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The first days of recovery were very difficult. Adrian and Rocky trading off when their ammonia was running low. They've got his brace set to the appropriate degree, with Nanny's direction. Rocky was the first one to help him with the exercises, and he's so nervous.
Eventually, Grace had to hype his partner up. "I'll be okay, bud. You've got this. Nanny showed you how, you've got this."
"What if I hurt-"
"Then we'll get it handled. I trust you." Grace smiled patiently. "You don't have to touch me. Just in case something goes wrong."
"Okay…understand." Rocky crawled just shy of his feet. He prepared to intercept. "Ready."
Leg raises were absolutely his least favorite thus far. But having his friend there was enough to motivate him. "Ughhhh, this is awful."
"Grace needs to." Rocky reminded him. "You get better, I promise."
The icing was nicer. It was soft, gentle, and intimate. Rocky wasn't quite as steady as Adrian, but Grace didn't care. He reassured him at every turn, he was doing great. The sponge bathing was necessary, but not his favorite. He's never been big on being touched below the belt, and thankfully, they agreed to let him handle his unmentionables.
The second night, they'd invited LG. Their human father grateful for the opportunity to tell them a story. A little taste of normalcy.
The next morning, Adrian showed up to take over. But they both stay.
"Ryland, we have news. But I need you to promise you'll stay calm." Adrian settled next to their two mates.
"Is it really that exciting?" He wondered.
"Very." Rocky confirmed.
Grace adjusted his glasses. "Alright. I'll be calm."
"We've heard news from the Astronomy hive." Adrian explained. "Their last thrum, they got the results confirmed. Sol has returned to full luminescence."
…What?
Tears began to swell in his eyes. "You're teasing me…"
"We would never!" Rocky balked. "You did it!"
"We did it." Grace corrected. His chest stuttering. "Rocky we did it!"
His partner let out a happy squeal, he nearly crawled onto the man's lap before realizing what he was doing. Rocky backed up. "Fist bump?"
"Duh!" He grinned, holding his hand up. "This is a monumentally epic moment, it deserves one!"
Their mismatched knuckles meet and he can't stop himself anymore. He begins to weep openly. Having to explain that he's okay, it's a good cry. The best cry. They won. They saved both of their suns. Grace might not be sure what his planet had gone through, but if anyone was left, they could rebuild.
"None of this would have happened without you, bud." He gave the most pathetic, lopsided hug ever. "You're a hero."
"Grace too."
"Ah, I dunno-"
"Ryland, would it kill you to learn how to take a compliment?" Adrian wondered.
"Probably." He chuckled. He's so elated.
"Heart going so fast." Rocky placed a suited hand over his chest. "Should I get Nanny?"
"No, I'm fine." Grace refuted. "I forgot you like to listen to my pulse."
It made the Eridian feel better. He's always been fond of it, even if it unsettled his friend. But hey, it's not his fault that humans were absurdly loud to their species.
"There is…one more thing Rocky wanted to discuss." Adrian mentioned. They turned to their mate. "Should I give space?"
Before the man can respond, Rocky hummed the affirmative. "Please."
Once they're alone again, his companion's disposition turned nervous again. Grace has a pretty good idea why. "It's finished…isn't it."
No response.
"…You and the team did great, I'm sure." Ryland encouraged him to huddle up against his hip.
"Humans are too obsessed with curves." He complained, clearly trying to break the tension. It doesn't work. "But we did good."
Silence reigned again.
They're just…unable to face it for many long minutes.
"Rocky can…I can finally send you home. Like I promised." Rocky mumbled.
If they didn't have to have these suits between them, Grace would tuck his thumb into the socket of his partner's legs. "You could."
"…Could?"
"Well, I dunno." Grace paused. "Do you want me to leave?"
"Not my choice." Rocky had to catch himself as he tried to lean into his side. "I'd be selfish."
"Well, from a selfish perspective, what would you do?" Sometimes folks just needed to be pushed. Heck, he did too.
