrophobic nook she'd found between the kitchen ceiling and the outer hull of Serenity. It wasn't an entirely safe place to be while flying through space of course, but while they were planet-side it was an exceptionally good place to hear the rain. River shut her eyes as her ears filled with the delicious sound, thousands upon thousands of droplets pounding upon the metal hull of her home. The sound reminded her of a heartbeat, and of her name. Across the sky above, a crack of lightening and a peal of thunder sounded. Echoes of Earth-that-was.
"River?" She heard Simon's voice in the kitchen below. River sighed, opening her eyes. Her shoulder was hurting again, she couldn't ignore that fact. The reconstruction had seemed successful but she had a lot of time left to heal and she'd need her painkillers soon. Reluctantly, she shimmied out of her hiding place and down through a vent into the dining area. She did so love the sound of the rain. There was a storm going on inside as well, but that wasn't nearly as enjoyable.
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Jayne was also avoiding the tempest that was brewing inside of the ship, but with an entirely different approach. He was actually out walking in the storm. Anyone who didn't know the Merc well enough might think he was crazy if they saw him, taking an evening stroll down a dirt road in the pouring rain, getting pelted and soaked through as he walked under tall green trees. Anyone who did know him well would know he was perfectly sane. The guns he carried were well-protected from the water, a clear sign that Jayne Cobb was in his right mind. Never mind that he was questioning his own sanity as of late.
He'd anticipated Simon being out of sorts over the whole incident. Jayne was the first to admit that he deserved the right hook he'd gotten to the jaw after River was patched up, and he didn't even chuckle at the Doc's bloody hand afterwards. Jayne had just looked at him. He figured that floored Simon more than anything. The ship's meat-head mercenary, taking a hit from the crewmate he most disliked. But Jayne knew very well that he was the reason River had shot herself, and that knowledge was dutifully and successfully eating away at him., no one need worry about that.
Oh, but then there was Mal. He'd come back the day before from a bittersweet visit with Zoë to Wash's family and that paired with his beloved little pilot being seriously injured had not put him in a good mood. Jayne couldn't say two words to the captain without getting an earful, and between Mal and Simon the air was thick with anger on board the ship. Kaylee had assured Jayne that it would blow over, and he knew she was likely right. They'd had plenty of worse in-fights before, and Jayne wasn't fighting back...much. Still...Crazy was on bed rest.
It occurred to Jayne that almost all of the major conflicts he'd had with his Captain had been over that girl in some way. She complicated things, that was what he'd said so often. Now that he thought on it though, that was kinda ironic. River was smart, but she still felt and reacted to the most base of passions. It was how her brain still worked. And base passion had told her to let a gun go off through her flesh to warn him. That fresh realization just made him shiver again in the driving rain.
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River Tam loved her brother, but he could very easily become exasperating. This was such an instance, as she sat in the infirmary while he re-dressed her shoulder and administered her pain medication. The two said nothing out loud to each other. But River could hear what Simon was inwardly muttering to himself, especially when he inspected how the stitches were healing in her skin. She caught the words 'bastard', 'irresponsible' and 'brainless oaf' more than a few times. The Captain had been thinking the same thoughts earlier, when he came to check on her. The glare that crossed her features went unnoticed by Simon, until his sister spoke,
"I'm not a damsel, you know," River finally said as he finished covering her wounds. Simon gave her an utterly confused look, and she went on, "Repressed figure of some male's ideal of human femininity, entirely helpless and unable to function without a big strong man there to save her?" Another glare, "You know, for two people who dislike Jayne so very often, you and Mal certainly give him quite a lot of credit." Simon was still giving her that perplexed frown,
"River, I don't understand..." He shook his head, even though he did. At least, he got the first part. Clearly that wasn't enough though. River growled, hopping off of the metal counter and grabbing her brother by the collar.
"I. Pulled. The. Trigger!" She stared into his eyes with an expression that was all too sane, "Not Jayne, not even those men who tied me up. It was my choice, I pulled the trigger, shotgun blast, bits of the girl's upper joint all over the room. So stop giving Jayne the credit!" She turned and left the room, blue skirts swishing around her ankles. Simon stared after her for a long, long time.
