Safe
(LARGE MANSION NIGHT)
(Establishing shot. High-tech security fence surrounds the mansion.)
(STUDY)
TIME CARD:
TAM ESTATE, 11 YEARS AGO
(Young Simon Tam sits on the couch doing his homework. Young River Tam is playing behind the couch.)
Young River: (peeping up from behind couch) We're in trouble. (beat) We got cut off!
Young Simon: Cut off from what?
Young River: Our platoon, Simon. We got outflanked by the independent squad, and we're never gonna make it back to our platoon. (beat) We need to resort to cannibalism.
Young Simon: That was fast. Don't we have rations or anything?
Young River: They got lost. We're gonna have to eat the men.
Young Simon: Aren't you supposed to be practicing for your dance recital?
Young River: I learned it all. (re: his homework) That's wrong.
Young Simon: It's from the book, River.
Young River: No, the book is wrong. This whole conclusion is fallacious.
(Simon smiles, puts his homework away. Turns to River.)
Young Simon: So... how'd the independents cut us off?
Young River: They were using dinosaurs.
Young Simon: (incredulous)(in Chinese) Like hell!
(Their father, Gabriel Tam, enters the room.)
Gabriel: Language, young man.
Young Simon: Sorry, dad. The independents attacked us with dinosaurs.
Young River: Simon lost his head in the heat of battle.
Gabriel: (chuckling)(in Chinese) That has nothing to do with it. (in English) Because there were dinosaurs involved, I think we'll let it slide.
Young Simon: Did you get my wave?
Gabriel: I got it. Your text shorted. I got the whole thing during a board meeting. Thank you.
Young Simon: If I had a dedicated source box, it wouldn't short out. I lost half my essay.
Gabriel: Yes, and you'd have access to any (in Chinese) heaven knows what (in English) that filtered in from the cortex. I absolutely forbid it!
Young Simon: (pleading) Dad...
Young River: Dad...
Gabriel: I will not have it in my house. (beat) But since your mother's already ordered you one, I guess I should give up the fantasy that this is my house!
Young Simon: Are you kidding?
Gabriel: You will repay me by becoming a brilliant doctor. That's the deal. Dedicated source box -- brilliant doctor.
Young River: When do I...?
Gabriel: (dismissive) Many years.
Young Simon: Dad, this is so (in Chinese) big change! (in English) It's really gonna --
Gabriel: I know. You think I'd let you work with something second-rate?
Young Simon: Thank you.
Gabriel: You're worth it. (beat) Now do you think it's possible for you two geniuses to give your tired old dad a couple minutes' quiet?
(SERENITY - COMMON AREA)
(Back to the present. River is struggling and shouting, Simon is attempting to calm her.)
River: (collapses onto couch) No! No, I don't wanna go back to the...
Simon: It's okay. It --
River: It's not okay! (beat) You can't just dig into me, shove twenty needles in my eyes and ask me what I see!
Simon: I... we won't go in. Look. (shuts infirmary doors) No test today.
River: No rutting tests? Stupid son of a bitch, dress me up like a gorramn doll!
Simon: No tests, no shots... (beat) I'm, uh, I'm just gonna give you a smoother that'll...(River stands, takes Simon's case of medical supplies, and tosses it.) River!
(Mal is walking down the steps to the infirmary as this happens. None too pleased.)
River: (to Mal) You're not him? (beat)
(River wilts and sits back on the couch. Mal continues down the stairs.)
Mal: So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy.
Simon: It's just a bad day.
Mal: No, a bad day is when someone's yellin' spooks the cattle. Understand? (beat) You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run? It's kind of like a... a meat grinder. And it'll lose us half the herd.
Simon: She hasn't gone anywhere near the cattle.
Mal: No, but in case you hadn't noticed, her voice kinda carries. We're two miles above ground and they can probably hear her down there. Soon as we unload, she can holler until our ears bleed. (to River) Although I would take it as a kindness if she didn't.
River: The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems.
Mal: (to Simon) See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like.
Simon: This is paranoid schizophrenia, Captain. Hand-crafted by government scientists who thought my sister's brain was a rutting playground. I have no idea what'll set her off. If you have some expertise --
Mal: (firmly) I'm not a doctor. And I'm not your gorramn baby-sitter, either. Gag her, if you have to. We got trade to be done.
(Mal exits via the stairs. Simon sighs heavily.)
(JIANGYIN PLANET DAY)
(Establishing shot of Serenity landing on the planet's surface. Reverse camera to reveal three hill folk sitting in a copse of trees, all men. One of the men is skinning a rabbit hung from a tree.)
Stark: You see that? Fancy vessel such as that don't land here 'less they got something to sell. And if it's something we need
(He rips the skin off the rabbit in one move.) We take it.
