Disclaimer: I always noticed how at the end ET asks Elliott to come with him, and I always thought he might have gone if the ship had come for them on Halloween night, so here's my take on that.

I do not own E.T.

The forest was still and quiet. They had been waiting for hours, but there was no response and their hope was fading.

Elliott finally spoke. "We have to go home now, E.T..." he said, but with no real conviction. He could feel the alien's sadness like it was his own. He wasn't even sure where "home" was anymore. He was starting to feel that home was wherever ET was.

"You could be happy here," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "I could take care of you, I wouldn't let anyone hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T."

E.T. looked up at the sky, his eyes desperate. "Home..." he repeated. Elliott understood. He knew his friend needed to go home, but it was going to be hard to let him go. He'd gotten his hopes up that he would finally have a friend, someone who really cared, and now...

He started to cry softly, thinking of all the things they'd been through. He'd never really fit in with other kids, he'd always been too quiet and reserved, and he could tell they thought he was weird. He'd started to wonder if he would ever have friends or a normal life, and then E.T. came along and it had been like magic. You just didn't make a friend like E.T. every day. It had only been a week or so since he'd found him, that was all. It didn't feel like enough. The alien was the best friend he'd ever had, the kind of friend he'd stayed up at night wishing for.

I love him. I want to be with him always... what if something happened to him, and I wasn't there?

E.T. slowly reached down and touched the boy's face, gently wiping his tears away. Elliott just stared at him hopelessly, his lips trembling.

Help me, E.T. I've always been alone. Do you know how that hurts?

E.T. gazed at him tenderly, stroking Elliott's hair, and he felt himself crying too as he absorbed the boy's pain, everything he'd felt when he'd been ignored or rejected at school, or when his parents divorced, or all the times he'd felt lost or out of place on his own planet. E.T. felt that in his own way, Elliott was just like him. He might actually have it worse.

Elliott gave a small sob and nestled into E.T.'s arms, wishing his friend could just hold him forever. Yes, as long as he had E.T. he would never be alone. They were alike, really. He'd never felt this close to another human. Maybe he was marooned here just as much as his friend.

He let himself cry in the alien's arms, letting his feelings out. "E.T... don't leave me here," he sobbed. "Please, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I've never had a real friend before. I just always felt different from everyone, and I n-needed a friend like you, so much. I thought I'd get to keep you forever... I d-don't want to be alone, I don't want this to be good-bye!"

E.T. started to purr softly, trying to soothe his friend's pain. He slowly started to sway back and forth, rocking Elliott gently. Elliott leaned closer into the embrace, just enjoying the feeling of his friend's arms around him, knowing that whatever happened, at least they were together. He hadn't been held like this in a long time.

"I love you, ET," he whispered, clinging to his friend. "I need you."

E.T. looked down at him gently. "Come?" he croaked gently.

Elliott looked up at his friend. "Come...?"

E.T. gently raised Elliott's face until he was looking at the stars. "Come... home."

Elliott blinked, feeling fresh tears come to his eyes. "You mean... come with you? To your planet? You... you love me that much?"

E.T. nodded, wondering how the boy could even ask this. "Yes."

Elliott wasn't sure what to do. He knew his family must be looking for him. He loved them a lot, of course, but he'd never quite felt like he fit in here. Maybe he was becoming more like ET and now it was other humans who seemed strange to him. He felt that Gertie, at least, understood some of what he was going through. He'd sometimes seen her watching him and ET with a sad look in her eyes, like she realized how much it would hurt her brother to say good-bye to him. The other day she'd actually drawn a cute little crayon picture of him and E.T. flying through space together. It might have just been good fun, but he'd wondered if she'd been trying to tell him something. Maybe it was her way of telling him she understood, that it was okay with her if he needed to get off this planet and just be with his friend forever, just as long as he was happy.

He's my best friend. As long as I'm with him, I'll be okay.

He looked at ET and nodded finally. "Yeah... I want to be with you, I... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me!" He wrapped his arms tighter around his friend, needing to reassure herself that he was still there. He wasn't even sure he could survive without ET. It would be like being trapped underwater with no air.

"E.T... your home... what's it like there?"

E.T. didn't know the Earth words to describe his planet, so he closed his eyes and thought of it, trying to project it into the boy's mind, the green skies, the plants of every color, and all his friends there. Slowly, he felt Elliott's breathing relax, and he knew that he too was feeling the sense of peace that he felt there.

Elliott realized it was getting a little harder to breathe. His head was feeling hot too. He knew they'd been getting sick, but they seemed to be getting worse much quicker. He couldn't bring himself to leave this forest, though. There was something special and magic about it. He could almost imagine that if they just stayed out here in this spot, nothing could touch them.

It occurred to him that E.T.'s ship might be out of range. They might never come.

Then maybe we'll just stay out here and die together. The thought gave him a strange kind of peace. He felt E.T. pull him closer and closed his eyes, holding onto his friend tighter as the night grew colder.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been asleep. Suddenly his eyes fluttered open. It was still night, but it seemed brighter somehow. Then there was a warm glow against his chest.

Elliott looked at E.T. and saw his chest lighting up red. Elliott's eyes grew wide, as he'd never seen his friend's heartlight before. They stared at each other, hope returning to them.

Elliott took E.T.'s hand and squeezed it. "E.T... does this mean...?"

The alien nodded at him. "Home."

Elliott stared at his friend, grinning. "Wow!" This was really the best Halloween ever.

They looked up and could make out something coming nearer and nearer. The ship descended slowly, humming softly, its lights shining brilliantly like a Christmas tree.

E.T. turned to Elliott as the ship touched down and smiled gently. "Come."

Elliott smiled. "Okay." He took his friend's hand, smiling at him.

As the ship readied for takeoff Elliott looked around in excitement. It felt rather cool and moist in here, but it felt comforting. The room they were in- he supposed it was the control room, going by all the blinking lights around them- was a little dark, but soft yellow orbs from above provided some illumination. There was a smaller chamber off to the side where there were all kinds of plants, some of them much larger and more vibrant than any he had seen on Earth. A few of them even seemed to be alive.

E.T. approached his friends and emitted a few sounds in his own language, no doubt telling his friends who Elliott was and how he had helped him. Elliott looked around at the others, smiling nervously. They gathered around him for a moment, emitting soft purring sounds. Elliott couldn't understand the language but they seemed friendly enough. They'd even let him take his bike along. From the curious way they were looking at it, Elliott guessed bikes weren't a thing on their planet.

E.T. put a hand on Elliott's shoulder and guided him over to one of the windows, so he could have a good view as they lifted off.

The engines gave a gentle hum as they took off, rising quickly into the sky. Elliott felt a strange sense of relief, like a weight was lifting off his shoulders. I guess I don't have to go to school anymore. The thought made him giggle. He looked out the porthole at the stars rushing past them and smiled gleefully at his new friend. This is... it's real. I'm in an alien spaceship!

They were picking up speed, cruising past the moon, the Sun, the other planets. Elliott remembered vaguely that he'd been to a planetarium once before, but it was nothing like this. He looked over at E.T.

"ET... is this real?" he whispered. He reached out and took his friend's hand, seeking reassurance. "We're together?"

The alien nodded. "Together... Elliott." He wrapped his arms gently around the boy in reassurance, telling him that yes, it was always going to be like this. They were together now.

It's okay. We're going to be okay, both of us. I'm going home with my best friend.

He closed his eyes, feeling warm and safe in E.T.'s arms, feeling their hearts beating in perfect harmony, and imagined the two of them growing gigantic plants together, and riding his bicycle in low gravity.

I'm going home.