"Jayne, you should get some rest." Simon looked up from the tests he'd run on his still comatose sister to look at the roughened man. Kaylee had been bringing both men their meals upon request, and Jayne was now more than half finished with the bottle of sake he'd insisted Kaylee bring him.

"Ain't leavin', Doc. Said I wouldn't and I won't." He looked at River and sneered in an effort to keep control of his emotions. "Girl needs me."

Simon finished the last of the small meal Kaylee had brought, quietly placing his empty plate on top of Jayne's, which was barely touched. Simon checked the IV drip he'd given River, making sure the vitamins were timed correctly with the fluids to keep her from becoming dehydrated or malnutritioned.

It had been over ten hours since River had fallen unconscious after a particularly horrifying hallucination. Jayne had been with her when it happened. He was simultaneously cursing himself mentally for not understanding her, and cursing River for being so gorram cryptic that no one could understand a one of her moonbrain thoughts. Girl couldn't be blunt even if it meant savin' her life.

Jayne used all his will to keep from yelling at Simon to hurry up and figure out what was wrong with River. He knew the doc was doing everything he could, but his heart was, for the first time in a very long while, gripped with fear at being unable to help River. He cleared his throat and kept his eyes on River.

"It's pretty ruttin' weird. I ain't ever been worried about no one's life but my own." He held River's long slender hand in his own large palms. "But for some gorram reason I'm..." Jayne let out a ragged breath, unable to say something.

"Scared?" Simon looked back at Jayne, looking at every hint of emotion that ran through his face.

"I ain't fuckin' scared!" Jayne barked at Simon for a moment, then growled to himself before calming down. "Sorry. I ain't one to admit I got somethin' that near resembles a heart."

"You love her, Jayne. I know you well enough that it's hard for you to say something like that, but being in love is the one situation where saying those emotions shouldn't be difficult."

"My emotions... Doesn't know... how to handle..." River mumbled almost inaudibly in her comatose trance, her eyes moving wildly from beneath tightly shut lids.

"River? Hey, River, you hear me girl?" Jayne and Simon both jerked their heads simultaneously back to River, watching her lips move imperceptively. Each man held one of River's hands, hoping she would respond.

River's head lolled toward Jayne, still unconscious. "Gave you a gift... Precious... Frightening..."

"River! Mei mei, what are you saying?" Simon gently patted her cheeks, trying to rouse her from slumber.

River's head turned toward her brother. "Be back in a couple hours, Simon... No worries..."

Both men kept calling to River, hoping for something more, but she told them what they needed to know. She had barely gotten this small opportunity to reclaim part of her body. Now she was high above again, watching the infirmary. She was the only one in the room who noticed the tear fall from Jayne's eye and onto the dress she was wearing.

*****

River was writhing above Jayne, her nude body glistening with sweat. She threw her head back as her mouth let out open gasps and moans.

Jayne could feel everything. Every detail of the way River felt against him, around him. The way her voice sounded, ragged and breathy from passion. He grabbed hold of those irresistible, delicate hips and guided her in a quicker rhythm. River's head tilted forward, her rich brown eyes, darkened with passion, pierced into his.

"Gave you a gift... Precious... Frightening... It could be dangerous if you don't learn to control it." River squeezed her eyes in rapture as she came, a jolt of lightening, the likes of which Jayne had only felt once, running through both their bodies. "I came for you and you fell in love."

Jayne thrust up quicker, crying out River's name. He had no idea what she was babbling about, but it didn't matter. Somehow it actually turned him on more, her words and the rippling of her inner muscles tearing a passionate orgasm from Jayne's body.

River screamed.

River was screaming. Jayne jolted upright from the small cushion he had laid on the infirmary floor. He looked up and River was sitting up as well, screaming and tearing at the needle in her arm.

Jayne scrambled up and wrapped himself around her, barely hearing Simon's frantic footfalls as the doctor got himself out of bed.

