Chapter 9

AN-Alright! Sorry this has taken so long!!! I really am. But I'm back now, and I'm introducing a little bit action… kinda. Don't worry there'll be more to come.

Oh, and I know I said when I started that this took place just before Heart of Gold, but…well, it's become a whole lot bigger than I'd intended and I had the episodes out of order in my head :P So just know, this chapter takes place just before Ariel. Now! Let's see if we can handle this :)

Ugh! Why can I never say anything intelligent?! Madi groaned as she leaned against her cabin's door. Jayne had just said goodnight and it seemed that every time she was in his presence she became a completely unattractive child!

Sure things were moving forward. They were friendly now at least. He'd played a hand with her that night; seemed poker was a staple onboard Serenity (and now at least she had something to do; they played for chores, Jayne had given her some of his to bet with and she'd lost a few hands for the sake of being polite). And he'd walked her to her room, gave her shoulder a squeeze and went off to…do whatever.

And there she was after a long awkward pause with a stinking: "You too. Sleep well, I mean. …yeah."

He'd just smiled his damn I'm-a-super-sexy-shuai-mercenary-with-gobs-of-experienced-sexy-women-who-throw-themselves-at-my-feet attitude…UGH!

Why oh why couldn't she get her act together? He was just a man…just her husband. Buddha! Why did that have to make him attractive in her eyes?

She knew sex was supposed to mess a girl up in the head but she didn't think it'd be this bad! Hell, she was half in love with the hun dan, his every word and gesture were golden in her book! And yet, all she'd shared with him was strife and booze. …And sex, yeah. Couldn't ever forget the sex could she? Not the parts she could remember anyway.

Well, at least with their being 'friends' now she may worm her way back in with him eventually. Or, better yet, maybe she'd get to know him a little and end up hating him!

Yeah right. Fat chance of that happening, Madi. Face it. You want him.

I've already faced it! I just hope that soon I won't. Simple as that.

Madi prepared for bed. She needed her sleep; tomorrow the crew was going to finish their job and she didn't want to cause any trouble or get in the way.

There in the dark she preyed for the first time in a long time.

She preyed that everyone would come back safely (she knew their job was dangerous and not exactly legal). She preyed that the job would go well for everyone involved. But most of all she preyed for Jayne. He was the muscle of the group. He was the most likely to get injured. …and even if he wasn't, she'd still be praying for the dummy extra hard.

…….

Drop this morning. Jayne woke up to his internal alarm clock. He stretched and popped his back. He smiled in anticipation. Nothin' like a little smugglin' to get the blood flowin'.

Plus he'd slept real good last night. He'd played poker with Madi and she let him win a little (didn't make him feel less a man or anythin', it was kinda nice). Then he'd walked her to her door like they were sweeties. She'd been a little flustered and it made him feel…great. Like he was ten feet tall. Of course, he wished he'd had the balls to kiss her.

He'd almost done it, had his hand on her shoulder to pull her to him…but he'd chickened out (lost a couple feet from that, probably went all the way back into the sixes), he just squeezed her shoulder, gave her a smile and went off to bed.

Where, after he'd beaten himself up over being a little girl about Madi, he'd fallen asleep with a smile on his face, thinking of the good parts of the night.

Now he was gonna get dressed, go have breakfast with Madi…maybe she'd give him a good luck kiss…

Stop it. He warned himself. You're gonna give yourself wrinkles if you keep thinkin' of her, the way you're smilin' so much.

So, he'd get dressed, have breakfast, say a 'howdy' to his missus…then he'd be totally focused on the job. They'd not worked for a space and this job wasn't payin' so well, really just enough to keep flyin', but some dough was better than none. Maybe there'd even be a little left over after pickin' up the necessaries, and sendin' a little home, to get a little somethin' to sweeten Madi on him a bit more.

……….

"Is it always like this?" Madi asked Inara, a strange blockage lodged in her throat.

"Pretty much." Inara sighed and handed over a mug of tea with a sad smile. "All we can do is prey and wait for them to come back. At least they always do come back."

"With or without bulletholes and cash is the only question." River seemed in a dark mood but just breezed on through to the galley then back out to wherever she'd come from.

"Well, all right then…" Madi said slowly, eyes wide staring without seeing into her tea.

"They'll be fine," The Shepherd soothed and put an arm around her shoulders briefly. Then went on talking about mundane things to keep the women's minds off of the danger the men they were infatuated with were in.

It seemed an eternity before they heard the door open and Mal, Zoe, and Jayne came swaggering back in.

Well, Jayne swaggered.

It seemed the job had gone well.

"That was fast." Inara noted to Mal, a hint of a question lurked behind her words.

"Easiest job we've had in years. Had to negotiate the price a little, but Jayne there haggled it down easy enough. These folks aren't hardened criminals like us." He spoke in his typical off hand distracted manner, refusing to look at Inara the whole time. "Wash, take us outta the world."

