Chapter Text
The front door clicked open just after six in the evening.
Dani heard it from the living room, and glanced toward the hallway. The television was playing in the background, some show she wasn’t really paying attention to while she worked on her laptop. The smell of garlic and onions lingered in the air from the pasta she had started cooking.
Normally, Gabby would call out the second she came through the door, or she would immediately start talking about her day the second she came through the door.
Today, there was nothing but silence.
Dani frowned as the house remained unusually still. She muted the TV and listened - no footsteps, no rustling, no voice. After a few seconds, she stood and walked toward the hallway.
The sight that greeted her made her stomach drop.
Gabby was standing just in front of the door. She hadn’t moved. Her bag hung from one shoulder, and her NASA jacket was still zipped up. One hand rested against the wall beside the door as if she had needed something solid to steady herself.
For a moment, Dani simply stared. Gabby’s face was pale. Not sick pale - nervous pale. Her dark curls were slightly messy from a long day, falling around her face in a way that usually made Dani smile. Today, thought, her attention was fixed on something else.
Gabby’s hands.
They were trembling.
Not enough that anyone else would've noticed, but enough that Dani noticed.
“Gabby?”
The girl looked up. For a second, she simply looked at Dani, soft brown eyes wide with anxiety. And beneath that anxiety was something that Dani almost never saw in Gabby.
Fear.
Real fear.
Dani crossed the room immediately.
“What happened?”
Gabby swallowed. Nothing came out. Her throat felt completely closed. The entire drive home she had practiced this conversation, yet every single version had fallen apart the moment she imagined Dani’s face. Now that she was actually here, standing in front of the woman she loved, she couldn’t remember any of them.
Dani reached her. The second their hands touched, Dani’s concern deepened. Gabby’s fingers were ice cold.
“Hey.”
Dani gently squeezed her hand.
“Talk to me.”
Gabby let out a single shaky breath - the sound trembled as much as her hands.
“I got called into a meeting.”
Dani felt her chest tighten. At NASA, meetings could mean almost anything. A new assignment or a change in training. Her mind jumped straight to worst case scenarios.
“What kind of meeting?”
Gabby laughed weakly. The sound contained absolutely no amusement. Her eyes finally met Dani’s, and the realization unfolded slowly.
“Oh.”
Gabby nodded once, slowly.
“They selected the crew.”
Silence.
Dani’s breath caught.
“They asked me to go.”
The words hung heavy in the air between them. Dani knew exactly what she meant. There was only one mission anyone at NASA was talking about. Only one crew selection that would make an astronaut react like this.
“The Moon?” Dani whispered.
Gabby nodded. “The Moon.”
The room felt smaller now.
A laugh of disbelief escaped Dani. “Oh my God.”
Gabby laughed too, though hers sounded closer to panic. Dani was smiling now, completely stunned, but the smile faded as quickly as it appeared. Because Gabby wasn’t smiling. Not really. Not the way she should have been.
This should’ve been the happiest day of her career. Instead she looked like she was standing on the edge of a cliff.
Dani squeezed her hand again, though the shaking still hadn’t stopped.
“You’re scared.”
The words came out softly.
Gabby’s eyes began to fill with tears - not enough to fall, just enough to make them shine in the light of the hallway.
“Yeah.”
She hadn’t been that honest with anyone all day. Not to NASA. Not to Hanna. Not to the crew office. Hell, not even to herself. But Dani had always been the one person she couldn’t lie to.
Dani guided her toward the couch. Gabby followed almost gratefully. They sat together in the fading evening light. Outside, the sky was slowly turning pink and orange.
The pasta continued to simmer quietly in the kitchen, but neither of them paid attention to it.
Gabby sat hunched forward with her elbows resting on her knees, her hands remaining clasped together tightly. Too tightly. Dani could practically see the thoughts racing through her head.
“I should be happy,” Gabby said after a long silence.
Dani listened.
“I am happy,” she paused, “I think?”
