A Winding Dirt Road

Chapter 1: All Work and No Play

“You know,” he said, holding out his arm, “I’m gettin’ a little tired of havin’ needles stuck in me every few gorram minutes.”

“Be that as it may,” Simon replied as he injected the syringe into his crewmate’s arm, “if you’re going down to the scrap yards you’ll be around a lot of rusted metal. If you slip at all-” he threw the syringe into the wastebasket and wiped his hands “- and scratch yourself on something, you could easily get tetanus, which could only lead to-“

“I know, I know,” Jayne said, rolling his eyes and pulling his sleeve back up. “Just don’t like gettin’ all these ruttin’ holes all over me is all.”

“Something tells me you can handle it,” said Simon, giving the man a mock-reassuring pat on the back before closing his drawer full of syringes.

“Besides, you’re worryin’ too much, doc. You really expect me to cut myself down there? I ain't no greenhorn at /walkin’/, doctor.”

“It’s best to take as many precautions as we can,” Simon replied. “And it’s the captain’s decision, not mine. Now go out-” he made a dismissive gesture with his hands “- and do something useful.”

“Oh, I’ll show you somethin’ useful you gorram /joo bah jeh hu shi/,” the gruff man muttered as he climbed the stairs out of the infirmary, leading into the upstairs hallway. Zoë walked past him once he got into the hallway.

“Oh, Jayne,” the woman said, turning around to look at the man she was addressing. “/There/ you are. Captain wants us down in the cargo bay, what’s taking you so long?”

“/Ah ya tien ah/, Zoë, I’m comin’, I’m comin’. Keep your ruttin’ pants on,” he replied, starting off towards the cargo bay. Over his shoulder he said, with a grin, “Or don’t, ‘s your decision.”

Zoë just shook her head and turned on her heels, following Jayne down to the cargo bay.

* * *

“Alright, either of you wanna come?” Mal asked, looking between Wash and the Shepherd as River walked the catwalk above them, her mind obviously wandering into some other