Title: Pulled Apart (5 of 5) Author: Mordsith Characters: Kaylee, Simon, Jayne and crew Pairings: Jaylee Rating: R/nc-17 Challenge: Joss100, prompts 81 through 100 Warning: takes place after the series with no reguard for the film. The is adult stuff in this chapter people. Just letting you know now. Disclaimer: All characters and places do not belong to me. They are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox and Universal.

Author's Note: Thanks to Squish_67 for her betaing. She has been so helpful and wonderful and cool.

81. Book

"What’s wrong with Hoban?"

"Nothing is wrong with it, husband," Zoe said. "I just don’t think it’s a good name for a baby." The first mate petted her enlarged stomach and looked at Wash.

"My mother thought Hoban was a wonderful name for a baby. I just don’t see how my mother could be wrong," Wash said, obviously distraught over the whole situation. He was getting whiny.

"You don’t even go by that name. Why do you want to name our baby that so bad? And what if we have a girl?" Zoe was trying to be practical. She was a career military, you named you son after his father and that was just the way things were, but Hoban? She just didn’t know if she could do it.

"What about Hobina?" Wash suggested.

"We’re getting a baby name book," Zoe said firmly. Wash sighed and leaned against the counter of the infirmary.

"Fine. When is the doctor getting in here anyhow?"

"I’m here," Simon said as he breezed by the couple and moved to the counter beside Zoe.

"You’re not usually late, doctor," Zoe said.

"Didn’t sleep much. Here sit on the bed," he instructed. Zoe did as she was told and watched as Simon lifted her shirt and pulled out his stethoscope. He listened to the babies heartbeat and then to Zoe’s own. "It won’t be long now before the baby comes. You should speak with the captain and decide where you would like to have this baby." He checked her blood pressure and a few other things before he packed his things up and breezed out of the infirmary once more. Zoe exchanged a look with her husband before Wash finally spoke up.

"A baby name book?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

82. Nature

Kaylee yawned and sat up. She was still dead tired, but she hadn’t been able to sleep all night. The nightmares hadn’t come back, but Jayne had haunted her dreams. Specifically that kiss, she couldn’t get it out of her head. Kaylee hadn’t even thought much on kissing Jayne and now it was all she could think about. That and other stuff involving his lips.

It was still real early, but Kaylee got up and dressed. She couldn’t sleep anymore anyhow. She strolled past Jayne’s bunk, tempted to go down there, but she decided against it. Instead she headed for the engine room to start working on her girl. Maybe work through some of her thoughts before Jayne woke up. That was how Kaylee Frye worked, it was just part of her nature.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

83. Eternal

Inara sat at the edge of her bed as she tried to sort through her feelings. She had been so ready to leave Serenity behind her. When the bounty hunter had come though, Inara had felt unable to leave. The whole crew had been distraught over what had happened, especially Kaylee. She couldn’t leave the mechanic when she was feeling so vulnerable. Things had just compounded after that.

No matter how many times she had thought about leaving, something else came up. Mal had left things alone. He must have thought that if she wasn’t going to bring it up, neither was he. It was as if he didn’t want to remind her that she had been planning on leaving in the first place. But now it was time Inara gathered her courage to do what needed to be done. If she didn’t do it soon, she would never find the heart to leave Serenity. She’d be a slave to the ship forever.

Inara quietly moved to the cortext screen and began her initial screening process to choose her next client. Her heart wasn’t fully into it at that moment, but it was something that had to be done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

84. Serenity

Inara rose from her cortex screen and headed for the shuttle door when she heard a soft rapping. Pulling the door open, she was surprised to see Kaylee standing there. "Come in, mei mei," Inara said, moving out of the way and letting the mechanic in her small shuttle. "You’re up early."

"Hope I didn’t wake you," Kaylee said, smiling at her.

"I was awake," Inara reassured her.

"Just had t’come talk to you," the mechanic said as she moved towards the couch to take a seat.

"What’s going on?" Inara inquired as she followed her suit.

"I ain’t exactly sure. It’s all happening so fast. I just ain’t got no one t’talk to ‘bout this but you. Last night, I noticed Jayne was up and went an’ talked with him. He’d been so nice lately with everything, and I’d had a bad dream."

