Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly/Serenity.

Title: Throwing Pearls to Swine
Chapter: Three - Doll House
Characters/Pairing: Rayne, feat. Gabriel and Regan Tam
Prompt: black-and-white memories
Rating: this chapter, PG
Summary: River wants Jayne to meet her parents. He's less than thrilled at the prospect
Date: 23 September 2008

-A/N: This is the third part of six. FINALLY I've gotten it where I am at least okay with it. The end got erased, so I had to re-write that (which wasn't fun), and then I just put off revising it for a long, long time. Anyway! Thank you so, so much to everyone who has reviewed. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! Really makes my day - and inspires me to keep writing these little stories. Well, enjoy the chapter everyone!

Three: Doll House

Jayne stared out the hover-car window as the flew past the gleaming, silver towers. Osiris was a prosperous planet, that was certain, but he couldn't imagine how it could ever feel like home.

Home to him was on the ground, on a last-corner-of-the-'verse little moon in a house that always smelled like his mother's soap. He would have run as fast as he could, too, even if it did mean getting his brain cut open in some crazy government-sponsored Academy.

River touched his arm gently, bringing his focus back to her. She'd been trying to keep up a sort of conversation between him and her parents, but it was stilted and awkward and Jayne wondered why she even bothered.

"I've been keeping up with your business dealings, Father. Last merger was exceedingly wise."

Gabriel Tam nodded, looking rather pleased his daughter had apparently inherited his business sense. "Why yes, we were all relieved to see it happen smoothly. But how do you know - "

"Girl knows everything," Jayne said proudly, laying a hand on her knee. "An' not just 'cause she's psychic."

Regan looked flustered at the mention of her daughter's ability, but Jayne just chose to ignore that.

"She certainly seems to," Gabriel agreed. "And... You, Mr. Cobb? What is it that you do for a living?"

"Oh, uh, I kill people what try to cross us."

"You kill people. For a living." Gabriel looked at him darkly, his face blank. Jayne suddenly wished he'd lied.

"Well not for fun or nothin'. But if we're on a job an' some hun dan decides he don't want things to go down smooth, then I gotta shoot him afore he takes one of us out." He didn't know how much River had told them, but decided that maybe it would be best to leave out that she did basically the same thing, only about ten times more efficiently. "An' it keeps River safe if she's out with us."

"You put yourself in that much danger?" Regan asked, one hand at her throat. "But... dear, I thought you said you were the pilot."

"As most intelligent member of the crew, it is sometimes advisable to have me there for consulation." She shot Jayne a look that was either warning or consoling; he couldn't tell.

"And I'm sure these jobs are all perfectly legal."

So that was where Simon got it. Jayne cleared his throat, wishing he could just deck the man, take River and go back to Serenity. "I s'pose that depends on your definition of legal."

Gabriel's disapproval was palpable, and Jayne felt the urge to introduce his knuckles to the man's face grow stronger. River smiled tightly and gave Jayne's arm a gentle squeeze. He sighed and turned back to the window.

The bags had been sent to the Tam house already and they were on their way to a ballet performance (which Jayne was putting up with only for River) followed by a dinner at a small, exclusive restaurant (which Jayne was only putting up with because it meant free food). It was a world Jayne wasn't used to and he wanted to spend as little time in it as possible. River, being surprisingly adaptive ever since regaining some measure of sanity, fit in beautifully, like she'd been part of it all along. It only served to highlight their differences and it made him irritable and unhappy.

The ballet was long and, in Jayne's opinion, boring, but he'd gotten to watch it while River had her soft little hand all wrapped up in his, so he'd borne it with as much grace as he could manage. After the opulence of the theatre, the starkly decorated restaurant was something of a relief.

Lots of people recognized the Tams, and they stopped a few times on their way to their table for a little idle chat. River's sudden re-emergence into society was explained away with nothing but smiles, and it bothered Jayne a little how easy it was for Core-folk to lie like that.

"Lawrence was looking well," River casually remarked as she sat down. Jayne'd forgotten to pull her chair out for her, and he just knew that Gabriel had done it for his wife just to show him up. "I have not seen him since dance class when we were twelve. Has he fulfilled his parents' expectations of lechery and indolence?"

Regan nodded. "They had to pay his University a hefty sum just to keep him enrolled."

"Always had the intelligence of a flea."

Her mother smiled. "A well-dressed flea with vast networks of influence."

River laughed at that and Jayne stabbed petulantly at his salad with his dinner fork.

For the next few minutes, dinner continued in the same way. He hadn't wanted to go, he'd made that clear - but that didn't give them any right to treat him like he wasn't there. They were talking about people he didn't know - didn't even want to know - and places he hadn't ever been. River didn't have as much against her parents as Simon did; in face, she'd seemed happy to see them and he remembered from her crazy days when she'd first come on board that she'd wanted Simon to take her home.

'But she's got a new home now,' he reminded himself. Girl loves Serenity too much to ever leave 'er.' It went without saying that she loved him too much to ever leave him, too, but just the thought of her wanting to rejoin the glittering, elite world she'd been born into had him tense and ready to snap. He'd stopped even trying to listen and concentrated only on the food.

