It was the night before they shipped out for the mission. Everyone had agreed to meet at the Hard Deck to celebrate one last time before leaving. No one mentioned the semi heavy atmosphere that came with the knowledge that someone might not be coming home.

Nova had changed from her usual work attire into some more suitable clothes for a bar. She was meeting with JJ and Taylor outside before going in. (JJ had said something about wanting to make an entrance.)

She was just glad he wanted to come out at all. It had been hard for him, since his father had passed. But JJ knew they were leaving the next morning and wanted to be with his friends.

"Alright here we go," he pumped them up before walking through the door. But to his dismay, it was not the entrance he wanted. The Hard Deck was packed that night, everyone in the detachment dressed in their dress whites, drawing a lot of attention.

Nova and Taylor just laughed at the look on his face before heading to the bar. "The usual Penny," Nova orders. Penny passes the three their drinks before gesturing to the pool table.

"Your group is over there. Have fun, but not too much fun," she winks at Nova, making her think Amelia has opened her mouth and told Penny something.

Nova sticks out her tongue at the woman before joining the group.

Natasha spots them first and quickly pulls Nova into a hug. "I need another person on my team."

Nova doesn't even hesitate. "Whatever you need, I'm your girl." And since Tasha knows about her and Hangman, she looks directly at the man and smirks so smugly, it looks like she won a competition. "Hear that? She's my girl."

Jake rolls his eyes and Nova lightly elbows her in the side. Bradley silently gags at JJ who laughs at his act.

The night continues on with rounds of pool being played and bets being made. It allowed them all to get to know each other better.

One of the biggest surprises of the night was Bob. Technically, it was his family connection but no one was expecting it.

"So you're telling me your father was a pilot for the Air Force?" Fanboy is the one to ask the question. Bob nods his head before pulling out his phone. "He wasn't the happiest when I said I was going into the Navy instead of the Air Force, but he got over it soon enough."

Bob found a photo of him and his dad from his Naval Academy graduation. And the others were shocked. "You look just like him!" Payback says. "Practically a clone."

Bob simply shrugs before gesturing to Nova. "Nova looks just Mav. I'm honestly surprised more people didn't put together your relation sooner." The others evaluated Nova, noting the dark brunette hair and bright green eyes. "Eh, it's not as obvious though," Coyote defends.

JJ nods his head. "It was a lot more obvious when we were kids. Even my dad said she was a mini Maverick and we should all be worried if she ever decided to fly." Nova shoved his shoulder as he laughed.

"Just be glad I decided to go into medicine. I can still fly, you ass." That got everyone's attention.

Jake is the one to ask, as he had never known this. "You can fly?"

Nova gives all of them a look. "My father is Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell. My godfather was Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky. Yes, I know how to fly."

JJ, Taylor, and Bradley just laugh at the dumbfounded looks on their faces. "For what it's worth, I don't know how to fly. I just fix the planes." JJ informed the group.

Natasha shakes her head, snapping out of her shock. "The more we learn about you two, the less I'm surprised anymore."

The night carried on, conversations similar to that one and others that derailed entirely. But it was a good night for all.

Nova looked out over the waves from inside, and just before she turned away, she caught a glimpse of her father and Penny. And all she could think was that she really hoped her father survived this mission. She still needed him. And so did Penny.

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Jake had given Nova a look before they departed the Hard Deck. One that said he would be over at her place within the hour.

He would give her all the time she needed to figure out her feelings and decide what she wanted with him. But he'd be damned if he didn't spend his last night before this mission with her, in any way he could.

It seemed Nova was of the same mind. Because the minute he entered her home, Nova was on him. He didn't even get out a greeting before her lips were on his. Her hand gripped his shirt tightly, as she pushed herself up onto her toes, trying to get as close to Jake as possible.

And while he quickly reciprocated, Jake knew he had to make sure she was sure. Nova had been all over the place with her emotions and he wasn't about to play with those. Not when she meant so much to him.

"Do you actually want this?" He asked, once he had the strength to pull away. "Or is this because it's our last night?"

Nova went to press her lips against his again, but he stopped her, needing to hear her answer.

"Can't it be both?" Nova asks, almost pleadingly. "I want this. Yes, some of it is to do with this being the last night. But that doesn't change the overall fact that I want this." She put her hand on his chest, just over his heart. "I want you."

That's all Jake needed to hear. This time, it was Nova who was not prepared for him. He hungrily pressed his lips to hers, quickly lifting her up so her legs wrapped around his waist.

And not even five minutes later, the two were intertwined together once again, under the stars. And two hearts became one.

After, when Nova was wrapped in nothing but a sheet, and Jake was still getting his breathing back to normal, the two lovers talked.

Simply talked. About anything and everything. Their futures, what they want to accomplish. It went unspoken, but in both of their minds, the future included the other person.

And while they didn't say it out loud, respecting the delicate barrier Nova had put up, dreams of children that looked like the other were had. A beautiful wedding, with Nova looking radiant in white. A place to go on his family's farm, where Jake would teach his children how to ride a horse. A place by a beach, so Nova could teach them how to surf.

It was a beautiful dream, one that they both hoped would come true.

But like all dreams, it comes to an end eventually. And talk of the future inevitably brought them to the mission. And Nova was worried. Really worried.

"Promise me, no matter what happens, you will do whatever you can to come home," Nova begs Jake. She would be making the same plea with her father and Bradley soon enough, but Jake was here now. So she needed to hear it from him.

Jake looks down at her, his eyes tracing her face. "You know there is only so much I can control up there." Nova simply continued to stare at him. "But I promise to do what I can to come home."

He can see, however, that Nova is starting to really freak it. She is overthinking and right now, it's causing her to panic. Before she can start to hyperventilate, Jake grabs her hand.

He puts it squarely on his chest, right over his heart. It was a technique they had developed during their relationship whenever things got to be too much. The person who was scared would try to match their breathing to the other, who was calm and soothing.

To speed up the process, Jake uses that hand to grip her chin lightly, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I promise to come home to you."

With that powerful statement in the universe, Nova was able to calm down her racing heart. And as she tucked her head just under Jake's, he ran his hand up and down her back.

“You’re it for me. You have been since the day I met you." Nova lets out a sigh as she melts into his embrace.

"So that future you want? I'll make sure we have it."

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Word Count: 1,448

Bit of a shorter chapter today. Wanted to show a semi happy chapter of the gang all together before the mission.

For the Bob Family thing, I thought it would be fun to reference Lewis Pullman and his father, legend Bill Pullman. They do look like clones, it's kinda freaky. But it's mostly a reference to one of my favorite Bill Pullman roles, where he is a former Air Force Pilot turned President in Independence Day.

And some more scenes with Nova and Jake. As you can tell, Nova has pretty much made up her mind, she just hasn't let herself accept it yet.

But that future they want? More likely than you think.

So that's it for now, bye guys!!!