Title: Of Dark Ships, Secret Gardens, and Bar Fights

Series: Bad Blood (previously called Untitled)

Pairing: It's going to have a bit of all the canon, plus Rayne!

Rating: PG-13 (may be R later on)

Disclaimer: If I owned them, Rayne would have been cannon long before now and I'm pretty sure there would be less awkward sexual tension between Mal and Simon…

Author's Notes: Okay, to those that have been reading my journal this is no surprise, but this chapter is only half as long as it was originally intended to be (and at over 5,000 words this sucker is the longest chapter yet (and in only half its glory))

I have a long pointless rant about things that happened while writing this chapter (and if you just want to get to the story you can scroll down past the first dotted line and just skip my crazy rambling.

((skip this if you don't care about my semi coherent ramblings))

(((Seriously now, this is going to be kind of long, you might be better off just skipping it)))

I want you all to know I named my computer Herbert when I got him around 3 years ago. For no real reason other then I find the name amusing and that it means bright (my computer glows) and thus this is the only reason I named the Steg. that (he glows too!) It was almost Fredrick or Donald (the first means peaceful ruler and then second ruler of the world, both fitting for Wash's little 'This Land' story.) but I fought the urge to use either of those, the second meaning of Herbert is excellent army or ruler so I still have that meaning in there. Part of me wishes I had named him something different (a lot of people name him Herbert) but it fit so I went with it.

That was a really long and fairly pointless little peek into how much thought I put into the most pointless of things…I should have spent all that time working on my art project so I didn't get a C on it, but eh, working on the pointless bits of my story is far more fun!

I want you all to know that I really wanted to end it at "With that he pulled the trigger." Because I thought it would be funny. But I had all the action written already so I just kept going (because, while I am mean, I'm not THAT mean.)

And I must come clean, I don't write action. I just can't do it. I see it in my head but blah...it just turns out blah. So I decided that this go round I would just write down exactly what I wanted it to look like, and then go back and try to make it flow a little better. I decided the best way to do this was to listen to music that got me in the action mindset while I wrote. So I listened to rock, metal, hard rock, movie soundtracks, techno. Nothing, nadda, zip, zilch, bupkiss. I was getting no where and quick with that idea so I decided to put it on random and just do the best I could.

So I struggled a bit, and the action fought back I aint gonna lie, then bam...this one song came on and it just started flowing. So I listened to that one song on loop while I wrote the bar fight and it ended up pretty okay if I do say so myself (especially compared to what I usually get for action). What is the name of the song, you may be asking. Well that's the thing...as embarrassing as it is (and it is embarrassing) I can't NOT share. It was Ashlee Simpon's "La La"...how the hell a bar fight with River and Jayne come from "La La" is beyond me, but it did...and I'm not questioning it. Although I did go back and re-edit the fight while listening to 'Smack my Bitch up' and the Firefly soundtrack.

This one is dedicated to Rach, here's hoping a glowing dino named Herbert can make ya smile!

It's 5,562 words baby, it's a longin'! Major thanks to the best beta ever Kim, sorry about my present ping-ponging.

Okay enough of my rambling! Please review.

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It smelt a bit like burnt hair with a hint of sour milk and old urine. Basically, it smelt like every other seedy bar he'd ever been in. Actually, he may have been in this one before come to think of it. He never was one to remember the bars he'd seen the inside of; made it a habit to pass out and forget everything that happened the night before.

This was exactly the reason he was there now. He needed alcohol, and he needed it now.

Jayne slapped a few credits on the bar top, not looking at anything or anyone around him. "Give me something."

The barkeep looked from the money peaking out from under Jayne's hand and up to Jayne. "What do you want?"

Jayne finally made eye contact with the barkeep, a look that was somewhere between anger and disbelief on his face. "Do I look like I care? Just make sure it can get me drunk!"

The barkeep studied Jayne for a moment before grabbing a nearby bottle. He figured it was a good idea to give the big man something strong, but not too expensive. Odds were this man would rip him a new one if he thought he was having one pulled over on him.

