Nearly there I promise...I'm just having problems with the finale! ______________________________________________

Gorram it!” yelled an exasperated mercenary, the iron bar catchin’ him fair across the stomach.

“Jayne” Kaylee’s voice shook as he pushed her behind him, him and the Captain steppin’ smoothly in front of her, guns pointin’ at her pursuers.

“Take another step ‘n’ you die.”

Of course thought the Captain as he ducked behind the alley wall when the thugs opened fire, things could never go smooth. Though with the mood Jayne was in the fight didn’t last long, ending with him, Jayne and Kaylee still standing and everyone else dead.

After all that gunfire, the law would be here any minute; he turned to his companions, “let’s get….”

Neither of them were listening to him, Jayne hadn’t even gone over to check his victims; they were both just standing staring at each other.

Mal heard a clonk as Kaylee flung herself onto Jayne’s chest, her cast hitting him on the head, arms choking him with a stranglehold around his neck. It looked like she was trying to get close enough to burrow under his skin. Jayne dropped his weapons crushed Kaylee against his body and buried his face in her hair.

Mal didn’t think he was gonna get them apart any time soon, but he wanted to get back to Serenity, there were still crowds around, some of them more dangerous than the last bunch, and his merc was a mite distracted.

He picked up the fallen guns, cleared his throat for the fourth time and risked touching the volatile mercenary on the shoulder.

“Jayne put Kaylee down; we gotta get out of here.”

Jayne reluctantly let Kaylee slide to the ground twining his fingers with hers as they started to walk.

Kaylee lent as close to him as she could as they walked, needin’ his warmth, needin’ to reassure herself he wasn’t hurt.

“Did Simon get back alright, did he tell ya where I was?”

Thinking of how they’d left the doctor; the Captain belatedly realised how his actions may have appeared to Simon. But he’d seen that it wasn’t a killing shot and had been worried ‘bout Kaylee and eager to get Jayne outta there before he exploded. He figured he owed the Doc an apology and a chance to hurl recriminations soon as they got back to the ship.

He was wondering how in hell he was gonna explain all this to Kaylee, when his mercenary, who hadn’t spoken a word since they left Serenity and never admitted to doing the wrong thing or took the blame for anything said bluntly, “I shot him.”

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

Jayne expected Kaylee to drop his hand or at least be angry with him when she heard what he did; instead she sighed and moved closer, almost like she was comfortin’ him.

“Oh Jayne.”

He’d got sorta hopeful then, that maybe she understood what he did. Better than he did probably, Kaylee always was smarter than him.

Maybe she’s stay friends with him after all, though he guessed Simon wouldn’t like that much. The hopeful feelin’ left in a hurry when they got back to the ship ‘n’ he took Kaylee to the infirmary to get her checked out.

The Doc was actually sittin’ up, not lyin’ there moanin’, and the moment Kaylee got near the man wrapped his arms round her in a hug, lookin’ over her shoulder at Jayne ‘n’ smirkin’.

He backed out real quick before he killed someone, retreatin’ to his bunk to take his anger out on the walls. All he earned from that was a set of bleedin’ knuckles, sore ribs and a sick feelin’ in the stomach.

He’d just taken his shirt off to examine his bruises when he heard his bunk door open, (he’d locked that), and saw a pair of very bare, sexy legs comin’ down the ladder.

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“Where’s Jayne?” Kaylee pulled away from Simon’s clingy embrace, turnin’ round to look for his solid presence. All the others were standin’ around, but he weren’t there, he’d gone again.

“His bunk” River’s eyes were mournful “Taking refuge, doesn’t count.”

“Yes he does.” Kaylee’s eyes were fierce as she brushed past the Captain without even noticin’ him.

She could just imagine what the stubborn man must be thinkin’. She was gonna stop this circlin’ round right now, if she could get Jayne to listen to her.

River caught her arm gently “teddy bears and sunflowers. The bear can not resist them for long.”

Kaylee giggled as she whirled away “Thanks River.”

“Was that matchmaking I saw?” the Captain frowned at the girl.

“Meant to be together, just helping, the animals came on board two by two.”

“That don’t mean my crew have to follow.”

He frowned at her again as she echoed Kaylee’s giggle and danced in to see her brother.

“Has everyone gone insane while I was away?” asked the Shepherd. “Is River seriously suggesting that Jayne and Kaylee should be a couple?”

“You haven’t seen them together the last couple of months Shepherd.”

“Like Quasimodo and Esmeralda,” Wash caught his wife’s eye “or Beauty and the Beast?”

“Jayne dropped his weapons.” The Captain held out the guns he had tucked into his belt, “still hasn’t noticed that he don’t have them, so yeah, I think it’s serious.”