A/N: A big thank you to everyone who has continued to read and respond. There is quite a bit of angst in this little story, but hopefully enough fluff too.

Thanks again to Leiasky for the beta work and Kaynara for the continued encouragement.

I hope you continue to enjoy - AND respond! Don't make me beg people - it's just not pretty ...

“Rafe?”

Zoe descended into the engine room, scanning the small space for the young man. It still was a bit of a shock not to see Kaylee tinkering away or hear the young woman humming cheerily, but Zoe knew Kaylee was happier now, on Sihnon with Simon. And Rafe was good with a toolkit, had even managed to artfully get them out of a pinch a few weeks back when River had demanded some less-than-normal results from the engine. If Zoe hadn’t been sure about the young man before, that little maneuver had erased her lingering doubts.

“Rafe?” she called again, waiting by the door for the mechanic to step out from behind the spinning engine. Wiping his hands on a rag, it took him a minute to bring his blue eyes to Zoe’s face, but once he did, she suddenly understood why River had been so subdued all day. Their expressions were almost identical; Rafe too looked as though he’d lost his best friend.

“What can I do for ya, Zo?” he asked casually, crossing the room to toss the rag and his tool onto the workbench.

“We’ll be passin’ Verbena in a bit,” she told him, sizing him up as she spoke. “Cap’n wants to know how we’re lookin’ on fuel.”

Shrugging, Rafe kept his back to her and said, “We’re fine. Won’t need a refill ‘till after we’ve reached Sihnon.”

“All right then.” Zoe turned to go knowing whatever had the boy so troubled was none of her business.

“Is River all right?”

His quiet voice snapped her back like a rubber band. With a sympathetic expression, she turned to regard him and had to smile softly at the sheer emotion playing across his face. In truth, Rafe reminded her