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“I can’t believe I let you talk me into that,” Goose laughed, swinging his arm around his pilot’s shoulders and squeezing gently. “I haven’t been surfing in years—“
“But it was fun, right?” Mav hazarded a guess.
“Damn straight,” he nodded, hugging the shorter man to him. “Needed that, honey, thank you. Carole’s parents being here while we’re on leave has been a hell of a thing. Hate that you haven’t even been able to stay with us.”
“Crashin’ with Sli and Ice isn’t so bad,” the pilot offered teasingly. “But I have missed seeing B.”
“You’re staying for dinner,” Goose insisted. “Brad will be thrilled! He’ll have plenty of time for his Mav, I promise. Once he and Care get back from shopping with her parents, I’m sure he’ll be all over you. He was fightin’ mad when we had to tell him you wouldn’t be staying with us like normal.”
“It’s—I mean it’s family time, I get it,” Maverick shrugged.
“Obviously you don’t,” the RIO corrected gently, turning to face his pilot. “You are our family, Peter Mitchell. Just because her fussy parents don’t think so doesn’t mean shit—“
“I—“
“You’re our brother, Pete. End of discussion.”
Mav ducked his head a little as he felt his ears burn. He changed the subject. “Glad you had fun today, Nick. Looked good out there.”
“Yeah?” Goose took the subject change as it was offered. “Not too bad for a guy with a broken neck, huh?”
Mav glared at him with a frown, earning a barking laugh.
“Oh c’mon, honey—it’s been over a year. We can’t joke about it, yet?”
Maverick moved through the familiar house, leaving Goose to follow with a huge grin on his face. “You know I hate it, Goose—“
“I’m alive, kid. I’m alive and kicking. And even back to flying with your crazy ass, like we love to do. Nothing to be upset about.”
“I almost killed you—“
“You didn’t do anything. It was an accident, a freak accident,” Nick reminded him. “And you helped keep me alive after the fact, so, if anything, you saved me. Quit mopin’ about it. I was right where I wanted to be then, and I’m right where I want to be now.”
“Just wait til—”
Both Goose and Maverick spun when the front door was suddenly banged open, Slider barrelling through. “Nick!”
“Ron?” Goose frowned.
The taller man moved towards them, face pale. “We’ve gotta go, c’mon—both of you, now–”
“What the hell—”
Neither could say much more as the other RIO bodily dragged them from the house, shoving Nick towards the passenger seat and dragging Maverick into the backseat. “Go, Tom—”
“Ron—” Nick’s voice caught, anxiety mounting. “What the hell is going on?”
“Nick, we have to go to the hospital,” Slider tried to explain.
“The hospital? Who’s at the hospital?!” Goose repeated, spinning in the seat to stare at the other RIO. “Damnit, Ron, tell me! You—I mean, something’s obviously wrong! You’re acting like–like– and you, holy shit, you’re letting Kaz drive your truck—Ronald—”
“Look, Nick—s-something’s happened,” Ron reached forward, grasping the other man’s arm.
“Holy shit—is it Rick? Leo?” Goose’s eyes widened.
“What happened?” Maverick asked, catching Ice’s worried gaze in the rearview mirror as the blond drove them at a rather fast pace.
“Viper called us,” Ice tried to explain.
“Viper?”
“There’s a life flight inbound to the hospital on base and they were trying to get a hold of Maverick—“
“Me? I’m—“
“That was because they couldn’t get ahold of Nick first,” Ron cut through firmly, voice hard but calmer than the others. He turned to meet Nick’s gaze. “Carole is on that flight, Nick. Something happened—“
“No—“ the other RIO shook his head.
“Viper called our house looking for Mav because they couldn’t get ahold of you,” Ron continued. “We don’t know anything else but we’re going to get you both there and—“
“She—no—“ Goose insisted. “You’re wrong! She’s—Care’s shopping—she’s—“
“She’s with Bradley,” Maverick suddenly realized.
“We’re going to get you both there and figure out what’s going on, okay?” Slider tried a bit desperately to reassure.
“A—a life flight—“
“Hang on,” Ice offered before he suddenly whipped them into a parking spot near the front of the hospital.
