LIMELIGHT: Chapter 11

LIMELIGHT: Chapter 11

Rating: R

References to sexual assault

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The next time River awoke she could barely see anything. Her eyes had almost fully swollen shut. The only relief she felt was from where her bare cheek touched the cool, dirt floor, helping to lessen the burning in her skin as her body started to fight off infection.

There was also nothing to hear. The music she had passed out to before was gone, replaced with the soft whimpers of pain and fear and the sound of women sleeping, but these noises were far too faint for River, in her current condition, to make out.

Risking the pain that movement would cause, River shifted slightly, slowly until she was facing the next cell and she was not at all surprised to make out Malena's blurry form regarding her steadily.

"I figured you'd be too stubborn to die," she whispered, her voice harsh with pain. She was slumped against the bars, as if the cold metal was the only thing keeping her upright. "At least you can move now."

Clearing her throat, it took River several moments to work up enough saliva to speak. "I wish I couldn't," she rasped, causing a small grin to grace Malena's face. Fighting the pain in her head and limbs, River sat up slowly, closing her eyes as the room began to spin. Nausea welling in her gut, she vomited a few times, before turning back to Malena with a watery smile. "They're coming for us," she told her friend, reaching out a shaky hand to grasp at hers.

Shaking her head sadly, Malena told her, "River, you got hit in the head one too many times. No one is coming for us."

Smiling, despite the stab of pain it caused, River repeated, "They're coming."

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Using all the credits he had, Simon rented a hovercar to get him and Kaylee back to the darkened apartment. She had not stirred since he'd taken her from the room and Simon kept himself from panicking by checking her pulse, which was steady, every few seconds. He'd wrapped his jacket around her still shaking form and held her in his lap as the car sped along, ignoring the curious looks from the driver.

As he entered the apartment and locked the door behind him, he carried her back to River's bedroom where they had been staying and gently laid her on the bed. Checking to be sure she was as comfortable as possible, Simon rushed to the bathroom and gathered all the supplies he could find, reaching for his med kit in the process as well. Filling up a bowl with warm water, he dug out a wash cloth from under the sink and made it back to Kaylee's side in record time.

He stopped short in the doorway, surprised to find that she had shifted positions, curling up against the headboard, his coat wrapped tight around her as she continued to shiver and cry silent tears. Putting down the supplies on the bedside table, Simon turned on the lamp, casting a warm light in the room that made Kaylee flinch. "Turn it off," she murmured hoarsely.

Puzzled, Simon did as she asked. "Why?"

"Don't want ya t'see," came her harsh reply and Simon felt his heart pound against his ribcage. Moving closer to her, he stopped as she curled in tighter to herself.

"Kaylee?" he asked, his voice gentle and soothing. "Kaylee, I need to treat your wounds. I need to …" he trailed off, unable to finish the statement.

So Kaylee did it for him. "He didn't, Simon," she said, her voice emotionless. "He almost did, but he din't." Looking to him, her big eyes still full of fear, she murmured, "You stopped 'im."

Feeling his own eyes burn with emotion, Simon murmured, "I'm so sorry, Kaylee. I never should have-"

"It's my fault," she said, her voice still toneless. "I thought I could do it. I thought I could handle a man like that." Looking to him again, she murmured, "It was my fault."

Simon risked edging closer again and she didn't pull away from him this time. "No, Kaylee, it's not. No man has the right to touch a woman that way," he told her, his voice a bit sharper than he'd intended as his anger and disgust showed through.

"He thought he owned me," Kaylee choked out, her voice thick with tears. "He thought …" With big, wide eyes that were full of tears, she told him, "He hurt me."

Nodding once, Simon swallowed hard and said softly, "I know. But I won't let anything like that happen, ever again." Reaching out he took one of her bruised hands in his and kissed it gently. "I promise."

Kaylee did not move any closer to him, only cried more, finally pulling her hand from his grasp so she could bury her face in them. She winced as her hand came in contact with her swollen cheek. Reaching for the bowl of water and the rag, Simon told her, "Kaylee, bao bei, I really need to clean that. Please?"

She looked to him and nodded slightly, sliding towards him a bit. She was still shaking and Simon watched as she tried to keep herself covered in what was left of her dress. As he dabbed at the wound on her forehead he asked softly, "Do you want to change? I can get you some pajamas."

She nodded once, having lost the will and the energy to speak. Simon finished dabbing at the cut to leave and get her a change of clothes, the night clothes she had packed, but didn't sleep in, normally choosing to wear his instead.

Handing them to her, he said softly, "I'll leave you to change." As he turned to go, her voice stopped him. "Simon?"

Swallowing thickly and trying to control his own emotions, he turned back to her as she said, "It hurts too much."

