TITLE: "WORKING IT OUT" AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL FANDOM: "FIREFLY" PAIRING: Jayne. RATING: PG-13. STATUS: Short standalone piece. ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where. FEEDBACK: Welcomed. EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com WEBSITE: None. All Firefly stories archived at Fireflyfans.net

SUMMARY: "Jayne takes his time figuring a few things out after joining Serenity's crew." The usual disclaimers apply. The characters and 'Firefly' are the property and gift of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. No infringement of copyright is intended.

"WORKING IT OUT"

"Firefly" story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

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Jayne watched the man like a hawk. Had done from day one. Folks thought he was a mite slow, a touch simple in the brainpan, but it wasn't that. He liked to think things over, slow like, tease the facts every which way in his mind like a gorram jigsaw puzzle until all the pieces fit. He hadn't expected Malcolm Reynolds to talk his way out of his predicament, had been surprised to end up on his crew and leave Marco hopping mad and swearing in the dust. Made the mercenary more than a mite impressed how Serenity's Captain had calmly turned a weak position into one of strength, going from victim to victor with Jayne ending up on the winning side. Had a kind of poetry to it but that didn't mean it was safe to let his guard down.

He knew he could take Mal if he had to but what intrigued Jayne more was that he didn't want to. Man was a puzzle and Jayne needed to figure him out before he did anything too dumb to put right. However long it took. And if he didn't like the way the pieces fit together well there was any number of ways to ease a troublesome soul out of this 'verse. Jayne gave a sideways glance down at the knife in his hand and spat on the blade then slid it against the whetstone. One eye following the Captain's progress as the man sauntered across the commons room to help himself to a cup of stewed coffee. Simon was standing by the table, a look of disgust on his face as he watched Jayne. "Do you have to do that here?"

Jayne spat again, making sure he had even more moisture in his mouth and smirked as Simon's mouth twisted with revulsion as the spittle left his mouth. Oh yeah, this looked to be an amusing past time, yanking the fancy core bred doctor's chain. Plenty people had looked down their noses at him but not many had been able to do it a second time. The Captain poured his coffee, slow and steady, the cut of his eyes telling Jayne that he didn't miss a thing. Jayne being Jayne had to push, see how far he could stretch the boundaries before Mal put his foot down or Simon stomped off in a temper tantrum. Man had to do something for amusement on this scruffy tub. Least 'til Mal gave him someone to kill. He could afford to bide his time for now. Work on that gorram puzzle. He was a mercenary but sometimes, sometimes it wasn't all about the money.

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