Slowly FADE IN TO:

INT: INFIRMARY

JACE is lying on the bed of the infirmary, with SIMON seeing to him, and KAYLEE off to one side.

KAYLEE: I just don’t see why Jayne had to hit him so hard.

SIMON: Simple. Jayne feels inadequate in some areas of his life so he feels he has to overcompensate in others. [off KAYLEE’s look] Like intelligence. Areas like intelligence.

JACE: [waking up] What happened?

KAYLEE: You got hit on the head, but don’t worry, Doc fixed you up just fine. I’m Kaylee. What’s your name?

JACE: Jace. [looking around] Where am I?

SIMON: You’re on a ship. Serenity.

JACE: Ship?! Cao wo de ma. [standing] Tell me we haven’t launched yet.

KAYLEE: We’ve been in the air two hours now.

SIMON: You might want to take it easy. I gave you something to dull the pain, but it might make you a little woozy. [JACE walks out anyway, not swaying in the least] Or not.

INT: OUTSIDE INFIRMARY

JACE is examining the ship, obviously recognizing it. KAYLEE and SIMON come out of the infirmary. SIMON goes off to tell MAL he’s up. KAYLEE goes over to JACE to make sure he’s ok.

JACE: A Firefly? We’re on a Firefly?!

KAYLEE: Yep. Best ship in the whole ‘verse right here. Have you ever flown on a Firefly before?

JACE: Just once.

CUT TO:

INT: KITCHEN

The rest of the crew sit around as MAL explains the situation to them.

MAL: Kid’s had a rough time of it. First time in space, and he gets caught up on all that mess. I figure we give him a little time to get used to us, then politely ask where the boat we’re looking for is.

BOOK: I’m sure hitting him on the head will help to put him right at ease with us.

MAL: Well, I regret that, but time is an issue here.

WASH: Why exactly is time an issue? I mean, the way you said it, the ship ain’t really going anywhere.

MAL: Well, they were trying to pass themselves off as legitimate businessmen, so I think they were heading through regular traffic lanes. Which means, if we don’t hurry, we might not be the first one to the wreck