Interstellar: Revivisco
Chapter 18: Itinere

"Yeah, sure. Everything is okay, right, besides the signal?" Cooper chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, everything is fine, there's just something you need to be made aware of." Amelia got comfortable, wondering what this could be about if it had nothing to do with the signal.

"Good, I was scared there for a moment," she admitted to Cooper as she put a hand on her chest.

"I always get myself in these situations; I have something I need to tell you and then when the time comes I don't know how to word it." Amelia smiled at him.

"Take your time, Cooper. We're not in a hurry here." He knew that he didn't need to worry, but he was relieved to hear it.

How do you tell someone something like this and expect them to believe it? he thought. She's going to think that I've gone crazy.

"When I fell into Gargantua, I thought for sure I'd just black out and die, maybe you aren't supposed to just die like that when you fall through a black hole normally, I mean, I don't know how that normally works. Anyway, I didn't black out and I obviously didn't die." He couldn't tell her about the handshake and not mention what happened before it. He knew that she needed to know this. It would make her understand better why he had come here in the first place.

"I ejected from the ranger and thought that was it, that my life was over, mission completed." Amelia listened intently, knowing that this had to be big. Do not cry, she told herself, that's all you seem to do anymore.

"What could have been seconds, minutes, hours, years, hell, I don't know how long after I left the ranger, I fell through this grid. It kind of looked like a maze, but it wasn't. It was a grid you could move through, but it wasn't simply a structure." He wondered if there was maybe another 'him' watching this moment, too. Was he the one that created those perfect breezes that swept through? "It was time... this grid represented time physically."

Amelia tried to imagine this grid. Did it represent all time or just a fragment? Did it just show it, or did it let you interact with it? "So, shortly after I stopped falling through the grid, before I realized that it was a physical manifestation of time, I looked through the grid, and at the center of it, and I saw Murph." Cooper noticed Amelia hadn't said anything. "You have to listen to me, Amelia, you just got to. It wasn't a dream, because if it hadn't been for this, the stations near Saturn would have never existed and I wouldn't be here."

"It just seems unbelievable," she replied, holding out hope that it could be real.

"Not everything can be explained in an equation or a study. Remember when you said love was the only thing that cold transcend space and time, like gravity? This is proof." She decided that she'd take this into serious consideration, let her scientific assumptions and reasoning go out the window for a moment.

"I'm listening." He nodded, crossing his arms.

"Alright. I can see where this would be hard to believe, because if I hadn't lived it, I don't know if I'd believe it, either." Cooper looked at his watch and smiled. "I saw her and I realized that I was behind the bookshelf in her room - she had this huge bookshelf back home that was built into the wall... stretched the entire length of her room. She couldn't see me or hear me, nothing like that. I was screamin' and cryin', and I'm hitting the shelf with all the force I have, trying to make her notice me somehow, and it worked." Cooper leaned off of the unit, and stood in front of Amelia. "Murph used to talk about a ghost in her room. Used to knock whatever it could off of that shelf. I told her that ghosts weren't real and that if she could come up with a scientific answer as to why everything was falling all over her floor, I'd look into it."

Amelia looked up at him, obviously heartbroken, yet fascinated. "It was you, wasn't it? You were knocking things off of her shelf." Cooper gently smiled and looked up at the sky.

"It was. Then, and this is before I found your little NASA hideout, by the way, that the books eventually started to fall off of the shelf in a pattern, in Morse. One thing she recorded it trying to tell her was the word 'stay'. Turns out, I was trying to tell myself to stay there, not to leave." He remembered yelling at himself. Make him stay, Murph. Don't let me leave, Murph. "Before I left, I gave her a watch. Told her time was going to run differently for me when I was up in space, and that when I came back, we'd compare the clocks."

Murph, it was me... I was your ghost.

I know. No one believed me, but I knew.

"She'd thrown the watch across the room before I left, mad at me, which is understandable. Really, it's beyond understandable. But anyway, I went to another place in the grid and saw the watch sitting on the shelf, and TARS as it turns out was there with me the whole time and was able to feed me the data from inside Gargantua that would finish your father's equation. In Morse, I computed the data into that watch. That's why those stations exist. I'm even the one who gave her the coordinates for NASA headquarters."

...because my dad promised me.

"TARS said something to me while we were in there, that they didn't bring us here to change the past, but that they built this grid, this tesseract for me so that I could understand why everything had happened the way that it did." Cooper looked at Amelia to make sure that she was listening. She was, awe struck. "As soon as the data was in the watch, the tesseract began to break down in a eerily beautiful way. TARS said that I'd done what needed to be done, and that they made the grid collapse."

"Are they the same ones who created the wormhole?" Cooper nodded, glad that she had gathered that, but of course she had.

"They are future humans, Amelia. It's us in the distant future. They've evolved so far beyond what we could comprehend. They don't experience time like us, like you said. So life is a paradox, yes, but that just makes it mean so much more, I think. Everything that has ever happened has been planned, recorded. Nothing is a natural occurrence, at least not for these people. They experience a fifth dimension."

