THOSE ON EARTH watched and waited, whether it be in the city square, the comfort of their office, or the comfort of their own home. After so many excruciatingly long months, the day had finally arrived: Mark Watney was leaving the Red Planet after spending an endless amount of months stranded alone.

The day brought on a plethora of emotions. Some were happy, some were anxious, some were exceedingly terrified, while some were all three. Mark's retrieval was sure to be a spectacle, though there were some who weren't sure exactly what to expect from it. Not even the Ares 3 crew members were aware of what was going to happen within the next few hours, but they were determined to make sure that whatever happened was anything but a catastrophic failure, Maia especially. She had come too far to lose her brother again, and she had come too far to lose him to a simple mistake.

The Ares 3 crew were all in their appropriate positions aboard the Hermes. Vogel and Beck were in Airlock 2, while the remaining crew members were seated in the cockpit of the Hermes, more than ready to put an end to the mission they had been assigned to months before.

"Fuel pressure, green. Engine alignment, perfect. Communications, five by five," Maia spoke with a trembling voice. Her nerves were tearing her apart inside. "We are ready for pre-flight checklist, Commander."

"Mission Control, this is Hermes actual," Commander Lewis started. "We will proceed on schedule. We are T-minus 2 minutes, 10 seconds to launch, by the mark. About two minutes, Watney. How you doin' down there?"

"I'm good," Mark replied breathlessly. "I'm anxious to get up to you. Thanks for coming back for me."

Maia almost wanted to break down in tears at the mere sound of his voice. She couldn't wait to see him again.

"Well, we're on it," Commander Lewis assured Mark. "Remember, you'll be pulling some serious G's, so it's okay to pass out. You're in Martinez's hands now."

"Tell that asshole no barrel rolls," Mark responded, earning a good amount of laughs from the crew.

Commander Lewis only grinned and shook her head. "Copy that, MAV."

Maia waited patiently as Commander Lewis reviewed the pre-flight checklist, and the moment she had finished, the crew was ready to go.

"Mission Control, we are a go for launch."

Maia smiled up at the monitor in front of her and began the countdown. "T-minus ten. . .nine. . ."

"Main engine start."

"Eight. . .seven. . ."

"Mooring clamps released."

"Six. . .five. . .four. . .three. . .two. . .one."

Johanssen and Maia watched their screens intently as the MAV continued its ascent.

"Velocity, 741 meters per second, altitude, 1350 meters," Johanssen informed the crew.

"That's too low," Commander Lewis said to Martinez.

"It's fighting me."

Commander Lewis attempted to reach out to Mark, only to receive no response. Maia wanted to let herself worry about it until she remembered his situation. There was a strong likelihood he had passed out during the launch, which she could completely understand, but what she couldn't understand were the numbers flashing across the screen in front of her. She had a hunch that something was likely going to go wrong during the launch, but she wasn't aware that it would be happening so soon.

"Velocity, 850, altitude, 1843," Maia informed the crew. "He's well below target altitude."

"How far below?" Commander Lewis inquired.

"Checking." Maia began typing away on the computer, while the rest of her crew-mates continued with the launch necessities. Once she had what she was looking for, however, she spoke up. "Intercept velocity will be 11 meters per second."

"I can make that work," Beck replied.

"Distance at intercept. . .we'll be 68 kilometers apart," Johanssen followed in disbelief.

"68 kilometers?" Beck exclaimed. "Did she just say 68 kilometers?"

Johanssen simply rolled her eyes at him and continued her calculations, just as Maia did at her side.

"C'mon, guys, work the problem," Commander Lewis said. She unbuckled herself and made her way over to the two sysops, her concentration on the large screens in front of them. "Watney, time to intercept?"

"39 minutes, 12 seconds."

"Martinez, what if we point our thrusters in the same direction?" Commander Lewis asked.

"Well, it depends how much fuel you wanna save for the altitude adjustments for the trip home," he answered.

"How much do you need?"

