Part 2

“Do you think she’s a reader?” Mal whispered to Simon, not letting his eyes leave the girl.

“I’m not psychic”, the girl stated directly, “Simon and I grew up with each other. But he doesn’t seem to remember me.”

“Oh my God… Amanda?” Simon’s face flushed instantly.

“What happened to you? Who did this to you? Where are your parents? Your brother?

“They were all killed…by Alliance. The only reason I survived was due to the fact that a lieutenant took a liking to me.”

Both Simon and Mal stood with their mouths hanging open.

“They were looking for you, Simon. They thought we knew something. We obviously didn’t but..”

Till this point, Amanda hadn’t shown any emotion. She put her hands to her face and began to sob quietly.

“I…I haven’t spoken about them in such a long time…it was horrible…they….they made us watch while they tortured Dad…they…” Simon put his arms around her. She was shaking so much that the tray of instruments next to the bed rattled. He looked up at Mal with defeat in his eyes. He never thought they would go after his past. He never thought that people that he hadn’t even seen in years would be affected by his decision to save his sister. A decision that he thought would only affect the two of them.

Mal motioned with his head that he needed to speak to Simon and now.

“I’m going to give you something that will give you a dreamless sleep.

This hiss of the injection filled the room and Amanda reluctantly closed her eyes.

**** Mal had congregated the crew in the mess. He had briefed them on what he knew but then again he didn’t even really know what he knew.

“Alright Simon. You wanna tell me what in the hell is going on or is this going to another one of your fun guessing games. I might want to add that I am in no mood to play any games.”

River rolled her eyes and laid her head on her arms. She already knew what was going to be said so she felt she didn’t need to pay complete attention…although Mal sometimes like to throw curve balls into her clairvoyance.

Simon sat next to Kaylee, their hands so close you could feel the body heat but not touching. He smiled at her and than began speaking slowly.

“When River and I were growing up, we didn’t have that many friends. Yes, we had the appropriate family friends that would in some way or another boost our status in the community but no one we would tell secrets to. That is why River and I began to depend on each other, not only as brother and sister but also as best friends.”

Kaylee smiled at this. She knew the closeness of the Tam’s and that didn’t bother her but she couldn’t ignore the fact that a little jealously had crept into her. She had never had to deal with another girl before, well one that wasn’t related, and she never thought Simon’s past would end up on her Serenity.

“Summers were spent at our family lake. Across the water, there was another summer house. The Downs’ house mirrored our family exactly. A successful father, a loving mother, a very smart sister, and an ever smarter brother. Amanda was older than her brother, Sam. Both matched River and my ages perfectly, Amanda being a couple months younger than me. To say the least, we all grew up together. Summer’s were looked forward to and Autumn was hated.”

Jayne’s cough woke Simon from his nostalgia. Everyone was sincerely interested but him.

“Sorry…anyway, when I left for Med academy and Mandy left for graduate school, we both promised that we would be there for each other forever and we would always find a way to keep in touch.” A smile swept across Simon’s face. “We even made this pact that if we didn’t find someone by the time it was appropriate, we would marry each other.”

Kaylee’s smile immediately faded into sadness. Only Inara caught on.

“I just wanted to explain how and why we know each other so you would fully understand what I am about to tell you.”

Simon sighed heavily and continued, not moving his eyes from the table.

“When I broke River out, I gave up everything. My family, my money, my friends, my standing….everything.”

“This is all sweet and everything, but do we have to be reminded everyday how great you were?” Jayne asked, a smug smile on his face.

“Jayne has a point. Please continue without all the pats on the back”, Mal directed to Simon and settled back in his chair.

Simon didn’t even let this phase him. He was in some sort of a zone.

“I never thought about repercussions. I never thought that more people would be affected other than River and I.”

Tears began to well up in his eyes. Kaylee grabbed for his hand but then reconsidered. At this point she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

“The alliance came to their house. Tortured and killed her family, all the while making her watch. Never in my wildest dream did I think a human being could do something this horrific, to so many people.”

It stopped there. That was all he knew and he was afraid they would ask questions now. The last thing he needed was jokes or comments…especially from Jayne. Simon clenched his fist in anticipation of Jayne opening his mouth. If he did, Simon was ready to pounce. Damn the consequences. Getting punched in the face had to feel better than what he was feeling right now.

No one said anything for a while. It was almost as if Simon had personally walked up to each of them and slapped them.

“So let me understand this, son”, Book spoke up, “The Alliance killed friends of your family in hopes of getting to you and your sister?”

Simon could only shake his head yes. He was afraid that if he were to open his mouth, the whole lot of them would see what he had for lunch.

Mal stood to walk away. “Once she wakes up. I want you to tell me. I need to talk to her…alone.” At that, he turned and walked towards the bridge.

Everyone started to depart, leaving Simon sitting there alone.

Kaylee hesitated leaving but decided it was best to leave him for now. That was until Simon grabbed her hand. When Kaylee turned back around, Simon’s face was streaked with tears. He said nothing but she could tell what was going on by the look in his eyes. She sat back down and gathered him in her arms and slowly rocked.