(SERENITY'S CARGO BAY DOORS DAY)
(Simon is walking down the cargo bay ramp. The ramp's covered in cow pies. Simon's carefully picking his way around them, but Jayne herds some cattle past him, and Simon stumbles into some cow poo.)
Jayne: (amused) 'Bout time you broke in them pretty shoes. (to cattle) Yah! Get along!
(Simon ignores Jayne, walks off the ramp.)
Mal: You know, they walk just as easy if you lead 'em.
Jayne: I like smackin' 'em.
(Reverse camera to see the cattle trotting along a hastily-erected corral consisting of metal gates fastened together.)
(CORRAL)
(Book is tying off part of the corral, watching the cattle walk past.)
Book: Hope this corral's strong enough to hold them. "Shepherd's" a purely figurative title, you know.
(Follow Book with camera to reveal Wash and Zoe seated on top of the corral to the right, also watching the cattle.)
Zoe: (chuckling) Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it something smaller.
Wash: Yeah, we should start dealing in those black-market beagles.
(River sitting on the ground outside the corral, staring at a calf.)
River: Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat... Many souls.
Mal: (to Jayne) Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jiangyin and she's got a driving need to commune with the beast?
River: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see the sky and they remember what they are.
Mal: (to Jayne) Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me? (beat) C'mon, now. Let's get you clear of the work.
Simon: What's going on? (He approaches the corral where Mal, Jayne and River are standing.) What are you doing?
Mal: I'm fixing to do some business. Can't be herding these steers and your sister, too.
Simon: She didn't mean any harm.
Mal: I never figured she did. But when a man engages in clandestine dealings, he has his preference for things being smooth. She makes things not be smooth.
Simon: (snippy) Right. I'm very sorry if she tipped off anyone about your cunningly concealed herd of cows.
Mal: (guides Simon away from the corral) I'm starting to think you got a little too much time on your hands, doctor. I think now I got a notion regarding that. Why don't you take your sister for a little walk?
Simon: A walk?
Mal: Yeah. Someplace... away.
Simon: Uh, probably best we stay close. Alliance has us marked as fugitives.
Mal: Closest Alliance is the Cruiser Magellan. Hours out from here. And I promise you, they ain't coming to a backwater like Jiang.
Simon: Still, I'm not sure it's such a wise suggestion.
Mal: Might not wanna mistake it for a suggestion. (beat) Don't worry, we won't leave without ya.
(TOWN)
(Establishing shot of dusty street, dilapidated but very much inhabited buildings.)
(GENERAL STORE)
(Inara and Kaylee are browsing. The store's light is dim and yellow, shelves are cluttered with cheap knick knacks.)
Inara: Does it seem every supply store on every 'water planet has the same five rag dolls and the same wood carvings of... what is this? A duck?
Kaylee: That's a swan. (beat) I like it.
Inara: You do?
Kaylee: (stroking swan) Looks like it was made with, you know, longing. Made by a person really longed to see a swan.
Inara: Perhaps they'd only heard of them by rough description.
Kaylee: (holding up a painted plate) You think this would make a nice gift?
Inara: A gift? For whom?
Kaylee: I just kinda like it. (beat) It's rich, you know?
Inara: Ooh. For Simon.
Kaylee: I didn't say that.
Inara: (chuckling) You don't do a very good job of hiding your interest.
Kaylee: He's just so (in Chinese) handsome. (in English)You just wanna take a bite out of him all over, you know?
Inara: (softly) Careful.
(Inara indicates something behind Kaylee. Getting it, Kaylee turns to greet Simon and River, who have just entered the store.)
Kaylee: Morning, you two.
Inara: Don't usually see you two out and about planet-side.
Simon: Yeah, we're... we're trying something different today. (to River) River, be careful with that... that's, um...(to Kaylee) What is that?
Kaylee: It's a post-holer. You dig holes. For posts.
Simon: (separating River from the post-holer) It's, uh, it's dirty. And sharp. (to River) Let's come over here. (picks up plate Kaylee was looking at earlier) Jiangyin prairie paradise. Good god. They're asking money for this crap?
Kaylee: (somewhat crestfallen) Hard to believe ain't it? Glad you're out.
Simon: Mm.
Kaylee: Give you a chance to have a little fun.
Simon: Fun. Right, yeah. (runs to rescue knick knacks from River) I, uh, I consider this fun. It's fun, being forced to the ass-end of the galaxy. To get to live on a piece of (in Chinese) crappy (in Enlgish) wreck. And to eat molded protein. And to be bullied around by our (boo-tai jung tzhang duh) of a captain. It's fun.
Kaylee: (hurt)(in Chinese) Crappy?
Simon: Sorry?
Kaylee: Serenity ain't (in Chinese) crappy.
Simon: No, I... I didn't mean --
Kaylee: Yeah you did. You meant everything you just said.
