Disclaimer: They ain’t my characters and it ain’t my ‘verse and no money changed hands. Thank You List includes Joss and gang for inspiration, Jacquie the Goddess of Jaylee for beta and a great deal of support and encouragement, and to my own dear big, bad man for providing certain, …er, technical resources and guidance. Bein’ as this is my very first fanfic, all comments, suggestions and feedback are most appreciated. If ya don’t wanna talk, please just click a rating. Can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s broke.

Waited Long Enough Part 1: Rules and Problems

He was a big man who wasn’t afraid of hard, mean work. Never had been. He did what he had to, to get by. Did a lot of things he weren’t real proud of. The school of hard knocks had taught him little in the way of loyalty except’n to himself.

When the slim man in the long, brown coat he held at gunpoint offered him a significant improvement over his marginal situation, he didn’t hesitate to switch sides. Shot his old boss Marco in the leg by way of lettin’ him know how he felt about him, too.

The new deal promised good – a bunk of his own, a fair cut of the ship’s take, and a chance to get off-planet and away from the boys who would soon enough come gunnin’ for him. But there were complications Jayne hadn’t known about when he accepted Mal’s offer.

Women.

He’d never worked with a crew that included females before, wasn’t so sure they had any business ship-side. Back home an’ in the bedroom, that was another matter. Ship-board, they tended to get in the way of a man stayin’ focused on his job.

In Serenity’s close confines, it proved impossible to ignore their distractin’ presence: all that sweet, swaying stuff they did, how they smelled and the sound of their laughter. Common sense told the big man sexin’ it up with someone in the crew was a bad idea, but parts of him didn’t have much by way of sense. Jayne was never quite able to relax on-board Serenity and it was all because of the gorram womenfolk.

Zoë was the first one he’d met, standin’ tall and still beside Mal when he and Marco had tried to take the ship. The dark, handsome woman was the Cap’n’s first mate, had fought beside him back in the war. Married to the ship’s pilot, a little fella everyone called Wash.

It was Zoë herself that gave him pause. He figured any overtures toward her would likely result in her renderin’ him entirely too well ventilated. She’d killed enough men that Jayne knew she was one dark road he was never headin’ down.

Turned out the ship even had an honest-to-god Companion on board, too. The dark, elegant beauty, named Inara, was rentin’ out one of the shuttles which she’d turned into some kinda gorram space-goin’ whoreship. Lao-tyen boo! Might as well be the Queen of Heaven herself, for all the chance she’d notice a rough man like himself, and Jayne knew her fee was more’n he’d ever earn.

Just havin’ her on the ship was difficult enough -- the lingerin’ fragrance of her perfume in the corridor was enough to get him hard, but he also knew that Mal wouldn’t hesitate to gut-shoot him if he ever so much as laid a hand on her. No, the beautiful Companion was way outta his league and he knew it.

Later on, there was the gorram doctor’s crazy little sister, River, who just give him the willies. First of all, she weren’t much more’n a kid and truth was that Jayne preferred his women on the curvy side. But more than that, she was just plain unnatural. If it was up to him, he’d just as soon toss her an’ that prissy brother of hers out the airlock. The two of them had been way more’n their share a’ trouble, to his way a’thinking.

And then there was Kaylee, adorable, aggravatin’, maddenin’ Kaylee.

****

The minute he first seen her, standin’ on Serenity’s ramp, her overall cuffs rolled up around her slim legs and sleeves tied at the back of her waist, tight lil’ tank top cupping her bosom and the wind whippin’ her chestnut curls around her smudged face, Jayne wanted her. Bad.

There was somethin’ about the way she smiled up at him when Mal introduced them, all kinda lit up from inside, like she really saw him as a person, a man, not just a big gun-totin’ hunk ‘a muscle.

“This here lil’ lady’s our mechanic, Kaylee,” Mal stated, “and she’s a regular miracle worker.”

“Female mechanic, huh? Ain’t never seen one ‘a them before.” Jayne looked her up and down and she looked right back, brown eyes gleaming and full lips softly parted. And then she licked those lips. Ai ya!

Mal put his arm protectively around Kaylee’s shoulders, adding, “She keeps Serenity runnin’ smooth as butter.”

Jayne smirked and replied, “Oh, I bet she do…” and locked her deep brown eyes with his steely ones. Kaylee blushed a deep rose and gulped. The electricity between them was somethin’ only a dead man would miss and Malcolm Reynolds was far from dead.

“Stow that duffle in the back of the cargo bay, Kaylee.” He directed, waiting a moment until she was out of earshot.

Jayne’s steel-gray eyes followed the little mechanic and the Captain watched as the tiniest hint of a wicked smile tilted the corner of his mouth.

Mal stepped forward into the big man’s field of vision and, in a voice that left no room for arguin’, warned him, “Jayne Cobb, you’d best be lookin’ at me instead of leerin’ at my mechanic’s rear end. We got a few rules here and you’ll follow ‘em or turn around and leave my ship right now.”

Toe-to-toe with his newly-hired mercenary, the captain looked him square in the eye and stated in no uncertain terms what he expected in terms of courtesy to the womenfolk on board.

Needless to say, the captain’s rules, like rules in general, were bound to cause Jayne problems.

****

While his new merc was busy stowing away the small amount of gear he’d brought on board with him, much of it consisting of weapons, it occurred to Mal that he’d best find Kaylee right then and discourage her flirtation with the crew’s newest member. Considerin’ her general friskiness and how she’d originally managed to get herself on board Serenity, Mal feared she might not fully appreciate the danger inherent in the man he’d just hired.

He soon found her down in the ship’s common room, chattering away with Inara about the crew’s newest member.

“You gotta see him, ‘Nara. He’s real big and muscular, oughta clean up right swai, too.” Kaylee grinned widely at the Companion and rolled her eyes, the two women giggling together.

“Of course, you left out the part about why I hired him. “ Mal pointed out. He could see the wheels turnin’ in the girl’s pretty head and wanted to set her straight right off.

“What part was that, Cap’n?”

“Well I sure didn’t hire Mr. Muscles for his brains or to entertain you ladies with his physique. The man’s a mercenary, Kaylee, a hired gun, and not an especially trustworthy one at that. Some of the jobs we got comin’ up, we need a little more firepower, and him being kinda intimidatin’ might give us the advantage we need.”

A pointed look passed between Mal and Inara as he put his arm around the mechanic’s shoulders and steered her toward the corridor. “Would you excuse us, Inara? I need to have a word with our girl.”

Just outside the doorway, Mal stopped and turned to Kaylee, his face wearin’ his ‘I mean business’ look. He rested one hand on the bulkhead and looked down into her guileless, wide brown eyes.

“Listen up, mei-mei. I don’t want you playin’ games with this fella I just hired. Don’t go teasin’ and flirtin’ with him like you’re wont to do.”

Kaylee tilted her face and pouted like a child just told she couldn’t have dessert.

“But why not, Cap’n? He sure is easy on the eyes an’ I could tell he took a shine to me, too.”

Mal shook his head sharply. “I’ve already told Jayne how I feel about ship-board romancin’ and it being one of the fastest ways he could go getting’ himself fired.”

“Aw. Mal…” she whined, jamming her hands into her overall pockets.

The girl was clueless, had about as much business getting’ involved with his merc as she did jugglin’ concussion grenades. The two of them were a sure recipe for trouble.

“Now Kaylee, I mean it.” Mal ordered in his most officious, paternal voice.

“He’s a big, bad man.”