Author's Note: Okay, last chapter! I've yet to write any more for this show, but my parents and I are watching the movie tonight so I'm hoping I'll get re-inspired. I'm stuck in quarantine right now so if there was ever a time to write fanfiction….

After River left, it wasn't long before Simon heard his name spoken again. For a moment, he thought it was his sister, back again, but the voice was a little lower and had the most perfect outer rim lilt to it.

She was awake.

"Kaylee," Simon breathed, and his tenuous hold on Doctor Mode was almost destroyed in one fell swoop. In two quick steps he had reached the bed and began taking her vitals, making sure everything was working as it should. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"Can't feel too much t'all," Kaylee mumbled, her eyes half-lidded. "What happen'd?"

"You got shot in the back. Through and through, managed to miss anything vital which is a gorram miracle." Simon didn't subscribe much to religion but he had to wonder if having the Preacher on board was giving them a little extra luck. How none of them had died yet was truly beyond him, and went against logical statistics to boot. He reached over to fluff up her pillows and adjust her sheet, hands desperate to be busy. "River came back to the ship and led us to you. Got there just in time."

He finally stopped fiddling to find Kaylee just looking at him, still doped up but her eyes clear as ever. Anxiety flooded his chest cavity and he took a step back, words bubbling uncontrollably out of his mouth. "Kaylee, I understand if you never want to be around me again; I messed up so incredibly badly. Unforgivably. But I am sorry. I never intended to be hurtful and I'm going to try so hard to do better."

"Simon," Kaylee repeated, blinking sluggishly. "Let's jus' forget about it, all right?"

But that didn't feel right. They always brushed things under the rug, that was how Kaylee worked, it seemed. And while Simon was grateful for the endless second chances, it didn't seem fair.

"No, Kaylee." Unsure of what else to do, Simon quickly grabbed the chair Jayne and Mal had used and slid it over to her bedside. "I hurt you, and that's not okay. I say a lot of things that I don't mean to because I… I need to say something, and since I can't say what I really want to, I have to fill the silence with thoughtless comments that always end up hurting your feelings."

"You don' say what you… really wanna?" Kaylee echoed dazedly.

His chin bobbled in a quick nod. "I don't."

"So…" She blinked a few more times, trying to put the pieces together. "What do y'wanna say?"

Oh, what a question. There were about a thousand things Simon wanted to say to her, like that she made him feel happier than he'd been since River disappeared, or that each time he stood close to her he felt so safe he forgot he was a fugitive in a spaceship full of criminals. Or that sometimes she seemed to move in slow motion, her hair glowing in the hazy ship lights, her eyes sparkling, her smile so absolutely breathtaking that for a few weeks, he thought he'd had a serious medical condition.

But he knew that all of the options swirling around in his head came down to one core idea.

"Kaylee," Simon murmured, easing her hand into his own. "I'm in love with you."

Kaylee's mouth fell open a little and her eyes turned into little crescents. "You do?" she exclaimed, and maybe it was the mixed-up responding grammar, or maybe it was the sheer joy in her expression, or maybe it was just the relief at finally saying the right thing, but Doctor Mode scattered to the breeze.

What was left was so raw and terrifying that Simon's breath caught in his throat. "Never scare me like that again," he gasped out, pressing her hand to his forehead as his vision swam.

"Oh, honey," Kaylee murmured. Her hand found the top of his head and she began to comb her fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna be all right."

"I know."

"And I'm not leavin' ya. Promise."

"I know," he repeated, sniffling hard. The long day was catching up to him, emotions from their fight and his fear and the surgery and seeing her in the dirt, so pale and lifeless… "I know."

When the day had begun, Kaylee thought it would proceed like any other: a pleasant walk with Simon and a jolly dinner with the crew, then to bed.

Then, after her and Simon's fight, she predicted no dinner, crying into her pillow, and eventually dropping off into a fitful sleep.

Then she'd thought she was going to die.

But now… now, in the beautiful, glorious present, Kaylee could only see sunlight ahead. Sure, she was still a bit foggy, and she couldn't move too good, but Simon Tam loved her. HER!

After a little more crying that he'd deny afterward, Simon had gathered himself and found her something to drink. While he was gone for water, she'd painfully and painstakingly (there was a lot of pain involved) scooted herself over to make some space on the bed… only for her room to be invaded by Mal, Shepherd Book and Inara, who'd all heard she was awake.

"Kaylee, I'm so glad you're okay," Inara breathed, stroking back her hair.

