Whiskey | Bradley Bradshaw

10

The rest of the week seems to fly by ever so quickly. The pilots continue to train with their instructor, but morale seems to be ever so low. The team doesn't have their spark. It's obvious already who's not gonna make the cut, but Maverick just has to figure out a way to get the rest into shape. He sees they have the potential, they just need to unlock it.

The Admirals watch over the pilots carefully, but especially over the Captain.

By the end of the day on Friday, the pilots want to celebrate their first week of training. They all pile into the Hard Deck and begin drinking away.

Evie is one of the last to enter the bar. She walks through the door with something of a smile on her face, but that smile quickly fades once she sees her ex-husband with his arm around another girl.

She hasn't seen him in years, and this is far from what she wanted to see.

She knew he was fucking somebody else, but this is the first time she's seen it.

Evie cuts through the crowd of people in order to make her way to the restroom where she kicks open a stall and expels the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl as her anxiety floods her body.

A hand touches her back, and she leans away from the embrace, looking back to find a familiar face.

" You okay?" Phoenix asks.

" The fuck does it look like?" Evie groans as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

" It looks like you had too much to drink," Natasha comments as Evie gets off the floor.

" Yeah right," Evie scoffs as she washes her hands in the sink.

Evie grabs a towel to dry off her hands, but her silence is not enough for the LT.

" What happened?" Natasha questions with crossed arms.

" Oh, nothing," Evie starts sarcastically, " Just saw my ex for the first time in years with another girl."

" Oh shit," Natasha comments as she drops her arms, " He didn't get fired?"

" It's hard to get fired when your dad is a Rear Admiral," Evie notes as she leans back against the sink, " Ever hear of Rear Admiral Klien?"

" No fucking way," Natasha exclaims with wide eyes, " Your ex is Lieutenant Commander David Klien?"

" Call sign: Grizzly," Evie affirms, " And yet I'm the one who got demoted."

" What for?"

" Being a woman."

Natasha nods in solidarity, for she is no stranger to how the military treats them for their gender. Natasha has never let it stop her, but she knows it has stopped many others, and now she knows how it has stopped her friend.

Evie bites her lip, sighing as she looks down at the ground.

" I think I'm just gonna head home," She states, " Not really in a celebrating mood."

" I'll drive you," Natasha offers as she steps forward, " Haven't had a drink."

" Natasha it's fi--"

" I'm driving you home," Natasha states, rephrasing herself to no longer be posing a question.

Evie huffs but shrugs as she follows the brunette out of the bathroom and into the parking lot of the bar. Evie gives her the address, and soon enough Evie's back home. She thanks Natasha for the ride, then instantly makes her way to her bedroom where she collapses onto the bed. She gives herself a few minutes before she gets up to remove her fight suit and boots from her body.