Chapter 14

(Continuity Note: While I've tried to follow the series, movie, book, and Virtual Season 2 in many ways, I have a different idea of Kaylee's family than the one presented in the VS2 episode 4, Homecoming. Most sorry to anyone who was hoping for a revival of the River/Finn relationship, or a love triangle. Although, anyone who wants to write that triangle, I'd read it. )

Simon and Kaylee WAVED the Frye family to tell them the good news after breakfast the day they announced their engagement to the crew. Kaylee's Pa asked to speak to Simon alone, and the Doctor spent more than an hour on the bridge trying to convince Theodore Frye that he was good enough to marry his youngest daughter. Simon hadn't been that nervous since he was in front of the Osiris Medical Board to give a presentation on an experimental new drug being used in triage to stem internal hemorrhaging.

He answered dozens of questions about how he and Kaylee met, where he was from, what kind of work he did, what kind of people his family were, and how he planned on supporting Kaylee. Simon told as much of the truth as he could without mentioning his previous wanted status. If Mr. Frye was apprehensive about letting his little girl marry the medic on a transport ship, he would definitely be against to her wedding a former fugitive. But, at the end of the interrogation, Mr. Frye grudgingly accepted Simon into the family—on the condition that the couple has their wedding at the Colbert-Frye farmstead on Harvest. Of course, Simon agreed.

The crew had two jobs to compete before they could head out to the far Rim. One was legal, the other not so much. After the second job, the crew needed at least another six weeks for Mal's leg wound, Zoë's sprained wrist, and the long cut on Jayne's side to heal. River got a busted lip in defense of the Mule which the perfidious buyers were trying to steal, but she mended more quickly than the others.

In the hectic three months before her brother's wedding, River divided her time between flying, taking shifts with Zoë to entertain Angel and Dewey, and helping Inara and Kaylee plan the nuptial day. She also added a new step to her morning toiletry routine: use the head, wash hands, brush teeth, wash face, brush hair, and remind the girl in the mirror that her friend—emphasis on friend—was simply that. To entertain any notion of deeper regard was to set herself up for disappointment and heartache.

This speech helped to squash any fluffy feelings she might have woken up with, and helped her resolve to treat the mercenary with the same platonic friendliness that she treated the Captain. This resolve usually lasted most of the day depending on how much time she spent around Jayne. On days when she sat alone on the bridge plotting the least direct route from point A to B while Zoë took her turn watching the kids, or when she was cloistered away in Inara's shuttle with the Companion and Kaylee to help design the seating arrangements for the reception, River could keep Jayne in the "Friend" category until dinner.

It was on the days that River sat in the mess or lounge or lower common room when it was her turn to watch the two toddlers, and Jayne tried to teach Angel how to shoot the little orange water gun he bought her the last time they hit the Space Bazaar while trading insults with Dewey that were harder. It didn't matter if he said something stupid or sweet to her, was a grouch or acted friendly; it only mattered that he was in the room, looked her in the face when he talked to her, not around her. On those days, River was lucky if she wasn't a bumbling, blushing wreck by lunch time. On those days, River seriously considered putting a bullet in one or the other of them.

&&&

The crew called Kaylee's family when they were a few hours away to let them know they were nearly there. When Serenity touched down, a bevy of Frye's surrounded the mechanic. Martha Colbert-Frye pulled her youngest into a tight hug. Her three older sister, Emma Lynn, Marah, and Amy, added their embraces after their mother released her. Ted Frye and his three sons, Timothy, Nolan, and Ronnie, took their turns at hugging the littlest Frye last. Then there were Kaylee's brothers-in-law and one sister-in-law to hug, and finally her nieces and nephews to greet.

Simon was a little overwhelmed when his fiancée's family members moved from her to him to for a hug hello. He and River were the only children in the Dickson-Tam family. There were no cousins, nor even aunts or uncles to greet on holidays. The most expressive family member they'd had was their maternal grandfather, but he was a businessman until the day he died, and was often called away from family gatherings after an hour or so. The Frye's were more fixed in their loving presence.