"I'd have you stay with us for the rest of your life." He admitted. "But it's not up to me. Bad influence."
That made him laugh, rattling in his chest. The good kind that never got old. "Can I think about it?"
Rocky perked up immediately. "Yes! For l- for a long time!"
Grace loved how he still slipped back into their broken pidgin. It was so charming to him now. What had once been a source of frustration was now a guaranteed way to make him smile. "I will. For a long time."
The two basked in each other's company for a few hours before Rocky's EVA suit started to warn about the lack of ammonia. Much to the Eridian's frustration. He really really doesn't want to go…but he has to.
"We'll talk more tomorrow."
"Eh, I don't plan on making up my mind that fast." Translation, stop trying to make me go. But who knows if Rocky picked up on that.
"Love you, Rock'." Grace patted his suit.
"Love you, Grace."
Grace had a long, arduous recovery. Ten months. Ten months of physical therapy. Ten months of growing ever closer to his partners as they stood by him every step (hah) of the way. Helping him down to the artificial beach once he was cleared for submersion.
He liked this part. When he was in the water, he didn't feel the restriction of his painful joints as much. Conversely, when it was time to get out, it always kicked him into a bit of a funk. But he used that to inspire something he considered for a long time.
Ryland got in contact with the Engineering and Electronics hives. He had a plan. Two actually. First, he wants to recreate the probes using the schematics in the Hail Mary. It would just take him or Rocky popping back up into the ship and getting them translated into Eridian.
The main one, though…he wanted to get a series of satellites going. If he could…he wanted to find a way to contact Earth again.
Other than the school, this was his main focus. He took Adrian's ramp down to class every morning, his cane a recognizable rhythm through the years. It had been engraved with the tattoos expected of an Eridian his age…well, proportionate age.
LG was fifteen when they finally started getting the network up. His child was brilliant. The affability of Rocky and the steadiness of Adrian. They'd taken a keen interest in robotics, despite only being about a year and a half in human terms.
Eridians did age slowly, but their minds tended to be faster. It was fascinating, he'd say most of his students were roughly five (fifty), but they were much closer to his human kids mentally. Kinda scary when the little pebbles were out there keeping up with anywhere from eighth to tenth grade science.
They certainly kept him on his toes. He wouldn't have it any other way.
Their first full communication arrived around the thirtieth anniversary of him arriving on Erid. A simple text file. Audio would take far too long. Text and images were much faster. They'd eventually get to the point that they could have one (maybe two if they were lucky) message through per week.
The first, however read:
To the people of Erid.
Earth has survived. In no uncertain terms, the Eridian known as Rocky will be recognized for his multitude of brave sacrifices to our people. The governments of all nations involved with Project Hail Mary have claimed May 4th to be a holiday in his honor. While we are not sure how he would prefer to be recognized for his achievement, we will be sending as much compressed data to Erid as we possibly can from this point on. As from the messages we received, we know he seemed to be enthused with our technology. If there is more we can do, please let us know.
And…though we are unsure of his status, we would also like to think that Dr. Ryland Grace is still able to read this communication. Dr. Grace may not have been the bravest man on Earth, but in the eyes of her people, there are none that match his heroism. (Other than Rocky, of course.) Your school has named a new wing in your honor. Programs everywhere are using your research on Astrophage, and all the other micro-organisms that are associated with them to teach our children things you might have only dreamed would be possible.
You've been officially recognized by your former institutions, and all stripped titles restored. In your home state of California, five separate wildlife reserves now bear your name. (And Rocky's, of course.) Naturally, you also have an international holiday. We felt your birthday was best. While your self-deprecation will be anticipated, you are nothing short of Earth's savior. We owe you our lives, Dr. Grace. If ever you do manage to come home to us, you will never want for anything again. You will have a blank check, as it were.
And, at this moment, I will speak directly. Thank you, Dr. Grace. I know you and I have had a…contentious dynamic over the years. I do not blame you if you refuse to forgive me for what I have done, and to be entirely frank, I don't want to be forgiven. I won't pretend that I wouldn't do it all again. But in every way I possibly can express this, thank you. For everything.
