****

Laura Thompson's POV

Mission Time: T+ 3 hours and counting

Location: LEO (Low Earth Orbit)

****

At first, the sensation of being 'weightless' had been absolutely incredible.

It took my breath away, quite literally, accompanied alongside the sheer adrenaline rush and realization that everything we've been working so hard for over the past three years is now, in every essence, very much so real.

But, as time begins to stretch on as we orbit around the Earth, waiting for the fuel tanker that will provide us the necessary fuel top-up to initiate one final burn to send us into an interplanetary coast towards the Red Planet, I can't help but begin to feel uneasy.

My movements are slow - sluggish, almost. Move too quickly and everything surrounding me spins.

We'd all been warned about the effects of microgravity back at JSC.

Heck, even Alan had been right for once.

At that thought, a rather begrudging sigh falls from my lips, my gaze refocusing on the tablet strapped to my upper thigh.

"Toolboxes are all accounted for... what's next?" I murmur, scrolling down the checklist, frowning inwardly at my trembling finger against the touchscreen.

Geez! I've got to get it together!

Exhaling sharply once more, I carefully draw myself back to full height from where I'd been floating in a rather awkward position for quite some time in one of the many tiny storage rooms in Starship's cargo bay, grasping at the cool grated metal interior walls with shaky hands as I guide myself back into the main bay, a certain feeling of relief washing over me as I come to a halt, grounding myself with a nearby wall-mounted handrail.

Part of me feels rather pathetic, feeling this disoriented as the darkly colored surroundings of the cargo bay blur in my vision, regardless of how many times I blink to refocus on something - anything but the spinning sensation in my head.

But the other, more logical side of me disagrees, a certain blaze of determination at the prospect of yet another challenge to conquer arises within me.

Just one thing at a time... One thing at a time and I'll be fine.

For a moment, I allow myself to simply float there, eyes closed, listening to the steady hum of the life support systems doing their jobs to keep us alive...

Accompanied by some rather obnoxious banging a few decks up... and is that Alan and Mark bickering again? What could they possibly be going on about now?

Confusion pricks my thoughts, though I shove it aside.

They would've commed if it was urgent.

The small, personal computer from our surface EVA suits sits snugly around my wrist, its tiny screen void of any notifications.

Inwardly shrugging, I turn my attention gradually back towards the checklist at hand, a small grin tugging at the edges of my lips.

The next and final task of checking the wheel clamps and straps holding down our rover.

Which also happens to be a modified Cybertruck - a first of many likely to come.

A breathy chuckle escapes me as I near the vehicle, its large form covered by a rather hideous looking tarp, though the one front corner is slightly exposed... the rover's metallic sheen gaining my attention.

The tarp must've come loose during launch...

Humming, I effortlessly glide closer, lowering myself towards the floor and the evidently un-clasped corner on the tarp that simply floats beneath it, almost beckoning to be disturbed.

So, I do, and in one swift motion, fingers that no longer tremble grasp the cool metal hook, securing it back where it belongs, giving the nearest wheel clamp and strap a good once over as well, muttering incomprehensible curses beneath my breath at just how loose everything seems to be.

"Geez! Worried she'll break free and float away?" A familiar tone sounds from somewhere behind me, the other, gradually becoming a more familiar sound of someone moving towards my side reaching my ears.

My heart skips a beat upon hearing the voice, surprise and a certain warmth radiating through me, urging a grin to my lips.

"They did fix these windows, right?" I joke as I push myself away from the rover, gesturing to where the uniquely shaped and darkly tinted windows that so famously displayed their imperfections to the world all that time ago, are hidden beneath the tarp.

Elon just chuckles, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he joins me at my side, his gaze fixated on the small windows at the far end of the bay, evidently lost in yet another one of his trains of thought.

The windows down on this deck are almost more like portholes on a ship - round and extremely reinforced.

And outside, beyond them, is a vast, inky blackness that stretches on forever - a void if you will.

The void of space that we'll be crossing for six months.

Though, out of the corner of my eye, I watch as my Partner's expression shifts into a slight frown, concern rippling through me.

"You okay?" I murmur softly, turning to completely face him, laying a reassuring hand upon his shoulder that gains his attention.

