Mal looked out across the gloomy vista of Montgom'ry.

It was early evening. The boat had made the trip in good time, in fact a few hours early, thought Mal. However it had meant that, for all of their time savin', they had ended up arrivin' in the middle of a gorram electrical storm.

He turned to Zoe and Inara, who stood alongside him as they peered down the ramp.

"Sure is crap-heel," he said.

The view before him was nothing more than an industrial nightmare. Huge, towering factories lined up for as far as the eye could see, pumping dark, heavy smoke into the already overcast sky. Already, the wind was picking up, and every gust brought a new cloud of dirt into the boat. Mal held a hand over his mouth.

A finger of lightening flashed across the sky. As it did so, it momentarily illuminated the hold.

Already, the rest of the crew were beginning to assemble on the stairs. Jayne had looked out for the girl, they figured. He deserved a decent goodbye.

"I told you he was sweet inside," Kaylee had said to them all, save for Jayne, over dinner the previous night. "I told you."

River had just gazed at the floor, and said nothing.

So they were all there. Wash, hovering on the top level, with a mixture of feeling on his face. Book, standing resolutely, as ever, his hands behind his back. Kaylee, just a few steps behind Mal, kicking the floor. Simon, next to her, rolling his eyes impatiently.

And River, standing beside him, in a daze.

Upstairs, Jayne was now packing up his things. He looked at the array of weaponry lying on his bunk. Mal had handed them all back, now that he was happier that Jayne'd lost a mind to using any of 'em on himself. He slowly blinked, before reaching for only Vera. He hitched her onto his shoulder, and went to climb the steps.

Mal was the first to hear his boots on the steel stairway. He turned to look, and as he did so Jayne's eyes caught his. "Well, Mr Cobb," said the Captain, "when you said it was a hole, I expected it to be bad. But this is worse."

Jayne's boots landed on the hold floor, and he walked to face Mal. "Yeah, well," he replied, "You ain't caught it at its best time. Really, in the right light, it's quite, hm, 'ttractive."

No one said a word.

"Okay," continued Jayne, "it's gosa. But this is where I come to, and this is where I get off."

"Now you sure your fam'ly's still alive?" asked Zoe, "Don't mean to be funny Jayne but – well, I'm not sure this place is – survivable."

Jayne flicked his eyes in her direction, and raised a hand to his chin. He replied, darkly: "Well I survived.But yeah, they're here. Ma and the old man are home, 'bout a twenty minute hike down the hill."

He looked back to Mal: " You don't need to come with. In fact – " he paused: " I jus' wanna go. It's no big deal anyway."

There was a moment of silence, before he added: "Hell, I'll see you, around."

Jayne turned his back and went to move. But as he did so, Mal laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, you go," he said. "But remember, when you come back to yousel', and get a feelin' back for that gun o' yours, I'll be waitin'. Persephone. You know how."

Jayne said nothing. But as he glanced quickly back at the Captain, a understanding passed.

"Well," said the mercenary. "I guess that's it."

And he started towards the ramp, his head low, but with Vera hitched over his shoulder. The wind whipped through his hair, and rippled through his shirt. He looked out into the dark.

Well, he thought. Here I go.

But then, he felt her hand on his back.

"River?"

It was Simon's voice. Jayne was standing, rooted to the spot.

"River, Jayne's going. It's okay, he wants to go," said the doctor. "Now come away. It's okay."

Jayne felt her warm palm press into his shirt.

"No it's not," came her determined voice.

Jayne closed his eyes. She was standing directly behind him.

"He doesn't want to go," she added.

Slowly, Jayne turned around to face her. She was wearing her darkest dress, which was just off-black, and no shoes. Her face was deathly pale.

Her eyes challenged him. He looked at them, but then glanced away. He waved a hand, non-committedly.

"Listen," he said, feigning annoyance, "You jus' get back to your brother, little sister. I liked savin' you some but you really gotta get – "

"I love you," she said, simply.

Jayne eyes wavered. He stared again: "Right. Okay. Anyway, as I said –"

"I love you." She said again.

Jayne clenched his teeth, and was silent.

Up on the top level, Wash peered forward. "What she's sayin?"

Book shook his head. " I think – she said – she loved him."

Wash laughed, quietly. "Well, that's a joke."

Mal meanwhile, flicked a look at Simon. "Doc," he said, "I think you'd better take her somewhere."

Simon meanwhile, was looking at River's back. He could see the tension in her arms.

"I…don't know…" he said. " Something's…wrong."

"You're not wrong," murmured Zoe. "This is real crazy talk."

But River was answering her brother.

"Something is wrong, Simon," she said. "I love him. He loves me. But he wants to go. He's leaving me."

Simon's face darkened.

Jayne grimaced. "Cut it out, will you," he said, sharply. But as he did so, he gave a small shiver.