On behalf of Earth,
Eva Stratt.
They only directly spoke one more time before she passed. Five years after the first message. And while he says 'speak', he really means see. A prerecorded message. Grace had tried to prepare himself for how old she would look, but…it's mind blowing. A woman as strong-willed, as rock-steady as Stratt looked nothing less than alien in a hospital bed.
She spoke at length of what he and Rocky had done for them. How proud she was of his accomplishments on Erid and how they had been the catalyst for their new program to Mars. They'd begun establishing a base, potentially even a colony using findings they'd reported. Incidental ones!
She expressed how relieved she'd been to see his face again. Teased him for going gray. It was…strange to be receiving such a gentle ribbing from the once (and still) terrifying woman. She discussed that they'd informed the IEC (International Erid Coalition) to be on the look out for Eridian probes in the future.
And she'd reiterated how grateful she was to him. To them. That she could rest easy knowing that all the terrible sacrifices she had to make wouldn't be in vain. Then she bid him farewell.
…She passed two years later.
For a man that would be turning eighty soon, Grace looked pretty good. But looks were only half of the equation. Five years ago, things began to take a concerning turn. Not with his body, no. He'd long accepted he'd be in pain for the rest of his life. He was prepared when they transitioned him over to a wheelchair. More room for tattoos.
No, this time it was his mind.
He'd started stumbling over words, but everyone does, right? Something something hindsight. But LG noticed. They'd turned to their dad in concern when he couldn't say simple (for him) scientific terms. Wondered if he was feeling alright.
They were just as perceptive as Adrian.
The next year was when he started misplacing things. His cane wasn't used as much, but when he couldn't find it for hours, he nearly panicked. Only for Rocky to come over and find it 'where it always was'.
A year after that was the first time Grace couldn't remember the speed of light. He'd been in the middle of his favorite lecture. Holding up a beanbag to whoever could answer. When a tiny student responded…were they right? He knows the speed of light, he's taught it for over fifty years now!
It was…it was…he'd frozen in place.
Grace knows what's happening.
That night was sleepless. He started plotting every little thing into one of Nanny's records. Had her and Armando rule out some of the more sudden onset issues. All of them negative. All leading him to a diagnosis that he had feared since he first started teaching.
This was dementia.
He'd thrown up. How could he not? His thoughts immediately went to his family. Dementia wasn't something Eridians suffered from. Rocky would be devastated the first time Grace forgot him. Grace would be devastated.
No.
He makes up his mind then and there. He would not let himself continue until he lost every part of who he was.
The conversation had been awful. Rocky and Adrian were both so desperate to find a way to avoid it. But after nearly twelve hours, they'd reached an agreement.
The first time he forgot either of them, or LG, they'd pick a date.
Leading us to now. He'd gotten almost fifty years with his family. More with Rocky. It wasn't enough…but it was worth it.
Grace had suffered from a pretty severe fall last week, and it had exacerbated his dementia symptoms. LG had come over to visit, and been met with a polite, 'And you are?'
Of course they didn't understand. 'Dad, it's me. You know me.'
It took several repetitions before Grace snapped back to himself. He was horrified. Asked for Adrian and Rocky to speak with him. They'd picked today. The anniversary of their return from Tau Ceti.
It was hard to make LG understand. But for the first time in about twenty years, they were allowed to crawl into their father's lap again.
"Hey, big guy…" Grace doesn't even notice, or rather, mind how heavy they'd gotten. Easily somewhere around a hundred seventy, if he had to guess.
"Hi, dad…" They whispered. "I'm sorry I messed you up…"
"Oh, no." Ryland shook his head. "You never did anything wrong. You hear me? None of this is your fault."
"I don't…I don't want you to die." They nuzzled as close to him as their suit would allow. "Why do humans get d-…d-"
A frustrated burst of notes.
"Dementia." Grace provided. "It's a break down in our brains. There's several things that can cause it…but it's just something that happens to some of us."
