#oc ncis agent

Aurora still hadn’t woken up. It had been three days since the bombing and she still was deep in her coma. The doctors said that her wounds had healed properly and that she should be waking up soon, but nothing had happened since.

She was transferred to a room out of the ICU since she wasn’t in critical condition anymore. All they were waiting for was for her to wake up.

The training for the mission had been postponed, especially since Maverick wasn’t in the right state of mind to train them as well as giving Coyote, Bob, and Phoenix a few days to rest.

Speaking of the rest of the squadron, they all had dropped by at least once a day to check in on Aurora, as well as Bradley and Peyton who spent most of their days at the hospital never wanting to leave her side.

Aurora’s NCIS team unfortunately had left to go back to DC, but not before exchanging numbers with the family so they would still receive updates on her condition. Ziva left the charm bracelet with Bradley, just as Aurora wanted.

He shed a few tears when receiving it because that had meant Aurora still thought of him even in her probably final moments. It broke his heart.

Today was the first day Maverick would be going back to base to talk to the Admirals, and training would be starting back up the next day.

At least, that’s what they had thought.

“What do you mean they took you off the mission?” Penny nearly shrieked at hearing the news. 

Penny and Maverick were in Aurora’s hospital room. Peyton, Amelia, and Bradley had left to go home for a bit while Carole and Goose left to bring dinner to Penny and Maverick.

“It means I’m done, Penny. Officially. There’s nothing I can do!” Maverick sighs as he sits in his chair.

“But, what about Ice-”

“There’s nothing Ice can do.”

“So, what? You’re just going to give up?”

“What else can I do, Pen?”

“You fight! If you had lost your wingman, you’d keep fighting. Just like when Goose left.”

“Pen-”

“If anything happens to them, you’d never forgive yourself. You know that.”

Maverick exhales. “I don’t know how to fight anymore Pen. They told me that I should take this time to be with Aurora. Maybe the admirals are right.”

“You and I both know that they’re not. Aurora would hate that you just gave up!”

“She’s right.”

Penny and Maverick quickly turn to the bed that Aurora laid in, which was a sight they were used to.

Except this time, her eyes were open.

“Oh, Rory!” Penny exclaims, rushing to hug her daughter. Aurora grunts from the hug, as Maverick rushes to press the call button for a nurse.

Aurora coughs a bit before Penny hands her a cup of water that was on the table next to her. After taking a chug of her water, Penny gave her another big hug.

Soon, all the emotions hit Aurora and she began to cry.

“I’m so sorry mom, I’m sorry I-”

“Shhh, sweetie, it’s okay, you’re safe now. It’s okay,” Penny assures her. Maverick stood on the other side of Aurora so he could hold her hand.

“We were so worried, Rory, but when we heard what you did, we couldn’t be more proud of what you had done,” Maverick tearfully told her as he brushed her hair out of her face. “It was stupid, but we’re just glad you’re okay.”

Aurora’s eyes bore into her dad’s as it filled with tears. “I fought, dad, just like you wanted me to.”

“I know, princess, I know.”

Aurora took a few seconds before asking him the question that hit him hard. “So why aren’t you fighting to go back?”

Maverick breath hitches. “B–Because maybe it’s time to turn in the wings, Ro. I’m getting old, and I should be spending more time with you.”

“Screw what the admirals say!”

“Rory, language,” Penny warns her daughter.

“You have to keep fighting, because if you give up, you won’t forgive yourself for what happens on that mission. We’re Mitchell’s, it’s in our blood. We keep fighting, no matter what,” Aurora affirms. 

Penny chuckles before kissing her daughter’s forehead. Maverick smiles, softly.

“I don’t even know what to do.”

“You’ll find a way, you always do,” Aurora smiles before she squeezes her dad’s hand. “Most likely, something illegal, but you’ll find a way.”

“Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell, don’t encourage your father!” Penny exclaims.

“Oh, please! I bet you he’s already thinking about it! It’s not like I told him to bomb the base or steal a plane!”

“Bomb jokes, really? This soon?” Penny gives her a worried look.

“Then you don’t want to hear any of the jokes Tony and I make when we’re on the field. We got head slaps from Gibbs so many times. I can feel one right now, it’s like Gibbs can tell I made a stupid joke,” Aurora winces, putting her hand on the back of her head as if Gibbs had just head slapped her. Penny rolls her eyes, as Maverick chuckles.

Soon a nurse comes by to take Aurora’s vitals, while Penny and Maverick leave so Aurora can have a bit of space. Penny rushes out to give Sarah a phone call, as Maverick calls Gibbs and the team about her being awake.

A few seconds after the call ended, Peyton, Amelia, and Bradley burst through the double swing doors that were used to enter the wing Aurora was staying at. Bradley was clutching a bouquet of flowers Maverick knew was meant for Aurora, as he liked to replace the flowers every day so Aurora would “wake up with a fresh bouquet” according to him.

Today, the flowers he had in his hand were pink carnations and white roses, symbolizing love and appreciation.

“S-she’s awake? The receptionist, they s-said, h-hold on, give me a second to breathe, I haven’t ran in s-so long,” Peyton bends over panting from running.

“Dude, we just ran from the front desk, which was not even that far,” Amelia gave him a deadpan look. Peyton ignores her and just keeps puffing out air.

“She’s awake?” Bradley looked hopeful at Maverick. Maverick smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, but right now she’s getting checked up on by the nurse, so we’ll wait until she’s done with the assessment. Wait, where’s Goose and Carole?”

“Here!” Goose bursts in dramatically through the double swing doors, holding a bag of takeout in his hands and almost hitting a nurse from the force of it, with Carole shaking her head behind him.

“Goose, careful!” Carole scolds him.

“It’s fine honey, if someone gets hurt, it’s all good because we’re already at a hospital!”

Carole sighs before turning to Maverick.

“We heard what happened. They pulled you out of the mission?”

“Wait, what?!” The trio of children exclaim at the news.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to figure it out,” Maverick reassures them.

The nurse soon walks out of Aurora’s room, saying that they were able to all visit her now. Everyone piled in, with Amelia and Peyton leading the group in, and were the first to hug Aurora.

Amelia and Peyton start tearing up, while Aurora holds them tightly.

To occupy himself, Bradley put the flowers he had in his hand in an empty vase that sat next to Aurora’s hospital bed side, as he already took the older flowers and left them at their house.

The dining table was filled with an older bouquet of flowers that Bradley had gotten for Aurora every day. Peyton complained when he started doing it because he kept sneezing from the amount of flowers, but he stopped complaining after day two. 

Carole and Goose were the next ones to hug Aurora next, Carole telling her how worried she was, while Goose kept trying to get Carole to stop nagging her. Aurora soon laid eyes on Bradley, and she started tearing up.

Bradley took that as a sign to rush to his best friend’s side and hug her tightly.

“I’m sorry, B. I’m so sorry,” Aurora whispered.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” he shushes her, as he combs his hands through her hair. She sniffles and they separate from the hug.

“You gave us quite a big scare there little star,” Goose sniffles as he and Carole come to Aurora’s side.

“Sorry, Uncle Goose,” Aurora cringes, knowing she had worried her family and friends.

“We’re just glad you’re alright,” Carole assures her, brushing some of Aurora’s hair back in a motherly gesture.

“Your team had to leave, but I gave them a call and they’re all happy that you’re doing okay and awake,” Maverick told her.

“And,” Amelia spoke up. “They told us about the case.”

Aurora looks at her confused. “What case?”

“You know…the case about…your scars,” Peyton hesitantly tells her. Aurora pales at that and almost starts going into a panic attack if Bradley didn’t rush to hold her hand.

“Hey, hey, you’re alright. No one’s going to hurt you now,” he assures her. Aurora hesitantly looks up into Bradley’s eyes, her eyes filled with tears.

“You all know?”

“We all know now.”

Aurora’s lips quiver thinking back to that case, where she barely had escaped with her life if it wasn’t for her team finding her and saving her.

Amelia and Peyton rushed to Aurora’s side, not only to comfort their sister, but to let her know that they were always by her side. Aurora cries and keeps whispering ‘I’m sorry’ to them, to which they kept telling her it wasn’t her fault.

Aurora was awake, and physically okay. The demons of her past haunt her on her darkest days, but with her family by her side, she was going to be okay. Because they were her light in the dark of everything, her flashlight when she’s lost.

—

It was about two days since Aurora woke up and right now, she was sitting alone in her hospital room. She was to be discharged soon, and she was grateful for it.

The doctor told her that she just needed a few days of bed rest, and that she should be okay, after they took a few vitals and scans of her. She had a few visitors after she woke up, one of them being Lucille.

“I can’t believe you almost got blown to pieces!” Lucille first said when she stepped into Aurora’s room before launching into a hug.

“Luci, I can’t breathe. Too tight,” was all Aurora could breath out when Lucille latched onto her.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” Lucille lets her go before sitting next to her.

“Besides, it’s not like I could have stood there and done nothing. I had to save the hostages,” Aurora adds.

“And yet, you almost got blown up in the process. I know your job is dangerous, and you probably had gone through worse, but I really thought I lost you RoRo,” Lucille leans on Aurora’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry I scared you, Luci. I promise, you’re not losing me anytime soon.”

“Good, because you owe me donuts for what you put me through.”

Aurora chuckles, before also leaning on Lucille. “Deal.”

And when she didn’t have any visitors, she was able to video call Gibbs and the team.

“We’re so glad you’re doing alright!” Abby exclaims as she smiles at Aurora. 

The team had video called her from the NCIS HQ bullpen, and Aurora stares wistfully at the background, missing her old office space.

“Did you hear about the award ceremony that’s going to be happening in a few months?” McGee asks Aurora. Aurora looks at him confused.

“Award ceremony?”

“Director Vance is awarding you the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award for your service at NCIS as well as the actions during the bombing case.”

Aurora stares at them. “What?”

“You saved a lot of Navy dependents, plus your work at NCIS. Director wanted to-”

“But I couldn’t save Adam Lewis,” Aurora interrupts. She couldn’t save him, she didn’t believe she should earn an award.

“Artemis, there’s nothing you could have done. He entered that coffee shop knowing his end game was to kill himself,” Ziva assures her. 

“I still could have done something.” Aurora whispers, as a tear falls down her cheek.

“Rule #11.” Gibbs reminds her.

“Gibbs,” Aurora pleads.

“Artemis.”

Aurora bites the inside of her cheek before answering him, “‘When the job is done, walk away.’”

“We’re all glad you’re doing alright kiddo, but you need to walk away from the case. It’s done, it’s closed. You need to focus on yourself now.”

Aurora sighs, before nodding about what he said. Abby and Ziva soon start gossiping about what she had missed, with McGee and Tony joining in as Gibbs leaves them to chat.

She had another visitor that she was expecting, which was Jake Seresin.

“I was so worried. You scared us all half to death,” Jake ruffled her hair, and sat down next to her. Aurora had full mobility of everything, so she sat upright in her hospital bed.

“It wasn’t like that was my intention. I had to do my job.”

“Well, your job sucks.”

“My job also happened to save your life, remember?”

“Like you’ll ever let me forget.”

A lull hits in their conversation before Aurora speaks up.

“Have you talked to Peyton?”

Jake shakes his head. “Not really. I think he’s a bit mad at me for knowing about what happened to you and your PTSD before even he did.”

“He’ll get over it. I’m talking about you and him.

“There is no us, Rory. he’s made that very clear.”

“No, what he’s made clear is that he doesn’t want to go through heartbreak again if you’re just going to leave him how you always leave your wingman, hanging,” Aurora insists.

“Ro-”

“Jake, I nearly died. Life is too precious to waste, if you love him, what’s holding you back?”

“I-I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You’re hurting him now by not saying anything. What happens when you both go on the mission? What happens if you don't come back? You really want the last words you ever said to him to be something in passing?”

Jake looked at Aurora. This mission was already something he was nervous for, and now that Maverick was taken off as instructor, the parameters of the mission, although possible, probably would not work if they didn’t stick to the ones Maverick had set for them. They needed Maverick, whether the Admirals liked it or not.

“Just tell him, Jake. It would do you both a lot of good. And maybe he’d stop complaining so much about you,” Aurora snickers.

“We’ll see Ro,” was all Jake could promise her. “Maybe I’ll talk to him after the mission, or maybe even when they tell us who’s flying the mission. I guess we’ll just have to see.”

“When do they decide who’s flying the mission?” 

“In 2 days, the day before we leave.”

It was already the next day, which means they will be deciding who flies the mission tomorrow, making Aurora feel even antsier.

From what Maverick had told her, he was going to try and win back his place at Top Gun today, but what was the plan? She had no idea. 

Soon she heard running in the hallway and they stopped at her doorway, it was Peyton and Amelia.

“Dad stole an F-18!” Peyton exclaims as he catches his breath.

“HE DID WHAT?!”

“You should have seen him, Ro! He flew through the course like it was a breeze! It was so awesome!”

“Wait, can you go back to the part where he stole an F-18?!”

“Well, not stole, per-se. More like borrowed to prove to the admirals that they couldn’t just kick him off the mission.”

“And?”

“And now he's the team leader!” Amelia exclaims as she sat next to Aurora in the hospital bed.

Aurora’s jaw dropped.”What?!”

Peyton smirks. “My reaction too.”

“I was joking about him stealing an aircraft, but I didn’t know he’d actually do it,” Aurora shook her head, chuckling. Then she realizes her parents were nowhere to be seen.

“So wait, where’s dad now?”

“With mom. They wanted some ‘alone’ time together, as if we don’t know what that means,” Amelia tells her, making air quotes on the words alone.

Peyton and Aurora grimace at the thought of what Amelia was insinuating. But soon Aurora smiles.

“Mom and dad are together…again.”

“We all knew it was going to happen eventually,” Amelia smirks.

“Yeah, but now, it’s real. Like something about right now feels like it’s going to be “it” this time, you know?”

Peyton nods. “Yeah, I’m glad they finally came to their senses.”

“Which means, since dad or mom isn’t here, we are in charge of getting you home.”

Aurora pales. “Uh, I don’t know if I like that.”

“Oh c’mon, we’ll get some tacos on the way home and Amelia can sleepover!” Peyton assures her.

“Okay, that does sound good.”

“And, we can even let Amelia drive!”

“Yeah!” “No!”

Amelia looked sad as her sister shot down the idea.

“But, I need practice,” Amelia whines.

“Ami, when you get your permit, and when I’m not coming from the hospital, you can drive. But for now, we’re going to have to suffer through Pey’s driving.”

“What’s wrong with my driving?!”

“Let’s just say, I’m so glad you didn’t become a pilot with your driving skills, you would be a danger in the skies.”

Peyton scoffs before looking to Amelia for support, but she nods along at Aurora’s statement.

He rolls his eyes before he goes to sign the papers releasing Aurora while Amelia helped her sister get her things together as there were quite a few things people had sent and brought Aurora while she was in the hospital.

Aurora pauses packing staring at today’s bouquet of flowers, provided by Bradley of course. Today they were pink and red roses. She smiled as she touched the delicate petals.

Pink and red, colors that symbolized both Aurora and Bradley, Aurora being pink, and Bradley being red, which also suited him since they were also his helmet colors. She also knew it symbolized love and affection.

“Bradley got so many bouquets of flowers, they’re all waiting for you at home. He didn’t throw any out and he would bring a fresh one every day he came to visit. All meticulously picked out by him,” Amelia interrupts her thoughts as Aurora looks over to her sister who was smiling at her.

“He was really worried about you, Rory.” Amelia continues. “I mean, we all were, but Bradley was distraught. Your boss had to give him a talking to. I don’t think I ever saw Bradley that terrified and scared, even when Auntie Carole got cancer. He truly loves you.”

“I know,” Aurora gives her a small smile before turning back to the bouquet of flowers.

“So, what’s holding you back now? I mean, you should tell him. I overheard what you and Jake were talking about. It seems like it’s time for you to take your own advice. Before it’s too late.”

Aurora stares out the window. “You’re right, Ames.”

Her being in a coma definitely changed everything for her. It made her think about what she could have lost if something did happen to her. She didn’t want to live her life full of regrets anymore. She was ready to leave her past behind.

She was ready to move on and tell Bradley everything.

- - -

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—

“Mom! Dad! Over here!” Bradley calls out to his parents in the busy airport.

Today, the twins and Bradley were picking up Carole and Goose. The last she had seen them was around Peyton and her graduation. Of course she would still call them and send letters from time to time, but this was the first time in a while since they were all reunited in person.

“My Brad Brad!” Carole cries, as she comes over and hugs Bradley tightly. Bradley chuckles, and hugs his mom back.

“Okay hon, don’t choke him out before I can even give him a hug,” Goose chuckles, coming up with their luggage cart behind them.

Carole tearfully releases Bradley from the hug, letting Goose and Bradley have their moment. From just a few paces away she soon spots the twins, giving the family room for their reunion.

“My babies! Oh, my Aurora you’re here!” Carole starts crying again, grouping the twins into a hug. 

“Hi, Auntie!” Peyton laughs, hugging his aunt.

“We missed you!” Aurora smiles after being released from their hug, Carole turning her attention to Aurora.

“I knew Peyton was stateside, but when did you come home?” Carole asks her.

“Same day. I felt like it was time for me to come home,” Aurora softly smiles. Carole gives her a sad look, and Aurora remembers that Carole knew about her incident. Before she can explain, Goose interrupts.

“Little star!”

“Uncle Goose!”

Aurora gives her uncle a big hug, and groans when he tries to ruffle her hair.

“So glad you’re back home!” Peyton smiles at them.

“I can’t wait to hear your stories, Auntie! And the photos you’ve taken, Uncle Goose!” Aurora beams at them, while Bradley helps carry his mom’s bag, Goose pulling the luggage cart.. 

Aurora and Carole start conversing nonstop, with Peyton walking beside them listening in on their conversation. Bradley hung back, walking with his dad.

