A/N Well, here it is. The final part. What to say, what to say... firstly, this is probably my fave chapter, and was definately the easiest to write. It is a LOT longer than the other chapters, as they were all written while this whole story was intended as a long one shot. After I'd split up the stuff I'd already written into parts, I allowed myself a lot more room to have fun here. This chapter takes place during and after Objects in Space, and obviously some of the lines are not mine, but Joss's. Ho hum. Big thank you to everyone who has stuck with me during this ordeal, er, story. Your comments have kept me going. I have two more one shots half written, so stay with me people :)

Enjoy.

And comment, or I'll mess up the formatting on your stories, I accidentally discovered how.

Cup of Tea – Part Five

Simon pulled the covers over River, tucking her in as if she were still a child.

“You’re getting to old for this,” he told her firmly, smiling.

She replied by poking her tongue out at him. He responded with the same, and she giggled.

“Tired,” she told him.

“Sleep now,” he said softly, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’ll give you a…”

“Not me,” she said, though her eyes fluttered closed. “You.”

Simon frowned, puzzled. “Mei mei, I’m…”

“Tired,” she supplied, sleepily. “Tired of waiting.”

Simon said nothing. He had a feeling he knew exactly what, or rather who, she was talking about.

River’s eyes opened ever so slightly. “No more waiting. Go.”

“River…?” began Simon, utterly confused.

“Go,” she murmured once more, appearing to slip into a peaceful slumber.

He was almost out of the door when he hear her say softly, “Blow out the candles.”

He smiled, remembering their childhood ritual. His fingers hovered over the light switch.

“One, two, three…”

She blew in the direction of the light as he turned it off.

“I blew it out,” she teased.

“Wow,” he humoured her, “that’s a pretty big blow.”

He heard the smile in her voice. “Night Simon. No more waiting.”

“Goodnight mei mei,” he said as he closed the door.

He moved away from his sister’s bunk and found Kaylee watching him with a big smile on her face.

Tired of waiting. His sister’s words echoed through his head.

“Hey,” he greeted her warmly.

She sat down, drawing him towards her. “I used to do that with my momma,” she told him.

“Do what?” he asked, sitting next to her.

“Pretend to blow out the lights.”

Simon blushed, embarrassed that she’d witnessed his childish behaviour. “Yeah, we used to do it when we were kids. I remember once when I was ill, and River was about eight, and she tried to get me to blow them out but she couldn’t reach the light switch.” He chuckled at the memory. “She almost killed herself climbing on top of my desk…”

Kaylee smiled encouragingly at him; she loved it when he opened up and talked about his past. “So what happened?”

“Oh, my mother caught her and yelled at her for bothering me.” Simon’s smile faded. “Then she banned her from seeing me till I got better.”

Kaylee’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep,” Simon nodded sombrely, but then he smirked. “Of course, River was never one to do as she was told.”

Giggling, Kaylee glanced over at the girls bunk. “I can imagine.”

They looked at each other for a moment, and Simon thought back to what River had said, feeling as if there was something right in front of him that he’d somehow missed.

“So how did she act when you left for medical school?” Kaylee asked. She crossed her legs, shifting on the sofa so that she was facing him.

“Er,” started Simon, ever so eloquently, distracted by her ankle now brushing against his thigh. “She wanted to come with me.”

Kaylee laughed, delightedly. “Really?”

Her smile was infectious. “Really.”

“That’s so cute,” Kaylee said, her eyes crinkling in adoration. “I want a little sister!”

Simon chuckled. “Feel free to share,” he told her.

He couldn’t say why his attention was suddenly drawn there, but as she giggled some more at his comment, he noticed her feet were bare. And so tiny… how had he never noticed how small and sweet her feet were?

“Aw, I don’t think there’s a power in the ‘verse can tear River away from her big brother,” Kaylee said fondly.

Simon merely grinned at the compliment, distracted by the vivid pink nail polish adorning her toes.

“Aren’t your feet cold?” he found himself asking. He managed to stop himself from adding “and your … legs?”

“Nope,” she told him. She poked his leg with her toes, and Simon felt his nerve cells tingle.

“You’re crazy,” he told her, an unknown force causing him to reach out and tap the smooth skin of her feet absently. “It’s cold, and god knows what you could stand on…”

“Well,” said Kaylee, and her voice sounded playful but for the first time, slightly unsure. “Your sister spends enough time walking around barefoot.”