A heavy sigh escapes his lips at the question hanging in the air between us, gaze raising to meet mine with a rather conflicted haze.

"Yeah," Comes the reply, a mere murmur. "I'll be fine. Though I do think I'm still in shock."

We share a soft chuckle at his remark, the sound of our laughter echoing back at me in the quiet cargo bay making my heart soar.

"I think we all are," I nod, powering down the tablet I'd been using previously, inwardly cursing at the suddenness of my movements as my head spins. "Couple that with getting used to the microgravity environment and the lurking worry that anything could go wrong at any given moment - yeah, shock just about sums it up."

"We'll be fine!" The man at my side assures, frown twitching upwards into his usual soft grin. "The probability of everything going wrong is far less than things going right. Though there is still a slight chance for things to go wrong that we can't ignore, but we'll-"

A rather obnoxious sounding alert tone interrupts Elon's rambling, the sudden and simultaneous noise making the both of us jump equally in surprise.

Glancing down at my wrist, the small display shows the rather grainy Mission portrait of Vivian, before the comm line almost instantly opens, her familiar tone echoing through the small speakers, laced with a hint of... concern?

"Sorry to interrupt your inventory, but could you swing by the Med Bay? I think we've got our first case of Space Adaptation Syndrome."

A wave of disbelief crashes through me as my gaze meets Elon's, his own gaze illuminated with surprise and a sudden flame of worry.

"Sure. I'll just do one last check down here and I'll be right up."

"Have you seen Elon? I wouldn't mind having him up here too, just so we're all in the loop."

"We'll be there in two."

And with that, the line goes dead, leaving just the silence of the cargo bay and our two floating figures, our gazes resting heavy on one another, wordlessly conveying so much all at once, it earns a slight grin to tug at the edges of my lips.

"Come on," He urges, tone carrying a slight air of teasing to it as he passes me by, tossing a look over his shoulder before beginning up the main access tube. "Duty calls."

Sighing heavily, I nod, pushing myself in the same direction of my Partner, a deep nagging feeling of anxiety bubbling in my throat.

Surely everything can't go wrong all at once, right?

****

"Vivian, I swear! Don't you even think of poking and prodding me with any of your creepy medical equipment!"

"I just need to take your temperature to make sure you're not sick with anything else other than SAS!"

"SAS! You're the one who's been sassing me ever since we got to orbit!"

Their bickering voices are the first things to reach me as my feet make brief contact with the floor of the small foyer that leads to the Med Bay, the standard, white folding door wide open to reveal the simple infirmary style room.

"Enough! For the love of everything, you two!" I scold as I near, holding my hands out to avoid smacking into the wall, steadying myself while assessing the situation at hand.

Mark is quite literally strapped down to the examination table to avoid floating away while Vivian is holding herself in place at his side, the flippable anchor loops on the floor a welcome aid in a scenario such as this.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Elon's genuinely concerned tone sounds from behind me, his presence quickly joining me at my side, our gaze wandering the scene in front of us.

"Well, Boss, it would seem for the first time in my life, I'm experiencing motion sickness!" The young, unusually pale, redheaded engineer chuckles bitterly, voice laced with exasperation, a heavy sigh falling from his lips as he slowly shakes his head. "I'm sorry guys. I know our departure burn is coming up and it was supposed to be all hands on deck for that one, but if I leave this table I won't be making it very far."

Right... that's the next thing on the checklist... in less than twenty minutes from now...

"We'll be fine," I assure with a small smile, floating deeper into the small room and coming to a halt beside my friend who's rather frantically trying to keep her equipment close by. "Having all of us on deck was just a precaution. And the burn only lasts about a minute."

"We all know how long a single minute can be, though," Comes the response, a mere grumble as he settles back against the cot, squeezing his eyes shut in a seemingly desperate attempt to calm his overstimulated senses.

A silence blankets the room for a moment while the woman at my side continues to wordlessly rummage through the supplies that had yet to have been unpacked and set in their proper places, an air of urgency topping the quiet.

Though finally, after what feels like an eternity, Vivian prevails in her search, turning back to face the three of us with the digital thermometer in her grasp and a broad grin.

