"What Am I To You?"

Check Ups

After hours of flying, the plane full of evacuees and soldiers landed in North Island.

The evacuees got off first and the the dagger squad. Ice walked in front of them since he had to get to his office and had to meet with the president.

The Dagger Squad was ordered to go get medical exams the moment they got back. Medical teams ran over to each of them and took them to the Naval Hospital.

Phoenix was taken to her hospital room and was given naval physical training clothes to wear to get out of her flight suit which she had been wearing since the USS Carl Vinson crashed.

She got to her shower and just let the water run over her. She felt as if she was going to melt from feeling so relaxed.

Until she winced. She looked down and saw her wound. She forgot that that it happened. She didn't mean to get it wet.

Suddenly she cringed in pain as it started to bleed again. Blood went down her leg. She saw a call button on the wall and pressed it, which mean she needed help.

A nurse promptly came in and helped her get dry, patched up, dressed, and into her bed. She laid down and was close to passing out.

She looked at the clock.

12:30 pm

"He must be teaching a class..." she said as the nurse came in to do a quick check up.

Phoenix was asleep for most of it. She had no energy left in her, and all she wanted to see was Bob, but she wasn't allowed to see anyone yet.

Oh she missed him.

Rooster was getting evaluated. He had a concussion, his leg was sprained and he had a bunch of cuts from the glass of the canopy.

Hangman and him were placed in the same room. Hangman was already treated. He was apparently dehydrated and was being pumped with electrolytes.

He also had an IV in his arm for vitamins.

Honestly, all of them did.

"Alright, you and your husband are going to be staying here overnight for observation. Later, a nurse will be delivering your dress whites here due to a ceremony being held tomorrow. All of your  family will be informed."

Hangman nodded slightly as she left. He looked over at Rooster who was fast asleep in his bed. Hangman relaxed and faced him as he stared to fall asleep.

Fanboy had gotten checked and was laying in his room alone. He was placed by himself, while Coyote and Payback were placed together.

He felt very lonely until he heard his door open a bit. He glanced over as he laid under his blanket and saw Payback peek in.

Fanboys eyes lit up. He was going to say something when payback motioned to him to be quiet.

"Reuben!" Fanboy said in a loud whisper. Payback smiled softly and rubbed his head. "Hey... you alright? Just checking on you before my nurse comes back to my room." He said.

"Yeah..  I'm alright. Just tired..." he said as he looked at him.  Payback nodded and sighed. "Alright... well get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." Fanboy nodded and waved slightly.

Maverick sat in his room getting checked. He sighed as the nurse patched up some cuts. "You're all clear admiral. I'll drag the Fleet Admiral in here shortly." She said with annoyance in her voice when suddenly Ice just walked with two nurses in tow.

"Stay here Admiral! The president can wait." They said as they shut the door. The nurse smiled and walked over to him. "Time for your check up sir."

She helped him take his shirt off, and looked at his wound on his side. "Good, your cut is still nicely wrapped. Let me put some bandages on your cuts and then you'll be resting for the evening."

Ice just nodded tiredly. He looked at Maverick slightly as Maverick met his gaze.

Ice knew Maverick was shaken up.

He could see it. His posture, and his gaze. It felt blank.

The nurse finished and sighed. "Have a good evening you two." She said. Ice nodded as she stepped out. The moment she did, ice got up and walked over to Maverick and hugged him tightly.

Maverick hugged him tightly and teared up. "This was a hard ass mission..." Maverick said trying his hardest not to get choked up.

"I know... I know. This was the hardest thing I ever had to command. I can't imagine how it was flying it..." ice said as he pulled from the hug.

"I didn't command much... Phoenix did." Maverick said as he started to wipe his eyes. "She's just like you... I think that's why we get along." He said as he looked at him.

"She is a force..." Ice said. He looked at Maverick. "When we get back... we're gonna just taken 2 weeks off, take a breather before we have to come back into this war. Okay?"
Ice said, trying to reassure him.

Maverick simply nodded. He looked at Ice and smiled tiredly. "Love you, Tom."

"Love you Pete." Ice said.

The dagger squads portion of the hospital was closed off from others so they could have some sort of privacy.

Rooster was in his room, wide awake at 2 in the morning. He kept replaying his crash in his head, and how he felt his body burn when he started to drown.

He was going to try and fall back asleep when he heard a crash. He realized that the crash came from Phoenixes room.

He got up, and walked over to her room and peeked in. He saw her knelt down on the floor sniffling and picking up shattered glass.

He walked in and walked over to her. "If you're going to clear up glass you need shoes on." He said as he looked around the room for a broom and dustpan.

She simply pulled her knees up to her chest as he cleaned it up.

He finished and wiped up the water. He then took a seat in front of Phoenix. She hid her face in her knees.

"Natasha..." he said. She looked at him slightly. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were red and puffy.

"What's wrong?" He asked her calmly. She looked at him and then wiped her eyes. "So much..." she said sadly.

"Wanna tell me?" He said as he traced the lines of the tile in the floor. He didn't want her to freak out, so he entertained himself. She was silent until he looked up at her.

As she looked at him, tears pricked her eyes.

"I thought I had lost my brother..."