The Fortuitous Outcome of a Well Strategized Offense, Chapter 7
Title: The Fortuitous Outcome of a Well Strategized Offense
Format: Multi-chapter
Chapter: #7, 2,255 words
Author: raynesupreme
A/N: This goes out to goddessofbirth for tackling RL head on. Have a great summer! And if you just happened to work on Inlaws...well, never mind. No betas, not that I'm not willing to have a little beta fling on the side. (Hint, hint.)
River was pleased with the outcome of their mile-long walk to the farm. There was little-to-no conversation but Jayne’s colors were warm and soothing.
Colorful threads of family memories swirled through a peaceful, companionable green. She was delighted he was so comfortable and relaxed in her presence. Since that was rarely the case, she wondered if it had to do with them being off ship and out of doors.
As they approached the dilapidated farmhouse, whispers of unease tickled at her brain. Learning now to trust her instincts, she grabbed for Jayne’s hand and pulled him to a stop.
“Jayne, the wolf’s intentions are not honorable,” River whispered. “Gertrude may have to intervene.”
“Nonsense, girl. Ya’ got nothin’ to be frettin’ on.”
River was relieved as Jayne took a moment to inspect his surroundings a bit more carefully. She watched as his eyes darted about, searching and sensing for any sign of danger. He shook off her hand and took a step forward, apparently finding nothing of concern, but pushed her slightly behind him, symbolically shielding her from any potential danger. River smiled warmly from behind him at the gesture. She grabbed on to a bit of the back of his shirt for comfort and was surprised he let it stay.
“Told ya, Kincaid is an old friend of my Ma,” Jayne grumbled. “Don’t be causin’ no scene, dong ma?”
River simply nodded her head but found it wise to remain behind the merc as he pounded on the front door. Her fingers wound themselves further into his shirt as the door creaked open.
“Well, as I live and breathe, Jayne Cobb! See ya’ found the place all right.” River exhaled in relief at the sight of the weathered but gentle old man and his crooked smile. The man peered over Jayne’s shoulder and flashed a near-toothless grin. “Who’s that there? Your Ma never mentioned nothin’ ‘bout you havin’ no daughter?”
River tensed, knowing Jayne would not abide by such a commentary to his age or parental status. She was surprised, however, when a howl of laughter escaped his throat.
“Ain’t my daughter, Kincaid, but that’s right funny! Ma has been harpin’ on about grandbabies for years now, though she knows better than to expect none from me.”
Jayne turned toward River slightly and pushed her forward a bit. She stepped forward hesitantly and tilted her eyes up to Jayne, silently warning him to be cautious. The old man wasn’t the source of the whispers but the whispers were nearby. Jayne nodded simply and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, which was unexpected and entirely too delicious.
“This here is Rachel, our ship’s cook.”
River blinked surprisingly at his fabricated story but smiled up to him appreciatively. He was a such a good guard dog. Big and muscled and sleek and territorial, and smarter than people gave him credit for. She pet his arm softly to reward such good behavior. Poor lost doggie, she thought, as his muscle twitched under her touch.
River heard whispers suddenly turned to shouts and buried her face into Jayne’s side. Jayne to push her behind him again as the sound of footsteps approached from behind the old man.
“Well, nice to meet ya’, Miss Rachel,” the old man’s voice drawled. “The strappin’ young man here is my grandson, Bryce.” The man patted at the wolf’s back, who had appeared at his side. “Bryce, this is Jayne Cobb and Miss Rachel. His people are old friends of the family and are welcome to anything I got. Not ashamed ta’ say I owe his Ma more than a few favors over the years. Ain’t nothin’ a few eggs and milk can repay but they’re welcome to ‘em just the same.”
“Sure, sure, pop,” Bryce grinned. “It’s not everyday we get pretty lil’ thing like her ‘round these parts. I’d be happy to show Miss Rachel around while you two catch up.”
