I own nothing.

When River awoke early in the morning, Jayne was sitting on the porch steps skinning a rabbit. He looked up at her with an absurdly bright smile. "Whoever it was lived her before us was in the moonshine business. I found a small distillery not too far into the woods."

She smirked. "Are you planning on making your own hooch?"

Jayne grinned, trying hard not to laugh at the fact that someone as proper as River had said "hooch." He shrugged. "Been thinkin' on it. Go se they pass off fer alcohol in the bar is worse than anythin' I ever done tasted. Thought maybe I could start makin' some an' sell it off to the owner."

River thought on it for a moment, nodding. "Yes, but only if you promise to quit drinking so much." Jayne frowned at her and then at the bottle of whiskey at his feet. "Aw, come on, Crazy-"

"No, you still drink too much," she argued back. "pserosis of the liver will occur and I will be forced to put you out of your misery."

"Like a lame horse?" He asked in amusement. She smiled down at him ruefully. "Yes, just like a lame horse."

"I finished the chicken coop yesterday." There was a hint of pride in his voice. She smiled. "I saw. Excellent craftsmanship, Mr. Cobb."

"Why thank you, Ma'am." She giggled at the absurdity of their banter. Why had it taken the devastation of Miranda to bring them closer together? Why couldn't it have happened over a game of Tall cards? River let out a small sigh and sat down next to him. There was another rabbit at his feet. "How many did you kill?"

"Just the two. Figured, you could make a stew with one an' I'll make some jerky out a' the other."

"Will you teach me how?"

Jayne stopped and turned to her, shock evident in his blue eyes. "You don't know how to make jerky?"

She shook her head and he grinned. "You sayin' I know how ta do somethin' you don't know how ta do?"

She huffed slightly. "It's possible."

He smiled and turned back to his task. "What should we do with the skin?"

"Well, we could tan it and then next time we're in town I can buy some stuffing and make a pillow out of it for you to use since the ones on the couch aren't very comfortable," she suggested. He stiffened a bit and nodded. Jayne had been sleeping on the couch ever since they had come to live in the cabin. River was aware that Jayne had no dishonorable intentions towards her-no intentions at all really- and had no problem with the two of them sharing a bed. She rolled her eyes and poked his side. "You are being such a boob. The bed is more than big enough for the two of us. You could fit five people in it besides us and still have room to roll around."

"It ain't right-us in the same bed."

She rolled her eyes at him once more and he found himself on the receiving end of her 'you-are-such-an-idiot' look. "We're married. In fact, it 'ain't right' that you're sleeping on the couch considering-"

"Why d'you care?" He asked as he tied up the freshly skinned rabbit to the porch awning. She toed at the dew covered grass. "Your back hurts after sleeping on the couch for too long. Your brain mumbles about it in your sleep and gets louder when you wake up."

"You ain't gonna try nothin' funny if'n I sleep next to ya are ya?"

"Are you," she shot back and he glared at her, pushing her shoulder roughly. She punched his side hard and he grunted, rubbing the spot. "Why, you little-"

River jumped up and ran, screaming, "You can't catch me, Jayne Cobb!"

"That's 'cause yer fast like a freak," he hollered as he lumbered after her, trying not to laugh. "No, dirty ape-woman, it is because I am quick like a bunny," she called back as she ran around the back of the cabin at full speed. "Then I'll jus' shoot you like I shot the others!"

River came back around to the front of the house and skidded to a halt, the air rushing out of her lungs. She had stopped so abruptly, she fell forward, nearly toppling over. Standing directly in front of her was a large, gray wolf. It's teeth were bared and its eyes flicked from River to the rabbit on the porch steps beside her. He growled low in its throat and she let out a small gasp.

"Ri-" Jayne stopped when he heard the loud growl and saw the large wolf standing little more than a foot away from her. Her exposed flesh was covered in goosebumps. Jayne reached for the knife he carried at his waist only to find it wasn't there. He had left in on the porch when he had gone to chase after River. The wolf crept forward a step and he sucked in breath. If it attacked...River was shaking, he could tell by the rigidness of her spine and the movement of her loose fitting dress. She was too frightened to move.

