A/N I planned to post yesterday, but we had Christmas with half of the family, and by the time we got home, I forgot. Speaking of Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, Happy Yule, belated Happy Hannukah, Happy Winter to the Northern Hemisphere, Happy Summer to the Southern Hemisphere, and Happy any other holiday this time of year I missed. Thank you all for reading and for your wonderful reviews.
"Commander?" Mark asked, floating into the cockpit.
"Yes, Mark. Can I help you?" Alannah replied.
"When the crew unloaded my MAV, I know they put my personal crates in my room. What about the rest of the crates? Where did they put those?"
"I think they put all of the crates in your room or your lab. We were leaving them for you to sort through. Do you need any assistance?"
Mark shook his head. "No, I must have missed them when I was looking. I'll go look again."
"Let one of us know if you need any help," the commander said.
"I will. Thank you."
Taylor came into Mark's lab an hour later and found him muttering while digging through a crate.
"Watney?"
He continued muttering and digging.
"Mark?"
Still no response as he moved to another crate.
"Mark!" she shouted.
"Huh?" he jumped and turned. "Why are you yelling at me?"
"I tried to get your attention twice and you didn't respond," Taylor replied.
Mark looked chagrined. "Sorry, I'm a bit distracted."
"I can tell. What's up?"
"I can't find the samples I brought back. I wanted to make sure Jack and Marianne, our geologist and chemist, had a chance to check them out and work with them before the scientists back at NASA get their hands on them, but I can't find them anywhere."
"Maybe they didn't get unloaded," Taylor suggested.
"The commander said she thought everything was in my room or my lab," Mark responded.
"But if you're not finding them in either place maybe we should check the MAV," she said, "or we could ask Jack and Pat. They were the ones who unloaded your stuff."
"We won't get in trouble if we go to the MAV without checking in with any of them, will we?"
Taylor cocked her head. "Get in trouble? Mark, what are we, ten?"
"Hey," he protested. "NASA has some very strict rules."
"And what are they going to do to you if you break them now?"
He nodded. "Good point."
"Besides," Taylor continued. "I think the only place we're not allowed to go without checking in first is anywhere near the nuclear reactor."
"Well that just makes sense," Mark said.
"True, but I'm sure they'd feel the need to remind someone who used an RTG to take baths."
"I'm never going to hear the end of that am I?" Mark shook his head.
"Nope," Taylor grinned.
"Getting lectured about it is going to be worse when I get back to Earth isn't it?"
She shrugged. "Only you know that."
"Oh, I know it," he sighed. "Martinez and Beck will harass me about it. My mother and Lewis will lecture me. Johanssen probably will too. Beck will alternate between harassing me and lecturing me. Maybe I should just stay here on Hermes."
"You don't mean that."
"No, I don't, but it certainly would be easier."
"Do you think your mother wouldn't harass you through phone and video calls?" Taylor raised an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't put it past my mother to find a way to get on a ship and come up here to me," Mark laughed, smiled, then sighed. "I miss her so damn much!"
"You'll see here again before you know it," Taylor reassured him.
"I wish that it were that soon. I know how long this flight is. I'm torn. I want to be home now but I also don't want to get back."
"I understand why you want to get back right now," Taylor acknowledged. "This part of space flight isn't as much fun."
"It's not that it's boring," he shook his head. "It's that I miss everyone back home, but I'm almost afraid of what's going to happen when I get back. I don't know how long I'll have to be in quarantine and when I get out will I be able to go anywhere at all? Will I be mobbed by people and the paparazzi all the time? Seriously, am I going to have to stay inside all the time, have bodyguards, or go live on some deserted island? Life in space would be easier than all that."
Taylor reached out a hand and laid it on his arm. "But?" she prompted.
"But it would be lonely," he admitted. "I wouldn't have my friends and family around. I could talk to them on the phone or through video calls but it wouldn't be the same. I could be a part of the first colony on Mars, but NASA would never allow it. However, if I could be there, then there would be other people there with me. I could make new friends, and I might even find someone to share my life with. But if we chose to have kids, then my parents would never get to meet them, not really, just virtually. I'd never get to watch my mother hold her grandchild. I'd miss the trees and the grass, the air and the rain. I don't want to live my life in a bubble, which is about the same as living here or on the ISS2. So, I'm going back to Earth. I just need to figure out how to handle the fame or infamy. I'm not sure which it is really."
