Nova began to stir, sleep trying to drag her back under its spell. The warmth surrounding her didn't help at all, lulling her back into a light sleep before she felt something tighten around her waist.

And then suddenly, everything came rushing back.

Shit.

She had slept with Jake. She had literally just told him she needed time and space to think. How the hell did she go from that to back in his bed? Well, her bed technically, but still.

Slowly, she turned around in Jake's arms to face the man. It seems he had already been awake, his eyes staring right back into hers.

"Morning," she whispered, not quite sure what to say. Jake just gives her a little smile before repeating her statement.

"I uh," Nova stutters out. "I need to get ready." She goes to get out of the bed wanting to escape this situation as fast as possible but Jake tightens his arm around her.

"Nova we need to talk about this before we leave today. You know neither of us will be able to focus properly if we don't." Jake makes a good point. Already, Nova knows she won't be able to forget this.

She sighs, sitting up. Because if she stayed laying down, she was going back to sleep. "I meant what I said the other night. I do need time to think about all of this."

"I know," Jake tells her. He was well aware of her thought process and how it worked. "But we both know what happened last night was inevitable. We've never been able to stay away from each other for long."

Neither chose to mention that they made it two years this last time.

"I told you the other night that I would wait. That hasn't changed. Whatever you decide I will go along with." He was really not helping Nova's thought process. How could she think clearly when he kept telling her things like this?

Nova bit her lip before responding. "I remember. And I know it's not fair to you. But I will say this. Yesterday did give me things to consider."

Jake smirks at her.

"Not that you asshole," Nova hits his chest as he laughs. "The way you were on the beach and how you played the game. It reminded me of what we were like together. What I missed."

This time, he smiles at her. A smile that, seemingly, was reserved only for her. He began to move from the bed. "I should head to my place to get ready for training. But I'll see you there. Ok?"

Nova smiles back at him. "I'll see you there."

And before she can process his actions, Jake leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. Nova's eyes flutter shut at the feeling, staying closed even as he stands back up and leaves. They don't open again until she hears the front door close.

Nova flops back onto her bed.

"I am so screwed."

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Finally, on base for the day, the detachment was ready to tackle the course once more. The beach had done wonders for their communication with each other.

Maverick was finally able to inform them of the rest of their mission. Just how hard this would push them, their bodies and their planes. Every aviator had done a few runs by themselves to get used to the amount of G's they would be pulling.

And soon enough, it was time for the first round of teams. Nova hooked up their vitals to her tablet, taking a seat on the couch in the break room while the others huddled closer to the radio.

Phoenix, Bob, and Coyote were up. Only Nova knew her father would also be out there, acting as an enemy plane. She had his vitals up on a separate tab.

No one knew that Nova's presence on base, and specifically with this detachment, were about to be put to use.

"Talk to me, Bob," Phoenix calls back to her WSO as they fly the mission route.

"We're 12 seconds late on Target. we gotta move, we gotta move!" he replies back to her. Everyone in the breakroom holds their breath, waiting to see if this first pair can pull this off.

Coyote acknowledges his wingmen, "Copy, try and stay with me."

Suddenly, something appears on the radar. "Uh, wait, who's that?" Bob asks, bringing everyone's attention to the bogey.

"Blue team, you've been spotted," Maverick says over the radio.

"Shit, it's Maverick," Coyote realizes. "What the hell is he doing here?" Phoenix questions.

Maverick eyes his radar as he flies closer to them. "I'm a bandit on course to intercept, Blue Team. What are you gonna do?" Maverick asks.

"He's 12 miles left, 10 o’clock and closing," Bob informs the others. Coyote looks over to their jet. "Your call, what do you want to do?" Coyote asks Phoenix.

She shakes her head. "Continue, we're close," she says. "Stay on target."

"He's swinging around to the north," Bob keeps them in formated of the third jet.

"Stay ready for the pop-up," Coyote advises.

"Be ready with my laser, Bob!" Phoenix tells him.

"Copy, I'm on it," he responds.

