He was a sordid fellow, but that's not what I disliked about him first. What came first was the fact that he had a pistol leveled at my chest. He looked very ready and able to use that gun too at a mere word from his equally sordid fellow beside him. He held that gun with a casual air that made it quite apparent that it was really just an extension of his arm and just as familiar, if not more so, than the hand that held it.

But Mal got him talking. He seemed to like to talk an awful lot. He said everything as if he was always right and knew everything. Then Mal began a clever banter. The man's face became a bit flushed as he was neatly scooped into Mal's word trap. Confusion registered briefly, then understanding. Quick as a heartbeat, he snapped the pistol down and fired a round point-blank into his protesting companion's thigh without even looking. That's when I realized that I could like this fellow. Only for one reason though, and that was that he was a trustworthy gunman. Not at all because he was trustworthy in any other way. In fact, it occurred to me that he could end up being rather dangerous to have around if he was so easy to turn. But I just trusted Mal's feeling on this and we got out of the situation fine.

Over the months it became apparent that Jayne was in fact a great asset to Serenity's crew. He could handle any sort of weapon at all and was good with his hands as well. That is to say, he was a perfect extra hand for maneuvering cargo.

He has some trouble with his mouth. That is to say that he says what everyone else is thinking, but in such a crass way as to offend all and sundry. Nobody can help but like him, though. He was tough and mean, but gradually he began to care a great deal about everyone. Even the passengers who we saw fit to adopt as crew.

Jayne has taken to calling Kaylee "little Kaylee" and my husband "little man." Of course, he didn’t even attempt to nickname the captain or me anything. Simon became just "Doc" and we all took that up. Shepherd Book is "Preacher" to Jayne and he really doesn’t ever talk directly to Inara. River he has many little nicknames for. Some are a bit harsh, but his tone always indicates a sort of reverence. Well, not reverence, probably, but respect.

I guess that's kinda the way of all things with Jayne. Crass, harsh, mean, tough, but also respectful and protective and kind. Odd combination to be sure.

All in all, it's been quite grand to have this sordid fellow onboard.