"Annie will help you handle the press and all that goes with that," Taylor reassured him.
"I know. I'll send her an email later. Right now, let's go to my MAV and see what we can find."
"Jack," Mark called as he came into the other man's lab carrying a crate.
"Yeah?" Jack replied. "What's that?"
"A present," Mark answered simply, putting the crate down on an empty table. "There's two or three more. I don't remember exactly how many I packed into the MAV. This was the first one I found. I'll go get the others and bring them to you."
"I can help," Jack offered.
Mark shrugged. "If you want, but you can also start going through that one while I go dig around the MAV. Apparently, I didn't pack it nearly as neatly as I thought I did. I left Taylor there looking to see what she could find."
"I found another one," the lady in question said as she entered the lab. "Jack, you have to open these. You're gonna be so excited."
"Well, set it next to the one Watney put there," Jack directed her. He stepped up to the table and opened the first crate. "Samples?"
"Yes," Mark replied.
Jack began pulling out the bags of rocks, lining them up on the table next to the crate. "These aren't labeled by location… Wait! Are these the rocks from your drive to Valles Marineris?"
"Yes, I figured someone at NASA could give you the actual coordinates for each day. I picked up samples when I stopped to switch batteries and again at the end of each day after I'd set up the solar panels."
"Mark," Jack whispered in awe. "This isn't a present. This is a treasure trove. Does Marianne know…"
"Do I know what?" the doctor asked, coming into the lab. "Taylor yelled at me as she came down the hall to meet you all here. I'd assume it's whatever you're talking about."
"This," Jack said, holding up sample bags. "Mark brought us samples to analyze."
"I wanted to let you two get first dibs on the analysis. You know since you rescued me and all. You both deserve the chance to check this stuff out before the chemists and geologists back at NASA."
Marianne picked up a bag, held it up, and peered at it. "So we have the rest of the trip home to work on these. We should be able to get quite a bit done."
"Imagine the map we can create from all of this," Jack commented, gesturing to the crates. "We can map all of the elemental, chemical breakdowns from Acidalia Planitia all the way to Valles Marineris. That's a huge swath of Mars we've never tested before."
"This will help confirm the boundaries set by the satellite imaging teams," Marianne said. "We really get to test these samples?"
Mark shrugged, "Yeah. Why not?"
"You didn't ask anyone back at NASA did you?" the doctor returned.
"If I don't ask, they can't say no," he observed. "You know the old adage that sometimes it's better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission. Besides, the two of you will only use a small amount of each sample before we get back. There will be plenty left for the scientists back on Earth to work with."
"He's right," Jack agreed. "Let's get to work."
"Shouldn't we start by getting the actual locations?" Marianne asked.
"Probably," the geologist sighed.
"I'll do that," Mark said. "I'll email Mindy and see if she can get that information for us."
"She'd be the one to ask," Taylor put in. "She was still on the imaging team at that time, living on your schedule and tracking you."
"Wait, she was on my schedule? Did I know that?" Mark furrowed his brow. "I feel like I should have known that."
"Well, if you didn't before, you do now," Taylor replied. "So go email her and ask her about your drive and the sampling schedule."
"While you're at it, thank her again for saving your sorry butt," Jack threw in, "and rearranging her life to do that."
"Yeah, yeah," Mark responded with a chuckle.
Mindy,
Hey, I have a question. Do you have the list of places I stopped on my way to Valles Marineris, or could you get it?
BTW, I've been informed that I should thank you if I haven't already for everything you did to save my sorry ass. So thank you! Thank you. All the thanks to you!
Mark
Mark,
You've already thanked me several times. You can stop now. I do have the list. I'll attach it to this email. You don't have to label the samples though. You can leave them in their crates and the scientists here will take care of it as they analyze them.
Mindy
Mindy,
I'm glad to know I've thanked you. I guess I could have read through old emails but I decided to just say thank you again. I might have to make that my standard goodbye to you.
