She wasn't sure what the weirdest thing about the situation was. Men had broken in once again to come for her and that was weird in itself. Then there was the man that was with her and had shoved her to the ground. She felt like she had known him forever, yet they had just met.

He shoved her to the floor a bit harsher than he thought that he had. His arm was still around her waist and he had toppled over on top of her. He was staring down into those eyes and they both got the sensation that he belonged there.

"Stay down," he whispered. She nodded.

He pulled his gun out and stood up in a quick motion. There were three of them. They spotted him and started to fire. He was hit in the arm, but it wasn't a bullet. He ignored it and shot back. He took down one of them and continued shooting. Finally the others ran leaving the wounded man behind. River got up after they left and noticed the wound on his arm.

"You've been hit with a dart. Don't pull it out," she warned as she gingerly put her index finger and thumb on the tiny projectile. She pinched it and then flicked it with her free hand.

"Ouch!" he snapped as it flew out of his arm.

"It was filled with a sedative. If I didn't do that you would be out right now!"

"It still hurt!"

"Oh just suck it up!"

He scowled and then calmly walked over to the injured man.

"Hey there. Malcolm Reynolds. Say, I'm lookin' for a necklace. One that y'all took by accident. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?" he asked with a smile.

"If I knew I would tell you!"

"I don't much like liars," he shot back.

"We're only here for the documents. We have no set meeting place. It changes. The necklace would be with the others. Our job was to extract Ms. Tam since we have failed in retrieving the documents so we were going to take the source."

"Thanks for helpin' me out."

Mal punched his lights out and turned to River. "We have to go."

"But he's wounded!"

"Ah it's just in the shoulder. He'll live."

She sighed and they started heading back towards the ship.

It was late, or early, he wasn't sure which. The night air was frigid and crisp, the kind of air that burns your lungs, and the gorram dancer had failed to grab a coat on the way out. She was shivering and looking a mite miserable. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her.

She jumped at the sudden contact, but willingly pulled the coat tighter around her. She was about to make a snide comment like "Right, try to be a gentleman" or "You're human, I'm surprised" but stopped in her tracks. She looked at him and managed, "Thank you, Captain."

"Don't mention it, sweetheart."

She was going to blow up for the usage of "Sweetheart" but once again stopped. She smiled and went to kiss him on the cheek for the surprisingly kind gesture, but he turned and their lips met. For a brief moment they kissed, but she pulled away and they hurried back to Serenity in silence.

****

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" Simon asked Kaylee.

"I don't know. Depends I s'ppose."

"I just want to thank you all, just in case River doesn't…"

"You don't have to thank us. We're jus' here doin' our job."

"Which is…stealing?"

"Crime."

"Ah."

"Smugglin', stealin' that sort of thing."

"I see. Do you…"

"Steal? Na. Sometimes I go on jobs, but I'm not one for that life. I'm jus' happy with my shiny girl here…" she patted the bulkhead with pride.

Simon smiled at her. She was something else. Shiny, as she would say. She had said that at least forty times in the last hour. He thought that it was cute…like her.

"What are you smilin' at?" she asked with a smile of her own.

"Nothing."

Around that time, they heard shouting coming from the cargo bay. River and Mal were back.

"SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!" River shouted.

"IT'S A STUPID PLAN!"

"IT IS NOT!"

"YEAH IT IS!"

"YOUR PLAN IS JUST AS IDIOTIC!"

"IS NOT!"

"IS TOO!"

"Sir, welcome back…" Zoe interrupted.

"What happened?" Simon asked.

"They came for her. I got one of the guys to talk. They have no set place, but they're tryin' to take her to get the info she's got."

Everyone grew quiet.

"Plan? Do we have one?" Wash asked.

"Yeah, what he said…" Jayne agreed.

"I have one," River said. Mal glared at her, but she ignored it. "I let them take me. You'll follow, find where they are, take the necklace, knock them all out, and then I'll call the Feds. They'll come and arrest them for kidnapping me. I'll say that thieves came and stole the necklace, but were kind enough to help me out. You all escape and my problem is taken care of."

"Mei mei, I don't think that's a good plan."

"Thank you!" Mal exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"You'll be in danger," Simon explained.

"I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself."

"Still-"

"I have a plan too," Mal interrupted. It was River's turn to glare. "We use her as bait, but stop them 'fore they take her. We made the hundans take us to their little meetin' point and then we steal the necklace and call the Feds."

"That works," Glenn shrugged.

