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Mal sat alone at the head of their table in peaceful silence. This was his favorite time of night. The crew had gone off to their bunks and Serenity was switched over to her night cycle. On a night like this, when a job went well, he liked to sit a spell and enjoy a quiet drink before heading off to take his final walk round and make sure everything was put to bed.
It weren’t they best whiskey in the ‘verse, Mal thought as he felt it burn all the way down, but it was enough. In truth Kaylee’s rotgut had come a long way; on some moons it would likely be sell-able. Mal’s quiet contemplation was interrupted by an odd site. Jayne wandered into the mess a far off look on his face. It took the larger man three attempts to connect with his chair. Finally seated he just stared straight ahead, a blank expression on his face.
Mal was fairly certain the merc wasn’t drunk. His movements, though odd, did not show any of the tell-tale stagger of a drunken Jayne. It was the merc’s eyes that brought the Captain the most concern. It weren’t the glassy look of inebriation he saw but instead something he could rarely remember seeing in the larger man’s eyes before, fear.
Mal tried to go back to contemplating his glass. He tried to ignore his hired gun, hoping the larger man would speak first. But try as he might, he could not ignore the disconcerting look in the other man's eye. Finally, with an exhausted sigh, he addressed the merc. “Jayne?”
Jayne’s response was slow, like his was contemplating some great mystery. Even as he spoke, the merc continued to contemplate some piece of the universe directly in front of him. “Yeah Mal?”
The Captain tried again in hopes of getting a bit more of a response. “Weren’t you headed to yer bunk just a bit ago?”
“Yeah Mal.”
Mal shook his head to clear it. It was going to be one of those conversations. “Did ya get lost?”
“No Mal.”
Humor started to show on Mal’s face as he spoke again. “You are aware you’re back in the mess, right?”
“Yeah Mal.”
Mal considered going back to his drink but his curiosity got the better of him. “Is there something wrong with your bunk, Jayne?”
The merc swallowed slowly before responding. “River’s in it.”
“Last I checked you two were sharing a bunk.” The Captain may not have liked the arrangement but that didn’t make it any less true.
“Yeah Mal.” It had become the larger man’s default answer but this time after a pause he continued. “But she was naked… An’ she was sayin’ stuff… An’ it made lots a sense…” Jayne finally gave up contemplating the far wall and dropped his gaze to his hands. “I had ta get outta there.” The final words were spoken barely above a whisper.
Mal finally understood. He rose slowly so as not to spook his hired gun and retrieved another glass from the kitchen. He placed it in front of the merc and poured a generous helping of Kaylee’s best. He refilled his own glass before finally placing the bottle between himself and the merc. He had never been trained to give counseling but naked and articulate, that was a subject where he could share some insight.