"River, babe, it's me. I'm here. Stop pullin' at that, gorrammit, your brother put it there for a reason!" Jayne stilled River's shaky hands, wrapping his strong body around her seemingly frail one.

"Their coming... Oh, God, they're coming. Jayne?" River looked around frantically, tears streaming down her face harder than they had been before she'd passed out.

"I'm here, girl." Jayne held her chin in his hand and pulled it a little roughly so she looked him in the eye. "I'm here. Stop freakin' out now, dong ma?"

River finally went limp in Jayne's arms, conscious, but too weak from emotional exertion to do anything else. Her body was wracked with sobs, and for some reason, Jayne felt River's fear and pain, tensing every muscle in his body to keep from crying as well.

Simon checked all of River's vitals again. Her heartbeat had gone down during the thirteen hours she'd been unconscious, but the fear in her blood had made her heart race a bit again. Her fever was gone, and other than her rumbling stomach, she was fine.

River looked at her brother sharply. "I need to go to Jayne's bunk, Simon."

Simon looked compassionately up at her. "Mei mei, I'd prefer to keep you in the infirmary for a little while longer so I know you're okay." He brushed a few tears from River's cheeks. "You were out for a good while, xin gan."

"I'm fine, Simon. I can't sleep here tonight. Scared. Thought I was back... " Her slender frame shook. "Thought I was back there again."

"Simon."

At Jayne's use of his name, Simon looked up at the older man in shock.

"If somethin' happens, I'll bring her right back, doc. I'd feel more comfortable if I could hold her. Can't do that on Inara's girly cushions, layin' on the infirmary floor."

Simon sighed in resignation. "Alright. You can go, River. But in the morning, after breakfast, I'm going to run a few more tests okay?"

River nodded quickly and let Simon remove the IV needed from her hand. As Jayne carried her weakened body out of the infirmary, he stopped at Simon's voice.

"Make her eat something small and drink some cool water before she goes to sleep, Jayne." Simon felt Kaylee bring her arms around his waist from behind as Jayne mumbled a gruff affirmative and walked out.

Kaylee knew Simon had been so caught up in worryin' on River that he hadn't noticed her follow him into the infirmary. She'd been worried for River too, and wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"You alright, honey?" She turned Simon around gently and kissed his shoulders.

"I guess so. I just wish I knew what happened to River. Of all the hallucinations and nightmares she's had in the past, she never went comatose for thirteen hours. She passed out for five minutes once, but that's it." Simon could vaguely hear Jayne's voice coming from the galley.

"Don't worry, Simon. You'll find out what's goin' on and figure out how to keep it from happenin' again. River will be fine, you'll see."

"That's what we said last time, baobei." The worried look in Simon's eyes didn't fade as Kaylee led him back to their bunk.

*****

Jayne set River down gently on the dining table in the galley. He turned toward the cupboards and found a small protein bar and a glass. He filled the glass with water and a couple ice cubes from the freezer Kaylee had rigged up to run off the engine and turned back to River.

"Here now, eat a bit of this." Jayne held the glass while River took the protein bar from his other hand, gently nibbling at one corner. When she swallowed, he grabbed one of Kaylee's neon green straws from a drawer and placed it in the glass.

He lifted the glass to River's lips, watching her slowly sip the icy water from the straw.

Once River felt she could eat no more, Jayne took the glass and protein bar from her, placing the uneaten portion back in the cabinets. He gave River back the glass.

"Here, hold this, we'll keep the water in the room if'n ya get thirsty." When River nodded in approval, he scooped her back up and brought her to his bunk.

When they arrived at the door, Jayne gently set River down, letting her lean on him to keep her legs steady while he opened the door. He let River grab on to the ladder and then stood behind her, one hand grasping a rung, the other holding the water glass. His legs stood a full rung lower than where she stood.

They descended slowly together, Jayne always making the first step. When he came to the bottom he wrapped his arms around River's waist and carried her to the bed.

