Title: Taking Up Arms

Author: hisgoodgirl

Rating: PG-15 for adult language, violence

Characters/Pairing: Crew, ofc, omc.

Jayne/Kaylee, minor references to Mal/Simon.

Timeline: One year post BDM; seven years later.

Disclaimer: All belong to Joss. I got nada.

Word Count, Part Two: 3,250

A/N; During the American Civil War, a group of soldiers-turned-outlaws called Quantrell’s Raiders terrorized the Kansas-Missouri area. This story was inspired in part by their impact on the settlers of that region. Originally written for the Summer_of_Jaylee community at LiveJournal with the prompts ‘sun’ and ‘water’. If you read and enjoy this story, please take just a minute to let me know. Hover for translation.

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Taking Up Arms

Part Two

With trembling hands, Kaylee steered Maddie toward the workshop. Book kept his position close behind, backing along and growling softly at the man who threatened his family, doing his best to stay between his ‘flock’ and Briggs.

Once inside the shop, Kaylee placed Maddie up on the workbench. “You stay here while I put the dog away,” she told the child. Maddie nodded gravely, her rosy lower lip nipped between her teeth, eyes wide. Quickly securing the shepherd in the storeroom, Kaylee began to gather the tools she might need and prayed Jayne would return home soon.

Briggs watched her impassively, his sidearm held ready in case she attempted something. She’d met men like him before, back when she and Jayne served on Serenity, and she had no doubt that he meant what he said.

Out in the paddock, the roan whinnied, and Kaylee could hear muted cursing and the jingle of tack. As much as she hated the idea of riding the animal, she appreciated that his limp would force them to move more slowly, giving Jayne a better chance of catching up with them. She dropped the last couple of items into the bag and reached for her multimeter.

Briggs scowled. “What the hell’s tha