Don't mind me, I'm just doing this for fun and am not making any money off of this. I wish like hell that I was the creative genius behind all this but sadly, all the credit goes to Joss Whedon and Fox.

**********

Simon stumbled throughout the corridors of Serenity, feeling dizzy and light-headed. He kept questioning himself in his mind, wondering if he had really heard what he thought he did. But every time he questioned it, he thought about what he had heard and decided there was no other explanation. Simon had heard his sister being brought to orgasm by his ex-girlfriend. The thought nearly made him faint but he managed to stay on his feet, desperate to get to the mess hall where he could get a drink of water.

Simon staggered into the mess hall where Mal, Zoë and Jayne were gathered. They all turned their heads to him when he entered and could tell that something was up. Simon had turned as white as a sheet and looked like he was about to be sick as he gasped for air. They all exchanged confused glances among themselves, wondering what had caused Simon to take a turn like this.

“You okay there, doc?” Mal questioned.

Simon didn’t respond as he stumbled over to the table and leaned against it, trying to keep his balance. Suddenly, Simon turned and heaved, vomiting all over Jayne’s boots, much to the disgust of Jayne.

“Gorram it doc!” Jayne yelled, scooting out of the line of fire. “These were my best boots! My mama got em for me and you had to go and puke on them!”

Simon once again failed to respond to the crew questioning him and merely collapsed into a chair. Zoë quickly grabbed a clean glass and rushed to the sink, filling it with water. She brought the glass over to Simon who took it and deeply drank from it, draining the glass in one gulp. Simon took several deep breaths as he wiped off his mouth and chin with the back of his sleeve, clearing away the remaining traces of vomit on them.

“What’s gotten into you Simon? What happened?” Mal asked, sitting down in the chair in front of Simon and staring intently at the doctor. Simon took a few more deep breaths before uttering one simple word. “River.”

“River? What’s wrong with River?”

“Aw, damnit doc, did your wacky sis go and get herself in trouble again?” Jayne grumbled, cleaning off his boots with a dishtowel.

“River. And Kaylee,” Simon said in a daze.

“River and Kaylee? What happened with them? Damnit Simon, tell me what’s going on,” Mal said, a hint of urgency in his voice now.

“In Kaylee’s bunk. I heard them. They were…they were…”

“What, Simon? What were they doing?”

“They were having sex.”

The room instantly went silent at what Simon said. Mal’s face took on an expression not entirely unlike Simon’s just before he vomited while Zoë merely looked confused, unsure of what she had just heard. Jayne, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows in curiosity and leaned closer to Simon.

“Having sex? Like together? Didja actually get to see em doc? What were they doin exactly?” Jayne asked with poorly concealed excitement in his tone. After all, it’s not every day that you find out you’re flying with two bonafide lesbians.

“That will be quite enough of that, Jayne.” Mal said sternly, his face losing its expression of disgust and taking on one of anger.

“Suit yourself Mal. I’m going to my bunk.”

All three faces looked at Jayne contemptibly, wondering if he really could be that much of a pig. As Jayne rose from his chair, he noticed the expressions of the people looking at them and shrugged innocently.

“What? The doc threw up on my boots. I gotta go clean them up to get this smell outta them.”

This explanation seemed to pacify the others and Jayne walked out of the mess hall, shaking his head as he went. Once Jayne left, the focus shifted once more to Simon, who was starting to regain the color in his face and wasn’t breathing quite so hard anymore.

“Are you sure they were having sex Simon? How’d you find out about this?” Mal asked.

“Yes, I am sure that’s what they were doing. I was bringing Kaylee some flowers to apologize for what happened yesterday. But when I got to her bunk, the door was open and I could clearly hear the two of them below.”

Mal’s face hardened even further while Zoë merely shook her head, unable to believe that River and Kaylee would do such a thing. Without speaking, Mal stood up and strode powerfully to the door.

“Sir,” Zoë began, causing Mal to halt and face his second-in-command, impatiently waiting for her to finish what she had to say. “Don’t be too hard on them,” was all Zoë could think to say. Mal gave the smallest trace of a nod before setting back off, leaving Zoë and Simon alone. Simon stood up a bit shakily but found his balance and went to refill his glass of water.