River pushed open the door to the bar, a cloud of smoke and the putrid smell of the bar floating outside as she stepped in. She scrunched her nose up at the initial smell and scanned the bar for Jayne. Well, she didn't actually scan the whole bar for Jayne as much as she scanned the actual bar; she knew exactly where the mercenary would be and what he would be trying to do.

River walked in, each step precise and graceful, artfully dodging all of the deeply discolored and wet spots on the floor. Just because she may have had on her large combat boots, it didn't mean she wanted to touch the floor any more then she had to.

Jayne quickly downed his first drink, noting the slight burn as it went down. He slammed the glass back onto the bar top and glared ahead of him. Gorram farmers, gorram Feds, gorram Mal! What the hell was he supposed to do now? Sit tight and wait to get picked up?

Jayne turned to fix River with a glare. Brown met blue as their eyes locked onto one another.

River tilted her head to the side and studied him closely, an odd expression on her face. It didn't take him long to realize he knew that look; took him even less time to realize that expression on her face weren't all that different from the one her brother gave him once they had first gotten back to Serenity from Ariel.

He didn't like that look. Full of trust and a little adoration, that look meant she was depending on him to save her. Hell, it meant she was depending on him period. He never had to look out for anyone but himself before, and ain't like he would ever admit it, but it scared him a little.

Jayne was good at one thing, damned good at it, part of the reason he was so good was because all he ever worried about was him. He didn't have any outstanding moral code to follow like Mal. Hell, most of the time he didn't even think he had a conscience. Weren't until he found himself on Serenity that he began to realize he did have one, and, damnit all to hell, if he wasn't beginning to developed a gorram moral code too. He had begun to deny it and ignore the ever growing feelings and second thoughts that had plagued him ever since Higgins Moon when that kid took a bullet for 'im.

As he glared at River, he realized that this was it. Him stuck here with the only just recovered crazy girl was the last challenge for him. He was faced with a choice. He could watch and protect her, like he knew Mal would, or he could ditch her first chance he got and cement the self centered, unbelievable son of a bitch persona he had grown over the years.

Damn it all, he really didn't like that look.

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It was still and stiflingly black. The kind of black that made your skin crawl, that seemed to amplify ever little sound. It was unnerving and the feeling of foreboding hung in the air around them.

"Why ain't the lights turning on?" an incredulous captain asked in the general direction of where he had last seen Zoe.

"Backup must have blown."

"Do we have any power?" Simon asked, making sure to hold onto the door frame, he didn't want to go wondering into the room and smashing into anyone, and he wanted to go crashing down the stairs only a few feet behind him even less.

"Don't...anybody…move!" Mal announced to the whole of his crew, well the whole of his crew that happened to be on the boat. "I'm gonna get a flashlight."

Mal pushed back in his chair and turned towards the cabinet to the side of him. It was times like this he was glad they decided to put that handy dandy little device on the bridge.

He stood and took two, very sure, steps towards the cabinet only to come in close, and particularly hard, contact with the wall. He muttered a curse at his now throbbing foot before he reached out in front of him. Feeling his way along the wall he shuffled over to the cabinet.

With a proud 'ha,' he pulled the flashlight out, "Don't worry, I've got the flashlight." He announced again and flipped the switch. "Hell…"

"What happened? Why didn't you turn it on?"

"I did turn it on…."

"Then why isn't there any light?"

"Probably because it isn't working!" Mal glared in the general direction from which Simon's voice had come. He turned his face back down to the flashlight, not that it would do any good he couldn't see anything in the dark, and tried to fuss out what exactly had gone wrong with it.

"The batteries dead, sir?"

"Must be…Where are the spare batteries?"

"In the engine room, sir." Zoe answered sadly.

Mal looked from the flashlight in his hands to where Zoe's voice was coming from and finally to where he knew the door leading down to their rooms, and eventually the engine room, was.

