“Jayne, just…” “No” “Look you won’t have to…” “No” “We need her there to watch our back.” “Dang it, Mal I ain’t babysittin moonbrain on a job!” Jayne declared and the Captain folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. “If you wanna get paid you will. ‘Sides, I’m not asking you to babysit her. Hell, she could probably kill a gunman fore you could blink twice, so it ain’t like she needs protectin,” Mal said, and Jayne grunted. “Don’t make me feel no better.” “Look, all i’m sayin is look out for those things she ain’t good at dealing with.” Jayne grunted. “Yeah, like knives in her hand connectin with my chest!” he said, and sighed. “Mal, I just sayin it ain’t a good idea. Moonbrain don’t like me, and I’m not comfortable going on a mission with her watchin my back.” “Well, maybe she’d like you better if you didn’t call her moonbrain. Just make sure she don’t make a ruckus with the locals and you two keep a lookout for trouble.” Jayne grunted. “Like we need to go look for trouble.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jayne, unable to sleep, rolled out of his bunk still grumbling. “Don’t know why I have to be stuck with crazy-moonbrain-girl-weapon soon as shoot me as look at me.” Stuffing one leg into his pants and then the other, he tried to contemplate a way out of the potentially deadly situation and could arrive at no solution. He’d been in the best favor of the captain since he first arrived on the ship since Miranda. For once, Jayne proved he would take care of the crew if Mal weren’t there. Actually made him sort of happy that the captain thought he could be trusted with takin care of people, even if those people were crazy alliance-made-17-year-old-girl-weapons. He climbed the ladder out of his bunk and into the hall. Serenity hummed, filling the air with a peaceful sound that made Jayne relax and re-think going back to bed. But then he heard the sound of feet in the mess. Who was makin noises in the mess in the middle of the gorram night? Immediately his thoughts went to Jubal Early, whom he had never seen but was spooky as hell how he slipped onto the ship un-noticed. But no, a predator’s footsteps were silent and deceptive, heard more through sense than sound. These sounds were soft. Jayne stepped up to the entryway and finally saw who it was making the noise. He inhaled as he saw River with nothing on but a thin silk garment displayin particular anatomy that Jayne often loved to take notice of. Her hair was, as usual, not brushed but it looked beautiful cascaded down her shoulders and back. Her eyes were closed, and her face held a peaceful, serene look that mesmerized Jayne. She stepped back and forth, swaying her hips, legs, and torso with her arms gracefully leading. Her hair flowed with her, moving like in water. River’s entire body danced to some unseen music that transformed her into much more than a crazy-moonbrain-girl-weapon. She moved so that it seemed as if she were humming, and something in the intelligent part of Jayne’s mind that he rarely used said he recognized the music. It was the music that made him unable to go to sleep, that pulled him from his bed to witness this amazing and beautiful sight. Without blinking, Jayne descended the steps and stood beside River. She didn’t open her eyes, but Jayne knew she had acknowledged him. Softly, trying not to disturb the sound he asked, “What are you dancing to?” A small smile appeared on her lips. “You know this sound, Jayne. It’s the Song of Serenity.” Still with her eyes closed, her hand reached down without betraying the dance and touched his own. Dimly he recognized her pulling him beside her and her head resting on his shoulder as they danced the night away to the Song of Sweet Serenity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jayne’s first conscious thought was that there was an uncomfortableness on his chest, and then realized that it was weight. The third thing he realized was that it was breathin, and the fourth was that it wasn’t as uncomfortable as he first thought. In fact, it didn’t sound so bad to just go back to sleep or just lay there. The fifth was that he had been awoken by someone, and the sixth was who that someone was. “JAYNE? What the shia dong se you doin with my pilot?” Jayne’s eyes snapped open with the very loud sound of Mal’s voice, and he saw who the breathin thing was. River’s blue eyes stared back at him, with a slight giggle erupting from her lips. “Shong mie taing sung sei pai tu mai kait,” he cursed and sat up so suddenly that River was depositied in a pile on the opposite side of the couch that they had previously been laying on. Correction, the couch he had been laying on with River Tam moonbrain girl on top of him. “What the gorram hell am I doin out of my bunk?” he shouted at whoever would be the first to give him an answer that didn’t get him thrown in the airlock by the captain. River collected herself, frowning. “We were dancing,” she said with an absolute straight face. Jayne grunted; he did not think that was an acceptable or believable answer. “I don’t dance,” he grumbled, and she smiled. “Did last night,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Would someone like to tell the armed Captain what I just saw and if I should shoot my merc for it.” River’s frown returned, except turned at Mal. “Should do no such thing…need him for the job…otherwise you’ll get shot,” she said, and the eeriness of how seriously she said it did nothing to lighten the mood of the situation. Mal cursed. “I don’t like havin a psychic mechanic who can tell me the future and me not know if she’s lying or not,” he said sternly and River smiled innocently. “Just have to trust me….Jayne’s not in trouble…..the Song of Serenity captured him…captivated him….made him forget who he was for a while….but he’s fine now….just confused because he doesn’t remember.” Her words sparked a strange dream of humming and a song and dancing and a thin dress. “Well, can’t say anything if it was Serenity, but from now on the Merc stays in his bed and my pilot wears some thicker clothing. Can’t have you running around the ship nekkid while there are children on board.” Jayne’s eyes immediately shot to her clothing with a stream of thought that wasn’t the same as most time he looked at what girls were wearing. It was the same dress from the dream. River caught his look and winked. “Don’t worry, Daddy, Jayne didn’t notice the dress…besides the whole thing was your fault!” she said accusingly. Mal sputtered “What did I do?” he asked, remembering saying something similar to Nara the day before. River smiled. “You’re the one who made Serenity sing.”