The uncertainty in her voice broke Dani’s heart. Gabby stared at the floor.
“This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Her voice sounded distant, like she was trying to convince herself. The Moon had always been her dream, even Dani knew that. The reality of it made everything scarier.
Gabby rubbed her palms together, trying unsuccessfully to stop the shaking.
“I thought I’d know what I wanted,” her voice cracked slightly, "but all I could think about was you.”
Dani’s hand moved to Gabby’s thigh, tracing small, calming shapes. Gabby looked over at her again. “What if I don’t come back?”
The words slipped out quietly, barely audible. Dani had known what Gabby was afraid of. Artemis II had changed everything. Gabby knew exactly what it felt like to captain a space mission. She knew what it felt like to watch Earth shrink into the distance, and to trust her life to thousands of systems working perfectly.
And exactly what it felt like when something went wrong. The stabilization failure still lived inside her. Not as a traumatic memory, but as a reminder that space was dangerous.
Dani shifted closer until their knees touched. Then she reached up and tucked a curl behind Gabby’s ear - a grounding gesture.
“You know what I think?” Dani asked calmly.
Gabby looked at her. “What?”
Dani smiled - small, but genuine.
“I think you’re looking for a reason not to go.”
Gabby’s eyes widened, because Dani was right. She hated how right she was. Dani continued gently, “And I think that reason is me.”
Silence.
Gabby looked away, which was answer enough. Dani leaned forward and took both of her hands, holding them carefully, steadily. She waited until Gabby looked back at her.
“You can’t stay for me.”
Gabby opened her mouth. “But-”
“No,” Dani shook her head, “you can’t.”
The certainty in her voice surprised them both.
“I remember the look on your face when you got back from going around the Moon,” Dani said softly, thinking back to that day a year prior. “I’ve never seen you so happy, Gabs…”
Gabby nodded once.
“I’m not going to hold you back from something like this,” Dani said. “If you say no, you’ll regret it forever.”
Gabby looked down, because she knew that was true. Years from now she would still wonder, still watch launches, and watch new astronauts standing where she could’ve stood.
And she would wonder.
What if?
Dani moved closer until their foreheads touched. The contact made Gabby’s eyes close, and a shaky breath escaped her lips. Then another.
“You have to go,” Dani’s words were barely above a whisper, but they felt immovable.
Gabby’s throat tightened. “What if I don’t want to?”
Dani smiled.
“You do.”
A tear rolled down Gabby’s cheek. “I don’t know…”
“You do.”
Another tear followed, brushed away by the pad of Dani’s thumb now resting against Gabby’s cheek. Gabby’s breath trembled. Dani's voice softened even more.
“And if you don’t go because you’re scared,” she smiled sadly, “then one day you’ll hate yourself for it.
Gabby let out a broken laugh through her tears. Without warning, she pulled Dani into a hug - a desperate one. Her arms wrapped tightly around her girlfriend’s waist as she buried her face against Dani’s shoulder. Dani held her, one hand sliding into curls, the other rubbing slow circles across her back. Gabby’s entire body shook, whether from nerves or relief, she couldn’t tell anymore. Maybe both.
Eventually, Gabby felt Dani press a kiss against her temple, then one to the top of her head. Soft. Patient. Loving.
When Dani finally spoke, her voice was still quiet.
“If anyone belongs on the Moon, it’s you.”
Gabby’s eyes closed before more tears could slip free. She thought about the Artemis II. She thought about how surreal being that close to the Moon had felt. She realised in that moment that she wasn't afraid because she didn’t want the mission, she was afraid because she had something she couldn’t bear to lose.
Dani.
☾
Dani remained wrapped around her long after the conversation ended, arms loosely wrapped around Gabby’s waist and her chin resting against her shoulder. The warmth of her body grounded Gabby in a way nothing else could.
“Go shower,” Dani whispered softly into Gabby’s hair.
Gabby looked over.
“What?”
“You look exhausted.”
