A/N: Ok, here is the penultimate part. I'm pretty fond of this chapter :) Comments, as always, are *cough*demanded*cough* welcome. This part references War stories and The Message, plus snaps to anyone who notices the lil R.Tam files reference. Ahem. What else. The last part is over double the length of any other chapter. It was originally two parts, but it went together so well as one big thing that I called it part Five A and Part Five B. In the end, the only place I could split it that was anywhere near the half way mark meant seperating two chapters that purposely flowed together, which would ruin the effect. So, you have a BIG juicy denoument to look forward to. :) *cough*comments*cough*

EDIT. IF WERE ONE OF THE FIRST 5 PEOPLE TO READ THIS THEN YOU PROBABLY MISSED THE ENDING FEW PARAGRAPHS, WHICH FOR SOME REASON DIDN'T POST. OOOPSIE.

Cup of Tea – Part Four

Kaylee’s hands shook as she poured the tea. She was listening carefully for his footsteps, so familiar to her after all these months. She was early, she knew, but she hadn’t been able to concentrate in the engine room all morning. She’d been able to hear River screaming and screaming all morning, and almost wished that Simon would be so preoccupied that he wouldn’t come today.

She hadn’t been able to face him or River that morning. No one knew that River had taken her gun and shot those men. No one had noticed anything amiss. But Kaylee couldn’t get the image of River face afterwards out of her head. And as much as she didn’t want to keep something like this from Simon, telling him that his sister was a killer, a methodical, deadly, killer, was even less appealing.

She heard his footsteps and her heart sank. Plastering a smile on her face, she placed the cups on the table and was taking her seat as he entered, looking exhausted. He fell on the tea wordlessly, drinking deeply from the mug. She watched him silently.

He sighed with satisfaction. “I needed that,” he told her, sounding, if possible, even more tired than