Mom

1

Simon slowly climbed the steps to the ship’s control room. He had become, over the last few months, accustomed to the idea of his sister steering the boat. Seeing River there at the wheel no longer filled him with dread. It was good for her – kept her mind focused on something besides her mind. She had gotten them out of several tight spots and managed to avoid any contact with Alliance cruisers. He was sure that this had more to do with her cognitive abilities than her flying prowess. He sat down at the consol next to her and looked out at the stars. Her feet curled in toward her on the chair, she stared out without turning to look at him. “Just visiting…You don’t know yet. How would you?” She said in a far off voice. Simon turned to her. “How would I know what, River?” “Guess it’s just a matter of time before Mal figures it out. I tried to be subtle. You should know before he does. I’ll need you on my side for this one.” Simon closed his eyes. He didn’t know what it was, but it had to be big. “River, what have you done?” “Not me. Them. They took mother. Left father for some reason. I don’t understand the big picture quite yet.” She furrowed her brow, trying to force the answer. Simon jumped up. “River, what do you mean? Who took mother?” The lines on her face disappeared. “Blue”, she said matter of factly. “Well, actually, they she’s not with them yet. She’s…waiting.” Simon had moved away from the consol, closer to her. “How would you know that?” he asked. She put her head down, her hair covering her face. “Back on Persephone. Man following us got too close. He knows. I got it from him.” “A man following us…” Simon’s tone suggested that this was important information. Information River should have shared hours ago. “Don’t worry, “she said, “He couldn’t take us. Just wanted to know that we were there. I haven’t put it all together yet.” “Still, you should have – again, I’m going to ask…what did you do?” Before she could answer, Mal entered calmly. “Uh, River…where are we goin’?” She whirled around, back to the maze of buttons and black space. “Captain, I had to make a course correction.” Mal stepped further into the room – River’s room. Everyone considered it that now because she was always there. “Only one decides changing course on my boat is me. Now, put us back on course. We got trade to finish. Do that again, little one, and it’ll be the last time you fly.” He turned to leave. River quickly made the changes necessary to get them to Jianying. Simon took a step toward Mal, but never took his eyes off of his sister. “Captain, they’ve taken our mother.” No one but River knew how long Jayne had been lurking just outside the doorway. He jumped into the conversation when his chance appeared. ”We into savin’ family members of fugitives now, Mal? No percentage in that. Lessen there’s a ransom or some such, I ain’t goin’ to get nobody’s mommy.” Mal raised his hand. “Jayne, shut up for a minute.” Simon continued. “She was just trying to get us to Osiris to –. “ “-No I wasn’t”, River broke in. “You weren’t…” Simon uttered slowly. “No, they already have mother. It’s either a trap or it’s too late.” Simon was the first to ask the question. “So where were we going?” River looked up through her curtain of hair, her eyes just peeking out. “To save Jayne’s mom. She next.” Silence followed. Jayne’s eyes darted back and forth as he tried to process the information. He grabbed Mal suddenly by the shoulder. “Mal, we gotta turn this ship around.”

2

Jayne was frantic now, following the captain as he paced the room. “Mal, I’ll do jobs for free. I’ll do all the chores. I got money, I’ll hire us.” Mal turned to him calmly. “Jayne’ you ain’t got near the money to afford this crew. If you did, I’d have to wonder where you got it from. And I thought you weren’t into savin’ anybody’s mommy.” Jayne walked past Mal toward River. “Change a’ heart is all. River, change course for Greanleaf.” River turned her glance toward the captain and waited. Mal smiled. “See River, you’re learning. Jayne, you never told me that your mother lived on Greenleaf! Hell, we been to that piece a’ dirt ten times, you ain’t never asked for shore leave.” Jayne leaned in toward River as he shifted his gaze from Mal to her. “Not important why. River, Turn this gorram boat around or so help me girl, I will beat you silly.” Mal put his hand on his gun. “One, I don’t think that’s possible and two, Jayne, step back.” Jayne looked wildly around the room, considering his option for a tense few seconds, and then slowly stepped back. Mal smiled. “See Jayne, you’re learning.” He took his hand away from his side. “Now. River, stop the ship. Anchor here.” He walked over to the ship’s comm. button and pressed it. “Everyone in the common area in 2 minutes.”

