"But why? Why invest so much when we both know I'm dying!" Lucy raises her voice too.

"Because I love you!"





"Hey, hey, hey! Stop!" Christian tries to cover himself from his team's canstant hitting.

"I knew you were a cheesy person but I didn't expect you to be this chessy!"

"God, I still have goosebumps!!!"

"Alright, enough." Finally, they comply and went back to their seats.

"What happened afterward?"

"She was surprised and even told me to not go through it."

"What changed her mind?"

"The fact that she loves me too." That answers earned him a series of hits once again. "Heeey!!"

"That was so fucking chessy!"

"Stop asking cheesy questions then!"

"Now, I'm curious to how you proposed to her..." Asher asks and Christian gives him a knowing look. "Sorry but it wasn't my fault when you tell me important things at my drunken state!"

"How did you proposed to her, Cap?"

"I didn't propose to her..." He smiles. "She was the one who proposed to me."





"Wow... this is sooo beautiful Lucy."

"Glad you like it." Lucy smiles.

"You know, we didn't have to drive all the way out here. We could've just stayed in your home and—"

"Be borbarded with my parents constant questions on how did I manage to bag a hot item such as you despite my dying stage?"

"Lucy... You're not going to die." He reassures tha latter. "The doctor said so earlier."

"Shhh, let's stop talking about sad things and talk about the good ones okay?" Lucy smiles. "First off, tell me how was flight school?"

It has been three years since that first fight while the Tangle movie was paused on the screen. From then on, Lucy and Christian Finn officially became a couple and every witness to the progress of their love story was delighted to know that they finally noticed things and were finally able to come up with an agreement. Lucy's parents were just moved to the fact that soomeone was willing to love their daughter despite her current situation. While it took some time for them to come around, Christian's family also welcomed Lucy into theirs which wasn't hard after all. Lucy is obviously a charmer.

Lucy's situation was getting better too since she was given a go signal to be out of the hospital after having another series of headaches which was a very heartbreaking sight for Christian to see and what's worse was that it's just one of those things Christian had to witness himself and there were more—a lot worse than he had seen.

He remove the bad thoughts and tell Lucy how he was fortunate to have been offered help by NASA and promised him a full aid until he becomes a fully pledge pilot, one that would have to take shorter years due to his exemplary performance during his college years. It was double celebration for them that night and Lucy just hopes that after her surprise, it would become a triple celebration.

"Babe, look!" Christian gasps as one by one, falling stars flew above them. "I didn't know today's going to be a meteor shower!"

"I'm glad you liked it."

Lucy looks at Christian who continues to admire the stars. "I never thought I'd get a chance to see them up close."

"You think this is the closest you've come to watch the stars?" Her boyfriend nods his head. "Hmm, I'm not sure Finn, I mean, I still beg to differ."

"I'm serious, this is the closest I've been to see the stars."

"What if I told you, there's a possibility where you can be even closer to them?"

"Are you joking?" Lucy shakes her head making the brunet excited. "Okay, okay! Show me!"

Lucy chuckles. "First things first, you need to close your eyes." The future astronaut immediately complies. "And then you extend your hand as if you're ready to grab a star."

"And then what?"

"Spread your fingers." Christian complies again. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, now you can open them."

And when Christian opened his eyes, he saw a very beautiful leo ingwer diamond ring placed on his ring finger. He looked to Lucy with a smile on his face and without words, he find himself nodding his head and when he did, both of them found themselves crying and then laughing from time to time. Lucy pulls him in for a quick kiss before hugging him tight.

The wedding invitations were sent to their friends and family and after a few weeks, the guests were on a beach in Santa Monica using Lucy's Genie wish together with the main stars Mrs. Lucy Valencia and Mr. Christian Finn Valencia who were having the best time of their lives.

After the wedding, the couple decided to movie back to States where Christian continues his training and studying to become a astronaut while Lucy took online courses where she graduated major in painting and sells her work online too. By the time Christian achieved his dream and became a member of NASA, Lucy had already suprised him with a house with an observatory, two cats, a family-friendly SUV and a child on their way.