Hmm, Madi's smile crept up on her face as she studied the pair. What she wouldn't give for the simple attraction that pair felt for each other. She highly doubted they had to deal with the actual memory of the other naked…or anything.

And with that lovely mental image she swung her gaze back toward Jayne. She'd eyed him pretty thoroughly as he'd come in. But there were no evident injuries and for that she was eternally grateful. The mere thought made her blood freeze in her veins.

"Now can somebody git this damned buck knife outta my gorram leg?" He threw down a canvas sack and eyed the doctor meaningfully. He didn't seem all that concerned but Madi had a scream stopping up her throat.

……

Unlike most men who injured themselves often, Jayne didn't mind the infirmary. As a fact, he kinda liked the place. Hell, when he was in here he never really had to do nothin', he was always patched up, people brought his meals down to him…it wasn't so bad.

'Course, he didn't like being sewed upon. Or injected with nothin', or burned. And he didn't like takin' no pills…

"Alright, now I'm going to clean out this cut." Simon announced. "It's going to sting but if you'd just, stay….still."

Jayne hollered. Pretty gorram loud too. But as soon as he opened his eyes to the threshold he instantly regretted it.

There clutchin' the doorframe was the palest version of his little Madisyn he ever cared to see. And she didn't need to see him bein' weak like that. He said he'd protect her for cryin' out loud. He needed to show her he was fine. That he was tougher than that, that he was strong.

"Sorry." Simon muttered the lie while flitting around with different fearsome lookin' metal interments. Hell, the creepy things kinda made him a little skittish sometimes, 'specially when they got a little too close to his flesh like they were startin' to-!

But damnit! Madi didn't need to see that.

He held a hand out to the girl and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring kinda smile.

"Com'er Madi." He said softly, but his throat felt a little rough. Probably from his damned girly screamin'. God, you fool. You're never gonna live that down.

Thankfully the little slip of a woman followed his orders and came in with big tentative steps like she used when she was dancin'.

She gave the Doc a look and he nodded that she was alright to come up closer.

"How are you?" She asked like each word was heartfelt and important. And it gave him a little surge of happiness to know she was worried over him. Not that she was worried, just that she was…about him…

But the thing that really perked him up, not to mention perked up certain parts of his body that should've stayed down for the pair the doctor was inflictin' on his leg, was the unconscious way she laid her hands on his bare chest.

The doctor'd taken off his shirt 'cause it'd gotten a little bloody, but aside from a few cuts and bruises, his upper half was fine.

This could be your chance to get closer… a voice in his head spoke out. He took a deep breath and moved his hand to rest over hers, holding her to him.

"I'm fine," He answered with a little smile, "just a couple scrapes and such. Thing that hurts worse is the good doctor's medicine." He tried to joke.

But Madi still looked unsure. "Seriously Madi. I'm alright."

"I have seen him with worse." Simon commented from down by his feet and Jayne wanted to kick him for interruptin'. He wasn't a part of this conversation last Jayne took stock.

Madi didn't speak, just ducked her head down and made a noise that didn't mean nothin'. Then she looked around, looked anywhere but at Jayne; which, he had to admit, was nice. It gave him a chance to think of what to say to make her feel better and to make her a little sweeter on him. And he could stare at her without her noticin'.

She really was a pretty little thing. She kept things simple since they'd been on the ship; a lot less make-up and fuss than Inara but more than either Kaylee or Zoe dealt with. Today she'd skipped linin' her eyes with any of the multitudes o pencils and crayon lookin' things she'd had in her bag. She just had her lashes painted a bit and had some pink somethin' smelled like candy on her lips.

And damn her lips. They looked so smooth and soft…He wished she'd just turn those lips to him for just a few minutes…And her eyes. They were so pretty, and sparkly, and-She paled quickly.

Her crème and roses complexion turned a chalky, grayish, white in a matter of seconds and his heart started pumping adrenaline as fast as he could produce it.

He forgot the pain in his leg, the doctor melted into the back of his mind and his head whipped around to see what had his wife so spooked. But he couldn't see nothin'. Just more medical supplies.

"What is it, Madi?" He tried to speak softly so as to sooth her but just couldn't manage it.

She didn't seem to notice.

"That was stuck in your leg?" She said just above a whisper, her voice strangled. Her eyes were still fixed on the same spot and now he could see what'd caught her attention so fully.

Right there on one of those stupid metal trays was the bloody knife he'd taken. And it was a big boy.

Gorram doctor, can't put shit like that away so the womenfolk don't have to see it an' worry? Besides what if his crazy sister'd gotten hold of it?

Damnit, what am I gonna say to Madi now. She don't need to be worryin' 'bout this…She needs to see me as strong. And not just for my own feelin's.

"Aw, it's nothin'. I barely felt it really." He leaned back and sniffed, tried to give off an air of not carin'.

"You barely felt that?!" She wasn't buying it. Then whatever the Doc'd injected him with seemed to take effect because her words started to swirl around without much order and his answers probably made no sense and she just turned 'round and left.

