The Captain's Daughter (Bradley Bradshaw)

Chapter 22

Flashback:

"You've been promoted to Lieutenant, Blackwood." Katie's CO told her.

"Thank you, sir." She nodded with a smile.

"You've been sent to Key West, Lieutenant Blackwood. You're to report there in a week." She was told.

She knew what that meant. She hoped Bradley was going to the same place. She couldn't imagine being that far away from her best friend.

Later that evening, Katie heard a knock on her door. It was Hangman.

"Hey, Tiger." He smiled.

"Hey!" She smiled and kissed him.

"How was your day?" He sat down on her couch.

"It was good. Got promoted to Lieutenant. Also got told I'm getting sent to Key West, and I have to be there within the week." Katie told him.

"Oh wow. Congratulations on the promotion though! I'm getting sent to Hawaii. They just told me today." He smiled.

"I'm glad those are on two very opposite ends of the country." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah. Listen I've been thinking. You know I love you, but I think it'll be too hard for us to stay together." He said sadly.

"Are you saying you wanna break up?" She asked him.

"I just think it might be better for us. There's nothing wrong with you. Like I said, you know I love you. I just think we'll both be better off if we didn't try and make it work over 4,000 miles apart." He got up to take her hands.

"I can't say I'm not upset. But, you're right. You're always gonna be special to me, Jake." He smiled up at him.

"I know I'm so sorry. I still wanna be friends with you if you want to?" He suggested.

"Oh of course I do. You're one of my best friends. I'm always gonna love you." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Okay well I gotta go. But I wanna see you off when you leave." He kissed her forehead and walked out the door. Before he got in his car, he looked back at her and sadly smiled.

What Katie didn't know is that he didn't break up with her because of the distance. He would've made it work. He just knew she didn't really love him like she loved Rooster. He knew she would never admit it, but he knew she loved him. He also knew how in love Rooster was with her. He overheard him and Phoenix talking at lunch. He also said how jealous he was of him. That he had Katie when he didn't. He didn't want to be the person that keeps them apart. He knew Katie loved him, and they did hook up a few times, but he knew she loved Rooster more.

She was upset about the break up, but she knew he Hangman had a good heart and wouldn't deliberately hurt her. She knew he had a huge ego and was really narcissistic, but she knew he had a soft spot for her.

She heard another knock on her door. Part of her wanted it to be Hangman, saying it was all stupid and that he wanted to be together. She did care about him. She loves him. Part of her knew she loved him, but also the bigger part of her wanted Rooster. She hated herself for it, knowing he had a girlfriend. She opened the door and saw it was Rooster.

"Bradley!" She smiled and hugged him, burying the sadness of the breakup.

"Hey! Guess what?" He smiled as he shut the door.

"What up, Bradshaw?" She smiled.

"They promoted me to Lieutenant!" He told her.

"That's so great!" She hugged him.

"Yeah!! I asked them if I can get stationed in Texas, and they're letting me go!" He said with a smile as hers faltered.

"Texas?" She asked.

"Yeah! It's where my parents home is, and it's where they're buried. I feel at home in Texas, Blaze. Why? Where are you going?" He asked her.

"Key West." She said quietly.

"Oh. Well damn." Rooster said sadly

"It doesn't help that Hangman just broke up with me too. He's going to Hawaii and said he didn't want us to suffer from the distance." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry. That sucks." He pulled her in for a hug.

"It's fine. We still are friends, so it's gonna work itself out. But now I lose both of you." She wiped a tear away.

"Hey you're never gonna lose me. We may get separated, but you will always be my best friend. No one is ever gonna replace you. Not ever." He hugged her as her tears silently fell.

She spent the week packing what she wanted to take with her. She thought about selling the house, but she figured she'll be back at some point, so she left what wasn't worth taking. If she left Key West, she would come back and pack everything else up and sell the house. Hangman and Rooster helped her pack. Phoenix had already shipped out overseas.

"I miss Nat." She said to Rooster.

"You'll see her again. As long as you stay in contact with her, you two can meet up somewhere if she ever comes back to the states." He suggested.

"Yeah you're right." She said as she continued to pack. Hangman had gone out to get them food. She could tell Rooster was staring at her.

"What is it, Bradley?" She looked at him with a smile.

Now was the perfect time for him to tell her. Tell her that he loves her...that he's loved her this whole time. That he wants to be with her no matter the distance. His problem was that he didn't know if she felt the same way.

"I-I-" He couldn't find the words.

"Hey, you okay? Your face is super red." She asked as she checked his temperature.

"I just...I just wanted to say that I'm really gonna miss you, Kat. You should try and stay in contact with me if you can." He smiled at her.

"I will do my best, Brad." She pulled him into a hug.

He regretted not telling her, but he doesn't want to risk losing her. He would rather keep her as his best friend, than lose her forever.

When the day finally came for Katie to leave, she was very emotional. She almost didn't want to go. But orders were orders. She didn't want to leave Rooster. She didn't want to leave Hangman even though he was gonna leave next week. Rooster wasn't leaving for Texas until two days after Katie left. She wanted to tell Rooster how he felt, but with all the girlfriends he had, she knew he wasn't available. Hangman gave her a huge hug and kissed her on the forehead. He looked over at Rooster, who was staring at him, and let Katie go. She turned to him, and hugged him. He held her and kissed her forehead too. She didn't want to let him go, but she knew she had to.

And then she was off, to the rest of her very unpredictable life. She saw Rooster and Hangman staring at her car driving away. She couldn't help but cry as she saw the two most important guys in her life watching her drive away. She loved them both so much. She didn't know how to let them go. Especially Bradley Bradshaw.

End of flashback