Dear Jayne

I'm afraid to say that I have bad news. Ma's illness has gotten worse. The town's doctor says there's no chance of her coming back from it this time. She's been asking for you and is only holding on to this life to see you.

I pray this letter gets to you in time. Please come home, Jayne. All she wants is to see you before she goes on.

Your brother

Mattie

Jayne folded the letter again and stuck it into his pocket. He'd been reading it and re-reading it for the past two days. He took a swig of whiskey from his flask. His stomach rumbled in complaint. It was empty save for the protein he'd had that morning or had that been the previous night? He couldn't rightly remember. The past two days had been fuzzy with alcohol haze. Not that it helped much.

“Jayne?” there was a knock at his bunk. It was Mal.

“Yeah?” he said loudly but didn't open the hatch.

“We should be on your moon in twelve hours time. Dinner's almost ready if you want somethin',” he said.

“Thanks,” Jayne mumbled.

The captain had insisted they'd pick up Inara and Zoev. He'd even passed on the job on Beaumonde. Sent a WAVE to Monty handed the job over to his crew, just to get Jayne home to see his ma. He owed Mal big time for it. Hell, the Captain was pretty much droppin' everythin' just so he could see his ma. That's if he was able to see her alive. He was so gorram scared she'd be long gone by the time they'd get there.

He pulled out the letter again and began to read. It was the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.

“He's not coming up is he?” Inara asked as she stirred a pot.

“No. I feel strange sayin' this, but I'm worried about him. Normally whenever he's got a bug in his brain, he works it out doing reps or somethin'. Now with his ma... she's pretty much the only thing sacred and untainted left in his life. T'aint fair that she be taken away so soon,” he shook his head.

“Didn't you lose your mother years ago yourself?” Inara asked. She tasted the stew and added