"They don't know where the meeting point is. It changes. They'd have to call in and they'd do that if I was with them," River argued.

"They'd also do it if my gun was pressed to their head, darlin'!" Mal countered.

"They might have a code word or something to signal that something is wrong. They could lead you to the wrong place and ambush you!"

"And if they took you, we could lose them and not be able to help you out!"

"You mean you might lose them and not find your necklace, right?" she asked.

"I…yeah exactly! That's what I meant! So it's done! You'll stay here with your brother in the passenger dorms until tomorrow mornin' when we can set up the bait."

She opened her mouth to argue but he was off towards his bunk. She followed.

"Captain!"

He ignored her and went down the ladder. She reopened the hatch and went down anyway.

"My plan is better," she snapped.

"No it ain't. Give me my gorram coat back!"

She took it off and threw it at him. He regretted asking her to take it off because he could see her skin and how perfectly her dress clung to her curves…

"I don't see why we have to go with your plan! It's almost exactly the same-"

"Yours has more risk."

"Of you not getting to the necklace?"

"Yeah…"

She heard it. She looked at him closely. "Earlier when I corrected you…you really are worried that you wouldn't be able to help me out aren't you?"

"No, that's not it!"

"Then what is it?"

"Like I said, the necklace."

"Malcolm Reynolds, you are the worst liar in the 'verse!"

"I am not!"

"You are!"

"Why'd you kiss me earlier?"

"What?"

"You kissed me."

"I was aiming for your cheek."

"Yeah but you landed on my mouth and then kissed me anyhow."

"An error. Don't change the subject!"

"Fine! I don't want you puttin' yourself in danger when there's no need, 'cause I'm a good guy like that!"

"I'm not a child! I can handle myself! I am sick and tired of men always trying to take care of-"

He didn't know what he was doing before it was too late. He had pulled her into a kiss, a real one, and she kissed back for a bit before shoving him very hard.

"What was that for?" she asked as she lifted her finger tips to her lips.

"I'm kinda sorta crazy about you. Haven't you gotten the memo?" he meant every word.

"I think it got lost in the mail," she said quietly.

He kissed her again and again she kissed back. This time it lasted a bit longer until once again she shoved him.

"I have a boyfriend. I love him very much."

"That's nice."

They were kissing again.

"No, I have a boyfriend!" she shoved him. "And we just met! And you're a lot older than me!"

"Yeah. That's all true."

"It is."

There was a pause.

"Back to the crazy about you part-" Mal started. He didn't have time to finish. She was kissing him again.

There was no going back after that. His suspenders, down. His shirt, off. His boots, off. His belt, off. His pants, down. Her dress, off. Her bra, off. Her panties, off. They fell onto his bed unable to stop the kissing.

"Captain, we shouldn't be doing this…" she whispered as he kissed her neck.

"Mhm, we shouldn't."

"Then why does it feel like we should be doing this?"

He stopped kissing her and looked deeply into her eyes like the answer would be there.

"I-"

She pulled him roughly towards her and kissed him with all her might. "Don't answer," she breathed against his mouth.

****

"You look a mite pale," Kaylee commented just after River had gone after the captain.

"Well, my sister is wanted by some unfriendly people and the plan to stop them involves putting her in danger…"

"Aw honey, don't worry. Cap'in will take great care of her. They'll get along just great after they stop arguin'. Funny, last time I saw him argue like that was with…" Kaylee stopped recalling Inara briefly. "Point is, he's a good man. I'm sure he and River will find a way to work things out."

She patted him on the arm, once again feeling sparks from both parties as she did so. They had no idea that they were "working things out" right then and in their very own way…

****

He pulled her closer to his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder and traced one of his many scars.

"I'm a bad person. I just cheated on my boyfriend…and…"

"And what, darlin'?" he asked as he brushed some of her hair out of her face before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"And I don't regret it because this feels right."

"It does."

It felt like she was made to be tucked up against him. She fit perfectly in between his side and arm like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. He kissed her on the cheek and then the other and then on the lips again.

"What am I going to tell him?" River sighed feeling so guilty and yet oddly comfortable at the same time.

"Don't rightly know. But I do know that I ain't lyin' when I say I'm crazy about you."

"More like I drive you crazy."

"Both. I love arguin' with you."

"Not as much as I do."

"No way."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Gorramit, you're too beautiful to argue with…and win anyhow."

"Complimenting me again are you?"

"Sure am."

She smirked and captured his mouth with her own again and for the first time in a long time they both felt like everything was the way it was supposed to be.