𝕂𝕖𝕖𝕡 ℍ𝕚𝕞 𝕊𝕒𝕗𝕖

Chapter 13. Mighty Wings

"I wanna ride like a silver dove, far into the night."

Ava had been freaking out all morning, trying to keep herself from completely loosing her mind. Bradley had stayed the night with her to make sure that she actually got some sleep. It was about 5am at this point and Ava couldn't sleep. She was probably running on about two hours, but decided that she was going to get up and make breakfast.

As she stood over the stove, deciding what to make, she realized that she was not going to be able to stomach food before her flight. She knew that Bradley would probably be hungry though, Ava decided to crack a few eggs and bring it up to him as a thank you.

When Ava was done making Bradley's breakfast, she put it on a tray and carefully made her way up the stairs. She stared at the sleeping Rooster for a moment, smiling to herself before placing the tray of food on her night stand and sitting next to him.

"Hey, Bradley. Wake up." She whispered as she gently shook his shoulders. Bradley groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms out. Once he was aware of his surrounding, he rolled over on his side to face Ava.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said groggily as he took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Ava smiled at the gesture as she ran her fingers through his messy hair with her free hand.

"I made you breakfast." Ava turned away momentarily as she grabbed the tray off of the night stand and held it out in front of her. Bradley instantly sat up, taking the tray from her and smiling from ear to ear.

"You're the best." He leaned over and placed a kiss on Ava's cheek before he began shoving the food in his mouth.

"I know." Ava teased back, shrugging her shoulder before standing up from the bed. She made her way to her dresser and picked out clothes that she'd be okay vomiting on, knowing full well that she would.

Once Bradley had finished eating, the two of them got dressed and ready to head out the door. Of course not before Bradley tried to get her to eat, but she convinced him that would be the worst possible thing she could do right now.

It was about 7am by the time the pair left Ava's house. The whole care ride Ava was focused on her breathing, trying keep herself together as best she could. Meanwhile, Bradley was doing everything that he could to distract her but to no avail.

"Ready for round two?" Bradley asked as they pulled into the parking lot of the building. Ava could feel her whole body shaking as she took in deep breathes while nodding her head.

The two of them stepped out of his Jeep and made their way into the entrance, but not before Ava started to hyperventilate. "I can't- I can't do this, Bradley." She placed a hand over her stomach as she relived the paint that she had went through.

She felt her self backing up until she was against his Jeep again, sliding down it so she was now sitting on the ground as the tears poured down her face.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're okay just look at me, okay?" His words were calm as he crouched down in front of her. "Let's take three deep breaths together." Ava only nodded in response as she brought her full attention to Bradley.

Ava was mimicking his breaths, inhaling and exhaling at his pace until she could breathe normally again. She continued to take deep breaths, trying get some oxygen flowing to her brain before standing up.

"There you go, you got this." Bradley encouraged before standing up and reaching his hand out to help Ava off the ground. Once she was back on her feet, they began to head towards the entrance yet again.

After signing in and going through the proper preparation, they were officially ready to fly a plane. This is the closest Ava had been to any sort of aircraft in over four years.

Ava felt the shakiness returning to her body and she felt like she was going to be sick. She leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees as she began to gag. 

"Hey, your doing great." Bradley came up behind her, rubbing her back as she continued to cough and gag. "Is this the closest you've been to a plane since..." Bradley trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence incase it made things worse.

Ava only nodded as she slowly began to stand up straight. She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breathes. Her mind began to wonder to Devon: his smile, his laugh. She thought about how proud he'd be to see her getting over this fear. And how happy he'd be to see her finally happy again.

She was brought back to the present by Bradley placing a kiss on her cheek. "You ready?" He asked, bent down slightly so he was face level with her. "No, but lets do this." 

Ava finally opened her eyes and began to walk towards the plane. When she placed a hand on the cool metal, I small smile quickly spread across her face as she thought about her Top Gun days. Bradley helped her as she crawled into the back of the plane, preparing for either the best or worst experience of her life.

She heard the engine roar to life, feeling the vibrations in her stomach. "Alright Ava, here we go." Bradley shouted over the loudness of the plane as they began to move.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" Ava cursed loudly, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt the plane moving faster. She tried to focus on her breathing, trying to slow her heart rate as she felt the wheels lift off the ground.

"Ava, you gotta open your eyes." Bradley said with a hint of laughter in his voice. Once she did, she felt her heart drop to her stomach. She let out a loud gasp and covered her mouth, feeling like she was about to be sick yet again.

Once the butterflies settled and the adrenaline kicked in, Ava found herself smiling. Being in the air again felt normal, like this is what she was meant to be doing. She intended let out a singular laugh, but before she knew it she couldn't stop.

"I'm doing it!" Ava yelled, raising her hands in the air as high as she could. Bradley felt himself beaming with pride as he heard the excitement in her voice.

"Welcome back, Skywalker." Ava was caught off guard by the sudden mention of her callsign, but found herself smiling all the same. She missed being called that, she missed being in the air. She missed being a pilot. "Glad to be back, Rooster." 

-

"Ava, slow down." Rooster yelled as he jogged after his girlfriend. Ava was practically skipping out of the building, not being able to contain her happiness. The entire time that Ava and Rooster had spent together, he'd never seen her this happy.

"I wanna fly again, Bradley." She turned to face him suddenly. A look of regret quickly flashing over her face. Bradley quickly took note and pulled her in for a hug, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm proud of you." Ava smiled, wrapping her arms around his torso. Ava knew at this moment, she wanted to be a pilot again. But she didn't know where to start.

A/N

What do we think is gonna happen with our girly next? Do you guys think she's gonna fly again? But I hope we're all proud of our girl Ava cause she pushed through and got into that plane so pop off I guess. Personal Life Update: Nothing is going my way at school rn and I'm genuinely afraid I'm not going to be able to graduate with an honours BA so that's what's going on in my life lol.

Let me know if you have any likes or dislikes and I'll try to add it into my next chapter. And if not, I'll update again in 2 weeks :)

~ Jo