“So, talk to me Rooster, how’s the mission training going?” Goose asks, not knowing what had gone down yesterday.

“Intense,” Bradley sighs. “Let’s just say it was a rough day for all of us, and Aurora had an anxiety attack yesterday.”

“Shit, what the hell did you do?”

“Why do you think I did something?” Bradley looks at him exasperated. Goose gives him a look, to which Bradley sighs.

“I got mad. Hangman had said she wasn’t telling us everything and I just–”

“You were jealous that Hangman knew things about her that you didn’t,” Goose states, matter-of-factly.

Bradley turns red and groans. “I just, I don’t like when we keep things between us.”

“Brad, sometimes, things are harder to tell to those closest to us. You have to give her space.”

“I know. Let’s just say the tension was really bad yesterday.”

“You made a move yet?”

“Dad!” Bradley groans, while Goose chuckles at embarrassing his son. “We have a lot going on. It’s not the time.”

“Oh son, it’s never the time. But take it from your old man. I was thankful to live a life with your mom and you. You deserve a life with people you love, there is no perfect timing,” Goose tells him.

With a pat on the shoulder, Goose walks to catch up to his wife and his godchildren. Bradley sighs, following after his dad. 

—

“Mavy!”

“Goosie!”

Goose rushes up to his best friend, who immediately stands from his chair upon seeing him. 

“I swear, it’s like those two are married and not us,” Carole chuckles as the twins and Bradley also exit the car. The trio chuckles at the two men who were hugging each other, as if they hadn’t seen each other in years, when in reality it was probably only a few months.

Everyone was currently meeting at Ice and Sarah’s house as a small welcome back party for Carole and Goose. Ice and Maverick were sitting on the porch chairs until they all arrived.

Iceman shakes his head being used to the two’s shenanigans. Goose and Mav part from the hug and pat each other on the shoulder, before Goose turns to Iceman to give him a hug as well. 

“Hi Mrs. Bradshaw,” Maverick smiles, greeting Carole as she gets closer.

“Hi Mr. Bradshaw,” Carole teases him.

The trio greet their Uncle Ice, who they hadn’t seen since the graduation party. Ice gives Aurora a quick look, to which Aurora subtly shakes her head, knowing Ice wanted to discuss a few things, but now wasn’t the time.

Aurora and Carole decide to head into the house to help out Penny and Sarah, who were most likely in the kitchen, leaving the men out on the front porch to let them catch up.

Aurora spots Amelia playing with Ice’s grandchildren that were running around the backyard, Amelia looking tired from chasing them. She’d flopped down onto the grass, clearly exhausted and outdone by their energy.

Aurora laughs at the sight as she makes her way into the kitchen. She greets her mom and Aunt Sarah, and sits on a stool over the countertop so she could have a conversation with them, but not get in the way with them prepping food since they insisted they didn’t need any help.

Penny starts cutting up fruit next to Aurora, to which she leans over and steals a piece. Penny tries to slap her hand away, but because of Aurora’s reflexes, was unsuccessful. Rolling her eyes at her daughter’s antics, she proceeded to keep cutting the fruit. 

“So, little star. What’s it like being back home at a different office?” Sarah asks, as she stirs something over the stove.

Aurora pops the piece of pineapple in her mouth and chews quickly to answer her question.

“Different, but nothing I can’t handle,” she responds. 

“Well, I think we can all say, we’re all glad you’re home now,” Sarah looks over at Aurora and smiles at her.

“You can say that again. I don’t even want to know all the stuff that happened that you haven’t told us,” Penny sighs, knowing Aurora kept a lot of stuff secret to not worry everyone.

“So, you don’t want to hear about the number of times I’ve been shot at?” Aurora smirks at her mom. Her mom looks at her with a threatening look.

“What?!” 

“I’m joking! I’m joking!” Aurora laughs. “Not really,” she soon whispers under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, mom!” Aurora gives her mom an innocent smile, while Sarah and Carole chuckles.

“I swear, you and your brother give me gray hairs.”

“And Amelia hasn’t even decided what she wants to do yet. What if she becomes a Naval aviator?” Aurora thinks out loud.

“Oh no, she’s staying home until she’s 30.”

They all laugh at Penny’s comment before she suddenly remembers something.

“Speaking of Peyton, what’s up with him and Hangman?” she asks.

“Wait, Hangman? That name sounds familiar,” Carole wonders.

“He’s one of the pilots on the mission,” Sarah answers. Sarah usually knew a lot of things that went on in the Navy. Perks of being a Navy Admiral’s wife. 

“Oh! Didn’t he and Bradley get into a little tiff?” Carole asks.

“When don’t they?” Aurora rolls her eyes. “They literally got in one yesterday.”

“So, him and Peyton,” Penny implores.

“He and Peyton were a thing, but Jake has commitment issues and is worried about his reputation in the Navy. Peyton doesn’t like feeling used. Therefore, tension,” Aurora answers.

“Men are dumb sometimes,” Carole shakes her head.

“Auntie, what about Goose and Bradley?” Aurora questions.

“Exactly, they have their moments, but sometimes I wonder if they share a brain cell,” Carole retorts, to which the women nod and agree with Carole’s statement.

Aurora snickers as Peyton walks in with Bradley to grab a drink. The women see them walk in, and laugh out loud confusing the pair that had just come in.

“Are we missing something?” Peyton asks.

“Inside joke,” Aurora simply answers, before going back to giggling. Bradley smiles at Aurora, laughing. His heart warms knowing that she was feeling a bit better from yesterday’s fiasco.

He goes and stands behind her, leaning forward to grab fruit from the bowl Penny was putting them in. Penny slaps his hand as he draws back his hand from the bowl, successfully stealing three pieces of fruit. 

“Don’t make me ban you from the Hard Deck, Bradshaw,” Penny threatens. Bradley pops a piece in his mouth and tosses another one to Peyton, who was grabbing three beers from the fridge.

“I’m your best customer Mama Pen,” Bradley gives her a puppy dog look, to which Penny shakes her head and goes back to cutting the rest of the fruit.

Bradley holds out the last piece of fruit to Aurora who instead of grabbing it with her hands, grabs it with her mouth, letting Bradly feed her.

Peyton rolls his eyes at the two’s actions, whereas the moms watch and give each other knowing looks. 

“Alright Romeo, we got some beer deliveries to do,” Peyton calls out to Bradley, drawing the two out from their bubble. Bradley rolls his eyes, before giving Aurora a wink, following Peyton out of the kitchen.

Aurora watches them leave, as her face turns pink. Looking around the kitchen when the two leave, she notices the attention on her from everyone in the kitchen and what they’d just seen.

“Shut up,” she mumbles as they all laugh and get back to what they were doing.

—

“Ice, please don’t ask me to send someone else to die. Please don’t, don’t ask me to send him. Send me,” Maverick pleads to Iceman.

Maverick and Iceman decided to sit in Ice’s office to talk about the mission, away from everyone’s ears. 

Iceman types on his computer. ‘It’s time to let go.’

Maverick sighs seeing those words.

It’s not just about letting go of Rooster, but his twins as well. Maverick loves his daughter and his son, and he loves Rooster as well.

But he knew if he let Rooster go on the mission and he didn't come back, he not only lost his godson, but his children as well as his best friend. They wouldn’t forgive him. He couldn’t let go.

“I don’t know how,” he whispers.

“I’m not a teacher, Ice,” tears start running down Maverick’s face. “ I’m a fighter pilot. A naval aviator. It’s not what I am, it’s who I am.”

Ice sits and lets him rant.

“How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it’s not what Rooster wants. It’s not what the Navy wants. That’s why they canned me the last time, the only reason why I’m here is you,” Maverick goes on.

“If I send him on this mission, he might never come home. Goose and Carole would never forgive me. Let alone Peyton and Aurora,” Maverick chokes on his words, as the tears start streaming down.

“And if I don’t send him, he’ll never forgive me. Either way, I could lose him forever. I could lose Goose, Carole, the twins.”

Maverick looks back at the computer that had the words still typed out in front of them, as if it was haunting him. It was time to let go.

“I know, I know,” Maverick sniffles, knowing Ice said all he could. Ice nods for him and Maverick to stand up. He coughs a little before speaking to Maverick.

“The Navy needs Maverick. The kids need Maverick. That’s why I fought for you. That’s why you’re still here,” Ice hoarsely tells him. 

Hearing those words, Maverick hugs him. “Thank you, Ice. For everything,” Maverick whispers to him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ice chuckles before separating from the hug.

“One last thing,” Ice mutters. Maverick braces himself for what he’s about to say.

“Who’s the better pilot? You or me?” Ice asks. Maverick smirks at him.

“This is a nice moment. Let’s not ruin it,” they chuckle before hearing a knock on the door. Aurora pops her head in, seeing the two men.

“Am I interrupting anything?” Aurora asks them. They shook their heads.

“Good, dinner is ready! Better come soon before Bradley and Peyton eat the whole table,” Aurora snickers.

“We heard that!” Peyton calls out.

“You were meant to!” Aurora turns to call out down the hall. She looks back at Maverick and Ice before nodding back at them and turning to go to where the food was. Maverick and Ice chuckle, following after the girl together.

—

Dinner was in the backyard since there were quite a few of them in the house and they wouldn’t all fit in the kitchen. Everyone grabbed their food, and was scattered around the backyard, all in different groups.

The dads were sitting around a small table, talking with a beer in each of their hands. Ice had his phone out so he could type what he wanted to say. The moms were sitting on the porch swing, watching the kids and gossiping about who knows what.

Bradley and Aurora were sitting on the grass next to each other on a sheet that Sarah had laid out for them.

Amelia and Peyton were originally sitting with them too as they ate their food, but opted to play with Ice and Sarah’s grandchildren, with CJ as well. Ice and Sarah’s children were busy, so Ice and Sarah had offered to watch them for the weekend.

Aurora was pointing out a constellation to Bradley to which he was honestly trying his best to understand. Truthfully, he just liked stargazing with her, not really taking in much information. 

“You’re not listening, are you?” Aurora turns to look at Bradley. Bradley shakes his head.

“I am so listening.”

“Really? Then which constellation did I point out?”

“Uhhh…the really bright one.”

“Bradley!”

“Sorry!” He groans. “I’m just not looking forward to training tomorrow.”

“I think dad said something about a surprise,”Aurora tries to reassure him.

“Ugh, knowing him it’s going to be 500 pushups on top of a mile run.” 

Aurora laughs at Bradley’s complaining.

“You’ll be fine, B. I highly doubt it’s going to be that intense of a surprise.”

“He made us do 200 pushups on the first day.”

“Well, to be fair, I think that was all Fanboy and Payback from what I’ve been told.”

Bradley shakes his head before laying on his back. Aurora, still sitting, turns to watch him lay down.

“Just leave me here to die,” he mutters. Aurora giggles before deciding to poke his stomach.

He spazzes before trying to tickle Aurora in retaliation, but she was too fast for him and stood up right away before he could even start something. 

“I’m going to get water, do you want anything?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Bradley stays laying down, as Aurora walks away to grab a water bottle.

“Hey little star,” Goose calls out to her, as she passes them. 

“That nickname is never going away is it,” she sighs, as she plops into a seat next to him, with her dad and Uncle Ice sitting across.

“You’ll always be our little star,” Goose answers. She sighs and looks at them.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. I know what you’re going to ask.”

“Sweetie, we just want to make sure you’re doing okay,” Maverick reassures her.

“I am.”

“Hon, Bradley said you had an anxiety attack yesterday,” Goose says.

“Traitor,” Aurora mutters. “Look,” she begins to explain. “It was a long day, work was kicking my ass, tensions were high, and Bradley came on a bit strong when we were talking. He apologized, and we made up. I’m fine.”

“Did you tell him about what happened?” Ice types out on his phone.

“No, he said he understands I will come to him when I’m ready. And I’m not right now. But I will be, just not now,” Aurora sighs. 

“You have to tell them all eventually sweetie,” Maverick speaks up. “If you keep it in any longer, it’s going to crash down.”

“I know, dad. I just, I’m getting used to being back home. I need to be able to think straight before I tell them all the shit that’s happened.”

“We’re here for you whenever you’re ready, little star,” Goose reassures her. Aurora smiles at Goose, giving him a small side hug.

“Thanks, all of you for being there for me. I better head back to Bradley before he wonders where I am.” Aurora gets up, gives her dad and Uncle Ice a side hug, before heading back to Bradley. 

The three men watch her walk away before sighing.

“I’m worried, Ice. Her being back at NCIS worries me, even if she is behind a desk,” Maverick tells them.

Ice types out, “She’s a strong woman now. She’s not a baby anymore.”

“Aurora can hold her own, Mav. She’s a Mitchell, “ Goose affirms, agreeing with Ice’s statement. 

“That’s what worries me, Goose,” Maverick sighs. 

Soon Penny, Carole, and Sarah join them.

They all glance at Aurora and Bradley, who were now both laying next to each other, laughing as Aurora was trying to still point out a constellation to Bradley.

Peyton and Aurora soon sit next to them, while CJ sits next to Aurora. The adults all smile, realizing how much they all had grown up.

“Will they ever get together already?” Carole groans, as she sits in Goose’s lap. 

“You just want to win the bet,” Maverick chuckles.

“Well that too! I mean, how are they not together yet?” Carole wonders.

“Work, and timing honey,” Goose simply answers.

“Besides, even if they get together soon, Penny will be winning the bet,” Sarah answers. Ice looks at the document on his phone where they had put the bet and nods, agreeing with his wife.

“At least I didn’t put by the time they turn 50,” Penny accusingly looks at Maverick.

“What?! I’m optimistic!”

“50 years old, Pete?!”

“50 years old is young in my opinion!” Maverick argues. Penny shakes her head at Maverick.

“What about Peyton and his new boyfriend?” Carole asks.

“Boyfriend?! What do you mean?!” Maverick exclaims, not knowing about Jake and Peyton.

“Oh boy, you did it now Carole,” Goose mutters.

They start discussing, with Maverick trying not to flip out about how his kids were growing up. 

The group of four, Peyton and Amelia, sat back with Bradley and Aurora, turning to see them in a heated discussion.

“What do you think that’s about?” Peyton wonders.

“Do you really want to know?” Amelia answers back in the form of a question.

They turned back to see them, and shook their heads.

“Nope,” the trio replies. And they all laugh out loud.

The giggles and heated discussion from the backyard could be heard echoing through the night.

- - -

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—

Lucille -> Aurora

Jake -> Aurora

—

Aurora rolls her eyes at the text when she hears the front door to her house open. CJ lifts his head up from her lap, the both of them lounging on the couch together. Bradley and Peyton walk in, looking a bit tired from training. 

The pair moved in the day after their reunion at the Hard Deck. As they didn’t have many things to move, they made themselves at home and the house has since become more lively for the first time since Aurora had moved in. She was very happy that they were both able to move in and didn’t realize how much she had truly missed them. It was as if the house had become more like a home with the three of them together in it. 

“I take it training was not great?” Aurora asked. Peyton simply walks to the kitchen without a word while Bradley, still in his flight suit walks to the couch and plops down next to CJ and Aurora. 

“Your dad is the instructor,” Bradley sighs, petting CJ.

“Huh?” Aurora gave him a confused look. “I thought he was part of the mission?”

“Apparently he’s going to be instructing the other naval aviators on how to do the mission. He and dumbass over there broke the hard deck today during a dick measuring contest,” Peyton walks back in, leaning against the door frame and drinking a beer he’d gotten from the fridge.

Bradley cringes, knowing what was coming.

“You broke the hard deck?! Are you nuts?!” Aurora reprimanded, fixing Bradley with a scathing look.

“In my defense, he started it.”

“Seriously, B?” 

“He pulled my papers, Ro. I can’t just let that go,” he whispers, sinking into the couch. CJ walks over and settles down next to him, trying to comfort Bradley. 

Aurora and Peyton look at each other and sigh. They knew what their father did was bad. The twins still to this day don’t understand why he did it. Aurora reached for one of Bradley’s hands to comfort him, getting his attention as those two made eye contact.

“Look, I know he was an asshole for pulling your papers. Pey and I understand. But in order to make this mission a success, you need to not kill yourself. I need you both to come back to me. Please B,” Aurora pleads to him.

Bradley sighs, knowing he would do anything for her. 

“Fine, okay. I will do my best to not get so mad at him,” Bradley reluctantly agrees. 

“And?” Aurora smirks at him.

Bradley chuckles. “And to always come back to you.” 

Aurora beams at him, leaning in to kiss his forehead immediately causing him to blush at her actions.Turning to give her attention to CJ, Aurora hadn’t even seen what she just caused but from the corner of his eye, Bradley could see it didn’t slip Peyton’s attention from his spot in the doorway.

“Simp,” Peyton mouths at him, while Bradley uses his left hand to flip him off.

“Well, how about we go get some tacos and hangout at the lookout spot for today?” Aurora suggests, knowing the boys would need to go out and let loose before another tense day tomorrow. 

“I’m down,” Peyton responds while Bradley nods in agreement. Aurora beams at both of them.

“Wonderful. Now, go get washed and changed please. You stink of sweat and jet fuel,” she chuckles as she heads into her room to change out of her sweatpants and oversized shirt.

Bradley and Peyton look at each other.

“She’s talking to you asshat,” Bradley stands and gestures to Peyton, dirty from repairing a jet.

“Or she’s talking about you shithead,” Peyton retorts.

“Both of you. You both stink,” Aurora calls out from her room.

—

Golden Trio (aka The Mitchell-Benjamin siblings)

—

“So you’re telling me, you went undercover for a case as a bartender, for 5 days?” Amelia questions Aurora, who was taking a bite of her taco. Aurora held a hand up as she finished chewing and swallowing a bite.

“I’m lucky it didn’t go any longer. Many agents have gone undercover for like a year if the case goes that long,” Aurora responds.

