Chapter Text
“My head!” Simon rolls onto his back, hands covered in dried blood clutching at his head.
He tries to focus, tries to remember why he’s down on the ground, brown dust covering his clothes. He attempts to sit up. Ordering his knees to bend but somehow his brain and legs are no longer on speaking terms.
“Wa’ ‘appened?” Jayne's voice seems muffled.
“We crashed…Got out just in t-time…,” Simon remembers.
His legs are working this time, he unfolds into an upright position and lurches forward, finally tumbling down next to Jayne. The merc’s arm is bruised, his lips swollen, his nose caked with dried blood.
Simon remembers holding a cloth against Jayne’s bleeding nose, blood covering his fingers. Remembers running back to the burning shuttle and getting his medbag, next thing he knows he’s waking up.
“Blew up! Gorram pile o’ shit!” Jayne curses but keeps still while Simon tends to his wounds.
“Think the distress signal got on its way?” Simon squints his eyes against the glare of the burning sun.
“Don’t know,” Jayne looks over at the smouldering heap of metal that’s left of the shuttle. “Wa’ I do know is that we’re needing to get out of da sun.”
Holding on to Simon they both manage to stand up.
“Where do we go?”
“I saw a town just ‘fore we crashed. Might be we can get some help there,” Jayne points in a direction that will take them away from the shuttle.
“But the signal…?”
“If’n it got out they won't have too much trouble finding us. Don’t matter though! We can’t stay out here. It’ll git to warm soon an’ we haven’t got no water.” Simon nods in agreement and they start walking.
-----------------------------------------
“So no distress signal or anything else,” Wash looks very worried.
“How long since we heard from them last?” Zoe asks.
“’Fore they left Thebs, after Simon was done doctoring our contact,” Mal pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Think Jayne…?” Wash says knowing he doesn’t have to finish the sentence.
“No,” Book answers quietly.
“Even if it troubles me to say so, I don’t think Jayne would sell out Simon. Not after how he saved Jayne’s life couple o’ months back,” Mal says.
------------------------------------------
Simon is confused. “There doesn’t seem to be anybody around? It looks as if everyone just left.”
Jayne points to some dark spots on the horizon. “Thinking it’s an old mining town. Mine dries out, people leave,” he explains scratching his nose.
“Don’t touch it. You’ll just start bleeding again,” Simon shakes his head and continues “So there are other towns?”
“Prop’ly not…only noticed this one. Small moon like this won’t…”
Simon interrupts “But surely there must be someone here…somewhere!”
“Naaaw,” Jayne shakes his head.
------------------------------------------
Kaylee cries.
Her eyes are red and puffy. Mal feels sorry for her but doesn’t know what to say and he’s too worried about River to take the time to find the right words. The girl seems to be oblivious to her brothers disappearance.
When Mal told her Simon and Jayne were missing she just looked at him, smiled and said the most baffling thing, “Spooky,” and then she giggled. The preacher was taking care of her now and that forced Mal to take care of Kaylee.
He’s hugging her and telling her that everything is going to be all right although he knows that he’s probably lying to her. The doctor and the mercenary have been missing for over a month now and Mal knows, and he suspects that the rest of the crew know it too, that the longer it takes them to find their missing crewmembers the slimmer the chances are of finding them alive.
-------------------------------------
They find a small house on the edge of the village. Jayne says it’s best if they stay there. Simon can see why. Tt’s close enough to the rest of town to not be noticed but it’s also a good vantage point.
Simon really doesn’t like to walk around the empty houses and Jayne starts to find it hilarious to jump out and scare the living daylights out of Simon every chance he gets.
“Aaww ya look like ya’re gonna…”
“Just shut up!” Simon pleads but knows that it’s just because the big merc is bored that he keeps teasing.
They’ve gone through every house these last two week or so. They’ve found plenty of canned foods and forgotten protein packs. Probably enough to last them a year, not that Simon intends to be here that long.
Jayne has caught a few rabbit-like animals. He keeps referring to them as big-ass-rats but there is no way Simon is eating them if they are calling them that, so Jayne starts calling them ugly-ass-rabbits, something Simon can live with.
They still haven’t gone through the biggest house in the village. They plan to do so today. They’ve stayed away because Jayne thinks there might be some security systems. It turns out there isn’t and the front door is not even locked. It’s hanging slightly crooked on it’s hinges and Simon pushes it open.
