Everything went well until it didn't.
They were either too far, or too fast.
But the Ares 3 crew had not been sent to Mars without the brains to figure it out. Mark had launched, and had made it out of orbit, but he was way too low. His unconsciousness didn't help, but they knew that he was still in the MAV, and they had just under an hour to figure out how to retrieve him.
When he did wake, he suggested he poke a hole in his suit and fly around like Iron Man; to which Lewis shot down, but decided to use the very idea but on the Hermes. First, they sped up, giving up a lot of fuel to do so. They had to figure out how to slow down, and that was when Lewis brought in Watney's Iron Man idea of igniting a bomb and blowing up the nose of the ship to slow it down. There was nothing NASA could do to tell them otherwise, everyone on Earth was holding their breath while the crew figured out exactly what they were going to do.
When they decided on the bomb, Vogel would make it, Johanssen would place it, Beck asked Alice if she could make sure his mice were safe and secure, that the sudden shift of pressure and speed on the Hermes would not send their cage toppling off the counter and onto the ground. She was still upset that he was willing to go out off of the tether, but she hadn't said anything more on it. When he mentioned it to Lewis, she told him that it was not an option, and Vogel backed her decision. That gave Alice a bit of hope.
She watched from the Med-bay deck as Beck moved along the outside of the Hermes to get to another door; the one he had been at was the one they decided to blow. When Lewis was asked if the plan failed what would they do, Lewis reminded them that if the plan to successfully blow a hole in the Hermes failed, they would all be sucked into space so fast they'd be turned into jelly, and it really didn't matter at that point. They were all willing to risk so much on account of saving Mark. Mars looked stunning, Alice felt herself thinking back to a few months ago when her and Beck were looking at Earth. A smile danced upon her lips and she knew, she just knew, that they were going to get Mark back.
Time seemed to move all to quickly and all to slow at once; Alice felt the strong lurch of the Hermes when the bomb blew, and she held her breath for a few seconds as she waited to be sucked through into space; it never happened, which meant they successfully closed the gap between them and Watney, and slowed the speed down to a reasonable and achievable speed. Beck would not have to go off-tether to get Mark; Alice wanted to witness it, to see every second of the rescue, but from where she was, she could no longer see. Everything was simply over the headsets; she could hear Beck stating each decision, each moment. He could see Mark, he had visual on Mark, he had grabbed Mark. Vogel was pulling him in.
Mark was aboard the Hermes for the first time in 549 Sols.
There was no time for tears of joy or hugs and celebratory moments; Beck brought Mark through to the Med-bay, got him down on a bed; Alice stood there, waiting for Beck to tell her to do anything to help. He took off his helmet, revealing the wide-grin on his face, the tears in his blue eyes. He'd saved Mark, they'd all done it, but Beck felt as though he had made up for the call he had made back on Sol 6. Beck looked up and his eyes met with Alice's, his tongue darted out and dampened his lips, and Alice knew that he was searching for words, but they were not coming just yet.
He managed at last, "can you help remove Mark's suit?"
Alice nodded, and leaned over Mark, unlatching the helmet and pulling it carefully from his body. The odor that overtook her senses made her step back, the helmet firm in her grasp. Mark looked between her and Beck, trying to see why the expressions on their faces were so warped. He had expected smiles and tears and cheering and laughter, but this was no movie, the story couldn't be that sugar coated. But it was, to Mark, this was sugar coated because he was alive. Against every single odd thrown at him, he was alive. He just smelled bad.
"Jeez, Mark," Beck started, "when was the last time you took a shower?"
Mark laughed, winced at the pain in his ribs -multiple had broken on his ascent from Mars. "A few hundred Sols ago, I think."
Beck and Alice continued to remove his suit, and Beck gave Mark some heavy duty painkillers. "When these kick in and you can move your arms, my first order for your health-and ours- is that you take a shower."
"Can I see them?" Mark asked, there was a desperation in his words, a shudder as he realized again and again that this was real. That his crew was beside him, that his crew came back for him, after being alone for 549 Sols, it was almost impossible to fathom. Alice looked up to see what Beck was going to say, and he nodded. Speaking through his headset, he told the crew that they could come in for a short visit before Mark needed a break.
They were all on their way, when Mark looked between them. "I'm glad you went out to get me."
Beck raised an eyebrow, "Why is that?"
"We both know you're the best looking." He grinned. "It was a nice sight."
Alice laughed, shaking her head slightly. "He really is the best looking, isn't he?"
Mark opened his mouth. "Wait, you two- did you- have you? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It wasn't really an area of concern..." Beck said.
"I spent 549 days listening to disco and watching really bad 70's TV, I could have used some real-life soap opera information," Mark replied dramatically. "Does Lewis know? Does the crew know? Do I have to keep it a secret?"
"Everyone knows, Mark," Alice replied.
"Oh, so I'm the last to know. The last to know, the last to get off of Mars." He shook his head jokingly, as though he were upset. "No one ever thinks of me."
They all chuckled lightly, knowing that Mark was joking. That despite so much time alone and facing death so many times, he never wavered in his optimism and his personality never changed. He was still Mark; and Alice figured that her hardest job was dealing with his death, and she thought she would be needed to help him get through his first few weeks back on the Hermes, but in that moment she knew that he was going to be fine.
The rest of the crew came in, all of them making faces at the smell that came along with Watney; Alice and Beck had pretty much gotten used to it at that point. Alice leaned back against the wall, crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at how happy everyone was.
She had seen groups come together and become a family, but never like this. Mark managed to get into a seated position and gave high fives, laughed with the crew, even let Johanssen hug him despite how much pain he was in. Nothing could ever break this family apart, even before Mark was left behind they had become a family; this had just made it stronger, more solid. Locking her eyes with Beck across the room, Alice couldn't help but feel as though they had something so strong between them. It was no time to think about their relationship, but knowing how strong the bond between each crew member was, it made her understand just how strong the bond between the two of them was as well.
Beck ushered everyone out and told Mark that he needed to shower and then rest, and in 211 days they would be back on Earth. Alice sat down with Mark after Beck stepped out, and she reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. Before she could speak, though Mark got in the first word. "I don't need to hear it Harley Quinn. I know you think I should probably break down and cry -I did that earlier, by the way- but I'm fine. I'm not traumatized, Blake, I'm just happy."
Alice chuckled lightly, dropping her head ever so slightly. "I know you're happy, and I know you're fine. You're Mark Watney; you were messed up before we left you on Mars. What I was going to say, is that you need to pretend so I can at least keep my job."
Mark grinned. "I missed you guys."
"Obviously we missed you." She nodded, then saw Beck pop his head back in with a look on his face that suggested it was time for Mark to get some rest.
"Mr. Bossy-Beck needs to lighten up."
"I can help with that." Alice grinned and then stood up. "I'll see you in the morning."
That night, everyone slept well on the Hermes. Even with a giant hole in the ship, one that could ruin their chances of surviving the return trip, it didn't alter how well they slept. Mark was on the Hermes now, they were turning their backs on Mars for the last time. Alice and Beck were in their now-shared room, and Beck had his arm wrapped around her like he did every single night. It didn't change throughout the entire trip home, their first night back on Earth was no different either.
Ten years ago Chris Beck woke up alone, only the memory and essence of Alice having been there.
This time when Beck woke in the morning, in his own bed, Alice was still there.