So, I guess this is it! I rewrote the last chapter because what I had before I just didn't like. So... Yeah, this is it xo thanks for reading so far and I hope you enjoy the end :)

Herc wakes the next day to find the space beside him empty. He sits up, blinking his eyes several times to remove the sleep and get into focus. Last night was the first night he only had one nightmare, opposed to several, so he felt more rested than he usually did. He slipped out of the bed and made his way down out of the room and down to the living room, where he heard the sounds of a baby cooing. He finds Geneva lying on the floor, Indiana lying underneath her. The baby smiles and with one hand grabs her own little foot and with the other she grabs her mother's long black hair. Geneva's smiling. She does that a lot more often now than she used to. Herc leans against the door frame and watches them... they remind him of Angela and Chuck.

Fuck. Stop it, he says to himself.

Geneva looks up at him, looking almost concerned. "Herc, are you alright?" she asks. He nods and tries his best to smile, but he bets it comes out more as a grimace. Geneva stands up, scooping the baby up and then props her on her hip. She goes to Herc and kisses his cheek, then makes her way to the kitchen.

"You can take a shower if you want. You can shave too. You hurt my lips," she complains and rubs her lips with her fingers. Herc rolls his eyes. "I'm joking. I'll make you breakfast and you can have it when you come out." She says. Herc nods and goes to the washroom, but not before watching Geneva place the baby in the high chair. The child giggles, but then turns to look at him with those bright blue eyes. She tilts her head, smiling, which reveals two small bottom teeth. Chuck... he remembers when-

Shit, no.

He practically runs from the kitchen. He hears Geneva call his name but he slams the washroom door and blocks out her voice. He rips off his clothes and turns the shower on hot and he throws himself in it. Steam soon begins to fill the room and the scorching water burns his pale skin, making every inch of skin an angry red color. He stays in there for several more minutes before jumping out. He grabs a towel and dries off and wraps it around his waist. His skin is burning.

He opens the door and begins to make his way back to the bedroom. He smells food and hears the sizzling of eggs. He prays that Geneva's cooking skills since the last time she attempted to cook for him. It was Valentine's Day in 2023 and she almost set the Shatterdome's stove on fire trying to make cupcakes. Despite how burned they were, Herc still ate them and tired his best to keep from throwing up.

Once back in the room, he changes and folds the towel. He looks around the room, taking in the surroundings. A pile of clothes in a heap in the corner, on the dresser there lay a small box holding only a few pieces of jewelry. Extra blankets folded on the foot of the bed, she can get cold in the nighttime. His eyes find the wastepaper basket and he sees something that terrifies him; a box of empty tampons. That means she was, or is, on her period. She can be the most terrifying thing when she's on that time of the month. Angela used to be mostly emotional when she was on hers, but she was never mean. But Geneva is extraordinarily irritable. He remembers one time, when they were in Australia and he saw the full wrath of her increased hormones...

She and Stacker had come to the Australian Shatterdome to check up on the Jaegers. But as soon she entered, Herc could see something was the matter. She was standing rigid and straight, her lips pressed together so tightly that Herc was surprised they weren't bleeding. The year was 2022 and they had known each other for three years.

After the customary meeting was done, Stacker went to inspect the Jaeger's while Herc went to talk to Geneva who was sitting on a workbench.

"You look terrible." He says.

"Well I can't look good every fucking minute now can I, Mr. Hansen? Why do you even care you're too busy being in a Jaeger? I've barely even spoken to you in the past month, do you even care about me or am I just the whore you can sleep with-"

Herc lurches forward and covers her mouth with his hand. She squirms and tries to bat his hand away but he grabs her wrist and holds it tightly.

"Ok, stop it immediately. You're not a whore at all. Are you on your period?" he asks. Her eyes are burning with fire but eventually she nods. Herc stands back, releasing her mouth. "I'll be back in a while." He says and leaves her alone to fume.

He leaves the Shatterdome and gets a car to drive him to the closest supermarket. This is uncommon, to see a Jaeger pilot outside the Shatterdome. They usually spend the majority of their time there and anything they need is provided, or if it isn't, someone is usually willing to go out and get it for them. But this is personal. Herc goes into the supermarket and gets his survival kit of what he used to get for Angela when she would get her time of the month. He grabs a box of tampons, a box of pads, a large bottle of heavy-duty painkillers and a large bar of milk chocolate. And on his way to the checkout, he spots a box of Geneva's favorite rose-hip tea. He buys all this and returns to the Shatterdome. He finds his son and Stacker in a hallway, both looking rather... Startled. He stops and looks back and forth between both of them.

"Ugh... Is everything ok?" he asks.

They glance at each other before Chuck answers. "I think Geneva almost bit our heads off." Chuck is holding Max and hugging him to his chest.

"Ah," Herc responds. He leaves the two of them and goes to find her. She's sitting behind Striker Eureka. She's sitting in the oddest position he's ever seen, one leg hooked over the other one and her torso twisted. She looks at him when he nears her. She opens her mouth to apologize, but he tosses the bag at her before she says anything.

"Please don't yell at me again." He says. She looks through the bag and smiles at him.

