"Who is it?" Hara asked.

I shook my head. "There's no name or number." I shrugged. "No point in just letting it ring." I finally answered it. "Kell."

"Skye?"

I froze at the familiar voice. I was too stunned to reply.

"Skye, it's Melissa."

"I know who it is," I said sharply. "I just didn't expect you to call. And from a blocked number no less."

"I know, I'm sorry. I was hoping we could meet. I have a huge favor to ask you."

"You're kidding, right? You ignored my phone calls and haven't made a move to contact me. And now you think you can ask a favor of me?"

"I know it's sudden and selfish, Skye. Believe me, I feel awful asking. This is really important to me. Just a few minutes of your time, that's all I want."

I thought it over for a moment. "Fine. Tomorrow. You're invited to my apartment."

She left out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. I will see you tomorrow then."

I hung up on her and let out a sigh. "I can't believe this…"

"Everything alright?" my friend worried.

"We're expecting a guest tomorrow. Melissa finally decided that she wanted to talk to me."

"Don't you think you're being a little insensitive? She just lost her husband."

I scoffed. "She didn't have it happen right in front of her."

Hara gave me a dirty look. I shrugged it off.

"It's the truth, Hara, and you know it."

"It doesn't matter. Again, she just lost her husband. You need to be more understanding of what's going on in her head. Maybe, cutting you off was her way of coping with all that had happened. She was probably using all of that time by herself to tie up loose ends."

Even though she had a point, I still wasn't ready to let go of my frustration towards Melissa.

"I suppose we'll find out tomorrow when she comes by."

Melissa showed up around lunchtime. She was still wearing black for mourning but otherwise didn't look worse for wear. I invited her in and she took a seat on the couch. I sat in the chair across from her. I felt mixed emotions about this meeting. I was angry at her for ignoring me, I was happy to see that she was looking well… I didn't know how to handle all of this. Hara cut into our silence.

"Well, don't mind me. I'll just disappear to the kitchen for a hot minute while you ladies figure things out." She quickly made her escape from the awkwardness.

I turned to Melissa. "So…"

"You look good, Skye," she said.

I shook my head at her. "You don't get to give me that. I look and feel like shit. And here you are, still looking like a million bucks even though you just lost your husband."

"I did my grieving. I did enough of it to last me the rest of my life. Craig wouldn't have wanted me to wallow for very long. He wouldn't want that from you either."

I sighed. "What do you want from me, Melissa?"

"I got a call from General Pepper the other day. He wants to hold a memorial in honor of Craig. I was hoping you would make a speech. If you're up for it, of course."

I couldn't believe this… She seriously thought that she could ask favors of me? She seemed just fine while I was still reeling over all that had happened. It made me sick to my stomach and even angrier at her.

"I just lost someone close to me, Melissa. No, I'm not ready to make speeches or make public appearances."

"I lost someone close to me too, Skye."

"You weren't the one who was getting shot at!" I completely lost it and shot up to my feet. "He died in my arms! He died in my arms and I couldn't do anything to save him! I was there and I was helpless to save him! And Wolf…!" I began to calm down a little and the tears began to flow. Hara rushed out of the kitchen to my side.

"I think we're done here," she told Melissa. "You need to go. She's had enough."

Melissa got up from the couch slowly. "I'm sorry, Skye." She took her leave of us.

I collapsed against Hara and went into a fit of sobbing. She held me tight and rocked me like a child until I calmed myself. She waited until I had stopped hiccupping before she said anything.

"You don't have to do it, Skye," she told me. "You don't have to do anything you're not ready or up for. I'm certainly not going to make you."

I thought for a moment. "What would Craig want me to do?"

"Craig is dead. You can't let a dead man dictate your decisions."

I pulled away from her. "I understand but…"

Hara cupped my face and made me look her in the eyes. "Listen to me. You've been down for weeks. Wolf is awake and alive, Conna has been with Fox and the rest of Star Fox this whole time and Melissa is fine, obviously. Now it's your turn. You have to bounce back from this. You can't let Craig's death defeat you. I know in my heart that you won't let this defeat you. It's not in you. So, please. Please figure out what you have to do to get yourself in the groove again. For your sake and mine."

She was right. I knew she was. It was time for me to just accept everything that has happened and become stronger from it. It was time to pick up the pieces. But how long would that take? Was I really ready to let go?

