Hangman didn't know what to do. From the moment those words left her mouth, he knew he fucked up. There was a fine line between harmless banter and low blows, and he knew he flirted with that line often. But this was not something he was prepared for. Doing the only thing he could think of, he sat on the ground next to her and pulled her close. One arm was wrapped around her shoulders and the other grabbed a hand, absently rubbing circles on the back of it.

"You're okay, darlin'. I'm right here." He checked her pulse every so often to make sure it was steadily going down, but he could feel her shaking like a leaf. Only one time in his life had he ever felt this type of panic and he vowed to do everything in his power to never be that vulnerable again. Now the thought of potentially causing panic in someone else filled him with guilt.

He waited there, patiently for her to come down from that horrible high, praying no one else wanted to be early. He didn't care if the others saw him like this, he didn't want the others to see her at her breaking point. She worked the hardest out of them all and to see her broken like this wouldn't be good for anyone.

It was something that would haunt him for a long time coming.

You started to become more aware of your surroundings, vaguely aware someone was with you. It had been a while since you've had one of these and you can't say it's pleasant. Your vision was starting to focus again, and you felt a body holding you close.

"That's it. Nice even breaths." Jake Hangman Seresin of all people had to be the one to find you like this. You let out one last deep breath before you broke out of your haze, "This is embarrassing." Hearing your voice made the man next to you jump and move away some. The sudden lack of contact upset you more than you were willing to admit. You watched as he got up from the ground and sat on the bench in front of you. The look on his face was something you couldn't quite place. Concerned? Upset? It wasn't his usual cockiness, so it was hard to decipher.

"Are you feeling better?" Not the words you expected to come out of his mouth. You looked down, not wanting him to see the flush of your cheeks. "Yeah. Thanks." A heavy breath came from him, causing you to peek up at him.

"When I said what I did that night, I didn't mean to cause all of this." His words confused you and you gave him a small head tilt as you tried to place what he was talking about. He came to the realization that you were not following along and explained. "That night you came to chew me out about not communicating I told you that you needed to be better. Then the next day you are out here running laps and running yourself into the ground trying to do exactly what I said." He ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling. "When I said to be better, I didn't mean to run yourself into the ground doing it. Sweetheart, that was the furthest thing on my mind. But when you said you were the reason he was killed, it all clicked and I'm so sorry, Ella."

Your heart nearly stopped when he said those last words. You didn't realize you said what you did during the panic attack, and you could feel the anxiety creeping back in. Clenching and unclenching your fists, you tried to focus on your breathing and where to go from here. A secret you had kept close to you was now threatening to be out in the open. One more thing for someone to use against you.

A hand clasped over yours and you looked up with more tears pooling in your eyes. "You don't have to tell me what happened. I probably don't deserve to know, but I am sorry. Hell, I don't think sorry will ever begin to cover it."

More surprise at his words and him not pushing to know more. You brushed away the few tears that managed to escape and took a few deep breaths. "Thank you. It's not your fault though. You didn't know." Hangman took his hand back and sat up straight on the bench. "Yeah, well I still feel like a piece of shit."

That succeeded in putting a smile on your face. "The ever so cocky aviator admits to being a piece of shit. I should've had a melt down earlier on if I was going to get this kind of reaction from you."

He chuckled a bit, still not quite back to his old self. You got off the cold floor and ran a hand through your hair. Before Hangman could see what set you off, you closed your locker door, hiding the picture of the man you failed. "What are you doing here this early?" Changing the subject was the best course of action.

"Rooster had a point, which I will continue to deny if you bring it up, and I thought I would put in the extra work. Can't have you showing me up." He offered his signature smirk at the end and that's when I knew we were past what just happened.

"You wish you could keep up with me. I have so many more hours logged compared to you. You'd be lucky to get to fly with me when I become team leader." He threw his head back and laughed, causing a small smile to break through.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart."

A few looks of surprise were thrown around when the rest of your group saw not only you, but Hangman walk in from the tarmac. Things only confused them more when the two of you were acting nearly friendly with each other.

Phoenix had sat next to you for the briefing and asked in a hush voice, "Did you suffer from a concussion yesterday, because you and Hangman seem to not hate each other."

You covered up a snort, trying for Maverick to not hear you while he was talking. "He decided not to be an ass today. We will see how long it lasts."

And it wasn't a lie. He had every chance to rub your momentary weakness in your face, but instead took the blame that wasn't his fault. Your mind drifted back to that conversation and realized that he called you by your name for the first time. And of all things to get you excited, it had to be the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. What did you have to do for him to say it again?

"You're smiling and it's creepy." Phoenix broke you out of your ridiculous daydream and you pulled your attention to the front.

"Just thinking about how Hangman feels threatened and had to show up early to not get beat in the race for team leader." It was her time to smile, and you knew you covered yourself well.

The lightness of the conversation was quickly put to an end when we were told the timetable moved up a week and none of us were ready. For the longest time it felt like we were back in the academy, simply training just to train. The end goal was in the back of all our minds, but it didn't feel real. Not until now.

We were dismissed for training, and no one was joking around anymore. Even Maverick looked like he was knocked down a peg, with the look of mischief gone from his eyes.

You were nearing your plane when Hangman's voice stopped you, "Out of all of us, you have the skill to do this. Get out of your head and show them that." You turned to see him a few steps behind you and nodded your head. "Thanks." He answered with a wink, and you watched him walk to his plane further down the tarmac. Bradley gave you a questioning look, but you waved him off. He of all people would not approve of what was going on in your head.

Things between the two of you changed this morning and you weren't entirely sure how you felt about it. Of all the times to get distracted, this was by far the worst. But something about that blond pilot made you feel something you hadn't felt since that day of the accident. And that was starting to scare you.

A/N: Thoughts? Comments? I love all your feedback! Part 6 and 7 are in the works currently and I cannot wait to share them with you! Thanks for reading!