"I can get by with about 20% of what we have left."

"If we use 75.5% of remaining altitude-adjust fuel, that will bring the intercept range to zero," Johanssen said.

"Do it." Commander Lewis headed back over to her seat.

Maia, on the other hand, had the results from another calculation. "Hang on. It brings the range to zero, but the intercept velocity will be 42 meters per second, and that's way too fast."

"Then we'll have 39 minutes to figure out how to slow down," Commander Lewis mused. "Martinez, burn the jets."

"Copy that."

The crew remained quiet for several minutes as they continued to work out the problem they had just been faced with. Of course, they were all aware of the science and the complications behind space travel, but they wished things could be different. Maybe if that were the case, the crew wouldn't be an enormous ball of stress.

Minutes later, the sound of Mark's voice was what caught their attention.

"MAV to Hermes."

"Watney?"

"Affirmative."

"What's your status?" Commander Lewis asked him.

"My chest hurts, I broke my ribs." The mere sound of his voice was enough to alert them that something was wrong. "How are you?"

"We're working on getting to you. There was a complication during launch," Commander Lewis told him.

"Copy that," Mark breathed out. "How bad is it?"

"We've corrected the intercept range, but we've got a problem with the intercept velocity."

"How big a problem?"

"42 meters a second."

"Well. . .shit."

Maia chuckled as she typed away on her computer. "Watch your language, kid."

"Maia?" Mark seemed to perk up at the sound of her voice. It hadn't been long since he'd spoken to Maia, of course, but it had been well over a year since he'd last heard her voice in real time. He would be lying to himself if he said he didn't miss it or her. There were no words for him to describe just how ecstatic he was to finally get back to his little sister.

"Yes?"

"Has your voice gotten deeper over the last year, or am I just hearing things?" Mark teased her, earning a laugh from Johanssen and Martinez.

Maia shook her head and sat back in her seat. "I think you're just hearing things, Marky. Your senses aren't as sharp given the impact the launch had on your body, but then again, what's new?"

Mark gasped at the sound of her words, though it was not in response to her words themselves. "You've just given me quite the idea, Little Watney. Commander?"

"Go ahead, Mark," the Commander urged him.

Maia sat patiently in her seat, waiting to see what genius plan her brother had concocted from her random choice of words. Part of her didn't have a very good feeling about what he was about to say.

"I can find something sharp in here and poke a hole in the glove of my EVA suit," he started. "I could use the escaping air as a thruster and fly towards you. It would be easy to control and it would be on my arm."

Johanssen and Maia shared looks with one another, though they couldn't help the smile pulling at the corner of their lips. Mark was being absolutely irrational, but he wouldn't be their Mark if he wasn't.

"I can't see you having any control if you did that," Commander Lewis reprimanded him. "You'd be eye-balling the intercept using a thrust vector you can barely control."

"Yes, yes, those are all very good points, but consider this. . .I'd get to fly around like Iron Man."

Maia chuckled and shook her head at Mark. It never occurred to her just how similar she and Mark actually were.

"Commander, let's go Iron Man," Mark suggested again.

Commander Lewis switched off the communication link with Houston and turned to Martinez. "Maybe it's not the worst idea."

Maia let out a sarcastic laugh from her seat. "But it is. It's absolutely terrible."

"I'm gonna have to agree with Maia for once, Commander," Martinez followed.

"Not what he said," Commander Lewis said. "Using atmosphere as thrust. What happens if we blow the VAL?"

"You wanna open the vehicular airlock?" Martinez inquired.

Commander Lewis nodded. "It'll give us a good kick."

"It'll also blow the nose off the ship," Maia protested.

"And all the air would leave, and we need air to not die," Johanssen followed sarcastically.

"We would seal the bridge and the reactor room," Commander Lewis assured the two girls. "Everywhere else would go vacuo."

