Free Falling

Chapter 10: Worst Kind of Heartbreak

Following the day's review with Maverick, Annabelle straight away headed towards the base's infirmary. There were only thirty minutes left in visiting hours, but seeing Bob and Phoenix even for just a short time was better than not being able to see them at all. She decided to see Phoenix first, as she had been ushered away all to quickly by the med team before being allowed to see Annabelle on the tarmac. She found Phoenix laying quietly in her hospital bed, her headphones in her ears to drown out the noise surrounding her in the infirmary. Annabelle remembered this from the academy. After any particularly bad day, Natasha would hide in the solitude of her room, blasting music to block out any other distraction or thought that could possibly put her in a worse mood. Annabelle knew that this meant she wanted to be alone now, but she was hoping Nat might make an exception given the circumstances. As she moved to open the door, Natasha's head turned to meet her eyes, and she straightened up in her bed, removing her headphones as she did so. 

"Annie. I'm so sorry. I almost got Bob killed and I--" Natasha's words were cut off by Annabelle as she sat next to her on the bed and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. The tension in Phoenix's body lessened and she hugged her best friend back in response. "I thought you'd be so mad at me. I'm so sorry, Annie." Annabelle couldn't believe the words leaving her friend's mouth. If she hadn't just had a near death experience and weren't in a hospital bed right now, Annabelle would have slapped Natasha upside the head for such an assumption. So instead, she settled for a look of utter disbelief as she pulled back to look Nat in the eyes. 

"Nat, I was just as worried for you up there as I was for Bobby. You think I'd hurt any less if I had lost you instead of him? Natasha I can't imagine, I can't even entertain the thought of you dying. You're my best friend and I almost lost you today. How could you possibly think I'd blame you for something as random and unpredictable as a bird strike?" 

"I don't know. I'm sorry, I know that you care about me too, of course I do. But I also know that I'm responsible for Bob's life up there as well as my own. And that's a lot of pressure in and of itself, but now that Bob is also my best friend's boyfriend? I wouldn't blame you for hating me if anything ever happened to him while we were up in the air." 

"Natasha. Listen to me. From now on, I don't want you thinking like that up there." 

"But it's the truth--"

"No. You cannot put that much pressure on yourself. That kind of expectation is only going to hinder you mentally as a pilot. And I especially can't allow it to happen because of me. When you're up in the sky, Bob is just your back seater, nothing more. And so long as you guys listen to each other and trust one another, I know that you'll both always come home. And that's how it needs to be. You both need to always come home to me, okay?" With tears in her eyes, Natasha nodded her head in understanding, so grateful to have a friend like Annie here with her now. 

"I promise. I love you, Annie." 

"Oh, I love you too, Nat!" The girls pulled one another into yet another tight embrace. When they pulled away, Natasha made quick work of removing any sign of falling tears from her face, laughing lightly as she did so. 

"Okay. Enough with the heavy. Were you able to see Bob before they carted him over here?" 

"Yeah, I did. Warlock intervened and made it happen. Remind me to thank him for that." 

"And?"

"And what?" 

"What happened? When you and Bob talked to each other?" Annabelle blushed lightly as she thought back to the conversation, now able to think of it in a much happier light. 

"He told me that he loves me. And I told him I love him back." Although Annabelle spoke in a soft and calm tone, Natasha could tell that she was struggling to contain her excitement at the latest advance in their relationship.