Gabby laughed. “I am exhausted.”
“Then go shower,” Dani smiled, “I’ll make hot chocolate.”
The simple normality of the suggestion made something ache pleasantly in Gabby’s chest.
The bathroom filled with steam within minutes, hot water pouring from the showerhead, fogging the mirrors and softening the edges of everything around her.
Gabby stepped beneath the spray and let out a long breath. Her shoulders loosened slightly, then a little more. Water ran through her curls and down her back. For several minutes, she simply stood beneath the water, eyes closed.
She thought about her conversation with Dani. Her answer wasn’t due immediately. NASA would give her time. A few days - maybe longer.
But everyone already assumed they knew what her answer would be. Everyone except her.
When she finally emerged from the bathroom nearly half an hour later, her hair damp and curling wildly around her face, she found Dani waiting in their bedroom, two mugs sitting on the nightstand. A lamp cast a warm golden glow across the room.
Dani looked up from where she sat against the headboard, the sight making Gabby smile. Dani’s dark hair had been pulled into a loose braid. She was wearing one of Gabby’s NASA t-shirts, which seemed to be the only clothes she owned.
“What?” Dani asked.
Gabby shook her head.
“Nothing.”
The smile remained, and the tension that consumed the entire evening seemed to be slowly dissolving.
Gabby climbed into bed beside her, the mattress shifted beneath her weight. Dani handed her one of the mugs, the ceramic felt warm against her hands.
For a while, they simply sat together, the conversation drifting from serious topics to lighter ones.
When darkness settled over the room, and the lamp was switched off, Gabby lay on her back staring at the ceiling. She thought Dani had fallen asleep. Then she felt movement beside her.
A second later, Dani curled against her side, one arm draped across her waist, her head resting against Gabby’s shoulder.
“You okay?” Dani asked quietly.
Gabby smiled into the darkness.
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“No.”
“Honest answer,” Dani laughed softly, her fingers tracing lightly against Gabby’s arm.
Gabby turned her head slightly. The moonlight outlined Dani’s features in silver. Her eyes looked sleepy, but attentive and present.
Dani held her closer, and Gabby felt herself relax. Not all at once. Gradually - like a rope finally loosening after being pulled tight all day.
Gabby looked toward the faint glow filtering through the curtains. Tomorrow she would still be scared. The next day too. Probably for months. But lying there beside her girlfriend, with Dani’s hand resting over her heart as if she were protecting it, the fear no longer felt impossible to carry.
And eventually, sometime after midnight, listening to Dani’s breathing grow slower and softer as sleep claimed her, Gabby closed her eyes.
*
The following morning arrived far too quickly.
Gabby was awake before her alarm.
For a few moments she simply lay still, staring at the ceiling. The room was quiet except for the distant hum of traffic outside and the soft rhythm of Dani’s breathing beside her.
She rolled onto her side and looked at Dani. Morning light spilled through a gap in the curtains, illuminating one side of her face. Her hair was tangled from sleep, spread across the pillow. One hand rested near where Gabby had been lying.
The sight made Gabby’s heart warm.
This was exactly why she’d been so scared - not because of the mission itself, but because Dani was worth staying for. She’d felt the exact same way before the Artemis II mission too.
Years ago, before Dani, there would’ve been no hesitation, just an immediate yes. Now the decision carried weight, because she had built a life beyond NASA.
Then, slowly, a sleepy hazel eye opened.
Dani blinked once.
Twice.
Then smiled.
“There she is,” Dani said softly, voice still groggy from sleep.
Gabby smiled back. “There who is?”
“The astronaut who is having an existential crisis.”
Gabby laughed - really laughed. The sound was warm and genuine. Dani reached across the bed and took her hand. “Big day?”
Gabby nodded. “Big day.”
“You know what you’re going to say?”
Another pause. Gabby stared at their hands, Dani’s fingers fiddling with her own, then nodded again - this time with more certainty.
“Yeah.”
