Disclaimer: I do not own R5, Bradley Simpson from The Vamps, 5 Seconds of Summer, Dan Howell (danisnotonfire), Joe Sugg (ThatcherJoe), Caspar Lee or Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) - all rights go to Hollywood Records, Virgin EMI/Mercury Records, Capitol Records & YouTube!

Chapter 34
Goodbyes

Phil trudged through the desert sand in the night, walking towards a wooden hut. He walked up the stairs that creaked and he let himself in, shutting the door behind him. He walked through where there were several doors leading to bedrooms and he walked up to one, knocking on the door "Dan…" Phil whispered.

He was in 1959 – which was what Dan meant when he said that he'd already said goodbye. Obviously Phil went back, like he has now, to 1959 on the night before their last night of them being there before going to save the world to say his last goodbye to Dan before he dies.

And since then Dan has known of his fate but hadn't said anything – but he did hint at Joe on their final night together.

Joe breathed deeply as he knew that answer was coming "I don't want to die."

"Nobody does. But unfortunately, a lot of people are going to die tomorrow. And I know you've got a little girl at home, Joe, and you don't want to leave her an orphan – you've got someone to go home to so… I'll do everything I can to make sure you stay alive. Even if it kills me myself."

The door opened and there stood Past!Dan, looking confused. He looked back into the room, seeing Past!Phil laid in bed asleep and he turned back to Phil who grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside the hut. "B-but you're asleep in the—you're from the future aren't you?" Past!Dan asked, soon copping on.

"How do you know?" Phil asked.

"I've spent the last eleven months of my life with wrist-epoch's I know one when I see one. Plus… You're wearing the same clothes that you are in there – and they're dirtier. I'm very observant when it comes to time travel."

"No kidding."

Past!Dan nodded. "So what are you here for? Why have you come from the future? Does something go wrong? Are you here to tell me so I can fix it or tell Ross, Rocky, Luke, Brad and Ashton?" Past!Dan asked.

Phil shook his head "No… I've come because… I need to say goodbye to you."

"What? Why?"

"You cannot say anything to anyone, alright? Otherwise it will affect what happens. Just let everything happen as it happens," Phil said, and Past!Dan nodded "we do it. We save the world, we kill Priscilla, Maxwell, Harvey, Mariah, Isaac and Absai."

"Right…" Past!Dan said, not seeing how this was a reason for Phil to be saying goodbye to him.

"But… you die. Harvey kills you," He said, where Dan's face dropped to a kind of fearful look "he goes to shoot Joe but you jump in the way to save him. I wasn't there so I didn't get to say goodbye which is why I'm here. I have to say it."

Past!Dan stayed silent, trying to process how tomorrow would be his last full day of being alive.

"Please don't die thinking you're unimportant 'cause you are. Oh, heck… Everything that you have done ever since I got sent back home with my memory wiped has lead up to tomorrow and even though you don't get to live to see the world saved… It is so worth it. Every single thing that you did with Brad, Ross, Rocky, Luke and Ashton, how you helped, trained and guided them. You saved the world just as much as they did," Phil said, and Past!Dan stayed silent "And thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for always being there for me – you've been the bestest friend I could have asked for… in fact… you've been like the little brother I've never had. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to have had this much of an impact on my life. A-and… I feel like your death is partly my fault 'cause if I hadn't have convinced you to come work at the base you would still be alive."

"And nobody would be trying to save the world—well, nobody will have saved the world." Past!Dan said quickly, trying to argue on how it was a good thing Phil convinced him to come.

"Still—"

"No, look, Phil. It's not your fault I'm going to die – or have died. Especially if you weren't even there. I mean… If you hadn't have come back and got your memory back… I wouldn't have even been warned. I wouldn't have been prepared what so ever. Now I can get myself prepared, can't I?" Past!Dan said, where Phil stayed quiet as he wasn't sure on what else to say – he didn't even know how to say goodbye. "Is Samara alright?" Past!Dan asked.

Phil smiled a little, nodding "She will be. You told Joe and Caspar to look after her but don't worry, I will too. She's also pregnant because Calum started phasing out of existence so Rydel made him in a dish only to find Brad couldn't carry him due to the fighting and that so Samara offered."

