The entire day I was in a bad mood. Rooster had been able to work around that, trying not to aggravate me any more during flight training and in class lessons.

"Hey, you wanna come to the Hard Deck with us tonight?" Rooster offered an idea to keep me away from Daniel longer as they all knew I was probably planning many ways to get rid of him, most of which would be illegal.

"Yeah, that sounds great" I agreed right away, needing to take the edge off.

As soon as our team entered the bar, Penny started getting the drinks ready, Maverick having filled her in on my rough day.

"Thanks, Penny" Rooster nodded to her as he grabbed the teams drinks, Penny having them ready when we walked in. The night went on as Penny kept the drinks coming, Rooster keeping a close eye on me as he only had a drink or two over the whole night.

The door opened and in walked a man, if you could even call him that, who acted like he owned the place, except this time the boy stood out like a sore thumb. He glanced around in search of someone specific through the crowd of beige uniforms, me glaring at him from where I sat beside the pool table, sipping my drink.

The guy spotted me after a moment and started pushing his way through the crowd towards us. Rooster stepped in front of me protectively, Phoenix 'accidentally' spilling her drink of the guy as he passed her, curses leaving his mouth as he looked to her with deep offence. The others stopped their games and conversations, staring at him sternly with warning looks.

"You are coming with me right now, Nicole" he reached past Bradshaw to grab my arm.

"I'm not going anywhere with you" I shot back, yanking my hand away.

"You need me, Nicole" he reminded as if it was a strong point he had made.

"I do not need you, and I never did" I glared at him as the others were ready to jump in at any moment. The bell rang out in the bar and everyone looked to Penny who simply nodded to Hangman and Rooster.

"Finally" Hangman mumbled with a smirk. They each grabbed Daniel by the arms, dragging him out as Phoenix checked up on me, getting me another drink when I finished the one in my hands.

"You can't steal my girl chicken!" Daniel shouted to Rooster as they turned to walk back inside after dropping him in the sand.

"She was never your girl" Rooster replied in disgust towards my ex.

"I got to admit, Bradshaw, if she dates you she would be taking a big step up from that jackass" Hangman commented as they stepped back into the bar together.

~~~

As the night grew long and I grew drunk, Phoenix decided it was time to take me home. She helped me stumble up the walkway to my house only to find a yellow notice on the door. An eviction notice.

Eviction notice. Due to sudden disturbances and disrespect to property you have 24 house to leave the premises.

"Shit" Phoenix cursed, knowing I would not be happy to realize Daniel got me kicked out of my house.

"Rooster, you still at the Hard Deck?" Phoenix called him.

"Yeah, Bob and I were just leaving" he replied, getting into his truck with her WSO.

"Can you come by, Sunshines house? Daniel got her evicted and I need help packing up her things" she said as she unlocked my door and guided me to the couch to sit down.

"We're on our way" he promised before hanging up. A few moments later the naval aviators and my closest friends were packing up my few belongings into the back of Roosters bronco.

As Phoenix got me into the truck, Bradshaw offering to take me in for the night, my partner was grabbing the last thing from my house, a little black notebook that sat wide open on the coffee table.

Pulling you two apart was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But I knew you would find your way back to each other like you always did. I had always hoped you two would end up together, even from your young age I could tell you would love each other like Goose and Carole.

I never wanted you to be with Daniel, but your father always had his way, making sure you lived the horrible life of mistakes that I had suffered through with your father. I was always hoping that you and Bradley would find each other again and stay together this time, him keeping you safe from the world like he promised many times and you staying by his side through the thick and thin of it. Your chemistry and trust in each other is deeper than many people who have been married for years, don't lose that trust.

I know you may be scared of love now, but with the right person it should feel like flying.

"Bradshaw, you ready?" Phoenix asked as she walked back in.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming" he nodded, closing up the notebook and letting Trace lock up the house. When he got into the drivers seat he waved to Phoenix as her and Bob drove off before he looked over at me, head resting against the window as I snored softly. With a soft smile he put the notebook in my bag and pulled away from the house, going back to his own house.

~~~

"Good morning sunshine" Rooster nudged me awake with a singsong tone at the ungodly hour. I grumbled as I held my head in pain, the sky still being dark. "Oh that's gotta hurt, here take this" he offered me some Advil and water he had on hand. I looked around confused to find I wasn't at my own house, I was at Roosters. "Come on, you gotta get ready for work, I'll fill you in on the way there" He stated, handing me my duffel bag as he left to give me privacy.

"He got me evicted?" I asked with a scowl.

"Yeah, but we contacted Warlock and he said there is a room on base for you, so we can move you things in after training" Rooster explained the bright side of things.

"And I spent the night at your house? Drunk?" I wondered next, afraid of what answer I was about to get.

"Yeah, I let you have the bed while I slept on the couch" he shrugged back and I sighed in relief. "Here we are" Rooster announced as we pulled into the base parking lot. Getting out of the truck I put on my sunglasses to block out the sun, wincing at the throbbing in my head.

