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After nearly fifty days apart, they weren’t supposed to ever see each other again.
Rocky had “made peace” with that - the human expression that Grace used once, and immediately took back after the fact. He told himself he believed it, right up until his engines failed.
Stranded in space for a few days, he had a lot of time to think. He thought about Adrian and Erid, how he’d come so close to saving them. He thought about how he was going to die alone out here, and no one would know. He’d join the rest of his old crewmates, and Erid would soon follow.
And Grace would never know. Grace would go home, save his people, and wonder whatever happened to him. Humans lived very short lives, but Rocky could only hope that Grace would live the rest of his life happily.
Then came the knock.
The next few hours were a blur. Grace, in his often frenzied way, explained exactly what happened to the Astrophage and explained that he had fixed the problem on the Hail Mary. Rocky didn’t think he’d ever felt so overwhelmed in his life; he wasn’t going to die, he was going to save Erid. But Grace…
He didn’t say any of this right away. He waited until they were both safely aboard the Hail Mary (where Grace hadn’t torn down any of Rocky’s walls or taken apart his ball. They had just sat there, unused). Moving forward quietly in his ball, Rocky’s carapace sagged a little. “Why come back, question?”
They had spent enough time together that Grace no longer needed the computer to translate. From where he sat in the pilot’s chair, Grace glanced down at him, smiling a little. “I couldn’t just let you and the rest of Erid die. You would’ve done the same for me, pal.”
This answer didn’t quite make Rocky feel better. “But Grace will die.”
Grace nodded, finishing the input for the coordinates Rocky had given him. “Yeah. I will. But I have enough food to last me ‘till we get there.”
“Long enough for Rocky to fix.”
The last time he’d said something like this, Grace had burst into tears and introduced him to the concept of hugs. Now, he just blinked blankly a few times. “I’m not sure it’s a problem you can fix, Rock. I can’t eat Eridian food. I can’t breathe Eridian air.”
Rocky was offended that Grace could ever think he would just lay down and let this happen. They were both equally stubborn, and Rocky would be damned if he let Grace’s sacrifice go to waste. He could have gone home, but chose to save him. He chose to be brave. It was up to Rocky to save him back.
He pushed his carapace upward, shaking it at his friend angrily. “Grace should know better. Rocky fix.”
Turning his face away from him, Grace cleared his throat and fiddled with the buttons in the cockpit for a moment, though Rocky got the distinct feeling he didn’t actually have to press any of those buttons right now. “Yeah. Of course.” In the red light reflected onto the pilot’s chair, Grace’s eyes shone.
“Grace sound stupid,” Rocky continued, still not ready to let it go. “When last time sleep, question?”
“Uh…” Perhaps having missed the insult, or just used to it by now, the man sighed softly. “I dunno. It felt weird sleeping without you around to watch.”
Rocky felt a swell of pride at that. He didn’t know quite how yet, but he knew Grace would fit right in on Erid. “I know feeling,” he replied, somewhat gentler. “Grace sleep. Rocky watch.”
Double checking the computer, Grace sighed again, knowing better than to argue. “Yeah. Okay. Looks like we’ll be arriving on Erid in about three years.” Getting to his feet, somewhat shakily, Grace stumbled toward his bunk. He climbed into bed clumsily, barely remembering to remove his glasses before he did so. “Glad you’re here, Rocky,” he mumbled, his eyes already closed.
Rocky didn’t have the chance to answer, because he already heard Grace’s heartbeat slow down. It hadn’t taken long of watching him sleep to know that was the telltale sign of human rest.
Time to get started on Project Saving Grace. Three years seemed like a long time, but to an Eridian, it wasn’t long at all. He needed to start now.
Returning to his side of the wall, Rocky left his ball and took out the laptop Grace had gifted him all those weeks ago. He got to work researching human eating patterns. They had to chew solids in order to digest them, where they would be further broken down with stomach acid (gross!). Food had to be soft enough for teeth to chew, and Rocky couldn’t think of anything on Erid that would qualify. It was going to be difficult, but Rocky would figure it out.
Dragging his claw across the keyboard, he began making note of his findings. If he was going to be doing big science never done before, he had to start from the beginning.
