we'll get back up
even if this takes forever
- Futures, "Islands in the Sea"


islands in the sea
chapter nine - islands in the sea


Nine weeks after leaving Yu Liberte to journey to the islands in the middle of the Strahtan sea, Hubert Oswell is preparing to depart for them again.

He stands in Dylan Paradine's office, in front of the president's desk, his hands folded tight together behind his back. Paradine sits at his desk, bent over a sheet of paper that he is reading closely. He is silent for a while, studying the document, and then he lifts his head, chuckling as he reaches for a nearby pen. "I don't know how you managed to talk me into this, Hubert," he says, signing the bottom of the sheet with a flourish, "but I feel confident that the Sol Islands will be in good hands from this moment forward."

"Thank you, sir."

"There's no need to thank me. If anything, I should be thanking you. Here - your official orders." Paradine beckons him close, slipping the signed document into a folder that is stamped with an official insignia of the Strahtan military. When Hubert approaches he is handed the slim folder, and upon accepting it he bows low, gripping it tight in both hands. "You know as well as I do," the president continues, "that Yu Liberte will feel your loss very heavily. I am all but certain that I will hear a great number of complaints from those who consider my actions to be the exact opposite of what this nation needs and desires."

"I understand that, sir." The blue-haired man straightens, fixing his eyes on Paradine's. "And I apologize for any trouble that my request has caused you, or any distress that my transfer to the Sol Islands may bring to others. I know that I am well liked here, and I appreciate that. But you are more than welcome to tell anyone who might inquire that this transfer was entirely my idea, and not yours. I would not ask you to keep such a thing secret from anyone."

"Except from your father, of course."

"I thought you might guess that I hadn't told him the whole truth. But he will learn it eventually." Hubert smiles ever-so-slightly. "And I am sure that he will be infuriated by it. But I care little for his opinion, to be completely honest. This is the direction that I have decided on for myself, and I will not be swayed."

Paradine returns Hubert's smile, chuckling again. "In all of the years that I've known you, not once have I heard you say anything like that. You've really come into your own, haven't you?"

The lieutenant swallows, hoping he hasn't stepped out of line. "Someone very important to me told me that life is not worth living if we have regrets. I have had more than enough regrets for one lifetime. Now I must attempt to move forward."

"I see." The room is silent for a moment, and then the president nods once, folding his hands together. "Well, Hubert, I wish you the best of luck. You will find more information in the documents that I have just given you, but nothing in them should be a surprise. As we have already discussed, I am requesting monthly reports on the status of the development, as well as your monster eradication activities both in Strahta and elsewhere, when you are called upon to assist the other nations. Should you decide to come in person for your reports, the city of Yu Liberte will always welcome you with open arms."

"Thank you, sir." Hubert bows again. "I do not intend to be a stranger to this city. But I - "

"One more thing." Paradine smiles wide and leans forward at his desk, nodding at the younger man. "As much as I would like to keep from interfering with the direction of your life, I am asking that you think of this move as a promotion."

"... a promotion?"

"Indeed," he responds. "After all, these operations require a leader, and ultimately, I would be a fool not to choose the one person suited for the job. What do you say, Colonel Oswell?"

"Co - Co - Colonel - " Hubert sputters for a moment, then manages to collect himself, snapping his heels together and hurriedly tucking the folder under one arm before saluting. "Yes, sir! Thank you! Thank you very much, sir, I - thank you!"

Paradine laughs outright now, waving a hand at him. "That's more than enough gratitude for today. Hurry and finish cleaning out your office. Your replacement is chomping at the bit to take over your desk, and you have a ship to catch."

"Y - yes, sir!"

"Take care of yourself, Hubert."

"I will," Hubert promises, and salutes once more before turning and rushing out of the room. He waits until he's a safe distance away from the president's office to release a long, shaky breath, leaning back against the wall of the hallway as he waits for his heartbeat to stop drumming in his ears. "Colonel," he murmurs to himself, and can't help but laugh, shaking his head. A colonel at age twenty - who might have guessed that this would be the direction his life would take?

Effective today, he is to become the director of military and development operations for the Sol Islands. He had approached Paradine two weeks earlier with the suggestion - and initially the president had wanted to hear none of it, insisting that Hubert was a fine lieutenant and that the city of Yu Liberte both wanted and needed him. But as the younger man had gone on to explain, what he wanted and needed ultimately had to be more important. "I realize that it is unlike me to disagree with you, sir," he'd said, watching Paradine's eyes grow wide with surprise, "but I want to be involved with the future of this country. If I am to remain as part of Strahta, I must be doing more than signing papers and directing troops. I have been content with the direction of my life up until this point, but now I must follow a different path."