River felt rather than heard the growl vibrating through Jayne’s rib cage. “Right kind of ya’ there, Bryce, but Rachel here has got a ship full of hungry crew waiting on us. We’ll just take ta’ gatherin’ up a few things and we’ll be on our way.”
“Don’t worry, Cobb,” Bryce teased. “Your girl will be perfectly safe with me.”
“She ain’t my girl,” Jayne corrected, a little too quickly for River’s tastes.
She frowned as the wolf in a cowboy hat snarled a lecherous grin. “Not yer girl, huh? Even better. Why dontcha sit with Pop ‘fer a bit, Cobb? He’s been looking forward to your visit all week. I’ll just lead this little philly around, let her stretch them fine looking legs a bit.”
Jayne glared and River thought for a brief moment that Gertrude might make an not-so unexpected appearance. The old man patted Jayne gently on his shoulder. “Come on, Cobb, let me getcha a cup a coffee. Miss Rachel, don’t feel shy ‘bout askin’ for somethin’ that’ll be of use ta’ ya’. Bryce here will fix ya’ right up.”
River could feel Jayne’s hesitance. She also felt the wolf’s breath at her ear. Perhaps her guard dog just needed to be reminded of what he was protecting. The wolf was no match for her if he did bear his teeth so, while she was not entirely comfortable to be alone with the predator, she knew she was in no real danger. However, he may prove useful after all.
River made some mental adjustments and a new strategy was in place. She smiled brightly at each of the men in turn. “It’s fine, Jayne,” she chimed. “Have a nice visit. I would very much like to see the farm.”
She turned deliberately to the wolf-slash-cowboy. “Mr. Kincaid, I neglected to bring a basket or a satchel to carry food items in. Do you think we would find something suitable in the barn?”
With a tug at her elbow, River let herself be led away by the wolf. “I’m sure we can find all sort of interesting stuff in that there barn. And, please, call me Bryce.”
“Bryce,” she confirmed. She threw her oversized puppy a coy smile over her shoulder. “Bryce, you say? Such a strong, masculine name,” she cooed.
________________________________________________________________________
Jayne squirmed in his seat, tryin’ to focus on the old man’s stories of his Ma and Pa from years past. Truth was he couldn’t sit still thinkin’ on what that hun dan was doing with the girl. It was suppose ta’ be him showing her around, teachin’ her ‘bout farming and such. Plus, the girl herself mentioned somethin’ about a wolf but she had just walk off with the stranger pleased as punch. What the hell! His plan had gone to shit and, worse, the girl was off with another guy and his belly was startin’ to grumble with hunger.
He was just ‘bout to make so sorry-ass excuse and take his leave when he heard the girl scream. He launched himself out the door and was just roundin’ the corner to the barn when he caught sight of Bryce backhanding the girl across her face. Jayne had Gertrude out and aimed before the girl hit the ground. Jayne watched in horror as her limp body collapsed, the dust puffin’ up ‘round her crumpled form.
“Jayne, don’t, please!” The old man had come up behind him and was beggin’ for his grandson’s life.
“Git him outta here right now, Kincaid,” Jayne growled. “Either of ya’ make one move toward the girl, you won’t know how fast I can change my mind.”
Gertrude kept the men in her sights until the old man had dragged his grandson back to the house and slammed the door closed. Jayne quickly holstered his gun and dropped to his knees near the girl. He pulled her up so he could look her in the face. He slipped one arm behind her back while his other hand pushed the hair away from her face. She wasn’t making a sound but tears trickled down her cheeks, her bright eyes staring up at him pleadingly.
“Jayne.”
He brushed the back of his shaking hand across her reddened cheek. Fury boiled in his throat as he felt the heat of the bastard’s handprint under his skin but her breathy whimper of pain nearly broke his heart.
“You all right, girl?”
“Yes,” River whispered. “The wolf and Little Red Riding Hood are mortal enemies. She forgot this simple fact. She shouldn’t have gone with him into the woods.”
