Author's Note: This little interlude was the byproduct of some fierce insomnia I had awhile back. Finally publishing it here. Comments and constructive criticism welcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own Serenity or Firefly – much to my chagrin. This story was written solely for entertainment purposes. No profit was made and blah blah blah and yadda yadda.
Interlude
by FuriousRose920
Kaylee Frye walked along the corridors of her beloved ship. She let her fingers drag over the handrails, feeling the worn metal under her hot skin. As she ambled toward the engine room , she watched her fellow crew members – her family – work diligently to get Serenity sailing the skies once more.
It had been more than a month since Serenity had crash landed on the small Satellite Planet. An epic battle against the Alliance and the Reavers had left Serenity and her crew torn up aplenty. The deaths of pilot Hoban Washburn and Shepard Book had left a hole in the hearts and minds of Serenity's wounded crew.
Everyone had thrown themselves into solitary jobs, hoping in vain to forget the tragic events of Miranda and the Satellite Planet. Many of the crew members passed like ships in the night, barely acknowledging each other's existence. Zoe was stoic as ever, silently grieving for the loss of her beloved Wash. Kaylee was worried. This was her family and she knew they just needed time to heal, but every day of waiting made it that much harder. Like Serenity herself, the inhabitants of the brave little transport ship would once again have to become whole, piece by piece. But just how long would it take?
River was already recovering from the event that had almost torn her apart from the inside out. The secrets that had invaded her mind and driven her mad had been freed on Miranda. She no longer heard the millions of silent voices screaming at her from the heartbreaking planet. She had diligently set to work on rewiring the many blown fuses located within Serenity's mainframe. Her unintelligible chatter was down to a minimum and even Jayne could understand her syntax – sometimes.
Passing by the Med Bay, Kaylee's thoughts turned to a certain doctor she had not allowed herself to think about as of late. Thinking of Simon Tam made Kaylee's stomach jump up to her heart and made her brain go all gaflooey. Every time she thought about Simon and his "my one regret in all this is never being with you" speech, Kaylee's heart beat a little faster. She secretly feared Simon had said all those things because he thought they wouldn't make it off the Satellite Planet alive. Well, they had made it through and she hadn't had so much as spoken to him after she was given a clean Bill of Health and allowed to return to work.
She understood that Simon might feel responsible for the deaths of Wash and Book. It was, after all, because of him that the Alliance had come after Serenity in hopes of capturing Simon and his crazy, renegade little sister. But Kaylee knew that no one blamed him or River
The secret of Miranda had to be told and given the chance to do it all over again, she knew her family would do what was right. But Simon had returned to the introverted ways he had embodies when he had first set foot on Serenity what seemed like a lifetime ago. Kaylee hoped he would come around. They had come too far to start over.
As Kaylee reached the door of the engine room, she stopped and took a breath. There, shirtless and shining with sweat, was Simon, removing the last of the shrapnel that had occupied the engine room since the crash. Because the ship was not fully powered, there was no airflow within her hull; Serenity was left to bake in the sun. Temperatures aboard the transport ship had been uncomfortable at best, but now Kaylee thanked every scorching degree for the sight of Simon's shirtless chest that lay before her.
Simon looked up from the large piece of metal he had just dislodged from the hull and caught Kaylee gazing at his half-naked form. It took her a moment to realize she had been caught and then quickly averted her gaze. She reached for her wrench, which was sitting by a nearby pile of scrap metal, and stepped further into the room, feigning the action of tightening a loose bolt.
She was closer to him now than she'd been in weeks, and she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. She knew he was looking at her and she was acutely aware of how intensely his eyes bore into her. Her entire body was buzzing from the intimate proximity of him. Kaylee took a deep, calming breath and turned to face him.
She found herself staring into Simon's deep blue eyes. Those eyes held a look she had never before seen emanate from the young doctor. Pure desire and need radiated from every part of his body. She as so close she could feel his breath on her lips.
"Kaylee, I -," Simon started to whisper.
"Shh," Kaylee cut off, putting a finger to his lips and shaking her head. She knew he would inevitably say something to ruin this moment, as he had done so often in the past. And nothing was going to much this up for her.
"Talk later," she breathed with finality.
As their lips hovered inched from each other, Kaylee's mind recalled all the fantasies she'd imagined about kissing Simon. She had envisioned them kissing slow and romantic, fast and full of want , and even sloppy and wet.
But no scenario she'd ever imagined came close to what it actually felt like when Simon captured her lips with his own. Time seemed to stop. Only timid at first, Simon soon deepened the kiss, probing her lips with the tip of his tongue, asking for more. With her heart racing, Kaylee parted her lips and invited him in, their tongues dancing in rhythm to a silent song,
As Simon took the wrench from Kaylee's hands and dropped it to the floor, Kaylee snaked her now-free arm around Simon's back and across his muscular shoulders, feeling the sinewy strength that resided beneath the surface. As he guided her to the floor she suddenly felt the ship come alive. Power had been restored. He body hummed in tune with Serenity. Her heartbeat kept time with the pulsing of the engine.
Simon explored her neck and shoulders with his gentle kisses and Kaylee smiled. Serenity was fixed. It had taken time, but piece by piece she was put back together. She would never be the same ship; she had been through too much. But she would come out stronger. She would protect the ones that counted on her most. She would fly again.
Kaylee returned her attention to the beautiful man leaving trails of kisses across her body. She breathed in the sweet smell of Simon and let all her fears go. Maybe she wasn't the same woman; she had been through too much. But she had come out stronger. She had and would continue to protect the ones that counted on her most. She was flying again.
-fin-