His dreams were filled with memories of his mother. Twisted memories that had her crying out for him. Pleaded with him not to go away, asking him why didn't he see her before she died. A soft voice called out his name and it was all it took to wake him up and have him pointing Jenny at it.

It was the crazy girl's voice. He sat up and put the gun down but kept it within arm's reach. She was staring at him saying nothing and holding a small tray with a hearty stew and some bok choy salad to the side.

“What are ya doin' in here?” he grumbled.

She rolled her eyes and lifted the tray slightly as if to say, “What does it look like I'm doing?”

She gently placed the tray across his lap. “The Captain wanted to make sure you've eaten something.”

“I'm not hungry,” he grunted and two seconds later his stomach growled.

River arched a brow at him. “Your stomach says otherwise. I'd advise you to eat something. Having only alcohol in your system can seriously damage your liver and kidneys after a prolonged period of ti—”

“Bi zui! I'll eat it, all right? Anythin' to get ya to shut yer trap,” he snapped. He picked up his spoon and dipped it into his stew. It wasn't half bad. No where near as good as his ma's—no don't think 'bout her, think 'bout anything but her. He was half-way through with his stew when he noticed the girl hadn't left.

“What ya still doin' here?”

“Captain wants me to make sure you eat everything.”

He snorted. “What are ya, my gorram babysitter now? Don'tja gotta do some piloting or somethin'?”

“The Captain is at the helm at the moment. And Zoe's emotional state of being does not make her an adequate candidate to bring you down your dinner. It fell to me to be your ambassador to the outside world,” she said eloquently.

Jayne stared at her. “So what... your sayin' you're a whore now?”

River actually laughed.

He frowned at her and finished off his stew. “Stop laughin' at me.”

“I am not laughing at you. I'm laughing at what you said, there's a difference.”

Ther