“You ever been up and seen the earth spinning under you?” Beth asked as she ran a hand through my hair, I nestled my head more comfortably on her lap and murmured a no through the haze of sleepiness that had settled over me.

“When I get up there during a launch,” a finger lingered around the outside of my ear, “and I see the world below me is still spinning once I’ve broken orbit. It makes me feel completely and utterly unimportant, takes all the self-importance inside of me and crushes it.” Her hand reflexed into a fist above my head, then relaxed and resumed stroking my hair softly.

“The one thing that keeps me going when I’m up there, is the thought of you back here waiting for me,” Beth said softly, in my head I responded with a joyous oh yeah?, but all I could bring my sleep addled self to do was nod a little.

“You make me feel important,” tears mingled with her voice, tangible and fierce, “and I don’t know why.”

Coming out through the sleep I whispered an “I love you,” and she whispered it back…