A/N: So I thought it was going to be a one shot. But perhaps, I'll just do stand alone chapters for this 'story' and discontinue the one starting before the series…. So, for that matter, I am writing this from the perspective of Jayne, through the episode of Ariel.
He had been minding his own gorram business, he had. He was cleaning his knives and guns, tinkering with them while Kaylee and Inara played cards. Wash and Zoe had come sauntering in bickering over somethin'. Simon was laughing at something with Wash.
Jayne had taken to ignoring her presence, seein' as she was a creepifyin' moonbrain (and he couldn't help repeating himself). It weren't like Mal could possibly put up with it much longer. There was that re-ward to think on and their sums were gettin' mighty low. 10 percent of nuthin was nuthin after all.
Mal'd come in and settled it, said no one were gettin' off. Almost made him wish he'd gotten off with the shepherd. At least there, he would've been outside.
He was leaning back, having just finished putting together Maria and sharpening Darlene and responding to the Doc when all of a sudden there was a stinging and then a sharp pulsing pressure. He reared back. He sat there for less than a second before shouting in pain and standing, backhanding the gorram girl, sending her flying. He sat down with a thump, hand to chest, barely noticing the hands guiding-pushing him in that direction.
The freakish moonbrain looked up at him, eyes wide saying "he looks better in red." Jayne eyed her before standing, keeping a hand to his chest and stomping off to the infirmary. The gorram twisted siblings needed off this ship. If no one else was gonna do that, well he'd just have to take innitive or whatever the gorram word was. He'd have to do it.
Over the next two days, he didn't see the gorram girl at all, which was good as he'd probably have smacked her again if she got too close. That little niggling voice pushed at him, echoing his ma's words to him years ago, that good men didn't hit women. Well, he wasn't a good man and he only hit 'em when they hit him first. He shoved the thought ruthlessly down as he strained to lift himself up, to do another chin up. He wished to high hell he could get off this ship, it'd help somethin' fierce at washing away everything.
As Mal jogged down the stairs into the cargo hold, Jayne dropped to the ground, preparing to exit the area. "You feel up to a game of horseshoe?" Mal called, glancing over at Jayne.
Jayne lifted his shoulders and lowered them. "If you're offerin'," he said. It was probl'y a half hour later when the doc suddenly interrupted them, talking about a job. Only a few hours later, he found the perfect opportunity to speak to the feds about retrieving the Tam siblings. Weren't like he liked it, but he couldn't have the girl goin' about swiping random people. There were Kaylee and Inara to think on. Well and Zoe, but she could handle herself always could. An' well, he did like the money. Good money, enough to go on home with. Or visit, anyhow. Mebbe it'd cure Matty.
Mal an' Zoe, they all thought his love of many came out of selfish wants. An' it did, he would be the first to agree with 'em. Problem was, it weren't the only thing it came from. Matty had damp lung an' he knew very well how costly it could get 'round the homefront with that. The little voice that reminded him of how Kaylee would look at him if she ever found out he'd a done that. Even though her life was in danger from the gorram moonbrain.
He snorted in disgust as he sidled up to the nearest street console-the one with the quick cortex links to police and other 'ficial agencies or whatnot. He knew well enough how much he stood out, man of his size. He could only hope Kaylee and Wash stayed well enough in the junkyard, despite all of Kaylee's wheedling.
The face in the cortex looked rather ratlike, a small pointed face dwarfed by the cap and jacket he was wearing. Jayne sneered, "Need to talk to someone what knows 'bout the River Tam fugitives case." The little man gave him a blank look and Jayne growled slightly.
"Right, right away," the rat tapped at something and suddenly the screen was filled with a rather pasty looking oval faced man who didn't seem to have seen action a day in his life.
"Could be as I have information on the whereabouts of Simon an' River Tam," Jayne sneered. "Heard there was a re-ward being offered?"
"You did hear correctly, Mr…?" the fleshy man paused. Jayne sneered, expression darkening. The man seemed to re-think asking his name pretty quickly.
"Thing is, I know they're goin ta be in the hospital. I can bring 'em out for ya," Jayne growled, still ignoring the tightening in his belly. He didn't ever have trouble savin' his own hide, especially if that benefitted his own self or Matty. Not ever.
"You'll contact me on the cortex when you are in a position to turn them in," the man said, a tone of authority in his voice.
Jayne growled. "It's what I contacted ya in the first place for," he said, cutting off the stream and stepping away from the cortex screen. He shoved his hands in his pockets, aware of just how well he stood out in this crowd, he stalked off, easily cutting through the crowds of people.
He was still ignoring the slight tightening in his belly. Guilt was something that didn't belong. He was doing this for the best of everyone. Crazy girl belonged in that place. Obviously her brother couldn't take care of her.
****
The tightening disappeared as he escorted Simon and River through the hospital. The gorram freak started whining about something, what he couldn't quite tell. Somehow, though Simon seemed to figure it out and Jayne found himself bent in half over River's wheelchair, an arm around her shoulders while he hissed at Simon to get his scrawny butt back. 'Course the boy didn't listen. He never did. It took another minute before River calmed enough that he was able to take his arm away and Jayne scowled, pretending to be unimpressed by the ease with which Simon sank into the role of surgeon, quickly fixin' someone else's mistake.
The room they ended up in was quite empty except for the thingy in the middle that River ended up in.
"They cut into her brain, they opened up her skull and cut into her brain," Simon said, sounding rather confused and angry all at the same time. Jayne frowned, shifting in his uniform. This was something he wasn't expecting. The girl had always been a moon brain, hadn't she? He just assumed Simon thought the academy was mis-using her some how.
But, no. Jayne listened with a growing discomfort to Simon tell him of how the place had stripped her am-dally thing. The thought occurred to him that mebbe River had been, well, sane, before this school thing. If they were cuttin' on her brain so drastically.
And somehow, it became impossible for him to turn them in now. He couldn't help but think of Matty when listening on Simon speak of River.
***
It was three days later when Mal allowed River to be freed from sitting in her room all day. Not that Jayne cared. It was better if'n he didn't see her. But, somehow, she seemed to find him in the galley, standing there in her rather ghostly way. He looked up at her, grunted and made to head back to his bunk when she spoke.
"Time rolls around, exculpation from all will be achieved through behavioral modification," She said, and Jayne glanced at her. She was studying him and Jayne stiffened before dismissing the moonbrain and heading to his bunk. And though he hadn't in the end, intended for them to be caught, he couldn't help but still wish them the hell of this ship.