River slowly undressed and pulled on one of the shirts Jayne had lying near the bed before crawling under the covers. She watched as Jayne set the glass of water on the nightstand near her head before taking his own clothes off and sliding his sweatpants over his bare ass.

Jayne climbed in next to River and held her tightly.

"You actually freaked me out today, Crazy. What the hell happened back there?" He looked her square in the eye. "And enough with this cryptic gou pi, ya hear? Be straight with me."

"Had nightmares. Caught me... Blue handed and sinister. Took me from you and left me. Electric... needles... pain."

Jayne hadn't thought River could cry anymore after everything she'd gone through in the last 14 hours, yet tears spilled from her eyes, splashing from the bridge of her nose and onto his bicep.

"I have a clear memory of me tellin' ya not to be so ruttin' creepifyin'." He wiped River's tears away, catching another drop from her nose before it could spill.

"They took me back there, Jayne. More tests, more experiments. Took away everything I need." River didn't want to go into the particulars of her experience, didn't want to speak plainly. Half the time the riddles were less painful to verbalize than a detailed account. The other half of the time, the broken phrases caused more pain.

River looked back up at Jayne, her eyes focusing again. "You have questions. Gifts."

Jayne furrowed his brow in frustration. "Yeah, got some things need answerin', but I'd rather try to figure out why in hell you'd have a nightmare like that again. You've been fine for a long gorram time now."

"I'm okay for now, just ask." River slid her body to press up against his, ready to answer questions she already knew were coming. Jayne took a deep breath and let it out shakily before speaking.

"When you was freakin' out, I was in the cargo bay, liftin' weights. I'd been worried on ya since I let ya out of my sight. Now, I know I love ya, but it ain't like me to be spendin' all my thoughts on wonderin' if something's wrong with a person."

River just nodded for him to continue.

"I'd seen ya go into the cockpit earlier, but it was like I knew you was in your bunk, cryin'. So I went to ya." Jayne looked hard at River. "How'd I know?"

"I gave you a gift. Didn't mean to, but I did. You feel me. The way I feel you."

Jayne scoffed and looked at River as though she was being crazy again. "Now what in the ruttin' hell is that s'posta mean, Moonbrain?"

River rolled her eyes and looked back at Jayne sharply. "You can feel my emotions. Know when I'm sad, angry..." Her eyes swept down his strong muscled body, then back up into his gaze, making him shiver. "You feel my excitement right now. Feel that I need you."

River was right. Jayne could feel River's emotions now. Feel how badly she craved being in his arms. He could almost feel her entrance flooding at the memory of having him inside her. Jayne realized he was rock hard inside his sweats.

Jayne tentatively leaned in to kiss River, afraid she was too frail for the normal, rough kisses he usually gave. He wrapped his arms around her soft body, reveling in the way she felt. He briefly considered that he'd been afraid he'd never be able to feel her in his arms again while she was comatose.

River responded to the kiss passionately, moaning happily into Jayne's mouth. She pulled one of her legs up so that it rested on his hip. River scooted forward until her full body pressed up against Jayne's, studiously grinding against his rigid length through her dress and his pants.

Jayne growled into the kiss at the contact River made with his straining erection, grinding his own hips uncontrollably. He laved her soft lips, for once requesting entry instead of plundering her mouth. When River parted her lips, Jayne let his tongue mesh with hers.

River was getting hot in the dress she wore. She needed Jayne so badly, needed her skin against his. Before she could break the kiss to tell him to undress, his hands came to the hem that had bunched up against her thighs.

Jayne could feel how heated River was, knew just how badly she wanted out of her clothes. He slid his hands up the fabric, effectively dragging the dress up her body. He laid River on her back and slid it up to just under her breasts.

