It was a hot planet- set a little too close to the sun for Kaylee’s comfort and she had stripped her coveralls down to pool at her waist. The bright green tank top she wore underneath was cooler but she was still too hot. She gathered her hair up and twisted it around before groping in her pockets for something to keep it in place with. Her hand closed around a chopstick that for the life of her she couldn’t remember the origins of- but she didn’t care. She stuck it roughly through the bun and smiled at the relief the cool breeze on her neck provided. Kaylee’s eyes flicked over to where Jayne was examining a part with a confused look on his face, like he was trying to determine what possible purpose it could serve. She watched him turn it over and shake it- as though that would tell him anything about what it did. With an amused shake of her head she walked over and gently took the part from him, “It’s a port exhaust manifold.” She explained setting it down on the table. “Not the right size for Serenity, though.” “I knew that.” He said gruffly. Kaylee laughed, “’Course ya, did. Maybe you should be the ship’s mechanic and I’ll be the muscle.” The suggestion was light- just a joke but as she said it Kaylee stopped laughing. She remembered Niska’s station and just recently Jubal Early. She looked down at the part, frowning as she picked at a flaw in the metal. As though she would ever be anything but the weakest link, she thought. Jayne was watching her intently, though she didn’t see it. His voice roused her from her thoughts and when she looked back up at him his expression was his usual scowl, “You just want a bigger cut, s’all.” That made her smile a little, “Who says I don’t get a bigger cut than you now?” She asked teasingly. “What?!” His outrage had her laughing outright, as they moved on to the next parts stall. Mal had sent them out looking for a part Kaylee had warned him might need replacing soon, as well as some other necessaries. This world, called Radiance (though there was nothing particularly radiant about it even to Kaylee’s generous mind) was a way station for Alliance troops on the move to other posts. Normally they would have avoided it like the plague but Mal had started to listen a little closer when Kaylee told him something was needed- since the explosion that might have killed them all. Radiance, because of its busy trade with the core worlds was one of the few places you could lay hands on that kind of hardware and they had other needs as well. As a precaution though, Mal had set a limit of two days on their stopover and no one left the ship without his say so. There were entirely too many bored Alliance soldiers wandering around Radiance for the captain’s taste. Kaylee and Jayne moved toward the edge of the market. It was a busy day but here at this end where the goods were a little more . . . questionable, things tended to be quieter. Jayne stopped briefly to talk to a man selling some kind of ammunition and Kaylee looked around curiously. Not a lot over here to interest her. No parts, no people who would meet your eye, no- oh, pretties. Spotting something bright and shiny, Kaylee wandered across the road and down a few storefronts to stand in front of some kind of clothing shop. It wasn’t swanky enough to have live models wearing the clothes but the stuff on the dummies seemed plenty nice to Kaylee- and then she realized there was a sleazy quality to the clothes. A lot of the material seemed see-through and the skirts were defin’tly a little too short. She never knew whores had their own dress shops. Ruminating on this particular development, Kaylee didn’t see the two young men in Alliance officer uniforms approach her. “Pretty dresses,” A voice said in her ear, too close for comfort. Kaylee jumped a little and whirled around. A pale young man with a lieutenant’s uniform, smiled at her in a way she might have thought of as just friendly once- before Early. The lieutenant was accompanied by another officer of a lesser rank, though Kaylee couldn’t remember what came before lieutenant. Kaylee shrugged, tried to stay calm, tried not to seem afraid, “Guess so.” “Ensign Strathmore,” Some part of Kaylee’s brain said, oh yeah, ensign that’s it-despite her growing fear “-and I are looking for a little companionship.” His voice sounded so smooth, she almost wanted to laugh as relief flooded through her- they thought she was a whore. Gorram purplebellies don’t even know the difference between a mechanic and a professional. “Oh, I ain’t a whore.” Kaylee announced. “What you’re looking for is down this street and over a couple blocks.” She indicated the direction of the red light district helpfully with a nod and turned to go. The lieutenant grabbed her arm and pulled her around. He wasn’t smiling anymore and all of Kaylee’s fear came rushing back. “You think I don’t know a whore when I see one?” He demanded, giving her arm a shake, “What else would a girl be doing in this part of town alone?” But she wasn’t alone. Kaylee looked around desperately for Jayne and realized that she had lost him. How long had she been staring into that stupid window? Why can’t she do nothing, right, she asked herself angrily? “Let me go.” She demanded and tried to yank her arm out of his grasp. The officer’s grip was a vice and Kaylee knew again that horrible sense of helplessness that she had felt before when trapped with the bounty hunter. She could hear the ensign speaking suddenly, “-thinks she’s too good for two