It felt good to hug everyone now that the action had died down. Mark felt like he was going to fall apart, and at the same time passion drove him to insistently hug every single person in the room, from grumpy Felix to an unsuspecting Gæmba citizen. His loving actions came to an end, however, when he needed to give his body a chance to rest, and so he finally did. At first, it was a bit overwhelming, to go from having just Jack around to hosting several people under the cabin's roof, not to mention Sam the robotic eye, but it didn't take long before it felt normal.

And so, as Katheryn, Cristina, and a couple of others worked on the space ships, Mark and Nate healed. Turns out Nate had a bad fracture in his fibula, along with some mysterious bruising that he didn't bother explaining. Mat spent a lot of time with the two astronauts, and he even brought over his wife, Stephanie. Mark took a liking to her pretty quickly; she was really nice and caring.

After a couple days of healing, Mark began to spend a lot of time around the technology of Jack's world. He hardly ever left the giant's side and asked questions about everything he saw that was new; and with the threats of this new world gone, he could take the time now to actually enjoy Jack's world and admire their creations. He witnessed the virtual reality firsthand; got a late Halloween prank; learned more about the EyeNet; and he even got to study the inside works of the computer itself. It was absolutely amazing to him, and the perfect time consuming project to undertake as he waited for his friends to finish check-ups on the ships, to make sure they were fit to fly after the ambush the Gæmba had delivered. And whenever he took the time to help them out or finalize his own escape ship, Signe and Jack would spend a lot of time together. It made Mark smile every time he heard them laughing in the other room.

Tyler also woke up shortly after Mark and Nate started to walk around. Ethan had been really worried, hardly ever leaving Felix's room. Whatever the giants had been doing to him when Jack found him, it seemed to have worked. Ethan was half asleep next to Tyler, about to completely doze off when he suddenly heard the officer groan. He'd snapped awake and saw Tyler opening his eyes and looking around, and he cried out to the others as he hugged his friend. Everyone was so relieved and welcomed him back.

Felix also managed to keep Jordan stable so far, but only a real hospital could wake up Mark's mentor. "He's suffering some internal bruising and swelling," he had told Mark, "And his blood count is really low, too low to heal his body." When he told Amy, she admitted that when they were captive, Damien had taken a blood sample from Jordan no matter how hard they tried to help him. It was just another reason to think that giant so cruel as Mark hugged his girlfriend and told her that it was going to be ok.

"Maybe they were just waiting to see how long he'd die, or something," Jack had muttered distractedly. He didn't look very content, either way, about Damien's cruel inhospitality. Signe had comforted Jack and told him what an amazing job he'd done, and all the lives he had saved, but Jack still held a small grudge against Septic Robotics, and yet he softened every time Signe touched him. It was clear where his loyalty and passion lay.

Marzia forgave Felix when he came clean, apologized profusely, and told her everything that had been going on. He did, however, have to introduce her to Mark and give her some flowers. But Mark thought she was really nice and told Felix he was a lucky man. She even promised to keep the secret. The press gave Jack hell though, but somehow he managed to chase them off without revealing anything. And then Septic Robotics showed up on tv, and Ken told everyone that the humans had just been robotic toys in development, and that a few had gone haywire. This made everyone relieved; they were all safe now. Mark had taken the opportunity to celebrate by teaching Jack how to make a family recipe: Chicken dumplings. Together, he and Jack slaved all afternoon that day, finding the right herbs that matched Earth's and giving instructional tips to general cooking. It was a blast- and their first attempt Jack did almost burn them. In the end though, he proudly bore the successful result, with only a few burnt knuckles to prove that he had cooked something besides pizza. And it was delicious.

But it reminded Mark of home. It reminded him of all the people back on Earth, who needed his help and Jack's seed. So on day seven, he walked outside and headed to the landing site. "How's it coming along?" He asked. Katheryn smiled.

"Actually, I was just going to look for you. We'll be ready for launch by tomorrow!" Mark's heart soared. Tomorrow! They were going home tomorrow! But after conversing for a little bit and going back to the cabin, Mark stopped at the porch stairs and realized that he was going to have to break the news to the giants. He sighed and went inside. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Hey Nate, where's Jack?" Mark asked. Nate was by the front door, exploring the EyeNet.

"I heard him mention cooking to Signe," he said. Mark nodded and started to walk to the kitchen when Nate suddenly added, "I'm not going." Mark halted and turned.

