Jayne's prayers usually took the form of one-sided conversations with his ma. He wasn't so comfortable talking to the big guy. Maybe it was because he wasn't too sure God would give him the time of day, what with all the killing and thieving and so on he'd done in his lifetime. Jayne had heard the idea was that in the end it worked out as long as he believed, but he'd also heard about other philosophies, Karma and such, and the one where you came back as a bitty bug or a rock until you got it right. Jayne figured if his life were put in a balance, well, the things he'd done would be heavy enough for a pretty quick one-way trip to hell. So he talked to his ma instead.

"You'd like her, ma," he whispered, sitting in his cabin. "She's soft and pretty but strong too. And smart. She wouldn't let me get away with no ruttin' jìmóu, neither. I'm thinkin' you'd like that part best of all, ma."

As he talked, Jayne whittled on a box he was making from some scrap pieces of wood he'd found in the cargo bay. He had all the pieces carved out – bottom, sides, lid – with neat dovetail joins to fit it all together. The next time they hit dirt, he was going to look for some hinges and a lock and key to finish it. He could maybe even get some proper furniture oil to give it a shine and make the wood look fancier than it really was.

He made it big enough to hold all the money he was going to need and a little bit of extra room besides, and after pushing the joins together to form the container, he carefully placed the substantial pile of money he had left over from the first job with his new crew in the bottom, laying beside it Kaylee's card and the heart-shaped chocolate. Then, placing the lid on top, he put it in a good hiding place he had found earlier. It'd be safe enough there until he could get it finished.

Jayne had wrapped the chocolate up in a thin piece of plastic just in case it melted. He figured he'd always know it had been a heart even if it did eventually turn into a messy blob, and he cleaned away the wood chips and sawdust from his table, satisfied with his work.

Maybe not long from now he could carve something up as a gift for Kaylee, his own love token. He imagined her face when he gave it to her, whatever the object turned out to be, as it made her smile for him again. Jayne decided he could make it through this if he just remembered what it felt like to have Kaylee smile only for him.

When they got to New Beijing, the cargo was only half of what Mal had been told on Laredo, and the captain scuffed his boot into the dirt in his anger. They took the job at the reduced rate that was offered and set out for Kronos.

Jayne was able to finish his wooden box as he told his ma some more about Kaylee. "You know what she did today, ma?" he asked rhetorically. "She fixed some whatsits or other on that engine o' hers in no time flat. Knew what it was right away, too. And when she was done, she had grease on her face. Had to put my hands in my pockets so's I wouldn't reach out to wipe it away. She sure has got me by the short ones, ma. I know that'd make you laugh an' all. Told you and Matty enough times that no woman was gonna tame me. Guess she's gone and done it, though."

Kaylee didn't seem as mad as before and wasn't inclined to leave a room when Jayne came in. In a way, this hurt him more than when she had glared at him and flounced out because it meant that maybe she didn't care as much about him anymore.

And there was a change in Zoë as well. Although she didn't run him down unless he said something really stupid, she didn't discourage Wash from taking as many jabs as he wanted, and the little man was becoming downright annoying. First of all, Jayne didn't always understand what the pilot was saying about him, and second of all, he wasn't quick-witted enough to make any kind of comeback, so he was at the man's mercy, suffering the smirks and laughter of the rest of the crew in silence. And of course when Kaylee laughed along with them, well, it took the fight right out of him.

As Serenity bounced around from planet to planet doing small jobs and looking for more work, Jayne fell into a routine that closed him off more and more. He concentrated so hard on the financial end of his plan that soon he just appeared greedy and grasping to the rest of the crew. The good news was Kaylee had really lightened up on him now and tended to treat him more like a big brother, laughing with him instead of at him and giving him hard punches on the arm when he'd said something lewd to intentionally provoke that dazzling smile.

It wasn't the kind of smile he'd been planning on, one full of love and lust and plans for the future, but it was still a smile, and Jayne teased her whenever he thought he could get away with it without letting anyone know that he still carried a torch for the little mechanic. Out of necessity, his torch didn't burn so brightly now but the flame was steady, and they passed the next few months in this way until the worried look on Mal's face disturbed the easy peace of the ship.

"We ain't gettin' enough good jobs. Hell, we ain't even gettin' enough bad jobs," he announced one evening at a planning meeting around the mess table.

"Well, what're we gonna do, then?" Jayne asked, suddenly worried too.

"Ain't much we can do," Zoë chimed in. "Just look harder, maybe."

"I hear tell Badger's got somethin' goin' on. Maybe when we let Inara off at Persephone we can check in and see what's what," said Mal.

"Don't like that little piece o' turd," Jayne observed. "Don't trust 'im."

"Nobody trusts Badger, Jayne," Zoë said, turning her solemn face towards the mercenary, "but if what the captain says is right, then we don't have much choice. I say we do it, sir, especially since we're goin' that way in any case."

"Done," Mal declared decisively. "Be ready early and we'll all go and see what the short man in the bowler hat has to offer."

Next morning, when they got back to the ship, they had the co-ordinates of a derelict transport rumored to be carrying a rich cargo floating out in space. All they needed to do was find it, liberate the goods, and bring them back to Persephone where they could pick up a full purse, pick up Inara, and be on their merry.

Only problem was, by the time they got to the transport, the Alliance had also heard the rumors. It was very close, but Wash managed to get them and the abandoned cargo out of there lickety-split and back to Persephone where Inara joined them just as they were setting down at Eavesdown Docks.

Mal had decided earlier that they would take on passengers since they were next headed to Boros, which, because of a heavy Alliance presence, was likely to be a more popular destination than a lot of the other planets and moons transport ships of dubious legality often frequented, and when Mal and Zoë and Jayne got back from their meet with Badger – who had refused the goods since they were tagged and could have been traced to him due to the cortex alert on a Firefly that had been spotted in the vicinity – they found that Kaylee had taken up three parties: a preacher and two other travelers, one of whom was a young doctor.

Jayne didn't like the look of the boy straight off. He was obviously one of those snooty core types, wearing clean, expensive clothes and with an air that said he was used to having servants do everything for him. Oh, well, Inara would be able to talk to him, anyway, maybe even take out some trade during the trip.

That evening at supper, though, Jayne couldn't help but notice that Kaylee was curious about the young dandy. She kept going on about how he was a doctor and such, and Jayne, momentarily forgetting his plan, opened his mouth for a smart remark, earning a stern rebuke from the captain and being sent to his cabin as if he were an unruly child. His temper was up again when he realized what was happening, but in the end, he just scooped up some more potatoes and left, wondering what they were all going to say behind his back.

Jayne was entirely unprepared for what happened next. None of them was prepared, in fact.

He was in the lounge outside the infirmary, just hanging around, probably because Kaylee was there too setting up the checkers board for a match with Inara. She and Jayne had been shyly conversing at the time, Jayne couldn't remember about what now, but it was the first time since their initial bust-up either of them had risked really talking to the other, and as far as Jayne could tell, Kaylee wasn't minding at all.

They could hear some kind of an argument in the cargo bay. As the raised voices became louder, first Kaylee then Jayne went to the doorway to see what was happening. A gunshot rang out and Jayne got there just in time to see the large hole in Kaylee's abdomen, blood starting to pour out as she gazed with disbelieving eyes at Mal, Simon – who was the doctor – and Dobson, the third passenger, who turned out to be a fed and the man who had just shot his lovely little girl.

Jayne was more than ready to kill the ruttin' húndàn on the spot.

jìmóu – trick (deceit)

húndàn - bastard