"Ugh — that's so gross!" said Piper.
"Yeah, that one actually made me gag," Sloane replied.
The Aurora was scheduled to splash down the following afternoon, and Bella knew this was the most critical and dangerous part of the mission. Re-entering Earth's atmosphere, the capsule had to hit at a precise angle — too shallow and it would skip off back into space. Travelling at 25,000 miles per hour, with temperatures surrounding the heat shield reaching 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, it was crucial the heat shield held. There would also be a six-minute blackout period where all communication with the crew would be lost.
Nobody in the living room said a word.
When the first drogue parachutes deployed, followed by three main chutes, the room collectively exhaled. Aurora splashed down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego — gently, perfectly, exactly on target.
They watched the Navy divers and recovery crew move with practiced precision — nobody speaking, nobody breathing properly. The moment the hatch opened they heard voices from inside the capsule and watched the senior Navy corpsman disappear inside.
Then they heard it.
"Four Green."
All four astronauts’ conscious, stable and healthy following splashdown.
The living room erupted — and on the screen the recovery crew were cheering too. They watched as Margie, Mike and Elena were helped from the capsule onto a small floating raft. As commander, Jack was the last to leave. Bella watched him salute smartly as he stepped out — and felt something in her chest finally release.
From there a helicopter lifted them off the raft and flew them to the waiting Navy ship, where they were greeted by loud cheers from the sailors on board. From there they would be taken to NAS North Island for in-depth medical checks before being flown back to Houston.
While everyone celebrated around her Bella slipped quietly into the kitchen, leaned against the counter, dropped her head into her hands and just breathed, with something that felt like relief and love and exhaustion and joy all at once — feelings she didn't have words for.
“Bella? You okay? Dad will be home soon!,” she heard Sloane say as she entered the kitchen, followed by Piper.
"Oh honey, I'm amazing — truly — just a little over-whelmed", she replied.
“Bella, are you going to stay here now, for good, when Dad gets home?” Piper asked.
“Gosh, Piper — your dad and I haven't actually talked about that yet.”
“We’d like it if you moved in. We love you, Bella,” said Sloane.
“I love you girls too, so much. Come here - group hug!”
They all went back to the living room, where Jack’s dad was passing out champagne in celebration, the mood happy and joyful.
Jack will be home tomorrow, she thought.Finally.
Epilogue
August 2028
Jack awoke to the sun streaming in his eyes, rolled over and saw the bed empty next to him. Rising, he wandered down the stairs towards the kitchen where he heard voices.
“Good morning – is there any coffee left?” he asked sleepily.
“Coffee? You look like you need an espresso to get you going!” replied Sloane.
“Well, are there any of those croissants left?” he said, gesturing to where Piper sat munching on one, slathered in Nutella.
“Cornetto’s Dad. We are in Italy; they are called cornetto’s here.”
“Sorry, jeez.”
After the textbook splashdown, the crew of Diana IV were given immediate health checks by their NASA flight surgeons before being flown back to Houston for extensive post-flight testing — blood work, ultrasounds, and the beginning of rehabilitation.
Twenty-four hours later, reunited with everyone, Jack had never been more grateful to be home.
