Ch 8

Simon had always had a tendency to brood when he didn’t like the way things were going. His mother always told him that he did this because he was shy. She said she wished he’d talk more about his problems with other people instead of letting them bottle up inside. Sitting on the couch outside of Serenity’s infirmary, Simon felt like cursing her advice just to spite her. It was half her fault that he was in this mess. If she had just believed him, if she had just gotten River home….

Then there was a part of him that wondered how different things really would be if Regan and Gabriel Tam had pulled River out of the Academy when Simon showed them the letters. Would the Alliance have let them? Probably not. Simon would have probably still had to venture into the blackout zone. He would have probably still spent a fortune getting his sister back. Or maybe his parents would have done it, and Simon would be stuck on Osiris, forced to continue working at the hospital as if he didn’t know what was going on.

Or perhaps they would have sent River back, but she would still have been damaged. His parents wouldn’t have known what to do. They would have tired to reason with her. They’d become frustrated. It would drive them away from River, away from each other. Maybe they’d even try to push Simon away from her, leave her in the care of servants, or send her away.

Sighing, Simon rubbing his aching forehead. As much as he hated to admit it, his mother was right. Brooding never had done him any good.

“Good afternoon,” he heard Kaylee say. Simon turned towards her voice to find her walking towards him, a protein-filled plate in each hand. She smiled and sat down on the couch next to him. “Brought some food for ya.” She handed him the plate.

“I…thank you,” Simon said, balancing it on his lap. “I… I just realized that I haven’t eaten yet today.”

“Lucky for you, protein is ‘bout as good a cure for hunger as you can find in the ‘verse, even if the taste is, well, a bit bland,” Kaylee said, taking a bi