FICLET: Three, Six, Nine (G - 334 words)

[hobbitheart.livejournal.com]

Title: Three, Six, Nine
Author: hobbitheart
Summary: Math keeps River awake.
Rating: G
Characters: River, Crew
Pairing: River/Jayne (sort of).
Spoilers/Timeline: Post BDM
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Firefly/Serenity, not me (and definitely not Fox anymore).
Author's Note: This is my second Firefly fic, but the first I'm allowing people to read. Not exactly beta-ed.


The combinations seemed endless, but it had always come down to threes. Three, six, nine. Then Miranda happened. And then there were seven.

Serenity had no pattern anymore.

Seven couldn't be divided evenly. Three, six... no, that wouldn't work. Two, four, six, carry the one. Seven meant someone was alone. Always. Zoe had Mal, but Mal too had Inara, and Inara also had Kaylee, and Kaylee cleaved to Simon, but Simon always had River.

Jayne. No one had Jayne.

There had to be a way to make things even. Balance could be achieved.

Someone had to split themselves.

Seven. Seven. Seven.

What did 3.5 people even look like? Or 2.3333333333333 for that matter? Which part of themselves could they take apart? Zoe was only half a person now, anyway, Wash had taken that piece with him. But Mal never left her alone.

Captain and first mate. Once two, now 1.5.

Inara could move between Mal and Kaylee without concern. Simon would forever have one eye on River, and Kaylee never minded. Even amidst all the sharing, Jayne still had no one.

She had to find someone; Jayne couldn't be left alone, even if he did prefer it. The respect he had for Mal was far from mutual. Zoe and Inara despised him in equal measure, but Jayne hated Simon more. Kaylee was sweet, but even she had her limits. And River... well, that was complicated.

Someone had to have Jayne. The thought of him being perpetually alone made her head hurt. But these equations had no definitive answer.

A thought struck her: when Inara disembarked for work, numbers found their usual rhythm.

Two, four, six.

Mal and Zoe. Simon and Kaylee. River and Jayne.

River and Jayne.

She had to get rid of Inara. Sure, Mal would be sad for a while, but when it came down to mathematics, it just made sense.

The captain would understand.

River rolled over and closed her eyes. With everybody in pairs, she could finally go to sleep.

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All I want for Christmas is concrit, please :D