Several minutes later, Jayne was sitting in the common area, shaking his head. “I can understand them takin’ crazy girl’s mother, but mine? I don’t get it.” “Haven’t got her yet, you baby“, River sneered. “We can be a day ahead of them if we turn now.” She put her fingers to her temples and dropped her head. “The only reason that I can see for taking Jayne’s mother is that they know he’s turned on us before. He’s the weak link. I expect they would send a quiet wave and offer a trade.” Jayne got up and stepped away from the table. “You know, people keep comin’ up with weird and interestin’ ways to make me pay for that little piece a’ business. I don’t care why they’re doin’ it, just whether we’re goin’ to stop them. If not, I need off this boat next available port, Mal. I’ll do it myself if I have to.” “Now, Jayne”, Mal said, “No one’s sayin’ that you gotta do this alone, but we got hot cargo that needs to get to it’s destination. That’s close to a day away. I’m not bringin’ all these people into a trap neither.” There was quiet for a moment while Mal considered his options. Simon looked up from the table. “I’ll go with him captain. You change course now and you’ll only be 8 hours from the drop in Jianying. I can’t see them getting too riled about a few hours’ wait.” Jayne whirled around. “You? I’d rather take your gorram crazy sister. At least she can fight. As least she can shoot!” Mal broke in. “Actually, that sounds perfect. Doc’s got no friends on Jianying. River, likewise. They’ll both go.” Mal cut the ensuing uproar quickly. “I know what everyone’s thinking. This needs to be done. Only way I can function out here in the black is if my crew learns how to work together. We been sailing with that dirtiness back on Ariel for too long know. Jayne is a member of this crew, and as such we treat him as any other. I have my own reservations, which is why this needs doin’.” He stopped momentarily and walked quietly over to Jayne, inches away from his face. “But Jayne, if you sell out either Simon or River, if either one of them comes back with even a scratch, so help me I will make it my personal mission to hunt you down and kill you. Do we understand each other?” Jayne looked around at everyone in the common area, uncomfortable in his own skin. “I’d rather go alone…” He turned and made his way to his room. Mal turned to Simon. “I’m only gonna guess you got reasons for volunteering for this. You know I got my reasons for letting it happen. You probably feel responsible in some way, but I’m telling you, don’t let that cloud your judgement, Doc. Man like Jayne, he don’t need lookin’ after. Worry about yourself and your sister. And get me some answers. After you touch down, you get as much information as you can as quickly as you can. Send us a wave when you find something out. I don’t like flyin’ blind. If there’s some agenda here, I want to know what it is before someone I don’t know tells me. River, set a course for Greenleaf.” River was up and out of the room in an instant. Mal turned to leave the common area. “I’ll send a wave to the buyer, tell him his cargo’s gonna be a bit late. He won’t be happy, but he’ll sit. Simon, go tell Jayne to stop sulking, and you two prep the shuttle. You’ll need rations and extra cover. I hear Greanleaf ‘s cold this time of year.”

3

“Jayne, would you stop shivering. You’re making me cold”, Simon snapped as he tightened the cover around River’s shoulders. “Besides, you’re from here. You should be used to this.” Jayne did one last shudder to try and shake off the cold. “Brrr. Could never stand this gorram cold season.” The three of them stood in front of the doorway that would presumably lead them to Jayne’s mother. They had spent a good hour combing the town for anything strange that could be linked to the current problem. There was nothing. This was despite River’s continuous statement, ‘Not here yet’, that became more irritating by the minute. Jayne wanted to be sure. Even Simon didn’t know to what extent they could trust his sister’s ‘intuition’. Now apparently they had resigned themselves to it because instead of breaking into the house in some way - instead of busting the door down - Jayne was about to do the polite task of knocking. Just as he made a motion, though, River stopped him. “Jayne, we’re about to meet your mother. Do up your fly.” Jayne corrected himself, smiling as he turned to Simon. “Now I wonder how she noticed that? You think that was River’s ‘intuition’ or just plain old starin’ at my crotch for too long?” River rolled her eyes. “Just knock on the gorram door Jayne. We’re running out of time.” Jayne’s face turned hard. He had forgotten why they were here. He put his fist up to knock and then stopped again. “Oh, about the meetin’ my mother bit. You two gotta do some actin’ for me. I been tellin’ my mom some things t’ain’t entirely true. See-“ “-You’re captain of Serenity.” Simon broke in. “That is what you were going to say right?” Jayne was quiet, staring. “Well, I might have mentioned something about running my own boat.” He said sheepishly. Simon tried to contain his amusement. “It’s predictable. Harmless, I guess. No need for your mother to know who you truly are.” “And one more thing, “Jayne said. “She thinks I got me a wife. Her name’s…Vera.” River started to giggle as Jayne began knocking on the door. “She wants grandkids. Like you said Simon, she don’t need to know everythin’.” River’s giggle was growing. “Look!” He shouted then dropped his voice to a whisper. “Just do this for me and I’ll pay you both back… somehow.” He knocked again as River tried desperately to contain herself. ~

