Disclaimer: See chapter one.

A/N: 'Kaida' is a name that the interwebz claims means 'little dragon' in Japanese.

Brompton Cocktail

Chapter Three

Fourteen Years Ago

To an outsider, Silverhold had nothing to recommend it as a home. It orbited the protostar Heinlein in the Red Sun system, and was, for the most part, a dry and desolate wasteland, pock-marked with thick pine forests that crowded the few waterways it contained. It tended to be scorching in the day and frigid at night. However, it did have one thing going for it that even a core-bred socialite knew about: Silverhold didn't get its name by accident. Of all the planets and moons in the 'verse, it had the largest natural silver and gold deposits of all of them.

The main industry was, as one can imagine, mining for both metals. The gold mining was the more dangerous of the two – the seams ran deep enough that the only option was shafts. The silver was easier to get to, and Silverhold sported more than two dozen large strip-mines. The largest was Widestake, located only a degree of latitude from being smack on Silverhold's equator, and roughly a hundred miles from River Canyon, the moon's second-largest city.

The Cobb homestead was almost exactly halfway between Widestake and River Canyon, five miles outside a small town called Yellow Rock. It consisted of a couple of dozen acres, split neatly in two. One half was desert scrub, the other half consisted of rich forest. They, like everyone who lived out in the country, had a few farmy-type-things. A garden. Chickens. Some horses, cows, and goats. When the homestead had first been settled, nearly a hundred-fifty years before Jayne's pa'd been born, Xander Cobb had tried to get an orchard growing, but only one apple tree managed to flourish in the harsh climate and now spread wide branches over the homestead's back lawn. The homestead could barely be called a farm, let alone anything grander, but it was home.

Jayne was the oldest, born five years after his pa, Daniel, had married Radiant Levander. When he was three, Thad was born. Four years later came Jax. Then, when Jayne was ten, Kelly was born. Jayne wasn't altogether keen on schooling, and it showed. He was by no means stupid, but learning from books came hard for him, so he simply didn't try. Instead, he spent most of his free time with Thad, chasing rock-lizards or fishing in Deep River. As they got a little older, they started hunting the forest for deer and the desert for antelope, always keeping an eye out for the massive wild dogs that liked to prey on those same animals and their two-legged hunters, too. By the time he was fourteen, Jayne had developed a highly-accurate reputation for being one of the best hunters in the area.

When Jayne hit sixteen, he quit school completely – he would have done so sooner, but even border planets had some irritating and seemingly arbitrary laws – and headed out to Widestake. He hired on as an unskilled laborer and lived the first few months in the worker barracks on-site. A couple of weeks into his first real job, one of the freighter jacks took note of him and started teaching him how to run the massive machine that hauled fresh ore from the bottom of the pit – which reached nearly a mile deep – to the processing plant on the pit's rim; a circular spiraling route on a gentle grade that managed to make a two-mile flight into nearly forty-eight miles by land. When the freighter jack retired at the end of that summer, Jayne took the permanent position. With the increase in pay, he bought himself a ground car and returned to living at home. Subsequent paychecks went to converting part of the attic space above his pa's garage into his own little apartment.

The next year, he took his birthday off and spent the day wasting time in River Canyon. Coming out of a movie-house, he bumped into Kaida Tanaka. The tiny girl with slanting chocolate-colored eyes and straight black hair barely reached the middle of Jayne's chest, but she tore into him for making her drop her ice planet. Onlookers found it amusing to see the kid, tall as he would ever get but not yet filled out to the bulk of later years, backing steadily away from the girl's fiery display of temper. Twenty minutes of stammered apologies, one replaced ice planet, and a year of dating later, and they were married.

Though the two looked nothing alike – and, in truth, didn't much act similarly, either – both Kaida and Radiant had enough of the same streak of no-nonsense running through them that they got along surprisingly well. Kaida actually claimed she was closer to Jayne's mom than she was with her own. Radiant might not have picked Kaida for her eldest son's wife if it had been up to her, but she knew they fit together the same way she and Daniel did. It didn't need explaining, so nobody tried.

When Jayne was nineteen, news of their family's impeding growth caused first a display of irritating good cheer that lasted nearly a full three days; during those days, the only one who'd come within six feet of Jayne had been Kelly. Then panic hit. Daniel Cobb's response to his boy's antics was to drag him off to the first bar they could find and get exceedingly drunk. Neither Kaida nor Radiant were best pleased with them when the pair managed to find their way home the next morning. Jayne's apology to his 'little dragon' was to convert even more of the garage's attic over to living-space. It was completed in time – barely – for Morley's arrival.