“Damn it, River,” Jayne swore, pulling the girl against him. “I thought ya’ could take care of yourself.” He petted her soft hair and felt her thin body melt against him.
“I can, but the wolf was dressed in grandmother’s clothing. I did not recognize him for what he was.”
A sudden and horrific thought shot through Jayne and he grabbed at her shoulders and pushed her back so he could see into her eyes, making sure she was tellin’ him the truth.
“Did he touch you,” he stammered, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. “I mean, he didn’t force ya’ to….”
“He tried to kiss me,” she interrupted, her eyes dropping to the ground. “He’s not the one I save my kisses for so I slapped him and then he slapped me back.”
Jayne pulled them both to their feet. He made sure she was steady on her feet before turning back toward the house. “That son of a bitch, I’m gonna kill him.”
Suddenly, he felt her arms snake around his waist and the press of her body against his back, the perfection of it stopping him dead in his tracks.
“Jayne, please. Let’s just go home.”
He spun in her arms to face her and glared down into her golden eyes. She looked so tiny and she was so gorram beautiful. The anger simply drained out of him. He gently touched her cheek again, noticing it was swelling now. She was looking at him the same way she had this morning, almost like she was begging for something with her eyes. Something inside him broke.
“Oh, little one, I can’t stand that he hurt you. I can’t stand that he tried to touch ya’.” He cradled her head in his hands and pulled her against him again. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have ever let you outta my sight.”
She make the most sexy sound he ever coming from a women and tilted her face to him, her lips mere inches from his own. “Jayne?”
“Hmmmm?” Those damn lips had him speechless, and now she was smiling up at him which only made things worse. His anger was gone but somethin’ else, somethin’ stronger had a hold on him. He tried thinkin’ on it a moment but all he could think was it felt damn right havin’ her in his arms like this.
She smiled up at him. “Did you just call me ‘little one’?”
“Suppose I did,” Jayne smiled. “But ya’ are, you know, little.”
“Yes, da gou, but it sounds so nice when you say it.”
He realized that they had just been standing there, huggin’ on each other and whisperin’ like lovers. He dropped his arms from where they seemed to be molded into her back and pulled her arms from around his waist. She looked so little standing there by herself, big eyes staring up at him, that he almost forgot she was probably the deadliest weapon in the ‘verse.
“You’re gonna have quite a shiner there and I figure I’ll catch hell for it, but we should head back so the Doc can take a look at it.”
“Observation alone will not heal the wound,” she purred. “Jayne, would you kiss it better?”
Jayne had fantasized about kissin’ on the crazy girl for months, but he never in a thousand years thought that she’d be the one to ask for it. He stared at her lips for what seemed forever and then somehow he was tasting them, licking his tongue against them, begging for entrance. His hands found themselves threaded through her hair and he hauled her up against him, where she belonged. Her warm hands found the back of neck and she moaned and her tongue pushed and pulled just as fiercely as his did, and the strength of her response shocked him back to reality.
He sighed heavily as he brought himself back to his full height. A hundred excuses for touchin’ her raced to his mind, preparing himself for the backlash of being so damn greedy.
Her hands squeezed slightly on the back of his neck, reminding him that she was still draped up against him. He dared to look back down, preparing himself for the consequence of his actions.
“The contusion feels much better, thank you Jayne, but my injury may require follow-up treatments once we return to ship,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Can I count on you to deliver such high-quality medical care again once we are entrenched in the belly of Serenity?”
Jayne laughed, figurin’ on what she said. “Are you askin’ for more kisses, little one?”
“Are you willing, da gou?”
“Hell, yes,” Jayne smirked, grabbing her chin in his fist. “But you have no idea what you’re playing at, do ya’?
“Oh, my dear sweet protective Jayne, don’t’ you know we’ve been playing for months?” She pressed a chaste yet smiling kiss against his lips. “We’ve been playing for so long, only now I'm winning."