As soon as the truck was parked, all four aviators were flying out of it, rushing towards the doors of the emergency room. Ice grabbed Maverick’s elbow when he tripped, keeping him upright as they hurried into the building.
The second they entered, Goose was forcibly grabbed by a sobbing, older woman.
“Nicholas! Oh thank God, where the hell have you been? They won’t tell us anything!”
“What happened? Where’s Bradley? Carole?”
“It was horrible!” Carole’s mother continued. “Carole was holding Bradley and we were—there we were just walking and she just collapsed! There was blood everywhere and Bradley was bleeding and, God, Nicholas why the hell can’t we see him? Can’t we know anything? They’re only willing to talk to family and we are—“
“Bradshaw,” Viper cut in suddenly, voice comfortingly solid in the chaos unfolding. All four aviators turned towards the man. “Nick, you and Pete go check in at the desk, son. They’ll tell you what they can and get you where you need to be.”
Ice and Slider did their best to gently lead the distraught parents of Carole back towards the waiting room seats, a mounting sense of wrong building in their guts.
Goose and Maverick practically slid up the nurses’ counter, the RIO’s hand fisted in his pilot’s jacket in a poor attempt to ground his nerves.
This couldn’t be happening.
“C-Carole Bradshaw—“
“What is your name, please, sir?” the nurse redirected calmly. “And I’ll need to see ID.”
“Nick Bradshaw,” Goose bit out, slapping his military ID a bit forcefully on the counter. “My wife—Carole was flown here? And—and my son? Bradley?”
Maverick silently slid his own ID towards the nurse when she looked his direction, offering Nick’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“You both are listed as emergency contacts for both Carole and Bradley Bradshaw,” the nurse confirmed. “Both of them are back in trauma being treated.”
“What happened? How are they?” Goose demanded.
“Your son had to get stitches for a head laceration and he’s in a bit of shock. If you’d like, I can have a nurse release him to Lieutenant Mitchell while I take you to your wife?”
“He—he’s okay?” Nick asked, voice shaking.
“He’s okay,” she confirmed. “But you need to come with me, sir.”
“Mav—“ Nick looked torn.
“I’ll get him,” Pete promised. “I’ll look after Bradley while you go see Care, okay? I’ve got him.”
Maverick offered Nick a tight smile that didn’t feel at all reassuring but he couldn’t stop the mounting fear churning in his gut.
They didn’t give Nick an update on Carole.
They didn’t say anything other than she was here and he needed to go with the nurse.
Something was really wrong.
He watched with building trepidation as Nick was led swiftly towards a set of swinging doors.
“Please let her be okay,” he muttered, eyes slipping closed momentarily as he prayed.
Carole was—god, she was like his sister. He couldn’t imagine a world without her and Nick—what the hell would Nick do? Not to mention Bradley—
“Mavvy!”
Mav’s eyes shot open at the small voice calling for him, and he crouched just in time to catch the bundled up blur that was his godson barreling towards him.
Bradley was a mess, tears streaming down his face, blood soaked through and staining his tshirt, a row of small black stitches dancing up the side of his face.
Pete held him close to his chest, shushing him softly and pressing a kiss to his hair. “I’ve gotcha, sweetheart. You’re okay—everything’s going to be okay—“
That much blood—
The pilot shuddered as he tried to quell his mounting nausea. Head wounds bleed a lot but that was—
“Mama won’t wake up!” Bradley sobbed against him. “She fell ‘sleep and we fel-over ‘nd she wouldn’t wake up!”
Fear ran through Maverick’s veins as he tried to process what Brad was saying and comfort him at the same time.
“Noooooo—“
Maverick spun away instinctively, tucking Bradley down into his chest and cradling the back of his head. Wanting desperately to protect him from what he knows just happened.
He’d never heard Nick sound anything like that. Never heard anything close to the inhuman yell that that just was. Carole—God, Carole must be gone
He can still hear Goose if he listens hard enough. Hear the desperate pleading and sobbing. Maverick meets Ice and Slider’s devastated gazes across the waiting room and knows he has to get Bradley out of here. Has to protect the little bit of his godson’s innocence that he can while letting Nick grieve.
