It's been a few days since Tom "Iceman Kazansky" passed away. And everyone was feeling the effects.

Once Maverick was able to calm Nova down enough to get her off the base, they headed straight to the Kazansky home. They didn't know if anyone was actually at the house, but they would wait out front if they weren't.

But when they got there, JJ was already on the porch. He knew who would be coming as soon as they got the news. Mav had barely put the car in park before Nova was out of it.

She ran to JJ and the two friends held onto each other like their lives depended on it. Never had they hugged each other as tightly as they did in that moment.

Maverick gave JJ a squeeze on the shoulder, knowing his daughter had him, before making his way inside to find Sarah. He knew she would be doing everything she could to be strong for her family, but she deserved to feel her emotions as well.

Taylor came out to the porch half an hour after the Mitchell's had arrived to find Nova and JJ sitting on the steps. JJ's head was laid out on Nova's shoulder and her hand was running over his hair, keeping him calm.

As soon as Nova spotted Taylor, she waved her over, trying not to disrupt JJ. She pulled Taylor into a side hug, neither of the women letting go for a few moments.

Nova had done pretty well at not bursting into tears again, but that all went down the drain the minute she was in Sarah Kazansky's arms.

Once the initial night of mourning was over, a funeral had to be planned. And as they were planning, Sarah asked something of Nova. Something big.

"He wanted you to deliver his eulogy," Sarah told her. "I know it's a lot and very difficult. If you don't want to, I understand and he would as well."

Nova shook her head. "No, he wanted me to do it. So I will. I made him a promise the last time I saw him, and I'm going to try and keep it."

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The day of the funeral had arrived. Nova had stayed at the Kazansky house the night before, not wanting to be alone. Dressed in a black dress, she stood on one side of JJ as Taylor stood on the other.

Nova had looked around when they arrived, spotting every member of the Navy in the area. Dressed in their uniforms, all any of them could do was give her meaningful glances at the moment. But that still meant the world to her.

And as much as Nova wanted to be with her father, he also had protocols to follow. And Pete Mitchell would follow them to the letter today.

The priest begins the service, bringing fresh tears to all those around. JJ was gripping both Taylor and Nova's hands, trying to remain strong. He was one of the oldest, he had to remain strong for his siblings.

And too soon, it was time for the eulogy. Nova made her way to the podium slowly, not quite ready to say goodbye to her uncle.

"Most everyone here knew Iceman as Admiral Kazansky, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. But to me, he was just Uncle Ice," Nova began, looking around at the service men and women.

"I know many of you are surprised by that, but there was a reason I didn't advertise this. When I first told Uncle Ice that I was contracted by the Navy as a nurse, he told me one thing. To never let our relationship be known. He told me that people might try and use me to get to him. When I asked him how he knew that, he simply said, 'I was one of those guys'. And I knew all he was trying to do was to protect me, like he always had."

She took a deep breath, taking a moment to compose herself. She had promised herself she would get through this without crying. But it was getting increasingly more difficult.

"When we were little, JJ and I had this way of letting Ice know we were upset with him. We would start calling him 'Frosty'. I remember the first time I called him that. You would have thought I committed murder, he looked so betrayed." That got a light chuckle out of some people. They could picture it so clearly. JJ even smirked slightly, recalling the look his father gave her.

"And we would just run around yelling it to him. 'Frosty, come get us!' 'Bet you can't catch us, Frosty!' So he would chase us around, wherever we were, until we were laughing so hard we forgot why we were upset with him in the first place."

Another deep breath. Hands shaking just slightly, before they were controlled.

"Well Frosty, I'm upset with you. Because you left before I was ready. Before any of us were. Because I know, in the future, I'm really going to need your advice, and you won't be there. You won't be there for me to lean on, or lend me a shoulder to cry on. You're going to miss so many milestones that we all want you there for." A few people looked down as Nova began this part. It was hard to keep watching the young woman, as she was clearly holding back her own tears.

"But I forgive you because I know you aren't in pain anymore. I forgive you because, no matter the fact that you aren't here physically with us, I know you are watching over us like a guardian angel. Like you are our wingman." As she said that last sentence she looked directly at her father. Maverick had tears in his eyes, but the look on his face was nothing but pride. He was so proud of his daughter for being able to do this for Ice. For him. For herself.

"And I know, right now you are looking down and scolding me for revealing these secrets in front of many Naval officers, making you look nothing like the intimidating Admiral you are. But now they can all share in the love and respect I have for you. That we all have for you." A few servicemen and women nodded their heads. If anything, Nova was proving why they respected the late Admiral even more.

"Because you may be gone. But your legacy will forever live on. In the sky and in our hearts." Taylor held on to JJ as Nova began to wrap up her speech. He hadn't heard or read what Nova was planning on saying. He hadn't been able to do it before now.

"I love you Uncle Ice. And I'll miss you greatly. Say hi to everyone else up there for us. And we will see you all again, many years from now."

