Jayne had four brothers. They were introduced as Lucas, Billy, Seely, and Matthew.
The oldest was six years older than Jayne. That was Luke. He had a wife, Amy, and two little girls, Katie and Beth. Next was Billy. One year older than Jayne he shared many of mercenary's traits. He had no wife, and the rest of the crew expected he was a bed hopper, like Jayne. Seely was two years younger than Jayne and has a fiancée, Emily. Matt, the youngest was four years younger than Jayne. All of Jayne's brothers still lived at home, including Maddie, his fifteen year old sister.
Ms. Cobb seated everyone at a large table in a room off the kitchen. It held the Cobbs plus the crew of Serenity and was extremely crowded. Jayne's mother served turkey, corn (on the cob), stuffing, peas, beans, and various breads and rolls. For dessert there were 3 kinds of pie (apple, pumpkin, and blueberry) and ice cream.
Everyone chatted through dinner, getting to know each other. Kaylee became friends with Emily.
"So have long have you been dating the doctor?"
"Bout three months," Kaylee said looking dreamily across the table at Simon, who was talking with Matt. "How long have you been engaged.
Emily looked at the ring on her finger and smiled. "Almost a month. We're thinking we wanna get married in spring."
"Oh, a spring wedding."
"Yes, I'm excited."
"How did you know Seely was the right one for you?" Kaylee made sure Simon wasn't listening.
"I just did. It's one of those things you know. It's like an instant connection." Kaylee nodded. "What? Do you think Simon is the right one for you?"
"I dunno. I think so." Kaylee smiled.
"You like him a lot, don't you?" Emily asked.
"Yes," Kaylee paused. "I think I love him."
"That's a big step."
"But I'm sure I do. We danced around this for a year. I love him." Kaylee stopped and a look of panic spread across her face. "Oh my gosh! How do I tell him? I don't wanna scare him away. We worked so hard to get here. I can't lose him now!"
"Sweetheart, don't worry. When the time is right you tell him."
"When's that?"
"You'll know."
Maddie was seated next to Inara and across Mal. The girl was carrying on a conversation with both of them at the same time, talking a mile a minute.
"So, have you ever had a partner who gives really bad sex? I mean, like, horrible. By the way, how do you tell good sex from bad sex? I've never had sex, but I think it's good to know." The girl turned away from Inara to talk to Mal. "Have you ever shot anyone? I've shot a deer. I was eleven. Jayne taught me and one day he took me out to the forest and I shot it. We bought it back home and cooked it for dinner. You have to try it sometime. It's great. Very tasty."
Inara looked down at her food, beginning to lose her appetite. Mal looked across the table and smiled at her and she smiled back. This all went unnoticed by Maddie.
"Inara, who makes your clothes? I've never seen such fine things in all my life. Well, I've never been off this gorram rock my whole life. That's the worst, ain't it? 'Specially since Jayne's been traveling round the galaxy with you lot. What's it like to have my brother on the ship."
This question got Mal's attention as he looked up from his peas. "He's a big bowl of fun, your brother is."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time dessert was finished everyone was extraordinarily tired. The Cobb children, excluding Jayne went up to bed, as Mal prepared the crew to go back to Serenity for the night.
"I insist you stay here."
"Ms. Cobb, we don't wanna intrude. The meal was lovely, but I don't think we need a place to stay. Serenity'll do just fine."
"Captain Reynolds, what's the last time your people have stayed in warm bed? Had a warm bath or shower? A full breakfast?"
"Well . . . ."
"Exactly. We have the room. We'll just have to move Jayne and Matt into the barn and kick Maddie onto the floor; maybe one or two of you can stay across the property with Luke and Amy. Everything will work out fine."
Mal hesitates for a moment before answering. "Yes, we'll stay."
"Wonderful. Now Jayne can get Matt and sleep in the bunks in the barn. River can sleep in Maddie's bed. She's in the attic. Kaylee and Simon can have the room up the stairs to the left. Mal can have Matt's bed; second door on the right. Zoe and Inara would you mind staying in a room together? There's one up by my room third door on the left. Don't worry, there's two beds. Bathroom's the first door on the right. Help yourself to towels in the closet next to that. Everyone good?"
The crew nodded their heads in agreement, happy to be staying somewhere other than a cramped, shower less ship.
Ms. Cobb fed them all a cup of warm chocolate, much like hot cocoa, but less sweet and more bitter. They all went to bed yawning, eager to see what the next day would bring.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I hate to stop it here. I wanted to give you longer chapter, to make up for not updating lately. But I have a good reason!! I got Serenity for Christmas!! Well, maybe that's not the best reason.
Did anyone notice that Seely is a character from Bones (Booth)? Well, it's also a mattress brand. And there are at least three more Bones references in there and if anyone watches that, can you find them?
By the way, Maddie is modeled after my friend Courtney, who likes to talk and shoot deer. :D