All disclaimers apply

A/N: Before anyone asks, no the answer is not 42. ;)

Ch. 18- Revelations

River tucked the spare blanket around David's shoulders and left him passed out on the common room couch to go find Jayne. She knew he wasn't far; he had been lurking close by since the job had started. She stumbled through the mess doorway into the cargo bay and giggled.

"Oopsy, I maybe had a little more sips than I think I had," she giggled softly. She looked up to see Jayne sitting on his weight bench, not lifting, just sitting and presently staring at her. He frowned.

"Didn't think gettin' drunk wi' the puke was part of the job description," he snapped. "Guess Mal'll be happy that ya did whatever ya had to do to get the job done."

River's head snapped straight, the fog in her brain clearing a little. "How dare you! I don't think I like what you are implying! I would never…" she stumbled again.

Jayne leaped forward to catch her. "I know, I'm sorry, it's jus that seein' ya wi' him makes me wanna…" he sat back down on the bench with her sprawled across his lap.

River gazed up at him through fuzzy eyes. She reached up one hand and placed it on his cheek. "I'ma so soddy," she fumbled. "I's neva wanna hurt you…I's neva do dis again, tell Cap'n 'Bad Ideas' to go no!" Her hand fell back to her lap.

Jayne smiled at her. He knew the second he heard the clinking earlier that River was going to try the 'get-'im-drunk-an-talkin' technique of interrogation- he also knew she couldn't hold her liquor worth a damn. He had peeked in once just as she was tipping her glass behind her into one of the couch cushions. He bemoaned the loss of what was probably really good drink, but was glad she wasn't partaking with the little Cosmo kid. Maybe he could squeeze the cushion out later.

But it appeared that she may have had more than either of them figured on. And it had caught up with her. She was presently concentrating on keeping her head from lolling over to one side. Jayne gently brushed her hair back out of her face and decided that she needed to be put to bed.

As he stood up with her cradled in his arms she reached out to protest.

"No, no, don't pusha me away! I'ma soddy, I'sa make it up to ya!" she was practically sobbing. Jayne sighed, he didn't want to see her this upset.

"Ev'rythin's gonna be okay, l'il one," he crooned softly in her ear. She turned her head enough to press a sloppy kiss to the side of his mouth. He smiled again and started walking towards her room. He realized right then that it didn't matter whether he was or wasn't good enough for her; he was going to take care of her for as long as she let him. What mattered were his actions going forward. He couldn't do anything about the past- he could only concentrate on the future

And right now his future was curled up in his arms muttering. "Only work with Jayne from now on, no more-a dis go se crap from that Mal." Jayne grinned, she was actually adorable when she was buzzed. He knew that he had been the one to get blitzed the night he had taken her out for her first celebratory drink- he also knew she had put him to bed. He had always wondered if he had said something to give himself away as she had smiled knowingly at him in the days following and had not retorted once when he had tried to be mean to her. Like she wasn't taking the taunting seriously anymore. He knew then it had been the beginning of the end. For him. He hadn't looked elsewhere since then. Not ready to admit someone had him but good, but not feelin' the need to go anywhere else neither.

He had made it to her doorway when he noticed her fingers had started roaming across his chest. Damn, her little fingers felt good, but there weren't no way anythin' was gonna happen 'tween them while she was lit. Leastways not this time.

He stepped inside the room and two steps later he laid her down in her bed. He tried to quickly pull the blanket up over her as now her little fingers were really starting to travel. She pushed the coverlet away and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and yanked. Jayne was already leaning over and when she yanked hard he lost his balance and practically fell on top of her.

"This is betta," she giggled. Jayne was trying to hold his weight off of her, but she still had ahold of his shirt and didn't look too interested in letting go. She lifted her head up and smushed her lips against his. Jayne started to laugh.

"Listen," he said, pushing himself upright into a kneeling position beside her bed. "We can talk more tomorrow. Jus try and get some sleep fer now, dong ma?"

Her hold on his shirt had loosened somewhat and he gently pried her fingers off. She strained through the enveloping fog in her brain.

"Done'ta leave me. I'ma soddy. You talk to me tomorra?" she pleaded.

"Yes, we'll talk tomorrow. Ev'rythin's gonna be okay," Jayne comforted her.

