𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 | 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘨𝘶𝘯

𝐭𝐰𝐨 || 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐤

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦"

- 𝘑𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴

𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 who entered the Hard Deck, all of whom were still dressed in their uniforms. Cassie wore denim jeans, a black shirt, and her patched jacket, which was covered in patches from previous squadrons.

She smiled as she noticed two of her oldest friends, Rueben, and Mickey, standing by a pool table with other pilots, all of whom were dressed in their uniforms and holding drinks. She walked over with a soft smile on her face, catching Rueben's gaze as he opened his arms for a hug.

She squeezed him back before turning to hug Mickey; she missed them both.

"It's good to see you here Cass" Reuben said with a smile on his face

"Its good to be back here" She smiled up at him, her blue eyes gleaming in the light.

She looked around at the other pilots who were conversing with one another before locking eyes with a pilot whose name tag read Seresin. She smiled at him as he extended her hand for a handshake, his eyes lighting up with delight.

"Nice to meet you, Jake "Hangman" Seresin," he said before shaking Cassie's hand.

Cassie smiled and said, "Cassandra "Ace" Kerner, nice to meet you as well," shaking his hand.

A woman's voice drew her attention away from him. 'Who's this?' she asks, smiling at Cassie.

"Nice to meet everyone, my name is Cassandra "Ace" Kerner," Cassie says with a smile.

"I'm Phoenix, and those two over there are Bob and Coyote, I'm happy to see another woman here, I was worried I was going to have to do this alone," she said before taking her turn in the pool.

Cassie chuckled before continuing, "Same here, I'm glad to see you too, I'm sure we'll be great friends," she said before returning her gaze to Fanboy and Payback.

"I'm going to get a drink, and I'll be right back," she says softly as she walks up to the bar and decides what she wants

"Cass?" Penny spoke in a surprised tone, smiling brightly at Cassie. "Penny, it's great to see you again, it feels like it's been so long," she chuckles, reaching across the bar to give Penny a side hug.

Penny smiles and nods in agreement before asking, "What can I get you?"

"I'll take a lemon lime and bitters, please," Cassie says as Penny nods and walks away to make the drink.

She raises her head as she notices the last person she expected to see in Miramar. Pete Mitchell sits at the bar, a small smile on his face. Ron had last told Cassie that Maverick was a Navy test pilot; he was going to be shocked to learn that Maverick had returned to town. Maverick's gaze locked on Cassie's.

"Is that really you, Cass?" Maverick murmurs as he continues to stare at Cassandra.

"The one and only," Cassie responds with a wide smile. She approaches him and gives him a quick hug before taking the seat next to him.

"How are you doing, Mav?" " She asks, smirking at the man in front of her.

"How are you and that little girl of yours doing?"