Dani smiled. Not surprised or worried - though she always worried about Gabby, but she was also immensely proud of her.
—
The drive to the training centre felt longer than it ever had. The world outside continued exactly as it always had, meanwhile Gabby felt as if her entire future was waiting for her at the end of the journey. In a way, it was waiting for her. Agreeing to join Artemis IV called for months of rigorous training.
Her hands tightened slightly around the steering wheel. As she approached the facility, the massive buildings appeared on the horizon.
The sprawling complex rose from the landscape like its own small city; glass buildings reflecting the early morning sun, security gates standing at every entrance, and every form of science personnel moving between buildings carrying backpacks, tablets and coffee cups.
Gabby parked her car and sat for a moment before getting out.
She could feel her heart beating faster now, echoing in her ears slightly.
She grabbed her bag and stepped into the morning heat. The Florida sun was already warm against her skin, and a light breeze tugged at the dark curls she had yet to put up.
The main entrance boasted photographs of mission displays and rockets, and smelled faintly of coffee mixed with floor cleaner.
“Well, look who finally showed up,” a familial voice echoed down the corridor. Gabby smiled before she even saw him. Connor - of course - leaning against the wall with a coffee in one hand.
Luke stood beside him, shaking his head, Jai was scrolling through something on a tablet, and Hanna looked seconds away from exploding with excitement.
The sight of them hit Gabby harder than she’d expected. For a moment, she just stood there, looking at all four of them.
Not just colleagues. Not just friends.
Her crew.
Hanna crossed the distance first. “You’re saying yes.”
It wasn’t a question.
“You haven’t even said good morning,” Gabby laughed.
“I don’t need to,” Hanna said, folding her arms.
“Are you saying yes..?” Luke asked.
After a few seconds, Gabby smiled, then nodded. “Yeah.”
Hanna pulled Gabby into a tight hug, squeezing most of the air out of her lungs.
“Everyone report to Commander Lewis,” Connor teased, saluting at her.
The group began walking together toward the crew briefing room, and their familiar dynamic returned as if they’d never been apart. Their footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Mission patches lined the walls.
Mercury.
Gemini.
Apollo.
ISS.
Artemis.
The Artemis II patch stuck out to her, their names listed beside the insignia.
Romero. McCoy. Stevens. Malya. Lewis.
The patch sat beside generations of lunar history encased in glass frames. Gabby found herself slowing near one display.
A photograph of Apollo astronauts standing on the lunar surface. Grey dust. Black sky. She’d seen the photo a million times, but it felt different knowing she would be part of the next crew of humans on the moon.
Connor noticed her staring, and his voice softened.
“Crazy, isn’t it?”
Gabby nodded, unable to look away from the picture. Crazy wasn’t even close to sufficient.
The conference room itself overlooked part of the training campus. The long table in the centre of the room was already covered in folders, tablets, mission documents and briefing materials.
Models of spacecraft occupied shelves along one wall, and a scale model lunar lander sat in a display case near the front of the room.
A few minutes later, mission leadership entered.
Conversation between the crew stopped, and the room fell into anxious silence.
One of the directors smiled at the crew. “You’ve all had an opportunity to review the assignment package,” he began, waiting for everyone to nod. “Today we’re looking for final confirmation so we can begin contract finalization and progress towards training,” he continued.
Gabby’s heart began pounding as the mission director's gaze settled on her.
“Yes,” she said, the word steady and confident.
The mission director smiled. “Excellent.”
The finality of the decision made Gabby’s chest feel heavy. She wasn’t considering Artemis IV anymore. She was going.
—
The drive home felt different that evening compared to the night before.
The decision had been made, she’d signed the paperwork, and she’d accepted her position as commander of Artemis IV.
The Florida sunset stretched across the horizon as she drove home - orange and gold light spilling across the highway, reflecting off windshields. The radio played quietly in the background, some Bowie song that she wasn’t really listening to.
