I own nothing. Though if I had it my way, I would own Jayne. And his hat.

River lay still in the middle of the spare room, staring up at the ceiling. She felt as though maybe she was again slipping into the unrealistic.She wondered if either Book or Wash would have approved of this idea, this hope that had found root within her chest.She frowned when she realized that if the two of them were still alive, so many things that had come to pass would not be. She felt guilty when she thought carelessly for a moment that their deaths had inadvertently brought about happiness.

She grinned as she pulled herself up and headed toward the den. As Jayne would say, that thought was "nothin' but stupid." River frowned. She heard the loud buzz of the steam cleaner in the pantry. She wandered into the pantry and set a large basket at her feet. Whoever had previously occupied this cabin had either not had enough money to buy a dryer or had been very frugal. However, River didn't mind this. It only meant it would take longer to hang the clothes up on a clothesline then to stuff them into a dryer and, today, River felt as though she had nothing but time. It irked her so much that Jayne had found ways to keep himself occupied and she hadn't. She neatly folded each garment. The steam cleaner was nothing but a piece of garbage, not a very good brand. River smirked. Of course that brand would be Blue Sun. They needed a new one. Though it was suppose to steam, it usually only succeeded in drenching the clothes in soapy, cold water. It was the only household appliance that River was unable to fix or improve. The basket completely full, she pushed out of the pantry and through the kitchen, her mouth drawn into a thin line. When did clothes get so heavy? She frowned down at the neat pile situated in the basket. She turned sideways on the porch and slowly descended the steps. She was happy that in Jayne's restless fit, he had decided the steps were too narrow and redone them. He had been right.

River came around the side of the house and jumped when she caught Wolf by the corner, half hidden by the tall tomato stalks in her garden. He wagged his tail at her slightly. He was playing hide and seek with Sam. River smiled wryly at him and continued on. The clothesline that ran from the side of the cabin to a nearby steel pole driven into the ground was too high for River to reach without jumping up to catch it. She had learned quickly that until their was enough cloth on it to weigh it down, it was best if she held on to it. However, today the wind had picked up slightly, and while in the middle of pinning up a particularly unruly sheet, the line popped free of her hands and the sheet flew up to tickle her face in an almost teasing manner. She huffed slightly, clenching the corner in her hand as she stood on tip toe and tried in vain to pin it to the line. She was in the middle of muttering an extremely unladylike string of Mandarin words she had learned from her husband when his hand appeared in her line of vision and he pulled the line down for her. She tilted her head back far enough that she could look at him as she pinned the sheet to the line. He was grinning in amusement. "Yer cute when you get all worked up."

River felt herself turn red and she whirled away from him in embarrassment. Jayne decided it would be best if he didn't agitate her any. She had been in an odd mood for the better part of the past two months. He held the line down and handed her more clothes. "So, did you test out the heater?"

"Yup, thing sure does do its job. Even with this wind, it's too hot ta be in there," he replied. "How's the blanket coming?"

"Almost finished, just need to stuff it and sew it together. Task will still be monotinous." He nodded in silence and she turned to him suddenly with shrewd eyes. "I want to paint the spare room."

He stared back at her for a moment before saying, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, Honey, if'n that's what you wanna do-"

"Why?"

He blinked as he watched her face grow angry. "Why what?"

"Why, do you always let me do what I want? Why do you never say no?"

Jayne made a face. "If it's something you wanna do-"

"Does that mean if I wanted to go back to Serenity, you'd let me?" Jayne was taken aback. He let his eyes run over her face at length. The weight she had dealt that question made him uncomfortable. "No, I wouldn't."

She blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting that answer. "Why not?"

Jayne scowled and tossed a skirt from the basket at her with unnecessary force. "You really oughta quit lyin' ta yerself an' me, River. Ain't fair," he snapped before he stalked off.