Currently, Aurora and Amelia were sitting next to each other, across from Bradley and Peyton on a picnic bench, CJ sitting next to Amelia as she fed him scraps.

The spot they were at looks out at the beach of San Diego, a place that the twins had discovered growing up in the city. When Bradley would visit, they would always go hangout at this spot to get away from the parents, then soon they showed it to Amelia and they deemed it the lookout spot, never really showing it to anyone else.

They had bought a bunch of tacos from a taco truck on the way to the lookout after picking up Amelia in Bradley’s Bronco. It was a nice day out, the sun was setting as they ate their food and got to listen to Aurora's stories about being an NCIS agent, having never told them much from past correspondences.

“Do you think you’ll miss the action?” Peyton asks, taking a sip from his drink.

Aurora hesitates for a bit to think about it. She had yet to tell them about the one case that she was still recovering from. She knew she’d miss the action, it was all she knew for 3 years but on the other hand, she had lived the agent life she wanted to. She was good. But she was ready to actually spend time with her family.

“Yes and no.” Aurora chews the inside of her cheek.

“I miss my team. I miss being on the field. But it was the right move to come home. Spend time with mom and, of course, you Ames. I’m glad it all lined up that you both are here too.”

Aurora gestures to Peyton and Bradley, but both were busy stuffing their faces with tacos. Amelia gives them a disgusted look, while Aurora laughs at them. 

“Sowwy, wha id yo ay?” Bradley asks Aurora, mouth still full as he speaks. Aurora chuckles at his confused expression.

“I said, I’ll miss it but I’m just glad to be here with all of you,” she reiterates.

“Yeah, it really worked out,” Bradley says after swallowing his bite and smiling at Aurora. She blushes while Peyton and Amelia give each other a knowing look across the table.

They were the biggest shippers of Bradley and Aurora, but both knew why they were hesitant about being together. That didn’t stop them from scheming behind their backs on ways to get them together.

“How long are you both stationed for? Are you leaving after the mission?” Amelia asks. Peyton and Bradley turn to look at each other and shrug.

“Not sure yet. The mission is already intense, and we just started training,” Bradley responds.

“Yeah, Bradley sucked today, and it was only dogfighting,” Peyton adds on, as Bradley gives Peyton the middle finger. 

“I mean, they brought all the top graduates of Top Gun, that in itself is already saying something,” Aurora defended Bradley a bit.

“Yeah, but I mean he really sucked today, like I’ve seen him better when he’s doing test runs,” Peyton says, egging Bradley on.

“Okay, Mr. Mechanic. Where’s your pilot license?” Bradley accuses.

“You know I can cut the fuel line to your jet, right?” 

“Okay ladies, break it up,” Aurora interrupts the two. Amelia chuckles at their small banter.

“What have you got, Miss NCIS Agent?” Peyton taunts his twin.

She glares at him. “A knife, a forensic best friend to help hide or destroy your body, another best friend to help me hide, while the rest of my team helps clear my name when I get blamed for your unexpected death.”

Bradley and Amelia burst out laughing as Peyton pales at Aurora’s sentence.

“Fine. You win, for now.”

Aurora smirks at him, knowing she won that round.

“So, you wanna tell me what’s going on with you and Hangman?”

Peyton sputters out his drink while Bradley slaps him on the back. Amelia giggles.

“Nothing, nothing is going on,” Peyton wipes his mouth with a napkin.

“Really? Because the first time I brought you up, he blushed,” Aurora smiles at him.

“Oh, Peyton does the same thing!” Bradley chimes in, earning a slap on the arm from Peyton.

“Nothing is going on. Whatever he said, it’s nothing anymore,” Peyton sighs.

“What happened?” Aurora was confused. Hangman looked like he liked Peyton a lot, and would ask about him whenever he and Aurora would text from time to time.

“He doesn’t want anything but sex from me.”

“Woah, dude! There’s a child here,” Bradley blurts out.

“I’m a lot more mentally mature than you, Bradshaw,” Amelia points out.

Bradley sticks his tongue out at her, to which Amelia puts up her middle finger.

“What do you mean?” Aurora wonders, ignoring the two.

“He doesn’t want a relationship. He’s scared about dating someone like me.”

“A guy?” 

“No, being with someone also in the Navy. He’s worried that it’ll mess up his career. Especially with our family’s reputation.”

“If anything, Hangman is very open about being bisexual,” Bradley rolls his eyes.

“So he doesn’t want to date you because you’re a Mitchell?” Amelia snorts.

“Pretty much.” Peyton replies.

“Well that’s stupid.”

“I know. I just…I want to move on, but I really like him.”

“I’m sorry, Pey. He really seems like he likes you.” Aurora comforts her twin.

She was going to have a word with Jake later. Probably smack some sense into him when she sees him or threaten the asshole with her knife, whichever comes first.

“Apparently not enough,” Peyton grumbles, finishing his drink. 

“I’m bored, I’m gonna skate around.” Getting up to throw away her trash, Amelia grabbed her skateboard and was about to wander off.

“Please be careful, Ames,” Aurora tells her.

“Always! Pey, want to come with me? I’ll teach you some basics.” 

Amelia gives her best fake smile. Peyton looks at her confused, until Amelia makes a face that Peyton finally understood to give Aurora and Bradley some alone time.

“Oh, yeah! Sure! I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride a skateboard!” Peyton gave his best smile as he stuffed the rest of his taco in his mouth and threw away his trash.

“Wait, since when?” Aurora looks at him confused.

“Since, like forever! Amelia is going to teach me how to do an Olive!”

“You mean Ollie?” Amelia corrects him.

“Yeah, that too!”

Aurora and Bradley look at Peyton in disbelief as both he and Amelia leave to go do some skateboard tricks on an even road, while CJ follows them.

They both throw away their trash then sit back at the table, but this time Bradley sitting next to her as they watch the sunset. 

Bradley faces Aurora, who was keeping an eye on Peyton, Amelia, and CJ. Smiling, he could see how much love Aurora holds for her family. Plus the fact that she moved back to San Diego, and gave up a successful NCIS career in Washington D.C. in order to be home, it really warmed his heart. 

Turning her head, Aurora catches Bradley staring at her.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Becoming self conscious, she grabs a napkin and begins wiping at her mouth.

“No, no, you’re fine. I was just…I just still can’t believe you’re here right in front of me.”

Aurora chuckles as she puts the napkin down.

“I missed you, a lot.” Bradley confesses, reaching his hand over to Aurora’s so they could hold hands.

Aurora smiles and interlocks their hands. “I missed you a lot too, B.”

Bradley looks down at the charm bracelet. It still looked brand new, as if it was just yesterday he had given it to her that Christmas day when they shared their first kiss. He soon noticed a new charm on it.

“That’s new,” he points out, simply curious at the charm.

Looking down at it, Aurora realizes the charm he pointed out was the North Star charm given by her NCIS team.

“It was a goodbye present from my team when I left last week.”

Bradley looks up to see Aurora’s eyes glaze over a bit.

“Hey, you okay?”

Aurora was drawn out of her thoughts. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“You miss it?”

“Oh yeah, I loved being shot at all the time,” she sarcastically answered.

“But you were safe, right? No like bad calls or close to your death bed?” Bradley worriedly asks.

Aurora hesitates. Was she ready to tell him about the cases where she would get hit by stray bullets? Or the time she almost got blown up because she refused to leave Ziva’s side when Ziva was disarming the bomb?

Probably not the time her and McGee got stuck in an elevator and almost fell to their death? The case where Tony had almost got them caught undercover was not one she wanted to relive. Or the time that she was in Abby’s lab and inhaled a bad toxin, leaving her bedridden for a few days? Surely she couldn’t tell him about the case where she took a bullet for Gibbs. Or the case where she was tortured. 

“No, I’m fine, B. I loved my team, but I think it was time for me to stop running into gunfire,” Aurora brushes off her thoughts. That was a problem for another day.

“Well I’m glad you’re here. And that you’re safe.”

“Worried about me?”

“Always for you, princess.” Bradley says, kissing her hand causing Aurora to blush.

“This mission is going to be an intense one, isn't it?” Aurora asks Bradley after a few minutes of silence, besides the ocean waves crashing and the speaker they were playing music out of from Bradley’s Bronco.

“Yeah, I think so, darling.”

“Promise you’ll be safe. That you all will come back home. Including Jake.”

“So it’s Jake now?” Bradley turns to her.

“Jealous?” She smirks at him. Bradley shook his head.

“No way.”

“Don’t worry,” Aurora leans her head on his shoulder. “You’ll always be my knight in shining armor.”

Bradley chuckles. “And you’ll always be my princess. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we all come back safe and sound.”

Aurora hums in content with Bradley’s answer as they go back to listening to the waves and the music.

Just a distance away, Peyton and Amelia high five. Seeing the two being close and having a moment for the first time in a while was a win in their books. 

“So, who do you think is going to win that bet the parents have placed on those two?” Amelia asks, throwing a stick for CJ to fetch.

“Oh, mom for sure! They all had to change their bets when they didn’t get together in high school.” Peyton replies.

“Let’s hope they get together soon. For everyone's sake.”

- - -

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—

Lucille → Aurora

—

“Wait, so you two almost kissed?!” Lucille shouted, almost spilling her coffee on the couch. 

Aurora blushes and nods as she continues eating her donut while her friend gasped in shock.

“Wow, didn’t know Chicken Little had it in him.”

“Lucille,” Aurora groans.

“Sorry. But holy crap. Didn’t know he had it in him.”

Aurora sighs, as she finishes her donut and takes a swig of her tea that she had on the coffee table. She couldn’t stop thinking about it and had wished so badly that Peyton hadn't interrupted them that night.

But was she ready to be with Bradley? She wasn’t sure. She had so much to still work on, the nightmares were slowly getting less and less frequent, but the anxiety still hovered over her.

Lucille was rambling on about how she was going to talk to Peyton about the cockblock until noticing Aurora was tapping her fingers against her bracelet.

“Hey, you alright?”

Aurora shakes out of her thoughts. “Huh?”

“You only play with your bracelet when you’re overthinking shit.” Lucille gestures to the bracelet.

She was worried about her best friend and while maybe they didn’t see each other much, Aurora was still Lucille’s best friend. Despite the distance.

Aurora smiles slightly. “I’m fine. Just work stuff,” she lies through her teeth.

She didn’t want to lie to her best friend, but she would tell her when the time was right. Lucille just nods, and takes a sip of her coffee when they both hear a ping from Aurora’s phone.

Penny → Aurora

“Got a bathing suit?” Aurora asks Lucille to which she received a smirk in return.

“What do you have in mind?”

—

Aurora knew as soon as her mom texted her, that she was up to something. She, Lucille, and CJ arrived at the beach seeing her mom sitting on a table behind the Hard Deck.

What she didn’t expect to see were a bunch of the same pilots she had met about a week ago to be playing what seemed to be dogfight football, something her dad, Uncle Goose, and Uncle Ice came up with during Aurora’s childhood years.

“Helping with balancing sheets?” Aurora looks at her mom, incredulously.

Penny chuckles. “You came, didn't you?”

Sighing, she shakes her head. Aurora soon spots Amelia, Aunt Carole, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Ice sitting under a big pop up beach canopy they most likely had set up a few ways from the water, but in prime viewing spot of the San Diego view, and the pilots as well. 

“So this is what dad meant by a surprise for the naval aviators?”

“Well, apparently he needed them to become a team and bond a bit. So I guess this was his way of getting them out of the cockpit and to have fun,” Penny answers her.

“I’m having fun just watching them,” Lucille muses. 

Aurora nudges Lucille, while Penny laughs, agreeing with the entertainment of the game and the view. She notices that Maverick had also dragged Peyton along as well.

Despite the fact that he’s a mechanic, he recognized Peyton as still part of the team and that he got along with mostly everyone on the squadron.

Amelia spots them, waving for her and Lucille to come over.

“Are you going to actually hangout on the beach though?” Aurora asks her mom.

“Yeah, I’m just going to finish this paperwork first. You go on ahead.”

Aurora’s feet soon touch the sand, and she releases CJ from his leash. He happily runs over to Amelia as Amelia chuckles claiming that CJ liked her better.

Aurora and Lucille all say their hellos, while Aurora puts her towel next to Amelia, Lucille doing the same. She soon realizes the person sitting next to her Uncle Ice.

“Hey, Slider! You’re here too!”

“Hey kiddo! Heard about the mission, I had to come see these new pilots. Can’t be better than us Ice, right?” Slider smiles at the man beside him.

Ice just shakes his head and chuckles. He was not ready to get into that.

“What’s up, burger man?” Lucille waves at him. Aurora chuckles as Slider rolls his eyes at the girl. 

“That’s not what my callsign means.”

“So what does it mean then?” Lucille wonders.

“Ignore her. Jet lag is getting to her,” Aurora interrupts her best friend.

“Bitch, I drove here.”

“Shush! I’m trying to concentrate,” Amelia shakes her book that she was holding.

“Melia, you’re not even looking at the book,” Carole points out, as neither of the girls were not even listening to her anymore.

Amelia, Aurora, and Lucille all look at the pilots, and wow did Aurora realize how much of a view they were treated to. Everyone was pretty much shirtless, with the exception of the girls. Plus Bob and Uncle Goose.

It seemed that Bradley’s team made a touchdown, so Bradley was doing a little shimmy celebration dance, a move Aurora was not a stranger to. It was a move he pulled often whenever they danced together.

She couldn’t help but to stare shamelessly at her best friend, his abs on full display. She was wondering how he was even so tan since most of his days were spent on an aircraft carrier. Aurora wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was full on ogling at Bradley, not even caring.

Man, was she glad she had her sunglasses on, but it didn’t help that she was turning red from all the thoughts in her head.

“Girl, show him what he’s missing and get over there,” Lucille encourages Aurora, drawing her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, Aurie. He doesn’t even know you’re here yet,” Amelia smirks, knowing Bradley would be ecstatic to see Aurora.

The pilots still had yet to even notice the newcomers, as they were focused on their game. Aurora took that as her sign to make her presence known.

With her Benjamin-Mitchell confidence, she stands up and removes her shirt to reveal her black one piece full coverage bathing suit. It covered her back and half her arm, so her scars weren’t on full display, yet she was able to show off her figure. 

Lucille and Amelia wolf whistles as Aurora does this and walks over to the group playing. 

The first to spot her was Uncle Goose, who was not shocked to see her there.

“Hey, little star!”

The naval aviators looked at him confused and turned to see what he was looking at. Aurora smiles and waves at her Uncle.

“Damn, is that Artemis?” Fanboy asks.

Bradley instantly spots Aurora and freezes.

Sure, the two of them grew up with each other and Aurora had worn bathing suits around him, but seeing her now was different.

She was grown, and she looked like a goddess to Bradley, he couldn’t help but stare at her and feel some sort of way. Aurora always had that effect on him. 

Her dark brown hair with her faded blonde tips was tied up in a ponytail, and she had her sunglasses on covering her eyes, but Bradley knew she already was looking at him. 

He smiles and is the first to run up to her a few feet away from the group, hoping to get a bit of time with her before she approaches everyone else.

“Her and Bradshaw?” Payback asks Peyton, as they all watched him run to the girl.

“Not yet, but soon.” Peyton smiles.

“If Rooster ever gets off his little perch,” Jake comes up behind Peyton.

“At least he can talk about his feelings,” Peyton snarks back at him.

He had refused to look Jake in the eyes after what had gone down in Jake’s apartment.

Of course he had his fair share looking at Hangman’s abs, but he refused to give into wanting to jump Jake’s bones and stuck to trying to avoid him.

“Princess, you didn’t tell me you were coming,” Bradley smirks at her.

“Didn’t even know you were here,” Aurora grins back.

“And looks like someone forgot their swimsuit,” she points out, seeing that he was wearing jean shorts. “You should have told me, I could have brought the ones with the little chickens on them.”

She glances at his sweaty chest, and notices not only his dog tags, but also the necklace that she had given to him for Christmas, a plane pendant.

She smiles at it remembering what was engraved on it, as well as the memory of giving it to him before her eyes found their way back to Bradley’s.

“Tsk, you’d love to see me in those, wouldn’t you?” Bradley rasps, while stepping closely to Aurora, and tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

She could practically feel his body heat from where she stood as they were flirting, her heart beating so fast wanting to just reach over and kiss the hell out of him. 

“Heads up!” a voice calls out, and a few seconds later, a football hits Bradley’s head.

“Ow, what the fuck?” Bradley cries out as he and Aurora turn to see who threw the football.

Maverick stands with a “sorry, not sorry” look on his face, and Goose hits Maverick on the back of the head for interrupting their moment.

Aurora chuckles at her dad’s antics, her face still a bit red from her interaction with Bradley while he rubs the back of his head. 

“C’mon, I want to kick your ass,” Aurora grins as she walks towards the group.

“Oh, you think you can beat me?”

“I’m pretty sure I proved I could when I beat you that one summer.”

“That was one time, and I had a broken wrist!”

“Excuses, excuses, Bradshaw!”

—

The football game definitely proved to help the team actually feel like a team. Soon everyone wasn’t keeping score and just having fun.

Aurora had joined the team that was against Bradley and Peyton and she bonded with Natasha enough to get her to take them down.

Peyton and Jake were still trying to avoid each other as much as they could, but at least they could look each other in the eyes.

Amelia had joined in on the fun by standing next to Hondo and helping call out penalties, she got so into her role she even had a whistle that Hondo gave as an extra he had. 

Penny had opened the Hard Deck for the pilots and the rest of the family a few hours before the bar opened to the public so they could enjoy the cool, crisp, air conditioning.

Carole had brought a bunch of sandwiches, where Sarah had made sure to bring snacks and of course, Penny provided the drinks.

All the other pilots were a bit intimidated with having Admiral Kazansky in their presence, but soon got used to it as they saw how he was letting loose, just as Maverick and Goose were.

The jukebox was blasting out tunes of all kinds, creating a fun relaxing atmosphere in the bar for everyone to enjoy.