Her thoughts kept drifting back to the conference room; to her crewmates, to the directors, to the stack of paperwork she’d brought home with her to read through and make notes on over the next few days.
Then, inevitably, her mind drifted to Dani.
A picture of the two of them was clipped to the sun visor. It was a photobooth strip from their first date.
The first picture showed them making a heart with their hands. The second picture showed Dani’s hand on Gabby’s cheek whilst Gabby blew a kiss at the camera. The third picture was her favourite. She’d kissed Dani, catching her off guard. The final picture showed Gabby laughing while a pink blush crept onto Dani’s face.
She’d stuck it to the visor after she dropped Dani home that evening.
By the time she’d pulled into the driveway, the sky had darkened considerably. The first stars were beginning to appear overhead, and a gentle breeze stirred the trees lining the street.
The second she opened the door, warmth greeted her. Not just physical warmth, the feeling of home.
After spending the day surrounded by mission briefings and technical discussions and training schedules, the ordinary domesticity of it felt almost surreal.
“Dani?” she called as the door clicked shut behind her.
She heard movement - cabinet doors, footsteps. Then Dani appeared in the kitchen doorway, and suddenly nothing else mattered.
A smile spread across Gabby’s face at the sight of her girlfriend. Dani looked beautiful. Not in some dramatic movie star way, but in the way people looked when you loved them.
Her dark hair fell loosely from a ponytail that was already falling apart, a few strands framing her face. She wore one of Gabby’s old university sweatshirts - sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a smear of flour on one cheek.
Dani’s eyes immediately searched her face for answers. The question had been waiting since the moment Gabby had left the house that morning.
“Well?” Dani asked carefully.
Gabby bit the inside of her cheek, fighting a smile. Dani’s eyes narrowed, watching the curly haired girl drop her bag beside the door with a thud.
“You’re taking an unreasonable amount of time,” Dani said.
“Am I?” Gabby shrugged.
“Yes.”
Gabby kicked her shoes off, leaving them next to her bag. Dani groaned dramatically. “Gabby.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what.”
She did. She absolutely did. And for some reason, she couldn’t help teasing her. She wandered toward the kitchen, Dani following immediately.
“You said you’d tell me,” Dani said firmly.
“I am telling you.”
“No,” Dani pointed at her, “you’re stalling.”
“I would never,” Gabby laughed, pressing a hand against her chest.
“You absolutely would.”
Gabby smiled as Dani folded her arms, a familiar look appearing - one that said she was both annoyed at and fond of her. It happened often.
“What happened?” Dani asked, softer, more vulnerable. The real question remained now. “Did you say yes?”
The house fell quiet. Gabby looked at her - really looked at her. At the concern hidden behind the question. At the hope. And despite all of that, she still couldn’t resist.
“No,” she shook her head.
Silence.
Dani froze. Her entire face changed as hope disappeared and confusion replaced it.
“What?” she said softly.
Gabby’s guilt lasted approximately one second, then she completely lost control of her laughter. A hand flew to her mouth as she laughed.
“Oh my God,” Dani sighed in relief, “you are unbelievable.”
Gabby was still laughing. “I couldn’t help it.”
“You’re an asshole,” Dani said, grabbing a nearby dish towel and smacking her arm with it. Gabby laughed even harder.
“You scared me!” Dani said.
“I’m sorry,” Gabby laughed, stepping closer, “I said yes.”
The words changed everything. The teasing vanished, the laughter faded and the room became quiet again.
“You’re doing the proud face,” Gabby whispered.
Dani rolled her eyes. But she was smiling a beautiful smile - the kind that reached her eyes. The kind Gabby would happily spend the rest of her life chasing.
She finally crossed the kitchen, her hands finding Dani’s waist, while Dani’s hands clasped around the back of her neck. They ended up standing beside the kitchen counter, bodies close enough that neither could tell where one ended and the other began.
Neither of them spoke. They simply stood there, looking at each other, taking everything in.