"While I have us all here, I'm going to make note of our temperatures - just so we have another benchmark to compare things to if need be down the way," She explains, offering a reassuring grin towards Mark, whose gaze is fixated solely on a spot on the ceiling, features heavy with fatigue.

"Good thinking," I hum, rolling up the sleeve of the hoodie I'd slipped on after stowing my IVA suit earlier, extending my wrist towards the sensor.

And after four sets of beeps and notetaking, a quiet settles in the room once more, my own gaze wandering over my friend's rather concerned features.

Though as she taps away at the tablet in her grasp, a contented grin tugs at the edges of her lips, her eyes raising to meet mine.

"We're all good," She exclaims softly, voice barely above a whisper as she shifts her focus behind me, passing a confident nod towards Elon before gliding back towards the bedside, quietly informing Mark of his temperature.

"So now what?" He grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff, eyes remaining tightly closed. "I can't exactly do much."

"Not true," Vivian retorts, grin growing as she flashes me a humorous smile. "You can help me with inventory of all of these medical supplies."

"And no, just because you don't like them doesn't mean you can't help keep count of them all," I huff with a laugh, a rather unimpressed glare being weakly sent my way from the man lying on the cot.

Mark just grumbles with a heavy sigh, shifting against the restraints keeping him in place, begrudgingly grasping the tablet being handed to him.

"Try and find the Med Bay inventory document. It should be in the same folder with the other inventory sheets," The woman explains, tone gentle as she leaves the bedside yet again, silently ushering Elon and I towards the door. "I'll be right back."

And by the time the young engineer's rather hoarse sounding "okay" reaches my senses, I'm back out in the small landing, my brow creasing in confusion as our Medical officer slides the folding door closed.

"You both have work to do. He'll be fine. Just needs some rest and not much movement."

Nodding slowly, my gaze meets my Partner's, a rather passive yet concerned expression on his features.

"Just comm if the situation changes. Mark's well-being is priority number two at the moment."

"And priority number one?"

I nearly chuckle aloud at my friend's question, though I choke it down, inwardly scolding myself.

She's got enough on her plate right now. She's likely not seeing the whole picture.

"Getting us into our interplanetary coast," I explain, a compassion in my tone as I roll over my wrist, the small screen displaying the synchronized ship time.

A look of realization settles on Vivian's features, a light laugh escaping her frazzled figure.

"Right. Well, let us know when you'll be initiating that burn. I'd hate to go sailing across the Med Bay with Marko there being not much help at the moment."

Now my earlier laugh is pulled from my lips, passing Elon a humored glance.

He simply returns it with a shake of his head, his own laughter shining in his gaze.

"Will do," I affirm once more, pushing off the ground we'd been floating above and with surprisingly minimal disorientation, begin towards the Bridge, my Partner following in my wake.

"He'll be fine," Elon assures, breaking the momentary silence that had fallen as we'd progressed up the main access tunnel, coming to a halt in the galley area of the Bridge, the large observation windows black with the inky void of space. "He's in excellent hands."

Surprise pricks my thoughts as I turn to face the man at my side, the pair of us simply floating in front of the darkness.

"Am I truly that easy to read?"

A slight grin tugs at the edges of his lips, a feigned thoughtful expression settling on his features.

"On this particular matter, yes. On other things, it's like trying to understand a foreign language I've never even heard of."

"Oh, shut up."

"We've already established this. If I shut up, you'll be lonely," He teases, drawing closer to my side and wordlessly grasping my hand in his, our gazes meeting with unspoken emotion for what seems to be the thousandth time since we'd arrived in orbit.

There's a certain shared glimmer of absolute disbelief and awe in his warm gaze, coupled with an admiration that only seems to grow as time continues to tick on by...

And for a moment, I'm utterly lost in my own thoughts and his features, a rather vague but exciting glimpse of what the future could possibly hold, flashing before my eyes.

The possibilities... the... problems?

"Earth to Laura? You alright, Love?" My Partner's familiar tone pulls me from my thoughts with a soft, startled gasp - my eyes blinking in rapid succession just to refocus on the here and now.

"Y-yeah. Just thinking, is all," I stammer, shaking my head slightly as if to clear it, offering a soft smile, gesturing towards the top of the window in front of us, the fuel tanker silently sitting attached to our vessel, the slightest hint of a glare reflecting off of its steel. "But we should probably get rid of this deadweight, yeah?"

