Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Firefly characters or am I in any way connected to the show.

Characters: Kaylee and Simon

Summary: Imagine a girl with sunshine inside her. What happens when her sunshine is stolen? *Major Spoilers For Objects In Space*

Authors Notes: It seems like everyone writes a story set after Objects in Space. This is just my version of it. Love it, hate it, I don’t care. Just tell me what you think!

Sunshine By KaySky

Imagine a girl with sunshine inside her. The sunshine flows through her smile, the twinkle in her eyes, and through the warmth in her touch. What happens when her sunshine is stolen? She still smiles, but the sunshine does not flow through. The twinkles in her eyes have vanished. Her warmth has grown cold.

Her sunshine carried her emotions. Happy, sad, or angry she let her emotions flow. This quality made her very innocent, very honest. The sunshine is gone now. Her emotions no longer flow. They build up inside her, having nowhere to go. No one even suspects this whirlwind of emotions is harboring inside. They don’t know her sunshine was stolen. They don’t know her true emotions can no longer flow.

The man who stole her sunshine left an affect on all. The first few days after the incidence were emotional. They all got together to talk about the events of that night. Some talked more than others, but they all talked and they all felt well again. She talked. She told them all she felt well again. She told herself she felt well again, too, but her sunshine was still gone.

As the days went by it became easier for her to act like her sunshine was still there. It is weeks later now. Everything and everyone else is back to normal. No one even suspects her sunshine is gone.

The nights are the hardest. When the darkness comes it brings feelings of fear and guilt. She pushes them deep inside her, adding to all the rest. The emotions inside grow stronger. They are taking over. She was once filled with sunlight, but now she’s filled with darkness. Sleep is no longer possible.

It is maybe two or three in the morning. Everyone else is asleep. She crawls out of her bed, up the hatch, into the hall. Sneaking off to the infirmary in the middle of the night has become a regular routine over the last few weeks.

Once inside she searches for the small blue pills. They help fight the darkness. She has the urge to take a handful, but she only ever takes one. She’s afraid the doctor might notice otherwise. So far he hasn’t. She’s glad.

She reaches for a glass and turns on the sink. She fills her cup with water oblivious to the footsteps.

“Out of everyone here, I didn’t even consider you.” His voice was filled with a mixture of hurt, anger, and disappointment.

She tries to think of an excuse, of a lie, but she can’t. “Simon…” She cannot turn around. She doesn’t want to see the look she knows he has on his face. She doesn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

“If you needed something, why didn’t you come to me?” He walks closer to her.

“Didn’t want to be a bother, is all.” She gives her best effort to sound cheerful.

“I’m the doctor. Being bothered is part of the job.” He inches even closer to her. He wants her to turn around so he can see her face. “But Kaylee,” He reaches his hand to her shoulder. “You could never bother me.” The anger and disappointment has left his voice. He is compassionate now.

Her heart aches as she feels his hand upon her shoulder. “How long have you known?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

“Last week I noticed some pills were missing.” He tries turning her, so she can face him. She resists. “I decided to try and stay awake every night.” She would not turn, so he leaned her back against his chest. “Tonight I was able to stay awake.” He is surprised her body feels so cold against him. “I wasn’t expecting you, Kaylee.”

She leans against his bare chest. His warmth is soothing. “Can’t sleep, is all.” His hands move from her shoulders and his arms wrap around her sides. The added warmth lights a fire underneath the bomb of emotions festered inside her. The bomb explodes.

Tears roll down her cheeks as her knees become weak. Her knees give way, but she does not fall. He has her in his arms. He places one arm under her knees, swooping her up into his arms. He stands there, cradling her tight, as she lets out what’s inside.

The explosion is over. The tears have stopped. She is still in his arms. “I got you all wet.” She says softly, avoiding his eyes.

He carries her to the examining table and gently sets her down. He joins her on the table. “I don’t know what scares me more. The fact that you could have really hurt yourself by taking those pills or the fact that you felt they were your only option.” She cannot escape his eyes any longer. He cups her chin with his hand, pointing her face directly at him. She keeps her eyes closed. “If something were to happen to you… I couldn’t forgive myself.”

She slowly opens her eyes. “Shenme?”

His thumb rubs her cheek as he begins to speak. “Kaylee, baobei…” He looks into her eyes. He feels like an idiot. How could he not have noticed sooner the sunshine was missing? “I’m a doctor. I should be able to know when something’s wrong.” He takes his other hand and brushes it across her other cheek. “I’m your friend, too. I should really be able to tell when something is wrong.” He’s not thinking. He is only feeling. He leans down and kisses her softly on the lips. The kiss only lasts for a second, but as he pulls away she leans in for one more.

Every ounce of passion she has in her body goes into this second kiss. The warmth she feels from his mouth sends a tingle down her spine. She pulls away. “He scared me… I told him where River slept… he tied me up… threatened me.”

He pulls her close to him, embracing her. He runs his fingers through her hair. “Baobei, don’t feel guilty about River. I didn’t do any better by helping the man look for her.” He kisses her forehead. “He told me what he’d do to you.” He squeezes her tighter. “I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if he had…he didn’t…did he?” He separates them from their embrace. He stares deeply into her eyes.

“Not what he said he was gonna do, but…” She takes a deep breath, exhaling more emotions out of her body. “Ain’t the same now. I feel different.”

“How?” His hand reaches her face once again, fingers wiping away stray tears.

“Use to feel like there was a light in me. Now it’s gone. He took it.”

“No, no he didn’t, Baobei.” He takes her hands in his and their eyes meet once again. “It’s still in there. You just have to let it come out. Let it shine.”

The warmth from his hands flows up her arms. The tingling sensation from their kiss still lingers. She wants to feel more warmth. She wants to feel more tingles. She brings her lips within an inch of his. “Make me feel warm again.” She whispers.

He kisses her, releasing his passion for her. He loves her. She can tell. She loves him. He can tell. No words are necessary. As their mouths open slightly, allowing for their tongues to meet, she feels herself flooding with more emotions. They do not swarm together and nestle inside her. They flow through her.

He pulls away from the kiss, looking back into her eyes. Her twinkles are there. She bites her bottom lip as she smiles. He can’t remember her smile ever being so bright. She runs her hands across his chest. He does not shiver. Her hands are warm and inviting. He kisses her again.

Imagine a girl with sunshine inside her. She thought it was stolen, but it was only afraid. It hid deep down inside her. Dark clouds formed overtop and made themselves at home, but love flowed through her once again, empowering the sun. The sun was no longer afraid. Rays of sunlight soared throughout her body. The darkness ran away.

The End.

Chinese Translations: shenme = what baobei = precious item/jewel