Do be sure you have read chapter 4 before this; both were published within a few minutes of each other.

It was relatively quiet now, as the pilot flew the orbiter through a series of banking turns to slow down as they approached the long runway. Nobody said a word for a long time until they rolled to a stop, the parachutes slowly deflating behind them. There were questions being asked, although he didn't quite hear them.

It occurred to Danny that Lindsey and Johnson hadn't actually seen the spirit that had saved them. He heard McArthur explaining what had happened, although even she hardly knew all the details. He just wanted to leave the space where the other ghost had breathed her last.

The drive from the space shuttle's landing site was quiet. The car was the kind of black sedan with tinted windows that drew little enough attention to be conspicuous, but Danny couldn't particularly bring himself to care at the moment. The questions of what had gone wrong with the mission and the media rumors of a VIP being ferried away from the stricken vessel shortly after its landing would not be his to answer, and he was glad for that. He was just tired. It had been an exhausting two weeks, and he was still trying to come to terms with its ending.

Before he boarded the private jet awaiting his arrival at the small private airstrip, he had been handed the mission patch. The outer lettering only read "Lindsey ✦ Johnson ✦ McArthur", the official crew of STS-122. Danny ran a gloved thumb over the stitched graphic of the Hubble Space Telescope soaring high above the planet, staring unblinking out into the depths of space. He smiled a bit at the green trail that blazed behind it; a subtle nod to his own contribution, perhaps. Not many people would ever know about the fourth crew member who had made the mission possible, and fewer still would know about the trouble-making fifth whose sacrifice had been even greater.

Before he knew it, he was back in Amity Park. It must have been very nearly midnight; an apparently identical black sedan picked him up and met very little traffic before dropping him off at an alley near Fentonworks. Safely unobserved by human eyes, Danny Phantom changed back to Danny Fenton. After a few moments spent working the kinks out of stagnant joints, he grabbed his bag from the pile of crates it had been carefully hidden in and slung it over his shoulder. He suspected he would have little trouble appearing weathered from his two weeks spent "camping".

As he approached the sidewalk, he heard an excited bark from down the street. It was a dog. It was hard to tell lit only by streetlights, but it looked like a terrier-husky cross, its tongue lolling out and tail wagging. When blue eyes met brown, it trotted over and licked his hand. The saliva was cold enough to elicit a smile of recognition from the teen. Apparently satisfied, the canine turned down the alley Danny had emerged from and disappeared into the darkness.

He still had a stupid grin on his face as he walked up the steps to his front door. Perhaps, this time, the universe would allow everyone to get the homecoming they needed.

In spite of the late hour, Jazz, Maddie, and Jack were all watching the news on TV when he entered. They exchanged smiles and hugs before the tired teen made his excuses and headed for bed. Halfway up the stairs, he stopped.

"Hey, before I call it a night," Danny turned to face his family, who were returning to the sofa, "does anybody feel like going stargazing?"

Author's Note:

Was this ending too sappy? Too quick? Otherwise flawed in a general way? It is not for me to say, of course, although I do not wish to spend another day agonizing over such questions. Particularly when I believe I promised to have this wrapped up approximately 5 days ago, now.

Regardless. Thank you for reading "Spaceman", the first fan fiction I have written on this website, and my contribution to what I suppose has been called "Ectober". Inspired in part by the 59th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, and featuring Laika, from its follow-up mission Sputnik 2. If that were not clear enough.

I have been Workparty. Perhaps we shall meet again.

Updated 11/10/2016: Grammar pass