“They say anything about a change in payment for being late, cap’n?” Zoe asked, poking her head into the control room. “No, but I’m sure there’ll be some hand wringin’ and such to get the price down. Always is when there’s a problem.” She took a few more steps into the room. “And how many more problems you think we’re gonna have before no one wants us to move cargo any more?” “Zoe, I know that this ain’t been easy. I gotta think there’s a reason for what we’ve been through – what we’re goin’ through. This is important. Shepherd would a’ said…” He stopped himself. Book. Now there was a person that hadn’t come up in his mind for awhile. Book and Wash. Both victims of this. How many more? He pushed the thought back to a place he rarely went and continued. “This is a good crew. We done good things, getting the truth of the Alliance to a lot of people. We did more with 9 people than any army I ever served in. But this ain’t over. And I can’t help hinking’ that even if we did get rid of Simon and River, we would still have the trouble we got. There’s always gonna be someone lookin’ to get to them through us. We’re in this, either way. It’s too late to think about getting’ out.” Zoe turned to leave. “I understand the fight, cap’n. Just wouldn’t mind a better understanding of the ‘why’ is all.” “Don’t worry Zoe”, Mal answered quietly as he turned back to the consol, “We keep knockin’ on doors, truth’s gotta be behind one of ‘em.”

4

Jayne knocked again, harder this time. His fear had dropped when they had found no sign of ‘visitors’ in the town. He had begun to trust River’s sense, especially after she had pretty much saved them back on Lilac. The only reason why they quietly roamed through town was because she had said they had several hours before anyone would get here. Now it suddenly occurred to him that River might really be wrong. – that they were too late. Some of these guys the Alliance hired, like the Operative, they were in and out clean and quiet. The consequences ran suddenly through his mind. He pushed Simon and River back as he pulled his gun and kicked the door open.

Kaylee kicked the wall by her hammock in the engine room. “Is that how you fix the engine too Kaylee?” Mal had just poked his head in to ask about how things were running in the back. She was visibly embarrassed by being caught in a moment of frustration. “Sorry, cap’n. I’m just…It’s Simon. He didn’t say much before he left. Just relationship trouble is all.” Mal took a step down into the engine room. “Now Kaylee, I’m beginning to like the idea of you and the doc together less and less. You got your right to a life like anyone else, but you also got to keep your mind focused when you’re needed. After we make this drop on Jianying, we’ll be making our way back to the Space Bazaar. I need to know now if Serenity’s hurtin’ at all, so I can order what she needs to keep her flyin’. You got that? When we’re up here, you keep us alive more’n anyone – including a certain doctor you’re partial to. Remember that.” “I will cap’n. Sorry.” “No sorrys. Just give her a checkup and get back to me before we touch down on Jianying.” ~

Jayne stood in the open doorway, his gun pointed inside. He turned his aim toward the sound of a figure entering from a room at the back. A person appeared from the shadows and then stepped back quickly, disappearing. “Jayne!” Simon yelled. River grabbed Simon’s shoulder. “Not mother…” she whispered. ~

“Why would they take Simon and River’s mother?” Zoe was in the kitchen and threw out the question almost absent mindedly to Mal as he passed toward the control room. Mal stopped and looked blankly at her. “Don’t know. It’s hard to come up with reasons when no one’s givin’ you clues.” Zoe continued, “I mean I get the whole Jayne thing, but…” Mal continued through the kitchen. “No use speculatin’ on omething’ we ain’t got no information on.” “You know what I think…” She said quietly. He stopped again and turned to her. Zoe didn’t offer all that many opinions. When she did, Mal was all ears. “I think they want the ability to make more like River. I mean what if what makes River special isn’t only what they did to her, but who she is? Those experiments they did, they could do that on anyone. We already know that there were more test cases. What if they decided to attack the problem on two fronts? Try to get their ‘success’ back and re-create that success into something much bigger.” Mal went cold at the thought. An army of that little girl. An army. “I’ll find the woman and shoot her myself before that happens.”