Moving back to her side, he asked her, "Do you want my help?" He normally wouldn't hesitate but after the way she'd been violated, he didn't want to assume anything.

And Kaylee knew it. Reaching up, she placed a shaky hand to his face and said softly, "I ain't afraid o' you, sweetie." Her eyes filled with more tears as she said, "I jus' … I …" She broke off again as more tears came and Simon reached up gently to run a hand down her uninjured cheek.

Releasing a huge breath, Simon murmured again, "I am so sorry, Kaylee."

"It weren't your fault, Simon. Please don't say that," she sobbed, her emotions again overwhelming her. "I shoulda been stronger."

Shaking his head, Simon told her, "Kaylee, you are strong and brave and unbelievably amazing. I don't know how I-"

Pressing a finger to his mouth, Kaylee told him, "Don't, Simon, don't blame yourself, please."

He held her gaze for a minute more and then Kaylee slowly shrugged out of his jacket, every part of her aching as she moved. Simon helped her, his hands gentle, his touch light. Kaylee shivered a few times, but it was more from the cold and memory than from fear. Simon's hands were so different from Creighton's she could not equate the two in her mind.

As he helped her with her dress, Simon gave her a blanket to cover up with while he treated the large welts and bruises that the man's belt had left behind. Kaylee turned onto her stomach for him so he had easier access, sobbing silent tears into the pillow until it was soaked through. Moving the antiseptic and the warm cloth over each damaged piece of skin only made Simon angrier. As he exposed more of Kaylee's injuries he wished vehemently that he had killed that son of a bitch.

Trying to stifle his growing anger and focus on Kaylee, what she needed, what she needed from him, Simon asked her to roll over. She did so willingly and in the dim light that she had allowed him to turn on, he saw the large purple bruise on the inside of her thigh. Choking back his anguish as he realized he'd almost been too late, Simon's fingers ghosted over the mark and Kaylee flinched at the contact.

As if he'd been shocked, Simon snapped his hand away, feeling like a monster for causing her reaction. Kaylee, more tears in her eyes, knew that Simon would berate himself and she rose slowly and with difficulty to reach for his hand. As he brought his eyes back to her face, she murmured, "Jus' give me some time, 'kay?"

"All the time in the world, bao bei," he told her softly, his hand to her face. "I'm sorry."

"You're jus' tryin' to help, I know that," she reminded him. He nodded once, reaching towards her again to finish cleaning and dressing the gash on her forehead and then dab at the other welts on her chest.

As she looked to the pajamas he'd handed her, she frowned at him and said, "These ain't yours."

Smiling lightly, he told her, "No, they're yours."

Handing them back to him, she shook her head and said, "You know, I don't sleep in 'em no more."

With a slight sigh, Simon traded out her pajamas for his sweatpants and t-shirt. As he helped her into them, Kaylee shedding her bra once he'd slipped the worn material over her head, he asked, "Better?"

"Much," she told him, smiling for the first time in hours. Holding each others' gazes for a moment, Simon leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. "Come on," he whispered. "Under the covers."

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her, pulling back the sheets with one hand and replacing her under the warm blankets. Pulling them up to her chin, he sat beside her for a moment, noticing how her eyes were filling with more tears. Placing another kiss into her hair, he told her, "I'll be right out in the living room if you need me." He wanted to stay with her, hold her, reassure her that she was again safe, but he couldn't presume that she would be all right with that kind of intimacy right now, no matter how loving or benign it may be.

Reaching for his hand, Kaylee told him, "No, don't leave me please. I don't wanna be alone."

Frowning, Simon gently took her hand from his and rested it back atop her blankets. "Are you sure?"

Nodding, Kaylee's cheeks were again wet with tears as she said, "Please, Simon, I jus' want ya to hold me," she finished in a breathless whisper, closing her eyes tight as more tears leaked down her face.

Running a hand through her hair, Simon thought for another moment, before she reopened her eyes to him and whispered once more, "Please."

Simon smiled softly to her and nodded once. Kicking off his shoes, he circled around to the other side of the bed and slipped under the covers with her fully clothed. When she frowned at him slightly, he relented, removing his shirt, even as he kept his pants on. "Happy?" he asked lightly as he again slid in beside her.

Curling into his chest even as her body protested the movement, Kaylee felt herself relax at his touch, at the feel of his warm skin under her cheek. "Better," she murmured, feeling the pull of sleep almost instantly, the adrenaline that had been pumping in her blood having receded to leave only fatigue in its wake.

Snuggling up tighter to him, Kaylee whispered, "Don't go no where, 'kay?"

"Never again, Kaylee," he whispered back, pressing another kiss into her hair, his arm loosely around her shoulders. "Never again."

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