Eventually, Dani broke first.
“You really said yes.”
Gabby nodded, feeling Dani’s arms pull her in slightly closer - enough that their foreheads touched.
Gabby’s eyes closed at the contact. Grounding. Familiar.
“I’m glad you made me agree,” Gabby admitted.
“I would’ve broken up with you if you hadn’t,” Dani teased, letting out a small laugh. It was the kind of sound that made Gabby feel like she was exactly where she belonged.
—
The evening calmed after that conversation in the kitchen. By the time they migrated to the couch, the sky outside had turned completely black, except for the city glittering beyond the windows.
Gabby had changed into comfortable clothes first; a soft grey t-shirt and sweatpants she’d owned for years that probably should’ve been thrown away by now.
Soon after, they settled on the couch - or, more accurately, tangled on the couch. Dani curled into Gabby’s side beneath a pile of blankets, one of her legs draped across Gabby’s.
Gabby’s arm settled around her without thought. The television played faintly in the background, as it always seemed to do, but Gabby watched Dani instead of whatever was playing. The sight alone was enough to make her smile. God, she loved her.
Eventually, though, reality returned - specifically in the form of a thick stack of paperwork waiting patiently inside Gabby’s bag.
“Commander problems?” Dani asked as Gabby hauled the stack of paper onto her lap.
“Commander problems,” Gabby nodded.
The folder ended up spread across the coffee table; schedules, mission objectives, equipment familiarisation plans, emergency procedures, medical requirements and meeting timetables were sorted into their own separate piles on the table.
Dani shifted slightly to give her more room - though not much more room. She remained firmly attached to Gabby’s side, though Gabby didn’t seem to mind.
She opened the first section, started reading, and slowly the astronaut part of her brain took over.
She grabbed a notebook, made notes and highlighted sections or added questions in the margins. Every so often, she stopped to think, then scribbled something else down.
Dani watched for a while, completely fascinated. Not by the paperwork - by Gabby. There was something beautiful about watching someone do something they loved.
She watched the concentration on her face, the slight furrow of her eyebrows, the way she pushed her curls back every few minutes, and the way her entire posture changed when she shifted into astronaut mode.
Dani couldn't stop watching.
“What?” Gabby asked when she noticed.
Dani smiled.
“Nothing.”
“You’ve been staring at me.”
“I know.”
Gabby laughed softly, then reached over and squeezed her hand. Dani intertwined their fingers, and neither let go.
Gabby continued reading and taking notes with one hand.
Hours slipped by and the house grew quieter.
Dani gradually started feeling sleepy; first came the yawns, then the slower blinking, then the increasingly longer pauses between responses. She continued fighting sleep stubbornly, then unsuccessfully.
By eleven o’clock, she was completely curled into Gabby.
Gabby continued making notes, working her way through three days of work in just a few hours. Every so often, she felt Dani shift slightly, or hear a sleepy hum of acknowledgement when spoken to.
Then the responses stopped altogether.
Gabby didn’t notice straight away - she was busy calculating dates on a training schedule. When she looked down to make a comment, the words died instantly.
Dani was asleep, her breathing slow and steady and her face completely relaxed. Gabby’s chest softened when she saw it. Suddenly, the paperwork, and the mission, and everything else ceased to exist. Except this.
Gabby carefully set her notebook down, then simply looked at her for a long time.
She brushed a few loose strands of hair away from Dani’s face, her fingertips lingering briefly against her cheek.
“Okay sleepyhead,” Gabby whispered.
No response.
She cautiously gathered all the paperwork into neat piles, stacked the folders, and closed her notebook.
She stood slowly and carefully, attempting not to wake Dani. One arm slid beneath her knees, the other around her back, then she lifted. Years of physical training made lifting Dani easy.
Dani stirred slightly, a sleepy sound escaping her lips - not words, but enough to indicate that she knew something was happening. Instinctively, she moved closer, face finding the familiar curve of Gabby’s shoulder, one hand loosely grabbing the front of her shirt.