Who the hell decided the engine room was the best place for the spare batteries? They had lots of room in the cabinet. As soon as they got the power back on he was stashing some batteries in the cabinet next to the flashlight. "Well, this is a fine mess."

"Yes, sir." Zoe said calmly from the second's seat.

"What are we going to do?" Simon cut in before Zoe could say anything more. "We can't just sit around in the dark and hope something will happen."

"Listen, Doc, I know your upset because we had to leave your mei mei and Kaylee planet side, but you gettin' testy with me ain't helping in this particular circumstance. Dong ma? We need to relax and figure out how to get some light. We'll work from there."

The small room stayed deathly silent, that wonderful foreboding still hanging in the air.

"Just so we're clear an all…that was my way of saying you two need to come up with something because all I got was the flashlight idea." Mal mentioned.

Suddenly, a slight orange glow came from the controls in the front. It was an odd shaped glow, but a glow none-the-less and Mal weren't about to argue with any type of light he could get.

"Is that a dinosaur?" Simon asked in his usual confused and completely disbelieving tone.

"Wash's second stegosaurus lights up." Zoe offered as she began to walk towards the doorway, slowly but surely.

"Why would a stegosaurus light up?" He continued questioned quietly, knowing no one was really paying any attention to him.

Honestly, he wasn't paying much attention to himself. He needed to get his mind off of what was happening so he wouldn't panic. River and Kaylee were still on Harvest, and the Alliance was there as well. River had gotten into a gun fight and may be lying bleeding in that alley Mal and Zoe left her in for all he knew. They could have all been kidnapped, or arrested. He didn't put it past the crew to have the worse thing happen to them at any given time; they were lucky that way.

"Who care's why it glows? Point is it glows, and that gives us a little something to work with." Mal was happy, okay not happy, but relieved. At least, now, they could move about without fallin' all over themselves and walkin' into walls and the like.

"Figure we can use Herbert here to get us to the kitchen, we've got the lighter and a few candles in there." Zoe said as she walked past Mal.

"Right, well you go and do that and…Simon and I will stay here. No point in the three of us going; won't all be able to use that light to see where we're headed."

Zoe gave Mal a sharp nod before moving past Simon and toward the kitchen. The two men stood in complete silence as Zoe slowly made her way to the kitchen. It wasn't a comfortable silence, what with the foreboding and all, and it was making Mal a bit twitchy.

"So…" Mal said as conversationally as possible, "at least I didn't get shot."

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The shuttle landed quietly at the edge of a beautiful garden. Large lush bushes and tree's so tall it seemed as though their branches alone were holding up the darkening sky created a wall between the landing area and the regal houses on the other side.

The Harvest training house was known throughout the 'Verse for its immaculate gardens. Though the meager descriptions that the few who had seen them could supply did them no disservice, they were incorrect. The gardens were more breathtakingly beautiful then any could ever describe.

"Oh, look at all the colors! It's like somethin' outta a fairytale…" Kaylee gasped, her eyes constantly moving not wanting to miss even one little detail about anything around her. "I mean…I've dreamt of fancy places an' all, but they ain't got nothin' on this."

"It is a little different than we're used to, isn't it?" Inara smiled as she continued towards the training house, Kaylee a good distance behind her still trying to see and memorize everything.

"A little 'Nara? I can't even tell ya the last time we landed somewhere that weren't a desert. Most foliage I ever see is a tumble weed."

"Well, not all places can be as blessed as here." Came an even and sultry voice from just behind Inara. There stood a beautiful young woman with perfect red curls spilling around her shoulders.

"Lyssa, it's been too long." Inara said placing a kiss on both of her cheeks.

Kaylee flashed her megawatt smile at the two Companions. They looked so regal, their long silk dresses catching the light and fluttering in the slight breeze. Small shimmers of sun broke through the quickly clouding sky and helped make the two seem ethereal.

Kaylee felt like she was intruding. It was such perfect a scene, and, when she glanced down to her slightly greasy overalls, she felt it even more so out of place.

