A/N: I hope you all are enjoying this story as it continues to build. If I haven't mentioned it before, it has about 33 angst-filled chapters and a fairly long epilogue that should tie up any loose ends.

Thanks again to Leiasky for the beta.

Please continue to read and respond, it helps me know if I'm on the right track!

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A NEW DAY, ch. 3: Family Ties

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“Daddy, can I talk to you?”

Simon looked up from his text, another one on pregnancy and multiple births, to regard his daughter’s small face. Smiling to her, he waved her towards him and answered, “Of course, sweetheart. What is it?”

Crawling up and into his lap, Rylee sat with her hands folded in front of her, a very puzzled expression gracing her young features. Smiling at her still, Simon ran a hand through her hair and waited for her to collect her thoughts; he knew she would.

“Daddy?” She looked up to him again with those big brown eyes and Simon felt his heart stop for a second. She was his beautiful baby girl and like any loving father, the minute she called him ‘daddy,’ he was a goner. “Why’s everybody so mad?”

Simon’s breath caught in his throat as he remembered a day, long ago, when Kaylee had uttered almost those exact same words. Shaking the memory away, he met her steady gaze and asked, “What do you mean, Ry?”

Sighing a bit at having to explain herself, Rylee held up one hand and started listing all the cases she could think of. “Well, aunt River’s mad, at you, I think, and you’re mad at her. Mama’s not mad, she’s just really sad all the time and kind of scared and uncle Jayne – he’s always mad at somethin’.”

Simon chuckled a bit at her assessment of her uncle, agreeing wholeheartedly, but his mind quickly drifted to what she’d said about Kaylee and taking her face in his hands, he asked quietly, “What do you mean mama’s scared? Do you know something, sweetheart?”

With even wider eyes, Rylee looked him in the face and shook her head quickly. Not wanting to alarm her, Simon droppe