"You will come back, won't you?" Roz asked Rocket as they finished breakfast.
"I don't know, kid, I'm not used to being on terra firma, not even sure why I ended up here. Dunno."
"What's it like, out there?"
"You mean, out in the universe?"
She nodded as she wiped a few crumbs from his whiskers.
"Hmmm. It's hard to explain. I've never sat and thought about it. Never had time to, until now."
"Do you miss it?"
"Well, it's my home, kid. You'd miss this place if you left."
"Why would I leave?" Roz asked him.
"It's what you humans do, isn't it? One day you will grow up and have your own life, your own family. My family is made of people, well, beings, who didn't belong anywhere else. I'm hoping when we go wherever, whenever we are going, I'll get to see the rest of them again. If I do get a chance to come back, I have a reason to. I didn't think I'd ever say this about a human being, but, you're okay, kid. I'd like to see how you turn out."
"Thanks, Rocket." Even at three, five months and however many days she was now, Roz knew when she heard a compliment.
"Stephen."
"Sherlock. Thank you, I appreciate what you've done for us."
"I have done very little."
Stephen looked at him and shook his head. "No, somehow, you knew we were coming, some version of you in some dimension knew we would need you, and you opened your heart and your mind to help us. There are very few beings in the universe, this one or any other that I've come across, that have your capacity to change and your gifts. So thank you, and especially, thank you for finding her for me."
"But, I didn't -"
"You did. That place, that she spoke of, where I no longer existed?" Sherlock nodded. "She found you, and you sent her on her way here. She is the missing piece to whatever happens now."
"You still don't know?"
"No, and I admit, it is a bit daunting and irritating to say the least. You and I are quite similar, I think, we like to know that the steps we take are the right ones, especially when our loved ones could be hurt if we make the wrong decisions, and even though I deal in magic, have seen and done things that are irrational in all kinds of ways, I still have enough of the rational neurosurgeon left to want things to make sense. Take care of Roz, she is just as important as any of the stones that created the universe. She is special."
"I know." Sherlock whispered and Stephen met his eyes, so similar to his, and yet darker, he realised Sherlock had seen darkness not even Stephen could fathom.
"Yes. I think you do."
"How did you help him?" Christine asked quietly.
"When he came back?"
She nodded.
"I didn't. I married some one else. I had moved on."
"But -"
"Ir's a long story, maybe one day you can come back and I'll tell you. But we ended up back here, where we belong. But, you want to know how to help Stephen? Be there, listen, and hold onto him when he thinks he has no one else. I have the feeling he has seen things no human should ever see. Sherlock has some of the same darkness in him. It's not his - it's hard to explain, I know very little about what happened to him when he was gone. I know his scars and his nightmares, but I think I'm here not just because it's part of our story, but it's part of something bigger, I don't know, I'm not making sense, I know. It seems to me that you made your way here to make sure Stephen isn't afraid to do what he needs to do."
Christine nodded and hugged him. "I hope we'll be back, if we're not -"
"Yeah, I know. Take of yourself, too."
"I'll do my best."
"Hey Strange, let's get this show on the road." Quill hollered after he ruffled Roz's curls and accepted a last drawing from her. He didn't mind being whole again, and having a brief rest on some version of planet Earth, but he was getting antsy.
"Chill, Peter." Gamora elbowed him in the side, then knelt down in front of Roz. "I don't know if the crayons will make it to where we're going, but if they do, I'll keep them with me forever, Roz. I promise. Don't forget us, sweet girl."
"I don't think that's gonna happen, G'mora. You guys are special."
"So are you, sweetie. Don't forget that. Someday people might be -"
Roz nodded and kissed her cheek. "I know, don't worry, just do your best whatever you have to do next, so maybe you can come back."
"I will. I promise." She stood up and glared at Peter. "If you tell anyone -"
"Don't worry, Gamora, I won't spill your secret, that you are just a softie at heart. No one would believe me, anyway."
"Asshole."
"Language," Roz whispered, then giggled at them.
"STRANGE!"
Stephen offered Sherlock his hand. "And do thank Mrs. Hudson for her hospitality, let her know her biscuits were appreciated."
"I will." He took Stephen's hand and held it tightly for a moment. "Take care of yourself, Stephen."
"I'm not -"
"You are important. To Christine, to us. No matter what you are now, and what you will become later, you are still human under all of that. So, let her help you, don't think you have to do it on your own. And we will be here, as far as I know, if you need us again."
"Thank you, Sherlock, my friend. I will not forget our conversations."
"Neither will I."
Stephen knelt in front of Roz and held her tightly. "Little one. So young, and already so wise. I will return if I can."
She kissed his nose and nodded. "I know."
"Good. All right, Quill, quit your bellyaching, we're going. Christine?" Sherlock picked up Roz and draped his other arm around John as Stephen opened a portal back to Wakanda and quicker than a blink, they were gone.
"They'll be back." Roz whispered into Sherlock's curls.
"How do you know?"
"I just know, Da. Can we go to the park today?"
Sherlock laughed and kissed her cheek. "Of course we can. Roz. Get your coat." He put her down and pulled John into his arms. "I love you."
"I love you, too." John drew away from him and took a closer look at him. He had finally grown so accustomed to having Sherlock around, it had been a long time since he just took a moment to see him. "What is it?"
"I can't just tell you I love you?"
"It's not something you normally say -"
"I've been thinking what it must have been like for Stephen to do what he did alone, thinking he wouldn't ever see her again, and I was lucky enough to have all this time with you. I don't think you understand what it means to me that you and Roz are here."
"We're here because you -"
"No, John, you're here because it's the way it is, it's just the way it's supposed to be. Like how we orbit around the sun. It's just a given. We will always find a way here, no matter what universe we happen to be in."
"I think that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me." John mumbled before he pushed his fingers into Sherlock's hair and pulled him into a deep kiss.
"Papa!!! Da! It's time to go feed the ducks!"
"Okay, okay, Roz. Let's go!"