Her words moved all, not a dry eye in the area. Maverick was desperately trying to reign in his emotions as the flag was folded.

Sarah was presented with the flag, the flag that represented all her husband had done for the country.

And as four jets flew above, breaking off into the 'missing man' formation, shots were fired into the air. In time with the last shot, Maverick pushed his wings into Iceman's coffin.

Saluting his wingman one last time.

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That night, after Nova had finally left the Kazansky house, she was home. And just like the past few nights, she was pulling out comfort movies and food. She just didn't have the motivation to do anything else.

She had been texting back and forth with a few people, assuring them she was okay. Ice wouldn't have wanted her to stop her life, he would have wanted her to live and love. Not wallow.

So when there was a knock at her door, Nova wasn't that surprised. She just wasn't sure who would be on the other side. It was a toss up between about 4 people.

Opening the door and seeing Jake standing on her porch for the third time in a week wasn't as surprising as she would have thought. He didn't even have to say anything before Nova went willingly into his arms.

Jake held her tight, knowing today was hard. Watching her standing up and recite her eulogy put him through so many emotions. He was proud she was able to go through with it, he was sad he couldn't be there to hold her, and he was heartbroken when she began to cry.

"What movie are you watching tonight?" He whispered into her hair. Nova's coping methods hadn't changed, so he knew her habits.

She let out a tired chuckle into his chest before lifting her head to look at him. "Tangled. I need a happy musical right now."

Jake nodded his head before releasing her from his grasp. But he was quick to offer his hand, which Nova gladly took, leading him over to the couch.

They made it all the way through Tangled before Nova got up to make food. "You okay with pasta?" She called out to Jake.

"I'll eat anything you make darling," he called back. Nova felt a flush rising up her neck and into her cheeks at his nickname. He hadn't called her that in a long time. It still had the same effect as the first time he did it, and boy was Jake glad to see that.

Nova quickly looked away from Jake's all to smug look. "Pick another movie, would you? We can watch while we eat."

Jake, knowing some of Nova's comfort movies, quickly looked through a few before settling on one he knew would bring a smile to her face.

"Mary Poppins sound good to you?" He asked her, knowing damn well the answer. Nova's look was all the response he needed.

Once the pasta was ready, they settled back into the couch and started the movie. It took Nova twice as long to eat, since she was quoting and singing along.

But once they had eaten, Nova snuggled against Jake like she always did. Her hand on his chest, legs out on the couch, head directly over his heart. Jake's arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her close as he stretched out his legs.

Soon enough, the stress and emotions of the day caught up to them. They were both asleep within half an hour. Jake's head slowly fell onto the top of Nova's and she kept shifting closer and closer to him.

And because they two were so soundly asleep, they didn't hear Nova's front door open. Unbeknownst to her, both Maverick and Rooster had decided to check up on her after not hearing from her for a while.

Coincidentally, they had shown up at the same time. And just as before, Nova was their middle ground. Maverick, who had a key, unlocked the door and the two men walked in.

The sight before them kept them quiet. Nova and Jake were so intertwined with each other, it was hard to see where one stopped and the other started. But neither of them had seen Nova at such peace in days.

Hell, Maverick hadn't seen her that at peace in years.

So they slowly backed out of the house before locking the door back up. Maverick looked at Bradley, asking him with his eyes if he knew what was going on.

Because as far as Maverick was aware, there was no reason for one of his pilots to be wrapped around his daughter like a vine. (He had half a mind to ground Hangman from the mission just to spite the man.)

"All I know is that they dated a few years ago and it wasn't the best breakup. I didn't know they had rekindled anything, and I can't say I wanted to think about that either." Bradley was quick to defend Nova, despite still not liking Hangman and his relationship with her.

"But she's sleeping, so right now I don't care."

Maverick watched as Bradley hopped into his car and drove away. He stood on the porch for a few moments longer, pondering on what he had just seen.

He would have to question both of them eventually, he knew that. But, like Bradley had said, Nova was finally sleeping.

If Hangman could bring her enough comfort to allow her a peaceful sleep, he would look the other way.

For now.

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Word Count: 2,097

That hurt. That hurt so much. I wrote the eulogy at like midnight and was crying the entire time.

Yes, the first part of Nova's eulogy is based on Sharon's eulogy for the one and only Peggy Carter in CA:CW.

I wanted to show, through action, just how close Nova and JJ are. Sometimes words aren't needed. I know when I lost grandparents, the most meaningful moments weren't the words shared, but the action of those closest to me. They picked me up when I needed help.

Tangled and Mary Poppins are some of my favorite comfort movies. I watch them way too often, so Nova does as well.

And now, Maverick knows about Nova and Jake!! You'll just have to wait and see how that little tidbit of information plays out later on. I've had this reveal in my head since I first started planning this fic. It was somehow always them asleep on the couch, the situation just changed.

So until next time, bye guys!!!