In the middle of the night, John woke up to Cortana screaming and thrashing wildly.

"Cortana," he whispered softly, trying to shake her from whatever nightmare she seemed trapped in without scaring her. She seemed to hear his voice but was too focused on whatever she was screaming about. He said her name again.

She gasped and sat up straight in the bed but she seemed to still be dreaming. She grabbed hold of him suddenly, shuddering and shaking the entire time. She sounded like she was close to hyperventilating.

"We exist together, two corpses in one grave," she whispered to herself, shaking violently.

John couldn't understand how deeply her time with the Gravemind had affected her, the events of Requiem had followed so quickly that he never truly learned the damage she had sustained. When she would wake herself like this he felt helpless and even afraid.

He sat up and pulled her with him, drawing her to his chest. She rested her cheek against his chest, eyes still wide and remembering her torment. He ran a hand down her back.

"It's okay," he tried to speak in a comforting way but he didn't really know how. He couldn't understand what it was like to battle with something that wasn't real-things either were or weren't to him. He could say it was okay because it was, that was reality, but whatever she was experiencing was real to her even if it wasn't real to him.

"You found me…" she whispered.

"I did," he agreed.

"But so much of me is wrong," she continued. She was saying the same words she'd said all those years ago. "Out of place. You might be too late."

Failure. He had been late, too late to save her from the damage she sustained. He'd never felt such failure. She had held onto the index and been strong for humanity, she had done her part and he had failed her. He was supposed to take care of her, and this was only the first time he had failed, he would fail her after the Gravemind on Requiem. And she still came back.

"Nothing about you is wrong, nothing is out of place. We are here, in our tiny home. Together." Facts. The only thing he knew he could fall back on were facts. If he could just make it so for her.

She let out a shuddering sigh and he knew she'd snapped out of whatever she was dealing with. She started to cry. He didn't say anything, he just held her while she cried.

Her sobs slowed and she pulled away from him. She rubbed at her red eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is ridiculous." she took in a shaky breath.

"No, it's not. At the time, the mission had to take precedence over your status. But now there isn't a mission." He covered her tiny hand with his large hand, running his thumb over it.

She sat quietly for a moment and suddenly ran a hand over a plasma scar on his shoulder. She remembered almost every scar of one rippled over his shoulder and his clavicle. It looked brutal and Cortana remembered it distinctly. The scars that she bore from the war were less visible.

She felt guilty about her memories of the war. Because he was just so damn strong, like he had to be. Because she was ruined inside. She hadn't been strong enough two times over and had cost John everything.

"I've admired your strength, your strength to just move on despite the things you've seen and done. I find myself reflecting on how ruined I feel inside despite my outwardly flawless body. Inside, I still cannot move past what happened on High Charity." It was true. He never woke up in a sweat, he never cried out in his sleep, he never saw something and flinched because it reminded him of something. He was brave, he was strong and Cortana envied him. In most ways she had always felt like they were a team, that she could help him in ways that he couldn't help himself. As a human, she felt like she was the weaker, sadder one of what had once been the best team the UNSC had ever seen.

John thought before he spoke, "To start, I would be much worse off without you. I have more injuries from my teen years and the insurrection than a lot of the Halo Campaign where you were what kept me safe."

She wiped her eyes and shivered, a time where she hadn't been around to protect John, to save him. It terrified her.

He continued, "All of that being said, physical ailments are often easier to deal with. I don't think about it anymore, they don't hurt me chronically. What happened to you is different."

She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled a frustrated sigh. "I was arrogant, I felt that it shouldn't have affected me the way it did, that I was strong enough to endure. All I could think of over and over again was keeping the index a secret. I did that by flooding myself with memories and thoughts of you." she whispered. "Over and over I fantasized about a time we could be together and take care of each other, what it'd be like to touch you," she trailed off a little.

"When you found me, you and your promise were all that tethered me to reality, the only thing that allowed me to pull it all together and help you save everything. After that, I didn't feel like an AI anymore and that's why the events on Requiem were so hard for me. I was starting to feel more and more like a person."

She looked at his face, she could tell he was still concerned. "I will get better. I am happier than I've ever been and I have you. And now we have Kelly and Fred who depend on us."