And what a presence it was. For the next two weeks until the wedding date, the entire town seemed to be in on the preparations. The tailor in Old Town was in a tizzy hemming the groomsmen's trousers and cuffs. The bridal shop in New Town, the section established by the Alliance after the war to modernize the planet, and to help boost Harvest's economy, had a joyful fit over the long sundress style bridesmaids' dresses, each in a slightly different shade of yellow to best compliment the maid who would be wearing it. And through it all, the Frye clan acted as both familial focus and driving force.

The evening before the wedding, the men kidnapped Simon and took to a bar in Old Town. As the men pulled her brother away into the twilight, River saw the conspiratory glance exchanged between Mal and Ted Frye over the groom's head. She sighed with a half smile tugging at her mouth. The prank was juvenile, but the effect would be what the two men planned. Poor Simon. And then Poor Mal and Mr. Frye because Kaylee was going to skin them if Simon was late tomorrow.

Soon after the males departed, the bridesmaids gathered together to head over to New Town. There was a karaoke bar, and Kaylee's childhood best friend and bridesmaid, Xiu Mei, worked there. She had the best tables near the stage reserved for the bridal party. River tried to beg out at first, but Mrs. Frye assured her that she would watch Angel and Dewey as long as the girls were out. They wouldn't be the only children in the big farm house that night. Kaylee's sisters were leaving their little ones in the capable hands of their mother. She even managed to earn a place in the unnaturally cynical Dewey's heart by immediately offering cookies and milk and a night of kid-vids while the Mommies took Kaylee out for her bachelorette party.

The girls spent the night talking, laughing, singing, and drinking. Serenity's crewmembers weren't sure whether River ought to have any alcohol despite eighteen being the legal drinking age since she was on depressive "medication." But River assured them that her meds were designed not to interact with any other drug: over-the-counter, prescription, or recreational. She also noted that this was not the first time she'd had an alcoholic beverage. Her parents let her have wine with dinner when she was as young as seven. And as a glass of red wine was what she would be having tonight, she felt no qualms whatsoever about drinking.

At the height of the evening, the Frye sisters were giddily inebriated; Zoë was freed up by a nice Long Island Iced Tea buzz; Inara, who would not let herself get drunk, felt warm and comfy thanks to her cranberry juice and rum; and River shed the mousish demeanor she'd cultivated as a child for self-preservation, and talked animatedly on any subject with her brain frequently running ahead of her mouth so that she stumbled over her slurring words. So it was with great hilarity and much tone deafness that the Kaylee Frye Bachelorette Party took the stage to sing the centuries-old karaoke classic—the one song that every machine came preprogrammed with regardless of make, model, or language—"I Will Survive."

By two am, the girls were stumbling home. Inara took the lead and punched in the security code on Serenity's bay door since Zoë was having some focusing problems. As she followed the number pattern Mal taught her, Inara couldn't keep the silly grin of happiness off her face.

Zoë held onto the doorframe as she entered and then the cargo crates once she cleared the door. "I ssthi…I think I need ta go get some water."

"I'll spot you going up the stairs," Inara said. "Just in case."

"S'a good idea."

Kaylee and River giggled at nothing and collapsed against a crate. After she caught her breath, Kaylee leaned her shoulder against River's, and said, "Hey. I's gonna go see if my Simon, my groom, my Simon-groom's in his room. Uh'kay?"

"M'kay."

River watched her stumble off toward the passenger dorms. She giggled when Kaylee tripped on the bottom stair. When the other girl disappeared, River let her feet slide out from under her and sat down on the cold grating. She stayed there, humming at the ceiling, for who knew how long—a few minutes, a half hour…time was moving in odd ways for River. If she could only get her brain to cooperate, she would try to do the math, but whenever she tried to concentrate on quantum theorems she found herself humming "My Darling Clementine."

Jayne's face appeared above her. "You drunk, too?"

She grinned. "Jayne!"

"Huh. You, too."

"Me, too, what? What was th' question?"

"You're drunk."

"I hade one glass…" she fumbled with her fingers to hold up universal number one, "one glass of wine."

"Yeah, an' I'm a flyin' monkey."

"I did! I had one glass. Glass held wine. Not my fault th' waiter kept refilling it. He thought he could get th' pretty girl drunk and she would have sex with him."