"Your love story is the best out there! Why isn't anyone noticing how beautiful this is?! Nicholas Sparks will be shaking when your story comes out!"

Christian smiles at the compliment. "Thanks, Jul."

"I think, I know now why you're so eager to go home, not only you have one person waiting for you but you now have a new family member waiting too!"

"You're right about that."

"Well hold on tight because we're about to land home in two days." Asher support him. "I can't believe that—Mason? What's wrong?"

"Can I speak with Captain Valencia?"

"What's wrong?" Christian asks as Asher hands him the ham radio. "Mason, this is Captain Valencia speaking."

"Captain, I believe that there is something you should know."

"What is it?"

"Your wife was sent to the emergency room approximately forty-five minutes ago." Mason says. "She's about to go to labor and there's a slight chance that both of them will be able to survive."


--------------------



"Mei." Christian call out to his friend which happens to be his wife's doctor. "What happened?"

"Her water broke earlier than expected, Lucy—"

"So? What does that have to do with my wife and my baby both surviving this labor?" His voice was starting to quiver. "My wife's healthy, the baby's healthy—"

"Lucy's state." Mei declares. "She stopped taking the treatment."

"Non-sense! She was doing well before I left and... I called to check up and told me that she was feeling—"

"She just didn't want you to worry for her while you were working."

Christian could feel the insides of his system turning upside down. "No, that's not true... She—she was already getting better and—"

"I'm sorry Chris... I tried to tell her to say—"

"Mei please, I beg of you." Tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. "Please, do whatever it takes to save my daughter and my wife... I can't live knowing I'd have to continue on without them."

"I'm not going to promise anything Christian, I am your friend but I'm also a doctor. It's one of my job not to get your hopes up. Your chance of getting them both alive are just seven percent."

Christian closes his eyes at the slim possibility. "I'll bet on it. Whether it's seven or eigthy percent, do what you have to do for them to make it out alive."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Can I talk to her?" Christian bites his lower lip. "Please?"

He could hear murmurs from the other end until— "Hey Finn."

The astronaut closes his eyes as tears flow down. "H-hey."

"Don't cry..."

"I'm not." He tries to pull himself together. "I'm just excited that you're going to labor and I get to see our baby soon."

"Finn, I—"

"Shhh, I don't want you to waste your energy okay? Save all of it for later. I just want to tell you that you can do it and I will be waiting for you outside the operating room, okay? You need to wait for me."

"Finn..."

"Lu, promise me... Promise me that you will wait for me." He swallows the lump on his throat. "I'm on my way back home so, please... please wait for me."


--------------------



"You know what, I've always wonders about what a star would feel like."

"First of all, you would be very hot. Like the sun, it's the closest example you have." Christian explains. "Some stars go up to one hundred thousand degrees."

"Wow.."

The jet black man nods his head. "Most of all, you can blind people if they look straight at you."

"And what happens when they die?"

"They burst." He simple states. "It's called the Rotten Egg Nebula."

"Rotten Egg what?"

The brunet giggles. "It got its nickname based on its concentration on sulfur when it doesn't have enough oxygen. They die when they've burned their hydrogen and they manage to expand into giant redness."

"I'd still like being a star." Lucy answer. "Though I might burn myself, the thought of brightening up someone's night makes me feel like I've done something huge for mankind."

"You always do something for someone."

"I just want to make someone's day a little better."

"I know, but I hope you don't forget Lucy." They looked at one another. "You're someone too... and someone will also be willing to be a star for you."

"I like talking to you Finn. How do you think you would be able to stay here?"

"I don't know, until my fracture gets better I guess."

"Want to spend your days here with me?" The latter kept looking at him. "I know my way around, we can do a lot of things. Plus, we can watch the stars every night."

"Just like this?"

Lucy nods her head with a smile. "Just like this."

"Why are you here Lucy."

The latter looks away and brought her eyes back to the sky. "I ask myself to Finn... Why am I here?" Christian decides to be silent and waits for Lucy to continue. "But I think, I know now."

