This is a sequel to Twelve Days of Christmas ________________________________________________

Jayne was watching her again. Kaylee gave her hips a swish as she walked through the doorway and was rewarded with an audible growl and his patented ‘ya-will-pay-for-that’ look.

“Do you think it’s safe to tease the man like that?” Zoë sounded like she was grinnin’ inside.

“Nope,” she giggled “I’m lookin’ forward somethin’ awful to the payback.”

If Jayne was as good at sex and lovin’ as he was at flirtin’, touchin’ and kissin’, then she might end up as a little puddle melted on the floor. She couldn’t wait.

It’d been too many days, only five really, since she and Jayne had had their little talk. Much to her and everyone else’s dismay Jayne had collapsed after the belated Christmas celebration and started the dreadful shiverin’ and burnin’ up again.

While Simon looked for a cure, she’d been sleepin’ in the infirmary, wouldn’t leave him. When she wasn’t workin’ on Serenity, she sat with him during the day. Last couple of days Jayne had been well enough to flirt, touch ‘n’ kiss her and ai ya did they both enjoy that. Enjoyed it but wanted more.

Now Simon said Jayne was well enough to go to his own bunk, so she was goin’ too. And that was worryin’ Inara.

“Mei mei don’t you think this is a bit sudden? Is Jayne pressuring you to move in with him?”

Kaylee was so pleased that Inara was back and hoped that it would be permanent. Of course her and the captain would dance round again, not solvin’ anythin’.

“It’s not just the last few days ‘Nara, I was thinkin’ ‘bout Jayne for a while before all the trouble started. Then when we was in such trouble I really saw him. The man loves me even if he hasn’t said so, and I love him. He ain’t pressurin’ me, it was me told him I was movin’ in. Jayne’s goin’ to have all these reasons why it’s a bad idea, but I ain’t about to let go of the good thing we got goin’. Not goin’ to stand back and wait this time.”

*********************

Inara had been inspired by Kaylee’s attitude. If only she could behave like that. Reach out for what she wanted regardless of the consequences. Here she was back on Serenity after an absence of only two months and she wasn’t sure that she could leave again.

Perhaps as it was a new year she and Mal could start afresh. Resolve their relationship issues; actually speak to each other instead of talking around things. He was standing there in the cargo bay; she should speak to him now.

But what would she say? She wasn’t going to give up her profession; he wasn’t going to give up despising it. Both of them were too proud to admit to their feelings. Neither of them wanted to compromise. As usual she had no idea how to go forward, so she turned away and left everything in limbo again.

*********************

Simon was on the bridge watching Wash playing some sort of game with the new dinosaurs he had received for Christmas.

“May I say something?”

“Can I stop you?” the pilot asked wondering what he’d let himself in for.

“I just want to thank you for your advice; I can see that I should have acted on my feelings earlier. I see the cliché is true, I didn’t really know what I had till it was gone.” He sighed “Kaylee comes first with Jayne; I don’t think that would happen with me.”

“So you’re accepting things then?” Wash asked “Not going to cause any problems?”

“No.” The doctor replied “no trouble that’s my resolution.”

“Good” Wash was thinking of the doctors’ words and making a decision went to look for his wife.

*********************

Jayne watched Kaylee as she grinned and wriggled her hips at him. The girl was a tease alright.

When he doc said he could leave the infirmary today she’d just told him straight out she was movin’ in with him, didn’t give him a chance to argue with her.

While he couldn’t think of anythin’ he wanted more than her in his bunk permanent, Kaylee needed to know what she was getting’ into.

So when she paid her next visit, sittin’ herself in his lap just like it was natural, he started to tell her, “Kaylee I need to tell ya somethin’.”

She interrupted him “Ya goin’ to tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t be with you?”

He frowned at her “Yeah.”

“Well let me start,” she demanded. “I know what ya did on Ariel and how guilty you been feelin’. I could see somethin’ was wrong tween ya and Mal. Then River said somethin’ ‘bout blood money, didn’t take much addin’ up.”

She paused “I know ya Jayne Cobb. Know how angry ya get, how greedy sometimes, but I don’t think ya’ll do such a thing again.”

“Ya don’t know that.”

“Yes I do. Cause things are changed. You’re mine.” Kaylee put her arms round his neck. “And I’m goin’ to keep ya on the straight and narrow. And you’re goin’ to keep me strong. Don’t try ‘n’ talk me out of this. I know ya can be mean and onery, selfish and too interested in coin. I know ya kill people, that ya been bad and I don’t care. Cause ya got good points too.”

“I do?” Jayne was hopeful.

“Yeah, ya do.” She grinned at him, “you’re single-minded, ya look after what’s yours, ya protect me, look after me, comfort me and that’s all that matters.”

“Well that sounds sort of selfish to me” he teased her, tanglin’ her hair in his fingers and pullin’ her closer. “Love ya, bao bei.”

Kaylee melted into his arms “Love ya too.”

*********************

“There they go again,” complained the captain “kissing ‘n’ canoodling. It’s as bad as you and Wash.”

“You could kiss and canoodle too sir if only you took the chance.” Zoë prodded at him.

Mal ignored that and the direction Zoë was looking. He knew Inara was standing there, but didn’t know what to say to her.

Wash appeared suddenly and grabbed Zoë’s arm “Scuse me Captain, gotta borrow my wife.”

“Where we going husband”

“To have a New Years celebration and maybe make us some babies?” he grinned at her “What do you say, lambie-toes?”

“I say …at last” Zoë’s smile lit up the whole cargo bay.

Chu fei wo si le babies, babies on board his ship, no rutting way. Next it’d be Jayne and Kaylee wanting kids. It gave him a headache just thinking ‘bout it. Maybe he’d just go and have a talk with his mercenary.

*********************

He passed Kaylee on her way back to the engine room “Captain” she stopped him “ya ain’t gonna say mean things are ya?”

His mechanic had got real protective of her man; he’d find it cute, if it weren’t so disturbing. “Strangely enough, no, I’m just going for a chat.”

“Good then” she nodded and went on.

“Mal” Jayne frowned at him “come to give me a lecture, have ya?”

“Nope” the captain said bluntly “I figure Kaylee knows what she’s doing. Came to tell you I’m wiping Ariel off the slate.”

“Ya forgettin’ it?” Jayne looked at him in confusion.

“You did real well on that moon looking after Kaylee. She trusts you and I don’t think you’d do anything to ruin that. I don’t think you’d do it again.”

“No, I won’t.” Jayne was adamant. "Disappointin' Kaylee was somethin' he was goin' to avoid.

“Good. Then I only got one more question. If Kaylee gets hurt deliberate are you going to do like you did at the hunt, go on another killing spree?”

Jayne looked at him seriously, “I’m not likely to be real sane regardin’ Kaylee’s welfare. So you’d best keep your gun ready.”

The captain resolved to do just that.

Ai ya = damn Chu fei wo si le = over my dead body