A/N This one's for Jordan. Because he's awesome, challenges and encourages at the same time, and 'cos I think he loves KindaCrazy!River :)
Hope you enjoy.
Alternative Medicine
River winced as the needle pierced the crook of her arm.
The physical discomfort was minimal but the psychic resonance struck a much deeper chord, ringing echoes of sterile steel, stark bright cold and sharply curving minds that hollowed her out to make room for their secrets.
Simon did not know this, of course. He got to interpret the world through five senses and only three dimensions. Luxuries no longer open to River.
So, he made a soft noise of apology for the small pinch, murmuring that he wouldn't need to take her blood again for a while. Then he smiled at her as he pressed a gentle kiss to the tiny wound.
River cocked her head.
Memories from the Academy were all too clear, hard and shiny. They had eaten holes through the softer ones, rendering linear recall problematic…but… there was something to his movement…
Whilst logic deemed it a questionable choice for a physician, risking pathogenic transference, the movement conjured images of scraped knees, of sorrow soothed away, of feelings long thought lost.
Secure, safe, cherished.
Wasn't there something to say at the same time? An invocation to accompany the movement?
The words emerged tangled, as always, but the sentiment was right:
"Osculation augments healing?"
Simon nodded, smile spreading. "That's right, River."
Something small and precious unfurled inside.
It took her a moment to recognise it as peace.
Jayne counted out the final set, arms moving smoothly like pistons. He paid no attention as River wandered past, fingers idly twining through tangles.
He went to replace the weight on its stand, miscalculated, and trapped skin between metal. He swore as he released the weight then pulled back his hand to survey the slight injury. Mouth drawn in something like a pout, he stuck his fist in his mouth and sucked at his skinned knuckles.
River paused, arrested, and then shook her head disapprovingly, moving towards him with purpose.
"He is not doing it right." She took his hand in both of hers, then lowered her head, lips brushing over the grazes.
He snatched it back, looking horrified. "What the hell you doin', Crazy?"
She raised her eyes to meet his, brilliantly smiling.
"Osculation augments healing."
He looked at her like she was fēng le, but her radiance remained undimmed. His colours were more confused than fearful, a sign the medicine was already working.
Mal was turning the air blue – and not just metaphorically speaking. Streams of cussing hung in the aether in vibrating violet spirals.
"What happened?" Zoe asked with a resigned air, as they stalked up Serenity's ramp to where she and River were standing.
"Deal went south, of course!"
Jayne was nursing what was shaping up to be a spectacular black eye and a disgruntled expression. Mal was radiating a cloud of black temper. He swept past them, towards the catwalk, and began to ascend as they followed behind.
"Just once, it'd be nice to visit a Rim planet where Jayne's reputation don't precede him!"
Zoe gave Jayne a level look over her shoulder as she crossed her arms over her rounded abdomen. "Another former partner you double-crossed?"
"Nope," Mal said with false good cheer, "a Madam he cheated out of pay when he tumbled one of her girls." His fixed smile fell away, replaced with a snarl. He paused his fuming stride down the corridor and turned to look at Jayne. "Is there no-one you won't fleece?"
"She was overchargin'!" Jayne objected, eyes wide with injured innocence.
Mal threw his hands up in disgust. Ordinarily conflict would stoke River's confusion, negativity scattering clarity. But she sensed warmth beneath apparent anger, gently pulsating like a wave of gold, and that kernel of peace at her core purred in simpatico.
She sought its source. A task that became easier once Mal angrily strode off towards the cockpit with Zoe in his wake.
River followed the warmth to the galley instead.
Jayne had thrown himself in a chair and was gingerly probing at his injury, his peripheral vision compromised by his hand. So it took him a moment to become aware of the presence at his side. "What d'you want, girly?" he snarled.
"Why did he not tell the Captain the truth?"
She carried a cloth she'd soaked in cold water. As she spoke, she prised his hand away and gently placed it on the swollen flesh.
The purple pain retreated a little, and a small sigh escaped him.
He opened his good eye to glare a warning. "I did. I ain't never cheated a whore outta money, and that's God's own truth."