Inara’s face fell at the mention of her nightmares. She had been so worried about Kaylee after what had happened, but the girl seemed to be dealing with it better than most. She was proud of her for how well she was coping with everything, not even all trained companions could do what Kaylee had done. "Go on," Inara gently prodded.

"Well we was talkin’ and…oh Inara it was so sweet. He told me he loved me and I asked him t’kiss me and he did and," Kaylee let out a contented sigh. "He said he didn’t want me t’make a mistake and so he sent me t’my bunk. Said t’come back today if I was still feelin’ the same as last night. Oh he ain’t awake yet, but I can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout that kiss!"

Inara was taken aback for a moment. Jayne? Jayne Cobb? The crude mercenary? Inara kept her thoughts to herself though, not wanting to put Kaylee off. "And here I thought you were so happy because the captain was letting you get new parts for Serenity."

"Serenity ain’t all I think ‘bout you know," Kaylee said indignantly. The smile crept back into her face as she looked over at the companion. "Hope Jayne wakes up soon."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

85. Gold

Simon hadn’t slept much that whole night. He couldn’t get the conversation out of his head for the life of him--Jayne and Kaylee. Simon couldn’t think of a more wrong match. Why on earth would Kaylee want to be with that man-ape?

When Simon had gotten up that morning, he knew he had to do something. Kaylee was vulnerable and Jayne was taking advantage of her. At least that was how he saw it. So Simon had waited in the galley for the captain. When Mal did finally appear, the doctor stood and approached him.

"Captain," he started.

"Doctor?" Mal replied.

"I need to talk to you about something," Simon said. He let out a long breath and tried to think of the right wording. "It’s Kaylee."

That got Mal’s attention. The captain’s eyes darkened and he looked at Simon uncertainly. "Something wrong with Kaylee?"

"I’m not sure. Last night I went to get a glass of water and I over heard a conversation…between Jayne and Kaylee." Simon let the statement linger in the air for a moment.

"I’m going to ignore the eavesdropping part of this conversation and ask just what you are getting at, son," Mal said. The captain crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Simon expectantly.

"I think that Jayne may be taking advantage of Kaylee. She’s vulnerable right now, with everything that has happened to her. It’s very possible she is looking for comfort in Jayne and he is looking for something more. She was down in his bunk late last night and I know they kissed. I’m….I’m just worried about her."

"Qingwa cào de liúmáng. Didn’t think that man cared ‘bout anything but gold." Mal cursed to himself as he turned and left the galley.

"I can’t believe you, Simon Tam," came a voice from the other doorway. Simon turned to see Kaylee standing there watching him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

86. Silver

"Kaylee," Simon sighed, rubbing his forehead with his palm. "I didn’t know you were there."

"Figured as much. Looks like you ain’t the only one doin’ eavesdropping," Kaylee said as she stepped into the room.

"I’m just worried about you, Kaylee," Simon tried to explain himself.

"Ain’t your place t’worry ‘bout me, Simon. Hasn’t been your place for a long while." Kaylee crossed her arms over her chest and stared Simon down. He sighed and leaned against the counter.

"He’s taking advantage of you, Kaylee," Simon said, trying desperately to convey his point.

"You don’t know anything about it and who are you to decide that anyhow?!" Kaylee snapped.

"A friend."

"If you were my friend you would have talked to me instead of running t’the Cap’n like you just did," Kaylee said, her anger subsiding. "You don’t know anything about Jayne. For once I am first with a person. First with a person I care about and cares about me back. Why would you try and take that away from me?"

"You aren’t first with him Kaylee. Jayne is always first with Jayne. All you will ever take with him is silver." Simon took a step towards her, but she backed away.

"Guess you and him got that in common then?" Kaylee asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"The difference between Jayne and myself is I wasn’t willing to let you take second place," Simon said defiantly.

"The difference is," Kaylee corrected, "you wouldn’t even let me run the race." She shook her head and walked off. He wanted to say something, call her back, but he knew it would only end in more arguing. He hadn’t brought this up because he wanted to fight with her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

87. Hero

Kaylee didn’t care if Jayne was awake yet, she couldn’t wait any longer. After her conversation with Inara and then Simon, she felt even more compelled to talk with Jayne. She was glad his bunk wasn’t locked. She knocked twice and kicked open the hatch before he could even respond.

