Two days to lift off

Oscar gently stroked Ana's cheek, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Gazing into her loving face, Oscar could tell that Ana was feeling downhearted by the way a frown seemed to flicker in her radiant eyes. Oscar knew that something troubled Ana but he didn't know what. Most of the time Ana was in smiles and she would be telling hilarious stories or just making sweet talk to him. But Ana wasn't smiling like she normally would, her face in a loving upturn but her eyes reading sorrow.

"Are you feeling okay, A.M?" Oscar gently asked, peering intently into her blue eyes and taking her delicately by the hands.

Ana gave him a weak smile, replying, "I am feelin' okay, but I'm just anxious, that's all."

"About me going into space?"

Ana nodded.

"I'm not going to be gone for that long," Oscar told her in his assuring, calm voice he knew Ana relied on for assurance. Oscar smiled, "And when I return, I'll be your hero."

Ana gave a soft laugh, pulling him to her, "You already are my hero baby."

She drew Oscar's face to hers and gently placed her lips on his, giving him a lasting, tender kiss. Their eyes closed as they brought themselves even closer together and prolonged their serene sign of affection. As time wore on, the two hardly conscious of their surroundings never noticed one of the flight controllers switch the lights off. The control room fell into immediate dark with the exception of a blue-light projector that shone on the main screen.

Chick watched Harry's edgy footsteps towards the control room. So far, Chick had watched Harry barge into various rooms in the N.A.S.A. headquarters, searching everywhere for Grace. Chick knew that Harry wanted to break up the romance between A.J. and Grace. Harry didn't want Grace marrying an oilrig bum like A.J. Chick couldn't see any reason why Harry wouldn't let Grace act her age and let her think for herself.

Ana opened her eyes and smiled gently in Oscar's blue eyes. She loved how Oscar always made her feel special and let her know that she was loved and cared for. Ana always returned Oscar's affections with the same passion that Oscar had shown her.

Even though Oscar was known to be crazy and wild at times, especially when it came to women, Oscar still showed superior respect to Ana and would always tell and show her that she was the only woman for him.

Smiling at the last kiss Oscar had given her, Ana opened her eyes again and noticed that the lights were out and that their shadows were being projected onto the huge screen at the front of the room.

Ana smiled to Oscar, "Look, we can see our shadows!"

Oscar looked to the screen and saw their shadows. He smiled, "Would ya look at that?" He turned and smiled at Ana, "Huh! Well, I know one good thing about projectors and screens."

"What's that?" Ana smiled warmly, enjoying Oscar's lightheartedness.

"Shadow puppets!" Oscar laughed, creating a dog out of his left hand and showing it to Ana on the big screen.

Ana laughed merrily and joined in on the fun, creating a butterfly out of both her hands. Her butterfly "flew" past Oscar's dog before "landing" on the dog's head.

Ana then turned her butterfly into a cat and had the cat "hiss" at the dog.

Oscar laughed, "Hey! Cats and dogs are supposed to get along! Not fight! We're all one race you know!"

"Oh really?" questioned "the cat".

"Yeah," stated "the dog". Oscar then changed his dog into a goose. He laughed, "Hey look, it's a goose!"

"A very stiff-necked goose at that!" Ana remarked jokingly, noting how Oscar's straight arm and wrist gave the goose a stiff appearance.

Ana then turned her cat into a goose as well and stated, "Looks like we're one race now!"

"Yes," Oscar smiled, letting his hand-puppet kiss Ana's. "We are one."

Ana's goose "blushed" and replied, "Yes we are."

Just then Harry burst into the room and switched on the lights, startling both Oscar and Ana.

Harry marched to the front of the room, calling, "Grace? You in here?"

"No," Ana spoke up, hopping off of the desk with Oscar.

Harry looked from Ana to Oscar and saw that he had disturbed their quiet time. He curiously asked, "Have you guys seen Grace?"

Oscar replied, "Yeah, she's over in the hanger with A.J."

Harry hurriedly left the room. Ana gave Oscar a glare and elbowed him in the ribs.

Oscar grumbled, "Hey, ow! Oh no!" He realized his mistake. He called after Harry, "Harry, wait a second. Did you say Grace? Okay, I thought you said, 'Bear'."

Too late, Harry had already exited the room. Oscar sighed disappointedly and gazed at Ana's soft glare. He said, "Sorry."

"It's not me who you should be apologizing too," Ana softly growled. She then said, "Well, go make sure that Harry doesn't do anything to either of them."

"What am I going to do?" Oscar demanded unsurely. He gazed at Ana in wonder.