"Blue Team, bandit is still closing," Maverick informs them. Nova, monitoring their vitals the entire time, listens closely. She needs to know if a situation like this could cause spikes.

"Popping up," Coyote says as he pops his plane up. "Talk to me Bob, where's the bandit?" He calls out, needing extra eyes.

"He's 5 miles out. He's coming fast," Bob responded. "Targets in sight," Phoenix informs her companions. The break room is dead silent. This is the closest anyone has gotten all day.

"Where's my laser, Bob?!" Coyote asks. "Dead eye, dead eye! It's no good, sorry I can't get a lock." Bob calls out.

"We're out of time, I'm dropping blind," Coyote says. He sends the missile. "Damn it! Miss!"

They start the steep climb out of the canyon, but Coyote starts to see black.

"That's tone," Maverick says as he locks onto Bob and Phoenix. 

"Shit, we're dead," Phoenix says.

"Blue Team, that's a fail," Maverick informs them. "Level out, Coyote." Coyote doesn't respond.

Nova rapidly checks his vitals. "Something's wrong," she muttered, but everyone heard her. The aviators all look at each other, uneasy spreading around the room.

"Coyote, talk to me," Maverick tries again. "Coyote, come in! Coyote level wings."

Still nothing. Nova gets ready to break into the comms system when her father comes to the same realization she had.

"Oh my god, he's in GLOC," Maverick realizes. "Coyote, Coyote!"

"He's gonna burn in!" Phoenix worries. She really didn't want to lose a friend from a simple training exercise.

Nova looks up at the others in the break room. Jake looks incredibly worried, even if he doesn't show it well. She just knows how to read his face. And right now, he's worried about his best friend.

"I'm going after him," Maverick says, punching his speed. "Come on, give me tone, give me tone, give me tone."

He gets a lock on Coyote, using the sound to wake him out of GLOC. "Snap out of it, Coyote, come on, come on. Break right, break right!!!" Anyone listening in right now is holding their breath and praying to whatever heavenly body is out there.

Coyote wakes up just in time to steer away from the mountain.

"There we go, kid, you ok?" Maverick asks him. "Yeah, I'm ok," he replies. "I’m good."

As soon as his voice is heard, everyone lets out sighs of relief. A few people sat down where they stood, needing a moment of stability. Nova gives Jake a small smile, trying to give him assurance that Coyote is ok.

"Good, good. That's enough for today," Maverick releases a breath.

"That was close," Phoenix says as she flies up to Maverick's wing.  "Too close," Maverick agrees.

But then, something all pilots have to worry about happened. When you are flying in the air, you have to be mindful of the animals that take to the skies.

"Bird strike, bird strike!!!" Maverick yells. Phoenix and Bob pull away, but it's too late.

"Phoenix, left engines on fire!" Bob exclaims.

Now, everyone is back on their feet. This situation is just as dangerous as GLOC. Nova keeps her cool, staring at her tablet so intently, she would have broken it if looks could kill.

"Climbing!" she responds. "Shutting off fuel to left engine, pushing fire."

"Right engines out!" Bob calls out. They are still spinning, trying to restart the engine.

"Phoenix, it's on fire!" Maverick tries to warn her. He really can't lose another person during a training exercise. He barely survived losing Goose. He didn't want to see his daughter and Bradley go through the same thing with Phoenix. He had seen how close they had become.

"Oh god, we're on fire!" Bob yells out. "Igniting engine," Phoenix tries to remain calm.

"Phoenix, Bob, punch out! Punch out!" Maverick yells.

"Hydraulic failure," Bob informs. "I can't control it!" Phoenix calls to him. "We're going down!"

"You can't shake it, eject, eject," Maverick insists, needing them to get out. 

"Eject, eject, eject," Phoenix says as she and Bob grab their ejection handles. They manage to eject just before the plane crashes.

The crash is heard by all the aviators looking to Nova to see if their friends were still alive. She nodded her head, turning the tablet to show them the vitals were still transmitting.

Phoenix and Bob were okay.

