Part II

Kaylee stared at the doorway for a long minute before Inara appeared at her side. She put a comforting arm around the mechanic’s shoulders and began to lead her out of the room but Kaylee shook free of her arm and whirled on Jayne.

“Ya had ta do that, didn’t ya? Had ta cause problems? Why can’t ya just be happy for us and leave Simon alone?”

“I ain’t the one that lied, sweetheart.” Jayne started sharpening his knife, unconcerned with the teary tone in her voice.

“Why you gotta be mean to Simon all the time? He ain’t done nothin’ to you.” Kaylee turned around and hurried out of the room before any tears slipped down her cheeks.

Inara shot Jayne a scathing look that made him consider taking all of his toys and returning to his bunk to hide. Her gaze softened a bit as it landed on Mal, but she still shook her head and followed Kaylee out of the room.

“That prissy boy don’t belong here and everyone knows it.” Jayne finally said once Kaylee had gone.

“Doc’s got a place on this boat same as you, Jayne.” Mal finally said, trying to decide the best course of action now that the ship’s resident happy couple had had their first serious spat. “You’d be dead a few times over weren’t for him.”

Jayne stared at Mal and quickly shot back, “Yeah, I’d have a few less scars and bullet holes weren’t for him an his crazy sister bein’ on this boat too.”

“Leave Simon and Kaylee alone, Jayne. I mean it.” Mal shook his head and walked back toward the bridge muttering something beneath his breath about shipboard relationships.

Zoe glanced casually at the scraps of paper again, recognizing Jayne’s large, bold handwriting compared to Kaylee’s more delicate script, and then back at Jayne.

Jayne didn’t bother to look up but he could feel the smirk spreading across her face.

“No wonder you’re angry,” Zoe said as she left the room.

~*~

“Kaylee?” Inara stepped cautiously into the engine room, looking around for the ship’s resident mechanic. She could hear tinkering coming from the ba