"Come, we should move inside before our wonderful weather decides to let itself be known." Lyssa said with a smile before she turned and began to make her way up the stairs and into the training house.

Inara smiled after her old friend and began to follow her up the stairs, only pausing for a moment halfway up to look back to Kaylee. "Coming in?"

Kaylee nodded mutely from the middle of the long pathway that lead to the stairs Inara was standing on. She felt awkward, like she did when she went over to her mammy's. Always knew she weren't allowed to touch nothin', had to keep it all clean, an' she tried real hard to do it too, but she always did seem to be trackin' dirt with her no matter what. Mammy always said even after a bath she was dirtier then any a' the boys. Right now, she never felt it to be truer.

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River was entirely focused on Jayne and his sobriety, calculating in her head how each glass of cheap whiskey was affecting him. She watched as Jayne threw back another shot, at this rate he would succeed in getting himself drunk in an hour or so. He either needed to start drinking faster or start on a more potent drink if he wanted to be drunk now, like he said he did.

Throwing back one more drink Jayne realized he wasn't getting drunk nearly quick enough. Deciding that he needed a break from his internal debate, Jayne took to glaring at the reflection of himself and River in the mirror behind the bar. She was perched on the edge of the bar stool next to him staring intently at his shoulder.

He couldn't blame her; one look around the place and he knew every pair of eyes would be glued to her, what with her being the only member of the fairer sex in the place. That and it wasn't like she had the pick of the veritable litter. Sure he was cocky, but anyone would tell you he was hands down the most attractive guy in the place. It couldn't be comfortable for her, and, hell, if he weren't so damn unhappy, he might even feel a little bad about it. As it was he was unhappy and he didn't feel bad, he actually didn't give a houzi de pigu how she felt.

The bar door swung open; and had it not been for River's tensing, Jayne wouldn't have paid any attention to it, but she did tense, and he did pay attention.

"Well, lookie here…"

This really was shaping up to be one hell of a day.

Suppressing the ever growing need to let loose every single curse word he had ever heard uttered, and Jayne had been to one end of the 'Verse to the other so he knew more then his fair share of curses, he turned and locked eyes with a man he never wanted to see again.

"I never thought I'd see you again you chun ge zhen de hundan." He took a step forward, around a particularly large and mean looking man, grinning like he had won something.

"Hey Marco…nice limp."

Marco's grin faltered as he stared down the man that had given him that limp. With a deep growl he pulled out a gun and took steady aim, right for Jayne's head. "Ain't exactly smart to be makin' fun of the man that's got a gun to your head."

"Yeah, well, I've never been one for smarts, parta the reason I stuck with your worthless ass as long as I did."

Jayne smirked at the man in front of him. Marco looked the same as he had when Jayne shot him right in front of Serenity's cargo bay years ago. Man shouldn't have been surprised by the fact that Jayne had shot him; that's what Jayne did. Actually he probably wasn't surprised he got shot by Jayne, he had probably been expectin' it; no the surprise came from the reason Jayne had shot him. The look said it all, Marco was killed by the fact he had got shot over a bigger bunk and full run of the kitchen. The extra three percent didn't even matter, switchin' for money could be respected by anyone in the business.

"Gun." Marco demanded, waving to his side. "Now, Jayne."

Jayne glowered, even more upset with the situation. Second time in one gorram day he was gonna be without his gun when he needed it. He grabbed Steve off of the bar top and tossed it to the side of the bar, well out of the reach of any of Marco's men. Weren't no way in hell he was gonna let one of those Chuin-zi touch his gun and chance gettin' shot by it. It was one of his rules, never get shot by your own gorram gun, and to this day it was the only rule he had yet to screw up and brake.

River sat unmoving next to Jayne. Thoughts flew around the room, plans and actions taking place before anyone would even dare to move, and she saw it all.

The men behind Marco were waiting for him to give an order, his brand new crew. It had taken time to find new people, after what Jayne had done, Marco took his time. It was hard to find good help after all, especially when you didn't want to pay them. Marco was waiting for Jayne to make a move, and Jayne was waiting for Marco. It was a standoff with only one gun drawn.

