#tg2

"Yeah, met them yesterday morning." Twenty-four hours after the mission, Hangman met them, mainly to see for his own eyes that they were safe. Another, smaller part of him hoped to meet the Shabah Alghaba to validate that they were, in fact, a man. According to the POWS, the person wasn't there, still in intensive care. Hangman heard nothing further about the matter. "When are you heading home?"

"Cyclone offered to let me go home as soon as I wanted since this was a special mission, but I decided to stay here with you."

Hangman's heart warmed at his friend's admission. "And the others?"

"Heading home except for Maverick. Rooster wants to be home with Jules and the twins, and Phoenix and Bob are just eager to return home."

"I don't blame them. If you-"

"Don't even finish that sentence. We're the last of the Four Musketeers. We gotta stick together, man."

Jake obliged and changed course. "So, why is Pops staying behind?"

Coyote shrugged. "No idea."

"You could ask me yourself," Maverick voiced from behind the pair. Coyote whirled around, but Hangman merely peered over his shoulder. However, seeing Mav's pale face, he immediately stood to check on him. "I'm fine. Glad I found you, though. I need both of you to follow me."

Hangman and Coyote shared a concerned look before obeying, keeping close to the Captain's heels. As they made their way through the labyrinthine hallways of the carrier, Hangman began to recognize where they were headed. Were they about to meet the Shabah Alghaba? Had he requested their presence? Or would their visit be a surprise?

"How is he doing?" Hangman queried, a small part of him still wishing it'd been a big misunderstanding, that the person had been misidentified as a man, that he was, in fact, a woman. That he was Ghost. But he reminded himself that he had used up all his miracles when he somehow convinced Ghost to give him another chance he did not deserve. It'd be foolish to ask God for one more.

"Alive and recovering, but they're in rough condition. Severely malnourished, severe ear infection that's travelled down her throat, which is causing issues speaking, hence why she couldn't speak to us in the air." Maverick stopped outside the door to a sick room and faced the two aviators.

Coyote grimaced. "I'm glad-"

"She?" Hangman interrupted sharply, eyes searching Maverick's imploringly, waiting to find the cruel lie, deciding this had to be a cruel prank by the Captain for allowing his daughter, his only biological child, to die.

But as fast as the accusation rose in his head, it immediately dissipated at the silver brimming in Maverick's green eyes as the Captain nodded slightly and confirmed, "She."

****

Ghost

They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. They say there will be a bright white light at the end of the tunnel.

Ghost experienced neither of those things, unless the light at the end of the tunnel was hellfire, because she could feel intense heat emanating from wherever the hell she was, although it contradicted the coolness on her skin, and the sound of crashing waves and the roaring of an unidentifiable source.

Ghost woke up in a place she'd never been before, but she recognized the faces surrounding her as they lounged in the chairs nearby, chatting amiably over a cup of tea. Or in Ghoul's case, a large Pumpkin Spice Latte. Her favorite, a cliche she'd always embraced.

Ghoul? How was she here? Where was here? Why was everyone surrounding her... dead? Ghost stared at the faces of her former WSO, her dad, Admiral Kazansky, Natalie Seresin, and Nick and Carole Bradshaw. She never met the last two in person but had seen enough pictures from Rooster to recognize them.

"Ghoul?" Ghost croaked in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at her friend's happy, healthy form. Ghoul stopped mid-sentence and beamed at Ghost before leaping up and bounding over to her, engulfing her in a tight hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too!" Ghoul pulled away, only to be replaced by Ghost's dad, then Natalie, then Admiral Kazansky, then the Bradshaws.

"I-where am I? What's going on? Am I dead?" Ghost queried, heartache rising in her chest at the idea of her friends and family back in reality that she'd been alive all this time, fighting her way to get back to them.

"No, not yet," Mr. Blackwood said, smiling softly at his daughter. "But you've given it your best shot."

"This-" Admiral Kazansky motioned at the quiet room they stood in, which Ghost now recognized as the Hard Deck- "is a creation of your own mind."

"So... this is all my imagination?"

"No. Just because this place you've created isn't real doesn't mean we aren't. You're unconscious, and if you're able to talk to us, it most likely means you're close to dying."

"I don't want to die," Ghost suddenly said, the truth hitting her hard because as much as she missed her dad and her best friend and Mrs. Seresin, she missed those back home, in reality, more. She had so much more to live for still. "How do I-"

"Just because you're close to dying doesn't mean you are dying. Consider this a... checkpoint, of sorts," Ghoul explained carefully. "A last chance for you to decide whether you want to continue living or not. Your body is in rough condition, so it won't be an easy recovery, but it is possible."

Ghost sat down, overwhelmed by the information given to her, but mainly by the presence of those she and her loved ones had lost, their time having ended much too soon.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't save you," Ghost whispered, looking first at Ghoul, then at Natalie, then at Goose. Logically, she knew there was nothing that she, Hangman, or Maverick could've done to prevent their deaths, but it still weighed heavily on the three living aviators.

She turned to her dad, Admiral Kazansky, and Carole, saying sincerely, "You were taken from us too early, too. I wish we could've caught the symptoms earlier, figured out the issue sooner than we did."

Her dad smiled understandingly at her. "There was nothing you could've done for any of us, nor could the doctors. It was terminal already for Carole and Tom, and the blockage in my heart was too big to do anything less than what it did to me."

Ghost nodded in understanding, wiping the silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "We miss you all so much. We talk about all of you still, and there's not a day that goes by that we don't think of you."

