Jake sure as Hell didn't have 'get cockblocked by Rooster' on today's schedule.

At the sound of the fellow pilot's voice and feeling Natasha tense underneath him, it was like he switched to autopilot. He whirled around to face Rooster, standing in front of Natasha with one hand softly gripping her arm.

"Bradley." Natasha's voice was shaky from behind him. "What're you doing here?"

"I got back this morning. Amelia was at Penny's and mentioned that she saw you on the beach, so I came to talk." Rooster's eyes narrowed at the state of Natasha's flushed skin and the bulge in Jake's swim shorts. "But it seems like you already have company."

"The best of it." Jake cocked his head to the side. "Hiya, Rooster."

Bradley ignored him, eyes locked onto Natasha. Jake could feel how uncomfortable she was becoming, the unsteadiness in her breath becoming more evident.

Bradley's next comment was slow. "You ignore me for two weeks and I come back to find you about to have sex in the middle of the Hard Deck with him? Seriously, Nat?"

"Yep." Jake made sure to pop the 'p' at the end of the word. "Also, is it really ignoring if you only tried to reach out to her once?"

"Shut up, Hangman," Rooster barked. "I'm not talking to you - this is none of your Goddamn business."

"You're talking about me, so that makes it my business, Roo," Jake's tone matched his. He could feel the anger building up inside, and the only thing stopping him was Natasha's arm trembling under his grip.

"This has nothing to do with you –"

"Oh, you really wish it didn't, don't you –"

"Will you both stop yelling?" Natasha's fierce snarl interrupted their argument. Jake shot another glance at her; she had moved her hands to her hips and if looks could kill, they would all be six feet under. "Just… stop."

He pressed his lips together, waiting for Bradley to make another snide remark that never came. "Sorry," he mumbled to her, turning to face her, and reaching to give her hand a squeeze. She chewed down on her bottom lip and gave a small nod of her head in acknowledgment.

"I get that you're still pissed or upset and didn't want to talk to me," the hurt was evident in Bradley's voice when he finally spoke again. "But throwing yourself at him in the meantime? I didn't take you as desperate."

All it took was that one statement and the small gasp of air that Natasha let out for every part of him to light up with anger. Jake whirled around, dangerously stomping towards the fellow pilot.

"You do not speak to any woman that way, Bradshaw, especially my girlfriend -" he snarled, a finger coming inches away from Bradley's face.

"No titles, Jake," Natasha growled at him at the same time as Bradley let out a yelp, "Girlfriend?!"

"You don't get to come in here after the stunt you pulled pretending that everything is sunshine and roses –" his finger was only millimeters from Bradley's face, their chests pressed against each other in a battle of dominance.

" – the stunt I pulled?" Bradley yelled. "I went back to save Mav! What do you think –"

" – and you'd be dead if I hadn't defied orders and flown out there to save your sorry ass –"

"– oh, yeah, let's not forget that Hangman has to be the fucking hero of every story –"

"Jake! Bradley! For the love of –" Jake could hear Nat's angered cry from behind him, but he was too far gone.

"– and then you march in here two weeks later without a fucking clue as to what you put Nat through –"

" – kind of hard to figure out what's going on when my best friend won't return any of my messages –"

" – all you do is think about your damn self and never think about what your actions do to others –"

" – don't start acting like you of all people actually fucking care about people, Hangman –"

"– coming in acting like you have some moronic wolfy claim on her -"

He wasn't sure what was louder; Bradshaw's yell of "What the fuck are you even talking about?" or Natasha's yell of "For God's sake, stop quoting Twilight!"

The bang of a door interrupted the yelling, and all three turned to see Bob rushing in with Christina hot on his heels. "What's going –" Bob stopped himself as he made eye contact with Rooster.

"It's nothing –" Natasha's words were choked.

"You knew about this?" Rooster yelled, arm gesturing at Jake and Natasha. "Bob, what the fuck?"

There was a hint of sadness behind Bob's response. "It wasn't my place to say, Rooster."

"Bob, take Nat home. Now." The commanding tone of Jake's voice even took him by surprise.

"Jake…?" Christina's voice was timid.

"Can you all just back off for a minute?" Rooster yelled. "I just want to talk with her!" He took one step toward Natasha, and in a swift movement, Jake had moved and shoved the pilot back.

"You're not getting anywhere near her," he snarled. "Nat, go."

He took a quick glance over his shoulder to see Natasha with her eyes wide and her feet frozen in place.

"Nat." Her feet didn't move. "Natasha." Still, no movement. "Phoenix!"

She blinked back a shocked look and moved, swerving past the two males as she quickly moved toward Bob. He wrapped an arm protectively around her as she neared, guiding her to the door.

"Natasha, just wait –" Bradley stepped towards them. Without thinking, Jake grabbed the back of Rooster's shirt and tugged hard enough to pull him back and knock him to the ground.

"Too slow, Roo," he mocked under his voice. "Like always."

In the background, he could hear Christina talking loudly to Bob. " – meet at the house. I'm not leaving him alone."

"Get the fuck out of my way, Hangman," Rooster yelled, scrambling to his feet.

