A/N: So I have been AWOL for a few days without notice, and I apologize but I was wisked away on an impromptu trip to the nice and cool Sierra Nevadas. I meditated on the wonders of the forest, caught a fish (supper), watched the olympics, and occasionally worked on this story, which wraps up shortly.

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To The Wessen Family

Merry Yuletide

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Zoe smirked at the letter.

Yuletide was four days away, however Zoe wanted to get Simon’s plan done before the Captain and Inara returned, and they were coming home the next day after an earlier arrival than planned. Simon had improved over the last days, and had been given the responsibility of the fate of the Tig horse and money. Jayne naturally wanted to keep it, however Simon had been adamant about not keeping it nor selling it as it wouldn’t bode well on his conscious.

He had come up with a better idea.

The night was cold, a navy sky swirling with white snow against sterling moon and stars. However Zoe didn’t mind as Simon’s idea had a sort of poetry. She braked Amos right next to the small shack of a ranch house, and swung down to walk to the Tig horse tied to her rig. Untying the reins, she quietly led the blue blooded equine to the porch, where she tied it to the post of one of the poorer families in Pryor who had lost childern to the Lilac Syndrome. Taking the note, papers for the horse and the pouch of coins, she tucked it into the horse’s saddlebag and patted its flank.

She road back home, pleased with Simon’s decision.

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River had stayed up on the mountain with Fiyero for another day.

It was gracious of Grand Master to do so, because he sat with them and helped her understand her sudden development before going back down to join the rest of the temple. The Alliance had left swiftly, without any further harassment, and life seemed to adjust back into its normalcy. River and Fiyero returned to their chores, to their classes, their schedule as if time aw