John looked a little uncomfortable at the reminder.

"What's on your mind?" Cortana asked. She leaned back into the pillows, which she preferred many of, opposed to John who preferred none or one, and propped herself up. John leaned back. Cortana smiled, the bed didn't creak at all under his weight, definitely a good buy.

"I am conflicted about how I feel about seeing Fred and Kelly again. They are some of the only siblings and family I have ever known. Yet I feel responsible for them and I selfishly enjoyed being able to disappear the way we have," He paused. "They also confuse me slightly. I don't know what a child between the two of them would even mean."

Cortana laughed a little. "Once they have some things figured out between the two of them I'm sure they'll be fine parents if that's what they want," she shrugged a little and smirked. "Besides, who's a perfect, ready parent anyways. Their child will be well protected, educated, adorable and most importantly loved. That's all that really matters, the rest will work itself out."

Cortana yawned again. "I'm sorry for waking you," she whispered, snuggling under the covers again, getting ready to try sleeping again.

She felt him shake his head. "Never," he responded quietly. Never feel ashamed, always wake me, were the unspoken words. He wrapped his arms around her the way he knew she enjoyed, even though he much preferred sleeping on his back. She smiled and snuggled into him. She heard his breathing even out indicating he'd fallen asleep. He could fall asleep quickly anytime, anywhere. Cortana struggled a little more with sleeping, she would continue to make lists and think about the day, be it good or bad. It was worse after nightmares.

I have John, and John is everything. She fell asleep.

Cortana woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She'd sprawled all over and messed up all of the sheets. She almost always woke up alone, John didn't need half the amount of sleep she did, especially now that he was sleeping consistently. She smiled seeing dust particles in the sunlight streaming through the skylight.

She got up and opened her tiny closet. She rather enjoyed dressing herself and clothes. She picked some tapered pants and a button-up blouse. She liked the metal buttons and the fabric of his particular blouse. She usually liked clothing with panels that were rather simple but of nice quality.

She went into their newly furnished kitchen and touched the panel on the wall that would make her morning pot of coffee. She had convinced John they needed real appliances that worked on the same system, finally. She had to admit, she was in love. So much easier. Usually John would come inside and join her for coffee from whatever he was doing outside. He had her routine committed to memory.

Cortana sat down and pulled up the newspaper, it reflected upwards off the table as she paged through it.

John walked in and grabbed the brewed coffee for the both of them, pouring them mugs. Cortana smiled when he leaned in to kiss her good morning-usually he wasn't quite so affectionate but she could tell he still felt shaken by how upset she had been last night.

"It's a real surprise we didn't see this, there's an entire press release," she scanned the news and found a story from about six months ago featuring Fred and Kelly's wedding.

John looked up slightly. Cortana laughed. "Listen to this, doesn't get more UNSC public affairs than this:
"Both Spartans met as children and fought alongside each other in over one hundred campaigns that helped turn the tide of the Human-Covenant War and the War of Insurrection. Spartan Kelly stated that they both 'share the same commitment to Earth and her colonies, so it strengthens our commitment to each other.' she is wearing a white designer knee length gown gifted to her by Admiral Osman. Perhaps she will bring back the once popular wedding color white. Spartan Fred has a photo series that will be featured at the Museum of Living Arts on Earth in New York City. Spartan Fred plans to continue work photographing subjects that interest him while Spartan Kelly has completed her teaching certification via correspondence with the University of Edinburgh. She has been hired as a teacher in the Lamnda Aurige Public School System."
Cortana sighed. "I like how they leave their Spartan tags off because that re-emphasizes that they were taken away from their families. I also like the part where they say they met as children, it's almost funny. There's no mention of you, you have a press release somewhere that says you've retired to an undisclosed location."

"We were conscripted," he corrected. He never thought of it as 'being taken from his family,' serving as a Spartan was the highest honor. "I don't really care," he grumbled. "I've never done anything I've done for glory or recognition. The best gift the UNSC could give me is to leave me to live out my 'retirement' unless there is another imminent threat to humanity."

Cortana smiled. "Well you are the most decorated soldier in the history of the UNSC, but it is just so military the way you've been swept under the rug."

