Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I just borrow them for fun.

Acknowledgements: A very, very, very special thanks to TZEGHA. She has been my muse throughout the story and her feedback has been priceless all along. Thank you for pushing me to do my best. You are a great beta.

“Stay” – PART III

The moment the ship started rocking Jayne broke into a cold sweat, Kaylee had noticed.

The ocean was hit by a powerful storm that evening, making most of the people on board retreat into their cabins early feeling seasick and Jayne was no exception. Not even the aquatic anti-gravity fields had been able to stop the boat from swaying with the storm. The mercenary had brought a bottle of water from his cabin, and as far as she knew, that had been his only intake since the small sandwich he ate at lunchtime. Not that he had been able to keep it down for long—not even a full box of Dramamine had done the trick this time.

The three of them were now at the honeymoon suite going over the details of the job. Mal had been very quiet and withdrawn—much more than usual, she observed. He had told them about his visit to the showroom earlier, but he had been brief and to the point. Almost cryptic, even by Mal’s standards. When she had asked him about the stone itself he had just shrugged and dismissed it as ‘just an old jade rock’.

The Captain was leaning over a ship’s map that had been projected over the coffee table, and seemed to be focusing his attention on the different scenarios of the heist. Even though he kept tracing his fingers over the route, his mind appeared to be elsewhere, his eyes sometimes unfocused for a while over a random spot on the map. Kaylee noticed how he blinked and frowned every time this happened, trying to bring his mind back on track. She wanted to wrap her arms around one of his and make him tell her what was wrong, just as he had done to her the day they boarded the ship, but she knew better. Mal didn’t work that way and the last thing she wanted to do right now was annoy him.

Her attention turned back to Jayne. He was chewing pill after pill without even bothering with a glass of water to down them easier. He was gripping the armrest tightly with his eyes closed and his head tilted back. Kaylee gave him fleeting glances from where she was sitting on the couch next to Mal.

“How long will it take you to tap into the boat’s network?” Mal asked, getting her attention.

She focused on the small handheld device and began punching in code after code, trying not to let her concern regarding Jayne’s condition distract her from the task at hand.

“Don’t know yet” she replied, “I am trying to find the route to the showroom. Once I find the path, I can work the system remotely from here.”

She was frowning, her entire concentration now focused on the small computer.

“Wash’s much better than me at these things” she said with a pout.

“Yeah, well Wash wouldn’t have made such a pretty wife” Mal replied easily, “And I know you won’t let me down.”

She looked up at him with fear in her eyes and he returned the stare, silently telling her to believe in herself the way he did. She smiled faintly and continued her task.

“You said the rock just has an electromagnetic field around it” Kaylee recalled from what little Mal had told them about his showroom visit. “That‘s probably the only device independent from the ship’s main network. We can still bypass it by shortin’ the breakers to the exhibit room. Emergency power’ll only come on after several seconds. That should give you ‘nough time to…”

Jayne got up from the sofa abruptly and ran into the bathroom, barely making it in time.

Kaylee stopped talking the minute he leapt from the chair and looked over at Mal, concern written all over her face. Mal slouched forward inhaling deeply and clasped his hands in front of him, resting his elbows on his knees. They both heard Jayne flushing the toilet and turning on the tap.

“Gorramit!” the tall man’s voice came from the other room.

“Jayne?” Mal called rolling his eyes in resignation.

He was going to be one man short for this one, he knew it. While having Jayne was mainly a safety measure, the Captain found it reassuring to have somebody watching his back during the heist.

“I’m fine, Cap’n!” Jayne replied between clenched teeth. “Ruttin’ bottled water got a nasty aftertaste! Things just taste funny on this gorram boat!”

Kaylee went over to the mini bar to retrieve a soda can and walked inside the bathroom quietly. Jayne was sitting on the bathroom floor with his back against the wall and his eyes closed looking absolutely miserable. She crouched down next to him and placed the cold soda can on his forehead.

He opened his eyes in a flash, slightly alarmed, and saw Kaylee next to him. He took the soda can and grinned meekly at her, opening it and gulping down the bubbly drink hungrily.

“Better?” she asked.

“I need some air” he said standing up, using Kaylee and the sink for support.

Mal saw them coming out of the bathroom with a resigned expression on his face. He switched off the map and dismissed Jayne, who was looking so livid it actually shocked him. Kaylee walked the tall man to the door and, despite her persistent offer to accompany him downstairs, he insisted on being alone.

The Captain took his own soda can from the small table and leaned back against the couch going over the plan in his head. Things were getting complicated by the second—he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

And then there was Inara.

Don’t even go there, he told himself, feeling a new wave of anguish.

“Poor Jayne!” Kaylee said lying on the bed looking lazily at the ceiling “I’ve never seen him this sick.”

Mal did not respond, he kept thinking about the job. Tomorrow was the big night. They would reach Ibiza Island the following morning, where a shuttle would be waiting for them at dawn to make the trade and take them back to their rendezvous spot before taking off planet.

“Cap’n?” Kaylee went to sit next to him on the love seat “Are you feeling ok?”

“’Course I am” he said taking a sip from the Blue Sun soda can.

“You’ve been so quiet all evenin’.”

“I have a lot to think ‘bout.”

“The job, right?”

He nodded.

She knew there was something else bothering him, but decided to respect his privacy, whatever it was he would not share it with anybody. He never did.

“You look real tired” she said with concern. “It’s late, why don’t you come to bed? I promise not to steal the blanket this time” she joked, trying to liven up his mood.

He glanced at her touched by her gesture and placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing her upper arm gently.

“Don’t worry about me, mei-mei. I’ll be fine.”

She smiled sweetly at him and kissed him on the cheek before heading to bed. She went under the covers and switched off the lights.

Kaylee did not fall asleep immediately, instead she lay awake with her eyes closed when Mal went to take a shower and when he came out. She was awake when he lay down next to her and stared silently at the ceiling, and she was still awake when he took in a deep breath and exhaled it as he whispered to himself dispiritedly:

“She can stay.”