Kaylee climbed down the ladder and dropped to the floor. She was surprised to see him up and dressed. He was just finishing putting Vera back together, probably after a thorough cleaning.

"Hey," he said softly, looking up at her. His face didn’t give anything away.

"Didn’t know you was awake," Kaylee said after a moment.

"Well I am," he replied.

"Good….I’m glad," she responded, folding her hands in front of herself awkwardly.

"You come down here for something specific, Kaylee girl?" Jayne asked, setting Vera up on his wall of guns.

"I did, actually," Kaylee said after a moment. She took a couple of steps closer to him, putting her about a foot away from his bed.

"And that would be?"

Kaylee chewed on her bottom lip and looked at him. "’Bout last night. I…I don’t really know exactly everything I’m feelin’ right now. But I know I ain’t been so happy for months and I don’t wanna let go of that feeling. Dong ma?"

"So what you tryin’ t’say?" Jayne asked, rising. Kaylee had to tilt her head up to see Jayne’s face he was so gorram tall.

"I think I’m saying….think I’m sayin’ I want you t’kiss me ‘gain," she said slowly. Jayne didn’t hesitate. His arms went around her waist and pulled her to him, his lips pressing against hers. Kaylee melted into the embrace, her arms circling his neck. She could feel his whole body pressed against her. Their mouths stayed locked for a long moment before she felt his lips slowly open her own, his tongue invading her mouth and sending pleasure chills down her spine. She moaned gently and Jayne took that as a cue to continue.

He turned her around so her back was to the bed, and slowly laid her down. He crawled on top of her, sliding between her legs as his mouth broke away from hers and started down her neck. "Kaylee, you’re gonna have t’tell me if I’m goin’ too far. Wanted this too long t’have much self control." His breathing was ragged as he spoke and Kaylee could already feel his excitement pressed against her leg.

"I ain’t gonna tell ya t’stop, Jayne. I want this too," she told him softly. His lips moved down her chest and over her shirt. He pulled back for a moment and reached for the hem of her shirt. He tugged at the end and pulled it up and over her head. His hands made quick work of her bra and in moments he had the top half of her naked.

Jayne let out a long groan as his mouth went to her breast, tongue sliding across her nipple. Kaylee gasped and arched her back. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. He was causing all sorts of reactions out of her.

Kaylee pulled at his shirt, she wanted it off, wanted to see his fit form. He obliged, pulling the cotton shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor. His mouth returned to her bare flesh, kissing down her stomach before he reached the top of her capri pants. His eyes looked up at her and Kaylee quickly nodded. His fingers pulled at the button and slid the zipper down.

Things went dizzyingly quick after that and it felt like before she could blink both of them were naked as the day they were born. Jayne kissed along her bare thigh before moving up between her legs. Kaylee felt his member press against her leg and for a moment she froze. Jayne immediately saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"Kaylee?"

"It’s nothin’," she said, trying to shake the familiar feeling that was descending upon her at that moment.

"We ain’t gonna start this thing out by lying to each other. What is it?" His eyes leveled with hers and Kaylee smiled.

"Everything is shiny, Jayne," she told him. Jayne wasn’t convinced, that was obvious. He moved closer to her, positioning himself at her entrance. Kaylee stilled completely. Jayne’s hand went to her face, cupping her cheek.

"Kaylee? Tell me what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘bout them, aren’t you?" Jayne asked, searching her eyes to see if she would try and lie to him. Kaylee tried to push the thought away, but she was in the moment now. She wasn’t on Serenity with Jayne between her legs. She was back planet side with them men holdin’ her down. She swallowed and closed her eyes.

"Don’t close your eyes on me, girl," Jayne growled out. It wasn’t a mean kinda growl, more of a throaty sort of desperate need. Kaylee opened her eyes up again. "You thinkin’ on them men that hurt you?"

Kaylee nodded and tried to look away, tried to pull herself out of this. Jayne took her jaw in his hand and made her look at him again. "Listen t’me," he said, not so growly this time. "Ain’t no one is this room but you and me. No one is gonna hurt you again, not now, not ever, dong ma?"

"But how can you know that?" Kaylee asked. "How can you know nothin’ bad won’t happen t’me ever again?

