Serenity was due to land back on Persephone in five hours and River was anxious. She had arranged a secret meeting with Jayne for later on during the day. She shivered slightly, remembering the way she had kissed and touched her on her birthday. She recovered a bit and spoke into the com.

"We should hit atmo in five hours, Captain."

"That's good lil Albatross, breakfast is in ten minutes, so get in here."

River smiled and made sure everything would be alright while she was eating before getting out of her seat and running gracefully to the galley. She grinned as she saw Kaylee and her brother enter the room on time.

"Woke up early this morning. Finished in time to eat with the crew." Simon rolled his eyes while Kaylee giggled. They sat down beside River and started serving themselves.

Mal noticed Jayne putting a particularly large portion of food on his plate. "Jayne, there any reason why you're eating more than the rest of us get?" Jayne glanced quickly at River before responding, sending a chill down her spine.

"Gotta bulk up on energy. Got a lot o' hard work ahead of me today."

"Jayne, you're not hittin' planet side when we land. In fact, I recall you specifically requesting to stay on ship. So, I'm not certain as to what kind of work you're to be doin'."

Kaylee grinned before Jayne could answer. "Oh, Cap'n, Jayne's prolly gonna be workin' all kinds of furious alone in his bunk."

The entire crew laughed heartily, except Jayne who just smirked, and River who was looking at him with a secret smile on her face.

"Good job, lil Kaylee. 'Bout time someone was as crude to Jayne as he is to us." Mal raised his chopsticks in a salute to Kaylee before finishing what was left on his plate.

Jayne just sneered for a moment before shoveling the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and retreating to his bunk.

*****

River waited until she saw Kaylee and Simon close the door to the shower room. Then, as silently as she could, she slipped into the infirm