Shepherd Book approached the shuttle with what he felt to be an appropriate amount of caution. He heard voices, low and intense, but not the screaming and shouting he had expected. Quite a surprise, that. He was just a few feet from the door when the captain came striding out, saw him, and came to an abrupt halt.

"Shepherd," the captain hooked his thumbs under his suspenders and waited for the man of God to draw even with him. His voice was soft as he spoke, as though he didn't want to be overheard, "I'd be obliged if you could talk some sense into that hwoon dahn in there. He seems to think he can disobey a direct order and stay on my ship, which ain't likely to happen."

Book stared pointedly at the captain's bruised and bloody knuckles. "It appears as though you've already tried getting him to - see things your way, Captain. Don't know how much better I'd be at persuading him any different. I'm not real sure I want to try, if it comes to that."

"And why is that, preacher?" Mal raised his eyebrows enquiringly.

"I don't know that I think he's done anything wrong - other than disobeying you, that is."

The captain smiled tightly, “Well, then, maybe you'll be wanting to keep him company when I toss him off this boat. We're due on Athos in a few days. Should give you plenty of time to think about it."

Book allowed a faint smile to turn up the corners of his mouth as the captain brushed past him and stalked off toward the infirmary, muttering about complications and ungrateful passengers and the like. Somehow, he didn't think Mal would follow through on his threat to throw the mercenary off Serenity. Not unless he wanted to risk losing his mechanic as well.

He went inside the shuttle to find Jayne already hard at work, scrubbing a small amount of rust and corrosion off the control panels as he sat in the pilot seat, his back to the door.

"Jayne. What can I do to help you- oh, my Lord!" he drew in a shocked breath when Jayne turned to face him. The man's face was a bloody mess, and his eye was swelling shut even as Book watched. The Shepherd took his handkerchief out and handed it wordlessly to Jayne, his mouth thinning to a straight line as he noticed the absence of skinned knuckles on the hands that took the snowy white linen from him.

"Thanks." Jayne winced as he applied the cloth to his battered face. "Mostly we just need to give it a good scrub down. Been a while since she's had any maintenance done on her. Need to check the septic system, the plumbing and whatnot. Kaylee'll give the engine and the environmentals a good going-over when she gets here. She might need some help with that. Solvent and scrubs are in that bucket there," he jutted his chin toward the console.

"You need an ice pack on that face." Book took the handkerchief from Jayne and put some pressure on the bottom of his nose, forced him to tilt his head backwards. "So, I take it you and the captain have not exactly settled your disagreement?"

"Not exactly. Ow." Jayne jerked back and put his hand on the Shepherd's wrist to ease the pressure.

Book muttered darkly, "I think your nose may be broken."

"Aw, hell, wouldn't be the first time. Long as it don't heal too crooked." Jayne shrugged.

"Is there a first aid kit in here somewhere?" Book was looking around as he spoke, and spotted the white Med Kit, standard issue, mounted to the wall near the door. He went over it to and removed a gel ice pack and some wound care items.

"Now, preacher, ain't no need to make a fuss over this." Jayne eyed him warily with his good eye. "I've had worse than this. Many a time."

"I'm sure that's true. However, there's no sense in letting those places get infected. Hold still for a minute." He swabbed the bleeding areas with the antiseptic, ignoring Jayne's hiss of pain, rubbed an analgesic antibiotic cream over them, then activated the gel pack by striking it sharply against the console edge. "Here - hold this against your eye. Should help with the swelling a little."

"Thanks." Jayne grimaced, but he did as instructed. "Best get to work, now." Holding the ice pack to his face with his left hand, Jayne went back to scrubbing the control panels with his right, using a cloth wrapped around a screwdriver to get at the hard-to-reach areas between the switches. He worked slowly, methodically, much like he did when cleaning one of his guns. Book watched for a minute, then went to the bucket and retrieved a spray bottle of solvent and a scrubbing pad. He went to work on the bulkhead, finding the work to be soothing in nature. They worked in companionable silence for a while, the only sound the spritzing of solvent and the scrubbing of their cleaning pads.

"Reckon we better check out the ventilation system, get rid of some of these fumes, preacher?" Jayne asked after a while. Book suddenly became aware of a slight buzzing in his head, and nodded,

"Sounds like a fine idea." He watched as Jayne flipped a few switches and a steady, low hum filled the shuttle. The door was wide open, but the clean air could still be felt as it circulated around them. Book's head felt immediately clearer.

