This story is a continuation of another fic entitled “In The Way”. It can probably be read on it’s own but I would suggest starting with the first to prevent potential confusion. Thank-you loverly people for all the sweet smelling feedback! Y’all must be the shinest readers a fic writer was ever blessed with in this craphill ‘verse. Jaylee forever!

All hail Joss! He rules and I don't. Nor do I make any money, it's purely for entertainment, etc. etc.

Chapter 1-

As soon as they landed on Whitefall, Jayne disappeared for several hours to reappear suddenly, carrying two pale apples. On his return to the ship, he nodded politely to Shepard Book where he was sitting on the edge of the open cargo bay doors, enjoying the shade and as well as the fresh air as he studied the holy word.

The good book, despite common misconception, had never been specific about the actual nature of the fruit that hung on the tree of knowledge in that sweet garden humanity was forever barred from. Conventional wisdom, stretching all the way back to earth-that-was declared that the fall was caused by an apple- a woman, a snake, and an apple. A rather ordinary and wholesome fruit to be held responsible for so much trouble, Book had occasionally thought. It was after all a supremely useful food crop- hearty, versatile, productive. Not at all what you would picture as a harbinger of evil. Watching the little tableau unfolding before him however, Book was beginning to change his mind.

Jayne had moved his weight bench in front of the open cargo bay doors, where the breeze blew fresh air straight into the ship. He did a few light sets, working up a golden sheen of sweat and then with great ceremony he paused in his workout and bit into one of the apples. He ate it very slowly, savoring each bite in a way Book had never seen him eat anything. Usually Jayne seemed to prefer quantity to quality when it came to his eatin’. This time though, he ate so deliberately, with such slow care that the smell of apple seemed to flood the thin atmosphe