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Nova was already in the medical wing when the two aviators were brought in. She ran all of the tests she needed to before handing results off to the base doctor.

"Well, you two gave everyone a good scare, but you're all clear. I don't see anything that causes concern. But I would like to keep you two overnight to make sure there are no delayed reactions or injuries."

The doctor explains his findings to the aviators before handing the files to Nova. She was, after all, the nurse in charge of this detachment.

"I've got someone bringing your stuff from your lockers, but I can get you a phone now if you want to call anyone," Nova gestures to the phone on her desk.

Both shake their heads. "I need to think of how exactly I'm going to explain this without my mama freaking out," Bob says, causing everyone to laugh.

Nova, after double and triple checking, they were okay, goes over and gives Bob a hug. "I'm glad you're okay." He pats her back before releasing the hug.

Nova looks over to Natasha, who is fake pouting at her. "How come he gets a hug before me?" She whines out, crossing her arms over her chest. Nova laughs out loud. "Because he didn't scare me half to death, you on the other hand," Nova leaves it open.

But she quickly heads over to Natasha's bed and sits on the edge before pulling her friend close. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she whispered into Tasha's ear.

Natasha smiled against Nova's shoulder. "I'll do my best. I'm sorry for scaring you."

They pull away, but Natasha scoots over just enough so the two women can fit on the bed together.

"I know it's your job, I accepted that a long time ago with how many of you I have in my life. But I've never had to monitor or hear it first hand," Nova tells her. This exercise truly scared her, and now she's more worried than ever about this mission.

The two women talk for a while longer, laughing at anything and everything. Bob joins in occasionally, getting stories about both his pilot and their nurse friend.

But then Natasha brings up a topic she had been wondering about for days.

"What's going on between you and Hangman?"

Nova freezes. She didn't know anyone had noticed something was off. (They were both very obvious, Natasha was just the first with the guts to ask.)

Trying to play it off and failing miserably, Nova replies. "What do you mean? There's nothing going on between me and Ja — Hangman."

(Because everyone believed that statement.)

Natasha shoots her a look, and she sighs. "Fine, there might be something going on between me and Hangman."

Looking at the raised eyebrow Natasha was giving her, Nova explained her story. And let's just say, Tasha is having a hard time believing it.

I mean, come on. Nova, her Nova. Sweet, caring, gentle Nova. In love with Hangman?! Arrogant, asshole, always leaving his wingman Hangman?! And from what it sounds like, he is very much in love with her as well!!

What is this world coming to?!

“Hangman?! Really?!”

Nova doesn't even have a chance to start defending herself before the door opens. And in walks to man himself.

Jake stops as soon as he walks in, as both Nova and Natasha are looking at him, wide-eyed like they are surprised. "Should I come back at a different time?" He questions, gesturing to the door.

Nova nods her head, wanting to escape the conversation she knows is coming. But Natasha beats her to it.

"Sit your ass down, Bagman. We need to have a conversation."

Nova slumps back onto Tasha's bed, groaning as she does so. She did not want to be here.

Natasha ignores her, though she catches the look Hangman sends Nova. (And she thought the man wasn't capable of concern.)

"So I hear you've got a thing for my girl," Natasha looks Hangman right in the eyes. "She's told me the story. Now I need to hear it from you. Because if you've been playing her…" she doesn't even get to finish her sentence because Jake interrupts her.

"Why does everyone assume I'm playing around?" He asks, sounding quite agitated. He knows his reputation, but Nova is the one person he cares for more than anyone on this planet. He was getting really tired of people judging his relationship without knowing anything about it.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Natasha shoots back. While she was willing to give him a chance to prove himself, this was Nova. Natasha has always looked at Nova as a good friend. It was hard for her to make friends in this field, so having Nova always support her meant a great deal.

Nova gets in between the two before this can spiral. "Jake just give her a straight answer. She won't let this go until you do."

"Yes, we were together for over a year. Yes, we broke up two years ago. Yes, I became a bit more reckless and self-involved because of it. Yes, I love Nova. And no, I am not playing around with this. You don't need to know any more than that." Jake rants it out as fast as he can, avoiding Nova's eyes.

