firefly_fanfic | That Which Shapes A Man

Title: That Which Shapes A Man
Chapter Four: A Rough Road to Follow

Author: mercsgoodgirl

Summary: Jayne returns to his home world for the funeral of his beloved younger brother. The solemn occasion forces him to confront early events that have shaped his life, in an effort to understand the true meaning of family and loyalty.

Rating: PG-15
Characters: Jayne, Kaylee, Jayne/Kaylee, Crew, ofc, omc
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee, het, in some chapters
Warning: Strong language.
Spoilers/Timeline: Just prior to "Those Left behind"; also, twenty-six years previously.
Disclaimer: All belongs to Joss. Just one woman’s take on the story. No money exchanged and all that.
Word count: 2,374; chapter four of thirteen

Author's Note: From the first time I watched Firefly, I wondered what circumstances might have shaped the character of Jayne Cobb, an exceptionally complex man. The given name "Jayne" was a common variant of "John" in Victorian England. This story emerged from the questions I asked.

Thanks to my excellent beta artemis_prime for making me dig deep and to cantonheroine for the beautiful header for this story. Finally, sincere thanks to my dear friend Kristy Bartley, Ph.D., psychologist and therapist, who introduced me to the amazing work on intergenerational family dynamics done by Dr. Terrance Real and gave me insights into the forces that might have created the character we see.

Previous chapters here…

Cross-posted to ff_fanfic and jaylee_ship

Questions, thoughts and comments are sincerely appreciated. Thanks!

He has hard choices to make…