A/N: Yes, yes it was quite a cliffhanger. Here y'go. It was quite interesting to write...it could have gone either of two ways. I may, in the future, write an alternate version.
Of an AU. lol. And this is the last chapter of Cowpie...1. Oh, did you really think I wouldn't make a 2...keep your eyes peeled...I'll announce it on the Helix story, and probably the
website. It won't be long.

( Volume: 1 Chapter: 13 )

Chapter 13 : homecoming


"NO!" Julian fell to his knees on the metal floor. "SEND ME BACK! SEND ME BACK! RIGHT NOW!" He fought the restraints.

"Idiot." Private Nixon stepped aside; Laura was staring at him with wide eyes, confused.

"Oh." He flushed, beet red.

"PRIVATE NIXON!" Frost swept into the room, her expression furious. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"He—ask him," Nixon said, pointing at Julian.

"I'm asking you, the time manipulator! Did I or did I not explicitly instruct you that you were only to retrieve Julian Keller?!" She thrust her finger towards Laura.

"DOES THAT LOOK LIKE KELLER TO YOU?!"

Laura rubbed her throat, looking up at the shouting woman with wide eyes.

"No ma'am," Private Nixon said. "He gave me a good enough reason, though. Ask him."

"Keller…" Frost glared at Julian.

"Wait a minute. Last I checked, you were dead yourself," Julian pointed out. "Correct me if I'm wrong…but did Private Nixon here have anything to do with that? Ma'am?"

"…" Frost stared at him.

"Or are you exempt from your little rules? Ma'am?" he added.

"You are in hot water up to your ears, Keller. Visit the medical bay, then go directly to your room. You are to be detained for forty-eight hours, or until I can look at you without
wanting to destroy that wheezing engine you call a mind!" Frost spat. "Put her back, Nixon."

"I can't. Ma'am. Unless you want me to stop Project 22-A and focus my energies on it." She stared Frost down, who suddenly turned and swept out of the room.

"She's just in a bad mood," Julian mumbled to Laura. Then he jerked his head up at Nixon. "Did Cessily…I mean, Private Mercury?"

"She's okay," Private Nixon said, folding her arms. "We'd better do what she said."

Julian concentrated on his shackles, and they burst open and clunked to the floor. Apparently, his powers worked just fine in the here and now. How irritating. Not that he wasn't
happy to have them back…but he was going to have nightmares about that experience for years to come.

"Come on." He grinned and got to his feet, holding his good hand out to Laura. She took it and pulled herself up, her eyes darting everywhere. This must be so strange…so foreign to
her…as foreign as it had been for him to live in her time. Except worse…he'd already known those times had existed…Laura certainly wouldn't understand any of this.

They passed through the lounge room with the enormous glass-like wall on their way to the quarters area (after Julian visited Dr. McCoy and Elixir in the medical bay, Laura and
Private Nixon having waited outside).

"Julian!" Sofia leapt up from her Squad table with a bright smile. "I was so worried! Is it true that you were visited by Nimrod?"

She made it sound like the Tooth Fairy.

"Keller," Nixon said sharply.

"Yes," Julian answered. "I can't talk, Sof, I'm being detained."

"What?!" Sofia looked alarmed. "Why would Frost do such a thing?! You've just been recovered!..." she focused at the girl standing slightly behind her boyfriend, at the wall-window,
gawking out. She had black, long hair, wide green eyes, and a shapely figure; and she was wearing almost nothing. Some kind of yellow fabric…was that leather? Less than Frost, on
her raunchiest days. How could the girl walk around in public like that?

"Who is she?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later. Frost said forty-eight."

Julian turned—the girl followed him, after a moment. Sofia blinked.

"Make yourself at home," he said, rubbing his neck as they entered his room. It was a complete mess; he'd forgotten that the morning he'd left, he'd ripped his closet apart to find a pair
of clean boxers. On top of the rest of the usual bachelor mess. He was embarrassed.

Laura blinked, then crept into the room, leapt onto the bed, and walked to the window to continue staring out.

"We're in space." He closed the door behind him. "Free space, it's called. Nothing but Hydrogen and Helium."

Laura continued to stare.

"I'm sure you have questions," he said, moving to his closet and picking up clothing articles.

Laura continued to stare.

He stuffed the pile into his hamper, deciding he would do laundry tomorrow. He was exhausted right now. The clock—the only way of measuring time out here—said it was 23:00 hours. All
clocks now ran on military standard.

Laura continued to stare.

"Here." He pulled a (miraculously) clean t-shirt from the wire rack and tossed it to her. It hit her shoulder and slid down.

Laura continued to stare.

"Laura…come on, it's not going anywhere, I promise. It's the same stuff you saw in the sky at night. I want to sleep—I haven't slept on a bed since…well, since I left. As long as I've known you."

She looked away reluctantly, and reached down for the shirt he had dropped. He studied her, and suddenly realized he didn't have to make himself look away anymore. "Whoa—hang on." He
jumped on the bed and took the shirt from her, throwing it to the floor, then pressed her to the wall. "You know, I'm so glad the two outfits I like best came with you," he mumbled. Laura
looked confused—more so than she already.

Then tears ran down her face.

Son of a bitch. He pulled her against him and rubbed her back. "Shh. It's okay."

"M-mother," she hiccoughed after a minute.

He suddenly remembered Sarah, and his vague irritation stopped. He held Laura tighter, trying to comfort her. "Laura…she went to a better place. She'll be okay. She knows you're safe now.
I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" He didn't know what else to say; he'd liked Sarah, and had been horrified to see her die. But he'd lost so many people in the past years, to war,
and other issues; he was becoming, in a sense, desensitized.

Laura sobbed harder, and he let her. Then he sat her back and took her chin in his hand. "Look at me," he said. "Don't think about it at all."

She finally looked at him, still hiccoughing, but her breathing quieted. She seemed to respond best to direct orders. He took her hand and led her into his small bathroom, then sat her on the
toilet seat. He cracked open a package containing a new toothbrush, and after applying some paste (a batch Dr. McCoy had created), handed it to her, for lack of anything better to do.

Laura sat on the toilet, staring at the tooth brush in confusion.

"Put it in your mouth and clean your teeth," Julian instructed. After a moment, he did it for her, then curled her fingers around the handle.

She did so for a while, then he had to show her how to use the sink. His eyes settled on the shower. Good. He closed the door and stripped off his shirt and pants, then stood in front of Laura.

"Can you…take it off?" he asked. Laura was staring at him; she'd never seen him naked in full light. He touched her hair, then set to working on the knot on her top with his fingers. Laura
reached behind herself and pulled on something (he wasn't sure what) and it undid itself. He slid his hands down her body and hooked his fingers in the sides of her thong skirt.

Knowing it wasn't the time, he kissed her knee, then got up and turned the shower on. It was pure H2O, synthesized by Dr. McCoy in his lab. Forge had designed a large ship that contained
an ecosystem that produced Oxygen and Carbon, two essential elements in the lab works of the ships.

After the shower (and after showing Laura how the toilet worked) he took her to his bed and pulled back the covers, relishing how soft they felt in his hand. He was quite excited. He scrambled
in after her and buried his face into his pillow. "Oh, fuck…" he moaned, closing his eyes. Then he pulled the covers over them and gathered Laura closer. "Lights off," he said. Laura squeaked as
the unit went dark, then sniffled again. He held her face against his neck, struggling to stay awake until her breathing quieted, and she was asleep.