He hadn't meant to let that one part slip. After the breakup, he wasn't dealing with everything well. That's when he truly gained his reputation as Hangman.

Natasha sits back, taking in everything he had just said. She hadn't been expecting that at all. But she had been noticing the looks between the two, the energy around them. So she drops the topic, but only after one final warning.

"Good to know. But if you do anything to hurt her again, you'll wish I had never found out."

Nova finally gets off of the bed, shaking her head at the two. "Ok, we should let you rest." She grabs the bag Jake had left discarded by the door. "Here are you things, please call anyone you need to and let them know what happened."

Natasha nods at Nova before looking at Hangman. "Thanks for grabbing our stuff." He nods his head in acknowledgment before walking out the door. Nova gives her one last smile before walking out as well, closing the door behind her.

"I thought we weren't telling anyone until you figured out what you wanted to do," Jake questions Nova once they are in the hallway.

Nova shrugged her shoulders. "She had noticed some things, and she asked. Tasha is a lot more perceptive than you give her credit for. I couldn't lie my way out because she knows me so well."

Jake simply shakes his head. Now Rooster and Phoenix knew about them. God help him if Maverick finds out. Jake wasn't sure he would make it to the mission date if he did.

But before they could discuss this further, Cyclone appeared in front of the two. Jake snapped to attention as Nova got into work mode.

"Both Phoenix and Bob are good. There are no damaged bones and no serious injuries from ejection. We are keeping them overnight, just to make sure nothing pops up that we missed upon first review," Nova informs the Admiral.

Cyclone nods his head to her report. "Thank you, Nova. I'll be sure to inform the rest of the team. But that's not the only reason I'm here." 

And the look in his eyes is something neither Nova nor Jake had ever seen. It made Jake slightly uncomfortable, but Nova was simply worried.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" She starts rapidly asking questions, heart pounding. Cyclone doesn't just look at her like that and not have news for her.

Cyclone takes a deep breath. He has had to make this call to countless families over the years, many of them in person. But he had never had the type of relationship to either the deceased or family that he does right now.

"Nova, I'm so sorry. Iceman passed away a few hours ago," he has to look away as her eyes begin to fill with tears. "He's gone."

As soon as those final two words are out of Cyclone's mouth, Nova drops to the floor. Jake is quick to follow her, holding her up as she breaks down.

Phoenix comes running out of her room as soon as she hears the scream from Nova. As her eyes land on her friend's crumpled form, she makes eye contact with Hangman. And she knows Nova is in good hands. That doesn't stop her from going over as well, grabbing onto Nova's hands to offer as much support as she can at the moment.

The staff around them try their best not to stare. This was the medical unit on a military base. They were used to calls like this, the family reactions. But this was one of their own, and it hurt them just as much to see Nova hurting the way she is.

And running through the hallways are Maverick and Rooster. As soon as Warlock had told Maverick the news, the two men looked at each other and bolted to Nova. No matter the issues between them, Nova was always the middle ground.

And anyone who knew of their connection knew that Nova was incredibly close with Iceman.

The two burst through the doors to see Nova on the floor, with Hangman and Phoenix down with her. They didn't have a second to question why Hangman was cradling Nova the way he was, holding her up like he was the only thing tying her to the ground.

But as soon as Nova saw her father, she was off the floor and out of Jake's arms. Within seconds, she was sobbing into her father's chest. And Pete Mitchell did everything in his power not to break down with her.

"He's gone, Daddy." Nova sobbed out. "He's gone."

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Word Count: 3,276

That was a rollercoaster of a chapter.

We got a Nova/Jake discussion about what they are doing. We got a training session. We got to see Nova and Natasha's friendship. And Natasha threatening Hangman.

But we also got the lead into what is about to be the most emotional chapter yet. Yea, the funeral is gonna be emotional.

So get your tissues ready yall, because I'm already crying just thinking about it.

So on that happy note, until next time. Bye guys!!!