Simon: Well, no. Uh, actually I was being ironic, so in-in-in the strictest sense --
Kaylee: You were being mean, is what. (beat) And if that's what you think of this life, then you can't think much of them that choose it, can you.
(Kaylee exits the store. Inara follows, giving Simon a significant, "You screwed up," look as she exits. Simon sighs heavily, then turns around. River's nowhere to be seen.)
Simon: River?
(SERENITY'S CARGO BAY DOOR)
(Mal and Jayne are walking down the cow-pie-riddled cargo bay ramp.)
Mal: This is the last time. Last time with cows. Hear there was an idea regarding beagles? They have smallish droppings?
(Zoe walks up from the corral.)
Zoe: I believe so, sir. Also, your disreputable men are here.
Mal: Better go take their money.
(CORRAL)
(Mal approaches the corral, where Jayne is keeping watch on the cattle. Two men are standing outside the corral.)
Mal: Morning, gentlemen. You must be the Grange brothers. Hope you're in the mood for beefsteak.
Jayne: Attractive animals, ain't they?
Older Grange: T'ain't well fed. Scrawny.
Mal: (in Chinese) Crap talk. (in English) Milk and hay, three times a day. Fed to 'em by beautiful women.
Jayne: (gleefully) That was somethin' to see.
Younger Grange: They's branded.
Mal: Oh, you boys are hittin' all the sellin' points. A fresh brand's a dead giveaway. Claim 'em as your own.
Older Grange: Twenty a head.
Mal: That's an amusing figure, in light of we already agreed on thirty with Badger.
Older Grange: That's afore we seen 'em. They're atrophied, standin' around on a ship for near a month.
Mal: My comprehension is less muscle, more tender the meat. Thirty.
Book: (aside, to Mal) Problem?
Mal: (to Book) No. 'Bout a minute from now, we'll agree on twenty-five.
(The Grange brothers startle at a rattling noise, their hands going to their guns.)
Book: (to Mal) Seem a mite jumpy to you?
(TOWN STREET)
(River walks into an alley in the distance. Reverse camera to show Simon, agitated, running out of the General Store looking for River. Reverse camera to reveal a posse of lawmen walking down the steps of a building across the street, then crossing the street to walk into the building right past Simon, who looks down on the ground nervously.)
Simon: Morning, officers.
(The last officer tips his hat brim at Simon's greeting. Once they're all inside, he bolts across the street after River.)
(CORRAL)
(Grange brothers are still negotiating with Mal.)
Older Grange: I'm thinking... maybe we walk away entirely.
Mal: I'm thinking, you do that, and we got ourselves trouble. (re: Inara and Kaylee returning to ship) Mornin', ladies. (to Grange brothers) Serious trouble. Of the you-owe-us variety.
Older Grange: We can go to twenty-five.
Mal: Well... we'd be takin' a loss, but you seem like clean and virtuous boys. Done.
(Older Grange brother is taking out his bag of cash, when suddenly, the lawmen we just saw in town burst out of the brush with their guns drawn.)
Head Cop: Marcus and Nathaniel Grange! You are wanted in connection to the illegal killing of Rance Durbin. You are bound by law to stand down!
Mal: (to Jayne) You know, I'm starting to find this whole planet very uninviting.
Jayne: Yeah.
(TOWN ALLEY)
(Simon is walking down a dim, uninviting alley. At the end of alley is a green field with a platform set up surrounded by a crowd.)
(FESTIVAL)
(Musicians are playing lively music, and people are dancing on the stage. River wanders up onto the stage, at first confused. Then she watches the steps, smiles, and joins in on the dance. Simon watches, awed.)
(CORRAL)
(Close on gunbelts being dropped to the dirt.)
Jayne: (re: gunbelt) Aww, careful with that!
Mal: It appears we have ourselves a situation.
Head Cop: Who are you?
Mal: Just a bystander.
Head Cop: This your beef?
Mal: No, sir. (re: Grange brothers) You're lookin' at the proper owners right there.
Head Cop: Mm-hmm. (to Grange brothers) I'd like to see some papers on that cattle.
(The Younger Grange brother punches one of the lawmen and steals his pistol. Before he can shoot, it's shot out of his hand by Zoe, positioned high up on the hill overlooking the corral. Shots are firing off pretty regularly now, chaos ensues.)
Older Grange: (yelling) Come on, hurry up!
(Older Grange has a pistol by now and shooting off covering fire so he and his brother can get away. As a bullet zings by, Mal and Jayne drop to the ground, crawling forward toward their gunbelts and the sack of money.)
Jayne: Here we go.
Mal: Never goes smooth. How come it never goes smooth?
(INTERCUT)
(FESTIVAL)
(River dances, Simon watches.)
(CORRAL)
(The midst of a firefight. Mal reaches forward for the money, nearly gets his hand shot off for his trouble. He reaches again, grabs it, rolls back toward Jayne, narrowly avoiding a shot to the head.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River dances, the crowd recognizing her talent; Simon watches.)