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He finally came back to the ship late that night. Predictably he was sodden through, his boots leaving puddles in the darkened cargo bay. Reason told Jayne that he'd best get to his bunk before the cool metal interior of Serenity gave his drenched self a cold, or he ran into Mal, whichever came first. But he hadn't seen River in two days, not since he'd watched anxiously outside of the infirmary while Simon had put her shoulder back together. He'd stayed away, as everyone seemed to want. Funny that he worried about that now. Generally Jayne didn't much pay heed to what his shipmates wanted, at least when it came to things like this. But it couldn't hurt to check in on Moon-brain while she was sleeping off her pain killers.
His feet slightly squishing in his boots, Jayne made his way toward her room, stopping just inside her doorframe. The once-sparse passenger dorm had come to look like a girl's bedroom over the year and a half River had been there. He hadn't really noticed that when he'd asked her if she wanted to go into town, but he noticed it now. There were pictures she'd drawn hanging on the walls, paper fans and girly clothes she'd gathered along the way, and the rug Inara had given her for her birthday on the floor. Over her bed she'd pinned the love knot that had been in her hair when Jayne had brought her back.
Jayne heard the breath that wearily left his lungs as his eyes dropped down to watch her sleep. River and her rivers of hair flowing over her pillows, her eyes shut peacefully and testament to the fact that she no longer had the nightmares of old. Jayne winced. She was supposed to be better now, with nothing to worry about. She was supposed to keep on running around the ship, annoying him so he had an excuse for his bad behavior toward her and Doc.
"Men are idiots," River mumbled, rolling over. Jayne froze, wondering if he had time to escape. He did not, of course. River sat up in her smooth, ever-creepifying way, blinking sleep from her bleary eyes before fixing them on him, "You are getting water all over my rug,"
Jayne looked down. Yep, there was her rug, rather damp under his boots, "Sorry," He mumbled, backing away from the door like a bull caught in a china shop. Or a Merc caught in her delicate sanctuary of girl-ness. River huffed, rolling her eyes and swinging her feet over the side of her bed. Crossing to him, her small hands reached out and pulled him back inside, shutting her door once she did,
"I did not request that you leave," She spoke up to him, idly counting the raindrops that clung to his neck and arms. Jayne swallowed under her gentile scrutiny. She was wearing a nightdress without sleeves, and he could see the dressing on her shoulder. Her face dropped then, a sigh leaving her and her hair falling forward, "I never wanted to be, you know."
"...Huh?" It seemed to Jayne that he was saying that a lot around her lately. A sound that seemed dull in contrast to River's voice.
"The reason you and the Captain fight so much," She clarified pointedly. Oh right, the mind reading, how could he forget? She knew what was running though his thoughts. Not that his brain was all that complicated. Jayne looked over her head, his blue eyes settling on the love knot over her bed,
"Not your fault," He said gruffly, "To be fair, Mal's stubborn and I'm just plain mean and greedy," He smirked, even as River looked up again with a clearly exasperated expression.
"You see? Idiots," She shook her head, eyes level with his chest, "Missing the obvious. Greed and annoyance are only covers," River sighed again, catching Jayne entirely off guard as she leaned forward, resting her small wisp of a body against his. Like a canary leaning against a brick wall for comfort. River gave a rather pleased hum, his shirt damp against her cheek. Jayne knew that he should have protested. But he was frozen to the spot, eyes still fixed upon the opposite wall.
"...Coverin' what?" He asked in a hoarse voice, before clearing his throat. River didn't reply at first, only wrapped her arms around his waist, one hand grasping the wrist of the other behind his back. He was getting her dress all wet with his own sodden clothes, but she didn't seem to notice or care.
"You tell me," The Girl Wonder hummed against him, eyes shut, "I already know,"
Sometimes Jayne wondered if there was anything she didn't know. Almost without his permission, his arms wrapped around her in turn, as he leaned back against her door. River was tucked against him, her small frame feeling like the delicate bones of a hummingbird. Persistent, strong, but as breakable as anyone else's. Jayne heard himself start to talk as his brain drifted over all the confusing aspects of the girl in his arms,
"Didn't know what to make of you when you first got here," He said quietly, "I never was mistaken for bein' smart. And I know nobody ever takes me for having any brains, neither. I do what I'm good for. When I don't know what to make of somethin', I ignore it or I shoot it," Jayne actually smirked then. One hand reached up, to play with that tangled hair of hers that still smelled like green apples, twisting strands around his fingers, "Couldn't exactly do either with you. Tried to. Ignore ya, that is. Hell, when I tried to get rid of you'n yer brother I even wonder sometimes if it was just for the money. Saw you lyin' there on Ariel though, tried to pretend it didn't get to me," River looked up at him, her head still against his chest. But Jayne didn't see any accusation there. She knew all this, after all. She just wanted to hear it out loud, "...is that why you didn't warn Simon about me turnin' you in?"