As for labeling the samples, it's not like I have a ton of things to do to fill my time.
Mark
Mark,
You're not doing anything else with the samples, are you? The scientists are liable to have a problem with that.
Mindy
Mindy,
I'm not doing anything with the samples, and if I decide otherwise, the scientists can kiss my butt. I collected the damn things. I think I earned the right to investigate them if I get the wherewithal to do so.
Changing topic, does the general public know that you were the one who figured out I'm alive?
Mark
Mark,
No, they don't. It's a matter of public record. The new reports all focused on your being alive. No one cared or bothered to dig deeply enough to see that I was the one on duty that night. Don't you dare say a word!
Mindy
Mindy
Oh, but people should know. I should share the fame and fortune. I just want to be magnanimous… Ok that's all bullshit and you know it. Honestly, once upon a time I probably would have been all about being the center of attention and wouldn't have wanted to share it, but now…
I won't tell anyone. I can't promise that it won't come out someday. I seem to be struggling with saying the loud things in my head and my private thoughts out loud lately, so I'm going to apologize right now in case I slip and say it in an interview at some point. I promise I'll try not to, but I can't guarantee it won't happen. Anyway, thanks for answering.
Mark
Mark,
Are you worried about what's going to happen with the press when you get back? You know Annie will keep them under tight control. Dr. Astor has already hired a car and driver for you to use for as long as you need it. We'll all help in any way we can.
Mindy
Mindy,
A car and driver? On one hand that sounds awesome. Can I call the guy Happy? On the other hand, I miss driving a real car. Shit! My driver's license has expired, hasn't it? Of course, I can't get a new one until the state of Texas declares me alive again. I guess I'm stuck with the driver. Is it a really cool car or something totally plain and boring? Plain and boring would be a better idea to avoid the paparazzi but not nearly as cool. I'll be stuck alone in quarantine for who knows how long anyway. That's only going to make the paparazzi crazier, won't it? I should probably email Annie. I don't want to though.
Yes, I'm worried about what happens when I get back and am finally set free. I worry I won't be able to go anywhere without being followed and photographed. I've never been so thankful that TMZ finally went broke and disappeared. I might need to travel in the dead of night and take up residence in some hidden cabin in the woods.
Montrose has some grand world tour planned for me, doesn't she?
Mark
Mark
We can certainly arrange a cabin in the woods if you'd like. It will be a while until you can get there though. You're right, Annie does have a press/public goodwill tour scheduled for you and parts of both of your crews. Your parents have a great over-the-garage apartment all set up and ready for you to use. You can stay there. They have a great security system installed as well.
Mindy
Mindy,
I thought you were living in my parents' garage apartment. Someone told me that. I don't remember who. Unless you want to share the place *wink wink*
Seriously though, if they have spare rooms in the house I'll move into one of those. I'm not kicking you out of your place.
Mark
Mark
I'm on the lookout for a new place for myself as it is. I'd like to finally buy a house of my own and stop living in apartments. I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed that until I moved into your parents' place. The sheer wonderfulness of not sharing walls with other people. I don't want to go back to that. I'll be out before you're back or before you're out of quarantine at least. I've been house-hunting with just about everyone at this point. They all have their opinions, and they never hesitate to share them.
Mindy
Mindy,
Need another opinion? Send me pictures of the houses you're looking at and I'll add them to the list. Kidding, sort of. I really would look at pics if you sent them and I would share my opinion. In terms of others' ideas and opinions, I'd suggest listening to my parents and Lewis, maybe Vogel. Don't listen to Martinez, though his wife would be good. Beck and Johanssen should be looking for their own place so if they say to pass on something it might be because they want it. Did I miss anyone else who's wanted to tell you what to do?
Mark
Mark,
It's like you know these people or something, lol. Martinez is the only one who hasn't been with me to look at houses. I've avoided him so far. I think my real estate agent is starting to wonder who will be living in my house or what kind of strange family I have. I have given her Beth's and Chris's phone numbers though and shoved a copy of her card in each of their hands. I think it's just a matter of time.
Mindy
Mindy,
With you keeping me updated on everything that's going on back home, I almost feel like I'm there. Thank you!
Mark
