Chapter 20
Note 1: Unabashed reference to Serenity BDM outtakes as well as the deleted Training House scene.
Note 2: Thanks to Chase Me for pointing out that (while Jayne was acting like a butt-head) he deserves a chance for a rebuttal.
Mal walked into Inara's shuttle without knocking. He opened his mouth to call for her, but spotted her kneeling on a small rug in the center of the room. Her face was relaxed, eyes closed, and her breathing even. A stick of incense burned on the table next to her and made the air smell of sandalwood.
Mal stopped a moment to stare. Their fight was weeks ago, but while they were civil to one another, they had yet to find a solution to their problem. Said problem grew more and more imminent.
"Mal, I know you're there," she said, and opened her eyes. "If you're going to enter without knocking, would you at least close the door behind you?"
He raised his brows, but did as she asked. Once the door was shut, however, he lost what he came in to tell her. "I, uh….We'll be on Boros in another hour or so. The landing sensors were on the circuit board that fried a few days ago, so it might get a little bumpy."
"Thank you for the warning." He stood a moment, nodded, and turned to go. "Mal! Can we talk?"
Mal braced himself. He knew what this was about. Inara's eighteen month sabbatical was up in another week. The hell of it was he spent the last month angry, and wasted time he could have spent with her. Now it was too late.
"You heard back from the training house?"
"Yes, I have." She took a breath and plowed on. "Mal, do you know why I accepted a position at a training house instead of continuing work as an active Companion? When I left the first time, I mean."
He turned back to face her, and crossed his arms. "Can't say I do. Good pay. Nice location. Not as much physical strain."
She closed her eyes, but let the intended insult slide off her. She opened them again and met Mal's gaze. "I chose not to continue servicing clients because I knew I couldn't do it anymore. When you slept with Nandi, it made me question…everything, you, myself. My whole life, I saw sex as a way to comfort and heal, and while I still believe that, I hated that you touched someone else like that. I guess you could say that I got to experience what it must have been like for you…and I hated it. I never took another client after that."
Part of him was pleased that he'd made her hurt. It was a mean, hard part of him that Mal threw up to protect the easily damaged underside of him, that part extending from throat to belly. "Should I be thankin' you for sharin' this with me?"
"I'm sharing this with you so that you understand. Before we got involved with each other, I wasn't with anyone else for months. And I don't want to be with anyone else now. Can you say the same?"
He gritted his teeth, pride wanting to say something damaging, but he was truthful. "I can."
Inara rose to her feet. "I spoke to Sheydra, the superintendent of the training house on Paquin where I was teaching. We had quite a long conversation about what exactly I'm going to do, what with everything being the way it is. She was quite understanding, and, honestly, loves any kind of intrigue."
This sounded interesting. Mal uncrossed his arms and stepped closer. "Go on."
"I, uh." His eyes were so blue. She missed him so much—emotionally and physically.
Come on, now, she scolded herself. You were trained better than this. You can certainly hold a conversation with him without melting into his arms.
"She is willing to have me as a part-time teacher. I'll spend eight weeks there, and two weeks off."
"She does sound understanding."
"I," she breathed a laugh, "I told her that Kaylee wanted me to be here with her when she had her baby, and that River needed a stable mother figure in her life. I don't think she believed a word of it. She kept muttering about pirates and burning temples."
Mal chuckled, but never a fool, he asked, "What's in it for them? I doubt they'd give up one of their stars—destined to be House Priestess and all—for nothin'."
"Yes, well, you would be called on to transport a few…let's say accoutrements or accessories that the Guild uses that don't completely comply with Alliance trade regulations. You will have the protection of the Guild, and we're too powerful for the Alliance to completely control. But it's you I'm worried about. Can you trust me for two months out of your sight? I mean, you have a bad habit of assuming the absolute worst of me, and—"
"I could do it," he said. He realized he jumped in awfully quick, and automatically backpedaled. "Two months is a shortish period of time. I'm confident in my…masculine…ness. I can wait."
He cleared his throat. "What about payin' back the Guild?"