"Jayne," she whimpered, "he-he's hurt and frightened. He won't listen to me."

"Back up towards me slow like, Girl," Jayne said in as calm a voice as he could muster. She started to step back and the wolf let out a barking growl, causing them both to start. River held her breath as she pulled the already skinned rabbit down from the awning. The wolf paused in its growling out of curiosity, tilting its head almost imperceptibly. River pulled a large chunk of meat off the carcass and held it out slowly.

"River," Jayne hissed, angrily, his entire body flooded with panic, "what in the Gorram hell d'you think yer doin'?"

"Protection for the protectors," she whispered as she slowly crouched down, "achieving symbiosis."

"River, please," he pleaded, "I-you-please!"

The wolf stepped forward again cautiously, eying her. She leaned forward slowly and it grabbed a hold of the meat in her hands, jumping back. It swallowed the food and continued to watch as River repeated her actions several times. The wolf was less hesitant as time went on, but just as wary. Jayne took a step up behind River and the wolf watched with keen eyes, assessing the danger he may present. River held a piece of the rabbit up to him over her shoulder. "You must feed him as well."

"I'm more concerned with him bitin' yer head off than whether 'er not he eats."

"It is imperative that you feed him as well. He is young and assimilation into our family should be fairly easy, but you do not possess the same means of interspecies communications that I do. You must build trust through action alone," River explained and Jayne was surprised to find that he understood her. "You consider me family?"

She made a face at him. "We are married, you dolt. Of course we are family."

The wolf had moved closer to River in its eagerness to be fed and Jayne reluctantly took the piece of meat she offered him. The wolf looked up at him expectantly. He tossed it to the wolf rather than have the animal take it from his hand and it snatched it out of the air. River reached out an empty hand towards the wolf and it sniffed the air around her. River stayed completely still until the wolf finally touched its nose to her flat palm and then she tentatively reach forward and scratched its head. "Now we must give him space. He is not entirely comfortable with us, but chances are he will stay with us."

"What are we 'sposed ta do with a ruttin' wolf," Jayne asked heatedly. River stood and the wolf stepped back. She threw the rabbit at him and turned back to Jayne. She opened her mouth to answer, but Jayne stepped forward quickly and wrapped his arms around her torso, crushing her to his chest. River let out a surprised squeak and looked up at the big man in sudden understanding. "You were afraid for my well-being. Thought I was going to be mauled and you would be alone." She tilted her head up to look at him fully. "But it was more that you were afraid for me, not of being alone."

He let go of her suddenly. "No, it weren't."

She smiled up at him. "You think of me as family, too."

"Like ya said, we're married," he muttered, brushing her off. She brought a hand up to his right arm. "Jayne, I think of you as my friend as well. We take care of each other. I would have been just as worried if it had been you."

"Thought I was gonna lose you the way I lost-" He bit off the last of the sentence and looked away from her. She squeezed his forearm gently in her tiny hand. "You have never failed me, Jayne. Maybe the others, but never me. Saved me many times."

Jayne still refused to look at her as he moved back to the porch steps and sat down heavily. He picked up his hunting knife and began to skin the second rabbit as the wolf paced nervously in front of him. River went back inside. He glared at it briefly. He pointed the tip of the knife at the wolf causing it to back away and said in his best intimidating voice, "I don't like you. You do anythin' I don't like an' Imma shoot you 'tween the eyes, dong ma?"

The wolf licked it chops and lowered its head as it continued to watch him. River emerged from the cabin once more with a sauce pan of water and a first aid kit. She set the pan down in the grass and Jayne noticed then that the wolf was limping. It's right paw was caked in dried and fresh blood.