"And the reason is?"

"I'm here... to be your star." She smiles. "But I do have to apoligize, I think I'm going to be a rotten egg nebula soon."

Christian furrows his eyebrows. "Wha-what are you talking about? Wait—this isn't part of our first night together..."

Lucy reaches out to touch Christian's hand. "I don't think I can wait for you to come home Finn."




"NO!" Christian wakes himself up with his heavy breathing. He looks around and sees both of his comrades busily typing and beeping while arguing at the same time as they were in their respective stations. "W-what's going on?"

"Captain..." Julian looks at Asher who gives him a subtle nod. "You passed out earlier so we took charge."

"Why did I pass out?"

"You... you received a call from Earth." Ashed took charge in explaining thing to his best friend. "Lucy's currently having labor and she has high risk of triggering her heart—"

"How far are we from home?"

"If my calculations are correct, we're going home around 12 hours."

"Can you make it six?"

"Captain I—"

"Pilot Gray." He says in his authoritative tone. "I'll ask you again, can you get us back to Earth in six hours?"

Julian tried to swallow the lump that insisted on staying in his throat. "I can."

"Good." Christian straps himself back on his seat. "Captain Jones, call the HQ. Infrom them our ETA has changed and I will not attend the post space travel checkup."

"Copy that Captain."



Christian could feel his pulse quicken as he finally sees Earth at a close distance. This was it... just a few more hours and he'll finally see Lucy holding onto their beautiful baby girl. And even though the logical reasons starts to hit his imagination one by one, he shuts them down and focuses on his reality.

He was coming home to see the two women in his life. Not one, but two.


"Capatain, we're already entering the Earth'a axis. ETA is three hours."

"Copy that Pilot Gray."

"HQ is already informed of our early arrival." Asher informs. "We're already—"

"What is it?" Christian asks in his seat and focused on the road ahead of them. "Asher—"

"It's a call from Earth."

"From Mason?"

"From your wife, Captain."

The control room was dead silent and the boosting engine from the spacecraft was the only thing that could be heard. It took another series of rings for Christian to pull himself up together and grabs the call from his screen. As soon as he accepts the call, Lucy's weak voice echoed through the surrounding. Making Christian once again overwhelmed with emotions, especially when Lucy dropped the news.



"She's so pretty Finn... Our baby girl is so beautiful."

Christian couldn't help but feel the thorn stuck in between his ribcage be removed. "Thank God... Thank God you're alive." He breathes out. "Oh God, thank you."

"She has my eyes babe... Goodness, she has round eyes like mine." The astronaut chuckles, imagining his wife's wonder at the new found life in her arms. "She sleeps like you though."

"Well, then she sleeps adorably."

"No, she sleeps with a lot of saliva." They laughed and Christian waits for his wife to continue. "We did it... We gave birth to a beautiful baby girl."

"You gave life to a beautiful baby girl babe. You did great." He compliments. "I am so proud of you."

"I did, did I?" There was another pause and the astronaut could hear his wife asking for the nurse to take care of their child. "I asked for them to take her to the nursery room."

"That's okay, you need rest anyway."

"Christian?" His wife's voice suddenly sounded different. "How far are you?"

"About three hours."

"Tell me, what's it like out there." She asks. "Do you like being out there?"

"Most of the times..." Christian could definitely tell that there was something different.

"Tell me about the stars... What kind of constellation do you see?"

He looks around at the variety of stars around them. "I see Centaurus, Crux... I can see Alpha and Proxima Centauri from distance too."

"You really are close... You are in Alpha Centauri right?"

"Yeah, yeah I am." He could notice the shakiness in his voice for some unknown reason. "So wait for me alright? Wait for me, Lucy."

"Sorry Finn... I think I'm going to be a rotten egg nebula soon..."

Tears were slowly apprearing on the edge of his eyelids. "No, you're not going to be a rotten egg nebula soon, do you hear me? Stars can live up to ten billion years and you're not even at the quarter of it yet, so don't say bullshit."