(CORRAL)
(Firefight. Shooting over the corral. Cattle moo and stir restlessly.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River begins dancing a solo.)
(CORRAL)
(Firefight. Close on a lawman. Grange brothers still alive and kicking.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River's solo.)
(CORRAL)
(Mal and Jayne crawling along the edge of the corral.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River's dancing becomes more acrobatic.)
(CORRAL)
(Mal tackles a Grange brother, taking him down. The lawmen close in.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River dances.)
(CORRAL)
(Lawmen are arresting the Grange brothers. Mal and Jayne walk past them, Mal looking stunned. Reverse camera to reveal Shepherd Book is lying on the ground, blood spreading over his shirt. He's been hit.)
(FESTIVAL)
(River startles suddenly, losing the rhythm of the dance. Simon looks concerned.)
(CORRAL)
(Close on Book's face. He's barely conscious.)
(FESTIVAL)
(As Simon watches River, men come up behind him and put a bag over his head, dragging him away from the festival. River, scared and startled, is shoved about by the dancers, the music ominous.)
(CORRAL)
(Shepherd Book is wounded on the ground, Mal leaning next to him. It's a bullet wound, just above his heart.)
Mal: Hey. Stay with me, Shepherd.
Book: That's... that's quite a lot of blood, isn't it?
Mal: (nodding) Just means you ain't dead.
Book: Afraid I might be needing a preacher.
Mal: That's good. You lie there and be ironical. (to Jayne) Stretcher. (Jayne doesn't move, watching the lawmen escort the Grange brothers away.) Jayne.
Jayne: They goin'?
Mal: Of course. They got what they came here for.
Jayne: You get the cash?
(SERENITY - CARGO BAY)
(Jayne and Mal are carrying Book in on a stretcher.)
Kaylee: What's going on? Oh my god. Shepherd? Shepherd, can you hear me?
(INFIRMARY)
(Jayne and Mal put the stretcher on an examination table and remove the side supports.)
Jayne: (to Mal) Don't look good.
(Mal crosses to the intercom.)
Mal: Wash, get down to the infirmary, (in Chinese) on the double! (in English, to others) We gotta try and stop this bleeding.
(Zoe cuts Book's bloody shirt from him. Mal and Zoe do some battle triage.)
Kaylee: (tearfully) Don't you worry, Shepherd. Cap and Zoe got lots of experience with this kind of thing. Seen a lot worse in the war. (beat) Shepherd? (beat) Oh, god, he ain't breathin'.
(Book's back arches and he goes into convulsions. Zoe pulls the cap off a hypodermic needled with her teeth and hands it to Mal, who injects it into Book's arm. The convulsions stop.)
Mal: He ain't dead. But he is bad off. Now we gotta see what we can do to help him.
Wash: (entering)(in Chinese) Lao-tyen, boo.
Mal: Wash, I want you to go to town. See if you can't find that (in Chinese) useless (in English) of a doctor.
Kaylee: Hurry.
(FOREST)
(The three hill folk we saw in the teaser have kidnapped Simon! They rush him along, still with the bag over his head.)
Stark: Faster. Got to go faster. Want to get there 'fore dark!
Simon: Get where? Where are we going?
Stark: Shut up!
Simon: If it's ransom you want, I... I can arrange something.
Stark: No talking!
Simon: Look, you don't understand. My sister...
(One of the kidnappers punches Simon in the face. Simon hits the ground.)
(TAM ESTATE FLASHBACK)
(Forward in time from the last flashback. Simon is an adult now.)
Regan: Your sister is fine, Simon.
Simon: She's not fine. Didn't you look at the letters? Look at the letters.
Gabriel: Uh, I'm looking at letters.
Simon: These phrases -- they don't sound anything like her. Some of these words -- they're misspelled. (off their looks) She started correcting my spelling when she was three. She's trying to tell us something. I think there's a code.
Regan: A code?
Simon: Yes.
Gabriel: (chuckling) I always thought it was River who was lost without her big brother. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't the other way around.
Simon: Did you have a good time at the D'arbanville's ball this year?
Gabriel: What are you...?
Simon: River thought it was duller than last year. But since we don't know anybody named D'arbanville, I'm having trouble judging. (angrily) Did you even read these?
Gabriel: Well, of course I did.
Regan: It's one of her silly games. You two are always playing.
Simon: She is trying to tell us something that somebody doesn't want her to say.
Regan: Simon, this is paranoid. It's stress. If they heard you talking like this at the hospital, it could affect your entire future.
Simon: Who cares about my future?
Gabriel: You should.
Regan: You're a surgeon in one of the best hospitals in Capital City. On your way to a major position, possibly even the Medical Elect. You're going to throw all of that away? Everything you've worked for your whole life?
