Secrets
Summery: Jayne parts with some secrets in his past that are a little painful.
Disclaimer: Joss. That is all that needs to be said.
Authors Note: AU if you really think about it, but then again it could make sense as well.
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Jayne stood and rummaged through his green rucksack. It was well worn and had been with him more then a few years. He found what he was looking for a pulled it out, the long over coat spilling into his hands. The Merc looked it over slowly, almost reverently. He ran his large fingers over the rank chevrons and the unit patch above them.
Miranda had taught him a harsh lesson, and now he had some conffessin' to do. He climbed up the ladder and walked into the mess, the crew there. Mal looked at the bundle in Jayne's arms with eyes full of questions. Zoë's eyebrow quirked up, her mind already turning to figure out if it was a threat or not.
"Mal… I got some stuff to tell you 'bout." Jayne said as he handed the coat over to his Captain.
Mal stood and spread the coat out, gasping slowly. "Is this what I think it is…? He asked.
Jayne nodded once. Mal inspected the coat fully, noting the chevrons, the campaign ribbons, and then the medals still affixed to the front.
Zoë looked up at Jayne, her eyes looking as though she might actually begin to respect this Mercenary, even if he was… Jayne.
Mal just looked up at the Merc, shaken to his core. "But your attitude 'bout all them things…"
"Was a Hell Jumper, Mal. None of them things I seen…. Suppose I should start at the beginin' then." He sighed.
OOOO
Twenty Three year old Jayne Cobb stood, looking at the Independent recruiting poster. He hadn't gotten work in three months and he was gonna have to start pulling his belt tighter soon. The Merc didn't like it, so here he was outside the Browncoats' recruiting station, thinking crazy thoughts. But the prospect of starving to death did crazy things to a man's brain. So Jayne squared his jaw and entered.
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Jayne stood before the company, service rifle clenched in his hands. As Company First Sergeant he was to brief the men, hell, wasn't even much of a company. Under staffed, it was filled with only grizzled vets who had been with him since the start. "We're droppin' into Du-Khang! Our guys 'er gettin' beat on pretty hard, and it's our job to save their worthless pi gus! Men, you know what to do. We're Hell Jumpers! What do we do?!"
"JUMP INTO HELL FEET FIRST, SARGE!" The men chorused back, shouting.
"Make me ruttin' proud." Jayne responded and took his place at the front of the line, adjusting the straps on his 'chute. The light kicked green and he leapt out, the wind whipping against him, the long over coat fluttering around his legs. The Solider yanked the chord, and steeled himself with the sudden jerk of resistance. Jayne rolled as he landed, absorbing the shock and then pulled the retaining clips from his harness, dropping the pack which had held the chute.
The forty or so men was in command of rallied behind him and they set off, moving quickly through the ruins.
OOOO
"That was you?" Mal asked slowly, trying to process the information.
"Yup. That was me." Jayne nodded once, and then took a sip of his whiskey.
Zoë looked at Jayne with eyes opened. "Wait, how did you become a Hell Jumper? You're too… undisciplined for them."
Jayne barked out a laugh. "Gettin' in was easy. All I did was beat the hell outta my DI the second day in."
"You had Jameson too?!" Mal asked, laughing.
"Yes, I did." Jayne grinned. "Lemme tell you what happened."
OOOO
Drill Instructor Jameson was a short, burly man known for his brusque nature and unyielding PT. He walked slowly up and down the line of recruits yelled a string of obscenities that would make even the hardest Space Pirate run home and cry at his mommy. The graying man stopped in front of Jayne.
"What about you, boy? You Sly? You lookin' to make my beloved Independent Army into a bunch of silly faggots?!"
Jayne looked down at the man, his eyes lighting with a dangerous fire. Though his face remained expressionless, the DI knew what he was thinking. "No, Sir."
"Cobb huh. That some kind of strange food from your inbred back water sewer you call a planet?!"
Jayne's hands twitched at his sides. "No. Sir!"
"You wanna beat the ever loving shit outta me, don't you private? DON'T YOU?!" The older man screamed directly into Jayne's face, spittle flying everywhere.
Jayne looked down at man and grinned a feral grin. "Yes I do." The big man growled out slowly.
"Then do it! Come on, you slimly, twinkle toed, low down, rotten, sly cock sucker! Do it! I'll even sweeten the deal for you! You beat me, and I will personally sign off on your sheet that you do not belong here! You will go with the best of the best!" Jameson shouted out.
