Shades of the Past – Chapter Twenty-Six All previous disclaimers are still in effect! ______________________________ River slowly swam up from the depths, forcing her eyes open with the greatest of difficulty. She felt like she was being held down by something. As her eyes focused on the ceiling above, she looked around her. She remembered being outside, with Ami, then. . .she’d been shot! She tried to move, and groaned at the pain. The weight disappeared, and Jayne’s head popped into view. “Baby?” Her heart leaped at the worry in his voice. She smiled, or thought she did, and squeezed his hand. Jayne had fallen asleep with her hand in his. The weight she had felt was his head, resting by her side. “Jayne,” she whispered, hoarse from thirst. He grabbed a cup of water with a straw in it from the nearby table, and held it for her. She drank gratefully. “Better, now?” he asked, watching her closely. She nodded. “Much better,” she whispered. “How long have you been here?” “I don’t really know,” he shrugged. “I came in and sat down not long after Simon finished. Been here ever since.” “You should be resting,” she told him. “Like I’m gonna rest while you’re in here,” he snorted. “You scared me, baby girl. I thought. . .there for a minute, I wasn’t sure. . .” he trailed of, and she felt her heart twist up when his eyes watered. “Sorry, Jayne,” she said, squeezing his hand still tighter. “I was bad. Should have worn my armor, like you told me. Promise I won’t do it again.” “You better not,” Jayne told her. “I can’t. . .I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, girl,” he said softly, stroking her forehead. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. “Promise,” she repeated. “What about Ami?” she asked. “She’s still out,” he nodded. River turned her head to see Ami on the other bed, tubes and monitors attached in several places. She looked back to Jayne. “Bad?” she asked. He nodded. “Simon did all he can, now we just have to wait and see,” he told her quietly. “But she’s a strong old gal,” he added with a wink. “Just like you.” “Not an old gal,” River grumped, feigning hurt. Jayne laughed softly. “No, you’re not,” he kissed her softly. “But you’re my gal.” She smiled tiredly, happy in spite of her pain. “I need to get Simon,” he said. She nodded, and reluctantly released his hand. Simon was in the room in a minute. “How are you feeling, River?” he asked. “Like I was shot,” she retorted. “Boob.” He laughed. “Well, that’s because you were shot,” he told her. “But it wasn’t as serious as it might have been. The wound was clean, missed any organs or major veins or arteries. All in all, you were very lucky.” “I suppose if you aren’t the one lying here, shot, it could seem that way,” River groused. Sounding remarkably like Jayne. He shook his head, and looked to where Jayne was standing in the doorway. “You’re definitely rubbing off on her,” he sighed. Jayne smirked. “He’s rubbing on me, anyway,” River teased, and Simon’s face went scarlet. “Mei-mei, that’s really information I don’t need,” he stammered. She giggled then, and he realized she was just doing it to get a rise from him. “Boob,” she laughed. “Brat,” he retorted, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’m glad to see you awake. You’ll have to take it easy for several days, but you should heal fine. Only,” he looked smug, “no rubbing until the wound is healed.” River scowled, but Jayne didn’t. “Whatever you say, Doc,” he said. “Right, baby girl?” He gave her the look he reserved for when he was really, really, serious about something, and she knew she wasn’t going to win. “Yes, Jayne,” she nodded. Simon’s mouth dropped, his eyes going wide. He whirled on Jayne. “How did you do that?” he asked in wonder. “Do what?” Jayne looked confused. “Get her to agree like that? She never does that with me!” “I don’t ask much of her,” Jayne shrugged. “I don’t ask what she can’t give. I don’t make unreasonable demands. When I do demand something, she knows it’s for her own good. She doesn’t always like it, but she usually does it.” Simon shook his head, muttering. River laughed in delight at his consternation. Jayne gave her a mock scowl. “No picking on your brother, little bit,” he winked. “He’s fixed you up good.” “Very well, Jayne,” she said softly, playing along. Simon looked like he was going to self-combust. He busied himself looking over Ami’s monitors, and checking her vitals. Jayne walked back over to her side, and sat down. He was fighting a laugh, and she was too. He covered it by taking her hand in his, and kissing it softly. “He’s so easy,” she whispered, then giggled. Jayne covered a laugh with a coughing fit. He reached up and pulled a strand of hair that had fallen across her face, tucking it gently behind her ear. The softness of the act, the gentleness, almost made her melt. She had fought long and hard to get this man’s attention. Waited patiently for him to see the woman she was, rather than the girl she had been. Waited for her Alpha Male to step up. Now, as she pulled his hand, gently guiding him close enough to snuggle up alongside, she was glad. He was worth the effort. ------------------------- A few minutes later Simon was calling Jayne outside. When the two were in the lounge, Simon looked at Jayne seriously. “Jayne, Ami’s blood pressure is falling. Slowly, but I can’t stop it. I’ve tried everything I have, that I can think of. If it doesn’t start climbing, and soon. . .Jayne I don’t think she’ll make it.” Jayne looked stunned. “I thought if she. . .you said if she made it through the night. . .” “I know,” Simon nodded. “And that’s what I’m telling you. She didn’t. Her pressure started falling last night, and I’ve been working to stop it. But I can’t.” “So she ain’t gonna make it, you think?” Jayne almost choked on the words. “I don’t know,” Simon said helplessly. “If I can figure out what’s making it drop in the first place, maybe. But I. . .I want you to be prepared, Jayne. I promise I’m doing everything I know how to do. . .” he stopped as Jayne raised a hand. “Doc, I know that without you telling me,” he said quietly. “And I don’t. . .won’t blame you if she don’t pull through. Nor