Jayne frowned at the thought of some jackass waiter trying to get River to sleep with him. Couldn't he get women when they were sober, or was he so hideous he needed their vision blurred before they'd take a second look? There was another option, but if the tamade húndan used the alcohol haze to make it harder for the women to run or fight back, he'd hunt him down and beat him so bad he'd be begging for death by the time Jayne got done with him just on principle.

River laughed. "Ha! Showed him."

"What'ja show him?"

"Tried to cop a feel. I punched him. Nose went crunch! Two black eyes with one stone."

Now that was the little xiong can sha shou he knew. Jayne grinned as he offered her a hand up. "Come on, little girl, up ya go."

"Not little!" River complained as he hauled her to her feet. "On th' tall side of average." She poked him on the nose. "So there. Where are we going?"

"To get you some water so's tomorrow ain't so bad for ya."

River rubbed her forehead trying to think through the wine. "Water. Alcohol dehydrates. A hangover is like dying of thirst. Water in th' system abates alcohols negative effects."

"That's the thought." He planted his hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her towards the stairs. They made it up to the first landing in good condition, but River started to sway a little, and Jayne moved his hand from her back to her waist to stead her. Such a tiny little waist, but she wasn't without curves. Most of her clothes were baggy enough to hide them, was all.

Not that blue dress, a whisper in his head reminded him. The sight of her running down that corridor, diving into the Reaver-filled outer room, and then being dragged backwards while she reached out for help followed the devilish little voice.

He and Zoë had both tried to lunge for her hands to pull her inside to safety, but they couldn't get there in time. He remembered looking back at Zoë, her clear soldier's expression marred with failure; Inara had one hand raised toward the doors and the other pressed down on the Doc's stomach to try and keep Simon from bleeding out. The echo of Kaylee's helpless sob drifted through his brain.

And then those doors opened when the Alliance techs finally managed to override the locking code. There she was in the middle of some thirty dead Reavers—it could have been five and it would have been no less impressive. At first he thought she was a ghost or a Reaver herself what with the way she stood ready for the next attack, her breathing fast, and her hair in matted locks from her sweat and the blood she'd spilled. When the back wall was ripped out, the light framed her like wings, Jayne thought maybe she'd become the Angel of Death. Maybe they were all really dead, and that was what Hell looked like.

River whimpered at his side and buried her face against him. "Please stop. Bad day. It was a bad day for everyone. Shh. No more."

"Sorry. You're right. Sorry."

River nodded and let herself be nudged up the long stairwell. Actually, except for Jayne thinking too hard about Reavers and Death, she wasn't feeling too bad. She was buoyed up by a nice floating feeling; nothing hurt or felt bad. And then there was Jayne all warm and solid by her side with is arm across her back, his hand at the dip of her waist. All she had to do was slow her pace and she could feel the press of his bicep and forearm, and his hand tightened on her middle. She only had to turn her head the slightest bit to breathe him in—cigar smoke, whiskey, gun oil, sweat, and the toe curling hint of the pumpkin spice in Jayne's shaving soap. And it had to be shaving soap, she reasoned. Jayne wasn't the kind of man to bother with aftershave or cologne.

"Dewey is so wrong," River announced. She opened her eyes, and was surprised to find herself in the hall outside the mess.

"How's that?" Jayne asked as he guided her down the four steps into the kitchen space.

She stumbled down, and used that as an excuse to put her nose into the bend of his neck. "Don't stink at all. You smell so good."

Jayne felt his eyes widen, and he tensed up. His mouth obeyed the little used sensible part of his brain, and opened to tell the girl to get off. This was all manner of levels of bad. Unfortunately, his hands were listening to the part of his brain that only registered three things: warm, soft, willing; and they tightened their grip: one on her waist, the other on her upper arm where he'd put them to help steady her when she tripped.

Luckily, River took the decision on whether to shove her away or back her up to the kitchen table out of his hands by voluntarily stepping away from him to see him better. She had her know-it-all face on, and asked, "Did'ju know that humans have terrible se'ses of smell? Bad. Awful. Not good."

"Yeah? Ain't that somethin'?" Jayne shook off the disappointment that crept over him. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the sink while she babbled on about the human sense of smell.