Aurora was in the corner, playing darts with her Uncle Goose, Jake, and Javy. She was laughing as Javy botched his shot.

“Dude, why’d I even pick you as my partner?” Jake shakes his head.

“Shut up,” Coyote hisses. 

“And that’s how you do it!” Aurora smirks, making a bullseye.

“I taught you well, little star,” Goose proudly says. 

Lucille happened to somehow get sucked into a heated discussion with Mickey and Bob.

“Okay, but Game of Thrones is so much better than Lord of the Rings!” Mickey proclaims.

“You take that back! Bob, back me up here!” Lucille turns to him.

“Uhh, I haven’t seen all of Game of Thrones–”

“HA!” Lucille smirks

“–Or all of Lord of the Rings.”

“What the hell?!” Both Lucille and Mickey look at Bob, as if he had committed treason. 

CJ happily laid next to Carole’s feet, who was sitting on the bar stools with Sarah and Penny. All of them were sitting and talking, while Maverick, Iceman, and Slider sat in the corner of the bar observing the other pilots while drinking beer.

“We weren’t like this when we were their age, right?” Slider ponders. They were watching all the pilots in the bar, seeing them out of the cockpit was definitely a sight to see.

“I think we were so much worse,” Maverick chuckles, as he takes a swig of his beer.

Peyton, Natasha, Reuben, and Bradley were playing pool, but also trying to teach Amelia which wasn’t going so well.

“Amelia, you’re supposed to hit the balls with the stick, not try to stab it with the stick.” Bradley sighs.

“Why not stab, stabbing seems so much better and efficient?”

“I can’t tell if you’re more like your sister with the stabbing comment, or Peyton with that stupid comment,” Payback wonders.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Peyton looks at him offended.

Natasha sighs and mutters how she’s surrounded by too much testosterone.

Aurora and Goose high five, as they won the game of darts against Jake and Javy.

“How the hell did that just happen?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Javy. That’s why I always bring a knife to a gunfight,” Aurora smiles triumphantly.

“You do what now?” Goose looks at her concerned.

Aurora chuckles as Jake and Javy start to bicker about their loss and whose fault it was.

Goose pats her shoulder to head over to the men, while Aurora goes to the pool table to see how the game is going. Amelia sat on the bar stool, with a pout on her face. 

“Why the long face, little sis?” Aurora questions her sister.

“They wouldn’t let me play.”

“She tried to stab the balls with the stick,” Peyton calls out as he takes his shot at the pool table.

“It’s much more effective that way to get the balls in the pocket!” Amelia reasons.

“No, it really isn’t,” Bradley comes up and ruffles Amelia’s hair. She hisses and swats his hands away from her. He chuckles before standing in front of Aurora.

“Finished up at darts?”

“Oh yeah, finally put Hangman in his place and pulled one over on him.”

He chuckles, and leans in toward Aurora’s ear. 

“That’s my girl,” he whispers, before pecking her cheek and heading back to the pool table for his turn.

Aurora immediately turned red, feeling as if her heart was going to burst by how fast it was beating.

Holy crap, that was one of the hottest things she had heard from his mouth.

Lucille comes up with a drink in each hand, going to hand one over to Aurora before seeing her best friend stunned and blushing.

“What’s up with her?”

“Bradley whispered something into her ear and now she’s too stunned to speak,” Amelia responds, taking a drink of her respective non-alcoholic drink. 

“Ahh.”

“Shut up, both of you please,” Aurora pleads, as Lucille hands her the drink before taking the seat beside her friend. 

Aurora glances at Bradley who was standing behind Peyton taking his shot at the pool table. Noticing her eyes were on him he winks at her, to which she rolls her eyes and sips her drink.

He will be the death of her. 

—

The Hard Deck was now lively as it was open to everyone and some of the naval aviators were still there, with the exception of the older ones.

Since it was Penny’s day off from the Hard Deck, she and Maverick went for a motorcycle ride where Sarah and Ice went to drop off Slider at the airport. Goose and Carole decided to head home for the night, as they were still a bit jet lagged from their trip. 

Amelia was hanging out with the other pilots while Aurora was sitting outside on one of the tables, getting a bit of air as the Hard Deck was beginning to get a little claustrophobic. CJ sat next to her as she combs her hands through his fur.

“Wondered where you were, surprised you weren’t with Bradshaw in there.”

Aurora turns and sees Jake standing behind her. He held out a water bottle for her to take, which she does. She gestures on the other side of CJ for Jake to sit.

“Yeah, well you know me. I needed air.”

Jake hums, taking a swig from his beer. They both sat in silence before Aurora broke it.

“I’m still a bit mad after that whole shit you pulled you know.”

Jake sighs. “I know, and I’m so sorry, Rory. I even apologized to Rooster before the game today.”

“And I wish that was all I was mad about, Jake. I’m talking about you and Peyton,” Aurora admits and turns to Jake.

Jake puts his hand to his face. “Fuck, I really messed up, didin’t I?”

Aurora brings her arm out to pat Jake’s shoulder in comfort.

“A bit, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fix it.”

“Fix what? I screwed up Ro, he could barely look me in the eye. I don’t even know why he came today when he wasn’t even required to.”

“Don’t you see, Jake? Peyton cares so much about you, and if you could only hear him out, you’d understand that you also feel the same way about him.”

“But what happens if we break up, what happens if the love we feel for each other only leads to hate and destruction?”

Aurora looks at Jake. “Put your pride aside for once and just listen to what I have to say. Don’t keep pushing him away, or using him for sex because it makes you feel good. We don’t have a lot of time in this world. Sometimes love can hurt, but I think it’s better to love than not love at all.”

Jake removes his hand from his face and looks at Aurora. 

“You’re not alone anymore, Jake. You have me now. And Coyote and Peyton. Maybe even Rooster and the rest of the squadron. Let us be here for you,” Aurora smiles at him.

There were tears forming in Jake’s eyes before he pulled Aurora into a brotherly hug. She pats him comfortingly on the back letting him hug it out before he releases her. CJ yaps at him, to which Jake gives him a few pets.

“Damn, who knew you had all those words in you, Artemis.”

Aurora chuckles and smiles. “Therapy will do that to you I guess.”

Jake studies her for a bit. “No more nightmares?” 

“Not as often, it still lingers. I’m taking it day by day. But now that I’m home, I feel a lot better,” Aurora turns to see her brother, sister, best friend, and Bradley through the glass doors of Hard Deck. Jake was sure she meant home as in Bradley and her family, and not San Diego.

Bradley spots her, waving with a smile, before going back to listening to what Amelia was saying.

“You and Rooster talk yet?”

“Not yet, soon though. When the timing is right.”

—

“Hey, mom! We’re back home!” Amelia hollers inside the house.

“I thought you were staying at Aurora’s and Peyton’s?” Penny's muffled voice was heard.

“She was, but she said she wanted to come home, so we’ve come to drop her off,” Peyton calls out. 

“Peyton, Aurora? Why are you both here?”

“Bradley and Lucille took CJ home in the Bronco. Peyton couldn’t drive because he drank quite a bit so I drove Amelia home,” Aurora explains. 

“I only drank a little bit.”

“Peyton, you didn’t want to stay in the car because you thought that the neighbors were looking at you funny.”

“They were!” Peyton claims.

“That was their cat on the porch,” Amelia groans.

“Have you had dinner already?” Penny interrupts the conversation, while it sounds like she was fumbling with something upstairs.

“Not yet,” Amelia tells her.

“Grabbing takeout for us tonight, so don’t worry about us mom!” Aurora assures her.

“I’ll make something for us then, Amelia. I’ll be down in a second.” More bumping and shuffling was heard, which worried Aurora quite a bit.

“Does mom seem flustered to you?” Aurora wonders.

Amelia and Peyton shrug as Aurora grabs some water from the fridge. She closes the fridge door, only to see something drop outside from the window from her peripheral vision.

And then soon a person drops outside as well.

The person stands up, and soon Aurora, Amelia, and Peyton are faced to see Maverick staring right into the window, huffing from the fall he had just gone through.

“Am I still drunk, or did dad fall from the sky?”

Aurora elbows Peyton, to which he exaggerates and falls down from the gesture. 

Amelia looks at him with a serious look. “Just don’t break her heart again.”

Maverick slightly nods and looks at Aurora and Peyton, who had stood back up.

Peyton gives his dad a thumbs up, still slightly drunk and not understanding what was happening. Aurora just sighs and smiles at him.

“Don’t screw it up this time, dad.”

Maverick nods, before silently and quickly waving goodbye to them and getting on his bike. Aurora lets out a breath and looks at her siblings.

“Damn, I owe Bradley $20.”

- - -

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—

“Where do you want this last box, Rory?” Amelia asks from the living room.

“Over there in the kitchen please!” Aurora replies to her sister.

Aurora was so happy to be back in San Diego. She, Maverick, and her puppy, CJ, arrived in San Diego late last night and stayed in a hotel. Aurora had called her mom and Amelia the day she had left Washington DC, to let them know that she was going to be back in San Diego.

Penny and Amelia were currently spending the morning and afternoon with Aurora as they were helping her move into her new house within the city. Maverick had yet to see Penny and Amelia as he went straight to the Navy base where they had provided him lodgings for the upcoming mission. In the afternoon, he would be going to the Admirals to be briefed a little more on it. 

“I still can’t believe my little star is back in San Diego!” Penny gushes over her daughter, as she gives Aurora another hug for the hundredth time today. Aurora groans as Amelia cackles, taking the box into the kitchen.

“Mom,” Aurora whines as Penny refuses to let go of her eldest daughter.

“She gets worse with age. You should have seen her last year when I bought my dress for the homecoming dance,” Amelia snickers, holding CJ, who Amelia had already bonded with.

“My babies are growing up. I’m getting so old,” Penny groans, releasing her daughter.

Aurora and Amelia both roll their eyes and chuckle, knowing their mother looks so much younger than her actual age.

Aurora kisses her mom’s cheek as she finishes unpacking the box she was working on before Penny left, walking into the kitchen to most likely unpack the remaining box Amelia had brought in.

Aurora was lucky that NCIS had helped her find a nice three-bed and two-bathroom house she was able to rent on short notice.

Apparently, Gibbs and Director Vance had pulled a few strings to help her find a good place that was a ten minute drive from the Navy base since the NCIS office was also located there. As well as her mom’s house being fifteen minutes away, with another five minute drive from Penny’s house to Goose and Carole’s.

She would sometimes hear the sounds of the naval aircrafts flying above her house, and it made her smile remembering Bradley. And Jake and Peyton obviously, but mostly Bradley. Everything seemed to be settling in place.

“So, when do you start work?” Amelia asks, sitting on the floor and tossing CJ’s ball for him to chase after. The dog ran after the ball as it bounced away, skidding across the hard floors and almost tumbling straight into the wall. 

“On Wednesday,” Aurora recalls from the email she got from her new boss. Since it was a Saturday, her boss had figured Aurora would need a few days to get used to her new surroundings before she started her new desk work. 

Amelia smiles at her big sister from where she sat. She had missed Aurora so much, always looking up to her. When Amelia heard she would be coming home, she was so happy she screamed with excitement.

The two sisters were always close, with Aurora helping out as much as she could, especially when Amelia’s dad had left them. Amelia didn’t really consider her father as a dad, as Maverick had helped fill that void a while ago. But she never said it out loud. 

“Have you heard from Peyton lately?” Amelia questions her, as Aurora pulls out a framed photo of the family. Aurora sighs as she hears the question. She stares longingly at the photo, where it was Maverick, Penny, Amelia, Peyton, and her at their graduation party.

“You know for being the talkative one out of all of us, he sucks at replying to letters,” Aurora responded, setting the frame down on the table next to her. 

“I hope he’s doing alright,” Penny sighs, walking back into the living room.

She knew not to worry too much about her son, but it never got any easier when he went on deployments. She preferred if all her children lived in the same place, even though she encouraged them all to live out their own lives and dreams.

“He’s fine. He has Bradley,” Amelia surmised.

“That’s what I worry about,” Aurora chuckles, as she pulls out the stuffed rooster that was given to her by Bradley when he told her his callsign.

Aurora thinks back to the letter she wrote to both of them. She didn’t tell them about meeting Hangman, or any of her cases. Just that she was usually drowning between paperwork and fieldwork.

Penny and Amelia give each other a look as Aurora stares off into space.

Even though they were both happy that Aurora was home, they noticed she was different, even though they just saw her today. Sometimes she would go into a daze for a bit before returning back to normal. She would flinch and reach for her knife at a loud noise sometimes, occasionally falling silent and biting her cheek, or even fidgeting with her bracelet.

Penny knew a bit of her PTSD to an extent, but not the whole story, where Amelia didn’t know anything. They didn’t say anything though, wanting Aurora to get settled before saying anything. 

“Any big plans tonight?” Penny asks, drawing Aurora out of her mind.

“Probably nothing as fun as what you’re going to ask me,” Aurora smirks at her mom.

“Well, how about a little help tonight at the Hard Deck then since you don’t have to work yet?” Penny suggests. “Amelia is sleeping over at her friend’s house. I had a coworker have something come up and I need someone to help me with the Saturday rush.”

“Sure! I haven’t bartended since college, so I might be a bit slow,” Aurora shrugs.

“No, you’ll be fine,” Penny reassures her. “Plus, you’ve always been good at it.”

“And there’s always hot eye candy to look at too!” Amelia pipes in.

“Amelia!” Penny turns to her youngest daughter. Aurora bursts out laughing at her sister’s antics.

“Not that it matters, you only have eyes for Bradley,” Amelia teases in a singsong voice.

Aurora rolls her eyes, not objecting to her statement, and throws bubble wrap at her. Amelia catches it and tries throwing it back at Aurora and soon they end up throwing a lot of the leftover bubble wrap around, with CJ jumping up and down, joining in the chaos.

Penny chuckles at her daughters, wishing Peyton was there to complete the family.

—

Maverick had just finished his meeting with Cyclone and Warlock as he sat at the bar of the Hard Deck. How was he not only supposed to train this new group of aviators but also work with his godson who had still yet to even talk to him ever since he pulled his papers from the Academy? 

He had already spotted two of the students he was going to be training for the mission at the dartboard, noting that he could already sense the ego of the blonde guy. He was texting Ice about his meeting before he heard a voice speak to him.

“Dad?”

He looked up and saw Aurora had walked in with her purse in hand with a confused look on her face. Maverick turned to her, confused about what Aurora was doing at the bar.

“Sweetie? What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you the same question. Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with your higher-ups about the mission?”

“I finished. Why are you-”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” a voice says behind the bar. Maverick turns back towards the bar and sees Penny. “Pete.”

“Penny? What are you doing here?” Maverick questions, stunned and confused, until remembering the bar he’s at and laughs to himself. He was so deep in his thoughts, he had forgotten that Penny owned the bar and was most likely working.

“I should ask you the same thing,” Penny answers him. “Hi sweetie, you can put your bag in the office near the kitchen,” Penny tells her daughter. 

“Sure thing, mom.”

“You’re working the bar tonight?” Maverick asks Aurora. 

“Duh, gotta help mom out,” she winks at both of them heading towards the kitchen/back area and leaving her purse inside the office before walking out toward the bar area.

“No way. Artemis?!” a voice calls. Aurora freezes in her tracks and turns to the voice.

In all his glory, stood Jake Seresin in his khaki uniform, standing next to the dartboard. 

“Holy shit! Hangman?” Aurora was stunned.

Last she had heard from him, he was stationed down in Texas, near his family for the time being. They would message each other now and then, as they had truly bonded quite a bit ever since Aurora had saved his life.

He holds out his arms, as Aurora walks quickly towards him and launches herself into his arms. 

“What are you doing here?” Jake questions the woman after pulling back from the hug, holding her within arm's length.

“Reassigned to the office here in San Diego. What about you?”

“Called in for an assignment at Top Gun. They called in the best of the best,” Jake answers proudly. Aurora freezes for a bit. 

Does that mean Bradley would be called back? What about Peyton? No way, she thought. They would have called her. She shakes that thought from her mind, focusing back on the guy in front of her.

“Who’s this?”

Aurora and Jake turn to the friend he was with, the other guy confused as he had never met the woman who had hugged Jake.

“Oh, crap right. Coyote, this is Aurora. Aurora, this is my friend, callsign Coyote,” Jake introduces.

“Lieutenant Javy Machado, at your service ma'am,” Javy says as he puts out his hand for Aurora to shake, to which she does. 

“Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell, nickname Artemis,” she smiles proudly. 

“Wait, hold on. As in THE Artemis? The NCIS agent who is part of the infamous Gibbs team in DC? The team that solved the Port-to-Port killer case?” Javy questions incredulously. He wonders how Jake knew her.

“The one and only,” she proudly smirks at him before shortly being called by Penny to hurry and get behind the bar.

“Sorry for the short introduction. Duty calls,” Aurora winks at both of them before hurrying towards her mom, who was still talking to Maverick.

“Wait. Mitchell? As in?”

“Apollo? Yeah.”

“Holy fuck.”

“Holy fuck is right. C’mon. I’ll tell you all about it while I beat you at pool,” as Jake drags Javy to the pool table.

Aurora was behind the bar and she could hear her mom and dad talking, and she smiled at their interaction. She loved seeing her parents together.

Even though many times they’ve told the kids to never get their hopes up of them getting together, Aurora also held hope for them. She saw the way her dad looked at her and her mom never talked badly about Maverick, even though Maverick would leave constantly. They loved each other too much to ever talk badly about each other.

Aurora was drawn out of her thoughts when her mom rang the bell. She looks at her dad and sees that he has his cell phone on the bar, looking around confused.

“What am I missing?” He asks his daughter. She chuckles and gestures to the sign.

“Disrespect a lady, the Navy, or put your phone on my bar,” he reads.

“And you buy a round,” Penny finished his sentence. Aurora laughs as she scoops ice into a shaker and makes a drink for someone. 