The area was known for its seedy bars, mostly thanks to the docks being so nearby, and so anyone that visited there knew how to act in situations like this. They ran like mad. Many began to file out when the group of five men entered. The rest of the patrons began to file out as soon as the gun had been drawn.

Only when all of the other people had left the bar, all save the five men sharing a staring contest with Jayne, as well as the pair themselves and the bar's owner, who had taken refuge in his bullet proof office, did Marco even notice River. It was a good indicator of how angry Marco was with Jayne that he didn't even notice the only female in the bar, especially one as cute as her.

"Who the hell is she?"

Jayne's stare faltered, he risked a glance over to River and back again as he tried to come up with a reason the girl was sitting with him, even as a gun was aimed at his head. "She's…ummm…huh." Yeah, he had nothing.

Marco flashed a crooked grin at River, who had finally turned to look at the men in front of her. "Damn, Jayne, she's cute. You sailin' with her?"

Jayne just glared at Marco, a glare that sent many men running for the hills. It, in fact, did not send Marco or his men running, but it did knock that stupid grin off of his face.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Marco continued, again turning back to River. She was after all a good deal less scary then Jayne. "Do you know who you're sailin' with, sweetheart?"

River quirked an eyebrow, her face the picture of confused disgust, at not only the question and endearment, but the way he had said it.

"Jayne Cobb, the man that puts the 'me' in mercenary."

River shot Jayne a disbelieving stare as he winced at the words like he was in pain as Marco continued. The 'me in mercenary'? Who said that?

"He's the biggest, meanest gun for hire outside the core. He'd be an even bigger name 'cept he's got this little habit where he's always back stabbin' the men he works fore and flies with. Which begs the question…what the hell are you doin' with a girl, Jayne?" Marco finished staring at Jayne, completely and utterly confused at the thought of Jayne travelin' with anyone that wasn't payin' him. Then again she might be paying him, but, if she were, why the hell didn't he say that? Jayne wasn't the type to try and protect anyone who hired him, not unless she wasn't paying him until whatever deal they had worked out was over and done. Even then, that didn't sound like a job Jayne would take, he was a payment up front kind of guy, unless it was transporting cargo and selling it off, then its payment upon delivery because no one would do it otherwise.

"You know me Marco, I love girls." Jayne answered with a smug grin.

"Yes, you do." The gun moved from being aimed at Jayne's head, to being aimed at River. "But not as much as you love yourself, you selfish son of a bitch."

With that he pulled the trigger.

The problem with the whole showdown was that Marco had been so focused on River, he had stopped paying attention to Jayne, and that's all Jayne had needed. As Marco moved the gun to aim at River, Jayne had moved so he could take care of the problem. One well-placed kick, as the insult left Marco's mouth, and River, along with her chair, were well out of the way of harm.

Marco didn't even have time to think as the stool on the opposite side of Jayne went flying towards him. Both he and his gun went tumbling to the ground as Jayne tackled one of the other men, all of whom he had expected would have drawn their guns by now. New crew was a bit slower than the last, but he wasn't about to complain about not having to deal with gettin' shot at.

River held onto the edges of the barstool with a white knuckled grip. She should have been paying more attention to what Jayne was thinking instead of the others; at least, then, she would have been ready to be sent sliding across the room.

Jayne smirked to himself as two men, one only half his size, lunged at him. He dodged the small one and punched the big one across the face. Turning, he grabbed at the nearest thing he could find, a pool ball. He turned back and smashed it into the smaller man's face, the sound of breaking bone accompanying it. Letting the ball fall to the floor Jayne turned towards the taller man, who lunged at him. With little effort on Jayne's part he sent the man flying through the air.

River quickly leaned to the left in her chair, narrowly avoiding the flailing body Jayne had just sent soaring. She looked from the man heaped on dirty floor next to her to the two men moving towards Jayne and lastly towards the third man, who had stood in the back of the group. He was the dangerous one, the killer. The other two had fought and killed, but not like him. The others were paid to kill this man lived for it.

