Title: The Making of a Merc
Author: sagelondon
Rating: (K) There are brief mentions of violence which are not too graphic
Characters: Jayne Cobb, Serenity Crew, Mattie Cobb, EJ Cobb
Warning: If you don't like Jayne Cobb you won't like this story!
Spoilers/Timeline: After the 1st Season but before the movie
Series: Mercenary's Daughter Series Part 1
Today
5 years. It had been 5 years since Jayne Cobb had walked on his own home world. He had only just gotten the wave from Mattie. Their mother had died. Mal & Wash had been listening to his conversation. By the time he was ready to ask the Captain, the Serenity was already on its way. Neither man knew what to say to Jayne. His face was pure stone, so they left him alone. He had the look of a man with the weight of a world on his shoulders. A world he hadn't seen in 5 long years.
20 YRS AGO
Jayne Cobb walked into a tiny house on a small dusty plain. He'd tried to shake the dust off himself before entering but he hadn't managed it and tracked some in with him. A blonde haired young woman turned around from the stove. She looked at the dirt surrounding him with disgust. "You finally come back and you mess up my clean floor?" The tone was harsh but she was smiling at him. He walked over and picked her up, hugging her tightly. Sorry Lizzy but I get like that sometimes. 2 Years married and I still gotta explain that to yer? He set her down gently and kissed her. "Work? You? I can smell the whiskey you know." She wasn't really angry. She just liked to give him a hard time as payback for all the times he teased her about 'acting like a wife'. He didn't often have time for a drink or 2 with a friend after work. He deserved a break. Not only working to support them but his mother and siblings too. He was a better man than anyone realized. "Wash up for supper you." she smiled and turned back to the stove.
Her father had forbidden her to marry Jayne, but Eliza was strong willed with a mind of her own. She'd grown up in a wealthy family, but she chose to defy her father and walk away from it. All of 18 yrs old she knew deep down that she would never love another man this much, or be as happy as she would with Jayne. So they ran off and married. Life together for them meant a small house in the middle of nowhere, and harder work than she ever imagined. Not to mention they also had to help his family out. Jayne was the oldest of a large brood who took his responsibility to his family seriously. But Eliza understood and had grown to love his family as her own.
Jayne sat down while Eliza put supper on the table. But before she could sit she fainted. He knelt down quickly and helped her up.
"Lizzy what's wrong with ya? That's twice now it's happened. Ya sick? Cause I'll go to town and get the Doc. Don't ya worry, I'll find the coin to pay. I just wanna know yer okay." He was really worried.
Eliza looked at him and smiled. "Not sick Jayne. I'm okay really."
He looked at her in disbelief. "Okay people don't faint dead away Lizzy"
Again she smiled. "It's just that....well....we're gonna have a baby. You're gonna be a father."
His eyes went wide as saucers. A father? Him? Then he began smiling and held her close. He pulled back to look at her and mouthed the word "baby" over and over. A family of his own. And he would be a better Pa than his ever was. He was sure of that. Somehow he'd find a way to give his kid everything. And Lizzy too. But I love you was all he could manage to say.
Today
They arrived on his home world. Mattie was waiting for him. They looked each other up and down before embracing. "Too long big brother." "Way too long."
Jayne introduced his little brother to the crew who offered him their condolences. Before he left Mal had told him 1 day, no more. It just wasn't safe for any of them to stay planetside any longer. Jayne half muttered a "Yeh" before the Cobb brothers left.
The funeral was quick and painful for the siblings. All jokes aside they'd loved and respected their mother. She had been all they had after their Pa took off. Jayne was only 15 then and the oldest of the kids. He'd left school without saying a word and then took whatever lousy rotten work he could get. Despite the fact that he was as big as he was, they could see he was still just a boy. So heaps of abuse came with the jobs he took. Knowing he had to support his family was the only thing that mattered to him. And he never complained. Every one of Jayne's brothers and sisters had adored him. And though he'd only come home for the funeral, they were still overwhelmingly happy to see him.
He kept up his stony silence and focused himself on the matter at hand in order to get through the sad day. But the pain was still there. Ma had done so much for him. Never gave him grief because he hadn't finished school. Never judged him for what he did for a living. When he decided to look for work elsewhere in the 'verse promising to send money home, she had even thanked him for being so responsible and looking after his kin so well. What man wouldn't feel pain at this loss?