"Os-kay. Cause I know now. The thing. I'sa knows the thing. Two things really. Nummer one, I'sa need you, jus you. Ans nummer doo, I know what Davie finda. He's got the ting. To ev'ryting." And her head lolled to the side as she passed out.

Jayne brushed her hair back once more before he stood up to leave. "Don't ya worry," he whispered, "I'll take care of ya."

She squinted one eye open and clumsily pulled a cloisonné hair stick out from under her pillow. "You already do," she mumbled, then fell back to sleep.

Jayne sighed, regretful that she couldn't explain more clearly what information she had found out, but thankful that despite her drunken state, he was important enough to her that she wanted to make sure he knew how she felt about him. For tonight, it was enough.

&&&&&&&

Mal took another sip of his coffee; he had to admit that besides Simon, Jayne made the best coffee on the boat.

"So, when do you think our l'il albatross is gonna get up from her hangover?"

"Right here, Captain," River appeared in the doorway holding a hand to the side of her head. Jayne instantly appeared at her side handing over a glass of juice and some pain reliever tabs.

"Thank you," she said, smiling gratefully. She started to say more, but Jayne stopped her.

"Ev'rythin's okay," he mumbled, and led her over to the table to sit down. He went to step away but she grasped his hand and squeezed, tugging until he got the hint to sit beside her.

Mal glanced between the two, grateful that Jayne had already told him that River had some answers for him. He realized that perhaps he hadn't thoroughly thought through the strain this job he gave River would put on others on the ship. Simon had been bugging him for two days to restrict David to quarters for the remainder of the trip, and Mal could clearly see the strain this had been on his gun hand. He smirked; it had been all kinds of amusing that the Doctor was now defending Jayne. Who'da thunk it?

Zoe and Wash entered the mess and sat down at the end of the table. River emptied her glass in a single long swig. Jayne shook his head and smiled to himself, it sure seemed like the girl could drink. She put the glass down and made a face at him while lightly elbowing him. He squeezed her shoulder playfully. He was wide open; she could read everything. All his thoughts were of her. She sighed happily.

"Alright, l'il one, let's hear it," Mal said. Jayne had met him on the bridge earlier and told him that he thought River may have gotten something useful last night. Mal was afraid to ask how, but the twosome seemed okay this morning, so no need for rehashing.

"Captain, it turns out that all of my conversations with Cosmo have been relevant. Every single one since he stepped on board." River paused to let them absorb this.

Wash was the first to speak. "But all he's ever babbled about was his work. Hacking. Or, I'm sorry, 'anti-encryptionist'." Wash snorted.

"But that's what's relevant," River said. "Every story he had about getting into some restricted system was different, right?" Everyone nodded. "Every situation had a unique set of variables that needed to be cracked, hacked, anti-encryptioned. When David was talking the other day about large number theory…"

"Oh, he lost me then," Wash cracked. "I think I went to go look for some cookies."

"Hush, dear," Zoe remonstrated.

"Large number theory?" Jayne asked. "Ya mean like a million zillion?"

River smiled and patted his cheek. "A little bit bigger than that, hon. Numbers so large that even the government's supercomputers would have trouble dealing with them in computational circumstances. The theory goes that there is a number that is so large and variable that it is the solution."

"The solution?" Mal interjected. "The solution to what?"

"Everything," River answered. "Every coded algorithm ever written. The ultimate codebreaker."

"But that sounds impossible on a practical level," Zoe said. "If it's so large that even the Alliance's computers can't compute it, then how could anyone actually use it?"

"There's the rub," River said. "No one has actually been looking for the number itself. It has been theorized that a shorter computational variable could substitute to an acceptable level."

"How 'cceptable?" Jayne asked.

"Acceptable to the level of being capable of cutting through every encryption currently ever written," River said somberly.

"Well, ain't that the same thing?"

"No, it wouldn't necessarily cover coding not yet written."

"Oh, well, that's a relief," Mal said sarcastically. "So this David guy has this 'secret code'?"

"I don't know. He might, or he may just have the core sequencing in his head. Either way, if he's built it into a chip, he wouldn't keep it physically on him, it would be much too dangerous."

"How dangerous?"

"Whoever had it would be able to break into anything," Wash said, straightening up. "It would be like having the key to everything, public or private!"

River nodded solemnly. "No more secrets."