Fly High and Go Far

Chapter Two: Old Friends and Familiar Faces

  Sam woke up Saturday morning to the smell of breakfast being cooked. It was a familiar smell to her, but also one of a distant past. It had been almost four years since she had left home, meaning San Diego. After being accepted to the Naval Academy, followed by flight school in Pensacola, her first duty station was San Diego. Then a tour at Top Gun in Nevada. And then out to a carrier based in Bremerton, Washington that moved to Yokosuka, Japan shortly after her arrival. She was lucky to have a brother who could work from home. Luke came to help her pack up her home there and move it back down to San Diego when her carrier homeport shifted. She had put in for shore duty at San Diego, knowing that she was most likely to get California due to her father, but being in Bremerton would allow her to easily transfer up to her second choice, Whidbey Island. And there she was, on partial shore duty in San Diego, and she couldn't complain. She was with her parents for the first time since she was a fresh LTJG, and now she was up for Lieutenant Commander.

  Walking through the halls of the grand house that was her childhood home, she admired the pictures that adorned the table in the entryway and upon the walls. Amongst them were her official Navy pictures. First one she spotted was her Naval Academy graduation picture, and as she stared at it, she fidgeted with her graduation ring. She had gotten her own ring with her graduation year, but the one she wore was her father's. She stood there smiling down at it and back up to her picture, as she reminisced of a young and naive child who begged her parents to let her apply. Next to that picture was her flight school graduation and simultaneous promotion to LTJG. The final picture that was of prominence was her class picture of her time at Fighter Weapons school, being the only picture of her as a Lieutenant.  The smaller photos were her squadrons, her friends, and one of her and another pilot named Natasha "Phoenix" Trace.

"There you are," her father croaked out from the entryway to the kitchen. He smiled at his daughter who smiled warmly back, walking towards him.

"Hi Dad, I'm up, don't worry," she chuckled. "Are you making breakfast behind Mom's back, or is she making breakfast?"

"Both," he spoke softly. The two shared a laugh, knowing that her dad was not allowed anywhere near the gas stove. Samantha was ushered into the kitchen area by her father by him grabbing her hand, where her mother slaved over a stovetop cooking eggs.  She turned to face her daughter and husband, smiling big with her spatula waving in the air.

"Morning, Sammy! You're just in time. It's french toast and egg morning," she announced, flipping a piece of toast and letting it sizzle. Samantha smiled gently and walked over to her mom's side, looking down at the pan and smelling the cinnamon.

"Do you want any help?" Sam asked, causing her mom to laugh at her daughter and shook her head.

"I can't let you or your father cook. Last time the two of you were in here cooking, we spent $20,000 redoing the kitchen a week later," she reminisced of a time that was over a decade ago, but felt as if it was the other day. But her mother was right. Sammy remembered when it was her mom's birthday, and her father wanted to make her mother's favorite meal. But her dad couldn't remember for the life of him how to make it exactly and tried to remember it, pulling it from memory. And Sammy laughed when she remembered the pan on the stove practically exploding, followed by it hitting the range hood, denting it severely. There was food plastered everywhere, and the look on her mother's face was not one you wanted to see.

"All right, Mom. Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and eat. I know the moment Peter and Luke find out that there's French toast, I won't be able to get seconds."  Her mom understood, knowing her sons all too well, and pointed to a cabinet where the plates had been for the past ten years.

Sammy grabbed a plate and sat at the bar while her father watched over her mother lovingly. She started to dig in when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it out, not knowing who was texting her, but recognized the name instantly.