**********

River stared up at the ceiling of Kaylee’s room, beaming happily and feeling happier than she had since before she went to the Academy. She turned her head to look at Kaylee, lying next to her and sleeping peacefully while lightly snoring. Kaylee’s arm was draped across River’s chest, holding River’s body against her own. The two hadn’t bothered to pull any sheets over them, for the warmth of their bodies against each other was keeping away the cold. River then perked her ears up as faintly she could hear heavy footsteps stomping in their direction. She then realized it was the captain walking towards them and River could feel that his mood was not a friendly one in the least.

“Kaylee! Kaylee wake up!” River whispered in a panic.

“Hmm, what? What is it sweetie?” Kaylee replied, still in a sleep-induced haze.

“It’s the captain, he’s on his way here.”

Kaylee’s brain switched on and she sat bolt upright in bed, fearfully looking at River. Mere seconds after Kaylee awoke, there was a loud banging at the door, followed by Mal’s booming voice yelling, “Kaylee!” down to her.

“Uh, yes, captain? What is it?”

“Could you come up here please?”

Kaylee silently grimaced at these words and jumped out of bed, trying to get herself dressed as quickly and as silently as possible. Once she had gotten her clothes back on, Kaylee climbed up the ladder and into the hallway where Mal was waiting with his arms crossed over his chest, looking thoroughly displeased.

“So, what brings you by Cap’n?” Kaylee asked cheerfully, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

“I’ve been back near an hour now with the parts you needed and yet you’re still here in your bunk, lying about. Your job on this ship is to keep my boat running and running as smooth as possible; I can’t have you slacking off, especially when we’ve got important jobs to get to.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, sorry bout that Cap’n, I promise it won’t never happen again.” Kaylee replied, putting on an ashamed face but secretly jumping for joy inside as apparently she and River had managed to successfully evade being caught.

“That’s what I like to hear. Now go on, get to working. I’d like to lift off sometime before night falls.” Mal said, taking on a lighter, more gentle tone in order to put Kaylee at ease before pulling the rug out from under her.

Kaylee nodded and started off towards the engine room.

“Oh, wait, just one second Kaylee. Forgot to mention something to you,” Mal said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he walked over to the hatch of Kaylee’s bunk. “Oh, River?”

Kaylee froze in her tracks as the color immediately drained from her face. Meanwhile, down below, River had also been getting herself dressed and had a similar reaction to Mal’s words. Apprehensively, River shuffled over to the ladder and peaked up the hatch where she found Mal looking angrily down at her.

“Y-yes, sir?” River asked with her voice quaking in fear.

“While Kaylee works, you are to report to your quarters and remain there until we take off. I don’t want you two even near each other for the remainder of the day. Dong luh ma?”

“Yes sir, as you wish.” River whispered quietly, looking down at the floor guiltily. Mal rounded on Kaylee who was still standing frozen at the end of the corridor, shaking just a bit in fear.

“Well Kaylee, what are you waiting for? Go fix my engine.” Mal said waspishly as he walked past her towards the bridge. But Kaylee remained frozen for a few moments after he left, her lip quivering in fear and shame while down in Kaylee’s room, River sunk to the floor and leaned up against the ladder, once more getting the distinct impression she had brought great trouble onto Kaylee.

**********

Simon knew that he needed advice from someone. In the past if he’d had a situation, he’d have gone to Shepherd Book for guidance but now that the wise preacher was dead, Simon would have to look elsewhere for assistance. The captain was against relationships in general so he’d likely be little to no help. Zoë didn’t like having to open up about her relationship with Wash to anyone and since Simon had already gotten a bit out of her recently, he didn’t want to go back to Zoë so soon for fear of upsetting her. And the thought of Jayne being able to talk about feelings and relationships made Simon chuckle a bit to himself so he didn’t even bother with considering him.

So with no one left to turn to, Simon found himself outside of Inara’s shuttle, hoping that the beautiful Companion could give him some advice on how to deal with what he heard taking place between River and Kaylee. Simon knocked on the door and waited for Inara to answer, anxiously rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he waited. Finally Inara threw open the door and looked to be quite annoyed.

