On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight maids a milking

Kaylee sat with Jayne’s head on her shoulder while he shivered with the cold. She didn’t know which was worse, the shiverin’ from the cold or the burnin’ with fever.

Yesterday the zhu tou man had insisted on continuing their journey till nightfall. While she knew their lives were at stake Kaylee thought that Jayne should rest up more before continuin’. She’d lost that argument in a big way, Jayne hadn’t been caught by any of her tricks this time. He’d wanted to put as much space between them and the dead bad guys as he could. So he’d kept goin’ and goin’ till they were both exhausted.

Cause they wouldn’t have had to walk so far ‘cept they were avoidin’ the cameras. Kaylee hated the cameras. They tracked every move she and Jayne made and relayed it back to the people who were watchin’ their troubles.

Early on Jayne had got her to explain to him how the ta ma de-ing things worked and between them they’d figured out a way round them. The route they plotted took them much longer but they were safer. No-one could relay their position if no-one knew where they were. Their enemies would not know how injured he was and take advantage.

No-one was goin’ to take advantage of either of them if Kaylee could help it. She knew Jayne was really sick when he had handed her a gun and asked her to keep watch. Blue eyes hazy with fever, body wracked with shivers he’d been worried about her and the gun, she knew it.

“I’ll fire it if I have to” she promised him with determination.

And he lay down and went to sleep.

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

Mal looked around uncomfortably; they had had no trouble infiltrating the viewing room on this benighted moon.

Sir Warwick and Inara’s contacts had proved valuable. The booth they were sitting in was one of the best; it gave them a good view of the whole room, even though it was too open for his taste.

The opulent room left him cold; everything was too rich, too tasteful and it w