Interstellar: Revivisco, Part II
Chapter 13 - Aequora
As Amelia and Cooper began to recover, so did the weather. The snow was melting and the sun was out - a truly beautiful sight.
"You ready?" Cooper asked as Amelia got on the ATV behind him. "TARS, you strapped on there, buddy?"
"Secured, Cooper," TARS stated as he locked on behind Amelia.
"When are you going to let me have a turn at driving?" she asked, lacing her arms around him.
"When you decide that going fast is ok," he replied with a laugh. "You drive at a snail's pace."
"Well, sorry I like to be safe." Cooper started up the ATV and away they went.
"I'll tell you what, you can drive back. If you start going too slow, we immediately switch, deal?" Amelia agreed to the terms.
"I don't know how good it is for two control freaks t be together," Amelia joked, resting her head on his back. She felt him sit up straight, much like he did when he started to smile.
"Hell, I think we'll make it, don't you, TARS?" Still holding on to Cooper, Amelia turned around to look at TARS.
"Amelia gets CASE and me in the custody battle." Amelia laughed this time, putting her head back on Cooper's back.
"Love you too, man," Cooper responded with humor in his voice.
"I forgot how perfect the ocean is," Amelia whispered upon walking away from the ATV. "It's beautiful." The sun was just over the water, making the waves sparkle. After Miller's planet, she'd never look at a wave the same way again, but these waves were very tiny; obviously nothing like ones on Miller's.
"Yeah, livin' out in the middle of the country will do that to ya," Cooper replied. He stood five feet away, right beside her, his arms crossed, eyes squinted. "We're gonna see what's on the other side of this big ole pond someday."
"They've probably got drones over there now." Amelia began to walk along the shoreline, Cooper followed. "What if it's like the Amazon or something? Tons of volcanos? Actually, volcanos are likely," she said as she looked forward.
"I won't let 'em sacrifice ya to one, I promise." He made a clicking noise with his mouth, Amelia looking at him.
"I sure hope not!" She felt him grab her hand, and she smiled. "I think I lost my sacrificing value around 11 or 12 years ago, anyway. Maybe I'm safe."
"You're real funny, you know that? I like seeing you like this." Amelia continued to smile. "Yeah, that... that's a good smile."
"Keeping track of my facial expressions now?" Knowing him, of course he has been.
"Press down on the gas just a bit more; you can do it." Amelia pushed her right foot forward a bit. "Okay, there we go. Just a little more."
"Cooper, we're not trying to race anyone," she reminded him, slowing down.
"We're going to race a clock, come on." We've done that before and it didn't work out too well, Cooper thought. "Okay, bad example. I just don't like to drive slowly."
"Dr. Brand, I feel the safest I have ever felt on this vehicle," TARS stated.
"Thank you, TARS. Glad to know someone thinks that I'm a good driver." Amelia smirked to herself.
"Not saying you're a bad driver, you're certainly a safe driver, you just really seem to like to take your time with it." Amelia nodded.
"I just want to be cautious," she replied as the house came into sight. Cooper gave her waist a gentle squeeze, feeling her relax a little bit.
"Okay," he whispered, no hint of disappointment in his voice. Cooper saw that the sun was getting ready to set. "Hey, TARS, can you go ahead and turn on the shield?"
"On it, Coop," TARS replied.
Amelia stopped the ATV in front of the house, watching TARS jump off and head inside. "Hey," Cooper breathed, stepping from of the ATV first. He stood next to where she sat.
"Hey." They smiled at each other. "Why do I feel like you're about to pull some kind of sneaky move?"
"Maybe I am, Brand," he responded, watching her. "Maybe I am. Who knows?"
Amelia snickered and hopped off of the ATV. "Your ability to flirt never ceases to amaze me." Cooper followed her into the house.
"Where are you going?" he said as he caught up to her. "Are my tactics not working?" He was beaming now, amused by her reaction.
"Well, my driving didn't, did it?" Amelia winked before she walked up the stairs.
"Ouch," Cooper heard from behind him.
"TARS..."
Cooper heard the shower turn off and quietly walked up the stairs and into their room. He could hear her humming and she was likely putting her robe on over her towel, as usual. "Ah!" Amelia jumped in shock upon seeing Cooper right at the bathroom door. "What was that for?" He smirked, not speaking. Amelia went into the closet for pajamas and walked back into the room with a confused look on her face. "Are you alright?"
"Care to explain what happened down there?" Cooper asked, as she put the pajamas on the bed, watching as she walked closer to him.
"That's what happens when you make fun of my driving: you don't get what you want." Amelia smiled as Cooper shook his head slowly, still smirking.
"Oh, come on, Amelia," Cooper exclaimed, "we aren't in junior high."
"You think you can win me over after making fun of me by trying to seduce me? No, no," she said playfully, their eyes locking. "Not going to happen."
