A/N: Finally got around to writing the next chapter. The Dane in space (aka Andreas Mogensen) will probably return to Earth before I manage to get this fic finished. I have some more fluff, then some angst, and whump to happen before we reach a HEA.
Disclaimer: I have absolutely zero knowledge of how any parts of NASA work, so anything here is all my imagination with a few mentions of real locations. (Yeah google is a good friend in this.) I have even less knowledge of how an actual spaceship works, how a space station is built etc etc. I've taken some future liberties on the space program and invented my idea of the next stage in space research.
Huge thanks to Jrob64 for taking the time to beta-read this, fixing all my comma mistakes and everything else in between.
ENJOY
Chapter 112 years later
"Welcome to the Lunar Orbit 5 mission, Mr. Jones."
"Thank you, Mrs Mills." Killian shook hands with his new boss. "I'm so happy to be here and finally getting in the real trenches of this."
"I'm sure you are." Her polished nails tapped the edge of a tablet secured under her arm.
"So what is on today's agenda?"
"You will meet the rest of the team you'll be working with for the next five months, and you will be introduced to the daily schedule. Training, both physically and mentally, but rest assured there will be times when you can do whatever you want in your spare time."
"Splendid."
"You feel ready for everything?" She lifted a manicured eyebrow.
"I've been ready for the past 12 years." Killian grinned and ignored that he probably looked like an overeager schoolboy.
"I've read your file and I must say that you've been focused and determined to get to this day. It's astronauts like you we need for this next stage of the LO projects to come."
"Aye, it's been a long-time dream for me."
"Now if you'll please follow me to the conference room." She turned around and headed down a long corridor lined with doors on either side.
Killian swept his eyes all around, trying to take it all in. He was at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, his home for the past years. Finally, he was going to be part of the space program he'd dreamed about, the newest in line, the Lunar Orbit missions. The corridor opened into a smaller atrium, where the walls were lined with pictures of past astronauts and the names of the missions, going back to the very first space travels. "Wow."
"You're among the best of the best here, Mr. Jones." There was a tiny hint of a smile on the stoic woman striding forward, and pointing to the pictures, "Everyone here has been in space."
Killian inspected the pictures they walked past and suddenly a pair of familiar eyes looked down at him from a large photo. David Nolan.
"I believe Mr. Nolan lives in the same town you grew up in," Regina commented.
Killian blinked in surprise, not even realizing that he'd stopped, "Aye, he does…" Then he tilted his head, "You've certainly done your homework." He nodded to the tablet she was holding. "What else do you know about me?"
"A fair bit, but rest assured, nothing that will make us doubt that you're the right choice for this mission." She waved him forward, "Come along now."
They entered a large conference room and several other people were there already. Regina did a quick introduction round, Robin Locksley, NASA family coordinator, Elsa North, fellow astronaut-to-be, along with Aladdin Gene and Eric Castle.
"And this is my assistant, Sidney Glass. He'll be giving you the rundown of what you'll be doing today and make sure you have all the information you need." Regina finished and swept her hand to the table, "Take a seat and let's begin."
The pieces of information were endless and Killian was beginning to wonder if this would take all day. Finally, Sidney Glass shuffled his papers together and looked around the group, "That will be all for now. I'll expect you all to be present here again in two hours, where our resident senior space engineer, Miss Swan, will give you your first crash course on what to expect from the new spacecraft and station modulus you'll be installing on the LO space station." Sidney Glass stuffed his papers into the bag, "Mr Locksley, would you please show our new members to the mess hall?"
Locksley nodded and motioned for them to follow him.
At first, lunch was a stilted affair where everyone tried to get to know everyone else. Neither of them had been in close contact during their training, all coming from different groups in the aspiring astronaut program. The four astronaut recruits chatted among themselves and Killian sighed in relief when at the end of the meal, everyone seemed more relaxed and at ease with each other. Elsa North was certainly not one to be put down just because she was a woman. Killian had a feeling she could withstand the pressure in this program just as easily as he and their fellow team members.
