1. Cemetery

Everything was perfectly quiet and perfectly still. Mal tried to raise his head up and look around, but it felt so heavy. It took a long moment for everything to come into focus. When Mal was finally able to look around the wreckage of the cockpit, he could see Wash slumped over the pilot’s seat. He was breathing steadily though. He must have just been knocked out. Mal scanned the pilot for any outward signs of injury. Nothing but a few bruises and cuts as far as the captain could tell.

The interior lights flickered on and off. Mal tried to focus and look around for the few brief seconds when the light illuminated the interior of the bridge. Sky. Were Zoe and Sky alright. And what about his mechanic. Mal hoped his boat hadn’t turned into a gorram graveyard.

"Zoe! Kaylee!" Mal shouted out. It hurt his chest to yell so loud. A couple ribs must have been broken.

"Cap’n?" Kaylee’s soft voice echoed from somewhere around the bridge.

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2. Blood

Kaylee pushed herself up, her hands slipping on the grating. They were slick with something. She looked down to see them covered in a red substance—blood. Someone was hurt. Kaylee couldn’t feel much, just cold and the like, so someone else must have been hurt.

"Zoe! Kaylee!" Mal’s voice shouted from a few feet away.

"Cap’n?" she managed out, getting a firmer grip on the ground so she could sit up. There was a shuffling and footstep. Kaylee blinked away a few spots in front of her eyes. Jayne was in front of her now. His eyes were worried, she could see that.

"Someone’s bleeding," she told him.

"Gorramit girl, you’re the one’s who’s bleeding," Jayne growled, leaning forwards to pick her up.

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3. Library

They hadn’t had time to head for the lounge to strap down. Jayne had reached Simon and River’s guest quarters a few seconds before they crashed. The merc had grabbed River and pushed her into a corner with Simon, covering them with his own body when the crash finally took place. When Serenity had finally stopped moving, Jayne had pushed himself away from them and ran out of the room without a word.

Simon turned and looked at his room. The most damage the guest quarters had sustained was Simon’s collection of medical books being thrown across the flood. Without a thought the doctor crouched down and began to pick them up.

"Are you alright, River?" he asked, setting the books on the shelf.

"Hurt," River said softly, standing up and looking at Simon. Simon dropped the book in his hand and looked his sister over.

"Where are you hurt?" he asked.

"Not me," River shook her head.

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4. First

Jayne scanned the cockpit, taking in the scene. Wash was out cold, but he wasn’t bleeding much except for a few cuts. Mal seemed hurt, but he was lucid and awake. It was the bloodied, crumpled up form on the ground that caught Jayne’s attention. The mercenary swallowed and moved to her side first. Someone else could take care of the others, Kaylee came first.

"Someone’s bleeding," she whispered hoarsely.

Jayne swallowed thicky. Fool mechanic was always thinking about someone else when she needed to be thinking about herself. "Gorramit girl, you’re the one who’s bleeding." Kaylee looked at him confused. Jayne ignored the look and picked her up.

"I don’t hurt, Jayne," she told him. She looked down at herself, taking in the bloodied shirt.

"That probably ain’t good, little girl. You just hush up and the doctor will take a look at you in just one second," Jayne said. He hurried her towards the infirmary and laid her down on the bed.

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5. Dawn

"We aren’t too far off course," Wash said looking around the barren landscape. Mal nodded. "Few miles at most."

"Can you do anything about our navigation equipment?" Mal asked. The captain crossed his arms over his chest and tried not to think about the damage to his crew and boat. Had to think about fixing things, not dwelling on what was broken.

"I’ll see what I can do," Wash said. "That’s really a job for Kaylee though. I can fiddle with it and see what happens. Will she pull through?"

"Doc said if she makes it through ‘till the morning, she should be fine. Isn’t much else we can do." Mal let out a long breath and stared down at the landscap. "See what you can do about that nav equipment."

Wash nodded and headed up the ramp. Mal guessed he should be happy that at least no one had died. Not yet anyhow. Zoe was a little banged up, but Skylar was fine. Book, River, Simon and Jayne had come out nearly unscathed; he was thankful for that. Kaylee had been thrown across the bridge during the crash, landing on something sharp and causing some serious damage. Simon had said it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Mal just hoped he was right. He couldn’t wait for dawn to come.

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6. Alley

"Jed, you see that?" Mark asked.

Jed followed Mark’s finger and watched as a firefly class transport flew overhead at an ungodly fast speed. He watched as the ship went down, sending a dark gray cloud up over the crash site.

"Ain’t more than a mile from here," Jed said. Mark nodded. Jed pushed off the alley wall and looked at his brother.

