Disclaimer: There is no original content, except for the original content. All Hail Joss.
Simon looked around the infirmary, feeling lost.
He'd just finished polishing his mirrored lamp for the second time that day.
It was easy to forget how much of his time was spent in caring for his sister. At least until she was gone. Without her he was empty.
He needed something else to do.
He wandered over and flipped on the Cortex link. It was set for information only, of course. You needed a two way feed to WAVE someone, but the infirmary didn't usually need that.
So, what to do? There were months of trade publications awaiting him. He should really get to that.
He sighed and dialed up a soothing audio feed. Ancient music from Earth-That-Was; Mozart, a modern arrangement for sitar, flute and drum.
Simon closed his eyes and let the music flow over him. It tingled his fingertips and made his scalp prickle.
The sensations turned his thoughts to Kaylee. Not that they needed much excuse to lean that way.
He had decisions to make. He was still a fugitive. He had very little to offer anyone, much less someone as magnificent as Kaylee.
The first decision he needed to make was whether he was finished running.
He considered that for a while. River. His uncertainty about her whereabouts was the only thing pulling him away from Serenity.
Going back to his old life was not an option. It probably never would be. At this point he wouldn't find his former hospital post as satisfying as it once was. He needed to move on, not back.
Yes, he decided, he was done running. Serenity was his home. Always assuming the captain would let him stay. Simon pushed himself off the counter.
Fine, so he would just have to make himself indispensable. His chin raised slightly in what his family would have recognized as a sign of his stubbornness. He had some ideas that would increase his value to the ship.
Like they always did, his thoughts drifted back to Kaylee. Simon rubbed his nose. If he was done running, it was time to plant roots. He needed to perform the procedure right away.
Only afterwards could he think about engaging Kaylee's affections.
It wasn't fair to court her looking like he did now instead of how he would look for the rest of his life. If he was done running altering his appearance was the first order of business.
Simon sighed. He would need anesthesia. That meant he also needed someone to monitor him while he was under.
He considered his options. The Shepherd. There were hidden depths to Shepherd Book. Simon thought the man would be able to watch, safeguard and react quickly if there were complications.
Simon opened a lower cupboard and pulled out the device. It was small, it didn't give much clue at all to it's purpose.
A doctor could keep one in his pocket easily, just in case it was needed suddenly.
Simon hadn't had any trouble picking this one up a St. Lucy's.
He'd even already programmed it. He knew exactly what he wanted it to do. He had researched and planned two sequences, one for himself, one for River.
Simon felt his lips twitch regretfully. He should have already done it. Now River was out there somewhere, looking like herself, vulnerable. With Jayne. Simon winced harder.
"Well, I'd best find the Shepherd then." Simon mumbled. He switched off his music and went looking.
It was actually the kissing that woke Jayne up.
Somehow his resolve was not helped any at all to wake with River sprawled across him again. Not to mention the kissing part.
Jayne didn't usually kiss no-one, even in his dreams.
Kissing was too intimate. It said two people cared about one another. It was shyness and yearning. Wasn't much like him at all.
Jayne preferred to go right for the goal with a woman who wanted to get paid for it. That was a hell of a lot less complicated.
All that didn't mean he wasn't enjoying himself now.
He'd been dreaming. Some rotten piece of fei-oo fairy tale with a happily-ever-after.
River's fault for telling him so many stories about glass hills and funny flowers that broke enchantments.
His own damn fault for listening.
Jayne wasn't any kind of sweet or romantic. That's how he'd known it was a dream. He wasn't anyone's idea of a prince.
Even sound asleep he'd known kissing her wasn't right. She wasn't the kind of girl you could use without hurting.
Alright, he knew this was going to be hell, but he had a promise to keep.
He ended the kiss, trying to ease her away from him without waking her.
He sighed and tried to pry her hands free. She clung and cuddled closer, which made him stiffen in more ways than he wanted to think about.
Without even meaning to let himself, he was stroking her hair and checking out the smooth texture of her skin. It was every bit as fine as he'd thought it would be.
He shifted away from her, disentangling their bodies so ol'John Thomas wouldn't embarrass her when she woke.
Then he worked at getting her the rest of the way off of him.
River moaned and protested drowsily, trying to crawl back to him. Some of the most purely sexifying sounds he'd ever heard.
His hand made accidental contact with the soft globe of her breast and he snatched it back away.
Jayne pounded his head softly against the padded wall of their cage.
Time to go for quick instead of slow. He moved her, sat up and scooted awkwardly towards her feet.
Just as he was getting his breathing back under control River gasped and spoke.
"James?" Her voice was worried, almost panicked.
"I'm here." He grunted. "Ain't nowhere to go."
"I was dreaming." She murmured, brushing a hand at the mess that was left of the braid he'd made. "Open sky, water, flowers. Then you were gone and I woke up."
Given what he'd woken up to, he could hazard a guess as to what they'd been doing under that sky.
"Go back to sleep." He grumbled.
"I'm cold. Come back." Her eyes were sleepy looking.
If he didn't know better, Jayne might have thought those eyes were enticing him on purpose.
Jayne stared blankly at her. She was so damned innocent. He shook his head jerkily and reached into the storage compartment.
He spread their one blanket over her, careful not to touch her much. She just kept looking at him until it seemed like staring.
He looked away, pounding his head rhythmically against the wall. Gorram padding meant it didn't hurt enough.
"Listen, girl, I want to be sure you understand something." Jayne turned his head, meeting her eyes. He winced. "I'm just a man. A man who can't control some of the things his body gets up to, ya know?"
She just tilted her head curiously.
"I want you to know I don't mean anything insulting by it. You're pretty and having you cuddled up to me when I wake up…" Jayne felt a flush creeping up his cheeks. "Well, its just bound to cause…"
She just lay there, looking…
"What I really mean is I ain't trying to take advantage of being locked up together. I ain't doing it on purpose. I mean…"
Her slightly confused, innocent expression didn't help.
Jayne growled and banged his head on the padded wall again.
"My man parts are reacting to your nearness and sweet smell." There, blunt, good.
Her eyes sought the evidence of his words, which of course made the evidence more pronounced.
"I don't mean anything personal by it. I want you to know that, in case you notice later and try to kill me."
"With my brain?" She asked curiously.
"Or anything else." He agreed. "I'm not used to being so close to someone I'm not… And especially when I first wake up… And you do smell good, even after how long we've been here…"
"Pheromones." Her nostrils flared as she inhaled. "You smell good too." She smiled brightly at him.
"Gorramit, girl, you shouldn't oughta say go se like that to me." The hand she couldn't see fisted up. Innocent little girl probably didn't even know that sort of thing weren't right.
"James is a gentleman." River said slowly. "Santha appreciates the sentiment."
"You're sure that's the name?" Jayne winced.
"It is my best cover." River frowned slightly at him. "Ninety percent chance of successful concealment. Your prior associations are not my fault. The girl is sure."
"Go back to sleep." He repeated.