"But why you?" LG tucked a leg around their father's waist. "You're too smart to get sick in the brain…"
"That's not how it works, bud." Grace cradled his kid as best he could. "Anyone can get it…well, any human."
"…I'll miss you."
Grace couldn't remember the notes he once used to soothe their little one. But he holds them all the same. "I know…but you have to be brave. You remember how scared I told you I was when I woke up on the Hail Mary?"
"You said you were the toga-"
"After that." He chuckled. They shared his use of humor to break tension.
"…Yes." LG traced a leg along his left arm. Finding the band containing Adrian's jade-green symbol.
"But your dad and I still did it. Because we had to. Even if we were so scared we would fail, we did it anyway. For our planets sure…but mostly for each other. That's what it means to be brave. Be scared. But do it anyways. Can you do that for me?"
A weak, bubbling sound.
"I have one more thing I need from you." Ryland pet them soothingly. "I need someone to take care of Nanny and Armando for me."
"…Me?" They gasped in shock.
"You're the only one I trust to make sure they're working. They need you, buddy." He looked over to Nanny OTG. She was just waiting for the go ahead. But he still had to say goodbye.
"O-okay…I will. I love you, dad."
"I love you even more, Grace."
Adrian was much quieter. They passed LG over to Rocky so they could rest a leg on his hip. "And you're certain you don't want to try and go a little further?"
"I'm sure." He nodded. "I want to die while I can still remember you all. While I can still remember everything it took to get me here."
Because secretly…he couldn't. He knows there was a stern woman who reminded him so much of Adrian. There was a Russian man who had said something about drinks once. There were his crew. His kids…he can't recall any of their faces. Or their names. Just Project Hail Mary.
There was one terrible moment where he couldn't remember Earth's name.
"…I trust your judgment, Ryland." They sighed softly through their vents. "This is…difficult. I don't know what I should say, and that's somewhat of a first for me. But I want to turn your dome into a place of love and laughter. Once we are over the traditional mourning period…I will be petitioning for it to be recognized as a monument. We will create a system so all your school children will be able to come with their parents and play when they're not learning. Your memory will never be forgotten as long as I have any involvement in the matter."
Grace sniffled. "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in one go."
"You deserve more."
"I have everything I ever wanted." He reassured them. "I love you, Adrian."
"Likewise, Ryland."
This one…this was going to be harder than anything he'd ever done in his life. "Can I-uh…I know it's not fair to you two…but I'd like to be alone with Rocky now."
They'd already discussed this. He understands that it should have been all of them there but…he doesn't want anyone but Rocky to be there as he passed. Rocky was his entire world. He honestly didn't want his friend there either, but Rocky had protested vehemently. He didn't care, he was going to be with Grace until the end.
Once they're alone, Rocky didn't wait for permission. He clambered up onto Grace's bed and pushed him down until he could finally lay on his chest for the first time. Carefully keeping himself braced so he didn't crush his partner.
A thick, gurgling sound.
Grace hiccuped something between a sob and a laugh. "Now who's the leaky space blob?"
"Can't let you." He whined, a leg snaking under Ryland's neck. "Not fair, Grace."
"It never is." He gripped Rocky tightly, burying his face into one of the crooks of his legs. "But this is want I want. I forgot LG, Rock'…I don't remember half my life on Earth…I can't lose you to this. Please…let me go with dignity."
"Dignity…" He echoed softly. "Why I can't fix this…"
"There's nothing to fix, Rock…I'm-…" He paused.
"Seventy nine."
"Thank you." Grace's smile looks pained. "Most humans don't live this long…we had a good run, huh?"
"The best…" He wheezed. His shielded hand found the mark it had left all those years ago. "Rocky- damnit-" His partner swore, trying to find the full words to use.
"I love you, Grace. You're the best I ever know. You make me better. Make Adrian better. Make LG better. Make Erid and Earth better. You're here forever…" He used a spare arm to gesture somewhere in his own anatomy before gesturing over his heart. "I have a plan…you want to hear it?"