I gave Hara a stiff nod. "You're right. Maybe this memorial is the closure I need. I'll do it if only to help myself and to honor Craig."

I called Melissa a few days later to apologize for my reaction and to tell her that I would be honored to speak at Craig's memorial. She forgave me immediately and completely understood why I acted the way I did. She explained that she was shutting down Gilford Station. Her reasons were sound, saying it was only a reminder of what happened and that doing it all by herself wasn't feasible unless she had a partner. She also said that she had no idea who Craig's contacts were and she had checked every journal, notepad and scrap paper found in Craig's office for anything on his contacts. She found a whole lot of nothing on that front. I knew that shutting down Gilford was one of the best things that she could do right now but, it still made my heart ache. I spent most of my time there over the years and worked for no one but Craig. Now the station was being shut down… It was a bittersweet moment.

Another few days passed when I got a phone call from Dorothea at the hospital. True to my prediction, Wolf had up and disappeared without a word. He did leave a note for Dorothea, thanking her for taking care of him. Dorothea didn't know how to react or what to tell the doctor. I felt kind of bad for her.

The day of the memorial arrived. Hara and I showed up early to find that Star Fox had beaten us there. Many military officials had shown up, along with General Pepper himself. Bill Grey and some of his Bulldog unit had arrived and some of the team from Fichina's Climate Control Center. Representatives from other planets that Craig had delivered to had made an appearance as well. It was an interesting group to say the least.

Conna came running straight to me as soon as she saw us. She jumped into my arms and gave me a tight hug.

"I've missed you, Skye," she said sweetly.

"I've missed you too, sweetie." I put her down on her feet. "Did you have fun with the boys?"

She nodded. "Yes, it was a lot of fun. I feel bad for them though. All of the freeze-dried food and protein bars they have to eat…" She scrunched up her face. "Not all of it is tasty…"

That got a small grin out of me. Fox, Slippy, Peppy and Falco approached us. Fox came to me first and brought me into a hug.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he pulled away. "I haven't heard from you except for when you were checking on Conna. I was getting worried."

"I'm here," I answered him, trying to force some emotion into my voice. "It's the least I could do for Craig and Melissa."

"Have you heard anything on Wolf?"

I gave him a nod. "He left the hospital a few days ago. I warned Dorothea that he wouldn't be staying for rehab. Leon must have come and picked him up. He was healing pretty well from the looks of things. That's the last I know of him."

"I see. I suppose it's for the best then."

Melissa met up with us to inform us that the ceremony was starting. It was a smallish ceremony. Speeches were given and then we all went home, quick and simple. Before I could leave with Conna and Hara, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of two shadows standing behind a large tree. I excused myself and went to investigate. Sure enough, the shadows turned out to be Wolf and Leon.

"You didn't have to come," I told them as I strode up.

"We came to check on you," Wolf said.

Leon snorted at Wolf's statement. Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I came to check on you. Leon is here just to make sure I don't pass out on the way back to Sargasso."

A grin tugged at the corner of my lips but didn't make an appearance. "You disappointed Dorothea. You should've stayed for the rehab for at least a few days."

He shook his head. "Not going to happen. I don't have any intention of overstaying my welcome. Your nurse friend did an adequate job and I didn't want to be a bother to her anymore."

I noticed he was still favoring his side. "How does it feel?"

He shrugged. "I've had better days. But I think I'll live."

I heard the scampering of footsteps coming up behind me. Conna stopped beside me and looked up at Wolf and Leon.

"Skye, who are they?" she asked.

"This is Wolf," I answered honestly. "He saved my life. And this is Leon," I gestured to the chameleon.

She shifted her gaze between the two of them then suddenly grabbed Wolf around his waist, pulling him into a hug. Wolf had no idea how to handle it.

"Thank you, Mr. Wolf," Conna told him quietly. "Thank you for saving Skye."

As soon as she said those words, I watched Wolf's hard exterior and confusion melt away. He gently returned her hug.

"You're welcome, Kid."

She broke away from him and glanced up at me. "I'll go wait with Hara. Don't be long." She skipped away from us and met back up with Hara and the boys.

"She's a sweet kid," Wolf murmured.

I nodded. "The best." I cleared my throat. "You two need to go before some of the uniforms get antsy." I looked up at Leon. "Keep an eye on him. No doubt he's going to try something stupid again."

Leon chuckled. "Like I had a prayer of stopping him."

I took my leave of them. I met back up with Hara and Conna and we went on our way home.