Johanssen and Maia were not at all thrilled with the Commander's plans, but they knew they weren't in a place to change her mind. Months ago they had all said they would do anything to make sure Mark made it back home safely, and that was exactly what they were doing, regardless of how potentially dangerous their actions proved to be.

"Vogel?" Commander Lewis called.

"Go ahead, Commander."

"I need you to come inside and make a. . .bomb," she told him.

"Again, Commander?" Vogel seemed almost surprised with her request, but he was definitely not the only one.

"You're a chemist," she spoke matter-of-factly. "Can you make a bomb with what you have on board?"

"Probably." Vogel let out a breath, "But I feel obliged to mention that setting off an explosive device in a spacecraft is a terrible, terrible idea."

"Hang on," Mark's voice sounded. "You guys making a bomb without me?"

Maia only rolled her eyes.

"Copy that," the Commander answered Vogel. "Can you do it?"

"Ja."

Commander Lewis smirked in triumph and switched back on the communication device. "Houston, be advised; we are going to deliberately breach the VAL to produce a reverse thrust."

Maia didn't even wanna think about how NASA would react to the plan. The Hermes was the most expensive machine ever built, so there was no doubt repairs would cost a good amount of taxpayer money.

"Beck, leave your suit on and meet Maia in Airlock one," Commander Lewis instructed him. "We'll open the outer door. I need you to place the charge on the inner door. Climb back to Airlock 2 along the hull."

"Copy. I'm on my way."

Commander Lewis looked back at Maia, who was already unbuckling herself. "You know what you need to do, right, Maia?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Maia didn't bother waiting on a response, and instead made her way out of the cockpit and further into the ship. It was then she ran into a problem: she wasn't sure where Vogel was.

"Vogel, where are you?"

"Kitchen."

Maia pushed herself toward the kitchen and very quickly slid down the ladder. She jumped to the floor and made her way over to Vogel, who was concentrating on, well, creating the bomb Commander Lewis had asked for. Maia still was not at all okay with the plan, but she knew Commander Lewis was smart, and she was doing what she was doing to get Mark back to them. That was all she could really ask for. She just wasn't sure how she was supposed to spend the next several months on the Hermes without forgetting where she could and couldn't go. It was bound to be tricky.

"Hey," Maia greeted Vogel breathlessly. He cut open a pack of sugar and began pouring it into the container in front of him, much to Maia's confusion. "Sugar?"

"Yeah, can you hold this?" he asked, gesturing her to the tank on the table. She nodded her head and grabbed it while he continued his craft. "Liquid oxygen and some stain remover that contains ammonia. This thing here is five times stronger than a stick of dynamite."

Maia was impressed by his words, but she was still curious about how it worked. "How do we activate it?"

"Can you connect this to one of our lighting panels?"

"Yeah," Maia said with a slight smirk on her face. She picked up a plastic bag and held it open, while Vogel carefully placed his creation inside.

"Be careful."

Maia only nodded in response and made her way out of the kitchen. Her next stop was Airlock one, where she was supposed to be meeting Beck.

"I'm on the way to Beck," she informed the crew.

She soon approached the Airlock one entrance, and after instructing Martinez to open the door, she made her way inside. Beck was already present, and Maia smiled the moment she met his blue eyes. He seemed to be rather exhausted, and his face shone with perspiration. Maia knew the mission was taking its toll on him, just as it had been doing with her, but it was only now she realized just how much she hated seeing him in such a tired state.

"You okay?" she asked him and reached out for his hand.

He only nodded and squeezed her hand tightly in his own.

Maia released her hold on him and removed Vogel's bomb from the plastic bag. She handed it over to Beck and turned her attention to the lighting panel at her side, working diligently on hooking up the device.

"Make sure you're not in here when this thing goes off, okay?" Maia teased. "Don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Copy that," he chuckled.

Maia turned to look at him with a small smile on her face. "Be careful, okay?"

Beck smiled and nodded.

Without another word, Maia made her way out of Airlock one and back up to the cockpit. She was busy settling into her seat when Martinez spoke up.

