Ten weeks into the naval NEST program at NAS Oceana…

"It was that close!" Felice exclaimed emphasizing her point measuring the distance with her thumb and forefinger.

The men to her left and right, Commander John "Bricks" Cole and Lieutenant Chris "Longhorn" Edwards, smirked as they exchanged knowing looks. While Bricks took Felice' ranting just for the anger of failed gun-kill, Chris as her RIO knew that this was the relentless ambition of a female fighter pilot to prove herself in an environment dominated by men. For days and days they were going through various maneuvers and though Bricks had assured Felice that she had caught up on her performance before leaving for NEST very fast, she still hadn't managed to beat him in training.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have pushed it so hard. You went in here," he gestured with his hands, showing her the positions of their planes, "while you would've had a better line of sight here."

"Right, but…" Felice stopped dead in her tracks as she recognized the man standing in front of the hangar. First, his frame had been vaguely familiar to Felice but she had been still too occupied to argue with Bricks to take any further notice of him. He had been talking to another officer and his face hadn't been visible, but when the officer had pointed in their direction he'd turned and Felice' heart had stopped.

"Colonel Lennox, what an honor. What brings you here?" Bricks smiled as they reached their guest, he and Chris shaking hand with Lennox.

"I have some things to discuss with Commander Manning and I figured it would be easier to do this in person." Lennox replied as his gaze wandered to Felice. "May I speak to you for a second, Ma'am?"

Even though Felice was still angry with Lennox, she could not help herself thinking that he had not slipped once and showed her impeccable manners on the rare occasions since their breakup when it came to speaking with her in front of their colleagues or superiors – her official relief from NEST-field-duty at the headquarters in DC and a two video conference chats with Bricks and some other high ranking officials from NAS Oceana present in the same room with her.

Before she could stop herself, she'd shot a questioning glance in Chris' direction. They'd been very close ever since they'd been teamed up in flight school, so naturally Felice had told him everything that had happened ever since she'd joined NEST. The blond man reciprocated her look with an almost imperceptible shrug. He seemed as clueless about the visit as she was and Felice could not think of any excuse than might safe her from this. But she decided to buy herself a little more time.

"Of course, just give me a second to get rid of these." she replied pointing to her helmet and other gear.

"After you." he nodded and followed her, Chris and Bricks to the room where the G-suits, parachutes and helmets were stored. Quickly, Felice got rid of her stuff and handed it to the solider ranked a Petty officer in charge of the gear.

"Not a good flight, huh Commander?" he asked as he caught the grim look on her face. Contrary to his belief, it was not because of the failed gun-kill, but more of Lennox' unexpected appearance at base. But she decided that the solider didn't need to know about her personal issues.

"Failed to kill Bricks." she rolled her eyes.

The Petty officer laughed.

"That explains a lot."

She signed the sheet of paper he handed her as she returned his conspiratorially smile.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

She nodded and turned to Bricks.

"When do you need me in the Ready Room?"

"Boomer and Argo are not due until fifteen minutes. But take your time." he replied with a friendly nod in Lennox' direction.

Felice sighed inwardly. She'd rather preferred a specific time to get rid of him. She hadn't spoken to Lennox alone since she'd left NEST headquarters the day Reigart and Morshower had offered her the job. Her anger and disappointment about his betrayal - for a lack of better words - was still fresh and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face him yet.

They walked the short distance to one of the conference rooms in silence. While their steps echoed through the empty hallways, Felice discomfort grew bigger and bigger. She was not prepared for this confrontation. Why hadn't Epps called and warned her that he would show up here? What did he want?

It could certainly not be about the program. He could've just called or passed it on to her superiors. She was still doing some flight routine and would not start training the recruits until next week when she'd hopefully passed her carrier qualifications.

So this is personal, she thought grudgingly as they reached the room. She opened the door to let Lennox pass. He entered and she stepped inside as well, closing the door behind her. Then she turned to face him, waiting impatiently for him to say something. But Lennox remained silent, taking in her sight for a few moments.