5

“Step out quietly, whoever you are, or I will come in there and shoot you.” Jayne was wild, panicky. He pushed further into the room, surveying with his gun while constantly moving back to the doorway where the image had been. Simon and River stepped in behind him. “Matty”, River said as she walked toward the shadows. “Jayne, put your gun down, it’s Matty.” River appeared seconds later with the boy, and Jayne dropped his aim. “Sorry, I’ve…” Jayne impulsively reached out and wrapped his arms around Matty. “I ain’t seen you in so long! He suddenly pulled away quickly when he realized he was letting his emotions get away with him. “I see you’re better….” Jayne shifted his glance from Simon to River, hoping that they understood how much he wanted them to forget that last burst of emotion. No one spoke for what seemed an eternity. River was fighting giggles again. Matty finally broke the silence. “I’m only still here cause a’ you Jayne. Weren’t no power in the verse could clear up that damp lung without the money to pay for it. Mom and I are real grateful for that. I don’t think I can ever repay you.” Jayne was visibly uncomfortable with his brother’s thanks. “That’s alright Matty. I do what I can. Listen, can you tell me where Ma is, so’s I can see her. I brought some people from my crew. They want to take her into town for awhile so I can…do some chores for her ‘round the house. Just like old times.” Matty stepped back, stunned. “Well, she ain’t here. You should know that. I mean, you’re the one sent her the letter to meet you on Jianying. She’s been so happy since she got that letter couple days ago. I thought you were here bringin’ her back.” There was a moment of quiet as his gaze passed over each of their faces. Finally he spoke. “Am I missing something?” ~

“There’s something here, doesn’t make sense,” Mal thought to himself, all alone in the control room. He was thinking about Zoe’s hypothesis. Now it seemed that taking Simon and River’s mother made sense, and taking Jayne’s mother made no sense at all. Or maybe the other way around. Either way, the two didn’t fit together. He was trying to put together an answer when the wave came in. For a moment, he thought that it might be for Jayne. When Jayne appeared on the screen, he was almost disappointed. “Mal, we got a problem…” ~

Zoe was still eating in the kitchen when Mal burst through, talking as he ran. “Zoe, come help me check the cargo. We got an hour to sort this all out before we touch down on Jianying.” Zoe jumped up. “What? What do you know?” “I know there’s something waitin’ for us on that planet, and I don’t mean to touch down til I’m sure what it is.” ~

Jayne walked into the room where Simon, River and Matty were all sitting comfortably by the fire. “I just sent Mal a wave. All we can do now is wait.” He was candid – Matty knew everything. There really wasn’t any way to spare him the details. ~

Captain, this guy keeps othin’ us. He wants details and I’m outta excuses why we ain’t landed yet. He’s actin’, I don’t know, weird.” Kaylee was standing by the door of the cargo hold, staring down at Mal and Zoe, both digging through crates. “And what are you two doin’?” Mal looked up for a second, then resumed his digging. “Nothing“, he said, as he scooped another pile onto the floor. “There ain’t othing’ in these crates but dirt. Now why would a man pay us a thousand credits to haul dirt all this way? Ain’t nothing on Jianying but dirt. Kaylee, never trust a middle man you don’t know. Cut the engines and tell him we got engine trouble. Won’t be but another hour.” She disappeared from the door way. “Zoe, I need ideas, now.” Zoe brushed her brow, trying not to get dirt in her eyes. “He – I don’t know – the crates were just to get us here.” “Right. The plan is to take us when we dock. Or at least get us in a position to take River. Again, I don’t like this. All we got is speculation.” Mal stepped out of the crate he had been frantically digging through and began piling dirt back in. “Alright. Zoe, I got a job for you, but get that dirt back in the crate first.”

6

The cargo door to Serenity yawned open, and Mal stepped out smiling. Outside on the dock was a tall, skinny man with long blonde hair. Two much larger gunmen flanked him. The man smiled dryly. “Malcolm Reynolds. Pleasure to meet you at last, albeit a bit late.” Mal shook his hand, staring into his eyes. “Yeah, sorry for that, Mr. Sung, Serenity here has had a bit of a cough lately. Won’t happen again.” The man turned and motioned for Mal to follow. “I’m sure that it won’t. And, it’s just Sung. No ‘mister’, please. Shall we go back to my office to discuss payment?” Mal stopped for a second and motioned toward Serenity. “But, don’t you want to inspect the cargo?” Sung only stopped for a second before continuing on. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll have my men see to it presently.”

