WHAT THE BRAIN FORGOT

Everyone was in their bunks asleep when Jayne stuck his head up out of his hatch. He was supposed to be resting but something was keeping him distinctly restless. Unwilling to continue tossing and turning, he stole quietly up his ladder and began to prowl the darkened ship.

The hold was silent and empty when he walked in. It was disconcerting to see it bereft of cargo when last he remembered, it was full to busting with crates and he was ignoring the crazy girl’s directions on how to do his job. The next thing he knew, he was lying in the chair in the infirmary, staring up at ‘ole Moonybrains.

“Jayne!” she exclaimed, as though she hadn’t been the one prodding him awake. “You woke up!”

“’parently.” He muttered, wincing at the brightness of the overhead light. Before he could say anything though, she reached up and flipped it off, bathing them in the room’s ambient blue light. “Where’s the doc?”

“Helping Kaylee.”

“Oh.” He really didn’t want to know.

The crazy girl held up her finger in front of his face and said, “Follow the finger with your eyes.”

“Why for?”

“I’m testing for lingering symptoms of concussion.”

He grudgingly followed her finger back and forth, up and down, closer and closer until he was cross eyed and she poked him in the nose with a giggle.

“You playin’ games with me, moon brain?” he growled, not at all amused. “You best get yer brother in here ‘fore my head ‘splodes.”

The smile slowly fell off her face and something in his chest twinged.

“Do you not remember your golden days next to the river?” she asked eyes wide.

He glared at her. “You been diggin’ round in my head again?”

She shook her head. “Your brain has forgotten. I’m going to get Simon.”

“My brain ain’t forgotten nuthin’!” he yelled after her, wincing at the sudden spike of pain in his head.

That had been two days ago, the last time he’d gotten a decent night’s sleep. Apparently, during their last job gone wrong, the buyer and his henchmen had