A/N: Short chapter while I catch my breath after all the feelings from the last few days. More on Monday. Happy weekend!

Jaal had taken a distant sort of pleasure in informing the moshae that she had been very wrong about the need to discuss things with Ryder. It didn't make up for the pain of being sent away from her quarters, much less the pain of seeing her sobbing as he left, but there was a small part of him that took a bitter pleasure in how thoroughly she had misjudged the situation.

Moshae Sjefa, naturally, would accept none of the blame for the fiasco; she was inclined to blame Jaal - his timing, his delivery, his waiting - and encouraged him to try speaking with Ryder again immediately. This, Jaal firmly refused; he retreated to the Tech Lab and remained there, with the door locked, until they landed on Aya.

It wasn't until he was standing in the cargo bay, waiting for the Tempest's ramp to extend that he realized his error. He couldn't speak to her in front of the crew, and Evfra would be quick to reassign him; now that the Pathfind had proven that she could be trusted, Evfra no longer needed an observer on her ship.

She would go to the vault, and then she would leave. Everything would end with a sour note between them. Jaal scowled, annoyed with himself.

The ramp extended and the moshae stepped out, Ryder and Jaal following her and the rest of the crew filing after them.

Jaal was so busy trying to figure out a way to speak privately with Ryder before she left, that he hardly paid any attention to the civilities between Ryder, Paaran Shie, and the moshae. Until Ryder's voice broke his reverie.

"We made a good team," Ryder answered, casting a sideways glance at him.

Jaal inhaled so sharply that he choked, trying to cover it with a chuckle. He could feel Evfra's eyes boring into him, and knew he had to answer.

"We freed more than just the moshae." Ryder was still casting glances at him that he could not understand. What could she be thinking? Why would she keep looking at him? Had she tried to find him, to talk to him? Had she avoided him as thoroughly as he had avoided her?

Jaal blinked in surprise to find Evfra standing in front of him; Ryder was still beside him, the rest of the crew wandering toward the marketplace. The moshae and Paaran Shie gone.

"Well done, Jaal. Report for reassignment."

Jaal had known this was coming. Five minutes ago, he had been looking forward to it with relief. He still was relieved, he told himself firmly. He opened his mouth to acknowledge the order, and was completely shocked by what came out.

"I need to stay with the Pathfinder."

A short silence grew between the three of them. Jaal opened his mouth, intending to take it back, then changed his mind and remained silent. It wasn't what he had intended to say, but it was absolute truth. He needed to stay with Sara, needed to figure out what was between them. He remained silent as Evfra stared at him, and Sara's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them.

Finally, she spoke.

"Jaal has already become a valued member of my crew."

He would have liked to jump up and down, right there. She wasn't running away from him! He would have liked to sit down, his legs were trembling with nerves. She wasn't throwing herself in his arms, either. He wanted to throw himself into her arms, but was worried that would make her retreat from him.

Instead, he nodded, as if this were nothing more or less than he had expected. "I need to file a mission report. Don't leave Aya without me." Quickly, he walked away before he could reveal any of his tangled emotions.

He sent rushed messages to his family, filed a report that was nearly incoherent, made a few hurried purchases in the market, and practically sprinted back to the Tempest. The ship was deserted - the entire crew was exploring Aya's marketplace - so Jaal was able to make his way to the Tech Lab without interruption.

He hurriedly unpacked the bag he had packed just before their arrival, his emotions so different from that time that he could hardly comprehend the change. She was giving him a chance.

Quickly, before anyone else chanced back onto the ship, he made his way to Sara's quarters. The door was locked, but he persuaded SAM to open it for him. He was in and out in less than a minute; by the time the first crewmembers arrived, he was firmly ensconced in the Tech Lab, attempting to arrange things more to his liking.

In the Pathfinder's room, a small vase held a single flower, its petals shading from deep purple in the middle to brilliant blue at the edges.

When Liam stuck his head into the Tech Lab to congratulate Jaal on his assignment to the Tempest, and offer to buy him a round of drinks as a 'proper welcome,' Jaal had managed to settle his emotions enough to respond to the invitation with pleasure.

As he followed Liam up to the conference room, Jaal smiled. For the first time in far too long, he had hope.

Sara watched Jaal leave.

He had avoided catching her eye, despite the fact that she knew he had noticed the glances she was casting his way. His words were completely impersonal, his tone bland and controlled - quite different from his normally expressive voice.

And yet…

Somewhere, beneath the apprehension she felt about his reaction, beneath the nervousness she felt whenever she thought about him and what he might mean to her, there was another emotion rising. It wasn't as clear as the shared emotions she remembered from her teenage years, yet she was sure it was coming from Jaal.

Hope.

For the first time in far too long, she had hope.