It was the first time since he'd seen her since she'd left and though not sure what exactly he'd expected, he was slightly hurt by what he'd encountered. When he'd watched her exiting her aircraft, Bricks and Chris at either sides of her, completely wrapped up in their discussion about flying, she'd been so excited and he wondered whether he'd ever seen her like this when with his team. His conversation with Epps came to his mind. She's a big girl, she can handle it. Yet when he looked into her eyes now, he could see the merest flicker of sadness in them as she held his gaze.

"How are you doing?" he asked tentatively.

Felice searched for the meaning in his words. Taking in his sight for the first time in what felt years, she now realized how tired he looked. Dark shadows were visible under his eyes and even though he was sitting on the table's edge he seemed somewhat tense. It was not the man she'd left weeks ago, radiating energy like nobody else she'd ever known. And Felice could not help but worry about him.

"I'm fine." she replied quietly as she walked over to the window and observed two F-18 take off into the blazing blue sky. Lennox followed her gaze.

"I've seen you flying earlier."

Felice whirled around.

"You have?" She was too astonished to keep up her reserved attitude.

Lennox smiled.

"Pretty impressive. Wouldn't believe it was you until the radio control officer told me, that I was watching the only chick on base flying. His words, not mine!" he raised in defense as Felice frowned. But seeing his non-threatening gesture, she smiled slightly.

"You know the deal with nicknames. They tend to stick around for quite some time." she shrugged, but turned serious again. She was not going to let Lennox snow her. "So, why are you here?"

Lennox sighed inwardly at the sudden change of tone. He'd always known that this talk wouldn't be easy, but he had postponed it the longest time.

"I am here to talk about the program."

"You could've just called." she shot back instantly.

"No, I couldn't and you just showed the very reason why."

Felice frowned.

"We can't start working on the program when we are constantly arguing. Every time I would suggest something you don't like, you would tear it into pieces just to score me off even though it might be not a bad idea. Am I right or am I not right?"

"So, you're here to give me a lecture about my faults?" she snapped. "Well, save your breath then. I…"

"I am not." Lennox cut her off. "I am here to make peace with you."

The soft tone in his voice made her halt. Somewhat dumbfounded, Felice looked into his eyes just to find them filled with sincerity.

"We both have dangerous jobs, Felice. And I am not willing to put you at more risk just because we are angry with each other. I learned my lesson and I will not interfere with your work here or at NEST ever again. But I am asking for your indulgence. That if we don't agree over a specific thing, you don't just push it through just because you seek revenge on me. Don't get me wrong." he raised his hand as she was about to say something. "You've every right to be mad at me and I am fine with it – as long as it doesn't affect our work."

Felice took a few moments to let his speech sink in. She was quite surprised about what she'd just heard. It hadn't exactly been an apology but he'd clearly understood what her point had been. And even though she was still mad at him he was certainly right. The way they'd been with each other recently was not the best to start a project like this.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" she asked doubtful.

"We go back to where we started when working together."

Felice shot him a suspicious look. He calling the shots and she following his orders?

Well, thanks but no thanks.

Her eyes must have been an open book, because the next second Lennox was smirking.

"To being friends." he answered her unspoken question softly. Her head jerked up at the last word.

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Felice, this is not easy for me either. But can you please give it a shot?"

Felice looked at him, thunderstruck. William Lennox, the man always in charge and knowing what to do was struggling as well? And she was surprised to notice this not with satisfaction but rather could she relate to him. There was a moment's silence before she finally answered.

"OK."

Her voice was barely a whisper. She could not bring herself to look into his eyes while saying it. She was afraid he would see the uncertainty and somewhat fear about it. Was she really ready for this?

"Thank you." he replied with a little smile. It was more than he'd expected and he was glad that she gave him this chance. But looking at her, he could see her discomfort about the situation.

"So, Reigart is flying in from the Vinson and I am scheduled to meet with him and some of the flight staff here tomorrow morning, so why don't we hit the bars tonight?" he said in an attempt to make a joke to ease the tension.

She was about to tell him off, but then she saw the all too familiar grin emerging on his features. It was not the first time Felice had caught herself thinking that his smile was somewhat infectious. She reciprocated it grudgingly while folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Watch it." she muttered though she could not keep herself from reciprocating his smile. She shook her head in exasperation about the fact that she'd fallen for his prank that easily while she looked at him.

