Author: Rawles {rawles[dot]marie[at]gmail[dot]com} Type: Gen Genre: Drama Characters: Simon. River. Author’s Notes: Written for the Firefly Friday Challenge. Subject: first impression.

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He made a promise long ago to care for her. He promised because there was no one else who would, even though it was their job.

Her hand was tiny and soft. As it poked up from the basinet and closed around Simon’s finger he could not help but notice how delicate it was, how fragile. At first he had been unsure about whether or not he wanted a younger sibling. His first look at his little sister had changed his mind. She had changed him forever.

Her eyes are wild and fearful. She looks around as she scrambles from the cold metal case that held her in an unnatural sleep. He reaches out for her and recognition seems to calm her for a moment, before she goes off again, attempting to verbalize the horrors she has endured. She trembles and her skin, pale as death, is like ice as he holds her close. His little sister. She is changed forever.

She walked, talked, read, reasoned; did everything long before she should have. Everything she touched was golden. Every endeavour was nothing to her but a temporary distraction; something for her to master in record time and check off of the list of things with which their parents tried to keep her occupied. It could be frustrating and she could be bratty, but he loved her still and more, it seemed, every day.

Most moments are a chore. He tries to get her to stay calm and act as she should, but rarely succeeds. She is distracted by things that are not there. Upset by things that he cannot possibly understand. Every cogent moment is like a precious gem. Every intelligible word is like the music she used to play. It is dispiriting and she can be troublesome, but he loves her still and he will heal her one day.

He made a promise long ago to care for her. She is not the girl he knew, but his dedication never wavers.