River gave him a speculative look, impressed with his ability to deceive with veracity. "Truth comes in many flavours. This one was surprisingly sweet: the girl gave her body freely from affection, that was why no money exchanged hands."
His cheeks heated. "That ain't none of your business, Crazy, and you gorram shouldn't be lookin'!"
She canted her head, considering. "Hard not to notice beauty," she commented. He blinked at her. Then she leant forward and eased the cloth from his eye, inspecting her handiwork.
He watched her warily, as if he knew what was coming. But if he did, he did nothing to stop her.
Her lips brushed the bruise.
"Osculation augments healing," she murmured.
The voices floated down the corridor, coiling round the ears in harmonious disharmony.
"I fail to see why this is such a surprise to you," Inara remarked. "Montgomery is a perfectly charming man – why would I object to him?"
"First of all, I never even knew Monty was short for Montgomery." Mal's tone was both annoyed and appalled. "Secondly, you've managed to remain immune to my charms for nigh on two years now!"
The amusement in Inara's voice deepened. "What in the 'verse gave you the idea you and he were alike? Montgomery is a gentleman."
Mal's outrage was palpable. "The world's gone mad…" he mumbled.
Inara's laugh rang out like tinkling bells. "Speaking of insanity," she continued, "it appears our resident diamond in the rough is attempting to polish himself."
"Who's that?" Mal asked blankly. "Wha- Jayne?" He blew air out between his lips derisively. "He ain't no diamond! Rough, yes. Gem, no."
She laughed once more. "Regardless… I believe he may be trying to increase his vocabulary."
Mal considered this. "To be fair, he did once use the word 'pretentious' as if he knew what it meant… What you been teachin' him?"
Amused speculation coloured her tone. "He asked me what osculation meant."
Mal was horrified. "Why the hell would Jayne need to know that?"
Unseen above them in the vent, River smiled.
The Wall-Eyed Duck was neither refined nor comely, but she drank it in like the sweetest of nectars. She was no longer surprised to find beauty in unexpected places.
The night air shimmered with warm gold, pulsing in time with that measure of peace.
Zoe and Mal had ventured behind a curtained-off area, their business too sensitive – or too illegal – to be conducted at the bar. Jayne was seated at a table, regaling the locals with tales of his exploits. She basked in their reflected glow, contented smile tugging her lips.
She appeared alone and unprotected. A false impression this leering fellow was about to discover to his detriment…
"Hey, pretty, pretty girl… Wanna come with me?" His arm encircled her waist; he grinned at her through missing teeth and began nudging her towards the exit.
She smiled serenely and waited. Seconds later, a tray crashed down on her would-be paramour's head and he puddled in a pile at her feet.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his cronies rather took exception to this and leapt upon Jayne, three at a time.
Jayne took a powerful blow to the jaw. He came up more ornery than hurt, with teeth bared and fists swinging.
Less than a minute later, all three of the antagonists were laid out cold.
Straightening his hat, Jayne turned to the bar and downed the whiskeys they'd left behind, then he leant back against the wood and watched her through half-lidded eyes.
"Can't afford to daydream in a place like this, Moonbrain. What would you have done if'n I weren't here?"
The measure of peace swelled beneath her certainty. "She knew he was."
He raised his eyebrows, then frowned at her in consideration. His hand brushed at his bruised jaw. He looked almost… expectant.
River smiled and stepped forward…
"For cryin' out loud – can't we leave you two alone for one minute without someone gettin' knocked out?"
She curled in an armchair, sipping at her tea. Wriggling her toes, she enjoyed the tactility of fabric on skin; enjoying her five senses without deluge from the sixth even more.
Osculation augments healing. She felt that truth more and more.
Linear calculation was even proving possible.
Yet it still seemed Jayne appeared before her between one breath and the next.
As if he'd always been there.
His gaze was intent, his colours even more so. The gold drew her to his mouth.
To where a small, neat cut marred his lower lip, its edges precisely rendered.
The lips parted; he pushed out his question, half-hope, half-fear:
"Kiss it better?"
fin
Glossary:
fēng le - loopy in the head