"Seems to be working quite well," he smiled.

"Yep. Well, I'm finished up here. Guess I'll go and start on the head."

"I'll give you a hand."

"Thanks just the same, preacher, but it's pretty tight quarters in there. I'll let you know if I need any help."

"Jayne-" the Shepherd hesitated. He'd been thinking while he worked. Thinking about what Kaylee had said earlier.

"Yeah?" Jayne made to rise from the chair, but grabbed his side as a sudden sharp pain took his breath.

Book tsk'ed and went over to the big man. "Let's have a look at that," he said. Jayne rolled his eyes, but didn't protest when the Shepherd raised his t-shirt with gentle hands. Book shook his head at the bruising that mottled Jayne's right side. Jayne craned his neck, but couldn't see whatever it was that had the preacher so het up. He felt it, though, when the other man prodded the area with two fingers. Felt the pain slice through his rib cage. Book sighed and went back over to the Med Kit. This time he withdrew a roll of tape.

"Can't tell if that rib's just bruised or broken. Either way, it'll need to be wrapped, keep it from moving on you. Hold still again. This is going to hurt."

"Hurts worse when the tape comes off." Jayne muttered, but he stood still while Book pulled the bandage tight around his rib cage. It felt better afterwards, but made it so he had to breathe shallow.

"The captain lost his temper, I take it?" Book asked when he was finished with the taping.

"Yeah." Jayne would have snorted, but the tape made it difficult. "Don't much like being told no."

"Yes, he mentioned that you were determined to disobey a direct order of his." The warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners, and Jayne found himself smiling back.

"That I am."

"And that order was...?" the Shepherd had leaned back against console, facing Jayne, his stance relaxed and open.

"That I'm supposed to leave Kaylee alone from now on. Not touch her."

"Oh. I see," and looking at the younger man's face, he did see. "I suppose that's - not going to happen?"

"Nope."

Book nodded. His thoughts were once again on what Kaylee had told them in the dining room, and he mulled over whether to mention it or not. Jayne, meanwhile, was watching the preacher closely, ready to head off any deep discussions he wasn't in the mood for right now. Planning exactly how he was gonna do it.

When Book spoke, his words were measured, "From what Kaylee told us, I doubt she'd want you to follow that order anyway. Probably make it impossible for you to do so, in fact."

"She do a lot of talking, did she?" Jayne brought the ice pack down from his face and what with the one swollen, bruised eye and the other narrowed one, he looked quite menacing. Book, however, was made of sterner stuff than most.

"Not so much, really. Just made it plain that it was a mutual - attraction. That you had treated her kindly yesterday, seemed to know exactly what she was going through. Which... puts a body to wondering how that could be. I can't imagine you ever feeling helpless and scared."

"Strains the imagination, don't it?" Jayne asked. "Tell you what, preacher. You tell me how it is you know so much about the Alliance and about bad cops in general, and I'll tell you how it was I knew what Kaylee was feelin' yesterday. How 'bout that?"

Book laughed, a full-throated sound of pleasure, "People do tend to underestimate you, don't they, Jayne?"

"That they do," the other man agreed. "Kinda prefer it that way."

"Well, mark me off the list of those people, my friend. Guess we'd better get back to work, hmm?" Book straightened up and headed back to the section he'd been working on.

Jayne stared after him. Couldn't quite let it go. "That all you got to say about it?"

"It?"

"Me 'n Kaylee."

Book squatted down, sprayed the solvent, waited on it to start soaking in before applying the scrub brush. He considered his words carefully, weighing their truth before he spoke,

"Pretty much. I feel I've come to know you fairly well over the last six months, Jayne. You take very good care of what's yours, so I don't think there's any need to worry about Kaylee in that regard. I will admit, however, to being rather surprised with the suddenness of the - relationship."

Jayne walked over to the preacher and started working on the area above him, evidently forgetting about working on the septic system for the moment. Due in large part to the Shepherd's offhand acceptance of the situation, he found he wanted to talk about certain things. Mostly Kaylee.

"Weren't sudden. Least, not on my part. I can't speak for Kaylee, though."

"I see." Book smiled to himself.

"Knew the first time I saw her she was somethin' special. All bright eyed and laughing, face streaked with engine grease and still prettier than a picture. Figured she wouldn't give me the time of day, though, nice girl like her, and me being - well...me. 'Sides, captain made me promise to keep my hands to myself. Wouldn't be surprised if he didn't warn her away from me, too. You know how he is about that."

