Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me; they are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox.

Feedback is always welcome.

This one is a River and Jayne AU. It is based around the idea of what would River be like if she had never gone to the Academy, and what if she met Jayne under different circumstances.

Thanks to Cassie E., Kryptonite and tori_deathangel for the inspiration.

Thanks as always to Cassie and jebbypal for the shiny beta's.

Chinese translations:

Chunren: jerk

Dong Ma?: Do you understand?

Hundan: Bastard

Tchen wah: Slut

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…She heard the slight rasp of his callused hand against the thin, silk fabric of her coat as it came to rest at her waist. His other hand languidly trailed up her arm, sending shivers through her. The heat of him warmed her back as he leaned closer to place a soft kiss on her neck. Gentle fingers slid the silk off one shoulder so they could run across her bare skin. His tongue traced a slow pattern up towards her ear as the hand at her waist moved around to splay across her stomach…with a sigh she melted back into him…

River groaned as the alarm went off; she didn’t dare hit the snooze and sink back into her dream again. Still, she pulled the cover over her head and closed her eyes tightly for a moment, trying to burn the memory of the dream into her head.

It wasn’t until she sat up and turned the alarm off in frustration that it hit her just who it was she had been dreaming about. That crude, uncouth mercenary from last night. He’d never said just what it was he did, but the air of danger and the efficient way he’d dispatched her tormenters spoke volumes.

A slight shudder went through her at the memory, if he hadn’t come to her rescue she would have been in real danger. In spite of what she had told him last night she was well aware she would have been helpless against the whole group. And in a place like that it