Hold My Hand || J.Seresin

Epilogue

Author's Note: Today is the 1-year anniversary of Top Gun Maverick. It's crazy to think it's only been a year with this movie in our lives.
And in some kind of perfect fate, I publish the Epilogue of Hold My Hand, the final chapter.
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Since my first mission after graduating from Top Gun two years ago, I'd been on at least a dozen more. With the combination of  the special mission and the orders that came after, both of which were successful, I'd been given my choice of squadrons. Jake and I had decided on NAS Oceana, so I accepted a position on the VFA-105 "Gunslingers", while Jake had opted for the "Tomcatters" VFA-31. We only stayed in Virginia for about a year before deciding to move back to California.

Two spots opened in the VFA-97 "Warhawks" at NAS Lemoore. It was an opportunity to be closer to Dad, who was still in North Island, and we got to be stationed with Phoenix, Bob and Bradley. Jake and I still had our house in North Island and had plans to eventually settle there, but neither of us were looking to retire yet and we still had years before our duties would switch to behind a desk instead of in a jet. Being close to my family had also been good as we planned our wedding.

Jake had proposed while we were in Virginia, but we both agreed the wedding should be in California. While I'd been suspecting the proposal was coming, Jake still caught me completely off guard.  We'd gone out to one of the bars near the house we rented, a place near the water called the Shack, realizing fairly quickly that it was a Navy hot spot. Most times, the rest of our squadrons joined us, but we'd spent the past 48 hours with them for a surprise plane maintenance assignment.

The Shack reminded me a lot of The Hard Deck. Tons of Navy memorabilia and a jukebox, but it was missing the piano. We'd been at the bar for about an hour when he'd told me to pick out a new song on the jukebox. I didn't think anything of it. We took turns on who got to pick the music and that night was my turn to choose. My eyes scanned over the song options, seeing something and then looking at it more closely. On one of the labels where a song title should have been, instead the label read "Lila, will you marry me?" When I turned around, Jake was behind me, on one knee, holding a ring box open in front of him.

There was no hesitation when I said yes. We'd officially been dating about 8 months when he proposed. Maybe that was rushed for a normal relationship, but Jake and I had been together in some way for a decade. In all honesty, he had waited too long. Jake could have proposed that night at The Hard Deck after the mission and I would have said yes.

While Jake and I were both in the Navy, it wasn't required for either of us to wear our dress uniforms at the wedding. Both of our families were on the smaller side, so we wanted something small with just our closest loved ones. We settled on an outdoor venue on the beach. Jake's parents insisted on a more formal venue, which we tried to dismiss, but eventually went with when they agreed it could just be immediate family. So we had two weddings. One where Jake was in his Naval dress uniform surrounded by his parents and sister and I was in a more traditional white dress with Dad and Bradley in attendance. And the other on the beach in North Island, myself in a flowing white dress and Jake in a tan suit.

I did like having the photos of us with Jake in his uniform, but overall we looked and felt more like ourselves on the day of our beach wedding. The day was a perfect culmination of things we loved. One of Jake's high school buddies had opened a successful TexMex restaurant a few years back and was kind enough to fly out to cater the reception. Instead of cake, I picked cupcakes, specifically from Megan Kazansky's bakery. She provided a variety of flavors, including mine and Uncle Ice's favorite - the chocolate chip snickerdoodle cupcake. It was a perfect way to include him in the day.

Somehow Jake managed to secure fireworks to go off at the end of the night before we left for our honeymoon. Standing out on the beach, surrounded by our friends and family, everything seemed to fall into place.

Jake wasn't the only one who could pull off a surprise. Unbeknownst to Jake, I'd stayed in contact with the hotel manager in Greece from when we visited a few years ago. It was always my intention for us to return, and our honeymoon seemed like the perfect opportunity. The hotel set us up in their nicest suite, with a beautiful view of the surrounding town and beachfront.

We didn't see much of the view the first few days. My suitcase held an entire packing cube full of lingerie. I wasn't sure what was more fun - seeing Jake's reaction to the new items on me or the moments when he slowly and teasingly took them off me. Unlike our first visit, we didn't break any furniture, but there may have been a report of indecent exposure on a high-level balcony. It had been dismissed quickly, but really, who would think anyone would see something happening on a balcony that high up?

We'd been married three weeks and were now on board the USS Nimitz for a short deployment. We'd only been back in Lemoore for about two days when the order came in. One of the carriers off the Pacific was currently without a working engine and had slowly been drifting towards enemy waters. I was already in my flight suit, my right hand twisting my wedding band around my left ring finger. I'd never worn rings before when flying, but I guess it was a nervous tick developing. My engagement ring was safely tucked away in my locker, but it was still important to me, and to Jake, that we both wore our wedding rings.

Once we started wedding planning, I'd gone back and forth on a potential name change. Having both my parent's last names was something I was proud of, but I also liked the idea of having a new chapter begin with a name change. Dad had suggested I hyphenate, but "Blackwood-Mitchell-Seresin" seemed way too long and would never fit on a jet or a name plate.

At our wedding, we'd gone by Mr. and Mrs. Seresin, but I'd made a decision on my name just days before and hadn't told Jake yet. It was going to be a surprise and now was the time to unveil it.
"You ready?" Jake asked, coming up behind me.
"Yeah," I responded, "There's something I want to show you first." I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him after me towards my jet. We stopped a few feet from the jet and I turned to look at Jake, seeing if he had noticed.
"Notice anything different?" I asked, a smirk playing on my lips. Jake looked between myself and the jet a few times before his eyes widened.
"Really?" He asked, surprise evident in his voice. He stepped closer to me and I swear there were tears in his eyes. I nodded, holding back my own emotion as I saw his. I turned to look at the jet again and Jake followed my gaze, staring at the name painted onto the side:

CDR LILA SERESIN
"BARBIE"

"It's official now." I told him, "There are new nameplates waiting in my locker." Jake swept me into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around me and kissing me.
"Lieutenant Commander Seresin." He said, a massive grin spreading on his face, "God that's hot." I let out a small laugh,
"Yeah, I guess it is, Lieutenant Seresin." An announcement rang out across the speakers, telling us it was time to board our jets for the mission. We released each other, but I kept my hand firmly locked in his.
"Hold my hand." I whispered. On the first mission Jake and I went on, my nerves had gotten to me a little and it was only after Jake comforted me, that the nerves went away and I felt confident in flying the mission.
"Always." He whispered back, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

No matter the time nor distance, I knew that nothing could come between Jake and I. It may have taken us ten years to finally admit our true feelings for one another, and sometimes it felt like so much time wasted, but knowing everything that happened and how it led us here, I wouldn't change a thing. Jake and I were happy, and we were together, finally flying on missions together, like we'd always wanted. One day soon, I know we'd discuss having children. There weren't many things in life I was certain about, but I was certain Jake would be a great father, just like I'd been certain about marrying him. Even if that day back at the Naval Academy had been blistering hot, I would never regret being paired with Jake "Hangman" Seresin, that much I was certain.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read this story and followed along on the journey. This book has a special place in my heart and I'm very proud that it's out in the universe. Thank you.