"Hello, dear," the woman said softly.
"Oh, my God, Hetty," Fatima whispered, wrapping her in a hug. "How-"
"I will explain everything on the flight back, dear. Gather your things, Miss Namazi, Mister Rountree," Hetty said, hugging Fatima back, then hugging Devin. Fatima nodded and slipped into the room where they had slept. She made sure all of their belongings were cleared from the room, then stepped back outside and passed Rountree's bag to him.
"Alright, let's get you guys home," Gavin said softly. Fatima nodded and squeezed Rountree's hand.
"I'll find Izzy for you, Gavin," Paara said softly.
"I appreciate it, Paara," he said softly. They made their way to the gate and formed a small circle.
"You two tell Nate hello from me," Ty said softly.
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that you're alive," Fatima said sincerely. She smiled sweetly and nodded.
"Hey. I, uh, I was messing around with the radio, trying to get it to send a message to 2024, your time. I'm really glad it worked," Leyla said softly.
"Thank you, kid. You know, you kind of remind me of my kid sister. Determined," Rountree said softly.
"Yeah, well, I screwed up pretty badly last time sky people visited. Ruined my chance at love. I'm so glad I was able to help you guys," she said softly.
"Leyla, I know you only did what you did to help. I'm not mad about it anymore. I'm sorry, Leyla; it's been three years for me. I moved on," Izzy whispered. Leyla nodded,
"Have a good life, Izzy. I mean it. For your sake, I hope you never have to come back here," Leyla said softly. They shared a soft kiss before parting. Leyla nodded and took a shaky breath before she stepped back.
"Goodbye, Leyla," Izzy whispered. She took her father's hand and nodded.
"Ty, Paara," Hetty said softly.
"Yes?" Paara asked softly.
"First of all, thank you for taking care of my people when I couldn't. Truly," she said, gently taking Paara's hand in both of hers. Paara nodded and smiled softly. "Secondly, Mr. Coleman, I don't appreciate you gossiping about me behind my back. That goes for you too, Miss Namazi, Mister Rountree."
Fatima and Rountree shared a guilty look, while Ty and Paara looked stunned.
"How did you-"
"Don't ask," Fatima and Rountree said in unison.
"Only good things, I promise, ma'am," Ty said sheepishly.
Before anyone could react, Rountree yelped and pointed in the distance. "Is that a T-Rex?!"
Paara groaned. "Yes," she said tiredly.
"Woah, woah, woah, is it nice? I want to see it up close-"
"It's not." Ty's exhausted tone seemingly spoke for the rest of the Fort.
"Wait, what, you guys don't like the dinosaur? You literally have a dinosaur just walking around and you don't think that's badass?"
"Yeah, no, we don't like the dinosaurs very much. If you guys could send them back to where they came from, we would appreciate that," Paara said.
"Them?" Rountree asked, grinning. "I have got to see the rest of them."
"He's been leaving us alone lately. It seems like he's enjoying your old clearing, Gavin," Ty said.
"That thing caused us more than our fair share of problems," Paara said, "Killed my people and left me trapped under a hut for days."
"I'm sorry," Ty whispered, rubbing her shoulder gently.
"Fatima, you think I could ride that thing?"
"I think you should hush," Fatima said softly. She then turned to Paara and smiled softly. "Thank you again for taking us in, you two. You have no idea what your kindness means to us. If there's ever anything we can do to repay your kindness, well, apparently you know how to get in touch with us," she said, shooting a look at Leyla, who smiled sheepishly.
"Of course. You two be safe, okay?"
Fatima nodded and was about to turn back to her group when Ty spoke up.
"Wait, Paara, is it okay if-"
"You want to tell your old friend?" Paara asked, her hand instinctively moving to her stomach. Ty nodded. "Yeah, of course," she whispered.
"Can you get a message to Nate for us?" Ty asked softly.
"Of course, anything," Rountree said softly.
"Are we ready?" Gavin asked. Everyone nodded, and Gavin quickly said goodbye to Ty and Paara before following the others out of the fort. Once they were back in the plane, they got settled and Gavin started it up. "Now that I know that your name is Hetty, I'd like you to make me a promise." Hetty looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how you have that, but you need to destroy it. It's too risky that it even exists."
"You have my word that it will be kept under extremely tight wraps."
"That's not the promise, Hetty. That chip has led to way too many deaths. I don't know how there's a second one, but you need to destroy it the second we're back in 2024."