Title: Tore up plenty (8/)
Series: Creature of Extraordinary Grace
Author: Romanceguru
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I am but a lowly subservient.
Rating: R
Pairings: Mal/River Jayne/River
Summary: Post BDM 1 yr. + How will the 3 fair as a storm blows in full force, both literally and figuratively?
Notes: I was struggling with the finale and was severely unhappy with it. I finally realized that this story needed another chapter before I could wrap things up in a pretty little bow or in an ratty old paper bag.
I love my captain and beta! Thanks. Elsibeth34!
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"Wait up, girl!" Jayne called out after River, who was ten paces ahead and looking curiously through the crowded streets. "Know my lovin' works wonders, but you ain't healed." The sun was setting in the Far East, illuminating the sky in deep reds, purples and pinks. It smelled like rain as a cool breeze blew through the streets, the chill warning of the impending nightfall.
The pain in Jayne's shoulder had settled to a dull throbbing ache and he would kill for a decent shot of anything just about now to take the edge off.
The breeze carried the scent of her, embedded into his flesh, back into his conscious. After what just took place in that golden room, on that old rickety bed, he thought he'd feel completely satisfied.
It was the best sexing to date, but something felt missing. Maybe it was the way she rushed out of the place after, walking far ahead of him now as if she didn't know him from one strange face to the next, and forgetting the fact they'd just been intimate. She should be at my side, hanging on my arm, he thought dejectedly. Damn girl never made any sense.
The way she had clung to him during, kisses full of urgency, and the power behind it all, felt more than one-sided, deluded him into thinking that it meant they were going to be together. Instead, there was a feeling of dread knotting itself in the pit of his stomach. He hated feeling that way, all open and vulnerable, like there was a piece of him missing. No way in a gazillion years did he ever think it would take a piece of broken crazy girl to make him feel complete.
River stopped in the middle of the way, people swarming around her in a diverse, colorful blur. "Mal." She whispered. He was so close. She could feel him, the distinct quiet fury of a masked torrent coursing his veins. His blood ran hotter than most. People both flocked and cowered to and from the heat that radiated from his person. River closed her eyes, feeling the wind pick up and the electricity in the air crackle. A storm was brewing.
As Jayne caught up with River, he found her standing as still as death. Her lips were a pale blue and he noticed the gooseflesh covering her slender, bare arms. He became aware of the thin strap of her dress that had slipped off her shoulder, walking his mind right back into that hotel room. Instinctually, he reached over to right it, before anyone else got to thinking that way also.
His fingers slid along her skin, gliding on ice, she was so cold. Without a moment's pause he pulled her to him, wrapping her up in his warmth.
River shivered pleasantly at his touch. It has only been an hour since his hands had graced her flesh, but she realized she needed it, craved it. When he enveloped her in his large arms and held her tight, she felt safe. His imposing mass sheltered her from the whips of wind, a temporary refuge from a darkening sky that threatened to spill.
"Yer cold." Jayne mumbled as he rubbed his large hands up and down her arms, hoping the friction would generate enough heat to keep her from shivering like a wet cat.
River leaned back against him for a while, basking in his uncharacteristic thoughtfulness, allowing his flesh to warm hers, and losing herself in the simplicity of the moment.
"Warmer now, thank you." She hummed her gratitude as she stepped away, smiling back up at him.
As quickly as he was graced with her luminous expression, it melted away into a look of complete distress. Her eyes expanded in alarm as she shouted her warning. "Behind you!"
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Mal blinked his eyes in disbelief at the scene before him. As if every time he shut and opened his eyes the picture before him would seize to exist, be anything other than Jayne holding River like it was the most natural thing in the 'verse.
Son of a bitch! A rush of adrenaline coursed through his veins as his heart speed up with panic, jealousy and rage. He clenched his jaw, his muscles tense, bristling as he pushed through the crowd, narrowing his focus in on the large man's back until he was only a foot away.
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Jayne turned just in time for Mal's fist to connect solidly with the side of his face, his head snapped to the right upon impact, and he stumbled a little from the force of it. Pain blinded him momentarily before he heard Mal shouting at him. "There somethin' hindering you from keeping your hands to your own self?" He clenched his fists solidly at his sides, ready to send another one into the big guy as his first mate's words blared full force in the front of his mind. Think they've been intimate before, sir.
Jayne spit a glop of blood and righted himself, a deep scowl gripping his face. "Yeah Mal, there is." He turned and looked pointedly at a very wide-eyed River.
Her dress and hair were whipping turbulently around her small frame, and she wished it would just pick her up and carry her away from the now. Mal looked angry, hurt, and disappointed and her heart stuttered at the sight of him.
It was almost dark, the street lamps and store front signs flickering before fully alighting. The wind howled through the quickly emptying street as the locals dispersed to take shelter. Lightning flashed, followed by 10 counts of distant thunder.
"I turn my back, trust you to keep her safe and you…you what? What in the hell's going on here?" He looked to River who was peeking at him apprehensively, like a kid caught doing something, contrite. Something wasn't right, the happiness Mal had so newly acquired was slipping away expeditiously and he already mourned its absence.
"Ya don't wanna know. Couldn't handle the truth of it," Jayne spat.