"I surely do."

"Figured I'd just pretend she was one o' my sisters. Worked out okay for a while. Only - it's kinda hard to be around Kaylee for very long and not feel...more than brotherly, if ya know what I mean."

The Shepherd laughed again. Bless Jayne's heart. He was clearly trying not to be crude, and Book was enjoying his...restraint.

"Yes, I think I take your meaning."

"Never did nothin' about it, though. Thought about her sometimes when I was in my bunk. Hell, I even thought about her when I was ...paying for it. If ya know what I mean."

"I believe I do, yes."

"Weren't 'til she got shot by that fed that I realized it wasn't just...that kind of a feeling. Got to thinking about what if she had died, what that woulda been like. Can't say I cared much for the answer to that."

There was silence as Jayne worked on a particularly stubborn rust stain, lost in his thoughts.

"That happened a long time ago." Book observed.

"That it did. I ain't blind, preacher. Saw she had taken a shine to the doc, and it weren't up to me to get in the way of that. Didn't mean I had to like it, though. Or him. But hell, what was I gonna do? Kaylee woulda laughed at me if I'd set about trying to court her. And Mal woulda tossed me off the boat, sure as I'm standing here. Still might," he added glumly. "So, I just decided to forget about it. Get on with things."

"Ever the practical man," the older man commented drily.

"Yeah, that's me, all right. Then that stupid army buddy of the captain's went and put his hands on her, threatened her. Was all I could do not to blow his fool head off, right then. Almost did. Only thing stopped me was fear he'd fall off that catwalk and take Kaylee down with him."

Book remembered seeing Jayne pull Kaylee behind him after the captain shot Tracey. Protecting her. He also remembered Kaylee holding Simon's hand at the funeral and seeing Jayne standing off to the side, alone.

"Yet, you did nothing after that? Said nothing to her?"

"Couldn't see the point of sayin' nothing. Told myself I'd keep a better eye on her, was all." Jayne had finished his section. The starboard bulkhead was gleaming now. He needed to start on the septic system, and in the back of his mind, he was wondering what was taking Kaylee so long. He hoped the captain wasn't giving her the same orders he'd been given. Hoped she wasn't having second thoughts.

"I see." Book had straightened as well. "And then the bounty hunter came on board and-"

"Exactly. And I didn't have my eye on her." Guilt was written all over the black and blue face.

"So that's what made you decide not to ignore your feelings for her any longer?"

"Didn't really think about it. Just wanted to watch out for her, make sure she felt safe - was safe. It was just that damn nightmare she had, and afterwards, holding her like that, touching her, not wanting to do more than give her some comfort... I shoulda known better. Kinda like settin' a match to kindling. Too late then to go back and put out the fire."

"I...see." A thought occurred to him. "And would you have wanted to do that? Put the fire out?"

Jayne looked at him as if he'd suddenly grown another head. "Hell, no, preacher. Woman like Kaylee gives a man like me a chance and he'd have to be all kinds of a fool to risk losing her. I ain't lettin' go of her unless she tells me I have to."

The Shepherd nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I'm sure the captain will come around, sooner or later. Especially when he sees that this is not just a - physical relationship, and that your intentions are honorable."

"What's that supposed to mean, preacher?" Jayne had been wondering when the man of God was gonna be making his appearance. Dreading the lecture on morals and sexual promiscuity he knew was bound to be coming. But Book turned a bland face to him and said,

"Merely that you care for Kaylee, and are not just using her to satisfy your sexual appetites. I am correct in that, am I not?"

"Damn straight you're correct," he bristled. He wouldn't use Kaylee like that. And if that meant admitting he cared about her, well - he could do that, too. Just - not in front of everyone. Not out loud. But to his friend, Book, who was watching him with kind concern as he came to grips with what he'd just said, out loud, Jayne could admit it freely.

"Reckon folks underestimate you a mite, too, don't they, preacher?" he asked ruefully.

"Oh, I kinda like it that way, Jayne." He placed his hands on Jayne's shoulders and squeezed. Giving his blessing. Jayne cleared his throat, mumbled something about getting to work on the septic system, and beat a retreat into that part of the shuttle. Book returned to his work, humming softly under his breath. Every now and then a soft laugh would escape him