Format: Multi-chapter
Chapter: #7, 2,255 words
Author: raynesupreme
A/N: This goes out to goddessofbirth for tackling RL head on. Have a great summer! And if you just happened to work on Inlaws...well, never mind. No betas, not that I'm not willing to have a little beta fling on the side. (Hint, hint.)
River was pleased with the outcome of their mile-long walk to the farm. There was little-to-no conversation but Jayne’s colors were warm and soothing.
Colorful threads of family memories swirled through a peaceful, companionable green. She was delighted he was so comfortable and relaxed in her presence. Since that was rarely the case, she wondered if it had to do with them being off ship and out of doors.
As they approached the dilapidated farmhouse, whispers of unease tickled at her brain. Learning now to trust her instincts, she grabbed for Jayne’s hand and pulled him to a stop.
“Jayne, the wolf’s intentions are not honorable,” River whispered. “Gertrude may have to intervene.”
“Nonsense, girl. Ya’ got nothin’ to be frettin’ on.”
River was relieved as Jayne took a moment to inspect his surroundings a bit more carefully. She watched as his eyes darted about, searching and sensing for any sign of danger. He shook off her hand and took a step forward, apparently finding nothing of concern, but pushed her slightly behind him, symbolically shielding her from any potential danger. River smiled warmly from behind him at the gesture. She grabbed on to a bit of the back of his shirt for comfort and was surprised he let it stay.
“Told ya, Kincaid is an old friend of my Ma,” Jayne grumbled. “Don’t be causin’ no scene, dong ma?”
River simply nodded her head but found it wise to remain behind the merc as he pounded on the front door. Her fingers wound themselves further into his shirt as the door creaked open.
“Well, as I live and breathe, Jayne Cobb! See ya’ found the place all right.” River exhaled in relief at the sight of the weathered but gentle old man and his crooked smile. The man peered over Jayne’s shoulder and flashed a near-toothless grin. “Who’s that there? Your Ma never mentioned nothin’ ‘bout you havin’ no daughter?”
River tensed, knowing Jayne would not abide by such a commentary to his age or parental status. She was surprised, however, when a howl of laughter escaped his throat.
“Ain’t my daughter, Kincaid, but that’s right funny! Ma has been harpin’ on about grandbabies for years now, though she knows better than to expect none from me.”
Jayne turned toward River slightly and pushed her forward a bit. She stepped forward hesitantly and tilted her eyes up to Jayne, silently warning him to be cautious. The old man wasn’t the source of the whispers but the whispers were nearby. Jayne nodded simply and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, which was unexpected and entirely too delicious.
“This here is Rachel, our ship’s cook.”
River blinked surprisingly at his fabricated story but smiled up to him appreciatively. He was a such a good guard dog. Big and muscled and sleek and territorial, and smarter than people gave him credit for. She pet his arm softly to reward such good behavior. Poor lost doggie, she thought, as his muscle twitched under her touch.
River heard whispers suddenly turned to shouts and buried her face into Jayne’s side. Jayne to push her behind him again as the sound of footsteps approached from behind the old man.
“Well, nice to meet ya’, Miss Rachel,” the old man’s voice drawled. “The strappin’ young man here is my grandson, Bryce.” The man patted at the wolf’s back, who had appeared at his side. “Bryce, this is Jayne Cobb and Miss Rachel. His people are old friends of the family and are welcome to anything I got. Not ashamed ta’ say I owe his Ma more than a few favors over the years. Ain’t nothin’ a few eggs and milk can repay but they’re welcome to ‘em just the same.”
“Sure, sure, pop,” Bryce grinned. “It’s not everyday we get pretty lil’ thing like her ‘round these parts. I’d be happy to show Miss Rachel around while you two catch up.”