When the second course came, River turned to him and asked, "Are you enjoying your meal, Jayne?"

He grunted and replied, "Got no complaints."

He'd thought she'd somehow missed his dark mood, but from the apologetic look she gave him he realized she'd probably been monitoring him all along.

"This is one of the finest restaurants on all of Osiris," Regan informed him. "The head chef is a very high-ranking member of their guild."

Jayne just looked at her, his expression clearly saying "Am I supposed to care?" She sniffed haughtily and looked back down at her food. River exhaled a little, making a displeased sort of noise Jayne knew was directed towards him.

"You can taste the care he takes with it," River told them. "Precision and care embedded in every bite." With a humorously solemn expression, she said, "I am in awe of his mastery."

Jayne smirked. "So you c'n taste people's feelin's and things now, too?"

River looked at him smugly. "Jealous?"

"Naw, girl. Wouldn't want to be able to do nothin' like that." He let his hand slip down to squeeze her knee. "Just thinkin' how full o' surprises y'are."

"Surprises," Gabriel said deliberately, "are a little overrated."

"What're you tryin' to say?" Jayne growled. He looked across the table, his eyes gleaming with a feral anger.

"I believe I already said it." His eyes hardened and River looked between her father and Jayne worriedly, one hand holding tightly to the index and middle finger resting on her knee. "I am not a fan of surprises."

"Yes, that's true, Gabriel, but some surprises are very welcome." Regan gave her daughter a smile, though the warmth she projected was only half-real. "Not long after Simon left, we... we received a call telling us that you'd had some sort of accident. That you'd died." Regan looked down at her plate. "And when they wouldn't release the body... Wouldn't allow us to even see you..." She sighed, a rattling sound in her pale throat. "That's when we knew that... that Simon had been right to worry. That something was off about the place we'd sent you to."

"That's quite enough," Gabriel spat quietly. "I thought we agreed to save this conversation until she'd gotten reaccustomed to us. This is not the place for it."

His wife didn't respond, and the tension surrounding their table had increased tenfold. River cleared her throat. "Perhaps," she offered tentatively, "we could discuss the ballet from earlier this evening. Personally, I found Tryll's performance to be stiff and unimaginative; it would not be a stretch to say she may be engaging in mercenary sexual acts with the director."

Jayne laughed a little. "She the one with the filmy green thing on 'er? Who danced all up an' down the stage the whole ruttin' time?"

"Yes, Jayne," River replied, wearing a warm, indulgent smile. "That was Petra Tryll. She is the company's most accomplished ballerina and the show's star."

"You danced with her, you know," Regan said softly. "I believe she was taking lessons from the same instructor you were - at about the same time."

"I remember. Very low intelligence with a voice comparable to a bird's twittering." She made a face. "Dancing was wisest choice of occupation."

Jayne grumbled to himself, once again feeling the awkward press of memories he didn't share all around the table. But at least dancing was a safe topic; it made River happy, and it seemed her parents were all sophisticated enough to talk about it. Even if he couldn't really join the conversation, he could at least be sure that it wouldn't put ideas against him in their heads and that it wouldn't give River any cause to have a fit. It would be his first real time taking care of her without any access to Simon, and he prayed to every incarnation of God he'd ever even heard of that he could handle her if he needed to.

Dessert came after what seemed to Jayne like years, and once they'd finished the plates of some sort of pastry, they were headed off back to the large, stately Tam home.

The manor came with servants, which normally Jayne would have appreciated - someone doing work for him was something that he never took issue with. But it felt odd to be waited on in a situation in which he felt so out of place; he'd probably fit in better with the servants.

"That was a lovely evening," Regan said, slipping off the small, beaded slippers she'd been wearing. "But I'm afraid it's worn me out. I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone." She gave River a desperate, trembling smile. "Goodnight River."

The young woman returned the smile with a tiny one of her own. "I will see you in the morning."

Gabriel nodded to his wife as she walked out of the room, through a door leading to what looked like a dark hallway. "I have a bit of work to do before I retire," he told River and Jayne, "so I'll be in my office. River, I trust you remember where your old room is. And as for your..." He frowned slightly. "As for Mr. Cobb, I've had a guest room prepared - the one right across from Simon's old bedroom."

River nodded. "I shall lead him. Goodnight."

The man graced his daughter with a half-smile, eyes crinkling in at the corners. "Goodnight."

Grabbing his hand, River led Jayne down the same hallway her mother had just traveled. "We ain't really gonna listen to him, right?" he asked quietly. "If'n I gotta sleep in this gorram museum, I ain't sleepin' alone."

"Hush. We must obey - follow procedure so they are more inclined to view you favorably." She stopped outside a closed door. "Try to sleep, my Jayne; rest will help ease your discomfort."

"Yeah, whatever," he responded gruffly. It wasn't likely that anything could ease his discomfort, but trying to argue with River was a truly futile task. "You gon' be okay?"