"This way will take much longer," she admitted. "An active Companion can usually repay the Guild by the time she is in her early thirties. As a teacher, I figured it will take me well into my late forties. Are you going to make me regret that?"
Mal had his arms around her before she drew her next breath. "No, ma'am. Not if I can help it."
&&&
A little over an hour, Serenity made her decent into Verbena's atmosphere. Mal, River, and Kaylee were just barely able to land thanks to River's calculations, Kaylee providing extra power to the thrusts, and Mal standing next to the pilot's chair and back-spaceship flying. That they managed to land safely was considered a miracle by all, regardless of individual belief in a higher power.
As soon as they touched dirt, the Captain sent Kaylee and River to the nearest parts store while Inara watched the little ones. Jayne was ordered to go along with them to make sure they didn't get into trouble, and hopefully get his Very Intimidating Person discount. The only reason he didn't refuse was because he couldn't stand the harridan Mal and Zoë went to meet. She said things even Jayne would blush to say. And she had an annoying habit of grabbing his ass. Normally he wouldn't mind that, but she was well into her eighties and was missing most of her teeth. It was like being hit on by his grandma. He could handle a lot of things, but that was too much.
Not to say that Jayne was exactly pleasant to be with on this outing. He still did his best to ignore River, and she him. Kaylee tried to keep a conversation going during the walk into the small city, but it fell flat every time. It was a relief to finally make it to the city's large all-in-one store even if the smell of the electronics made Kaylee's stomach start to roll. At almost five months pregnant she thought the nauseous bit would be over by now. She was looking forward to the weird cravings portion of her pregnancy.
They split up inside the store. Kaylee gave a list to River of things she knew she needed, and she and Jayne went to find odds and ends that could be fitted together to replace the fried board. River wandered the long aisles stopping occasionally to read the box of a new part, or scan the prices of some wiring.
Kaylee didn't say anything to him, but she kept shooting little glares at Jayne over her shoulder. Jayne ignored her for as long as he could—which, admittedly, wasn't long—before he risked all hell and yelled at a pregnant lady.
"Would'ja quit, already!"
"Quit what?" she feigned innocence.
"Quit lookin' at me like I'm some kinda evil idiot."
"Well, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck—"
"What do you know?" he growled to keep from drawing attention. "You said your piece all loud and in public, but did'ja once ask my side of it? No! You yelled at me good and proper, but you got no idea why I did it, anyway."
Kaylee put a crinkled hose back on the shelf, and turned to him with her hands on her hips. She was really going to be a great mother. She already had all of the mannerisms down.
"And what might those reasons be?"
Jayne stepped away and then back in a miniature pace before he folded his arms, and squinted down at her. "You never met my family. My Pa—not sayin' he's not a good man; he certainly ain't one of them wife beaters or lay-about's—but he had to work near all damn week down at the mine to bring home enough just to feed us. That left me with a big share of the workload from early on. I took care of my Ma after every one of the little ones was born, and after every one died 'cept for Matty. After that, I took care of him. I got a job to bring home more money. I stayed at home for longer than anybody gives me credit for 'til I knew they could make it without me.
"But you know what? It wasn't my job! It was their job to take care of us, not mine to take care of them. I've done the whole responsibility thing, spent my whole damn childhood doin' the responsibility thing, and I got sick of it. Them girls? They ain't my responsibility. It's the Doc's job to figure out his crazy sis, not mine! It's the girl's job to take care of Angel, not mine!"
Not caring that his voice rose, and there were people looking at him now, Jayne barreled on. "An' who the hell said I'd be any good at it, anyway? Y'all think I'm a walkin' mess, not smart enough to know the up end of a downwind latrine from the kitchen sink, and just violent enough to throw the kid across the room when I'm mad."
"Now that ain't true, Jayne!" she protested. She couldn't believe he would think that—of himself or of them. "None of us think any of that stuff about you."
"You all say it all the time."
