Title: We all have our battles

Author: Who do you think? (Hint: Look up)

Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly. Do you think I'd be posting fanfics if I owned Firefly? All my ideas would be turned into the actual plots. Scary huh?

Summary: Jayne has a hidden secret that's gonna come up right quick and Serenity gets a new member in the process.

A/N: This is just somethin' goin' round in my head for a while. It's for everyone who believes there is another personality under the whole gun- toting crazy Jayne *winks*. I certainly believe this to be so. Any way, I liked the idea and decided to run it by you. Hope you enjoy and please review. Thanks. /Hope they like it./ Hey, stay outta my head! Well, that's thoughts for ya. /Wonder if they caught on?/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" Hey Jayne. You got a message." Mal said as he heard a ping come up and looked over.

" What? I never get mail." Jayne said from where he was cleaning his gun.

" It's from Alarec or whatever. Some weird name like that." Mal said, looking at the from line.

" Alaris?" Jayne popped up, interested.

" Yeah." The big guy hurried over, diverted the message to his room and promptly forgot his gun.

" I'll be in my bunk."

" What was that about?" Mal asked as he could practically feel the wind created by Jayne's hasty retreat.

" Whatever it was he forgot his gun." Kaylee pointed to where it was still dismantled on the table.

" It was probably someone who wants to kill him." Simon suggested. He was leaning back in a chair, a cloth over his eyes and his feet on the table.

~~~~~

Jayne stared at the image as the message started.

" Hi Jayne. Sorry 'bout the radio silence. Um... listen next time you pass, you think you could swing by? I need to give you something. Thanks." The message ended on the smiling figure of a girl about River's age.

~~~~~

" Hey Mal?" Jayne scratched his head as he stepped back into the full mess hall.

" Pick up your gun before you say anything." Mal pointed to the still dismantled piece of metal.

" Yeah, sure. Listen, what was that planet ya said we might got a job on?" He asked non-committingly putting the weapon back together.

" Uh... what was it Zoƫ?" He asked, at a loss for the name.

" Its Nara, sir." She said from the door to the mess hall. She was following her husband for a little stargazing.

" Yeah. Nara. Why?" Jayne calculated and overlooked the previously memorized star maps.

" You think we could take a little detour. Just to Saran."

" Yeah I think we could. I'll talk to Wash about it."

" Thanks Cap'n." Jayne once more left his gun behind in his distracted thoughts.

" I'll take it to him." River said as Mal was about to call him back. Before anyone could say anything against it, she grabbed the cold steel and ran out the door.

" What is going on around here?" Mal asked as Kaylee dragged Simon out the door towards sickbay.

" It would seem that you are not as observant as you think." Book left, leaving Inara and Mal alone in the room.

" So what've I missed?" He asked, straddling a chair across from the Companion.

" A lot." She said.

~~~~~

" Who's that?" River asked as she lightly stepped down the ladder into Jayne's room. He had frozen the message on the image of the girl smiling.

" No one." He hid the screen before she could get a better look. " What do you want?" He couldn't keep the sneer out of his voice.

" You left your gun again. I thought you would'a wanted it." She held it out on her slim arm.

" Oh. Right." He took it from her just a little wary. The last time she had a weapon, he'd gotten cut.

" I won't hurt you." She whispered as if she could sense his thoughts.

/Girl's a freak./ " Now that I have my gun again, do you mind?" He gestured vaguely towards the ladder.

" Yes." She said sitting on the bed. " I want to talk to you."

" About what?" He crossed his arms and stood there, ready for anything except what came next.

" Why don't you dance?"