simon_doctor | (no subject)

(no subject)

When Simon's datareader starts to flash with casual insistence, the accompanying message below reads:

Guess where I'm waving from?

(The image indicating the person on the other end is a cigar-chomping monkey wearing a crown.)

Simon grins, and touches the control to accept the wave.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Of course."

Oh, Jordie. Live forever.

"And meanwhile, now that I've reminded you of your responsibilities. What else is going on in the world of Simon Tam?"

"Well."

He has to think about it for a moment. (He's not going to mention Kaylee's business plans, even if he's fairly certain that he's the only one she cared about keeping it secret from.)

"...Not a lot, really. The move and the new job have taken up most of my focus lately, and what's left of it has mainly gone towards trying to figure out what to get people for New Year's."

Jordie laughs. "Any success?"

He grins. "I'd love to take credit for what we sent you, but that was Kaylee's find."

"Why don't you make her do the rest of it?"

"She's putting together a vidcapture project for her presents to the crew ... I could just ask her if we could make that from both of us," he says thoughtfully, "but that feels a little like cheating."

"Or," Jordie says helpfully, "you could bribe her to do it for you."

"Well, that would simplify things." Faintly dry. "Because it would be entirely like cheating."

"But you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"There is that."

His face has gone a little pensive, a little abstracted.

Jordie sighs.

"Okay. What's going on?"

Simon blinks at him.

"What?"

"You're doing the noble brooding hero face."

"... I am not."

"You are," he says implacably. "So what else is going on?"

"It's not something that's 'going on,' really, it's just ..."

With an attempt at lightness: "I worry too much sometimes, that's all."

"...and were I less concerned, I could totally say something smart right now. But I'm feeling benevolent. So. What are you worrying about?"

Wry: "About worrying too much. It's very recursive."

A beat.

"It bothers Kaylee, sometimes," he adds, looking away.

"That you worry?"

He nods. "Especially when I worry about her. And -- I try not to, I know she can take care of herself, but ..."

So it's about Kaylee, he thinks.

"But?"

"Sometimes it seems like she doesn't want us to leave the ship, and sometimes it seems like she can't get away fast enough."

Simon's voice is low.

"And she wants to much for me not to have to worry about her that I don't know if she'd tell me if something was wrong."

"Have you talked about this with her?"

"A little. It came up a while ago, and I, I think we got somewhere, but --

"It's not the kind of worried where I think she's going to do something stupid. Or hurt herself, or, or anything like that."