Jayne slunk a peek down the stairs as he looked about for the captain. *Finally gets some strength in ‘em, an’ the rutter’s been on the war path all gorram day...* Quickly descending the stairs, Jayne turned left and headed for the four passenger compartments.

“Mal’s lookin’ fer ya,” Gabriel called from his room.

“I know,” Jayne growled, moving past the door and knocking on the next one.

“Come in,” came the response, and Jayne entered Helen’s room.

“How ya doin’?” Jayne inquired.

Stretched out on the bed, hands behind her head, Helen sat up upon the man’s entrance. “Bored,” she replied. “And yourself?”

Jayne shrugged, closing the door behind him. “Just came to ask ya a couple questions.”

Helen arched an eyebrow. “Will a knife be involved in this questioning?”

Jayne eyed the warrior woman curiously. “No,” he replied. “Just a couple questions.”

Laying back onto the bed, Helen nodded. “Okay. Shoot.”

“Okay.” Jayne swallowed. “Helen... Do you think I’m a bad man?”

Helen frowned at the peculiar question. “Um...” She thought for a moment. “I think you learned how to behave and think in order to survive in your environment. The same as me.”

Jayne frowned, then nodded. “Okay, I can understand that.”

“Why do you ask?”

Jayne cleared his throat. “Well, I assume you’ve been enjoyin’ yer new-found freedoms the past two weeks.”

Helen regarded him coolly. “I have.”

Jayne nodded. “Okay, well... Ya see, yer security has been left all in my hands, an’ if ya did anythin’... *unorthodox...* Cap’n’d be liable ta gun me down.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Jayne Cobb. I’ve noticed the comradery this crew possesses. Damian Ritter even made a comment about it to me once. He said that you have an advantage over us because of your undying loyalty to one another.”

Jayne sighed, leaning back against the door and crossing his arms. “So...” He paused. “Helen, *why* didja come to rescue us on the med ship? After Gab freed ya, ya had a ship an’ no resistance. Ya coulda bashed in Gab’s brain, or jus