"Just go with him!" Ana insisted.

"All right, all right, I'll go," Oscar breathed heavily, exiting the room after Harry.

Ana watched him go with a slight smile on her face. Even though Oscar sometimes retained bad manners and a lack of common courtesy, he was learning. Ana thought with a smile, remembering the song, "I'm a work in progress."

One day to launch

Harry walked with Truman and Colonel Sharp down the hall. He had been concerned with the way his men were acting recently. An enormous amount of pressure had been placed on all of them and their nerves were at the breaking point. From A.J.'s "cowboy" incident the day prior in the "underwater simulation", Harry knew that they all needed a break from the N.A.S.A. routine.

Harry stated, "I want my men to have tomorrow night off."

"What do you mean, 'off'?" Truman demanded.

"I mean off. Out of here for at least ten hours. Then we'll go to Kennedy."

Truman replied regretfully, "Well there's no possible way we can do that Harry. There's a potentially huge security risk. What if they talk?"

"What if they get hurt?" Sharp added.

Harry answered, "What if they're too burned out to do the right thing? What if they get up there and they forget what they are fighting for?"

Truman and Sharp regarded Harry silently. Harry continued, "What if they get up there and they forget what they are fighting for? You se what's goin' on up there. These boys are ready to snap.

"They didn't get asked to be here, they were pulled off the street. For all we know, tomorrow may be the last night they ever see earth and I don't think it would be too much to ask to let them spend it with their families."

Truman sighed, "Well listen, there is no possible way we can do that."

Harry cut in, turning to Sharp, "You got family, Colonel?"

Sharp spoke up quietly, "Two girls."

"Wouldn't you like to spend tomorrow night with your little girls?"

Harry looked directly at Truman and said, "I'm not askin' ya, I'm tellin' ya, make this happen."

The next evening, Oscar found himself strolling down the city with Ana. He couldn't believe that Harry had managed to convince Truman to let them have this night off. The entire twelve days of ongoing, grueling work had taken it's toll on the active geologist and he was afraid that by the time they got to the launch date, he would be happier just to stay on the ground.

Luckily though, Harry had spared the group from such a decline in morale and had ordered Truman to let them have at least ten hours off. Now, here they were, free to roam about the quaint little city and see all it's wonders.

"Hey, strip club!" Rockhound announced gleefully to the group as they strolled down the highly lit sidewalk. He gingerly touched his pocket where a hundred thousand dollars lay safely tucked away. He was going to enjoy his last night on earth and take full advantage of it.

Max retorted, "Too bad the line's so long!"

"The line is never too long!" Rockhound exclaimed, horrified that Max would even consider not going into the club.

"But I don't wanna wait that long!" Max protested, knowing that Rockhound wanted to go into the club.

"You won't have to," Rockhound replied. He smiled knowingly, "I've got a hundred grand that says we'll get in without waiting."

Max's eyes widened and he nodded, catching onto what Rockhound was telling him. He smiled, "Well all right then! Let's let the good times roll then!"

Rockhound nodded at Max and grabbed Noonan's jacket collar, pulling him with him towards the entrance. He said, "I'm sure you're gonna love it in there Freddie. I mean, with all those hot chicks who need our money to put them through college."

"But I don't have any money," Noonan replied forlornly.

"Don't ya worry buddy," Rockhound smiled, patting him on the shoulder, "I've got all of you guys covered."

He started to say, "But I don't think you'll find it amusing in there A.M." He turned and saw Oscar and Ana joined together in a passionate kiss. Rockhound grinned as he observed the two for a couple of seconds. He wandered over to them, ignoring Max and Noonan telling him to leave them alone.

Rockhound continued his steady approach to Ana and Oscar. He didn't care that he was about to put an abrupt end to the tender moment Oscar and Ana were sharing. All Rockhound cared about was having some fun, causing mayhem, and enjoying every second of it. After all, Rockhound knew, he wasn't coming back to earth so what difference did a couple of disturbances create?"

Rockhound loudly spoke to Ana, "Hey Ana, why don't you let him up for some air? You're gonna kill the poor boy!"

Ana quickly pulled away from Oscar, startled at Rockhound's comment. She gave Rockhound a piercing glare and turned back to Oscar and saw that he was giving Rockhound a similar glare.

Rockhound continued, undeterred, "Yeah, it's no wonder why he has asthma Ana! You won't let him up for air!"

He began to laugh cruelly at his own joke, unaware how much his fun had hurt Ana. He didn't see Ana's glare turn into tears.