"Guys, I'm running the numbers, and even with optimal VAL blow we're gonna be off on our angle," he told the crew.

"What's the intercept distance?" Commander Lewis asked. "Johanssen?"

"260 meters, approximate."

Maia knew what that meant, and it only made her feel worse in regards to the situation. She wondered if everything they were doing was about to be done in vain, simply because the numbers were off. She wondered if she would get her brother back, or if an incident would mean leaving him stranded in space with no means of retrieval whatsoever. The mere thought of it made her feel sick to her stomach.

"That's too far," Commander Lewis said, confirming exactly what Maia knew to be true.

Maia shook her head and unbuckled herself once more, but Commander Lewis did the same. The redhead turned around to see Maia making her way out of the cockpit but stopped her immediately.

"Watney, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to get Mark," Maia informed her sternly. "I understand you're my Mission Commander, and I respect that, but right now I don't care what you say to me. He's my brother, and I told myself months ago I was going to do whatever I could to get him back. This is me holding true to those words. I won't lose him again; if he dies, I'm dying with him."

"Maia, no," Johanssen warned, her tone fearful.

"Are you crazy?" Vogel exclaimed.

"C'mon, Little Watney," Martinez followed.

"Quiet," Commander Lewis instructed the remaining three crew members in the cockpit.

Commander Lewis wanted nothing more than to reprimand Maia immediately for fear of putting another crew member's life at risk, but as she studied her intently, she found it was the last thing she wanted to do. She could see the determination burning in the petite brunette's green eyes, as well as the fear. Commander Lewis knew she was not afraid of dying, however. Maia was only afraid of losing her brother. It was the reason the Commander was so reluctant to say no to the younger Watney sibling, despite the fact it was completely out of character for her. She knew that if anyone could make sure Mark returned back to the Hermes safe and sound, it was Maia.

"Okay," Commander Lewis gave in. Her answer received several looks from Vogel, Johanssen, Martinez, and even Maia herself, simply because she was never one to allow a crew member to test her command. She was also allowing Maia to venture out into space to retrieve her brother, which also scared them slightly. "You can do it. There's no one I trust more to make sure he returns safely than you, so you can do it."

"Thank you, Commander."

Commander Lewis gave a stern nod and sat back in her seat. "Lead the way, Watney."

Maia simply nodded her head and left the cockpit. "Martinez, close the door and open D3, please."

"Leave it open," she heard Commander Lewis tell him.

Maia slid into an EVA suit and secured it as quickly as she possibly could and started toward the airlock door. "Open B2."

Maia hurried over to the MMU as Commander Lewis questioned Johanssen. Beck then made his way into the Airlock, shocked to find Maia sitting in the MMU strapped and ready to go.

"Maia?" he spoke breathlessly. "What are you doing?"

"The distance is too far; I'm going to get Mark," she answered.

Beck shook his head. "No, I can do this. You don't need to risk yourself like this, please."

"He's my brother, Chris," Maia reminded him. "This is not a debate. I'm going to get him."

Beck wasn't allowed the opportunity to respond before Commander Lewis's voice sounded. "Strap in and brace for deceleration."

Beck and Maia did exactly as she said. The countdown ended almost as quickly as it started. A jerk was felt and then it was over. Maia let out a breath and started making her way over to Beck.

"I need relative velocity," she spoke to Johanssen.

"12 meters per second."

"Copy that," she replied. "Hook me up, Beck."

Beck did as she said and Maia continued inching her way out of the ship.

"Please be careful, Maia."

"I will," she assured him. Maia made it several meters out before she finally managed to spot the MAV. "I have visual on the MAV. What's the intercept range?"

"312 meters," Johanssen answered her.

Maia let out a sigh and shook her head, but otherwise remained silent. The situation only seemed to be growing more complicated as the time passed.

"Did you say 312?" Mark asked. "Great, I'll wave at you guys as I go by."