She smiled up at him and unconsciously he smoothed down a lock of her hair. "I will be fine." Going up on tip-toe, she pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "And you will be fine, as well. My paternal unit may not approve, but the incubator was impressed by your physical presence."

He grinned, kissing her fingertips as they glided past his mouth. Her arms wound themselves around his neck and she pressed against him. "Well good. I ain't real sure what you said, but I can't disagree 'bout bein' impressive." He let her pull his mouth down to hers. "You're tired - them words o' yours are gettin' big again. Go on to bed, then, baby doll." He gave her bottom a quick pat, sending her on her way.

"Have pleasant dreams," she whispered, floating off down to her own bed.

Jayne sighed. Squashing down his reluctance, he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

He had to admit the room was nice. He was all too aware of the affluence needed for such finery, but he was tired enough that he didn't mind. It left him feeling comfortable - as much as he could feel in strange new environs, at least. The bed was a little too soft and the sheets were slippery silk - not the warm home-spun like his blanket back on the boat. And when he dreamed, he saw a swarm of Core-bred ballerinas dancing around him, River out of reach on the other side of the crowd.

Hours later, still in a relatively dark mood, Jayne awoke. He hadn't slept particuarly well, but he was at least feeling rested. With a grunt, he pulled himself out of bed, digging around in his bag for a clean shirt. And just as he was tugging it over his head, a soft knock rang out through the door.

"What?" he called angrily, pushing an arm through a sleeve.

"I request entrance," River replied. "Little Jayne, little Jayne - let me come in?"

"Ain't little," he mumbled, quickly walking over and pulling open the door. River stood there smiling up at him, wearing a clean, loose-fitting dress. He grinned. "Mornin'."

"It is a good morning indeed," she replied, running one hand over his chest. She patted right over his heart and smiled again. "I am glad you are awake now. Time to take a tour!"

"What?" He couldn't recall agreeing to anything like that. "River... That don't exactly sound like my cup o' tea."

"It isn't. But you have no other options." With a laugh, she grabbed his hand and tugged him into the hallway. "There are stories here," she told him, nodding seriously. "And you must share them with me."

"I don't wanna." It wouldn't do him any good to argue, he knew - but it was the principle of the thing.

"Your own desire is irrelevant." And she pulled again, urging him towards her. Jayne, with a long-suffering sigh, just went along.

River was in a very cheery mood; he was used to her being happy (he had a lot to do with her usual good mood), but she wasn't usually so chipper. They walked through the house, and she'd give him detailed history of a piece of art or an antique they passed while he diligently ignored her. Every so often, she'd gasp and recount some memory that sprang up. He knew how important her own memories were to her - and even if he wasn't exactly sure how he knew it was important, he realized that being in her old home, confirming everything she remembered, was healing of a sort for her.

But he was getting tired of hearing so much about her brother.

"And this," she told him proudly, squatting down to peer under a table, "is plateau of fine dining. Simon and I would hide under it during elegant dinner parties, playing tricks on the guests."

Jayne let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Y'really were a brat, weren't you?"

"Indeed, I..." She turned to look at him, her brown eyes wide and her mouth half open. "You are feeling insecure."

"What?" He frowned. "I ain't ruttin' insecure, woman." He crossed his arms and scowled. "Don't know where you got that gorram id-ee-otic idea. I'm just bored."

She stood. "From your brain."

Jayne tried to glare, but that was all. Arguing with a mind-reading genius always left one at a distinct disadvantage. "Well don't. Thought I told you to stay out o' my head."

River stepped closer, pressing the side of her hip into his thigh. "Cannot help it. I worry. You fear that I recall my old home with such fondness I will wish to leave my new one." Her tiny hands held onto his arm and she stared up at him solemnly.

"No... You love Serenity too much t'leave 'er."

She punched his shoulder - at only about quarter strength, so he knew she wasn't really mad. "There are other things I love too much to leave, as well." She leaned against him, her body conforming to his as she draped herself against him. "Do not worry, my Jayne; I have no desire to come back to this life."

"I never thought you did. You gorram... crazy woman."

"Not crazy." She sighed, but gently squeezed his arm. "It is nice to have memories; but that is all they are, colored with the hue of childhood. Gabriel Tam is emotionally unavailable, wrapped up in his business life. Regan Tam is too sensitive - doesn't function well outside her home or familiar sphere. I do not want their life."

"Y'just... You seem so happy."

"I am. It is like looking back on a favorite capture."

"But if'n it's a favorite..."

She huffed. "You are being difficult. I do not understand why you equate wealth with contentment; I am just as happy living from job to job. And this life is missing something. It is nice to look back on it - but it is in black and white. Without you..." She ducked under his arm and pressed her face to his side. He gently pulled her closer.

"'M like a gorram rainbow, huh?"

River laughed. "Yes. You are the prism - taking memories and letting me see them clearly, brightly."

"Oh." He pressed a quick, embarrassed kiss to the top of her head. "Well then that's okay."

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