Gabby’s heart practically melted.
Dani made another sleepy noise - still not awake, still not letting go.
The bedroom door creaked softly as she pushed it open. She’d been meaning to oil the hinges but days had gotten busy and time had escaped her.
Gabby crossed to the mattress and lowered Dani onto it. Dani frowned slightly - the loss of contact apparently noticed even in sleep. Gabby smiled, then climbed into bed beside her. Dani rolled toward her, still asleep, yet somehow entirely aware of where she wanted to be. One arm draped itself across Gabby’s waist, and her head settled against her chest.
*
The first week of Artemis IV training began on a Monday morning before the sun had even risen.
Her alarm rattled on the dresser at 4:45am, lighting up the room. She turned it off, and for a few moments she lay still beneath the blankets, listening to the sound of Dani's soft breathing beside her.
The training centre was already awake when she arrived. The parking lot glowed beneath rows of floodlights, filled with dozens of vehicles before the sun had even completely risen.
The crew’s first official meeting began at 6:00am.
Connor was already sitting at the conference table when she arrived. He looked deeply unhappy, despite the two coffees sitting in front of him. Luke entered moments later carrying yet another coffee. Jai somehow looked completely awake, and Hanna looked excited enough to power the building.
The morning consisted almost entirely of briefings. Then more briefings. And then somehow even more briefings.
The information arrived at an overwhelming pace, slide after slide, presentation after presentation. Gabby filled notebook pages almost continuously, her handwriting gradually becoming messier as the hours passed and her wrist began to cramp.
At one point, Connor leaned toward Luke and whispered “if another PowerPoint appears, I’m going back to Earth.”
“We’re on Earth…” Luke replied.
Connor stared at him. “I know.”
Hanna laughed hard enough that several people turned around. Even Gabby struggled not to smile.
The gym sessions started after lunch, and immediately reminded everyone that spaceflight was still a physical profession.
The trainers wasted absolutely no time. Warmups were followed by cardio. Cardio was followed by strength training. Strength training was followed by mobility work.
The schedule seemed endless.
By the end of the session, the five of them looked exhausted. Gabby’s whole body ached. Sure, she’d continued going to the gym since the Artemis II mission, but she’d not trained this intensely in a long while.
The week's activities remained constant. Meetings then training. Meetings then training. Sometimes training then meetings if they were lucky. It was exhausting, but necessary.
By Saturday, Gabby was ready to rest - at least as much as she could. The day was filled with more paperwork, making notes, and analysis of everything they’d done that week.
“Gabs,” Dani said softly as she entered the cupboard that had become Gabby’s ‘office’.
No reply.
“Gabby,” Dani repeated, placing a hand on Gabby’s shoulder. The contact was enough to make Gabby jump.
“You could’ve warned me,” Gabby laughed.
“Take a break,” Dani said with a pleading look.
Gabby looked up at the girl with tired eyes. She’d been hunched over her desk for hours without rest. The first knuckle of her middle finger had developed a small irritation bump from where her pen had been rubbing against it as she scribbled notes.
Her writing had become illegible a while ago, if it had ever been legible in the first place. There was a streak of pink highlighter smudged across the back of her left hand, and a matching green one on her right palm.
Dani continued giving her a look.
“Okay,” Gabby agreed, “ten minutes.”
Dani sighed and shook her head.
Gabby stretched as she stood from her chair, feeling a crack in her lower back that would definitely give her pain tomorrow.
“Eat,” Dani said, forcing a plate of toast into Gabby’s hands as soon as she stepped foot into the kitchen. Gabby took the plate reluctantly, but was grateful that her stomach had stopped growling.
“What would I do without you?” Gabby mumbled through a mouthful of toast.
“Starve?” Dani teased, “Or become a hunchback with how much time you spend at that desk.”
Gabby laughed softly, but she knew Dani was right.
