A/N: If you recognize it, I don't own it. I watched Firefly a few days ago (yes, all the episodes and the movie too) and the thing that touched me most was the way Simon cares so deeply for River. I don't feel like this little fic does them justice, but I tried my best. Enjoy.

Hoping for a Better Tomorrow

The first night after he freed her, as she curled into his side and clung to him, her eyes wide and vacant and her hands reaching for things that had never been there, she only said one thing. "They took the sky away. They took the sky away from me. Simon, they took the sky away."

Simon kissed his little sister's head. When he'd decoded her letters, when he'd come up with this insane plan, he'd sworn to do whatever he had to for her. He'd given up everything – their family, their home, his money, his future, his prospects – and he'd willingly give up more for her. For River, his baby sister, nothing was too much. Nothing was worth more to him than her life, her happiness.

"It's time to go to sleep, xiao mei mei," he whispered, giving her one final hug and then standing to open the cryopod for her. She looked at him, still curled up on the bench, supported by her hands now that he had moved away. Her eyes were big and frightened, but there was so much trust in him. Trust that he knew what to do when she was so entirely lost. Simon smiled reassuringly, trying not to show her that he was just as lost as she. "When you wake up, we'll start looking for the sky, okay? In here, while you're asleep, you won't dream. They can't get to you. I promise, River. I promise."

"They took the sky away, Simon."

"We're going to get the sky back. Time to go to sleep, okay?"

River took off her clothes without fuss and curled up in the pod. She tucked her hands next to her face and closed her eyes. For the first time since Simon had seen her, she looked peaceful. He closed the lid of the cryopod and let his hand rest on the lid for a moment. He would, he determined, do whatever it took to see that look on her face again.

Living on Serenity was anything but simple, and far from conducive to his goal. There were days, yes, when River seemed to be improving. There were days when she was lucid, or almost lucid anyway. There were days when he would fall into the habit of explaining things to her simply, as if she were a child, and she would look at him like his brains had fallen out and give him the response that he used to expect as a matter of course. He liked those days, when she spouted off words he couldn't even pronounce; those days gave him hope.

But even on her good days, River never mentioned the sky. Sometimes, though, she would turn her eyes up as if she was looking for something… something she'd lost and didn't know how to find.

And then came the worry that River was too dangerous to be on the ship anymore. Jayne was certainly quick enough to point out how she had sliced him open. Even Kaylee, River's most enthusiastic advocate on board, had a story to tell – a story that left the taste of bile in Simon's mouth. River had killed, and then turned around and smiled. Smiled as if it were all a game, as if it didn't matter.

But the realization that River wasn't an innocent child wasn't half so painful as her words to the bounty hunter. He knew they would echo in his head for a long time coming, even though it had all been an act.

They didn't want me, and so I melted… Melted away.

The worst part was that Simon couldn't say anything to her as comfort. Couldn't say anything that would distract the hunter from River's ploy – couldn't even really just break down and cry for a while. The worst part was that he had to stay strong and – and flippant, while his heart broke for the person who mattered to him most in the 'verse.

But that moment of pain, that moment of shattering sorrow, was well worth it for what happened later. When Mal brought her back inside, Simon could see the smile shining on her face. Her eyes were bright and clear for the first time in a very, very long while. And when Simon ran to her and threw his arms around her, she giggled softly in his ear.

"I saw the sky, Simon," she whispered. "For a minute, I saw the sky. It's so blue. So pretty."

"Yeah," he breathed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? And you know what, River?"

"What's that?"

"I can see the sky, too. I can see it right up close - shiny. We'll get it back, alright? And no one's ever going to take it away from you again."

River hummed to herself softly for a while and then fell asleep on his shoulder. She looked so peaceful, a soft smile curling at the corners of her lips. Peaceful for the second time since she was fourteen years old.

The first night after he freed her, she could only say one thing.

The night after she melted away, she said nothing. The smile on her face said it all: the sky was coming back.