Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, they are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox

I posted on FanFiction.net a couple weeks ago, finally got around to posting it here as well. It is actually my second fanfic but the first one I am still not happy with. It's a Jayne/River romance type thing.

Feedback is MOST welcome.

Many thanks to L.A.Guns, since I shamelessly stole the title for this piece from them.

It takes place about a year after Ariel...a couple months after OiS.

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Jayne sat on his bunk, looking down at the white box sitting in his hands. It was the box his Ma had sent him his new hat in a couple months back, though that was not what sat in it now. Jayne reached out gingerly and ran a fingertip lightly over the soft fabric inside, remembering the first time he'd seen them sittin' in that shop window back home....home, he hadn't let himself think much on that place in years. He closed his eyes and let himself remember her and all that lead up to his leaven' for the first time since he'd flown off that rock.

Jayne had known her most of his life, Megan was the daughter of the Magistrate Jayne's family had been indentured too. He'd been a fair man, bit harsh at times but all things considerin' Jayne knew his family had been lucky. He'd seen more men take undue advantage of their indentured servants in the years since he'd left then not. His Pa had died in a mining accident when Jayne was 11. Jayne, being the oldest, had taken Pa's place in the mines working off the family's debt. Least Magistrate Anders had been a fair enough man that only one of them had to work the mines for him, most places the whole family would'a been working off the debt. Ma would'a done it but there had been young'ns needed looking out for and their little plot of land to take care of, so Jayne had left off his schooling and gone to work. It was hard, back-breaking work haulin'