"Got attacked by a different pack. Only one to survive. He ran all night and came here," she said, answering any questions Jayne had been thinking of asking. The pan was empty in minutes. The wolf approached River slowly and she gently lifted its paw and began to clean it with a wet cloth. She crooned nonsense at it all the while in soft lulling tones that reminded Jayne of the way his Momma had talked to his baby sister when she was fussy. River smiled up at him and he knew she had heard his thoughts. He didn't really mind she had heard it even though it had been a memory about his family and he wasn't normally in the business of letting people in on his past. The wolf licked its paw as she cleaned it and River fastened a bandage around it. "All done," she exclaimed happily and turned to Jayne. "He sleeps inside."

"No," Jayne barked, burying his knife in the wood of the porch. The wolf looked back and forth between the two of them nervously. River's eyes widened. "But he's hurt and he needs me to take care of him."

"He ain't gonna die if he sleeps outside," Jayne argued back and River stuck out her lip in a pout. Jayne pulled his knife out of the wood and pointed at her and then at the wolf. "Wild animal's can't be tamed in a day. 'Sides, animals ain't 'sposed ta stay inside. If it was a kid 'er 'nother adult maybe."

River stared up at him with a bemused smile on her face. "He sleeps inside."

"No, he don't!" Jayne complained. River only giggled and turned to go back inside. The wolf hobbled back and forth in front of Jayne before settling down not far from his feet. Jayne glared down at the wolf. "You ain't sleepin' inside!"

The wolf disappeared into the woods shortly before nightfall and Jayne had thought his troubles were over until it reappeared at the door, a rabbit in it's jaws.

River had smiled up at him triumphantly. "Symbiosis," she declared as she pulled the rabbit from its mouth and thrust it into Jayne's hands. Jayne had made a few inarticulate grunting noises and gone out onto the porch to skin it. The wolf stayed behind to watch. He glared at it as he ripped the hide from the rabbit in one quick movement. "Ruttin' feng le woman thinks she can just go abouts doin' whatever she pleases without a thought as ta how it affects me!"

"I do, too," she yelled from inside and Jayne turned to glare at her through the screen door. "Well, who asked you, you moonbrained brat?!"

"I can kill you with my brain," she threatened. Jayne turned back to the rabbit and muttered, "Like to see you try, you stupid, little, crazy person."

He looked back to the wolf, who was surreptitiously licking his paw through the bandage. He had lost his family just like...He tossed the wolf a small strip of meat and stood, not willing to dwell on his thoughts any longer. The wolf slipped past him as he entered the cabin and he frowned down at the canine. "Thinkin' he can just prance into my Gorram house-"

"He can," River argued back as she dried several pots near the sink. "and he didn't prance. He hobbled."

"Don't I get any say in this?"

"No."

"You sure are performin' all yer wifely duties. Nagging an' tellin' me what ta do bein' the one's you perform most," he grumbled. River smiled proudly, as if his insult were in fact a compliment. He growled at her and stormed off towards the bedroom. He lowered himself on the large bed heavily, shucking his boots and socks of. One of them knocked against the wall and he glared at it. He looked down at his shirt. What was he supposed to sleep in? He always slept shirtless and most nights pants-less.

"You must wear pants," River said from the doorway. She was in one of her too large white nightgowns.

"I wasn't plannin' on gettin' nekkid."

"I never said you were, but you must wear pants. I don't want to have to see you in your undergarments."

Jayne grew indignant. "What's wrong with seein' me in my unders?!"

"Would you want to see me in my undergarments?"

Jayne shook his head quickly and River walked around to her side of the bed with a smirk. Jayne glared once more as he pulled his shirt off and River jumped onto the bed, laughing. Jayne moved under the covers and settled back into his pillow. River had been right. The bed was big enough that they could sleep next to one another and not have to worry about coming into physical contact. It was also extremely comfortable. He sighed and closed his eyes, nearing sleep within seconds when something heavy landed on one of his legs, collapsing.

"River!"

"But he can't sleep on the hard floor."

"Yer babyin' a wolf, you do know that," Jayne groaned as he ran a hand down his face.

"I am not," River cried petulantly. Jayne snickered. "Imma start callin' ya Momma. How's yer wolf cub doin' today, Momma?"