Paradine had been shocked, of course, but also impressed. After a few days of deliberation he'd agreed: Hubert was one of the only people fit to take on the role of leader, and one of very few people who the president trusted. Despite his youth, he was reliable, and ultimately had more knowledge of the islands than others might. "I will agree to your proposal," Paradine had said, "because I know you, of all people, want what is best for our nation. And if this is what is best for you, as well, it would be wrong to say no."

Hubert recalls this exchange with a broad smile, and he exhales again, glad no one is in the area to see him grinning like some kind of fool. "That is enough merriment for one day," he says out loud, and starts down the hall to return to his office. He still has a few things to do before he leaves for the islands - a box of personal belongings to collect from his office, and one final check at the Oswell manor to ensure that his furniture and clothing have all been safely picked up and boarded on the cargo ship. He will be departing on a second ship in the late afternoon, to arrive on Thetis the next morning, and he muses to himself that an Amarcian aircraft would really be quite useful (and much faster) for traveling back and forth. He wonders, as he reaches his office door and swings it open, if Fourier would be able to teach him to fly -

- and his thoughts come screeching to a halt when he closes the door to his office and looks across the room to his desk. Someone is waiting there - a someone with white and red hair and bright amber eyes. She sits in his chair with her feet propped up on the desk, and he notices immediately that she's dressed nicely, in a sleeveless white sundress with a wide yellow belt and white sandals. She's spinning a daisy around in her fingers, and even when Hubert gasps and drops his folder she doesn't look up, only makes a comment with a smile: "You've been busy, huh?"

"P - Pascal - !"

"Sure is empty in here." She plucks a petal from the daisy and observes it carefully before allowing it to flutter out of her fingers to the floor, and after a pause she finally turns her head, examining him just as closely as she had the flower. Hubert notices that she's a little more slender than before, that she's grown out her hair since then, and he's struck by how breathtakingly pretty she is - he thinks that he forgot, somehow, just how much he loved the mere sight of her face, her smile, and the sound of her voice - "Are you going somewhere?" she asks.

"... yes." He bends to pick up his folder, gathering together the sheets that have slipped out and tucking them carefully inside again. "I just received new assignments. A - a transfer. And a promotion."

"A promotion, huh?" She tosses the flower in her hand to the desk, uncrossing her legs at the ankle and lowering them from where they had been pressed against the edge of his desk. "To what?"

"Colonel."

"Wow. That's a big one." She whistles. "You really are top dog now, aren't ya?"

"Pascal..." He takes a step forward, then another, and all he wants to do is run to her and grab her in his arms and hold her tight. He wants to fumble in his pockets until he finds the ring he bought her, even without knowing that she would be coming back at all; he feels heat behind his eyes and thinks that he might cry, and he doesn't care, he just doesn't care. He is happy to see her, and he wants so badly to tell her that he loves her, that he has been a fool and that the only thing he wants in the world is her forgiveness -

"Can we..." When she speaks again, her voice is low, and he hears a trepidation in it that he doesn't like, one that kills every urge he has and strikes genuine fear into his heart. "... can we talk?"

"... of course." He composes himself, somehow, and walks to his desk. She begins to rise out of his chair but he shakes his head, gesturing for her to sit as he places the folder he is carrying down on the nearly empty surface. He can feel her watching him as he pulls a second chair over in front of the desk, and when he settles into it, he twines his fingers together in his lap only because he thinks that will keep them from shaking. "I will listen to whatever you have to say," he tells her. "Even if you have come here to call me a spectacular imbecile - "

"No," she cuts him off, with a soft laugh, and puts the flower in her hands down on top of the military-issued folder in front of her, "that's not why I'm here at all. If I really thought that, Hu, I never would have come back."

"I - "

"No," she repeats, with a shake of her head, "let me talk. Just... listen, okay?" He stills immediately, pressing his lips tight together, and she pauses for a moment as if to make sure he won't interrupt. "Alright," she begins, "I... honestly, this wasn't your fault. I mean, it wasn't just your fault. But it wasn't mine, either, and it wasn't Fourier's. We all kinda messed this whole thing up from start to finish." She takes a breath. "First of all, you have to know that I didn't plan on the ship crashing, or the engine failing, or anything like that. What actually happened is that I joked about it right after Fourier and I went out to see the islands for the first time. We both noticed that the main engine was acting wonky, and she got all scream-y and pissed off when she found out that the backup one was still dead. She yelled at me to fix them both, because otherwise we'd end up stranded on the island together, and I laughed and said that might not be a bad thing."

