Jayne Goes Home

Jayne lay in his bunk, glaring at Kaylee knowing that his glare doubled her meddling. "Come on Jayne, Cap'n says he needs everyone on side for this. This town can be a mite ornery 'bout strangers and if they find they don't meet all of us well we might lose the job." "Tell Mal I'm sick." Kaylee fixed him her widest shiniest smile and called out for Simon.

When the doc walked in he looked warily at Jayne's gun collection. Putting on his best serious-doctor face Simon checked his temperature. "Kaylee would you please go tell the captain that Jayne is indeed ill and unable to join us." "Right you are Simon, and Jayne I'm sorry I thought you were faking." With that little remark Kaylee bounced out of the room.

"Why are you so anxious to avoid this place? It's not another town where you're a folk hero is it?" Simon sat on the chair across from Jayne and stared at him. "Naw. I'm just sick is all." "Jayne, I can go and tell Mal that you have made a miraculous recovery, or you can stop being a pathetic infant and tell me." The options as Jayne could see them were this: Tell the truth and have the whole gorram crew know his past, lie and have the whole gorram crew think they know his past or he could shut his mouth and then the cap'n would find out he was fakin and drag him on this job, by his neck, then the crew would find out everything all on their own. "Look I pulled a job here a few years back and went south, the other guy shot through with everythin and I was left with nothin." "Ok, forget I asked I will tell Mal you're sick- you can keep up this charade as long as you need, but just remember Kaylee will mother you and I won't stop her and if she finds out we've been lying I'll say you threatened me and I won't be the one getting berated."

The crew spent a long day in town getting to know the locals, as policy on some border moons dictated. As it approached dusk, Mal sent his crew back to Serenity to start making some supper. He however had some business to set up in the general store, according to Badger the owner of the store would have money for the cargo they carried.

Behind the counter was a redheaded female and she barely looked old enough to be out of school. "Mrs Cobb, hi. I have a package for you from Jayne." "Oh Rose honey, thank-ya. I'm sure one day he'll come visit- he keeps promisin' me and his Pa and Jayne says he misses you so much- he always drops a greeting to you in his letters, and there was that beautiful shawl he sent you last winter." Mal smiled, Jayne had said that shawl was for his sister. "Mrs Cobb-" the redhead Mal now knew as Rose was blushing awful fierce "Just, just give Jayne my warmest regards." She handed the older woman her package and some other purchases. Mrs Cobb wished her a nice evening and left. "Rose is it?" Mal asked approaching the scarlet-faced girl at the counter. "I do believe we have a common acquaintance." "Oh, did Badger give you my order?" Mal winked at the young girl, grinning. "Well yes he did and I have the order at my ship, it's being unloaded as we speak." The young girl broke out into a beaming grin, "You're much prompter than I hoped, this is spectacular news. I will be around first thing to take my order and give you your payment." "Actually I was thinking if you didn't have dinner plans maybe you could have supper with my crew and myself." "Well, I'm not sure, I still have a lot I need to do here." "Please it would be my pleasure and my crew would be very interested in meeting you."

Jayne felt Mal's hand close around his shirt. "Sick men need to eat Jayne- if you're sick you will march into that kitchen and you will eat with us. If however you are just hiding something from me then you can stay here and mope and not get paid." Jayne glared at Mal and slowly considered the consequences. "Ok, gorram it let go of me. I'll come eat." When Kaylee saw Jayne walk in her smile grew even wider and Zoe's eyes had a look, like she knew sumthin he didn't. 'Damn women, why Mal keeps a ship full of 'em I'll never know' Jayne thought. "Jayne?" And in that one word he almost lost his temper. The entire crew is sitting there and River, that crazy brat, is sitting there next to Rose MacGovern as if they were school-yard chums. Mal did this and Jayne wanted Mal dead, or maybe in pain, yeah lots of pain. "I can see this wasn't a good idea, I should go." Rose had dashed out of the room before Jayne could fully bring his mouth to speak.

"Jayne shouldn't you go after her, she looked upset." Zoe raised an eyebrow and the entire crew looked shocked. That nice, normal girl wasn't just interested in Jayne, but she was completely smitten with him. "Now Zoe, I think our Jayne is still feeling under the weather, maybe if he tells us what's going on he might start to feel better." Mal's eyes glinted with dark humor. "I grew up here, well not here just over the river." "Aww and you and Rose were sweeties?" Kaylee's smile got wider and Jayne's face reddened. "N-no, no, no we weren't that way." Inara smiled quietly, she'd never seen Jayne so embarrassed, it was amusing. "So Jayne, what way were you then?" He got up and left the room, the sound of the crew's laughter in his ears.

Rose MacGovern had been Mayflower queen the year she finished at school out of all the girls in the town she was picked, not just because she was the prettiest but because she was a good girl. So when she picked Jayne Cobb as her Mayflower king the entire town, including Jayne, almost died of shock. But on the day of the festival when she and Jayne walked down the main street together, the entire town watching, she knew that one day this would happen on her wedding night and that Jayne would be on her arm. Over the years that firm belief had melted into become a daydream, and that daydream shattered when she realised that Jayne had been in town a full day and hadn't even shown himself.

Jayne hit the side of the ship as he left it, he could still feel everyone watchin' him and how in the 'verse did Mal know to bring Rose back to the ship? Ruttin' Hell this is a big manure-filled mess. "Argh, why did she even come! I'm no good, don't she know that." He yelled at Serenity. "She didn't know Jayne," Mal sighed. "I heard her talkin to your ma at the general store and I thought a reunion might be of interest." "Might be humiliating s'more like it." He glared at Mal. "You had no business pryin' like that- I don't go muckin up your life." "You bein on my ship seems to muck it up just fine most days, and don't you be forgetting it." Mal could still see the humor in this, but the girls ganged up on him and made him check on Jayne. "Aww hell with this, I'm goin' for a walk."