“For everyone?” Maverick looked around, nervous as there were quite a few people in the bar.

“I’m afraid rules are rules,” Penny smirks at him.

“You’re lucky it’s early dad,” Aurora chuckles as she leaves to serve the drink. 

Aurora smiles as she hands the drink to a lady, taking her card to open a tab for her. She was getting into the groove of things behind the bar with her mom.

She used to bartend a bit in college before her NCIS internship in order to earn a bit of money on the weekend. It helped her out a lot during an undercover case, as well as when her mom purchased the Hard Deck. 

“What do we have here?” Aurora hears Jake call out from across the bar. She turns and glances at who he’s talking about, seeing a woman and two other men wearing their khaki uniforms enter into the bar.

“If it ain’t Phoenix!” Jake smiles at the woman who had stopped in front of him. “And here I thought we were special, Coyote.”

Aurora rolls her eyes at Jake’s ego literally oozing out from him, as she turns to reach the beer tap next to her, filling a drink for someone. A bit goes by and she hears Jake call for her.

“Artemis, my dear.”

Aurora rolls her eyes as she turns to him.

“What do you want, Hangman?” 

“I’ll have four more on the old timer,” Jake says, as he makes eye contact with Maverick.

Jake didn’t know who he was, which made Aurora want to laugh, but didn’t say anything about it.

“Say please,” she teases.

He rolls her eyes as her mom comes up right behind her.

“I got it, can you get some glasses in the back for me? And fill up the kegs as well,” Penny tells her.

“Sure, mom.”

“Mom?” Jake asks, as Aurora was about to leave. She winks at him, as she rushes to go to the kitchen, but before she does, she goes up to the jukebox and puts on the song “Tramp.”

It was a song Bradley had added to the Spotify playlist that he, Aurora, and Peyton shared, and it reminded her of him. She smiles as it comes on, before running to the back. 

Outside, Bradley had just parked the Bronco outside the Hard Deck and turned to Peyton. 

“You ready?”

“Hell yeah.”

Together, they both exit the car and strut into the Hard Deck with their sunglasses on. Both of them decided to forego their khaki uniform and wear comfortable clothes instead.

“Ha! Someone’s playing your song Rooster,” Peyton chuckles, as Bradley rolls his eyes, not that Peyton could see it.

“Bradshaw! Mitchell! Is that you?”

Penny and Maverick turn to see the two standing near the Hard Deck doorway, shocked. Maverick knew Bradley was going to be part of the mission, but he didn’t know about his son being stateside. Penny didn’t know either of them would be back. 

Bradley and Peyton walk up to Natasha. 

“This is how I found out you both are stateside?”

“We just thought we’d surprise you,” Peyton smirks, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket.

Bradley chuckles at his best friend’s remark, but then grunts in pain as Natasha hits him with the pool stick as she hits her ball into the pocket.

“I guess I surprised you back,” Natasha replies as Bradley looks up. 

“It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too.”

Bradley pats her shoulder before standing up to say hello to everyone else. Peyton hugs Natasha before greeting Mickey, who was also someone he had met during his time at the Naval Academy.

“Here you go,” Penny says, before handing over the beers to Jake.

“Thank you,” he genuinely says to Penny, now that he also realized that Penny is Aurora and Peyton’s mom.

“Much appreciated Pops,” Jake says to Maverick, winking at him before heading to the jukebox. 

Maverick shakes his head going back to nursing his drink. 

Aurora, still in the back, was bobbing to the faint music as she moved a few of the empty kegs so she was able to change the hose to the full kegs. The full kegs were always heavy to move, so she knew this would take a while. 

The jukebox changes to the song Jake had put on, “Slow Ride,” and Aurora in the back chuckles knowing that it was him that put the song on. Jake soon walks back to the pool table and spots Bradley Bradshaw.

“Bradshaw, as I live and breathe,” Jake smirks as he hands the beers to Coyote and faces him. He takes the pool stick from Bob as he lines up to take a shot.

“Hangman, you look…good,” Bradley admits before giving a quick glance to Peyton next to him, to which Peyton, who was sitting on a bar stool, kicks him.

“Well, I am good Rooster,” Jake says as he shoots the ball into the pocket. “I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.” 

He stands up and sees Peyton and tries to keep cool. “Apollo, still attached to Bradshaw's hip I see.”

“Hangman, still vying for attention I see,” Peyton retorts back.

“So,” Payback interrupts the two. “Anybody know what this special detachment is about?”

“Well, a mission’s a mission. They don’t confront me” Jake replies.

Bradley had to hold in a chuckle before turning to Peyton, who was trying his hardest not to let out a groan, as Peyton had repeated those exact words to Bradley that day. 

“What I want to know is,” Jake continues, “Who’s gonna be team leader?”

The pool balls clatter. 

“And which one of y’all has what it takes, to follow me.”

Bradley was over Jake’s ego, so he decided to say something back.

“Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.”

It quiets around them, besides the music playing in the background, while you can hear Mickey let out a small laugh. Peyton smacks Bradley’s arm, while even Natasha looks at Bradley with a little disbelief. 

Jake smirks at Bradley as he makes his way in front of Bradley, passing by Payback and Phoenix. 

“Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna, run out of fuel,” Jake smirks as he sits on the edge of the pool table. Bradley smirks at him, keeping eye contact and never backing down.

“But that’s just you, ain’t it Rooster,” Jake sighs as he stands up to eye Bradley, chest to chest.

“You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment, that never comes,” Jake whispers to him.

Not only did Jake mean in the sense of Bradley’s flying skill, but also meaning Bradley’s waiting for Aurora. Jake wondered how long Aurora would wait for him if Bradley would ever make a move. Aurora would brush it off whenever they talked about it via letters and texts.

Him and Bradley stand chest to chest, neither backing down. “Slow Ride” continues playing in the background.

“I love this song,” Jake grins, as he walks away and leaves Bradley, pondering what Jake had said. Natasha walks up to Bradley, who both were watching him walk away towards the bar.

“Well, he hasn’t changed,” Nat says.

“Nope, sure hasn’t,” Bradley looks at Nat and they both just roll their eyes at Jake.

“So am I the only one who felt the sexual tension, or…?” Peyton speaks up.

Bradley swats at him, and they both laugh it off. Bradley sits next to Peyton, both watching the next pool game happen, their seats against a pillar blocking the bar.

Aurora walks back out of the area, and lugs the box of clean glasses from the kitchen, to the bar. 

“Need help there, hon?” Penny asks her, moving out of the way so Aurora could set the box down.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll set them down over there on the other side of the bar.”

Aurora sets down the box as she huffs to take a breather.

“You look like you were struggling for a bit there.”

Aurora looks up and sees Jake leaning against the bar, smirking at her.

“You think you can do better?”

“Oh, I know I can,” Jake teasingly winks at her as she laughs.

She fiddles with her bracelet, and Jake realizes how much Aurora was still struggling with her PTSD and anxiety. He gave her a worried look, to which Aurora shook her head, not wanting to talk about it.

“Need another beer?” Aurora asks.

“Please.”

Nat looks back over to Jake and sees him flirting with a woman, whom she felt she recognized, but couldn’t quite place her.

“Hey, who’s Hangman flirting with? She looks familiar.”

Mickey, Bob, and Payback look to where Nat was gesturing towards. 

“Oh, that poor girl. She must be a new bartender,” Mickey assumes.

“She’s pretty cute though,” Payback admits.

Coyote looks over to where they were looking, laughs to himself, and takes a glance at Peyton and Bradley who still had yet to look at Jake and Aurora. 

“Wait, who?” Peyton was confused, feeling a bit jealous, but trying not to show it. 

“Look, over there,” Bob says as he points behind Bradley and Peyton, towards the bar.

Peyton and Bradley both get out of their seats to look at Jake and this so-called new bartender and they froze.

Aurora and Jake were laughing as Aurora handed him a beer.

Peyton was the first to react as he got up and walked past Nat, Bob, and Mickey who were staring at the two.

“Wait, Apollo, what are you-? Rooster? Where the hell are you two going?” Natasha was confused at their sudden urgency.

Bradley trails behind Peyton, knowing it was best to let the twins have their own reunion first. 

Peyton walked faster towards the bar. Soon he could hear his sister and Jake talking until he spoke up.

“Rory.”

She froze and looked over Jake’s shoulder, gasping.

“Pey?” 

She exited the bar area and ran straight into her brother’s arm, tearfully wrapping her arms around him. It had been about 3 years since they last saw each other, the longest they had been away from each other.

Jake smiles at the two, before leaving to go back to the pool table to give them space for their reunion.

“What are you doing here?” They both asked at the same time before laughing and looking into each other’s eyes.

Peyton examines his little sister, who didn’t look so little anymore. Her dark brown hair now had faded blonde tips, Peyton guessed from when she had dyed it and just decided to let them grow out.

Aurora smiles as she puts her hand on her brother’s cheek. She could feel the stubble underneath her hand. Peyton and Aurora, as different as they are, were the spitting image of each other, especially now that they had grown up. 

“Wait, if you’re here then…” Aurora trails off before looking over Peyton’s shoulder, tears filling her eyes.

There stood her best friend, all grown up. Bradley was not the lanky boy she had left those years ago. He had filled out, and had a mustache just like his father. She would poke fun at it later, but all she could do is take him in.

Bradley couldn’t believe the girl he was just thinking about was finally right in front of him again. He had to be dreaming. It wasn’t until Aurora tore herself from Peyton and started running towards him did he finally realize this was reality.

He took her into his arms, lifting her up and swinging her into a little spin, as she gripped onto him tightly, giggling and burying her face into his neck.

He stopped after a few turns, setting her down, before taking a good look at her, cupping her face in his right hand, and leaving his left hand on her waist. Aurora stares at the man in front, her heart beating fast, finally being back in the presence of her best friend. 

“Am I dreaming? You’re actually here?” Bradley wistfully asks her, still not believing Aurora was right in front of him.

Aurora smirks as she keeps her hands around his neck, even with the height difference, she was on her tippy toes to help reach around his neck.

“Dream of me often, Bradshaw?”

Bradley chuckles in disbelief. He gives Aurora a kiss on her forehead before replying.

“Every hour, every minute, every second that I breathe princess,” he whispers with his raspy voice into her hair.

Aurora’s breath hitches at the nickname. It had been so long since she had heard him say that. She would never get enough of Bradley calling her nicknames.

Her heart was full of love, as Peyton approached the two, grouping all of them into a hug. 

The trio was back together as they held each other tightly, before letting go. 

“What are you doing here, Ro? Aren’t you supposed to be back in Washington DC?” Peyton asks her.

“I was reassigned to the San Diego NCIS office after uh…after realizing I wanted to come home, especially for Amelia and mom,” Aurora changes her answer quickly, remembering she had yet to tell them about her PTSD. Technically it was the truth, just half the truth.

Aurora then realizes that the two idiots in front of her didn’t even call her to let her know that they were both stateside.

“And you two! When were you both going to tell me you were stateside?” She accuses the two. 

Bradley and Peyton suddenly both looked interested at their surroundings, refusing to look at Aurora.

Peyton soon spots his mom and his dad across the bar. He sighs, relieved that he found a way out.

“Oh my gosh, is that mom and dad?” Peyton interrupts Aurora mid-rant of telling them off for not letting her know they’d be in San Diego. “I better go say hi to them!”

Immediately, he’d taken his way out and left to go say hi to their parents.

“Peyton, get back here!” Aurora follows her twin. Peyton tries not to run into people as he tries to escape his sister’s wrath. 

Bradley chuckles, realizing how much he missed the twin’s antics before following them, knowing he also had to say hi to Penny and Maverick.

As much as he wanted to avoid Maverick, he knew his dad would be mad at him for not saying hi to his godfather. 

“Oh, my baby boy!” Penny hugs Peyton tightly, just as Aurora caught up to him. Aurora rolls her eyes, as Peyton sighs, realizing he had safely escaped her fury. For now at least.

“I’m not done with him yet, mom!” Aurora hisses at Peyton.

“Now, now little star. You and your brother behave while you’re in the bar. Don’t make me ring the bell.”

“For what?!” both the twins exclaimed.

“For Peyton, disrespecting a lady. For Aurora, disrespecting the Navy.” Penny shrugs, with a mischievous grin.

Both the twins start to protest until Penny reaches for the bell, about to ring it. They stopped arguing, realizing it was best not to piss off their mom.

“That’s better. Oh, Bradley! It’s good to see you as well, hon!” Penny smiles, as she reaches to give Bradley a hug. Peyton and Aurora roll their eyes, knowing the Bradshaw boy was well-admired by Penny. Peyton turns to give his dad a hug.

Aurora stares at Bradley, realizing how much Bradley looked different from a few years ago. His biceps were bulging from the gaudy Hawaiian shirt he wore, and she could feel his chest when they hugged.

Realizing she was still staring, Aurora turned to join Penny behind the bar again, an attempt to calm the blush that was threatening to show on her face. She fanned herself a bit, feeling hot all of a sudden. Aurora couldn’t believe she was ogling at Bradley so outwardly.

“How long are you two here for?” Penny asks both the boys after Bradley had given Maverick a nod, not wanting to interact with him much more beyond that.

“Not sure yet, we’ll know after we find out what our assignment is tomorrow,” Peyton answers his mom.

“Where are you two staying?” Maverick questions both of them, wondering if they were staying on base.

“Mom and dad said we could stay at their house until they come back next week,” Bradley answers, giving a side glance to Maverick, before settling his eyes on Aurora.

Staring at her, he was really seeing how much she had changed since the last time they’d seen each other. He couldn’t help but admire Aurora, watching as she moved about behind the bar, helping her mother. He was full-on ogling her, and as soon as Peyton noticed this, he elbowed Bradley to stop. 

“Wait, I have two spare bedrooms at my place! Just move in with me!” Aurora suggests. 

“Are you sure? We don’t want to be a bother,” Bradley was hesitant and gave Peyton a glance. 

Peyton smiles, as he wouldn't mind sharing a house with his two favorite people. Plus, it would get Peyton more opportunity to get Bradley and Aurora together. He was already plotting out a scheme in his head. 

“Of course! You’d have to share a bathroom though. Oh and I have CJ, so I hope you don’t mind.”

Bradley’s heart sank. Who was CJ? Was it her boyfriend? 

“CJ?” Peyton speaks up for both of them, as they were confused at who Aurora was talking about.

“Oh, yeah, CJ! My emotional support puppy!” Aurora chuckles, realizing what it had sounded like at first, not noticing Bradley’s reaction.

Bradley lets out a sigh. Okay, so not a boyfriend. 

“Wait? Why did you name your dog CJ?” Bradley wonders. Penny laughs, as she hands someone a drink.

“She won’t tell anyone else, but whatever it was, she told Amelia and they laughed for like ten minutes straight.” 

“Well, if you’re okay with it. We’d love to be your two new roommates!” Peyton smiles as Bradley nods along with his statement.

“Wonderful. We’ll settle everything tomorrow then,” Aurora smiles at both of them.

They nod as they realize that work was really starting to pick up for Penny and Aurora at the bar. Bradley and Peyton decide to head back to the pool table where some of the other newcomer aviators had joined the rest. Aurora smiles before giving them a wave.

Before the evening rush could get any worse, Maverick decided to ask Penny to close out his tab for the day. Penny leaves to close it, while Maverick talks to his daughter for a bit. He started noticing Aurora getting a bit apprehensive, chewing her inner cheek.

Reaching out his hand, Maverick offered it to Aurora to ground herself with. Glancing over, there was little hesitation before taking it and slowly taking a few deep breaths. Once calmed enough, she whispered her thanks to him before releasing the grasp.

Penny then comes back with news about his card. 

“It’s been declined,” Penny states. Maverick looks at her in disbelief while Aurora arches a brow in amusement.

“You’re kidding?” Maverick sputters.

Penny shakes her head. Maverick reaches for his wallet, and pulls out a few bills. Glancing at the receipt Penny held in her hand, Aurora’s eyes went wide at seeing the total.

“How about-?”

“That’s not gonna cover it,” Penny shows him the paper. Maverick chokes at the sight and awkwardly chuckles.

“Uh, I’ll come by tomorrow and bring you the cash.”

“I’m afraid rules are rules, Pete,” Penny says as she rings the bell. The crowd cheers at the sound as someone yells overboard.

Aurora groans, feeling second-hand embarrassment that her dad was getting kicked out of the bar, and also the fact her mom had rung the bell.

“Overboard, overboard!” 

Jake, Javy, and Reuben show up behind him. Jake smirks at Maverick, before the three boys lift him out of his seat to throw him out of the bar.

Aurora waves her dad goodbye, as she knew he could handle himself. She wished she could be in the room on Monday when Jake found out that not only did he throw out his instructor for their mission, but Aurora and Peyton’s dad as well. 

“Great to see you, Pete!” Penny waves at Pete being carried away. Aurora uses the rag that was on her shoulder to whack her mom for her stunts. Penny smiles, realizing how much she had actually missed Maverick.

The jukebox soon stops working, and the crowd groans at the lack of music.

Penny sees the Bradshaw boy, followed by her son going towards the bar, before realizing that they had been the ones to unplug the jukebox.

She takes a glance at her daughter who was starting to get a bit restless. Penny knew it wasn’t because she was tired, but the crowd was getting a bit much for her, as Aurora started fiddling with her bracelet again. 

Penny looks through the crowd and sees Bradley and Peyton walk their way towards the two.

“Hey Mama Pen, do you think Aurora can go on her break?” Bradley asks her with a pleading face.

Penny laughs. “She’s done for the night actually, take her for me, will ya Bradshaw?”

“Gladly!” Bradley smiles. Aurora turns upon hearing this.

“Are you sure, mom? I can finish up here-”

“Nonsense, Jimmy and I have it from here. Now go, before I change my mind.” Penny reassures her daughter. She gives Aurora a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the other side of the bar.

