Author's Notes: At a recent convention Jewel Staite (Kaylee) and Sean Maher (Simon) told an audience how they thought the second Serenity movie should open; with Kaylee pregnant and the ship crashing. I've taken their brief idea and expanded on it. And this story is the result.
Serenity 2: On the Edge
Prologue
The Present:
"You need to strap in, Kaylee!" Simon called over the roar of the overheating engine. Smoke filled his vision, and only by memorized knowledge of the room did he know exactly where Kaylee was working.
"I gotta fix this, Simon, or the ship's gonna explode."
"River can get us to –"
"Simon, bi zui!" Kaylee cried as she pushed her swollen belly against an unmoving piece of metal to get the leverage to turn the dial she needed to reach. "I need ta do this!"
Simon eyed her, and the way her belly was pressed close to very dangerous moving parts. "Kaylee, please. The baby."
"I'm thinkin' of my baby, Simon!" Kaylee hissed, sparing a look at him before she went to re-wire something Simon would never be able to recognize, much less help her fix.
"The baby inside you, Kaylee! Our baby!" Simon cried, wiping frantically at the beads of sweat that had begun to drop into his eyes.
River was pushing the ship to its limits and Kaylee had cut off a lot of non-essential systems to give her the power that she needed, including the climate control that would have absorbed the excess heat from the engine.
"Simon, you gotta go back and strap in."
"I'm not leaving," he said stubbornly, his voice dropping as he made his stance.
Kaylee looked up at him, her face damp with perspiration and held out her hand.
Their eyes locked, overwhelming, silencing emotion blossomed, charging the air between them and the tension that had been building over the last few months instantly melted away. And as he reached for the hand she offered him, for a moment, time stood still –
– And then lurched forward again with a sharp jolt as the explosion behind Kaylee hurled her against Simon's chest and knocked them both to the deck.
TBC