The Rooster and The Wolf | Bradley 'ROOSTER' Bradshaw

FOUR

You had woken early, the mixture of excitement and anxiety keeping you tossing and turning for most of the night. 

Admiral Simpson had told you that this mission was beyond what had been done before, and the dangers ahead were lethal. 

This mission needed you, and it needed you to remain professional, despite what could be at stake. 

You had been told that you would not be flying today, so instead of the dark green overalls that matched Phoenix, you opted for a crisp white shirt, tucked into a simple black pencil skirt. 

Professional. 

You straightened your hair, and put on minimal make up. 

With your I.D. card clipped to your skirt, you finished the look with the F-18 necklace Maverick had bought you as a graduation present, your ring, and Charlie's aviation jacket. 

Of course, your dogtags were tucked neatly beneath your shirt.

After shoving your files and laptop into your satchel, you and Phoenix took her car to base, singing your hearts out to the early morning radio, laughing and giggling. 

After parking, you walked towards the building entrance, running into Coyote and Halo on the way in and greeting them. 

As you entered through the main reception, Admiral Simpson stood, waiting.

"Good morning, Cyclone." you greeted him, and the pilots around you stood at attention to greet him also. 

"Stand down, lieutenants. Wolf, if you could follow me to my office please."

You nodded, and followed him, telling your friends to go on ahead. 

Entering his office, you saw Warlock stood next to the desk, and the backs of two men - but you didn't need to see their faces to recognise them. 

The sound of your satchel dropping to the floor caused the men to turn and face you. 

Before any words were exchanged, you ran, jumping into the open awaiting arms of the man closest to you.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" you exclaimed softly, and the arms around you tightened.

"I've missed you so much, sweetheart."

"I missed you too, Daddy. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Maverick put you down, stepping back to get a full view of his daughter. "You look just as beautiful as your mom did."

You hugged your father again, and then greeted Hondo, who was the man standing beside him. 

After the loving reunion, Cyclone and Warlock filled you in on the mission parameters, informing you that Maverick was the lead instructor, and Hondo was assisting as you would be. 

You and Hondo were then dismissed, being asked to make a start on rallying the pilots. You walked down the corridor towards the hangar together, gleefully catching up.

"I gotta say, (y/n), you look so grown up! I almost can't believe you're Mav's kid."

"Hondo, I only visited like two months ago!" you laughed.

"Yeah and you spent the week in sweatpants with your nose in a book." That much was true, but it was your week off, and you'd finally got your hands on the Game of Thrones books. "He's missed you, you know. Mav's in a lot of shit right now."

"Yeah I kinda figured, there's no way he'd come back here willingly. What'd he do this time?" you smiled, knowing your father definitely did something.