"It's us?" she asked. Cooper couldn't tell how she felt about that. "Well, not us, but humans?"

"It's us, but there's more." He knew that this was the moment that would either make her sing or scream. "As I was leaving the tesseract, I saw the Endurance going through the wormhole, and I saw you." She raised up as soon as she heard 'you'. "I held out my hand, and you saw the disturbance in space time, and you grabbed my hand on a leap of faith."

"First handshake," Amelia said shakily and held up her right hand.

"That was you?" He put his hands on her shoulders and nodded.

"It was me." She smiled, trying hard to not cry.

Something about hearing him say he was the one who had done that, who had given her that positive sign, that made her believe.

"Where did you come from?" Amelia asked him, putting a hand to his chest. "People like you don't exist. A literal knight in shining armor." He chuckled and thought that was a pretty high compliment. "That handshake was the only shred of hope I had, even after you detached, because that meant that something was watching over us, over me. I just don't like to admit stuff like that out loud." Amelia could feel the tears. "I told myself not to cry," she laughed. "It was you."

Cooper watched as one tear fell down her cheek - a happy tear. He was glad that they weren't the tears he was used to.

"After that, I woke up on the station, and they told me that Murph was still alive, that she'd be at the station in two weeks. I kept wondering where you were and if you were safe, but I tried to imagine that you were with Wolf again, happy. I wanted you to be happy, to get your wish."

Alone, in a strange galaxy.

"Then when Murph told me to go find you, that you were alone, there was no question what was next. I stole a ranger in the middle of that very night, now here I am..." Cooper jumped a little when he felt Amelia's arms close around him. "... with you."

...in our new home.

Amelia's head was pressed against his chest, and Cooper could feel the warm tears on his shirt, but she wasn't crying so hard that her body wracked with pain. He hugged her in return, and put his head on top of hers.

"I love you, she whispered, her voice smooth and angelic.

Did I just hear what I think I did? Cooper wondered.

We've just suffered our first real attack. The beasts, which we have yet to name, got a hold of me, but Dr. Brand shot the things dead and then stitched me up, no problem. She amazes me all of the time, but something tells me that if you're reading this, you already know how amazing Amelia Brand really is.

Moses shut the book, a small smile coming to her face. She could do this, especially if it meant saving her mother from years of grief and guilt, and like Tolbert had said before Ren pushed him out of the office, what would Murphy do in this situation? That was her inspiration.

That didn't go as planned. She actually said it first. "Did you not hear me?" He lightly chuckled as he pulled away and looked down at her. For someone who had at first had difficulty acknowledging that someone could ever want her, she'd come a long way.

"I love you, too," he replied as he smiled at just seeing her smile. His lips immediately landed softly upon hers, and Cooper kept wondering what this admission meant for the both of them. How different would things be now?

He broke their kiss, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you." He laughed in happiness and pushed her bangs off of her face. "This is real life right now, right?" She couldn't help but keep smiling, truly, fully happy for the first time in a century. She had thought that she was happy before, but this was different. She'd felt something inside of her for a while, trying to pry itself from her body, but that feeling was gone now, and she finally knew what that feeling was.

"I think so," Cooper replied as Amelia kissed him again. "Yeah, it is."

Love, TARS, love! It's just like Brand said, my connection with Murph, it is quantifiable. It is the key!

Moses awoke on the day of her departure, nervous yet ready, and frightened yet excited.

"Are you ready to meet the younger version of your parents? You know, once the sleeping gas takes over, when you wake up, this will feel like it happened only moments ago," Ren explained as he strapped her in. "Mose?"

"Yes?" Ren looked at Moses in a way she'd never seen him look at her before.

"Do you think that maybe, just maybe in this new timeline... do you think we'd have a chance at being together?" Moses was shocked, and didn't immediately respond. "I knew it was a stupid question." Moses pulled Ren's lab jacket collar, bringing his lips to hers. "So, maybe?" Ren asked with a smile.

"What could you ever see in me?" Ren was still smiling and shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm going to tell you what I see, or what I see in you - not what I see with my eyes. You are someone who deserves more of an explanation... not just that I find you very attractive." Moses chuckled and decided she wanted to kiss him again. "Moses, you're smart, you're funny, and you challenge me. You make me want to be better, because you're better. You're better than everyone else here. It's just who you are - part of your blood. Every day when I walk into that office, I know I'm going to see you and that thrills me. You're not like the others, Mose. You're different, but in the best way I could ever imagine."

"Ren?" He looked at her again, somehow knowing that she would make sure that this mission was successful.

"Yes, Moses?" He held her right hand between both of his.

"There are many chances."

Two Weeks Later:

They stood hand in hand, looking at the setting sun.

"I've got everything lined up to start incubating two fertilized eggs tomorrow," Amelia stated, looking at the horizon. "Two girls, because, well, we need all the surrogates we can get." Cooper snickered and looked down at her. "What?"

"Last time I checked, you were female, therefore able to be a surrogate." She knew that she could physically, but mentally, she wasn't so sure.

