A/N: I made so many jokes at the top about Plot Bunnies in F-14's... and then they actually showed up. (We'll be getting back to Viper at Social Services. Wanted to do this first.)
Also, I'm ignoring the fact that in reality at this point in time (the 70's), Naval Air Station Joint Base Reserve Fort Worth had been renamed Carswell Air Force Base temporarily to avoid confusion.
Week 12 - UDC 10 - JROTC Tour of Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Base Reserve
56. Pebble
An officer from the Air Force Reserve 457th Fighter Squadron, who had introduced himself as Technical Sergeant Aaron Whittington, call sign 'Knits,' had been leading their JROTC tour of the base, and currently they were on the tarmac, listening as he explained the layout and operations pattern of taking off and landing. He'd just gotten into the part about the importance of Air Traffic Control when he noticed that they were short a person. "Hang on. Where's the short kid?"
"Knits?" That was Jaime, his oldest step-daughter's boyfriend, getting his attention by using his call sign and not his name, motioning back toward a row of jets. "Bradshaw lost the Tiny Terror and didn't notice."
Frowning, Aaron followed Jaime's eye line and spotted him, in time with Bradshaw spinning on his feel and marching back to him. The boy was standing back that way, stock still, head cocked to one side. "Is that good or bad?"
"Nick not noticing or Pete so puzzled he got distracted?"
Aaron paused, suddenly realizing that he recognized the kid, including that nickname. No wonder that Karen had told him he needed to pull tour duty today. "So it could be both."
57. Boulder
As Nick got closer, he slowed and took in the fact that Pete appeared far too close to crying for his own comfort. Slowly, he put a hand on his shoulder, and Pete jumped. "Sorry. You okay?"
"What are those?" The tone in his voice was spooky, as if his mind wasn't in the present and Nick glanced at the planes, frowning at he studied them.
"Let's find out," Nick said as he turned to find the rest of the group catching up to them. "Mr. Whittington? What are those planes?"
Aaron seemed puzzled as he looked from them, to the jets, and back again. "F-14 Tomcats. Why?"
"Test flying," Pete said, still sounding faraway, and it was giving Nick goose bumps.
Norling started to step forward, but Aaron stopped him and he joined Nick instead at Pete's side. "Hey. What is it about test flying?"
"Those look better," Pete continued. "But... test flying."
Aaron glanced up at Nick. "That make any sense to you?"
Nick nodded. "We were able to figure out that his father was a test pilot for Grumman and the Navy before returning to active duty, sir." Carefully, he got Pete to look up at him. "Where are you?"
"Beth Page, on the tarmac with Mom. Watching Dad test fly, take off and land."
58. Loam
At that, Norling chuckled. "I can think of worse places, Pete."
Pete frowned at Nick, the change in expression so sudden that it almost gave him emotional whiplash, and then he was blinking rapidly. "I... I..."
"Okay," Nick said calmly. "Fort Worth, Pete. Remember? Base tour?" Pete's expression crumpled and Nick didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug. Then he studied the jets again. "That answers why the Navy would be so touchy about Mr. Finney asking questions."
"Hate when that happens," Pete muttered, and Nick could see Aaron's calculating expression as he looked around and then spun and went to talk to a crewman doing what looked like preflight checks on one of the F-14's. They chatted for a minute, and then Aaron was motioning the group over.
"Come on," Nick told him, and Pete looked up at him in confusion. "Tech Sergeant wants us over there."
59. Flint
Campbell fell into step beside him. "Seems okay. How did you know to ask that?"
"Not my first experience with flashbacks," Nick muttered quietly at him. Pete, for his part, didn't say anything and instead stared up at the nose of the jet when they got near enough. "This was tame."
The pilot who had been doing preflight looked around at all of them. "Really, Knits? We're getting ready for a hop."
Aaron nodded to Pete. "Can you walk that one through the checks while we watch? Seems his father did test flights for Grumman on these, or something like the F-14."
The pilot looked at Pete. "That so? Sure, we can do that." He squinted at Pete's name tag, then held out his hand, which Pete respectfully shook. "Lieutenant Herbert O'Reilly, call sign Rotor." Pete very slowly shook his hand, frowning at him.
"Rotor?"
O'Reilly smiled. "Ran Off The Only Runway is too long for the radio." The group laughed. "Yes, it was as stupid as it sounds." Another laugh came from the cockpit and Pete peered upward. "That's my RIO, kid. Know what that is?"
Pete shook his head. "First base I've been on since we left Long Island, and none of the parents in the Naval families I was placed with would talk about work."
O'Reilly stared at him momentarily, then looked at Norling, who motioned back to Pete. "Right. RIO, R-I-O, is short for Radar Intercept Officer." He motioned upward, where his RIO was looking down at them. "Dan? You want to explain the job?"
"There are times when I keep us from blowing up," Dan offered, shrugging when Aaron glared up at him. "Simplistically, my job is to watch the radar and work with my pilot as a team to fly the plane."
"Did the F-4 need a RIO?"
60. Gravel
Dan stared down at him now, puzzled. "I think it does, actually."
Pete shook his head and looked at O'Reilly, who seemed really puzzled. "Pre-flight?"
As O'Reilly began to explain each and every part they needed to look at and inspect, Campbell leaned closer to Nick. "That was odd."
"A bit," Nick conceded, still frowning. He'd have to ask later about why that detail mattered. "I'm glad they let him come, as much as Pete might be embarrassed for having a flashback like that in front of everyone."
"I think some of us needed to see and hear it," Campbell said eventually. "Myself included."
Nick paused and glanced around at his classmates, noting that they were all watching the preflight checks with varying expressions of intrigue. That was a good point. Maybe they did need to.