River felt rather than heard the growl vibrating through Jayne’s rib cage. “Right kind of ya’ there, Bryce, but Rachel here has got a ship full of hungry crew waiting on us. We’ll just take ta’ gatherin’ up a few things and we’ll be on our way.”
“Don’t worry, Cobb,” Bryce teased. “Your girl will be perfectly safe with me.”
“She ain’t my girl,” Jayne corrected, a little too quickly for River’s tastes.
She frowned as the wolf in a cowboy hat snarled a lecherous grin. “Not yer girl, huh? Even better. Why dontcha sit with Pop ‘fer a bit, Cobb? He’s been looking forward to your visit all week. I’ll just lead this little philly around, let her stretch them fine looking legs a bit.”
Jayne glared and River thought for a brief moment that Gertrude might make an not-so unexpected appearance. The old man patted Jayne gently on his shoulder. “Come on, Cobb, let me getcha a cup a coffee. Miss Rachel, don’t feel shy ‘bout askin’ for somethin’ that’ll be of use ta’ ya’. Bryce here will fix ya’ right up.”
River could feel Jayne’s hesitance. She also felt the wolf’s breath at her ear. Perhaps her guard dog just needed to be reminded of what he was protecting. The wolf was no match for her if he did bear his teeth so, while she was not entirely comfortable to be alone with the predator, she knew she was in no real danger. However, he may prove useful after all.
River made some mental adjustments and a new strategy was in place. She smiled brightly at each of the men in turn. “It’s fine, Jayne,” she chimed. “Have a nice visit. I would very much like to see the farm.”
She turned deliberately to the wolf-slash-cowboy. “Mr. Kincaid, I neglected to bring a basket or a satchel to carry food items in. Do you think we would find something suitable in the barn?”
With a tug at her elbow, River let herself be led away by the wolf. “I’m sure we can find all sort of interesting stuff in that there barn. And, please, call me Bryce.”
“Bryce,” she confirmed. She threw her oversized puppy a coy smile over her shoulder. “Bryce, you say? Such a strong, masculine name,” she cooed.
________________________________________________________________________
Jayne squirmed in his seat, tryin’ to focus on the old man’s stories of his Ma and Pa from years past. Truth was he couldn’t sit still thinkin’ on what that hun dan was doing with the girl. It was suppose ta’ be him showing her around, teachin’ her ‘bout farming and such. Plus, the girl herself mentioned somethin’ about a wolf but she had just walk off with the stranger pleased as punch. What the hell! His plan had gone to shit and, worse, the girl was off with another guy and his belly was startin’ to grumble with hunger.
He was just ‘bout to make so sorry-ass excuse and take his leave when he heard the girl scream. He launched himself out the door and was just roundin’ the corner to the barn when he caught sight of Bryce backhanding the girl across her face. Jayne had Gertrude out and aimed before the girl hit the ground. Jayne watched in horror as her limp body collapsed, the dust puffin’ up ‘round her crumpled form.
“Jayne, don’t, please!” The old man had come up behind him and was beggin’ for his grandson’s life.
“Git him outta here right now, Kincaid,” Jayne growled. “Either of ya’ make one move toward the girl, you won’t know how fast I can change my mind.”
Gertrude kept the men in her sights until the old man had dragged his grandson back to the house and slammed the door closed. Jayne quickly holstered his gun and dropped to his knees near the girl. He pulled her up so he could look her in the face. He slipped one arm behind her back while his other hand pushed the hair away from her face. She wasn’t making a sound but tears trickled down her cheeks, her bright eyes staring up at him pleadingly.
“Jayne.”
He brushed the back of his shaking hand across her reddened cheek. Fury boiled in his throat as he felt the heat of the bastard’s handprint under his skin but her breathy whimper of pain nearly broke his heart.
“You all right, girl?”
“Yes,” River whispered. “The wolf and Little Red Riding Hood are mortal enemies. She forgot this simple fact. She shouldn’t have gone with him into the woods.”