Mal saw.

"He's going," continued River, "But he won't tell me why,"

And with that, her face collapsed.

Jayne caught his breath. But then, he hesitated.

The mercenary looked across at the crew. They were all - save for Wash, who was laughing - looking decidedly confused. Well, also except for Mal. Mal was looking at him with a fierce, knowing stare.

"Jayne," said the Captain. "Now that you've got us here, on this crap-heel you call home, you mighten's well tell us the gorram truth."

Another lightening strike flashed through the sky.

Jayne looked at Mal. Then he looked at the crew. And then, finally, he looked at River. The tears were streaming down her face.

His chest swelled.

"Stop it," he blurted. But the nonchalance had fallen from his voice. Kaylee and Inara swapped surprised glances.

"Just stop it, for gorram's sake. We talked about this, remember. Jus' don't do this to me now. Please."

River, meanwhile, continued to sob. "But I love you…"

Jayne looked again at the crew. Their confusion, he saw, was turning to shock. But slowly, as he looked at them, their faces began to fade out. His eyes returned, again, to her. Her ivory face, her dark, sad eyes. And after a few minutes, it was all he saw. Her pretty face, crushed.

He felt a wave of feeling overcome him. Gorram it, he decided. Let's do this, sommbitch.

So he opened his mouth, and spoke.

"River," he said, "Don't cry. You gotta understand. I ain't a man for flowers and soft and forever. It just ain't me. I'm a mean dumb sommbitch who won't ever be able to talk to you 'bout astrophysics or nuthin' even close. Which is why I ain't the one."

"I ain't never had anything sweet and pretty in my life. And the only gorram thing I did have I killed. I did for my best friend 'cept at the time I had no ruttin' idea that that was what he was. Do you understand?"

She looked at him with big, red eyes.

Jayne's voice began to waver. "I seem to have spent all my time since then jus' chasin' the next thing that might well gorram do me in. I mean. I've enjoyed it some – but it ain't been all of me livin'. It's like a part o' me jus' never got goin' before. Only the bad parts my gorram pa punched into me and ruttin'….Randall fucked in my head."

Slowly, he reached out a hand, touched her face,

"But you've helped me see it. I din't know it when I first saw you - but you're like a light. I was lookin' to get rid 'o you but, then when we started, you jus' seemed so vulnerable but so strong. Like a pretty bug that I jus' can't squash."

The wind howled up the ramp, almost drowning out Jayne's words. He lifted his voice.

"When I was as low as any man could be you din't give me up. And I ain't ever felt with anyone like I did with you. And I don't mean jus' sexual like. I mean, like someone who…cared. Like Lester. Which I why. I do. Feel. Like that. For you."

Jayne started to shake his head. "But you know, jus' as I begin to feel like a whole, which is when things start to turn. 'Cos now here we are, out back in this crap-heel place that spewed me out and its jus' shows me how different we are."

Slowly, his eyes began to fill. "You see. I know you think we got things in common - but the only thing we share is bad brains. Ain't no basis for a happy endin'. You see when you told me I was a faker, a hyena, you were right. I ain't gonna change that much. And if I can't hurt you in the body I can gorram hurt your mind."

"No Jayne, we share –" she started, but he interrupted.

"River. Look at where I come from. I never went to no school and I can't hardly count. You could look at any ship and be flyin' it within the hour. You can proba'ly speak more languages than I even know gorram exist. I ain't gonna meet your mind. And eventually you'll find a way home and you'll go back to that swanky life o' yours and the Docs. I can't fit to that.

"But either way, what you really wants is a man to rely on. And whatever way you look at it, that ain't gonna be me. I spent close to forty years livin' like I do and not thinkin' o' anyone else but mysel'. Jus' 'cos I do something different once in my life don't mean it's a pattern. I mean, I know I got it in me to do the things that matter when it does. But life's not about bein' pushed into things. Makin' some big show. It's about every day."

"Don't you see," he cried, " I'll forget to tell you the right thing or forget to come home. Or they'll be other things. And over time, it'll matter. If I don't hurt your body I'll hurt you inside. And over a while I'll kill whatever we had sure as I shot the boy down."

He lowered his voice, and swallowed. The he grabbed her arm, and turned her to face the others. The crew were all standing, open-mouthed. Even Wash, whose laughter had died on his lips.

Inara had tears in her eyes.

"If you don't believe me, honey, look at them," added the mercenary, but he was also sobbing: "Look at their faces. It says it all. You're too good for me. They know it, and I know it too."

He pulled her back to face him, and almost yelled: "Go back to the boat. "'Cos I ain't comin."

And then, he pulled her towards him, pressed his lips hard against hers, and pulled away. Then he took a final look back at the crew, lowered his head, and started to walk.

The last sound he heard was a long wailing cry, as Simon held River back, disappearing into the Montgomr'y wind.