“Damnit Mal, I’ve already paid rent this month so—“

It was at this point that Inara noticed it wasn’t Mal outside but instead Simon, looking quite troubled.

“Oh, pardon me doctor, I thought it was the captain.” Inara said sheepishly, blushing a bit in embarrassment.

“Oh, yes, well that’s fine. Are you busy right now?” Simon asked, absent-mindedly running his hand through his hair.

“No, not at all. What do you need?”

“Well, I could use a little bit of relationship advice.”

‘Well sure Simon, come on in.”

Inara gave Simon a comforting smile and stepped aside to let Simon come in. Simon stepped past her and entered the shuttle, which Inara had once again adorned with her personal decorations now that she was part of the crew again. Simon sat down in one of the luxurious couches while Inara closed the door behind her.

“Would you like some tea or anything?”

“No, thank you.”

“Very well. So Simon, what’s on your mind?” Inara asked, settling herself down next to Simon.

“Well, something happened earlier regarding Kaylee and I’m not quite sure how to deal with it.”

“I take it you’re referring to the spat between the two of you in the engine room?”

“Oh no, not that. I’ve already come to terms with that and realized my mistake. No, this is something else that happened with Kaylee and I’m not quite sure what to do.”

“Well what was it? What happened?

“Um, well, I heard the two of them having sex in Kaylee’s bunk when I got back to the ship today.”

Like the reaction in the mess hall, a stunned silence followed this bit of news. Inara raised her eyes in surprise while Simon merely looked down at the carpet with his hands tangled in his hair, still a bit disbelieving of what he heard himself.

“Oh. Well, that certainly is surprising and I can’t say I blame you for being uncomfortable with it.”

“I’m just not sure what to do about it. I mean, I really like Kaylee and really care about her. I’ve never felt like this about anyone else. I remember when that bounty hunter Early was here, he blackmailed me into helping him by threatening Kaylee. I was ready to die to protect my sister but once he said he’d hurt Kaylee, I had no choice but to go along because I couldn’t let him harm her. I know I messed up and lost my head last night but the last thing I want to do is to lose her.”

“That’s completely understandable Simon. And it’s clear to see how much Kaylee means to you. What about River though?”

“Well she and I got into a bit of a spat earlier today about what happened last night and something she said has really stuck with me. I mean, she’s gone through so much in her life that she really deserves to be happy for once. And I want her to be happy and regain a sense of normalcy in her life. But I just don’t know if I can give up Kaylee for that. What do you think I should do Inara?”

“Well Simon,” Inara said, putting a comforting hand on Simon’s knee, “you certainly do have a big decision to make here. I mean it’s no secret how much River likes Kaylee. Anyone can see that Kaylee’s the one that River has bonded with the most since she got onto the ship. She smiles more with Kaylee than she does when she’s with anybody else here. So it’s really no surprise to me that River would harbor some more romantic feelings for Kaylee because of that.

I’m sure that River doesn’t mean any harm to you by it; nobody can control who they fall for in this world. River knows that you love her and knows that you can and have done everything you can for her. And I’m sure she also knows how important Kaylee is to you as well. The fact is, you both have been through a lot and you both deserve to be happy. However, I think you must remember that this is all very new for River. She’s never really had the opportunity to feel genuine desire for somebody. I know it’ll hurt to let Kaylee go but I think she is something you should let River have.”

Simon pondered Inara’s words for a few moments, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he weighed his options. Finally, Simon closed his eyes, took a deep breath and nodded a bit.

“I suppose you’re right. That’s probably what’s best for everyone. Yes, losing Kaylee will and does hurt but if she’s what will truly make my sister happy, then I should let her be happy. And I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that it’s someone who’s so sweet and wonderful like Kaylee who’s she’s interested in and not someone like Jayne.”

Inara burst out in laughter and Simon smiled a bit, feeling good about his decision.

“Thank you for listening, Inara. I really do appreciate it.” Simon said, getting to his feet.

“It was my pleasure Simon. Feel free to stop by anytime you need help with anything.” Inara replied, giving Simon a friendly hug. Simon then took a steadying breath and strode out of the shuttle.