As he stood there lost in his thoughts a young woman walked up behind him and lay her hand on his shoulder. Jayne swung around to look at her. She was tall, dark haired and blue eyed much like himself. Her features were softer though, and he saw dimples as she smiled at him and spoke. "Hello Pa."
20 Years Earlier...
They were only 20 years old when their daughter was born. It was a rough delivery and the doctor had to be called in, but Eliza and the baby survived. Jayne held his daughter, staring at her with wonder. Doctor had warned him that he and Eliza shouldn't try for anymore children. It was too dangerous for her.
Now another man, especially of the type like Jayne, might have been disappointed with his daughter. Or left his wife for never giving him a son. But Jayne wasn't like that. He loved his "Lizzy" and would never want to hurt her. And growing up with so many sisters he was used to girls. Besides, he'd already fallen in love with the little one who had joined his family. His only hope was that since the baby looked so much like him she would inherit her mother's brains.
In time Eliza healed. Arguing over what to name her seemed to be their biggest problem. So in her usual matter of fact way, Jayne's mother had settled the quarrel. She told them to name her Eliza Jane after themselves. They agreed although she quickly became known as EJ. She was a good baby with a sweet disposition and both parents were very happy. But Jayne noticed Eliza sometimes seemed distant and sad. When he asked her why she admitted to missing her Father. Jayne took it upon himself to swallow his pride and visit the old man. He hadn't wanted to, after all he had hurt Lizzy when he turned his back on her.
But the old man could not be moved. Not even news of the birth of a beautiful granddaughter made him budge. He offered Jayne a large amount of coin to leave and never come back. He angrily refused it. Not that the coin wouldn't have helped them out quite a bit, but he just couldn't take it. He had tried his best. Jayne would never go begging to him for his wife again. Lizzy would just have to get used to doing without her Father. He would find his own way to give his family whatever they needed. Dumb as an ox he might be, but he was also as strong as one and willing to work.
EJ began to grow big and strong. When a visiting old friend offered Jayne a good cut of a bank job in exchange for his help, he couldn't say no. And from then on, any job he was offered legal or not, he took. Somehow he was gonna give his family everything no matter how he got the coin to do it. And if that meant he had to steal a little, shoot someone, or use his considerable strength to beat someone up, so be it.
Today
"EJ!" Jayne exclaimed. She wound her arms around her father's neck and hugged him tightly. He pulled back from her and spoke seriously. "I know I ain't always been here for ya when ya needed me girl. But I missed ya."
"I know that Pa. You saw me when it was safe to. You sent money home to Grams to help out, and you never missed a single one of my birthdays." She whispered into his ear,"I have every doll you ever sent me."
They began walking together, still quietly talking.
"I'm a teacher now Pa," EJ told him.
"I know," Jayne smiled,"My ma wrote a ways back. Still can't believe someone dumb as me has a teacher for a kid."
They stopped walking and looked at each other as if seeing each other for the first time.
"I'm proud a ya EJ."
"Good to know Pa."
Taking his daughter's hands in his he looked deeply into the eyes which were so much like his own and asked "so whatcha gonna do now? With all them moved on ya'd be here all alone. I don't like it."
EJ's blue eyes flashed with anger.
"Pa, I'm grown now. You can't decide my life for me, I am NOT a child anymore."
Equally angry Jayne answered back quickly "Yur MY CHILD!"
Calmly she began to speak again. "I understand that Pa. It's not that I actually want to stay. But the job I got offered doesn't start for 2 months. And I haven't got enough coin to go offworld. I have to stay."
Jayne reached up and scratched his beard as he thought it over. Suddenly an answer came to him.
"Mebbe not."
16 years Earlier
Jayne enjoyed his life with Lizzy and their daughter. One of his favorte things was to hold his wife in his lap and brush her hair. 'Boy if the other fellers saw me they'd think I were nuts' he thought. EJ grew bigger and more like her father every day. During a rare quarrel between her parents the child spoke her first word. She looked Jayne square in the eye and said "DUMMY." The arguing stopped as Jayne threw his head back with a laugh like Eliza had never heard before. "Well," he said "at least we know she got YOUR brains."
Life was mostly happy for them. Jayne's criminal activities were kept from Eliza as much as possible. He knew what he did was wrong and didn't want her involved. She was only ever told he was taking every job he could get to support them all. And though Eliza was far from stupid, she chose to stay quiet on the subject.
