Armageddon – In The Home

Grace watches over her newborn son

Grace smiled at A.J. as she moved to the back of the house holding their newborn son. It was a beautiful Summer afternoon, her husband was busy fumbling and attempting to make crepes, her son was peacefully sleeping in her arms and all she wanted to do was crawl up in a tiny ball and cry her eyes out. She was not unaccustomed to the feeling, though, not since her father died saving the world.

Ever since that day, she had lost count of how many times she heard tales of her dad's heroics, how every single member of the crew was a damn hero, but Harry Stamper, Harry was the man who chose to stay behind in that God forsaken rock, the man who chose to die if only to save the world (to save her, she whispered to herself sometimes). Harry was the name hailed in the news for months, he was the face of the crew, he was the romantic fallen hero.

Harry was her dad, and people seemed so clueless of that fact sometimes, that she was alive, her husband was alive, everyone who was alive was because her dad was dead. People celebrated that Harry had saved Earth, but they forgot that no matter the friends he left behind, he left her behind, and she couldn't rage about it, she couldn't be her child in that, angry and out with it all.

Even A.J. didn't quite understand it, the pain of losing her dad and gaining a hero of the world instead, because she could never understand the pressure of the mission, of the terror they all felt out there, of the knowledge that they were essentially on a suicide mission – but in the end, Harry was the only one who truly stepped up to die. That A.J. understood. Except he didn't.

All her life, Harry had been her hero, her rock, the strongest man in the entire world, the man who would lift her up to the skies, who told everyone off for being so much lesser than his beautiful, bright, wonderful daughter, who believed in her every moment of his life, even when he thought she was making a mistake getting involved with a man so like him. Harry was her dad, and she knew that the sole reason why he had gone up to save the world was because she was a part of that world – some nights when she couldn't sleep, long before she gave birth, she let her mind wander to a world where Grace Stamper didn't exist, and maybe a world that wasn't saved because Harry Stamper had no one he loved enough to die in a lonely rock for.

Most nights, she thought it was a good thing she was alive, that she existed, but on her darker nights, when she missed him like she would miss breathing, she thought that maybe... Maybe if she had never been born, it would be better. Harry would've lived his last days in peace, maybe even died with his best friends surrounding him when that asteroid came to claim Earth.

She wouldn't be around to feel the weight of his sacrifice, in any case. She didn't tell A.J. anything about those dark thoughts, he would flip out, he would try to comfort her, but there was nothing to comfort. Her life was wonderful otherwise, and she loved A.J. so much, and when she saw the ultrasound for the first time and heard her baby's heartbeat, she felt complete, but it didn't change the fact that if Harry had been there, her life would have been that much better.

"I love you so much, did you know that?" – she whispered to her son, who didn't even stir in her arms – "Your granddad would have loved you so much... Even though he would have tried to kill your dad for making you with me" – she giggled a little – "He was a tough cookie, your granddad. He–" – she blinked – "He was– He was the best dad, you know. He was difficult, controlling, but he was had such a big heart, and when you wormed your way into his heart, that was it, he would love you forever"

She closed her eyes and finally started to weep, only barely managing not to drop her baby, and making sure her tears didn't fall on him.

God, but her dad would berate her so if he could see her now, he'd ask why she was crying over her dead old man when she had such a perfect life now, the kind of life he had always dreamed she would have, and she knew she shouldn't cry, but, how could she not? She was the woman she was because she had a man like Harry for a father – and what kind of man would her son grow up to be without Harry to boss him around, tell him off for screwing up, love him so deeply, so completely that when it was taken away, it was like the worst loss a person could suffer through?

Several minutes later, she stopped crying, though she knew there were so many more tears in her, and she watched the sky as she rocked her baby.

"Hey" – A.J. stood at the door, frowning in concern at her – "Crepes are done... You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Are you sure?" – she looked down at their son and smiled.

"I am. So, crepes?"

Because the goodbye scene never fails to make me sob.