should you. Ain’t no one to blame for all this misery but Zhang. And he’ll get his soon enough.” Simon suppressed a shudder at the frigidity in Jayne’s voice. He’d never seen him like this. The normally hot blooded merc was suddenly cold, cold as stone. And his eyes spoke of violence the likes of which Simon hoped he never encountered. Suddenly, Ami’s words of warning to Mal shot through his mind. You can handle Jayne. You’ve never met Shade. Pray you don’t. Ever. Simon realized then, that Zhang was about to meet Shade. And he wasn’t going to enjoy the experience. ______________________ Ami’s blood pressure continued to fall, despite everything Simon could do. Employees from the plant came to the ship, staying only a few minutes, bringing flowers and offering prayers. It was all they could do. Harwell visited at least thee times during the following day. It was apparent that he was stricken to see her lying there. “She delivered my first child,” he said suddenly, during his midday visit. He looked up at Mal. “My wife went into labor early. Right during the worst snowstorm we’d had in years. I was beside myself in panic. The Doc couldn’t get through.” “I called Amelia, and here she was, in the infirmary. Delivered my baby boy without turning a hair, like she’d done it all her life. Later she confided in me that he was the first baby she’d ever had to deliver.” He shook his head. “We’re lost so much here, with this, this. . .conflict. I don’t think I can bear to loose her as well.” “Well,” Mal said after a moment. “It looks bad Mister Harwell. But Simon’s one of the best Doc’s I ever come ‘cross. If she can be saved, he’ll find a way.” But Simon couldn’t find a way. Later that afternoon, just as Harwell arrived to visit, Ami crashed suddenly. Simon worked feverishly to revive her, using the paddles on her seven times. Doing CPR for over half an hour. In the end, it wasn’t enough. Amelia ‘Stormy’ Weathers, was dead. ----------------------- She was laid to rest on the premises. She’d had no home, having lived in a small apartment over the infirmary. Harwell asked Jayne if wanted her effect, but the big man could only nod. He’d found the woman who had been like a sister to him, after believing for so long that she’d died already. And now, after a few short weeks of short visits, and hurried meals, he’d lost her again. And knew this time, for sure, she wasn’t going to turn up anywhere else. Her funeral was simple. The plant employees gathered with the crew, and sang a few hymns. The local preacher said the eulogy. River had insisted that she be allowed to attend, and Jayne had carried her in his arms to the grave site, placing her carefully into a chair brought from the plant office. She held his hand all the way through the service. As the service broke up, Jayne gathered River into his arms again, and walked back to the ship. The little reader was shivering, but not from cold. She was trembling from the cold rage rolling off the man she’d come to love. It was an emotion she’d never sensed in him, and it frightened her. Pain and grief rolled off of him in waves, and she whimpered at the pain they caused, but he couldn’t help it. And not all of it was over Ami, either. More of his fury was caused by the fact that his woman, his mate, had also been injured. Twice. At the hands of someone working for this man, Zhang. He’d lost his family once. He’d just lost his second family. He wouldn’t sit by and loose her too. Nor the rest of them. “Jayne,” she whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry, baby girl,” he held her closer, moving up the ramp, heading back into the ship. “It’s gonna be fine. Gonna be just fine.” She felt the determination in him, just as she could hear it in his voice. He was like iron. Cold, hard, unyielding. “Jayne,” she whispered again, hugging his so tight that she wondered he could still breathe. “It’s okay, River,” he assured her, but his voice was flat, carried no emotion. “It’s not okay,” she whimpered, drawing closer to him. It wasn’t okay at all. But there was nothing she could do to fix it. Shade was going on the warpath.

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----------------- Shades of the Past – Chapter Twenty-Seven It’s just a story, using characters I don’t own, or claim too. No pay for it either.:) ---------------------------- Two days later Jayne stood inside the treeline bordering Zhang’s estate. It had been stupidly simple to find out where the crime lord lived. And to discover that he was usually home. He still didn’t know what he looked like, but that was a trivial thing. He wasn’t planning on anyone inside the mansion seeing the next sunrise. He sat, patiently, watching the comings and goings of Zhang’s people. Marking patrol lines, checking for dogs, looking for surveillance systems and alarms. It had surprised him how easily he had slipped back into the killer he had once been. It bothered him that it should be so easy. But not enough that he wasn’t still going to do what he’d set before himself to do. Satisfied that he had the clock memorized on the place, he slipped to his feet, pocketing the binoculars he’d been using. He checked his weapons, and the small pouch hooked to his belt, ensuring all was in order. He was wearing an outfit his crew mates had never seen. Consisting of oddly shaped swatches of different subdued colors, the outfit would help him become part of the shadows around him, and break up his image. He thought back on how long he and Stormy had been together. In the scope of a life, it hadn’t been that long. But to a fifteen year old, it was almost a lifetime. ----------------------------- “What are you fighting for?” he asked her suddenly. “What’s that, kid?” Stormy looked up from the book she was reading. “What are you fighting for?” he asked again, curiosity on his young features. She stared at him for a moment, surprised. It was rare for him to initiate a conversation, even with her. It was even more rare to see any sign of emotion on his young face. Or interest in his eyes. “Well,” she answered finally, “I’m fighting for a lot of things, I guess, kid. I’m fighting because I don’t like some