He earned enough coin to build a larger barn, and added a small room to their house for EJ. Luckily he hadn't yet been caught by Feds, so he was mostly calm and not worried when home with his family. A new offer of so much coin for a heist was more than he could pass up. So Jayne took the job. "I'll be back later today Lizzy. I promise." He hugged his little girl, kissed his wife and left. She didn't like it but Jayne left Eliza little chance to argue.
Jayne was only 2 hours from home when Eliza looked out a window and saw the men riding up. She quickly grabbed her child and ran for the barn, hiding the 4 year old in some hay. "You don't move till Pa comes and gets you, you hear me EJ?" she told the child. But afraid they'd toss the barn looking for something and harm her little girl, Eliza did not hide herself.
Despite the hard life she was living Eliza was still very pretty and the men liked that. They took her in turns, ignoring her screams as they raped and beat her. She saw the gleam of a knife just before one of them decided to slit her throat. The men were soon gone. The silence left a chill in the air.
When Jayne returned, the house was torn to pieces inside. He called out to Eliza and EJ but neither answered him. Frantically he ran to the barn finding his Lizzy dead on the ground in a pool of her own blood. He screamed in agony, keening for the loss of his love. And terrified he would soon find his daughter's body as well. But little EJ crawled out from under the hay at the sound of her father's voice.
He was never the same.
Today
Jayne headed back to the Serenity. He had an idea of how he could help his daughter and he wanted to try. That is if the Captain would go along with it. He never knew with Mal. The man was his own law.
His crewmates were surprised by his invitation for supper at his childhood home. But they still had a few hours left planetside and were curious to see what Jayne was up to. He chose NOT to invite the Doctor and River though. He didn't want that crazy girl near his family.
One by one the crew met his various siblings. 'Gorram it but they all looked alike' they thought. Jayne next entered the kitchen and brought out a young woman to meet them. "This here's Mal, he's Captain. This is Zoe, Wash and Kaylee." Putting his arm around the woman's shoulder he took a deep breath and said, "This is EJ. She's my kid."
Well you could've heard a pin drop. In fact were you in that room you'd have heard Wash' jaw hit the floor. Hard. The others just stared in stunned silence.
Smiling at them EJ replied, "Nice to meet you all." She turned to face her father and with a "I need to finish making supper Pa," she returned to the kitchen.
As they all ate their meal together, the various Cobb siblings told the crew stories about Jayne. And while a few of the stories elicited some colorful swearing in Chinese from him, Jayne laughed with the rest at the memories. It had turned out to be a very pleasant evening, but it had to end. Except for Mattie and EJ, no one lived in the ramshackle old house anymore and they all needed to go home. Goodbyes were said. Hugs given and received. And then Jayne took Mal aside. "We need to talk about sumthin'." Mal stared at Jayne and agreed, "Yeah we do."
Sitting on the front porch Jayne began," Look Mal I had reasons to keep EJ a secret. It ain't I don't trust ya. But I can't trust nobody with her. With what I do, what we all do, it were just too dangerous. Couldn't take the chance of someone goin' looking for me at my Ma's house. EJ were still just a kid." Mal just nodded, "And?"
Taking a deep breath Jayne said, "And she's got a chance to teach offworld. She can finally get outta this gorram place. Someplace safe where she could have a life. Not have to worry bout having enough coin to live on, or my enemies tryin' to kill her. The job don't start for 2 months yet, and she'd be all alone here..."
"And she ain't got the coin to get offworld anyway. Right?" Mal interrupted.
"Yeah, so I was thinkin' mebbe she could go with us. I'd pay her board outta my share, and she won't be no trouble. But I don't want her used on jobs. She ain't like that."
Mal did his best not to smile at Jayne. The man surprised him. Not only a father but an overprotective one who obviously cared about his child.
Mal walked back inside the house. He saw EJ sitting at the table talking to the crew. She asked questions about the planets they'd seen, the people, the goods sold, but was careful to avoid asking about the jobs they did. Being highly intelligent she had long since figured out what it was that her father did to support them. And like her mother before her she had no desire to know the particulars.
"That was a fine meal you cooked EJ," Mal complimented her. "Can you cook like that all the time? I mean even when supplies are low?" EJ found his questions strange. 'Now why would he ask her that?'
"Yes," she said, "I suppose I could. We run out of things all the time here. And we Cobbs are ALWAYS hungry."
His daughter smiled deeply at him. 'What is he up to now?' Then Jayne looked over and saw Mal nod.