He checked on Grace, who had not moved since falling into bed. His mouth hung open, making way for quiet breaths, his chest rising and falling slowly. Rocky wouldn’t admit it, but he liked watching Grace sleep almost as much as he liked watching Adrian sleep. It was the one time Grace looked truly peaceful, like nothing could ever bother him, even the possibility of impending death.
It was nice for him to have a break every now and then.
Rocky returned to his computer, making notes of everything he could think of on Erid. Cross-referencing with what he knew about the human eating cycle, he would write “question” next to the ones he could experiment with, and cross out the ones he knew he couldn’t. He also made a note to ask Grace about some of his rations, so he could get an up-close idea at what actual human food looked and felt like.
He was so engrossed in this task that he almost missed the fact that Grace’s heartbeat nearly doubled within seconds. Confused, Rocky turned his attention back to Grace, who didn’t look peaceful at all anymore. His legs were tangled up in the knit blanket, a thin layer of sweat shining on his face. His brow was furrowed, and he was mumbling under his breath. If it was English, then Rocky couldn’t decipher it.
“Grace, question?” Rocky was becoming increasingly more nervous. He’d never seen Grace do this before. Sleep was supposed to be restful. This didn’t look restful at all.
If Grace heard him, it hadn’t worked. He jerked his head back and forth, plagued by something invisible. Stumbling over himself, Rocky propelled into his ball, barely waiting for it to be sealed shut before he rolled over to the bed.
“Heart rate abnormally high,” the computerized voice warned over the bed, as if that would help. Rocky knew that. He just didn’t know why.
“Grace,” he prompted, louder and more panicked than usual. He nudged his arm the best he could in his ball. “Grace, wake up!”
Suddenly, Grace screamed. He sat up straight, the blanket that had been twisting around him falling in a heap on his lap. His chest heaved, quickly and barely contained, a hand over his heart as if it would help calm the erratic movement. His eyes were wild and full of tears, and when they landed on Rocky, the tears fell.
“What wrong, question?” Rocky asked, his voice wavering. “Grace need oxygen, question?”
Still heaving his breaths, Grace managed a slight shake of the head. He opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a loud and shuddering sob. Placing his face in his hands, Rocky could see his shoulders shaking with such fervor he was worried he might break.
How could he fix this? What did Grace need? He wasn’t sure how to figure it out if Grace couldn’t tell him. He almost considered asking the ship, but knew he wouldn’t get the answer he needed.
Rocky wracked his brain. What did Grace say made humans feel better?
Suddenly, something occurred to him. He rolled his ball against the bed a few times. “Hug. Hug. Hug. Hug. Hug.”
Peeking through shaking fingers, Grace managed to mutter, “What?”
“Hug. Hug. Hug. Make Grace feel better. Hug.” After a couple times of ramming his ball into the bed, he managed enough leverage to pop up onto the bunk, nearly rolling over Grace’s legs. He slowed himself down, turning to face the stunned human. “Grace hug Rocky. As long as need.”
Grace let go of his face, his lungs stunted with each labored breath. “Rocky!” he managed through a sob, his eyes squeezing shut as he leaned forward, holding the ball close to him. Rocky leaned against the ball, hoping that, at the very least, his warmth could get through to Grace.. Warmth, he had learned, was good for humans. Just not as much warmth as Eridians needed.
“Grace okay,” he murmured, perhaps trying to convince them both. He pressed himself as close to the edge of the ball he could go, feeling Grace’s chest move against his carapace. “Grace breathe oxygen. Grace calm. Grace okay.”
The man, perhaps registering Rocky’s genuine attempt to calm him down, tried to do as he said. His breaths, still shaking, thankfully began evening out a little as time went on. Rocky wasn’t sure how long they sat there, with Grace holding onto him for dear life, like if he let go, Rocky would disappear.
Finally, Grace lessened his hold on him, leaning back to wipe at his face with his fingers. He still didn’t look good, but when he opened his mouth this time, he was able to form words. “...I’m sorry.”
Rocky rolled backward a bit, but stayed atop the bunk. In any other situation, he probably would have teased Grace for the apology; but to be honest, Rocky was probably as rattled as Grace was. “No apologize,” he replied quietly, waving a claw. “What happen, question?”