~

Jayne had one hand on the open door, the other on his coat. “The way I see it, presently we got two options. Either sit here and think or go out for a bit.” He made to leave and then turned back momentarily. “You two are experts in sittin’, but me, I gotta do something. So I believe I’m gonna go have me a drink somewheres.” Simon shot a quick glance at River as Jayne closed the door behind him.

~ “I’d rather you left the door open, thanks.” Mal put his hand against the door of Sung’s office as one of the men tried to close it. Sung opened his coat before sitting down at his desk. “So be it“, he said as he waved his hand. “Now, Mr. Reynolds-“ “-Please, just Mal.” Sung’s face went blank, and then he smiled. “Mal. You’ve got something I want and I’ve got something you want.” Mal looked around the room quizzically. “Right. I’ve got your cargo, and you’ve got my money. Let’s trade.” Sung laughed and moved forward in his chair. “No, but seriously Mal. I think I’ve got something much more important to you than money. By the way, where is that ape you keep. That Jayne character. I’ve heard you never go out without him and that army buddy of yours, what was her name, Zoo?” Mal smiled. “Zoe. No, Jayne had to go visit his mother, it being close to Mother’s day and all, and Zoe, well she was busy killing all of your henchman.” There was a second’s pause. Sung went white. The men on either side of Mal moved quickly. Two shots rang out. One from the window of the office and one from Mal’s waist. Now his gun was trained on Sung’s face. “What a’ we got Zoe?” Zoe stepped into view from the window of Sung’s office. She cocked her gun and trained it on Sung. “Everything taken care of, sir. Jayne’s mother is safe. No sign of Simon and River’s mother, though.” Sung laughed again. “And you’ll never find her if I’m dead. Agree to let me go, and you can have her.” Mal pulled back the desk that he was sitting in and shot him once in the leg. “See, for a middle man, you don’t bargain very well”, he said.

7 Mal stood beside Sung, his gun trained on the man’s head. “You gotta help me out here, Sung, cause I can’t figure this all out. I mean, take one woman or the other – but taking both don’t make sense.” Sung shifted in his chair, trying to stop the flow of blood. “The Tam woman was the hit. Someone wants her. They’re paying good money to get her. The other one was a different plan. If I could get one of your crew to turn, I had a good chance of delivering not only the Tam woman, but both of her children. With the money from that kind of score, I’d never have to do another job again in my life.” Mal dropped the barrel of the gun to Sung’s temple. “Well, looks like you got greedy. It also looks like you may be dead soon, you don’t tell me where the Tam woman is.” Sung sighed. “I want to live…” He was quiet for a moment. Mal stared at him like they both knew how that could be accomplished. Finally, Sung continued. ~

“What do you mean, ‘he went out!” Mal was furious. Simon grabbed his coat as he talked. “Don’t worry captain, River and I will find him. We’ll take care of things on this end.” He motioned to River as he pulled his coat over his arms. “River, we have to go. Matty, thanks for everything. We’ll be back soon.” River shot glances up at Simon as he pulled her along. Finally, she spoke. “Simon, what’s going on?” Simon stopped, turned to River. He was beside himself with anger. “River, she’s here. Mother is here. This guy, Sung wanted assurance, so he left her here with some of his men and took Jayne’s mother to the meeting point.” He started on again toward the saloon where Jayne would invariably be drunk in, then stopped again, turning to River. “How could you not sense that? You can pick up from some random man that mother was taken, but you can’t sense her when she’s close to you?” River pulled him as he attempted to continue on. “Wait, Simon…She’s not here. Someone’s bluffing.”

~

Mal walked back into Sung’s office. Zoe was standing there, gun trained on him. Sung was trying desperately to not let his emotions show. Blood was gushing from his leg. Mal walked over beside him, his gun out. “Ain’t many men that could bluff their way out of a hole that size,” he said, tapping Sung’s leg with his gun. “She ain’t on Greenleaf.” Mal’s face lost all emotion. He fired again, this time into the other leg. Sung screamed in agony. Mal let him finish before speaking. “Now. I’ll only ask this once more. Where is she?”