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

Blue skies and sunshine greeted them the following morning. Kaylee and Mal were having a buffet breakfast by one of the pools when Jayne joined them, sporting really dark bags under his eyes.

“You look like gos se” Mal pointed out with a smirk.

“And I ain’t feeling much better either” Jayne mumbled, flopping onto a chair. “Are you ready to practice some today, lil’ Kaylee?” he asked, sniffing at his mango juice thoroughly before taking a cautious sip.

Kaylee’s smile faded as she stuffed an enormous piece of bao into her mouth to avoid answering his question.

“Practice?” Mal questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“I took the young one to the shootin’ range yesterday” Jayne said while he examined the bottom of his glass suspiciously.

“I see” Mal nodded not entirely thrilled with the idea of Kaylee actually firing a gun.

He looked puzzled at Jayne, who kept stirring the orange liquid inside his glass energetically with a spoon, mesmerized by the whirlwind created inside it.

“What in the wode tìan are you doin’?” Mal asked him annoyed by the clinking of glass against metal.

“I got the feelin’ these people are puttin’ somethin’ in my food, Mal” Jayne answered secretively, leaning towards Mal.

Mal rolled his eyes with a smirk but said nothing. Taking a sip of coffee, he looked over at Kaylee who was quietly cutting into some fresh fruit, and tried to picture her firing a gun. The image disturbed him, but he guessed in a line of work such as theirs it could never hurt for her to know how to defend herself. All in all, he would have preferred his little Kaylee to stay clear of guns, and he frowned at the thought of her aiming and firing a weapon. In any case, he had too much on his mind to deal with at the moment.

“Get ready,” Jayne warned, “We’re leaving in five.”

Kaylee looked at Mal in dismay, hoping for his support.

“Someone needs to keep Jayne outta trouble, Kaylee” Mal told her with a mocking smirk.

“Fine” she grumbled with a frown, a prominent pout forming on her bottom lip. “But your aim best be better this time.”

Mal glanced over at Jayne questioningly. He needed to be in top shape to pull off the job, if his aim were to be compromised…

Jayne let out a dry chuckle, “I got no ruttin’ idea what she’s talkin’ ‘bout, Cap’n.”

With that statement, the mercenary stood up and dragged Kaylee away from the table in mid bite.

“Thought we was gonna keep that a secret!” he whispered to her once he was sure nobody could hear them.

The anguished look in Jayne’s eyes got an involuntary giggle from Kaylee.

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

The room was empty, so she entered it.

She had been working for The Majestic when it was still called The Independent seven years ago, and never had she been asked such a strange request. According to the instructions left for this particular cabin, she was to replenish the small fridge with one specific brand of water.

With a disgusted look on her face, she picked up a couple of dirty magazines from the floor grabbing them between her thumb and index finger as if they were contaminated with some evil virus. Carefully placing them on the night stand next to a gun holster, she proceeded to make the bed.

Once she finished cleaning the bathroom, she stepped outside to get the special request from the housekeeping trolley. With her arms full, she crouched down and began counting the bottles as she placed them inside, taking over the entire space of the small cooler.

“…six and seven” she counted satisfied.

Some people are so picky, she thought rolling her eyes.

From what she had heard from other staff members, he could not stand being served any other brand up on deck either. Quite snobbish for just a helping hand, the word was.

But it wasn’t her place to complain. If that’s what the guy wanted, that’s what The Majestic would provide. So, after making up the room she turned off the lights, closed the door behind her and pushed the housekeeping trolley down the hallway to the next cabin.

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

“You gotta shoot ‘fore you think” Jayne explained once he and Kaylee were inside the virtual range.

He began shooting at the targets that were rapidly popping on the screen, hitting most of them. The computer monitor kept flashing occasional warnings: ‘Non lethal injury’ and ‘Low ammo: reload’. The last virtual villain aimed and fired, and the lights came on at the same time as a loud buzzer rang inside the chamber. The computer began insistently flashing three words brightly on the screen: ‘You are dead!’

“Gorramit!” Jayne shouted infuriated. “The hell’s wrong?”

“Mayhaps you need to rest some” Kaylee offered shyly. “You don’t look so good. You’re probably tired.”

Jayne stared blankly at the screen. He remained quiet, perfectly still for quite a while, his expression one of utter disappointment.

Kaylee respected his silence and slowly began feeling sorry for him. Calmly she inched to where he was, taking the gun from his hand carefully, and swallowed the lump that was beginning to build inside her throat at the feel of the cold metal on her skin.

“L-like this?” she stuttered as she aimed the gun in front of her.

The frown on Jayne’s face disappeared the moment she had taken the gun from his grip. He was now looking at her with a mixture of awe and victory in his eyes.

Jayne hit the reset button and moved to stand behind her, holding her wrists to help her steady the heavy weapon, and placed his own finger over hers on the trigger.

“Keep’m shoulders square” he instructed, “Line up your knees with your hips.”

He placed his left hand lightly on her hip to make sure her stance was correct.

“Bend your elbows just a bit.”

She complied, but was still too tense to feel at ease.

“Don’t bend’em that much, girl, you ain’t shootin’ at the ceilin’!” he rasped with feigned annoyance. “Yeah, that’s it. Now breathe in through your nose… deeper. Shiny, now let it out through your mouth, slow.”

She did as she was told, pushing the air through her lips unrushed.

He pressed her finger over the trigger, squeezing firmly until the gun jumped in their hands, causing her to stumble backwards into his chest. Her heart was racing from the impact, and her hands were visibly shaking. Once again he wrapped his hands over hers while she held the gun, steadying them in the process.

“That wasn’t half bad,” he encouraged. “Let’s try that again.”

“Ok, but just one more time” she pleaded with a shaky voice.