government telling me how to live. I’m fighting because that same government let my mother die when they didn’t provide the meds they promised when we ‘joined’ the Alliance. I’m fighting because my father went broke paying taxes on things he already owned to fund that government, and killed himself when he lost everything, and couldn’t provide for his family anymore.” “Mostly I’m fighting because I’m tired of doing nothing, I guess. Tired of watching folks die, tired of seeing people treated like dirt.” She looked at her young charge. “What are you fighting for, Shade?” “Vengeance” he said simply. “To kill those who took my family. My home. To extract punishment for those crimes, to avenge my family, to honor my clan.” “Well, those are good reasons I should think,” Stormy nodded, surprised by the bluntness of his answers. “But you know, not all Alliance soldiers are like the men who killed your family. Some of them are just like us. Folks just trying to get by.” He shrugged. “Too bad,” was all he said. Before she could say more, he was gone. Faded into the night. “Can’t kill’em all kid!” she called after him, knowing he could hear. “But maybe I can kill enough,” his answer floated in from the dark. -------------------------

“That’s what I’m gonna do tonight, Stormy. Gonna kill’em all. All should be enough.” With that he left his cover, and headed for the house. -------------------------- “Has anyone seen Jayne?” Mal asked, walking into the galley. It was near to supper time. He’d wanted to see the big merc, make sure he was okay. But so far he wasn’t around. “‘Spect he’s in his bunk, sir,” Zoe answered. “Or in the infirmary with River.” “Already checked both places,” Mal shook his head. “No luck. I’ll see if he’s outside.” “He’s not,” River’s voice surprised them all. “You hadn’t ought’a be out’a bed, Albatross,” Mal said sternly. “I’m fine,” she replied, but she wasn’t Mal could see. “Sweetie, why don’t I help you back to bed?” Zoe offered, walking over the help her. “Jayne has gone,” she said softly. Sadly. “Gone?” Mal parroted, not liking the sound of that. “Gone on the warpath, Captain,” she told him, tears trailing down her cheeks. “Ai ya,” Zoe muttered to herself. “Tah mah de,” Mal agreed. “You sure, River? He ain’t just slipped out to get drunk?” The little reader shook her head. “Wolf goes to kill the dogs. No more pain. No more worry. Protecting his family.” Her disjointed sentences were a sign of how upset she was. She only slipped into River-speak when she was overwhelmed. “Do you know where he is, River?” Mal asked quietly. “Lions den. Surrounded by scorpions,” was all she could manage. “Sir, it has to be Zhang,” Zoe said, guiding River into a chair. “He’s going after Zhang.” “I know,” Mal nodded, rubbing his hair back and making a scrubbing motion across his head. “But I don’t know where Zhang is.” “Harwell might,” Zoe pointed out. “We can ask him.” “No,” River shook her head. “He will call lawman. Must let events take their course, Captain Daddy. He does for adopted family what he could not do for his own.” “River, I ain’t mad,” Mal said softly. “I know what he’s doin’, and why. I just want to help him. Help me find him so he don’t have to do it alone.” River raised her tear stained face and looked into Mal’s eyes. He was shocked at the look of hopelessness in her face. “Needs no help. Wants no help. Clouds have brought the Shade. The Shade will cover all with darkness.” ____________________ Jayne slipped his arm around the head of the guard, plunging his knife into the side of his throat, and ripped down and forward. In seconds the guard was dead. He quickly drug the body behind a bush. In the faint light given off by the house, Jayne could see a patch on his arm. He stiffened as he realized he’d seen it before. _________________________ “Whatcha got there, kid,” Stormy asked, seeing Shade looking at something carefully in his hands. He looked up at her. After a moment, he simply handed it to her. It was a scrap of uniform cloth, she realized. Alliance. Sewn to it was a patch bearing the likeness of a black and silver scorpion, with red details. “Where’d you get this?” she asked quietly. “Where did it come from?” “I found it when my family was taken,” he said quietly. “Only clue I have as to who did it.” “Do you know what this is?” she asked him, eyes wide? He shook his head. “It’s the shoulder patch of an Alliance special forces unit, called the Scorpions,” she told him, handing it back. “You don’t want any part of them,” she added. “No I don’t want any part of them,” he nodded, voice calm. “I want their heart. I want their whole being.” She gaped at him. “Kid, look. I know you’re hurting. We all lost somebody to the war. But this ain’t like hunting normal Alliance soldiers. These guys are killers. Plain and simple.” He reached into one of the bags he was always carrying, and pulled out a pile of scrap material, handing it to her. She was shocked to see at least twenty of the elite Scorpion patches in the bundle, most with blood stains. “I know what they are,” he said quietly. “They die just as easy as any other Alliance pawn.” He replaced the bundle, then placed the other in his pocket, the one from his family’s massacre. He rose swiftly, and she couldn’t help but marvel at the grace of his movements. He was just a kid, she told herself, but his movements spoke of power, and grace, that most adults never mastered. “Look, kid,” she tried again. “We got a job to do, okay? We can’t let personal vendettas get in the way of getting our job done.” “Hunt on my own time,” he assured her. “Not always on the job.” He shrugged. “Need a hobby, you told me, once.” He almost grinned. Almost. “Shade, don’t do something stupid, okay,” she pleaded. “You’re the closest thing to a family I have.” He looked at her. “You are the same to me,” he assured her softly. “Blood sister. I won’t do anything ‘stupid’.” “Promise?” she asked. “Promise.” ________________ “Tah ma de,” he whispered. The patch was identical. That could only mean. . . He rose as the thought hit him. Inside this house coould be the man who had been responsible for the death of his family. The man who had changed the