They lay there, intertwined, panting after their intercourse. Their grief over their shared loss had brought them closer than ever before. It was two months after the birth, and death that followed it so cruel fully quickly. Kaylee had lost her baby weight fairly quickly, but that was to be expected, but that was to be expected. After she lost Billy... she had hardly eaten anything at all, besides what Simon and Mal had forced her to eat. Billy’s death had hit everyone hard, River, Simon, and Kaylee especially. They all had relished the opportunity to welcome a new baby into the ‘verse. He remembered when, days before, she had just… snapped. Right out of her grief. She had started to eat again, but she was still painfully thin and drawn. She was almost cheery again. Still hadn’t smiled yet… And, a few hours ago, he had found her in the engine room, fiddling around with some parts on the floor. She looked up when she heard him come in. There were tears in her eyes. “Simon? Simon, I…I can’t feel no more. Please… make me feel again!” Tears started to run down her face. He leaned over, and wiped the tears off her face. He took her in his arms. He didn’t know how, or when, but, somehow, they got down into their room, and into their bunk. And, now, after hours of lovemaking, totally exhausted, they lay against each other, locked in a tight embrace, gently kissing. Simon took her left hand in both of his. He reverently kissed the tip of each finger, beginning and ending on her ring finger. He kissed along the length of it, finally ending on the ring. A sapphire set in a golden band. He pulled his face up and frowned at it. Kaylee tensed. “Simon…what is it? What’s wrong?” He looked at her. “This shouldn’t be here anymore. It should be on your right hand.” “Simon, are you…” “I am. Kaylee, will you marry me?” For the first time in a long, long while, Kaylee smiled a real smile that came from her heart and lit up the room like a thousand suns and a trillion stars. Her first smile since Billy. “I will.” *** The ceremony was beautiful, it really was. I guess that it was the best we could have done, considering what we have. And what we lost… It wasn’t much, really. We landed on the southern half of Whitefall, away from all the settlements to the North. I was the preacher, I got ordained over the cortex. We didn’t have a new Bible, so we used the old one. The one with several pages ripped out of it. Simon wore one of his best suits, the one he wore on Canton. Kaylee wore a beautiful white silk dress, a bit like a Kimono. For wedding rings, Kaylee used the ring Simon gave her, the sapphire set in a golden band. Simon got one of Kaylee’s rings, a heirloom from when she left on Serenity. I’m watching them now, their dancing. There is so much grief coming off them, even Jayne notices. They are so happy, and so very sad, all at the same time. Kind of like I am. Everyone is dancing… all but me. Simon and Kaylee are dancing, and so are Mal and Inara. She’s almost as radiant as Kaylee is, bedecked in red and gold. Mal doesn’t look to bad either, dressed in the same suit he wore in the Persephone ball. They are in love, almost as much as my brother and Kaylee. Mal twirls her as they dance to the waltz music. Even Zoë is dancing, dancing with Jayne. Her eyes are closed; she’s trying to pretend that she’s dancing with Wash again. She’s missing a few steps, but that’s okay. Jayne can’t dance, anyway. I know that, if I were to ask him, Simon would dance with me. But, I wont. I love to dance, more than anything else, but, I wont take him away from Kaylee. She needs him now, more than I ever did. We…they, are dancing in a desert , so dust is rising in the air. As for me? I don’t know. I really don’t. Simon and Kaylee will mend, I know that. They’ll strong, they’ll survive. Mal and Inara have come together, finally. They’ll find their way. Jayne will bounce back, he always does. Zoë… Zoë will just go on. Because she has to. And me? I have a broken heart, there’s no use denying it. Some say that its better to have loved and lost than to never to have loved at all. But, with Billy dead, shot down twice, and I could do nothing to save them… sometimes, in the dark, when I can’t sleep, I wish that I’d never gone to the Academy, never went onto Serenity. Don’t get me wrong, I love this ship, and everyone on it. But, the pain she has caused me… As I said, I don’t know. And that is possibly the scariest thing I’ve ever felt or seen. All I do know… is that I can never love anyone again. Not like how I loved Billy. It is my gift, and it is my curse. I know, I know. If I hadn’t been made crazy and psychic, then Simon and Kaylee could never had met, and they wouldn’t have fallen in love. But… I know its selfish of me to only think of myself, only think of my happiness. But… sometimes, I wish that the ‘verse wasn’t on my shoulders all the time. The dance has just stopped. Simon comes over and offers me his hand for a dance, but I just shake my head and smile. This is his night. I’ll let it last. END