They went through the motions once again, this time Kaylee was expecting the kick of the gun when they pulled the trigger and stood her ground while the bullet exited the chamber. She looked at the virtual screen, curiously wondering about her aim, and her lips curved into a smile.

“Hey! I blew off the tires in that mule!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Jayne raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval.

“You also blew that guy’s head off” he noted proudly, pointing at a man with a black hat hanging lifeless from a balcony.

Her grin quickly faded at the sight, the blood draining from her face slightly.

“I don’t wanna be here no more, Jayne” she mumbled anxiously.

Stepping out of the loop of his arms, she began walking towards the door hoping he would just follow her.

“The world ain’t all rosy the way you see it, lil’ one” Jayne said, turning to her. “One day the Cap’n won’t be there to shield you from what’s out there. What’ll you do then?”

Kaylee just looked at him, a mildly shocked expression reflected in her eyes.

“If somethin’ ever happens to the Cap’n…” she began, but could not bring herself to finish the sentence. “Nothin’s gonna happen to him” she finished quietly, desperate hope underlined in her tone.

The fear in her eyes told Jayne she had never really considered that possibility. He watched as she sighed heavily, turned around and exited the chamber booth.

Jayne took in a deep breath, picked up the guns, and followed her out of the firing range and into the hallway.

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

Mal was on his way back to the honeymoon suite. He had worked up a good sweat at the gym with the purpose of relieving some of the tension of the past hours. The exercise managed to relax him considerably, but he still kept thinking about the job as he swept the access card over the sensor.

Thirteen more hours, he thought closing the door behind him and flopping onto the loveseat.

He threw his head back, taking in a deep breath, and began thinking about Serenity.

I wonder what my crew’s up to right now, he thought longingly.

He lazily glanced at the bathroom from where he was sitting and decided a hot shower was in order. He was no longer sweating, but he wanted to get out of his sweats and into some clean clothes. Too tired to command his limbs to move, his mind began to drift.

The digital clock over the Cortex screen displayed a big, bright 11:51. It was early for lunch still.

Kaylee walked into their cabin, gun in hand and a broad smile on her face. “Hi Cap’n!”

“Did you kill Niska?” Mal’s voice was calm.

“No, but Jayne’s gonna poison him” she replied evenly.

Mal stood up and followed Kaylee when she exited the cabin. He could hear the splashing of the sea outside and the distant cry of seagulls as he walked behind her down the deserted hallway. They were both silent, Kaylee leading the way through the automatic doors to one of the outer decks.

Mal turned to look at the sea—it was now red.

“But the war’s over” he mumbled to himself.

Mal turned around to face Kaylee who was no longer there.

In the distance, at the end of the long deck, he saw Inara. She was holding the Tara stone in her arms, cradling it as if it were a baby. Her hair was blowing freely in the wind, so was the long dress she was wearing. She looked at him with a profound sadness in her eyes.

“I’m not her. The truth awaits.”

Her voice sounded distant and foreign. Mal could barely recognize it. He began walking towards her, but the deck seemed to stretch for miles and she kept standing farther away. Walking faster, her form pulled further away from him. Now he was running towards her, seeing her form disappear in the distance before his very eyes.

Defeated, he dropped on his knees and looked down.

A shadow cast over him and he raised his head to see Jason in front of him. His features were obscured as he sat on his wheelchair before Mal, blocking the suns. He appeared to be ten feet tall from where Mal was kneeling.

“She belongs to me” Jason mouthed inaudibly.

His face was stony and his eyes were empty and laconic.

Inara stepped out from behind Jason with a sword in her hand. She placed the tip of the sword over Mal’s chest—her earlier sadness replaced with sheer determination.

“It takes just one pound of pressure” she whispered.

With that, she leaned into the stab as the cold metal pierced fiercely through his flesh.

Mal woke up with a start, clutching his chest with one hand. His heart was pounding forcefully against his ribcage and his hair was damp with fresh sweat. He looked around the empty cabin, a deafening silence all around. He gulped, trying to get rid of the thick lump that had developed in his throat, and took in a shaky breath. Running a hand down his face he stood up and strolled into the bathroom to shower.

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

The Captain was nowhere to be found at lunch time, so Jayne and Kaylee decided to sit in an outdoor café where they served pizza. Kaylee’s eyes opened wide and her smile broadened when she saw the place offered a special dessert pizza topped with strawberries.

“How come your parents called you ‘Jayne’” she asked him casually biting into a slice of vegetarian pizza, her gloomy mood forgotten at the heavenly taste in her mouth. With a mischievous glint in her eyes she continued, “Ain’t that a girl’s name?”

“I’m the youngest of seven brothers and my mah’ always wanted a girl” he shrugged.

“I’m sure that got ya into trouble growin’ up” she chuckled.

“Had to beat up more’n a coupla kids ‘fore they learnt Jayne ain’t girlish” he replied with a smirk.

“Well, I think Jayne’s a shiny name, even for a boy” she complimented, smiling brightly at him.

Jayne blushed slightly, shyly turning his head so the girl wouldn’t notice the effect her words just had on him. It was the first time anybody had said something nice about his name—at least when talking about him. Something tugged at his heart. He looked at Kaylee sideways and, for the first time since he’d met her, he saw that special something within her that Mal was constantly trying to protect. He found himself grinning despite himself.

“What?” she asked, amused at his sideway glances.

“Nothin’” he replied defensively, shrugging innocently.

She kept looking at him with inquisitive eyes, pizza slice in hand. She licked her lips and pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand.

“Thank you” she said softly.

“For what?” he asked her, puzzled.

“For teachin’ me how to shoot’n stuff” she replied shyly.

“Hell, someone had to” he growled, feeling his cheeks warming.

He wasn’t entirely sure she should be thanking him for it.

They continued eating their lunch in silence, looking at the people strolling down the deck and enjoying the beautiful weather. Jayne was inspecting every slice he bit into with suspicious wonder. He was now looking inside his cup with a prominent frown, not daring to take a sip.