"Wow… Then you guys better look after her well otherwise my ass will come back to haunt you."

"Got it."

"Also… I think Joe might be a good guy for her," Past!Dan said, making Phil furrow his brow at what Dan might be trying to imply "well, he's had to go through a pregnancy with Stacey before – he knows what to expect whereas Samara doesn't. He has a daughter so he can help her, even though the child isn't hers or his."

"Ah, yeah, I get you. I thought you were going somewhere else with that there."

Past!Dan laughed. "Seen as though we're spoiling the future here and I'm not going to get to see it… Does anybody else die?"

"Brad's dying. HQ blew up and he was in there. Hopefully he'll pull through and live."

"He will." Past!Dan said, knowing because of Michael being Brad. He figured that one out the moment he first met Michael, Rydel and Calum – whereas nobody else did. This is why Dan is classed as the brains of this whole thing. 'Cause he uses it for the smallest of things.

Besides after the whole Luke, Ashton and Brad situation Dan's learnt to be a bit more observant as that had gone right over his head like everyone else's.

"No, Dan, you don't understand, it's so bad… When Rocky and Luke went in to save him the only way they knew it was him was because of his voice. He's unrecognisable."

"Oh, damn… Well, I better not keep you for longer. I better let you go."

"Yeah… It's been fun." Phil said, and Past!Dan nodded "You know, tomorrow the base has no leaders or anybody in charge at all and we need to find someone or a couple of people that can be." He said, smiling like he had an idea.

Past!Dan raised his brow, immediately knowing Phil had an idea and knew what it had to do with – just like when he came up with the first idea they had ever come up with. He smiled the same way as Phil did "Oh, yeah? Got anybody in mind?"

"I may have a couple."

"Well, I think whoever you've got in mind would be a brilliant idea."

Phil nodded before they both laughed. "Goodbye Dan." Phil said.

"Bye, Phil."

The pair hugged one last time.

Past!Dan pulled away first and Phil stepped back, typing into the wrist-epoch he was wearing. "Have fun." Past!Dan said.

"I will. Good luck for tomorrow."

"You know what happens tomorrow!" He said, making Phil laugh.

Phil pressed the transport button and disappeared – that being the last time he ever saw Dan.

Year: 2015

Luke and Ashton were in the hospital unit still waiting for someone to come out and tell them about Brad, and at long last one of the four doctors came out. The pair got up from the floor when he did. "How is he? Are you able to help him?" Ashton asked.

"We're taking a small break for now 'cause it's going to take some time to help him – it's going alright so far though. But I should let you both know that once we have helped him he's not going to look the same as he did before or be the same either." The Doctor explained.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"There's a high chance that he's going to be mentally and physically unstable because of how harsh the burns were – if he'd have been there any longer or any closer to whatever it was that blew up HQ, he'd have been dead. After this he's not going to be able to stay here anymore, he'll have to go home in order for him to recover properly which may be a long time. Even when he's recovered he might not be able to come back." The Doctor explained, making the two boys completely silent as they didn't know what to say to that.

"Can we go see him?" Ashton asked.

"He's not awake, we're keeping sedated 'cause of the pain he's in when he's awake. You can go see him but… it's not pretty."

Ashton nodded and the doctor left. "What are we gonna do if he can't stay here?" Luke asked.

Ashton sighed "Then I guess he goes home."

Luke gave Ashton a look of protest against that idea. Luke didn't want Brad to go home, especially not back to the UK to his adoptive parents as that was basically sending him back to them and giving Brad the message that Luke and Ashton don't want him when in fact they do.

"Don't worry Luke, I'll take him home." Ashton said, seeing the look upon his face.

Luke shook his head "No, you're taking him home. He'll get the impression that we don't want or care about him anymore."

"How?" Ashton asked, confused.

"Well for starters, sending him back to his adoptive parents in the UK is definitely going to give him that impression. You saw how much he flipped when he first found out that we were his real parents, and he'll probably flip again when he finds out about this."

Ashton shook his head "No… I didn't mean 'home' as in England and back to them… I meant that I'll take him home to Australia."