Simon looked at her sceptically. “Right. Because River isn’t crazy at all.”

She threw back her head, laughing, and Simon realised that both her feet were in his lap, and his was massaging her skin gently, and he didn’t even know how it had happened. Her skin was so smooth, so warm…

“I like it when you relax, Simon,” she told him sincerely, and he lowered his eyes, embarrassed, preferring to ponder over her perfect skin than to meet her eye.

Kaylee watched him, taking in the content smile on his face, the hint of a blush on his cheeks, the nervous but gentle way he caressed her skin. She tried to stay calm, but it was hard with his warm hands ghosting over her legs. She just wanted to climb on top of him, but she knew that he had to be coaxed out of his Core bred ways and she should be, was, grateful for this progress.

Still, she was certain the feel of his touch would be with her long after she crawled into bed that night.

They sat in blissful silence for a while, Simon stroking her feet dazedly, Kaylee, leaning back and studying him happily. The silence was broken when her stomach rumbled. She felt her face turn bright red.

“Hungry?” he teased, delighted to see a blush spread across the face of the usually unabashed mechanic.

She shook her head, not wanting either of them to move. “No.”

He raised an eyebrow, “No?”

“No,” she said more firmly, but couldn’t stop the smile from slipping on to her face.

“You know, I’m a doctor, you can’t lie to me.”

She giggled more. “Okay, okay, rub it in, why don’tcha? I’m an eating machine!”

He chuckled. “Well, powdered protein ain’t exactly the most filling…”

“Ain’t?” she interrupted, sounding breathless.

“Sorry?” he asked, puzzled at the delighted expression on her face.

“You just said ‘ain’t!’” she told him, sounding overjoyed.

“I…” Simon pondered. “No, I didn’t,” he told her, sounding unconvinced.

Kaylee was laughing now. “Yes, you did.”

He grinned at her. “You’re rubbing off on me,” he said. The words came out softly, more huskily than he had intended. She shivered pleasantly and wondered if he noticed.

“My apologies,” she murmured.

Her eyes met his. The air between them crackled, and without realising it, Simon was leaning closer. He could see the anticipation on her face as she moved to meet him, her small, assuring smile encouraging him. They were so close; he could see every detail of her soft lips, her curling eye lashes, her…

A burst of laughter from the galley above reached them, making them both jump. The moment was lost, and Simon quickly backed away, the hazy confident feeling that had been dictating his actions for the past ten minutes retreating, leaving him lost, scared, regretful, and with a lap full of Kaylee’s feet.

“Someone’s havin’ fun,” Kaylee commented, light-heartedly, trying to cover the awkwardness.

Simon forced a smile. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything, to salvage the moment, but he couldn’t, so he just nodded and closed his mouth again.

Kaylee looked down at her hands. So many thoughts were running through her head, but she wouldn’t allow herself to brood over whether or not he’d been about to kiss her… she had to say something to save this moment… the silence was already dragging on. She’d never been lost for words with Simon, with anyone, but she was now, and if she didn’t speak now it would be too late.

But even as she opened her mouth, not knowing what she intended to say, he spoke.

“You know, I owe you a story,” he said, gazing intently at her feet. She got the sudden feeling that he’d been just as desperate to keep the conversation going.

“You do?” she asked, thankful and surprised that he’d managed to speak.

He nodded. “You wanted to hear about how I celebrated when I made surgeon.”

Kaylee’s eyes lit up, he noticed.

“So I did,” she said, and wriggled slightly to get more comfortable. “Shoot.”

*

“The plan is not to shoot you. The plan is to get the girl. If there’s no girl then the plan, well…. it’s like the room... You are gonna help me look for her.”

Simon felt eerily calm. He looked at the gun the bounty hunter was brandishing. He had always thought he would be scared of death, but here he was, and he felt only calm. Safe in the knowledge that there was no threat that could convince him to help this man.

“I don’t think my last act in this ‘verse will be betraying my sister,” he told the man defiantly.

“You’re gonna help me,” came the confident reply, “’cos every second you’re with me is a chance to turn the tables. Get the better of me. Maybe you’ll find your moment. Maybe I’ll slip.”

Simon was about to tell the man firmly that there was nothing he could say that would persuade him, when Early continued.