16 Years Earlier
He had knelt down and cradled his wife's body in his arms. Jayne was beside himself not knowing what to do. Seeing his little girl come out from under some hay and walk over to him was surreal. EJ was safe at least. They hadn't got her. "Is Ma asleep?" The child asked her father. Jayne looked at his now 4 year old daughter and opted to tell the truth for once. He owed that much to Lizzy.
"Ma's dead baby. She's with the stars now."
"But Ma's right here Pa. I can see you holdin' her," she said as she began to sob.
"No EJ, Ma's spirit ain't here no more. Now come with me."
He took the little girl by the hand and walked out into the sunlight. She was set down on a bale of hay and told to stay put. Back in the barn Jayne lifted Eliza's limp body and carried her outside. He found a shovel and buried her quickly, knowing he'd vomit if he did it slow.
Jayne brought EJ to his mother's house. After quickly explaining what had happened he grabbed every gun, every knife and every piece of rope he could find and set out in search of those responsible for the murder of his wife. It was a month before he returned to his mother's home. The murderers were now dead themselves. His once sparkling blue eyes shone cold and hard.
EJ only saw him 5 times in her life after that. He had told her going offworld would get him better paying jobs and that he would come see her when he could. Meantime she was to mind her grandmother and be a good girl. "You go to school girl. And do what yer told to. I don't want ya to be a dummy like yer Pa. Yer gonna have a good life. I'll find a way to make it happen for ya. And I won't forget about yer neither. I ain't like my Pa" He hugged his little girl tightly and left.
True to his promise he sent her a gift for every birthday she had. Credits were sent regularly. And simple letters which all read the same came from time to time as well. He wanted to know if she were behaving. How she did at school. As a teenager he added questions about boyfriends and sex to the letters too. He made it clear she'd have a better chance if she spent her time on schoolwork and not on boys.
Jayne visited every few years, and she was always happy to see her Pa. EJ loved him deeply despite what some said about his killing men for money.
Today
In the end it had been Mal's decision although the crew agreed to it readily enough.
EJ would live onboard the Serenity for the 2 months until her new job started. She'd be working for her room and board as the ship's cook. Then they'd drop her off at the school at the start of the new semester.
She'd be teaching underprivilieged kids on a basically "rich" world which delighted her. She knew full well what their lives were like. Maybe she could give them a chance to be more than what they were born to.
Jayne changed his mind about her traveling on Serenity and told Mal.
"What we do ain't always legal Mal. I don't want my kid involved. It's too dangerous for her, 'specially with the Doc and his Moonbrain sister onboard this boat."
But he relented. It was what EJ wanted, and he decided he couldn't say no to her. And it helped that Mal had given his word that he'd keep her OUT of ship's business.
Father and Daughter enjoyed spending their time together. Jayne told her outrageous stories about his childhood that made them both roar with laughter. He had even decided it was time to talk to her about her mother, something she'd long wanted. It was good to hear about 'his love of brushing her mother's hair', or the 'feeling he got the first time they'd kissed'. He'd adored his Lizzy, and it was good for his daughter to know that for certain rather than trying to remember on her own.
Jayne even tried to "behave himself" for those 2 months, Which for him meant trying to act civilized. But he missed his whiskey, and being only human he also began missing the women at the brothels he usually frequented. His daughter caught on quickly to the changes in him. It didn't matter to her what he did. And she told him so.
"I don't need you to change Pa. I'm not ashamed of who you are or what you do. Don't you know that?" So he went back to his usual Jayne-isms but kept it away from her eyes. His idea of a compromise.
Finally it was time for her to disembark. The crew seemed sad to lose her. They liked her. Besides, she was a gorram good cook. Even Simon, who still disliked Jayne, had taken to the girl. And she had to promise to write to Kaylee, who tearfully hugged her goodbye.
Jayne, to everyone's utter astonishment turned up freshly shaven and dressed up in VERY civilized clothes to walk his daughter to the school. When they teased him he replied with a terse "Don't wanna make her look bad's all."
At the school he helped her get settled into her teacher's quarters before moving to leave. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a big hug.
"Gonna miss you Pa. Come visit me sometime?"
He smiled at EJ and promised her "whenever it were safe" he would.
It was when he began to pull at the collar of the suit and started complaining about "hating being civilized" that she smiled knowing it was time for him to go.
'Jayne Cobb would never change,' she thought. But that was alright with her. That was just fine.
End
"The Mercenary's Daughter Saga" will continue with its next story "A Mercenary's Revenge" soon