He just… he can’t stay here.
Bradley is sobbing about the blood and begging his mama to wake up. Pleading with Maverick to help. Maverick doesn’t mean to, he knows it’s not the same, but he can’t help but think about when he found his own mother dead. About how traumatized he still is by it, about how desperately he wished to remember his mom as anything other than what he saw in the tub that day.
Maverick is moving across the waiting room before he fully understands what he’s doing. He wants to get Bradley out. To get him somewhere where he can calm down and be shielded for just a little longer. Where he can remember his mama as sundresses and dancing in the kitchen and singing songs.
“Where are you going?”
Carole’s mother suddenly grabbed his arm, yanking him to a stop. She was clearly distraught, tears streaming down her face as she tried to reach for her grandson.
“I’m just going to let B get some air—“ Mav tried to explain. “I—“
“He needs to be here, he—he has to say goodbye—“
Bradley sobbed harder in Maverick’s arms, his little body shaking. Mav held him tighter and pulled out of her grip. “He doesn’t need to be here right now—“
“He needs to be with family!”
“Susan—“ Carole’s dad interjected, reaching for his wife.
“No, Phil! Bradley needs to be with family, with us! He—he needs to see C-C-Carole and say goodbye. He should’ve been released to us instead of him anyway—“
Bradley’s sobs started hitching, his little hands clinging to Maverick’s shirt as his whole frame trembled and gasped and Mav moved. He slipped away from the argument and moved quickly out the sliding doors of the hospital.
He had to get Bradley out of there.
Both Slider and Ice stood as they watched the pilot slip out the doors, trying to placate the distressed older couple.
“Where the hell does he think he’s going?! This is kidnapping!”
“Mav’s not kidnapping him, ma’am,” Ice promised.
“He’s just taking the kid outside to have a breather,” Slider agreed.
“He has no right!”
“He has every right,” Viper firmly reminded. “Carole and Nick listed Pete as next of kin and godfather. He has the right to take the boy outside for a few minutes to calm down and get away from all of this for a minute. I’m sorry for what I fear may have happened, and I’m praying like hell that I’m wrong, but going after Pete isn’t going to help anything.”
“He—he can’t just take him–”
“Ma’am—” Ice tried to placate again.
“Susan,” Phil started a bit brokenly, wrapping an arm around her trembling frame. “Honey—if–”
“No! She can’t—Carole’s not just–she can’t be gone, Phillip! And if she—if she is, then he has to see her—he has to—God, we have to say goodbye—we—”
The aviators exchanged solemn looks as the older man wrapped his sobbing wife in an embrace.
After a few minutes, Viper caught the eyes of the pilot/RIO pair and inclined his head towards the doors. Without a word, they slipped out to try and find their younger counterpart.
********************
Maverick exited the hospital and took a sharp left towards a bench he’d remembered seeing. He halfheartedly shushed Bradley, hugging the boy closer to him as his own blood roared in his ears.
Dead.
Carole was dead—
That incredible, vivacious woman who’d taken one look at the bruised, scrappy little pilot Nick had dragged home and embraced him wholeheartedly. Who’d taught him to ride a motorcycle so he didn’t have to bum rides. Who’d made him his first birthday cake in over a decade. Who’d been his sister—
Hell, she was Bradley’s mom. And Nick’s world—he couldn’t—
“Maaaaaav—“
Bradley’s hiccuping sobs stopped his spiral momentarily.
Maverick sat on the little bench, hugging the small child closer to him and pressing kisses to his hair as tears stung his own eyes. “I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here. You’re okay—“
“M-m-m-mama—“
The pilot’s heart shattered. “Mama—mama’s really hurt, baby.”
“She’s not wakin’ up—“
“I—I know,” Maverick soothed. “I know, I’m sorry. You’re okay—you’re okay, sweetheart. I’ve gotcha—“
It took several painstaking minutes to get the young boy’s breathing better under control; his sobs slowing to soft hitches as he clung to Maverick’s shirt. The pilot, meanwhile, kept running a hand up and down the boy’s back as he softly talked to him, ignoring his own tears.