“Or, you refuse to help me, I shoot your brain out, and I go upstairs and spend sometime violating the little mechanic I got trussed up in the engine room. I take no pleasure in the thought but she will die, weeping, if you cross me.”

Everything ground to a halt. Except that, Simon thought bitterly.

* Kaylee’s heart was thudding so hard, she was having a hard time believing she was still capable of movement. Only vaguely reassured by Book’s return to consciousness, she had listened to River’s speech, telling herself and him most firmly that it was all part of the plan, that it wasn’t true… but she didn’t quite believe it. There was a clarity in River’s voice that Kaylee had rarely witnessed, and she felt in her heart that the words the girl spoke were heartfelt and sincere.

‘People can … be the people they want to be … be with the people they want.’

Kaylee wanted to cry. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to think she had to step aside in order for Simon and Kaylee to be happy.

But a greater fear was gripping at Kaylee …Simon didn’t know the plan. And Kaylee knew there was nothing, nothing that would stop him from trying to save his sister.

“Simon,” she breathed. She turned to Book. “He doesn’t know.”

Book’s eyes widened as he struggled into a sitting position, but before he could speak, a gun shot rang out from above.

Kaylee forgot everything then. She forgot Early, forgot his threats, forgot his armour, forgot his training and the effortlessness with which he had apparently taken Serenity’s crew. She forgot River, forgot the Captain, forgot the bleeding Shepherd before her. She forgot fear. All she remember was Simon, and she was up and running, deaf to Book’s panicked pleas for her to stop.

She wouldn’t know, as she raced up through the galley where she and Simon had sat so many times, how close she’d been. How moments before, Early had clambered out of the hatch and pulled it shut behind him. With no thought whatsoever for the bounty hunter’s whereabouts, she was at Simon’s side in an instant.

“Kaylee…” he gasped as he saw her. “River… can you…?”

“River’s fine,” she told him. His leg was bleeding, she noted with relief, which meant the bullet hadn’t hit anything more serious. “Let’s get you to the infirmary.”

“But…” Simon protested. “He’s going to…”

Kaylee cupped his face in her hands. “Simon. River is fine. She has a plan.”

“Wha…” Simon was weakening, she could see. A gasping, shuddering sob escaped her.

“Simon, I…” she cried, not knowing what she was trying to say. His eyes fluttered. “Simon!” she moaned. “Please, Simon…”

She felt a hand squeeze hers, and wondered how they’d come to be holding hands. “S’okay,” he slurred, opening his eyes, “I just need to…”

Beside them, the door to Wash and Zoe’s bunk opened, and Zoe’s gun proceeded the couple out.

“Help me get him to the infirmary,” Kaylee cried. “Quick.”

Zoe took in the girl’s distraught face, and glanced at her husband, who understood instantly.

“Step back, Kaylee, we got him,” he reassured the girl as he stooped to lift the weakening doctor to his feet.

Simon groaned in agony at the impact. Kaylee whimpered.

“Kaylee,” Zoe said firmly, moving to Simon’s other side. “We got him.”

The four made their way down to the infirmary, Kaylee reluctantly leaving to collect Book on the way. Once there, Kaylee busied herself cleaning Book’s minor injuries.

She glanced at Simon, then at Zoe. “Will he..?”

It was Simon himself who answered, looking slightly more aware now he was sitting down. “I’ll be fine.”

“You gotta stay with me, doc,” Zoe told him, moving forwards. “I need you to tell me how to do this.”

Simon nodded, leaning back, his face paler than ever. “Okay…”

“Wait,” interrupted Zoe, listening intently. “That was the hatch. Kaylee, go see to the Captain and River.”

“Bu…” Kaylee began to protest, but Zoe cut her off.

“Shepherd, go wake Jayne. Give him a flogging for sleeping all the way through this.”

“Inara…” murmured Simon suddenly. “He locked her in… hit her.”

Kaylee bit her lip, but Book got to his feet. “I’ll go to her.”

He guided Kaylee out of the infirmary, closing the door behind them, leaving Kaylee with the distinct feeling they all wanted her as far away from the infirmary as possible.

She heard the awkward sound of people walking in space suits, and moved towards it.

“River!” she sighed, letting out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. “You’re okay!” She embraced the young girl, no mean feat with a spacesuit.

