Rafe made his first appearance on a dark night in a Transylvania cemetery. Rafe could claim to be a vampire slayer, but it wasn't until later that his true identity was revealed. In addition to his supposed role as a killer of the undead, Rafe also revealed that he was a Kovich - and a distant cousin of Lucy Coe.

Rafe helped Lucy and Kevin learn the truth about Caleb and Michael Morley. Caleb and Michael were the same person - and a vampire to boot. While Rafe was able to help in Caleb's eventual downfall, he was not able to erase Caleb's legacy of destruction and lies. While working behind the scenes, Rafe's true identity was learned by Alison Barrington. Rafe was actually an angel. Alison became intrigued and even enchanted by Rafe and his heavenly powers. Her attraction to Rafe unwittingly caused a rift in her relationship with Jamal.

During the course of Caleb's reign of terror, Rafe revealed that Caleb had been responsible for his death. Rafe had tried to prevent Caleb from killing a young woman -- but when his back was turned, Caleb took his life instead.

In November 2001, Rafe's boss, Ed, gave him until Christmas to undo the harm done by Caleb. That meant that Rafe had only a few weeks to reunite all of the couples that had experienced relationship trouble. Rafe succeeded on every level except for one. His relationship with Alison had caused more trouble between Alison and Jamal. Rafe pleaded with Ed to allow him to return to Earth and undo the damage he'd caused. Ed agreed, but it meant that Rafe would be returning without his special powers. Rafe agreed and returned to Earth and had to come to terms with his humanity - something he hadn't experienced in quite some time.

Rafe's goal was to reunite Jamal and Alison, but his mission took an abrupt turn when he realized that Alison had feelings for him too. Alison and Jamal suffered a falling out after Valerie was accidentally shot and killed -- and Rafe was there to help Alison pick up the pieces. The two made love in haystack in a nearby barn.