Gabriel: Being a doctor means more to you than just a position, I know that.
Regan: A few months time, you'll turn around and there she'll be. Now, nothing is going to keep you two apart for long.
(JIANGYIN FOREST)
(The hill folk are herding Simon along.)
Simon: No. Oh, no.
River: (appearing, triumphant) Found you.
(Simon breaks from the hill folk, running toward River.)
Stark: Get him!
Simon: River! No! Run!
River: Found you!
Simon: Go!
(The hill folk quickly nab River and Simon both.)
Stark: Bring her.
(SERENITY - CARGO BAY)
(Wash pulls into the cargo bay on the mule.)
Kaylee: Where's the doctor? Why isn't he with you?
Wash: He wasn't in town. Wasn't anywhere.
Kaylee: He was in town. We saw him there. Him and River. I can show you --
Wash: Town's not that big, Kaylee. Believe me when I say he wasn't there.
Jayne: Knew it. Probably saw them cops, turned tail.
Mal: (entering) Doctor could be called a lot of things. Coward wouldn't be one of 'em, though.
Inara: You don't think they were arrested, do you?
Wash: Worse than that, probably. Looks like maybe they got snatched.
Inara: Kidnapped?
Wash: I went by the sheriff's office. Seems if we had checked the posted alerts for this rock, we might've known it. Settlers in the hills take people sometimes. Usually tradesmen and the like.
Mal: And now they got themselves a doctor. And we don't. (beat) We're goin'.
(Mal moves to the cargo bay controls, begins shutting the bay door.)
Kaylee: Wh-what are you doing? What about Simon and River?
Mal: Forget them. We already lost two people today. If I can help it, we won't lose a third. (to Wash) Wash, get us in the air.
(JIANGYIN FOREST)
(Simon and River are being herded by the hill folk.)
River: We're lost... lost in the woods.
Simon: It's going to be okay. They'll find us. Once the Captain realizes what happened, they'll come.
(Reverse camera to reveal the Serenity rising above the tree line and taking off into atmo. Simon looks stunned.)
Stark: See there? No one's coming for you. You just keep moving.
(SPACE)
(Establishing shot of Serenity cruising through space.)
(SERENITY INFIRMARY)
(Zoe is removing latex gloves. Book is lying on the examination table, bandaged and awake.)
Book: That bad?
Zoe: Battle wounds are nothing new to me, preacher. I've seen men live with a dozen holes in 'em this size.
Book: That right?
Zoe: Surely is. Knew a man whole had a hole clean through his whole shoulder, once. Used to keep a spare hankie in there.
Book: Where's the doctor? Not back yet?
Zoe: (beat) We don't make him hurry for the little stuff. He'll be along.
Book: He could hurry... a little.
(BRIDGE)
(Mal and Wash are hunched over a terminal.)
Wash: Well, there's Greenleaf. They'd have med help there.
Mal: Too far -- more than ten hours. Man's worse off than that.
Inara: (entering) You know where you can find what you need.
Mal: Don't recall inviting you onto the bridge.
Inara: You didn't. Mal, you know where you can find a doctor. You know exactly.
Mal: Inara, he was dumb enough to get himself grabbed in broad daylight. Don't have time to be beatin' the trees looking for him now. No assurance we'd find him, or he wouldn't need a doctor himself.
Inara: I'm not talking about Simon. I'm talking about medical facilities.
Mal: That's not an option, nor is it a discussion I much want to have at the moment.
Inara: It doesn't matter what you want. He's dying, and we need a doctor now.
(JIANGYIN FOREST)
(Simon and River are still being herded through the forest by the hill folk -- they're crossing a makeshift bridge into a village.)
(VILLAGE)
Stark: Look what we got! Got ourselves a doctor. A real doctor. (to Simon) Stand up straight.
Woman: They brought home a doctor. Thank the Lord.
(Hill folk gather around, staring at Simon curiously.)
(SERENITY - SIMON'S ROOM)
(Jayne is tossing Simon's room, stealing all the valuables he can find. He comes across a journal of Simon's, opens it up, reads to himself out loud.)
Jayne: (mock reading) "Dear Diary, Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy." (flips page) "Today, we were kidnapped by hill folk never to be seen again. It was the best day ever." (Jayne tosses aside the journal and continues searching Simon's belongings. He finds some money, pockets it.) Now we're talkin'. (Jayne pulls out a fancy maroon shirt and shakes it out, holding it up as if sizing it.) Amazing we kept him this long.
(INFIRMARY)
(Zoe is sitting with Book in the infirmary. Kaylee enters hesitantly.)
Kaylee: (re: holding Book's hand) Can I?
Zoe: Sure. He's out, though.
Kaylee: He did this for me, once. (beat) How's he doin'?
Zoe: I cleaned it out, wrapped it up. Best I could do. (off Kaylee's look) I don't know.