"Ohhh…" Luke said, seeing how it made sense now at how Ashton wasn't too fussed about Brad having to go home along with feeling like an idiot.

"Yeahhh…"

"How's that gonna work?" Luke asked, now confused. In order for Brad to stay in Australia, someone would have to look after him in order to make sure he recovered properly and that can't happen because Ashton would have to come back to the base after dropping him off where then the pair would only see him on breaks.

Was Ashton really going to allow that?

Surely not, Luke knew Ashton too well and better for doing that to someone who's an invalid and needs looking after – especially with their own son.

"Well, I'll take him back there and I'll look after him myself until he's better." Ashton said.

"What? You'll… You'll leave here with him and not come back?" Luke asked, feeling his heart sink. Yeah, he found it sweet that Ashton would do that but at the same time that meant Luke wouldn't see Ashton at all until he went on breaks.

"No, I will, just when Brad's better," Ashton reassured "but… I'll only come back if Brad comes back."

Luke's face fell a little and his heart sank a little bit further down his chest, if not, all the way to the pit of his stomach. "Oh… Well… I guess I'll stay here then. I'm kinda gonna have to if this is going to work." Luke said, sounding upset.

Ashton felt bad for having to leave Luke behind and not be able to be with him at all until his breaks – which he doesn't get many of, and neither does anybody else – but it was the way it had to be in order for this to work and in order for Brad to get better.

He then hugged Luke and Luke hugged back holding him tighter, burying his head in the crook of his neck.

And with that, Caspar's prediction on Luke and Ashton of how couples, and people who fall in love at the base, can't stay together because they always get separated somehow… Became real and true.

And it was about to get even more real and true.

Ross seen Samara sat by herself in the canteen still so he went over to her, deciding to help cheer her up and take her mind off things. "So, how does it feel to be carrying mine and Brad's baby?" Ross asked.

Immediately the guilt hit Samara. Again. She looked at him "Weird, but I guess I'll get through it."

"Yeah… I might need a little help with looking after him 'cause I don't think Brad's going to be in any fit state or be able to for a long time."

"Are you asking for my help?" Samara asked.

"Well yeah because do you honestly think Rocky will?" Ross asked, making her laugh a little "plus, every kid needs some sort of mother figure if they have two Dad's."

"Alright, I guess I'll help." She said, with a small smile.

"Thank you!" Ross said, hugging her from the side as Rocky came over.

"Hey, Ross, can I talk to you for a second?" A random girl asked, coming over seconds after Rocky.

"Er… Sure…" He said, where the girl grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

"Something tells me he's about to get lucky." Rocky said, watching as he got dragged away.

"Yeah, and maybe if he does Rydel will be the result of it and he'll find out that he's not actually Calum's Dad," Samara sneered, receiving a dirty look from Rocky "are you really going to keep on lying to him? And Brad? Especially in the state he's going to be in."

"Yes. He's obviously going to find out by himself and so is Brad."

"But by the time that comes the damage will have already been done."

Rocky shrugged "I'll fix it. I'll find a way to." He said, which Samara didn't quite believe at all.

Slowly, everyone appeared to be gathering in the canteen. Joe and Caspar were wondering around trying to find somewhere to sit when they saw Phil sat by himself so they decided to join him. "Hey, did you find whoever you were wanting to talk to?" Joe asked, as he sat down opposite him.

"Yeah." Phil said.

"Cool. Who was it if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, nobody in particular. Just someone I haven't seen for a while."

Caspar went to speak when someone came over to the table. "Hey. Can I just say thank you for what you guys did today and have done." The person said.

"Er… Sure… No problem. But we didn't really save the world – it was the other guys." Joe said, feeling a little weird and uncomfortable at how people kept coming up to them all and praising them as though they were Jesus.

"You still had a part to play in it though, you still helped. So thank you!" The person smiled and then walked off.

"Are we going to become popular around here now?" Caspar asked, not being sure if he wanted that or not.

"I hope not." Joe said, definitely not wanting that.

"How was it anyway chasing that plane down?" Phil asked, as he never asked them when they came back.

"It was scary. But I was more stressed trying to find Joe, Luke and Ashton knowing I was on a time limit – I thought I wasn't gonna." Caspar said.