"I wasn't trying to win you over." Amelia walked closer, now so close that she could feel that energy that he carried with him everywhere.
"What? Is being cautious a turn on?" she questioned him, obviously joking. Cooper laughed, moving his right hand down her covered left arm.
"Maaaaaaaybeee," he drug out, watching her face the entire time.
"Yeah, uh huh," Amelia replied, biting her lip to keep from laughing. She wanted to look somewhat serious. "Sure."
"I guess your love of safety," Cooper stopped himself to keep from laughing as well, "your love for safety isn't really the turn on."
"Ah." She was being curt just to drive him crazy. "I see."
"Are you trying to play some kind of game with me? I like games." Amelia had to laugh then, and walked away from Cooper.
"Maybe," she mimicked. "I heard TARS's comment."
"Yeah, the damn robot made fun of your block." Cooper was smiling again as Amelia continued to laugh. "Not funny, Amelia."
After the successful passage through the wormhole
"Cooper." He turned around to see Dr. Brand. "Good job."
"Thanks, Brand." Cooper walked past her, headed to another cabin.
"Wait," she said, catching up to him. "Thank you." He turned around, a little shocked. "It could have been deadly, but you did that as if you'd been doing it your whole life."
"Just a little bit of luck," he smiled, not sure if he should turn around yet or not.
"That wasn't luck, that was skill," she assured him. Amelia swallowed as she looked down at the floor. Maybe dad was right about his ability to pilot, she thought.
Cooper could tell that Dr. Brand was thinking about something else. "Everything okay?" She quickly looked back up at him.
"Yeah... yeah, good." Amelia walked past him and heard his footsteps behind her until she turned a corner. She silently walked toward the cabin with the fertilized eggs, wanting to check on their condition. Dad, I wish you were here, she thought to herself. I can already tell that this is going to be more difficult that I imagined, but maybe the silver lining is that I might get to see Wolf again.
"Hey." Amelia looked up to see Cooper standing in the doorway. "What's wrong?" Cooper asked, slowly coming closer.
"Nothing," she whispered, staring at the units that held all of the fertilized eggs.
"You're sure?" Amelia shook her head 'no'.
"We're..." she trailed, bringing a hand to her head. "Cooper, I'm terrified, alright?"
"I think we all are," Cooper admitted as he stopped his slow stride.
Amelia looked back at him. "Do you think we'll make it back?"
"I do," he said, the belief in his statement clear in his voice.
"Thank you." He smiled gently and nodded.
"Dr. Brand," Cooper paused, looking at her one last time before going back to his pervious destination. "Amelia... any time."
They were able to make out a little bump in the bag. Cooper thought it looked disgusting but he guessed he'd just have to forget about that. "Is there any way we can have pictures sent to us regularly?" Cooper asked the same tech they had talked to before.
"Yes, of course Captain Cooper." He looked back at the tube, trying to imagine what their life was going to be like in just under eight months.
Cooper watched as Amelia placed her hand on the glass, as if she was trying to communicate with their child. "I wish the incubator was at home with us."
They walked out of the incubating room and took their lab jackets and gloves off. "We'd be a little too obsessed if it was in the house, let's be honest."
"You are probably right," Amelia replied, putting her gloves down on the counter.
"Are you tryin' to stick around or do you wanna head back home?" Cooper asked as he put his gloves down next to hers.
"I'll do whatever you want to do." He held open the door for her.
"I don't like being here and gettin' stared at. Let's go home." Amelia nodded in agreement.
They were quickly back outside and in the plane that would have them back home in five minutes.
Amelia put her head on Cooper's shoulder after they strapped in. "Why am I feeling so blank?"
"We have been through a lot to get here," Cooper admitted, "leaving is probably difficult considering what happened to us just around a month ago."
They heard the plane start up and quickly take off. "I suppose. I worry a lot about it happening again."
Cooper didn't respond.
"Gonna send the combines back to their hub," Cooper said has he looked over the fields from the porch, pushing a few things on his tablet. "Hey, TARS, notify me when they get there, okay?"
"Roger that, Cooper." Coop sat down in one of the rocking chairs, opening a bottle of beer by hitting the side of the cap on the porch railing.
"And get the shield up while you're at it. The sun's settin'." He brought the bottle to his lips, pushing back on the floorboards with his feet. He watched as TARS walked back into the house before looking back out over the fields. "How?" he whispered to himself before taking another drink.
Cooper looked out into the horizon, wondering the 'how' of many things. Was there even a reason to wonder about the 'hows' anymore? 'They' already knew what was happening, and 'They' had looked out for him before, maybe they'd always been looking out for him. "They know what's next," he whispered once more.
Maybe someone or something was watching over him, but they sure as hell hadn't protected him from heartache. He'd kept from telling Amelia that Murph's family had made it down to the planet, leaving their station. He wasn't sure that he could face them yet, and he didn't even know if they wanted to see him.
