Disclaimer: Firefly and its affiliates are property of Joss Whedon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 17th, Jayne's Bunk

Kirk Bennett had not been angry. In fact, upon seeing Jayne's body lying dead on the cold floor, he'd smiled warmly. "Justice, truly, has been served," he declared.

"Glad you're not upset," Mal said from his place beside Kirk. "I know you wanted to see to it yourself, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something."

"And that, Captain Reynolds, is why I like you so much. You're a man of honor."

"Thank you, sir." Mal paused, looking carefully at Jayne's eyes. They were closed, he guessed because Simon hadn't been able to take the endless staring. Jayne looked real peaceful, almost innocent in his lifelessness. At least the afterlife gave something back in exchange for taking everything. "So, what do you want done with his body?"

"You keep it," Kirk said passively. "What would I do with it? Send it back to his mama like you wanted. Even if he was lower than dirt, every mother should see her son put to rest."

"You're a good man, Mr. Bennett."

The exchanged parting nods, and Kirk took his guardsmen back into town, leaving Mal alone with his dead crewman. After adequate time, Mal climbed out of Jayne's bunk and ran like hellfire was on his tail. He checked his watch fretfully.

"Doc!" Mal yelled, bolting down to the guest quarters where Simon and River slept. "Doc! Kaylee! ZOE!"

Heads began popping out of doorways, curious and startled. Zoe was the first to reach Mal, because she jumped and darted past the rest of the crew. "Sir?" she asked, not even out of breath. Damn that woman is impressive.

"Simon!" Mal yelled, pounding on the doctor's door. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the door frame. "Simon!"

"What?" Simon snapped, sliding the door open.

"You gotta get your black bag and get to Jayne's room."

"Why?" Simon asked wryly. "You want me to do an autopsy? I know how he died, you stabbed him."

"Just grab it, we've only got eight minutes." Before the end of his sentence, Mal had turned and was off again.

"Eight minutes?" Zoe called after him, refusing to be ignored.

"Before he's dead!" Mal's voice echoed down the hall. "Get Kaylee and get to his bunk!"

Kaylee was already standing outside her own bunk. "What's going on, Cap'n?"

"You," he said, pointing at her, "come with me. Zoe! Simon!"

"What is going on?' Kaylee asked Zoe, who was right behind Mal and miles ahead of Simon.

"Dunno," she admitted. "Something about Jayne."

"What now?" Kaylee sniffed, climbing down into Jayne's bunk after Zoe. She'd been crying her little heart out.

"Where's Simon?" Mal demanded.

"I'm coming," the doctor said impatiently, though he sure was taking his sweet time. Mal looked again at his watch. The tiny hands pointed out how little time there was to be had, and ever second was cruel and mocking.

Before stepping down into Jayne's bunk, Simon paused at the doorframe and studied Mal carefully. "What's happened?" he said finally, catching on that something big was going on and although he was right in the middle of it, he had no idea what it could be.

The captain's initial reaction was to toss his medic down the ladder and hope enough bones were still intact that the doc could help with Jayne. Yet he knew that there was a time for being rash and a time for explanation, and the time for rashness had already come and gone. "You ever hear of Comatense X?"

"Vaguely," Simon admitted. "It's a deep sleep rendering serum that makes a person completely unconscious and without life signs for a short time. Almost makes them completely…" He stopped, his eyes getting wide and his skin pale. "…dead."

"That's the stuff."

"It's contraband found only in black market trade, and even then it's usually too illegal to be found." Simon's words spilled out of his mouth in a waterfall of panic. "Most serums are homemade replicas that, while getting the desired results, will most likely permanently kill the person it's used on, Mal, you didn't!"

"You already know I did," Mal retorted sharply, "so save the lecture and get to fixing."

"I don't know how to fix it!"

"Adrenaline," the captain informed him matter-of-factly. "Double what's recommended, right to the heart. But it's gotta be quick," he added, checking his watch. "We've only got six minutes and the closer to the deadline, the less likely you can revive."

"I don't have adrenaline shots on me, they're still in the infirmary."