Hubert straightens in his chair, raising both eyebrows. Pascal seems to read his expression perfectly, and she nods in response. "Yeah. It was just a joke. And Fourier doesn't get my sense of humor sometimes - which is why later on, when I was dancing around talking about how awesome it would be to be marooned on an island in paradise with the guy I had a massive crush on, she put two and two together and decided I wanted the ship to crash."

He sighs, lifting a hand to rub his forehead, unable to keep from commenting on this. "That is not at all how she made your intentions out to be."

"I know. I mean, it didn't help that I was scribbling in my notebook - it's not a diary, by the way - about stupid stuff later on, about how much I liked you and... yeah, stuff like that..." He catches the hint of a blush on her cheeks before she looks down at the daisy, picking it up by the stem again. "And it didn't help that I completely forgot about fixing the engine. I said probably a week before I came out to get you that if I didn't fix it, we'd end up stuck together, but then I totally blanked on the whole thing. I didn't tell you I knew about it after we crashed because I thought you'd be really mad."

"Probably so," he admits.

"Yeah. So there's that. The thing about settling for you though, Hu, I..." She cringes. "I can't take those words back. I did say that. It was a long time ago, way before I really understood how I was feeling about you or why. Fourier was tired of looking after me - I mean, I totally understand why, I'm a huge pain in the rear - and started talking about finding a husband who would take care of me. Your name came up and I said some things I really wish I hadn't, because... well, you know why. My sister's brain is like some kinda huge book... you say something once and she writes it down in her head and remembers it forever."

Hubert smiles, waiting for a moment, watching her spin the flower around between her fingers. "It doesn't matter," he says softly.

"Huh?" She lifts her head, blinking. "But you were so mad - "

"You said that life isn't worth living if you have any regrets." He leans forward, gently plucking the daisy from her hand. "That is the way I want to live. I want to do the things that make me happy, not those that others would like me to do. And that involves moving forward - not dwelling on the past, not regretting the things you have said or done." He shakes his head. "How you once felt about me, and even how I once felt about you, is irrelevant. What matters is how we feel now, in the present. What matters is how we want our lives to turn out. And I cannot waste a single day longer dwelling on what we have said or done."

She blinks again, apparently surprised. "Hu, do you... really mean that?"

"I do." He leans forward, reaching up to tuck the daisy through her hair, over one ear. She blushes again, and even his face warms, reminding him of just how long it's been since he's touched her. He presses his fingertips to her cheek, releasing the breath it feels like he's been holding for weeks, and he's about to shove the chair aside and drop to one knee and ask her to please forgive him, to please become his wife -

"There's something else," she says suddenly, avoiding his gaze, and he freezes. She sounds scared and he doesn't like it. He pulls his hand away, placing it back in his lap, and waits for her to speak. When she does, it's with a low, unsteady voice, something that is altogether unlike her - and it makes him feel just as nervous as he did when he first walked into his office and found her sitting in his chair. "There's something... something I didn't tell you the truth about. I didn't... mean to not tell you, but it happened, and... and you have to know before you say anything else."

Oh, no. He clasps his hands together, steeling himself against whatever it is she's going to say, reminding himself that he has missed her desperately and wants to be with her, that no matter what it is, he can't overreact again. "What is it?" he asks, as calmly as possible.

"There's..." She chews on her bottom lip for a moment, her attention shifting to her own hands, which she folds together on the top of his desk. "There's really no easy way to tell you this."

"Tell me - tell me what?" He leans forward. "Do you - "

"Promise me you won't get mad."

"I promise. Of course." He stares at her, wondering what this is all about and why she sounds so nervous - why Pascal, of all people, is sitting here in front of him cringing. It must be something horrible, something so bad that he can't even fathom it -

"Yeah. So I..." She fidgets, clearing her throat. "I found out something while I was in the hospital, and I didn't mention it, but I should have. I thought you were gonna be really upset, so I waited until I got here, and ... and yeah. So I guess I should tell you - "

This is driving him mad, and he can't understand why she is hesitating so damn much. "Pascal, please - "

She lowers her head and shuts her eyes tight and practically shouts the news. "I'm - I'm gonna have a baby!"

