Swan Song

Twenty One

"Lieutenants. Good to see you three," Admiral Simpson greeted Jake and I as we entered his office with Bradley a few steps behind us.

I looked to Bradley with a small smile before turning my attention to Admiral Simpson, who sat behind his large oak desk.

"There's something I wanted to talk with you all about."

"Is everything okay, sir?" Bradley questioned, raising a brow.

"Captain Mitchell has been promoted," Admiral Simpson continued. "And he believes you three would best serve as his replacements."

"All three of us?" I questioned.

"To lead the Daggers, yes. He will still oversee the squadron from a distance but he sees you three as the best to lead."

I looked to Bradley and then Jake and saw the flames of competition light up in his eyes the same way that they did when we all had first come back for the uranium detachment.

"That's a great privilege, sir," I muttered. "Thank you."

"As I have more information, I'll be sure to pass that on," Admiral Simpson added. "You're all dismissed."

As we were getting up to leave, he called to me.

"Admiral Kazansky, you can take a seat."

"Sir?" I asked, lowering myself back into my seat on the opposite side of his desk.

He waited for Jake and Bradley to close the door behind them before turning his attention to me.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father, Lieutenant."

"Oh, uh. Thank you, sir. We're dealing with it the best that we can."

I glanced around Admiral Simpson's office and looked at all of his awards and photographs that he had, his setup being very similar to my dad's own office.

As my eyes scanned the room, on one of his bookshelves I saw a framed photo propped up of my dad, Admiral Simpson, and I from when I had graduated from flight school.

What very few people knew was that Admiral Simpson had been apart of my life for a lot longer than my squadron had known about. He was the one who had handed me my certificate upon graduating and had been there for almost every step of my career because of his close relationship with my dad.

"And you're doing a great job balancing the workload between work and home."

"Thank you, sir," I replied once more. "It isn't easy, as you can imagine, but my brother, mom, and I are doing everything we can for him. He deserves the best."

Admiral Simpson nodded as he fiddled with the pen in his hand.

"Was that all sir?" I questioned.

"No, Lieutenant. It isn't. You were recommended for a promotion to lieutenant commander," he replied, tapping his pen on his desk. "You and Bradshaw."

"But not Seresin, sir?" I questioned, my heart breaking knowing that Jake wouldn't take not being promoted well. "I think he would deserve it more than I would."

I looked at Admiral Simpson and saw the hesitation in his expression before he spoke up.

"A little fatherly advice, Odette? You've worked for this your entire career. Don't give that up for a guy," Admiral Simpson sighed. "You're dismissed."

I pulled my brows together and nodded as I stood up and walked towards the door, pausing before exiting his office.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Admiral."

I opened my mouth to say more but nothing else would come out, so I left without another word as I closed the door behind me.

Without talking to Bradley or Jake, I went straight to my parents house to talk to my dad but he had been fast asleep.

Not ready to face Jake and answer any questions I knew he would have, I avoided our house like the plague and went to skate so I could try and clear my mind.

Once I was inside, I laced my skates up and was thankful that there wasn't anybody else there. The lights around were dimmed, only leaving the overhead lights shining on the ice. A few guys sat around talking as they ended their pickup game of hockey and their company made me feel not so alone as I began to skate around.

"Admiral Simpson offered me a promotion today, Oh," I sighed as the hockey players all finished packing up their gear and leaving.

Somehow I hoped that Owen was able to listen to me about this problem like he had almost every other problem I had come to face in my career.

"He mentioned to me that Bradley was also going to be offered a promotion as well but not Jake and I really don't know what I'm supposed to do. Jake works his ass off, even more than Bradley and I do, and it feels wrong to accept it."

I began to spin on the ice before losing my balance and falling backwards on my butt and then laying on my back in defeat.

"Do I take the promotion. What about Jake? He deserves it."

I scrubbed my hand down my face before staring up between two of the overhead lights.

"I deserve it too. What should I do? Can you send me a freaking sign or something?"

I waited for a sign and it was immediately sent to me.

"You should take it."

I turned to where I heard the voice coming from and saw Jake leaning over the wall, watching me lay on the ice and frowned deeply.

"How long have you been there?" I asked as I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest.

"Long enough to know that you'd be stupid not to take this promotion, Dette."

"What about you?"

I got to my feet and skated over to where Jake had been standing.

"I'll catch the next promotion," he joked with a smile but I could see right through him.

He was hurt.

"Jake," I sighed. "I don't want to hurt you or for a promotion to affect our relationship."

"I'll let you in on a little secret. I kind of like when you boss me around," he teased as he pulled me into his arms. "Take the promotion, Odette. This is what you've been working for your entire life— to follow in your dad's footsteps."

"Not if it's going to hurt the person I love."

"Nope, you're not doing that," Jake fought back. "You're strong and brave and deserve this promotion. You fly like something I've never seen before— not just with passion but with grace. Like a swan."

"Like a swan," I echoed.

"You were appropriately named," he chuckled, kissing my forehead. "Now let's get home and get you some dinner."