Jayne looked at the men in the line. "Y'all hear that?" They nodded.
The DI stepped back, waiting.
"Then y'all are witnesses." Jayne cracked his knuckles. "Let's do it, old man. I ain't got all day."
OOOO
Mal and Zoë were laughing in the mess, loud and long. "You actually said that?" Mal asked between fits of laughter.
Jayne nodded and grinned. "Yep. Then I wiped the floor with his ass. Broke three of his ribs and both his arms. I steamed it out in the stockade for six weeks till he signed off on my sheet."
Mal sighed with pleasure. "I didn't beat him. He broke my wrist and then told me to get back to my PT. Lousy bastard."
Simon looked shocked to say the least. Inara was just sitting taking it all in, impassive expression on her face. Kaylee was grinning from ear to ear, saying "That's our Jayne."
River just brought her eyes up to meet Jayne's briefly and just smiled at him.
"Well back to Du-Khang." Jayne said, pushing the whiskey across the table to Simon, after of course, pouring himself another drink.
OOOO
Bullets kicked up the ground near Jayne, his face drawn in a tight scowl. "Yuri! Take two and hit the right flank! See if we can't get 'round 'em!"
The pale man nodded and smacked two men on the helmets as he ran by, both of them springing up on training to follow him. Twenty seconds later he heard gunfire and a crackle on his com. "Opening's here! Better take it!" Yuri's voice sounded rushed.
"Davis, Cho, base of fire here! The rest, get on my ruttin' ass!" Jayne yelled and took off, the rest following as Davis and Cho opened up with their machine guns. The Sarge rounded the corner and slid down next to Yuri and the other two.
The men got into positions quickly. "Grenades! Lob then wait ten seconds. Then up and over!" Ten grenades at varying arcs and speeds fell into the purple-bellies position. No sooner had the cries gone up when they were interrupted by the exploding munitions. The Jumpers jumped up and over the wall, moving in a skirmish line, spraying down everything that moved. Regrouping quickly they then pushed into another building, this one already occupied by friendlies. "Who's in charge?!" Jayne bellowed.
An average sized man in an overcoat with regular infantry patches on it raised a hand. He was being tended to by a dark skinned, hard as nails looking woman. "Just a graze, you'll be fine."
"Sgt… Reynolds. We are here to see to your evac. Get your men to the city square and skiff will be inbound. We'll hold them off from here." Jayne said slowly, as the man looked like he was shell shocked.
The woman picked up Reynolds and helped him away, calling out orders. That was the last he saw of them in the war.
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"That was you?!" Zoë asked so surprised her eyebrows nearly met her hairline.
Jayne nodded, and then turned to Mal. "So you were always a bullet catcher then?"
Mal grunted. "Not really…"
Simon interrupted. "Captain… you have enough scar tissue for a small squad of battle hardened Soldiers."
Jayne grunted in agreement. "Well it was after you left that I found…well let's jus' say that after I seen him I was all… "Caused" out. Ya see I was looking around to see if there was any wounded left and I nearly stumbled over him… it was my Pa. Ma never mentioned him leavin' in any of her post and I just thought that he was still on Terra Five. Wasn't in your unit, so I guess you wouldn't have known…"
Mal looked at Jayne with sympathy. His own loved ones were taken from him after the bombing of Shadow. Turned it into a black rock within a blink of an eye. "Jayne. I'm sorry. But thank you. Thank you for telling me this." Zoë nodded in her agreement, as did the rest of the crew. Kaylee got up and gave him a big hug.
"You are a brave man, Jayne Cobb. And a good one too." She said seriously.
"Well that might be true, but don't let it leave this room. I got a rep that needs protectin', dong ma?" He grinned down at her.
She nodded and motioned Simon over. "Come on bao bei. Let's go to sleep."
One by one the rest of the crew exited the mess slowly, Inara stopping to place a compassionate hand on Jayne's shoulder. He reached up with one meaty paw and patted her hand. Soon it was just River and Jayne.
"The last mask has dropped. Now you are reborn." She stated simply.
Jayne grinned, feeling lighter for the first time in years. "Guess I am. G'night crazy." The Merc pushed the bottle over to the pilot and then downed the rest of his own whiskey as she poured her own. Sniffing it cautiously, she downed it, making a face.
"It tastes awful." She said.
The Merc's laughter was pleasing to her ears as he sauntered off to his bunk.
OOOO
The End
I think this is good just as a stand alone. Thanks for reading.
Gene