"Look at you two. God, it's been… too long."

That was an understatement. It was just shy of 13 years ago, the last time they saw their grandfather. Hank blamed Harry for their mother leaving, told him that he couldn't raise girls on the rig, called him a failure and told him not to 'come asking for help.' Clarence, their other grandfather, and Hank were really close friends. They were the kind of friends that were more excited about their kids getting married then the bride and groom were. When Miranda split, it caused more than a few riffs, leaving the girls in the middle.

"Hi, grandpa," Grace said with a smile and a hug. If he was expecting the same from Faith, he was going to be disappointed; she remembers some of the stuff he said to her father.

"Faith," he said, attempting to give her a hug.

She offered her hand. "Sir."

"Someone takes after Harry," he said with a chuckle, shaking the offered hand.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she said.

"It was one. I know we haven't seen each other in a while but I owe you an apology," her grandfather said. Faith didn't see her sister look at her, but she did feel the younger woman's eyes on her. "I was an idiot. I sided with your mother when she left. I was always protective of Miranda, much like Chick is with you girls. Your mother, she was unhappy and none of us noticed how bad it was until the day she dropped you off with me and left."

Faith still didn't hear an apology.

"I tried to reason with her but seeing her like that, it broke my heart. I kept telling your dad to fix it. For a while he tried but then he gave up. At least, I thought he did. I realized a little too late that he was trying to do what was best for you girls while the rest of us were more concerned about Miranda. I can't tell you girls how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you… or him. I saw you on TV. I always knew you were smart. I mean, look at you, you're an astronaut."

"Technically." Because she has been past the 50-mile orbital marker, Faith did rate being referred to as an astronaut but only just barely.

He nodded. "I know I don't deserve it but… would you girls be willing to give an old man a second chance?"

"Life's too short, Faith," Grace whispered.

"But Harry…" Faith whispered back.

"He'd want us to do better than him," her sister said quietly. The sisters looked at each other for a second before they both nodded. He was their grandfather and they'd lost too much family as it was. "Of course, we can, grandpa."

"Yeah," Faith added, "we got a truckload of second chances to go around."

"End of the world does that," Hank said.

Grace nodded. "Yea, something like that. You…"

"There you guys are," A.J. said as he walked into the room. "I've been all over the building looking for ya'll."

"All you had to do was ask someone," Grace said. "A.J., this…"

"Hank Stamper," their grandfather said, jumping in.

"Harry's dad." A.J. smiled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm A.J. Frost, Grace's fiancé."

"I know who you are, son," Hank told them. "Your mama and papa were really good friends with Harry. Fiancé huh?" They all nodded as he smiled. "Congrats. When's the big day?"

"Haven't decided yet, giant asteroid took priority," Grace said.

"Of course." He looked at Faith. "And, what about you? Got a special someone?"

"I…"

"Colonel Sharp popped the question," Grace said before Faith could really say anything.

She glared at her sister. "Gracie…"

"Wait. Really?" A.J. asked. "What did you say?"

"I didn't really say anything. I didn't have a chance to," Faith told him. A.J. gave her a look like he wasn't sure if he believed her. Hell, she wasn't sure if she believed herself.

"You're gonna say yes, right? I mean, you know you want to." She wanted to shrug him off but, as usual, A.J. had more of a read on her than she cared to admit.

"One wedding at a time, guys."

"Home, sweet home," Faith muttered.

It was weird not being at Johnson after spending so much time there. She got offers from all the guys to do one thing or another –probably to keep her mind busy- but she really just wanted to cry. She dropped her bag –and Harry and Freddy's bags- near the couch and slid the picture that Ella made for her from the cargo pocket of her pants. She unfolded it and smiled before using an old Stamper Oil magnet to stick it to the refrigerator.

Faith and Will didn't get a chance to have that conversation but she did have a lot of time to think. She thought about what her future looked like, about where she wanted to be, about who would be there with her; it was one of those conversations that the angel and devil on your shoulders have.