"Maybe the worst in th' animal kingdom save for…for…" she giggled, "I dunno, snails or somethin'. Oh! Jayne!" River rounded on him with a sniggering, conspiratorial expression on her pretty face as if she was about to share the 'Verse's funniest secret. "Snails bounce! Escargot. Boing! Off th' senator's head and into th' punch bowl."

Her bubbling giggles grew to waves of laughter that had River doubled over and hanging onto the edge of the sink counter to keep herself upright. The laughter stopped, and her eyes widened. She had a second to turn her face to the sink before she threw up.

"Saw that comin'," Jayne muttered. He reached out with one hand to gather up a few locks of hair that were too close to her face, and held them back without getting too close to her or the sink. Ew.

River puked over and over until it was all dry heaves, and even then her stomach tried to find something to expel from her. She didn't feel floaty anymore. She didn't feel good and pain-free. She felt like regurgitated gó se. When she finally calmed her gag reflex, River was happy to let Jayne direct her to a chair. Now, however, she was busy keeping her skull attached to her brain. There were little jackhammers inside that were trying to liberate the gray matter.

River sunk down in the chair Jayne pulled out, and a moment later, he returned with a glass of water that he sat on the table next to her arm. "Drink slow."

River's hands shook as she lifted the glass. Sip by sip, she washed away the awful taste of bile. Sip by sip, she felt just a little better. Not great, but not vomitous, either. Anything that wasn't puking was better. So much so that her brain felt able to start working again, although she was really going to have to do something about that pounding eventually.

Now that she had the ability, River could see the true oddness of what was going on. It wasn't her alcoholic binge. It wasn't the déjà vu of Jayne caring for her in the mess late at night. She frowned hard at the man sitting in front of her.

"What?"

"You're here."

Oh, boy. She was so drunk she thought she had hallucinated him. "Yep, I'm here. I'm not a figment of your 'magination."

Her frown turned into a scowl. "No. I mean, you're here, and sober, and not out there—" she gestured toward the nose of the ship with her glass and sloshed water on the floor—"somewhere, all naked and sweaty and having sex with some jian huo."

Jayne blushed slightly, though it was as much from annoyance as embarrassment. He did not want to hear River talk like that about his…activities. Not that he'd had any activities tonight. He'd been too busy watching the Doc get trashed knowing that if anything happened to him, the girl or Little Kaylee would kill someone—likely Mal or him—for not stopping it. Besides, shit, he did have some self-control!

"Somebody had to stay sober," he grumbled. "Your bother was three sheets to the wind in a couple'a hours. Mal was only 'bout a half a sheet an' a washcloth behind him. Should'a seen the father of the bride blubberin' in the corner, an' two'a Kaylee's brothers was passed out on the floor still strugglin' to keep hold of the stripper's panties."

"Panties?" River asked. "Is that part of th' usual routine?"

Jane flashed a highwayman's grin. "Nope."

She scowled again, and grumbled under her breath. Jayne caught some colorful names directed at himself and figured he probably ought to do something to fix it because he did not want her not talking to him for a week again, and him not knowing what he did to piss her off.

"Should'a seen your brother's face," he said, and hoped this would coax a smile out of her. "I seen him get flustered before, but I ain't never seen anybody get that red. I thought he was gonna pass out or somethin'."

River couldn't help the laugh. It hurt, but she could almost see the look on her ge-ge's face when presented with the traditional stripper at his bachelor party. She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead while she chuckled. "Heh-heh—ow. Heh-heh-heh-heh…ow."

Jayne snorted a laugh, and leaned back in his seat. "So, how'd the women-folk do at Kaylee's little shindig?"

"Good. No stripper, but lo's of singing." A sudden throb made River wince. She closed her eyes and moaned.

"You need to go sleep it off."

"Can't yet. Gotta go get Angel from th' house. She'll be scared if she's not here and I'm not there in th' morning."

"You go sleep. I'll go get Angel for ya in the mornin'."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure," he promised, but then frowned at himself. It wasn't like him to do things for other people, and he couldn't figure out why he'd started with River. It must be for Angel, he reasoned. It was easy to promise to do things for a baby.

"Thank you, Jayne." River stood up, wobbled, and had to use both hands on the table to steady herself.

Jayne sighed. "How 'bout I go with ya to make sure you don't fall an' die?"

