Not my ‘verse, I stole it. Not my story, I stole it to. Just wanted to tweak things my way for fun. I believe the only original line is “Simon says”.

You can take the boy out of Hera…

By: Jailbird

Chapter Three “Making Better”

Inara comes down the stairs and pears in to the infirmary. Then she walks down the hall to the passenger dorms. Unable to find Simon in his room she returns to the infirmary. When she walks into the room she finally sees him sulking behind the desk. Tears clearly streaming down his cheeks.

Simon states wearily, “I just really want to be left alone right now.”

Inara replies, “I know, but that was beautiful.” She gestures up toward the galley.

Simon says, “Really I thought it was quite pathetic, myself.”

“Why for loving a woman?”

“No, for taken so long to admit it.” He looked devastated.

“It’s O.K., I can make it all better. Really.” She says with a slight reassuring nod. She does really feel bad for the boy.

“How? How in the ‘verse can you make this better. I just told the woman I love that she’s not good enough for me. How could that possible get BETTER.”

Inara says soothingly “I’ll talk to Kaylee, I already know what to say. It will all be better by morning. I promise. You however are not looking so good. I thought you were going to crack back there.”

”No I’m fine…Mal is not going to be playing with airlocks or firearms tonight, is he?” Simon asked only half jokingly.

“No, no I’m sure you’re safe, but if you still want to be alone go on up to my shuttle. I say you could use the rest and no one will bother you there.” Inara says as she sends the good Doctor out to the cargo bay.

***

A few minutes later in the engine room Kaylee is sobbing in her hammock when Inara steps through the door and says. “Hi there.”

“O’ Nara, Hi, I’m…aah…O.K. really, just shiny. I know he didn’t mean it. Just the mean old Captain baited him and Simon ‘stuck his foot in his mouth’.”

“But he did mean it.” Says Inara coolly as Kaylee looks at her over her right shoulder with a puzzled expression. “Have you ever given much thought of marring him?’

“No, oh no, not really, I mean, I carried such a torch for him and I’m just so glad we got together…finally.” Kaylee spoke the last word rather weakly.

“Oh but he has thought of marring you. I’m willing to say it weighs heavily upon him. You should have heard him tell off the Captain.” Inara was glad to see that brought her favorite mechanic right out of her slump.

“You mean he stood-up to the Captain?” Coming back around to the cheeriest mechanic in the ‘verse.

“Not only stood-up, but dressed him down, too. Our proper core doctor thinks he’s not good enough for our Miss Frey, seams he has nothing to give to show his love.”

“Ah ‘Nara he don’t gotta a get me nothing”

“I know that, and you know that, but does he know that.” Inara already knew she had won, “He’s also so afraid.”

“Well all men are afraid of commitment.” Kaylee state matter of factly.

“That’s not the fear I saw in him. I saw a man whose afraid the Alliance will use the woman he loves against his sister.”

“Oh, he don’t love me, ‘Nara.” Kaylee says shyly.

“Not true, he said it to the Captain in front of everyone and twice to me just now.”

River yells down the hallway from the door of the dinning room. “I tricked him into saying it before dinner!”

Kaylee ask excitedly “What did he say, exactly.”

Inara was enjoying how Kaylee lit right up with this current turn of the conversation. “Lets see his exact words were uh…” Inara tries to stand up stiff and straight and in a low voice says. ”‘How in the ‘verse can you make this better. I just told the woman I love that she’s not good enough for me, how could that possible get ‘BETTER’.”

“O’ ‘Nara that sounded just like him.” Kaylee was beaming now.

Inara informs. “He said he just wanted to be left alone. I told him to go sleep it off in my shuttle, while I made everything better…It’s better now; isn’t it mei mei?”

Kaylee nods rapidly.

“Then go to him, tell him you love him too. He’ll be glad to see you, trust me.”

“I will, I‘ll go right now.”

***

TBC