of the Alliances finest-“ “I ain’t a whore!” She protested again, almost desperately. They weren’t listening and the lieutenant began to drag her towards a nearby alleyway. A huge part of her wanted to just go limp but she was so tired of being afraid all the time- so she kicked him- hard in the shin and tried to run when he let go from the pain and surprise. The ensign caught her just a few feet away. She looked around frantically as they struggled. There was almost nobody on the street and the few people around wouldn’t step in to help anyone against Alliance officers. Where was Jayne? The two men hauled her into the alley. They threw her up against a wall for her trouble and the panic took over, froze her in place so that she couldn’t even protest. The lieutenant stuck his hand under her shirt. He said something but she was rigid with fear and her ears didn’t seem to be working too good. The ensign watched eagerly as- A massive hand reached past her shoulder suddenly to grab the young man by the throat and press him up against the wall. The officer automatically let go of Kaylee to beat at the arm. He could have been striking at the earth for all the good it did him. Kaylee could feel Jayne- solid like a sun-warmed wall at her back. The other young officer reached for his weapon and found a gun in his face. Jayne’s eyes flicked to the boy, “Don’t.” He said almost contemptuously. The unspoken word was ‘bother’. They formed an odd triangle- Jayne the top point, reaching out toward the other men who formed the other two points and Kaylee trapped in the middle. She was still facing the lieutenant and she could see his face turn red as he struggled desperately for air. “Step back for a sec, there Kaylee.” The big man instructed coolly. Kaylee ducked under his arm and as she did caught sight of Jayne’s face and drew a sharp breath. She had seen him loose his temper before- plenty of times and it could be quite impressive. This was worse- a rage so great he wouldn’t let it go because even he wasn’t sure what it would lead to. Then it was gone, tucked away where she couldn’t see it anymore. Jayne lifted the officer, one handed so that his feet kicked frantically against the wall. He leaned in close and though she was but a few feet away, Kaylee couldn’t hear whatever it was Jayne murmured to him. She saw the young man’s eyes widen and the look of pure terror that crossed his face, though. Jayne watched it, too. For one tense second, Kaylee was sure he would snap the other man’s neck but instead he head-butted him before dropping him on the ground. He continued the motion smoothly to punch out the second young officer. He eyed both forms on the ground with an impassiveness that was chilling, before turning to Kaylee, “Oughta stick closer to me,” he said mildly. She nodded her agreement absently, still looking at the two men on the ground. “Hell girl,” Jayne voice turned impatient, “you gonna give ‘em a kicking so we can get outta here?” Kick ‘em, Kaylee thought. Of course not. She wasn’t- but then she remembered their leering faces and the hand groping roughly under her shirt. So she walked over and matter ‘o factly kicked them both in the fork. Jayne grinned, “C’mon we still got shopping ta do.” They bought a number of things- food, ammo, and some parts and they got good prices too. Jayne’s glare tended to put a merchant off their bargaining- which was why the cap’n often sent him along to do the shopping. Usually Kaylee kinda enjoyed watching him glare and cuss and complain but not today. She had felt off balance all afternoon. It wasn’t just the two officers and what they had tried to do- though that was bad enough. She remembered Jubal Early with a shiver. “There’s nobody as can help me” he made her say but Jayne had come this time, full of fury. Was that for her? She wondered, his sudden rage? She was so quiet, Jayne finally demanded, “What’re you so quiet for? Usually you’ll chat a man’s ear off. What-“ He stopped abruptly, “They didn’t hurt you none, did they?” He asked his voice going icy. He was scanning her over, carefully looking for bruises or scratches. “No.” She said, hastily, both terrified and touched by his concern. When had he began to care what happened to her? “I’m just tired.” She said vaguely. He nodded, “One more stop, then its back to the ship.” “Yeah.” She agreed with a wane smile, “C’mon.” She nodded down the street, wanting to be moving again so he would stop watching her in that measuring way. They finished up their shopping in relative silence. Back at the ship, standing in the shadow of Serenity, Kaylee put a hand on Jayne’s arm. He turned to her with a frown. “I-“ Kaylee started to say something but he looked so intimidating, blocking out the sun behind him. She remembered the look of rage on his face . . . rage for her, as he protected her. She took a deep breath. “Thank-you.” She said and on sudden impulse threw her arms around his neck. “Thank-you.” She repeated, bracing herself for one of two things- he would push her away or he would attempt to grope her. He stiffened and then tightened his arms gently before settling her back on her feet to her absolute amazement. “Weren’t nothing.” He told her gruffly, not meeting her eyes. Nothing, uh? “Well, it meant something to me” She said firmly, “and I appreciate it.” She added over her shoulder as she walked up the ramp into the cargo bay. Facing forward again, she didn’t see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he followed.