Oh. That's why.

Wait. What?

He is calm for three seconds, composed and still, and then he grasps what she is saying and gasps so hard that he nearly suffocates. "You're - going to - ?!" he whispers, and then it hits him again, and he actually fully understands this time, and he stands up and knocks his chair over in the process. "I'm - you're - with my child - ?!"

"No, Hu, don't get mad, you promised me - !"

"I am not mad, I - " The room spins around him and he groans, leaning forward to grab onto the edge of his desk. "... I believe I merely need to sit down."

"Aw, geez, I..." He hears a shuffling sound, followed by footsteps, and then there's a creak and a small yet steady hand on his shoulder, guiding him carefully back down into the chair that has been righted behind him. He sits with a sigh, reaching up to rub his forehead, and nearly a minute passes before the room stops spinning and he can open his eyes again. "Hey," he hears from beside him, and feels her hand gently rubbing his back, "are you... um... gonna be okay?"

"I will be fine."

"Good, 'cause I - I mean, I knew you weren't gonna take this well, after everything else, but - "

"I am not mad," he repeats, interrupting her. When he finally lifts his head and meets her gaze with his, she blushes bright, drawing her hand away from his back, but he catches her around the wrist and holds on tight. They look at each other, and in her eyes he sees the same kind of fear and uncertainty that he is feeling; he inhales deeply, then lets out his breath, and before he realizes what he is doing he smiles. "I hope this is the last surprise I will have today. My heart cannot take very much more of this."

"I'm really sorry - "

"Don't," he stops her, and before she can move away he reaches for her, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close so fast that she tumbles rather clumsily into his lap. He can't bear to be apart from her any longer, not even for another second, and as soon as she rights herself he lifts his head and kisses her. He has missed this, oh heavens how he has missed this, and the way she leans into him and kisses him right back tells him that he isn't the only one feeling this way. She smells lovely, like some sort of flower - he thinks he's weird for noticing, but he can't help it - and when her hair brushes his cheeks it feels softer than before, and - "Pascal," he says, abruptly, pulling away and quirking an eyebrow at her, "why are you dressed so - nicely?"

She looks irritated at the sudden loss of his mouth on hers, and for a moment he thinks she's going to lunge at him and knock them both out of the chair in the name of continuing their kisses, but then she straightens in his lap and smiles. "Fourier told me it'd be easier to deliver the news if you were happy to see me, and that I'd have a way better chance of getting back together with you if I didn't look like a - " She pauses, scratching her head. "... I think she said a "messy, overworked hooligan not fit to be a mother"?"

Hubert cringes. "Your sister is harsh, as usual."

"Yeah, but - Hu..." Her eyes meet his. "I... I'm glad that you're not yelling at me over this, but I mean... for this kind of thing to happen... we only ever did it once - "

"Twice," he corrects her, gently, and he has to bite back laughter when she reddens and turns her head away. "But I understand what you are trying to say. It was a risk we took, I suppose, despite not once considering it during those... times. And for the record..." He looks down at the place where she is curled in his lap, one of her legs beneath her and the other pressed along the length of one of his own, and lowers a hand carefully to her abdomen. She tenses as he runs his fingers across the front of her dress, and he doesn't feel anything different, but he doesn't have to, because he believes her words - she really wouldn't lie to him, after all, would she? "For the record," he begins again, softly, "you are as fit to be a mother as I am to be a father."

"What does that mean...?"

"We have much to learn." He lifts his eyes to hers, and all of a sudden he's shaking, because it's really sinking in now, that Pascal is here and isn't leaving, that there's something that binds them together now, something tiny and growing that will one day become his son or daughter - no, their son or daughter -

He remembers his transfer out of nowhere, and what it means for him, for them, and takes her hard by the shoulders. "How did you get here?"

"Um - well, Fourier brought me in her ship, and she's waiting outside - "

"Will she fly us somewhere, if I ask?"

She stares at him, as if he's just proposed something completely preposterous - and maybe he has, he isn't sure. "Well," she starts, slowly, "I guess she would..."

"Then - please - come with me." He lifts her out of his lap, and as soon as she takes the hint and stands, he rises to his feet so fast that he nearly knocks over the chair that is behind him - again. "I have something I must show you."