"That's not funny," Ana hissed angrily through her clenched tears.

"You're darn right it's not funny!" Rockhound exclaimed, continuing to laugh, "He could die from the lack of air you know!"

"That is not funny!" Ana nearly yelled. "I can't believe you would say that! You are a cruel and sick man!"

She felt uncomfortable standing on the side walk with numerous people staring inquisitively at her. She brushed away her tears and quickly marched away. Oscar tried to stop her but Ana pushed past him, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

Laughing, Rockhound replied, "Don't let it get to you Ana! We're all going to die eventually!"

Oscar had had enough of Rockhound's abusive comments and snapped, "Hey man, shut up!"

"Geez you guys!" Rockhound exclaimed, surprised at the reactions he was receiving. "Can't she take a joke? You know, have a little fun?"

Oscar hissed, "Rock, maybe when you have a girl you are madly in love with and you want to spend the rest of your life with her you'll come to realize how pathetic your jokes really are and how much they can hurt a person!"

Not waiting for a response, Oscar began searching for Ana. He hoped Ana hadn't gone too far. But Oscar was mainly concerned that Rockhound's insensitive joke had upset the normally calm female to the point where she would even reject the last night that they had together.

Oscar saw Ana walking briskly down the sidewalk and trotted up to her. Oscar asked gently, "Are you okay A.M.?"

"Yes," Ana replied, trying to smile through her tears. She then shut her eyes and mumbled, "Well, no. No, I'm not okay." She felt Oscar's arm wrap around her shoulder. She snuggled against him and tried to push Rockhound's comments out of her mind.

Oscar said with a hint of a laugh, "Well, I think you're doing okay."

Ana gave him an inquiring look. Oscar continued, "You see, it's Rockhound who's not going to be okay. I mean, he's gotta be careful of what he says because I'll bet the next time he opens his mouth like that you'll pop him one."

"You darn right I will," Ana remarked with a small laugh. She looked up at Oscar and chuckled, "If I really wanted to, I could of knocked him flat on the ground back there for that little joke of his."

"I don't doubt that!" Oscar laughed. He shook his head, "Rock just doesn't know when and when not to joke around. I mean, he thinks we're all going to die up on the asteroid."

"That won't happen," Ana stated calmly. She knew deep down that had been troubling her for the past couple days. The fact that space was unpredictable and forgiving made Ana feel slightly uneasy about the whole venture. But she knew as well as the rest of the space crew, that saving earth would come with a high risk, and an even greater sacrifice if needs be.

"Well, what do they have to fear?" Oscar asked. "I mean, I'm Han Solo in this whole group! Han can do anything and he's not scared of anything either!"

"That's right," Ana smiled. She gave Oscar a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You're my scruffy-looking space hero."

"A.J. said I was more like Chewie than Han."

"Chewie?" Ana questioned. "Has A.J. even seen Star Wars?"

Oscar laughed, replying, "That's what I asked him! And then I told him that he was more like Luke than Han because he's more eager about this space mission and Luke was eager for just about everything!"

"And what did he say to that?"

"He said that I was more like Luke because I loved the flying and I was scruffy like Luke."

"Luke is not scruffy!" Ana laughed.

"I know!" Oscar exclaimed, chuckling. "I truly believe that A.J. has never seen Star Wars."

"I'll agree to that," Ana smiled.

They stopped on the sidewalk in front of a dark, lightless alley. Ana smiled lovingly at Oscar and told him, "Well, just the same Han. Use the force!"

Oscar laughed, "Okay your worship. How 'bout a kiss?"

"I'd sooner kiss a wookie!"

"I can arrange that!" Oscar smiled, edging closer to Ana.

Ana continued pretending that she was Princess Leia and blankly looked around the almost empty street, speaking sarcastically, "Would someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?"

Just then, from the dark alley way came a man in a dark hood. He grabbed Ana by the arm and pulled her away from Oscar and held a gun to her head. People on the street didn't seem to notice as they walked on by, thinking only of their present destinations and their own problems at hand.

The hooded man growled to Oscar, "If you do what I tell you to do there won't be any harm done."

Oscar nodded, trying not to let his fear for Ana show in his shaking voice as he replied, "Take my wallet, take the keys to my truck. Take anything you want but please don't hurt her."

The hooded man agreed, "All right. Now gimme your wallet and don't take your time doing it! I'm not a patient man!"

"Okay, okay," Oscar agreed quickly, fumbling for his wallet and giving it to the hooded man. He watched worriedly as the man eyed him suspiciously. Oscar held his breath as the man took Ana's purse and grabbed her wallet from inside.