course of his life, been the cause of so much pain. Slowly a grin spread across his face. Everything happens for a reason. Jayne moved. Time for an evening. A Reckoning. ----------------------- “I’m sorry to bother you, Mister Harwell, but I need some information. I need to know where Zhang lives. And I need to know right quick. I have to rely on your discretion about that, too. Seems one o’ my crew has taken Ami’s loss pretty serious.” “Cobb?” Harwell asked, a knowing look in his eye. “Ami told me they were close.” “Well, I’d. . .” Mal began. “It’s alright, Captain,” Harwell assured him. “Your man was here earlier today, asking after Zhang. I told him everything I knew. Ami was my friend, Captain. I understand the concept of vengeance.” Mal released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “I need to find him, sir,” Mal stressed. “If even half of what Ami told me was true, you won’t,” Harwell told him bluntly. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper, and handed it to Mal. “This is where Zhang’s mansion sits,” he said. “It’s isolated. Hard to get to. And very well guarded. Though I don’t expect that to slow your man down any.” “Thanks,” Mal pocketed the paper. “Captain,” Harwell said, as Mal turned away. Mal looked back. “Be careful. I have a shipment due to leave day after tomorrow. Need my transport Captain ready to deliver it.” He smiled, and Mal felt his tension fade away. He’d worried that this might cost them the job. He nodded his thanks, and departed. Harwell watched him go, then turned to look up into the stars. ------------------- Jayne had worked his way around the perimeter. There were no more guards. He had heard little from inside the house. He had an idea how many were inside, but not where they were. He shrugged. He’d just work his way through. With a feral grin, he opened the door, and slipped inside. -------------------- “Zoe. Let’s fly!” Mal shouted. He and Zoe were taking the second shuttle, hoping to find Jayne before he got into something he couldn’t handle. “On it, sir,” she replied, running to join him. Inara showed up, looking apprehensive. “Inara, better have the ship cleared to leave, just in case,” he told her. “Please be careful, Mal,” she asked softly, kissing him briefly. “And bring him back.” “I will,” he assured her grimly. He and Zoe moved into the shuttle, and thirty seconds later were in the air. Inara watched them depart, then returned to the galley. River was still sitting there. “Mei-mei, why don’t you let me help you back to the infirmary?” River shook her head. “Want to stay here,” she said quietly. “Want to be here when he gets back.” “He wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself,” Inara pointed out. “He loves you very much.” “I know,” she whispered. “If not for me, he wouldn’t have gone. Wants to make sure they can’t hurt me again.” Inara was stunned. She hadn’t even thought of that, assuming that Jayne was extracting revenge for Ami. “He is,” River assured her. “But would not have left me to do it. Have hurt me twice, now. Won’t be a third time.” “I’m sure Mal and Zoe will find him,” Inara comforted her. River snorted. “No one will find him until he wants to be found,” she told Inara flatly. “By then it will be done.” “You think Jayne will try and take Zhang and his men alone?” Inara asked. “Not try,” River shook her head. “Will. Wolf amongst sheep. Tear the head from the Scorpion. Set things to right.” With that, she closed her eyes, and leaned back on the sofa, resting. Inara covered her with a blanket, and settled in beside her. To wait. ----------------------- “We gotta hustle, Zoe,” Mal urged. “Ain’t gonna do him no good, we get shot down, sir,” Zoe pointed out. “He hadn’t oughta gone off like that,” Mal said. “Dammit, just when I think I can trust him, he up and does this go se!” “Just what is it that he’s done, makes you think you can’t trust him, sir?” “He shoulda told me!” Mal shot back. “He shouldn’a gone off alone like this!” “You know why he did it, sir,” Zoe replied calmly. “He ain’t got it in him to sit back and see any of us hurt anymore. Especially River.” “I never saw that coming,” he shook his head. “Should have, I guess. But I didn’t.” “Don’t know how you missed it,” Zoe smiled softly. “She’s chased him all over the ship. Wore him down.” “That, more than anything, made me trust him,” Mal grinned. “Never thought I’d see Jayne Cobb run from a willin’ woman.” “Took a while for him to see her as a woman at all, sir,” Zoe grinned back. “Let alone willing. I think he thought she had a teen-age crush, and he didn’t want to encourage her.” “She didn’t need it,” he snorted. “And he oughta know, by now, that she’s older than any teenager he’s ever known.” “‘cept maybe himself, sir,” Zoe observed somberly. “They’re a lot alike.” “True enough, I guess,” Mal nodded. “Still make an odd pair, though. Don’t they?” “No more than me and Wash, sir,” Zoe said sadly. Mal looked over at her. “I’m sorry I said that, Zoe,” he told her. She shrugged. “Life goes on, sir,” she said philosophically. “Just cause Wash is gone, doesn’t mean I ain’t got his memory. Our memories. And, like I said. Jayne and River ain’t no more odd than he and I were.” “Guess not, at that,” Mal agreed, thinking about them. Everyone who’d ever seen them together had probably thought the same thing. Silly, funny little Wash, and tall, strong, stoic Zoe. Didn’t seem to make much sense, until you saw the way they looked at each other. The way they cared for each other. Thinking on it, he could see the same thing in Jayne and River. He knew that Jayne was doing this to protect River, more than anything. He’d want revenge for Ami, true. But that wouldn’t take him from River’s side when she was hurt. Twice the little assassin had been injured by one of Zhang’s hired hands. Both times had been traumatic for Jayne. He was unused to having anyone to care about, Mal knew. Finding River had given him that. And Zhang had almost taken her from him. And Zoe was right. Jayne didn’t have it in him to sit back and do nothing. He pushed those thoughts aside as they neared Zhang’s compound. Time to get to work. He needed his gunhand back.

