(I'm not sure the various ages of the crew when the war started, so hopefully it makes sense.)

Mal stood expressionless. The heat from the fire was making him sweat, but he didn’t wipe his brow. The sweat trickled down slowly.

“You didn’t have to do this.” An older man said.

Mal didn’t respond. He looked at the man. “Yeah, I did.” He handed him the reigns to a colt.

“Mal, I can’t. You need him more than I do. Mary and me we’ll be ok. Maybe you can sell him to the Yengs.”

Mal put the reigns in his hands. “I won’t need him where I’m going. Besides, I owe you.”

The man took a deep breath. Smoke filled his lungs and he coughed a bit. “All you owe me is coming back home alive.”

Mal smiled. “Yes sir.”

The man cleared his throat. “You should get going. They’ll be looking for you son.” The man turned to leave, but he hesitated. “Mal.”

“Yeah.”

“One other thing. Kill a couple of those sons of bitches for me.”

Mal smiled. “That’s the plan.”

The man left with the horse. Mal stood there a moment longer and watched the fire. “That’s the plan.” He kissed the silver cross around his neck and picked up his bags. “That’s the plan.”

****

“You don’t have anything to prove by doing this. I called Madame Marie, she said you can come back if you want…”

Zoë ignored the older woman talking to her. She was in the mist of packing.

“I watched my father, my husband and sons walk out that door and not return, I’ll be damn if I’ll do the same for you. If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back. They’ll be nothing for you.”

Zoë kissed the older woman on the cheek. A stream of tears ran down the woman’s face. Zoë stood at the doorway and stared at the fragile woman before her.

“The difference between me and them is that I don’t plan to come back.” Zoë paused. “I love you.” She turned and walked out the door.

*****

“I don’t git it. Ain’t no money in it.”

“Everything ain’t about money.”

Jayne paused a moment to that about the words that were just spoken to him. “Yeah it is.”

The younger man chuckled.