"Tell Maverick thank you," Goose said, his signature grin on his face. "Tell him thank you for raising Bradley and for taking care of Carole."

"Tell him thank you for me too," Carole added, leaning into her husband's tall, lanky frame. "And tell Bradley we're so proud of the man he's become. We're watching over him, Juliette, and their kids."

Natalie knelt beside Ghost and placed a motherly hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of my son when I couldn't. Regardless of what's happened between y'all, you found your way back to each other. Tell him I love him, that I don't blame him for what happened, and that I'm so glad he and Michael have become the brothers I always wished them to be."

Ghost nodded, sniffling. "Any other messages?"

"Give your mom and Jackie a hug for me," her dad said, kissing her atop her head.

Admiral Kazansky stepped forward. "Tell Juliette I'm so proud of how she handled everything with Maverick after I passed. I know the burden was anything but small, but I knew she was the only one who would make the same decisions as I would have. Tell her I'm glad I got to see her, if only briefly."

Ghost tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean you saw her?"

"When she coded at the hospital after giving birth, she experienced something very similar to what you are now, although it was just me and the Bradshaws. Your situation is a little more unique."

"I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing."

"Probably a little bit of both," Ghoul piped up, offering her hand out. Ghost took it. The aviator hugged everyone goodbye, lingering on her dad and Natalie, wishing this wouldn't be the last time.

Ghost forced herself to step away, though, and she allowed Ghoul to lead her out of the room. Once on the beach, the two girls stared at the waves, enjoying each other's silence and understanding they would never have this opportunity again until, perhaps, Ghost one day fully died.

"I heard you that day in your apartment, you know. You'd left the bar early with Juliette, and Maverick dropped you off at home," Ghoul said, sitting down in the sand.

Ghost joined her, heart wrenching at the memory. "So much was happening, and I just..."

"I know. I tried to answer, but I didn't have the power. Luckily for me, Juliette called you the next day, and I knew you were in good hands. I'm glad you have her."

"She's been a lifesaver this past year," Ghost acknowledged, thinking back to all the times Juliette had supported her while dealing with her own issues. "I don't know how I can ever repay her."

"By returning home. She needs her Maid of Honor back." Ghoul bumped Ghost's shoulder affectionately. "You should head back soon, but before you do, there are three things. First, tell Hangman I don't blame him. What happened was not his fault. Second, it was not your fault either. I was already gone even when I coded in sickbay. Physically, I was there, but my mind was already gone. Neither Hangman nor you nor the doctors could have saved me. Do you understand?"

Ghost nodded, her friend's words sinking in and lifting some of the guilt off her soul. "I do. And the third thing?"

"Tell Coyote it's okay for him to move on. Tell him I want to see him happy again, and that I approve of Phoenix."

If Ghost had been drinking something, she absolutely would've spewed it out. "Coyote is dating Phoenix?"

At this, Ghoul grinned. "Yeah, they're keeping it under wraps. Only Bob knows," she replied, although her smile faded quickly. "He feels guilty dating someone else. He feels like he's cheating on me. Tell him it's okay. Tell him to live his life, and that we'll see each other again one day."

"I will." Ghost reached over and grabbed Ghoul's hand, squeezing it affectionately. The two girls sat like that for a few minutes before Ghost sighed heavily and said, "How do I get back?"

"You just have to close your eyes."

"It's that simple?"

Ghoul nodded. "It's that simple. I'll see you again, Ghost. Just make sure it's not anytime soon. Try not to knock on death's door, although I know that may be hard with Mav being your dad. It might be genetic."

"As is surviving after knocking, apparently. But I do promise to try my hardest not to get this close to dying. Again."

"I'll hold you to it. Goodbye, Annalise. I love you."

"Goodbye, Lydia. I love you, too."

Ghost closed her eyes.

****

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It was hard for (y/n) to come home to an empty house after a long day at work. She'd grown so accustomed to Bradley getting there a few minutes after she did, and now, she would just stare at the door. having to remind herself that he wasn't going to walk through it. As a week stretched into a month, she grew more and more anxious about Bradley's safety. Of course, every time he went on a mission, she was sick to her stomach with worry, but she had learned that the longer the mission, the more dangerous the mission was.

When she got the call from the base, her eyes welled with tears, immediately fearing the worst, but she sighed in relief when they said he was finally coming home.

Quickly driving to the base, she hurried to the fence outside the airstrip where families were told to wait. She watched as pilots started coming out of the plane and down the steps toward their loved ones. The second she saw a familiar head of brown hair and mustache, a beaming smile grew on her face as they made eye contact. Even though he had his aviators on, she could tell he saw her by the way his demeanor changed. Quickly descending the steps, he ran, bag in hand, towards his (y/n), who jumped the fence, not caring about protocol. She threw her arms wide with a smile, running to meet him halfway.

Bradley dropped his bag before wrapping his arms around (y/n)'s waist, her arms slinging around his shoulders as their lips collided. Pulling back slightly, Bradley scanned her face with a smile, kissing her again. Out of breath, they leaned their heads together.

"I've missed you, Bradshaw," she whispered, leaning against his chest as she hugged him tightly.

He leaned down and kissed her temple, squeezing her tighter. "I've missed you too, Bradshaw."

As the two shared a moment, Mav looked on from afar, unable to break his stare. The couple reminded him so much of Goose and Carole that his heart ached just watching them. He was broken from his trance when he heard Penny calling for him. With a sigh and a teary smile, he looked back at the couple one last time before going over to her, whispering to himself.

"You'd be proud, Goose."