"Oh, Jayne, we're just teasin'." He made a grunt of disbelief. "Honest we were. Family just likes to poke at each other. I can't count how many times my brothers called me 'chunky' and 'lard-butt.' We honestly don't mean most'a that stuff we call ya; at least I don't —an' you dish out just as good as you get, you know! You always teased Wash about bein' short, you call Mal dumb just as much as he lobs it at you, an' you still call Simon prissy. River's crazy, 'Nara's a whore, an' I still ain't gotten you back for that gyno comment when Simon first got onboard."
Jayne tried to hide a little smirk. Ah, the good old days.
"Hundan," she muttered. Kaylee bit her lip and wondered if she ought to tell Jayne. Why not? It might help. "Now, don't go holdin' this over Simon when we get back, but he's real nervous about us havin' a baby. When he found out, the one he was watchin' to see how it works was you. Not just the diaper changin' an' feedin' an' stuff, but the real parenty stuff. When to let Angel cry herself out, and when to go pick her up; when to help her, or when to let her do it herself. Ain't always agreed with ya, but I think he has more respect for ya than he lets on.
"Anyway, we don't think you're a mess, either. An' every one of us knows you'd never bring harm to Angel. I have never seen you hurt anybody that didn' have it comin'. You protect Serenity, an' ya keep Cap'n an' Zoë from gettin' hurt as much."
Jayne rolled his eyes. "What I get paid for."
Kaylee punched his arm. "You wouldn't turn on us now, an' we all know it. And we do not think you're dumb. The things you say…well they aren't always the smartest thing. You sorta talk in the opposite direction that River does. She uses all them metaphors and gets herself tangled up. You tend to take things real literal. It's why you two seemed so nice together. Don't look like that. You were happy, even if it was just as friends. Neither of ya are very happy now."
"Yeah, but it ain't anybody else's business," Jayne grumbled.
"Small ship. Can't help knowin' everybody's business."
She shrugged and went back to her original mission. Jayne reached up on the top shelf for what Kaylee pointed to, but his mind was off elsewhere. He honestly didn't think that he would do as good a job at being Mr. Reliable Family Man. Not that he wanted to try, he reminded himself. It wasn't that.
Funny thing was, when he was with River and Angel, he hadn't been trying to do anything. It just sort of…flowed. He didn't think about it. He did what he did because it needed to be done. He hadn't felt trapped or pressured until everyone started making a big deal out of it. While he was with them, it was nice.
He shook his head. The last person he wanted to know he was thinking was Kaylee. She'd rub it in his face that she was the one who got through his thick skull. Couldn't go giving her the satisfaction.
&&&
River searched among the long spools of copper and micro-fiber wiring for the correct length and power grade. She calculated the required conductivity over another ten year period with a two thousand volt cushion for unexpected power surges, and grabbed the fifteen-strand fiberoptic wire.
Urgent mental whispers rode over the soft sounds of consumer-friendly music. A chill crept up her back, and she could feel eyes peering through the rows of goods. Careful to keep her movements casual so as not to alert whoever was looking for her, she set her basket down, and scanned her surroundings to determine what could be used as a weapon if it came to that.
She heard harsh pants coming closer. A second later, the searcher cleared the shelving at the head of the aisle. River recognized the color and pattern of his mind. She spun so fast her hair haloed around her.
"Levi."
His green eyes were pinched, and the characteristic loose work-out pants and tee were rumpled from his rush. A sigh whooshed out when he recognized her.
River was stunned. "What are you doing here?"
Levi walked to her, hands up in supplication. "River. We have to talk. Now. In public is probably not the best place for it, though."
All grace lost in panic, River stumbled away from him. "They're here," she breathed. "No. No! No, no, no, no, I won't go!"
He followed her backwards, gripped her arm, and put a gentle hand on her mouth. "Shhhh. Sh, River, listen." He glanced around. "They are here, but I kissed a range of ass, pulled in every favor I ever accrued at work, and promised a shit-load more to be able to talk to you first. But they only gave me so much time. I looked all over before I found you, so I don't have much time."
Levi tried to figure out if she was really listening to him, but she always looked alert even when she forced her mind to go numb to get through the training they subjected her to. He took her face in his hands. It was best to talk to her through even if she wasn't really listening.
"You have to come back, River, or they'll take RT2 back. They'll do it legally."