8

Sung was trying to stop the circulation of blood to his legs with his hands. “How did you find that out so quickly?” Mal sat at the corner of the desk. Zoe was alternating her guard between the window and the door. “Let’s just say I got my ways. Now, you keep talkin’ about things ain’t important, you’re gonna die in that chair. Only one thing you got to say that’ll save you, and you know what it is.” Sung was beginning to panic. He tried desperately not to show it. “You’re going to kill me anyway”, he whispered. Mal stood up. “No, no I’ve seen men walk away from a wound like that. And I don’t aim to kill you. Only one’d be doin’ that now is you. You say the right words and we walk out the door right now. We’d need assurance that you’re tellin’ the truth of course.” Sung pondered for a minute. He looked down at the mass of blood around him and suddenly it became clear that he had little choice if he was going to live. “She’s here, on the planet. In a hotel called The Last Swan, in the middle of town. Room 26. Good luck, though. The guys that wanted her should already be here. And from what I know, they don’t like to leave without what they’ve come for.” Mal shot a glance to Zoe. Both made for the door in a shot. Suddenly, Mal stopped and turned for a second. “If you’re lyin’, and you live, I’ll find you.”

~

“You know how long it took to find you?” Simon was standing by the bar, River in hand. Jayne was hunched over slightly. He seemed to be inhaling the mist from his latest shot of whiskey. “Well, detective, it seems that you somehow worked it all out cause you’re standin’ here, ain’t ya? So what’s the all-important news you got, you had to go all over town lookin’ for me?” Jayne motioned to the bartender as Simon sat down and filled him in.

~

Mal and Zoe entered The Last Swan as if they were back in Serenity Valley. Mal was at the point and Zoe covered him. The smattering of various hotel guests jumping under tables or just dropping to the floor didn’t phase them. There was no time to be subtle. If they were too late…Reaching the second floor, Mal weaved from side to side reading door numbers until he came to the one they were looking for. He pushed all of his weight against it in an instant and rushed inside. He could see a smartly dressed older woman sitting at the edge of the bed. She didn’t belong. There was a man by the window who had been looking outside. As he whirled around, Mal shot him. Just then, another shot rang out from the doorway of the bathroom, just beside the window. Mal went down. Zoe dove over him and fired into the bathroom, and then there was silence. “Sir?” Zoe called as she surveyed the rest of the room with her gun. Her eyes darted from left to right, never actually looking down at him. “Sir, talk to me. How’d that vest hold up?” Mal coughed. “That gorram hurt!” Zoe grabbed the dead man by the door and dragged him into the bathroom. “The trick is to not get shot, sir.” He sat up, digging at his chest to stop the fire. “I know that, Zoe.” He looked up at the startled woman on the bed. His mind suddenly went back to the conversation he and Zoe had had on the ship. Could they really want to make more like River? Right now it was just a theory. He could end this thread of possibility right here, right now. One cheap bullet might save the verse a whole hell of a lot of trouble. He sat for a second, staring at the woman, then spoke to Zoe. “Could you talk to Mrs. Tam here and tell her we’re not here to kill her. She looks a might confused.”

~ “Don’t be…mislead by what I’m saying. I love my mother. But, but when she didn’t want to save River, I lost something.” Simon was slurring his speech, swaying as he talked. Jayne was still hunched over, brooding over his shot. “Seems to me”, he answered, “You gotta love your mother no matter what. I mean, you know that she still cares - even if you think she had other priorities.” He motioned for the bartender again, loving the fact that Simon was letting go. “You know she would never stop carin’ about you and River.” River tapped Simon on the shoulder as Jayne stepped away from the bar and disappeared. “Simon, you’re drunk”, she said. Simon pushed the latest shot back toward the bar. “I’m not drunk, just emotional is all. I’m a bit torn here. I don’t want anything to happen to her, but how much should I care? How much did she care when they were cutting away at you?” River brushed the hair back from his face, a look of concern in her eyes. “She didn’t know…” He grabbed the shot again, his face stone. “She didn’t want to know. I find that…that’s hard to forgive.” They both sat quietly. Simon put back the last of the shot in front of him and continued. “Still, despite all that – despite everything – I want to see her.” Jayne suddenly appeared and sat back down beside Simon at the bar. “And you will. I just waved Mal. Seems everyone’s safe on the ship and on the way back here – including your mother. Mal’s talkin’ about relocatin’ everyone to some safer places. Hell, this might be a good Mother’s day after all.” Jayne paused for a second, another shot in his hand. “Oh, and I told him to tell your mother that you were drunk.”