He should have known that si san ban of a woman was trouble. She weren't a whore, just a willing woman from the bar. First mistake.
He let her buy him drinks. The hu li jing slipped something strong into his drink. Second mistake.
He followed her back to her room. Third mistake.
The woman had some hun dan friends waiting for him. They attacked when he was half undressed. His reflexes were slowed by both drink and whatever the woman put in it. He put up as much of a fight as he could 'til one of them stuck a knife in his gut. They dumped him in a small, dark room with a steel door. He was sure they were waiting for him to die.
Jayne watched the ceiling above him swirl around and closed his eyes with a groan.
He'd been close to death before, just never this close. He figured his body must be gettin' read t' give up since he was startin' ta wonder what he'd see when he died. That'd never happened before.
Jayne never thought he'd be goin' ta heaven. Done too many bad things in his life t' be goin' there. Hell was his destination. He did wonder, though, if there were any kinda angels in Hell. He remembered something about the Devil being a fallin' angel. Maybe he'd taken some of his kin with him.
As he was thinkin' on this, the door to his cell opened. A bright light filled the doorway and he figured this was it. He was dead.
A small shape filled the door. Apparently, they did have angels in Hell. He heard a soft sound and the angel moved towards him quickly. Dark hair flowed over him like a curtain as the angel's hands touched his chest, skating over the smaller wounds before finding the killer one in his abdomen. He could see streaks of blood that wasn't his across the angel's face and hands. He figured this made sense for an angel from Hell.
"Oh, Jayne," the angel whispered softly. "She is sorry. She could not find you."
Jayne raised his hand, which felt like a block of cement, to the angel's face. "You found me just fine." His voice was hoarse and quiet. "Am I goin' ta Hell?"
The angel tilted her head to one side in contemplation. "Yes. But first, home."
"Angel?" Jayne was confused.
"Shh, Jayne." The angel brushed her cool hand over his forehead and glanced over her shoulder. "Here," she called to someone he couldn't see. He concentrated on the feeling of her hand on his forehead and slipped into darkness.
When Jayne woke up, he was surprised to see he was in the med bay on Serenity. He was sure he'd died back in that gan ni niang room. He'd seen that angel, hadn't he? Or had his brain created her?
He ran his hand over his torso and found a wide swath of bandages around his stomach. He knew there would be several of the doctor's neat stitches under that bandage and silently thanked whoever had found him in time.
Something about that angel was bothering him. What kind of an angel is covered in blood? And how the hell did he get back to the ship?
"Mal and Zoe carried you." River was sitting on the other bed. Her right hand and wrist were wrapped in bandages. "The girl carried your feet. Jayne has big feet."
Jayne tried to make a joke. "Well you know what they say about big feet." His voice was rough and sounded sleepy.
She shook her head. "That is a falsehood. There is no scientific evidence that feet size correlates with man parts size." River slipped off the bed and padded over to his size. "She was scared she would not find Jayne. He was well hidden."
"You found me?" His brow furrowed in thought. The angel he saw in his cell was small, her hair long and disheveled.
River smiled when she saw realization dawn on Jayne's face. It was fun to watch him think through problems. She could see every though he had cross his features. "Jayne may go to Hell someday, but not today." She touched his hand with her bandaged one.
"You got hurt?"
"The girl was worried about Jayne and did not pay attention to her surroundings. It was her own fault." She looked down at their hands. "Hands are so similar."
Simon walked into the med bay, followed closely by Mal. "Mei mei, you shouldn't be bothering Jayne. He needs rest."
River rolled her eyes at her brother. "She and Jayne were discussing Hell and man parts."
Simon blushed and became flustered. Mal glared at Jayne. "Now, nianging de, that's not proper conversation for you to be havin' with Jayne."
"Ba ban would like it if she did not speak to Jayne which is impossible given the square footage of the Firefly class vessel. He would have to buy a bigger ship." River stated and danced out of the med bay.
They watched her leave before turning back to Jayne. Simon checked his bandages and fiddled with the IV. "How are you feeling Jayne?"
"Like I been stabbed in the gut. How're you feelin'?" Jayne growled.
"Would it kill ya t' be nice t' Simon? He did just save yer sorry life." Mal snapped at him.
Jayne shook his head, staring at the door River had just danced through. "No, he didn't."