All I can say is: sorry.
I had so many ideas for where I wanted this story to go. The reactions of the Elites to seeing Miranada, the reunion of John and Cortana, etc. But now...the muse is gone, and as hard as I tried, I just couldn't put my ideas down in words.
And so, I've decided to just finish this story as best as I can, because I think I owe everyone who reads my fics an ending (Because I hate it when I find a story unfinished.)
So here we go. Just a short chase chapter today to say how they all got home, with the epilogue uploaded tomorrow or Monday.

For what it's worth, I hope you enjoy.

MIRANDA/DANIEL/JOHN

I bit down hard on my tongue as the warthog swerved to avoid the oncoming Carrier form, the green bulbous creature exploding in a spray of infection forms as Daniel atop the turret unloaded several rounds through it’s carrying sacs.

I’ll say this about John’s skills at the wheel, If we get out of this alive, I’m driving from now on.

The past few hours were something of a blur to me. The discovery of the new halo, the antagonising wait with Daniel as John ventured into the depths of the Flood invested High Charity alone for Cortana, (He wouldn’t let me follow with only partial shielding, and ordered Daniel to protect me at all cost.) The seemingly never-ending waves of Flood as we fought together to reach the control room.

What weighed most heavily on my mind however, was the sacrifice of Forge.

She had been so brave. She piloted the Dawn to a nearby location for a quick and easy E-Vac. She helped finish off the last of the Flood around the control room’s door.

But most importantly, she took a killing shot meant for Daniel from her rampant brother.

Her ‘death’ had hit the Spartan pretty hard. Never in my life had I seen a man fight so hard.

It was almost…sad.

A growl from my left caused me to scowl darkly as a human combat form jumped onto the side of the warthog, the Arbiter’s shields sparkling purple as I punched the former marine in his bed of tentacles in his chest, the Warthog crushing his remains with a satisfying squelch.

It was coming down, all of it.

Halo, the Ark. It was coming apart at the seams as the latter powered up to release the only deadly blast it would ever fire.

“Eighty percent charged,” I winced hard as a support tore through the ground ahead, John swerving to narrowly avoid the gaping hole as he conveyed Cortana’s words to those who didn’t have the AI lodged in their heads.

This was close, far too close for my liking. I wanted to scream, I wanted to the throw up, but I refused to do either.

The chances of getting through this ordeal alive were getting smaller by the minute, but I’d be damned if the last image my two comrades had of me before death was a snivelling commander throwing up over the side of the car.

“Ninety percent charged. firing sequence initiated,”

“Cutting it a little close aren’t we?” I cast Daniel a dark look as he gunned down all the Flood he could see, “Not trying to push you or anything…”

“Spartan, for once in your life, shut up and get you head down!” I snapped angrily as the Dawn slowly loomed ahead, “This is going to be messy!”
Daniel didn’t need telling twice.

I felt my stomach drop as the warthog grabbed air, the wheels spinning wildly as the launch bay dominated my view.

The front wheels hit steel, the hog capsized.

The last thing I felt was the sensation of flight before the world went dark with a crack.

“And here I was thinking it was just the women,”

I groaned heavily as I tasted blood in my mouth, my mind forcing me to swallow it rather then let it stain the inside of my faceplate.

“John,” I pressed a hand to the side of my helmet as I looked up towards the back of the Launch Bay, “You okay?”

“The Commander’s out cold,” I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of my comrade leaning over his friend amidst the destruction around us, “Alive, but…”

“JOHN LOOK OUT!!”

I barely had time to cry out as a Scorpion broke free of it’s moorings as the ship pitched dangerously back, the Chief grabbing his girl by the back of her armour and hoisting her onto his shoulder, managing to vault over a pack of crates into the corridor beyond before the giant tank smashed into the bulkhead.

“Daniel, status!”

“Great,” I grinned as I dodged the falling warthog, “Nothing ends a good day then running for your life,”

I ran over to the nearby console as the crates shifted, John trying his hardest to get through to me on the other side.

“Just forget about me,” I could feel his helpless gaze through the small gap he’d made, “Throw me Cortana and get the Commander to the Bridge, she’ll have the ship moving out by the time you get there!”

He paused for only a fraction of a second, before nodding in acceptance, yanking out the illuminated blue chip from the back of his helmet and tossing it expertly through the gap into my waiting hand.

“You’re a good solider Daniel. Don’t ever let anyone say otherwise,”

I merely nodded as his gold faceplate disappeared form view, a small sad sigh escaping my lips as I plugged Cortana into the console.

That’s all I’d ever wanted to hear in my life. A bit of praise.

“Hold on tight,” Cortana gazed up at me sternly as her avatar blinked onto the holotank, The ship banking more sharply as I sat down with my back against the console, facing the wall as the scorpion followed the warthog out the open hatch.

I felt tired. For the first time in days all I really wanted to do was sleep.

With the last of my strength I pulled her chip from it’s slot as the Dawn’s engines pushed us away from the growing light, the strange sensation of ice in my mind followed by a slight stab of pain causing a minor flinch as I insert the object into the slot in the base of my neck.

“I loved him you know,” Cortana’s voice sounded sad and unwanted in my ears as I turned off the outer speakers of my helmet, “I really did love him,”

“I know Miss Cortana,” I smiled slightly as I leant my head back against the console, “And he knows it too. But…he loves her too. And he can touch her, hold her…”

“It’s not fair,”

“Life’s not fair,” I closed my eyes with a short chuckle, “When I was six years old, I swore I saw an angel. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and was the second person after the good Doctor to offer me friendship. Then she just…went away. Life’s not fair Miss Cortana, but we just have live with what it throws at us,”

There was a short pause, my helmet tinting as a burning white light began to engulf the hanger.

“I think Kelly would be proud of you Daniel, wherever she is,”

I smiled as I let sleep overcome me.

“I’d like to think so,”

I never liked the sight of an empty Bridge. A command centre of any kind should be manned at all times, that’s what my intuition told me.

But I knew really Cortana led us home.

Carrying Miranda bridal style, I slowly slumped awkwardly into the Captain’s chair as I watched the portal home grow in the forward viewport, one hand subconsciously pushing the Arbiter’s helmet of her dark-haired head as I turned my gaze to her pale face.

She groaned as she stirred from the motion, green eyes staring up at me curiously.

“Are we home?”

“Not yet,” I shook my head, “A few more minutes, I promise,”

She frowned again, turning her gaze to the portal ahead.

“We’re not going to make it,”

“We’ll make it,”

She turned back to me, “How can you be sure?”

“Just trust me,”

She smiled slightly, before shifting my embrace, letting her head rest gently against my shoulder.

“It’s funny,” she closed her eyes again with a sigh, “I trust you more then I’ve trusted anyone under my command…but I’ve never even seen your face,”

I wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. Surely she’s seen me without my helmet before?

A mental account of the times we’d been together tells me otherwise.

Slowly, awkwardly, I brought my hand out from under her knees to place it protectively around her head, the prow of the Dawn entering the portal home as I held her tight.

“When we get out of this,” my voice was barely a murmur, but feels incredibly loud in my ears as the world around us seemed to hold it‘s breath, “I’d be more then happy to show you,”

She looked up at me quietly, before a small grateful smile crossed her lips as the world went white.

Definitly not the best chapter. I think the epilogues better though.

Again, I'm really sorry that I let you all down on this, but I hope you'll enjoy these last few chapters anyway

Dearing