A simple nod is the only response I receive as we wordlessly settle into our launch seats, the few manual flight control buttons on the armrest at my side glowing in the darker surroundings.

"Turner, we need you on the Bridge in five. Over," The man sitting beside me orders, raising his comm with a rather perplexed look, one that's sent my way, the sound of sheer static the only noise coming through the channel.

Why wouldn't he be answering?...

"Turner, do you copy? Over."

The static continues, almost ominous sounding.

The anxiety from before is beginning to bubble in the back of my throat as I bite my lip, passing Elon a knowing glance that he almost instantly returns, features hardening.

"We go ahead with separation. If he's not back here before we initiate our burn, that's his loss."

Surprise ripples through me at my boyfriend's words, my mouth opening as if to say something...

"I know. It's not protocol, but having the other two down in the Med Bay isn't either. But at the moment, we're running out of time to get this event over with," He explains, gesturing to the tablet in his grasp, the event timer clearly winding down.

"Alright, Commander," I chuckle, fastening my seat harness with ease before once more glancing his way. "Confirming we are green for fuel tanker separation?"

"Confirmed."

And with the press of a covered button, the sound of the switch a rather satisfying click, the separation is initiated, our vessel shaking at the sudden movement.

The clock continues to progress as the windowless tanker gradually begins to drift away from where we sit in orbit around the Earth, the Sun rising in yet another daytime pass, warm on my cheeks.

I relish the small moment as my gaze lingers on the ever-shrinking vessel, its engines bursting into action to complete its reentry burn, the maneuver earning a thoughtful hum from me.

It's absolutely amazing how when we, as humans, all set aside our differences, we can accomplish what only once was science fiction.

"Tanker is away," I state plainly, an air of awe in my tone as I turn to face the man at my side, his expression stoic, evidently lost in yet another train of thought, his own gaze fixated on the now tiny, silver speck heading back into Earth's atmosphere.

"It is," Comes the reply, tone soft, though as his gaze flicks from the windows to meet mine, it hardens slightly, becoming thick with an air of annoyance.

"Turner, we're initiating our exit burn in less than two minutes. Report to the Bridge. Over."

Nothing but static echoes back through the channel once more, unease rippling through me at the sound.

"Maybe the internal comms are down?" I suggest, though my darker thoughts disagree. "Or he's just refusing to answer."

"Neither of those options would be the case, Ms. Thompson!" An unfortunately familiar tone echoes from the main access tube, a sigh of partial relief falling from my lips.

At least he's here now... Though, what the heck took him so long?

"And here I was thinking being late was my trademark," Elon chuckles with a grumble, turning to face me with a frown.

I just huff a laugh, almost instantly falling silent as our eldest Crew member approaches us, sliding into his own launch seat with practiced ease.

"So? What's your case, then?" I demand aloud, twisting slightly against my restraints in a vain attempt to actually view the man sitting behind my Partner and I, only to fail miserably.

"It's quite the task to check and inspect each and every part of everyone's EMU suits, y'know," Alan drawls, a lazy sharpness in his tone that doesn't quite sit right with me. "Though, I wouldn't expect yous to know - EMUs are quite complicated for mere civilians."

A heat rises against the back of my neck that floods onto my cheeks, no doubt burning in a dull red rage as the Shuttle veteran's words meet my senses, my hands working their way towards the mechanism to undo my seat restraints, my mind racing a mile a minute with some sort of rebuttal...

But a familiar hand stops me, gently resting on my bicep.

'Not now,' My Partner says with his eyes that meet mine carrying such an ignited defensive flame to them, it catches me off guard.

"Regardless of the task at hand, in the future, please just communicate with the rest of the Crew that you're running behind schedule," Elon explains with a heavy sigh, no likely wondering why he, of all people, is having to tell a seasoned astronaut and former fighter pilot something such as this.

"Understood," Is the Veteran's only reply as the Bridge goes quiet once more, my gaze fixated on the readout display above the window.

Everything's green, burn procedures are half being followed...

"Let's get this show on the road," I mumble, jamming my thumb against the button on my wrist comm, opening the line to the Med Bay. "Initiating burn in t minus twenty seconds."

