“Any idea how far we walked?” Kaylee inquired, gritting her teeth as a sudden rise in the floor jostled her broken arm.

“Calculatin’ our varied rate of travel with the amount of time, bein’ five hours, that we’ve been movin’,” Gabriel replied, “ I’d say somewhereabouts sixteen dekameters, or one point six klicks.”

Kaylee’s suddenly slack jaw had trouble moving in a fashion that could produce words. “You... Um...” *Just when I think this kid can’t surprise me no more...* “So... bein’ as you’re so smart an’ all, does that tell you anything about if’n we’re headed in the right direction?”

“Not a clue,” came Gabriel’s immediate response. “That’s River’s brain’s department, an’ she ain’t here.” Although Kaylee could see nothing, she could feel a shift in his body ahead of her that let her know he glanced over his shoulder toward her. “I keep tellin’ ya, I ain’t all that smart. I just... read a lot.”

Kaylee had a bit of trouble with believing that.

“You need to stop for a minute?” Gabriel queried.

Although he could not see her, Kaylee reflexively shook her head. “Little over a kilometer and a half, even with a broken arm, ain’t nothin’ at this speed,” she responded. “I’m a bit more worried about your head.”

“My head’s fine,” Gabriel insisted.

“We pulled a heist on Boros ‘bout seven months ago,” Kaylee began, “ an’ Jayne ended up gettin’ clocked over the head pretty hard by an old woman with a fish club. I remember Simon examining him after, an’ he told me that blood in the ear canal was a better sign than clear fluid.”

“Clear fluid means cerebrospinal, which means I’d be dead, more’n like, or at least unconscious, by now. An’ since you insist on havin’ such worry over it, I’m woozy, dizzy, an’ havin’ trouble thinkin’ straight.”

Kaylee sighed. “I thought you said you weren’t a doctor.”

Gabriel was silent for several seconds. “I read a lot,” he stated, an excuse that already was becoming rather worn.

There were several more long minutes of silent travel before Kaylee gave in and asked, “Are you p