"What do you think, dad?"

The picture of her, Harry and Grace on the end table offered her no reply but she wasn't really expecting it to. She had to stop herself from calling Harry a few times since they've been back. Though Faith pulls off 'stoic leader' in front of the others pretty well, she didn't even bother at home. She let the tears fall as she stepped outside and sat on her back patio, looking up at the sky.

"I'd bet you'd make some joke about me always looking up. Then you'd tell me to go for it."

It was odd to her that she'd been up there, something that not a lot of people have done. Harry would think that she's crazy for wanting to go back but she did.

"You got the itch," a familiar voice said, interrupting her thoughts. Quickly, she wiped the tears off her face and offered a small smile.

"What are you…? How did you know I'd be out here?"

"Easy." Will chuckled. "I know you better than you think I do. I figured this is where you'd be."

"I'm just thinking about Harry," she told him.

He smirked. "And the fact that you wanna go back."

"Truman offered me a job."

"He'd be an idiot not to. Dan is many things but that's not one of them," Will pointed out. "What do you want?"

"I want my dad. I know it's not possible but it's what I want. Since I can't have that… I guess I just wanna make him proud."

"He was proud of you. Anyone with eyes saw it. If Harry was here asking this same question, what would you say?"

"I would tell him something like 'I wanna do it but…'"

He shook his head. "No 'buts'. You want something; you figure out a way to it. That's who you are." Damn, Will really does have her pegged. It was almost scary that he knew her so well.

"What about you?" she asked. "What do you want?"

"You. I think I made that pretty clear, sweetheart." Faith chuckled as Will pulled her out of her seat, sat down in the chair and pulled her onto his lap.

She rested her head in the crook of his neck. "We aren't stuck at the space center anymore."

"I know. I happen to like being stuck with you."

Faith rolled her eyes. "That whole 'look at me, I'm a sexy pilot' thing you got going on doesn't work on me."

"You wanna bet?"

"Okay, maybe it does a little bit." She smiled. "I am only human."

Will was quiet for a minute before he took a breath. "I've done a lot of things, Faith. Been all over the world. Hell, I've been off the world, more than once. After everything with Jess fell apart, I never expected… I never expected someone like you. My father likes to say that when you know, you know. I've waited a lifetime for you, I just didn't know it until you locked those hazel eyes on me that first day. I don't care if it's next week or if it takes me ten years to talk you into it, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She touched his face and he turned to look at her, his blue eyes sparkling in the starlight. Faith knew he was serious, he wants to marry her. "Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"

"Why would you want to marry me? I mean, I'm…"

"Amazing, brilliant, caring, dedicated, enticing, fun, gorgeous, heroic, intriguing… You know, I got at least one for every letter in the alphabet."

Faith couldn't help but laugh. "Really?"

"Of course, I do. I bet you came up with a few of your own about me." He was annoyingly right but she loves it. She loves him.

"Yes."

"I figured as much…" Will said.

Faith pressed her fingers against his lips. "Not that. Well, yes to that but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm saying 'yes'…Yes, I'll marry you, just not this week. Okay?"

"Okay."

He kissed her finger before he moved her hand away from his face and brought their lips together.

Faith reached out, expecting to wrap her arm around Will but she felt an empty spot. She cracked her eyes open and found herself alone in bed. "Will?"

"Oh, look, my beautiful fiancée is awake." He smiled. "Good morning. Made some coffee."

She looked at him. "You're waltzing around my house with nothing on and I missed it?"

"Maybe I can be convinced not to get dressed." Oh, that sounded like a challenge and Faith does love a challenge.

"What did you have in mind, Colonel?"

He sat the mug on the nightstand and looked at her. "You tell me."

"You're better with words than I am," Faith said with a laugh before she grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the bed.

"That so?" Will wrapped his arm around her waist and flipped them over so that she ended up sprawled across his body. She couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips. "A giggle? I made Faith Stamper giggle."