She looked up and he knew he had her attention. Levi removed his hands, and smoothed them over his hair held back in a loose ponytail. "Look, I…I don't want to do this. I'd give just about anything not to. But it's you, or it's a little baby."
"It's you're baby," she murmured. His face flushed, and she knew she Read him right.
"It was years and years ago," he admitted, "before my Dad got sick and I had to take the job at the Academy. I was out on my own for the first time, I guess I over-extended myself and needed some quick cash. I never would have dreamed those doctors would find out and use me instead of…. But they did. After you left. I'm pretty sure they got all of it because they had me come in and sign some thing, and gave me a little bonus."
"But…" she shook her head. "But when you donated, you signed away parental rights…."
"A lot of powerful people put a lot of money into you and RT2. They're going to reinstate my rights, take you to court, and sue you for custody. They're going to question your mental stability, and the kind of life you lead on a transport ship, and find you unfit."
"Why are you doing this?"
"I don't want to! The last thing I want is for RT2—"
"Angel! Her name is Angel, ni hun qiu!"
He took a breath, and nodded. "Angel. I don't want Angel to go back to them. I saw what they did to you. I don't want that to happen to my daughter. That's why I begged them to let me find you, try to convince you to come back on your own. They're willing to let her go if they have you. Please, River."
"How can you do this?"
"If there was any other way to get my Dad the treatment and care he needs, I'd do it," he assured her. "If they let me, that is. At this point, they probably wouldn't let me leave."
Levi brushed a hand over her hair. "There's an empty warehouse the funding uses for storage a little ways from the docks where your ship is parked."
River's head fell forward, her hands buried in her hair to guard her temples at the mention of "the funding." It was the term everyone at the Academy used to talk about Blue Sun—the company that supplied most of the monetary backing as well as equipment, supplies, clothing, food, and bedding for the trainees. Their promo-icon was everywhere.
"You need to come by seven this evening. You're already landlocked, so if you don't come, the Feds will be called, you'll be arrested for kidnapping, and they'll take you to court right here."
River closed her eyes as much to stop her tears as to keep from looking at him. She felt Levi press a kiss into the top of her head in a big-brother-like gesture that always helped to calm her down during a particularly intense training session.
In a moment, his footsteps retreated, and River let out a single sob, only one, and then picked up her basket of consol wiring. She ran down the main aisle following the pattern of two familiar minds rather than try to see through bleary eyes.
Jayne spotted her first. Her head was down, hair hiding her face, and her shoulders hunched. She was breathing fast. He readied himself for whatever was following her, ready to bend down and retrieve the knife from his boot, but nothing came.
Kaylee looked up when she heard River's quick footsteps. "Honey? What's wrong?"
"Have to go back to the ship." She pushed the basket into Kaylee's arms. "Found the wiring. Didn't—didn't see anything else."
"River—?" Kaylee tried.
"Have to go."
River turned and ran. Kaylee looked up at Jayne who put the things he held into the basket. "Stay put."
He went to the end of the aisle, and looked around. He saw River escape through the front doors, but no one else took any mind of her. None of the other shoppers noticed her or tried to follow. The staff just shrugged. She'd obviously left empty handed, so they had no call to go after her.
Jayne didn't like it. River wasn't crazy, jumping at shadows and calling them mind-eating monsters anymore, so she wouldn't be scared off by nothing.
He went back to Kaylee. "You got everything you need?"
"Not yet—what's wrong with River? Is somebody after her?"
"Didn't see anybody. Let's just get them supplies and head home. Somethin's not right. She wouldn't just run off like that."
Kaylee nodded. In less than five minutes, she had everything to rewire the circuit board and patch together a new buffer. "All right. Let's go."
They paid for the items quickly, and headed back to the docks. Jayne kept alert for anything out of the ordinary. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for—Reavers, a government operative, a plague of locusts—but he made note of anything suspicious.
After about three blocks, that list was pretty long. There was the toothless man on the last corner who called himself Napoleon and yelled about the end of days. A woman with blue hair, no eyebrows, and more piercings than skin that was mumbling under her breath at her candy bar wrapper. A two-legged dog performing for an audience, an unnervingly clean window in an otherwise dirty warehouse, and a loud buzzing from the sole tree that did indeed sounded like locusts. He wished he had a specific suspiciousness to focus on.
