Nov 23, 2007 23:53
Simon tends to Zoe as best he can in the small shuttle, working in silence as Wash flies them on and River sits by his side.
As he heals her, they are dying.
The chances of being picked up, he knows, are minuscule. Their oxygen is limited. It's only a matter of time.
He will die on the day he was born - but that's not the worst of it, not really. His gaze falls from Zoe, lands on River, and he wants to sob and wreck and tear.
They went through so much, the two of them, to keep her safe, and now she was going to suffocate because…
Zoe trembles beneath his fingers; it startles him into seeing her again. Pale and lost, one of the strongest people he's ever met. He knows how fragile life is, of course, but the truth now lay too bare to accept.
It seems fitting, still, that she will outlive them. The four of the, and Inara and Jayne and Book and…Kaylee.
He closes his eyes. Lets his hands rest, for the moment, as he says what he never could to the black in his mind.
Kaylee.
I'm sorry. You'll never know how much. We're going to die apart, the same as we lived because I've been too stubborn get close to you.
You're pretty, and you're kind, and you're brilliant when it comes to fixing things - it's something we have in common, I suppose.
You're like no girl I've ever…ever wanted to be with, and I think that's why I want to be with you so much. You're different, and that's odd but it's not bad. I just don't know how to act around you, I don't…
I didn't. I'm never going to see you again, never going to get a chance to finally…
I know you like me, I've known for ages, and I'm sorry for never doing anything about it, I'm sorry for never telling you I felt the same way.
When he opens his eyes River is staring at him; she doesn't speak, so sensible when she wants to be, but he almost thinks she heard him.
He reaches down and their fingers entwine with gentle strength, their gazes locked; neither of them needs to confess love for the other, they never do.
It's enough to make hope swell in his chest, because the despair is becoming unbearable.
They may have lost their makeshift home, their tenuous family, but perhaps they'll live on still, alone once more.
His eyes narrow, slightly, intensity darkening his eyes as his thoughts brush her mind.
Alliance. Hunters. Reavers.
I don't care who you are. I don't care what resources you have. I don't what depths you've sunk too.
You will not have her. You'll need to go through me first, and you won't. I don't care if I need to break my oath to do it, I'll protect her from every last predator the universe holds.
A soft smile curves her lips, and she rises to kiss his forehead. Then she dips her head, and whispers in her ear.
"She's going to wake up now. We're going home."
river,
kaylee,
prompts,
realm of the muse