Top Gun Imagines

32. Surprise Fiancé (Bob - Robert Floyd)

(Published July 21, 2023) 

   "Flash, he's on your tail!"
   "Smoke in the air, smoke in the air!"
   "Look out!"
   "I'm coming, hold on, guys."
   "We're hit, Flash, he got us!"
   I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the words that had been yelled at me during the dogfight we just escaped.  I knew I ought to be climbing out of the now holey plane, but I needed a moment to get my bearings.  Rudolph and I had almost gone down.  If it hadn't been for Payback, we would've.  He had saved our necks, taking care of the bogie who had been on us.  We had taken some damage, but we were alive.  I had to thank him for that. 
   "Flash, you coming?" Rudolph asked as he began climbing from the plane. 
   "Yeah, I just needed a second." I assured him, beginning to undo the seatbelts. 
   "Never seen you fly that well in your life!  Good job." He grinned. 
   "Thanks, but we need to thank Payback." I warned him, hoping the clown-like WSO wouldn't forget.
   "Right, right, right." Rudolph chattered as he disappeared onto the deck. 
   With a chuckle, I moved to pull my arms out of the straps and gasped at the pain.  One quick glance at the sleeve that was darkening with blood told me my answer.  I had known that the front glass had gotten hit, but I hadn't felt myself get shot!  Adrenaline must've numbed it, I realized.  Wincing, I carefully freed my arm.  I knew I was going to need help getting down, though, and Rudolph was long gone. 
   Climbing up so I could attempt my descent, I spotted a figure waiting next to my plane.  "Bob?"
   "Hey, just wanted to be sure you were okay." He explained, giving me a nervous smile. 
   "Um, I...  If I fall, will you try to keep me from landing on my face?" I asked with a sheepish grin. 
   He didn't find it funny.  "What do you mean?  Why would you fall?"
   I didn't answer and simply began working my way down the ladder.  My arm stung so bad my eyes filled with tears and I couldn't see clearly.  I could see Bob's shape move closer in case I needed help.  Fortunately, I made it to the deck without a problem.  Once there, though, I couldn't hide the tears pouring from the pain and the bloody sleeve from my co-worker. 
   "Oh shit, Flash." He breathed.  Without a second's hesitation, he grabbed my good arm and slid it around his shoulder, helping support my weight.  "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
   "Honestly, I have no clue." I pulled my good arm back for a moment to wipe my eyes so I could see before letting him have it again.  "I didn't even feel this one at first."
   He gave my suit a good once over before nodding once.  "Tell me if anything else hurts.  I'll take you to the medics."
   Since my legs and body seemed fine, we made it across the deck easily.  Once we made it to the door, though, a wave of dizziness washed over me.  I grabbed at the wall for extra support with my bad arm, knowing Bob wasn't prepared for me to pass out on him.  He halted, turning worried blue eyes to me.  I blinked a few times, the pain and the dizzying spin making it hard to focus. 
   "Flash, stay with me." He whispered.  Then, his attention was taken by something else, something on my suit.  "Oh shit, no."
   And with that, black swallowed my vision and I felt myself collapse.