“You really think someone’s tryin’ to poison you?” Kaylee asked him taking a sip of her own drink.

“This water don’t taste right. I seen little specs of somethin’ floatin’ in my cup ‘fore” he explained absently rubbing his goatee.

“You was drinkin’ water today. You seem fine” she pointed. “Your stomach feel ok?”

“I… I ain’t sure” he replied, doubt crawling into his mind.

Jayne sat in silence rubbing his stomach occasionally with a grimace and no longer paying attention to Kaylee or the people passing by. Soon, he began breaking into a cold sweat and stood up from the chair clumsily, staggering backwards when he nearly lost his balance.

“You ok?” Kaylee asked clearly worried.

“I-I gotta go” he choked rushing off.

Kaylee watched him leave with a bewildered expression on her face. She was still looking at Jayne’s form disappearing in the crowd, when she heard somebody speaking her name at her side. She quickly turned her head and saw Inara standing beside her, looking down with a faint smile and sorrow in her eyes.

“Would you mind if I joined you?” she asked politely, placing one hand in the backrest of a chair.

Kaylee hesitated for a second, then nodded, “You can join me” she said softly.

“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it” Inara observed as she sat next to the girl.

“Yeah,” Kaylee mumbled, her eyes never leaving the slice of pizza in front of her.

An uncomfortable silence followed. They did not look at each other for a long while, choosing instead to concentrate on the happy passer bys. It was finally Inara who spoke first.

“I’m so sorry about the other night, sweetie” she apologized whole heartedly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Kaylee raised her head and met the companion’s pleading eyes while she let the apology sink in. Inara’s bitter words during dinner still stung every time the girl remembered the sour tone with which she had spoken them.

It was not ‘bout Serenity, she tried to convince herself. Wasn’t even ‘bout me.

“Did you mean to hurt the Cap’n?” Kaylee spoke those words almost inaudibly.

Inara didn’t reply—she couldn’t reply. They looked at each other silently, one distraught at the accuracy of the question, the other one uncomprehending the why behind it.

“Did you really hate Serenity that much?” Kaylee asked, looking at her with sad eyes.

“No” Inara replied firmly, holding her stare. “I loved Serenity, I still do.”

“Then why did you leave?” The girl’s eyes were bright with unshed tears now.

The companion ran her hand through Kaylee’s soft hair, caressing it in a tender gesture.

“It’s complicated” she whispered.

“It doesn’t have to be” Kaylee insisted, her eyes pleading.

They stared at each other, feeling their worlds drift apart slowly but inevitably.

“We still have the rest of the cruise to talk and do things together while Jason runs his business and Mal meets with his contact” Inara smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

“Contact?” Kaylee echoed with a frown, clearly puzzled by the statement.

Inara closed her eyes briefly in realization. There was no contact. They were here for another reason and Mal’s earlier interest in the exhibit hadn’t been feigned at all. God, how she had hoped her suspicions earlier had been unfounded. Inara had a feeling she knew exactly what they were after.

“’Nara?” Kaylee called wondering why she was so quiet.

Inara turned to her and saw the girl wiping her cheek, brushing away the single tear that had fallen. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to upset her further, so she smiled and began making some girl talk to take her mind off the short time they had left together.

“Did you get the vest for Simon?” Inara asked remembering how excited she had been with the items the souvenir stores downstairs had to offer.

They talked for a couple of hours—about The Majestic, the food, the stores and the entertainment—keeping the conversation casual and purposely leaving Mal out of it. They ordered the popularly acclaimed strawberry pizza and shared it, laughing as the whipped cream kept getting smudged all over their mouths and chins.

They worked hard at enjoying the last few moments they would share together.

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

After Inara left, Kaylee spent the rest of the afternoon mingling with people despite Mal’s warning not to attract too much attention. The truth was she hoped to see Inara again before sundown. Maybe she and Jason would stop by the swimming pool later on, she thought wistfully.

She finally sat at the pool bar and ordered a strawberry-mango drink that came with those pretty mini-umbrellas. She loved watching Arlo while he prepared the concoctions. She and the bartender had clicked right away and she could spend hours talking to him.

When the suns started setting above the horizon, she decided to head back to the cabin to get ready for the upcoming job.

“Hey Cap’n” Kaylee said walking into the room.

Mal looked up at her. Déjà vu.

“Is everything ready for tonight?” he asked, following her around the cabin with his eyes. “Where’ve you been?”

“Just ‘round” Kaylee replied after a brief hesitation.

Mal was sitting on the bed, already dressed for dinner and strapping a watch to his wrist. He wore dark clothes purposefully and his hair was unusually well combed.

He looks like a spy, Kaylee observed tickled by the thought.

“You look handsome” she complimented with a warm smile while she looked at him deliberately from top to bottom.

His lips curved upwards into a shade of a grin and he blushed slightly.

“Let’s go over the plan again” he said in an attempt to steer the conversation off his looks. “What’s our timeframe?”

“I estimated we’ll have a five minute window for ya to go in and out of the room” she answered kicking off her sandals. “Tappin’ into the exhibit’s security system is not all that hard. The tricky part is gonna be deactivatin’ the electromagnetic field ‘round the stone—the littlest disturbance will cause the alarm to go off. You’ll have only two seconds to snatch it before the field comes back up.”

“And if I don’t manage to get it within two seconds?” he inquired.

“The alarm will go off and you’ll be locked in the room until security gets there” she responded with a charismatic smirk and a nervous chuckle.

“OK” he sighed. “Let’s do this.”

There was something that she felt she should share with him—something that had nothing to do with the job. She sat on the bed next to him unable to hide the sadness clouding her features, silently pondering on whether to tell him now, or wait until after the cruise was over. Maybe she should wait until the job was done so the Captain could keep a clear mind.

“What’s wrong, mei-mei?” he asked softly, noticing her inner struggle.

“It’s… It’s nothin’” she said, looking up at him with a weak smile.