"You're going to have to get through me to get to her," Jake's voice was low. "And good luck with that, because I can see your every -" He took a step closer to Rooster. "- move -" Another step. " - coming."

"Look who thinks he's so big and tough," Rooster growled, shoving at Jake's chest. "Compensating for something, Hangman?"

"Y'really think a girl like Nat would be all over me if there was something to compensate for, Roo?" Jake laughed. "Don't be mad because you were too slow - like always - to get the girl."

"Both of you need to calm down," Christina stepped in between the two and placed her hands on both of their chests. "Yelling nonsense back and forth isn't doing anyone any favors."

For Jake, the next several moments happened in slow motion. He watched as Rooster's arms lifted, bent into his body, and pushed forward at Christina. A look of shock slid across her face as she fell, one arm moving to wrap around her stomach and another to catch her fall.

"Christina!" He heard himself scream as he lept, arms wrapping around her as they collided with the floor with Jake's back hitting first. The blonde yelped in his arms, her face pressed hard against his chest.

Jake's mind was racing faster than he could ever recall. Oh, God. The baby.

"Christina," He choked out, sitting up and grabbing onto her face. He could spot tears in her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. "Christina," he repeated again. "Talk to me, kid. Are you hurt?"

"I'm ok," she choked out, her hand on her belly. "I landed on you. I think we're ok."

His eyes shot to Rooster, who was standing still with a look of fear in his eyes and his mouth agape. "I-I didn't mean to…" he was fumbling with his words. "I'm sorry, I –"

Jake didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. He released Christina, jumped to his feet, and lunged. Within seconds, he felt his knuckles crack against Rooster's jaw.

"Jake!" He heard Christina scream, but he was too far gone. His vision was red, and the ringing in his ears dulled everything around him.

Game on.

The fight hadn't lasted long, thanks to the diligent work of two Hard Deck workers who ran into the frenzy and pulled them apart. One of the workers made a comment about calling the police, to which Jimmy - who had been working in the back during the debacle - insisted that it wasn't necessary. "Jake, you should get going," he roughly told the pilot. "I'm calling Penny to get Rooster out of here." As Christina guided him to the door, he took a look back at the mustached man. He was sitting at the bar, holding a rag to his bleeding nose and lip, watching Jake as he walked away.

"You need to be the one sitting," Jake argued as he leaned back into the couch cushions. They had gotten home moments before, and Christina had set right into work finding something to ice his injuries with. "You need to rest."

"Shush," Christina sighed, walking back and handing him a bag of frozen corn. "You're the one who took a beating."

"He landed one good punch," he chuckled as he held the bag up against his face. His face ached and his knuckles pulsed; he knew the bruises would be a sight to see. "I wouldn't define that as a beating."

"It's one more punch than should have happened," she quietly scolded him, taking the seat next to him on the couch.

"Beast on Broadway is going to murder Rooster when he finds out what happened," Jake grumbled, shaking his head.

"No, he won't." Christina pursed her lips. "Because we're not going to tell him."

Jake sat up. "Christina, one of his teammates shoved you to the ground. He could have hurt you and the baby."

"It was in the heat of the moment. I'm not holding it against him," Christina assured him, patting his knee gently. "Emotions were running high, and I got in the way."

"That's no excuse for –"

"Jake." Her voice was quiet but authoritative. "Esther and I are fine, and we have you to thank for that. Bob and Nat don't need the added stress of knowing that I got caught up in the middle of things."

He let out a long breath and slowly leaned back against the cushions. "Have you talked to him?"

She nodded her head. "I texted him. He knows that there was a fight and that I'm at the house with you. He's bringing Nat here after they get done on base."

His eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. It was a little after three in the afternoon, so he knew they were in their meeting with Cyclone and Warlock. He had wanted to call her as soon as they left the Hard Deck to make sure that she was ok - really ok - but that plan was foiled when they raced to collect the rest of their belongings from the beach and he found her phone inside her beach bag.

Christina pulled her feet onto the couch and leaned into Jake's side; he instinctively wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

"He likes you, you know."

Jake let out a chuckle. "Your fiance tolerates me. There's a difference."

Christina hummed under her breath for a moment before she spoke. "I think he tolerated the idea of you and Nat before he actually saw you together yesterday. He thinks you're good for her."

"I think it's the other way around," he mumbled, resting his head on top of hers and closing his eyes. "She's too good for the likes me of."

The next thing he knew, he was jolted awake at the sound of a car door slamming. He was still on the couch with an arm around Christina's shoulders, who also was roused from her slumber by the noise. He took a quick glance at the clock - it was nearly five - as the front door slammed open.

"What the hell, Jake?" Natasha yelled as she sped walked through the door towards the couch. Bob came in moments after her, warily standing in the doorway. As she neared, she stopped to take in the sight of him and the anger on her face was wiped away. "Bradley did this?"

"Not entirely his fault." Jake moved his arm from around Christina's shoulders and attempted a grin, resulting in a shot of pain underneath his eye. "I threw the first punch."