He turned around as he heard the screen door open, Amelia standing against the doorframe. "Are you just going to sit out here and stare at the sun?" He smirked, taking another sip.
"Thought I might," he replied as she came around and sat in the chair next to him. "It was nice out today."
"It was; thank you for the samples, by the way. You're getting good at collecting for me." Amelia looked into the sunset, too, appreciating it's beauty.
"It's not that hard to put some dirt in a plastic container, Amelia," Cooper said with a smile.
"But you did a good job, though." He looked over at her and took a moment to appreciate the fact that she was next to him right then. If it hadn't been for 'They', they wouldn't be here together. He knew that.
"What a compliment coming from you," he observed, watching as she turned and relaxed into her chair. He noticed that she looked more like the Amelia he'd first met. She'd gained some of her weight back; the weight she'd lost as a cause of her stress before he got here. She was still stressed to the max after he got there and it had taken around four months for her to relax... or relax at a normal level for her. She looked healthier. "Are you happy here?"
"You know I am. Why do you ask?" She was having a picturesque moment again, her pillowy lips and big brown eyes a beautiful sight.
"I just want you to be happy; I'm happy." She smiled back gently.
"There's no where else I'd rather be," Amelia reminded him. She turned forward in her seat. "It's really something here, isn't it?"
"Definitely." Cooper took another sip of the beer. "Want some?" he asked, offering up the bottle.
"Ew, no. Gross." He chuckled to himself before sitting the bottle down next to him. "You're getting a little stubble-y."
Cooper rubbed a hand over his chin. "I guess I am. You don't like it?" She laughed lightly as she put her feet in the chair, keeping her eyes on him.
"I just hate it when you leave it in the sink for me to find." His smirk changed into a smile.
"Pates says everything's looking on target, Amelia," Cooper said as he walked into the house. "Amelia?"
"In the kitchen!" She yelled from the back of the house. He briskly made his way to find her.
"Smells good in here." He looked around, ultimately seeing a cake sitting out in the island.
"I made a marbled red velvet cake. I haven't had one in years." Cooper sat down at the kitchen island, watching as she got more ingredients out of the fridge. "Now I just need to make the icing."
She seems to be in a good mood today, Cooper thought. "Why haven't you baked this for me since we've been in this house?"
"Who says I made it for you?" They smirked at each other. "Okay, maybe I did, but you better leave a slice for me."
"Don't worry, I think I can share." He watched as Amelia began to work on the icing. "There's something about what you do back there in your lab that makes me think you must enjoy cooking."
"Actually, yeah. They're kind of similar. This is more like chemistry 101, though, if you wanted a comparison." She measured out all of the ingredients before pouring them in. "I'm going to make this icing then let it chill. The cake's still a little too hot to ice just yet." Cooper watched as she made the icing before covering it up and putting it in the fridge. "Now we wait."
"Is it okay if I refer to you as a domestic goddess?" Cooper asked as he put his plate in the dishwasher.
"No, and besides, I'm not really a domestic goddess. You do just as much as I do." She looked up at him and smiled. "You have a little icing right..." she grabbed a dishcloth, "there." She wiped it off of his upper lip. "If you'd shave this wouldn't happen."
He smiled back, too transfixed in her cuteness to reply immediately.
"Did you hear me?" she asked, moving back to putting up the cleaned beaters and bowls.
"I did," Cooper replied. "Get rid of the scruff, I got it."
Amelia turned the sink on and washed her hands. "Thank you."
"You really don't like it?" He watched as she methodically made sure she got every inch of her hands clean.
"It's good on day 2, after that it starts to look caveman-ish," she admitted with a bit of a giggle. "But day 2... I am all about day 2." She turned off the water and dried her hands.
"I knew you weren't totally against it," he said softly. "You are radiant today, not that you don't look radiant everyday." Amelia felt his hands snake around her waist from behind. "You just look extra cute."
She snickered lightly as she caved into him. "Are you sure this isn't just because I baked a cake?"
"No, it's not." She turned around in his arms and held him there, hugging him.
"Amelia, go to sleep." She didn't take her eyes off of her tablet. "The chlorophyl can wait."
"It's just so interesting," she replied as she continued reading. Cooper pulled the tablet from her hands and put it on his nightstand. "Oh my God..."
"If you don't go to sleep soon, you'll be exhausted all day tomorrow, then you'll be mad at yourself for not getting anything done. I know you," Cooper stated, noticing that Amelia had that angry blank look on her face.
"I'll get back at you for this," Amelia promised him, turning off her light and laying down.
"TARS will probably help ya. Y'all should start planning now." Cooper heard her try to stifle a laugh. "You love to make me look like an idiot in front of that damn robot, don't you?"
"Well, not an idiot... I just like his responses." Cooper smiled gently, staring up at the ceiling.
"I'm going to have to lower his humor setting," he replied.