Kaylee: Well, we're headed for help... right?
Zoe: Captain will come up with a plan.
Kaylee: That's good. Right?
Zoe: Possibly you're not recalling some of his previous plans.
(This barely gets a smile out of Kaylee. Beat.)
Kaylee: We left them back there.
Zoe: Yeah.
Kaylee: Don't seem right.
(BRIDGE)
Wash: You sure this is where we wanna be?
Mal: Oh, I'm fairly certain it ain't.
(SPACE)
(Serenity is approaching an Alliance ship.)
(SERENITY BRIDGE)
Mal: Be sure to ask nicely.
Wash: Alliance Cruiser Magellan, this is Firefly Transport Serenity, requesting permission for docking.
Alliance Officer: Firefly Transport Serenity, stand by for docking orders.
(JIANGYIN VILLAGE HOSPITAL)
(Stark is showing Simon and River into the makeshift hospital.)
Stark: In here. (beat) I don't figure it's as fancy as you're used to, but it's what we got. (to Doralee) I got your doctor.
(Doralee, a young, soft-voiced black woman, rises from tending a sick child.)
Doralee: Oh, praise the Lord.
Stark: Doralee here'll show you what's what. (exits)
Doralee: (to Simon) What's your name?
River: Simon.
Doralee: Well, hello there. Who are you?
Simon: This is... River. (guides River to a bench) River... just, uh, just sit down. Over there. (to Doralee) Has there been, uh... is there a sickness here?
Doralee: Not especial. Just people get sick or injured. Mostly people heal on their own, but sometimes...
Simon: Sometimes, you need a doctor. (beat) Bring me light, and any supplies you have.
(ALLIANCE CRUISER DOCKING STATION)
(Serenity is moving in to dock.)
(SERENITY - CARGO BAY)
(Mal and Jayne and carrying Book on a stretcher. Zoe is in the lead, opening the cargo bay doors.)
Zoe: You sanguine about the kind of reception we're up to receive on an Alliance ship, Cap?
Mal: Absolutely. (beat) What's "sanguine" mean?
Zoe: "Sanguine." Hopeful. Plus, point of interest, it also means "bloody."
Mal: Well, that pretty much covers all the options, don't it? (Zoe opens the cargo bay doors. Alliance soldiers enter, armed and wary. An Alliance Commander steps through last.) We're requesting aid, no other purpose.
Zoe: We got papers.
Commander: (taking the papers) What's your business?
Mal: We're a supply ship, freelance. Had an accident this morning, crewman got hurt.
Zoe: We need medical help.
Mal: Fast'd be better than slow.
Commander: Official seal's out of date Captain...Harbatkin?
Mal: We ain't been through a checkpoint in a while, sir. You gonna see to my man?
Commander: How did this happen?
Zoe: He was --
Mal: Bystander in a gunfight. Back on Jiangyin. You can check. Not he nor any of ours were the aggressors.
Commander: We aren't an emergency facility, Captain. Our services aren't available simply to anyone.
Book: Com... mander... my... ident card.
(An Alliance officer removes Book's ident card from his pocket and runs it through a scanner. The officer passes the scanner to the Commander.)
Commander: Get this man to the infirmary at once.
(JIANGYIN VILLAGE HOSPITAL NIGHT)
(Simon is doctoring the hill folk.)
Simon: You keep that bandage clean now, you understand?
(Quick shot of River kneeling down next to a little blonde girl sitting on a cot. Back to Simon and Doralee.)
Doralee: (re: River) She's not quite right, is she?
Simon: She's been through some trauma. She's recovering through.
Doralee: She won't get a good conversation out of Ruby, I can tell you that much. That little girl's mute.
Simon: Do you know the cause? Was she born deaf?
Doralee: No, she was fine until two years ago when she stopped talking. (beat) A place like this might be good for your sister. Quiet. Safe. A place where folks take care of each other.
Simon: Mmm, yes, seems like a lovely little community of kidnappers.
Doralee: The Lord says, "Judge not."
Simon: They took us off the street!
Doralee: Sometimes life takes you places you weren't expecting to go.
Simon: "Life" didn't bring us here. Those men did.
Doralee: You were on a transport ship, right? Taking a journey? It's the way of life in my findings that journeys end when and where they want to, and that's where you make your home.
Simon: This isn't our home.
Doralee: If it isn't here... where is it?
(ALLIANCE CRUISER)
(Jayne, Zoe and Mal are hovering outside the Alliance medical facility, waiting for news.)
Jayne: This place gives me an uncomfortableness.
Zoe: (to Mal) So, what do you figure? Shepherd's got some kind of connection with the Alliance?
Mal: I know what it looks like. Still, it would surprise me if he did.
Jayne: See, it's my whole problem with pickin' up tourists. Ain't never what they claim to be.
Mal: Seems like everyone's got a tale to tell.