The air fled Jayne's lungs in a loud whoosh when River thumped him hard in the gut. He only laughed harder.

Jayne had gone into town the next day, saying he needed to pick something up. River hadn't bothered to ask what. She hadn't even bothered to look at up at him from her knitting when he burst through the front door. River did, finally look up at him when he dumped a large ball of canine fur into her lap. "There, now ya ain't got no need fer that stupid wolf."

She blinked down at the large puppy in her lap. "How did you find a pure bred? Even on Core planets they are very rare."

"Man who had em' was givin' em' away. Don't think he knew what he had. Seemed kinda slow even ta me."

She frowned up at him. "You are not a simple man, Jayne Cobb."

"If that was true, then maybe I woulda been able ta do my job right," he muttered irritably. She stood and raised onto her tiptoes to plant an innocent kiss on his cheek. "Not so, even geniuses fail. I failed. Good example," she moved past him, puppy in her arms. "And the wolf stays."

"What do you mean?"

"Not your fault," she explained. "If I had seen what was about to occur, then-"

Jayne grabbed her arm and spun her towards him. "Just cause yer a reader don't mean you can predict the future all the time. You oughta know that."

She pulled away from him. "And you should know that you are not responsible for Zoe breaking the line."

"Yeah, I am."

She turned to look at him then and smiled sadly, but made no move to refute his words. River let the puppy lap at her cheek, wiggling excitedly in her arms. Jayne reached out and scratched its ears and it tried desperately to lick his hand. "What you gonna name him?"

"You wanted to name him Sam," she said and he looked up at her in surprise. She smiled. "He looks like a Sam."

Jayne smiled as a far off look came into his eyes. "Always wanted a dog that looked like this named Sam when I was a kid."

"Well, now you have one," She responded as she set the puppy down. The newly christened Sam wagged his tail excitedly, staring up at the pair expectantly. "Where's yer wolf at?"

"He wandered off earlier today."

"Maybe he won't come back," Jayne said hopefully, eliciting a glare from River. Jayne frowned at her. "He's a mite unpredictable."

"He won't hurt us unless he deems it necessary," River argued, adding softly, "he needs a family."

Jayne backed away from her and jerked his finger towards the door. "I'm gonna go start cutting up some lumber."

She nodded and looked back down at Sam. "I'll start making lunch."

While Jayne was out procuring lumber which River believed he should have just bought, she began cooking up some chicken and stared down at the Sam. He had been trailing her the entire time. She smirked at him. "I guess I'm the one in charge of training you."

The puppy went rigid with attention and his ears perked up as he watched his new master. Jayne appeared not long before lunch and was somewhat surprised to find River had taught their new pet to sit and speak. What surprised him most was that she had also taught him these commands in German. When he asked what the point in that had been she gave him a funny look. "He is a German Shepperd. Not to mention, I plan on teaching him how to attack and we can't have him attacking whenever someone says 'attack.'"

"Yer one funny woman," Jayne said with a grin as he sat down at the table. River handed him a tall glass of water and smiled down at Sam. "He likes you best."

"Does he now," Jayne asked in amusement, petting the dog as he spoke, "and how do you know?"

"He told me," she answered matter-of-factly. Jayne took a long drink from his glass. "How exactly does that work?"

"Animals have the same thought process for the most part, but lack the ability to verbally communicate the way we do so they rely heavily on body language."

"So you can hear what they're thinkin' the way you can hear what I'm thinkin'?"

"Yes, only their thoughts are not as jumbled as human thought as theirs tend to be of a more linear nature. Animals rely on their most basic of instincts and this dictates their thought processes. You think in much the same way most of the time."

Jayne wondered for a moment if he should feel insulted until River shook her head. "It is a good thing. It means you know what you feel, what you need and what you want. Not only does it make it easier to understand you, it makes it easier for me to deal with the intrusion of your thoughts."

