Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to Firefly. I merely own the character Roz, my cat, and my husband…that's it.

Chapter Six

In an instant the crew came alive at the bold statement from Simon, "this…is my sister". The captain shouted orders for everyone to be in the eating area right away while Simon escorted his sister down to the infirmary to get some rest. Jayne placed a hand on Roz's back and gently prodded her towards the dining room. He couldn't wait to hear how Simon was going to explain himself.

No one spoke to each other and as they sat at the table it wasn't the joyful communion as it was earlier at dinner, everyone seemed to be caught up in their own thoughts. Jayne sat next to Roz tapping his fingers anxiously as he looked towards the door. He was forcing himself to stay in his seat and not jump up and drag the Sha gwa (fool) doctor in by his toenails.

Simon arrived just in time because Jayne had pushed back his chair with a screech and was about to stand up. He growled slightly when Simon walked in, needing to get rid of some of his anxious energy he was gearing up for a fight and hoped he could punch someone (namely Simon).

Simon stood before the group; his normally calm manor was replaced with uncertainty as he fiddled nervously with his fingers. With a large sigh Simon raised his head and looked at the crew and guests and began his story.

"I am very smart. I went to the best medacad on Osiris. Top three percent of my class. Finished my internship in eight months. 'Gifted' is the term. So when I tell you that my little sister makes me look like an idiot child I want you to understand my full meaning.

"River was more than gifted. She…she was a gift. Everything she did…you know, music, math, theoretical physics, even…even dance…there was nothing that didn't come as naturally to her as breathing does to us. And she could be a real…brat about it too," Simon smiled softly to himself. "I mean she used to…" he paused and looked up with a confused look on his face, clearly he had lost himself in his memories and Jayne was ready to shake him out of the past and into the future. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Simon continued with his explanation.

"There was a school, a government sponsored academy. We had never even heard of it, but it had the most exciting program, the most challenging. We could have sent her anywhere. We had the money, but she wanted to go. She wanted to learn. She was fourteen.

"I, uh, got a few letters at first, and then I didn't hear for months. Finally I got a letter that made no sense. She talked about things that never happened. Jokes that we never… It was a code. It just said…'they're hurting us, get me out.'" Pain crossed Simon's face at the thought of the harm that had befallen his sister.

"How'd you do it?" Zoe asked.

"Money, and…and luck. For two years I couldn't get near her. Then I was contacted by some men…some underground movement. They…they said that she was in danger, that…that the government was…playing with her brain. If I funded them, they could sneak her out in cryo, get her to Persephone, and from there I could take her wherever."

"Will she be all right?" Inara asked.

"I don't know if she'll be all right. I don't know what they did to her. Or why. I just have to keep her safe."

"That's…quite a story son," Shepherd Book replied gently.

"Yeah, it's a tale of woe, very stirring," Mal commented sarcastically from the back of the room. "In the meantime, you've heaped a world of trouble on me and mine."

"I never thought…"

"No, I don't imagine you thought. In consequence of which we got a kidnapped federal officer on board, we got the Alliance hard on our trail, and Kaylee…"

"How much does the Alliance know?" Zoe asked, interrupting the captain's tirade.

"I can't say," Wash replied. "I killed the message pretty quick, so they may just have our position."

"Or," Mal turned to face his crew. "They might have personal profiles on each and every one of us. Till that Fed wakes up, we won't know."

"So what do we do?" Jayne asked.

"The job," he replied. "We finish the job. I got word from Patience. She's waiting for us. We circle round to Whitefall, make the deal, get out, keep flying."

"What about us?" Simon asked from behind the captain.

Mal turned to address the doctor. "Kaylee comes through, you and your sister get off at Whitefall."

"If she doesn't come through?"

"Well, then you're getting off a mite sooner."

Jayne stiffened uncomfortably at the barely audible gasp from Roz. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her fiddle with the sleeve of her sweater, not daring to make eye contact with any of the crew. He frowned as he realized those movements were made out of a nervous habit. She's gonna have to get used to how we do things round here, he thought to himself and giving his attention back to the captain.

"That'd be murder," Book advised.

"Boy made a decision," Mal reminded everyone.

"He didn't shoot her," Inara spoke.