"Then get them!" Mal yelled, so suddenly it startled Simon into running. "And move faster than you know how!" Muttering nervously, Mal dropped down into Jayne's bunk and started snapping at Zoe and Kaylee, who had huddled around the doorway. "All right, you heard me, you heard the doc, don't want no questions right now. Just help me get him on his bunk." Between the three of them, they had lifted Jayne onto his bed with plenty of time before Simon arrived. Rolling up his sleeves, the medic unwrapped a long syringe from its sterile packaging and carefully placed aimed it at Jayne's heart.

"You realize you've probably killed him," he said softly, his eyes still focused on the merc's chest.

"Guess we'll see," Mal said, though he had been thinking exactly the same thing.

With a strange steady hand, Simon plunged the needle into Jayne's heart, injecting pure adrenaline into his blood. Nothing happened. With only the paper of the sterile wrapping on the second needle to accompany his frantic thoughts, Simon took aim and plunged the second needle. Slowly, he poured more adrenaline into Jayne's heart. The body jerked, twice, as though the muscles alone had become reanimated. As soon as it had gone, the stillness of the corpse came again.

"Do another," Mal whispered tensely.

"Another would kill him," Simon said, knowing this was a lost battle.

"He's already dead," Mal reminded him.

Nobody moved. Nobody could move. Simon did not take out another needle, but watched Jayne steadily for any sign of life. Kaylee was huddled beside Zoe, who was watching Mal more than Jayne. There was something strange in his eyes she couldn't quite place. It was a look of longing she'd seen only once in this man, and that was the day Inara had left the ship.

River and the companion were watching what little they could see from the upper deck, their hands folded in one another's anxiously. While neither of them had particularly like Jayne, the sight and presence of death was all too humbling.

Something inside Mal snapped. He understood, and blinding realization pushed his body into action. "Air!" he cried triumphantly, shoving Simon away. With a hand on Jayne's forehead and one on his chin, Mal wrenched his jaw open, placed his lips on Jayne's and pushed out the hardest breath he could muster. Instantly, Jayne's chest lurched forward, and a horrible wheeze escaped his lips. Now with his lungs working, the adrenaline could push his heart into full gear, rushing blood back into the veins and arteries, giving life to every limb. With one great shudder, Jayne started to scream. Everyone in the room covered their ears and stepped away. Kaylee screamed in horrified surprise.

Jayne's eyes snapped open, and with it came a small sense of control. While still shaking considerably, his screaming stopped and his breath, though still hitched and ragged, became more regular. Eventually the gasps became coughs, the constant shudders turned to timid shakes. Jayne turned his head and threw up on the floor.

"Oh my God," Kaylee whispered, pretty much summing up the entire room's feelings. "Jayne?" she asked in a small voice.

He coughed a few more times, spat, the looked at the people watching over him. "Wa cao," he said at last.

"Oh my God…" Kaylee said again.

"What… what ha-happened?" Jayne muttered, his throat dry and scratchy.

"You died," Mal told him simply. "But you're okay now." The relief in his voice was well hidden.

"Yeah," Jayne agreed, mulling it over. "Hey... You stabbed me."

"Yep."

"The hell'd you stab me for?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Mal rolled his eyes impatiently. "To kill you, of course."

"But… I ain't dead."

"Figure that one out by yourself, did you?"

"Captain," Simon interrupted curtly, "I'd like to know what is going on? You two planned this?"

"I didn't!" Jayne protested. "I was just waiting to die an' he comes down here and… just stabs me. Just like that. Hell, I'm still bleeding, ain't I?" he mumbled, touching his sore side tenderly.

"It would appear so," Simon said, surprised. Of course, since no blood had been flowing there had been no reason for the wound to bleed. But now it was oozing thick red blood all over again. He took some gauze from his bag and began taping Jayne up. "So, Jayne had no idea about this?" Simon asked Mal.

"No one did," Mal said, a touch of pride in his voice. "This wouldnta worked if everyone had been in on it."

"You should have told me," Simon said sharply. "You could have killed him, you know. Comatense X is extremely dangerous and full of toxins the human body shouldn't be exposed to. You should have told me about this."

"No, you're right, wouldn't have looked at all suspicious, having my doctor there right when I stab him, not being at all surprised by it." His eyes bored into Simon's, who looked away. "No one could know because Bennett had to believe that Jayne was dead. If you'd all known, you wouldn't have reacted naturally and it would've been suspicious."