"I'm running out of hydro—"

"NO!" He slams his first on his armreasts. "JULIAN, WHAT THE HELL ARE WE STILL DOING OUT HERE?!"

"Captain, I'm doing everything I can—"

"Do something!"

"Chris, please calm down—"

"SHUT UP ASHER!"

"Christian, you need to listen to me okay?" His wife tries to interject.

"No, I am not going to listen to you! You're going to live okay? You're going to see me when I land, you're going to see our daughter grow up. We already agreed on who's going to be the bad cop as she growps up, remember?"

"Babe, I need you—"

"Lucy, you can't leave. Why can't you understand that? If you leave, who's going to talk to her while I'm in space? Who's going to say our love story to her? Sing to her as she falls asleep? Orient her about teenage hormones and sex? For pete's sake, what about grocery? You can't leave that all to me!"

"Babe, I thought we won't have arguments over the phone?" Lucy's voice echoed through again and he could feel his heart breaking bit by bit. "We both knew that this would happen eventually right? We agreed that if this day comes, we would make no objections, no restrictions or negativity. We agreed to welcome and accept it whole-heartedly remember?"

"How can I do that when I'm still here in space and you're there on Earth spending your last minutes that I am not around?! Lucy, don't you think this is unfair on my side? I need to be there for you! It's not just to me, to yourself as well and to—"

"Halley." Lucy completes his setence. "I've decided to name her Halley Lillian May."

"She can't even write and yet I believe she's going to have a hard time writing her full name."

"That's okay, at least people can have choices on what to call her." She says and he knows the latter has a smile plastered on her face. "What age do you think should we dye her hair blonde?"

"Lucy, don't, okay?"

His wife ignores his plead and immediately changes the topic. "I decided to call her that because it's a comet that apprears in a short amount of time yet still visible to the human eye. It only gets to appear in twice in a lifetime so, even though her name's that common, her meaning isn't, because she's very special. She's your Halley."

"No Lucy..." He trails off as tears finally escape from his eyes. "You're my first Halley."

The other line was silent and he knew he managed to make Lucy tear up too. "You think there's a space out there for me?" She sniffs out. "One that you could see from distance? Like somewhere 5 light years away?"

"A light year is equivalent to 9.4607 trillion kilometer away Lucy, I need you to be closer to me than that." He bites his lower lip and tries to keep hisself together.

"Can't believe your smart ass still sound so sexy to me."

"I'm on my way home. I'm so close, so please—"

"You take care of Halley okay?" Lucy's shaky voice made everyone in the room tear up. "Make sure she grows up like you, make sure she grows up in a house that is warm, a house filled with love... I hope you make her remember me in a little ways. I hope you'd help her remember that I love her with all of me. Every last of me Finn, okay?"

"Remember to take your medicines too... I've already arranged them in the medicine cabinet and all you have to do is take them. Your meal plan is already arranged on the fridge so make sure to follow the diet plan if you want Commander Smith to take you out for a ride in space, you understand?"

"Don't—don't leave me... Stay with me Lucy, please."

"Remember that even if everything fades away, our love will always be with you. My love will always be with you and now with Halley as well."

"No..." He was shaking his head like a child throwing a tantrum. "No..."

"I will always be thankful for your existence Christian Finn Valencia. Thank you for making our own version of eternity. With your love surrounding me, I've managed to escape death and allow to be with you for seven years more... I was supposed to die at the age of 23 but you helped me to live longer than that and I hope that my love will be able to do the same thing for you." Her voice was getting thinner and weaker. "Thank you for watching the stars with me that night Finn, thank you for chasing cars with me..."

"Thank you for loving me Lucy." Christian whimpers. "Thank you for loving all of me."

"Thank you for everything." She says through heavy breaths. "I... I..."

"Lucy no—"

"I love you Finn."









Followed by those three words were the sound of the machine that had the capacity to break Christian's existence at that exact moment.






I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoy writing this.
© vynism