The man grabbed for the large hunting knife strapped to his hip and started to make his way towards Jayne, who was currently wielding a pool cue against the other two. River looked from the man to Jayne and back again. Before even realizing what she was doing, River pushed down on the seat of her chair rising up in her seat. She kicked out and sent a table sliding towards the man. It hit him in the side, sending his knife to the ground. River let go of her seat and moved to stand between Jayne and the other man.

Jayne turned around to see River standing behind him. He groaned a little to himself, this day was most definitely getting steadily worse. The last thing he needed right now was her getting hurt. Then again, she had done this kind of thing before. He could attest to that with his overabundance of first hand experience to the fact that she had done this kind of thing before and was more then just good at it, and the odds of these idiots being able to stop her were slim. Hell, he had barely slowed her down in her first bar fight, and he was an expert in the subject of slowin' folk down. No power in the 'Verse could stop her and all; only problem with that was the fact that it only took one little bullet and no power in the 'Verse could save ya. If anyone landed even one punch to that girl, there would be hell to pay.

The man glared at River, and she stopped thinking. This was what she was made to do and thinking would only mess it up. The man ran at River with a yell, and Jayne turned to look. She spun around and clothes lined the man with her leg. He fell backwards, crashing to the floor in a heavy heap.

"Damn…" Jayne said standing in awe of how easily River had finished off the man.

Just then the smaller man crashed into Jayne's back. The pool cue he had been using earlier snapped in half where it was trapped between Jayne and the end of the pool table he had just been thrown into. Jayne threw his head back, hitting the other man in the head hard enough that he loosened his grip. Jayne grabbed a hold of the thinner half of the pool cue and stabbed it behind him, sending the wood deep into the shorter man's leg. With a pain filled scream, the man let Jayne go.

Jayne turned and punched the man sending him to the floor. He turned to look at River, who was only a few feet away from him. She felt the beginnings of a smile tug at the corners of her mouth as he grinned at her, obviously insanely impressed. River's eyes grew wide right before she sprinted towards Jayne, closing the few feet between them in only a few steps. She threw herself at him, knocking them both to the ground behind the bar just as gunfire erupted around them.

"Now, that just ain't right! Who the hell grabbed my gorram gun?" Jayne grimaced and pushed River off of him.

River put her back to the bar and edged towards the end of it. She leaned out and looked into the bar for a second before bullets began to rain around her. tThere were more now, three other men came to the rescue of their fair captain as soon as they heard the first shot. She pulled back quickly and took a deep breath. "Seven..." She looked to Jayne, who was staring at her.

"Guess Marco made a few more friends then I thought."

River pointed to the right of Jayne. "Three..." She pointed directly behind both of them towards the front of the bar. "two..." Then she pointed the left of Jayne. "and two..."

"Well...this didn't go too well. Sure could use some of that mind-reading you seem to have, can ya pick up anything useful off'a 'em?" He asked leaning out to try and see around the bar with no luck.

River looked down at the ground, not really seeing the ground, a mask of total concentration coming across her face. "The one in the back is angry...thinks the fight is stupid, he's ready to leave. One to the left is in pain, woozy, can't see straight...stick stuck in his leg." Jayne grinned a little hearing about his handy work "Bartender's angry his store is being shot up…again…."

Jayne cut her off. "Yeah, that's all real good ta know, but it ain't exactly useful to us now, is it?"

She stared at him for a moment and blinked. With a short nod, she turned to look out into the bar. "Loaded shotgun under the metal table to the left. Marco's pistol is in-between here and there, has half a clip left."

Jayne rolled his eyes, figured the man would come at him with only half a clip in his gun. No wonder the hwoo dahn had grabbed Steve off of the floor.