“Head h’rts,” Bradley sniffed.
Mav pressed a kiss to his little forehead, avoiding the stitches. “I’m sure it does, baby, I’m sorry. We’re—we’re gonna get you feelin’ better real soon.”
“Wan’ Mama—“
“I—I know, baby, and Mama loves you, okay? You remember that. Your Mama loves you so so much—“
The boy soon lost the battle against the mounting exhaustion he’d been fighting, collapsing against his godfather’s chest with tears still slipping down his reddened face. Maverick held him tighter to him, his own silent sobs shaking his frame as he tried to keep himself somewhat together.
“Oh kid—”
Mav’s head shot up as he heard Slider, tightening his arms around Bradley instinctively.
“Easy, Mav,” the RIO soothed, moving to sit next to him on the bench. “Just us—we’re just checking on you and Baby Goose, okay?”
“I wasn’t—I was gonna come back,” Maverick insisted, scrubbing at his tears haphazardly with one hand.
“We know,” Ice agreed easily. “You’re looking after B, and he was clearly overwhelmed.”
“He doing okay? Looks like he’s fallen asleep at least,” Ron said softly, brushing a gentle hand through the blond curls.
“He–he was crying for her,” Mav whispered. “Said ‘mama won’t wake up’. I tried to tell him that she—that his mama was really hurt. Apparently C–Carole was carrying him when she collapsed and they–they both hit their heads? B had to get stitches, but he–he’s okay? They said he was in shock and h-h-had a lot of blood on him and then I heard–I heard Nick and–”
The younger pilot trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to keep himself together. Ice gently gripped his shoulder, and Ron scooted closer so he was pressed up against Maverick.
“We haven’t seen Nick,” Slider explained softly. “But we–we also heard him. It doesn’t seem like a–like a good outcome.”
“She’s gone,” Maverick managed tightly. “I know she is–he–I’ve never heard him like that, and when we–when we were checking in at the desk, they gave us all of this information about B and what happened to him and all they’d say about Care was that Nick–was that Nick needed to go with them. I–I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if she hit her head or–or something else happened but—God, what’re we going to do?”
“We’re going to be there for Nick and Bradley,” Tom confirmed. “We’re going to do whatever we can to–to support them. Whatever they need.”
“And for you, kid,” Slider reminded gently. “We know what she means to you. None of you are alone in this.”
“We—he’s going to have to leave the Navy–” Maverick’s eyes suddenly widened. “He–he’s got Bradley–we–shit–”
Slider and Ice exchanged worried glances over Maverick’s head.
“Let’s just see what happens, okay? We have a lot to process, but the important thing right now is that you have Baby Goose and that he’s safe and okay, in a manner of speaking. Nick is where he needs to be, and we are all here together, alright?” Slider insisted.
“Everything else can wait,” Ice agreed.
***************
Nick couldn’t breathe. He–this couldn’t be real.
Carole was gone.
Aneurysm. A genetic time bomb that no one knew about.
It had been quick, the doctors assured him. Almost instantaneous. She wouldn’t have been in pain for long, if at all.
There’s nothing anyone could have done, either. She could have been in an operating room with the best surgeons in the world, and they still might not have been able to save her.
It was supposed to help, he thinks, knowing that nothing anyone could have done would have mattered.
But nothing can help.
Not when his Carole, his sunshine, the love of his life, is suddenly gone. She was dead.
For a heart-pounding moment, Nick had wished Hop 31 had ended differently. He didn’t want to experience this pain.
But then he’d remembered Bradley and Pete and mentally shaken himself. His son needed him. He’d just lost his mother and if Nick had also been gone—
God, all of that would fall on Pete.
He’d do it, Nick had no doubt.
That stubborn son of a bitch would leave the Navy, or at least the sky, and raise Bradley the best he could if that’s what it came down to. He’d shoulder all of that responsibility and guilt and do whatever it took to make sure that Bradley stayed out of the system and was loved.
But Nick couldn’t do that to him. And he definitely couldn’t do that to Bradley.