"’Cause I won’t let it," Jayne said.

"But you can’t always protect me," Kaylee countered.

"You trust me?"

"Jayne…"

"No, listen to me, do you trust me?" he asked.

"Yes," Kaylee said after a moment.

"Good. Now trust me when I say I ain’t gonna let nothing bad happen t’you. Do you believe me?" There was a long pause before Kaylee finally answered.

"Yes."

"Now listen t’me Kaylee. Don’t want you t’take your eyes off me. You just remember it’s Jayne that’s got ya and not no one else. Can you do that, girl?"

"I can do that," she said firmly. Jayne looked into her eyes once more before slowly sliding himself into her. Kaylee gasped as he filled her. "Tianna, Jayne!" she called softly.

"You alright?" he asked. When she nodded he began to move slowly inside of her. Kaylee kept her eyes on him like he had told her to. Her mind wanted to pull her back to that night, but Jayne’s eyes wouldn’t let her. They held her in the moment. His free hand gripped her thigh tightly as he wrapped her leg around his waist. Kaylee’s heart was already pounding in her chest with excitement.

"I want you t’relax, Kaylee. Remember what it used t’be like ‘fore them men. Don’t got nothin’ t’worry ‘bout ‘cept feeling good." Jayne’s thumb stroked across her cheek, but didn’t let go of her face.

Kaylee didn’t say anything, just pushed the rest of the world aside as she let the rhythmic movement of Jayne’s thrust overtake her. When his hand moved between them and slowly stroked her sensitive nub, Kaylee arched her back and cried out. She closed her eyes, but she wasn’t in danger any more of those men from the alley intruding on this moment. Gripping the sheets, Kaylee called out his name and wrapped her legs tighter around him.

She could feel Jayne’s own excitement grow. He let go of her face and brace himself with the now free arm as he pushed in and out of her. The faster he went, the closer Kaylee came to releasing herself. His fingers still worked her nethers, and after a few long, agonizingly wonderful moments, Kaylee cried out and bucked with an orgasm. Jayne smiled as he continued to thrust inside of her. He leaned forward and attached his lips to her throat as he continued sexin’ her. She wasn’t ever gonna associate sex and those awful men again if he had his way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

88. Villain

Book watched Simon with curious eyes as the young doctor seemed to be mindlessly exploring the infirmary. At first the shepherd had thought he was working on some more cures for River, but when Simon picked up a box of rubber gloves and threw them across the room, Book wasn’t so certain.

"Everything alright son?" he asked. Simon turned and looked at him, surprise written all over his face.

"Dandy," he said shortly.

"May I ask what’s bothering you?"

"If you must." Simon moved and sat on the stool. He paused and looked up at Book. "I’m sorry shepherd, I didn’t mean to be rude. Guess it doesn’t matter though, everyone is so anxious to make me out to be the bad guy."

"Why do you say that?" Book asked, carefully examining the boys body language. It screamed dejected and hopeless. Something or someone had gotten under his normally cool exterior.

"I have this friend…"

"A friend?" In Book’s profession, he had heard many stories about people’s ‘friends’. Usually friend was code for something. The shepherd was interested what exactly that code was.

"Yes, friend. And I’m worried about h…this friend, worried they are letting someone take advantage of them. When I tried to talk to them about it, they were so upset with me. As though I were trying to hurt them." Simon sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I’m just sick of being the villain in this story."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

89. Soul

She knew what she was doing was right. Knew in her soul she was doing the right thing. The faces surrounding the galley table looked up at her expectantly--all but one. Mal wouldn’t look at her; he knew what she was going to say. Kaylee’s eyes had an expectant glow, as though she though the companion would announce some wonderful news for the crew. Inara was going to hate disappointing her.

"I have come to a decision," she started. "At our next stop I will be getting off the ship--for good." Inara wanted to continue, but Kaylee straightened and looked up at her in surprise.

"What?! ‘Nara, you can’t leave!" the mechanic cried.

"I have to, Kaylee," Inara said softly.

"But why?" Kaylee asked.

"Yeah, why don’t you enlighten us all as to why you will be leavin’ our beloved ship," Mal said, his eyes finally rising to meet her.