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------------- Shades of the Past – Chapter Twenty-Eight I don’t own the rights to Firefly, Serenity, or anything else. I’m ownless. Without ownership. Just having fun with what’s there. :) ----------------- Once inside the house, Jayne had to admit he was impressed. The layout was lavish, to say the least. Ornate fixtures adorned every corner, nook, and cranny. Gold and silver trim seemed to be on everything. He smiled as he remembered the simple things his mother had used in their small home. She’d have took one look at these things, and turned her nose. He shook of the memory, and began to stalk silently through the house. He knew there were occupants, and likely some would be guards. There was also sure to be a security system, likely video, and possibly infrared. Even a shade couldn’t hide from all that. So he moved quickly. ------------------------ “Given any thought to how we’re gonna find Jayne when we get there, sir?” Zoe asked. “Can’t exactly walk up to the front door and announce we’re looking for a homicidal member of our crew who takes exception to his woman being shot by the owner’s thugs.” “No, I can see where that could be problematical,” Mal snorted. “I don’t know, Zoe. Only thing I can think of is too land as close as we can, and then see if we can find Jayne.” “Don’t think we’ll find Jayne, sir,” Zoe observed. “Not unless he wants us to.” “Thought about that myself,” Mal muttered, wondering if Ami’s tale had been accurate. If it was, then Jayne was the damn Grim Reaper. “Looks like we’re coming up on the house, sir,” Zoe observed. “Swing around, and see if we can find a place to land. Not so close as to call attention, but close enough we ain’t got to run half a day to get away.” “Right,” Zoe nodded, rolling her eyes. Like she’d never done anything like this before. “Looks good, right there,” Mal pointed, and Zoe started her descent. “This side seat driving is gettin’ old, sir.” ---------------------- Jayne had encountered three guards on the ground floor. None of them had seen him coming. Nor would they ever see anything else. Satisfied that the ground floor was clear, he started up the winding staircase. As he neared the top floor, he heard the sound of women laughing. He stilled at that. He hadn’t thought about finding women here. Were there children, as well? He had seen no signs of children. Neither outside, nor in the parts of the house he’d already visited. He shrugged. His family and children had as much right to live as Zhang’s. He should have picked on someone else, or hired better guards. With that thought, he moved stealthily down the hallway, where he could now hear a man’s voice. That’s where he headed first. -------------------- “Well, this is a fine idea,” Zoe grumbled, as she and Mal fought their way through the briars and bushes that blocked Mal’s ‘shortcut’. “It looked closer,” Mal huffed, removing another thorn from his already bleeding leg. “You say so, sir,” Zoe muttered. Having discovered a thorn in a very sensitive spot had not improved her mood. “At this rate, it’ll be light before we get there.” “If then,” Mal agreed, pulling yet another thorn from his arm. “I’m open to suggestions.” he added. “I suggested we go ‘round earlier, sir,” Zoe shot back crossly, busy with her own thorn removal. “Well, then suggest something now,” Mal retorted. “I can’t see an end to. . .” he broke off as he pushed aside another bush, and found the way clear before him. He turned to Zoe, smirking. The smirk died as he noticed the ferocious scowl she was wearing. “Told you it was closer,” he mumbled. Together they set off to the house. ------------------------ Jayne paused outside the door, listening. He could identify one man’s voice and three females. He sniffed the air. There was the faint aroma of wine, something stronger, and a heavy perfume. He smiled. Zhang was entertaining, maybe? Well, he had something to liven up the evening. He stepped back, lifted his foot, and kicked the door open. Zhang was indeed entertaining. Three whores shrieked as the door come completely off it’s hinges and fell to the floor. They watched, eyes wide, mouths agape, as a giant specter entered the room. His face was painted in a montage of colors, but they recognized a killer when they saw one. “Who in the hell. . .!” the man sputtered, rising from the bed. Jayne eyed the man he’d come for. He wasn’t much to look at. Around the same size as Simon, he guessed, little broader. Stronger looking, a bit. Asian features that most women would probably find attractive were marred by anger. He looked at the women. “Get out,” Jayne ordered. “And keep going. Don’t look back.” The whores grabbed whatever clothes they could find and flew the coop. Zhang turned suddenly to his night stand. He had the gun in his hand and was raising it when a grip of steel fell over his fingers. He heard the bones snap as a vise closed around his hand. “You’d be Zhang, I figure,” the specter said. Zhang nodded in pain. “You have no idea how much trouble you are in, my friend,” Zhang growled through his pain. “Heard it before,” Jayne was unconcerned. “Won’t help,” he added, as Zhang reached for an alarm buzzer. “They’re dead.” Zhang looked to him in disdain. “You can’t kill all of my men, hundan,” he snarled. “They’re some of the finest men in all the. . .” he trailed off as Jayne held out a handful of patches. Zhang looked to them, horror dawning on his face. “You,” he breathed, looking into the unforgiving eyes of the giant apparition before him. “Me,” Jayne nodded. “Been killing your kind for years,” he added with a smirk. “You tortured my men during the war,” Zhang trembled, from rage, not fear. “A waste of time, as they knew nothing.” “Never asked ‘em anything, so I wouldn’t know,” Jayne shrugged, and Zhang’s eyes went wide. “I did it cause I liked it,” Jayne told him, a very nasty smile pasting across his face. “And now, I’ve found the head bug himself.” “I have money,” Zhang stammered. “I can pay you handsomely.” Jayne looked down in disgust. He’d at least expected the man he’d hunted for so long to make a decent effort to fight. “How much money we talkin’ ‘bout?” Jayne asked, an idea comin’ to him. Zhang grinned inside. He’d knew this ignorant peasant could be swayed by money. Outwardly, he still trembled. “I have a safe,” he pointed to a door. “It’s full, but only I can open it. You take what’s inside, and let me live.” “Open it up, then,” Jayne replied, pointing. “But don’t try nothin’ funny.” He