"Oh, I'm doin' hunky dory now," Kaylee said, trying to tell her without telling her about what had happened. She wanted Inara to be updated ASAP about her relationship with Simon, but she didn't need Mal and Shepherd hearing it, too. "Simon fixed me up real nice."

Inara tilted her head quizzically, but Mal broke in before Kaylee could sneakily prompt any real realizations. "Glad to see you doin' all right, little Kaylee," he said awkwardly, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Doesn't feel right to have ya in here. No more of this gettin' shot business, you hear that?"

"Well, I surely didn't mean to," Kaylee complained. "They weren't even after us! It was just bad luck."

"You're alive," Shepherd put in. "Seems as though something providential still went on, despite the other circumstances."

Kaylee nodded her agreement, smiling at him. She loved Shepherd and how the two of them could always see the bright side to things together.

A throat cleared in the background and Mal stepped aside to give Kaylee a clear view of Simon, who was hovering by the doorframe. When he laid eyes on her, the tension visibly went out of his shoulders. "While I hate to break up this little party, the patient needs her rest," he said, giving Kaylee's visitors a deliberate look. "By tomorrow she should be much more able to spend time with you all."

"We'll leave," Inara acquiesced, taking the hint. She put a hand on Mal's arm and led him out of the room. "Sleep well, Kaylee, I'll be back tomorrow to help you clean up a bit."

"Thank you!" Kaylee called after her, wrinkling her nose a bit as she was reminded of the grime that still clung to her body. Stupid dusty planet.

Shepherd Book squeezed her shoulder. "I'll be praying for your speedy recovery," he told her, and Kaylee nodded her thanks, practically feeling the effects already.

When Shepherd left, Kaylee smirked over at Simon. "Do I really need rest, or was you just desperate to get me alone?"

Simon huffed, bemused, and came to stand by her bed. "You really need the rest," he told her with a suppressed smile, before he took in her positioning. "Did you move over? Are you not comfortable?"

"Oh!" Kaylee had almost forgotten her initial plan. "Oh, I was just… well, I was thinkin' maybe… I thought I might make a bit of room?"

Simon turned his head a bit, trying to parse out what she was implying. "Um… room? For…?"

"For you, silly," Kaylee told him, feeling herself start to get warm. "In case you was wantin' to join me?"

For a moment, all was still in the med bay. The heat in Kaylee's face increased as she fretted that she'd overstepped and made him uncomfortable. Simon was always nervous about physical contact and, in turn, made her kind of nervous about it, which was new to her.

But then the ducked his head and gulped. "I… I want to Kaylee, I really do, but I don't—I'm afraid—I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, pish." Fondness overwhelming her, Kaylee reached out her hand. "You can't, you're a doctor! You took an oath an' all that."

The fear turned to a grin and Simon cautiously met her gaze. "Not quite how that works," he told her, but then he was taking off his shoes and laying back on the bed next to her.

The meds were dulling her pain receptors enough that Kaylee could reach an arm around his waist, head on his shoulder. She lifted her chin and nuzzled the underside of his jaw with her nose. "I should get shot more often," she joked drowsily.

Simon gave her an unamused look. "You absolutely should not," he huffed, rubbing her arm. "Nearly scared River half to death."

"Yep, sure," Kaylee teased, transitioning from her nose to her lips, one kiss on his skin between every other word. "River was the worried one."

He smiled sheepishly, breath shuddering as she stretched a bit and moved her lips from her jaw to behind his ear. "Kaylee… mind the injury, please."

As if on cue, her back twinged and she sucked in air, retracting to a safer position. Simon looked at her warily, as if trying to gauge how concerned he should be, but the flare-up was already fading.

Still, Kaylee was irked. She'd been wanting this—wanting him—for longer than she could fathom, and of course all of this had to happen when she had a debilitating and likely real slow-healing injury.

"Just wanna kiss you is all," she mumbled, pushing her forehead into his shoulder. "While you're lettin' me."

"If that's what you're worried about, don't be," Simon assured her with a laugh. "I will be around for you to kiss for a long, long time."

When she didn't respond, he touched her chin and gently captured her mouth with his own. The kiss was cautious—Simon was clearly still holding back, but whether it from nerves or a continued fear of causing her pain, Kaylee wasn't sure.

"I don't want to take this too far," Simon whispered, their noses brushing. "You need to heal. And then, well… you know."

Kaylee's mind whirled with the potential. Ohhh, the beauty and light the two of them would make.

Just as soon as this gorram gunshot would was healed, anyway.

Author's Note: I WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH TO WRITE MORE, PLEASE.

Buuuuut that's a wrap on this particular story.