It was a nice thing to see him smile. It was like somebody had taken a weight from her shoulders she hadn't even notice it had been there. She held his gaze for a moment.

You better get used to him being around more often, she thought; then glanced to her watch. So why not start now?

"We'll be having our flight debriefing in a couple of minutes. Do you want to listen in? Just so you get an impression of what we're doing."

"I'd like to." Lennox took her offer with an astonished smile.

"I have to clear with the skipper first, but I think he won't mind."

Lennox nodded and followed Felice to the CO of base. Waiting in front of his office, he watched her exchange a few words with him, before he nodded his agreement. Then they made their way back to the Ready Room.

While walking through the corridors, Lennox spoke to her again. He'd made the mistake of not being honest with her once and he would not do it again. So he'd better start now with it.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you." he said, clearing his throat. Felice looked at him expectantly, tough a little cold. "Chris Edwards told me you guys would be meeting for dinner at 8:00 PM and … he invited me to join you."

Felice' head jerked up to him, wondering when the hell he'd talked Chris about their evening plans; anger flickering in her eyes for a second, but then she remembered their deal.

"Then you better don't be late." she replied irritably as she entered the Ready Room for the debriefing.

But as she sat down, supposed to listen to Bricks' introduction her thoughts trailed to her conversation with Lennox.

Friends, Felice thought silently, turning over the word in her head. Maybe she could to that.


The flight debrief went on and when Bricks came to her flight, Felice was so focused on what he was telling her that she completely forgot about Lennox being in the same room. While discussing different strategies to optimize her maneuvers, shut out the conversation with her former CO and the feelings about what they had talked about. She knew she had to sort that out later and for now she was glad to be occupied with something else.

The briefing ended after an hour. The small group of aviators left the room, Felice following Chris and the others outside to get some fresh air before they would meet in the small bar close to the air station. She watched Bricks and Lennox staying behind, involved in a conversation she dearly hoped was about NEST and not about her.

A few minutes later, they made their way out of the closed grounds of the air station and to a bar in the small town adjacent to it. While Lennox still talked to Bricks who introduced him to a few other pilots, he could see Felice and Chris walking a few rows in front of him, chatting animatedly about something. Her blonde ponytail bounced of her back as she laughed about something Chris had told her and Lennox had trouble focusing on what Bricks was telling him. His thoughts were still at the conversation he had had with Felice earlier that day. Her consent to start all over again was more than he'd expected yet he could feel her keeping her distance.

After a short walk they reached the bar. Through the lit windows, Lennox could see that the place was already crowded, the neon sign above the entrance casting blue and red lights on the parking lot in front of it, illuminating a handful of cars and numerous motorcycles which had been parked here.

He followed the group of aviators inside and glanced around. The air inside the bar was filled with the chatter and laughter of the people inside and music came out of an old jukebox, wafting over to them. Female bartenders waved through the crowd, carrying large trays filled with glasses of beer or food.

Then, a sound to his left made him turn and he saw two women about Felice' age giggle and point in their direction.

"Here they come." the brunette, who was wearing a rather short dress and too much makeup for his taste, said to her friend who retorted: "Now, that's what I call a target-rich environment." And they burst into a renewed fit of laughter.

Lennox turned to Felice who was standing right next to him; an amused smile curling his lips as he saw her rolling her eyes at the obvious Top Gun-quotation.

"So, that's how you spent your evenings, huh?" he said, unable to keep the grin out of his voice as he watched her fellow aviators making their way through the room as if they owned this place. Now, he understood why they had not bothered to change out of their flight overalls. They were their trademark. Bathing in the admiring looks of the ladies, they took their seats at a table that had been reserved for them.

"Uh-huh." Felice nodded.

"How do you stand it?" he asked quietly; catching the look on her face.

"Beer. And a lot of it." Felice simply stated, exasperation but also amusement wavering through her words. "Come on, let's go."

She indicated him to follow her and sat down next to Boomer, returning his toast as they all received their drinks and suddenly realized that she'd just had a civil conversation with William Lennox that did not concern their work.

Well, I'll drink to that, she thought as she raised her glass to her lips.