The man then glanced from Ana to Oscar, his dark, cold eyes penetrating Oscar's worried face. The man then shoved Ana away from him and took off down the alley and disappeared out of sight.

Ana stood for a couple seconds in front of Oscar, gasping. She couldn't believe that they had just been held up. She glanced at Oscar and saw him fall to his knees and begin breathing heavily. Worried that this sudden incident had triggered an asthma attack, Ana quickly fell next to Oscar.

"Are you okay baby?" Ana asked, gently putting her arms around him. When Oscar gazed up at her, Ana noticed that he had tears in his eyes.

"No, I should be asking you that A.M.," Oscar mumbled. He gently gripped Ana in his arms, asking, "But are you okay A.M.? He didn't hurt you or anything did he?"

"No," Ana replied. She felt shaken but unharmed. But as she gazed concernedly at Oscar, she realized that the hold-up had greatly affected him. She again assured him, "I'm okay baby, I really am. He went away; he's gone now. He's gone."

Still, Oscar looked far worse than he had seconds ago. Ana felt helpless as she listened to him breathe heavily. She said, "Remember what the doctors at N.A.S.A. were saying, baby. Breathe deeply. Just take it in nice and slow and let it out just the same."

Oscar followed her advice and felt his breathing return to normal. The lingering worry and concern for Ana still wore heavily on him though. He gazed at Ana's concerned face and took her into his arms, holding her close to him.

"I love you Ana," Oscar cried, feeling his love close to him. "I love you so much."

"It's okay," Ana calmly said, rubbing his back gently with her hands. "We're gonna be okay. Baby, what's wrong?"

Brining Ana away from him so he could look into her eyes, Oscar replied, "I thought I was going to loose you."

Ana stared sorrowfully at him. She stroked his cheek and gazed into his eyes quietly. She finally said, "I guess even Han got scared."

Oscar smiled slightly. Ana gave him an encouraging smile and added, "But you know what?"

"What?"

"I'll bet that he was more scared that you would attack him!" Ana smiled.

Oscar gave a small laugh, "That's right. That's because no one messes with my girl!"

A heavy rain began to fall on the street, making the people quickly scatter for cover. As the people hurried to get underneath cover, they noticed a young couple kneeling on the sidewalk, engaged in a passionate kiss, completely unaware of the rain falling upon them or the people staring at them.

Finally Oscar noticed the rain and smiled softly at Ana, "Even though the rain is warm, I still don't feel like becoming soaked."

"Neither do I," Ana agreed. She allowed Oscar to help her to a standing position. She suggested, "Lets go find Max, Freddie, and Rock."

Oscar nodded and gently gripped Ana's hand. They scampered off to the cover of the building overhangs and walked towards the brightly lit night club. Oscar commented questioningly, "I thought you didn't like Rockhound."

"I don't," Ana replied. "But compared to that hooligan we just encountered, I thought Rockhound wasn't all that bad!"

Oscar laughed, dodging a person on the walkway. As they neared the night club entrance, Oscar and Ana were forced out of the undercover area by a large group of people with a large umbrella.

As Ana felt the rain drain on her face, she commented to Oscar, "I wonder why it is that people with umbrellas feel like they can use the under covered areas for walking when it's raining! I mean, that's the whole purpose of an umbrella, to keep the rain off of you while your walking in it! What good is an umbrella if you're using it on a covered area?"

Oscar smiled and shrugged, arriving at the entrance of the night club. He spoke to the bulky guard at the door, "Hi, we're here with our friends."

The guard replied gruffly, "Yeah, that's what they all say."

"Yeah well we're with Rockhound," Ana spoke up.

"Oh, the guy with five zeros," the guard smiled, remembering the guy who had flashed a hundred thousand dollars in his face and had gained immediate entrance. He replied, "Go right on in and tell Mr. Rock that he's welcome here any time."

"We'll do that," Oscar smiled, thanking the guard.

Once inside, Ana groaned loudly, "I don't see what all the fuss is about getting into these night clubs." She regarded the nearly nude lap dancers that were working the bar next to her. She commented to Oscar, "What are you supposed to do in here anyways?"

Oscar smiled and replied, "You're supposed to have fun in here! Although, I would say that this is more of a guy place rather than a gal's place."

Ana shook her head. She saw a bunch of lap dancers surrounding one table and knew at once that the table belonged to Rockhound. She told Oscar, "I can bet you anything that that's where Rockhound is."