(JIANGYIN VILLAGE HOSPITAL NIGHT)
(Simon closes the curtains on a hospital bed. He turns around, looks worried.)
Simon: River? River?
Doralee: What's wrong?
Simon: River's gone. So's the girl.
Doralee: Ruby. I'll check out back.
(Simon moves to the front door, opening it to see River standing there.)
Simon: River, don't... what is that?
River: (holding a skirtful of berries) For you.
Simon: Oh.
River: I picked them.
Simon: (holding out a bowl) Here. You'll stain your dress.
River: You have to eat.
(They pour the freshly-picked berries into the wooden bowl. River pops a berry into Simon's mouth. He smiles, chews.)
Simon: Hodgeberries. (beat) Do you remember when we found those giant hodgeberry bushes on the Cambersons' estate? And we thought they'd grown wild, but...(beat) Long while ago.
River: I took you away from there.
Simon: No.
River: I know I did. You don't think I do, but... (beat) I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets.
Simon: (softly) It's okay.
River: But I understand. You gave up everything you had to find me. And you found me broken. (beat) It's hard for you. You gave up everything you had.
Simon: (in Chinese) Little sister... (in English) Everything I have is right here.
River: You need to eat. Keep up your strength. We won't be here long. Daddy will come and take us home. And I'll get better. (beat) I'll get better.
(Simon sits down at the table, eating berries. River follows.)
Simon: These are better than the Cambersons' berries.
River: They are. Except they're poison. (Simon spits out the berries, looks panicky. River laughs.) He believed her. Made a face.
Simon: You are such a brat!
(Doralee enters with Ruby.)
Doralee: (to Ruby) You get to bed, now.
Simon: We should probably think about doing the same. It's been a big day, what with the abduction, and all.
Doralee: Well, y'all don't have to sleep here. There's a house set aside for you. We've been looking for a doctor for a good while, so things are ready.
Simon: Really?
River: (re: Ruby) Her sister got killed. Mother got crazy, killed the sister. That one lived.
Doralee: Ruby talked to you, honey? (to Simon) I-it's true what she's saying. Poor woman went out of her mind. Tried to kill her two girls. Ruby lived. (to River) Sweetheart... you are an angel. No one's been able to get Ruby to speak even a peep. (laughing) It's a miracle, that's what it is.
River: Ruby doesn't talk. Her voice got scared away. (smiles) I hear crickets.
Doralee: I don't understand. If Ruby didn't talk, how do you know...?
Simon: Um, my sister's... she-she's very good at... (beat) What's wrong?
Doralee: (shocked) "And they shall be among the people. And they shall speak truths and whisper secrets and you will know them by their crafts."
Simon: What are you talking about?
Doralee: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!"
(Simon has a confused look on his face.)
(FLASHBACK)
(CAPITAL CITY PENITENTIARY)
(Gabriel Tam is waiting in a lobby. Simon is escorted in by a guard.)
Gabriel: Have you completely lost your mind?
Simon: Pretty nearly.
Gabriel: We got the wave at the Friedlich's. I had to leave your mother at the dinner table.
Simon: (snidely) I'm sorry, dad. You know I would never have tried to save River's life if I had known there was a dinner party at risk.
Gabriel: Don't you dare be flippant with me. I just spent two thousand credits to get you out of here, and I had to walk through that door which goes on my permanent profile. (beat) Are you trying to destroy this family?
Simon: I didn't realize it would be so easy. (beat) Dad, I-I didn't do anything.
Gabriel: You were in a blackout zone!
Simon: Talking! To someone who might be able to help River. And I'm going right back there.
Gabriel: (in Chinese) This is a slippery slope, young man. (in Enlish)You have no idea how far down you can go, and you're not taking us with you.
Simon: Meaning what?
Gabriel: I won't come for you again. You end up here, or get mixed-up in something worse, you're on your own. I will not come for you. (beat) Now, are you coming home?
(JIANGYIN VILLAGE NIGHT)
(Doralee is ringing a bell that's drawing all the hill folk out of their homes to gather in the town square.)
Simon: This is lunacy. You're supposed to be the teacher here. What exactly is it that you teach?
Patron: What's going on, woman? Why are you knocking us from our beds at this hour?
Doralee: The new doctor's sister's a witch. She read Ruby's mind. Saw things she couldn't --
Simon: No, River is not a witch! (beat) She's just a troubled girl.
Patron: I'm sure that's true. (to River) You're not a witch, are you, (in Chinese) youngster? (in English) I'm the Patron here. Do you know what that means?
River: Yes. You're in charge. Ever since the old Patron died.
Patron: That's right.
River: He was sick. But he was getting better. You were alone in the room with him.
(The Patron lunges forward and slaps River.)
Patron: This girl reads minds and spins falsehoods. She's a witch, and we must purge the devil from her. With fire!