“That ain’t a nothin’ face you’re wearin’” he told her with a lopsided grin, placing his knuckle softly under her chin.

Nodding, she took in a deep breath—may as well tell him now. She leaned lightly against him, hugging his arm and pressing her cheek against his bicep. She could not look into his eyes when she told him.

“I was talkin’ to Arlo earlier” she began.

“Arlo?” he asked confused.

“The bartender at the Delhi pool.”

“Did ya have a good time?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Yeah,” she replied with a small voice.

There was no easy way to bring it up, so she decided to just come out and tell him.

“Captain, he said Jason had asked Inara to stay with him, you know—exclusively—and that she had said ‘yes’” Kaylee blurted out not daring to look at him.

Mal remained silent for some time. She wondered whether he had heard what she just told him, not really looking forward to repeating it.

She was about to ask him if he was ok when she heard him say with a controlled voice:

“What Inara does with her time is no longer any of our business, Kaylee.”

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

Jayne was prepping the guns, checking the ammo and strapping the comm. to his holster with shaky hands.

As soon as Mal had the rock, he was to give him a signal to take it to a safe location while the Captain made sure security was restored in the exhibit room and got rid of any potential evidence that might trace back to them.

His recent performance at the firing range with Kaylee had him grumbling low curses to no one in particular.

It’s this gorram boat, he kept telling himself.

A new wave of nausea had him stumbling into the bathroom on wobbly knees. Teeth clenched and breathing heavily through his nostrils, he tried hard to get his bearings back.

He stumbled towards the bed, the room spinning wildly before his eyes when he finally plunged to the floor with a thud.

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

Kaylee ran her fingers through the tiny wires trying to find out where the short circuit had occurred. She found that dealing with electronics was much harder than working on ships’ engines. She wished Wash could be here to help her.

With a sigh she ran her hands through her hair trying not to give into blind desperation. Mal was going to walk into that exhibit room in less than two hours and she would not let him down. Not this time.

She bit her lower lip and continued working on the task at hand.

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

“Jayne!” Mal’s voice cackled over the intercom. “Jayne! Where the hell are you?”

Jayne’s heavy frame lay several feet from the comm. still strapped to his holster on top of the bed. He could hear something in the distance, but his brain was unable to determine where the sound was coming from or what it meant.

His limbs felt lethargic, unable to move.

Finally, when he could not fight it any longer, Jayne allowed the darkness to finally envelope him, giving into its depths.

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

“Kaylee!” Mal’s exasperation came through loud and clear through the comm.

“Yes, Cap’n?” Kaylee answered holding the comm. with her left hand and a precision screw driver with her right one.

“Is Jayne there with you?” he asked.

“No. Mayhaps he went to grab som’n to eat. Don’t worry Cap’n, he’ll turn up” she replied easily.

“Find him!” he ordered firmly.

“Ok Cap. Soon as I fix the modular transmitter I’ll…”

“It’s broken?” Mal interrupted clearly disturbed.

“Oh, ain’t nothin’ more than a loose wire” she half lied trying to put him at ease. Her desperate attempt to reassure him added to the building anxiety inside her chest. “Don’t worry, Cap, everytin’ should be fine. No problems.”

“Fine. Tell Jayne to stay put when you find him and call me if there’s a problem” he sighed.

“Ten-four!” she chirped, trying to sound positive.

Kaylee bit her lower lip and placed the comm. calmly on the table. Looking at the device in front of her, she whispered:

“Ok, I can do this.”

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

As the time for the heist came closer, Mal stood against the railing of the Bali deck looking at the reflection the moon sparkling over the ocean. He was making time until most people retired to their cabins to begin his task at 02:00.

Kaylee had sounded jolly last time he talked to her—more so than usual, and that worried him. He knew her well enough to detect a certain anxiety underlying her tone. Not surprising given her role in the heist. Maybe he was putting too much pressure on her. She was just a child after all.

Apparently, one of the transmitters was ‘acting up’. Jayne was nowhere to be found. So, as always, things had to get complicated. Why couldn’t they ever go smooth?

A voice startled him from behind, “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

He turned around to see Inara walking towards him. Her movements were slow and deliberate, her expression masked under her companion’s front. He glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the open sea.

“You know, for someone who’s tryin’ to break away, you seem to be quite eager to follow me around” he replied sardonically.

“You make it so easy” she snapped back sarcastically, folding her arms when she reached his side.

Mal turned his head to study her face and she returned his stare defiantly. A distant roar of applause coming from the auditorium was the only thing that could be heard over the silence that reigned between them.

“What can I do for you, Nara?” he finally asked her.

His voice was low, void of feeling.

“I just…” she began. She closed her eyes, gathering strength and then blurted, “Please don’t go through with this.”

“With what?” he countered, looking innocently at her.

Her expression hardened and she took in a deep breath before confronting him.

“Whatever it is you have planned. Let it go this time” she insisted.

“I told you, I’m just here to meet…” he began defensively.

“I mean it, Mal” she cut him off raising her voice over his.

Mal’s eyes turned cold and his expression grim.

“That’s why you came here? So you could tell me how to conduct my business?”

She didn’t respond, just looked away into the ocean as it splashed angrily against the ship. The light breeze was making her dark hair sway, a few strands blowing rebelliously over her face.

Mal watched her, resisting the urge to run his fingers through those unruly locks.

“Where didja leave the most eligible bachelor anyhow?” he went on, “The batteries to his hover round ran out?”

She finally turned around and looked at him incredulous.

“You can be really cold sometimes Malcolm Reynolds” she retorted frigidly.

He glanced at her with narrowed eyes.

“Well, how ‘bout you tell me the real reason why you left Serenity, then I might consider tellin’ you the real reason why I’m here” he offered, his voice deep.

“Not now, Mal” she retorted with a hint of aggravation in her voice and unwilling to play games.

“Not now? Inara, once the cruise’s over most likely we’ll never see each other again. I was ready to accept that the day you left but now…”

“Nothing has changed!” she let out, her tone more peeved than she had intended.

