“What the ruttin’ hell is that?” Jayne exclaimed.

Wash put the cap on his marker and looked back at the board he had just been drawing on. He tilted his head to one side and then to the other.

“I thought it would have been obvious,” he said “I mean, anyone could see it’s a—”

“Wash,” Zoe cut in “Dear….He’s supposed to guess. That’s the point of the game.”

“Right you are,” Wash said “Sorry, Jayne, Wifey says you have to guess.”

“Is it a brick? Mal asked, squinting.

“A log?” Kaylee chimed in, out of turn.

“I have it,” Simon said “A barrel!”

Wash shook his head three times.

“Perhaps you should clarify your drawing just a little more, son.”

Wash’s tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he examined the drawing and then, with quick precision, made three vertical wavy lines above his first drawing. When he turned around, everyone was staring at him, mouths slightly agape.

“What?” he asked.

“Squiggly lines,” Simon said, a note of incredulity creeping into his voice “That’s your clarification?”

“Is it a turd?” Jayne called out.

Wash nodded in Simon’s direction and glared in Jayne’s.

“It’s a meatloaf,” River said, voice thick with boredom.

Wash smiled widely.

“That’s it!”

Jayne groaned.

“Cap’n,” he said “I vote the little witch keeps score ‘stead of the preacher. She keeps reading our gorram minds.”

“Though I’m surprised I’m saying this,” Inara said to Mal “I agree with Jayne. River’s….abilities leave us all at a slight disadvantage.”

“I’m not Reading,” River interjected “I thought I knew it, but I wasn’t resolved until he drew the heat lines. They were clarifying.”

“See?” Wash said.

“Well,” Inara said “Whose turn is it?”

“It’s my ruttin’ turn,” Jayne said.

“This oughta be interesting,” Mal whispered in Inara’s ear.

Jayne checked the board, pulled a card, and then checked the board again to make sure the color actually corresponded with the word he had just read. A disturbing grin spread across his face.

“Interesting,” Inara whispered back, “isn’t a scary enough word when he smiles like that.”

Jayne uncapped his marker and sniffed it while contemplating. Then, he took the board off the hook and sat down with it on his lap.

“I can’t do this with the gorram lot of you watching me,” he said.

He drew like a madman, quick and furious. After a few moments, he held his work away from himself and surveyed it. Satisfied, he hung the board back up and nodded for the preacher to turn over the timer. The commotion started when he stepped away from the board and the rest of the crew saw the drawing.

Mal yelled, Inara blushed, Kaylee giggled, Wash covered Zoe’s eyes, Book looked like he was about to start preaching, Simon looked like he was about to go mad, and River just smiled.

After a minute of this, all the sand had run out of the hour glass and no one noticed but River.

“Peacock,” she said primly.

Silence descended on the crew as they all turned to look at her.

“Lil’ bit,” Mal said slowly “How did you—”

River waved away the rest of his question.

“It’s a fairly accurate representation,” she said.

Jayne smiled at River while the rest just stared, processing. Eventually, Simon found his voice.

“Mei mei, how exactly is it you know what an ‘accurate representation' is?”

“He showed me for good and all,” River replied, sounding like it was the simplest thing in the world.

And then the commotion began anew.

Mal threatened, Inara blushed, Kaylee giggled, Wash covered his ears, Zoe stood by Mal and threatened in turn, Book was preaching about the Special Hell, and Simon had actually gone mad.

But none of this registered with Jayne, who was watching River.

She gave him a secret smile, the likes of which made his John Thomas all kinds of happy.

“Just him?” River asked.

“Thought you weren’t Reading,” he said, then added “Cheat.”

River laughed then, throwing her head back, glowing with joy.

“Gorram if the airlock and the Special Hell ain’t worth it for that right there,” he thought.

River hiccupped on her laugh and stopped, eyeing him seriously.

He shrugged his shoulders like it was a small thing.

“It is,” he said “Worth it."