“It’s your day off, Gabs,” she began. “Please take it as a day off, you can get back to highlighting tomorrow… and maybe the highlighter will actually make it onto the page,” Dani laughed, pointing toward the smudges on Gabby’s hand.
“I know I know, this just needs to get done and-”
Dani kissed her before she could finish her sentence. It was a soft, slow kiss with minimal force behind it, but it was grounding. Gabby slid the plate onto the counter beside her, opting to tangle her fingers in Dani’s hair instead.
“Is this your way of getting me to take a break?” Gabby mumbled when she pulled back.
“Mhm, is it working?” Dani joked, pulling the girl closer.
“I can spare an hour or two,” Gabby laughed.
*
The six month mark rolled around far quicker than Gabby or the rest of the crew could’ve anticipated.
The first few months had been completely exhausting - classrooms, conference rooms, physical conditioning, simulations, and endless technical reviews. Most days ended with them sitting in meeting rooms, looking at diagrams of spacecraft and maps of places they had never seen.
The moon remained distant still, a destination on paper, computer screens and presentations.
Then, six months into training, that changed.
The schedule on the whiteboard in the main conference room simply said ‘Artificial Lunar Landscape Training’ in blue marker.
As always, the day began before sunrise.
Gabby arrived at the facility carrying a travel mug of coffee - not that she liked coffee, but it had become necessary to get through the day - and a notebook already overflowing with months of notes.
She had changed in six months - all of them had.
The physical differences were obvious. Her shoulders were stronger, her endurance had improved, and the relentless gym sessions had added more muscle to her frame.
The larger changes weren’t physical though, they were mental.
Six months earlier, she’d been anxious every time someone mentioned the mission. Sure, she’d been to space before, but going to space and landing on the moon as part of the first crewed moon landing in nearly sixty years were two very different things.
The lunar surface training facility sat farther away from the main buildings. The walk over to the facility felt different. Anticipation hung over the group, because everyone knew what today represented.
The floor of the building itself was covered in an enormous training landscape. Artificial craters, rock fields and dust covered terrain lined the surface. The entire area had been designed to mimic lunar conditions as closely as possible.
“We’ll start with just walking over the terrain,” one of the trainers began, “then we’ll get you in full gear and start with the anti-gravity training.”
—
The first training exercise focused on movement - something surprisingly complicated. Walking on Earth was automatic, walking on the Moon wouldn’t be.
They spent hours learning balance and stability, how to move efficiently across uneven terrain, and how to manage momentum while wearing bulky equipment. The artificial suits weren’t identical to the final flight hardware, but they were heavy, restrictive and demanding enough.
Everyone was sweating within thirty minutes. Gabby could feel the strain building in her shoulders and legs. The environment was far more physically demanding than she’d anticipated.
The crew had been given permission to stay the night at the facility due to exhaustion. Gabby spent the better part of her evening in compression boots, trying to regain feeling in her legs.
Her phone rested on her lap. She’d sent a single, simple message to Dani thirteen minutes prior, and was yet to receive a response.
call me when you’re free
The blue message lit up the dark room, waiting for a reply.
Finally, Gabby’s phone began to buzz on her lap.
“Hi baby,” she said softly as she picked up.
“What’s wrong?” Dani asked nervously.
A pause.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Gabby began, “just wanted to tell you I’m staying at the facility tonight.”
Dani went silent on the other end. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m all good, I promise,” Gabby said truthfully, “My legs were just too sore to drive home tonight.”
Dani breathed out a sigh of relief. Her mind always turned to worst case scenarios when Gabby didn’t come home. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Of course,” Gabby said softly, “I kinda just wanted to hear your voice too.”
Dani’s heart beat faster at the admission. They’d been together for seven years and Gabby still knew how to make her heart race.
“I love you,” Gabby said after a pause.
“I love you too,” Dani said, “get some sleep.”
“I will,” Gabby said quietly.
Dani remained on the phone until Gabby’s breathing became rhythmic with sleep.