The sand brushed between my toes as I sat out on the beach, needing some time to think about everything that has happened in the past few weeks. My eyes were focused on the soft crash of the waves a few meters ahead of me, calmness surrounding me. That was until my phone rang and the peace was disturbed.

"Hello, Nicole" Daniels voice rang through the phone and into my ear.

"Hi" I replied blandly, waiting for him to get to his point of the call.

"I want to come to your graduation, when and where is it" he started with questions.

"I told you this three weeks ago" I sighed in annoyance.

"Well I forgot, okay?" He shot back at me defensively.

"Yeah, we're you even listening?" I mumbled the question so he wouldn't hear it. "It's at the Top Gun in two weeks" I told him simply, too tired to argue with anyone.

"That's pretty far away" he commented with clear annoyance at the distance he would have to travel.

"Yeah, it is" I agreed sharply.

"I'll see if I can make it there" he grumbled back before hanging up without even a goodbye. I set my phone down and fell back into the sand with a huff, looking up at the stars above.

"Bad time?" Roosters voice spoke up from close by.

"No, actually my boyfriend is coming to our graduation" I explained, looking up at the stars while he sat beside me. He nodded along as a silence fell over us, Roosters gaze drifting to the night sky as well. "Why did you want to become a pilot?" I asked curiously, eyes still staring at the stars.

"Well, my father was a pilot, I wanted to follow his steps and keep his legacy alive" he claimed calmly with thought. "What about you?" He looked over at me.

"When I was a girl my mom worked for the navy, she always wanted to be a pilot but my father held her back from it, then she had me. She always used to tell me storys of her two friends Maverick and Goose" I smiled at the memory as Roosters face fell slightly, watching me carefully as I didn't know his relation to the aviators.

"So you wanted to be just like Maverick?" He wondered his voice stern with anger as he looked out in front of him.

"No" I laughed at his assumption. "I was actually inspired by Goose, always protecting his best friend from danger, going along and getting in trouble with him just to have his back" I continued with a fond smile, Roosters face growing soft once again.

"Well, from where I stand you are the best backseater anyone could ask for" he laughed. "Always putting up with my bullshit"

"My father and Daniel don't want me flying." I stated. "They think that my mother put 'silly ideas' into my head and that now I have to come back to reality and be a good little housewife" I mocked my fathers gruff voice. "But they don't understand the thrill of being up in the sky, flying through the clouds" I sighed dreamily as Rooster listened closely with interest. "It's like everything else disappears when we're up there, you know, it's just you and me. No Daniel, no father, just you and me"

~~~

"Okay, aviators, this is hop 31. Two weeks to graduation. Top Gun trophy is still up for grabs, so every point counts." Cyclone told us. Rooster and I looked over to Hangman and Coyote as we flew up at the early morning sunrise, having to work together despite our differences.

"Well, it's bottom of the ninth, the score is tied. It's time for the big one." I reported like a sports game.

"You up for this one, Rooster?" Hangman asked Rooster with a smirk.

"Just a walk in the park, Sersin." Rooster smirked back.

"Contact. Multiple bogies, 165." Coyote came over radio. "Two miles. Looks like they're going away from us."

"Ho, I see them, tallyho, right 2 o'clock. I'm in." Rooster said.

"I'm in." Hangman said sternly, both jets ducking to get into position.

"That son of a bitch cut me off." Rooster grumbled as Hangman flew in front of us.

"Rooster, play nice" I chastised, knowing this was going to determine who will take the lead.

"Come on, come on. Jesus Christ. Hangman, take the shot." Rooster grew annoyed as we flew behind Hangman, not able to get a clear shot of our own on the bogey.

"Come on, Hangman, get the hell out of there." I added, knowing it wasn't a good situation.

"I can't get the angle. I'm too close for missiles. I'm switching to guns." Hangman reported back to us.

"Hangman, fire or clear." Rooster ordered sternly. "Look at this! Jesus Christ, I can take a shot right here!" Rooster complains to me as he moved out of position slightly.

"I need another 20 seconds, then I've got it." Hangman claimed.

"I'm moving in. I've got the shot." Rooster said.

"Come on, Roos, let's get in there! Come on, Roos!" I urged him.

"Ten more seconds, then I've got him." Hangman promised as we moved to get our shot.

"Come on, Hangman, get the hell out of there! Let's do it, Roos." I grumbled, just wanting to finish this.

"Hangman, come off high right. I'm in." Rooster gave instructions.

"Five more seconds." Hangman stated, not listening to us.

"Come off high right, Hangman. I'm in." Rooster repeated.

"I'm off. Shit!" Hangman pulled out fast, pulling up. Rooster pulled in, going to take the shot when I failed to respond to him.

"Sunshine?" He asked out, lining up for the shot. "Sunshine, I'm taking the shot now, are we clear?" He asked again more sternly. "What the hell is going on back there?" He questioned, glancing back at me to see me in a daze, sweat dripping from my forehead as my breathing increased. "Shit" he muttered. "I'm taking the shot, Hangman" Rooster announced finishing the exercise with a bang.

"Good work, return to base" Jester told us all.

"Sir, when we land, Sunshine needs to see a medic" Rooster warned with concern.

"Alright, I'll have one meet you when you land" he replied before Rooster took us back to the base.

"Sunshine, how you holding up?" He checked in on me as we started our flight back. With a sigh he realized he needed me to calm down first and he had just the idea for that. "Here comes the sun. Here comes the sun and I say, it's alright" he began singing gently to me as we came in for our landing.

The canopy opened and my breathing had regulated slightly but I was still in a dazed panic state. He climbed onto the wing, unbuckling me and helping me out to the medics. He watched them take me away, knowing that I was in good hands.