Jayne and Kaylee were about to step into the dockside throng when two men who definitely did not belong in the crowd of common laborers and spacefarers. They wore neat and pressed black suits, starched white shirts, and crisp ties in parallel lines as they walked side-by-side. The other folks on the dock gave them a wide berth on silent instinct. The crowd parted a bit, and Jayne pulled in a quick breath through his teeth. He pulled Kaylee back and into an alleyway.
"What is it? What's goin' on?"
"Two-by-two, hands of ruttin' blue," he muttered.
"Huh?"
"Look." He pointed to the two men. "Try an' tell me them two are lookin' to hire a transport. Now look at their hands."
Kaylee squinted. Jayne could tell when she realized how very bad things had gotten when her eyes flew wide, and she reached up to cover her gasping mouth. "Lao tian, bu. They got blue hands."
Jayne grunted, distracted with watching the men and planning a way around them.
"Oh my god, oh my god," Kaylee muttered.
A younger man, probably not yet thirty, approached the two Blue Gloves head on. He didn't look like one of the barkers for the passenger ships. His clothes were more casual, but they looked synthetic, like someone from the Core would wear, not the homespun of the boarder and Rim. And that ponytail was a dead giveaway. No one from further out than Persephone would wear their hair longer than need be. It was easier to care for when there were other cares to worry about, and long hair got in a working man's way.
There was something familiar about him. Something itched at the back of Jayne's mind, but he couldn't place the man.
"Follow my lead. Just look straight ahead, and try not to look scared or nervous," he told her.
"Why?"
"We're goin' right by 'em. Need to know what the hell they're sayin'."
Kaylee didn't have time to protest as Jayne put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her in close, and left the alley. They wove their way closer to where the Blue Hands and Core Ponytail stood. There was a ship docked not far away, and Jayne pulled Kaylee to a stop to look over the registration kiosk as if they were looking for a ride.
Jayne focused all his attention on making out the tail end of what sounded like a tense conversation. His muscles coiled at Ponytail's shout.
"I said she'll be there!" It was the same voice that told River to knock him out when they were rescuing Angel from the Academy. Son of a bitch. "River knows what's best for everyone. She is not going to let you take her daughter. She'll come."
"For your sake, Mr. Santiello, we hope so," one of the Blue Hands said.
Jayne tightened his grip on Kaylee. "Come on."
"I thought I heard River's name? Did they get her?"
"No, they ain't got her," he reassured her. "But they're tryin' to make her come to them. They're threatenin' Angel."
They rushed down the pier drawing as little attention as they could to themselves until they reached Serenity.
"Go up an' start on that rewirin'," Jayne directed. "Wanna get out of here as damn soon as possible."
Kaylee broke into a jouncing run, her fear for her sister and niece warring with the need to be careful of her pregnancy. Jayne went slower, and once he was inside, he hit the button to raise the ramp and lock the doors behind him.
He ran up the stairs to the bridge, but the room was still empty. He looked in the mess, and then went to pound on Inara's door. The Companion threw it open, and looked ready to grab that bow of hers and do some damage.
"What's wrong?"
"Where's River?" He leaned around her and looked inside the shuttle. Dewey was still there, but no Angel. "Where the hell's Angel?"
"River came back a few minutes ago and went to put her down for a nap."
Jayne pounded down the stairs with Inara calling questions at his back. "Just get on the com an' get Mal an' Zoë back here now."
Jayne stopped for a second and stuck his head in the infirmary. "Doc. Kaylee needs your help on the bridge."
Simon dropped his cleaning supplies and walked to the door. "Is she alright? Is it the baby? Do I need my bag?"
"Nah. She'll explain we ya get there, but you need to move it."
He looked ready to demand a better explanation, but the hard lines and outright fear in Jayne's face convinced him otherwise. Simon nodded, and rushed for the stairs.
Quick strides took him to River's room. He hauled open the door and found River holding onto the rail of Angel's crib staring down at the sleeping baby.