“I’m fine too, lil’ Kaylee, thanks for your concern,” the captain said jokingly, removing his helmet. Kaylee pressed a kiss to his cheek and then turned back to River. She needed to apologise.

“River, I…” she started, but River shook her head fervently.

“Don’t be sorry,” she told her in her serene way. “I told you it would be okay.”

Kaylee blinked away the tears threatening to spill, and instead led River and the captain back toward the infirmary.

“Simon needs to see you … he’s so worried.”

“He’s such a boob,” River sighed, and though Mal laughed, Kaylee didn’t even smile.

Zoe allowed River nothing more than a quick hand squeeze before ushering her and Kaylee away from Simon and out of the infirmary. Deciding they needed something to take their minds off things, Kaylee suggested a game.

Sitting where they could just see into the infirmary, and surrounded by the comforting sounds of Mal and Inara bickering and Jayne and the Shepherd lifting, they played jacks, and before Kaylee knew it, she was smiling again.

*

Kaylee heard Simon approaching, his usually familiar footsteps slower and heavier due to his newly acquired limp. She beamed at the teabags and grinned at the kettle smirked at the biscuits.

Then she turned to face him. And smiled.

“Kaylee,” he greeted her affectionately, hobbling to his seat.

“Simon,” she replied, moving happily toward him with the tea.

He lowered himself into his chair and sighed with relief. “It’s good to be rid of that rutting crutch,” he told her “but…”

“But you’re a stubborn hwoon dahn and can’t really walk without it?” she supplied, eyes dancing.

He chuckled good-naturedly. “Something like that.”

She placed the biscuits between them and took her own seat. “At least you got the balls to admit it,” she said. And then she wanted to kick herself. Had she really just said that? But Simon didn’t seem at all phased, which she guessed meant he’d finally become accustomed to at least some aspects of life in the black. About time.

He took a sip of tea, regarding her. “I’m glad you and River are finally back to being friends,” he told her, impassively.

Kaylee felt herself redden. “We weren’t ever … not…” she trailed off lamely.

Simon smiled knowingly. “I’ve been wondering, these past few weeks, why you were suddenly so jumpy with her.” His expression saddened for a moment. “I guess now I know…” Shaking his head, he gave her another small smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more understanding…that night…”

Kaylee’s eyes were wide. “No, don’t be silly…”

“I was just…” Simon stammered, talking over her.

“It’s okay, I know you was ...” Kaylee said awkwardly.

There was a pause, and they both laughed.

“We’re ridiculous,” Simon said softly.

“I know,” she agreed, quietly.

He paused again. “I’m sorry,” he told her sincerely.

She smiled. “You’re forgiven.”

The next moment, they were both reaching for the last biscuit, and their hands brushed. Kaylee, to her disbelief, felt herself blushing, as he politely pushed the plate towards her.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling suddenly almost shy, itself a rare occurrence.

“No problem,” he said. He shifted in his chair, and then winced, grabbing at his leg.

“Are you okay?” she asked, jumping to her feet and moving to his side.

“I’m fine,” he assured her, “just hurts a little…”

“D’ya want me to go get you something… for the pain?” she fussed, looking worried.

He smiled, taking her hand and locking his eyes on hers, halting her. “Kaylee,” he said evenly, “I’m fine.”

She relaxed a little. “You sure?”

He nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered, but made no move to go back to her seat. In fact she made no move to go anywhere. He was suddenly very aware of her hand in his. He wanted to look down to see if their hands fit together as well as it felt they did, but he couldn’t drag his eyes from hers.

She seemed to be drawing nearer. Was she moving? Or was he? He didn’t quite notice it happening, but suddenly he was on his feet, and the pain which usually hit him when he stood was strangely absent. And Kaylee’s face was right in front of him, and she was so close…

He kissed her. Without thinking, he kissed her, taking her lips gently in his. They were even softer than they had looked, and her scent this close up made his head spin.

Stunned, she had barely registered what was happening, barely begun to respond when his thoughts caught up with him and he broke off, backing away from her.

This was not supposed to happen. He had told himself he would not let this happen.

“I’m… sorry,” he gasped, breathless.

“Wha…” she breathed, confusion clouding her features.

He was backing away still, frantic to get away. “I don’t know what I…” he murmured lamely, still struggling to breathe. The pain had returned to his leg with vengeance, but he found himself not caring in the slightest.

