The sky was clear when Mal, Zoe, and Jayne stepped off the ship. Mal saw that Jayne was right--four people were approching the ship. And they weren't armed. At least what Mal could see. The men came closer, and Mal stopped on the edge of the ship's ramp and called out to them.

"What can I do for you folks?" Mal said. The men stopped, putting their hands in their pockets. One stepped forward.

"We saw your ship crash. We was just comin' to see if you needed any help." The man was tall and lean, yet muscular. He looked to be some kind of farmer, due to his large hat and overalls. All four men were covered with mud. They all had a similar appearance, and Mal deduced that they must be brothers of some sort. He motioned to Serenity.

"We have crashed, but, we're gettin' her fixed up. No need for any help. We'll be on our way."

The one man stepped forward a bit more, offering his hand for a shake. Mal eyed it, and the man pulled it away. "Name's Abe. These are my brothers, John, Soren, and Mitch." Abe pointed to each of the men in succession. Mal nodded to them once.

"Thanks once again for your offer, but we don't need help to patch up our ship." He said, marking the conversation as complete.

Abe shook his head. "Well, that might be a problem. Y'see, we're honest folk, and we always treat guests like that--guests. We can't take no for an answer to come and eat at our place tonight. That'll give you a comfortable place to rest until you start the patchwork. You might need some hands, too."

Mal looked at Zoe, who remained stone-face. Jayne grinned.

" Gai si , what's wrong in free food?" He glanced at Mal, still holding Vera in his hands. Mal gave a slight shake of his head.

"Jayne, keep your mouth shut." He turned to Abe. "Can you just show us where your house is, so that if we want to come, we can come later? We have an injured man, and we want to keep him in our infirmary."

Abe's eyebrows rose. "An injured man? Why didn't you say so before?" He snapped his fingers. "We'll brin