The girl simply nodded against him. Jayne let out a long breath,
"Then you turned out to be a weapon," He swallowed, "Somethin' I could understand. We got along good after that, didn't we?" Jayne asked, and River nodded again. His arms held her a bit closer, even as his voice got a bit more worked up, "Then why'd you go and do that to yourself in town, girl?" He looked down at her, doing a very good job of keeping a stoic face. Not that it would fool her of course, but Jayne was a creature of habit, "We was getting' on just fine, I knew what to make of you, and that as pretty as you were, you was off-limits and then..." He paused, remembering what she'd said that night. About kisses and some other moon-brain in a poem that killed herself warning her man of a trap, "I couldn't be with you, Crazy," He caught himself saying, "I aint got the brains to keep up with you..."
"You prideful oaf," River said softly, rising up on her tiptoes, "You really think that any man does?"
Jayne was silenced there. Obviously, a girl who could read minds would have her arguments ready. And he really didn't have anything to say about it in return. He did have his pride, and being saved by the crazy genius little girl would always upset that. But there she was, resting in his arms. Not like some girl he bought time with planet-side, who pretended that he was her king for the moment. River didn't need him. But she had chosen him. She was getting herself all wet with rain water to be near to him, pressing a kiss to the place his heart was, over shirt and skin, "You'd better go," River whispered after a moment of meeting his eyes, "I hear the tempest returning,"
That meant either Simon or Mal were nearby. She could hear it. Jayne looked down at her, brushing her hair back from her face, his hand lightly tracing her face and throat before touching her bandaged shoulder, "Don't think I'll ever know what to make of you,"
"It will keep things interesting," River gave him one of her big smiles, before standing on her toes and giving him the lightest of kisses on the lips, catching a few lingering raindrops there. It was so light, like a brush of those damned apple blossoms from the tree near his Ma's kitchen that would fly everywhere in the springtime. Jayne felt his heart drop to his knees, "Goodnight," She whispered close to his lips, before backing away.
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"Night, Moon-brain," He pushed open the door behind him and slipped out and away from her arms, wondering if he'd left his breath back in her room, where she would curl up on her bed and sleep soundly again, her damp dress carrying the scent of him into her dreams. Jayne passed by Mal on his way to his bunk, and the two exchanged not a word. There was less tension there though, it was noticeable as they caught the other's eye, nodded, and went on their way
. The tempest would break at some point in the morning of course, when River was better and they flew off of that rainy rock. Jayne had no doubt it would start up again though, once whatever it was that had just happened between he and Moon-brain progressed.
But a few more storms weren't really gonna hurt anybody.
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Author's Notes: May continue, may not, depends upon the muse. I am muchly enjoying writing this pairing, though.
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I must away love, no longer tarry,
This roaring tempest I have to cross
I must be guided without a stumble
Into the arms I love the best.
And when he came up to his true-love's dwelling
He's knelt down gently upon the stone
And through the window he's whispered soft
Is my true-lover within at home?
She's raised her up from off her pillow
She's raised her up from off her bed
And through the window she's whispered soft
Who's that disturbeth my own night's rest?
Wake up, wake up, love, it's your own true-love
Wake up, wake up, love, and let me in.
Oh how the wind blows and how it rains,
Oh I am wet, love, unto the skin.
She's raised her up from off her pillow
She's raised her up and let him in.
They were locked in each other's arms
Until the long night was past and o'er.
And when the long night was passed and o'er
Again the small clouds began to grow.
He's leaned down gently and kissed her soft.
He's saddled up and away did ride.
He mounted up on his horse and away did ride.
He's mounted up on his horse and away did ride
This morning tempest I have to cross
I must be guided without a stumble
Into the arms I love the best.