"You don't talk so crazy anymore," he observed. She smiled sadly. "Not so many people around. It makes it easier for me to find my words. Used to mix with everyone else's."

"Makes sense, I guess."

She stared at him intently. "My reading abilities do not bother you?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I ain't sure. I mean, I'm used to it, but it still bothers me you know some things. Man ought to be able to have his own secrets, own thoughts."

"Secrets burn up the mind," she whispered, looking down at the table, "burn up my mind."

"Aw, I ain't got no bad secrets like...that. Just some things I ain't comfortable with you knowin'."

She nodded slowly. "I understand. I have my own secrets as well." She looked up at him nervously. "I have been trying to learn to block you out. It is very difficult. I have found that when I block you out, I block all things out. The only real drawback to this side effect is that in doing so, it makes it difficult for me to sense danger."

He nodded. "Yeah, you knowin' when go se is about to happen has always come in handy."

"I do not always know." She looked down at her hands. "Maybe I should block everything. That way-"

"No, you done got a useful gift that woulda helped Mal out a lot if'n he woulda listened to ya ever."

Her eyes widened. "I thought you understood, but there were so many voices and it was hard to figure out who was thinking what. Why did you not say anything?"

"They woulda thought I was crazy, too."

She nodded and smiled warmly at him. "See? You are not simple. You are very smart in ways others are not."

He shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't in the habit of receiving compliments. River's smile widened. "Everyone should be complimented for their strengths."

Jayne tapped the table with his fingers and looked out the kitchen window. "You look pretty when you fight. Don't know how to describe it, but you do. Never seen someone make death look so beautiful."

River blushed. "You are the only one to think so. Mal thought I was creepifying when I killed in the Maidenhead."

"There's a lot of things Mal thinks is creepifyin'. He's an idiot, so I think it's safe ta say he's wrong," Jayne said, waving her off. She laughed, tugging on a length of her hair as she combed it with her fingers. She leaned forward. "You can't build the barn by yourself. You must hire workers."

"And pay em' in what?"

She thought long and hard for a moment. "Pay them in some of the moonshine you make. We could rent out the extra room as well."

"As long as it's to a woman."

River raised an eyebrow and Jayne thought maybe she was trying that blocking thing she had been talking about. "I know you can handle yerself an' all, but I wouldn't feel comfortable lettin' you be all alone in the house with some strange man we don't know nothin' about."

"As long as you don't try to have intercourse with a female porter-"

"Look, just 'cause we're married all accidental like don't mean I ain't gonna be faithful," Jayne argued indignantly and River had to fight to keep from laughing. Jayne Cobb celibate? It was highly improbable. As if reading her thoughts he said in a heated voice, "I can do it. I have amazin' willpower."

"I'm sure you do, Jayne," she giggled and he glared at her. "Go get my lunch."

A/N: Since we never came to understand the full extent of River's psychic abilities on Firefly or in the BDM, I decided to do a little fiddling with it and it made sense to me, that if she were able to read the minds of humans, what was to stop her from being able to read the minds of animals? I also wanted to explain why she was able to speak in a more understandable fashion rather than spouting off "River-speak." Also, the idea of Jayne having long been able to understand "River-speak" is something I have believed since first watching Firefly. My reasons stem mainly from the episode Ariel when they were captured and River went off on one of her wacky tangents. The way he looked at her made me believe he understood for the most part what she was saying and I believe on some level he also trusted her. Case in point would be on Lilac, when she warned him on the reavers. He didn't question her, but Zoe sure as hell was quick to question River when she pointed out the guy with the gun. This trust is also what aids in their seemless transition from indifferent shipmates to friends and eventually something more. As for the introduction of the wolf and the dog besides explaining River's reader capabilities, they help to represent Jayne's growing attachment to River and his attitude towards caring for others. The wolf is also in a manner of speaking, a more tangible representation how Jayne first saw River and how he now views her (evolution of his relationship with the wolf, symbiosis).

I'm hoping this covers any questions you may have, and if not, don't hesitate to ask and I will be more than happy to answer.

Review would be super.