It was during the last month of winter that River noticed the actual consequences of her behavior. Without so much as a word of explanation, Jayne had made himself a bed on the couch. River could only glare at him and storm off to the bedroom, slamming the door with force. Jayne sighed wearily, shucked his boots and settled down on the couch, ready for sleep-sleep that did not come. Instead, he spent several hours staring at Wash's dinosaurs and wondering if Wash and Zoe had ever gotten into a fight like this. He frowned. It wasn't even a fight-nor a misunderstanding. He figured maybe it was possible since Zoe didn't seem like the type who would go about throwing tantrums...much like he and River were doing. Jayne frowned. Why on earth was River so mad at him? He had thought she would be happy that he didn't mind letting her do whatever it was she wanted. Maybe she really did want to go back to Serenity and he had just read her wrong. He didn't want her to go, but if that was what she wanted...Wolf hopped down from him place in the chair adjacent to the couch and trotted over to the bedroom door, where he promptly began pacing and whining. Jayne growled, irritated at still being awake as he sat up and stalked over to the door, nudging it open so that Wolf could slip into the room. Wolf jumped up onto the bed and Jayne started to turn back to go lay down on the couch when he noticed a shaking lump in the middle of the bed.

"River," he hissed in a whisper. The form continued to shake and he was met with silence. He stepped slowly into the room, shutting the door behind himself. He settled down on the edge of the bed and stroked a hand down her shaking back. "River, baby, what's wrong?"

"You're going to leave me," she whimpered, her voice muffled by the comforter. Jayne pulled back for a moment as if burned before pulling her up to look at him. "Why on earth would you think somethin' so stupid?"

"You didn't come to bed," she whispered, her cheeks burning in shame at her childish behavior. He frowned, thumbing the tears from her face. "Aw, Honey, I may be a bit angry at ya fer bein' such a liar an' all, but I ain't ever gonna leave ya-"

River launched herself into his arms then, wrapping herself around him tightly. She was crying again. "Jayne, I'm so sorry, I can't help it. I don't understand it because it cannot be quantified and I can't..Don't leave me, don't ever leave me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby, I said I ain't gonna leave ya an' I'm sorry I spooked ya an' I'm sorry fer not bein' able to deal with you tryin' ta figure things out," he rubbed her back soothingly as he spoke, "now, yer my wife an' I-"

River chose that exact moment to cover his mouth hers. They had done a lot of kissing, but most of it had been innocent, chaste kisses-the only real kiss being the one River had given him after he had defended her honor. Jayne's hands somehow found their way into River's hair and he pulled her closer while her fingers wound themselves in his short hair. Jayne couldn't remember the last time he had been kissed like that, but he was sure it hadn't felt nearly as powerful. River pulled away slowly to look up in to his eyes with a shy smile. He grinned down at her, rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand. "Gorram girl, you sure know how ta make a man forget how ta think."

"You're not going back to sleep on the couch are you," she asked, biting her lower lip. He shook his head. "Not ever again."

She nuzzled his neck. "I would miss you."

Jayne shivered against her and pulled her down to lay cuddled up against his chest. "Can't have that."

"Hmm-mmm," she sighed sleepily, pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of his neck. Jayne opened his mouth to reply and yawned instead. He tightened his arms around her and murmured sleepily. "Night, Honey."

Her voice was muffled by his chest as she spoke. "Goodnight, my wonderful Jayne."

Jayne barely registered her response as sleep enveloped him and all he could do was bury his face in her hair and sigh contentedly to let her know he had heard her.

He hadn't seen it coming, and turned to blink at her as he shook the snow off of his head. "You little sneak!"

River shrieked with laughter. "All work and no play makes Jayne a dull husband," she giggled, sticking her tongue out. Jayne dropped the pile of wood in his hands onto the porch and bent to ball up his own handful of snow when River pegged him with another ball. She was in the middle of laughing hysterically when she was hit by a particularly large snowball in the chest. Her jaw dropped in surprise and Jayne threw another one, pegging her in the shoulder. River ran at him, growling and tackling him. He fell to the snow covered ground, grunting.

"Oh, what," he asked, smirking as he leaned back to look at her, "ya can dish it but ya can't take it, is that it?"

River giggled. "No, I can take it, but now I have you on the flat of your back and you can't throw anymore snowballs at me."

Jayne grinned up at her. "You think yer so slick, dontcha?"

She nodded, giggling. Jayne raised an eyebrow at her as she moved her face closer to his, their lips merely an inch apart. Not a second later, Jayne found himself with a face full of snow.