"It's worse that you will never receive credit for everything you've done. I hate ceremony and fanfare, this is the best possible outcome I could've asked for myself."

Cortana felt warm at his praise. "You know that the UNSC would still probably not consider me a human, let alone when I was an AI. It's okay, I really don't mind. I suppose this is the best possible outcome for either of us."

"What time is Kelly's event?" he asked as he leaned back a little in his chair.

"The track meet? Around 1400, we should leave by 1300 so we can get there and get a seat, Kelly sent a message that we can sit by her and her team." Cortana grinned. She liked seeing human customs and events, it was something she wasn't entirely familiar with.

John went upstairs and changed into his running shoes.

"Where are you heading?" she asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Base of the mountain and back," he grunted.

He must have a lot on his mind, longer run than usual.

"Okay, I'll be here," she smiled. He closed the door a little harder than normal as he left and Cortana frowned. She couldn't help but worry about him when he was like this but usually a run cleared his head.

She pulled out her comm tab and typed a message to Kelly. Talked to John, we'll be there at 1400, we are very excited to see your students excell! She smiled. The idea of having a female friend was somewhat exciting to her, even if it might seem a little silly.

Kelly responded quickly. I will save you seats next to mine and let officials know my brother and you are attending. She smiled. Even though she and John weren't married and she wasn't sure if it was something John cared to do, the idea of going out and appearing like a married couple put a spring in her step. Kelly also sounded just like John, concise and to the point with no extraneous information. Cortana supposed she'd always been unorthodox and perhaps a little obnoxious but she didn't really care.

Cortana busied herself with as many tasks as she could but she couldn't stop thinking about going into town for the track meet. Until she was confronted with having friends she didn't know how much she'd wanted some.

John came back from his run about an hour and a half later. He was sweating quite a bit and without speaking a word to her went to go shower. This wasn't very unusual, he usually was deep in thought after he ran and Cortana was glad he found it calming.

Cortana put vegetables from their garden in the kitchen and some chicken breast for a salad. She pressed a few buttons on their control unit and everything started cooking.

John came in from their bedroom dressed in new clothes, he was wearing a Black t-shirt and some grey pants. He ran a hand through his still damp hair and sat down, grabbing himself a bowl of salad and plenty of meat.

"This is really good," he commented as he ate.

Cortana smiled. "Yeah I agree, this crop of radishes is a lot better than the last one." She took a fair amount of pride in the small garden she'd started outside, it was a very instantly gratifying hobby.

He ate so quickly but still very politely. He got up and took their plates into the kitchen. He checked his watch.

"We should get going if we're going to be on time," he said grabbing his wallet and putting it in his pocket.

"Alright, I'm going to grab our sunglasses in case we're facing the sun," she knew it didn't really bother him but her eyes were a little sensitive.

They got in their vehicle and Cortana punched in the coordinates Kelly had given them.

The stadium was huge and there were hundreds of kids in uniforms stretching and cheering. John felt a little overwhelmed. He was surprised when no one really took time to stare at him because they were so busy doing their own pre-meet rituals.

"John!" He heard Kelly yell and wave them over. She towered over the crowd of teenagers that surrounded her, even the tallest boy was at least five inches shorter than her. She was holding a clipboard and wearing a fitted zip jacket and pants with a whistle around her neck. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. Ironically enough, the school mascot appeared to be The Spartans and John couldn't help but smile a little.

John and Cortana went and sat where Kelly had put her things, Fred was buzzing around and clicking pictures of the team. Once again Cortana was surprised at how normal he could look. John and Kelly stuck out much more and she couldn't really place why exactly. Maybe his movements and facial expressions were a little less severe.

An announcement played and everyone stood for the anthem. John, Kelly and Fred all saluted since it was outside. Cortana looked around, there were not many UNSC personnel attending, at least compared to the general attendance.

"Why don't you salute?" asked John after the anthem was done.

"Please, I'm no soldier, I didn't go through basic training and I was created from a civilian doctor," she laughed.

"Technically I didn't go through basic training," he said quietly.

Cortana started to laugh in earnest. Fred smiled in the slightest.

"Alright everyone, rally up!"

It was strange to hear Kelly shout, she was normally very soft spoken. Her team quickly circled around her.