"It’s…complicate." She knew deep in her soul she was doing the right thing. So why did it hurt so bad?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

90. Food

"I still don’t get it," Jayne said, taking another bite of his molded protein lunch. Kaylee sighed as she tried to mix the contents of the bowl into a smooth, chocolately paste.

"I’m bakin’ ‘Nara a goodbye cake. She’s leavin’ when we land on Boros and I want her t’know she’d gonna be missed," Kaylee explained.

"Thought you was mad at her," Jayne said, taking another bite of his food.

"Mad ain’t the right term exactly. I’m sad she’s leavin’ and upset that she won’t talk t’me ‘bout it" Kaylee looked down at the bowl. It was probably as good as it was going to get. She wished she had some flour to bake a real cake. Fancy like Inara was used to.

"You’re hopin’ this cake’ll make her wanna stay," Jayne said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Couldn’t hurt t’try," Kaylee said with a shrug.

"You want her t’stay, little girl, I’d rethink this whole cake thing. Bad ‘nough we gotta eat this protein stuff for dinner," Jayne said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him to place a kiss on her forehead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

91. Visions

Mal was angry for a lot of reasons. All he could see was red since Inara had made her announcement. He was angry and upset with her and himself. So why was he here ready to tear Jayne’s head off? The two of them had come to an understanding after Simon had come to him. Mal just needed to blow off some steam on the big merc seemed like the perfect canidate.

"JAYNE!"

"Damnit, Mal. Can’t you see I’m busy?" Jayne asked, setting the barbell back onto its holder. He sat up and grabbed a towel to dry off his sweaty face.

"My boat, Jayne, and I tell you t’hop you best make like a little bunny. I wanna talk t’you ‘bout you and my mechanic." Mal crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Jayne. The mercenary stood up at the mention of Kaylee, drawing on his full height to give him some advantage in the agument that was sure to come.

"Me and you we already had this talk. Both agreed I’d get blown out of the airlock if something happened t’Kaylee. So what’s this all about. You raggin’ ‘cause ‘Nara said she was leavin’?"

"I want to make things perfectly clear between you and I, Jayne. I notice Kaylee’s work slippin’ or you taken advantage of her, then me and you will have a lot more than words, dong ma?"

"I get ya, Mal. What’s this all about anyhow?" Jayne asked. He sat down back on the bench and stared up at the captain.

"Just don’t want t’see my mechanic hurt is all."

"I think it’s something else," Jayne said, laying back on the bench to continue his work out.

"Well it’s a good thing I don’t pay you to think," Mal said before walking off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

92. Earth

Boros seemed cold. Kaylee watched as Jayne and Book came down the ramp with Inara’s things in their hands. She had gone to Inara the night before and begged her to stay. Taken a screen capture of her friend as a reminder of Inara being on their ship. But the companion had stayed steadfast in her decision. She was leaving.

There was a mule waiting just outside of Serenity. It was to take her to the passenger ship she was boarding to get to the training house. Her things were quickly loaded up and an awkward silence descended upon the crew. Zoe was sitting on some crates watching everyone carefully, Wash at her side. Mal had refused to see Inara off and Simon and River were staying out of sight. Boros was crawling with Alliance and the captain didn’t want to take any chances.

When Inara came out of the shuttle she gracefully descended the stairs. The goodbyes had been said the night before and so a small kiss and kind word was all that was exchanged between the beautiful companion and the crew who was there to see her go. Kaylee didn’t miss the sadness in Inara’s eyes when she noticed Mal had indeed refused to see her off.

The men who crewed the new ship were waiting for Inara and so she gave everyone one last brief goodbye before climbing aboard the mule and taking a seat. Inara didn’t look back as the mule drove off.

Kaylee walked down the ramp and sighed. What was it about being planetside that was so appealing to the companion. Kaylee knelt down and took a handful of dirt. What did this earth have that the black couldn’t give Inara? She let hard packed soil slip between her fingers and rose again. She wouldn’t ever understand it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

93. Regret

"I can’t believe you didn’t show," Kaylee said, looking down at the captain. He was sitting in the pilot’s chair, staring off into the blackness of space. Mal had wanted to leave Boros the minute Inara was gone and their drop was complete. Now that they were in the black again and Serenity was running fine, Kaylee had searched out the captain to have a little chat with him.