Two years later, Thad graduated high school. At the celebration, Kaida announced she was going to have another baby, which resulted in a repeat performance on both Jayne's and his pa's parts. The only real difference was that there wasn't quite enough space remaining in the garage's attic to eke out another bedroom, so Jayne grandly promised Kaida their own house and started working overtime at the mine.

By the time Adelaide was born, they'd managed to save about half the money needed to build a three-bedroom house, and Jayne's pa was in the middle of negotiating a ten-acre spread for them from the landholder who bordered the west edge of Cobb land. Wanting to make sure the house would be done by the time either of their kids were old enough to really need their own rooms, Jayne packed in even more overtime. The mine itself had a regular workday of sunup to sundown. The miners were allowed to continue working up to midnight, provided enough signed up for the extended shift. It was rare thing when that didn't happen, though. The folk who worked at Widestake were honest, dependable types for the most part, and all of them had families. Extra cash was always needed.

One night, not long after his twenty-second birthday, Jayne found himself to be the last man actively working. He finished backing the freighter into position for the morning crew to unload, then hopped out of the cab. He climbed the three-story distance to the ground, shivering slightly. It was rapidly closing in on winter, where daytime temperatures reached a pleasant twenty-four Celsius but plummeted to only one or two degrees during the night. Even though he'd forgotten his coat, he just tucked his hands under his arms and started jogging towards the barracks, mind full of the coming weekend – the family was going to picnic outside all day, in honor of Thad's engagement to Hettie Carsen from Yellow Rock. The crew who didn't live on-site parked their ground transport on the far side of the building.

Thomas, one of the night guards, recognized him and nodded a greeting as he hurried past. Two more of the guards, Jayne thought one might be Mark, but didn't recognize the second, were warming their hands over a barrel-fire at the end of the barracks. He figured they had a good idea and Jayne's jog slowed some as he approached the barrel.

"…gonna not be late on this. Most ev'r'one's sleepin' come three or so, but the foreman shows up by five most days. It's a fengle narrow window," the stranger was talking in a low voice, but Jayne hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"Hey, Mark, that you?" Jayne cheerfully greeted the taller of the two firelit guards.

The men startled a little. The shorter man, wearing a rather unkempt beard, started to open his mouth, but Mark elbowed him. "Sure am, Jayne. How's that pretty wife of yourn?"

Jayne beamed his best smile, holding his palms out to the fire. "Can't complain. Leastwise not now that Addie's sleepin' through most nights. You still datin' whassername, Jeri?"

"Joriah," Mark corrected. "Nah. That ship done sailed. Speakin' of, you might wanna head on home afore ya freeze solid. Doncha own no coat?"

Jayne chuckled along with Mark. "Sure do, but I left the gorram thing in the car this mornin'. Pro'ly a good thing I took the next two days off. I'm gettin' tired enough I'd leave my head behind."

Jayne nodded to the two men, not at all suspicious that the stranger hadn't introduced himself. Even after working at the mine for going on six years, there were still a whole lot of folks he'd never met more than in passing during lunch; he didn't take it personally when someone wanted to wait a bit afore getting friendly-like. As Jayne jogged into the darkness towards his car, the stranger shoved Mark. "Whacha go an' let 'im leave for? He heard us talkin'!"

Mark scoffed. "That's just Jayne. Ain't the sharpest tool in the box an' got ears for nothin' but his fambly beside. We coulda been plannin' on robbin' the 'Liance herself, 'stead o' just this dumb-ass mine, an' Jayne wouldn'ta noticed."

The stranger's face frowned. "Ain't he a Cobb?" Mark nodded. The stranger pushed him against the barracks brick wall. "Tama de, you idiot!" he hissed. "His pa's a gorram planetary marshal!" The stranger let go of Mark's coat and tore off after Jayne. "Jayne!" he shouted, seeing his prey standing next to a cheap ground car. "Jayne Cobb!"

"Whacha need, friend?" Jayne hollered back, punching in the security code to unlock the doors. A heavy weight slammed into him from behind as the locked beeped open. "Hey!" He twisted around to shove the man off of him, but froze when he felt something cold and sharp press into his neck.

"You listen and you listen good, Cobb – you ain't gonna go tellin' your pa nothin' 'bout what you mighta just heard. You hear me? I might not take too kindly to it, if ya take my meanin'. Might get me upset. An' when I get upset, I just might hafta take m'troubles to that pretty wife o' yourn. Dong ma?"

Jayne had absolutely no idea what the scruffy man was talking about, but he knew better than to argue with a lunatic. He just closed his eyes and said, "Shi. Yes. Whatever you want, friend. I ain't lookin' for no trouble." He opened his eyes again and hastily memorized what little of the man's face he could see in the dim light.