Jayne moved so that River was beneath him, his head bent low so that he could kiss every bit of exposed skin. He crept his mouth high enough to give a suckling kiss to the under curve of River's breasts, and slid low enough so that he kissed only an inch or two from her aching core. He knew just how badly she wanted him, even if he couldn't feel her emotions. She was writhing, crying out, and begging him to touch her in her most sensitive places.

"Please... Need you..." River clasped his head with her hands, trying to push his mouth lower or higher depending on where he had his lips focused. Jayne just chucked throatily, using her passion to his advantage. He suddenly knew, with much more clarity, exactly where on her body would drive her the most insane. He targeted each spot indivudually, enjoying the outcries she made, the way she arched her back, thrashed her head, and clung to the sheets.

Finally, River let out a sigh of relief as Jayne slid the fabric farther up, exposing her pert breasts, the coral nipples tight with excitement. She could feel the prickly stubble of his chin scratch its way up her skin, making her shiver with pleasure. Jayne latched onto one taut nipple, his warm, roughened tongue laving gently.

River cried out, holding his head with one hand while gripping his shoulder tightly with the other. Through the pleasure he was giving her, she could vaguely feel his thick, bare cock pressed against her thigh, indicating that he had somehow removed his pants. River bucked her hips up against it, signalling to Jayne that she didn't want to wait any longer.

Jayne just groaned and chuckled against her small breast before moving to give the other one similar attentions. He wanted her badly too, but he could wait for the sake of driving River either into a helpless puddle or frustrated enough to throw him off her and climb on top. He still wasn't sure which action would be a more likely outcome, but either would please him immensely.

As Jayne moved his mouth from River's left breast to her right, his weight shifted, making his heavy length slip from her thigh to her wet entrance. The shaft settled itself between her folds, the head rubbing with every breath against her sensitive clit. River tried to adjust herself so that the head slipped down enough for her to bury him inside, but Jayne had put most of his weight on her. All she could do at the moment was let him tease her.

Jayne finally acquiesced a little and slid his hand down to bury two fingers inside her core. River shouted and climaxed almost immediately from the kaleidoscope of pleasure. Each facet of sensation seemed broken and disjointed, causing them to piece back together in a mosaic orgasm. Each sense that came to her attention made her peak even higher, one after another until she became limp under Jayne's ministrations.

Helpless puddle it is then. Jayne smirked and slid up her body further, removing his soaked fingers to grasp his cock and positioning it carefully before driving himself inside River to the hilt. Her muscles were still spasming painfully tight, making Jayne groan with pleasure. He took only a moment's pause to enjoy it before beginning a slow, rough rhythm.

River moaned happily, allowing the pleasure Jayne was giving her to wash away all her fears. She wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting him thrust for thrust. The feel of him inside her was intense, and she never wanted it to end.

"I'm right here, River." Jayne groaned a bit as she tightened even more around him. "Ain't gonna leave ya." Jayne quickened his pace, feeling that she was just as close as he was to release.

River gasped as Jayne sped up, quickly falling into the new rhythm as her orgasm built within her. When she finally burst, stars exploded behind her eyes, her whole body going taut with pleasure. Jayne followed her moments after, his climax matching hers in intensity.

*****

"The ship should be landing on Santo within three days."

"The subject will be guarded."

A black and white capture lay on the table. The dark haired girl looked frightened. She was begging the man she was speaking to to see her brother.

"The brother won't be hard to take down. We shouldn't have much more trouble with the mercenary."

"We must take him from the subject."

"We will." A set of blue hands lay folded on the office table, and a menacing smile showed in the dim light. "After all. What use is a weapon who can fall in love with her prey?"

*****

River ate very little at breakfast, so Jayne made her a small protein shake with cocoa powder to go along with the five bites of fake scrambled eggs she ate. She drank down as much as she could before pushing it away, her body shaking.

Simon and Jayne carefully led her to the infirmary when she was done eating, thankfully getting her to the sink before she vomited from fear.