He thought he was doin' good. He was showin' how tough he was, how much he could take, being brave an' all. But she didn't seem all that impressed.

She just…turned 'round and left…then while he was still trying to figure out what in ruttin' hell happened, he slipped into blackness.

……….

"It's always like this?" Madi asked, incredulous, gesturing wildly behind her, when she saw Inara in the common area right off the infirmary.

"Pretty much." The Companion held back laughter. "What happened in there?"

"Oh, nothing much." Madi faked an airy, 'who-cares' attitude before exploding back into her…anger. She was angry. And scared. "Just that man doesn't even notice a huge hunting knife to the leg! He's all fine and dandy! And he's bleeding! And he doesn't even care!"

"Now Madi, that man loves himself too much to not care about loosing his own blood." Inara seemed amused. She smiled a smile much like the one Madisyn had over the interaction between the Companion and the Captain.

"Well it doesn't look like the man cares all that much." Madi was mad, and felt stupid. She just wanted to go to her cabin and…destroy something. Or…force Jayne to realize how badly he could have been hurt. What if he went into all his jobs like that? He could get himself killed quicker than a wink and that idea did not sit so well with Madisyn. Wife or not.

"Oh he cares. I think though…" Inara gave a conspiratorial nod, "This just may be his way of showing that he likes you."

Madisyn frowned fiercely. And there was a long pause before either woman moved at all.

"What?" was all she could muster from her spluttering, stuttering brain.

"Well, lord knows, Madi. Men hate to be seen in a position of weakness, especially by a woman they have feelings for. He's going to want to impress you. And if he's hurting, one of the ways men will try to impress a woman is by pretending that it's no big deal and that they feel fine. It's only after the pain goes away that they'll tell you about it. And then they're just trying to get sympathy and soften you up."

Damnit. Companion knows what she's talking about. Madi admitted grudgingly and gave the other woman a wry smile. "I suppose you're right." She conceded. Then she sank down into a chair, all of the fight sapped from her.

Sure the thought of Jayne liking her enough to want to impress her enough to suppress his own pain made her…a little giddy. But she was mainly concerned for him. She wanted to help but she was no doctor. Serenity already had a great one in Simon Tam; she remembered his parent's prideful bragging about him being top in not only his class but his whole school.

She sighed and looked up and Inara from under some hair that'd tumbled out of its bun. "What should I do?"

Inara stood and walked the few paces to her new friend. "Go to him." She said simply. "Sit with him." She gave a smile and a laugh; "Baby him. And he'll be…grateful." With that she left Madi alone with her thoughts.

Couldn't hurt.

So Madi gathered herself and slowly walked the few yards back to the infirmary's threshold.

Jayne looked like he was asleep, and Simon had stopped flying around. His movements were slower now and he was winding a bandage around Jayne's thigh.

"How's it going?" She asked, soft and sheepish.

"It's going fine. This is nothing unusual for Serenity. He really will be alright." Simon finished and smiled over his shoulder.

"If you want, you can sit with him a while. I gave him a pain killer, a sedative, so he should be out for another half hour or so."

"Alright." She answered with her head down; she hoped her hair would hide her blush.

Simon pulled a stool over to Jayne's head and motioned for her to sit. "I'm going to go check on River," he moved toward the door, clearly giving her some time alone with the knocked out muscle, "if you need me I'll be around, that and, I'll be back in a little while to check in so…"

"Thank you." Madi nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "You've done a great job. Thank you."

He jerked his head in an awkward little bow and made a noise in his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the praise or the thanks or whatever Madi was trying to convey. Then he grabbed his sweater off the counter, turned on his heal and left the room.

Madi found it freakishly quiet alone in the infirmary with Jayne unconscious. Her heart started beating a little harder but she didn't need to be panicking.

You're fine. Jayne's fine. Stop worrying. She chastised herself.

But it was so quiet…was Jayne even breathing?!

Stop it! She wanted to smack herself upside the head. He's fine, he's breathing fine! Shut. Up!

She couldn't help it. She felt a little like she was taking advantage of him, but she needed the comfort. And if the table had been big enough she would have crawled up there next to the boxer clad Jayne and slid under that sheet and cuddled up with him as close as she could.

As it was, she curled her hands around one of his and scooted her stool closer to the table so she could press her face into his chest. Slowly her heart calmed down and she could breathe normally again…and she fell asleep.

AN-Ok, it's getting to be about the end of this chapter (although I could go on and on) soooo, tell me what you think! For those of you with the episodes in order (:P) you know that coming up is Ariel and then War Stories (NISKA Action!!!)!

So soon, we'll have a bit more to deal with than the basic 'does he like me? Do I like him?' 'Does she like me? Do I like her?'…yep!

Leave a review and I'll love you forever. Oh, and I'm too tired to edit this right now sooo forgive my errors.

Much Love!!

Ceilidh

And PS!

Anybody else here seen Young Guns II? "Do you want your knife back?" !!!!! Oh I so wish I could've used that one! But then, Madi wouldn't have had the chance to see the thing :(