(Untitled)

[simon_doctor]

[After this.]

When Simon steps onto the nearly-repaired Firefly in the Milliways garage, he's carrying a heavy brown paper bag; the contents jostle against each other with the flat click of plastic.

He sets the bag down just outside the engine room, and taps with his knuckles on its open door.

Comments

[gonna_live]

Kaylee glances up -- she's in the process of rearranging drill bits, and for once there don't appear to be pieces of the engine everywhere.

"Hey, you." A little surprised.

[gonna_live]

Her hand tightens reflexively on his.

"I don't know what you mean by that, but... okay."

[simon_doctor]

"And --" He pushes his free hand through his hair, distractedly. "I do worry sometimes, and I try not to because I know you don't want me to, but ..."

He breathes out.

"Would it be awful if I said I thought you've been working too hard?"

[gonna_live]

"Not awful, but..."

Everything about Kaylee -- expression, tone, the way she holds herself -- is radiating blank surprise.

"I thought you wanted me to go with you at the same time."

[simon_doctor]

"I do," he says, "I definitely do, but ... if it's going to be too much to get done without driving yourself to collapse --"

[gonna_live]

Kaylee looks around, and looks up at him. Uncertain: "I mean, she could fly right now... it's calibration left, mostly. If I was gonna collapse I would've already."

She bites her lip again. "You... really've been worried about that?"

[simon_doctor]

"Not ... not this whole time," he says. "Just. A few times. And I didn't want to say anything, because ... I was afraid that then you'd feel bad about making me worry, and it would just make matters worse."

[gonna_live]

"Oh," she says.

"I guess I don't see why you didn't think you could say something." Still -- entirely -- uncertain. "I mean, what did you think I was gonna do?"

[simon_doctor]

Another near-soundless exhalation.

"I don't know. Try to hide how tired you were. Try not to let me see even if it really was that bad, so I wouldn't worry."

His smile is small and unsteady. "A little recursive."

[gonna_live]

...and she can't really argue against that.

(Her expression says it, too.)

Rueful: "Well. Okay." She squeezes his hand. "I just -- I still want to be gone, and I want to go with you, and I wanted to get this taken care of. And I'm sorry for makin' you worry."

(And she's aware: this is a good day, for her, and on the bad ones -- )

[simon_doctor]

"Ai ren, you're not making me worry." He meets her eyes, willing her to understand. "I'm doing that on my own."

[gonna_live]

"And I'm still the cause of it."

It's the most confident thing she's said so far.

[simon_doctor]

He wants to deny it, is opening his mouth to deny it ... and stops.

"I just want you to be okay. And I know you can take care of yourself."

[gonna_live]

She's shaking her head. "If I fix me, then you don't worry."

(Kaylee is not listening to herself.)

[simon_doctor]

"Kaylee?" Very soft. "Aren't there better reasons to take care of yourself than that?"

[gonna_live]

"Well, yeah." She's looking at him like he's grown a second head. "But if I'm okay with what I'm up to, but it's makin' you worry, then... I'm lookin' after myself, it's just that you don't think I am, and I'll just adjust somethin' and we'll be fine."