He spoke a bit with Aladdin. "So did your parents go all Disney bonkers when picking your name?" Killian smirked at the curly-haired man.
"I don't know." He rolled his eyes, "But for the record just call me Al, I honestly don't want to use the name."
"Well, Disney's Aladdin flew on a carpet, you'll be flying a spaceship." Eric joked.
Everyone laughed, including Al.
Before settling into the conference room, Killian went to the bathroom to relieve himself and as he walked out into the hallway, he crashed into someone. A female voice gasped in surprise as papers fluttered to the floor.
"Bloody hell!"
"Seriously?"
Killian finally focused on the woman, "Emma?"
"Killian?" Emma's hand flew to her mouth in surprise, "I had no idea…"
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm…" She swept her hands to the mess of papers around them. "I was just about to do a presentation for the new astronauts."
"You're the engineer?"
"I am." She narrowed her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm one of the astronauts."
"Seriously?"
"Aye."
"I had no idea." She stooped down to pick up her papers.
Killian dropped to one knee and helped her, "I'm sorry we lost touch." When they both graduated high school, they'd slipped out of each other's friend circles. Going to college on the opposite ends of the country hadn't helped. When Killian pulled up his roots and settled in Houston, he'd lost touch with what Emma had been doing.
"Yeah, I guess life got a bit busy with my studies and when I landed the job at NASA's security centre in Cleveland, I got lost in it all." Emma sighed and collected the papers he'd collected, "Thanks."
"I guess we'll be seeing more of each other from now on." He tilted his head. "Why have you changed your name…" He lifted his eyebrows, "You got married?" The sliver of panic rushing through him took him by surprise. Why did it matter if she was married now?
"No." She fumbled with her papers and looked down, then swept her hand aimlessly around. "This place is just so filled with memories of my father and his name is everywhere. I didn't want to be linked with all the fame he'd gathered."
"Oh?"
"Not that I'm super proud to be his daughter and all that, I just didn't want my colleagues to think I got in here simply because of my last name."
"I understand." Killian smiled.
"Hmm." Emma tugged a loose wisp of hair behind her ear. "I still can't believe you're an astronaut now."
Killian motioned towards the conference room and she followed him inside. "I knew what I wanted to do with my life and reaching the stars is finally a possibility for me now."
"You'll be going to the moon, not the stars," Emma said dryly, placing her papers on the desk and sorting them out.
Killian chuckled, rested his hip against the table and crossed his arms over his chest. "But it will be some groundbreaking stuff we'll be doing on this mission."
"I know." Emma tapped on her sorted papers. "I've been a part of this project for years now."
"Aye." Killian nodded and found his seat when everyone else started to gather around the table.
Emma tried to keep her focus on the presentation she was about to give to the new group of astronauts, but it was damn difficult when her eyes kept slipping over to her childhood friend Killian Jones. He looked as easygoing as he had been back then, but held himself with a new confidence as he chatted with the other members of the team. It was a relief to know that everyone seemed to get along smoothly. She recalled her first year here when they had to make some changes to the roster because of internal disagreements in the team. Had it really been 6 years ago?
"Miss Swan?" Regina Mills had breezed in and already introduced her as one of their engineers on the project.
Emma cleared her throat and took a deep breath before diving into the introduction she'd meticulously prepared for weeks now. She might be one of their top engineers on this project, having been part of it even before she'd graduated, but she still took pride in delivering the best of the best. Landing an internship at NASA's new Lunar Orbit project 6 years ago had been a dream come true. Since then, they built the base structure of a space station now in constant orbit around the moon. A crew of four astronauts was working around the clock 238.855 miles from Earth. The new crew before her was going to take over in five months and the path from here to there was going to be a long and gruelling process.
"So that is all I have for today." Emma gathered her papers and looked around the table. She didn't want to admit it, but her eyes might have been lingering far more on Killian at the end. "Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads and Eric said, "Thank you, Miss Swan."
