(no subject)

[simon_doctor]

Late into the ship's night, and Simon can't sleep. Reading through Lin's files is not going to help with that, but it gives him something to do.

About halfway through the M's, he recognizes the girl who ran away from the others during the escape; her name is Zillah Monchard and her family is from the capital city on Greenleaf. Her picture scowls impatiently up at him from the screen.
Why are we here? What have we come to see?
Simon sighs, shuts off the datareader and sets it aside.

The destruction of the Academy never made it into the major news nets, buried no doubt in the avalanche of simultaneous disaster reports from all over the system. He's been trying to come up with a way to find out what, if anything, the families of the students have been told. In between trying to come up with a way to establish some consistent contact with the facility in Taos.

He runs a hand over his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and stands up. Right now he doesn't really want to be alone. Milliways is too crowded, but ... there's somebody else on this ship who probably isn't sleeping right now either.

Simon slips out of his bunk and heads for the engine room.

Comments

[gonna_live]

It's easier not to sleep.

Or -- it's easier not to speak to many people. Ship's night is a good time to work, especially when...

...it's not that Kaylee feels that they're better off without her, because she doesn't, because she knows that's not true. It's just that there have been so many problems lately. And to have the captain first reprimand her, and then seek her out for help that she couldn't give...sometimes it's just easier to hide for a while. Just for a while.

By this time it's been a few days.

She's kneeling by the press regulator, digging in her toolbox.

[simon_doctor]

He taps hesitantly on the edge of the doorway to the engine room.

"Kaylee?"

[gonna_live]

Her head turns; her smile maybe isn't as bright as usual.

But it's Simon.

She's smiling.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

[simon_doctor]

"I'm ... not very tired, for some reason."

A pause.

"And I thought, well, there's somebody else who isn't sleeping right now..."

[gonna_live]

"And misery loves company? Only not like that. Yeah."

She pulls off her heavy gloves, tossing them on top of the toolbox, and shoves stray hair behind her ears as she stands.

"Come on in, if you want. Not much more for me to do tonight, I don't think. Nothin' that can't wait."

[simon_doctor]

He looks around her, a little curiously. "What've you been working on?"

[gonna_live]

"Routine maintenance. Checkin' every part I can, makin' sure it's all runnin' together as good as it can. Next time we touch down for a while I figure I'll start on that box of spare parts, figure out what can still be used and what I might as well take apart for the smaller bits." A slight shrug.

It passes the time.

[simon_doctor]

Simon knows the sound of make-work.

"Sounds ... useful."

[gonna_live]

She nods. "It's all gotta get done some time. And it's been quiet, so...no time like now."

We work before we play, says Mal. Says the captain.

[simon_doctor]

He sits down on a nearby crate, glancing at her first to make sure it's something safe to sit on.

"I've been reading the student files some more."

[gonna_live]

She's standing nearby, arms folded loosely; now she looks at him, a little wary.

"...yeah?"

[simon_doctor]

"I feel like I should. Like someone should."

[gonna_live]

Kaylee looks at him for a moment.

She nods. Soft: "Yeah."

[simon_doctor]

Determinedly light: "So it's, ah, it's something to do when I can't sleep."

Beat.

"I was, ah, wondering ... about you working the night shift over the past few days...."

[gonna_live]

"What about it?"

A little cautious.

There's Lilly, there's Mal, and there's Jayne.

She's not sure she wants to talk about any of it.

[simon_doctor]

"Just -- if there was a reason for it ...?"

[gonna_live]

It's a very, very long moment before Kaylee says anything.

She turns back to her toolbox and organizes the contents of the top layer carefully, kneeling beside it; she's not looking at Simon.

"Do I ask too many questions?"

[simon_doctor]

"...not that I've noticed?"

[gonna_live]

She closes the toolbox and latches it -- two clicks. She stands again.

Kaylee says, tired, "Everybody's got secrets. Or so I'm told." Another strand of hair has escaped; she absently puts it back behind her ear. "Been a long couple of days. That's all. Sometimes you just feel like bein' -- quiet."

[simon_doctor]

"...did somebody tell you you ask too many questions?"

[gonna_live]

She nods. "Pretty much. And that folk need to keep some things secret. And that askin' questions ain't a kindness."

[simon_doctor]

He's quiet for a moment.

"Is this about the captain?"

[gonna_live]

Silence.

Which is in itself a kind of answer.

Especially because she's not looking at him.

Mal told her what was what when she pried; sharing Mal's business now can only make matters worse.

[simon_doctor]

A bit weakly: "I'm sure he didn't mean..."

[gonna_live]

"He meant it. And I deserved it. And I've just been a little down and it's easier for things to be this way for a while and everything'll be fine in a few days."