Title: Waking up Prompt: None, this now strays away from the Firefly 100 Characters/Pairings: River, Jayne, pre-rayne. Rating: PG Wordcount: 400, Disclaimer: Not mine, not paid, don't sue. Notes: This time the fairy tale is "Snow White." Not beta'd.

Waking up

The food and meds made Jayne feel so much better that he went to sleep. When he woke up three hours later his own stink bothered him enough to take a shower and dump his clothes and bedding in the wash.

Then he went for a walk around Serenity, looking for something.

He finally found an open hatch in the aft passage. When he bent down to look there was River, wrapped in a blanket and shivering, her lips a bloody red in her dead white face.

He climbed into her hidey hole with difficulty and sat next to her. "What is it girly?"

"The wicked queen saw me in her magic mirror, set a huntsman searching the forest."

Jayne thought about that, "Huh?"

River sighed, "Another operative," she felt Jayne shudder beside her, felt his revulsion inside her head, "sent him a deer's heart to put in a box. Made a false feed on the cortex. I died in an accident on Paquin last week."

"Smart," Jayne found he didn't grudge her the compliment. "So why are yer all trembles 'an hidin' in the walls?"

"Too close, nearly missed it. Nearly found the little house in the forest, poison apples would have been next, everyone dead and the Princess in a cold coffin with no Prince to wake her."

Jayne took a deep breath, "Reckon we owes ya one then." Slowly, not really believing what he was doing Jayne shifted around, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. "There, warmer now?"

"Much better," but she still shivered. She looked up at him thoughtfully, "My lips are still clean and you smell pleasant."

"'Zat right," Jayne squirmed inside, wanting to dump her and run and wanting to stay and see what would happen.

River wriggled her hand out of the blanket and placed it on his cheek, soft as a whisper.

Kissing was better than Jayne remembered it, after a while he broke away and tried to adjust himself under her, things were getting uncomfortable.

River looked at him thoughtfully, her head on one side, "The story was at fault," she gently disengaged herself from his arms and slid out of their hiding place. Jayne noticed she wasn't shivering any more. Strange thing was he was quivering like a leaf.

She looked back at him, over her shoulder, "the kiss wakes the Prince not the Princess."