"You think that's funny?" she asked. "I know for a fact that you're ticklish." She sat up, straddling him, and ran her hands along his sides and over his stomach.

"Don't even think about it, sweetheart." She smirked but before she could tickle him, Will grabbed her hands and pulled her against him.

"That's mean." He nodded before he kissed her. He let go of her hands, running his fingers along her arms. The atmosphere in the room changed in a millisecond. "You're playin' dirty," she whispered against his lips.

He smirked. "Oh, trust me, I know."

Her eyes fluttered closed as he ran his hands over her skin. "Will."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Love you." She smiled.

Will smiled up at her. "I love you too."

"I happen to know that, Colonel." Faith slipped her knees to either side of his hips and locked her eyes with Will's as she slowly slid onto him. "Oh..."

He gripped her hips as she started to move, his eyes half closed. She concentrated on the feel of him, her gaze ran over his chest and face. It was unfair, the way he looked at her like the universe was in her eyes. He tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her down for a kiss.

She could –and should- get used to this; Will for breakfast. Faith could feel her heart beating in her chest and his heart under her fingers. Her stomach muscles tightened and quivered as the pressure built. She could swear it felt like lava was racing through her veins with every move.

"Let go, Faith." The feel of his skin against hers, the sound of his voice in her ear; it was pulling her under. As soon as her rhythm faltered, Will took control and flipped them over and her body tightened around him. It was crazy how in tune they were with each other.

"W-will…" He pushed them both over the edge, Faith quivered around him. "So much better than coffee."

Will chuckled as he pressed kisses along her collarbone. "Yes, you are."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna go take a shower, you comin'?"

"You... naked... water... Like I would miss that."

How do you go back to real life after the world almost ends? New York, Paris and Shanghai were all in tatters, Stamper Oil was technically under new management, the spotlight was shining down on all the surviving team members and none of them knew where to begin.

Aside from Harry, Faith also had to deal with Freddy's belongings since he didn't have any family. She pulled an envelope from her bag; she found it when she cleaned out Freddy and Max's room.

Faith,
My crazy, beautiful, brilliant bestest friend in all of everything, if you're reading this, that means you made it back and I didn't. First things first, it's not your fault. Yea, I know you're blaming yourself (that's what you do) but you didn't cause this, you didn't ask us to do it and no matter what happened, you didn't cause my death. Now, the good stuff.

It's funny to me that I grew up an only child because I feel a big brother when it comes to you. I remember the day you showed up at the dock to get on the crew boat. I won't lie and say I didn't check you out, everyone but Chick did.

I never thought that I could be so close to a woman that I never slept with but you make us all do crazy things. I love you, Faithie. I know we don't get all sappy but I want you to know that. Being your friend is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Take of yourself and don't give Sharp a hard time. Let the man love you, it's impossible for anyone not to.

Your friend 'til the end.
Fred

P.S. There's a copy of my will behind this letter. Yes, it's right and yes, we already knew I was crazy.

Faith looked at the other papers she pulled from the envelope. "Of all the... that crazy son of a bitch."

Will looked at her. "Who?"

"Fredrick James Noonan, that's who," she said with a groan before handing him a copy of Freddy's will. "The idiot left me everything." Freddy had substantial savings and property near Chicago; he left it all to her. "None of which, I actually want."

"Maybe not but he wanted you to have it. He was your best friend and you guys considered yourselves family, it only makes sense," Will said. "My advice, go through his place and pick a few things that mean a lot to you and give the rest away."

"That's what we decided to do with dad's stuff. It's just… If I go through Freddy's place, picking apart his life, it becomes real. I keep hoping that I'm in some dreamland and we haven't left yet. When I wake up, it hits me that dad and Freddy are just gone. That Oscar isn't there to tease me. That Max isn't just grabbin' a bear claw and he'll be here soon. I even miss Davis, Tucker, Gruber and Halsey. I barely even knew them. It's crazy right?"