She's gaping now, watching him as he starts in the direction of the door. "Where are we going?" she asks, and hurries to catch up with him. "Hu - "

"You will see," he responds, and smiles, and refuses to tell her anything else, even when he boards the ship and whispers into Fourier's ear where they need to go. And the older Amarcian agrees, quite willingly - but for the entire length of their trip, she takes it upon herself to lecture Hubert about the inappropriateness of "knocking up" her younger sister, and on a military expedition no less. He listens and nods along because he knows she's right, but Pascal is by his side, one of her hands grasped within his own, so he's entirely too happy to care.


"Wow..."

"I thought that might be your reaction."

Pascal stands on the beach of what was once their island - now Thetis, the military headquarters for the Sol Islands - and gapes at the scenery that stretches before them, her amber eyes wide and mouth agape. Hubert watches her for a moment, chuckling, before turning his attention to the scene as well. Although he's been told what to expect, he is seeing this for the first time, too, and he has to admit that things have changed quite quickly. Multiple buildings are under construction, some nearing completion already, all clustered around the center of the island and a safe distance from the shore. There are two tall buildings in front of them, both meant to house soldiers, and smaller structures on either side. On the other side of the island there are other buildings, one of which will become a research laboratory and another - supposedly near completion - the military headquarters. "I can't believe they got all this done in just a couple weeks," Pascal remarks. "You guys move fast, huh?"

"Once Mr. Paradine makes up his mind about something, he expects immediate results," Hubert remarks. He glances over his shoulder at Fourier, standing near the shore with her ship and pretending not to be interested, and nods at her. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" he asks.

She lifts an eyebrow. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Just a few steps away. I would like to speak to Pascal in private."

"Ugh. Fine." She crosses her arms stiffly across her chest. "But no funny business. If what the two of you apparently did the last time you were on this island is any indication - "

"Sis," Pascal interrupts, blushing, "please."

"We will be right back," Hubert says, glad for the younger Amarcian's interruption, and practically drags her by one hand away from Fourier. He waits until they are a safe distance away, closer to the construction in front of the trees, to speak again; even though he doubts she can hear them now, he still speaks in a voice as low as possible. "For the record," he murmurs, "I do not regret doing such a thing."

Pascal raises her eyes reluctantly to his. "Even though it ended up with me being... um... you know... like this?"

"Especially because of that."

"H - Hu, what..."

"I had dreams of one day marrying you - of raising a family with you." He sighs softly. "If this is not what you want, I understand. But I brought you here to show you this - " He sweeps one arm out before them, gesturing to the buildings. " - and to ask you a question about your own dreams."

"My own dreams...?" she echoes him, tilting her head slightly to one side. "What do you mean?"

"I want..." He takes a breath. "I want you to live here with me."

"Live here...?" Her eyes go wide. "On - on the island?"

"My transfer is effective today. I am to take my position as colonel of the Sol Islands military, eradication, and development forces. As such, this - " He gestures to the small building under construction directly in front of them. " - will be my home. I will be sleeping in a tent for a few weeks as I await the completion of construction, but..." He moves on the sand until he can face her, hoping she doesn't say no, hoping she doesn't reject him. "I asked you to come here because I believed that one day you would allow me to make things right - that you would allow me to make your dreams finally come true."

"H - Hu, what are you..."

"I wish for you to stay with me. That is all. You would be under no obligation to Strahta, or to any other country. If you requested the right to participate in the research on Amarcia Isle, I would grant it willingly. You would be able to come and go as you pleased, and I would not ask about your activities elsewhere. I would not even ask for your hand in marriage, if you did not want to marry me. I only - " He swallows, and his voice is suddenly unsteady and he is sure he is going to cry, that the sadness and despair that he has been fighting for the last two months has caught up with him again, but he can't rest until he tells her his feelings. "I only wish to live by your side. I want to be part of my child's life. And you must want the same thing, Pascal. I remember what you told me. You said you wanted to stay here on the island, and now I can give you that. I will give you anything - I will give you the world, just as long as you stay."

"Oh..."

"I will never take you for granted again. I will never hurt you. I promise." He reaches for her hands and grips them tight between his own, bowing his head. "Please stay with me. Please. I will beg you on my knees if I must, but I cannot live another day without you by my side."