"What?" Nate didn't look away from the screen.

"I'm not going," he repeated. Appalled, Mark walked to the laptop's side.

"Why not? What about Morgan?" Nate bit his lip and shook his head.

"Lots of reasons. But I'm going to stay here, with Mat and Stephanie. They offered to take me in and let me stay with them." Mark tried to understand what was going on in the young man's mind.

"Ok." His stomach flipped as he realized how much harder this would make it to tell Jack that he was leaving. But he forced a smile. "I hope you'll be happy there, then."

"You too." Nate finally looked him in the eye. "Trust me, Earth is better off without me," he said, "Don't worry about me." Mark exhaled.

"I hope we'll see each other again. You're a great guy, Nate." Nate laughed at that.

"Yeah, see you in another life." Mark turned and walked away. The turmoil in his chest grew as he walked into the dining room and saw Jack in the kitchen. He was working alongside Signe, who was teaching him how to make some kind of Danish dish. Mark took a deep breath. Here it goes.

"Hey Signe!" He called up. "Can I borrow Jack for a minute?" They both looked down at him and smiled in greeting.

"Yeah, of course." Jack washed his hands and gave Signe a gentle touch on the head before he followed Mark to his room- or rather, met up with him and waited there.

"What's up?" The giant asked, closing the door behind Mark. Mark swallowed and braced himself. How was Jack going to react?

"Um..." He watched as Jack sat across from him and waited patiently for the engineer to speak. Just rip it off like a band aid... "Katheryn says the ships are ready," he blurted. The humor in Jack's eyes faded.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Mark scratched his arm, feeling awkward. "We'll be ready for takeoff by tomorrow, and then... we'll go home." He wanted to read Jack's expression, but he was too scared to look. He took an interest in his shoes instead, and for a few seconds there was only silence between them.

"... That's good." Mark looked up. Jack was beaming proudly at him, and his eyes looked glassier. "That-that's great, actually." His voice brimmed with emotion as he sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm really glad, that-that's really great, very glad," he rambled in an octave higher than usual. "Y-you guys can go home now, where ya all belong, and who wouldn't want to go home, h-huh?" Mark felt his heart shredding.

"Jack..." he murmured. A tear dripped down his long cheek. "It's ok Jack, it's going to be ok." He blinked, but only more tears gushed. "It's going to be ok," he tried to say, but his voice broke as he sobbed and covered his eyes. Jack shuddered with a stifled sob and reached for him. He picked him up and hugged him passionately, tears streaming down his own cheeks as he comforted his little buddy. Mark cried into Jack's shirt and buried his face in his chest, succumbing to the waterworks that he thought he would have to worry about on Jack. Jack shivered as he used one hand to hold Mark and the other to use his sleeve, trying to wipe the warm salty water away from his eyes.

"I'm really gonna miss you," he said. Mark clenched his shirt and nodded vigorously. Jack smothered another choking sob and focused his attention on Mark. "I'm-I'm glad you can finally go home now, though," he added. Mark looked up at him with a tear-stained face. He sniffled and tried to wipe the tears away.

"R-Really?" Jack smiled and held Mark up to eye level. He nodded.

"Really. I-I will miss ye though, obviously." Mark smiled and hiccupped as he sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"I-I'll miss you too. God," Mark laughed sadly, "I thought I was going to be the one telling you that it'd be ok." Jack chuckled and nuzzled the astronaut. Mark hugged his nose bridge, resting his head down and closing his eyes. Their chests were both swirling with overwhelming emotion, feelings too great to even word properly. But it was all right. They both understood, in the unspoken bond between them. Mark would always be grateful to Jack, and Jack would never forget the curious little spaceman. But somehow, it didn't truly feel like goodbye.

But to spend the rest of their time together, Jack took Mark to go watch the sunset. It wasn't raining for once, giving them the perfect view of the sky. But since there were trees all around, Jack decided to go cross-country and climb up part of a tall hill that was a part of the mountain pass. He sat on a ledge with Mark on his shoulder, and they both watched as the gorgeous colors spread out and bled into the sky.

"It's so beautiful," Mark murmured.