----------

   A monitor beeped somewhere nearby, informing me before my eyes even opened that I was in a hospital.  Now reluctant to open them and see who might be nearby, I focused on breathing steadily.  I didn't feel pain anywhere, but then again I wasn't moving and was probably on heavy medicine.  The smell of cleaning chemicals was the only scent I could make out, and there were no other nearby sounds besides the beeping monitor.  The rest were muffled, probably by a door. 
   Finally, I opened my eyes.  There was no one else in the room, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.  It meant I wasn't in critical shape and hadn't been out very long.  If I had been critical, my family would be here. 
   As I glanced around, I found a few tubes shoved in my good right arm.  The one that had taken a bullet was bandaged tightly and hopefully numbed from medicine because I couldn't move my fingers.  I tried to spot the wound on my abdomen, but a blanket they had laid on me hid it.  Just as I was about to take the blanket off, a nurse scuttled in. 
   "I'm so glad you're up, honey!  How do you feel?  Are you in pain?"
   "No," I said quietly, my voice not ready to speak normally yet.  I wondered how long I had been out. 
   "Good, good.  I'll grab Dr. Wells to come check on you while I call your fiancé.  He's been calling twice a day to check on you, the sweetheart."
   The nurse was gone before my mind could fully process what she said.  Finance?  Who was I supposedly marrying and why wasn't I informed of this before now?  I glanced at the bedside table, but there were no cards or flowers to give away this mysterious person who was claiming me.  I frowned, utterly confused. 
   "Lieutenant Allen, glad to see you're conscious again.  You had quite the dogfight, I heard." A deep voiced young doctor walked in, his eyes focused on the clipboard in his hands. 
   "Yes, sir." I answered, having to clear my throat before speaking. 
   "Well, lets take a peek at your injuries.  Nurse Gustin will join us once she finishes the required calls."
   "May I ask who she's calling?" I asked, hoping to get a clue or a name for my 'fiancé'.
   "Your commanding officer, your WSO," He gave me a reassuring smile.  "And your fiancé."
   Groaning inwardly, I closed my eyes.  It was like a real life version of 'While You Were Sleeping', only I didn't have a sister for the mystery man to end up with. 
   Dr. Wells ran his tests, checked my wounds, and had the nurse wrap them back up again.  The second bullet had gone into my stomach, fortunately missing most vital organs.  It still tore things up, so Dr. Wells told me I was going to be staying in the hospital for a while yet.  I thanked them for helping me and fixing me up, knowing it could've been a lot worse.  They had even said so themselves.
   "Alright, you rest up, honey.  He should be here before morning to visit you." The nurse assured me. 
   I opened my mouth to ask who 'he' was, but decided against it.  I didn't want to make them think I had amnesia.
   I must have fallen asleep again shortly after they left because I found myself startled awake by someone grasping my hand.  They pulled their hand away instantly, a male voice mumbling a sort of apology.  My eyes snapped open to find Bob sitting beside my hospital bed, his cheeks flushed.
   "Bob!" I grinned, glad to see him.  "What are you doing here?"
   "I, uh, visiting you." He stammered, smiling back.  "Are you okay?"
   "I guess so?  They'll be keeping me for a while, so who knows." I glanced around the room, but it was empty except for us.  A quick look at the clock on the wall said it was three in the morning.  "Shouldn't you be asleep?"
   He glanced down at his hands in his lap and shook his head.  "I asked them to call me when you woke up."
   "Yeah, they told me they called a bunch of people." I frowned.  "They said they were calling my fiancé.  I don't have a fiancé, but both the doctor and nurse were pretty convinced that I did."
   I looked over at Bob to see his reaction and found him blushing again.  He shifted nervously in his seat and kept his eyes lowered.  Suddenly, I began to put the pieces together. 
   "Bob, did you know about this?"
   He coughed nervously.  "Um...  They wouldn't let me see you if I wasn't your WSO or family, so I, uh...  I told them I was going to marry you but we couldn't make it official because we were stationed on the same ship."
   "Clever!" I laughed softly while my heart squeezed happily.  My best friend cared so much, he'd find a way around rules so he could be sure I was okay.
   "Not really," He chuckled, still blushing. 
   "Why are you so embarrassed about it?  You're still blushing." I pointed out, wondering if he was too warm.  It didn't feel hot, but then I was still on meds. 
   "Well, um..." He still wouldn't look at me. 
   "Bob," I encouraged when he didn't continue.  "Bob."
   Finally he took a deep breath and looked up at me.  "I really care about you, Flash."
   "I know," I smiled softly.  "I care about you, too."
   "Not in that way." He shook his head, seeming to be fighting silently with himself.  "Flash, I think I'm in love with you."
   To say I was surprised was an understatement.  I stared at him a moment, trying to process the words he had just uttered.  As I did, his blush intensified and I felt guilty making him stress about it while I tried to get my brain to work. 
   "C-could you say that again, please?" I requested.
   "I think I'm in love with you." He took a deep breath before starting to ramble.  "I don't know when it happened 'cause we've been best friends for so long and I've cared about you since we met.  I didn't want to say anything because I don't really even know what I'm feeling, but while you've been here things haven't been okay.  I can't hardly focus, knowing you're hurt and, well, before the phone call, not knowing if you'd make it and it was killing me thinking that I might not be able to say goodbye.  Not that I wanted to, but it'd be worse if I couldn't, you know? 
   "I called to check on you a few times, just so I could fall asleep or take off on a mission with the reassurance that you were still alive.  And when I got the call that you had woken up, I actually prayed and thanked God.  I've been trying to decide if these feelings are brotherly or romantic love, but I didn't have a good answer until your reaction to my calling you my fiancé.  When you didn't get mad...  All I know is that I love you in some way and I can't stand the thought of losing you."
   I stared at him for a moment more.  I was unsure if the amount of words he had just uttered in a row or his declaration of love surprised me more.  Either way, I was shocked.  It took me a minute to decide where I wanted to take this. 
   "So..." I began slowly, putting the right words together in my head.  He glanced up at me, his eyes hopeful behind his gold rimmed glasses. 
   "So you're saying you'd like to make this engagement a real thing?"
   "Yes, eventually, but I figure we ought to date for a while first.  Just to do things properly." He said in a rush, smiling nervously. 
   "You're probably right.  Haste makes mistakes."
   I held out my good hand for his and he slid his warm palm eagerly onto mine, entwining our fingers. 
   "You'll never be a mistake for me.  You're my best friend." He assured me with a smile. 
   "Ditto, Bob." I replied, returning his cheesy smile.