"Copy that," Vivian's soft tone filters through the small speakers, laced with a hint of excitement.

My attention is solely focused on the readouts of the vehicle's health, all remaining steadily in their respective green zones, practically unwavering.

"T-minus ten," I state plainly, flicking the protective cover off of yet another button that will send the signal to the engines to ignite once more, the duration already predetermined.

And as the clock winds down to T-0, a sudden, lesser shaking and shuddering radiates through our Starship, the force of the ignition, coupled with the newfound sense of acceleration enough to send all of us back into our seats.

My breath is practically whisked away from me in an instant, the ferocity of the sudden movement pulling a strained, surprised chuckle from my lips.

Everything's looking nominal... all systems green...

"T plus thirty seconds," I barely hear my Partner call out from beside me, my attention laser-focused on maintaining my breathing and the blurring readouts as time continues to stretch on.

Man, Mark was right about how long a simple minute can be...

And after what seems like an eternity, the jolting and rumbling finally ceases, leaving just a blanket of silence surrounding where we sit, weightless once more.

"Confirming SECO was successful and we're on a nominal trajectory," I muse aloud, un-velcroing the tablet from the side of my seat and powering it on, making quick work of synchronizing with the ship's flight data.

A variety of diagrams, charts and mere numbers present themselves to me as everything loads in, my gaze skimming over the screen, absorbing and sorting through each and every bit of information.

"SECO executed as expected," I report, unclasping my harness and slipping from my seat, floating towards the galley, Elon and Alan evidently in tow. "Though as for our trajectory..."

I allow my words to trail off as I undo the latch on the makeshift table that had been attached to the side of the pantry, folding it down and sticking my tablet to the surface littered with Velcro patches to secure things such as these.

"At a glance, we seem to be slightly off course," Elon murmurs, a familiar hand on my shoulder gaining my attention as I turn to face him, gaze fixated on the simulated diagram displayed in front of us. "But it could just be an error. We'll just have to keep an eye on things on a day-by-day basis."

"Yeah," Is all I have the chance to murmur in reply as a rather excited voice echoes from the main access tunnel, accompanied by a much quieter one.

"I'm fine! Honestly! If anything, I'm starving after having upchucked breakfast earlier," Mark chatters away as his familiar set of curly hair appears, followed moments later by a much darker, straighter appearance.

"So it wasn't a good idea to eat bacon and eggs then?" She teases as the pair near where we're hovering around the makeshift table, joining the circle.

"Oh, shut it."

"Just tell me if you're gonna puke again. The last thing we need is that floating around up here."

A rather disgusted expression falls across the young engineer's features at the medical officer's words, though he somehow manages a light laugh that falls into silence, everyone seeming to be lost in their own trains of thought.

"I think I'm gonna unpack and sort through the kitchen - figure out something to eat, maybe from the freezers..." Alan rather abruptly announces, eying the tablet warily one last time before leaving the group behind, patting Mark on the back as he passes by. "You said you were hungry. You comin'?"

"Sure," Comes the reply as the redhead follows gray towards the tunnel. "Maybe there are some of those dehydrated peach rings in the pantry back there. Do you have a favorite food?"

"They've switched things up a bit since I was last up. We'll have to see."

With their voices fading as they descend deeper into the ship, a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding escapes me, a glance of concern being sent my way from my Partner.

'I'm okay,' I assure him with a simple smile, though inwardly, my emotions are surging all over the place.

Anxiety, fear, confusion, doubt, excitement, awe...

They're all mixing into one unreadable mess of things and my head certainly isn't helping to make any sense of it.

Sighing heavily yet again, I power the tablet off, the screen going dark as I bundle it in my grasp, picking it up from the table.

"Well, it was a bumpy ride, but we made it," The woman at my side finally breathes, huffing a chuckle, though her features turn serious as she turns to face me, her longer hair pulled back into a ponytail swaying freely without the evidence of significant gravity. "You okay, Lau?"

Her voice pulls me from my thoughts, a hasty grin tugging at the edges of my lips as I zone back in on the here and now yet again.

"Yep," I reply far too quickly, earning an eyebrow raise from my friend. "Just awfully tired, is all."

Which is half the truth.

Exhaustion is seeping into my thoughts, becoming slower than usual to respond.