"No, but somebody else did and I'm scratching my head as to why we ain't dealt with him," Jayne responded. He shook out his fingers because he was starting to get a cramp in his hand from clenching to tight. He wanted to let loose his frustration on that gorram fed.

"Kill a fed? Can you think of a stupider thing to do?" Zoe stepped in.

"He can I.D. us," Jayne growled, leaning heavily on the table to show Zoe he wasn't going to back down.

Zoe simply gave him a stern look and dismissed him with a turn of her head. Jayne clenched his hands and punched his thigh lightly, leaning back and gritting his teeth in anger. Roz made a small movement away from him and Jayne forced himself to take a calming breath. As angry as he was, and he knew he would most likely be even more angry later, he didn't want to scare Roz. She's gonna have to get it in that thick skull of hers that I won't hit her.

"If you want to throw me out the air lock, fine," Simon replied. "But River is not a part of this."

"Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?" Wash added.

"We don't vote on my ship because my ship is not the rutting town hall."

"This is insanity," Inara shook her head in exasperation.

"I like to think that we're a ways beyond that now, sir," Wash reminded the captain. "We're gonna talk this through," Wash whispered to Zoe with a look that said she should pitch in at anytime.

"I will not sit by while there's killing," Shepherd Book shook his head in exasperation.

"Neither…neither will I," Roz spoke softly and hesitantly. Jayne flashed her a quieting look but she didn't back down this time.

"Shut up!" Mal roared. Jayne felt Roz flinch at the loud command as she unknowingly eased back towards his thick frame. He placed a long arm on the back of the chair. If Jayne thought on it for awhile, he would have come to the realization that he was marking his territory. He wanted to protect Roz, and no one would harm her and make her feel afraid. "The way it is, is the way it is. We gotta deal with what's in front of us."

"Mal, you know those two wouldn't survive a day in Whitefall anyway," Inara pleaded. "You throw them out, I'm leaving too."

Mal turned his head to look down at her. His jaw clenched as if he were trying to say something but he wouldn't allow himself. Instead he replied, "it might be best you do. You ain't a part of this business." He gave her a last look before walking past her and out into the corridor. Jayne nearly leaped out of the chair and followed the captain. He wanted to ask about the prisoner and how far he could actually be tortured. He paused, however, in the doorway as Simon raced by him after the captain, stopping the older man outside in the hallway.

"What business is that exactly?" Simon asked with a sneer on his face. Jayne had to keep back a whoop of glee as he smelled a potential fight brewing in the air. He picked up a coffee cup that had been sitting out on the counter from his last meal and quickly filled it to the brim watching the show unravel before his eyes. "I'm a dead man, I can't know?" Mal fixed him with a slow hard look. "Is it gold? Drugs, pirate treasure? What is it that makes you so afraid of the Alliance?"

"You don't want to go down this road with me, boy," Mal shook his head with a rueful smile.

"Oh, you're not afraid of them? I already know you'd sell me out to them for a pat on the head. Hell, you should probably be working for them. You certainly fit the profi…"

Mal swung his arm back and punched Simon right in the face. Simon fell down hard. The Captain looked down at him as Simon wiped the blood from his face for the second time.

"I saw that comin'," Jayne spoke from the doorway with a harsh laugh. He turned around and looked at Roz, the smile instantly disappearing from his face when she looked at him with sadness and fear. The rest of the crew had slowly left the dining area, having their fill of drama for the day.

"What?" Jayne shrugged as he walked around the table and into the kitchen. Roz stood and followed him, simply staring at him as he put his cup in the sink and proceeded to wash it.

"What you lookin' at me for? You'd think I killed yur cat or somethin'."

"No Jayne, I guess I just don't understand. How can you…" Roz took a deep breath and started over again. "Simon seems to really care for his sister, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

He growled as he walked around her, not wanting to feel the dirtiness she made him feel. They deserved what they get…well maybe not the girl…but she's with him and Simon's presence threatened the lives of everyone on the ship including Roz. Jayne's thoughts were swirling through his head creating a massive headache. The others would surely laugh if they found out he even had a single thought. They all thought he was stupid. That was good, because the more they underestimated him, the more dangerous he became.

"Jayne, do you know what's going to happen to them? Can they even survive on their own on Whitefall or…" Roz bit her lip and fumbled with the end of her sweater. "What if the captain pushes them off the ship before we even reach Whitefall?"