The end of the tether line jerked Maia backwards, sending a wave of fear into her body. "I can't get to you, Mark, you're too far. I'm not gonna make it," she said in slight defeat.

"I know."

Maia thought for a split second before deciding what it was she was going to do. She didn't care about the outcome, so long as she had Mark back. "Beck, I need you to unhook me. I'm going after him."

"No you're not, little sister," Mark said to her. "I got this."

The sound of thrashing alerted Maia that something was wrong, but she wasn't exactly sure what. Luckily for her, Commander Lewis had already questioned Mark about it, but Maia did not at all receive the answer she was hoping for.

"Oh my gosh," Maia whispered to herself as she watched Mark's figure burst from the MAV. He flew sporadically towards Maia, and Maia studied his positioning intently, trying to figure out what exactly she needed to do in order to get to him. "Johanssen, what's my relative velocity to Mark?"

"5.2 meters per second."

"Copy that, adjusting course."

"3.1 meters per second," Johanssen told her. "Distance to target, 24 meters. . .11 meters to target. . .six meters."

Once the two were close enough to each other, Maia held her hand out to grab him. Mark reached for her, but the moment the two made contact with one another, Mark slipped away from her.

"No," Maia exclaimed as she watched him fly away from her. The mere sight of it reminded her of their last day on Mars together. Not being able to hold on to him was one of Maia's biggest regrets, and now it seemed as if history was trying to repeat itself. That was something she refused to let happen, however.

Mark latched onto the tether as tightly as he could, and the moment Maia saw that he had found a foothold, she began reeling him in to her as quickly as she could.

"Don't let go, Mark," Maia pleaded with him.

Maia continued pulling him. The two became entangled in the tether, but that was the last thing on Maia's mind. All she cared about was getting her brother back, and with one final use of what was left of her strength, that was exactly what she got.

The force in which Maia and Mark were pulling at each other caused them to collide in a particularly abrupt manner. Maia slammed her head against the glass of her EVA suit, effectively resulting in a head injury, but she could not focus on it. She could only bring herself to focus on the man she now held tightly in front of her. Maia could feel the relief flooding into her body, she could feel the tears pooling in her eyes, and she could feel the smile on her face. She had never felt such a happiness in her life.

"I got him," Maia forced out. "I got him."

Mark shed a few tears of his own at the sight of his sister's face. It had been so long since he'd seen her. He had spent over a year dealing with and concealing the pain of missing his family, especially his little sister. It meant so much more to him and more that she was the one who had come to get him.

"Pull us in, Beck," Maia instructed him.

"I can't believe it's you," Mark said to Maia.

Maia laughed, resulting in a few more tears falling from her eyes. "I can't believe it's you either."

Maia held Mark towards the Airlock door as Beck drew to a finish on reeling them in. Beck grabbed Mark once he had done so, receiving a wide smile from the oldest Watney sibling.

"Hey, handsome!" Mark exclaimed.

Maia made her way over to the wall to remove herself from the MMU, while Beck closed the hatch and Mark greeted the remaining crew members gathered at the Airlock door just waiting to come in.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Maia chuckled as she removed herself from the MMU. She made her way over to Beck, while Mark continued his greetings with the remaining crew members, all of whom were now barreling into the Airlock.

Martinez removed Mark's helmet, while Beck helped Maia remove hers.

"You got a little smell goin' on over there, bud," Martinez teased.

"Well, I haven't had a shower in a year and a half," Mark remarked, earning a laugh from those in the room.

Maia shook her head and turned to Beck, who was looking at her with a smile on his face. She grinned and removed his helmet. He leaned in to press a kiss to her lips, which earned the attention of Mark.

"My OTP is alive and well," Mark exclaimed happily.

Maia laughed and pulled away from Beck to look at her brother with tear-filled eyes. She rushed toward him and wrapped him in a tight hug, not at all bothered by the intense bulkiness of their suits or even his horrid smell. She had her older brother back. Maia was finally whole again, and that was all that really mattered to her.