Jack of Harts

Dawn DeMarco and Jesse James got a lot closer to each other than military regulations approved of during their stay on Serenity. I recognized that when they linked back up with the rest of us Cowboys after their job was done. I recognized it and totally forgot to report it. So sad. The bureaucrats would have been most cross with me if they learned. But Serenity had forged them into a powerful team, and I wanted all of that on my team. So I failed to report the violation. It wasn’t the first time we Cowboys violated regulations, and it most certainly was not the last. Dawn had her own set of rules and regulations she trashed over the years, often with great glee. Sometimes just because someone had to do it. I didn’t want them caught, so I sent them back out under cover with her gang of misfit Cowboys to find more War profiteers. Someone had to do it, and she was so very good at it.

Jesse was in command of the two Cowboys I left on Serenity when it came time to return home to Alpha Centauri. But Jesse was not feeling confident in his own abilities at the time. Not that I really realized how bad off he was. He was doing his typical Kansas farmer stoic routine, and I was mostly falling for it. But I was worried enough that I left Dawn DeMarco to help him, and Dawn was way smarter than I was. She did not fall for his stoic act. She saw the hole he was falling into and she dragged him out of it. She brought him to all the best balls and parties on Serenity, and never allowed him to be alone to dwell on the people he had lost. Unless he needed to be alone. She was real good at knowing when to step back and when to grab him by the arm and drag him after her. She pulled him out of his depression and saved him in every way that matters.