"Not crazy. They were your teammates and you bonded. Tucker liked you and Davis thought that you were probably gonna be the one who saved our asses; which you and A.J. did. Gruber thought you were cool and Halsey was impressed by you, which never happens. They bonded with you too. It's okay to miss them. I miss 'em all too, even Harry and the guys."

Of course, the President of the United States forced them all out of hiding and 'requested' that they join him at the White House for a ceremony but they weren't told what.

"This is so cool," A.J. whispered.

"This sucks," Faith muttered, rolling her eyes. "I should be the last person in a room with the President."

"You could've said no," Will said with a chuckle. "I couldn't've but you could've."

She knew he was referring to the fact that he had to follow orders from his Commander in Chief but she didn't. He also knew how she felt about the leader of the free world and it wasn't very nice.

"I'm not one for pomp and circumstance… or really over priced designer dresses. The only reason I'm not really annoyed is because I get to watch you walk around in your dress uniform," she told him, earning chuckles from the guys.

"Well, I happen to like this look on you," he said, stepping closer. "And I'll have to remember how fond you are of my uniform for later, Miss Stamper."

She looked at Will as he smirked at her. "You're annoying."

"But you love me. You said so yourself." He smiled.

"Get a room," Rockhound grumbled.

"Says the man that who was dry humpin' his girlfriend on the tarmac," Chick pointed out.

"Are you sure they were just dry humpin'?" A.J. asked.

"You never know with Rock," Faith added just as an aide of some kind walked into the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll be getting started soon."

"Thank you," Faith said before the man ushered the whole group down a hall.

"We're getting medals," Will whispered to her.

"Think so?"

"I do. Huh, I like how that sounds, 'I do'."

"I already said yes, Will. One thing at a time."

Well, Will was right, every member of the crew –even those who didn't make it back- were awarded the Medal of Honor –the active duty military crew members- or the Presidential Medal of Freedom for the rest of them, including Lev.

"I'm proud of you," Will whispered against her ear as they stood off to the side at the stupid reception.

"You got a medal too." She chuckled. "I saw it with my own eyes and everything."

He shook his head as she rested her hands on the lapels of his uniform. "I meant I'm proud of you for not punching the president over Secondary Protocol. I wanted to."

"Can you imagine the press? 'Hero Decks Commander in Chief.' They'd have a field day." Faith smiled.

Will nodded. "Would've been worth it, though."

"Probably."

"Six weeks."

Faith looked at her sister as they walked down the street by Faith's house. Grace had popped up and suggested some fresh air.

"Six weeks for…?" Faith asked.

"The wedding is in six weeks," Grace said with a smile. "I know it seems soon but… I want to start living my life. We've all wallowed around for almost two months, it's time to do something with the lives you guys fought so hard for."

"Yea, about that. I, uh… I was looking through the paperwork and I decided that I want to give A.J. some of my shared of Stamper Oil. I'll still own more of it than either of you but I don't want to run the company. I, uh, I think out. I think I'm done."

Grace looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"I am terrified. But someone once told me that that was a good thing. Harry may have been right, that I've been hiding out on that rig for all these years, so scared of being abandoned again. It was easier out there, stopping people from getting close. Besides, I'm sure Stamper Oil is in good hands. You know what you're doing on the operation's side and A.J. knows how to run the rig as well as I do. Chick says he'll stay on as an advisor, Bear's going back and I'm only a phone call away."

"What are you gonna do?"

She smiled at her sister. "Relax before I go work for Truman. Officially, I already meet the requirements for NASA; it's just a matter of filling in the massive hole in my training. Like years' worth of stuff. I know there's more to it but I get to skip over a lot of the hoops since I've been in space already."

"What does Sharp think?"

"He doesn't know yet. I just made the decision two hours ago, I was on the phone with Truman when you showed up. Will's with his girls, I'm not gonna disturb them."

Grace smiled, "Awe, you're so cute when you're domestic-like."

"Shut up, Frost."