~~~

"Looks like we are lining up for top spot" Rooster told Trace as he found her rushing out of the women's locker room.

"Rooster, Sunshine just quit" Phoenix reported to him, still in shock after finding my locker was cleared out.

"What? No she wouldn't quit" he shook his head, refusing to believe it. "Just last night we were talking about how much she loves flying"

"I'm going to check our room to see if she's there and if you find her, please tell her to come back" Phoenix pleaded with him, not wanting to lose me or have me lose myself.

"Yeah" he nodded back before they split up to find me.

~~~

"Excuse me. May I?" An all too familiar voice spoke from beside me at the airport bar, nodding to the empty seat beside me. Without an answer he took the seat, while I kept staring at the napkin in front of me blankly. "I'll have what she's having. Vodka, is it?" Rooster teased as he looked to me for the answer.

"Ice water." I answered the server politely. I looked away from Rooster again down to my fingers which I was tightening in a fist and releasing.

"You weren't gonna say goodbye?" He leaned forward and asked sadly, still trying to make me feel better.

"My father and Daniel want me back home" I explained simply, still avoiding eye contact.

"That's bullshit" Rooster told me with a scoff.

"Excuse me?" I looked to him with confusion.

"That's bullshit Sunshine, you won't let them control your life, this is your life, this is what your mother wanted for you, this is what you want" he reminded strongly, and passionately, thinking it was crazy I would ever doubt that.

"Well. . . It's good to see you." I offered him a small smile.

"Thanks." He nodded. "You don't even have a ticket, do you?" Rooster noted. "Listen, I've seen you prove yourself time and time again, and it's not a man's job. You're one of the best WSOs in the Navy. What you do up there, it's dangerous, especially trusting me everyday. But you've got to go on." He reminded.

"No, you don't understand." I mumbled with the shake of my head.

"When I first met you, you were larger than life. As bright as the sun. Look at you. You're not gonna be happy if you listen to your father. You know that" he continued to argue over me leaving.

"No, it's over. It's just over. I froze up" I said.

"To be the best of the best means you make mistakes and then you go on. It's just like the rest of us."

"Oh, you don't think I know that?" I asked sadly.

"I'm here to help." He said gently, just wanting me to smile again and be the person I was three years ago at the academy.

"Look, thank you. But if I wanted help, really, I would have asked for it." I replied coldly.

"So I'm too late. You've already left. Your not my Sunshine anymore" he nodded along in sad understanding. "You didn't learn a damn thing, did you? Except to quit. You've got that manoeuvre down real well. I'll see you around, Danvers" he stood and walked out and I gripped my hair in frustration.

I let out a groan of annoyance, knowing that Rooster was right and that I had to see this through to the end. Picking up my duffel bag I had made my way back to base and straight to Warlocks office.

"What's on your mind?" Warlock asked when I knocked on his door.

"My options, sir." I stated, standing at attention even while lacking my uniform due to the spontaneity of my visit.

"Simple. First, you've acquired enough points to show up tomorrow and graduate with your Top Gun class. Or you can quit. There'd be no disgrace. What you went through up there it and over the past few weeks would've shook me up" Warlock stated his understanding for my break down.

"So you think I should quit?" I asked, jumping to conclusions.

"I didn't say that. The simple fact is, you feel responsible for loosing your head, and you have a confidence problem." He described. "A good pilot is compelled to always evaluate what's happened. So they can apply what they've learned. Up there, we gotta push it. That's our job. It's your option, lieutenant, all yours." He finished.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but thank you very much for your time." I said, knowing what choice I was going to make.

"No problem. Good luck." Warlock shook my hand before I walked away.

~~~

"Is my bed still available?" I asked Trace as I entered our room.

"Danvers! Don't you ever scare me like that again, I thought I lost you!" She scolded as she jumped to pull me into a hug.

"You'll never lose me" I promised.

"Are you graduating with us tomorrow?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, but I left things kinda rocky with Rooster" I informed as I sat on my bed defeatedly.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll just be glad to have you back with him" she smiled encouragingly. We moved together like usual, getting ready for bed while managing to stay out of each other's way in the system we had built at the academy.

"You ready for lights out?" I asked once Trace was tucked into her bed comfortably.

"Yeah, I'm good whenever you are" she replied. I sent her a nod as I got up to turn off the light next to the door. The room went dark and quiet for a moment. "Shit!"

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Phoenix sat up quickly at the shout of pain, worry consuming her.

"Yeah, I just stubbed my toe" I groaned in pain, hobbling back to my bed and laying down while she laughed at me. "Hey, don't laugh. That could have been a deadly injury preventing me from graduating" I teased only adding fuel to her laughter as she fell back into her bed. Once we had both settled down calmly again I spoke up once more. "Night, Phoenix"

"Night, Sunshine" she replied, both of us falling into our states of exhaustion to get some much needed rest before our final day at Top Gun.

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Question of the day: do you think Daniel will stop Sunshine from achieving her dreams?