Prompt 12- Stop.

The table was full and the laughter was loud.

Mal stood up and held a glass high. "I'd like to make a toast, to our resident criminal mastermind stroke Doctor and his foray into the life of crime."

"To Simon!" River beamed at her brother.

Simon beamed, blushing at the praise. It had only been his second planned heist but it had gone off without a hitch and the crew of Serenity were currently rich enough to provide proper food, supplies and enough fuel for several months.

He was the hero of the hour and so they all had cake.

Kaylee danced around planting odd kisses on his cheek, much to his fluttered embarrassment, making everyone laugh.

Jayne was pretending to join in the raucous laughter, but his eyes were on the one thing that glowed more than Simon's face.

River was basking in her brother's triumph, her face lit up from the insides with laughter and joy. She'd had her own part to play in the plan and the adrenaline hadn't quite worn off.

She leaned over the table to cut another slice of the cake for Simon, her mouth wide in a smile as Mal teased Inara with her tiny slice and Zoë secretly stole Mal's whilst he was otherwise occupied.

Jayne watched River, her face aglow, her lips plump and delicious. He wanted her far more than he wanted cake. He'd like to—

River's head snapped up suddenly, her eyes locking with his, wide and shocked. Her jaw fell slightly and Jayne felt a moment of sheer terror.

She was a reader and he had just been projecting loud enough to wake the dead.

He pushed back from the table, muttering something about his bunk before racing off down the corridor and leaning his burning forehead against his bunk door.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thoughts like that were only possibly safe in the privacy of his bunk, and only maybe then. After all, the girl had heard Mal's nightmare from the other end of the ship.

She hadn't meant to, but his thoughts were loud.

Were Jayne's that loud too?

Well, it didn't matter. She'd seen it at the dinner table, there was no way he could have misread that look.

She knew.

If she knew then she might tell Mal who'd airlock and flush him out into space for looking at the girl, or, worse, she'd tell Simon and he'd have all those handy drugs to do gorram knows what to Jayne. No he had to nip this in the bud.

He'd have to stop it. Stop watching her, stop thinking about her, stop dreaming about her. Stop wanting her.

Problem was, he wasn't sure he could.