He scrubbed a shaky hand over his face, leaning over to press a kiss to Carole’s forehead. “I’ll handle it, honey, I promise. I’ll look after both of our boys and we will—we will figure out how to do this without you, Care. I don’t want to, I hate it, in fact, but I will not let you down. I’ll make sure Bradley grows up dancing and singing and remembering all about you. I’ll make sure Pete remembers how much of a Bradshaw he is, too. I’ll look after ‘em and love ‘em both for you, honey. I promise. You–you just rest, okay? I–I love you, Carole Bradshaw. That ain’t ever gonna change.”
“Goose?”
The RIO stood shakily, turning to see his former CO. “Viper, sir, she—uh—”
“I know, son, doc filled me in,” Mike was sincere. “I am so, so sorry. Whatever you need, I’ll do my best to make it happen, okay? I’ll place a call to Johnson when I leave here, get the ball rolling for some bereavement leave for you and Pete. Start there—”
“I–I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Nick admitted.
“One step at a time, son,” Viper suggested. “Do you want me to go with you to talk to her parents?”
“I–yeah, yeah I need to talk to them. They’ll want to see her–” Nick nodded a bit numbly. “A-a-and I need to see Bradley. Nurses said he hit his head? Mav was going to get him–”
“He’s got a few stitches but looked alright. Maverick took him outside to get a bit of fresh air. He–he was upset. I sent Ice and Slider to check on them a few minutes ago.”
“Head wounds bleed, right? Shit, Pete doesn’t do blood—if B had blood on him–”
“Easy,” the CO wrapped an arm around the RIO and started gently leading him towards the waiting room. “Kid had a little on his shirt, yeah, but Pete was much more preoccupied with how he was than the blood. He’s okay, I promise.”
“You don’t understand, sir, Mav–he–”
“I do, son, I do. Duke Mitchell was my best friend. I’m the one who found Petey after he found his sweet mama,” Viper vaguely explained. “But I also promise you that the only thing on his mind right now was taking care of your son, okay? So let’s—let’s just take this one step at a time. You don’t need to be worrying about him right now. Slider and Ice have got it.”
Goose let the older man lead him back out to the waiting room he’d rushed into only a short while before, and he immediately drew the attention of both of Carole’s parents.
“Oh God, Nick–”
“Is she—is Carole really gone?”
“What happened?”
“Oh God, where’s Bradley? He needs to–”
“Mr. and Mrs. Franklin, if you can try to take a breath and give him a second,” Viper instructed gently.
“I—I am so sorry,” Nick started, the tears already burning his eyes once again. “Carole—Care had an aneurysm—”
“--Noooo!” her mother wailed suddenly, grasping her husband’s arm.
“She–she didn’t make it. They think–they think it was something she’d had all her life and it just—it just burst—” Goose continued, fiddling feverishly with his wedding band.
“Oh God—” Phil groaned.
“Oh my God, oh my poor baby,” Susan sobbed.
“We–We can get one of the nurses to take you back to–to see her,” Nick offered. “I–I’m so sorry.”
“We—we have to see her. Oh God, where the hell did that mongrel go with Bradley? He needs to see his mother—”
Something hot and angry flared in Nick’s chest. He looked up at the couple, meeting their gaze. “Pete is our brother and he’s Bradley’s godfather. I’m confident that wherever he is, it’s what’s best for Bradley—”
“But Nicholas you have to agree that Bradley will need to see her?”
“I do not agree. My son doesn’t need to see his mother like that.”
“He needs to say goodbye—”
“And he will, when she—when she’s cleaned up and prepared and I can really talk to him about what has happened. He’s four years old–he–he’s not ready to see his mother like this.”
“Nick—”
“I—I cannot imagine what this must feel like for both of you,” Nick perservered. “And I am so sorry for your loss. But I have to go see my son now, so I’m sure Mike would be willing to get a nurse to take you guys back to see her.”
Without another word, he stumbled towards the double doors, slipping out into the setting sunshine. There was a short whistle that caught his attention, and he turned sharply left, his heart clenching when he spotted them.
Pete looked heartbroken, tears streaming unchecked down his face as he cradled an equally distraught looking Bradley agains his chest. The boy was sleeping, it appeared, but the distress was evident. Slider and Ice were on either side of the pair like some sort of silent guards.