The man gave him a smile that sent shivers down his spine and removed the blade from Jayne's neck. "Good ta see we got us an understandin'. Don't you be breakin' your word, now, y'hear?"

Jayne nodded vigorously. The man backed away and faded into the parking area's shadows. Once the man was out of sight, Jayne escaped into his car and locked the doors. It took nearly ten minutes for his hands to stop shaking enough for him to control the car, though his pulse didn't slow any until he parked in the familiar and welcoming glow of the homestead porch light. Ain't no one up yet, Jayne thought in dismay on seeing the dark windows. Gonna hafta wait 'til mornin' ta speak ta Pa 'bout that kuangzhe de hundan. Knowing he could do nothing about it for the time-being, he pushed it aside and headed up to his apartment.

While Jayne was having difficulty getting to sleep, his father hadn't yet been to bed; he wasn't even home, to tell the truth. Daniel Cobb had been planetary marshal for Silverhold's district seven for going on thirty years, and been head of the district for the last ten, so sleepless nights were nothing he was unused to. Tonight, though, was something new. A group of black hats had been systematically robbing the processing plants for gold and silver ore all over Silverhold. Thus far, the monetary value of the stolen bullion had reached a heart-stopping fifty million credits. Highly impressive, considering witness reports that this was a small-time operation with no more than a dozen men. What wasn't so impressive was the fact that every two weeks, like clockwork, another mine would be hit. The only thing that had kept the group from being caught so far had been the sheer number of mines available to choose from. Since they never hit the same mine twice, though, tonight made it a sure thing as to which would be the target – there was but the one mine left.

Daniel had ached to warn his son to stay away from work, but knew that any variation in the accepted pattern for the workers of Widestake had the possibility of scaring off the bandits. And that just wasn't something Daniel was going to allow, not in his district. He spared a moment to mentally curse the ineptitude of his fellow district marshals before refocusing on his job. At ten past four in the morning, the mobile radar unit indicated the baddies had made their move. Time to get to work, Daniel thought, straightening his hat and checking his pistol.

When Jayne finally fell asleep, it was with the dim glow of dawn on the horizon. When he woke, it was to bright noontime sunlight. He could hear Kaida rummaging around in their kitchenette, grumbling to herself about being out of every gorram thing in the 'verse an' then some. He smiled to himself and hauled his ass out of bed. "Jayne!" Kaida hollered, hearing him stir. "You up?"

"Yeah, hon. Whacha need?"

"Keep an eye on the kids, Ma's runnin' inta town in a few, takin' Kelly with 'er, ta pick up some supplies your pa forgot to brung home with 'im. I need ta give 'er our list too."

Jayne splashed water on his face. "Be right out." She'd disappeared before he could exit the bathroom, but wasn't gone long. When she got back, he asked, "Hettie here yet?"

Kaida nodded. "Brung her folks, too, an some stuff like lawn darts. Jax's hidin' in his room, though. Seems Hettie's li'l sis is right easy on his eyes. Your pa got tangled up in work again, and's runnin' late. Said he'd be home in a coupla hours."

Jayne chuckled at the bit about Jax and nodded at the bit about his pa, then scooped up Morley. The three year old giggled as Jayne settled him on his shoulders. "Gonna go see what needs doin' still," he said, then kissed Kaida on the cheek.

Meanwhile, only a mile away, six men who had managed to slither through the marshal's nets during the early-morning trap were plotting. The location of the Cobb homestead was far from secret. Anyone with wave access could look up the address in an instant. The bearded man who'd brought Mark in on the scheme in order to learn the routine at Widestake had taken it on himself to do just that once his ship had landed; it hadn't taken more than a moment to memorize the information. He was glad now that he had. Not counting the security guard – that guy had always been expendable – they'd lost half their crew to the gorram marshals. Three were dead for sure. One more probably was. The other two had been taken alive. And it was all that Cobb kid's fault.

Back at the homestead, the barbeque was lit and womenfolk sat chatting, watching the older kids chase each other with a hose while the younger kids were occupied with a small wading pool. Since Jayne and Thad were among those trying to drown each other with the hose, the only man present – Hettie's pa – was making himself useful by repeatedly poking the charcoal in the barbeque and mentally wishing that Daniel Cobb would hurry up so he wouldn't feel so drowned by frippery. It wasn't really his fault, though. He'd wanted sons. But his wife had produced nothing but girls. Four of 'em.

Back at the marshal's station in Yellow Rock, Daniel's chief deputy finally managed to talk the man into going home, promising that all the paperwork would be done in his absence and to keep him updated with the results from the search for the men who'd escaped. Daniel nodded in gratitude, then headed home.

