1) For the longest time, River was the world to Simon. They were the only people who truly got each other--the jokes and the games and the studies and--everything. It's funny how, when the world should've gotten smaller--when she lost herself in her own mind for a while--it got bigger too, because then there was Book to be wise and Wash to make jokes and Zoe to offer a word of advice, and strangely enough, Jayne to be there to save their lives. And of course, Mal looking on as he always does with that odd smile he has sometimes, like he gets something no one else does.

2) He tries to talk to Kaylee. He really does. Sometimes he rehearses whole speeches in his head but then he looks at her and every word goes straight out of his brain to be replaced by gosse, and even when the words are coming out of his mouth he know how horribly it's going, can see it on her face, but he can't stop. He supposes it means something that he finally gets the words right when he thinks they're going to die. But if they're gonna live, he's going to have to figure the words out every day...

3) There's an old proverb that home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in. But that night at the bar, when Mal picked up his sister and looked at her with that mixture of worry and confusion that was fatherly and brotherly all at once, he knew that's what it was. Simon never would have thought that Serenity would be home, but she is.

4) He really hates that his sister is a telepath though. He tries really hard not to think about it too much.

5) Simon Tam grew up lucky. He was smart and good looking and came of good family, and he had his whole life carefully planned out. He would be a doctor and find a smart, beautiful woman who was also of good family, and they would have travel and good jobs, and then at some point they would have children and River would be their doting auntie. And this is exactly what happened. Not the way he thought it would, of course, but the Fryes are really lovely people, and he's seen much more of the Rim than he ever thought he would, and River is a good aunt as is Zoe, and sure Mal and Jayne probably aren't the foster-uncles he would have picked out but the kids haven't turned out too wrong, but most importantly there is Kaylee, and that's that.