"That…may be good. Yes, I think that is very much sensible."

Jayne held onto her arm on the way down to the passenger dorms to keep her from slipping. An arm around the waist was only steadying when you're both fighting gravity to climb. When going down, you had to make friends with gravity, and having someone that close to you was more a hindrance than a help. And Jayne wasn't sure he wanted to be that close to her again after her little smelling comment.

Jayne noticed the door to the Doc's room was open when they neared the Tams' rooms. Mindful of his duty as only capable watcher over Serenity that night, he pulled the girl to a stop, and stepped in front of her. One hand on Boo, he glanced into the room to find Kaylee passed out cold on Simon's empty bed. Jayne stifled his laughed, and motioned River forward.

After taking a look at what Jayne found so funny, River sighed and said, "She'll be very angry tomorrow when she hears 'bout wha' they did. Very angry."

"Yeah…hey! You knew?" Jayne sputtered. "An' ya didn' stop 'em?"

River dragged the sliding door of her room open and stepped over the threshold. "Didn't wanna spoil th' s'prise."

He watched her stumble over to her bed and flop down on it. She kicked off her size-too-big combat boots with a nasty face and stuck her tongue out at them before she curled up in a ball. Jayne took pity on her, and walked over to pull River's blanket up around her. He was about to move away when she caught his wrist.

"Jayne," she whispered. "I know you."

"Yeeeeah, I know you, too, River. We live on the same boat. Kinda hard to be strangers."

"No, I mean…I know you, what you are, what you're not. Cold-blooded, single-minded mercenary. Not a hero. Not a good man."

Jayne was about to ask her what the hell brought this on. He hated to admit it, but she kind of hurt his feelings. Not that he wasn't all of those things, but he didn't want her thinking of him like that. Everyone else could. He didn't mind that, the better to scare them with—but not River. Which was silly since she was the one who could see into his brain and knew exactly what kind of man he was.

But then River smiled soft and drowsy with drink. "But you're not so bad. Not so bad as you want people to think. Not so bad as I thought. I even kinna…." Her eyelids fluttered down, but she forced them back up. "You're not so bad."

River pulled her hand off of his arm and curled it next to her cheek. She was fast asleep not knowing what she'd done.

This time, one of the sparks she struck off him flew deep inside his chest, caught on the dry tinder of his heart, and started glowing. It was small, so small, Jayne was afraid to breathe for a second. He didn't know what would happen if he did. Would it burn out, kindle further, or would it turn into a brush fire and leave nothing of him but burnt flesh? Best not to risk it.

Breath held, he backed away, stepped into the hall, and closed the door behind him. He glanced at Kaylee and figured that she was fine exactly how she was.

&&&

Jayne was looking at beams of sunlight on the floor. He could tell he was in a whorehouse by the flickering porno captures mounted on the walls, the big bed he currently laid in, and the naked woman by his side. He grinned and turned his head to look at her just in time to find the blonde woman roll over so that he couldn't see her face. He didn't mind; after all, her job was done here, so he climbed out of bed already dressed and headed down stairs to the cargo bay.

Wash was there, and he and Zoë had just announced that they were expecting. The crew was so happy, congratulating them, and not thinking about the job. Shepherd Book stood over in the corner holding a service for fallen soldiers, and when he looked up at Jayne descending the stairs, he scowled at him. Hurt that the Shepherd would look at him so wrongly, and not knowing what he did to deserve it, Jayne ducked his head, and climbed into the Mule and waited for Mal. The two of them rode out to where the deal was going down.

The world erupted into gun fire and shouted curses. Jayne dropped to the ground, and found himself back in the cathouse. The sunlight on the floor was bright. He turned to look at the woman next to him as she turned her face away. He frowned, but rolled out of bed, and headed down to the bay because he knew there was a job waiting. Wash and Zoë were picking out baby names. Simon and Kaylee were having their wedding in a corner while Book sermonized to his bullet-ridden congregation. When he caught Jayne's eye, he shook his head.

"Boo-jir."