“Is that what you think?” Mal retorted with a twinge of surprise in his voice.

He waited, searching her face for a trace of self-doubt or hesitancy, and victoriously detected something that resembled vulnerability, maybe fear, in her expression. He decided to push further.

“I was selfish, the other night” Mal continued looking into her eyes, “I took a chance, and I kissed you. Just to follow my… instincts, or… to get it outta my system… hell I don’t even know the exact reason right now.”

He paused, his chest heaving as he inhaled, and took a step closer to her. “But what I do know, is that you kissed me back” he finished in a low tone. “You did, Nara, and that changes everything.”

Inara was caught in a whirlwind of emotions, frozen in place, unable to move.

She looked at him not daring to speak. She could still feel his lips moving over hers every time she closed her eyes.

Damn him, why did he have to be here? Why was he bringing this up now? Why was he looking at her in such a way?

He took a step closer toward her, searching her eyes, his hair lightly tousled by the soft breeze. His expression softened and he delicately brought her chin up forcing her to look up at him. Their faces were mere inches apart.

“Tell me” he whispered.

“Mal…” she began, closing her eyes and turning her back on him to face the ocean.

She needed to get out of there. The conversation was being pulled into a direction she could not bear to dwell into right now. Her heart was racing, and she was fighting with every ounce in her body to regain the composure that had abandoned her the moment Mal had brought up the kiss. She shivered slightly, remembering the sensual feeling of his lips against her own.

She heard Mal approaching her from behind, gently draping his jacket over her shoulders. He placed his hands on her upper arms and, when she flinched involuntarily, he immediately broke the contact.

His presence behind her was strong, his closeness evident by the heat of his body at her back. She tried to pull away, but Mal gently placed a tentative hand on her waist.

“Stay” he whispered.

It wasn’t an order, she realized, more like a plea. Letting out a quiet sigh, she relaxed despite his physical proximity, too tired to put up a fight. She felt his soft breath on her skin where the neck meets the shoulder and closed her eyes. His left hand came to rest on the railing in front of her, his right hand still lightly on her waist. They both silently looked into the serene darkness that had become the horizon.

It felt so peaceful…

She imagined herself going back, lured by the life she had tried so hard to give up. Drawn to the black—to him. Her reasons for leaving were easily dissolving into a mesh of excuses in the back of her mind.

“It could be as simple as this” he whispered softly in her ear, “No games, no demands.”

No demands, she pondered.

Like a school girl she began wondering what it would be like to just let go and not think of the consequences. What would happen if she just followed her heart for once? How could something so wrong make so much sense?

“Is it really this simple?” she asked barely audible.

“It could be” he breathed near her ear.

They stood in companionable silence for a moment, enjoying the fantasy of what could have been for a little while longer.

“There’s only one way I see this working” he continued in a low tone.

“What’s that?” she asked leaning her back slightly against him.

He let out a heavy sigh.

“I need to know the truth, Inara” he finally said evenly.

She turned around to face him, looking into his eyes and begging him silently not to push the subject further.

“No more games, that’s the deal” he said seriously as he held her stare.

Inara frowned, angry at how easily he had manipulated her into his scheme. She was a trained companion, for crying out loud, and she had not even seen him coming. Furious at him as well as herself she stepped away from him.

“What are you really doing here Mal?” she finally asked in a serious tone. “I can’t help but think that it has nothing to do with a new business contact and a lot to do with that exhibit in the showroom given your curiosity regarding the Tara stone.”

His jaw was set tightly, the moment lost.

He leaned back against the railing tucking his hands inside his pant pockets. Somberly, he watched a couple walking by hand in hand, lost in the magic spell set by the moonlight—Mal found them a convenient distraction while avoiding Inara’s intense stare.

“It’s never a good idea to mix business n’ pleasure” he finally said, clumsily evading her question.

Her stare turned harsh and this time it was she who took a step closer to him. Her stance was poised, and she stood as tall as she could as she spoke.

“If anything in that exhibit room turns out missing, I will report you to the authorities myself.”

She looked hard into his eyes letting him know the finality of her words. Squaring her shoulders, she slipped off his jacket, handed it back to him and walked away.

Mal closed his eyes and swallowed hard, gripping the jacket tightly with both fists. The fresh ocean breeze was suddenly raw and heavy in his lungs. He watched her disappear as she stepped through the double doors.

“That went well,” he sighed pushing himself off the railing.

A dark figure had been standing in the upper deck, observing them closely.

“You have no idea.”

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

Kaylee kept calling Jayne’s name over the intercom, but the only response she was getting was empty static.

“Jayne? Jayne it’s me, Kaylee. Can you hear me?”

Panic rose in her throat and she began feeling a cold sweat damping her forehead.

A minute ago she had been so proud of herself as she victoriously witnessed the circuits of the transmitter spring back to life. The device had made a blipping sound and all indicator lights had turned green, blinking and flashing alternatively.

Now she was almost in tears, holding the comm. with both hands and staring at it, wishing to hear Jayne’s response from the other side.

She had gone to his cabin earlier, but he had not answered the door. Assuming he had just gone out to grab something to eat, she had returned to the suite and became so wrapped up in fixing the transmitter, she had completely forgotten about Jayne.

If he did not answer within the next minute, she would have to call Mal to warn him that he would be operating without back up.

She was about to change the frequency to Mal’s comm. when she heard Jayne’s faint voice straining through the receiver.

“K-lee?”

“Yes! Jayne? I’m here!” she exclaimed excitedly. Then she asked confused, “Where’ve you been?”

Groan.

“G-rramit!”

The word came sluggish and it sounded as if he were forcing it out.

Then, all she heard was static.

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

Inara was on the way back to her suite, angry and lost in thought. She was strolling down the hallway when the door to the honeymoon suite opened brusquely and Kaylee stepped out in a rush, nearly bumping into her.