"Not now, Kaylee," Mal said slowly. His eyes lingered on the black for a moment before he finally turned and faced her. "Don’t feel like talking about this right now."

"But, Cap’n.."

"No but anything. I said I don’t want to talk about it and while we’re on my boat, you will be minding me, dong ma?" Kaylee frowned and shook her head.

"You coulda said goodbye. That’s all I’m saying." Kaylee turned and left the bridge without another word. He would regret not seeing Inara before she left. He care about her, no matter how he tried to hide it. She just wished he could’ve gotten over his stubborn pride to see that sooner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

94. Chains

Simon had never felt so bogged down with responsibility in his life. He had tried to convince both Zoe and Wash that he was not trained to give birth to a child and it would have been best to go to a hospital. But neither would see reason. They seemed to have complete faith in his ability. Their trust in him was like a heavy chain wrapped around his neck. He couldn’t fail them.

Except Zoe was nearly 7 weeks early. Her water had broken and he had to induce labor. Simon wasn’t even certain that was the right thing to do. He’d delivered one baby on his own and that was at the Heart of Gold. Even then it was quite a few months ago and that had been fairly uncomplicated.

"Alright, Zoe stay calm and just try and breath," Simon instructed. She nodded, not crying out and not panicking. Wash was a different story entirely. He was completely decked out in doctor gear, holding a sponge and trying to be helpful. The man was nearly frantic with trying to do something to help his wife. It was sweet in a way. Obtrusive in so many others.

"What’s that?" Wash asked, pointing down at his wife. Simon looked down and swallowed. Very heavy chains.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

95. Red

Blood. A lot of blood. Too much blood. He would need some help. Simon ran to the wall and buzzed the bridge. "Captain, I think I am going to need an extra set of hands down here!" He let go off the comm button and moved back towards Zoe. He needed to stop the bleeding. He needed to figure out why she was bleeding and why so much. He wished he had delivered more babies, then maybe he would know what to do.

Simon was a trauma surgeon though. He needed to keep his wits about him and ignore the blood. Concentrate on fixing the problem, not just stare down at it in a near panic. When Mal arrived, he had Kaylee in toe. Simon wasn’t so sure that was a good idea. This much blood might make the mechanic nervous.

"Oh my god, Zoe! Is she gonna be okay?" Kaylee asked, looking between Wash and Simon.

"She’s gonna be fine, just need you t’run any errands Simon needs you to run, dong ma?"

"Sure captain," Kaylee said quietly.

"Alright," Simon said, forcing his doctor mode to take over completely. He had to look at this objectively. Zoe was just another patient. Nothing more. "We need to get this baby delivered."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

96. Sky

Zoe was asleep. She had lost a lot of blood and her child had been abnormally small. But they would both make it. Zoe had stayed awake long enough for her and Wash to name the new child. Skylar Inara Washburn. Sky for short. The captain had said he liked the name because it reminded him of freedom. Kaylee had just thought it was pretty.

She held the small baby in her arms, looking between her and her mother. She had Wash’s nose and ears, but the rest of her face looked just like Zoe’s. She was about the prettiest thing Kaylee had ever seen. "She’s so pretty," Kaylee said, staring down at the baby.

"She is," Wash agreed.

"She’s lucky t’have the two of you for parents. Don’t think a person could ask for a better family," Kaylee said softly. Wash nodded and slowly took the baby out of her arms.

"It’s late, you should go get some rest." Wash gave her a small smile and Kaylee nodded. She rose and left the infirmary, heading for Jayne’s bunk. She hadn’t spent much time in her own bunk lately. She climbed down the ladder and spotted Jayne lying down asleep in his bed. With a small grin, she quietly crept over and crawled into bed with him. He grunted and made some space for her. Kaylee laid back and slipped into his arms so she could fall asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

97. Water

When Kaylee woke, she knew there was something wrong. The whole ship shuttered, nearly tossing her out of Jayne’s bed. She jumped up and ran for the ladder. She could hear Jayne not far behind her. As Kaylee emerged out of Jayne’s bunk she heard the captain.

"KAYLEE!"

