After the surprising finish to yesterday's training, everyone was curious to see how today would go. 

Spoiler alert, it went horribly. 

Coyote, Phoenix, and Bob are the first team up in the sky. 

"Time to target is a minute and thirty, we are two seconds behind. Increase speed to 490 knots," Bob informs. "We gotta move Coyote," Phoenix relays through the radio. 

"Copy, increasing speed," Coyote informs but he hesitates and doesn't move fast enough. 

Phoenix has to pull up in order to avoid crashing, causing her to go past the hard deck and be hit by SAMS.

Back in the hangar, Maverick has their run on screen. 

"Why are they dead?" Maverick asks seriously the aviators, looking at the three who just came back. 

"We broke the 300 foot ceiling and a SAM took us out," Phoenix replies.

"No, why are they dead," he asks Coyote specifically this time. 

"I slowed down and I didn't give her a warning. It's my fault," Coyote admits. 

"Is there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?" Maverick pushes. He needs them to understand just how serious this is. 

"I was focused..." Coyote begins, but he's quickly cut off. 

"One that their families will accept at their funerals?" Maverick questions seriously. 

"No sir," Coyote replies, realizing the magnitude of the question. 

"Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You were briefed on the terrain," he now questions Phoenix. 

Phoenix tries to come up with an answer. 

"Don't tell me, tell it to his family, tell that to Malina," Maverick gestures to Bob. 

Bob looks down slightly at that. He had always been honest with Malina about the risks of his job. But this mission seemed to be pushing even the boundaries he thought possible. 

Soon enough, Hangman, Payback, and Fanboy were back from their failed rub. 

"What happened?" Maverick questions, yet again. 

"Well, I flew as fast as i could, kinda like my ass depended on it," Hangman replies with his usual smirk. 

"And you put your team in danger, and your wingman's dead," Rooster deadpanned. 

"They couldn't keep up," Hangman replies without hesitation. (Oh how most of the unit wanted to smack him.) 

But the day really came to a head after Rooster's run. 

"Why are you dead?" Maverick asks him.  "You're team leader up there, why are you, why is your team dead?" 

Phoenix is there to defend him, however. "Sir, he's the only one that made it to the target." 

"A minute late, he gave enemy aircraft time to shoot him down," Maverick shoots back. "He is dead."

"You don't know that," Rooster defends himself. 

"You're not flying fast enough," Hangman says. "You don't have a second to waste." 

"We made it to the target," Rooster continues to defend. He truly didn't see anything wrong. 

But Maverick needs to get his point across. "And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out." 

"Then it's a dog fight," Rooster fires back at him.  

"Against fifth generation fighters?" Maverick questions angrily. 

"Yea, we still have a chance," Rooster says 

Phoenix looks down and Hangman looks smug, like he knows something no one else does.

"In an F-18," Maverick stresses

"It's not the plane sir, it's the pilot," Rooster says, somewhat arrogantly but also making a point. 

"Exactly," Maverick says, straight to his face in front of everyone. 

Rooster looks pissed and upset, not believing Maverick just said that. 

"There's more than one way to fly this mission," Rooster says 

"You really don't get it," Hangman starts. "On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or man does not come back. No offense intended," directed at Phoenix. 

"Yet somehow you always manage," Bob defends Phoenix instantly, sick and tired of Hangman's constant digs. If his reaction and demeanor the previous day with his girlfriend and her sister was any indicator, Hangman wasn't as much of an asshole as he presented himself to be. 

"Hey, I don't mean to criticize," Hangman continues, "you're conservative, that's all." 

"Lieutenant," Maverick tries to stop Hangman, knowing this is about to get bad. 

"We're going into combat son, on a level no living pilots' ever seen, not even him," looking straight at Maverick, who has a distressed look on his face. "That's no time to be thinking of the past," he says smugly. 

"What's that supposed to mean," Rooster asks, looking pissed off. 

"Lieutenants," Maverick tries again before everything blows out of proportion. 

"I can't be the only one that knows Maverick flew with his old man," Maverick keeps trying to get Hangman to shut up, "That's enough." 

"Or that Maverick was flying when his old man," and before he can finish, Rooster is on him. 

"Lieutenant, that's enough," Maverick says just as Rooster jumps from his seat to go at Hangman. 

A fight breaks out, everyone going to separate the two men. "You son of a bitch," Rooster yells angrily at Hangman.

"I'm cool, I'm cool," Hangman says while shrugging the other pilots off

"That's enough," Maverick says again

"He's not cut out for this mission, and you know it," Hangman finally says, "you know I'm right." 

"You're all dismissed," Maverick says.

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Mal had some time before Bob was due home and it was such a nice day, so she decided to take the dogs out for another walk. They were enjoying the new environment, and because they didn't have a destination, Mal let them explore. (Still on leashes of course, but explore nonetheless.) 

But one area they had discovered happened to be an open park where she could let them off and play. So, Malina grabbed a few toys before they left and once they got to the park, started to throw some balls around for the two. 

