“No.” The doc looked around the room, eyeballin’ each of ‘em in turn. “No!”

“Well, you are the prettiest of us menfolk.” Mal glanced over at Jayne. “No offence meant.”

“None taken.” Jayne wasn’t sweet on the idea of bein’ purdy. Ruggedly handsome, sure. Sexy… better. Purdy, no.

He ran his hand over his hair ta make sure it was stickin’ up proper.

“Absolutely NOT.” The doc pushed his chair away from the table an’ stood up. “Why do we need this money so badly anyway? I’m sure there are other jobs we can take. Jobs not involving the possibility of my having to kiss a man.”

Jayne looked over at Mal. He was sittin’ back with his fingers pressed together like a tent. “I do a job, I get paid. One way ‘er another. I ain’t doin’ charity work.”

“Well YOU go, then.”

“That ain’t gonna happen.”

“Oh, but you’ll send me?”

“That’s the idea.”

Jayne was lookin’ back an’ forth between Mal an’ the doc. Stopped on the doc when he didn’t reply.

The doc looked down at Kaylee like she was supposed ta help.

She just shrugged.

He turned ta Crazy, who was sittin’ on the other side of ‘im.

She shrugged too. “You are the prettiest.”

She said it like it was a given.

The doc looked around at all of ‘em again. “I don’t believe this.”

Jayne watched ‘im walk outa the room.

“Simon!” Kaylee went next.

Jayne got up an’ followed ‘er.

He heard Mal get up from the table behind ‘im. “Whose turn is it ta make supper?”

Jayne could hear Kaylee an the doc arguin’ when he turned down the hall that led ta the doc’s room.

“But why me? Why can’t Mal go? Or Jayne?”

“Jayne can’t go ‘cause Mr. Pink’s already met ‘im. And Mal can’t go because… he’s… Mal.”

Jayne crept up ta the door real quiet-like. It was open a little at the edge. He could see Kaylee sittin’ on the bed, watchin the doc outa Jayne’s sight.

“Oh. Well. That makes perfect sense, then.”

“Well! Mal’s just… Mal. He ain’t really the… gentle type, yanno? Not soft ‘er nothin’.”

“And I am?”

“Well, yer a lot softer’n mal er Jayne, that’s fer certain. I mean, anyone could tell ya that out of the three of ya, yer the most likely ta be—“

She stopped.

There was dead silence.

“Sly?”

“I ain’t sayin’ you are.”

“I didn’t think you of all people would question my… preferences.”

“I ain’t questionin’ anythin’!” I’m just sayin’, is all. I mean, you’re smart. Real educated. Ya dress nice. An’ you are… pretty.”

“You can’t frost over this with flattery.”

Kaylee stood up. “I ain’t frostin’ nothin’! But the truth is, our engine is all broke up an’ we can’t take off ‘till we get her fixed. An’ we can’t get her fixed until we get money, an’ we can’t get money until you get over yerself an’ go seduce a pimp so we know where the gorram money is. So get over yerself or take up knittin’, ‘cause we’re gonna be here a while.”

Jayne stepped back from the door as Kaylee opened it. She looked at ‘im, then turned an’ slid the door shut so hard the paper rattled.

Jayne more er less kept up with ‘er as she stalked down the hall.

They was headin’ toward the engine room.

“That true about the engine?”

“No.”

“So… where ya goin’?”

“Ta make it true.”

They reached the engine room.

“Get me a screwdriver.”

Jayne leaned against the wall an’ watched as she shimmied around under the engine, unscrewin’ things an’ settin’ ‘em on the floor. After a while, she got up an’ gathered everythin’ she’d taken off and pushed them inta Jayne’s arms.

“Looks awful nice fer a broken up engine. I’d think there’d be more… banged… stuff. Maybe a couple a’ exploded things."

Kaylee looked at him like he’d swore about her mother.

“I ain’t gonna hurt ‘er just ‘cause Simon’s being a… a… ching-wah tsao dun liou mahng.”

Jayne chuckled.

She glared at ‘im. He stopped.

“So what am I supposed ta do with these?” He lifted his armful of engine parts. One of ‘em started sliding off.

Kaylee caught it an’ put it on top of the pile again.

“I dunno. Put ‘em under yer bed ‘er somethin’. Take care of ‘em, though. I’ll need ‘em back eventually.”

She was still standin’ with her hand on the engine part, lookin’ up at ‘im. She weren’t glarin’ no more at least.

Way she was lookin’ at ‘im was pretty nice, in fact.

“Jayne?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it true you’ve never kissed a girl?”

Jayne blinked. “Who told you that?”

Kaylee smiled. “You did.”

“I ain’t… I ain’t never said I’d never kissed a girl. I said I don’t kiss whores. Don’t make a habit of it, anyway.”

“So you have kissed a girl?”

“’Course I have. I ain’t sl—er… I ain’t shy ‘er nothin’.”

“Lots of girls?”

Jayne cleared his throat. He looked away from her eyes. Felt like was goin’ blind lookin’ inta ‘em that long. “Well that depends on what you mean by a lot.”

“More th’n one?”

Jayne looked around the room. “Sure I have.”

Kaylee didn’t answer. He looked down at her. She was still smilin’ that sweet little smile.

“Not countin’ relations.”

Jayne looked down at the engine parts, then back up at Kaylee.

“No.”

Her smile got wider. “What was her name?”

“Jenny. She was my neighbor when we was kids.”

Gorram, why was he tellin’ her this? Gettin’ rid of all his mysteriousness.

She tipped her head ta the side. “What was she like?”

“She was a real sweet girl. Punched real hard, though. Real pretty, too. Red-brown hair. Blue eyes.”

He looked back up at Kaylee.

He cleared his throat again. “Kaylee?”

“Yeah, Jayne?”

“These are real heavy.”

“Oh!” Kaylee moved away from ‘im. “Sorry.”

Jayne smiled real quick at ‘er and slid past ‘er inta the hall.

When he got to his bunk, he dropped the engine parts on his bed an’ went over ta look in the mirror. He leaned one hand on either side of it an’ looked at ‘imself.

“Idjit.”

He leaned his head against the glass.