Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns Firefly and these characters. Somewhere along the line he seems to have taken possession of my soul too.

Dialogue that start with a hyphen (-) is quoted directly from the show. When it's used, Simon is remembering things said in the past.

Simon's confused. Mal's confused. Not wait. I – I think maybe I'm confused.

Any ambiguity in this fanfic is entirely intentional.

* * * * * *

IF I EVER KILL YOU

-You don't know me, son. So let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed.-

Simon remembered Mal's every word, his every word, as though they had been spoken yesterday instead of more than two years ago. And as unsentimental as they were, they had been oddly reassuring. They had the ring of truth about them. In a 'verse full of liars and conmen, truth was a rare and precious commodity which Captain Reynolds had in spadefuls. So that day Mal's brutal, unashamed honesty had been like water in the desert for Simon. Here was a man who could be relied on to tell it like it was. Someone to believe in.

-You ain't weak, an' that's not nothin'.-

Simon couldn't help but smile at the memory of those words. Praise from a man as strong as Mal, and as sparing with words, was praise indeed. It sent a little flutter of pride and warmth running through him. Made his heart beat a little faster. Funny. He'd never been praised for anything other than his intellectual achievements by anyone before. In fact, his skill as a medic had always been rather taken for granted. Nothing to make a fuss about. His father had always assumed he would do well. He only commented on his son's progress when it fell below his expectations.

-You live by my rule, keep your sister from doing anything crazy, you could maybe find a place here.-

That was how he'd received his invitation, presented as a bald statement of fact, to join Serenity's crew. To become part of Mal's team. When it was offered, Simon took it out of simple necessity. But as