Round 6, Challenge 4, Simon

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Title: Variables
Author: woodsong_1978
Character: Simon Tam
Rating: G
Question: #4) Have you ever been surprised (either positively or negatively) by your limits?
Disclaimer: I have no rights over the character or person of Simon Tam. More's the pity.
Author's Notes: I'm well aware these are horribly late. This one's slashy, too, and there are spoilers for Safe, Serenity (pilot) and War Stories
Comments: Craved. Con-crit always welcome.

My limits. Well, yes, I have them. I'm pretty sure I've not found all of them yet, though...surprised? I'm trying to think...there haven't been many occasions when I've actually found my limits. They aren't fixed.

The first time I was surprised was when my parents refused to believe that River was in danger. I didn't realize...I'd never had reason to doubt my parents before. My family. I thought that my loyalty was fixed, that it would endure anything, but then, those letters, their reaction... That was my limit. When they doubted me, doubted River, after all the evidence, my faith in my parents was destroyed. I never knew it was so fragile.

It's not all linked with River. A lot of it is, but...the time I knew I couldn't kill, even for her, that was a limit that changed later. When did it change? When the captain was kidnapped by Adelei Niska. When I saw what Niska had done to Wash, and knew that Mal was still there, still being tortured...I couldn't kill for River. I would have killed for Mal.