Stars - Iceman (Top Gun)

Thirteen

The helicopter landed and the medics took Sarah out in a hospital bed, rolling her to the medical wing. They informed her that she would stay overnight there, but she could fly the next day. The sun was setting and she could see the horizon as she was wheeled into the building.

The rest of the pilots all gathered into a meeting room where Viper was waiting for them. Once they were all seated, he began to speak. "Riser's plane was shot down by a missile earlier today." Gasps rose across the room as the pilots who did not know had looks of shock across their faces. Tom began to shiver and was shaking so violently that he thought he was going to pass out again. Pete put his arm on Tom's and it calmed him down.

Viper continued, "The medical helicopter just arrived on the premises. They have informed me that Sarah is perfectly fine, and that she needs to spend the night at the medical wing. She will be suit to fly tomorrow."

Tom let out a sigh of relief, but he still remained shaking. He raised his hand, it was trembling and would not stay still.

"Yes, Iceman?" Viper acknowledged him.

He started out in a voice barely above a whisper. It was hard to use his words. "When... when are we able to see her?"

"You may see her at any time. Since you were the closest to her during that incident, you may visit her now," Viper said, sensing his worry for Sarah.

Tom nodded and got up, his legs were still trembling, but he walked towards the hospital wing. He took a few seconds to calm down and walked inside. Sarah was there on a hospital bed, unscathed. As soon as she saw who it was, her face broke out into a wide smile and she held her arms out for Tom to hug her. He sprinted across the wing to her and hugged her very tightly.

"I... can't breathe..." she managed to get out under his tight grip. He let her go and held her hands. Then, he kissed her with the force of a man that won't let his lover go again.

They broke apart and his sharp blue eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? Viper said you were fine, but I want to hear it from you."

"I'm fine, silly. The missile just missed me, and I wasn't hit by any debris. I consider myself lucky for that," She laughed and he eased up. He felt like he could breathe properly again.

"Do not EVER scare me like that again, you hear me?" He said in a voice of authority.

"Yes, boss!" She smiled playfully and he melted inside. To think that I could have lost her... I would have never seen that smile again...

He hugged her again and the medics told him that he had to go because it was nighttime. He gave her one last kiss and left. In bed, he slept peacefully that night knowing that she was safe and sound at the base.

————————

Sarah's POV:

She was still smiling from when Tom saw her. She hoped that her incident didn't scare him that much, but knowing him, he probably passed out.

She fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up until the next morning. The medics told her that she could not go to breakfast because they had to do a few more checks on her. There was a knock on the ward door, and Pete and Nick came walking in.

"Sorry we couldn't see you yesterday, Tom took up all the time," Nick said, staring into her eyes.

She laughed, "It's okay! I'm perfectly fine. No debris hit me and I'm safe here."

Nick nodded and stepped back. Pete hugged her and she laughed in his arms. "It's good to see you too!"

They broke apart and both Pete and Nick stayed in the medical wing until Sarah was discharged.