"Do you think that my 119 year old body could handle a pregnancy? That's way past menopause." He chuckled at that, knowing that Amelia had only said that to make him laugh. "What happens now?"she asked. Cooper kept looking straight ahead, and lightly gripped the hand he held.

"We keep living the lives we're living," he replied quietly. "We keep on going."

"Dr. Brand! Dr. Brand!" Cooper and Amelia both turned around to find CASE running toward them. "They sent a signal back!"

Cooper had no doubt that this signal had come from humans. Everything seemed to be unfolding at just the right time. It just made sense.

"Cooper, what should we do?!," Amelia questioned as she looked up at him. "We can set up barricades, but we're not ready to fight an army, obviously."

"Amelia, the signal has to be human, it just has to be." She didn't reply, but instead looked up in the sky. "CASE, how far away is the signal, can you tell?" Cooper waited anxiously for CASE's answer.

"I believe that the signal is very close, based on when I sent out the signal and when they responded. They are definitely coming in our direction. They could be as little as a day away." Amelia let go of Cooper's hand.

"Amelia, don't freak out. They're coming to be with us! Don't you see? They're coming to live here!" She shook her head. "Come on, Brand. Be positive."

"I find it hard to be positive in times like this, Cooper..." she trailed off, looking beyond the camp. "What if they aren't coming for us at all? What if they just want to make sure we're alive?" Amelia suddenly got an idea. "Maybe we should go into cryo-sleep."

"We are not going to make them wake us up like Dr. Mann, Amelia." She angrily frowned at him. "Hey, 'future humans', remember?"

CASE began to walk back toward camp, and Cooper and Amelia tagged along.

"I hope you're right, Cooper." Amelia wondered what life here would be like with other humans. It might be weird for a little while, but she'd gladly adjust. Other people being here meant that Cooper's losses, while great, would be worth it in some way. She also knew that they'd follow each other until the end - she just knew.

"I'm always right, Brand. You not figured that out yet?" Amelia playfully hit him in the arm as they approached the unit, and Cooper grabbed her by the waist, swinging her around. "We're gonna be okay. We're gonna make it," he said as he stopped twirling her. "This is one of the manifestations of our work, Murph's work, and your father's work. This is just even more proof that this has been worth it."

"It would be worth it for me even if no one else ever showed up, Cooper." CASE opened the door and walked in, apparently acknowledging that they were having a moment that he wasn't a part of.

"There are many chances," Moses said, kissing him again. "I'm sorry that I was too blind here to realize that we had this going for us all along." Ren was already kneeling beside her, holding her hand. "Now I have to leave."

"Maybe if you see the younger version of me, you can just tell me to try to keep my pants on." They both laughed, and Ren wiped another tear away off Moses' cheek. "I know that pushed you away."

"You were just a little thing when they began colonizing Edmunds, Ren. I don't think your parents would like that too much." Ren stared at her, amazed at her bravery.

"When you tell your mom who you are, Moses, don't be hurt when she doesn't believe you at first, and remember your new name." She nodded as she wiped another tear away.

"Joss Harper," she replied. "You like it?" Ren watched her, soaking her in for the last time.

"I snuck something from your office... this should help you if you've done everything that you can to convince her." He pulled a small picture from his lab jacket pocket. "It's the picture on your desk, I just made it smaller, and I edited out Laura and Jack. We can't have them knowing everything about their futures."

"Thank you so much." Ren hid the photo in a compartment.

"Don't let them keep it, though. They'll want to, but you have to take it away. Nothing from the future can stay there." Moses knew that, but went along with him anyway. "Something tells me that your dad will figure it out before you even reveal a thing about what you need them to do, before you reveal your true identity."

"How is he going to be able to tell who I am? He doesn't even know that I'll ever exist there."

"Ten minutes until takeoff." Ren and Moses looked at each other, knowing that their time was running out.

"What if this picture doesn't even work, Ren? It's easy to fake a picture." Ren walked out of the ranger, the door still open and took one last good look at her before giving her his final answer - the last words that he would ever say to her in this life.

"Give 'em a good handshake," he said as the door closed.

"Dr. Brand! Dr. Amelia Brand! Are you there? Captain Cooper?"

Amelia and Cooper were both suddenly wide awake, looking at each other. Cooper got up from the bed and walked toward the common area.

"Cooper, get back here! What if-"

"CASE, buddy, why'd you not wake us up?" Cooper walked toward TARS.

"I never sensed anything or anyone entering into our atmosphere, Cooper." Cooper walked away from TARS and over to CASE.

"CASE, please show me the live feed of what's going on just outside." A woman stood at their door dressed in a high-tech spacesuit with a NASA emblem on the front. Cooper smiled to himself. "Amelia, you might wanna get out of bed." She took that as a good sign and rushed to him. He motioned for them to walk toward the door. Amelia watched nervously as Cooper's finger pressed the button, and as the door began to slide up, her and Cooper saw two feet back away.

"Dr. Brand, Captain Cooper, I've waited so long to meet you both."

END OF PART I