William said his goodbyes to Owen's mother and brother, knowing that he and Owen's family had a long road ahead of them. Owen certainly didn't want any of them to abandon and waste it.

He walked in the direction where Dr. Erik had been standing the entire time, waiting and watching him from a distance due to his limited actions in public. He was still under his supervision.

Dr. Erik looked at him, seemingly in a good mood, "You seem to be in a quite good mood. Did they tell you a thing or two regarding Officer Owen?"

William looked back and gazed his eyes toward Owen's brother, that was leaving with his mother, "Yeah, I guess they have."

While Dr. Erik didn't hear or know anything about what had happened between William and Owen's family, one thing for sure that it was something good and cheered up his mood, which was a good thing in his book.

"All right, let's go back to the site. We have a lot of other things to do." Dr. Erik turned around and walked toward where their car was parked.

They both entered the car while the other two guards were already inside, waiting for them to finish their business. They set their destination toward Site-199 once again to continue their daily life activities.

After a few hours of driving, they arrived at the Site-199 garage.

William, who had merely borrowed William his clothes for this occasion, went back to Dr. Erik's office to change into his own clothes. He changed back into his previous, dark-blue humanoid jumpsuit made for humanoid SCP.

As it was outside his free time schedule, the guards led him back to his containment room. It was a strenuous activity, so he returned to his usual white, padded room and made the decision to take a short nap.

No matter what happens in the future, he must keep his head up and keep going on.

—

As it was getting dark, William decided to eat his dinner in the Foundation's canteen as he always had. He missed going there and eating with the others because he hadn't been there in a while.

There weren't many people in the canteen, as is customary in situations like this. Whilst having dinner, several researchers were looking through his papers, while some guards were chatting with his colleague.

He took a tray, asked Emma to make his normal dinner, and then sat down at one of the unoccupied tables to eat.

He was alone at his table, so it was a different experience for him. In situations like this, Owen usually accompanied him, but not at this particular moment. William consumed his meal as quickly as he could.

Without ever speaking or interacting with anyone, he quickly finished his meal, set the tray on the counter, and retrieved a bottle of water. He then made plans to spend the remainder of the evening in the indoor garden after leaving the cafeteria.

William sat on the same bench as before, in the middle of the garden with the towering tree in the middle of it. The only tree within the garden that was different from the others.

He gazed through at the artificial night sky, and he was curious about how the sky would look that was on the outside. He had the chance to go outside, but it was only for a moment. The artificial sky was good enough to be close to the real one.

The sound of light footsteps approaching him can be heard, and William briefly smirked. He already knew who it was, and the fact that they kept running into each other at the same time and location was pure coincidence.

The person sat next to William without saying anything. They both sat there in silence for a moment. It was quiet. You can even hear the leaves breezing through the garden.

"Sorry about what happened to Owen." said the person.

William then glanced at her, "There was no need for you to say that. After all, it was not your fault."

Grace looked down at the ground the entire time. She didn't even dare to look William in the eyes regarding what had happened—especially hearing that one of her squad members was killed in action.

"It was partly my fault. I was responsible for all the things that happened to my squad." said Grace in a low voice.

"It's not anyone's fault. Neither you nor I could have known what would happen in the future regarding that moment." William then opened his bottle of water and took a sip.

William saw some bandages that were wrapped onto her head, seemingly from the damage that she had taken before, "How is that wound treating you? Since you can move around now, I guess you are feeling well already."

She touched her forehead, "I'm doing pretty well. The last few days have been tough for my condition, but it is much better now, though I'm still given leave for a few days before returning to duty."

She then looked at him, "I've heard some things about you from the people around the facility for the past few days."

"What is it?"

"Some people praised you that you managed to save an important object for the Foundation to not fall into the enemies hands. I would've guessed that was probably the thing we're after given by the Site Director."

William's stare was blank as Grace explained her story, "It was a bit embarrassing for me to be knocked out by them in an instant. I don't know what happened to you and those guys after that, and I guessed that you did manage to stop them."

Everyone seemed to take a different conclusion about what had actually happened that moment. It was humiliating to know that William was lost against Keith in a landslide of power.

He didn't have the courage to tell Grace the truth, as it would only make him untrustworthy of being able to carry out a mission. He will avenge and surpass Keith one day, paying back the favor.

"Captain, may I ask you one thing?" asked William as he gazed at the sky.

She smiled for a bit and said, "No need to be formal with me. We have been going through a lot of things together. We're basically like a work colleagues. Just call me Grace."

"Alright then. I have a question if you don't mind answering."

She looked at him and asked, "What is the question?"

"Why do you join the Foundation?" answered William as his eyes kept on the sky.

There was a pause. She was a bit confused as to how she would answer the question. "Why do you want to know that?"

William took a sip of water and continued, "I'm wondering whether people that worked for the Foundation were really for the sake of protecting humanity or not. Because surely, not everyone is as idealistic to have that kind of thought."

She listened to him carefully, "Owen told me before that he joined the Foundation because of the money, he had a family that needed to be taken care of financially, and to me, it was understandable from his perspective. Especially after meeting Owen's family today."

William diverted his eyes toward Grace, "And I'm really curious, you know. Why would you join the Foundation, knowing that this is a risky job that could lose your life at any moment?"

Grace didn't say anything, and her expression was blank after hearing William's question regarding her motive for joining the Foundation.

She looked into the sky above her, "Do you really want to know why?"

"If you don't mind, but you don't need to if you don't feel like telling about it." shrugged William.

She rubbed both of her hands and said, "Because my father once worked for the Foundation before, and he was one of the Mobile Task Force Commanders that served the Foundation for many years."