It squeaks.
“Spooky,” Jayne whispers, hot breath ghosting over Simon’s ear.
“Oh! Ha ha. So very funny,” Simon comments dryly.
“Ain’t it just!” the big man grins and pushes past Simon into the hallway.
“I’m gonna look for food n’ stuff.”
“Figures,” Simon answers.
“Wha’! Ya got something ‘gainst eating, Doc?”
Neither of them have said it yet, but they both know the distress signal never left the shuttle. Even though the captain is looking for them, and he is Simon keeps reassuring himself of that, there are a lot of planets and moons in this system and he’s not even sure they know which system to start looking in.
-------------------------------------------
“So you recon they must be somewhere around here?” Mal is pointing at the charts.
“They could be in either of the two systems,” Book nods.
“It’s gonna take an awful amount of time to find them,” Zoe frowns.
“If they’re still alive," Mal says. “What!…If they crashed then they could be dead,” He feels like he has to defend himself when the rest of the crew just stare at him.
“So,” Kaylee says, fighting to keep calm and not cry, “When do we start looking?”
“Now it seems,” Mal mumbles looking at River.
She still hasn’t reacted to Simon’s disappearance. Mal just hopes she won’t go full-flung-crazy on them cause they really don’t need that right now.
-------------------------------
Jayne and Simon share the only bed in the house. They could get an extra bed from one of the other houses but neither of them have commented on it. Anyway, there isn’t enough room for another bed in the small bedroom.
“Don’t think we aughta sleep in separate rooms until we’re gorram sure we’re alone here,” Jayne says holding Binky up so her blade catches the sunlight streaming through the window.
What Jayne will never tell Simon is that this place creeps him out just as much as it does the Doc.
Later Jayne wakes up. He sighs and turns over. The blue light from one of the other moons shines through the window making everything in the small bedroom seem ghostly.
Everything, except Simon. The young man is sleeping with only his boxers on, it’s just too gorram warm to wear anything else, and this means that his lightly muscled chest is coloured a silvery blue.
The sudden urge to reach out and run his hand over Simons skin takes hold of Jayne and it takes all his willpower not to do it. Simon shifts in his sleep moving closer to Jayne.
It’s a big bed but right now it just isn’t big enough. Simon is whispering something and Jayne moves closer, despite the voice in the back of his head that’s telling him it’s a really bad idea. His face is only inches away from Simon’s when he whispers again.
“River…Please don’t…we need to be safe…it’ll just make you sleep…mei mei…Please don’t do this to me,” Simon’s voice is worried and pleading.
--------------------------------------------
River dances to music only she can hear.
The instruments make shapes and colours move inside her. All ragged and sharp. Soft and curved. She twirls and twirls around her own core. In and out of sanity.
She could tell if she wanted. She nods to her self, still dancing, yes she could tell. But she will not. It is not time yet. Things need to converge and intertwine. Brain and brawn. Smarts and brute force.
She sees how it should be, how it could be, better in red. She sees how it would have been here on her Serenity all wrong and awkward. Unspoken need and pain. And she knows pain. Her ge ge doesn’t deserve pain.
So she could tell, yes, but she will not.
Not yet.
------------------------------------------
“Oh my God!” Simon yells. “Yes!” he is practically dancing around.
“Wha‘?” Jayne comes running in through the kitchen door of the big house. He has his gun ready just in case.
“SOAP!” Simon grins. “I found soap. Real honest-to-God-soap. You are familiar with soap, right?”
Jayne is looking at him as if he has finally and completely lost his mind. “You ain’t quite right in the head, Doc!” he says shaking his head laughing. “So what’re ya gonna do with soap anyways ? Still haven’t found ’nuff water so we can waste some on baths.”
“Oh” Simon says but still clutches the bar of soap as if it’s his ticket back on Serenity. He takes a few steps in the direction of the door but trips over a broken chair. Simon tries to stay on his feet but it’s too late. He has already lost his balance.
Jayne moves forward in an attempt to catch him and Simon ends up on his knees in front of the merc. Simon’s face is practically pressed against Jayne’s crotch.
”Hey wat’cha doing, Crotch Sniffer?” Jayne laughs.
