Chapter 2
Kaylee shook with sobs as Simon hugged her. She thinks all of this was her fault. Her eyes were clouded with tears as she grasped Simon's shirt, bringing her closer to him. Simon immediately wanted to deny her thoughts on what happened. "Kaylee, that wasn't your fault…, none of this was your fault." Simon took her small hand in his as she began her counterargument.
"Wash needed me down there…to steady the ship. He was counting on me" .Kaylee looked up into his ice- blue eyes. But there was nothing cold about them. She was so innocent…how could anything like this happen to her.
"Kaylee" Simon began. "If you stayed down there you would have gotten hurt. The engine was on fire. It would have burned you."
"It should've" She said darkly. "I'm the one who should have died. I should've stayed down there." Kaylee curled up again. "I should be dead!" She yelled.
Simon couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kaylee, so bright, so happy… turned into someone completely different. He felt like he was losing her. The engine room grew so cold. Simon enfolded her in his warmth, and her tears fell on his shirt. He couldn't care less. At that moment, the only thing he cared about was her. He gently stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her down.
"Don't say that…," Simon said, "Ever". He looked into her eyes. His own eyes watered. Simon pulled Kaylee even closer to him. He pulled her into a hug. Her small body was so small and trifling as she pressed into Simon. He closed his eyes as a tear streamed down his cheek.
"Where's Wash?" Kaylee asked, concern growing.
"He ain't coming." Zoe said flatly.
Her eyes widened in shock and remorse. Kaylee was devastated. It was her fault. Her fault. She felt like she had been shot. She was sure it was nothing compared to what Zoe was feeling. Zoe might as well shoot her now.
It was her fault. Zoe's words echoed in her head. "He ain't coming." She knew this was the torment she deserved.
The dinner table was utterly quiet. No Wash to tell jokes. Just the crew. None of them had anything to say. They sat in deafening silence. Simon looked over to Kaylee. She was looking down, not talking, not eating. Simon took her hand gently from under the table. She flinched as he rubbed her hand with his fingers. Her eyes lacked the usual shine. They were faded, grey, so alien to their original warm green.
She knew she daren't say anything. If she said nothing perhaps they would forget she was there. After all, that's the way it should be.
Kaylee lay in her bunk. She could hear Simon pacing upstairs. Metallic steps echoed around the room.
Simon was disturbed. He couldn't eat or think…his mind just kept racing back to her. He had to fix this. He knew he had to make her see his view on things. He thought out what he would say, but it was easier thought out that actually done. Simon knocked before he warily made his way down her ladder.
He, once again joined beside her. She didn't look at him, didn't even blink as he brushed the hair from her face. "Kaylee…this isn't you fault. There are so many things I've done wrong in my lifetime. There are so many imperfections, anywhere a person looks. But when I look at you, there is one thing I see…"
Perfection.