Aurora smiles before putting her rag down, and stepping away from the bar. Bradley grins at her exiting the bar area, before lifting her over his shoulder.

“B! Put me down!”

“You’re coming with us, sweetheart.” Bradley smiles, as Peyton pats his sister’s back before they traipse towards the piano.

Bradley sets her down on the piano bench, while Peyton stands next to her, as Bradley sits on the other side of the bench. He smiles at Aurora before showing off his piano skills, playing a little jazz melody, knowing Aurora was a sucker for jazz. She rolls her eyes, as Peyton leans on her.

Soon a few people joins them.

Nat pats Bradley on the shoulder before turning to introduce herself to the girl sitting next to him.

“I’m Natasha Trace, callsign Phoenix.”

“Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell,” Aurora smiles at the woman shaking her hand.

Nat lights up at the name. No wonder she looked familiar to her. She was the girl in the photo Bradley had in his cockpit every time he flew. Peyton and Bradley always talked about her whenever they had the chance.

They were interrupted as Mickey, Reuben, and Bob came to introduce themselves to the girl.

“Wait, you’re Artemis, right? Apollo’s sister?” Payback asks, as Bradley continues riffing on the piano.

“Unfortunately,” she sighs as Peyton hits her arm.

“Holy crap. Is it true you saved Hangman from a killer?” Mickey asks. Peyton and Bradley turn to Mickey confused. 

“What?!”

“I don’t know, ask him yourself,” Aurora gestures to Jake and Javy who were walking over to join the group. Bradley huffs, scooting closer to Aurora, feeling a bit threatened by Jake's and Aurora’s friendship, knowing he would ask her about it later. 

“Yo, Hangman. Is it true Artemis saved you from a killer?” Mickey repeats the question to Jake when they get closer. Jake laughs and looks at Aurora.

He takes a sip of his beer before nodding at the question. “She brought a knife to a gunfight,” he answers. They all gasp as Aurora rolls her eyes.

“You’re leaving out details,” Aurora says.

“Holy damn, you’re badass. How are you Apollo’s sister?” Natasha wonders out loud.

“Hey!” Peyton protests.

They all laugh. Aurora turns to Bradley who has gone silent, still playing a bit on the piano. She smiles softly before putting her hand on his thigh. He looks up from his hands, meeting her gaze. 

“Great balls of fire?” She asks him.

Bradley smirks. “Only if you sing it with me, princess.”

Aurora nods, and soon Bradley starts off the song.

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain

Too much love drives a man insane

You broke my will, but what a thrill

Bradley looks at Aurora and Peyton before they join in with him singing.

Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!

Everyone around them starts singing along, and soon the whole bar starts cheering and singing along as well. 

Outside, Maverick watches all of this happen from outside. He gets flashbacks of him and Goose singing the exact same song, with Bradley and Aurora on top of the piano, and Peyton on Goose’s lap.

He remembers how he almost lost Goose, and how this mission could change almost everything. Maverick wonders if Bradley was ready for the mission, and if he didn’t choose Bradley to fly, what would happen to their relationship? Bradley would never forgive him.

Maverick then looks at his son and daughter and sees their smiles. He hadn’t seen Peyton in a long time, but Maverick was just happy to see Aurora smile since they had left Washington DC. He walks away, leaving them to enjoy their moment. 

Kiss me, baby.

Bradley gestures his head for Aurora to give him a kiss on the cheek, to which Aurora smacks her hands on her lips and uses the hand to push Bradley’s cheek away. Peyton chuckles as Bradley fake pouts at Aurora for not giving him a kiss, but continues on singing. 

Ooh, that feels good, baby

Hold me, baby

I wanna love you like a lover should

You're fine, you're so kind

I'ma tell the world that you're mine, mine, mine, mine

Aurora glances to see Jake nodding along to the song, who was looking at Peyton. Peyton seemed to actively refuse to look his way. Making a mental note of that, she knew she would have to ask her twin about this later.

For now though, she decided she was going to take in this moment, watching the people around her play off of Bradley’s energy.

Kiss me, baby.

Aurora gives Bradley a kiss on the cheek to which he grins and glances at Aurora. 

Ooh, that feels good.

Bradley gives a little fake shudder, as Aurora laughs at his action, singing until they end the song.

Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!

Everyone in the bar cheers for Bradley. He stands up to give a little dance and Aurora shakes her head and laughs.

“Rooster! Rooster!”

Aurora stands up and claps along with everyone as she watches Bradley twirl and give a few more dance moves. Finishing his dance break, Bradley smiled at the scene around him. He glances at Aurora who was standing next to Peyton after the song before dragging the twins into a tight hug.

For now, everything felt right. Not worrying about the past or future, and instead living in the present with each other. 

- - -

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—

“Okay, what do you have for me?” Gibbs asks.

It was the next day and Aurora had come back to the office, with a clearer mindset, and the determination to crack this case.. 

Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Aurora were researching anything and everything they could on the petty officer and who would have motive to kill him.

“Girlfriend checks out. She was at a job conference with coworkers able to back up her story,” McGee was the first to reply.

“Same with Lieutenant Seresin,” Aurora follows up. “We were able to eliminate him as a suspect due to the DNA Abby had found under the victim’s fingernails when he was defending himself, as well as on a metal pipe aka the murder weapon. And he was seen by a few officers on board that he was passed out in his bunk.”

“Anyone else, or are you just telling me that we have run out of suspects?” Gibbs sighs, his frustration beginning to show.

“I think I found something,” Tony reports, quickly setting down his phone.

“An ex-girlfriend of the petty officer. Her name is-”

“Emma Reynolds. Made several calls to our petty officer, including the night that he was killed,” Ziva interrupts Tony.

“Made several voicemails threatening him too,” Tony interjects after Ziva interrupted him.

“Why didn’t we find that in our initial search?” Gibbs asks.

“They were erased. We just got the cell phone restored due to the information Abby got.” Ziva shrugs.

“What does she say in the voicemail?” McGee asks.

“Listen for yourself,” Dinozzo replies, putting the voicemail on speaker for the group to listen..

“You will regret ever dumping me. You get to go off and date a new girl while getting the satisfaction of being in a happy relationship? No way! You’re going to pay for what you did. Including whoever told you about me cheating on you!”

“So we have a motive and evidence!” Aurora exclaims.

“Is that enough for a warrant?” McGee quirks a brow in question.

All of a sudden, a phone rings out causing everyone to look toward the source. Aurora. 

“Sorry, oh wait, hold on,” Aurora tells them, confused at seeing the caller ID. “It’s Jake.”

“Jake?” Gibbs asks.

“Lieutenant Seresin,” Aurora explains before answering the phone. “Agent Benjamin.”

“Why did you kidnap me?” Jake questions, his voice sounding a bit far away.

“Because you are the only person who knows my identity, and now you’re going to take the blame for Derek’s death!” a female voice yells out. 

“NCIS is going to find you, and when they do they’re going to put you in jail” Jake retorts, his voice raising almost matching the woman’s. 

“Jake’s been kidnapped by the killer, sounds female,” Aurora examines the call, as she places her phone on speaker. From what she can gather, Jake must have dialed her number so they could find him.

“Fits the ex-girlfriend's motive,” Tony affirms.

“McGee-”

“On it boss,” McGee says, interrupting Gibbs as he starts tracing the phone. While he does that, the team starts gearing up so they could leave as soon as they had the location. Aurora sets the phone down and mutes her side of the call. She makes sure to grab her knife, gun, and badge. 

“Alright, got it. Looks like an abandoned house 15 minutes from here.”

“Let’s go!” Gibbs shouts as the team runs out, hoping to save Jake on time and capture the killer.

—

“David, secure the perimeter. Artemis, you and I will go in from the front. Dinozzo, McGee, side entrance and back got it?”

“Got it boss.” They all reply. 

Everyone moved into position, as Aurora adjusted her vest, making sure her gun was loaded. On Gibb’s signal, she kicks down the door to the abandoned house.

“Freeze! NCIS!” she yells out, aiming her gun inside the house.

Jake Seresin was tied up to a chair, eyes a bit glazed over, while a woman holding a gun to his head stood behind him. Remembering the picture and profile she’d seen, Aurora instantly recognized her as the ex-girlfriend, Emma Reynolds.

Aurora’s eyes flashed from when she was tied up and tortured, before the memory could overtake her, she shook it off and fought against it. She had to get Jake safely out of here, she needed to do her job. 

Noting Emma’s facial expression, it appeared she did not expect the NCIS team to find her so soon.

“You come any closer, and Lieutenant Seresin here gets a bullet in his brain!” the woman threatens. 

“Emma, you don’t want to do that!” Gibbs shouts at her.

“Emma, just put the gun down-” Aurora yells before she is interrupted by Emma. 

“NO! I will not go to jail for something that was justified! Derek deserved to die! He got what was coming to him!”

“Emma, calm down. Here I’ll put my gun away, just put yours down too.” Aurora slowly began to holster her gun. Gibbs, standing next to Aurora, kept his gun trained on the woman in case she decides to change her target.

 Seeing as she wasn’t going to make a move in doing so just yet, Gibbs spoke up. “Just let Lieutenant Seresin go. He’s an innocent bystander-”

“No, he isn’t! If it wasn’t for him, Derek wouldn’t have broken up with me!”

“You cheated on him with another officer on the ship! He thought it was me! I had to tell him!” Jake yells out to defend himself. 

“And y-you were going to take the b-blame for his death,” Emma stamers. 

“Emma, it’s over. Put down the gun!” Aurora shouts at the woman. There was a bang, and soon Ziva, McGee, and Tony surrounds her, guns in hand. 

Emma grew frustrated. “I’m not going to jail!”

“There is no other way, Emma!” Aurora tells her.

Slowly, Emma removes the gun from Jake’s head.

Aurora sighs in relief until seeing Emma then turn the gun to her own head. Just as she’s about to pull the trigger, Aurora acts quickly, whipping out her knife and expertly throwing it at the gun, knocking it clean from Emma’s hand.

Left defenseless and with no more cards up her sleeve, Ziva takes her down just as Tony retrieves the knocked gun. Gibbs and Aurora let out a breath that they were holding before Aurora helps McGee untie Jake from the chair. She grabs her knife that was left impaled into the wall before kneeling down beside Jake, scanning over his body for any injuries. A small scratch on his cheek, and a small bump on his head, but other than that he seemed unharmed.

“You came,” Jake smiles at Aurora. 

“You called,” she replied, smirking at him. She uses her knife to help cut away any remaining rope. McGee then unties the last of the rope leaving Jake no longer bound to the chair. He stands up and sways a little. Aurora quickly puts her knife in her holster and stands to support him before he could fall.

“Ok Hangman, time to get you checked by the paramedics,” she chuckles at Jake’s actions, leading  him outside to where local LEOs and paramedics were on the scene.

Gibbs was talking to a local LEO while Aurora helped Jake sit at the back of the ambulance, with Tony, Ziva, and McGee trailing behind them.

“Thank you. All of you,” Jake says, giving all of them a sincere look of gratitude.

“It’s our job, we’re just glad you’re alright,” Ziva says, speaking for the team. Her eyes just so happen to wander to Aurora, suspecting there might be something going on between the two in front of her.

“I’m really glad you’re okay, Jake,” Aurora smiles.

The paramedics soon come up saying that they will need to bring the lieutenant to the hospital for a check up. Before they could leave, Aurora stopped Jake, giving him a concerned look. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah,” shaking his head, Jake gave her a confident grin. “I’ll just get a quick check up and head to NCIS for a statement. I’ll meet you back at the Navy yard, Mitchell?”

She smiles at hearing her last name. 

“See ya in a bit then, Hangman.” Jake waves to all of them as he’s loaded into the back of the ambulance, soon disappearing from sight as they leave. Aurora turns around and sees her team looking at her, confused.

“Mitchell?” Ziva asks, confused. 

Aurora sighs. “I’ll explain when we get back to the Navy yard.”

—

“So, wait. Your last name is actually Mitchell?” McGee asks incredulously, trying to wrap his head around the new information. In fact, the whole team was trying to wrap their heads around this one. 

Aurora sat down at her desk in the bullpen, while Tony, Ziva, Abby, McGee, and Palmer stood around her. 

“Yep,” Aurora confirms as she puts her hand under her chin, trying to gauge her team’s response and facial expressions. 

Tony and McGee looked at each other, before they ran to their desks to pull up information. Aurora and Ziva look at each other and roll their eyes as Abby and Palmer chuckle at their antics. McGee then says he found something and puts it up on the bullpen TV screen. On it, showed her dad’s profile. 

“Woah, he’s hot.” Abby acknowledges looking at her dad’s official Navy photo.

“Abby!” Aurora laughs at her outburst. Ziva nods approvingly at Abby’s comment, agreeing with her.

“Wait, I have another one too,” Tony says, as he puts another profile up on the screen right next to her dad’s. It was her brother’s. 

“Oh, he’s cute too! How are you related to good looking men, Rory?” Abby asks as Aurora chuckles at her antics, choosing not to answer the rhetorical question.

“Your dad is Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell?!” Tony said, not believing it. 

Aurora laughs and nods. “And that’s my brother. You both work fast.”

“Wait? What’s a Maverick?” Ziva asks, confused.

“Not a what, a who. Maverick is his call sign. States here Captain Mitchell is a highly decorated captain, a naval aviator graduated from Top Gun in ‘86,” McGee summarized from the profile he found “Has medals and awards, and currently is the pilot in a secret Mach 10 project, called the Darkstar.”

“Callsign?” Ziva’s brows furrow. “What’s a callsign?”

“A nickname each naval aviator has rather than using their actual name,” Aurora explains.

“And then there’s Chief Petty Officer Peyton Benjamin-Mitchell. He’s a naval aviation mechanic, graduated from the Naval Academy, currently deployed on the USS Franklin, with a stop in Japan,” Tony reads from the profile. 

“Well that explains the postcard,” Ziva acknowledges.

“Actually half,” Aurora smirks at Ziva and Abby knowing they’ll be wondering what she meant by that.

“Your dad is a legend!” McGee exclaims. “I’ve heard of the Mitchell name from my dad so many times.”

“The Mitchell Legacy,” Aurora sarcastically mumbles.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before? Why are you telling us now?” Ziva asks.

Aurora takes a deep breath and lets it out. 

“I didn’t want you all to treat me differently,” Aurora shrugs. “Take you, for example, Ziva. Everyone connects you to your dad who’s the head director of Mossad. They assume things about you and you’ve had to prove them wrong, as well as step up to your position. I just wanted a clean slate, a way to make my own name and not be connected to the Mitchell name,” she explains.

“But why tell us now?” Abby reiterates Ziva’s last question, standing next to the woman. 

Aurora looks at all of them and smiles. “Because it was time to come clean to you all. You are also my family, you have been there for me, and I figured it was time to trust you all to know the rest of me.”

Abby finally bursts, throwing her arms around her friend in a big hug, Ziva joining in as well.

“Wait, then how does Lieutenant Seresin know about your last name?” McGee asks.

“Because I know her brother and her boyfriend,” a voice interrupts and they all turn towards it. Jake Seresin stood there, back from the hospital, smirking at them.

“Wait, boyfriend?!” The team yells out, as Aurora rolls her eyes at Jake.

“Best friend.” Aurora corrects, looking at him. “Glad to see you’re doing better.”

“Well, I guess I have you to thank for that,” he confesses.

“McGee, you should probably bring Lieutenant Seresin to the conference room for his statement? Gibbs is probably waiting for him there,” Tony tells McGee, his tone commandeering. McGee rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue.

“Sure, right this way Lieutenant,” McGee says, leading Jake to the stairs up the conference room.

They all watch Jake and McGee disappear going up the stairs before then turning back to Aurora.

“Ok, talk to us about this best friend/boyfriend of yours!” Abby exclaims, excitedly. 

“And your brother!” Ziva insists. 

Aurora groans but then proceeds to tell them all about Bradley and Peyton. 

—  

“So, you’re heading out?” Aurora asks Jake. He had just come back down after having to give his statement on the case and went straight to joining Aurora at her desk.

“Yep, the USS Seahawk is bound for departure in a few hours,” Jake replies, as he takes a look at the picture she had pinned on a corkboard behind her.

After she came clean to her team, she started putting pictures of her family that she had hid away in her desk drawer, including the postcard from Bradley and Peyron. 

“Wow, what a way to spend time off the ship. Kidnapped, spending most of the time in the Navy Yard,” Aurora sarcastically replies to him.

“I still can’t believe she hid in your car that you were borrowing, hit you on the head, drove the car with you in it, and then dragged you into that abandoned house And you STILL didn’t wake up until she tightened the rope,” Aurora looks at Jake in disbelief.

“Hey, she had a strong arm, and upper body strength!” Jake remarks, tearing his gaze away from the corkboard.

“It’s a good thing she was so focused on kidnapping you, she forgot to take your phone away.”

“I’m just glad your number was the one I pressed, and not like your brother’s,” Jake cringes at the thought. 

Aurora nods, because Peyton wouldn’t answer since he’s at sea. 

Deep down, she was sad he was leaving. She had really bonded with Jake, and he was one of the reasons why she started opening up to her team.

“At least I finally got to meet THE Artemis. Everyone is going to be so jealous,” Jake teases. 

Aurora laughs and smiles at him. “Be safe? I know how you flyboys get when you’re in those fighter jets,” she sassily remarks at him.

“Always am safe,” he winks at her.

She shakes her head. “And, please don’t give Bradley a hard time when you see him. I know you two butt heads a lot of times,” she advises.

“Well, he starts it,” he protests, making her chuckle at his remark.

“And you and Peyton? I won’t say anything.” She winks. 

Jake rolls his eyes, looking away. “Nothing is even there.”

“Yet.”

“You be safe too Mitchell,” changing the subject, Jake returns his gaze to her. “Still can’t believe you brought a knife to a gunfight.”