"Ren ci de Fo zu, mei mei. I haven't seen you like this in months." He carefully brought River to the infirmary chair and helped her get up as Jayne watched to make sure she was alright. She felt the fear rolling off her in waves.

Simon took a deep breath and began the various tests, trying to avoid using needles whenever possible. He knew River had been stuck everywhere with needles during her capture, and when she was having days like this, he knew she'd fight him tooth and nail. He only had to use one this time to take a blood sample.

River just closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the various sensations that came with memories. The beeping of the heart monitor, the feel of alcohol swabbing her arm, followed by the sting of a needle, gloved hands. A flash of sky blue burst behind her eyelids, making her open her eyes sharply, trying to reassure herself she was not there.

Jayne went to her immediately, holding her hand. "They ain't here, girl. It's just me n' your brother, dong ma?"

River nodded fearfully and leaned into Jayne, wishing Simon would just remove the needle from her arm already. He had barely finished filling the first vial and was now loading the second and final one. River just closed her eyes again and buried her face in Jayne's strong chest, vaguely feeling the comfort of him squeezing her hand a bit.

When Simon finally finished, River winced as the needle slid out of her skin, immediately clasping her arm to her body, forbidding anymore needles.

"No more shots. They find me through the metal. Blue under the skin... Veins and gloves." River looked around sharply at her surroundings, confirming that she was in Simon's infirmary on Serenity.

"I don't understand this. It's like she's reverted her progress one hundred percent to where she was last year." Simon shook his head in frustration, fear and disappointment. She'd been fine for over 2 months now. Hell, she'd been almost fine right before Miranda. Now suddenly he was afraid of her slicing into Jayne's chest or shooting people at random again.

"Still there, Simon. Buried. They bring it up, sick, like bile, until they can find me." River looked up at the infirmary doorway, her eyes almost wild. "Hi, Kaylee."

Simon turned around quickly, relief washing over him, knowing that Kaylee was nearby.

"Hey, baobei. I shouldn't be too much longer."

Kaylee smiled weakly. "How's she doin' honey?" She tried to hide her worry.

"Just have to do a couple bloodtests to be sure."

"I'm sorry, Kaylee. Don't mean to. I don't need his attention so much. He just worries. He's such a boob." River tried to smile at Kaylee, feeling insanely guilty.

"Oh, River, sweetie, it's not your fault honey. I know Simon wants to take real good care of ya. I'm just worried about him now is all."

River looked at Simon again. "Go tend to Kaylee. Bloodtests can wait."

"River, I --"

"Don't be a boob. Go have sex with Kaylee."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Go lay down, alright, Mei mei?"

"Jayne, we gotta go have sex. Doctor's orders." River giggled and ran off toward their bunk, with Jayne in hot pursuit.

"That is not what I said River!" Simon sighed and hung his head in defeat.

Kaylee giggled and wrapped her arm around him. "C'mon, sweetie. At least she's feelin' better."

*****

Inara sat in River's pilot seat, with Mal next to her. Both had worried looks on their faces. Neither of them had seen River act this badly in several months.

"Don't rightly know what's been wrong with 'Tross. She seems powerful upset about somethin'. And what worries me more is that when she's afraid of somethin', it usually happens."

Inara looked longingly over to Mal, wanting to touch him with comfort. "She is usually accurate in her predictions. This time though, we have no idea what she's afraid of."

Mal nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that fact right frightens me too." Mal checked their flight coordinates, making sure they were on course. "We should be hittin' Santo in about two days. Thankfully when that hundan Operative hit Santo, them that we do business with were off-world."

"Hopefully, if this job runs smoothly, River will be a little more at ease." Inara tried to smile, hoping that Mal couldn't tell that she didn't believe a word she said.

*****

Serenity touched ground outside the main town on Santo. During those two days before they hit atmo, River had been feeling a bit better, but was still having trouble sleeping. Simon had finished all the bloodtests and found nothing abnormal, which only slightly put his fears to rest.