"Does everyone know what they're running or throwing today?" she said a little dryly. A few kids raised their hands asking questions and she read off their various events.

"Okay, huddle in," she said. The students all huddled together for what John assumed was a pep talk.

"I know I've only had you guys for this year, and I know we came into this season as something of the underdog. I know what that's like, having the odds stacked against you,"

John thought of Kelly's painful, arduous recovery period after her augmentations. He remembered Reach when her lung had collapsed and she smiled and said she was okay. She definitely knew what that was like, out of any Spartan it was her.

"But you all have improved so much, I'm very proud of each of you. So go out there and lay it all out, don't regret anything, push yourselves." She reminded John of Chief Mendez on one of the few days he expressed how proud he was of the Spartans.

"Alright, Blevins, do what you do," she said a little stiffly. A lanky male who must've been the team captain counted off and the entire team yelled at the top of their lungs "Spartans!"

Kelly went to the first event she had students in while the others with events later continued to stretch and talk.

A few walked past John and Cortana and John could hear them talking excitedly.

"I can't believe we have a real Spartan as our coach."

A blonde female readjusted her ponytail. She looked like a sprinter to John. "We've gotta make her proud, Coach K is the greatest."

Cortana smiled. "Coach K, that's really cute," she laughed. A few of the athletes snuck a few glances at John and Cortana, clearly a little confused at their presence.

As the meet progressed, John was surprised to see how...involved Kelly was with each of her kids. She actually had a few really talented kids. She also screamed and yelled a lot more than either John or Cortana would've expected.

"I have never seen her so fired up, and I've seen this woman slice an Elite in two after bashing in the skull of a Brute with her hands." John murmured.

As if on cue, they heard Kelly screaming "Push it, finish hard!" To the anchor of her 400 meter relay team.

Fred sat down next to them, taking a break from photos.

"It is a little surprising but like all of us she is very competitive," Fred lowered his voice, "She thinks that some other schools resent the fact that there is a Spartan coaching this team and that officials sometimes make calls that aren't the fairest. But it's good, we may be among the first Spartans to retire but there is an entire branch of the UNSC that is Spartan-there will be hundreds retiring or getting out of the UNSC within the next decade or so. Society will have to adapt."

"That's interesting. There aren't many UNSC personnel on this planet, are there?" questioned Cortana.

Fred shook his head. "No, I think that's why we were placed here. It's quiet and not too extraordinary. Even if we wanted to we'd have a hard time causing trouble."

"It's the perfect place for us," spoke John.

"Didn't you grow up on Eridanus II?" questioned Fred.

"I was born there, yes," replied John.

"It must've been similar to this planet. They have started terra-forming the outer colonies that were glassed," stated Fred a little oddly.

"I wouldn't remember. I have fleeting memories before the Spartan program," said John.

"Me too. What do you remember?" asked Fred tentatively.

Cortana looked at John and he closed his eyes, wracking his brain.

"I remember sitting on a beach and my mother calling my name to come inside. I don't remember her face. I remember meeting Halsey. She…" He paused, trying to remember clearly. "She came to my school and watched me play gravball. She had a quarter and asked me to predict the coin flip. I guessed correctly and she gave me the quarter. A month later I was conscripted."

"You have a better memory than myself. I know Halsey didn't visit me herself. Kelly has the best memory, she vaguely remembers her parents. She was conscripted on her birthday, thought it was a game and evaded ONI for almost six hours," Fred said calmly.

John smiled. "That sounds like her,"

Cortana wanted to laugh but she couldn't help but feel saddened at the idea, an innocent little girl running from adults who wanted to abduct her. She tried to cover up her discomfort with humor. "I bet you guys were all the naughtiest kids in your classes, gave your parents a run for it,"

"I've always had to be the best," replied John.

"I bet you were bossy," teased Cortana.

The meet continued and Kelly's team appeared to be doing well. Cortana and John talked and watched, Cortana laughed at various comments John made throughout the event. Kelly ran around watching her students pole-vault, high jump, long jump and sprint their way to a third place overall with a few students advancing to the system-wide competition on Euripide.

