scuffle

pg | violence

He's filthy. He doesn't want to think about what might be in the mud that is splattered on his face, his arms, his legs. The cut on his lip and the pain in his side tell him that he's losing this fight, but he struggles to stand up again.

River would have been a much better diversion. (If she wasn't in the infirmary, strapped down, sedated.)

Kaylee signals him; maybe she's just cringing. Either way, Mal and Zoe and Jayne aren't bursting in yet, so he has to keep it up.

He manages a Chinese curse before he loses consciousness.