"And I genuinely thought I was dead before we got transported back here." Joe said.

Luke and Ashton came into the canteen where they knew everyone was and as soon as they stepped through the door, some people clapped and cheered at them which made them both jump. "Fuck, my heart." Luke said, putting his hand on his chest as he wasn't expecting it.

"Is this what fame feels like?" Ashton asked, and Luke shrugged before they made their way over to Joe, Caspar and Phil – and when Ross and Rocky saw them both, they went over too.

"Hey. Did you find out anything more about Brad?" Rocky asked.

Ashton nodded "Yeah, the doctors said he's going to be alright but he can't stay here, he has to go home to recover properly."

"Oh…" Ross said, becoming upset about that.

"But I'm gonna take him back to Australia and look after him until he's better."

"What?" Rocky questioned, in some form of shock.

"It's better than sending him back to his adoptive parents 'cause I feel like he'll just get the impression that we don't care when we do." Luke said.

"That's understandable." Phil said.

The group all fell to silence for a short while, finding it weird how Brad or Dan weren't there with them to butt in on the conversation or stood next to them making a comment. Dan wasn't next to Phil for him to turn to and Brad wasn't next to Ross for him to do the same. Their partners in crime weren't there with them and nor would they ever be again.

"Rocky!" Someone called.

Rocky turned round, seeing the person calling him "One minute." He said, going over to the person.

Ross breathed heavily "I wanna sleep so badly, what time is it?" He asked.

"3 in the afternoon." Joe said, looking over at the clock on the wall.

"Wow. All of this has happened in a shorter amount of time than I thought." Ross said, being slightly surprised by that. But hey, he wasn't complaining. It was finally over and he could actually sleep in his own bed after months of being away from it – well, weeks if we're counting everyone else's time.

"Hey, where's Bailey, Renzo, Ryan, Ashley and Landon?" Caspar asked, noticing that they weren't around.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere. I'll go look for them now." Ross said, walking away to go find them.

Ashton breathed deeply and walked away from the table everyone was at. Luke noticed and followed him "Are you alright?" Luke asked, touching his back gently.

Ashton nodded "Yeah, I'm fine. I just… I just feel a bit sick."

"Oh, do you need to go to the bathroom?" Luke asked.

Ashton shook his head "No, I just need some fresh air. I'm gonna go to the roof, I'll be back down in like five or ten minutes."

"Alright." Luke said.

Ashton kissed Luke and held onto his hand until he was no longer in reaching distance of him before leaving to the roof.

Luke smiled contently as he watched Ashton leave the room. He turned round and looked over to Rocky who was talking to a small amount of people including Ashley and Renzo. As Rocky talked to them he noticed Luke watching him from out the corner of his eye.

He excused himself from the conversation he was in and walked over to Luke, giving him a curious yet suspicious look "What's on your mind Hemmings?" Rocky asked, knowing something was up by the way Luke was looking over at him.

Luke shook his head, clearly trying to hide some sort of happy emotion "Nothing, just er…" He said, shrugging nervously until he folded his arms "how are you with best man speeches?"

Rocky looked thoughtful for a moment "Well, I'm not very good at speeches overall but, best man speeches? They're important but all you have to do is make everyone laugh and embarrass the groom as much as you can along with their bride or whoever it is they're marrying," He paused before smiling "so I think a best man's speech just might be my forte."

Silence fell over them both as Rocky furrowed his brow and he became a little confused. "Why are you asking me this?" He asked.

Luke rolled his eyes "Come on man, put the pieces together."

Rocky thought about it for a moment and his face lit up when he realised "Oooohhh… Right… Don't know why I didn't get that sooner."

Next:Let Him Go / The Rest of My Life

I had to do a goodbye with Dan & Phil 'cause I felt like you guys needed more closure on Dan cos you didn't really get any when he died. It wasn't good enough closure.

Also I'm still debating on what to call the next chapter - I'm torn between the two names haha.

Thanks for reading!

There are 5 chapters left until the final chapter.

PLEASE REVIEW & ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW IF YOU WANT THE NEXT ONE.

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