𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐞 - j.egan [masters of the air]

∣ 011; b i k e r i d e

. *. ⋆

"I'm so sorry," the words slipped from Eloise's lips, unable to be held back after that dreadful explosion.

The explosion that was her fault.

"What?" John asked, his words still muffled to Eloise's ears. "What are you talking about, El? Are you okay—did you get hit, or burned, or— "

"It's my fault," Eloise stammered, pulling herself from the hug. She ran her fingers through her hair, the nervous thump of her heart picking up as she looked back to the fiery aftermath of the landing that was now being put out by the emergency team. "I— I don't know— I should've done something. I shouldn't have believed Thompson— I still should've gone to check on him. It's my job to take care of you guys in the air, and I couldn't even do that, and— "

"Eloise, calm— "

"— and I should've had them try harder to pull the landing gear up. I shouldn't have landed with only one wheel, that— oh my God, I almost killed all of them. And— and now we don't have Thompson or Moore's bodies— they won't get an actual burial—  their families— "

Panic deep in Eloise's chest took over— it hurt, and the ability to breathe normally seemed to be slipping from her mind.

John was watching her with a frown, and he stepped forward, hand going to her shoulder but she swiftly swatted him away— she countered with a quick apology, hands running through her hair again to try and calm the panicked breathing deep in her chest.

"I'm sorry— I shouldn't have— I'm sorry."

"You did the right thing, Eloise— "

"My God I almost killed Heath. I should've had him back there with the rest of the crew— he shouldn't have been up there with me, that was selfish— "

"Eloise," John spoke over her words, cutting her off entirely— his voice was stern, and it was exactly what Eloise needed. It was grounding her, keeping her mind from straying any farther into the pits of self-loathing for something entirely out of her control. "You're okay. It's okay. Come on, we'll go over to Buck. We'll drive you away from here, okay?"

She nodded, once, her movements short as she let John place his hand on the small of her back and guide her away to the jeep Buck was resting against.

They were almost there, close to the door Buck had opened for Eloise when Colonel Harding snuck up on them, stopping right in front of the two, his hands crossed over his chest.

"You landed this thing, Barlowe?" he asked, using his head to gesture to the wreckage behind them.

She opened her mouth to speak, rambling out a quick, "Yes, I— "

"Good job," he spoke, his voice gruff, filled with a tense undertone. "Saved our boys. We're gonna need you down in interrogation if what Dyer said was true— you took down two planes?"

"I— yeah, I did."

He nodded, and then clapped her on the back— it felt fatherly almost, and there was a look of appreciation in his eyes.

Harding then looked to Egan, "Get her down there. The boys are already on their way, so we need her there as quick as possible to get her input on what happened."

John responded with a quick 'yes, sir', his hand continuing to push her along as Colonel Harding went to examine the burning aircraft— Eloise shifted her gaze from the jeep, her head turning to look at the burning B-17 once more. John was quick to end this, his free hand going to her jaw where he gently directed her gaze back to the jeep.