”Oh God! Just SHUT UP!” Simon gets up. ”Gorram man ape! If you tell anybody, and I mean anybody, about this I will kill you!” he says cheeks blushing.
”Yeah yeah!” Jayne says as he turns around and leaves the room. ”Wha’ ever ya say. Crotch Sniffer!”
Simon puts a hand over his mouth to conceal the fact that he’s smiling.
----------------------------
Book is cleaning the Infirmary.
It’s odd how this room seems to belong to Simon. The preacher feels strangely guilty just being in here without the young doctors permission. He tries not to move too many things around.
Simon was…is, Book corrects himself, very meticulous about the order of things in here. He suspects it’s because this small room is the only thing Simon has any real control over.
Outside of the Infirmary chaos rules the young mans world and his grasp of things slip.
In here he calls the shots but on the other side of the door, he is helpless in a world he does not understand. Book closes the last cabinet and prays for Simon and Jayne.
-------------------------------------
Jayne and Simon are eating.
They’re quiet. It’s not like they’ve got anything to talk about. All day they’ve only seen each other and you can only have so many conversations about dust. So when Jayne starts talking Simon is a little startled. The merc talks about how he screwed up his first heist because he kept looking at the bank managers wife instead of the guard.
”Got shot that day. In the gorram arm. Good thing that guard was a piss poor shot.” Simon laughs. He can easily imagine a young Jayne ogling the bank managers wife.
Simon tells Jayne about a young guy who came to the emergency room blushing so badly his face was red as a tomato. Simon is already laughing making it hard to tell the story.
”Sorry,” he giggles. ”But the kid was so desperate that he’d tried to masturbate using a lead pipe,” Simon blushes and has to take a big breath in order to finish the story. Jayne is already bellowing with laughter.
”But…but he forgot that certain things grow…when…when,” Simon just can’t go on.
”He get stuck?” Jayne asks sniggering. Simon can only nod his head. ”Wha’ ya’r do? Cut it off?” Jayne looks a little uncomfortable now despite the fact that he’s still laughing. Simon shakes his head
”No! We got hold of some…” Simon hiccups ”…some magazines…all we could do was wait for things to take their natural course.”
------------------------------------------
They have to break off their search every now and again to do jobs. They still need to eat and refuel the ship. Mal is starting to think that the two missing crewmembers are dead but he knows it’s best to keep his mouth firmly shut on that particular subject.
Last time he mentioned the possibility Kaylee started crying and just wouldn’t stop.
-----------------------------
Simon is watching Jayne board up some of the windows. The house they live in is old and in need of repairs, a few of the windows are broken and it’s easier to board them up than replace them.
Jayne is sweating and Simon is following one particular drop of sweat that’s slowly running down between the merc’s shoulders. The muscles in Jayne’s back ripple under the strain of the work and Simon can’t help but look.
He finds that he’s been doing that far more often than he is comfortable with these last few weeks. Simon was never uncomfortable with his sexual preferences but he knows that others might be, especially out on the Rim, so he hasn’t told anyone on Serenity.
It’s not even like he has any experience with sex. That one time with the guy at MedAcad doesn’t count. Nothing really happened and later on Simon was far too involved in saving River.
But that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate the pure masculinity of Jayne. All rough edges and muscles.
--------------------------------
”I’m really sorry Kaylee! But we have to do this,” Mal is shaking his head sternly.
”But…but if we take Badger’s job then we’re going to stop looking,” Kaylee is grabbing the edge of the table, her knuckles white with the effort of not crying.
”Not stopping,” Mal says looking straight at Kaylee. ”Delaying…taking a break to refuel and restock. You know we’re low on almost everything.”
Mal considers Kaylee’s sad expression. ”We’ll come right back after an’ continue looking.”
”Might be too late then," Kaylee whispers and Inara hugs her tightly. Both women leave the table and Book turns in his seat to face the Captain.
”Have you considered that it might already be too late, Captain?”
Mal frowns then he sighs and says ”Ain’t leaving no man behind.”
---------------------------------------
“Ya starting to stink there, Doc!” Jayne says leaning over Simon to take another piece of roasted ugly-ass-rabbit.
“And you aren’t?” Simon looks pissed off. Jayne just smirks.
They’ve been stuck on the planet 3 month now. Simon still shaves methodically every morning using the supplies he found in the big house. He’s protecting the soap bar with his life. Jayne has been using a lot of time trying to find enough water for them to get a good wash and today he finally struck luck.