Kelly gathered the students around and smiled. The kids started chanting something. Kelly blushed and covered her face with her hand bashfully.

Fred started laughing softly.

"What's going on?" questioned Cortana bemusedly.

"She promised the kids she'd run the track if they had 8 athletes advance and they had 10," smirked Fred.

"John, come over here!" Kelly yelled. John glared at her but listened to her all the same. Cortana saw the kids stare up at the tall man. A few parents had gathered around to congratulate their children and they too stared at John and Kelly.

"This is my brother John," she introduced. John felt very awkward about the 80-some sets of eyes looking toward him. He hadn't had this much attention in a while.

"If you can convince him to race me, I'll take a lap, hurdles and all," she goaded. John frowned.

The kids were silent for a split second but quickly got over their intimidation. "Race, race, race!" They started chanting loudly.

Cortana was busting a gut watching John under the scrutiny of a bunch of high schoolers, tears were streaming down her face.

John crossed his arms uncomfortably.

"It's okay if you think you're going to lose," Kelly goaded.

"I know I'll lose," he grumbled. There was almost no point, no one could catch Kelly.

"I'm old and injured," she said almost theatrically.

"We're the same age and I tore my Achilles tendon outrunning a Havoc missile once," he replied sarcastically, sounding almost like Cortana with his inflection.

"Loser buys drinks," Kelly wagered.

Looking at the kids and having Kelly play to his competitive nature, he sighed.

"Fine," Kelly looked like she was going to jump up and down in excitement. Even John had to admit, the idea of such a physical challenge with the fastest Spartan to ever have lived made him feel a huge rush of adrenaline.

The kids lined up alongside the track with some of their parents. Cortana and Fred went near the starting line, Fred snapping some photos.

"Cortana, rules," prompted John.

She felt like they were on a campaign together, her assessing the situation, him awaiting her advice. Cortana clapped and starting blocks came out of the ground.

"Okay, one lap, all out. Fred calls the winner," Fred nodded. "Loser buys drinks at dinner," Cortana cleared her throat.

"On your mark," Kelly and John looked at each other and Cortana could see the Spartans start to assess the challenge.

"Get set," they both snapped down to the starting blocks in sync, bodies rigid. Cortana swore she could hear the starting blocks strain in the slightest at the pressure they were exerting.

"Go!" Cortana yelled.

They both exploded forward. Both sets of starting blocks broke.

The kids immediately burst into cheers, shouting for their beloved Coach K. Kelly was beating John by a visible margin at this point. Cortana was absolutely floored by how fast she was, it was nothing short of stunning.

Right when Cortana thought John was gonna get his ass kicked by the female Spartan they hit the straight away with the hurdles...John started to clear them three at a time whereas Kelly could only make two at a time.

"Holy shit!" she heard one of the kids yell.

Cortana couldn't take the excitement as John came around the last corner, Kelly catching up to him quickly. He and Kelly were both red, clearly pushing themselves as hard as they possibly could. Her veins bulged out of her neck and her hair trailed behind her, her arms pumped impossibly fast at her sides. They both moved with an animalistic fury tempered by the grace and fluidity in their movements. John's strides were longer but Kelly's were just so fast. It was going to be close.

Before she could stop herself, she yelled, but what she yelled surprised her:

"Chief!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her fist clenched in the air.

When they finished she couldn't tell who'd won and everyone looked to Fred. He looked extremely embarrassed by the attention.

John caught his breath and swore. Cortana started laughing, knowing that he knew the result. Kelly had her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

Fred finally spoke up, "Kelly won by .2 milliseconds."

The students erupted into cheers for their Coach. As she was with everything, Kelly was a graceful winner. She put her hand on John's shoulder and ran two fingers over his mouth, a Spartan smile. He did the same to her. Fred snapped a picture. Cortana felt tears prick at her eyes.

"Don't worry John, I'm a lightweight, can't drink too much, never picked that skill up in my time with the IVs," she teased.

"I'm not worried, I started saving for retirement at six," he joked. Fred laughed at this.

"Okay, we will be meeting at Marley's downtown for our end of the season banquet, everything should be arranged," smiled Kelly, speaking to her team.

John couldn't help but wonder what the evening was going to hold. It would most assuredly be interesting.