I've Got Soul, But I'm Not a Soldier

[Simon Tam]

Simon grabbed her by the arm and stopped her in her tracks. "You're sick, River. You're having a relapse. I can give you some medicine to help it go away."

[River Tam]

Let me go! *She didn't think, she didn't stop herself. She spun around, her arm rearing back, fist clinching at the same time. She had no reason to stop...she was reacting.

The 'weapon' in her was reacting. When her fist finally was launched free, it crashed right into it's target, the right side of his face, and their was no remorse in her eyes as it slid past his face after contact before finally being yanked back*

[Simon Tam]

Simon let go immediately after her fist hit him in the jaw, a sharp pain shooting up his face. He looked at her, astonished. She had never in her life hit him before.

The pain in his face kept him from saying anything, but the look on his face was pleading.

He was pleading with his sister to go back to the way she had been, back before the Academy. Back to when they were still living with Mother and Father on Osiris.

[River Tam]

*Her eyes gazed upon him for another moment, searching for something, something she wanted to ask...wanted to have confirmed. She shut them after a moment, shaking her head.

She didn't need to be told a lie...she didn't need to hear him say he loved her...didn't need to hear it when he wasn't playing Doctor.

She shook her head before turning back to head out the door*

[Simon Tam]

Simon watched as she walked away from him, leaving him alone in the cockpit, clutching his jaw in pain.

His vision got blurry for a moment, but a few rapid blinks and it was clear again. It wasn't from the pain that he was crying. It was for River, how she was denied a normal life, how she was denied a normal mind, even. Just to become an instrument of war for the Alliance. It made him sick. Sicker than he had ever been before. Because now, she was relapsing and he knew that things were going to get worse.

Much worse.

[C.M. Napier]

After Simon had gone off on his own, Napier shook his head. "You did good love but, you did not go far enough. For one, dear brother is still breathing. Think it through girl. He'll just rest up, wait for you to get comfortable and then, "sleep words". How many times do you think he's done that, hm? Made you go to sleep without you knowing it? He can always just claim you relapsed, or had a blackout. Anything he wants to come up with, and it's true. Absolutely true. Any moment you can not remember your past, it could, it just could be Dear Brother making you 'correct'."