It’s in a manmade cave. Looks like the miners were trying to find valuable ore but ended up hitting an underground lake instead. He smiles, but makes sure Simon doesn’t see it, Doc’s gonna be mighty surprised tomorrow and better smelling too.
--------------------------------------
“Where are we going? Jayne?” Simon is trying to keep up with the big merc.
“Just shut up and move, Doc!”
“Alright I’m moving! Lots of moving going on behind your back right h…,” Simon stops dead in his tracks. Oh God he hadn’t just said that, but Jayne didn’t seem to notice so maybe he hadn’t heard.
Jayne has to bite his own tongue not to say something to embarrass the Doc and make him blush prettily. Cause what he has planed is just too good to ruin. They finally arrive at the entrance to the cave.
“After you.” Jayne says and bows slightly. Simon takes a step back he looks like he’s about to panic.
“Wha..” he begins asking but then Jayne just grabs him by the collar of his dirty shirt and throws him inside. Jayne starts laughing when he hears a splash and Simon's indignant scream.
“Fuck you Jayne! What do you…WATER! Oh my goodness! We can have a bath! More importantly YOU can have a bath!”
Jayne walks further into the cave and starts undressing. Simon turns around and is about to say something when he sees a completely naked Jayne jump into the lake. Where did he go? Surely he’ll need air soon.
“Looking fer me?” Jayne whispers in Simon’s ear making him yelp in surprise.
“Get away from me your naked!”
“Well not much point in getting all wet with ya’r clothes on!” Jayne says tugging at Simon’s shirt.
“What are you doing, Jayne?” Simon’s voice is very low now. Jayne wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t so close to the soaked Doc.
“Wha’ do ya think?” Jayne asks back.
“Seems like you’re pulling my clothes off,” Simon’s eyes are locked with Jayne’s.
“That so?” Jayne grins.
“Mmm hmmm,” Simon nods.
---------------------------------
Mal is sitting in the galley. Jayne and Simon have been gone for 3 months and if he’s honest with himself he doesn’t expect to see either of them ever again. He’s been thinking about stopping the search.
“Ya want this?” Mal looks up in surprise, he hadn’t noticed River entering the room.
“River what…,” he says as he stands up but he’s interrupted by her voice. It sounds strangely different but still oddly recognizable.
“Depends…” Mal will swear to his dying day that she sounds exactly like her brother. She even smiles like him. Shy, gentle.
River is standing right in front of him now. “On what?” the girl continues.
Oh my God is that Jayne’s teasing leer on Rivers face?
“On whether or not it’s because I’m the only one here!” Simon reaches out running his fingers along Jayne’s strong jaw. “Because if that’s it…” “then I don’t!”
River lets her thumb run over Mal’s lips. She removes her hand and shakes her head.
“Simon” River says “it ain’t like that.” Jayne caresses Simons collarbone letting his hands fall to the younger man’s hips. “I want ya! And not because we’re stuck at the ass-end of the Verse.”
River’s eyes grow wide with Simon’s surprise but her face changes immediately.
“If ya don’t want it…”, River’s voice is low and husky as she slips her arms around Mal’s waist, “ya gotta say so now!” River whispers leaning against Mal, “I don’t think I can stop once I get started “
Jayne is drowning in the scent of Simon. Mal tries to pull away but River isn’t done. She just looks up at him and laughs “Well if that’s the case…”, Simon grinds his hips against Jayne’s, Mal yelps thinking that this is getting out of hand, “then YES! Please! I want you Jayne!”
Mal needs her to stop.
“Just…” River whispers looking up at Mal through her lashes “be gentle”.
She stands on tiptoe so her mouth is closer to Mal’s ear. “Promise.” Her warm breath against his ear makes him shiver. He puts his hands on her shoulders and pushes her away. Gently.
“They’re alive aren’t they?” He doesn’t want to know what they’re doing just that they’re alive.
River laughs “Warm and dusty. Ghosts in town, but sated.” Her grin widens and she giggles as she runs to her room.
---------------------------------
Jayne’s hands are all over his body and Simon is just trying to keep up with him. But Jayne keeps his promise and he’s strangely gentle as he pulls Simon closer. They moved out of the water when Simon’s clothes just wouldn’t come off.