There was a long stretch of silence. All traces of panic and fear had left Grace’s face, which left him with an ashamed and tired look that didn’t suit him at all. “Bad dream,” he mumbled.
“No understand.”
Grace blinked. “Eridians don’t dream?”
Rocky tilted his carapace.
“Um…” Grace sighed, running a hand over his face. “Sometimes, while sleeping, humans experience something called dreams. Usually, they’re made up, but every now and then, they have to do with memories, good or bad. My dreams used to be about showing up to school in my underwear or flying in the sky. This one was…” he trailed off. Rocky waited for him to finish, but he didn’t.
“Bad memory, question?” he guessed.
“Bad memory, statement.”
Rocky thought it over for a moment. “Did hug help, question?”
Chuckling a little, looking slightly more like himself again, Grace nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. “Yeah, buddy. It did. Thanks.”
To Rocky, it seemed like the hug wasn’t fully complete. Hugging a ball was not the same as hugging another human. He made a mental note of that. “What else Grace need if happen again, question?”
“Um…” Grace blew out a quiet breath. “I dunno, Rock. Just having you here is good enough. They started appearing frequently once you left.”
“Understand.” Carefully, he rolled off the bed, landing with a loud thunk on the floor. As Grace stood up as well, Rocky turned around, tilting his carapace. “What Grace doing, question? Only got two hours of sleep. Human need seven or eight hours to not be stupid.”
Grace froze in place, as if in trouble. “Usually, humans who deal with dreams aren’t eager to go back to sleep,” he replied, ironically sounding rather exhausted. Annoyed, Rocky rolled gently into Grace’s leg.
“Lay down,” he insisted. “Rocky watch. You watch ceiling. Rest even if not sleep.”
It looked like Grace wanted to argue, but considering the state he was in, seemed to decide against it. “Bossy,” he mumbled, laying back down. “What’ve you been working on?”
“Way to save Grace,” he answered, satisfied Grace wouldn’t try and get back up, and rolled back to his side of the wall. He hopped out of the ball and stepped up to his computer, adding a note to experiment with his ball and see if he could make it into a suit, like Grace’s, so they could hug properly. “Thinking about human food.”
Grace chuckled quietly, turning his face to watch him work. “You really are stubborn, huh?”
“Yes. And you are leaky space blob. What else new, question?”
That got an actual laugh out of Grace, a sound that Rocky had really come to appreciate when it came. “Fair enough.” After a couple moments, the only sound being Rocky’s claw against the keyboard, Grace spoke up again. “Hey, Rocky? You have any songs on Erid? Since your language is all musical notes?”
“Songs?” he repeated, pausing. “No understand word.”
“Songs. Like, uh…” Grace closed his eyes, exhaling quietly. “Don’t stop your cryin’, it’s the sign of the times. Welcome to the final show. Hope you’re wearing your best clothes.”
Rocky was speechless for a moment. It was the most beautiful Grace’s voice had ever sounded to him. “Grace good at songs,” he found himself saying, then tilted his carapace. “Eridians have stories like this. They tell them to Eridian children to help sleep.”
“Huh.” Grace smiled, his eyes still closed. “Humans do that for their children, too.”
After a moment to digest this, Rocky began sharing one of the stories his mother would tell him. With a mix of notes Grace probably wouldn’t be able to translate, he told the story of two young Eridians who traveled across the planet to find a mythical rock that was said to hold huge power. By the end of the story, the Eridians learned that no such rock existed, and the real power was their newfound friendship.
When he had finished, he was met with silence. Grace’s heartbeat had slowed down considerably, but he wasn’t yet asleep. “That was…pretty,” he mumbled, his lips barely moving. “Could you…tell me what it means?”
Amused, Rocky began, “Two Eridians go on big adventure.”
“Mm-hm.”
“They travel across planet to find magic. Almost die many times.”
“Mm-hm.”
“But they always get through because they have each other.”
Rocky paused, listening. Grace didn’t respond this time, and his heart had slowed down and evened completely now. Quite amused, but mostly relieved, Rocky turned away from the computer, quietly moving back into his ball. There he sat, watching Grace while he slept, waiting, just in case there was another dream.
It did not come.