Jayne tried to nap, but every sound from outside irked him and more so than usual. He wanted to catch a few hours sleep before his shift staying up with Kaylee began, but the ship was still wide awake. Kaylee had gone to the engine room after supper and he had planned to find her there late in the evening. Girl hardly slept more than a few hours a night, but it was always at the hardest hours to stay awake. Having Inara around helped a lot, though Jayne worried a little because Inara hardly slept either, and the tension between her and Mal was escalating. Jayne had half a mind to get them drunk on engine wine, maybe also dig up some recreational drugs, then lock them in a bunk with more than a few suggestions and let them work things out. Once that pair got over the first hump, it’d still be rocky, but at least there’d be one thing out of the way. He’d offer a three-way just to get them started, but he knew Mal would shoot him for even suggesting it. Still…

A soft thunk, thunk from the deck dripped into his room like water from a leaky faucet. Light-footed pacing, but in boots. Had to be Kaylee. Jayne groaned. No way she should be in the forward section this early in the night! Her routine changing might mean her getting better, but it also meant his shift starting earlier, and he wasn’t getting paid extra for this. Maybe he could just let her be. She was pacing. One of the others would find her and talk her back to work. Let Mal deal with it.

Jayne rolled over, pulling a blanket over his head and covering his ears, but he couldn’t escape the sound of Kaylee. Grumbling to no one in particular, he pulled on a t-shirt, climbed up the ladder, and poked his head into the hall. Kaylee paced down the hall, turned around, walked purposefully to the door of her bunk, touched the door, and froze. She repeated the dance again, her hand freezing on the door, her fingers tracing the seal.

“You wanna go in?” Jayne asked her. Kaylee yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin, then looked at Jayne with all the helplessness o