A/N: This is the first of a four part fic. Any feedback will be appreciated. Hope you all enjoy it. Also, a big THANKS to my beta, Chazzer.

Disclaimer: All things belong to Joss.

Strange, Stranger and Downright Unsettling

By abbeygirl

Part One

When Mal opened his eyes, all he knew for sure was that his head was pounding and it was too bright. He groaned.

“He’s coming around,” he heard someone say. The penlight that had been shining in his eyes was turned off. He realized he was in the cargo bay and Jayne was leaning over him, but something wasn’t right. Jayne was not right. He was wearing a neatly pressed shirt and vest. He was clean-shaven and his hair was trimmed neatly. He was the one that was holding the penlight. “Pupils are equal and reactive. He definitely has a concussion though. This cut will need stitches.”

“Like you would know, Jayne,” Mal mumbled back as he touched his wounded head. He looked at his hand. It was bloody. “Where’s Simon? Let a real doc look at me.”

Someone snickered loudly in the background.

“Shut up, Simon,” Jayne admonished. He looked at Mal with concern. “Also, seems to be a bit disoriented.”

“A bit disoriented? Hell, I think he cracked his gorramed brainpan,” Simon said as he peered over Jayne’s shoulder at Mal. “Has a sense of humor though after he done fell off a catwalk on his head. Imagine him thinkin’ me a doctor. That’s Hi-larious.”

“Shut up, Simon,” Jayne said with a little more authority.

Mal’s confusion was getting worse. Was that Simon dressed up in a T-shirt and cargo pants? Mal shook his head a little, but that made his head hurt worse. He looked up at Simon again who looked like he hadn’t shaved in days. Mal tried to make sense of the happenings around him, but nothing was making sense. One thing he was certain of was that he definitely had a concussion. He had experience with that before. But why would they be playing a game at a time like this? Simon