“Hey, that knife saved your life!” They both chuckle. Jake turns to the rest of the team to give them a goodbye and thanks as well. Aurora stands up after he says his last goodbye to Tony, who also weirdly he had bonded with as well.

“Let me walk you to the elevators,” Aurora volunteers. Without any protest from him, they walk to the elevator as Jake hits the button to go down.

“Call me sometime,” Jake tells her as they stand waiting for the elevator.

She chuckles and shakes her head. “Here we go again with the flirting.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Jake jokes. Once the elevator doors open and Jake’s inside, he gives Aurora one final wave goodbye.

“See you next time, Artemis.”

“See ya around, Hangman.”

—

“You heading home yet Arty-choke?” Dinozzo asks Aurora, as the team starts packing up for the day.

“That was the worst nickname you’ve ever made up, DiNaggy,” Aurora retorts looking up from what she was writing.

“Hey, I give my best with what’s been given! And DiNaggy isn’t your best either.” 

“It is, you nag me a lot. But I am still partial to DiNutsos.”

Tony sticks his tongue out at her in retaliation.

“I still can’t believe your brother’s nickname is Apollo, when we gave you Artemis. What are the odds of that happening?” McGee ponders.

“I still can’t believe you came from a Naval aviation legacy, and still went into a career Navy adjacent,” Tony marvels at Aurora’s background.

“And I still can’t believe you all are still here,” Gibbs snaps as he looks up from his paperwork that he was finishing. “Do you need me to assign more work?”

“Nope!” “No thanks!” Tony and McGee reply, grabbing their bags and saying their goodbyes to everyone before heading out for the elevators..

Shaking her head, Aurora went back to writing, noticing out of the corner of her eye when Ziva approached her desk.

“Hey, wanna go to the bar with Abby and I? I’ll buy the first round,” Ziva offers, trying to convince her friend to go out with them. 

“Yeah, can I actually meet you both there? I’m just going to finish up something and make a quick phone call real quick. I can’t stay out too long though. I want to get home to my puppy,” Aurora replies.

Ziva chuckles. “Yeah, sounds good. See you in a bit!” She walks out, headed to the elevators as Aurora goes back to her writing.

A few minutes pass by as she folds the paper, and puts it in an envelope. As she’s about to write on the envelope, she sees Gibbs turn off his desk light, a signal that he’s heading home. 

Gibbs stands and turns to Aurora. “You doing alright, kiddo? You did good today.”

She smiles at Gibbs. “I’m doing a lot better, Gibbs. Thank you for today, last night, and for all the days that I’ve been on this team,” she tells him.

Gibbs chuckles, and kisses the top of her head, a fatherly gesture. “We’re always here for you, Artemis. Go home soon, alright?” 

“Yes’sir,” Aurora says, giving a mock salute as Gibbs shakes his head before heading out. 

Sighing, she puts a hand to her head. No panic attacks today, for that Aurora was grateful. She knew she was going to have to take it a few days at a time. She was going to schedule a therapist that was recommended to her by McGee and she was going to be alright.

Coming out of her thoughts, Aurora went back to the envelope, putting the name and address on it before slipping it into her bag. She was going to mail it out in the morning. Peyton and Bradley would get it hopefully at a speedy pace. She then turns her chair and sees her corkboard, not as bare anymore.

Pictures of her family, Bradley, Goose, Carole, Ice and Sarah were now displayed proudly. She takes a photo into her hands, holding it as if it would help the memory come back to life.  The last picture she had of the trio, taken by her Uncle Goose at the graduation party. Aurora in the middle laughing while Peyton made a funny face and Bradley smiling down at Aurora. The one time she can remember being happy. 

She smiles as she puts the photo next to a photo of the NCIS team during one Thanksgiving she had spent with them when she wasn’t able to go home to San Diego that year. She leans back into her chair, biting the inside of her cheek.

Aurora was nervous for this phone call, but she knew it was something she needed to do sooner rather than later. She grabs her phone off her desk and clicks on the number that she had called a few times. Putting the phone to her ear, she waits and listens to the phone ring  until she hears the person answer on the other end.

“Hello?”

Aurora’s eyes started to water at hearing his voice, a voice she had missed and wished she had called more often. She took a deep breath, nervous to come clean to him about everything, her panic attacks, her PTSD. Aurora was scared of his reaction because she knew all he wanted was to protect her. But she was ready to tell him, no more hiding.

“Hi dad.”

---

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—

Bradley hated the hospital.

It brought up too many bad memories. His car crash when he was in high school, visiting his mom when she had cancer, the many times he’s been in a flight accident, and seeing his godfather almost not make it from throat cancer. The hospital was not a good place for him, especially now.

“Where is my daughter?!” Maverick rushes up to the front desk of the hospital. He, Peyton, and Bradley drove in one car together as soon as they heard the news.

“Sir, calm down,” the receptionist said in a calm manner.

“I will not calm down! Where is she?!”

“Mav,” a voice spoke from the waiting room.

Peyton, Bradley, and Maverick turned to see Penny standing there, while Amelia was sitting in a chair, Carole and Goose sitting next to her. Maverick went straight to Penny as she latched onto him for a hug.

Peyton went to Amelia who was bawling her eyes out. She had CJ in her arms, since CJ was a certified therapy dog he was allowed to stay with them.

Bradley walked to his parents, who stood up and hugged their son. He was still shaking from the news.

“What’s the update, Pen?” Maverick sniffles, pulling back from the embrace.

“We don’t have anything yet, just that she’s in surgery.”

“Surgery?! What happened? What-” Peyton asks from his spot next to Amelia.

“Y-you didn’t see the n-news?” Amelia hiccups from her tears.

“What news?” Bradley turns to ask her. Amelia points at the TV and the pilots soon gaped at it.

The news headlines read “Suicide Bomber. One Dead; Few Injured. Bombing Closes NCIS Case.”

“R-rory was t-there when it happened,” Amelia whispers.

“She was out on the field?! I thought she was on desk duty!” Maverick exclaims.

“We brought her in for a case,” a firm voice spoke up, everyone in the room turning to see a group of people.

An older man with graying hair who had a stoic look on his face. Standing next to him was a man the same height as the older gentlemen with dark brown hair and a third man who was shorter and had lighter brown hair.

Trailing behind them were two women, one with darker hair tied back into a ponytail and the other dressed in a goth-like style, but looked like she was the one crying the most besides Amelia.

Bradley recognized them as Aurora’s old team in Washington.

“Agent Gibbs,” Maverick approaches them.

“Captain,” Gibbs responds as Maverick and Penny walk closer to the team.

“W-what happened?” Penny asks them, holding onto Maverick’s arm.

“Artemis went back into the field today for a case,” Gibbs tells them.

“Your daughter–” Tony starts, but his voice cracks.

“Saved a lot of people’s lives today, ma’am,” Ziva finished for him.

Penny gasps, while Maverick’s eyes fill with tears.

“She was the hostage negotiator. Once Artemis got the hostages released, she tried to get him to back down and prevent him from blowing the place up,” McGee explains. “But by the time we found out it was a suicide, it was too late. Luckily, Aurora ran out before the bomb detonated, but she didn’t make it to the barriers. She got hit by some shrapnel and lost a lot of blood.”

“We don’t know how bad it is yet. They’re still in surgery,” Gibbs informs.

The family pales at the information they had gotten.

Gibbs continues. “She offered to be the hostage negotiator. And with previous experience, I knew not to argue with her, especially since she was the best person to get all of those hostages out. Your daughter saved lots of lives today, you should be proud of her.” 

Penny sniffles as she hugs Maverick, scared about Aurora’s condition. Bradley stood stunned at what he had just heard.

He knew Aurora was a good NCIS agent, but hearing the actions she pulled today…what else had she done without them knowing, all the sacrifices she had made, why didn’t she tell them?

Gibbs’ phone rings, breaking the conversation with Aurora’s parents.

“This is the director of NCIS,” he explains to them. They nod as he turns to walk into a secluded spot to talk on the phone. The rest of the team introduce themselves to everyone in the waiting room, besides Maverick, as he had already met them. 

Later, Maverick had gotten on a phone call with Iceman to let him know the situation at hand. Bradley, Peyton, McGee, and Tony talk to each other in order to pass the time. Carole, Goose, and Penny are in a separate corner, Carole reassuring Penny that Aurora would be okay. 

Amelia had her head buried in CJ’s fur, not wanting to talk to anyone, especially since Aurora’s team had walked in. She kept her head down until she was approached by the two women on the team. She lifted her head up to get a good look at them. 

“Hi Amelia, my name is–”

“Ziva David, right? And you’re Abby Scuito,” Amelia sniffles through her tears.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Abby sits next to her, as Ziva crouches in front of her.

“Rory talks about you two a lot,” Amelia replies as she continues to pet CJ.

“She talks about you too, Amelia,” Abby croaks out before giving Amelia a small smile. “Aurora always said that you were the best little sister and skater that she knew.”

Amelia continues to pet CJ in silence, scared that she would burst into tears again.

“Did you know, CJ was a gift the team got for her?” Ziva asks Amelia, hopefully drawing her out of her thoughts.

Amelia looks up into Ziva’s eyes with wonder. “Really?”

“Yeah, and did you know Abby was the one to train him before we gave him to Aurora?”

“I train a few emotional support dogs before they get their forever home. I train a few seeing eye puppies too. When I started training CJ, I knew right away that he would be a great fit for Aurora,” Abby explained to her.

“Did she ever tell you why she named him CJ?” Amelia tearfully chuckled, as she wiped her tears with her sweater sleeve.

They both shook their heads before Amelia whispered to both of them. After hearing this, they all started chuckling, turning the heads of the people in the waiting room.

“I’m glad they’re cheering Amelia up,” Peyton sighs.

“I still can’t believe this is happening,” Bradley turns to look at the doors leading to the surgery room, hoping that there would be an update soon. He was patient with a lot of things, but this was the one time he couldn’t wait. Not when it came to her.

“Rory is strong. She’ll be okay,” McGee reassures Peyton.

“I’m her older brother. I should have done something. I should have been protecting her. I could hav–.”

“There’s nothing you could have done, Peyton,” Tony stops his ramblings. “Artemis already had made up her mind and nothing could have stopped her.”

“How did she get that nickname?” Bradley interrupts Tony, wanting to get his mind off of the situation. “Artemis? I mean Peyton got Apollo because he set a tool box on fire during a training exercise we were doing.”

“Dude, it was an accidental fire, I don’t even know how it started,” Peyton defends himself.

“There was a case,” Tony ignores Peyton’s defense. “One of her first cases as a little probie. We were trying to figure out the killer’s weapon of choice, which led to us believing it was an old throwing knife. Then Aurora kept going on about Greek mythology throwing knife uses, and how they were actually useful at the time. She wouldn’t stop rambling until she got her first Gibbs’ head slap.”

“Head slap?” Peyton looks at Tony confused.

“Yeah, you know? Like this,” then Tony proceeds to demonstrate the head slap on McGee, to which McGee retaliates and slaps him on the head back.

“Gibbs always says, ‘A slap to the face is humiliating. A slap to the back of the head is a wakeup call,” McGee explains.

“Does he do that all the time?” Bradley asks.

“It comes from a place of love,” Tony assures him.

“Also Artemis liked to play with and throw the knife she keeps on her a lot. And one time, Tony kept irritating her and she got tired of his ramblings and threw a knife at him,” McGee adds.

“Luckily, it didn’t hit me.”

“Sadly,” Ziva calls out from her seat, hearing the men talk.

Tony rolls his eyes.

“Let’s just say, Tony has been on the receiving end of the knife many times,” McGee chuckles.

This gets a chuckle out of Peyton and Bradley too at the story. Hearing some of the shenanigans Aurora got up to with her team made them feel a bit better, but the waiting went on, sinking them both back into worry.

—

A few hours had passed, Amelia was taking a nap in the chair, CJ sleeping on her lap. Ziva and Tony had gone to get food and drinks for everyone. Abby was sitting next to McGee, both had fallen asleep on each other.

Gibbs was outside taking more phone calls, as he was in and out getting calls from Director Vance and Ducky, who were worried about Aurora and making sure the case was closed.

Bradley and Peyton had passed out as well on the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, as they were exhausted from the emotional events that had occurred the past few hours.

Penny and Carole were still talking, as Maverick and Goose had gone out to take a breath of fresh air, when a doctor soon walked in, file in hand.

“Are you all here for Agent Aurora Benjamin-Mitchell?”

Penny stood up fast, everyone else snapping out from their conversations or sleep.

“I’m her mother,” she tells the doctor.

“The surgery went well, and we were able to take out the shrapnel.” 

Penny puts a hand over to her mouth as she gasps at the good news. Maverick, Goose, and Gibbs walk back just in time to hear this.

“Is she awake? What is it?” Maverick panics.

“You're the father, I presume?” The doctor asks, to which Maverick nods as he takes his place beside Penny, while Goose stands next to his son.

“Although the surgery went well, she needs rest. We had to medically induce her into a coma. We can’t predict what her recovery will look like until she comes out of it. These next few hours will be vital. We’ll continue to monitor her and run a few more tests.”

Everyone stays quiet as he tells them they can visit her, but it would have to be two people at a time, so as to not overcrowd the ICU and her room.

They all agree that Maverick and Penny should be the first to see her and as the two leave being escorted by a nurse, the doctor fills the rest of them in on the update.

“Right now is a critical time since we’ll be monitoring her and hoping she comes out of her coma soon. Some of her wounds did reopen old scars. Since some of those older scars were deeper, it was a bit harder to find some of the shrapnel, but we got them all out, we just need to wait for her to wake up to assess her situation.”

“Wait, hold on,” Bradley interrupts the doctor. “What do you mean by old scars?”

The doctor hesitates before reopening the file in his hands. 

“She has old scars from an incident from one, almost two years ago. There were multiple scars on her arms, back, and collarbone area, missing the vital organs, but enough to cause maximum pain. She had bruises and electric burns on crucial parts of her body. PTSD and panic attacks were also in her medical file, but she was getting treatment for it.”

Bradley, Peyton, and Amelia pale at hearing that.

“W-what incident?” Amelia speaks up.

The doctor opens his mouth to speak, but Gibbs interrupts him.

“I’ve got this, doctor.”

The doctor nods.

“Once the mother and father come back, another pair can go on until at least everyone has seen her. You all should go home and get some rest afterwards.”

The doctor soon leaves them to check on Aurora once again.

Gibbs turns to the awaiting eyes of Aurora's sibling and best friend. 

“Aurora didn’t want to tell you all yet–”

“Tell us what?” Peyton impatiently interrupts. McGee and Abby stood next to Gibbs, prepared to help him out in telling the story. Carole goes to Peyton trying to calm him down, and sits him next to Amelia while Goose takes the seat by Bradley, knowing how his son would react.

“About a year ago, we had a case. We were close to catching the suspect but before we could, he decided to get ahead and give himself insurance. He kidnapped Aurora.”

Bradley couldn't breathe. Amelia gasps, as Peyton starts to tear up. 

McGee speaks up from his spot. “We…we tried our best to find him quickly. But–”

“How bad?” Bradley croaks, his throat sore from the events of the day.

McGee became uncomfortable telling them, so he looked to Gibbs.

“He inflicted the fullest amount of pain that he could to her in the time she was there. Targeting areas that would bleed her out but not kill her, electrocuting her with a cattle prod to the point where she has electric burn scars,” Gibbs tells them.

Amelia immediately sobs while Peyton grips Amelia into a tight hug, tears running down his face, crying for their sister’s pain. Carole holds Amelia’s hand, her heart breaking for all of them. Goose had his hands on his son’s shoulder, who was still frozen from what he had heard.

“It took us 17 hours to find her. By the time we found her, she was covered in her own blood and fainted as soon as we got her to safety. She woke up a few days later, but stayed in the hospital for 2 weeks.”

The room stays silent, apart from the cries of Amelia and Peyton. 

“Is the bastard dead?”

Gibbs turned to see Bradley who was trying his hardest not to break down. He was not only upset, he was furious. Furious that he couldn’t protect her, mad at himself for not checking up on her sooner.

Gibbs nods. He and Ziva were the first ones to find her, and each took multiple shots at the man.

“I know it’s a lot to take in right now.”

“Why didn’t she tell us?” Amelia whimpers.

“She didn’t want to say anything because she was worried about what you would say.”

Peyton sighs. “She’s the one that got hurt and she worried about us.”

“Is that the reason she came back here?” Amelia asks Gibbs.

“She came back because she wanted to come home. Her panic attacks got a lot worse being in the field. She was going to therapy, but we all knew that her being home would make her feel better, surrounded by her family.”

Amelia nods before starting to cry again.

Bradley started becoming claustrophobic. He stood and rushed out of the room. It was too much for him.

— 

This can’t be happening. Less than 24 hours ago, he was holding her in his arms, now he may never be able to hold her again. She had suffered so much, and yet didn’t say anything. He should have known. He had so many things to still say to her, things he wanted to experience with her. But now he may never get the chance.

Finding a bench outside, Bradley sat down and buried his face into his hands. Tears started to run down his face as the emotions of the day began to hit him hard. 

Not long after he had sat down, the bench creaks from another weight sitting next to him. Bradley wipes his tears and takes his hands away from his face to see who had followed him out.

“Aurora talked about you a lot,” Gibbs breaks the silence. Bradley remained quiet, listening to what he had to say.

“She kept your bracelet in her desk, she was so scared to lose it out in the field. The first picture she put up when the team found out about her family was a photo of you and her brother. She kept all the postcards you sent her, and would always ask me what were good things to send for your care package,” Gibbs chuckles. 

“I knew she was a good agent, but I never knew all the dangers she had to face until now. I mean, she was suffering through so much and I just…I mean, I should have known,” Bradley whispers.