"I’m on it, Cap’n!" she assured as she ran for the engine room. The boat rocked violently again and Kaylee had to grip onto the wall to keep from falling. When she regained her balance again she pushed on. When she reached the engine room, her hearted dropped into her stomach. Water an inch and a half deep covered the floor of her engine room. She could see the G-line hanging loose, sparking just a foot above the water. She needed to connect the line back in and find the leak in the water tank.

"What’s goin’ on, Kaylee!?" Mal asked, coming up beside her. He stopped when he saw what she was looking at. He regained himself more quickly then she had. "Wash is breaking atmo right now and he don’t have any controls. What’s goin’ on?"

"G-line ain’t connected proper. The flooding water musta shorted something, causin’ the G-line t’come out. I gotta go in there and connect her," Kaylee said, swallowing a little.

"We gonna crash she don’t get connected?" Mal asked. Kaylee nodded slowly.

"Where’s all this water comin’ from?"

"Told you the tank was cracking. She must’ve finally burst. Whole thing emptied itself into the engine room. Raised up through the grates and everything." Kaylee tried to think of any other solution for what she had to do, but she kept coming back to the same conclusion. "I gotta go connect her."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

98. Nurture

"No."

"We’ll crash and die and then where will we be, Jayne?" Kaylee asked as she pulled on her combat boots. She just hopped the rubber soles would be enough. If she was quick and careful, she could get the G line connected in a matter of minutes. Once that was done they could see about draining out the engine room and see what else had shorted. Her main concern was that sparking plug.

"Let me do it, then. Or Mal. Or hell even the preacher," Jayne said, moving around Kaylee to stand between her and the ladder.

"It’s hidden, Jayne. I’d have t’draw you a map and explain everything and we’re getting ready to crash here. I don’t have time t’talk," she said, pushing past him and climbing the ladder. Jayne followed after her.

"Don’t you dare go and get yourself hurt, girl," he called after her.

"I’ll be fine," Kaylee tried to reassure. "Serenity just needs a little nurturing is all and she’ll be as good as gold." At least she hoped so.

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99. Strength

Kaylee took a deep breath and looked at Jayne. He was frowning. There wasn’t anytime to try and calm him down though. She stepped through the engine room slowly. No shock. She could do this. Step by step she made her way to the sparking cable. Kaylee had thick rubber gloves. She reached down and took the cord by it’s neck, keeping it high above the water at her feet. Her hands shook a little as she moved, afraid of what would happen if the sparks got out of control, or something else came loose while she was in the water.

Kaylee moved and crouched down nearer to the engine. She could see the connector. She took a deep breath and leaned a little closer, reaching out to plug in the sparking G-line. Her breath stayed caught in her throat, waiting for some kind of shock when the line was connected. When nothing happened, Kaylee breathed a sigh of relief. She moved down the engine a little to check the hydraulics and make sure Wash would have the control he needed. When she was certain everything checked out, she nodded up at Jayne. He turned and ran for the bridge.

Kaylee hurried out of the room as fast as she could as she felt the ship shake again. Thinking about the mess of trouble she could have been in sent a shiver down her spine. But she had managed to do what needed to be done. That was important.

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100. Crash

"Can you do this, Wash?" Mal asked. The planet was coming up on them a lot faster than he would have hoped.

"I’m doing what I can," Wash said, pulling up on the controls and trying to level Serenity out of the nose dive she was in.

"Ain’t got much ground left," Mal said, gripping the seat. He turned and pushed the button for the comm.

"Everyone strap in, this is going to be a rough landing." He released the button and looked at Wash again before taking a seat in the second chair of the cockpit. Mal turned to Jayne.

"I want you to make sure Book, the doc and his crazy sister are all strapped in, Dong ma?"

Jayne nodded and ran off towards the passenger quarters. Mal looked out the window again. Serenity wasn’t plummeting to the ground at such an extreme level, but her speed was disconcerting.

"Cap’n, comms out in th’engine room. Need t’know if Wash needs any more boost," Kaylee said from the doorway.

"Gorramit Kaylee, strap in!" Mal shouted, his words punctuated with Serenity hitting the ground too fast, shaking the whole ship and turning the interior pitch black.

--Okay people, no panicking. There will be more written, whether in the form of an epilgoe, a new story, or a new prompt table (cause I have on lol). So don't throw anything at me yet.