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He's used to waking up in the middle of the night to Dad leaving, it's part of the job. But Dad's never come into his room to tell him he's leaving, he hasn't done that since Keith was five and told him it was okay to just go as long as he came back.
Dad's smiling, though, so it can't be a fire.
"What's going on?"
"Come outside," Dad says. Keith shoves his feet into his slippers and throws on a coat, stumbling out of the shack beside Dad. There's something up in the sky far away, glowing with a soft purple light, and then a flash that makes him yelp in surprise.
"Dad?!"
"Just wait, son." And then someone's walking towards them, a woman with purple skin and dark hair. Something about her feels familiar but he doesn't know what, he's never seen anyone like that before. He tries to hide behind Dad but Dad tells him to stay. "It's okay. You're too little to remember her very well, but she lives here."
"Who is she?" And then the woman comes over and kisses him on the forehead and he knows. "You're..."
"I'm sorry I was gone so long, honey." She embraces him and Keith starts to cry, burying his face in her shoulder. He almost never cries, even when he's worried about Dad. "It's okay, I'm back, I won't leave again."
"The mission...?" Dad murmurs.
"It's still going on, but we've got more people keeping an eye on things. So they let me come back," Mom says. "I've missed you both so much." Dad kneels down next to her hugs them both, he almost sounds like he's crying too. Then he's rushing them back into the house and they're settling Keith onto the couch between them.
"We're a family again," Keith mumbles.
"We always were, son. We're just together now," Dad says. Mom smiles, patting his head.
"I've got something for you, too, honey." She whistles, and there's a weird flash of light. When it fades, there's a big black puppy prancing around in front of him. Dad's eyes widen.
"Krolia, is that..."
"He was about to be eaten by some creatures, I had to save him. And...well, you always did want a dog, didn't you?" Mom smiles, and the puppy licks Dad's hand. "He needs some training, but he's a good boy. Just...keep in mind we don't know how big he'll get!" Keith laughs. He's always liked dogs, he plays with the dogs at the fire station and Dad's always said he's sorry they can't afford to get their own.
"We can keep him, right?" he asks, petting the dog's head. Dad smiles.
"Of course. Krolia, does he have a name?"
"I've been calling him Kosmo. But we can change it."
"Kosmo...I guess it's good for now," Keith says. "I'm too tired to think of something better." Kosmo lies down across their laps and yawns. "Thanks, Mom."
He falls asleep between his parents, listening to Kosmo's doggie snores.