"Try me, Jayne." The captain resounded. "Told you once before, you feel the need to screw me over, have the decency to own up to it. Tell me, what were ya doin' with your hands on River?"
Jayne seethed in anger. The pompous captain thought he owned the 'verse, and he was plain sick of it. "It ain't you I'm screwin'." He answered defiantly.
Mal saw red and rushed forward, tackling the larger man with all his might, sending them both crashing cumbrously to the ground.
"Stop it!" River shrieked as lightning flashed and boomed loudly through the night. The clouds split open, sending a burst of frigid downpour, which drummed harshly against their skin.
The two men rolled recklessly across the ground, it was softening into mud around them, covering their struggling forms in a slick layer if slippery earth. "Just couldn't handle it could ya?" Mal snapped angrily as he smashed Jayne's face into the mud. "Couldn't resist taken what ain't yours."
Jayne thrashed about as the mud pooled around his face, threatening to drown him in a thick brown death. He heaved his arm up with all his might bringing his elbow hard across Mal's face, knocking the man clear off him. Scurrying forward, he took a hold of Mal's boot as he tried to stand up right, sending him sprawling right back down on to the unsteady earth.
River was pacing back and forth in a panic as the forceful rain plastered her hair to her skin, her dress drenched and sticking to every part of her. She didn't know how to make them stop, make them listen to her screaming plea's of desperation.
Jayne had won the winning position atop of Mal, and he was pressing his forearm firmly against his throat. Jayne growled in his ear, the full weight of his body smashing down. "She were mine first. Got my leftovers." The captain struggled for breath. His airway was tight, and any air that managed to get through was mixed with rainwater. He was gasping desperately for air like a fish out of water.
"Please, Jayne, you're killing him!" River flung her body atop of the mercenary's back, clawing at his slick body, trying frantically to pull him off.
Startled by the weight of something upon his back, he let off Mal a little, turning his head to make out its source.
Not seeing River, the captain took the opportunity to bring his leg up and strike his heavy boot violently into Jayne's chest.
In a blink, Jayne crashed backwards, his head snapping back upon impact and landed forcefully, pinning what felt like a small body to the ground. His heart suspended a beat, realizing in horror it was River beneath him, and he quickly rolled off her.
Mal sat up and spied his girl lying motionless. He felt an intense panic hollow out his insides. Jayne rolled over and turned back to the small form lying in the mud. They both scurried to her slipping and sliding in the mire. Jayne being closer picked up her limp body and cradled her in his lap.
Mal grabbed her wrist and leaned in close, simultaneously checking for a pulse and breath. It was hard to discern because the rain was still pounding down ferociously, so he put his lips to hers, they were cold, but he could detect a shallow breath. He smiled faintly against her lips allowing the blood to rush back into his body, restarting his heart.
Mal sat up as Jayne pulled her closer. "She breathin'? She gonna make it?" There was a grave urgency in the larger man's voice.
"Don't right know. Come now, we need to get her to the Doctor." Mal's voice was strained with worry as he stood hastily and helped a dazed Jayne up to his feet. Jayne nodded in accession as he coddled River's drooping form, and together they made their way through the storm back to Serenity.
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The mud covering their skin and clothes had started to dry and cake, making their movements slow and languorous. That and the fact they had beaten the crap out of each other and nearly killed River in the process weighed on them heavily, inside and out.
They were getting mud everywhere in pacing back and forth outside the infirmary. The Doc ordered them to go get cleaned up before they could enter his sanatorium. For once, the men allowed themselves to be bossed around by Simon, guilt sending them into an obedient trance.
Both returned shortly, sitting and then standing anxiously outside the sickbay, waiting for Simon to finish whatever he was doing in there to fix River. They ignored one another, suffering alone equivalently in silence.
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When River finally opened her eyes, she found herself peering up at a white tiled ceiling, tinted a dusky blue in the dim lighting. She could hear a heavy dual snoring, the thick rich sound filling the room. The pain in her chest was immediate as she tried to sit up and look around, to find out who was with her, but it felt like there were a ton of bricks permanently cemented upon her upper body.
A small whimper escaped her lips as she strained upwards. Frustrated, she gave up and flopped the short distance back onto her pillow.
Rolling her head to the left, she found Jayne sprawled out uncomfortably on the bed against the wall. His massive form looked impossible to fit on the small ledge beneath him. He looked so vulnerable, like an over grown puppy. Reaching her arm out she wanted to pet him, take away his guilt-ridden nightmare as he whimpered in his sleep. Her hand dropped as curiosity beckoned her to discover the source of her second guest.
She smiled as she found Mal scrunched down in a chair to her right, his legs resting up on a second. He had a thick gray blanket pulled up under his chin; his handsome, familiar face was instantly calming. Snug as a bug in a rug, she thought.
Her heart swelled at finding both men by her side. The storm had battered and beaten them down, but they were still there, waiting for her. It had torn them all up plenty as the wind and driving rain assaulted their spirits and tested their resolve. The initial agony was washed away with the torrents, deep into the brutal night. The sky was clearing into a brilliant clear blue, and the sun would rise again. She closed her heavy eyes, still very drowsy but contented, lolling back in to a deep sleep.
TBC…