"So, what's Comatense X, exactly?" Zoe chimed in.

"Illegal death drug," Mal told her. "Found it at a seller in town. He was looking to be rid of some highly questionable items, and I was willing to take them from him."

"Is that what took so long?" she asked. "The day you went to the prison?" Mal nodded.

"So you let me think I was gonna hang," Jayne began angrily, "you let me rot in that cell, angry and cold and believin' you weren't gonna do nothin for me, and all this time you had a trick up your sleeve?!?"

"Clever, huh?" Mal grinned.

"I coulda died!"

"You were going to anyway," Mal said passively.

"I woulda rather died angry with Bennett than think that someone I thought cared about me had stabbed me!"

"Well I did actually stab you, you wanna put a fine enough point on it."

"Yeah, why did you stab me? What the hell was that all about?"

"The knife was laced with the Comatense X," Simon answered, looking a bit impressed but still horrified. "You delivered it right into his blood stream in a way that no one would think was suspicious."

"Damn I'm smart," Mal marveled.

"But you could have killed him," the doctor reminded him. "I mean, what if you hadn't gotten him the adrenaline to him fast enough?"

"Then he'd be dead. Same as if we'd let him drop."

"Why didn't we think of a backup?" Kaylee wanted to know.

"Backup? We couldn't steal him, we'd lose the sale and get a black mark on this moon. We couldn't prove him innocent, when a man like Bennett has his heart set on something you can't tell him otherwise. Only option I saw was to make Jayne dead."

"But I weren't really dead... was I?" Jayne asked nervously.

"Actually, you were," Mal said. "For nearly fifteen minutes."

"You mean real dead?"

"Dead as possible."

Jayne glowered fiercely. "You really did kill me, you gan ni niang."

"Oh, don't thank me or anything," Mal said sourly. "I didn't just save your life keep you from the hangman's noose. I also didn't make a hefty sale and, despite your untimely death, keep a portion of the pay for you. No, don't fall all over yourself thanking me, Jayne. Was no trouble at all."

"I ain't thanking you stabbing me," Jayne grumbled.

"I'm glad to see you're alright," Zoe said, though she looked a bit uncomfortable in saying so. "But don't he need to rest, doc?"

"Yes," Simon agreed readily, just as eager as everyone else to be gone from the middle of this Mal-Jayne glareathon. "We should all leave and Jayne, you should probably stay in bed for the next few days. I'll come back in a few minutes to stitch up that wound." Taking Kaylee by the arm, Simon led her and Zoe out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Mal and Jayne alone.

"So," Mal said.

"So."

"Guess I'll go to, so you can... y'know."

"You didn't tell no one about this?"

"Nope."

"You let everyone think you were a wang ba dan who was gonna let me hang?"

"Yep."

Jayne's voice changed considerably. "Thanks, Mal."

"Sure."

"That's it? Just sure?"

"What would you rather I say?" He was still facing the doorway, not looking at Jayne.

"I dunno... you're welcome is a start."

"What in the hell for? You sure weren't bein' so grateful a few minutes ago."

"Well, you did stab me."

"Oh get over that already, would ya?"

"No! You stabbed me!"

"And I ain't sorry! It was either stab you or let you die! I picked stabbing." Mal shuffled his feet sheepishly. "Didn't want you to die is all."

"Yeah, well, I know that now." Jayne tucked an arm under his head, keeping his eyes to the ceiling. "Didn't know that when you kissed me, though."

"You weren't supposed to, that was the point."

The two stayed silent for a while, neither of them facing the other. Words did not do either of these men justice, and finding the right ones might take a lifetime. Finally, Jayne turned his head to Mal, who looked over his shoulder at Jayne.

"I love you, Mal. And I am grateful for what you done."

"Damn well better be," Mal smiled.

"You saved my cut in the job, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm thinking of keeping it. As a savior fee, you know?"

Jayne frowned deeply. "I don't think so."

Still smiling, Mal walked over to Jayne's bunk, ruffled his short hair and kissed his forehead. "You realize now, after saving your life, that I own you?"

Jayne smiled warmly. "What else is new?"

---

THE END