There's silence between them, and Hubert feels tears burning behind his eyes; he is desperate and lonely and loves her more than his own life, and he cannot bear the thought of losing this one final chance to be with her, to spend his days with her -

"Hey." Pascal's voice is soft, and he feels her gently turning her hands over in his, pressing her palms carefully to his own before their fingers twine together, and the sensation is natural and familiar, as if there was never a period of nine long weeks between the last touch of her hands to his. "Is it..." She pauses, and laughs uncomfortably. "Is it too late to go back on that stupid thing I said about not getting married...?"

"No. No, of course not."

"Really?" There's a breathless edge to her voice now, and when he looks up he sees that she is trembling. "I - I thought you'd tell me to forget it - "

"I bought you a ring." At this comment she freezes, mouth agape, and then all at once she chokes back a sob, tears gathering in her amber eyes, and Hubert can't hold back his own tears either, because he's happy, he's so damned happy, and if she says yes again he'll finally have exactly what he wants, what he's been waiting for - "I had to believe," he continues, "that you would come back. I didn't know when, or how, but I was willing to believe that you would give me the chance to make things right again. You said that you wanted to live here, on this island, with me. And I had to believe that someday, you would allow me to make that wish into reality for you - "

He doesn't get any further because Pascal's crying now, sobbing out loud, and he sees Fourier turn to look at them, alarmed by the sound, but the younger Amarcian notices and lifts one hand to wave her sister off, the other reaching up to wipe tears from her cheeks. "I'm an idiot," she cries, "I'm such a - a stupid idiot, Hu - I don't deserve you, or this, or - why would you do this, just for me - !"

"Because I'm a bigger idiot than you are, and I love you, Pascal." Tears cloud his vision and he casually wipes them away, and his voice is to the point of cracking now but he's so far past caring about that anymore. "Please tell me that you'll stay. Please forgive me. Tell me that you will make me the happiest man in the world."

"Do you really expect me to say no?" She laughs through her tears, and before he can react she throws her arms around his shoulders so hard that he falls over. They go tumbling to the sand together, and this time Fourier comes marching right over, but it doesn't matter - not one bit - because Pascal is laughing and crying, and then Hubert starts to laugh, and there they are, a pair of idiots sobbing and laughing over each other on the beach. "Let's get married, okay?" she says, and bends over him, burying her face in the front of his military uniform. "Please?"

"That," he returns, and reaches up to ruffle her hair, "is supposed to be my question."

Fourier arrives beside them and takes one look at the way they're sprawled out together on the sand, and she sighs loudly, shaking her head. "You two idiots are perfect for each other," she comments, and shrugs. "If you want to get married, be my guest. But don't ask me to babysit."

"We won't," they chorus, and then they start to laugh again, holding each other tight, and even when Fourier groans and shakes her head at them again they don't bother to stop.


Two hours later Hubert is in Pascal's room in the Amarcian enclave, sitting on the edge of her bed and watching her scurry from one side of the room to the other, back and forth, tossing things haphazardly into two large bags. "Are you absolutely certain about this?" he asks her, wondering to himself if she should be running around so much in her - condition. "I am not sure how long it will take for the construction on my - our home to be completed, and I am not entirely comfortable with the thought of you living out of a tent for several weeks."

"Yeah, 'cause living out of a broken ship was so much worse, right?"

He sighs. "I am also told that the water purification system is still not functioning as it should. Very few people will be living on the island until it is able to produce clean water for bathing and drinking at the appropriate volume. If it stops working, we will need to return to Yu Liberte, and then..." He suppresses a groan. "... my father will learn the truth about everything, when I find it necessary for us to move into the manor."

"Then I'll just have to fix the system," she answers, grinning, and tosses a book over her shoulder into one of the bags on the floor. "I'm still amazed that somebody managed to figure it out even that well. Did you guys get an Amarcian to look at it or something?"

"My understanding is that Poisson made one attempt to decipher a certain someone's sloppy handwriting."

"If the problem is volume, then she probably missed the holding tank step..." She pauses with another book in her hands, tapping the spine to her chin. "That or the water's being over-filtered, which means there's clean water being trapped with the salt and sediment, so maybe the right kind of screen isn't being used - "

"Pascal," he speaks up, biting back a smile, "later."

"Oh! Right." She tosses the book into her bag, then plants her hands on her hips and turns to face him. "That should do it for now. I'll have to come back a little later to get the rest, since I have like a hundred more books I want to bring with me, and all my notes, and - " She looks around at the piles of books, gadgets, and loose sheets of paper on the floor, wrinkling her nose. "... and gosh, I never realized how messy it got in here while I was moping. I mean, I'm not a neat freak like Fourier, but sheesh. You see what you did to me?"