And with fatigue comes the dizziness back again, though I shove it aside, fixating on the blank screen of the tablet in front of me to ease the rather abrupt nauseating sensation bubbling in the back of my throat.

This better not persist the entire six months... if it does, I'm gonna lose it.

"I think I'm gonna go get my quarters sorted out before dinner," I muse softly, offering yet another soft smile of reassurance towards Vivian, who still seems unconvinced, eyes narrowed quizzically.

"I think I'll join you," Elon adds from my other side, once more passing me a glance before turning towards the other woman in the room. "While we're at it, we should probably run some system checks from the main computer on deck three - make sure it's in working order."

"I'll get a head start on my short and long range comm checks, then. No harm in crossing that off the list a few hours early."

Nodding, a genuine smile works its way onto my features, a certain warmth replacing the worries and fears for a moment.

We'll be fine. We've got each other. That's all that matters.

And with one last quiet farewell, I begin towards the access tunnel, inwardly grinning as I guide myself down, using the pre-installed ladder as an aid.

Alright. Time to... unpack.

****

Some time had passed since I'd descended into the lower decks of our Starship, so much so that dinner had been put to the side, caused by an unexpected systems software bug that had decided to make itself known.

The minute I'd powered on the monitor and E had punched in the passcode, all sorts of things had occurred, none of which we expected.

It had startled us both equally, but after overcoming our surprise, we'd made quick work of the issue, ultimately determining how to bypass the problem and simply work from there.

Alone and a deck up now, humming to myself, I drift towards the small, white folding door to my quarters with my name tag from my Flightsuit clearly attached to the Velcro patch on the outside.

Crazy to think that by the time we're back on Earth, that could potentially change.

As that thought crosses my mind, a certain giddy rush flows through me, though it quickly evaporates, leaving yet another deeper feeling of despair.

A lot could change by the time we're back... Governments, companies... people...

Practically running on autopilot now, I wander deeper into the small room.

It's simple - the best way things of this nature should be.

A small, regular bed sits flush against the wall, void of any pillows or sheets - those are stowed away for once back under the influence of gravity.

A desk and a chair also sit off to the side, with Velcro patches littering the one side of the flat surface.

The sleeping arrangements while in transit are rather odd: they'd explained them to us back at JSC, but I hadn't quite thought much about them... until now, as I'm struggling to wrangle the full body sleeping bag from one of the storage bins in the small closet.

Though this sleeping bag in particular is different from those back on Earth.

With numerous looped pieces of extra strength webbing adorning all sides of the exterior, just the right size to hook to the few clips scattered around the room and on the sides of the bed frame.

"They'll act as an anchor so yous don't float off while you're sleepin'" The thickly accented voice of the staff member who'd supplied the overview of the sleeping bags back at JSC echoes in my thoughts.

"Right," I hum, unrolling the lengthy contraption, genuinely surprised at how inviting a simple sleeping bag is looking. "Anchors."

And so, I get to work, clipping the cocoon into its place against the bed frame, blinking against the rising grit in my eyes.

Exhaustion is beginning to creep deeper and deeper as time continues to wear on... maybe I just won't eat dinner tonight?

"How are things coming along, Love?" Elon's sudden tone pulls me from my thoughts so fast, my head instantly snapping to meet the source of the voice, eyes wide.

Though as my gaze settles on his familiarly welcoming figure, hovering by the door, a sigh escapes my lips, accompanied by a soft huff of laughter.

"Please warn me next time you sneak up on me like that, yeah?" I ask as my Partner makes his way deeper into my quarters, shutting and latching the folding door behind him, a teasing mischief in his warm gaze.

"That wouldn't be much fun, now would it?"

"If you define 'fun' as giving me a minor heart attack each time, then for you, I guess it wouldn't be."

The pair of us float alongside one another for a moment, simply lost in our own thoughts, the inky void of space silently passing by the window in front of us.

And for a moment, everything else fades into the background. The worries, the constant, steady hum of the vessel around us... It all ebbs away as the comforting sense of skin-on-skin contact ripples through me, my fingers moving instinctively to intwine with the familiar rough but ever so gentle hand of the man at my side, a light reassuring squeeze following.