Jayne stung, but he did his job. He took his seat in the Mule to wait for Mal, and the two of them drove away to meet the clients. A round was fired from a semiautomatic. The shot was returned with cussing. Jayne felt a hot impact in his leg and stumbled back onto the bed in the whorehouse. He looked over at the whore and found her turning on him. Annoyed and restless, Jayne left the bed and went down the stairs. Shepherd Book stared at him as he preached of hell and the fires of damnation. Zoë and Wash held their child in their arms, and the Doc and Kaylee were surrounded by their own stair-step children.

When he climbed onto the Mule, he had to wait for Mal to stop kissing Inara before they could set out. A bullet whizzed by his head. Jayne looked to the left for where the shot had come from, and saw the whore in bed next to him turn away. Desperate to get away from her, he jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to the cargo bay.

It was empty.

Jayne found himself awake and staring at the grated ceiling of his bunk. He was panting, and his legs were twisted up in his blanket, and his trigger hand had reached for his gun even before he was conscious. The details of the nightmare were already fading from his mind, but the effects lingered on. He knew he wasn't going to be getting back to sleep any time soon.

He craned his neck to look at the digital display on the lock-and-com pad next to the ladder in his bunk. Not quite six yet, but if Mrs. Frye was anything like his own ma, she's been up for hours now. Jayne counted on it as he got up and dressed in the near-dark of his bunk lit only by the low ambient light that warded off complete blackness. He was going to get Angel early so that she would still be asleep, and he could carry her back to put her with River before she woke.

Before he went, he stopped off in the infirmary and grabbed the bottle of pain-relievers and a little plastic cup he filled with water. He took both to River's room, and set them on the headboard-shelf carefully so as not to drip water on her head. He glanced down to make sure she was okay and paused a minute to look at her.

She lay quiet and peaceful facing the wall, undisturbed by Jayne's entry or movements in her room. Her purple fleece comforter was pulled up around her chin, and he could see she had her hands balled up in the blanket near her chest. Her hair was pushed away from her face, and he watched her lashes flutter as she began to dream. He didn't know why the sight of that round beauty mark in her left eyebrow was so amusing, but it had the power to tug a smile onto his mouth whenever he took a minute to notice it.

And what exactly the hell was he doing staring at her? It wasn't like she was that good looking. Yeah, sure, she wasn't a sin to look at, pretty even, but he'd seen prettier. There were exotic beauties with plump lips and midnight eyes outlined in dark kohl, icy blondes with eyes like cool water, and scandalous redheads who knew the naughtiest games. Compared to them, River was sort of plain. So what was he doing standing in her room staring at her while she slept?

Jayne shook his head and made his was out of her room leaving the door open, and headed out of Serenity toward the Frye house. It was easy enough to find his way in the twilight before dawn. The early morning air was cool and damp with dew, and it helped him to clear his head. Clean, unrecycled air was a blessing, and he breathed deep to chase away the last wisps of his nightmare and the oddness of watching River sleep.

What was wrong with him of late? He was beginning to wonder if crazy weren't catching.

When he reached the back door of the Frye's farmhouse, he could make out the sounds of meat sizzling in a frying pan and Mrs. Frye's voice humming. The smells coming out the kitchen were the stuff Heaven was made of. Jayne grinned as he knocked lightly on the door.

The humming stopped, and he could hear Kaylee's mother walking on the hardwood toward the door. "Who in the world is out at this hour?"

The woman was of good farm stock. She didn't know not to open the door without calling to see who was on the other side. It was actually refreshing for Jayne who had spent so long with folk who had to be suspicious as a way of life. He smiled in what he hoped was a very charming way when the door opened to reveal the rounding woman with flour dusted on her blue-checked apron in snowy patches.

"Mornin', Ma'am." A smell caught his nose and Jayne momentarily forgot what he was there for. "Is that real bacon?"

Martha Frye laughed at the merc. "Jayne, did you come all the way down here just for the food? Good Lord above, you didn't smell that bacon up there at your ship, did you?"

Jayne chuckled in return. "No, Ma'am, but I could smell it from half-way down the road." See? He could be pleasant if he needed to. "Actually, I told River I'd come get Angel for her. She tends to get a little antsy if'n she ain't with her ma when she wakes up, an' River's still sleepin' off the fun she had at the bachelorette party."

