IN THE CLOUDS ~ BRADLEY BRADSHAW

saved by hangman

GRACE IMMEDIATELY DID A DOUBLE TAKE on what just happened and who she ran into, and that this man is still holding her in his arms.

"Gracie," Bradley said for the now second time, still not releasing her from his tight grip.

"You lost the privilege to call me Gracie a long time ago Rooster." She snipped.

If you call someone their first name, it was special because they often just went by their call signs.

"I-I um" He barely muttered out, and he let her go gently.

"Look Barbie, can we just talk for a minute. It's um, it's been a while." Rooster said to the blonde, who was contemplating his offer until she felt a presence behind her.

"A little lovers quarrel over here, huh?" Hangman said to the two.

The pair just awkwardly parted from each other and Grace so desperately wanted to go back to her new base and unpack.

"No. I was just leaving to unpack. We have a long day ahead of us." Grace quickly explained as she checked her pockets for her phone and wallet making sure it was all there.

"Need some help unpacking sweetheart?" Hangman offered with a wink.

Hangman and Rooster were rivals. Hard core. This would only make Rooster jealous, and honestly that was what Grace wanted to do at this exact moment. She wanted him to feel the same hurt that he left her with.

It looked like they were also having a battle of masculinity. They were each staring each other down.

"I would be happy to help you too, Barbie." Rooster offered as he stared daggers into Hangman's eyes.

Why does he care now? He broke it off with her.

"I'd love if you could help me Hangman." Grace said as she smiled sweetly at him. They were friends back at base, so this would be like a catch up.

"Great, I'll follow your car." Hangman said as he started walking out the bar.

"C'mon Barbie. Why do you feel the need to do something with trash like him." Rooster said with a scoff.

"Excuse me? First of all, I'm not doing anything with him. Secondly, when do you even care?" Grace said walking away to her car before Rooster could get another word in. She didn't have the energy to fight with him today.

"So do you actually need help? Or did you just need saving?" Hangman asked his old friend.

"Just your saving." Grace said with a small smile as she walked with Hangman to the parking lot.

"I could tell when he walked into the bar that something was up. You looked like a deer in the headlights." He said with a chuckle.

Grace had reached her car by now. She thanked Hangman, and drove to her new base apartment to unpack for the night and get settled.

*

Grace woke up in a good mood the next morning. She put her hair into two braids at the top and they met at a tight military bun. She was so glad they could wear braids now.

She then got dressed into her navy uniform, then proceeded to make her bed and jumped in her car, with her protein shake in hand.

Grace loved the feeling of flying, but when you were higher up in the ranks, you didn't get to fly as much. That made Grace scared for the future of her career.

It's no secret that Grace is an amazing pilot. Along with her training from Top Gun, her dad also taught her what he knew, because he wanted his daughter to be the best.

Grace finally parked in the lot, and walked up to their new classroom so they could see their new instructor, and have their first class.

"No assigned seats. Just take a seat wherever." Said someone Grace assumed to be the admiral.

Grace looked around for an open seat, but to her luck the only open seat was next to Rooster. Great.

She walked over and sat down in the chair next to him, trying her best to sit as far away from his as possible as they were waiting on their instructor to get there.

"Barbie. Can we please talk? I need to clear the air." Rooster sounded sincere. Grace just ignored him. It was too early for this.

"Barbie, please. I want to make things right." Rooster said again to the girl. Grace decided that she was considering his offer more than she thought she was.

Just as she was about to respond to him they heard footsteps from most likely their new instructor, and Rooster let out a sigh.

Grace couldn't believe who it was. She could, but she couldn't. It was her Dad.

As soon as Mavericks eyes locked with his daughters, he just stared at them for a second, and then his eyes flicked to Rooster and started at him for a second.

Why did her dad stare at him? This was all so weird.

"Your new instructor is very well trained and one of the best aviators. He will teach you what you need to know for this new mission. Here he is. Captain Pete Mitchell, call sign, Maverick." The admiral announced as he took a step down from the podium, and Maverick took his place.

"Okay, let's just start with the basics." Mav said the pilots, holding up the books that they had already read.

"But Mav, we all know the book inside out." Payback said to the instructor.

"Well, so do your enemies," Mav continued.

Grace couldn't believe that her dad was the teacher. She never thought of him as the teaching type.

"Alright pilots. Let's split you guys up into groups. If you work in a pair, let's have you go this side of the room." Her dad said as some pilots migrated to that side of the open classroom.

"Then if you fly alone, or plan on being a team leader or wingman, go to this side." He said as Grace got out of her seat and followed two other men there. Hangman and Rooster.

Two out of the three of them would make it on mission. One of them would be cut, and that was Maverick's decision.