Title: Afterlife Parts I & II (Will be ten altogether)

Not Mine: All the characters and little plot references belong to Joss and Co...

Setting: Takes place after the movie.(Some spoilers).Everyone tries to find their own way to move on.

I

Serenity’s rotating engine hummed and thumped in a comforting rhythm that had become as familiar to Kaylee as her own heartbeat. With her eyes still closed, she smiled warmly as she hovered in that glorious place between asleep and awake, when dreams are at their most vivid. She stretched her slender form beneath the tattered, quilted blanket. Her bare leg brushed against his and she savored the sensation. She slowly opened her clover and almond eyes to focus on the sleeping form of Simon Tam, his handsome face inches from hers.

Side by side they were unceremoniously sprawled out on a makeshift bed on the engine room floor. She took advantage of the stolen moment to lovingly glance over him, from his sleep tousled black hair and strong jaw line , to the way his cheek was pressed into the blanket beneath them.The circumstances that had kept them apart were banished now, their reasons seeming so small compared to the scheme of things. Compared to what they had all been through in the weeks past.

She was truly happy, but those who knew her would say she’d always been happy. This was different, she was in love, and the feeling confused her terribly. She felt a guilt beyond what she’d ever known. She had no right to be happy, now that everything had fallen apart. Now that Book and Wash were gone. Not for the first time since their deaths she began to cry.

She rolled over to turn away from Simon, not wanting to wake him. Her tears slipped down her full cheeks and she lifted the back of her hand to wipe them away as she sniffled softly.

A gentle arm wrapped over her bare shoulder and Simon pulled her to him in a warm embrace. He lowered his lips into her honey gold hair and breathed her in. His warm breath on her ear sent chills do