“Simon,” she gasped, and he detected a plea in her voice. He couldn’t look at her anymore, because if he did he would never tear himself away.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, and without looking back he ran from the galley as fast as his wounded leg would carry him, leaving Kaylee standing confused, breathless and alone.

* Simon burst into his bunk, closing the door behind him and slumping against it, panting heavily. He closed his eyes. He could still feel her lips on his … could feel her warm body pressed up against him. His imagination took over, and he could feel her standing with him now, pushing him against the door, her hands wrapped around his neck, tangled in his hair, as their lips worked together… Simon gasped, his head spinning, heart pounding.

In one fluid movement he pushed himself away from his bed and with a cry of rage kicked his bed, the sound of metal connecting with his foot echoing through the tiny room. He collapsed on his bed, grabbing his pillow and squeezing it hard, wanting to tear it into shreds…

He’d been raised better than this. He’d been raised better than to let himself lose control. There were situations where kissing was appropriate, and that hadn’t been one of them.

He’d tried for so long to push Kaylee out of his thoughts. He’d told himself that it was normal to occasionally think of her in that way, he was a young man, with little contact with any other available females, and she had bright eyes and soft lips and always smiled when she saw him…He told himself it was just an infatuation, and it would pass.

And when his heart betrayed him, and the voice in the back of his mind, sounding annoyingly like River, told him that he was falling for her, he dismissed it. He reminded himself that he was here for River, that everything was for River now. He forced himself to imagine how it would feel if anything happened to River because he wasn’t focusing on her completely. He dreamed about it, nightmares, confused images of River and Kaylee dancing in front of his eyes.

And when the voice argued back, telling him he was being stupid, that Kaylee would look after River too, that she already did, he ignored it. He thought about his life, his future, of what was to come. A life as a fugitive, a life on the run. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t drag Kaylee into that. No matter how much he wanted her.

And then some days, after spending an especially nice morning with Kaylee, when River started crying or screaming, he wanted to scream too. He wanted to tell her it was all her fault, that he’d given up his entire life for her, but that hadn’t been enough, because now he had to give up the chance of another life as well. He wanted to scream that he wanted River gone so he could go to Kaylee and hold her and finally know what that really felt like. But he loved his sister, and he wouldn’t let his anger say things he didn’t mean. So he’d wait until she was asleep and he’d go to his bunk and he’d let the tears fall.

The irony that he would never have met Kaylee if it hadn’t been for his sister was not lost on Simon Tam.

There were no tears now, however. Right now, he had no one to blame but himself, and that thought almost comforted Simon. Self-blame was something Simon was used to, something he could handle. It was easier to blame himself.

Throwing the pillow away, he leaned back helplessly against the wall, feeling all the rage leak out of him, replaced only by the familiar dull ache of regret.

He’s left her standing there. He’d kissed her, and then he’d left her.

Simon had been trying so hard, ever since he’d joined Serenity, to make Kaylee think he wasn’t interested. He’d slipped up, so many times, letting himself get caught in a moment… but he’d persevered. Because it was essential. Essential that she’d think he didn’t care. Because once she stopped trying to coax him out, he’d be able to relax.

It wasn’t hard, anymore, to deny himself what he wanted. That had never been the problem. It was denying her what she so clearly wanted that was the problem. The fact that they wanted the same thing barely mattered.

Simon had considered, once or twice, lying to her. Telling her he had no feelings for her. But that meant admitting he thought she had feelings for him, and the reserved side of him couldn’t do that. Besides, those words would make it final. They would mean no going back.

And now he had kissed her. Now she had to know how he felt. Now she would never give up.

Quietly at first, and then louder, more insistently, Simon began to laugh.

She would never give up.

The question was, would he?

* Kaylee stood in her bunk, her back against the entrance, tears streaking down her face. The paintbrush she was holding in her trembling hands was shaking, the lines she painted unsteady, but when she felt like this she got the urge to do something. Usually she would go to the engine room and fiddle with the engine, but today that didn’t seem enough. So she had retreated to her bunk, a place where Simon had never been, a place where she could scrunch up her eyes and pretend that Dr Simon Tam didn’t exist.

Only it wasn’t so easy, and the flowers she was trying to paint on her wall were suffering for it.