"I'm betting this is what yer world will look like when the pollution is reversed," Jack told him. He smiled. "You better take lots of pictures for me." Mark still felt like a baby for almost crying right then and there again, but he managed to hold it in and lean against the giant's neck. They stayed there even as the sun went to sleep, and then the stars came out and blew Mark away. It was so beautiful. The canvas in the sky was dark, but only in the vague background. Lighter colors like turquoise and fuchsia swirled with the dark night sky, and then the stars glittered all around them. It brought a tear to Mark's eye, but this time he wasn't sad. Nor did he try to brush that shimmering tear away.

Even when it got too cold, Mark still enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere as Jack walked home. He was even transferred to the top of Jack's head, which was a very odd but pleasant seat to try out. His hair was pretty soft, and it gave Mark a fantastic view of the galaxy above him. It was also very warm, because anatomical thermodynamics. He ended up falling asleep up there, but Jack didn't mind at all.

Then, morning rolled around. Jack yawned and woke up to find his buddy missing, which was a heart-clencher until he found Billy talking to Mark in the living room.

"How many ships do you need?" Mark asked.

"Maybe all but two. I need to speak to the rest of our race, I told a couple of them to stay at some posts, and I'm not leaving without them." The engineer nodded, understanding. "And then when we're all gathered, we'll head to Earth and hail you," Billy said.

"I'll be sure they welcome you." The two exchanged a pat on the shoulder before Billy walked off to speak to the others. Mark watched him go.

"I'm surprised he hasn't stabbed you yet," Jack said suddenly behind Mark, making the astronaut jump and turn around.

"Well I might die of a heart attack yet!" He laughed. Jack chuckled and crouched down.

"Well... I'm gonna miss ye," he said. Mark nodded.

"My life's going to be really boring," he agreed humorously.

"Tell me about it," Jack chuckled. They were both hiding behind humor. Jack knew this, and he scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of something to actually say. "Um, look..." He started. Mark waited patiently, but warily. "Maybe after all the drama on yer world dies down, you could come and visit? I mean, you don't have to, but- I mean, I'm just saying, you and yer friends are welcome anytime, just uh, try not to make a mess again, I mean-" Mark smiled.

"Of course I will, you goofy goober." Jack smiled back, relieved.

"But, um, take yer time," he said quickly, "Do whatever you gotta on yer own world. I can wait." Mark walked up to the giant and hugged his finger. Jack relaxed and cupped his hands around Mark, giving him one last hug for the road. It was going to be strange now, acting like life was normal when he knew there were other sentient creatures like Mark and Billy out there. I don't need to act like that though. Jack put Mark down and watched him walk to the front door. I need to treasure this past month. Mark stopped and waved at Jack before he turned and walked out of the cabin. Jack smiled as his vision got a little fishy. I'll never forget them.

When he felt a small touch on his hand, he was surprised when he looked down and saw Signe. "Signe? What are you still doing here?" He asked. "The others are ready to go."

"I-I know." She fidgeted shyly. "But, I wanted to tell you something. She gestured, and Jack picked her up and held her to his ear. She leaned in and murmured something, and Jack's eyes got wide.

"Y-ye mean it?" He exclaimed. Signe nodded, blushing. Jack was blushing too as he grinned and rubbed his cheek against her. "M-me too," he confessed. Signe giggled and hugged his hand.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again. I can feel it." Jack planted a gentle kiss on her head.

"Me too." He set her down and watched her go too. He sighed as Felix walked in.

"They're leaving?" He asked. Jack nodded, and then he jumped when Felix suddenly shouted at the door "SMELL YA LATER!!!"

"FELIX!!" Mark smiled at the bottom of the stairs as he helped Signe down the last one.

"Did you tell him?" He asked. She nodded, starting to blush again. Mark beamed and pat her shoulder. "Good." Signe bounded off to the ships and helped everyone else prepare. Ethan and Katheryn were helping Tyler into one of the ships, and Jordan was already inside. Cristina was standing apart from the others, talking to Nate. Everyone else was getting ready and loading resources on, such as some food the giants offered them.

Mark watched them for a little while, and then he turned to look at the cabin one last time. He didn't know if this was the last time he'd see it, but he still whispered a goodbye to it.

"You ready, Mark?" Mark turned and saw Amy coming up to him.

"Yeah." He embraced her, breathing in her presence, and was still glad that she was ok. "You ready to go home?" He murmured. Amy nodded.

"I just hope your idea with that seed works." Mark scanned the ships until he saw the large seed sitting just outside his ship.

"Come on." He pulled away and held her hand. "Let's go home."