Chapter 3

With a grunt, Jayne dropped another bag beside Inara and then leaned back, stretching his sore muscles. He’d been working non-stop to get as much out of the ship as he could and he’d had to do it all alone.

Everyone else was too injured to assist. Inara and the lil-pint were all enamored of the new baby, using him as a distraction so they wouldn’t need to think about what they’d lost. Mal and Zoe were helping as much as they could once Jayne dropped the bagfuls of items to the ground. River, who hadn’t been too badly hurt, refused to leave her brother’s side. Kaylee – Jayne shook his head, unwilling to let his thoughts go in that direction. He’d want to hit things then. Cave in and crush skulls. Make things bleed.

He glanced around the forest, lush in places, bare in others, and heaved a huge sigh. In lieu of doing damage to those responsible, he’d had to settle for manual labor. He was used to it. It was nothing new. And it kept him from dwelling on what they’d lost because of - he glanced sideways at Mal - the captain’s bad decision. The mercenary glanced up toward the ship and gnashed his teeth together, clenching his jaw until it hurt as he thought about all of the mistakes the captain had made that had cost lives.

The baby whimpered in Inara’s arms and Jayne’s head swiveled to take in the tiny face, eyes scrunched and short, stubby fingers balled into tight fists. It was difficult to hate the little boy, but the big man could still be angry at his father and the crazy little moonbrain the captain had allowed onto his boat almost two years ago now. If Mal had just turned them away or flushed them out the airlock, this would never have happened.

The snap of a twig and the rustle of approaching footsteps alerted the survivors that someone was coming. Jayne slipped his pistol from its holster faster than the eye could see and blended into the foliage, determined to kill as many Alliance scum as he could before they took him.

Mal and Zoe drew much slower, their injuries