Jayne looked at her standing there so calm while he was wound up enough that he seriously considered going back out there, hunting the Blue Hands down, and killing them. Or, if plan A wasn't possible, grabbing Angel and River and hightailing it off Serenity as fast as he could.
"What the hell are you doin'?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be up on the bridge tryin' to hotwire the ship to get away from them yao ming wang ba dan? We need to be flyin' the fuck outta here."
"Can't," she whispered. "Landlocked. Besides. No running this time."
"So we're fightin' then?" he asked, warming to the idea. "I can get behind—"
"No. I'm going back. Won't endanger Angel or the crew anymore."
He stared for a beat.
"Like hell you are!"
Angel jerked in her sleep, and started whimpering. River glared at Jayne as she reached in and rubbed circles on her daughter's back until she settled. "Keep your voice down. I will not walk out of here while she is awake."
Jayne grabbed her above her elbow and hauled her across the hall to Simon's old bedroom shutting both doors in between. "You ain't walkin' out of here, period. After we spent all that time hidin' you away from them Blue Handed hundáns, you're gonna stroll on back?"
"I have to."
"No, you don't! We took down that Operative. We can take them, too."
"We live because the Operative allowed us to do so, and yes, I do!"
"You're goin' back to get your brain cut up, you remember that, right?"
"I am not a wide-eyed fourteen-year-old this time. I have full knowledge of procedure and expectations. I am going."
"Ni zhao-si ma? I'm willin' ta help ya to the other world with a nice bullet 'cause it's gotta be better than the way they'll send ya."
She blinked hard and sniffed. "They will take Angel. They will take her back there, and they will do it legally. They will hurt her, and she won't know why, and she will grow up thinking that that life is normal. I know it's not. I will not let her life be ruined because I am a coward!"
"They couldn't do it, anyway," he argued. "What're they gonna say? 'We made her from stolen DNA an' now we wanna take her back from the mother that was under the age of consent an' never signed her away in the first place to cut open her brain and make her a super killer?'"
"Levi is Angel's father."
"Who the rutting hell is—you mean the jackass from the Academy? The one you kicked in the head?"
"Yes. The government is reinstating his parental rights. They will take me to court, find me an unfit mother, and award him custody."
"Yi da tuo da-bian."
"He's not," she defended. At Jayne's disbelieving snort, she continued. "He's good. Better to me than most. Helped me through post-surgery psychosis, taught me how to work past pain and fear, focus on the target. He held my hair back when I vomited after my first kill. Levi was a friend to me when others only saw me as a subject to be molded and tweaked. He wouldn't be there if the government wasn't paying for his father's medical treatment."
"Oh, yeah, he sounds great. A real prince for sellin' out a two-year-old what's his own daughter. A genuine gentleman for helpin' ya after them that he works for cut bits outta your brain."
"He is a friend!"
"He was gettin' paid to turn you into a killer—some friend!"
"Don't you dare say one more word about him! You don't know what it was like in there. I would have gone so much crazier—I would have given up and let myself die if it hadn't been for Levi."
"I ain't a genius, but I'm pretty sure there's a term for that."
"Are you accusing me of having Stockholm syndrome?"
"Don't know what that is, but prob'ly!"
River shook her head and backed up until her legs hit the bed. "This is not the point. Was just trying to explain the legitimacy of an attempt to gain custody of Angel. So far off topic. It is not about me. It is about her. I will go back willingly because I refuse to let them have her."
"They can't take her if'n they're dead," he pointed out.
Her gaze flew to his. "You can't kill them."
"Why not? They robots or somthin'?"
"N-no. Human. Or started out that way."
"If'n they're human, they're alive. Things that are alive die. My job to help that along."
"No!" She put her hands to her ears trying to protect the sides of her head, and she sat down hard on the bed. "You can't! They win, they always win, and there's blood, and fear, and pain, and screaming, and they'll take me back! Punish me for being gone so long! They'll take—and they'll put—and it hurts!"
