This story is a continuation of another fic entitled “In The Way”. It can probably be read on it’s own but I would suggest starting with the first to prevent potential confusion. Thank-you loverly people for all the sweet smelling feedback! Y’all must be the shinest readers a fic writer was ever blessed with in this craphill ‘verse. Jaylee forever!

All hail Joss! He rules and I don't. Nor do I make any money, it's purely for entertainment, etc. etc.

Chapter 1-

As soon as they landed on Whitefall, Jayne disappeared for several hours to reappear suddenly, carrying two pale apples. On his return to the ship, he nodded politely to Shepard Book where he was sitting on the edge of the open cargo bay doors, enjoying the shade and as well as the fresh air as he studied the holy word. The good book, despite common misconception, had never been specific about the actual nature of the fruit that hung on the tree of knowledge in that sweet garden humanity was forever barred from. Conventional wisdom, stretching all the way back to earth-that-was declared that the fall was caused by an apple- a woman, a snake, and an apple. A rather ordinary and wholesome fruit to be held responsible for so much trouble, Book had occasionally thought. It was after all a supremely useful food crop- hearty, versatile, productive. Not at all what you would picture as a harbinger of evil. Watching the little tableau unfolding before him however, Book was beginning to change his mind. Jayne had moved his weight bench in front of the open cargo bay doors, where the breeze blew fresh air straight into the ship. He did a few light sets, working up a golden sheen of sweat and then with great ceremony he paused in his workout and bit into one of the apples. He ate it very slowly, savoring each bite in a way Book had never seen him eat anything. Usually Jayne seemed to prefer quantity to quality when it came to his eatin’. This time though, he ate so deliberately, with such slow care that the smell of apple seemed to flood the thin atmosphere. The preacher watched, rather baffled as the big man consumed the apple, occasionally glancing over his shoulder. With a confused frown and then a shrug, the Shepard returned to his book. There was a sound of small heavy boots and a flash of green coverall before a dark head popped up over the bay railing behind them. Book watched the head appear and disappear as Jayne, seemingly oblivious continued his slow meal. A few moments later, Kaylee returned with her toolbox and started poking at the mechanism that controlled the bay doors as though looking for a problem. She greeted Book and he returned a warm hello but she studiously ignored Jayne. The big man was just finishing the first apple, having eaten everything but the stem and the portion of the core that included the small sharp seed casings. Tossing the almost nonexistent remains of the apple casually out the door, Jayne then pulled a massive knife out of his left boot and began to sharpen it in his usual methodical fashion. The steely sound made a tense counterpoint to Kaylee’s absent clanging as she did a poor job of pretending not to eye the second apple while she “fixed” the doors. Book quietly watched Jayne watching Kaylee watching the apple. “You hungry?” The big man asked her eventually. She stiffened when he spoke to her but didn’t try to deny her obvious interest in the fruit. “You think you can just buy my forgiveness with a apple?” She demanded. Jayne picked up the remaining apple and gave it a little toss before catching it again. “Don’t know what I got to ask forgiveness for. The doc and I had a little disagreement-” “About what?” Kaylee interrupted in a frantic, frustrated way that indicated to Book it was not the first time she had asked but Jayne ignored the question. “-and we came to a understandin’” He gave the word a sarcastic twist, “just as the cap’n suggested. Don’t see what you got to do with any o’ that.” Wash had told the preacher and probably everybody else who wasn’t there about the ‘argument’ and the captain’s ultimatum. Both men had emerged from the galley alive and there had been no more trouble in the following three days between them so it could be assumed that they had reached the captain’s required understanding. No one knew what the nature of that understanding was though. Not even Wash, who had unthinkingly assured the preacher that he had been listening with his ear tight against the bridge door. Kaylee faced Jayne with her arms crossed tightly against her chest and Book glanced down at the pages in his hands for a moment to cover his eaves dropping. Jayne had maneuvered the girl into a corner. What was Kaylee supposed to say? ‘I like him. That makes him my business’? She opened her mouth to make some kind of argument anyway but closed it again sullenly. “Shouldn’t be grabbing people by the throat, leastways.” She grumbled. The big man gave her an incredulous look. “Not crew anyway!” She protested. Jayne shrugged, non-committal. “Whoops.” He said. A frown and a grin fought each other for possession of Kaylee’s face. Jayne glanced at the apple in his hand and then at her. Holding the golden fruit out to her, he raised one eyebrow. Kaylee regarded him sourly but her interest in the fruit was clear. Temptation won out and she took it from him slowly. Whatever Jayne had done, an apple was still an apple- and she loved apples almost as much as strawberries. Book saw Jayne watch the girl with the same hungry expression she had eyed the fruit with. Kaylee raised the fruit to her nose to take a deep breath of its scent, her eyes falling closed. She sank her teeth into it and licked a bit of juice off her bottom lip with a pink tongue. Jayne turned abruptly back to his knife but he continued to observe her from under lowered eyelashes as she ate the apple with obvious enjoyment. Book lowered his head as well. Oh yes, one little apple could start all kinds of trouble.

Kaylee made supper. Using some vegetables the captain had scrounged up, her usual deft way with protein, and god alone knew what else, she had made something that closely simulated chicken and dumplings. A grateful crew, minus Jayne, who never seemed to be at the table at the same time as Simon these days, tucked into the meal happily. Wash smiled at his plate. It wasn’t exactly food by the strictest standard but it was better than a lot of meals they’d had. “Good grub, Kaylee.” He told the mechanic with a smile. She returned it. “Thanks, Wash but the cap’n got the potatoes and such.” “Now don’t be so modest girl,” Mal chided teasingly from the head of the table, “A few sad potatoes does not a feast like this make. That takes a clever mechanic . . . and cook.” Everyone smiled at the blush that colored Kaylee’s cheeks from this praise. “Cap’n.” She protested, ducking her head shyly. “It really is good.” A soft voice on Wash’s right insisted. The pilot turned his head curiously to find the doctor looking at Kaylee with a surprisingly intense expression. Under the table where no one could see Wash squeezed his wife’s leg. When she looked up he nodded a little over at Simon. She followed his gaze. Kaylee was cherry red but she smiled brightly at the doctor. “Thank-you, Simon.” He reached across the table and touched her hand gently. Kaylee’s eyes fell to where their hands rested together on the table. Her smile flickered for just a moment. “Kaylee, could you pass me the butter, please?” Zoë’s voice interrupted the little moment. Kaylee looked up quickly and extradited her hand from under Simon’s to pass Zoë the dish. She didn’t return it to the table. Zoë and Wash exchanged a look. Something strange was goin’ on.