Now they’re laying on the brink of the lake. Jayne is sucking on the soft skin just behind Simon’s ear. He murmurs “Really want ya,” They are both panting now. “Can I?”
“Jayne..I..haven’t…,” Jayne abruptly stops his movements.
“Ya done this before?” Simon looks away
“Just let me go..” he wont look at Jayne when he begins to laugh, and he’s going to, Simon is sure of that.
“Simon” Jayne forces him to look. “Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of.” He kisses the younger man for the first time, putting all the reassuring words he can’t say into it. “Tell me if I do something ya don’t want” He strokes Simon’s chest slowly. “I said I’d be gentle an’ I will!”
Simon nods for, once at a loss for words. “Ya gotta say it, Simon. Ain’t gonna do nothing if ya don’t say it.” Simon lets out a long sigh and nods trying to rearrange his thoughts into sentence that make sense.
“I want this, Jayne. I want you. I want all of it.” Jayne smiles and kisses him again.
------------------------------------------
Their first time together will always make Simon smile with the memory of Jayne’s worried expression when Simon hissed and clenched his eyes shut.
Jayne asking if he’d hurt him and Simon’s own words of reassurance telling him that
“No! You will never hurt me” and the shock of realising those words to be true.
-----------------------------------
Jayne is on the bed, in the small house they’ve lived in for 5 months now. The morning sun is shining through the bedroom window making Simon’s hair look all shiny.
He’s naked, which is all kinds of nice. Jayne smiles as he reaches out to caress Simon’s ass. He just can’t get enough of touching him. It’s like an addiction, the need to touch.
“Ass Appreciator,” Simon mumbles into the mattress.
“Shut ya’r mouth! Crotch Sniffer!” Jayne sniggers playfully.
”I thought you liked it when I do that,” Simon turns around facing Jayne.
”Yeah...,” Jayne smiles warmly, ”and I thought ya liked it when I appreciate ya’r ass.” 'Simon just looks at him for a long moment then he starts laughing so hard he can’t breathe. ”Hey! What’s so funny?” Jayne says lightly punching Simon’s shoulder.
”What would…the…rest of the crew say if…they could h-hear us now?” Simon wheezes in between giggles.
-----------------------------------
River starts laughing so hard protein mush comes out of her nose. She just can’t stop.
”A-a-a-sssssssss” she giggles. The rest of the crew look at her with worried expressions. Book thinks about what sedatives he will need to calm her down.
”Did she just say ass?” Wash asks a stone-faced Zoe. Mal just puts a hand over his eyes.
He’s told the crew that River had sensed Jayne and Simon were alive and relatively well. He hadn’t said anything about what they had been doing when she saw them. And thank God for that!
He just wished that he didn’t know as well.
-------------------------------------
Jayne is sitting on the edge of the lake only his feet are submerged in the cool water. Simon is taking his daily bath. Jayne always goes with him, even if he isn’t in the mood for a soak, because more often than not they both end up naked anyway.
Simon is softly humming a song. Jayne has been thinking about him and Simon an awful lot lately. Most of those thoughts have been about Jayne ripping the younger mans clothes off and them just enjoying the hell out of each other.
But lately he’s been thinking about what would happen if they ever return to Serenity.
-----------------------------------
Simon is rummaging through some clothes in one of the abandoned houses. They could both really use some new clothes. Well, some used new clothes anyway. He is so preoccupied with finding something Jayne would fit into that he doesn’t hear the low growl behind him.
He isn’t alerted to the animal until he’s jumped. It’s a huge cat-like animal. All claws and teeth. Big teeth. And brown thick fur. Simon tries to get away but it’s fast and seems to anticipate Simon’s every move.
-------------------------------------
Jayne is coming home. He walks through town with the rabbits he’s caught slung over his back. He’s thinking about Simon when he hears him scream. Jayne throws down everything and runs toward the sound. At first he picks the wrong house. Running through empty rooms, hearing the screams but not finding Simon. Jayne starts panicking.
Simon isn’t in there.
He runs out again and slams the door to the next house open. Simon is yelling his name. He sounds as if he’s in pain. Jayne hurries up the stairs taking it three steps at a time. What he sees in the nearly empty room makes his heart stop.
