Chapter Four: Sleep and Other Nocturnal Adventures

Soundtrack suggestions: "Night Visiting Song" – Kate Rusby, "Because the Night" – 10,000 Maniacs

Simon had finished neatly organizing the rolls of medical tape and was moving to turn off the lights when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around. It was Kate. "Sorry to startle you," she said in her pleasantly accented voice.

"Oh, no, you didn't…"

"I just… I can't find my sister. I was wondering if you could help me find her."

"You can't find her?" Simon asked. The girl couldn't walk; how far could she have gotten?

"No. Last I knew she was with your sister. But, like the spider she compares herself to, she is good at hiding."

Simon shook his head. "Probably not as well as you think. I bet I can find her."

He switched off the lights and closed the doors. Kate following, he moved to the passenger bunks and went to the one where River usually slept. He slid the door open.

At first, they could see nothing. Then Simon recognized the shape of the box containing the Shepherd's gifts on the floor; it was apparently empty. Simon stepped carefully into the bunk. River was fast asleep on the bed, lying on her side, her mouth slightly open, her face peaceful. Her arm was around Nona, who was lying on her back, her face towards the ceiling. As Simon watched, the younger girl opened her eyes and smiled a little blearily at him. He returned the smile and she faded back into sleep. "She's in here," he whispered to Kate, who stood at the door.

He realized as he turned to face Kate that Nona was wearing every article of jewelry the Shepherd had sent. He smiled broadly.

"Is she… asleep?" Kate whispered in reply.

He nodded as he stepped towards her. He knelt and picked up the Shepherd's box. With one last glance at the two sleeping girls, he exited the bunk and slid the door shut behind him.

Kate looked at him quizzically. "What?" Simon asked.

"Are you going to leave her there?"

"She's asleep, they're both asleep, and I don't see any reason to move them."

"Your sister…?"

"She told you she can be trusted, albeit in her own twisted way. I doubt she's going to harm Noelle."

Kate was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "You seem like a proper fellow. What are you doing out here?"

Simon smiled. "It's… it's a long story."

"I have learned in my line of work that there are never long stories, just people who don't want to share them."

"Your line of work?" He looked at her quizzically.

She gave him a small smile. "I'm an insurance agent. I handle claims." On his look, she continued, "Sounds frightfully boring, doesn't it? I sit in a little office, listening to old people tell me how their oven started a fire. Of course, that's never the whole story." She paused. "Well, I used to, anyhow. I suppose I'll have to find a new job in Snozlund."

"Why are you going to Snozlund?" he asked.

"I told you at supper…"

He shook his head. "Why are you really going to Snozlund?"

Kate didn't have an easy answer. When she at last spoke, she said, "Because I love Nona and Mother Mary, and I want to do what's right by them. If that means traveling halfway across the black," she shrugged, "then that's what I have to do. Mother Mary hasn't been the same since she lost her husband two years ago." She stopped again, looked down at her hands. "They're all I have left."

Before he could speak, she looked up again, a bright but false smile on her face. "Listen to me prattle on. You know exactly what it's like; you don't need to hear a Gloomy Gus blather about it. She's all you have left, too. Isn't that right?"

He nodded, attempting to say something comforting, but she cut him off. "I thank you for helping me find Nona. I'll see you in the morning."

She left then, giving him one last smile over her shoulder, her pointy-toed shoes tapping away on the grating. He couldn't move for a few moments; he stood in front of the bunk, holding the Shepherd's box as though it was the final piece to a complicated puzzle he'd been attempting to assemble.

"Simon?" a soft voice said from behind him. "Are you coming to bed?"

He turned to see Kaylee. "Yes," Simon said confidently. "Yes, I'll be right there."

"What's that?" she asked, approaching him. She was wearing a nightgown. It was blue, a soft, pale blue color. Simon had never seen it before. It made her look very pretty indeed.

"Shepherd Book sent River some gifts," Simon replied, looking down at the box, puzzled. "Jewelry. Extremely tacky jewelry. I've been wondering all day why he would send it to her, why he wouldn't write to the rest of us."

Kaylee looked at him strangely. "Simon, the Shepherd is dead."

"I know," he answered, a bit more sharply than he had wished. She looked a bit hurt. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know the Shepherd is dead. He must have sent this to River before he died. The letter said he was in Magellan."

"Magellan? That must have been ages before…"

"I know. It was a long time ago, I guess." He fingered the inlaid lid, then shook his head and smiled up at her. "I'm sorry. I think I'm ready to sleep now."

"Sleep?" Kaylee asked with a broad smile, grabbing the front of his shirt. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind…"