As hard as she tried not to think about how it had felt to be kissed by him, she couldn’t help but relive the moment over and over in her head. The thrill she had felt at his impulsive behaviour, the way her skin had been set on fire at his touch. She could still smell him, she could still taste him…

She heard footsteps from above, and tried to tell herself it was just the Captain looking for something in his bunk. But she couldn’t mistake those footsteps, even if their owner hadn’t been limping. She heard those footsteps everyday, moving around the galley at eleven o clock.

He didn’t knock or call her name, which struck her as odd. He was always so careful to remain polite. She heard him climbing down the ladder to her bunk, and winced inwardly, knowing it must be hurting his leg.

“Kaylee,” he said simply.

She didn’t reply, but replaced her brush, thinking vaguely that if she was going to have her heart broken, she didn’t want to be standing there holding a paintbrush.

She could feel him standing behind her, and it made her skin tingle, as if it was designed to alert her to his presence. He was moving forward, and the sensations only increased with proximity. She knew what he was going to do. He was going to stammer out an awkward apology, for something she didn’t want him to apologise for.

It was always the same. He thought he’d broken the rules. She didn’t even know what the rules were.

“I’m sorry,” the words hung in the air palpably, and she knew he meant them. She knew he was sorry that he’d hurt her, sorry because he thought he’d overstepped the mark, but he didn’t know why she was hurt, and she couldn’t seem to tell him.

“Kaylee, I’m sorry,” he repeated.

And something snapped.

“Get out,” she told him coldly, turning to face him so suddenly that he stepped back in shock. He glanced uneasily at the exit to her bunk, but stood his ground.

“Kaylee…”

“Get out!” she screamed, hating herself for the way her voice cracked, betraying her while she tried to appear strong. “What’s the point in apologising Simon? I don’t want you to apologise! I want you to stop being such a gorram moron! But that ain’t going to happen, so get out!”

She said these last two words with such force that she stumbled a little, backing away from him as tears began to flood from her eyes. He was unmoving though, his eyes sad but oddly steely as they bored into hers.

“I can’t hold on any longer, Simon,” she sobbed quietly, turning away from him again. “You can’t hold on to something that ain’t there.” She closed her eyes and allowed the tears to spill through her lashes, so she felt, rather than saw, as he moved towards her, took hold of her waist and in one fluid motion spun her around to face him.

She gasped, eyes fluttering open in shock.

“You’re right.”

There was a look of determination she had never seen in his eyes before. She simply gaped at him.

“You’re right. I’ve kept us both waiting for too long,”

And with that, before his words could penetrate her brain, before the sensation spreading from his fingers on her waist could register, before she could even blink away the tears to regard him properly, he kissed her, softly but firmly, and every bit as if he meant it.

This time, she didn’t hesitate. She couldn’t be sure he wasn’t going to run away again, and she wanted to enjoy this as much as she could, imprint every sensation in her memory before he did. But moments turned into seconds turned into minutes, and still he was kissing her, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly, as if he too was scared she would run away.

The heady thrill overcoming her fears, Kaylee pressed herself more firmly against him, feeling her skin awaken at his touch. Head spinning, she kissed him harder, and was delighted to find him responding with the same need, the same urgency. They parted for breath and her eyes met his. She saw his longing, but she saw something else there too.

“Kaylee,” he breathed, gasping out words in between frantic kisses, “I’ve … been so … stupid.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured against his skin, kissing down his jaw line. In return, she felt his teeth gently graze her neck, and found herself clinging to him in case her knees gave way.

“No,” he told her softly, his breath hot against her skin. “It’s not…. I’m sorry… I was just….”

He kissed her neck again, and she gasped into his ear, “What?”

Their lips met once more, and this kiss was filled with something more desperate than their lust.

“Scared,” he whispered against her lips.

She pulled away a fraction, keeping her eyes trained on his. “Of what?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Of falling in love.”

Her hand was at his cheek, stroking him. “Simon…” She spoke the word so softly, but he heard.

“But it’s too late,” he went on, pulling her closer once more. He leaned his forehead against hers, and said a silent prayer that these words would fix the damage he had done. “It’s too late because I did. I have.”

Her eyes were wide as he stared right into them.

“I’ve fallen in love with you, Kaylee.”