Less than three hundred meters from the house, the scruffy man and his cohorts hid in the tangle of thick brush that marked the boundary between forest and desert, watching the small party on the lawn below. "Jonsey, you got that cannon o' yourn ready? I wancha ta fire soon's I say so."

'Jonsey' – a tall, rangy-looking man with an affinity for improvised munitions – grinned at him. "Sure thing, Boss."

They didn't have to wait long before their boss' plan became apparent. The high-pitched whine of an approaching ground car grew in volume. A moment later, a plume of dust kicked up by its passing showed over a not too distant hill. The boss smiled the same smile he'd warned the kid with the night before. "Aim for the ground car," he ordered. "The rest o' you, start shootin' when it blows. I don't want no one but that gorram kid breathin' at the end o' this." He waited for his men to nod, then clarified. "Kid I mean's the tall one, there," he pointed at Jayne. He was, save for his pa, the tallest of the Cobbs. "The one with the dust mop on 'is head." Jayne hadn't always had short hair, though it'd never been long enough to braid.

The first clue anyone had that something was going horribly, terribly wrong was when Daniel's ground car pulled to a stop next to his son's and promptly exploded. What followed next was a confusing stampede of screaming, terrified people. Jayne saw six figures emerge from the forest, each of them shooting. He saw Hettie Carsen's head explode. The sound of Thad's yelling managed to unroot his feet and he followed his younger brother to the gun-safe in the garage. Thad got it unlocked quick enough, and Jayne grabbed his twelve-gauge and followed Thad back outside, idly wondering when he was going to wake up. He knew he'd been yelling himself, but couldn't remember what, not even moments after the words had left his lips.

His shotgun only carried two rounds. Always before, that had been all he'd needed. Now, though, he didn't know where to begin to aim. A flash of yellow caught his peripheral vision and he turned his head in time to see the bearded man from the night before raise a machine pistol at his wife – who was clutching Adelaide to her chest and making a run for the garage. Jayne's vision turned red. He raised the shotgun and braced the stock against his shoulder. He wasn't quick enough to keep his wife and baby girl from being cut in half by the pistol, though his aim was as good as ever.

Jayne didn't stop to check the man, but raced to Kaida's side. He knew it was hopeless even as he rolled her over. His hope had been for Addie. False hope, as it turned out. One of the rounds had gone straight through Kaida and lodged in the baby's brain. The sudden ringing in his ears drowned out the fact that the sounds of screaming had all but stopped.

The boss-man's second looked around at the scattered bodies in satisfaction. The only one still breathing was the one his boss had pointed out. All-in-all, a good day's work. Now, ta get the hell outta here. He started to head back to the forest to meet up with the others and almost didn't see Jayne spot him until it was too late. The man reacted on instinct at seeing the lanky kid aim the shotgun in his direction and threw his knife as hard as he could. It lodged to the hilt in the kid's stomach, and the blast from the gun went high, missing him entirely. Bleedin's still breathin'. His boss was gonna hafta be okay with that. Better 'im than me.

The entire encounter had taken less than ten minutes, from start to finish.

Radiant and Kelly arrived about forty minutes after the last of the bad guys left. They found Jayne, bleeding heavily, a knife not far away, barely conscious and clutching his dead family in his arms. The trail of blood smeared on the grass indicated he'd carried Kaida and Addie over to the pool. The red taint in the water, and Morley's sopping wet condition told their own story.

Jayne, contrary to his prayers and wishes, woke up a week later in the hospital. It hadn't been a nightmare, either. The only thing that kept him from following his family was that his mom and sister still needed him.

It took most of a year for them to get their feet back under them.

Then one night while Jayne sat staring in silence out on the homestead porch, Radiant settled herself onto the bench next to him. "Jayne?"

"Yeah?"

"Got a wave from the marshals. They moved it to cold case status."

Jayne's perpetual frown deepened.

Radiant reached over and turned her son's face so that she could look him in the eyes. "They gave up."

Knowing exactly how his mom felt, Jayne just nodded. "They did."

"Are you?" she asked.

His head shook slowly.

"Good," she said, patting his cheek. "You find them, baby. You find them and put them down. Make them hurt like they hurt us if you can. Make them suffer."

Jayne nodded. "I will. Even if I have to chase 'em to the end of the 'verse. I will."

Jayne started hunting the next day.

A/N2: I don't quite know why, but when I picture a young Jayne (keep in mind that Adam Baldwin was 40 when Firefly first aired), I see Adam circa Full Metal Jacket, only without quite so much muscle-mass and a haircut like Sam wore in season three of Supernatural, minus the sideburns.

And yes, I had to give Jayne's tattoo meaning. Sickeningly sentimental meaning. I blame it on being born with girl-parts.

Please remember to lemme know what y'all think! Thankee kindly.