The Captain's Daughter (Bradley Bradshaw)

Chapter 11

Katie turned off her phone that night. She didn't want to deal with a drunk Bradley frantically calling her, drunkenly apologizing for what he did. She knew he'd never hurt her, but with everything going on...she needed a night without all the attention. She also didn't want to deal with the constant texting from Jake apologizing for hitting Bradley. She wasn't all that mad at him either. Well she was, because he gave her boyfriend a mean right hook, but also doesn't blame him for defending himself.

Nat stayed by Katie's side the whole night, calming her down and making her tea and some food. They stayed up and talked about everything. Katie told Nat everything about her mom, and why Iceman's death effected her so much. She also explained why Rooster was so upset about his death as well. Bob and Fanboy called Phoenix, saying by the time they got there, Rooster and Hangman were nowhere to be found. The only thing there was Rooster's bronco. Jake must've taken him home.

That next morning, Nat and Katie went for a run. They used to run together back when they were in Top Gun together, but they never ran more than a mile. This time, they ran up to about four miles in total. Shortly after they got back, Katie wanted to go home and decompress, so she left to go shower. As she was finishing up getting dressed, she heard a knock at the door. She opened the first door and saw Bradley standing there with a mountain of emotions going through his head. She opened up the screen door to let him come inside.

"You uh...you never picked up your phone last night." Rooster started.

"I didn't want to talk to anyone." She said simply.

"I came by afterwards and you weren't here?" He asked slightly worried.

"I never came home. I stayed with Nat." She crossed her arms.

"Kat, I am so so sorry. I never wanted to throw you on the ground. That's the last thing I ever wanted to do." He held her hands and he started to explain himself.

"I told you that you two shouldn't have fought. There was no reason." She shook her head.

"I know. I know. I should've listened to you. We should've listened to you." He cupped one side of her face.

"Where did you go afterwards? We sent Bob and Fanboy to go see if you were killing each other, and all they found was your car." She asked him.

"Jake took me back to his. I haven't slept. We were up all night talking. We basically argued a little more and then came to terms with everything. Everything is kind of mutual now." He explained.

She turned his face to look at his jaw. She gently rubbed it as he flinched, it clearly still being very sore. She took his hand, say him down on a barstool, grabbed a towel with some ice, and held it up to his cheek. He put his hand atop hers as she iced his jaw.

"He sure did give you a good punch." Katie chuckled.

"Oh I know. You know I'm sorry, Kat. For everything I put you through last night. You were upset and I just made it worse." He looked up at her.

"I know, honey, I know. I can't ever stay mad at you." She chuckled.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. She tilted his head up and gave him a very loving kiss. He pulled away and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back.

"You need some sleep, sweetheart." She said calmly to him.

"I know I do. I was just gonna crash in the couch." He said causing her to laugh.

"Bradley Bradshaw you no longer sleep on my couch.  The only time you're on my couch now is if we pass out down here watching movies. Go upstairs. There's some of your pjs in my dryer. You can change into those. Just go upstairs and I'll be right up." She smiled at him and threw the now wet towel in the sink.

"Okay, baby." He smiled and gave her another quick peck as he started for the stairs.

She watched him go upstairs and smiled. He was so perfect. She couldn't imagine life without him now. She went down the hall to grab some grey sweatpants and one of his tank tops to bring upstairs to him. When she got to her room she saw him already asleep on her bed. She smiled at how peaceful he looked. She gently put the clothes on her side of the bed, and took her little throw blanket and put it over him. She wanted to go see if Jake was up so she can go talk to him.

"Where ya goin?" Rooster's raspy voice echoed her bedroom.

"I'm going to Jake's, babe. I need to talk to him now. I'll be back soon. I love you." She smiled and kissed him.

"Love you too baby. Drive safe." He smiled and nuzzled back into her bed.

"I will. I put your pjs on my side of the bed." She chucked as she heard him groan in response.

She drove to Jake's house that was right around the corner from Phoenix's house. She saw him relaxing on his porch. She got out of her car and waved to him. He waved and nodded back. They sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before she finally spoke.

"Figured you would be asleep. Rooster told me y'all were up late talking." She looked over at him.

"Yeah we did. I hated seeing how upset you were last night, so I managed to convince him to stay the night at my place. He puked a few times, but after that was went we talked. About everything. It's safe to say now that Rooster and I can be considered friends." Hangman explained.

"Good. That's all I have ever wanted." She said relieved.

"I'm sorry for punching him. And making you upset. I knew what he needed to do, so I did my best to help him get there." He continued.

"I forgive you, Jake. You're one of my closest friends. You can never make me hate you." She smiled at him and he pulled her into a side hug.

"Love you, Tiger. You should probably get back to Bradshaw." He suggested.

"I love you too. I probably should. He's passed out on my bed right now. Go get some sleep, Jake." She hugged him again and got up go leave.

He waved her goodbye and then went to go pass out on his room. She came back to see Rooster still passed out on her bed, only he was changed into his pjs. She smiled and took her shoes and sweatshirt off and climbed into bed. Rooster woke up and pulled her into him, and gave her a deep kiss. That moment to the both of them was one of there many moments of ethereal euphoria. And they both couldn't wish off anything else. Well, except that they both survive this mission in 2 1/2 weeks.