More than anything at that moment, Kaylee wished she could have told Simon that River was only a few people over in the crowd, ready and waiting to skip over to greet him. Instead, the corners of her mouth fell a little, and she shook her head solemnly.

"Only you 'n me, so far." That didn't seem exactly right, but there it was. "But if you're here now, too, it means the others're bound to be down there some place. Just a matter of waitin' for 'em, and hopin' they'll come out soon."

A lot of hoping.