Disclaimer: Joss Whedon et al own the characters, ‘verse and everything else in them. I’m only playing with his toys and not making a single bit of credit off this.

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: finding your way can take you to all kinds of places. Post-BDM.

What kind of an author would I be if I forgot the most important component: my beta reader? Many thanks to Jacqui for reviewing and suggesting.

Chapter 1

The big man shoved his hands into his pockets, not for the cold wind, but to keep them from doing something he would later regret. His ma always told him to be mindful of himself. Big boys needed to take extra care so as to not hurt those near him. How many times had he learned that lesson growing up? If it wasn’t some little kid he was running over, it was his own head banging into something he easily fit under not more than a week earlier.

Yes, his ma had done her best with the man-ape, had loved him the best she could, but in the end, he knew she was disappointed with him. Mindful of not letting too many secrets out about his occupation and past times, she had still known. How could she not? A man like Jayne Cobb was not cut out for sitting in front of a terminal reading Alliance reports all day. If his failure at early school didn’t give his ma an indication of his future then his leaving at fourteen most certainly did.

It wasn’t that he wanted to leave, not really. He was still just a boy, but in a near man’s body. People looked at him like he was older, expected more from him and generally treated him tougher than his brother Mattie. Explained a whole lot to Jayne about his brother being so sickly.

“Always were small.” He thought.

Taking another look, he lifted his head and took in the scene. Winter on Harvest was always depressing. Not much snow fell to cover the drab and mud. The earth was solid and unforgiving. And when the winds came, no man nor beast could stand straight. It was a world his grandparents had chosen, his ma had chosen and one Jayne