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I jerk my head out of the container of water, spraying it everywhere with my hair. The crew I am helping out right now is testing the effects of a new eye wear for potential encounters with water on another planet. It's a reach project, but still provides beneficial data for technological designs coupled with water.

"Hey, Clarke, I need you for a minute." Cooper grins at me from the doorway. I can hardly see him because the goggles are starting to drip water into my eyes.

I pull them off and rub my face on the towel I had resting in my lap.

"Okay, one sec," I say as I stand up to dry my hair off. I reach up to my head with the towel as I walk towards Cooper and then quickly shake my head like a dog, covering him with drops of water.

"I deserved that!" he yelps as he runs into the hall., holding his hands up in surrender.

"What do you need my help with?" I ask him through a nose laugh as I rub my neck with the towel.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot that I had somethin' to tell ya before I was drenched,'' Cooper teases as he wipes his face off on his shirt. "Rachel's here."

I freeze and dart my head to stare at him.

"What? Why? Is she okay?" My heart starts to pound as I'm overcome with worry. She didn't call me at lunch today, and I don't know if she had to stay home sick or not.

"Yeah, man, she's fine. She has something to show you." Cooper grins at me mischievously as he starts to walk down the hall.

"Hey, where are you going?" I call out after him.

"Just follow me, Clarke!" He starts sprinting before he rapidly turns a corner.

"Coop!" I weave through people carrying folders of lab results and carts full of equipment as I chase Cooper around the Space Center. It feels like he is taking an unnecessarily long route, probably just to mess with me.

I finally catch up to him when he stops outside the room with the telescope.

"What the hell did you eat for breakfast?" I drop my hands onto my knees as I try to steady my breathing.

"Potato chips," he chokes out as he coughs and holds his stomach, breathing equally as hard. "Rachel's inside."

Just as he says this the doors to the room swing open and I see Rachel and Anne step out.

"What happened to you two?" Anne asks as she pats Cooper on the back. He wraps an arm around her waist and brings her in for a big hug.

"I was just proving to Clarke how we are going to beat them in the next paintball match," Cooper jokes as he continues panting.

"You may be fast, Coop, but you are as uncoordinated as a fish out of water," I tease him. "How many people did you bump into while you were running?"

He laughs heartily and starts to pull Anne away from the door. Rachel takes a step towards me and gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Why are you all wet?" she asks with a grin as she wipes her mouth with her purple sleeves.

"Science, sweetheart," I say in a deep voice to make her laugh.

She beams at me and grabs my hand. Her cheeks are bright pink and she's grinning from ear to ear. Her expression is contagious, and I can feel my heart filling with joy. I nod at her as she pulls me into the room and closes the doors.

The room is massive and has a large screen that takes up most of the back wall. It's made up of about twenty smaller screens that you can sync together to form one image, or look at all different sections of space. We use this telescope to watch supernovas, track star clusters and asteroid movements, and so much more. I have no idea what Rachel would want to show me here, though.

"What are we doing here, beautiful?" I say as I wrap my arm around her waist. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I promise. I need to use the telescope to show you something." She walks away from me and presses a button to turn on the screen. A beautiful void of darkness with streaks of purple is revealed as the telescope is zooming in on something.

"Cooper set it up, all he showed me was how to start the path for the telescope," Rachel explains as she holds her hands up innocently. "I don't want to break anything."

I study her face, trying to figure out what's going on. I raise an eyebrow at her and watch the lens continue to search for something. She picks up a small gift bag off of the floor and sets it on the chair in front of the control panel.

"I know that you're really confused right now, and honestly so am I a little bit." Her voice is shaky. "I have something really exciting to tell you, but I need you to promise me something first." Her smile fades into a more serious expression. She looks scared.

"Anything, Rachel," I take her hands in mine and rub them with my thumbs to reassure her. She smiles sweetly at me and glances down at the floor for a moment before her eyes meet mine again.

"Please don't run away." Her voice breaks and her eyes become watery. I could feel my heart shattering at her words, unsure of what she's truly afraid of.

"Why would I run away?" I whisper as I reach up to brush her bangs behind her ears, and I can see her beautiful face perfectly.

"Because that's what you did last time we talked about this," she whispers.

Rachel wants to talk about starting a family again.

I can feel my heart drop to the floor. I take a deep breath as I tilt my head back slightly, trying to figure out the right thing to say to her.

"I'm not going to leave like that ever again, no matter what, Rachel." I look at her as sincerely as I can as I fight back the wave of tears behind my eyes. She searches my face for a long time, deciding if she truly believes me or not. It feels like my chest is about to explode as I wait for her to respond.

"I need you, Lucas." She's looking at me with a seriousness I've never seen before. Her eyes are darker than normal, as if she's being tormented by the fear of me leaving again.

How am I supposed to tell her about the award?

"I'm not going anywhere, Rach." I pull her face towards mine and try to kiss her with as much love and comfort as I can. She melts into my arms and kisses me back, matching my ferocity.

"Good, because I have something really cool to show you," she breathes against my neck.

The telescope begins to slow down as it centers on a small cluster of three stars. They are sort of in the shape of a mouse, with the two larger stars sitting above a smaller one. Although the two on top are greater in size, they are not nearly as bright as the tiny star resting between them. There is an open area of deep blues and violets swirling around them, almost acting as a barrier between them and the other stars nearby.

Rachel pulls a stack of picture frames out of the gift bag and holds them gingerly in her arms. I can feel my heart about to beat out of my chest. She hands me the frame on top, and I see my name written on some sort of certificate.

This star belongs to Lucas, thank you for always putting a twinkle in my eye.

It is written in white letters atop a deep blue galaxy background. My eyes begin to water again as I study the plaque and the star cluster on the screen.

"You're the one on the top right," Rachel says as she hands me another frame.

This star belongs to Rachel, who promises to always be there.

The tears I have been holding back start pooling in the corners of my eyes. I stack the plaques together and reach out to rub her arm. I don't have any words at the moment, so I try to show her my undeniable elation with touch.

"I'm the one on the top left," she mumbles as she hands me the third frame.

I set the other two down on the chair and take a look at the final certificate.

This star belongs to our baby, who we will love and cherish infinitely.

I open my mouth slowly as I read the words written in beautiful white letters.

"Are you serious?" I choke out as I dart my eyes up to look at Rachel.

She has her hand over her mouth, tears pouring down her cheeks. She nods vigorously at me, and I feel like I'm about to hyperventilate. I set the plaque down with the others and scoop my arms under Rachel as I lift her up as high as I can. She squeals as she tries to hold onto my shoulders. I set her back down and hold her firmly against my chest. I'm breathing so hard that she is moving with each inhale.

"I'm going to be a dad?" I whisper as I rub my nose against hers.

She nods again and giggles against me. I turn to look at the perfect little cluster of stars sitting safely in the sky.

"That's our family," I exhale as the adrenaline continues to take over my body. I reach down and place my hand gently on Rachel's stomach. She chuckles with joy and presses her forehead to mine.

"No matter what happens with your job, Lucas," she says softly against my cheek. "We will always be here waiting for you to come home."

I wrap my arms around her waist as far as they can go as I fiercely press my lips to hers. I have never felt so much love and security all at once, and I don't know how else to show it. We kiss for several minutes before breaking away from each other, gasping for air.

I know exactly what I need to do to completely restore Rachel's faith in me before I have to leave again.