**********

Alone in her bunk, River stared up at the ceiling, thinking about all that had happened today. Her emotions had been taken on a wild roller-coaster ride, experiencing joyous ecstasy and crushing sadness and wasn’t sure if she could take much more. As she lay in bed, all River could think about was Kaylee and the magical meeting between the two. River knew that she was going to make the captain see reason and that someday soon, she’d be back with Kaylee once more.

But then River’s thoughts turned to her brother and she cringed a bit. Getting the captain to at least tolerate River and Kaylee seeing each other would be a daunting effort but one she knew would succeed. However, telling Simon about the two of them and expecting him to understand and allow it to happen would be damn near impossible to do, especially after the fight they had in town today.

River was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t even realize that Mal was on his way to her bunk until he sharply knocked on the door to her bunk. River was immediately jolted back into the present and she sat bolt upright, startled by the knock.

“Who’s there?”

“You actually don’t know? Well, color me shocked.” Mal said from behind the door.

River rolled her eyes and got off her bed to open the door. River threw open the door harshly and walked back over to her bed without even greeting Mal. Mal raised his eyebrows in surprise to River’s demeanor and took his time walking into her room, sitting down on Simon’s bed while River sat across the room on her bed, glaring at Mal.

“Well, I can obviously tell that you’re not very excited to see me, but we really need to talk.” Mal said seriously.

“Really? I wasn’t aware that my personal life was any of your business.” River shot back harshly.

“When your personal life becomes a disturbance to my boat and my crew, then yeah, it does become my business.”

“How are we causing a disturbance? What problems could possibly arise out of me and Kaylee sleeping together?”

“What about your brother?”

River’s face fell a bit and her standoffish attitude withered away, replaced by one of fear. She started nervously twirling at her blanket with her finger as her eyes wandered away from Mal’s face.

“You’re not gonna tell him, are you?” River asked quietly.

“I don’t have to, he already knows. He was the one who told me after he heard you two going at it outside Kaylee’s door.”

River felt her body go numb as she hung her head and clapped her hands to her face in shame. The blow of Mal’s words knocked River for a loop and after a few moments of silence, Mal realized she wasn’t going to talk willingly about this so he pressed ahead.

“Now, I’m curious to know what exactly it was you were thinking about when you decided to do this with Kaylee. Because I’m pretty sure that the whole thing of her being your brother’s girlfriend wasn’t quite at the top of your head.”

“I was just thinking about what you told me last night on the bridge. About that I deserved to have good feelings in my life. You sounded like you wanted me to go after Kaylee and so I did.” River said timidly.

“I told you it was fine to have feelings for her! I didn’t expect that you would do more than just have feelings and actually go get all naked and sweaty with her. Had I known that you actually planned on acting on your crush, I wouldn’t have told you it was fine to have it.” Mal said loudly.

“Why not Mal?” River asked, trying to hold back tears. “Why can’t I have a little fun in my life? Why can’t I have a little love in my life? Don’t I deserve it? For once in my life, don’t I deserve to feel like a normal human girl? Is that so much to ask for? It isn’t for Kaylee.”

“No, but for myself it is and I’m willing to bet a lot that it will be for Simon too, especially considering that it is his love interest that you have taken a liking to.”

Before River could respond, there was another knock at the door and Mal and River turned to see Simon standing in the doorway. River groaned softly when she saw him because the only person in the ‘verse she wanted to talk to right now less than Mal was Simon. Simon stepped inside, trying to force a smile but seeing his sister in this much distress wouldn’t allow it to fully appear.

“I hope I’m not interrupting but I really need to talk to you River.”

Mal put his hands behind his head and relaxed back against the wall. Simon turned his gaze to him and tried to indicate that he wished for Mal to leave so he could speak to his sister in private.

“Oh hey, don’t mind me one bit. I’ll sit here real quiet-like and not bother you none.” Mal said cheerfully. Simon closed his eyes and shook his head at Mal, knowing that the captain had no intentions of leaving but decided it was something not worth fighting for so he instead turned his focus back to his sister who was trying very hard to avoid his gaze.”