"You are such a little brat," he cried as she fell over beside him, laughing with wild abandon. Jayne pounced on her, attacking her sides with surprisingly nimble fingers and River had to fight for air in gasping laughter. Jayne smirked at her. "You learned yer lesson yet?"

Her eyes twinkled as she shook her head at him. He slit his eyes in suspicion. "You ain't gonna rub any soup in my hair at dinner, are ya?"

She chortled. "No, I wasn't planning on it, but now that you've mentioned it-"

He covered her mouth with his large hand. "Don't even start."

River snaked her tongue out, licking his palm. Jayne pulled his hand back and made a face, throwing River into another laughing fit. "Jayne Cobb, you are such a baby!"

"No, I ain't," he argued indignantly, "jus' don't like havin' my hand licked on is all."

River laughed harder and Jayne's face broke out into a smile. "Yer in a good mood today."

She nodded. "Today is a good day."

"Well," he said as he pulled himself up and brushed the snow from his clothing and offered her a hand up, "it'd be even better if we was inside an' all warm."

River took his hand and hauled herself up using his weight to counterbalance her actions. "Yes, warmth is more enjoyable than cold."

She dusted the snow from her body and Jayne gave her a look as she watched him begin to gather up firewood. "You gonna help me carry in this wood'er not?"

She grinned. "Why? Is it too heavy for you to carry on your own?"

Jayne poked her in the side. "Ha ha, honey, very funny."

River stuck her tongue out at him and started gathering up an armful of the firewood. "You take so much looking after."

"You need ta start watchin' that smart mouth a yers, or I'ma make you," he warned good-naturedly. River snorted and rolled her eyes as she followed him into the cabin. Jayne held the door open for her, and she smiled up at him. Jayne tossed a couple of logs into the fire and shooed both Sam and Wolf off of the couch, settling himself down with a content sigh. River piled her armful of logs up by the fire and settled down on the floor next to Sam and Wolf, who cuddled up against her with tails a wagging.

She lay her head down on her crossed arms and glanced to her right. Jayne was sprawled out on the couch one arm dangling off the side of the couch. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Rather, lay on the hard wood floor than sit up here with me?"

She rolled her eyes and crawled over to the side of the couch. She poked him hard in the side. "You're the one hogging the couch in entirety. I thought you did not want to share."

Jayne wound his arm around her middle and hauled her up onto his chest with no effort at all, surprising River. She blushed down at him. "I had no idea you were that strong."

He grinned lazily at her, his eyelids growing heavy with sleep. "I am just chalk full of surprises, honey. Just you wait an' see."

River slid up the length of his body until the tip of her nose came in contact with the tip of his. "You are not the Jayne I married."

He raised an eyebrow. "Whamakes ya say that?"

She leaned forward and planted her lips firmly on his. Jaynes eyes widened in surprise for only a moment, before he kissed her back. She pulled away slowly, her lips brushing his as she spoke, "You let me kiss you-"

"You tryin' ta say I gone soft," he groaned, flinging his arm over his eyes. She laughed and nudged his chest. "No, you are a big, mean, scary man, Mr. Cobb."

"S'right," he mumbled, stifling a yawn, "an' don't you go fergettin' that."

"You must be getting old."

Jayne bristled and glared at her. "Hey, now, I ain't old."

"You are taking a mid-morning nap. Either you are a child or elderly-"

"Yer mouth is too smart, you know that?" he asked, grinning up at her. "What'd I say 'bout you not you not watchin' it?"

"That you would make me." She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. "I'm waiting."

Jayne frowned. "Well, hell it ain't no fun punishin' ya when you ain't scared."

It was River's turn to frown. "Why would I be afraid of you?"

"I'm a scary man," he growled indignantly and she smiled. "I know, but I'm not afraid of you. I never have been."

"Oh yeah, why'sat?"

"Because you're my protector and I am yours."

"Well, now, but-"

"No, always. We're family. Always have been. Sometimes families do hurtful things to one another, but they then see that they were wrong," she explained, running her fingers through his hair. It wasn't as short as he normally kept it. "I like your hair better this way."

He closed his eyes again and grunted in response, "you just know everything, don'tcha?"