"Thank you," she says.

"That's what I'm here for, kid." He says and sits down beside her. She leans against his shoulder...

Herc pushes away the memory and returns to the kitchen. A blue plate with a vegetable omelette awaits him. Geneva is chewing on a carrot and reading a book.

"Jane Eyre?" he asks as he sits down, taking the omelette and begins shoveling it into his mouth. He hasn't eaten in hours, since the stale cookies he had on the plane. He was starving.

"Yes, I need to educate myself on good literature," she says. She closes the book and snorts at him. "Someone's hungry. I promise I didn't poison you." She says and leans on the counter. She's wrapped in an enormous grey knitted sweater that almost reaches her knees. Herc tilts his head and his eyebrows go together in confusion.

"Wasn't that mine...?" he asks. He remembers that sweater; he used to wear it on cold nights.

Geneva goes red in the cheeks and she wraps her arms around her torso. "Um, yeah it is I'm sorry. I had it when I left and well I never had the opportunity to return it. I'm sorry, love." She tells him quietly. Herc smirks and continues eating.

"It's fine," he says. He finishes the last bite and sighs, leaning back in the chair. He rubs his hands over his eyes. Geneva picks up the baby and rocks her back and forth, trying to get her to sleep. Herc stands up and goes to her. He takes the child without saying a word. He runs his hand over her soft skin, smiling when the baby giggles in response.

"Kid?" he asks. She's cleaning up the kitchen, but when she hears him, she stops and turns to face him.

"Go out to dinner with me tonight." He says.

"What?"

"You heard me. We never did that. We never did anything as a couple. So you're going out with me tonight and don't argue." He tells her. Geneva is staring at him with her wide doe eyes. She opens her mouth, but then just nods in response.

"Good." He tells her. He leaves the kitchen and goes into the kitchen, still holding the almost sleeping baby. When Chuck was born, Herc was still young. He was prepared to accept the situation but was scared shitless. Looking back, he wished he could have done so much more with Chuck. Even doing things as simple as just holding him when he was sleeping...

Stop it. Fucking stop it.

That ache has managed to make it's way back into his chest. He lets out a sigh and holds the baby closer to his chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She's a lovely baby. She cheers him up a bit.

o0o

That night, Herc stands in the kitchen with Indiana in his arms. He's waiting for the people who Geneva asked to baby sit Indiana for the night. Not a minute later there's a knock at the door. Indiana was reaching for a toy on the counter and Herc grabbed it then opened the door. He looks up and almost drops the toy in surprise at the person standing there.

"Jazmine?"

The redhead smiles one of her dazzling smiles at him. Jazmine is Raleigh's sister. Herc's only met the woman once, when she came to visit Mako and Raleigh before they left Hong Kong. He remembers that she had been a beautiful woman who commanded attention wherever she went. She had fiery red hair that hung almost to her waist, with bright blue eyes like Raleigh. She had dark makeup on that made her eyes jump even more and dark purple lipstick. Her black coat was open and she was wearing a low-cut black shirt and a tight green skirt.

"Hello, Mr. Hansen." She says. She smiles at the baby in his arms and reaches for her. He lets her take Indiana and stands back.

"Well, I hope you have fun tonight," she says and smiles at him.

"Jazmine!"

They both look at the source of the sound, which is yet another beautiful woman. This one is blonde, with soft brown eyes and long legs. Her hair floats around her shoulders in thick waves. She smiles at him too.

"Mr. Hansen, this is my girlfriend Luna." Jazmine says and reaches forward to link her hands with the other woman. Herc stares at the two woman, at a loss for words. Jazmine smirks.

"It's alright, Mr. Hansen. You go have fun tonight and we'll see you tomorrow," she says and leaves hand in hand with Luna. Herc nods and closes the door. He hopes they're happy together.

"How did Jazmine manage to be live in London?" Herc calls out to Geneva who just came out of the bedroom.

"She came to visit me, but met Luna and decided to stay. Love is weird, isn't it?" she says.

"Yeah, it is." Herc responds. He turns around and his eyes widen at the sight of her. She's in a dress. He's never ever seen her in a dress before; she's always just been in the same pants, boots and tank top. But now she's wearing a dark blue dress that has one sleeve. The sleeve covers the arm that has the worst of the burn marks. For the other arm, she's covered the burns with clear band aids and then hid them with a pale powder that matched her skin. She doesn't wear any jewelry, except for one thing. A necklace, the one he gave her for her birthday in 2022. She refused to tell him when her birthday was so he had to read her file. He got her a gold necklace with a small pendant on it, in the shape of an apple blossom. It means promise.

He steps forward and runs his fingers over the pendant, his blue eyes staring intently at it.

"I didn't know you still had that," he says to her.

"Of course. What did you think I did with it? Toss it in the bin?"she replies.

a smirk on her face.

A little smile plays on his lips and he runs his thumb across her lips, then takes her hand and leads her to the door. He hasn't been on a date in years. He can't even remember the last time; it was with Angela, that's for sure. He remembers those dates fondly. He'd often find himself just staring at her. She was always beautiful; she'd have her hair curled and her makeup just light on her eyes. She'd like to wear this particular red dress, it had spaghetti straps and it flared out at her hips. She liked to wear high heels and pink lipstick.

