River pulled back from the kiss that she felt she could survive on. She knew what'd happened in the galley when Kaylee'd left to get her strawberries, but she knew that most people thought it felt better to talk about things that had happened to them. And Kaylee didn't feel wholly engaged.

She grabbed Kaylee's hand and pulled her to sit on her bunk. "What did he say?"

Her breakdown began. "He was so angry. He ain't understand. I tried ta tell 'im, I jus' wanted ta take care of ya. He thought I was tryna... I aint. It's just... You saved my life. I ain't know serious ya was 'bout what ya'd been sayin', till you were bleedin on the deck of that ship. Till you were dyin'. Dyin' for me."

"He's just angry, Kaylee. He still wants you, and that's what it is. He's more angry at himself for letting you go. He knows it can't work between the two of you as well as you do. That's why he hasn't asked you to come back to him."

"If either of you thought you could work, he would be here now, and I wouldn't."

Tears still falling, Kaylee nodded. River reached towards her face and gently wiped away the tears.

"There's no need to cry Kaylee. I know what he said hurt you, but seeing us together earlier, had to hurt him tremendously. He only reacted the way he did for that reason. "

Kaylee took a deep breath in an attempt to stop her tears before speaking. "How is it that you know. I thought you could only hear thoughts."

River sat back. She knew the current subject made everyone on the ship nervous. "I can hear thoughts. I try to keep them out most of the time. But when emotions- which I can also feel, run high, I can't block them, and they rush into my mind. It's hard, feeling things you're not supposed to, knowing things you shouldn't, that you don't want to."

Kaylee shook her head. "I ain't know. I'd've thought it'd be fun, knowin what people's thinkin'. They couldn't lie to ya. You'd always know."

"It's not. When you know someone's lying to you, and they pretend to be sincere, it hurts, like they don't care enough to be honest."

Kaylee smiled and raised her hand for a promise. "I wanta 'pologize for all tha lies I told ya and all those Imma probably tell ya in the future."

River grinned. "Yea, that makes me feel alot better."

"It should." Kaylee pushed River so she was laying on her back. She layed beside her, kissing her slowly.

River stared into Kaylee's eyes with amazement. "You're spectacular."

Kaylee heard River whimper a cry of pleasure as she traced kisses along her collar bone. She'd decided during the hours of standing outside the infirmary watching River nearly die a time or two that she would throw all her worries about River's feelings for her, and more importantly, her feelings for River, out the airlock, and let her heart decide the right path to take.

Her heart had led her and her lips to River and her amazingly soft skin . She was ready to try out some kind of relationship with this women who had, without any second though, or hesitation, taken a bullet in the heart for her. Who was willing to die for her.

Simon flashed through the back of her mind again, the fact that when given a dire choice, he was willing to risk Kaylee's life to escape the Alliance. Yes, he was trying to save his sister, but she could feel the results of River's decision in the same situation as her lips graced over her dress, and over her heart, where dressings covered her wound.

She brought her lips back to Rivers and entangled her fingers in her hair.

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Just before River decided she was going to take a bit of control and set her self over to turn Kaylee on her back, Kaylee sat up, disengaging her lips from Rivers. River swore she could still feel them. A type of phantom limb syndrome she thought. "Why?"

" 'Cuz I told yer idiot brother, whether or not he decided to listen, that I'd only be takin care of ya tonight. That you'd get yer rest. And if I don't stop now, I won't be able to later."

River stuck out her lip like a spoiled child for a brief second then smiled. "Fine. Rest it is. But the second this dressing comes of for good..."

Kaylee was suprised by the intensely seductive look River gave her. There was obviously much she didn't know about her beautiful little psychic. River grinned. "You have NO idea."