“Listen River,” Simon said, placing a hand on River’s shoulder, “I’ve been giving a lot of thought about what you said earlier about you deserving to be happy. And I’ve decided that you’re right, you do deserve to be happy and I want to see my sister happy again. And if giving up the girl I like so my sister can have her will make her happy, well then I guess I’m just going to have to accept it. River, you have my permission and my blessing to see Kaylee.”

River’s eyes flew open in disbelieved shock, unable to process what her brother had just said. Mal couldn’t believe it either and his amazement was so great that he slipped and went toppling off of Simon’s bed to the floor below. River slowly looked up at Simon who was smiling warmly down at her.

“Really? You’d really do that for me?” River asked, breathless from surprise.

“Yes, mei-mei, really. No matter what, if it’ll make you happy then it’ll make me happy too.” Simon replied.

River threw her arms around her brother’s neck and hugged him tightly, sobbing ecstatically into his shoulder. As the two siblings embraced, Mal got back to his feet and dusted himself off.

“Well, it seems that once again it’s been proven that I don’t know a gorram thing about people. So River, I guess since it’s okay with your brother that I’m okay with it too. Just be careful and don’t go off breaking either of your hearts now. There’s been enough relationship drama around here recently and I’ve about had it up to here with it. So I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you. Both of you,” cried River through a flood of tears, the happiest ones she’d ever cried in her life.

**********

Kaylee sighed as she stepped under the hot spray of the showerhead. She had been at work on the engine for the past several hours and she was coated in grease and various fluids and her body ached from exertion. But the hot water soothed her aches as it cascaded down all over her naked body. It had been a long, exhausting day for Kaylee and she was ready for her bed so that it could finally be over with.

Normally when making repairs to Serenity, Kaylee would spend a great deal of time on it, making double and triple sure that everything was in tiptop working order before finishing. But today, Kaylee wasn’t quite as meticulous with her inspections as normal because she had something weighing heavier on her mind. The entire time she worked, all Kaylee could think about was River and getting to see her again once she had finished her jobs. But Kaylee had overworked herself and now her body desperately cried out for rest so it looked like she’d have to wait tomorrow to see River again.

As Kaylee began soaping up her body to rid it of all the grime, Kaylee’s mind once more came to River and the experience the two had together. She closed her eyes and smiled, thinking of getting to see River the next day and getting to hold her and kiss her once more. But as Kaylee was fantasizing about River, the soap bar squirted out of her hand and tumbled away behind her. Cursing to herself, Kaylee turned to retrieve her soap but when she turned around, she found River standing there, holding the soap and completely nude.

The two women silently stared at each other for a few moments, the only sound coming from the water pounding down around Kaylee. River then strode over to Kaylee and wrapped her in a hug, which Kaylee gladly returned. They then stayed locked in an embrace for several more moments, simply enjoying the warmth and love in the embrace. River tried to pull Kaylee in for a kiss but Kaylee resisted against it.

“No, River, we shouldn’t do that and you shouldn’t be here. We already been caught once today and I’m not fixing to get caught again,” Kaylee said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Let them catch us; I don’t care.” River purred seductively, trying once more to kiss Kaylee.

“But it might not be the captain this time; it might be Simon and seeing how he snapped about us kissing the first time, I can’t imagine he’d be too pleased about us kissing naked in the shower.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Simon says go.”

Confused, Kaylee asked, “What do you mean, ‘Simon says go?’”

“Simon says we can see each other. He knows what we did earlier and he’s the one who told the captain about it. But he told me that he wants me to be happy and said that if being with you would make me happy, he would allow it. And the captain is okay with it too.”

Kaylee felt her heart swell at this news as she laughed joyously while hugging River even tighter than before, picking her up and swinging her around. She then set River down and finally kissed her deeply, cupping River’s face in her calloused hands. River let her hands roam all over Kaylee’s slick body while they kissed exuberantly. Once they finally broke their kiss, the two stared deeply into each other’s eyes as sparks flew from them and they shone brightly.

“I love you, Kaylee,” River whispered softly.

“I love you too,” Kaylee replied, grinning from ear to ear.

The two then shared another tender kiss before Kaylee broke away and walked over to the door for the showers, making sure no one was around and then locking the door, making sure nobody would intrude on them this time.

FIN