Herc turns his attention back to the woman in front of him. He was once again reminded how different they are. Angela liked bright and happy red, Geneva likes dark and simple blue. They're polar opposites.

"You alright, Herc?" Geneva asks softly. Herc nods and meets her grey eyes and tightens his grip on her hand. He pushes Angela out of his mind and he and Geneva leave the flat.

o0o

He had never really been one for dates, but this one was... Nice. He talked about everything with Geneva and not once did that ache make its way into his chest. At some points he found that she had reached over from the across the table and would be holding his hand. He usually found this mushy stuff to be fucking ridiculous, but he missed her touch. In the end of it, that's what it came down to. He physically missed the feeling of her skin.

They didn't stay out for too long. Originally, they planned to go out and she could show him some spots in London... But of course, they just couldn't do it. The last time they had slept together had been over two years ago. They practically ran back to her flat.

He ripped off her dress and her lips were working with his almost fervently. She had managed to get her legs wound around his hips and her arms were around his neck. She stopped kissing him, instead her lips went to his ear.

"I love you," she whispers in between her heavy breaths.

He doesn't respond. He knows she does, he knows that now. Maybe he always knew it.

He's biting and kissing at her neck and she lets out some pleasured moans.

Fuck, he's missed this.

o0o

He wakes the next morning with Geneva still asleep on his chest. The sunlight is streaming through the thin curtains she has hanging on the window. He runs his hand through her hair, but immediately removes his fingers when she starts to stir under his touch.

So what now? He knows he'll have to return to his duties as Marshall and he's been assigned to relocate to L.A in four months, but perhaps he doesn't have to go alone.

A sudden knock at the door makes him jump and causes Geneva to jolt awake. She almost falls off the bed, but Herc clutches her arm and holds her back.

"Who the hell is that?" He mumbles.

"Shit, it's Jazmine." Geneva mumbles. She jumps off Herc and grabs a crumpled long grey dress from the ground and throws it on. She runs out, but Herc decides to stay in the room. He's not really presentable at the moment. He hears Geneva talking Jazmine and he hears a high-pitched giggling. That's definitely not Geneva; she never rarely laughs, let alone giggle. He gets out of bed and pulls on a pair of sweat pants and a loose shirt and goes out to join Geneva. Sure enough, when he goes out, there's Jazmine leaning against the door. She smiles at him and flicks her long hair over her shoulder.

"Hello Mr. Hansen. I'm sorry if I interrupted something." She says with a grin plastered on her lips.

Herc rolls his eyes and instead goes to the baby, who was sitting on the ground. He scoops her up and takes her to the kitchen, deciding to search for baby food in the fridge. He hears Jazmine makes her goodbye and the door closes. Geneva takes the baby back and puts her in the high chair. Herc tosses her a bottle of apple and pear baby food and a spoon. She kneels down and begins feeding it to her. Herc chews on his lip, but knows he must bring up the subject at some point.

"I've been relocated." He says. He sees her stiffen and her hand hovers in front of the baby's mouth.

"Where?" she asks. She says it so quietly.

"L.A." he answers.

She continues feeding the baby, but when she answers, her voice cracks. He knows she's not crying, but she's sad.

"Don't go." Is all she says.

"Come with me, both of you." He tells her. Her head snaps around and she stares at him with those wide grey eyes.

"You'd take us?" she asks.

"I thought I made that clear last night," he says and steps forward. She's stood up and is chewing on her bottom lip. "I will take both of you. In fact I won't leave without you." He whispers. She manages to smile.

"Then I guess we don't have a choice then, do we?"

o0o

They did go, all three of them. After six months, people begin to notice a ring on her finger. Not a fancy ring or an expensive one, just a simple, thin gold band with a small diamond chip. No one asked and neither Geneva nor Herc ever talked about it. However, a few months later, another thin gold band joined her finger. And there was a band on his finger too.

Herc and Geneva managed to survive, despite all the odds. Geneva stopped burning herself and Herc could finally sleep through the night. And Indiana finally had a father.

But there were some nights, some awful nights where nightmares would still plague him. He dreamed about his lost son, his dead friends and the monsters that had ravaged his life. He'll wake up and his breathing will be ragged and quick. He needs to find something to bring him back out of the darkness and back to reality. That's when she wakes up. She wakes up and holds him tightly, promising him that everything will be alright. She can't lie and say he'll never have the nightmares again. But the one thing she can always guarantee is that he won't ever have to face them alone. He'll never have to be alone again.

He lies back on the mattress and pulls Geneva closer to him, until she's practically crushed against his chest. She grips his bicep and holds on to it like a lifeline.

Herc has a list again. It's only a small list, but since when has his lists ever been big anyway?

1) Chuck.

2) Geneva.

3) Indiana.

His list has turned into people he loves the most, but that's not a bad thing.

Geneva's almost asleep, but she whispers something to him before her eyes close.

"I love you."

"I know." he replies and kisses her forehead.

That's something he can always count on. It's like his list. Not always said out loud, but always there.

It always was.