Disclaimer: See chapter one.

A/N: This shoulda been up hours ago, but my ISP had an outage. Sigh.

Brompton Cocktail

Chapter Nineteen

Kaylee settled her shiny new bracelet with the other few pieces of jewelry she owned. She grinned at them, then shucked her coverall and pulled on a nightshirt. Wearing just an oversized pink t-shirt that sported a print of teddy bears, the necklace containing Simon's rice-grain, and her fluffy yellow duck slippers, she climbed out of her bunk and headed towards Simon's room.

"Kaylee?" Zoë's voice stopped her halfway across the galley. The first mate was curled up in the alcove seating area, a book in hand.

"Yeah?"

"Been doing some thinking lately," Zoë replied. "Things keep going as they are with you and Simon, and you'll wind up needing a bigger room."

Kaylee went over and sat next to Zoë. "You really think so?"

Zoë had to smile at the bright enthusiasm coming from the mechanic. "Absolutely. It's why I figured we'd get a jump on things."

"How?"

Zoë decided to do it quick, like pulling off a band-aid. "Care to trade me rooms?"

Kaylee let out a high-pitched squeeing noise and hugged Zoë. "Now?" she asked on letting her go.

Zoë had to laugh. "Not right this minute. But sometime in the next few days would work."

"Okay," she chirped. "Just lemme know when." She bounced to her feet. "Thank you, Zoë. Really! I gotta go tell Simon…" She dashed out of the galley and down the stairs that lead to the common area.

Zoë's eyes tracked a tiny piece of fluff that had parted company with Kaylee's slippers as it swirled in the air. I don't know how much of it is simply by making Kaylee happy, but… I actually feel a little better. I've managed to get most of Wash's things packed to send back to his family on Beaumonde. For the first time in a long time, she no longer felt like something heavy had just hit her across the back of her head for thinking her husband's name. All but the small pieces I'm keeping. And I don't think anyone will let me so much as touch the dinosaurs. They're here to stay. The knife-wound to her soul felt like it was finally starting, not to heal, but at least beginning to scab over.

She returned her attention to the novel she'd been trying to read, only to have her thoughts continue without her permission. After Jayne leaves… Damn it, Zoë! Quit dancing around it. He's dying. Once he's gone, I wonder if River will take his room. It would be nice to have the option to take a full load of passengers for a change, because I know Simon will wind up sharing Kaylee's bunk. Aiya, has Jayne even thought about what he wants done with that arsenal of his? To say nothing of whatever other knickknacks and whatnots he's accumulated…

Once he's done with that nao can hun zhang wangba dan, I think I'm going to have to actually ask him what he wants done with it all. I know it's not something Mal will do, not willingly. Zoë gave up on her book and sat it on the coffee table. He did it too many times already. Then again, Jayne said when he was done, he was going home. Could be that he's already figured it out. But, even though he's not quite the idiot I'd assumed, for my own peace of mind, I'm going to ask him anyway.

While Zoë was lost in thought, Kaylee hurried to Simon and passed along the news that she and Zoë were going to trade rooms. Simon smiled at her enthusiasm. "Can't say I'm not with you on looking forward to a slightly bigger bed, baobei," he said, cuddling her close as they lay on his rather narrow bunk.

Kaylee wriggled around so that she was facing him. "You okay, Simon? You seem… distant."

"Think the word you're looking for is 'preoccupied'," Simon corrected. "And I am."

"River?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Went to say goodnight and she… It seemed like Wash's death finally hit her, all at once. Asked my why it hurts when people die, why she couldn't have the comfort of faith, too. I didn't know what to tell her."

"You ain't never been to church none?"

He shook his head. "No. Father and Mother considered religion to be an unfortunate vestigial remnant of the days when humans were still superstitious savages, cowering from thunderstorms in caves. Until River asked, I'd never really given much thought to any of it. Medicine, well, science in general can't tell us what, if anything, actually happens to our consciousness after we die. And after nearly half a millennium of looking, I don't think science will ever be able to answer those questions." The last sentence was said with a bit of a wistful sigh.

Kaylee smiled softly at him, running her fingertips lightly across his face. "Oh, qin ai de ni. Sometimes, you tell me somethin' that makes me want to track down your folks and give 'em a good smack upside the head." Simon frowned at her, unsure what she meant. Before he could speak, though, Kaylee continued, "Faith ain't got nothin' to do with religion, an' it's criminal to not teach a kid somethin' about what comes after. What my momma taught me didn't come from no stuffy book or sacred scroll."

"Can I ask…?"

"Momma said that because people are social critters – ain't a one of us as can live long totally alone – we leave imprints on each other. For the folks that we're really close to, those imprints are stronger, more like we wind up tradin' tiny bits of what makes us us. An' when a person dies, it hurts 'cause they took that tiny bit of us with 'em. But they left a piece behind, too, so ya shouldn't pick at the sore spot where that piece of yourself used to be, instead you're s'posed to cherish the bit that got left behind to stay with ya."

Simon mulled over her words. "I didn't know your family was so philosophical."

Kaylee shrugged a little. "We ain't, not really. What Momma taught us? It's just how things are. Can't prove it with no machines or tests, sure, but that's why it's faith."

"I… To be honest, Kaylee, I'm not sure if I can believe it. I'll try, though, for you. And I do have to admit that it makes as much sense, if not more, than any of the other theories I've heard on the topic."

There had been a time, not so very long ago, when Simon's admission would have made Kaylee think he was looking down on her. However, with knowing the man a little better, she knew to take him at his word – it was going to take him some time to see if her own words rang true for him. She decided she'd take it on herself to chat with River about it. That's the downside to faith. If ya don't got none, you really can't give it to someone else. Further thought was shelved in favor of Simon's hands wandering up under her nightshirt.

A/N2: I really hope I'm not wandering too far afield of acceptable character behavior.

What's the one thing any fanfic author knows is more addictive than crack? C'm on, ya know ya wanna leave one. Do it. Do it. Feed the beast. Dooo eet! *blinks* Okay, so apparently I'm in kind of a quirky mood. Must've been the horseradish.