almost smiled, but wanted to make Zhang believe. The smaller man went slowly to the door, and opened it, leading the way into a small office. Jayne stepped in carefully, looking for any sign of a trap. Zhang snorted softly. The barbarian oaf. The only trap in this room lay in his superior mind. He went to the safe, and entered a code. Pulling the door open, he stuck his arm inside and came out with a small pistol. Turning he prepared to kill his attacker. But there was no one there. A strong arm enveloped him, and he felt a sharp piercing at his neck. The arm released him, and he fell to floor, unable to move. “Thought I’d let you play a little,” the mocking voice came to him from the dark. “And I will take the money, seeing as how you’ve caused a lotta people a lotta pain. But you? You ain’t gonna live.” Jayne quickly cleared the safe out, not bothering to see what anything was. It didn’t matter anyway. The money would help cover the damage to the ship, and the rest could help the people affected by Zhang’s violence. When he finished, he stood. Walking over to the small gas heater, he reached down and yanked the hose from it’s back, the room instantly filling with the pungent smell of the fuel. He placed a small block on the heater, flipping a switch as he did so. He paused on his way out, looking down at Zhang, still struggling to move. “You made a mistake, Zhang,” he said calmly. “Long time ago on a little rim moon called Tokala. Doubt you remember it. But I do. You killed my family. Only fair that you pay for it, even this late.” “But you might have gotten away with that, ‘cept you killed a friend o’ mine, like family. And you hurt my woman. Can’t let that stand. I’d carve on ya some, but since you can’t feel nothin’ from the neck down, won’t do no good.” He walked to the door, but stopped and looked back. “I’ll see you in hell, Zhang,” he nodded. “You can save me a seat.” With that he was gone. Zhang tried with every fiber of his being to move. He ordered his traitorous limbs to work, to get him away from the danger. But they wouldn’t respond. This couldn’t be happening. He was Jian Zhang, the Scorpion! He could not be defeated by some rim-born peasant from a back water moon! His mind was superior! He was still thinking that when the gas finally took his consciousness away. -------------------- “Gorramit, Zoe!” Mal exclaimed. “I told you this was leading us into a ditch!” “So you did, sir,” Zoe nodded. “But there’s no thorns.” “And no way to get out except to go back!” Mal hissed sharply. He turned and trudged back the way they had came. Zoe followed. As they came to the shallower end of the ‘ditch’, Mal grabbed a handful of some kind of tree, and levered himself up, then turned to help Zoe. They were cleaning themselves off, again!, when a voice floated to them from the dark. “Looking for me?” Jayne asked softly. “Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Mal jumped two feet from the ground, turning and drawing his pistol as he did so. Zoe had also started, but she had recognized Jayne’s voice, and simply turned. “You are gettin’ a gorram bell! Don’t do that! Scared the go se outta me.” Mal muttered, looking for Jayne. “What are you two doing here?” Jayne asked, appearing out of the dark as if by magic. “We came to help you,” Zoe said stoically, cutting her eyes to Mal. “Don’t need it,” Jayne replied, “but thanks for doin’ it. Makes me feel all loved and wanted.” He grinned and Zoe laughed in spite of herself. Jayne had come a long way. “You already. . .I mean what did. . .what have you done, Jayne?” Mal finally stammered out, eyeing the bag the gun hand was carrying. He half expected it to have Zhang’s head inside. “Well, Zhang offered me a lotta money to let him live,” Jayne shrugged. “So, I took the money.” “What?” Mal’s expression was one of utter shock. “Well, he don’t need it,” Jayne explained. “And there’s a lotta people he’s hurt will benefit from it, ‘cludin’ you, since the ship was banged up. So I let him open his safe, and took the money.” “You sold out? Took the money?” Mal’s voice was quiet, unbelieving. Jayne out on a hurt face. “Mal, after all this time, you still don’t trust me,” he said. “‘Course I took the money! I just told you why!” “And you let Zhang live,” Mal said. “So far,” he nodded, then looked to Zoe. He offered her a small black box, one silver switch glaring. “Wanna do the honors?” he smiled. She grinned and took the detonator. “Jayne, what is. . .” Mal started to ask, then Zoe hit the switch. The explosion lit up the night, turning it to day. Pieces of the mansion were blown far and wide, and Mal yelled, hitting the dirt. Zoe ducked behind Jayne, who simply watched with grim satisfaction, nodding. As things began to settle, he turned to the first mate. “You do good work, Zoe,” he grinned. Zoe tossed the box back with a laugh. “”How’d you know?” she asked. “That I like that?” “Didn’t for sure,” he admitted. “But you got the look,” he added with a wink. “How ‘bout we get our fearless Cap’n off the ground, and make with the gettin’ the hell outta here? Fire’s bound to attract unwanted attention.” As they helped Mal to his feet, the Captain was complaining. Of course. “Gorramit Jayne!” he screeched. “How ‘bout some warning ‘fore pulling a stunt like that! Coulda blown all out heads off, or we coulda been killed by falling debris, or. . .or. . .I’m the Captain! Deserve some warning!” “You’re right, Cap’n,” Jayne nodded seriously. “I’m sorry. Shoulda warned ya.” “What the hell did you put in there?” Mal asked, to shocked at Jayne’s apology to keep ranting. “Just some stuff,” he shrugged. “Pulled all the gas lines in the house, and left a little somethin’ at each one,” he grinned. “Thought it’d make a nice boom.” “Boom!” Mal launched into a new tirade. “Boom? You call that a. . .a boom? You like to lit half the planet on fire!” “Wasn’t that bad, sir,” Zoe smiled. She reached up and grabbed his sleeve. “Not that way, sir.” “It’s the way we came!” he snorted. Jayne looked at the thorns. “You came through that?” he asked. Zoe grimaced and nodded. “Wow,” Jayne was impressed. “I’m touched. That you guys would do that for me. Especially when there’s a trail right over here that leads around the thorns and up the. . .” “Jayne!” Mal and Zoe exclaimed at once. “Was just sayin’,” Jayne muttered, leading the way to the trail with a grin. “C’mon. Let’s go home.” Mal and Zoe exchanged a glance. Jayne had referred to Serenity as home twice now. He was definitely changing. For the better. Mostly.