Emma smiled at the man. He looked like a polished fairytale prince with a sweet smile and kind eyes. She sighed, he looked so much like her father, and now this new crew was going to space. Her eyes drifted to Killian again. This included her friend Killian Jones, who with his darker looks and unruly hair, looked far more wild and rugged. A pirate even? She shook her head and bid them all a farewell.
Walking down the hallway towards her office, she suddenly heard rushed footsteps approaching.
"Oy, Emma! Wait up."
She paused and faced Killian. "Hi."
Pushing both his hands through his hair, he suddenly looked nervous. "I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner or something?"
"Oh, yeah it would be nice to catch up - been forever since we last spoke." She flipped her thumb over her shoulder. "Let me just drop off my stuff at my office, then we can go."
"Aye." Killian followed her down the hall to her office. "Wow, you got a nice place here," he said, looking around her spacious office.
"Being a senior engineer has its perks," Emma laughed, dropping her papers on her desk and gathering her backpack and coat. She glanced at him, as he leaned against the doorframe, clearly impressed by her workspace.
"Senior?"
"Hmm," she shrugged. "I worked hard to get here."
"I'm sure you did." He smiled and attempted his usually failed wink. "You were always a workaholic in high school. A total over-achiever."
She stuck out her tongue, "Yeah and you dreamed of the skies, and now look at you - one of the youngest astronauts in NASA."
"Not the youngest ever." Killian dismissed her praise with a shrug.
"But you're the youngest to go to the Lunar Orbit Station." Emma touched his arm as she walked past him.
"Hmm, true." He followed her down the hallway.
They soon found their way outside the building and Emma turned to him, "I know just the place." She pointed to her yellow bug, "I'll drive."
"Bloody hell you still drive around in that old relic?"
"Yes, and don't you mutter one bad word about her," Emma huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Yeah, the old car was her first vehicle she'd bought herself when she started college and Killian had mocked her endlessly that summer. It was running on its last cylinder but she'd managed to keep it alive all these years.
Killian laughed and shook his head, "Alright, love, lead the way then."
Emma huffed in feigned indignation and threw her bag and coat into the backseat."Hop in."
The drive to the restaurant was fast and when Emma parked in front of the cozy little local diner, Killian looked pleased.
"Best place to eat if you want comfy food that tastes homemade, " Emma proclaimed with a grin.
"So you've been here a lot, I imagine?"
"Yup."
They walked to the door and Killian skipped ahead to open the door for her. She smiled at him and walked inside. It was a nice change to have someone being the polite gentleman in her life. She shuddered at her past not-so-successful relationships. Neal was a total dud, and Walsh was strange and quite scary at times when he lost his cool.
"Hi, Emma," Ruby called out from the counter.
"Hi Rubes, still have some of Granny's lasagna left?"
"You bet." Ruby's eyes bulged when they landed on Killian at Emma's side. "A double order, I see." She waggled her eyebrows before turning to head towards the kitchen.
"A friend of yours?" Killian whispered close to her ear, his breath warming over her skin making her shiver.
"Hmm, you'll get used to her loud and obnoxious mouth." Emma pointed to a table by the window.
"Glad you have some sort of social life outside of work." Killian grinned and sat down opposite her.
"Why wouldn't I have that?" Emma glared at him.
"You weren't exactly the social butterfly in high school," Killian shrugged. "Not that it was a bad thing, but sometimes I think you forgot to enjoy life."
"I enjoyed life plenty," Emma huffed.
"Whenever we spoke in our early college years, you were always studying."
"I hung out with people."
"Hmm." He rested his elbows on the table and leaned closer. "Who?"
"I had Ariel and Aurora," Emma mused and realized it had been years since she'd spoken with her two college friends. She cringed and sighed, "I know I'm not good at all the friendship stuff."
"We were friends," he smiled smugly.
"Yeah, but I've known you all my life so that was easier." Emma pursed her lips, "I'm sorry we lost touch."
"Aye, but we can't linger too much on the past." Killian shrugged, "We can focus on the now and what we want to do in the future."
"Hmm."
"So what else have you been doing aside from work." He lifted an eyebrow. "Boyfriends?"