(River screams. The crowd lunges forward to grab her.)
(ALLIANCE CRUISER DOCKING BAY)
(The Serenity detaches from the Magellan and speeds away.)
(SERENITY INFIRMARY)
(Book is lying on an examination table, all patched up.)
Mal: You're gonna be fine, Shepherd. Alliance patched you up.
Book: Alliance?
Mal: Yeah. They let us come, and they let us go. What kind of ident card gets us that kind of reception and send off?
Book: I am a Shepherd. Folks like a man of God.
Mal: No, they don't. Men of God make everyone feel guilty and judged. That's not what I saw. You like to tell me what really happened?
Book: I surely would. And maybe someday I will. (beat) It's good to be home.
(COMMON AREA)
(Jayne is polishing the coins they took off the Grange brothers. Zoe enters.)
Zoe: Badger just hailed us. Gettin' impatient for his share. Wants us to drop it to his men on the Kowlan Fed Base.
Jayne: That'd be a hell of a lot easier to do without the two most wanted on board. Life would look to be simpler us not carrying fugies.
Zoe: (to Mal) He is right, you know.
Mal: Yeah. Simpler.
(JIANGYIN VILLAGE NIGHT)
(The hill folk have built themselves a post and pyre right quick. The Patron is hauling River toward it, intent on burning her witch-ass. They tie her to the pole, hands behind her back.)
Simon: Take me instead. Take my life for hers.
Patron: The witch must die. God commands it.
(The Patron nods at some hill folk with torches. They move to light the pyre.)
Simon: No! Get away from her! (Simon runs forward, pulls the hill folk away from River. Simon punches both hill folk out.) She has done nothing to you! If she dies tonight, it won't be God's will that killed her, it'll be you! Your lunacy! Your ignorance!
(Seeing he's made no impact on the unchanging sea of faces, Simon moves back and steps on the platform holding River.)
Stark: That's not going to stop us, doctor.
River: (to Simon) Post-holer. Digging holes for posts.
(Tender moment with Simon gazing up at River's smiling face. He rises one last step and wraps his arms around River.)
Simon: Light it.
River: Time to go.
(Hold on them for a moment. Then we hear a rushing sound of engines overhead. Serenity appears over the clearing where the trial is taking place. The cargo bay doors open to reveal Jayne in a harness. Jayne cocks Vera and draws a bead on the hill folk. Mal and Zoe enter from the back of the crowd, guns drawn. They speak loudly to be heard over the engine noise.)
Mal: Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoe: Big damn heroes, sir.
Mal: Ain't we just. Sorry to interrupt, folks. Y'all got something that belongs to us and we'd like it back.
Patron: This is a holy cleansing. You cannot think to thwart God's will.
Mal: Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun? Now I'm not saying you weren't easy to find. It was kinda out of our way, and he didn't want to come in the first place. Man's lookin' to kill some folk. So really it's his will y'all should worry about thwarting. (to Simon) Gotta say, doctor, your talent for alienatin' folk is near miraculous.
Simon: Yes, I'm very proud.
Mal: Cut her down.
Patron: That girl is a witch.
Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch. (cocks gun) So cut her the hell down
(SERENITY - SIMON'S ROOM)
(Close shot of Simon's bed. Someone's dumping a bagful of loot onto it. It's Jayne, hastily returning his ill-gotten gains. Jayne darts out of Simon's room into the corridor.)
(CORRIDOR)
(Jayne's beating his retreat when he sees Simon walking past.)
Jayne: (looking guilty) Hey, there, doctor. Glad you're back now on the ship.
Simon: Thanks.
(Simon keeps walking. Jayne bolts up the stairs.)
(COMMON AREA)
(Mal is standing outside the infirmary. Simon enters.)
Simon: I've moved him to his room.
Mal: How's he faring?
Simon: He's gonna be fine. Yeah. They took good care of him.
Mal: Good to know.
Simon: So finally a decent wound on this ship, and I miss out. I'm sorry.
Mal: Well, you were busy trying to get yourself lit on fire. It happens.
Simon: Captain... why did you come back for us?
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Yeah, but you don't even like me. (beat) Why'd you come back?
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this? (walks off, over his shoulder) Chow's in ten. No need to dress.
(GALLEY/KITCHEN)
(Simon leads River through the doorway into the kitchen area, where the rest of the crew is already sitting.)
Mal: So then Shepherd says to a Companion, "Well, a good goat would do that."
(The crew laughs. River seats herself at the table. Simon pulls out Kaylee's chair as she's about to sit down. She smiles at him, hands Mal the basket of rolls.)
Mal: Oh, good. Thank you.
(The rolls get passed around the table. River steals the roll from Jayne's plate.)
Jayne: Hey! Wait, wait, wait...
(River smiles, everyone laughs, Jayne grabs another rolls from the basket.)
BLACK OUT.