Martha frowned. It wasn't that she didn't like Jayne, but being a mother herself, she was hesitant to give a child over to someone who wasn't their parent. "I'm sure Angel will be just fine if she wakes up here this mornin'."

Jayne didn't like the change in the woman. One minute she was friendly and welcoming, and the next she looked at him like she wanted to get the broom and shoo him away from her porch. "That's a'cause you never had Angel wake up around you without her ma there. Girl don't take it well. Neither does River, truth to tell, and I promised her I'd bring Angel home this mornin'."

"Forgive me if I'm comin' off like I don't trust you, Jayne," she apologized, "but you ain't Angel's daddy, and I don't feel right handin' a child over to just anyone."

"He's fine, Mrs. Frye," a new voice spoke up. Jayne turned to find Zoë a few paces away coming up the lawn. "He's family. Close enough, anyway. River would tell you the same."

Mrs. Frye nodded, and stepped back from the door. "It's all right, I suppose. It's just that you can never be too careful with little ones."

Jayne huffed. He stepped inside and headed toward the front room the woman pointed to. Inside, he found seven or eight kids ranging in ages from one year to six spread out on blankets on the floor, two shared the couch, and two more lay in a playpen. Jayne stepped lightly over the Frye children and made for the pen that Angel shared with one of Kaylee's nieces.

He lifted the girl by her armpits. He tried not to wake her, but getting manhandled has a tendency to do that. Angel opened her eyes a crack and gave him a "what's going on?" look. She whimpered in protest at being woken, but settled down when Jayne set her against his chest and made nonsense shushing sounds. She was asleep again before he even stepped back into the kitchen. Zoë was accepting coffee from Mrs. Frye as the two women talked.

"…and Ted never did come home last night. I hope they haven't gotten themselves in trouble."

Jayne couldn't stop his snicker. Angel whined a protest at being jostled, and dug her little fingernails into his T-shirt just enough to pinch at him. Both women looked over.

"Jayne? Do you know where the Captain, Simon, and Mr. Frye are?" Zoë asked.

"It was Mal an' Kaylee's pa's idea," Jayne said. "They wanted to hassle the Doc a little. Seems Ted asked his friend the sheriff—"

"Wyatt Tanner, that old coot!" Martha sputtered.

"What happened, Jayne?"

"They were gonna have the Doc put in lock-up for the night on some fool charges." Jayne tried to smother his laugh. "Unfortunate-like, Mal and Ted got a little rowdy themselves last night, and Sheriff Tanner had to haul them off, too. Somebody's gonna have to go down and haul them three out if'n they wanna make it to church today."

"I am gonna skin that husband of mine with a spatula!"

Jayne took his leave before they turned on him for not stopping it, but seeing Mal get taken in along with the groom, the father-of-the-bride, and two of Kaylee's brothers had been too much fun. And the thought of Kaylee bludgeoning Mal to death with a wrench was pretty entertaining, too.

He tried to make the trek back to Serenity as quick as possible. The sun was up now, but they still had an hour or so before the air warmed up. Jayne didn't want Angel catching cold or nothing. So he kept up a good pace with care not to wake her up, and kept rubbing little circles on her back and arms to keep them warm.

As soon as he stepped through the airlock doors, he headed straight back to the passenger dorms and River's room. He stepped over the raised threshold and carried Angel to River's bed. They'd be getting up soon, anyhow. This way Angel wouldn't have to adjust to a cold mattress; she could just snuggle up next to her ma for a few hours. He'd done that when he was little, especially in winter, and his pa had already left for work. He'd sneak into his parents' room and climb under the covers to snuggle in his ma's warmth. It was the safest he ever remembered feeling. Everyone deserved a chance to feel that warm and safe.

River opened her eyes just wide enough to make out the blurry room. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and found the familiar shape of Jayne. She hmm'd in confusion about what he was doing there until Angel descended to her side from Jayne's arms. Then she mumbled something that might have been a thanks, or maybe just acknowledgement of him keeping his word, and tucked her daughter under the blankets and curled around her.

Jayne caught himself staring again, and made his feet take him out of the room. They had a few hours left before they had to start getting ready. Might as well go start his own breakfast.

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xiong can sha shou—ass-kicking killer

jian huo—cheap floozy

ge-ge—big brother

Boo-jir—worthless