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Ch. 32- In the Key of Love

A short time later there was no sign that there had been a struggle in the cargo hold. Jayne and Zoe had dragged the bodies into some nearby scrub. Simon had patched up Mal; fortunately it was a shallow flesh wound, and Inara helped bolster the Captain by fussing an appropriate amount. The doctor had determined that Wash would be fine. The pilot's sight was almost fully restored by this time, and Simon had reassured the Captain that Wash would probably be fine by takeoff time. Jayne's bite wounds in his calf from the metallic cats had rewarded him with a tetanus booster. He and Mal were currently competing in a male whine-a-thon as to whose treatment was more painful. The remaining crew were hanging about, waiting for Lt. Shaw to show up for the handoff.

River was standing near the doorway; she was trying to stay as far away from David as she could. The waves of fright and revulsion coming off of him were much higher than the previous time he saw her fight. She was gripping the doorframe trying not to cry. She started mumbling to herself as she was finding it hard to block him out.

"River?" Kaylee saw her tension and went over to her. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

River glanced quickly back at David, then away, out the door again. "Nothing, just a long day."

Jayne noticed her reaction to Kaylee's question. He strode over to her, took her by the arms, and gently turned her to face him.

"Princess, what is it? And don't lie to me." He looked into her eyes, knowing she wouldn't look him in the eye and lie.

She couldn't help it; her eyes traveled from Jayne's to David's. Jayne knew without looking away from her where she was looking.

"What did that l'il puke do now?" he growled.

All other conversation stopped. All eyes turned to River and Jayne, standing in the cargo hold doorway, his big hands gripping her arms while she looked pleadingly up at him.

"I can't help it," she whispered, tears leaking now down the side of her face. "It's what they made me…"

Jayne dropped her arms and whirled around. "She prolly just saved your life and all you can do is make her cry?! You ungrateful l'il…" he started to stomp over to him.

Simon stepped up between Jayne and David just as Jayne neared him. "Wait a minute here, what's going on?"

Jayne snarled. "Outta my way, Doc."

Simon balked. "You're at least twice his size. Don't you think the rest of us should know why you're about to beat on the passenger we swore to protect?"

"Yes, please, let's all hear it." Lt. Shaw stepped into the bay. "Permission to board, Captain?"

"Yeah, and yeah, Jayne, I think I'd like to hear why you're trying to beat on this kid, on my boat, too," Mal added.

"Fine!" Jayne whirled around, glaring at Shaw and Mal before turning back to Simon. "This 'ere kid has had his l'il pi gu saved twice by yer sister, yet he doesn't thank her, 'stead he thinks she's a crazy freak!" Simon looked startled. "Yeah, that's right, he's standin' there right now, thinkin' loud so's she can't block it, that she's a killer, a maniac, an animal, and that he should be scared 'a her and stay away from her. That bein' friends wit' her ain't safe. That what he thinks, Simon, that your darlin' baby mei-mei ain't normal."

Jayne had lowered his voice as he finished his statement, using the one word that Simon himself had historically used when his life was first turned upside-down. He looked toward River, shocked, seeing her tears and hurt face. Not answering Jayne, he spun around toward David, fist raised.

Years from that moment, Jayne would still have a special place in his heart for the story of the Doc's right hook. David's head snapped back as his feet left the floor and he flew the four feet behind him to smack into the wall. As he slid down, hands on his head, moaning, Simon stalked over to him.

David looked up in abject fear at the doctor towering over him. Simon growled, another feat Jayne would, to the doctor's horror, take great glee in regaling in the future.

"My sister is not normal. Or ordinary. She's special. Too special for anyone who doesn't appreciate her." He turned to Jayne.

"River once told me that you understood her. Listened to her. Helped her. Accepted her exactly as she is. That you were the key to her happiness." He turned back to David.

"That is worth far more than some smart guy." He stomped off to the infirmary, presumably to get some ice for his quickly swelling knuckles. Kaylee ran off after him.

Lt. Shaw cleared his throat. "Well, Captain, now that that cute little bit of drama is over, maybe we can talk shop?"

Mal, grinning ear to ear over his doctor's backbone, gestured to Jayne. "Got the goods, Rabbit-man? Or would you prefer 'Snake-bait'?"

Jayne grimaced. "Will ya'll please stop calling me animal names?" He handed the cryptography key to the Captain, who gestured for Shaw to walk with him outside.

When they reached the end of the ramp, Mal looked forlornly at the small black box and sighed. "This here 'key to ev'rything' has caused a peck 'a trouble for me and my crew," he stated looking Lt. Shaw straight in the eye. "I hope you're planning on using this thing wisely." He placed the box in the lieutenant's outstretched palm.

"There's still a lot of planning that needs to be done. This can help speed up that timeline, help get access to information that otherwise would have taken years and possibly lives. Your assistance in this operation has been immeasurable, Captain Reynolds. I have to ask: have you given any thought to staying on here?"

Mal shook his head ruefully. "Not right now, Shaw, but I appreciate the invite. I'll keep it in mind, but right now I got some family to take care of." He shook the lieutenant's hand and started to turn away. He paused and turned back. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your code expert makes it off my ship intact. Well, still functioning, that is." And with a smile and a jaunty wave, Mal left the Independent leader behind, his mind now wandering to thoughts of what they could make for dinner; he was starved, he'd had a long day after all.