"It looks no worse than the last time I saw it."

"The last time you saw it was right after I realized I was in love with you, so I was totally wrecked in the head then, too." She laughs, bending to tie both the bags closed, and when she's finished she crosses the room to her bed and flops down beside him. The daisy tucked behind her ear finally comes loose, and when it falls into her lap she smiles, spinning the stem around in her fingers. "I really am, though," she says.

He blinks. "What?"

"You asked if I was sure about this. And I really am." She turns her smile on him. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you, Hu? All I did for the first two weeks away from you was cry. And then I got mad, and I broke the communicator, and then I stormed around my room pulling books off the shelves and breaking all the gadgets I made that reminded me of you, which was actually a lot of them. And then I started to feel a little better, especially because Poisson was checking in on me. But - " She laughs, lifting a hand to brush hair out of her eyes. " - I started thinking of you again. And I wanted to be with you. I wanted to hug you, and kiss you, and tell you I loved you, and even do other stuff, but you weren't here and I thought you were mad at me, or that you didn't want to be around me. So when I got upset again, I just... left. I got up and I started wandering around Fendel. I know I was stupid for not eating, but I felt weird. And then when Captain found me and dragged me to the hospital, and the doctor told me I was... um, you know... and then I saw your messages..."

He leans over and stretches an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against him. "I just," she continues, placing her head against his shoulder, "knew I had to be with you again. I know we were only together for a little while on the island, and I know you've loved me a lot longer than I've loved you, but none of that matters. I want this. I want you. I want to be the best researcher and scientist and Amarcian in the world, but I also want to marry you, and I want to be a good mother. And - " She draws in a breath, laughing quietly. "... and that feels so weird to say. Fourier was so mad at me when I told her..."

"Is she going to be fine with you leaving?"

"Yeah. She'll be okay. Captain said he'll see to that." She grins. "I think he's got a thing for her. Who woulda thought?"

"If you are absolutely certain that this is what you want..." Hubert bends to press a kiss to her forehead. "Then we will go. We will have to inform Mr. Paradine that you are to be staying with me, but I doubt that he will mind, as long as you agree not to leak Strahtan military secrets to Fendel."

"Whatever. As if I care about that stuff."

" - and," he continues, and this time the kiss is placed on her lips, causing a long pause between the halves of his sentence, "as long as you agree to become my wife."

"I already agreed!"

"Not formally," he says, and reaches out to press a small velvet box into her hands. She gapes at it, then at him, then at the box again - and then her eyes light up and she laughs. Before he can say anything else she throws her arms around him, tackling him to the bed, and kisses him hard until they both run out of breath. "You haven't even looked at it," he protests, but she mumbles something that sounds like "shut up, I'll look at it later" before kissing him again, over and over, and that's all the convincing he needs.

"I missed you," he murmurs into her hair a few minutes later, one of his hands on the back of her neck, "I missed this, I - Pascal, I cannot imagine a life without you anymore. If you have any doubts - "

"I don't," she cuts him off, bending over him, fiddling with his collar, "but do you? Are you sure you wanna marry me? Are you really sure you're up for the challenge, huh? I am going to drive you so crazy that you won't know what to do with yourself."

"I want that," he says, and means it. "I want you."

"But - I just can't figure it out, I mean - " She blinks down at him. "Why me? I annoy you half to death, and you have to think I'm nuts, and - seriously, Hu, I went and got pregnant before we got married. I thought you'd be pissed about that for sure."

"That isn't your fault," he chuckles.

"Seriously though - "

"You may be crazy, and you may be impossible to handle, but I still love you. And I have no doubts any longer." He strokes one of her cheeks. "There is no one else in this world who would love me more than all the stars in the sky, and no one else in this world that I would love more than life itself. I missed you when you were gone because you are part of me. Without you, I cannot be myself." He exhales, smiling up at her, and when she returns his smile he doesn't even have to hear her say it's the same for her, because he already knows. He knows, and he will always know, for the rest of his life, that they love each other and are meant to be together - the two of them and their son or daughter, the family they've always wanted.

"Hu," she sighs, and shakes her head at him, "you have gotta be the craziest person on Ephinea if you're willing to go through with this."

He chuckles again. "I would like to think I'm the luckiest."

"You are such a sap," she laughs, and kisses him, and it's perfect, finally, and will always be this way.