River spun around the cargo bay, arms wide, brown hair flying out around her. Her eyes were closed and a wistful smile lit her face as she danced to the silent music.
Simon watched her from the catwalk, and tried to imagine what she was thinking. She had always been so open, he had always been able to read the emotions on her young face. But now?
Emotions still played out on her face, but they were so complex and so extreme that she sometimes looked like a stranger. He worried about her constantly, he couldn't help it. Was she happy? Would she ever be safe? Healed? Free from the nightmares? He knew he wasn't doing enough, but he didn't know what else he could do.
"Worry wart," River called up to him.
Simon smiled.
"The crazy girl is healing," she continued, still flowing around the bay. "And the worry wart needs to relax." She twisted gracefully toward the stairs, toward her well meaning boob of a brother. "Dance?"
He met her at the bottom step and she took his hand, humming a tune that he vaguely recognized.
"Momma used to sing her babies to sleep. Roving gypsies. Love and family."
He followed her to the center of the bay and watched her spin around him for a moment. Then he placed his free hand on her waist and they moved off together, waltzing half-remembered steps from the dance classes that Simon had hated and River had loved. She had made him practice with her for hours, insisting that some day he would need to impress some lucky girl. As with everything, he couldn't say no.
River stopped humming after a while and they drifted along together, lost in common memories, dancing instinctively. It seemed like hours, seconds, before River's misstep broke Simon out of the past. He opened his eyes as she pulled away from him gently.
"Worry wart needs to impress a lucky girl," she whispered. He followed her gaze to the doorway of the common room and saw Kaylee standing, almost shyly, watching him.
He held out his hand to her and she smiled.
"May I have this dance, Miss Frye?" he asked.
They didn't notice River slip away, eyes closed, wistful smile lighting her face.