A.N. Just a little angst to hold you over till I finish the next long story I’m working on. Something with plot. Can you imagine? This has no plot. Only angst.

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Kaylee slumped half-asleep on the side bed of the Infirmary, Simon resting wearily against her, breathing in rhythm. River was unconscious in the center bed, pale, fevered, and beyond help. Every now and then, her body would tense with seizure or stroke, but there was no point in moving. Simon had reduced the frequency of the attacks, but there was no way for him to stop it. They’d taken too much of her brain. Too much of her life. Despite all his efforts, Simon was watching his sister die.

Mal had directed the ship for a hard burn to the nearest hospital, but getting River inside would hardly be easy, nor would explaining her condition. Kaylee felt guilty for not telling Simon at the first sign of trouble, but the sign looked no different than any other day with River. A persistent tremor. That was it. She’d noticed when they were cleaning dishes after dinner, but River didn’t say anything and Kaylee had been anxious to get Simon alone for the evening.

Kaylee felt a tear hit her arm and she hugged Simon to her all the tighter. They’d been making love when it happened, and loudly so. If they hadn’t been so loud, maybe they’d have heard her fall off the bed. Had she cried for help? Kaylee kept telling herself she didn’t, just to convince herself there was nothing they could’ve done differently.

“We’ll get there,” Kaylee whispered softly. “She’s gonna make it, and you’re gonna think of somethin’ brilliant, and everything will be back the way it was.”

“Kaylee, you hated the way it was.”

“I never said that.” Not exactly, at least. She’d spoken to Simon about the late night intrusions of River and confessed her jealousy. Simon had promised to make it up to her, and she’d waited and waited to see how, but still there was nothing different. That morning, she’d decided to end it with Simon, but she never got a chance to tell him.

“Y