“Kaylee? There is so much I want to tell you. Now doesn’t seem the time but I’m afraid that I may never get the chance, especially now.”

“What are you talking about? Your not leaving…River isn’t leaving either. Captain will figure something out, he always does.”

“You don’t understand. I knew I had put everyone here in danger but I guess I never let myself fully understand to what extent. People have died. People that I have known longer than myself. You are my family and love each and everyone one of you more than you know and if I ever put any of you in danger, I don’t know what I would do.”

Kaylee’s eyebrow lifted and a smile escaped her lips. “Even Jayne?”

“Well, no not really, but I didn’t want to leave him out.” Simon couldn’t help but smile too. Kaylee had a way of making him feel better. Even when his life was turned completely upside down. Kaylee made the sun shine on the stormiest of days.

“You should check on your patient and I will check on my girl.”

“Your right. Please come and see me in a little while. There is more I would like to tell you.”

Kaylee had made it to the steps leading out the door.

“I surely will…oh, and Simon?”

“Yes?”

“I love you too.” With that she turned and walked away. A little more hop in her step.

She got it. She always got it. At first glance, Kaylee didn’t seem the brightest star in the ‘verse but she didn’t have to be. Kaylee was her own solar system. She had her own bank of stars.

**** Simon hadn’t left the infirmary since he had gotten back from the dining area. Although his movements were still precise, something had changed in him.

She knew.

Although he didn’t know what the next step would be, the hardest part was over.

She knew.

Simon smiled to himself, prepping more medication.

She knew.

**** “Sir?”

Zoe and Mal stood on the bank of steps near the second shuttle.

“I’m not saying I think this is what is exactly going on but I have definite feeling. If it’s what I think it is, Simon won’t give her up, which in the end could mean lots of fighting. I just want you to be prepared.”

“But we won’t know exactly what is going to happen until we reach Muir…right?”

Zoe had a way of questioning the Captain even when he didn’t realize it. “What if we opened the rest of crates? What if we checked?”

“If we did that, we wouldn’t have enough food to feed the crew plus the twenty people laying in there sleeping. It’s best just to speak to Amanda to see if she knew exactly what or who she was being shipped to.” Mal was now using the railing to support his weight.

Nothing in the gorram universe could ever go his way.

**** Although Simon had promised Amanda that there wouldn’t be any dreams, no amount of anything could suppress the things that she had gone through in the last year.

She had watched her family killed in ways that would give the strongest man alive nightmares.

She had been brutalized in every way possible. Traded like tomatoes at market and whipped till it didn’t hurt anymore.

The only thing that kept her going was her promise. The promise she made so many years ago. She was only a girl then. She thought she had experienced the worlds and all that they had to offer. But she had been blindfolded to the bad. She was kept from seeing the truth and now instead of seeing it, she was living it, experiencing it, tasting it. She would give anything to be that dense about life again. Even if it meant breaking the promise she had made so many years ago.

**** When Amanda opened her eyes, it took a little while for the room to come into focus. She immediately remembered where she was.

Simon’s back was turned to her and he hadn’t noticed that she was awake. He was focused on whatever he was doing but she could tell he had changed. He had gotten older but not in the distinguished way she was used to seeing. It looked as if he carried the universe on his back. She didn’t know how true that really was.

“Well, I see our patient is up again.”

Mal had entered the room stealth like. Or maybe it was the fact the Simon was daydreaming about things he would rather not speak about.

“Oh!” Simon responded in surprise, grabbing for his stethoscope.

“Why don’t you check to make sure everything thing is ok and then Amanda and I can have a talk.”

“Sure”, Simon said letting more reluctance on than he wanted to.

Simon finished up and left the room, closing the doors behind him.

Amanda smiled at Mal. He was handsome in the rough neck sort of way. She could tell from his tanned skin that he was probably brought up where you are in the sun all day. Totally different from the pale pansy sort of boys that her mother tried to get her to marry.

Mal sat next to the bed on the stool. She could tell he didn’t know exactly where to put his hands but he found a spot between his legs on the stool.

“How you feeling?” Mal asked trying to start off the conversation.

“Like I have been curled up in a box for a week”, Amanda stated jokenly.

Mal couldn’t hide his smile. He could she was a strong girl. Not sure if the strongness came from childhood or what she had been put through in the last couple years.

“I’m Captain Malcolm Reynolds and this is my ship, Serenity.”

“I’m Amanda but you can call me Mandy.”

Mal could tell that gaining trust with this girl was not going to be easy. He decided to start off slow and ease into the questioning.

“You can call me Mal.”

**** An hour later Mal exited the infirmary.

Everyone of the crew had stopped and sat with Simon to help his wait go by faster. When Mal came out, Simon rose to stand next to Zoe.

“Would you please make sure she’s as comfortable as possible. Maybe have Book fix her something to eat,” Mal said, his gaze not leaving Simon until he passed back into the infirmary.

Mal looked at Zoe and gave her the “I was right and you better get your guns ready” look that Mal had perfected.

“Yes, Sir.”

TBC