And so, the Guardians returned to their beloved ship, the Milano. Most exhausted by the walk, they threw the bags in various places around the ramp's door. Gamora took Nebula to tie her up in the back hatch of the ship, Drax aimed for the kitchen, Peter was rummaging through his bag, and Charlie went straight for the tape deck.

Rocket went on all-fours to bounce up the cockpit stairs, happily yelling, "All right everyone let's get Baldy to Xandar and collect that bounty!" 

"He won't be that happy when he realizes its being split five ways," laughed Charlie softly. 

She leaned against it with her arm on the wall, her forehead pressing against her forearm. With her free hand, she hit the rewind button. She let it go every couple seconds to see if she had made it close to the start of the tape again. 

"I hate when he does that," grumbled Peter, approaching his girl. 

"Does what?" asked Charlie. 

Peter leaned his back against the tape deck. He squinted and peered up the cockpit stairs in clear resentment of the raccoon. 

"Oh, that," nodded Charlie. "Well, it's not like he's a bad pilot. And you get a break, so..."

"Still my ship," argued Peter. 

Charlie shrugged. "If you don't like it, then tell him. Or don't, because you know he's a little shit, so.."

Peter watched her continue to press the rewind button. He waited for another encouraging sentence, some more advice, or even for her to choose a side.

Charlie did none of those things. She continued to focus on the tape deck, seeming like the least of her worries was Peter's issue with not piloting his own ship.

Peter sighed and decided to not focus on it. She had other pressing matters, he knew, after a second to think about if it was really important to get mad over.

Instead, he opened the hatch to their bedroom and slipped in to change his clothes.

Charlie let out a quiet, "Aha!" when the radio began to play Lake Shore Drive. She felt a smile lift her features; there was no way she could be sad when she heard the careless and happy melody of Lake Shore Drive being blasted throughout the ship.

Groot's small formations of twigs extended and slid down her body. He hopped towards the window in the back of the ship. As Rocket lifted off from the platform, Groot hopped on the window and spread out his hands and feet, appalled by the view from the sky.

Charlie dropped to her hands and knees in front of the window, sticking her face through the hatch they called their bedroom. She saw Peter shirtless and digging around for a clean shirt.

"Nice view," she commented.

He saluted lazily.

"Left corner," she told him. "Clothes you never put away."

Peter dropped down and found a grey shirt. "What would I do without you?" he wondered. 

"I don't think you would have made it, honestly," she joked.

Peter hustled back to the ladder so Charlie wouldn't have to strain her neck too much. She was getting old, too. Their bones didn't go too long into physical activity without needing either a break or ice anymore. It was rather sad.

He climbed halfway up the ladder and let her sit back on her knees. He rested his face in the hands of lover's, closing his eyes in bliss when Charlie ran her thumbs up and down his stubble.

"That stuff about my father in there... Who does she think she is?" muttered Peter.

"Now it's getting to you," said Charlie. She was surprised at the delay.

"She doesn't know my father. I don't know my father. He could be reckless for all I know," defended Peter. He sighed heavily, bothered by the fact that he was bothered.

"It bothers you because you don't know him," guessed Charlie.

Peter opened his eyes. He found a new strength to finally mention what had been bothering him for a long time. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Always."

"If we had gone back to Earth..."

"Petey," whispered Charlie, her eyes closing themselves. She set her head against his.

"If we had gone back to Earth, do you think the hole in me would have been filled with your father? Do you think if we had still stuck together, yours would be like my father figure?"

"I don't know!" said Charlie, exasperated. "Peter, I don't know. I don't know if we would still be together if we were still on Earth, even. I don't like to think about it. I just like thinking that I have you now and that I'm going to have you forever."

Peter was stunned. He had known since they were about eighteen years old that Charlie meant something to him, that he couldn't live without her. If that hadn't been love, what was it? If she didn't believe the same situation would've occurred on Earth, how could he?

Charlie lifted herself from the floor. she heard Peter climb up entirely from the hatch, she saw Drax pass by her, and she noticed Nebula and Gamora on the opposite side of the ship by the drop ramp. She was trying to secure Nebula to the hook.

"Need any help?" wondered Charlie, coming to a stop.

"No, thank you," said Gamora, offering a smile.

Charlie started to climb up the shifted stairs to the cockpit. Not two steps up, an alarm began ringing throughout the ship. She took those stairs faster than Groot could speak. 

"What the Hell did you do?" yelled Charlie, leaning down between the chairs.

"How did you even know it was me?" snapped Rocket.

"Because you're an asshole!" yelled Charlie.

She reached over his chair to flip off the alarm, turning on the lights to see if there was something ahead that was setting off the alarm.

Gamora, Drax, and Peter shoved and pushed their way up the stairs to enter the cockpit.

Peter rested his hand on Charlie's waist to scoot her over. He took a seat in the co-pilot chair, assessing the controls and visuals.

Charlie hit on the controls, allowing the side and rearview cameras to turn on. Typically, they weren't programmed to be on, as space was wide and usually a free space to roam. So it came as a rather large surprise to see a fleet of Sovereign ships on their tail.

"Peter? Charlie?" asked Gamora.

"That's weird," noted Peter. "We got a Sovereign fleet approaching from the rear."

"Why would they do that?" asked Gamora.

"Probably because Rocket stole some of their batteries," said Drax casually.

"Dude!" snapped Rocket.

"You did what?!" yelled Charlie.

Drax changed his answer. "Oh, right. He didn't steal batteries. I don't know why they're on to us. What a mystery this is."

It was then the Sovereign ships began to fire. At the first hit, Charlie, Drax, and Gamora knew to hold on, as Rocket and Peter were busy defensively piloting.

"They were really easy to steal," defended Rocket.

"That's your defense?" asked Gamora.

"C'mon, you saw how that High Priestess talked down to us," he advocated. "I'm teaching her a lesson!"

Charlie tugged on his ear. "That should've been the first sign, idiot. High Priestess. High powered. High number of people to send to kill us!"

"Oh, I didn't realize your motivation was altruism. It's really a shame the Sovereign have mistaken your intentions and are trying to kill us," said Peter sarcastically.

"Exactly!" sighed Rocket.

"I was being sarcastic!"

"Oh, no, you're supposed to use a sarcastic voice! Now I look foolish!"

"God, if I wasn't so against species cruelty I would hit you so hard you'd see stars," seethed Charlie.

"I'm seeing 'em. There's one right there," pointed Rocket.

Charlie was quiet for a moment and then she raised her hand above her little friend's head, which Baby Groot, noticed, and he repeatedly screamed, "I am Groot," until she balled her fist up and just settled for glaring at Rocket's head.

"More incoming," warned Peter.

"Good, I wanna kill some guys," said Rocket, following it with a scream as he held his finger on the trigger and let loose at the Sovereign fleet.

Charlie gestured for Gamora to hit the navigational seat. She knew it wouldn't be best to task herself with an important job when all she wanted to do was hit her head repeatedly against a wall over the reoccurring leader issues.

"You're not killing anyone. All those ships are remotely piloted," said Gamora.

"What's the nearest habitable planet?" asked Peter.

"It's called Berhert?"

"How many jumps?"

"Only one. But the access point is forty-seven clicks away and you have to go through that quantum asteroid field," said Gamora.

Peter turned the ship to head directly into the astroid field.

"Quill, to make it through that, you'd have to be the greatest pilot in the universe," said Drax.

"Lucky for us..." started Peter cockily.

"I am," said Rocket.

Charlie braced herself and Baby Groot. "Hold on to your butts..."