Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon.

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It was a rare silent night aboard Serenity. The corridors were empty, the lights were dimmed, even the hum of the engine was barely audible. The crew members were all sleeping peacefully. All save for Simon, in any case.

Simon lay awake in his quarters, staring up at the ceiling. He’d only just put River back to sleep after a nightmare and he couldn’t get back to sleep himself. There were too many thoughts crowding his mind, too many memories from the day before.

He’d gone and blown it with Kaylee again. He’d said something before thinking it through and he’d hurt her. It was really becoming a habit and he hated it. He wished he could just keep a civil tongue around her like he did around everyone else.

But the truth was that she just wasn’t like anyone else. She was so much more than anyone else Simon knew. She took his breath away. She was the only one he’d ever encountered that could render him speechless and thoughtless. She was a whole other kind of amazing to him.

Simon sighed lightly and sat up. He couldn’t let Kaylee wallow in any kind of hurt. He had to find her, had to apologize. He wanted to sit with her, look her in the eyes and tell her he was sorry for all the hurt he’d caused her, not just earlier on that day but in the past. He knew it was just a thing of his thoughts, though. Some kind of a brilliant dream. He could never work up the courage to reach out and touch her, gently cup her cheek as he spoke, use his words like he was used to using them. He knew he could never kiss her like he so desperately wanted to.

The young doctor stood from his bed and reached to the nearby chair, picking up his sweater and shaking it out a little before slipping it on over his head. He found his shoes quickly enough and slipped his feet into them, already heading towards the door.

Slipping out into the corridor, Simon walked along the halls towards the galley. The light