Simon couldn’t remember the exact moment they had stopped working and started kissing. The tension between them over the past few days had been palpable and he’d known it would only be a matter of time before both he and Kaylee gave into their overwhelming desire for each other.

This day had started like all the rest, with the two of them working, side by side, to get Serenity back in the air. The only difference had been the unbearable heat and as they worked and the temperature rose Simon had been forced to remove his sweat-soaked shirt. Catching a glimpse of his bare-chested form, Kaylee had raised an eyebrow at the young doctor and Simon immediately blushed.

“Sorry,” he muttered, reaching to put the shirt back on. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh you didn’t,” she teased, turning back to her work. “I just had no idea you’d be so pretty without any clothes on.”

Determined not to blush again, Simon picked back up the wrench he’d been using and try to push the sudden image from his mind of Kaylee without any clothes on; they had a job to do.

When that job had stopped being about the ship and had started being about loving each other, Simon couldn’t say. Kaylee’s mouth was on his hungrily and he kissed her back, pulling her to him and holding her tight. Their sweat mingled together as they came up for air, and they slowly sank to the engine room’s floor, which was thankfully cool.

Panting from their closeness and the hormones it released, Simon pulled back from Kaylee a bit, drawing a line from the top of her forehead, down her nose and over her lips, past her chin and between her breasts. Lifting up the bottom of her shirt, he placed gentle kisses all around her belly button and felt her shudder underneath him from the touch.

Glancing up to her face, he saw her eyes gazing down at him and with her hand drew his lips back to hers, kissing him fiercely. Enveloping her in a tight embrace, Simon pulled her into his lap and worked his hands under her shirt, pulling it off and over her head.

When he could again see her face, he stared at her for a moment and saw something else there that he hadn’t noticed before – tears. Mixed with the heat from their bodies and the engine room, they had been hard to detect, but they were there all the same. Wiping one away with his thumb, he whispered, “Kaylee, what is it?”

She smiled at him through her sadness and the hollowness of her expression made his heart sink. She shook her head quickly and rushed forward planting another hungry kiss on him and for a moment, he forgot her distress. But gathering himself, he gently took her by the shoulders and pushed her back so he could again see her face. “Kaylee,” he asked again, a bit more sternly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Her eyes were searching his face and she was vainly biting her lip to keep her sobs in, but soon it would be no use and they both knew it. Reaching up a hand, she traced his lips with her finger and while the touch excited him to no end, Simon kept his gaze focused on her. Something was going on and he wanted to know what.

“Did I hurt you,” he choked out, unable to believe he was actually saying the words. “Do you not want to do this?"

She shook her head fiercely and finally spoke, her voice broken by her emotions. “No, oh god no. Simon, I want you, I want this so bad, I can barely stand it, I just –" She broke off and Simon again studied her. He could tell that she was on the verge of getting it out. So he would wait.

She shivered slightly then and he remembered sheepishly that she had no shirt on. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close and whispered in her ear. “You can tell me anything, whatever it is.”

That statement, while not the most profound to Simon seemed to release something in Kaylee and without any warning, she started sobbing, crying huge pent-up tears that shook her entire body. She grabbed onto him fiercely, clutching him in a tight embrace and Simon returned the grip, trying to hold her steady against her own emotions.

The sound of her pain brought tears to his eyes. It had been a hell of a past couple of weeks, Simon was certain of that. They’d gone through Reaver space, uncovered the secrets that had destroyed his sister, watched the Captain, Zoe and the rest of their friends almost die while Wash and Book … And in that moment realization dawned like a sunrise, and Simon just held Kaylee’s trembling form tighter.

“I just, I don’t know how to do this,” she cried, taking deep shuddering breaths and trying to control herself.

“Do what,” Simon asked gently, not letting her go.

“Keep livin’ after all we’ve seen, after all we lost,” she told him, pulling back to look him in the eye. Her large brown eyes were red and puffy and Simon again reached out to wipe the trails of salt stain from her cheeks. “I mean, I’m so glad we’re okay and that we …” She trailed off and Simon was fairly certain he could follow her train of thought.

“But,” he prompted her.

Looking back to him again, the hurt expression on her face broke his heart. “But what about Zoe and Wash and Sheperd Book and all the people at Haven? They killed that little boy,” she told him, her lower lip trembling. “He didn’t do nothin’ and they just killed him like an animal. He must have been so scared.” She sobbed again and sank into Simon’s chest. He rocked her back and forth gently trying to comfort her.

This was grief, Kaylee’s grief and the emotion unsettled her more than it would others. Kaylee didn’t often let the seedier side of life color her ‘verse view. She knew there was bad out in the black, but she still preferred to believe that people were and could be good. But everyone who experienced loss needed to grieve, whether they wanted to or not and now it was Kaylee’s turn.

“I know, bao bei,” he whispered into her hair. “I know.”

After a few more minutes, Kaylee’s shuddering breaths had somewhat died down. Standing her up gently, Simon rose and scooped her in his arms, taking her back toward the passenger dorms. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face in her shoulder.

Entering his room, he gently sat her on the bed and found one of his shirts for her. “Here,” he said, handing it to her, as she wiped her face. “I think it’ll be big enough on you.”

As she got undressed, he left and came back, smelling of soap. He had obviously taken a quick shower as the grease from the engine room was off him now. Kaylee tried to straighten her hair as she now felt particularly dirty next to his gleaming form.

Steadying her hands as they rubbed fruitlessly at a spot on her arm, Simon said, “It’s okay.” From his side, he produced a bowl of warm, soapy water and a wash cloth and dipping the rag in the water, gently began rubbing the dirt from her arm. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall behind the bed, taking comfort in Simon’s gentle touch. He brought the wet cloth up to her neck and face and gently wiped away the tears she had shed. As he smoothed over her forehead, her eyes fluttered open and Kaylee said to him, “Is it okay to be happy when everyone else is so miserable?”

Smiling slightly at her, Simon raised her hand and kissed it tenderly. “I think that’s what everyone would want,” he whispered. “Just a little bit of happiness.”

She smiled back at him and closed her eyes again, unable to keep them open. She was so comfortable and warm that she couldn’t fight her deep need to get some sleep. Sensing her need to drift off, Simon pulled back the covers and gently tucked them both in, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly to his chest. She settled against him and cried a little more before finally falling into a restful sleep.

***

Later that night, who knew how late, Simon and Kaylee were again awake and this time, they let the passion they felt for one another provide the comfort they both needed.