Emma nearly choked at the mention of that subject. "None worth remembering." She grimaced and wrinkled her nose, "See, even that I can't do right."
"You just haven't found the right man." He tapped the table with his finger.
"And have you?"
"Found the right man?" Killian laughed when Emma rolled her eyes, "Neither man or woman is in my life."
"So all work and studies for you too?" She lifted a challenging eyebrow.
"Aye, I suppose I did focus an awful lot on that."
"Does that mean that the high school's biggest heartthrob hasn't had a girlfriend for the past 12 years?" Emma gasped in feigned surprise, recalling the numerous girlfriends Killian had back then.
Killian's face soured into a grim look of something she couldn't pinpoint - hurt, or perhaps even grief.
"Sorry, never mind, if you don't want to talk…"
"I had one…" He swallowed deeply. "She died… it's been 8 years."
Emma covered her mouth with her hand and whispered, "I'm so sorry."
Killian clenched his hands together and the muscles in his neck tightened, "Aye, it was a dark time for me, but once my focus was back on my mission to become an astronaut, I got past it."
"It still hurts." Emma reached out and covered his hands with hers.
"Aye." He swallowed. "Had it not been for my brother, I'd have drowned myself in rum and heartache."
"I'm glad you have Liam in your life. How is he doing?"
"Better now that he's moved down here too."
"Yeah?"
"Our mother passed three years ago and it sort of sent him into a loop himself." Killian gave her a weak smile, "But it's all good now and he's working down at the naval base."
"I'm glad to hear that." Emma squeezed his hands. "Life has been a struggle for us all, it seems." She looked down.
"So those past boyfriends - they hurt you, didn't they?"
Emma looked up at him in surprise, "How…?"
"You're an open book, love," he smiled.
Emma rolled her eyes but did give him a serious look. "I honestly don't want to talk about them." She lifted her finger, "But I'll tell you this once and hope you'll drop it afterwards." He nodded so she continued, "Neal was my senior year dumb mistake. He was an asshat, and Walsh was my horror nightmare of a boyfriend. That ended four years ago. Calling him a monster is putting it mildly." She took a deep breath trying to calm her old raging memories of her time with that particular man.
Killian was silent for a long time after she finished talking, but before he had a chance to respond, their food arrived. The break was a nice welcome to her raging emotions. Emma gave Ruby a grateful smile. "Thanks."
"I'll make a cocoa for you." Ruby turned to Killian, "What can I get you?"
"I'll have a coffee, black," Killian smiled at Ruby.
"Be right back." Ruby gave Emma a less-than-subtle wink and whispered, "I need details later, girl."
Emma rolled her eyes at her friend, "Yeah right." She looked over at Killian who looked far too amused, "I told you her mouth is the big bad wolf kind."
Killian laughed, but Emma could still see the lingering curiosity in his eyes as he kept looking at her. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you." He reached over and grabbed her hand. The warmth was a nice welcome to her frayed nerves. How did this man affect her so much when she hadn't seen him in eight years - not since she graduated college? He'd come home for her graduation party and since then, they both lost contact.
"Thanks." Emma pursed her lips, "Can we leave it there and focus on the present and the fact that you're going to space?" Emma placed her other hand over his, still holding her hand. "How crazy is it that, my old friend is going to space?"
"Aye, that is crazy."
For the rest of their dinner, they spoke about the new lunar space program and how Emma had helped even back in its early stages when she was on her internship. Her ideas for a safer way to contain the astronaut's oxygen levels had been groundbreaking, and the sole reason for Mrs. Mills to headhunt her after Emma graduated. This impressed Killian to no end and he proclaimed her a super nerd and workaholic. Emma couldn't disagree with that sentiment. They also spoke about Killian going to space and the fact that he'd had this dream for such a long time, and now it was finally happening.
Emma dropped Killian off so he could pick up his car and they exchanged phone numbers. As Emma drove back home, she found her heart feeling more uplifted than it had ever felt in all her time at NASA. Having Killian back in her life was a nice surprise, and she was sure their friendship would survive for even longer.