Title: Someday Rating: PG Synopsis: Kaylee keeps Simon company as he tends to the captain’s injuries. Author’s Notes: A missing scene from ‘Out of Gas’ Disclaimer: This story is not meant to infringe on the copyright of any person or company related to the trademarked characters and situations depicted in the Serenity movie or Firefly series. I make no money from this. Only done for fun – and a desperate craving to have more stories told about this wonderful ‘verse Joss Whedon created.

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Companion piece to ‘Out of Time’

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“He’s really gonna be okay?” Kaylee stood in the doorway to the infirmary, her eyes darting from the sleeping Captain to Simon and back again. She’d finally finished checking over the ship for anything that might have been tampered with and made sure that everything was in fine working order before arriving to check on the badly injured captain.

“He’s going to be fine,” Simon said as he inserted a syringe into the Captain’s IV line and slowly pushed in the medication. “Good thing he let me spend so much money replenishing supplies the last time we stopped.”

Noticing the hesitation in Kaylee’s eyes, Simon smiled warmly. “You can come in, you know. I’m sure he’d be quite happy to know you were watching over him. And –“ he added almost hesitantly, “some – uh – company would be nice.” Simon indicated the captain with a nod of his head and added, “He’s not very conversational at the moment.”

Kaylee smiled at her shoes before taking a few steps into the room, glancing uncertainly at the sleeping captain. He was real pale, though not as pale as Simon on a good day – she stopped and let that thought warm her chilly limbs – but she was confident he’d recover. Simon was the best.

Noticing Kaylee’s hesitation, Simon drew her the rest of the way into the room by wrapping an arm around her waist and guiding her to the chair Wash had vacated only a few hours before. “Sit.”

Kaylee smiled at Simon as he went back to work, cleaning and administering some more carefully measured medication. She’d come under the guise of wanting to sit with the Captain, but she soon found herself captivated by the doctor’s nimble fingers as they poked and prodded at the Captain’s wound, attended to the IV and pushed more drugs into the sleeping man.

“Needs a lotta medicines, don’t he?”

Simon, so engrossed in his work, glanced up sharply when Kaylee finally spoke. “Ah – yes. I’ve got him on a sedative painkiller, a clotting agent, a tissue regen protein and –”

Kaylee’s eyes glazed and Simon stopped himself with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. Yes, is the short answer.” Simon’s gaze lingered on Kaylee’s face for a moment longer before he turned to write something in a journal lying open on the counter. The Captain’s chart was thicker than the whole crew’s combined. The man surely did get hurt often enough.

After a few moments of silence, Kaylee said with a confidence Simon wished he felt, “told ya everythin’ would be okay.”

“I wish I had your constant positive outlook on life,” Simon said to the chart, but to his surprise Kaylee heard him.

“Don’t do no good to be worryin’ all the time,” Kaylee shrugged and took the Captain’s hand, smiling down at him even as her eyes darted to watch Simon’s back while he continued to write.

“Worry has become second nature since I broke River out of the Academy and got us branded as fugitives,” Simon replied automatically, unable to keep the bit of disgust from entering his voice.

Kaylee stood and stepped over to him, her eyes never leaving his face. When she rested a gentle hand on his forearm, he slowly turned his gaze to her. “Ain’t no cause ta regret that. You did right by your sis.”

A small smile spread across his face and he lifted his hand and placed it on top of Kaylee’s, his eyes saying more in a few short seconds than he could ever hope to accomplish with words. But before anything further could happen, the Captain stirred, groaning as consciousness slowly returned to his battered body.

Simon broke their gaze and hurried to the Captain’s side, imploring him to remain still as he checked his patient’s vital signs and medication levels.

Kaylee watched, awe mixed with fascination, as Simon worked. She was almost envious of the Captain as Simon turned his full attention on the man lying before him and ignored her completely. She covered her mouth and giggled into her hand when she heard the Captain’s weak voice say slowly, words slurring, to Simon, “Glad you’re here, doc.” She always knew the captain’s gruff attitude to Simon was a façade for a deep appreciation.

Simon raised an amused eyebrow and grinned disbelievingly down at the injured man. “That’s the drugs talking, Captain. You’ll be back to your old Simon-hating self soon enough.”

Kaylee stared in disbelief, her giggle threatening to spill from beneath the hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She could get used to seeing this side of Simon. Lost in very personal thoughts of just how well she would like to get to know him, she started when her eyes finally focused on Simon again and found him to be staring right at her as if he could hear her thoughts.

Suddenly, River was beside her, staring intently into the mechanic’s bright eyes. “He can’t. But I can.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened and stared after River as she skipped away, giggling childishly. When she dared to glance back toward Simon, she found him working on the captain again, oblivious to her presence. She stared for a long moment before walking quietly out of the infirmary to sit on the couch in the common room, contemplating River’s words.

“You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted. Someday.”

Kaylee glanced up sharply to see River standing over her, looking at her, through her, in a way that thoroughly frightened the young mechanic and yet gave her hope. She clenched her fingers nervously together and tried not to glance toward the infirmary.

River patted her friend on the head and skipped away, leaving Kaylee to truly wonder just how sane the girl really was.

END

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