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

------------- Shade of the Past – Chapter Epilogue Not my characters, not my idea, not my stuff ------------------- Inara had drifted off the sleep beside River, and was startled when the girl jerked awake suddenly. “Shade is gone,” she said quietly. “Light returns.” She turned to Inara, smiling. “They are on their way home.” “All of them?” Inara asked, and River nodded. “Yes. Zhang has met the wolf, and the scorpion has no more sting,” she stated firmly. “Family unit now safe, wolf is happy.” “I assume Jayne is the wolf?” Inara asked with a smile. “Alpha Male,” River nodded happily. “Don’t let Mal hear you say that,” Inara snickered, and River grinned. “Captain Daddy already knows,” she said smugly. “But he is secure in the knowledge that Jayne thinks of us all as family, and would not betray him.” “Well, I guess it’s okay then,” Inara laughed. --------------------- As the shuttle docked with the ship, Mal was still complaining. “And no more runnin’ off on your own, either, Gorramit! We are a crew and we do things as a crew! Dong Ma?” “I won’t Cap’n,” Jayne agreed with longsuffering. “This was a special case, is all.” “Ain’t no sucha thing as a special case, Jayne,” Mal told him seriously. “We’re a family. We look out for one another.” “That’s just what I was doin’ Cap’n,” Jayne smiled, handing him the sack filled with the contents of Zhang’s safe. “That’s just what I was doin’.” With that he headed out the hatch, eager to see someone. Mal shook his head, looking into the bag. “Ai ya!” he exclaimed, eyeing the loot. Zoe peered inside and whistled. “Damn,” was all she could muster. “Oughta be able to fix the ship with that.” she commented, then looked up at Mal. “And sir?” Mal looked up at her. “You ever lead me through a patch of thorns again, I’ll shoot you.” She rose and headed for the hatch. “You’d shoot me, Zo’?,” Mal whined. “In the leg,” she nodded firmly. “Not one more thorn, sir.” With that she left. Mal looked down at the sack again, then headed for the hatch himself. Had to get this stuff hid, just in case. ----------------------------- River was waiting when Jayne walked into the galley. Inara had helped her get to her feet, and she stood there, unsteady but determined. Jayne took one look at her and swept her gently into his arms, one hand under her legs, the other covering half of her back. “Baby, what are you doing up here?” he growled. She felt it through his chest and shivered. “Waiting for you,” she said simply, laying her head on his chest tiredly. “You oughta be in bed, baby girl,” he whispered softly. “Can’t lay in bed when my Jayne is out stalking the beast,” she told him. “That’s all done, baby. All over with,” he assured her, heading for the infirmary. “I know,” she snuggled closer. “I know.” He walked into the infirmary, and gently laid her on the bed. As he slid his arms from around her, she grabbed his hand. “Stay with me?” she asked, her eyes pleading. “Forever,” he nodded, sitting down beside her. She sighed in contentment, and drifted off to sleep. She dreamed that night, of a large, gentle wolf. One that stood guard over her, challenging all who tried to approach her. She’d never rested better. --------------------------------- Dawn came clear and bright over Serenity. Though the ship was actually ready to take off, Mal had declared one more day ground side was needed, all things considered. Jayne carried River to the galley for breakfast, where Mal told an extremely abbreviated version of the past night’s events. Simon and Kaylee had been asleep at the time, having labored for long hours readying the ship for space. Inara knew what had happened, but not the details. River, of course, knew everything. The sheriff came visiting soon after lunch, where he found a very distraught Jayne Cobb sitting bedside by the young woman who had been shot just four days previous. The sheriff had gone through the motions of where he had been when the Zhang mansion had ‘burned’. Jayne had explained that he had been right here, watching over his ai ren. River’s heart skipped a beat at that, but she didn’t allow it to show. He was crumbling again, and she was patient. The sheriff, satisfied that he had observed the particulars, should anyone care to ask, left. Jayne watched him go, eyes narrowing when the man looked back. “Jayne,” Mal said, his voice full of warning. “Cap’n?” Jayne turned an innocent face to him. “Don’t go gettin’ that look in your eyes,” Mal told him. “Man’s doin’ his job is all.” Jayne snorted. “He’d been doin’ his job, none o’ this would have ever happened.” With that he walked away, and Mal watched him go, hoping that sheriff was smart enough to mind his own business. If he wasn’t, then Jayne was liable to cloud up and rain all over him. ----------------- The next two weeks passed without event, Serenity making two round trips and heading away on a third. They were still making double pay, and would until the back log was cleared. After that, Mal and Harwell had already agreed on a contract for the future. The money was less, though still good, and gave Mal first refusal of any job with the company. As the ship prepared to make orbit over Astra, Jayne was trying to keep his mind clear of what he had planned. River could glean nearly anything from him, and he had to work to surprise her. But this should go well, he thought.

------------------- On the last trip, he and Inara had gone shopping, and Inara had picked out two very nice dresses she felt sure that River would like, along with matching shoes and handbags. Jayne had insisted that Inara get her some ‘girly things’, as he put it, while Jayne himself had picked out a very nice piece of jewelry. When Inara saw the necklace, she gasped. “Jayne, it’s beautiful!” “Has to be,” he nodded firmly. “Can’t have River wearing just any old thing.” She smiled at that. Who would have thought that Jayne Cobb would ever be such a fine ‘catch’ for a woman? Other than River, she added mentally. Once done, Jayne had approached Simon about what kind of ballet ‘shows’ River liked best. Simon couldn’t help but goggle. “Jayne have you ever been to a ballet?” he asked. “No, but that don’t mean I can’t go,” Jayne answered. Then added, “Does it?” “No, of course not,” Simon sputtered, trying to find a way to explain about ballet to Jayne, and why it wouldn’t be a good idea. “Simon,” Jayne saved him, “I don’t care what it is, or what it’s about, okay? I don’t have to like it, so long as River does. Whatever it is, however bad I may think it is, I’ll sit through it for her.” Simon was speechless. Jayne really meant it. He didn’t care how boring it was, he’d sit through. For her. Simon nodded, and agreed to look at the social pages for Astra’s capital city, seeing what was available. Normally, rim worlds didn’t have much to choose from, but Astra was heavily industrialized. As a result there was a good bit of money floating around, and entertainment tended to follow money. Incredibly, Simon found a production of Swan Lake, an Earth-that-was classic that River had always been partial to. He arranged for tickets, and gave the claim number to Jayne. “Thanks, Simon,” Jayne nodded. “Do something for you, sometime.” Simon just shook his head, and went back to the infirmary. Jayne had already done plenty for him, and the young doctor could do no less for the gun hand. Inara corralled River after the ship was settled, and led her away. As soon as the two were