"Yes," she answered matter-of-factly and wiggled up closer to him. Jayne cracked one eye open. "What are you-"

He paused when he caught the curious look in her eyes. They were wider than usual as she stared at him. Jayne brought his hand up to rub her back as he wrapped his other arm around her waist to keep her from running off. It was what she did whenever she got to looking at him in that curious, analytical way. River leaned in closer, squirming against him to move closer. "No running. Studying; trying to understand."

"Something's can't be understood-you know that, Baby," he sighed, his chest rumbling. River shuddered from the sensation. "But there must be a logical explanation for everything-"

"Was there a logical explanation as ta why we wasn't given the chance ta save Wash an' Book?"

River's brow furrowed. "No, of course not."

"Then maybe whatever it is yer tryin' ta figure out is like that. Just can't be explained 'er nothin' an' ya just gotta accept it."

River smiled wryly at him. "Like my being crazy?"

He tugged on her hair. "You ain't crazy. You just think diff'rent is all. Nothin' wrong with that. Hell, I like it."

River blushed and Jayne smiled as he closed his eyes. "Yer awful cute when ya blush."

Jayne jumped when River poked him particularly hard in the stomach. He glared at her. "What in the hell're you doin'?"

She was looking at him even funnier than usual and Jayne felt more than a little worried. He huffed, annoyed that she had riled him up. "Well?"

River sat up, eying him curiously as she leaned in closer to him and he leaned farther back. "I always wondered what it felt like."

"What what felt like?" he asked in confusion. Instead of answering him, she lowered her mouth to his. Jayne tensed briefly when he felt her tongue run the seam of his lips asking entrance. His reaction was immediate as his lips parted of their own accord and River hesitantly slipped her tongue into his mouth, exploring the taste of him. She hadn't kissed him like that since the night he'd promised he'd never leave her. Jayne buried his hand in her hair, cradling her head in his large hand as he pulled her as close as was possible. She moaned into his mouth, trying to wriggle even closer. It was suddenly very hot and Jayne was sure that had they still been outside, they would have melted the snow. The thought made him laugh. River pulled away giggling; she had caught his stray thought. She smiled down at him.

"Wonderful," she murmured, kissing him lightly. His brow furrowed in thought. "What's wonderful?"

River began to blush. "The fluttery feeling."

"Yeah," he said slowly, knowingly, as he grinned, "and what's it called?"

She reddened further. "You have to say it first!"

"No, I don't," he snorted. "You've known fer how long now? Why do I gotta say it first?! That ain't fair an' you know it."

River let out a long sigh and poked her lower lip out. "Give me a minute...you make me nervous."

Jayne rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. River punched him in the chest, letting out a small huff. Jayne snorted with laughter, pushing her balled up fist away. "Aw, c'mon, Honey, it ain't that hard!"

"Have you ever done it before?"

His smug grin faltered. "No, but-"

"Then it ain't easy," she joked, mimicking him. Jayne stuck his tongue out at her and pinched her thigh, laughing when she smacked his arm and stuck out her own tongue. He pinched her again, prompting her to pinch him back. Jayne grabbed her around the waist and buried his face in her neck nibbling as he tickled her sides. River squealed with laughter, trying hard to wiggle out of his arms and away from his fingers. Jayne rolled sideways, pinning her between himself and the back of the couch. River gasped. "Oh, Jayne, no fair! I can't get away!"

"That's kinda the point, Baby, seein' as I don't plan on lettin' ya go," he chuckled. River snorted and tried once more in vain to wiggle free. When she failed, she went completely still and Jayne paused-she was up to something. When she made no move to get away he resumed his attack. She giggled slightly and then instead of wiggling away, wiggled closer. Jayne hesitated, but continued his attack. River wiggled closer to him and brought her arms up around his neck as she kissed her way from his collarbone to his chin. Jayne's fingers dug into her sides, gripping her as she dropped kiss after hot kiss on his skin. "Gorram, girl," Jayne hissed. River nodded against him before nipping his chin. "Mhmm," she hummed. Jayne hauled her up, rolling her under him and she squeaked in surprise, giggling as she hit the couch cushions. She tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Now, do I have your attention, Mr. Cobb? This is a very important moment and it will not come again. Seconds are not as exquisite as firsts when it comes to these words."