"Gorramit girl!" Jayne slammed his newly washed cup onto the counter causing the handle to break off. Roz jumped back at his fierce exclamation and clasped her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. She watched him warily pacing back and forth her body shaking as she pressed herself against the wall. Her eyes instantly scanned the exits, knowing where to run if he became violent. He suddenly stopped and walked towards her with the gracefulness of a cat and a look of fierceness in his eyes. His manner was nothing like the calm and kind man she had met earlier in the day. This was a calculating look, the face he no doubt put on when facing hardened criminals and dangerous con-men. She knew she should feel afraid, and there was a part of her who was still desperate to run away, but even at his angriest Jayne was still nothing like him. This was the true Jayne who wasn't trying to hide himself because he was afraid how she would react.

"Do you know who I am woman? I'm an assassin. I'm a contract killer. I get paid and then I kill. I ain't worried about those two kids."

Roz looked down at the ground with her eyes closed tightly. Lifting her head high, she forced herself to look deep into his eyes and ask the question that required all her courage. "Then what are you worried about?" she asked softly.

"What?" he asked her with a furrowed brow. His eyes roving over her face as if looking for a sign of ridicule or deceit.

Roz steeled herself to continue with her line of questioning. She had no idea where this stroke of inquisitiveness came from. She was always taught to listen, don't talk or ask questions, and most certainly not to disobey orders. Roz had listened quite a lot today, but she had certainly bent and broken the last two rules. "You are obviously agitated about something. So if you're not worried about the death of two innocent lives, then what is so bad that it could worry you?"

Jayne shut his mouth and stood up straight and glared at the doorway. "I've got work to do." Without a backwards glance to the petite redhead he walked out of the room intent on whatever path he was taking.

Roz sank onto the kitchen table chair and placed her head in her palm. That hadn't gone as well as I had hoped. "You're doing a fantastic job Rozalyn." A voice spoke from the doorway. Roz jumped out of the chair, the weight of her growing stomach causing her to tip forwards but was stopped by placing a hand on the table.

"Shepherd Book, you startled me." Roz placed a hand over her heart and gave a brief smile to the dark man in the doorway.

"My apologies Rozalyn, I didn't mean to frighten you," Book gave her a soft smile before taking the seat across from her at the table. "Forgive me for being too forward, but I see the way you move around men, the hesitancy in your decisions, and of course the bruising on your face. I take it you didn't leave behind a joyful life?"

Roz's eyes widened as she realized no one in the five years of living with him had asked her about what had happened. Everyone who lived near them already knew the nightly beatings she took but just didn't care, or were too scared to ask.

She shrugged in response to his question. "I suppose you could say that."

"Rozalyn, I'm not going to ask you for the details because that should be given when you decide to confide in someone. However, I did want to ask you, if you have the Lord in your heart."

Roz looked away from the Shepherd with the knowing eyes. He was plunging too close to her damaged soul. "Shepherd Book, I'm afraid I don't even know much about your Lord. I didn't grow up in a deeply religious home and I don't even know if I could love a God who let me be…allowed me to have the life I did…but I do enjoy hearing about those stories you tell, in that Bible. And I like the peace you have. It's something I've always wanted for me and my baby. To not be afraid anymore."

"Well my dear," Book reached a hand out slowly and tapped her forearm gently. "I would say you're on the right path."

Sorry I didn't get this updated at my normal time. This weekend was really busy with Memorial Day and family get-togethers. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because we got to see the anger in Jayne and Roz trying to cope with the fact that everyone gets angry they just aren't going to hit her like him.

So some of you may have noticed the change of POV from Jayne to Roz later in the chapter. I'm fiddling a bit with how I want the story to read and I've come to the decision that I don't want it from only one character, like I was starting out. We're going to have more of an omniscient voice so we can hear from both Jayne and Roz. We'll see how that goes and let me know your thoughts, if it's too confusing for you or you like it.

Thanks again for all those readers who have been reviewing. I noticed I have quite a few people adding my story to their favorites but not reviewing. Please take time to write a quick note even if it's to say it sucks (however I would like to be told why you think it sucks and not just a flame). I'll be sure to update at my regular time this weekend.