Lt. Sadie 'Casper' Perez walked into the Hard Deck after being called back to Top Gun for a dangerous mission, only to be met with a glare from another Top Gun pilot. Will the hate between them bloom into something more? (Hangman x OC)
A faint, reoccurring beeping was bothering Sadie as she tried to sleep. She tried to lift her hand to pull her pillow over her head but a shooting pain travelling up her arm caused her to cry out. Opening her eyes, blinking slowly at the harsh light above her, she saw that she was in a sterile white room surrounded by medical equipment.
"Casper?" Hangman's voice came from beside her. Looking to her left she saw him sitting in a chair pulled close to the bed she was in. He had bags under his eyes and his uniform looked dishevelled like he had slept in it.
"You look like crap," she said causing him to laugh.
"You don't want to look in the mirror then," he replied through his chuckles.
"Do I look as bad as I feel?" she asked, laughing herself. "What the hell happened?"
"Well you crashed. Phoenix was hit by a bird and she lost control of her jet. They took out the wing of your plane on their way down. You all managed to get out and Phoenix and Bob were both ok, but you hit something as you ejected and broke some ribs."
Sadie looked down at herself seeing that her chest was wrapped loosely and there were small cuts littering her arms.
"How long have I been in here?"
"A couple of days. Everyone's been really worried about you."
"Where is everyone else," she asked seeing that the room was almost empty except for the two of them.
"At a funeral. Iceman passed away yesterday," he looked down at his hands. "I asked to stay behind. I wanted to be here when you woke up."
Sadie smiled at Hangman, trying to shift herself up in the bed but wincing when the pain flared up again. Hangman jumped up to his feet, looking concerned but Sadie waved him away, resigned to remain laying in bed. Hangman sat back down, pulling his chair even closer to the bed. As he sat he reached into his pocket, pulling something out and hiding it in his hand. Sadie raised an eyebrow at his suspicious actions. Hangman looked unsure of himself but he slowly reached his clenched fist forward until he dropped something into Sadie's hands.
Looking at the object in her hands she saw a shiny penny hanging on a necklace chain. Confused she shifted her eyes to meet Hangman's.
"They couldn't find your ghost in the wreckage," he stared, focusing on her hands as her talked rather than his face. "I know this isn't the same thing but this was my good luck charm. I want you to have it."
Sadie felt her heart melt. Hangman was so good when he wanted to be.
"I can't take your lucky penny."
"Please take it?" he urged, voice lower and wavering. "I just felt like I was going crazy when you got hurt not being able to do anything, and I don't know what'd I'd do if something else happened to you."
Sadie opened her mouth to say something, but a door opening to reveal a doctor entering, cutting the moment short.
"Excuse me Lieutenant, I'm going to have to ask you to leave while I preform a couple tests," the doctor said.
"Of course," Hangman replied, standing up sharply and hurrying from the room.
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Later that day, after she had been discharged from the medical bay, Sadie stood in front of the door marked with Cyclone's name. She had been ordered to report to his office as soon as she had been given the all clear from the doctors. While she was still mid-knock, the door swung open to reveal the admiral looking more stressed than usual.
"Lieutenant Perez, I'm glad to see that you're ok," he said opening the door wider and waving her inside.
"I'm not sure about ok Sir, but I am alive," she replied indicating her injured ribs and arm with her uninjured arm.
"Ah yes, my apologies. Did I hear correctly that you have several broken ribs?"
"Yes Sir, you did. They expect that I will be in recovery for the next six weeks."
He frowned slightly upon hearing this news, but he quickly tried to hide it.
"I'm sorry to hear that Lieutenant. It seems that you will no longer be in the running for this mission. In saying that, I will ask you to remain on base to continue to support your team remotely as they fly. Understand that this is not an expectation of you and that you are free to take this time off but..."
"I will stay Sir," Sadie said cutting him off. He gave her a pointed look before continuing.
"As I was saying, you are free to take this time off but I believe that your experience is invaluable especially now that we have removed Captain Mitchell from this posting." Sadie was shocked. They had gotten rid of Maverick? What did that mean for the mission? She was now even more sure that she should stay. "You can change your mind about staying until tonight. If you decide to stay, you will be expected on base with your fellow pilots tomorrow morning."
Cyclone picked up a stack of papers from his desk and Sadie took this as an indication that she was dismissed.
"I will see you tomorrow Sir."
Cyclone didn't look up from his papers but Sadie heard him sigh as she pulled the door shut behind her.