River spun around, still crouched down looking around the shelves of the bar in front of her. "But the bartender keeps a gun behind…" She pulled out a fully loaded handgun "the best whiskey in the house..." She turned to look at Jayne, who was grinning at her like mad. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Now, that's more like it..." She handed him the gun, and returned to her half squatting, half sitting position from before. "Okay, now, just...stay behind me, okay?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him as he moved to the edge of the bar, his reason for her being the one to hide lost on her.

He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at her. She was behind him, ready to go when he was. He briefly thought that her being able to know what he was about to do without him having to tell her was a great benefit in cases such as these, and could come in handy in the future, but the thought past quickly as he heard the voice of one of their attackers telling the others to move in. "Lets go..."

He stood up quickly, taking aim at the nearest man, and opened fire. The men all ran for cover as Jayne began to move towards the shotgun, he was after all a far better shot then they were. River stood behind him as he shot at their attackers and moved along with him, her small frame completely blocked by his larger one.

He continued to shoot at the seven men in the barroom, one stepping out from his hiding place just enough for Jayne to get a good shot. He took aim and squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with a satisfying click.

Well, it was satisfying if you were the guy he was aiming at.

"Ruttin' figures!" Jayne stared at his now empty gun in a mixture of disgust and anger.

The men in the bar all heard the guns empty click and started to move from their hiding places to take aim at the two. A small gasp escaped from River before she quickly moved in front of Jayne and kicked down on the edge of the metal table causing it to fly up on its end and shield the two of them from the gunfire that erupted around them.

River crouched down to the ground with her hands against her ears as the gunfire began again. The shots caused the table to start falling back. Jayne grabbed a hold of it trying to keep it from falling on top of them. He looked down at River with a hint of panic; the situation was not going very well, and the last thing he needed was her going crazy. River took a deep breath and held it in as she scanned the area around them as if she just realized where they were. Her eyes locked on the pistol on the ground only a few feet away from her. She peered around the corner of the table and scanned the room; she then looked up at Jayne. He looked down at her slightly confused.

"My turn..."

River again muttered under her breath right before she jumped out from behind the table. Too surprised by the move, Jayne said nothing, he could only watch as her hand closed around the handle of the gun and bullets fell around her. She rolled to a crouching position, took aim, and closed her eyes.

She fired on the seven men in the bar room and hit all but one. Jayne slowly looked around the corner of his 'shield' at the six dead bodies lying around him. The only one still standing was the man in the back of the group. Jayne looked at her with a scowl on his face. She missed one! Of course, wouldn't you know it, it couldn'tve been Marco so Jayne could take care of him. Jayne liked to take care of his own problems, they were his problems and it seemed only right to take care of 'em himself. It seemed more then a little wrong to let a little slip of a thing like River do it for him, he was big and manly and he could most definitely take care of his own problems. Then again, she seemed to have the situation under control better then he had, what with the her not hiding behind a table and all. Being a man of self preservation he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, River had taken out seven men all on her lonesome with little to no trouble at all, and that was damn impressive and all kinds of helpful to Jayne.

River's eyes were fixed to the front of the bar. "He's ready to leave..." She blinked and turned towards Jayne. "No reason to kill him." That's when he noticed a trail of red flowing down her arm

"Ching-wah tsao duh liao mang. You got hit!"

He dropped the table back onto the ground with a heavy, and very loud, thump. He quickly moved over and crouched down next to her. With a gentleness River hadn't expected from the man, he took a hold of her arm. Her brow furrowed, and she frowned at his touch, but didn't pull away from him like he half expected her to do. He studied the wound intently, but was shaken out of his current undertaking by the sound of Rivers quick intake of breath. He looked at her with questioning eyes; quick intakes of breath were never a good sign, but even worse when they came from her 'cause they tended to be followed by gunfire.

"He found you...not good..." She whispered eyes unfocused as she stared out the large front window of the barroom. She turned to Jayne; eyes meeting and conveying everything that needed to be said.

She said it out loud anyway because it made it more real that way. "We need to leave now."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

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TBC (hopefully in two weeks, I have a design project due next Monday and I haven't even started it)