Currently the crew was in the cargo bay, loading up the mule once again. Mal was unloading the hidden compartment for the new cargo they would be bringing in, while Zoe was loading up the rear hatch of the mule with ammunition.

Kaylee was laying under the mule, checking the engine to make sure it was working properly. "Cap'n, before ya go, I gotta fix this leak the engine's got."

"Alright, lil Kaylee, you take care of that as quick as ya can, I don't wanna be late."

"Sure thing, Cap'n. Lemmie go get a smaller wrench and a new fuel cap from the engine room." Kaylee wiped the grime from her hands as best she could on her already greasy coveralls before running down to the engine room.

On Kaylee's way through the ship, she could faintly make out Jayne saying something obstinate from the crew bunks.

*****

"You're wrong this time, Girl. You know me. Everyone else gets hurt, I come back pissed cause I gotta carry Mal's injured body back to the ship."

"Jayne, no! Don't go. Won't be here when you finally get back. Broken." River was on the verge of tears now, having gone past the stage of intense frustration at Jayne being so gorram stubborn.

"What in the ruttin' hell I keep tellin' ya about not bein' all creepifyin'?"

"Liu kou shui de biao zi he hou zi de ben er zi, you don't get it! I can't be more plain. I don't know everything, I just know something bad's going to happen to you if you get off this gorram ship!"

Jayne had to admit he was more than a little pleased at having gotten River to curse more lately. The small amount of pride faded as he felt River's emotions tumult through her mind and body, making her shake.

"Look, River, I swear I'll be alright. If I'm not, just remember, you'll know as soon as somethin' happens, n' you can come rescue me. And I swear I won't be embarrassed that I had to have my girl come save me, dong ma?"

River sighed, tears falling down her eyes. She nodded gently, letting Jayne walk away. It didn't matter how sure Jayne was, they were going to get him. And there was nothing River would be able to do until it was too late.

*****

Mal, Jayne, and Zoe had been riding in the mule for damn near an hour, trying to find the spot they were told to meet their contact. Zoe, who's normally fairly good with directions, was even confused, the map screen next to the driver's seat not even showing their destination within a fifteen mile radius.

"I don't understand, Sir. Li Chen designated a spot nearby, according to his directions, but I'm fair certain he didn't mean somewhere this far from the main road." Zoe shook her head. "Somethin' ain't right."

Mal nodded his head, a concerned look on his face as he surveyed their surroundings. The mule was right next to a bog, surrounded by wild vegetation, with not even a stone path nearby.

"I do believe you're right there, Zoe. Somethin' sure the hell ain't right, and you can bet Li Chen's gonna hear some yellin' when we get back to the ship."

Jayne opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly felt two sharp pinpricks in his neck. He groaned, eyes wide and felt at the left side of his neck, yanking out the large tranquilizer darts.

"Hey Mal..." Jayne never got to finish his sentence before slumping completely forward, eyes rolling back in his head. The darts slipped from his fingers and clanked around the floor of the mule.

*****

"Mmm. That was real nice, Simon." Kaylee grinned and flopped down on top of Simon's sweat dampened chest, his cock still buried deep inside her.

"Wode tian... better than nice, even." Simon smiled up at Kaylee, wrapping his arms around her.

"Simon!!!!"

Kaylee and Simon both jerked up, hearing River's scream. Kaylee got off Simon, letting him fly up from the bed, quickly shoving on a pair of sweatpants before running out to River.

He found her, curled up in the cargo bay, rocking back and forth.

"River. Mei mei, what is it, xin gan." He wrapped his arms around her, fear creeping up his body as her blank eyes stared past him.

"Two by two... Hands of blue..."

TBC

~*~*~*~*~*~

gou pi - bullshit

Ren ci de Fo zu - Merciful Buddha

hundan - bastard

Liu kou shui de biao zi he hou zi de ben er zi - stupid son of a drooling whore and a monkey.