While Nala brought back her ball, Risky had stopped just before his. He was looking at something Mal couldn't see. But that something quickly came into view. 

Or should I say, someone. 

Reyna was taking a walk to clear her mind. Mari still wouldn't talk and with Jake on base, she needed time to figure stuff out. And the parks around Fightertown were the perfect spot to think. 

She was just wandering around the park before spotting the dog watching her. It seemed friendly, so she wasn't worried, but it did slightly unnerve her. This dog seemed to be staring straight into her soul. 

Suddenly a whistle pierced the air. "Risky, come!" 

Malina walked up to Risky, with Nala at her side. She quickly slipped his leash back on before looking up at the woman. "Sorry about him, he can get curious." 

Reyna waved her off. "It's no problem. He wasn't bothering me. Just sort of surprised me," she offered the woman a small smile. 

"I'm Reyna. Just visiting the area for a few days." she puts her hand out for a shake. 

Mal quickly grabs it with her own. "Malina. I'm here for a few weeks myself." She thinks for a few moments before the realization hits. "You don't happen to know a Jake Seresin, do you?"

This was not the question Reyna was expecting. "Yes, he's my fiancé. Why?" How on earth did this random woman happen to know her fiancé when he's only been there for a few days?

Malina quickly reassures her worries. "My husband, Bob, is part of the same detachment he's on. I met him two days ago." 

Reyna lets out a small laugh of disbelief. "Wow, this world is small. Is your husband a pilot or WSO? I know Jake is exclusively a single seater pilot. Refuses to have a WSO." 

"Definitely small," Malina responds. "And he's a WSO. Partnered with Natasha, well Phoenix. Not sure if you've met any of the other members yet." She didn't want to bring up that she knew the basics of what had happened the previous evening. It didn't seem like something she needed to know. 

Reyna gives a shrug. "If by met, you mean showing up out of the blue and essentially kidnapping Jake from base yesterday, then yes. Otherwise, I haven't had the chance. My sister and I kind of just needed to get away for a few days and Jake was close enough to visit this time." 

By now, the dogs were getting slightly restless, so Mal grabbed the ball and threw it as far as she could. They took off after it and Malina gestured for Reyna to sit, as she took a seat on the grass. 

"How old is your sister? I'm an only child myself, so it's always interesting seeing how people interact with their siblings," Malina asked as Nala came back and plopped her head into her lap. 

Risky was quick to follow, dropping the ball from his mouth before he gently put his head on Reyna's knee, startling her. She looked over at Malina to make sure it was alright but all she recieved was a nod. 

"She's 17 and stubborn as all get out. Our parents died when she was 10. I got custody after that, so I can't blame her. I went from sister to mother." Reyna couldn't stop once she started. Most of the people she was around knew the story. She couldn't really vent to anyone about what happened because they already know. "Sorry, that's a lot for someone you just met." 

Malina shook her head. "It's okay. Clearly that was something you needed to get off your chest. I'm glad I could give you that space. Besides, Bob likes to say I have this presence where you know you can tell me anything. It annoyed him at first, cause he didn't know how to handle it." The two women laugh, as Reyna slowly strokes Risky's head. 

"I love my sister and wouldn't trade her for the world. But I hadn't planned on dropping everything to suddenly become a mom to a 10 year old while also dealing with my own grief," Reyna breathed out. "Hell, I don't think I would have made it out as well as I did if it weren't for Jake. We had only just started dating when everything happened. And even though he could have run for the hills, he stuck around. He held me together so I could hold Mari." 

Malina grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. I'm quite estranged from my family, so I can sort of understand having responsibilities you weren't ready for just yet. But I'm glad you had someone there to help you when you needed it." 

A phone beeped, breaking through the peaceful air. Reyna checked her phone, seeing her screen light up with a photo of her and Jake. It was a text, letting her know they were done for the day. 

"Well, I think that's our cue to head home," she says to Malina. The two begin to stand, before Mal holds out her hand. 

"Give me your phone. I'll put my number in. If you need anything, just text me." 

Reyna gladly puts her number in, unbelievably thankful she had run into Malina that day. "I don't think I can thank you enough for this little talk. You definitely helped me clear my head a bit." 

Malina smiles as she holds onto the dogs' leashes. "It was no problem. It was nice to meet you. Hope we will see each other again before you leave." 

And with that, the two women part ways, heading back to their individual homes. 

But the excitement of the day wasn't over just yet. Bob and Malina had just finished dinner when the doorbell rang. 

The couple looked at each other, not expecting anyone. Hell, no one really knew where they were, much less their exact address. But as Malina opened the door, she was surprised, to say the least. 

"Carter?!" 

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Word count: 1,970

How'd you like that little cliffhanger?? Huh? Huh? But Seriously, next chapter we finally get Carter, aka Cal. (Only Mal calls him Carter.) 

And Malina and Reyna have met!!! Can't wait for next chapter when Mal and Cal meet Mari as well. It's gonna be epic! 

That's all for this chapter, so see y'all next time. Bye!!!