Inara placed her hands on the girl’s upper arms preventing the near impact. Kaylee’s wide eyes greeted her as soon as she saw the companion in front of her. Alarm and shock was written all over the girl’s face.

“Inara… hi!” she finally said fidgeting with the small handheld computer she was holding.

“Hello, sweetie” Inara said softly smiling at her, “What are you doing up?

Kaylee panicked briefly, she had not expected this scenario. Everything seemed to be going wrong tonight.

The pressure of their current situation suddenly felt too much to bear. With unshed tears clouding her eyes, she begged, “You gotta help me! You gotta help me find Jayne!”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Inara asked her, puzzled.

Almost immediately, realization hit her.

“Kaylee, tell me Mal didn’t…”

“If we don’t find Jayne, Mal’ll be without cover” Kaylee insisted desperately.

Inara regarded the girl, trying to think clearly and not allowing panic to cloud her own mind.

“Go to Jayne’s cabin.”

“I-I don’t have the key.”

“Can you override the code?”

Kaylee nodded with wide eyes. Inara’s cool demeanor was helping her focus and she knew what to do now.

“W-where’re you goin’?” Kaylee asked shakily.

“To get that yun-chun of a Captain out of trouble. Again” she deadpanned already walking away.

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

The flashlight projected a round light as it moved through the walls of the small show room, illuminating a variety of artifacts in its passing. Mal walked slowly, careful not to touch anything, his mind set on the jade stone inside the urn. He stood in front of it wondering why a piece of rock would be so valuable to wealthy people.

They have nothing else to yearn for, he thought eyeing the object.

He was about to send the signal to Kaylee to deactivate the electromagnetic field around the urn when the lights in the room came on suddenly, blinding him momentarily.

Before his eyes could even get used to the intense brightness, he heard an amused voice from the entrance.

“Well, well Mr. Evans… or should we just drop this charade and start calling you Captain Reynolds?”

Mal turned around to see Jason standing at the door with a gun in his hand and a cold smirk on his face. The Captain glared at him from head to toe with a serious expression on his face. If he was shocked, his face did not betray him.

“Well, look who found his sea legs” Mal retorted after a moment with a low voice.

Jason started laughing at his remark as if it were the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. Mal just regarded him with a bitter smile.

“It is amazing what two years of therapy and a lot of money can accomplish these days” he replied, his laughter subsiding. “Place your weapon on the floor slowly” he continued still smiling. “I’m so sorry about the big guy” he remarked with feigned sorrow. “Believe me when I tell you it took a big dose of ephedramine to dope him.”

Mal reached behind his back and un-tuck the small pistol he had concealed in the waistline of his pants. His movements were slow and deliberate and he placed the gun on the floor carefully as Jason had ordered.

“I reckon once you get over your amusement you’ll notify the authorities. Hell, I could save you the trouble’n…”

“Authorities?” Jason interrupted as if the word didn’t register with him, “I’m not going to call the authorities, Captain. I have another plan in store for you.”

His last words were spoken in a harsh whisper, his lips now set in a thin line. He motioned with the gun for Mal to move.

“’Fore we go anywhere, you mind tellin’ me what you plan on doin’?” Mal asked more annoyed than worried.

“Well, you see, for this plan to work I needed to catch you red handed, which I have” he said gingerly, “Now I can just kill you.”

He said all this conversationally in a tone that made it seem as though he was talking about something as trivial as the weather. Mal remained silent, his stare set on the other man’s face without moving a muscle.

“All this over a stone you don’t even like?”

It was a question, yet it sounded more like a statement.

“You really think this is about a jade rock?” he looked at Mal incredulously.

Jason walked into the room calmly with a slight limp marking every step he took.

“It all boils down to love, Captain. I needed you here to see it for myself. I was disappointed to the extreme when I found out my suspicions were true.”

He was silent for several seconds, lost in thought.

“Seeing you two on deck tonight was enough to know… enough to see that she will never be mine…” his voice trailed.

“Inara…” Mal nodded slowly, realization just dawning on him. “MJS, I s’pose?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“I never liked Melvin. Only sissies are named Melvin” he stated simply dismissing his first name.

“Can’t argue with that, Melvin Jason Silver” Mal stated calmly pronouncing his full name. “Tell me, you really think that killin’ me is really the way to Inara’s heart? She might not take your actions kindly, bein’ how you were her second choice’n all” Mal stated, purposely provoking Jason, not that he himself believed his own statement.

A wave of rage flashed through Jason’s features.

“Bì zuî!” he demanded. “I wanted to have the pleasure of pulling the trigger myself, but the official story aboard the ship will be how a petty thief was caught trying to steal the Tara stone and was killed by security while trying to escape the scene of the crime.”

Jason’s expression changed to sheer delight as he said: “I am sure Inara will need a shoulder to cry on after she hears the news.”

“You really are insane” Mal concluded slowly shaking his head.

“Start moving towards the door” Jason said getting back to business.

Mal just held his stare, not moving an inch. Jason let out an impatient breath and strolled towards Mal cautiously, weapon still trained on him.

“I said move!” he shouted at this point.

“Jason!”

Inara’s voice took them both by surprise.

She was standing at the door, looking at them with shocked disbelief. Her eyes traveled down to Jason’s legs and then back to his face. Her expression was one of painful betrayal. Of all the questions rushing through her mind, only one came to her lips:

“Why?”

“Inara…” Jason’s voice broke.

Mal took this opportunity to try and snatch the gun from his grasp, but the sudden movement made Jason take a step back and point the gun firmly at him once more. Inara rushed forward to stand between Mal and the gun.

“Jason, don’t do this” she pleaded.

Her voice was strong despite the overwhelming lack of control and fear she felt at the moment.

“Inara, stay out of this” Mal warned her, stepping beside her.

“I should have known you would take his side” he said after a beat. “That was all you could talk about while you were away. All your waves were dripping admiration and desire for that life, telling me without words how much you wanted to belong to that ship. A ship full of wúnéug de rén”

“I came back” she whispered.