"Think someone could have lived through that?" Mark asked.

"Possible. Think we should grab the boys and check it out." Jed opened his coat pocket and pulled out a cigar. "You round everyone up."

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7. Water

"Sir," Zoe’s voice was low but very firm. Mal turned and looked at his first mate. For the first time since the crash he noticed she didn’t have Skylar with her. Book or Wash must have had her.

"Zoe?"

"We have a problem, sir," Zoe said. She looked around, making sure no one else was listening. "The water tank broke before the crash. Ain’t got no water for drinkin’ or anything else. Had a couple bottles of reserve, but had to use it to irrigate Kaylee’s wound. We’re gonna need t’send someone out and at least get some drinking water. Don’t know how long we’re gonna be down and Kaylee ain’t in a position to be moved."

"Send Jayne," Mal said, before turning to head to the bridge to check on Wash and progress on the navigation systems.

"Don’t know if we’re gonna be able to pull him away. He seems a mite disturbed over what’s happening to Kaylee," Zoe called after Mal.

"All the more reason he should be the one to go. Ain’t gonna be any use t’me here sitting on his ass in the infirmary. You tell him or I will, Zoe." Mal turned and watched her. Zoe’s face was completely blank. She nodded and turned to head for the infirmary.

"Yes, sir," she said as she left.

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8. Fire

Mal stepped into the bridge just in time to catch Wash with a fire extinguisher in hand. Mal cocked an eyebrow at his pilot.

"Kaylee’s job, not mine," Wash reminded. "Connected the wrong plug, caught fire for a second. It’s out now. Don’t think I’m going to be able to get this up and running, though. I know a lot about ships, but there is so much damage here. I’m not qualified for this."

"Keep trying," Mal said. He looked down at Wash. Man still had a concussion and everything that had happened so far really hadn’t had a chance to sink in for any of them.

"I will, but I don’t know what good it will do," Wash sighed as he got back down under the console to check things out once more.

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9. School

Jayne watched Simon as he moved through the infirmary. Jayne wasn’t ever gonna be some heroic doctor, going and saving peoples lives. Watching the doctor work on Kaylee, keeping her from dying on him, well it gave him a respect for the young doctor. Still didn’t like him much, but he could respect anyone who could save little Kaylee’s life.

"What’s that for?" Jayne asked.

"This is a pain medication, Kaylee’s adrenaline was pumping through her right after the crash, so she felt nothing. But when she wakes up, she will feel the full effect of the injury." Simon didn’t look at Jayne as he injected the medicine into her neck. The doctor turned and picked up another tool.

"What’s that for?" Jayne asked once more.

"This isn’t a school, Jayne. I don’t have time to explain this all to you," Simon snapped.

"Jayne, Mal needs you to get on the mule and head for town," Zoe said from the doorway. Jayne was just opening his mouth to give Simon a piece of his mind when the first mate popped her head in.

"I ain’t leavin’, Zoe," he told her firmly, ignoring the doctor now.

"You are leaving because if you don’t, Kaylee won’t have any water and Kaylee doesn’t have any water, she might not make it." Zoe hit the door frame and left without another word. Jayne growled and stood. He looked down at Kaylee. She was asleep now, all pretty with her hair falling around her face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. As he straightened, his eyes leveled with Simon.

"You be sure she makes it through," he warned.

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10. Heart

Jayne left the infirmary in a huff and Simon let out a long sigh. It was hard to work with the ape-man asking his questions every three seconds. Jayne was worried, that was plain enough, but Simon was worried too and he didn’t need the added stress Jayne was causing. It was like having someone’s mother in the room while you while you operated. The doctor turned to Kaylee and looked down at her injuries. They were serious, but she should make it. The small wound in her side was causing the most trouble. Her broken wrist and concussion weresecondary really.

Kaylee had been awake for a few minutes when he had first arrived in the infirmary. Her breathing was strong and she was lucid for the most part; all good signs. What she was doing not strapped in was beyond Simon. Why had Jayne come for himself and River and left Kaylee? It didn’t make sense. Simon could have taken care of River. The captain had announced that should strap in. If Jayne cared so much about Kaylee, why hadn’t he made sure she was strapped in?

Simon traced his finger down Kaylee face and jawline before sighing. He wished he could give her more of himself. Part of him wondered if he was being a fool for keeping her at arms length and letting Jayne have the advantage. He couldn’t decide whether or not Jayne was a good match for her, as much as he wanted to. It was Kaylee’s heart, not his that would break if the mercenary hurt her. Still, maybe he had given up too soon on them.