Jayne crouched down in front of her and pulled her hands away. He kept her wrists held in her lap with one hand, and made her look at him with his left. "Hey. None'a that. You leave those sumbitches to me. Mal an' Zoë'll help. You're brother an' Kaylee can make sure they can't call in backup, and 'Nara can take Angel an' Dewey off in the shuttle an' hide somewhere's if'n they do. All you gotta do is take out…Lewis, or Larry…."
"Levi."
"Yeah, him," Jayne grunted.
River's mouth dared a little quirk in one corner before fresh tears leaked out. She dropped her chin to hide her face.
"Now, hey." Jayne stroked her wrist with his thumb. "I know it ain't one'a Mal's plans, but that's why I'm thinkin' this one'll work."
He earned a gurgled laugh.
"That's not it. Don't think I can do it. I don't think I can fight them. I tried once. It's…" she lifted her eyes, "everything goes red. Turned into liquid from the inside out. I'll see them, and I will freeze up. Comply or run, there is no third choice."
"You just keep thinkin' on Angel and gettin' back to her. I'll handle the rest."
River looked in one blue eye then the other, her own gone speculative. "Said it yourself: this is your plan, not Mal's. Why do you care? Thought you were done with us. Not your responsibility, not your problem, no more playing house, no more playing big damn hero to the helpless little girls."
Jayne dropped her hands and sat back on his heels. He could say he didn't care, though current circumstances proved otherwise. He could say he was doing it because it was the right thing like fighting to release the Miranda signal had been the right thing, but that was a hollow explanation in this case. The truth was he didn't mind the responsibility. Taking care of her and Angel, making sure they were safe and happy, was already so much a part of him he didn't question it when he knew they needed him.
"Um…well." Did he really have to say this out loud? Couldn't she just Read him and know? But no. Psychic abilities working for him instead of against him was too much to ask. "See, I think the thing is…uh. I didn't like it when everybody made it seem like I had to take care of ya, like it was my job. I always hated it that my Pa made takin' care of Ma and Matty my job 'cause it wasn't. Wasn't my wife, wasn't my kid. So after I left home, I didn't take no responsibility for nobody. Not any crew I rode with, not any of my partners, or people I worked for. They all said I had to be loyal, an' I wasn't doin' nothin' I didn't want to. Pian zhi de, I guess.
"But, eh, if you were mine—I mean, not mine, mine, but sorta mine—uh…then….Then you would be my responsibility, I guess. Don't mind takin' care of you if that's the case."
"I don't want to be a duty, Jayne," she said.
"Yeah, well, in the extended version of my plan, I'd be gettin' some perks, too." He tried a watered down suggestive smirk, and that seemed to work. River got a little color back. "Not that I'm just in it for perks. An' it would be mutual perks, don't get me wrong. I'm pretty good at perkin'."
River waved her hands in surrender. "Stop saying 'perk' like that! I fully comprehend the innuendo!" She dropped her hands in her lap. "If that was the initiation of a romantic relationship, it was not quite what I was envisioning."
"What you were envisionin' prob'ly had me in tights spoutin' poetry."
River laughed at the imagery. "Hardly. I think the mere possibility would cataclysmically alter the 'Verse as we know it."
Jayne had to agree with her there.
She sobered. "There is one perk I'm going to have to demand. I won't settle for less."
"Yeah. I figured. But can we do this later? After we're done with the savin' you an' Angel from creepy Blue Handed guys?"
River opened her mouth to say yes, but stopped. Was she just maneuvered? Should she be angry? She did just get what she wanted for months, so why not go with it? Probably best to continue letting Jayne think it was all his idea.
"I'm willing to go with your plan. But," she held up her finger when Jayne was about to speak, "if things go bad, I am going with them. Keeping Angel safe is top priority. Dong le ma?"
Jayne frowned, but he nodded. "A'right. Lets go tell the crew."
River quirked a half-smile. "They're just down the hall. They heard most of that."
He glared back at the door. "Damnit."
ni hun qiu—you no-good bastard
lao tian, bu—oh god, no
yao ming wang ba dan—dangerous cuckolds
ni zhao-si ma—are you looking to die?
yi da tuo da-bian—a big lump of shit
pian zhi destubborn