"CRAZY!"

Jayne's voice echoed through the whole of Serenity. He stormed down the hallway, past Zoe, who he hardly even noticed.

"What did she do now?" she heard Wash ask as she entered the bridge.

His wife just shrugged her shoulders as she sat down in the co-pilot chair.

Jayne meanwhile headed for River's bunk, thundering his fist against the door frame, rattling it. "Open the gorram door girl. I know you are in there. I can smell you." His hand slammed repeatedly on the door. When she didn't open the door, Jayne wrapped his large hand around the handle and pulled. With a steady amount of pressure he was able to pop the door off its hinges, coming out in his hands. Tossing it to the side, he strode into the room. No rutting girl in the room.

He overturned her bed, searching through the bedding. He pulled everything off the shelf, searching for something. By the time Simon arrived in the door, everything River owned on Serenity was in the middle of the floor. "What are you doing?"

Jayne's angry eyes flashed to the doc. "I'm gonna to kill that sister of yours. Where she at?"

Simon stepped in the room. "Calm down," he put his hands out toward the enraged untrained ape man. "What is the problem?"

"She was in my ruttin' room and she took somethin' of mine."

Simon didn't move as Jayne towered over him but he couldn't help the shakes that racked his body. The bigger man simply shoved the doctor out of the way.

Jayne heard River before he saw her. The pitter patter of bare feet darting up the stairs in the cargo bay. Storming into the room, he watched her scurry through the maze of catwalks and stairs, giggling and shrieking as when her eyes met his. "Gorramit girl, where did you put it?" It clearly wasn't in her hands.

She dashed into the empty shuttle, still laughing at him.

"I'm too ruttin' old for this shit," he muttered, heading slowly up.

"There a problem Jayne?" Mal called from below.

"Nothin' I can't take cara with a few broken fingers," he replied gruffly not looking at the captain.

"What'd she take?"

"Leave it go," Jayne warned. "T's 'twn me and the girl."

"She aint gonna be the one with broken fingers if'n I do that," Mal asserted.

Jayne just ignored him and walked toward the open door of the shuttle. It was silent and he approached with hands at the ready. Wrapping his fingers around the door way, he carefully moved into the darkened shuttle, shutting and locking the door behind him. And then he simply waited. He stayed put waiting until she let herself be known.

"Toys are to be played with Jayne," her voice echoed off the walls through the darkness.

"I Know it."

Her tiny hand shot out into the room, around the arm of an old beat up teddy bear. "He wants to play with you. Not be your secret keeper."

Jayne didn't answer, just stepped forward, reaching for the animal. "Give it here, girl!" he growled menacingly. The bear was winged away and tucked behind her back. "You ain't got a right to it."

"Him," River calmly corrected as she darted out of his way. "He has a name too. A name you gave him."

Jayne's scowl deepened. "You need to stay out of my ruttin' head."

River danced further toward the door. "Didn't have to. Roger told me."

"Give. Him. Here," he spat out through gritted teeth. River simply twirled out of his grasp, his hand catching only the hem of her swirling skirt. She ran from him but was a step too slow. Jayne's arm caught her, sending her to the ground with him in tow. Scrambling, she held the bear will above her head. Jayne scaled up her body and snatched the bear.

River used the distraction to her advantage and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles and squeezing his middle to get his attention. Bear firmly in his grasp, Jayne then tried pushing at her legs. "Gorramit girl, what is your problem?" River giggled and tightened her hold.

"Roger wants to be treated as he was when you were child. Before. Like your friend," she said plain as day.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"And old dog can relearn old tricks," she instead as she let him go. Jayne pushed her out of the way and back to the floor. "Its not who you are," she whispered.

Ignoring her, Jayne unlocked the door and headed immediately for his bunk. Once behind the secured door, he laid the bear face down on his bed. With a pair of well used scissors and tweezers, Jayne carefully undid the stitches on the bears back. Once Roger lay open from nape of neck to his little nub of a tail, Jayne peered inside, and found everything still there.

The drugs he had picked up on Whitefall. The ones he was careful to take for fear the others would notice a change in him. Jayne had no choice. He wanted to maintain that he was indeed human and not the monster he had become long before he came to Serenity. The bear reminded him of the human he used to be. Someone with a beating heart who actually felt emotion. Not this cold hearted creature that sat in his bunk, wishing it would all go away.