Jayne nodded down at her, all sense of playfulness forgotten. River bit her lip and lifted her big, brown eyes to look into his expectant, hopeful, blue eyes. She tugged him closer by his shirt front and kissed him lightly. "I love you, so very much, Jayne, so very, very much."

He grinned at her rakishly. "I know." His grin became soft, turning into a genuine smile. "I love you that much, if not more, Baby. Yer it fer me."

River shot up from her position on the couch, throwing herself at him as she sealed her lips to his. Jayne tilted sideways and off the couch, pulling River with him. He grunted in discomfort and River moved to sit up. Jayne stilled her with his hand and mumbled against her lips, "M'okay, just keep doin' what yer doin'."

She giggled against him and kissed him more thoroughly. Jayne slowly slid his hand from the neutral territory of her hip to the hem of her shirt front. River grabbed onto his hand and Jayne began to slide it back to her hip. River jerked his hand back to her shirt front, guiding it up under her shirt as she moaned into his mouth. Jayne let his fingers wander lazily over the taut, tender skin of her stomach as they moved upward. River rolled her hips into his and he growled at the feel of it.

There was a louder than necessary knock on the door. River pulled her mouth away from his in a daze, looking up as he tilted his head back to look in the direction of the door. There was another knock. It was sharper than the previous one. Jayne and River glared at one another and he ground out, "You have got ta be ruttin' kidding me!"

River groaned mournfully and let her head fall to his chest before she finally found the willpower to drag herself away from her husband. She helped Jayne to his feet and he stomped toward the door in an angry haze. The door keened in protest when he wrenched it open, openly seething. "What?! What in the Gorramn sphincter of hell is so all fire important?"

Cyrus Oglsbee squinted up at him nervously, jumping with each punctuated word that fell from Jayne's mouth and blared an echo in his ears. "It's-Well, Sir, it's Stockley."

"As I said before, ain't my problem-" Jayne began, but Cyrus cut him off, adjusting his wire rim glasses. "See, it is. He been running all over town tellin' his boys an' anyone who'll listen he's gonna shoot ya dead an' make off with your wife-"

"He what?!" Jayne began to shake in anger. "I'll kill 'im!"

"Jayne," came a soft voice behind him. He relaxed slightly when River placed her hand on his arm. "You would make a good leader."

"Honey," he sighed, running a hand of his face at length, "we done talked about this."

"And it has gotten everyone nowhere. Besides," she added smiling softly, "I know your trigger finger itches and you haven't taken Vera out on a date in a long time."

Cyrus made a face and Jayne ignored him, smiling down at River. "Would get to see a mess a gunplay, I s'pose."

"You'd get a shiny badge," she continued, "nobody could say no to you with out breaking the law. You'd be in complete and total charge of everyone."

"Chain of command." River nodded and he grinned. "You are quite the sweet talker, Baby."

He turned back to Cyrus. "When do I start? When can I shoot Stockley?"

River whacked him in the gut with the back of her hand. "You don't start fights, you finish them, Jayne."

Jayne rolled his eyes and stared down at Cyrus expectantly. Cyrus stuttered for a moment. "Um, first of spring-"

River leaned close to Jayne and stood on her tiptoes as she whispered in his ear. "Art said he would be deputy, but only if you were Sheriff."

"That's right," Cyrus said, bewildered. "How'd you know?"

"I have a cortex and I talked to Delly." Jayne grinned. River sure was good at lying. "Why spring?"

"Well, Stockley an' his boys have been keepin' to themselves mostly seeing as they aren't to fond of the cold," Cyrus explained, "and we townfolk aren't too fond of trouble in the winter when we can avoid it-"

"Nobody is, cold's downright agitatin'."

Cyrus nodded in agreement. He adjusted his glasses. "So, you'll take the position?"

"I guess. If it's okay with the wife-"

"It is." River smiled up at him and Jayne couldn't fight the urge to kiss her that overwhelmed him.After he felt she had been thoroughly kissed, he glared at Cyrus. "You best tell Stockley that since he's been talkin' 'bout my wife, he's in fer a world a hurt."