out of sight, Jayne raced to the shower, scrubbing until he thought his skin would come off. He then high tailed to his bunk, dressing in the suit that Inara had helped him pick out. But he had a problem. -------------------- Mal opened his bunk door at the gentle knocking, and was shocked to see Jayne standing there. In a suit! “Going somewhere, Jayne?” he asked in amusement. “Taking River out,” he nodded. “If you’ll help me tie this Gorram tie!” he added, red faced. Mal laughed and started tying. “There ya go, big man,” Mal said, putting the last touches on the tie, and straightening it. “Looks fine.” “Thanks, Mal,” Jayne said, then started feeling his pockets. He relaxed when his hands brushed across the small box. “Nervous?” Mal asked in delight. “Hell yes!” Jayne exclaimed. “I got it all planned out, o’ course, but. . .well, what if she don’t like it?” “I’m sure she’ll like it, Jayne,” Mal assured him. “Whatever it is.” “Well, we’ll see I guess,” Jayne muttered. He turned to go, then turned back. “Thanks, Mal. ‘Bout the tie.” “You already thanked me, ya big dope,” Mal laughed again. “Now go! “Fore you have some kinda attack.” “Right,” Jayne nodded, as if Mal were serious. Mal watched him go, shaking his head. ----------------------- “Inara, what is going on?” River asked, as the older woman laid out two dresses. “Jayne has a surprise for you, dear,” Inara said honestly. She wouldn’t be able to hide it from her anyway. “Where did you get these?” River squealed, sounding like the young woman she was. “They’re wonderful!” “Jayne got them,” Inara smiled. “He wanted to surprise you. Has a whole night planned just for you, and no peeking,” she admonished. “He’d never forgive me.” “He would,” River nodded firmly. “Jayne loves you very much. You’ve been a friend to him, and a good teacher.” Inara blushed at that. “Well, still, I don’t want to spoil it, so let’s stop talking and start getting you ready.” --------------------------- Jayne was pacing nervously in the galley. Every time he heard a sound, he looked toward the entry to Inara’s shuttle. Nothing. He paced some more. He’d checked the jewelry box so many times he was sure he’d rubbed a hole in his suit. Fear of that prompted him to look down. No hole. He sighed in relief. What was wrong with him? It wasn’t like him to be so . . . “Wow!” Kaylee’s voice caused Jayne to start. He turned to find the engineer looking at him in appreciation. “You’re all kinds o’ shiny tonight, Jayne!” she gushed, taking in his clean shaven face, and new suit. “Thanks, Kaylee,” Jayne mumbled, blushing. “Takin’ River out on the town, I guess,” she teased. He nodded. “First chance we’ve had, what with her hurt an’ all,” he told her. “Simon told me what you were doing,” Kaylee smiled. “I think it’s just plain wonderful, Jayne. You wanting to do something she likes, even if you don’t. Ain’t ever man would do such.” “Want her to be happy, is all,” Jayne mumbled again, his blush deepening. “She will be,” Kaylee said softly, kissing Jayne on his cheek. “You’re a fine man, Jayne. She’s a lucky girl.” “Thanks, Kaylee.” Jayne was sure he was going to catch on fire if his face burned any hotter. Just as he was about to say something, Inara’s hatch opened. Jayne spun around, unconsciously straightening his suit. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped at the vision before him. River was standing there in the green silk dress Inara had helped him pick out. It shimmered in the light, revealing and concealing all at the same time. It clung to her slender form like a second skin, proving once and for all that River Tam was, indeed, a woman grown. Her hair sat piled gracefully atop her head, held in place by green chopsticks. Earrings dangled from her ears, and the matching heels made her look taller. She clutched the darker green shawl and small matching handbag, a nervous smile on her face. “Oh, River,” Kaylee gushed. “You’re beautiful, honey!” She elbowed Jayne, who was still speechless. “Wow,” was all he could manage. River blushed furiously at that. “I told you,” Inara whispered from behind her. “Speechless.” River resisted the urge to giggle. “Um, uh,” Jayne stammered, then composed himself. It took an amazing amount of effort. “You look. . .you’re gorgeous,” he finally stammered. “But there’s something missing.” He walked forward. River’s face faltered. Missing? Jayne reached into his pocket, pulling the jewelry box from it. River’s face lit up. He opened the box, revealing the necklace. Gold and stones flashed in the light, and he held the box out, willing his hands not to shake. She looked from the box, up to his eyes. “Oh, Jayne, it’s lovely,” she gasped out. “It had to be,” he told her softly. “It was for you.” He carefully pulled the necklace from the box, and she turned to allow him to place it on her neck. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Perfect,” he smiled, and she blushed again. “Jayne,” Inara hated to interrupt. “Schedule,” she prompted. “Right,” he nodded. He offered River his arm. “Ready, baby girl?” “Yes,” she nodded. “Thank you, Inara,” she said over her shoulder. “You’re quite welcome, mei-mei,” Inara assured her. --------------------- The two walked arm in arm along the street. Dinner had been wonderful. They had sat and talked about many things, especially the future. Jayne had become an accomplished conversationalist under Inara’s tutelage, River thought. Though beneath it was still the growling Alpha Male she had fallen in love with, the new polish simply made him more attractive as a. . .mate. The word came to her unbidden, but she knew it was the proper term. Wolves mate for life, and Jayne, her Jayne, was nothing if not a wolf. “Where are we going?” she asked, leaning her head on his arm. “Where would you like to go?” Jayne asked her in turn. He had carefully guided them along the way, and they were now walking down the street where several of the better playhouses sat. She was gazing absently at the signs and the lights when something caught her attention. “Ohhhhh, Swan Lake!” River exclaimed. “It’s one of my favorites.” “Want to go see it?” he asked, and she stopped, looking up at him. “I would not ask you to do that, Jayne,” she said seriously. “I’m afraid you wouldn’t like it, and I would never ask you to sit through it for me.” Jayne felt his heart flitter at that. She wanted to go, he could tell by the look in here eyes. But she would deny herself the joy in order to do something with him. “Well, I don’t mind, for you,” he said, shrugging. “Let’s at least see if there are tickets left. Then you can decided.” “I’d love to see it,” she admitted fondly. They walked over to the ticket window. “We have reservations,” Jayne informed the clerk, handing over his claim number. He heard River squeak in surprise, felt her hand tighten on his arm. “”You’re an evil man, Jayne Cobb,” she hissed in delight. He grinned down at her. “It’s been said.” He took the tickets, and gave them to her. “A box! You got us a box?” she stammered. “Jayne it’s too much! It costs so much!” He lifted her hand, kissing it softly. “Don’t fret,” he assured her. “I’ve got plenty, and then some. And this is for you, baby girl. Not me.” With that he led her into the opera house. As he escorted her through the building, he reflected on how blessed he was. It would always be for her. His blessing. His offering. His grace. Always for her. ------------ And thus our tale comes to a close. See what happens next in Long Road Home.