"Always."
"Rocky want- I want to send you home." He retrieved a small xenonite model from his pocket. One of the probes. And another that was all too familiar. Him in the EVA suit. "I take part of you and put it back home."
Oh and he thought he was crying before. "That's a very sweet gesture, Rock'…I like it."
They linger for a very long time after that. The artificial sun had set and the moon was beginning to rise when Grace couldn't take it anymore. "…It's time, buddy."
He's held tighter. Which he returned in spades. "I love you more than I'm ever going to be able to express. We saved planets. You saved me so many times. You are worth more than every star in every galaxy to me. I'm so sorry I couldn't have been born here. I'm so sorry that this is how it ends…"
"No sorry." Rocky eased up, sitting up slightly so he can make space for Nanny OTG. "Rocky love Grace the same…"
He quietly watched as the robot began administering the carefully selected cocktail of drugs. Then, he whispered- "Grace sleep. Rocky observe."
The last thing Dr. Ryland Grace would ever see was his friend taking his hand. Clasping it between two of his own. The world turned soft, like a beautiful dream. He almost can't feel the suit keeping them separated.
It's funny…he could almost swear it felt like the wonder of activating the Petrova scope for the first time.
Grace has been gone for a few hours now. Rocky had wept heavily when he heard his dearest friend's heart finally stop. The last of his brain activity going shortly after. No longer could he hear the flow of blood in his veins.
He's gone…Grace is gone.
He knew it would be hard but this pain was almost too great to handle. He doesn't know what to do without the human. He was his whole world!
…no.
No, he wasn't. Grace told him as much. Rocky has Adrian and Little Grace. No matter how much he needed Big Grace, he knew it wasn't fair to let this human disease ravage his mind. He would never forgive himself if he let the man become a shell of himself. That's not what either of them wanted.
But damn it, he just wanted Grace! He wants him to hold him close and tell him he was being stupid, that he was fine. But he wasn't. He was dead. He had something Rocky couldn't fix, after years of things he could. This awful terrible thing he couldn't do anything about.
Grace's body was beginning to cool, if the numbers on Nanny's screens were any indication. In their culture, a body would be prepared for a multi-year viewing period. But humans were different. They rotted. And he would be damned before he let that happen to his partner.
They'd talked about something from Earth called cremation. They'd have no issue with getting an oven hot enough to do the job, but for tonight?
Tonight, Rocky was finally able to lay his full weight on Grace. To make him feel safe…even if he couldn't feel anything anymore.
Come morning, Rocky, Adrian, and LG would set themselves to the task. They all placed things in Ryland's hands before they activated the chamber. LG had excised a piece of themselves to match their parents bands. Adrian had taken a chip of the keystone for his home, tucking it into his cold fingers.
And Rocky?
Rocky had gone up to the Hail Mary and brought three things. A piece of his xenonite ball. Part of the aluminum hull. And the cloth that Ryland once called a 'mission patch'. That way it could be with him forever.
He doesn't let the other two activate the flames. It had to be him. Grace was his responsibility.
When it's done, they're left with a measly 6 pounds of ash. That was all that was left of the brilliant, wonderful, brave Ryland Grace.
Adrian had notified the IEC that evening. Thus began a year long mourning period on Erid. During that time, Rocky had pressed three solid discs out of Grace's ashes. The three remaining family members each fused them to their arms so he'd never be alone again. They'd watch over him until they passed themselves. The elder two would position them just below the still glimmering lenses of his glasses. The youngest would place it where he'd sourced his funerary material from.
The rest was split into thirds. One would be buried beneath the floor of his school. He'd picked the spot specifically. The second was kept in an urn aboard the Hail Mary. That had been Adrian's suggestion.
Rocky had packed the third into a chamber similar to what they'd sent the Taumoeba in. He also placed small xenonite models of Grace and Erid inside as well. With trembling claws, he'd slotted it into the probe. He also provided a video that he had to go up to the ship to record.
It began simply.
"…Hello Grace friends."