Slider stood before Nick fully reached them, enveloping the other RIO in a tight hug that triggered soft, unchecked sobs.
“I am so sorry, Nick,” Ron whispered, holding him tight even as he felt the other man grab fistfuls of the back of his shirt.
“Fuck, she’s gone, Ronny—she’s fuckin’ gone—”
“I know—I know, and I’m so sorry—”
Ice sat next to Mav as his tears started to fall harder at the confirmation, wrapping an arm around the shorter pilot and holding him to his side.
“I—thank you for getting me here, Ronny, you and Kaz–”
“We’re hear for you, man, no matter what. You know that–”
Nick allowed himself a minute to really breakdown in one of his oldest friend’s arms before he stepped back, scrubbing a hand over his face and moving to crouch in front of Pete and Bradley.
“Pete?”
Mav squeezed his eyes closed, shaking his head.
Nick persisted, reaching up to cup Maverick’s face with one hand and running his other over Bradley’s sleep rumpled curls. “Look at me, Peter.”
Maverick forced himself to look up, meeting Goose’s devastation head on. “Please—”
“I’m sorry, kid–”
“She–I’m so sorry, Nick. I—God this is fuckin’ stupid. She—she was your wife and I—I’m so sorry—”
“Me too,” he sniffed a bit. “She was my world, and B’s mama, but she was also your sister, Pete. And I—I wish I had better news for all of you. She—Care had an aneurysm and there–there was nothin’ anyone could do.”
“She fell when she was holding B and he hit his head when they did,” Mav relayed. “Has a few stitches and—and was upset but he—he’s okay. When I—when I heard you I just— I guess part of me knew and I just—I couldn’t stand there and I had to get him out, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for takin’ him but I couldn’t just wait there for you to come out and say it and I wanted to protect him from that, at least a little bit—”
“He is exactly where I want him to be,” Goose offered a wet, shaky smile. “He’s with his godfather. The man both his mother and I trusted to take care of him no matter what. You did exactly what Carole and I would have wanted you to do, Pete.”
“I’m still—I’m still so sorry,” Mav hung his head. “Carole—she—”
“She trusted us to figure it out,” the RIO interjected, tilting his pilot’s head back up. “She—she’s gonna expect us to pick up the slack, Petey Pie. S’gonna be hell, not gonna lie. Not sure either of us, or hell both of us together, can stack up to what Care used to do. I—I may not be able to fly anymore. May have to leave the Navy, even, but we are going to stick together, okay? You and me—we’re gonna give B the best life we can and make sure he never forgets his mama. You with me?”
“Absolutely,” Maverick promised.
“You’ve got us, too, Nick,” Ice reminded softly.
“Tom, me, Wood and Wolf,” Slider agreed. “Whole lot of us—we’re gonna get you through this. Wingmen, right?”
“Wingmen,” Goose nodded stiffly, a small, halfhearted smile suddenly pulling at his lips. “But, you know, platonically, Ronny. Not like whatever ‘wingmen’ Kazaroni and Mav here claim to be, ya know?”
Both Ice and Maverick’s ears suddenly turned scarlet as Ron let out a sharp, surprised chuckle.
“We—uh—” Ice sputtered.
“Carole’s the one who figured it out first, actually,” Nick offered with a small smile. “Said she always knew Pete had a thing for pretty blondes. She’s probably laughing her ass off knowing she was right.”
“You’re gonna wake up Bradley,” Maverick dismissed a bit shortly, though the suffocating grief had given way to just enough levity that they felt they could breathe.
“Can’t have that, can we?” Nick agreed easily, bending to press a kiss to his son’s downy curls. “It’s up to us to make sure he’s well taken care of now. Can’t give his mama reason to haunt us.”
“She’d probably go for the bike,” Mav muttered with a hint of humor. “Or the record player.”
“Definitely the record player,” Ice agreed, exchanging a sad smile with Goose as he thought about the feisty blonde.
“You boys have no choice, then,” Goose declared softly, taking the offer they’d clearly presented. “You’re just going to have to stick around and help Mav, and I figure out what the hell we’re going to do without her.”
“One step at a time.”