“Damn it, River,” Jayne swore, pulling the girl against him. “I thought ya’ could take care of yourself.” He petted her soft hair and felt her thin body melt against him.
“I can, but the wolf was dressed in grandmother’s clothing. I did not recognize him for what he was.”
A sudden and horrific thought shot through Jayne and he grabbed at her shoulders and pushed her back so he could see into her eyes, making sure she was tellin’ him the truth.
“Did he touch you,” he stammered, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. “I mean, he didn’t force ya’ to….”
“He tried to kiss me,” she interrupted, her eyes dropping to the ground. “He’s not the one I save my kisses for so I slapped him and then he slapped me back.”
Jayne pulled them both to their feet. He made sure she was steady on her feet before turning back toward the house. “That son of a bitch, I’m gonna kill him.”
Suddenly, he felt her arms snake around his waist and the press of her body against his back, the perfection of it stopping him dead in his tracks.
“Jayne, please. Let’s just go home.”
He spun in her arms to face her and glared down into her golden eyes. She looked so tiny and she was so gorram beautiful. The anger simply drained out of him. He gently touched her cheek again, noticing it was swelling now. She was looking at him the same way she had this morning, almost like she was begging for something with her eyes. Something inside him broke.
“Oh, little one, I can’t stand that he hurt you. I can’t stand that he tried to touch ya’.” He cradled her head in his hands and pulled her against him again. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have ever let you outta my sight.”
She make the most sexy sound he ever coming from a women and tilted her face to him, her lips mere inches from his own. “Jayne?”
“Hmmmm?” Those damn lips had him speechless, and now she was smiling up at him which only made things worse. His anger was gone but somethin’ else, somethin’ stronger had a hold on him. He tried thinkin’ on it a moment but all he could think was it felt damn right havin’ her in his arms like this.
She smiled up at him. “Did you just call me ‘little one’?”
“Suppose I did,” Jayne smiled. “But ya’ are, you know, little.”
“Yes, da gou, but it sounds so nice when you say it.”
He realized that they had just been standing there, huggin’ on each other and whisperin’ like lovers. He dropped his arms from where they seemed to be molded into her back and pulled her arms from around his waist. She looked so little standing there by herself, big eyes staring up at him, that he almost forgot she was probably the deadliest weapon in the ‘verse.
“You’re gonna have quite a shiner there and I figure I’ll catch hell for it, but we should head back so the Doc can take a look at it.”
“Observation alone will not heal the wound,” she purred. “Jayne, would you kiss it better?”
Jayne had fantasized about kissin’ on the crazy girl for months, but he never in a thousand years thought that she’d be the one to ask for it. He stared at her lips for what seemed forever and then somehow he was tasting them, licking his tongue against them, begging for entrance. His hands found themselves threaded through her hair and he hauled her up against him, where she belonged. Her warm hands found the back of neck and she moaned and her tongue pushed and pulled just as fiercely as his did, and the strength of her response shocked him back to reality.
He sighed heavily as he brought himself back to his full height. A hundred excuses for touchin’ her raced to his mind, preparing himself for the backlash of being so damn greedy.
Her hands squeezed slightly on the back of his neck, reminding him that she was still draped up against him. He dared to look back down, preparing himself for the consequence of his actions.
“The contusion feels much better, thank you Jayne, but my injury may require follow-up treatments once we return to ship,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Can I count on you to deliver such high-quality medical care again once we are entrenched in the belly of Serenity?”
Jayne laughed, figurin’ on what she said. “Are you askin’ for more kisses, little one?”
“Are you willing, da gou?”
“Hell, yes,” Jayne smirked, grabbing her chin in his fist. “But you have no idea what you’re playing at, do ya’?
“Oh, my dear sweet protective Jayne, don’t’ you know we’ve been playing for months?” She pressed a chaste yet smiling kiss against his lips. “We’ve been playing for so long, only now I'm winning."