Note: Yeah, this one took friggin' forever. Between vacation and some medical woes, real life just totally ate my brain this month. I'll try and get the next chapter done in a more timely fashion. Hint: Feedback will help! ;P

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A few hours after they left Bayou, Kaylee entered her bunk, and quickly undressed and slipped on a short, light green silk nightgown and brushed her hair. Then she lay down on the bed, on top of the covers. She was tired, but remembering the sadness in Simon's eyes, and knowing that he needed her, was enough to keep her awake.

He arrived about ten minutes after her, and his face brightened immediately when he saw her waiting for him. "Hi." He said sofly, walking over and leaning down to kiss her.

"How's the patient?" Kaylee asked.

"She's no worse, at least." Simon replied with a sigh. "The medication I've got her on now should stop the seizures, hopefully until we get to Persephone. After that, it's out of my hands."

"And that's gettin' to ya, right?" Kaylee reached up and clutched his shoulders, pulling him down onto the bed. Kneeling behind him, she started rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "You still think you caused all this, so you gotta be the one to fix it."

"You heard what he said. The Alliance is going after people that we knew, to send us the message that we can't hide. If I had never met her, none of this would have happened. She would have been a lot better off."

"Or she'd be dead. Or in jail someplace." Kaylee paused and thought for a moment. "Nah, she was a spy. She'd be dead. Meetin' you got her out of that life. She's got a home now, and those cute little kids."

"And a big, half-witted ape of a husband who's cheating on her with her own sister." Simon added.

"Well, you really can't blame that on yourself." Kaylee scoffed. "And don'tcha think 'half-witted' is awful generous?"

Simon nodded, chuckling. "A man would have to be a special kind of stupid to step out on Penelope."

Kaylee's hands drif