Hank had increased their speed as much as he dared. He’d managed to pull a little more power and plot a better course, and he’d cut the time to Greenleaf to under ten hours, but it still seemed a hell of a long time. Longer for them downstairs, though.

Now he sat and stared out of the window, had done for more than a couple of those hours, out at the stars sprinkled across the sky like diamonds. No, not diamonds. Maybe the wishes of people. More like. And among them were wishes of his own. Whole-hearted ones that Ethan would be okay. And more guilty ones that he suppressed quickly on the lines of if any child died he didn’t want it to be his.

He checked the navigation once more, then got to his feet. He had to know.

---

“Kaylee?” Simon looked into the engine room.

“How’s Ethan?” his wife asked, bringing her head out from under the housing and rubbing her hands on the greasy rag at her waist.

“The same.”

“So what’re you doing here? Not that I ain’t pleased to see you.”

“I needed to stretch my legs. I can’t stare at those monitors any longer.” He smiled a little. “And I told Mal I needed to make sure you were okay.” He sighed. “To tell the truth I couldn’t take any more.”

“Mal and Freya?”

“I know we’d be the same over Bethany, but I can’t do anything right now, and it …”

“Makes it difficult?”

“Very.” He glanced at Bethany asleep in the hammock. “Worn out?”

“Worrying about Ethan.”

“So what are you doing in here?”

“Gotta keep my girl flying. Mal weren’t joking when he said about burning out the coil, and I don’t blame him. But if I can coax her along, maybe we won’t actually blow up.”

“Is there any likelihood of that?”

“The way Hank drives?”

Simon managed another slight smile which died as quickly as it was born. “I should’ve known,” he said, sitting down on the steps. “I should have realised it was something more than just a temperature spike.”

“How? You said it hides. And we might have the best doc in all the ‘verse, but you can’t kn