Simon sat on a reading ledge built into his bunk. A medical book wobbled on his knees while a nearby SpeakPad scribed his dictated notes. A hover lamp floated and scurried above him, nimbling following his slight movements, spreading a halo of blue light luminous enough to accommodate his late night research.

He barely acknowledged the sliding woosh of the door.

“Hmmm,” Simon mumbled. “You should be asleep.”

He never looked up any more when River entered his room. She often came in late, while he was reading, and it was useless to chide her.

On the nights when she was restless, she would glide around the small interior of his room, oblivious to his presence. Her hands sought out the room’s angles and surfaces in a focused ritual that seemed to calm her mind, and then, wordlessly, she would disappear to her room.

Other times, he knew she woke from nightmares, because on those nights she entered quickly and dropped into a ball beside his bed, shaking. On those nights he stroked her hair and spoke to her in quiet tones until the terror left.

But tonight, she was different. He could tell that she was playful and fighting sleep, the way she did as a small child, when she would beg him to let her stay up late in his room with her toys and books.

Tonight, she crawled onto his bunk, smoothed down the covers, and lay on her back, her hands behind her head in defiant merriment -- not unlike a pose Jayne often took.

“Saw a Capture. In my mind.” She grinned as she said it. “From the future.”

“Let me guess.” Simon said dryly. “The Captain finally acknowledges my medical brilliance and starts paying me a salary.” He flipped a page in his book.

“No.” River said, dropping into a momentary state of utter gravity. “That never happens.”

And just as quickly, she was playful again. She rolled over to look directly up at Simon.

“It was romance. Love. And Sex!” she announced loudly, like a present.

Simon closed his book and grinned down at her. “Tell me,” he said, laughing. “Please say it’s me in

this romantic Capture and not someone else’s fantasy come true. Like Jayne’s!”

“Oh, it’s you. It’s definitely you.” River said conspiratorially.

“Me? With who?”

“With whom.”

“OK. With whom, you little snit.” And he dropped down beside her.

“It’s not Kaylee.” River smiled gently as Simon’s face darkened. “At least not this time.”

“Well,” Simon responded. “At least we know there are times.” He paused. “I find passion more than once, I take it.”

“Oh, lots of times. “ Again, the odd seriousness.

“This Capture shows a girl.” River’s words tumbled out. “You meet her someplace nice. Like Ariel. You see her, and she sees you, and you smile and talk and then she’s on the ship. She thinks you’re handsome. She’s laughing, with her shirt unbuttoned, in your room, and you…”

“OK, OK – I can envision the rest of the details, River.” Simon interrupts. He smiles and lies back next to River. ”The girls on Ariel… they were beautiful…” His voice drops off…

It’s quiet in the room while Simon thinks about the past, the other life, lost to them both now. River lies beside him, her arms at her side now, like a reposed statue, listening to her own breathing, to the breathing of the ship, and to the vast emptiness of the Black outside.

Simon finally notices her silence, her distance.

“What about you, mei mei?” he says gently. “Does great love await you? What does the Capture show for you?”

“No.” Quietly. “Theres nothing for me. No one.” And the way she said it left no doubt.

“River, no….” Simon fumbles for words, sure that she’ll know he’s lying. “You’ll grow up, become a beautiful woman, and you’ll have lots of boyfriends.”

“Not for me.” A single tear rolls down her face, and she stares at the ceiling.

Moments pass as Simon struggles for words and then gives up.

He turns toward her on his side, his arm underneath his head. He knows that she’s telling the truth about what she’s seen, and nothing can change it.

“What’s going to happen to us, River? To you and me? Do we ever stop running?”

River’s voice is low at first but rises with fear. “Can’t see the way. Maybe we’re followed, maybe they’re gone. Can’t tell from here. It’s too dark.” She’s agitated, tears flowing now. “Nothing but darkness. Shadows.”

Then her voice and body become calm. “But, we’re together, Simon,” she says, gazing over at him.

“Wherever we end up, it’s you and me.”

Simon leans over to her and wipes the tears from her cheeks, bends down to place a kiss on her forehead and then her temple. She reaches for his hand and holds his arm out, interlocking her fingers with his.

She looks into his eyes. “Kiss my mouth,” she asks. Simon smiles and places a quick kiss on her lips. Leaning back, he says, “You need to go to sleep now, mei mei…”

“Not like that.” River interrupts. “Like you want to do with Kaylee.”

“River,” Simon hesitates, and then begins to explain, his words slow and patient. “I’m your brother. I can’t kiss you like that. Brothers and sisters…”

“I KNOW you’re my brother, you twerp,” River says, with a scowl that softens immediately. “I want you to do it anyway, in spite of that. Because of that. Because you’re all I have...” her voice fades away and the tears begin again silently.

Simon looks at her, his eyes searching and puzzled. Her gaze was steady, trusting. She brought his hand down to her waist. Involuntarily, he stroked the long, slight curve of her body, a dancer’s body.

He tried to speak, and stopped.

Long minutes passed.

Finally he spoke.

“Dim.” He said, and the glow of the hover light began to fade, blurring the room into blue-gray lines of light and shadow. He got up slowly from the bed and walked to the sliding door. He hesitated only for a moment, taking one long breath before he looked down at the latch and locked it.