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Back inside Serenity's hold, Inara was dabbing the blood off the corner of David's mouth and helping him to his feet. She was mad at him as well for making River cry; but she also understood that seeing her in action the first couple of times had been hair-raising for them as well. She mainly just wanted to get David departed from the ship before anyone else decided to take a pot shot at him. He was a little electronics geek after all, not a trained fighter. Or a trained mercenary. Or, apparently, a trained doctor fighter.

She placed an arm around his shoulders and was hustling him toward the door when Mal came back inside.

"Oh, good, Inara, we need to get him outside before someone else decides to…"

"Yes, Mal, I think I have the idea."

"Okay, good. David, interesting to have you aboard. Take care." Mal shook his hand and walked off in the direction of the mess. David shook his head and let Inara continue to lead him to the door. A few feet away they were interrupted again. By Jayne.

"Now, Jayne," Inara started to protest.

"It's alright, 'Nara. Not gonna hit 'im. Too easy, anyway, the Doc did a bang-up job of it anyhow." He turned to David. "But I do think ya should 'pologize to River 'fore ya leave. Personally, I got no use fer ya, but she thought ya two were friends. I know the Cap's l'il job got ya peeved 'n all, but that ya can hash out wit' him if ya got a mind to."

David looked to River standing off to the side, sighed, and walked over. Her eyes were red and she looked unhappy.

"I'm sorry Simon hit you," she said.

David was startled; he hadn't expected an apology from her. "I'm sorry I made you feel bad, I didn't mean to."

She smiled suddenly, and David realized that he would remember that more than anything else about her. Her smile grew as the thought passed through his head, and he knew they were parting on okay terms.

"I know I surprised you," she replied, "and your reaction was not unprecedented. If you or Lt. Shaw require assistance in the future, you may wave me." She leaned forward, placed her hands on his forearms, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"I have to go now, the Captain is in the kitchen and I believe he will be burning something soon if I am not there to save the day." She grinned and skipped off.

David stared after her, surprised at her easy forgiveness. Jayne growled lowly.

"While I think her offer was sincere, there'll be no need to be callin' in the near future," he murmured dangerously. David swallowed and nodded mutely.

"Yes, sir." He turned to Inara. "Thank you ma'am, I'll be going now." And with that final farewell, David 'Cosmo' Janek left Serenity.

&&&&&&&

Dinner was lively, and, well, a little bit of a mishmash of incongruous elements. Since they had all been involved in the job there had been a bit of chore sliding, but with the comfort of the black surrounding them once again, no one minded eating off paper plates and following bitefuls of rice and potstickers with chipped soy beef and slices of eggplant.

For the most part they chatted about things that involved settling back into their routines. Inara teased Mal about wanting to redecorate his bunk. Kaylee rattled off her dream list of replacement parts while Simon listened intently, not understanding. Wash and Zoe had retired early, Wash mumbling something about needing 'special' doctoring.

Jayne and River, surprisingly, were eating quietly, with opposite hands as she was leaning against him and he had his arm wrapped around her. They finished and River fake-cleared her throat noisily.

"Simon?"

"Yes, mei-mei?"

"I'm moving into Jayne's bunk."

"Okay. Let me know if you need any help moving your things."

River smiled brilliantly up at Jayne, who was looking pole-axed. "Um, Doc, ya don't have no objections?"

Simon looked up at him and smiled. "Uh, okay. You even think about hurting her, and remember that I have sharp scalpels and many drugs, and I know how to use them?"

It was Jayne's turn to smile brilliantly down at River. "That sounds good, Doc."

THE END

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Epilogue

More than a decade after a young River Tam reset her parent's house controls during a dinner party, she sat alone at Serenity's mess table, perched once again over a small board with numerous configurations of metal attached to it. She was twisting a wire into place when a groggy Jayne came stumbling through the doorway.

"Babe, what're ya doin' up at this hour?"

"Just working on a little project, my Jayne."

"Almost done? I can't sleep wi'out ya," he whined.

She finished sticking the wire into its place on the board and stood. "Okay, back to bed," she said. She wound her arms around him and tilted her head up. He gently, sleepily, touched his lips to hers, and quickly woke up as she pressed harder.

His eyes opened wider and he slung an arm under her knees and scooped her up. "Okay, yer done doin' whatever it is yer doin', cause now we need to be doin' a whole lotta somethin' else." She giggled as he hurried them back to their bunk.

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Some time later, somewhere near the corner of 'no' and 'where' in the black, a channel-flipper stopped clicking long enough to listen to a news update on the Cortex.

"And in other financial news, it seems the top two Alliance political parties are having some accounting problems. Both the United Allied Party of the Privileged, UAPoP, and the United Allied Party of Entitled Entities, UAPEE, appear to be broke, while the New Greenpeace and the Mentally Assailed charities appear to be posting record earnings, mostly from anonymous contributors."

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A heartfelt thank you to everyone who read, especially everyone who read and reviewed my little story. This was fun- turned into a blast by you, Reader. :))