“No you didn’t” he replied shaking his head. “You’re still out there, in ‘the black’. Just waiting… hoping…” he swallowed hard and his eyes filled with tears.

Mal could see the weapon trembling in his hand. Very slowly, he put his hand on Inara’s back, prompting her to move out of the way.

“I wanted you to love me! Why couldn’t you love me? Why…?”

Jason couldn’t hold back the tears of rage that were rolling down his cheeks. The desolate fury inside of him was making his whole body shake with desperation. He was out of control. Mal recognized the silent torment of a madman, and realized at that point that he had to get Inara away from the guy before he did anything stupid.

“Jason…” she began.

The barrel of the gun was several inches from her chest, Jason’s aim was unwavering. Mal inched forward slowly, smoothly stepping closer to Inara while holding Jason’s intense stare.

Inara took a step forward and, at that point, the next couple of seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. The gun in Jason’s hand fired as Mal stepped around Inara to embrace her in one swift motion, his chest pressed firmly against hers.

The sound of gunfire in the small room, so close to her ears, still echoed as she felt her back slam against the wall, crushed by the weight of Mal’s body. The back of her head hit the hard wall and her eyes began to water from the impact. She felt one of Mal’s arms curled around her back, while the other hand gripped the fabric of her skirt at her hip, holding her up against the wall.

Her ears were ringing and her breathing was labored. She could feel Mal’s face buried between her neck and shoulder, his heartbeat pulsing in tandem with hers. Holding each other, all she could feel was intense pain. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt, her legs… There was a warm, slick substance drenching the side of her abdomen, its coppery smell filling her nostrils.

She ran her hands up Mal’s arms holding onto his shoulders for support. As she clung to his neck with one hand, he lifted his head to look at her. He was pinning her against the wall, his form leaning against her heavily.

But why was he pulling her down?

It was at that moment when she realized that he was not holding her up at all. It was the other way around. He was holding on to her for support.

And then the world came rushing back.

“Oh, God!” she cried.

Horrified, she saw Mal’s face drained of blood—his eyes were hazy, unable to focus. His jaw was clenched, but other than that his face did not register any pain.

“Mal?!”

She clutched at him desperately as his knees buckled, unable to hold him up. She could only crumple underneath his dead weight, sliding down the wall to their knees. She leaned him back, placing a hand behind his neck as she eased him gently onto the floor, her hands drenched with blood.

“Mal, stay with me! MAL!”

“That bullet was meant for you, Inara” Jason said pointing the gun directly at her while he glanced down at them with a stony expression on his face.

“H-he needs help” she uttered, knowing the futility of her plea.

Jason simply smiled.

Inara stared up at him, a mixture of fury and despair reflected in her eyes. Giving up any hope that Jason might feel a shred of compassion, her attention turned back to Mal.

Mal tried to say something but choked before he could utter a word, blood filling his mouth and staining his lips. Inara closed her eyes, completely unaware of the tears that were already running down her cheeks as she knelt beside him.

She could see he was struggling for air, coughing blood with every gasp. She had been pressing down on the wound, trying to no avail to stop the blood that kept gushing out of his chest.

“No!” she sobbed feeling him slip away.

She stroked his hair tenderly, the blood on her hand smearing his forehead and temple.

“Don’t lose yourself in the grieving process, bao-bei. You’ll join him soon enough.”

He was watching her kneeling form next to Mal’s body, his fury now replaced by a total lack of feeling. He raised his hand, his aim now on Inara’s head.

“D-drop the gun” a girl’s voice startled him making him turn on his heels.

Kaylee stood in the doorway, gun squarely pointed at Jason. She was shaking slightly, but had a firm hold on the weapon and she seemed to be ready to pull the trigger any second.

Jason studied her expression—she was determined to take action but terrified at the same time.

His lips curved into a frigid smile.

“Hello little one” Jason said sweetly, “Now, we both know you’re not going to pull that trigger, so why don’t you hand me the gun? Wouldn’t want you to get hurt…”

A shot rang through the air, hitting Jason square in the shoulder making him drop the gun instantly. He stumbled back a step, looking up incredulously at Kaylee, the gun shaking in her hands.

“What’ve I been tellin’ you about the ruttin’ targets?” Jayne stepped out of the shadows from behind Kaylee, gun still trained on Jason. “First shoot; then think.”

Jayne walked over to Jason, who backed up into the wall when he saw the mercenary approaching, then threw a punch using all of his body weight and knocking Jason into unconsciousness.

“Now that’s what I call a helpin’ hand.”

Kaylee stood frozen in place. Her eyes met Inara’s briefly and then moved over to Mal. Horrified at the site, her knees felt week and her mind began reeling.

“Cap’n?” she called weakly, too shocked to move. No!

With an unexpected whim of strength and determination, Kaylee rushed out of the room with a single purpose: she had to get help.

Jayne turned to where the Captain lay next to Inara. The companion was leaning over his limp body, holding his hand in one of hers, her other hand was softly rubbing his cheek.

“Nara?” Jayne called quietly kneeling beside them.

Inara ignored his presence. She was looking at Mal with a haunted expression in her eyes. Her face was white, even her lips were colorless, while dried tear streaks marked her features.

“Don’t you dare!” she cried. “Don’t… Not now, don’t… don’t leave me now.”

Her whole body was shaking, as sobs began racking through her and fresh tears began running down her cheeks. “We need…” she choked, “I never told you…”

Jayne looked at Mal’s form on the floor. He was no longer bleeding. His eyes traced to the Captain’s peaceful face and saw his eyes closed, head tilted towards Inara. The mercenary then lifted his gaze to Inara, and he saw the raw pain reflected in her features.

“Nara” Jayne whispered softly.

The respect in his voice and the solemnity on his face was unprecedented.

“You can’t die!” she screamed at Mal. “You… You’re not alone” she finished softly, closing her eyes.