"Yes, Sir."

Cyrus hurried off and Jayne leaned against the doorway, grinning to himself. "No wonder Mal had such a big ego. Kinda nice bein' called 'Sir'."

River wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. "Nice to see you haven't completely changed. You're still a very greedy man with a hero complex of biblical proportions."

Jayne frowned down at her, hurt. "You don't think I'm a hero?"

"No, I think you're a big damn hero." She pulled him down for a kiss. "My big damn hero."

"Hell," he laughed with a smirk, "I'll go with that!"

A/N: Okay, so, now I believe it's time to explain the whole lying thing. Jayne has been in love with River for nearly the entire series. It is the major reason he felt compelled to ask River to leave with him in part one of this series-he just didn't realize it and because he didn't realize it, River didn't realize it was why he was asking her. So, whenever he calls River a liar, it's because she's pretending she doesn't know he's in love with her.

River getting angry at Jayne for letting her do whatever she wants is her being angry at the fact that he's happy if she's happy and vice versa and she doesn't know how to deal with it. Asking him if he would le her return to Serenity was a very loaded question. If he had said yes, he didn't feel as strongly about her as she did him even though he would have only said yes if it was what she really wanted. Saying no would mean he cared more about his own happiness than hers. River is still surprised at him for saying no because she had expected him to go along with anything she said, which in turn, makes Jayne very very angry.

Jayne sleeping on the couch. River has been taking her inability to cope with her feelings out on Jayne and he couldn't take it anymore so he decided sleeping on the couch (Jayne will NEVER sleep in a bed he doesn't share with River, regardless of whether or not it's another bed in their own home, in case it wasn't clear as to why he chose the couch. This was just an unspoken rule of his) would be the most effective way to get his point across. Unfortunately, it made River cry and think he was going to leave her. Luckily, she was willing to admit to herself he does indeed love her and they go to sleep, both knowing that though it's unsaid, they love each other.

Winter on Harvest is hard. How do Jayne and River deal? Jayne gathers firewood and River hits him with snowballs. While River and Jayne are serious around others, they're playful with one another because they're comfortable with one another in every way possible. It also gives them an excuse to touch each other seeing as even then, River was still "lying". Of course, Jayne and River playing never ends in innocent playing. River is finally able to admit to Jayne she loves him and Jayne is quick to tell her he loves her just as much. At this point, I would like to say how sorry I am to any of you who thought Jayne and River were going to get to get it on. This chapter was bout fluff, not smut, sorry.

Jayne finally takes the job as sheriff as we all knew he would. Jayne is finally willing to let himself become vulnerable to loss again and he is finally ready to accept more responsibility (being responsible for an entire town) than he was willing to ever accept on Serenity regardless of whether or not the outcome was beneficial. River is ready for Jayne to take on more responsibilities, though she is aware of the dangers that come with them, and, in later chapters, she will indeed kick herself for it and then kick other people.

I'm NOT promising anything, but there may be smut in the next chapter...so, yeah, you have that to look forward to.

And now for somethings I've been meaning to do/say:

Ali, sorry it took me so long to get this done. I was busy debating whether it was too fluffy or not and so I didn't post it until now. I really am sorry you thought I just canceled it. FOX owed us some Rayne Gorramn it and they never followed through. So, this is my way of making it up to all my fellow Browncoats who were just as put out about it as I was.

I am officially dedicating this to BadKarma, Ali, Stephlianna (thanks for my Jayne clone! he sure does get quite the workout), Serenity Valley Girl, Psycho Sour Skittle, Astregon, fififelicity, and neisprime. Also, Nadrek because you always have a question or two you need answered and I like knowing there are people out there willing to dissect my work. You guys are all awesome.

Dear Fabledfigment, you are one of my very very very very favorite writers, so getting a review from you was like getting kissed on the mouth by Jayne Cobb (i.e. "OMFG, did that just happen?!"), but without all the burning sexual attraction. So, anyway, getting a comment from you is an honor. Thank you.

Should have said all that a while back, but I'm sort of lazy about things every so often.Again, thanks to all who have been reading this, if you have any questions you need answered about this chapter all you need to do is ask. Please review.