Fantastic story! Just read it from beginning to end. *g* Very enthralling, and totally believeable.

I love how you didn't have Simon tell his tale all at once, but spread it out over a period of time. I would imagine that, after it was over, he had never stopped to think about how he'd managed to pull off River's rescue, so it would take him that long to process everything and be able to talk about it. Also particularly enjoyed the part where he talked about the 'R. Tam Sessions' just with Mal. It just seemed so appropriate that he wouldn't want to talk about them with anyone, but Mal would know something was bothering him and try to get him to talk about it.

Again, very nicely done! *claps*