"You'd tell me if none of this was actually real, right?" Elon's voice is barely louder than a mumble, his thumb running soothing circles against the back of my hand grasped firmly in his.

"Yeah," Is all I breathe in reply, the slightest glimmer of sunshine from the sunny side of our ship reflecting off of the stainless steel, making it glimmer. "I would."

Lifting my gaze to meet his, a grin tugs at the corners of my lips, his own gaze already having been set on me.

"There's still so much to do before we can deem this whole thing a success," He begins, tone lowering slightly as he pulls me closer, our bodies practically colliding before slightly drifting apart from the impact. "But, we made it orbit. Our systems all continue to stay green. Mark no longer appears sick. And Alan..."

"We need to keep an eye on him," I urge softly, pulling myself towards the man in front of me, hooking an arm around the back of his neck to keep my floating figure from drifting away. "With those nightmares about launch... it still stands to reason something else won't occur now that we're past that stage."

At this, E just sighs, features twisting into a frown.

"Agreed. I'm just trying to remain optimistic here," He chuckles, exhaling sharply once more, eyes locking with mine. "But, like we've talked about before; all we can do is watch and wait. Which, I absolutely hate - I would rather take action before anything were to happen, but we're in the middle of space - death has us boxed in on all sides. We'll have to pull together as a Crew at some point or another and all we can hope is that Turner is in on that."

I barely hear the soft "yeah," that falls from my lips as my Partner's free hand trails across my cheek, wiping away the beginnings of unshed tears.

"Let's get you some rest, Love," A mere whisper of a suggestion hangs in the relative silence, the events of the day finally setting heavy upon my shoulders, the weight beneath my eyes that I'd shoved aside all day finally settling in.

And without protest, I allow the hand holding mine to guide me towards where I'd sprawled out and anchored my sleeping bag before he'd arrived, clambering into it with some struggle.

Though, my Partner helps me along, double checking that everything is in order before doing up the zipper, the soft fabric enveloping me, the soft yet stiff backing a welcoming grounding sensation to sleep in.

"Will you be okay?" I muse through frazzled thoughts, watching Elon's figure drift back to my side, brow creasing in slight confusion upon hearing my question. "To sleep, I mean."

A rather thoughtful look falls upon his evidently equally as exhausted features, his own eyes heavy with dark bags beneath them, a weary yet reassuring smile finding its way to his lips.

"I'll manage," Comes the reply, his accent sounding thicker than usual, a tell-tale sign of his fatigue.

Though as he drifts closer, somehow managing to press a kiss to my forehead, I can't help but allow an instinctively sleepy grin to spread across my lips, eyes fluttering closed in delight.

"Wake me if you, or anyone else, needs anything," I urge softly, though my tone carries a certain seriousness to it, the man at my side catching on almost instantly. "I can always use our leisure time to gain back some sleep if need be."

Though I watch through an increasingly hazy gaze as my Partner's lips twitch upwards into a broad grin, a teasing shining boldly in his gaze.

"You're acting like a Mother again."

"It could be worse."

"It could be," Elon hums with an air of humor, a contented expression settling on his handsome features, even if blurry, as he moves towards the door, the light from the foyer piercing the darkness that had fallen within my quarters making me squint. "Good night, Laura."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

And with one last glance, I watch silently as my Partner closes the door behind him, once more bathing the room in an unbelievably thick darkness - one that puts darkness on Earth to shame.

It's rather welcoming as my vision begins to fade away with ease, my hearing quickly following after...

And soon enough, I'm quite literally floating on the gentle hands of sleep...

Without the slightest concern of what problems may very well be quickly approaching on the horizon.

****

A/N:

Finally!!! I was finally able to finish this! You can expect more updates to this story coming your way hopefully more regularly! Also; apologies if this seemed like a filler chapter - it sort of is, but I felt it necessary to establish the beginnings of the interplanetary coast towards Mars. Going forward, however, only one or two more chapters will likely take place while the Crew is in transit, because we need to get to the actual objective: the Red Planet!

But thank you so much for taking the time to read this all the way through and if you've made it this far, please comment something - anything, just so I can feel a tiny bit of confirmation that I'm not the only crazy one reading this! 

You guys are all amazing! Hope everyone's doing well!

~ Kaila