Oscar nodded and started over to his table. Just as the two were nearing the table, they heard Max exclaiming from near the dance floor, "Oh man I'm loving this!"

Then they heard Rockhound tell Noonan from underneath about three girls, "Hey Freddie, here's another ten grand! We need to put these girls through college!"

Rockhound noticed Oscar and Ana approaching him and smiled, "Hey you guys! Glad you came in!" He looked at Ana and said, "Look A.M., I'm sorry I made that joke back there. I was trying to lighten the mood seeing how we're going into outer space tomorrow and we may never come back again."

Ana smiled, "Apology accepted but, I know you guys will all come back home safely. There's no doubt about that."

Rockhound smiled, "Well, I'm not planning on returning! I'm blowing a hundred g's here that I borrowed from some fatso of mine. I don't plan on paying it back so I don't plan on coming home alive!"

Ana shook her head. Just then, a muscular, burly man came up behind her and loudly said, "Get out of my way bitch."

"Who ya callin' bitch?" Ana demanded, turning around sharply. She glared into the eyes of the man behind her.

The man replied, "You l'il missy! You don't belong here you trailer trash!"

"Hey!" Oscar exclaimed, standing between Ana and the man. He wasn't about to let another man try and hurt Ana again. Oscar hissed, "She's not trailer trash!"

"Ooo," the man laughed, mocking fear. "Big words from such a big man!"

"Why don't you just enjoy all the other women here and stop harassing my girl," Oscar offered peacefully, controlling his anger towards the man.

"Well that's the problem," the man growled. He pointed a stubby finger at Rockhound and exclaimed, "He keeps hogging all the action!"

Rockhound laughed, "Hey, sorry if they're into the big bucks fellas." He threw a couple of hundred dollar bills at the guy, remarking, "Here, take this and buy yourself a neck."

"Why you little creep!" the man growled, suddenly throwing himself at Rockhound. Immediately Freddie Noonan and Max came to Rockhound's aide, tackling the burly man to the ground. More people joined the fight and soon Oscar felt himself getting sucked into the fray.

Looking at the growing fiasco, Ana looked desperately around for her fiancé. She saw him fighting off a particularly ugly goon while another one slinked up behind him. Thinking quickly, Ana grabbed a nearby beer bottle and made her way over to the man. She raised the bottle over her head and brought it swiftly upon the goon's head, bringing him down swiftly.

Oscar punched the guy in front of him and turned a grateful smile at Ana. He thanked, tipping his white hat courteously at Ana, "Thank you very much ma'am."

"My pleasure cowboy," Ana returned with a wink.

Just then Oscar was tackled from the side by two other goons and knocked to the floor. Ana crawled up onto a nearby table and surveyed her surroundings. She saw Freddie pummeling one guy one a table while Max was fighting guys casually away from him while drinking beer at the bar. To her left, Rockhound was occasionally beating guys away while peering underneath girls dresses as he crawled along on the floor. The entire night club was in utter chaos and despite her long-standing morals of peaceful conflict settlements, Ana pushed her hat slightly back on her head and mumbled, "Oh what the hell."

She leapt into the fray yelling, "Yippee kah-yay yippee!"

"But he started it!" Rockhound exclaimed, trying to fight the cops who were putting handcuffs on him. He watched as the lap-dancers passed by him, kissing him goodbye. He cried, "But I'm not coming back you know!"

Oscar silently watched the police officers handcuff Ana. He regretted ever getting into the fight. He regretted dragging Ana into the night club and inadvertently starting the free-for-all brawl.

Ana glanced over at Oscar with an amused smile on her face. She told him, nodding at the handcuffs, "It ain't exactly jewelry but at least I'm wearing silver."

"I'm sorry for getting you involved, A.M.," Oscar apologized.

Ana smiled warmly, "Baby, don't you feel bad about nothin'. I got myself into this. You didn't have anything to do with this. You stood up for me and for that I'm proud of you. I'm also proud that you tried to settle the situation peacefully. Don't worry about anything."

"Well, I am worried," Oscar mumbled quietly. He looked at Ana and whispered, "What about those unpaid parking tickets and my fifty-six tickets in seven states?"

Truman silently gazed at his cellphone. A part of the asteroid had struck the South China Sea, wiping out Beijing and most of the Chinese coastal and nearby inner cities. He looked up and through the dark room he spotted Harry staring solemnly at him.

Harry asked in the form of a statement, "So it's gone public then hasn't it?"

Truman stared at Harry and asked, "Tell me you've never let anybody down before."

Harry replied, "I've never quit yet."




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