Simon is on the floor unconscious, Jayne prays that he’s only unconscious, a big animal is tearing at Simon’s arm. Jayne doesn’t hesitate. He kills the beast with a shot through the neck.
------------------------------------
River is screaming her head off.
Mal tries to hold her down, but can’t help marvel at the small girl's strength. Book is trying to inject her with a sedative. Her arms are thrashing all over the place making it hard to hold her down so the preacher can do his job, but finally he succeeds.
Mal strokes her hair until she settles down.
“The girl didn’t anticipate. Unexpected,” her words are already slurred.
“Unexpected participant. All teeth and claws. Pain…,” she passes out resting her head against Mal‘s shoulder.
-------------------------------------------------
Jayne carries Simon back to the house. The Doc has a big gash on his left cheek and his arm is bleeding really bad. He stares right at Jayne but doesn’t speak. He just clutches Jayne’s shirt as if letting go would break him.
---------------------------------------------------
“Is she asleep?” Zoe looks at River. She is curled up under blankets, sleeping on the sofa.
“Yeah,” Mal is exhausted.
“You think she was picking something up…from her brother I mean,” Zoe leans against the wall.
“Hope not. She was talking about claws and teeth…and pain,” Mal runs a hand through his hair.
“We’ll find them,” Zoe says as if stating a fact.
“Leave no man behind?” Mal asks.
“Leave no man behind!” she answers.
-------------------------------------------
Simon turns in his sleep. The bed creaks. He’s mumbling something, Jayne can’t quite hear. He gets out of the chair he’s been sleeping in for three days.
Simon’s fever seems to come and go but for the last 12 hours or so it’s been worse than ever. He’s been hallucinating and babbling non-stop for a few hours and the blanket covering his shivering body is drenched with sweat.
Jayne gently pulls it of and covers him with a dry one. Jayne has kept the wounds clean and used the meds Simon told him to use but the gash on his cheek is still going to scar. Jayne has caught himself praying a couple of times.
“Please, please don’t die on me,” he whispers as he sits down on the edge of the bed.
“Please,” he traces his big hand over Simon’s heaving chest. How much more can Simon’s body take?
“Jayne,” it’s barely a whisper. “I-I’m cold,” Simon stammers.
Jayne crawls over him and pulls the smaller man against his broad chest. Holding him like this makes it obvious that Simon has lost too much weight these last 3 days. Simon mumbles something inaudible and turns his head to stare right at Jayne. His eyes look like they’re on fire and he lifts a shaking hand and touches Jayne’s lips.
“Love y...,” he says but then his body starts shaking, his eyes close as he surrenders to the fever yet again.
Jayne fights the tears that sting his eyes. He can’t afford to lose control now, not with Simon needing him like this. He takes a deep breath and starts talking while stroking Simon’s hair.
He talks about his Ma and her cooking, about how he teamed up with Mal, about how much he wants Simon to pull through and just before he falls asleep he tells Simon how much he loves him.
-------------------------------------
“It’s done!” River says sitting up in her bed.
“Time to come home,” she starts humming and singing. She dances out into the hall and feels the worried thoughts of the crew.
The Captain is almost ready to give up. Kaylee’s heart is slowly bleeding out. The preacher has prayed so much and found no relief and he begins to doubt the power of prayers. Zoe will follow the Captain. She always does. And Wash is starring into the black wondering if he’s staring right at Jayne and Simon without knowing it.
It’s time.
They are ready.
--------------------------------------
Simon is sitting on the porch eating a protein bar .Jayne will not let him out of his sight and that’s strangely comforting. But at least he lets him sit on the porch without babysitting him.
“Jayne,” Simon calls.
“Wha’?” the door opens and Jayne stomps out, Binky in his hand, eyes scanning the area.
“You fancy a bath?” they both know what baths lead to and Simon looks up at Jayne and smiles.
“You sure about that?” Jayne says sitting down next to him, resting his big warm hand on the small of Simon’s back. And if Simon wasn’t sure before he is now.
“Yes,” he nods.
“It’s just ya’r still a mite pale and I don’t wanna…”
“I’m sure Jayne,” Simon interrupts putting his hand on Jayne’s thigh.
“Don’t think ya should walk there though ya’r still weak,” Jayne says running a hand through Simon’s dark hair.
“Well we could just skip the bath, I guess,” Simon chuckles leaning into the caress.
