A/N: Hello all!

While I am putting the finishing touches on some longer stories, I thought I'd post a one-off I've had finished for a while now.

This takes place during the movie, while the crew is on Haven immediately following River's bar fight on Beaumonde. As I love Simon and Kaylee, that's what this little story focuses on ... just my description of a scene that could have been.

Thanks to Leiasky for the beta - many, many moons ago - and all the encouragement. You rock my friend!

Oh - and don't forget to comment ... You know you wanna!

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Sustenance

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It was nice to be among friends, Kaylee always felt that. Even when they were sailing in the black with nothing but each other, Kaylee always felt a sense of comfort knowing that she was surrounded by good people, good friends, good crew.

But even the relative comfort and safety of Haven could not stymie her fears tonight. So, giving her apologies to some of the miners and checking out with the captain, Kaylee had prepared a heaping plate of extra food to take back on board to Simon and River.

Simon had refused to leave the ship – well, more accurately, he had refused to leave his sister’s side. Kaylee knew it was paining him to see her, trussed up like some animal, unable to interact with them, unable to move about of her own will. And while Kaylee would have liked to tell the captain exactly what she thought of his treatment of River, she knew that it would be a lie. A lie told to bolster Simon’s feelings, but a lie of what she truly felt was right. The truth was, based on the feed she’d seen from the Maidenhead, River was more than unpredictable, she was truly dangerous, and while Kaylee did not honestly believe she would knowingly hurt her or the rest of the crew, Kaylee also wasn’t so sure that River was fully aware of her actions – knowing may never enter into it.

Returning to the ship, she headed straight for the galley, guessing she would still find Simon there, and she was right. He was sitting,