"Oh fuck off!" I shouted in a groan as Daniel was waiting outside of the front doors.

"You have to come home with me" he started.

"I don't have to do shit" I shot back. "In fact I have a job to do right here so go back to that hell hole that you love so dearly and leave me the fuck alone" I snapped, Rooster pulling me into the building for work before I made any mistake.

~~~

"He's still out there" I grumbled, looking out of a window during class training. Maverick tried his best to ignore Daniel, not wanting to cause a scene but then Daniel started shouting inside to us.

"Nicole, come out here right now so I can take you home!"

"Who can tell me what went wrong in this simulation?" Maverick prompted the question as I sank further into my seat.

"You aren't leaving this base without me, Nicole! I've brought some friends to help me grab you in case you try to run away again!"

"Is this dude for real?" Hangman scoffed.

"Just because your mother told you that you should be with Chicken, doesn't mean you have to listen, we were perfect for each other and you threw that away because of a crazy lady who couldn't hold her mouth shut!"

"That's enough" Rooster stated as Maverick nodded to him. Rooster and everyone else stood up and marched out, leaving Maverick and I behind.

"What?" I looked back as everyone walked out.

"Go see" Maverick told me, giving me permission to leave with them as he knew what was about to happen.

"Maverick, your whole team just walked out, what is going on?" Cyclone demanded as he entered the classroom after the crowd of aviators walked out.

"They are fixing the problem you created as a team" Maverick stated back with a proud smirk, Warlock trying to hold back his own smirk at the situation.

I walked out and found Rooster standing against Daniel sternly. His friends went to stand up behind him when the aviators stepped up, warning them with glares to back off now.

"She is not for you to control so move on" Rooster ordered sternly, trying to keep things civil.

"Just because you want her doesn't mean she wants you, I know Nicole and she's just living in a fantasy land her mother told her was real"

"That's it" I sighed with annoyance and Phoenix watched as I gently pushed past Rooster. I punched Daniel square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground roughly as I glared daggers at him. "That's for my mother" I stated in her defence. "Now back the fuck off and leave me and my team to finish this mission that someone as weak as you could never pull off" and with that I spun back around and walked inside with confidence, the others following me in slight shock and pride.

"All good?" Maverick asked when we all returned to our seats. Everyone nodded, satisfied with how things ended, Daniel running away with his tail between his legs.

~~~

"Admiral." Maverick greeted as he stepped into Iceman's home office. "How's my wing man?" Maverick pulled up a seat beside him.

I want to talk about work. Iceman typed out on his computer screen.

"Please, don't worry about me. What can I do for you?" Maverick asked only for Iceman to point to the screen sternly as a way of repeating his statement. "All right." Maverick sighed before nodding and giving in.

"Well, Rooster's still angry with me about what I did. I thought eventually he would understand why. I hoped he'd forgive me." Maverick explained himself. "And Sunshine, I barely even know her yet she seems amazed by me and glad that I knew her mother. But I feel bad for not being there for her after all she went through"

Theres still time. Iceman typed out next. Maverick read the statement and shook his head sadly.

"The mission is less than three weeks away. The kid's not ready." Maverick stated in protest.

Then teach him.

"He doesn't want what I have to give." Maverick started and Iceman sent him a dismissive wave. "Ice, please, don't ask me to send someone else to die. Please don't... Don't ask me to send him." The reckless pilot begged. "Send me."

It's time to let him go. Iceman typed and Maverick let out a shakey sigh at the words, not wanting to accept it.

"I don't know how." he admitted after a moment to regain himself, in a soft tone while holding back tears.

"I'm not a teacher, Ice." He spoke slowly, trying too keep his tears back. "I'm a fighter pilot." Maverick rubbed at his face. "A naval aviator. It's not what I am. It's who I am. How do I teach that?" he questioned, not knowing the answer himself.

"Even if I could teach it, it's not what Rooster wants. It's not what the Navy wants. That's why they canned me the last time. The only reason I'm here is you." Maverick stated. "If I send them on this mission, they might never come home. And if I don't send them, Rooster will never forgive me. Either way, I could lose him forever." He let out a sigh at his admittance. Glancing back at the screen as Iceman stayed still, Maverick reread the words.

It's time to let go.

"I know. I know." Maverick nodded as he took in a deep breath. Iceman stood with a cough, Maverick standing with him.

"The Navy needs Maverick." Iceman spoke hoarsely and slowly to get his point clearly across. "The kids need Maverick. That's why I fought for you. That's why you're still here." Iceman told him with what strength he had left. Maverick nodded and they pulled each other in for a tighter hug.

"Thank you, Ice, for everything." Maverick said holding him close.

"One last thing. Who's the better pilot? You or me?" Iceman pulled back to look at him, asking his question with a smirk.

"This is a nice moment. Let's not ruin it." Maverick told him with a smile as they both chuckled softly.

...................................................
Question of the day: Do you think Daniel will stay away for good this time?