“Yeah?” Jayne kisses Simon’s neck.
“Yeah!” Jayne laughs and picks Simon up and almost drags him towards the front door.
“So wha’ are ya waiting for?”
---------------------------------------
“She WHAT?” Mal just can’t believe his ears.
“She walked through that door,” Wash points to the door leading to the bridge as if performing a great play with lots of interesting dialog and daring swordfights “Punches in some numbers,” he spins around in the pilots chair and points dramatically to the navcom.
Mal is losing his temper “And?” he growls dangerously.
“And this!” the pilot says pushing some buttons bringing up a chart on the screen.
“Deannach? That’s where they are?” Mal asks. Wash nods.
”They are ready” River startles them all and Kaylee moves so the girl can enter the room.
”Who’s ready?” Kaylee looks confused. River gently strokes her hair. River never meant for Kaylee to be hurt but Simon never really wanted her and sometimes pain can’t be helped. She knows that better than anyone. Better than anyone should ever have to.
”They are waiting,” she simply declares turns around and goes to her brothers room.
----------------------------------------
Zoe and Mal enter the small house River described to them.
They are slowly moving up the stairs gun in hand just in case someone else is there. Mal looks in through the only door on the first floor landing. He’s stunned, it’s not that he could misunderstand what the girl had told him, it’s just...well he didn’t really believe it.
Not really.
“You ok?” Zoe whispers. Mal is just standing there mouth open and gun pointing toward his own feet. “Mal?” he doesn’t react. She walks over to stand next to him.
She’ll later describe it to Wash, again and again. It’s not so much that the two men are sharing a bed, it’s the way Jayne is hugging Simon against his chest, the way Simon rests his head on the merc’s shoulder, the way all the tension has left the young doctor’s body. But most of all it’s Jayne’s peaceful facial expression.
Mal and Zoe silently back away from the door and tiptoe out of the house. When they’re outside Mal takes a deep breath and yells “Jayne? Simon? You there?”
It takes a couple of minutes, but then the door bursts open and Jayne comes dashing out, Mal just has time to thank all the deities that the merc is dressed, before he picks Mal up and hugs him fiercely bellowing “Hell yeah!”
Simon is standing on the porch smiling. His shirt is buttoned all wrong and his skin isn’t as pale as it used to be but apart from that it’s the Simon Zoe remembers.
----------------------------------------
After they return to Serenity Simon gives Jayne and himself a check up. He’s relieved when the test results show that they’re both in good health, all things considered.
Kaylee is hovering outside the Infirmary watching Simon and Jayne. They seem mighty friendly but then again they have spend the last 8 months alone together. That was bound to get them more familiar with each other.
She’s about to leave when she notices Jayne reachs out and lets his thumb trace over the scar on Simon’s face. She half expects Simon to back away and scold the merc but instead he smiles and takes Jayne’s hand and holds it. He says something. Jayne nods and smiles. Then Simon leans forward and rests his head on Jayne’s shoulder.
Kaylee turns and walks back to the engine room tears stinging her eyes.
----------------------------------------
They’re all sitting in the galley eating. It’s strange, to sit at the table again and eat with the rest of the crew. Everybody’s talking. Simon, Jayne and River are the only ones not joining in the conversation and Kaylee keeps looking at them.
River is watching Jayne watching Simon. Her brother is sitting opposite Jayne and the merc’s grey-blue eyes follow Simon's every move. He's eating slowly, closing his eyes every time he puts another piece of food in his mouth. There isn’t a protein bar in sight only real food in celebration of their return. Simon smiles when he bites down on a strawberry.
Jayne remembers the first time he noticed that particular smile. It was their first time together and he had smiled just like that when Jayne had teasingly whispered
“Crotch Sniffer,” Rivers voice is loud and everybody stops talking. Jayne starts laughing then chokes on a piece of potato.
Simon blushes, looks at Jayne and then he’s laughing too, gets up and walks around the table. He starts slapping Jayne hard on the back. Then he bends down to whisper something in Jayne’s ear, his lips touching the ear briefly. Whatever he’s said it makes Jayne laugh so hard tears start rolling down his cheeks.
River smiles “Ass..,” she starts saying but her brother’s hand is over her mouth before she can finish. Now everybody is joining in, laughing even if they don’t understand why. Mal leans back in his chair and smiles.