Rooster

Natasha stared up at the base hospital ceiling. It's funny how near-death experiences made one reflective. Not funny, ha-ha, just …

Rooster hadn't come to check on her. She guessed she shouldn't expect it since it was only supposed to be an overnight observation.

But still … she had hoped …

She hoped he was worried about her, the jerk.

The moment Bradley had introduced himself their first day of basic fighter maneuvers, he had won her over. He was the first guy at TOP GUN who treated her like a fellow pilot; one of the guys. And once he did, so did the rest of the male students.

No matter how "enlightened" her fellow male aviators were it was like they had to "turn off" their natural protective instincts towards the opposite sex and had to "forget" that some of their fellow pilots were women.

She appreciated their respect. But then an internal conflict arose. She realized no longer wanted to be seen as "one of the guys",

by Rooster, anyway. It was fine when they were in the air, but outside the cockpit … come on

He'd talk her ear off, but would never confide. Natasha could see a melancholy haunted him, hovering just at the edge of his smiles and jokes. It kept her intrigued.

And so, Bradley and Natasha's friendship grew, but it didn't quite deepen.

And then one day, she hit a brick wall, figuratively speaking.

Or a mountain, Natasha thought wryly. Crashed and burned.

After a particularly grueling air-to-ground tactics training, Bradley opened up a little bit to her over drinks. Natasha's heart soared as he started telling her about his mom, her worries for him because his father died in a training accident— although did not go into specifics, and Natasha did not pry. He never mentioned Captain Pete Mitchell at all.

And then her heart plummeted like a barnstormer in a death spiral.

"I don't know if I'll ever have a serious relationship or get married," Bradley had said suddenly. Natasha had nearly choked on her beer.

"My mom really struggled to raise me on her own after dad died. I don't want to put anyone through that."

Natasha had stared at him and he had stared back for a moment, that familiar melancholy edge becoming more pronounced, then he awkwardly looked away.

He was warning her off.

She was pretty sure she had sensed a mutual pull of attraction between them, which made it extra frustrating to see him shying away.

She wanted to protest that his mother had known the risks of being a Navy wife, but that would've been calloused and way out of line.

After they graduated they were assigned to different bases. Rooster was stationed overseas to the Naval base in Japan. They kept in touch as they could. Although Natasha initiated most of those conversations, he was always quick to respond.

Until he wasn't.

Rooster earned that pool cue to the solar plexus, and he knew it.

Movement in the hospital bed beside hers brought her mind to the other man she'd become unexpectedly close to, and in a shorter amount of time …

Lieutenant Robert Floyd.

"Bob".