There was a moment’s silence, broken only by their haggard breathing, and Simon’s heart skipped a beat. Please…

“Really?” she asked, and he could hear the hope and the vulnerability in her voice.

He smiled, and kissed her gently. “Really.”

Then she kissed him again, and her lips gave told him what she then confirmed.

“I love you too, Simon.”

With renewed urgency, she pulled his face to hers, needing more of him. She had waited such a long time to feel him against her, and though she couldn’t have predicted the way she felt now, her thirst for him had not been quenched. Hands gripping him firmly, she backed towards the bed, pulling him with her. He obliged happily, his hands which had been resting on her waist sliding up her sides.

Her legs hit the bed and she backed onto it, dragging him down beside her. Meanwhile, her own hands were moving to unbutton his shirt, fingers nimbly revealing inch after inch of his muscled chest. Disposing of his shirt, she ran her hands down his smooth skin, feeling him shudder pleasantly and smiling despite herself.

“Don’t suppose you had much practise removing jumpsuits back on Osiris,” she teased, planting kisses down his chest.

He smiled mischievously, and kissed her, his hands slipping inside her jumpsuit and deftly sliding it off her.

“I’m a fast learner,” he replied, hands now ghosting over her newly exposed skin.

Sighing happily, she pressed herself against him.

“Shut up and make love to me.”

The last thought Kaylee managed to cling on to as Simon entered her for the first time, was that being with him in reality surpassed even her wildest dream. Moments later, she couldn’t think at all; the dreams were wiped from Kaylee’s mind as he moved above her, inside her. They gasped and groaned together as their hips met in perfect unison, his lips sliding down her neck, her nails grazing his back. Every inch of her body was on fire where it touched his.

“Kaylee,” he groaned, his breath tickling her ear, making her skin tingle and her hips buck. He smiled at her reaction, his breath catching in his throat before another involuntary groan ripped from him. “Feel…amazing…” he gasped, and she moaned in agreement, her nails scrabbling against his shoulders.

She shifted beneath him, purring as he leaned in to kiss her, their lips meeting desperately, clumsily. Feeling the urgency build, Simon held her tighter, latching on to her neck as she raised her hips a little. The new position forced him in deeper and they both moaned together. As one, they began to rock together faster, Simon nipping at her skin with his teeth as she clung to him, the gasping in his ear only encouraging him to thrust deeper.

When he felt the end draw near, Simon lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers, and she wriggled in delight, because the doctor, always so focused, was now focused entirely on her. His eyes bore into her as she began to pant, feeling her body tremble.

“Simon!” she gasped, wanting to say something, but not knowing any words to justify the many things she was feeling.

But he knew. He rested his lips on hers as his head began to cloud. “Love you,” he gasped, and he let go, feeling her shudder in release at the same time. She cried out and the sound made his already spinning head turn.

In exhaustion, he collapsed against her.

“Love you too,” she panted against his ear, and she felt him smile against her skin.

“Good.”

* At eleven o clock, some days later, the couple could be found in the galley, sitting together.

“Are you trying to spill that all over yourself?” Simon asked, amused.

Kaylee paused. She was sitting with her head resting on his shoulder, tea cup halfway to her mouth.

“No,” she said evenly, attempting to take a sip despite the awkward angle. Predictably, she choked on the hot liquid, and in the process, splashed tea over Simon’s shirt. She sat up, giggling.

“Right,” he said, trying and failing to sound angry. “You were trying to spill it all over me. Now I see.”

“Sorry,” she said, smiling so brightly that his frown disappeared and he leaned over to press a quick kiss to her lips.

“I bet you are,” he murmured softly before sitting back, loving the cheeky expression on her face.

Kaylee placed the half empty tea cup on the table and took a biscuit.

“Well if you ain’t gonna except my apology, I wash my hands of you,” she joked, snapping the biscuit in two and popping one half in her mouth. She got to her feet and moved behind him.

“I’m off,” she continued, feeding him the second half. “Goin’ to find someone who can really appreciate me.”

He laughed, standing as she pretended to walk away. Her grabbed her gently and pulled her back, bringing his face close to hers.

“Come with me,” he whispered. “And I’ll show you just how much I can appreciate you.”

Her eyes flashed wickedly. “Lead the way, Dr Tam.”

And, giggling, she followed him out of the galley, leaving behind a table, empty but for a plate of biscuits and two cups of tea.

Fin