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I DID!” Bradley cried out. “I ignored all the signs because she told me she would come to me when she was ready. But this?! We promised we wouldn’t keep secrets from each other. This is why! How many times have I almost lost her?! How many times has she cried and I wasn’t there to protect her, to be there for her?! I-I can’t lose her, Gibbs.”

“You’re not going to lose her.”

“How do you know that?! You may not have known Aurora for long, but I’ve known her most of my life! How do you know that she’ll be fine?!” 

“Because she’s Aurora,” Gibbs states. “If there was one thing that Aurora stood by, it’s that we protect those we love. She kept this from you because she loves you and her family. She works and fights every day, just like you do to protect our country. She has the Benjamin-Mitchell blood in her. She’s a fighter,” he assures, placing a hand on Bradley’s shoulder.

Bradley sniffles and chuckles.

“She and Peyton say that all the time. The whole ‘Benjamin-Mitchell blood’ thing.”

Gibbs chuckles and retracts his hand. “She would whisper it to herself every time a case got rough. Guess I’ve heard it from her way too often.”

Bradley sighs before looking up at the sky.

“I can’t lose her, Gibbs. She’s my everything. I think about her every hour, every minute and every second I breathe. She makes me the best version of myself. She is the star I look up at in the night sky every time and know she’s always there.. Aurora is my home.”

Gibbs stills at hearing that phrase. Every hour, every minute, every second I breathe.

Aurora would always whisper that when she held a photo of Bradley and Peyton in her hands, doing the same when she held her bracelet in her hands as well. She told Gibbs it was a phrase that brought her comfort when things got low.

That no matter where her best friend and brother were in the world, she would always be thinking of them. It was a bond that no one could break.

“Aurora went through so much, but every time she came out even stronger. This time is no exception. She’ll be surrounded by family and people who love and care about her,” Gibbs comforts him.

The two sit in silence together for a moment before Bradley turns to the man next to him.

“She always talked highly of you. Said you were the reason she is the agent she is today.”

Gibbs shook his head. “She became a great agent all on her own. We work hard because you work hard. Each and every one of you who serve. Aurora became an agent to help protect those who serve when they come home. NCIS gave her that opportunity. You should be very proud of her.”

Bradley smiles at this. He was proud of her, even if he didn’t tell her often, he was proud of who she had grown to be. Even after all she’d gone through, she survived and she was still alive. That’s all Bradley could be thankful for.

—

Peyton went to take a walk inside the hospital with Goose, while Ziva and Tony arrived back to drop off the stuff they had bought. McGee and Abby had filled Ziva and Tony in on what had happened while they were gone.

Ziva goes to sit next to Amelia, who had just calmed down from crying, but still clinging onto CJ like a lifeline.

“Were you there? When Aurora was rescued?” Amelia asked her as soon as she sat down next to her. 

“I was.”

Amelia nodded at this and stayed silent.

“Your sister…,” Ziva started with a slight pause before continuing. “She fought her way through so much. She fought to come back home for you and your family. She told me that the reason she came back was that she was finally ready to let go of what had happened and come back to spend a life at home with her family.”

“I just…I wish I had known. All the sacrifices she made and all she had gone through. I used to be so mad when I never heard from her. When she came back, I was so happy to have my sister back. But, hearing that…I can’t believe I was ever mad at her.”

“It’s okay to feel all of those things, Amelia.” Ziva states, comforting her. “She always regretted not talking to you when she could. But this job takes a lot out of us. We’ve lost so much and sometimes when we go in a dark place, some don’t come back out. She didn’t want you to see her like that.”

Ziva lifts a necklace from under her shirt and shows Amelia. It was a necklace with a gold Star of David pendant.

“This was my little sister’s. Her name…was Tali.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

“It is…Tali was my little sister and, where I come from, there’s so much hate and violence. When Tali was 16, she was killed in a Hamas suicide bombing.”

Amelia looks into Ziva’s eyes, seeing the hurt.

“It tore our family apart, and we were never the same since. I was a Mossad officer, and came here to be a liaison officer between Mossad and NCIS. But long story short, I left Mossad and became an official NCIS agent. And then, your sister came into our lives.”

Ziva smiles remembering the first time she met Aurora.

“She was so nervous at first, but soon, she became part of our team, our little family. She is stubborn, but she’s loyal and she cares so much about everyone. She became a little sister to me. And I wouldn’t change anything. Because it has led me to where I belong.”

Amelia smiles. “She is stubborn. She gets it from mom and Mav.”

They both chuckle before Ziva smiles at her. “She will be alright. I know she will be okay.”

Amelia sighs and continues to pet CJ. “Thank you, Ziva, for telling me your story, For everything. At least I knew she had someone even when we couldn’t be there for her.”

Ziva ruffles her head, lovingly, just like how she would do it to Aurora. Abby comes up to give Amelia some snacks and water, and sits besides them. The three girls make small talk together as they wait their turn to see Aurora.

—

“Uncle Goose, I’m fine, just please leave me alone.”

Peyton and Goose were standing in a secluded hallway. 

“Kid, you just heard about what happened to your sister. I am not leaving you.”

“I’m fine!”

“Pey-”

“I mean, as fine as a brother could be from hearing that his twin sister was tortured and hospitalized before! Not to mention that she might not even make it tonig–”

“Now you stop that. Your sister is going to be fine.”

“Is she, Goose?! I mean you heard the doctor! She might not even wake up, and what’s to say her state of mind after!”

Goose lets him rant while Peyton paces.

“I mean, why didn’t she say anything?! You all knew, but she couldn’t even tell us! She could have died! She could have died and would we even have known?! Why her, Goose?! Why didn’t she say anything?! Sh…I…” Peyton puts his back against the wall and slides down it. He puts his arms around his knees and sobs. 

Goose goes to sit next to him, letting him cry his emotions out.

A few minutes later, his crying subsidies, and all that was left were sniffles.

“You know, you’re taking this a lot better than your old man.”

Peyton laughs tearfully as he wipes his face with his hands.

“That bad, huh?”

“I mean, you know your dad. He may be strong and reckless, but when it comes to you and your sisters, even Amelia, you are his whole world. He blames himself for what happened.”

Peyton scoffs. “It’s not like he could have seen the future, he couldn’t have known.”

“Exactly Peyton, which is why you need to also not blame yourself. Your dad, as protective as he may be, understands why Aurora did what she did. Working for NCIS and not saying anything. Because she wanted to protect you. You and your dad have spent your whole lives worrying about her. She didn’t want you to worry about this.”

Peyton took in the words Goose had said to him. He just didn’t want his sister to hurt anymore, he wished he had told her, but he understood why. He was proud of her, that even with all that she went through, she can still smile and laugh today. And hopefully after all of this, she wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

“You doing alright in there kiddo?” Goose knocks on Peyton’s head as if he was knocking on a door after a few minutes of silence had passed. Peyton laughs.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. She’ll be okay,” Peyton affirms not only to the universe, but to himself.

—

After Penny and Maverick came back from seeing Aurora, everyone went in pairs, Peyton and Amelia, then Goose and Carole. They were shortly followed up by Aurora's team in pairs of their own, Ziva aside, stating she didn't want anyone to see her cry and therefore went in alone.

After Ziva, Iceman and Sarah dropped by to see her. The only one who had yet to see her still, was Bradley.

“Take your time, B,” Peyton tells Bradley when it eventually came to his turn visiting her.

The sight alone of seeing Aurora laying in that bed, all wrapped up in bandages was nearly enough to break Bradley down right then.

It was a reminder to him that he couldn’t protect her, and that this time, he failed to be her knight in shining armor.

Taking the seat beside her, he watched the rise and fall of Aurora’s chest. Whether or not it was by the machine’s support, at least he knew she was breathing.

“Hey, princess.”

He knew he wasn’t going to get a response, but talking to her always made him feel better.

“The doctors don’t know if you’re able to hear what we say to you, but I don’t care if you hear me or not.”

Bradley hesitates before continuing to speak.

“Your team is pretty cool. Gibbs is really intimidating, like you’ve told me before, but seeing him in person, I see what you mean,” he chuckles.

“They told me about…about what happened, your scars, the panic attacks. Princess, I don’t know why you had to hide it all from us. I wish you told us, but I get you weren’t ready to say anything yet. Just know that when you wake up, I will spend every day making sure you’re alright, and the days that you aren’t, I want to be there for you. I will make up for all the time we lost.”

Bradley reaches for her hand and clutches it in both of his. “Gibbs said that the director of NCIS will be awarding you an award. But I know you don’t care about a stupid award. You did it to save those people. We’re so proud of you, princess. I’m so proud of you.”

The beeping of the machine fills with silence.

“So you keep on fighting, princess. Because, I don’t know how to do anything without you. Because I think of you every hour, every minute, and every second I breathe. Because, I love you Aurora, and I want us to finally have a life together, to finally be together. And I hate that time never gave us that chance, but if you just hold on a little longer, I promise I will spend every day fighting for you, for us.” 

Bradley kisses her hand as the tears run down his face. It soon was quiet, except for the beeping of the machine. All Bradley could do was watch her lay there, and that is all that mattered to him in that moment. 

Because that was the sound of her still breathing; alive and fighting.

- - -

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—

“Today was a good day,” Aurora smiled, as she sunk into the couch.

“For once, I actually had fun. Even if it was with Hangman.” Bradley chuckled next to her, slipping an arm around her shoulders to bring her into a cuddle.

The two were sitting on the couch outside on the backyard porch after eating a late dinner with Peyton and Lucille. Peyton had gone to sleep while Lucille had gone to shower, leaving them to catch up with each other.

“Speaking of Hangman, I saw you two talking,” Bradley brought up.

“He wanted to apologize for, you know, the whole situation that had gone down.”

“Yeah, he apologized to me too before the game.”

“I’m glad he did,” she replies.

“So Mav and Mama Pen. Again.” Bradley brings up.

“I can’t believe dad tried to sneak out through the window like a teenager. It was honestly so funny to see. Peyton’s going to lose his mind tomorrow when he’s sober and realizes what happened.”

“Speaking of, I believe I am owed $20,” Bradley smirks.

Aurora groans. “I’ll give it to you later. If only they could have gotten together a few more weeks later.”

“I’m surprised they even got together again as fast as they did.”

“It’s always like that whenever they see each other again,” Aurora shrugs. “I just hope this time, it works out. They’re soulmates, just waiting for the right timing.”

Bradley hums at that. He always believed that’s what he and Aurora were as well, soulmates that couldn’t be together until the timing was right.

They hit a lull in their conversation before Aurora spoke up again.

“I’m worried, Bradley.”

Bradley turned to her in concern. “About what?”

“This mission. It sounds dangerous, and I’m worried about you.”

“You think I can’t do it?”

“It’s not that, I know you can do it,” she reassures him. “Your profile shows that you have the capabilities for this mission.”

“You looked at my profile?”

“Not important,” she cuts him off. He chuckles before letting her continue.

“I’m worried that your emotions will cloud your judgment. I’m scared you won’t come back home. I just can’t, I can’t lose you B, I can’t I–”

“Woah, woah, deep breath princess, c’mon breathe,” Bradley tries to calm her down before she gets too worked up. He put his hands on both sides of her face, getting her to look into his eyes. 

“I’m right here Aurie, I’m not leaving you. I promised you I’m not going anywhere.” 

Aurora’s memory flooded with a flashback from when Bradley had made that promise to her after their fight that one time.

“I was so afraid I was gonna lose you B,” she whispers softly. They were sitting on the front porch of the Bradshaw's Virginia home, snow was falling and it was Christmas Eve. She had almost lost him in a car accident.

“Oh, darling.” Bradley brings her into a hug and she hugs him back tightly, arms wounding around his neck.

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, princess.”

“You remembered?” Aurora whispers. He lightly chuckles, before answering.

“Of course. I remember everything with you, princess.”

He removes his hands from her face before tugging down the collar of his shirt and bringing up the chain with his dog tags and his pendant.

“Remember what you got engraved here?”

She smiles, before reaching out to touch and admire it.

“Always Flying Home.”

“And I am keeping my promise. I will always fly home to you. You are my home, Ro. Nothing will ever change that.”

Aurora looked into his eyes and saw the same love and adoration she always saw whenever he looked at her. She loved that look, the look that was made for her and only her. 

He cups her cheek before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. She relished the feeling of his lips and blushed. 

They smiled at each other before Bradley withdrew his arm and went back to cuddling her. She buries into his side and sighs.

“Just promise me something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“After this mission is over, I want you and dad to talk. I know he pulled your papers and you’re still angry about it, but you can’t hold that hatred in for the rest of your life, B.”

Bradley sighs before giving in.

“Fine. I promise to talk to Mav when all this is said and done.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you, princess.” 

Aurora smiles happily. Everything was well.

Her mom and dad were giving it another chance and she had a good relationship with her little sister. She had her best friend and brother living with her, living closely with her aunts and uncles a few minutes away from them, and her best girl friend just a couple of hours away from her. She had new friends that she truly felt she could be herself around.

She wanted to freeze everyone in that moment forever. 

But unfortunately, life never gave her that moment. 

—

The beach day seemed to be what everyone needed but as soon as they were back in the classroom going over the maneuvers needed for the mission, everyone was tense. This mission was far more dangerous than they had thought.

Especially after Maverick told them the next phase in the mission, about pulling 9 G's minimum, which worried all the pilots.

Currently, Bradley was listening on the radio in the ready room as Phoenix, Bob, and Coyote were going through the course. It wasn’t until Maverick was following them did it all go downhill from there.

“Blue team, that’s a fail.”

“Level out, Coyote.” No response came from him.

“Coyote, do you copy? Coyote, come in,” Maverick calls out to Coyote.

Everyone in the room soon quiets because he wasn’t replying.

“Oh God, he’s in G-Loc,” Maverick says. In the room, Jake stands up and starts pacing around, anxiously listening to what was going on and hoping that his best friend would recover from G-Loc soon.

“I’m going after him,” Maverick maneuvers his F-18 to follow Coyote’s. 

“C’mon give me tone, give me tone, give me tone,” he mutters, praying that Coyote snaps out of it soon.

“Coyote, c’mon, wake up,” Bradley hears Jake whisper. 

“Damnit, Coyote! Pull up, pull up!” Maverick yells out.

A few seconds pass by before hearing Maverick speak out again.

“Coyote, you okay? You okay?” Maverick worriedly asks him.

“I’m okay. I’m good,” Coyote answers, after trying to catch his breath.

Jake releases the breath he didn’t know he was holding, while the rest of the room starts to breathe easily after that close call.

“Good, good. That’s enough for today,” Maverick announces. He was so worried he was going to lose Coyote for a second there. 

“That was close,” Phoenix proclaims, flying behind Maverick.

“Too close,” Maverick sighs. 

Then a few seconds later, birds flew into Phoenix's F-18, and all hell broke loose, just as they thought they were in the clear. 

“Bird strike! Bird strike!” Maverick called out, but it was too late. Phoenix’s left engine was on fire, and the plane was starting to go down. 

Phoenix was desperately trying to save it, while Bob was calling out the system mechanics, saying that the right engine was out.

Bradley worriedly listens to the radio, hoping Phoenix and Bob ejects on time.

“You can’t save it! Eject, eject!” Maverick yells to them. Phoenix and Bob both yell that they were ejecting.

Soon a boom was heard, and the room that Bradley stood in suddenly went silent.

—

Bradley sits in the ready room, staring at his dad’s old class Top Gun photo. How he almost came close to losing Phoenix, Bob, and Coyote in one day. How he almost lost his dad.

He was angry, and overcome with so much emotion. He knew he promised Aurora to stay calm, but he couldn’t. He was upset.

Maverick walks in and notices Bradley sitting, staring at the photo.

“They’ll keep Phoenix and Bob in the hospital overnight, for observation. They’re gonna be okay,” Maverick says to Bradley.

Bradley takes a breath before responding. “That’s good.” A few seconds pass before Bradley speaks up again.

“I’ve never lost a wingman.”

“You’re lucky. Fly long enough, it will happen. There will be others.”

Maverick soon turns to walk away. But before he can leave, Bradley speaks up.

“Easy for you to say. You fly like you have no family. No wife. You didn’t even get to see your kids grow because you were busy flying for the Navy. Dad left so he can spend time with mom and I. At least he had someone to mourn him if he had burned in. What would the twins even say if you burned in? Would they even mourn for their absent father?”

Bradley’s words hit him hard. He knew the twins always hated when he left because to him, the Navy was all he had.

When Peyton and Aurora were born, he thought he could do both, be a naval aviator, and a dad. He didn’t want to give up either.

But it turns out, he gave more priority to the Navy, something he had regretted after the twins had already grown up and started their own career paths.

Maverick knew Bradley’s emotions were getting to him, and that the words he said were hurtful.

“Go home. Just get some sleep,” Maverick ignores his words. He tries to walk out once again.

“Why’d you pull my papers at the academy?” Bradley stands up from his chair before turning to Maverick angrily. “Why did you stand in my way?!”

“You weren’t ready,” Maverick admits.

“Ready for what, huh?” Bradley huffs, walking towards Maverick. Maverick turns to face him. “Ready to fly like you?”

“No, ready to forget the book,” Maverick exclaims. “Trust your instincts, don’t think, just do! You think up there, you’re dead. Believe me.” 

“My dad believes in you. Aurora believes in you. I’m not going to make that mistake,” Bradley tells him.

Bradley felt betrayed by Maverick pulling his papers, believing he wasn’t ready to be a naval aviator. He wasn’t about to be fooled by him again.

All he wanted was to make his father, his mother, his godfather, and Aurora and Peyton proud. 

Bradley and Maverick were still huffing, chest to chest, until Warlock walked in.

“Maverick,” Warlock calls out. 

They turned and saw the dejected look on his face.

“Is it Ice?” Maverick whispers, to which Warlock shook his head.

Warlock was about to speak up before Peyton showed up behind him, tears in his eyes.

Peyton walks closer to the two before uttering the next few words that broke both men in that moment.

“It’s Aurora.”

- - -

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—