"You shouldn't have punched him. Why did you punch him?" Natasha asked quietly, grabbing the discarded bag of semi-frozen vegetables and gently pressing it against his face. He glanced to the side at Christina, who was staring at her fiance.

"The transfer?" She asked. Jake found himself grateful at her attempt to change the subject.

The corner of Bob's mouth curved upward and he nodded his head. "Approved."

A sense of relief spread through Jake's body at the news. One less thing to worry about.

He glanced back at Natasha, taking in her appearance. She was in her service khakis, her hair pulled into the bun that he had gotten so used to over the weeks of training. She was absolutely stunning.

"You look good, Trace," he murmured. "Have I ever told you that I dig a chick in uniform?"

"Be quiet," she responded, a small bite in her tone. "You don't get to flirt with me when I'm mad at you."

"Fiesty," he whispered with a smile. "I like it."

Bob walked toward the couch, holding out his hand to help Christina to her feet. "Jake, is there anything we can get you before we leave? Tylenol? Another bag of frozen vegetables?"

Jake shook his head with a soft smile. "I'm good. Thanks, Bag of Badgers."

Christina reached down to squeeze his hand, a silent 'thank you' in her eyes. "We'll text you guys later, ok? Please call us if you need anything."

Natasha and Jake both watched as Christina gathered her bag, gave a wave, and exited through the front door alongside Bob. They were both quiet for a few moments before she turned back to him, her lips pursed in a straight line. "What the fuck, Jake?" She whispered.

"Are you ok?" He asked, one hand reaching up to cradle her face.

"I should be asking you that," she whispered with a shake of her head. "You're the one who got beat up."

He smirked. "I didn't get beat up. You should see the other guy."

"Jake."

"I'm fine, Nat. It's nothing that won't heal in a few days." He shifted his body to face her. "You haven't answered my question."

She glanced to the side and lowered her head. "I knew I was going to see Bradley at some point before I left, but I didn't think it was going to be at that moment. It threw me for a loop."

"You still got through your review, though." Jake smiled gently. "I'm proud of you."

Her gaze remained on the ground. "Going over the mission again in as much detail as they wanted was not exactly my idea of fun. Especially after what happened beforehand."

"I know. I'm sorry." His hand lowered from her face to grip her hand tightly.

"You egged him on," her tone was quiet and accusatory as she glanced up to meet his gaze.

"Old habits die hard."

"Well, I want those habits to die, be encased in carbonite, and be buried. Far, far, under the ground." The look in her eyes was fiery. "I understand you being protective, but there is no excuse for resorting to physical violence."

His mind flashed back to the Hard Deck, watching Christina fall at Rooster's push. The cry that she let out as they hit the ground. The tears in her eyes. If only Nat knew, he told himself. But he remained silent, simply nodding his head. "Ok."

Natasha inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Ok," she whispered. "Next order of business… let's get you in the shower and get this dried blood off of you."

Jake glanced down, for the first time noticing the blood splatters along his shirt and on his forearms. He swallowed hard at the reminder of that afternoon's happenings.

"Once you shower off, you're going to get in your comfiest pair of sweatpants and join me on the couch for the rest of the night so we can ice your face and your hands."

"But we have dinner reservations," he interjected. "I'm taking you to that Tequileria that you wanted to go to."

She shook her head. "Cancel it. You and I are staying in, ordering takeout, and spending the night watching something mindless, like The Princess Diaries or Die Hard." She reached out, fingers gently grazing the side of his face, careful to not run over the forming bruises. "Let me take care of you for once," she whispered.

Goosebumps tracked up his arms at her words and the feeling of her fingertips on his face. He stared at her face, an unfamiliar tightness in his chest as the ghost of three words hung on his lips.

I love you.

The full-blown realization was overwhelming. He thought that he had been in love with girls that had come and gone over the years, but the feeling that gripped him was more than he had ever known. It was like nothing mattered - not since the day she walked with her head held high into the first day of Advanced Flight Training, until this very moment.

I'm in love with you.

Jake sucked in a breath of air in an attempt to ease the squeezing in his chest as he reached and pulled her mouth to his, his hands tangling themselves in her hair. He could feel a soft smile across her lips as she returned the kiss. Moments later, she pulled away and he frowned, already missing the sensation.

"Go shower," she whispered. "I'll be right here when you get back."

"You promise?" The words slipped out before he could stop them.

She smiled back at him. "Always."

The next morning had been peaceful until the incessant knocking on the front door came out of nowhere.

"Jesus, hold on a second!" Jake hollered, making his way toward the door. He had been on the couch, half dozing to another episode of Guy's Grocery Games when the pounding noise had jolted him fully awake.

He opened the door and stared at the figure in front of him. "Bradshaw."

Bradley stood on the porch, his hands digging down into the pockets of his jeans. His eyes seemed to look everywhere but at Jake. "Is Nat here?"

Jake couldn't help but notice the split lip that the fellow pilot was sporting, the bruising on his jawline, and the bead of sweat that was already forming on his forehead. "No."

"Would you tell me if she was?"

He spoke after only a beat of silence. "I may be a dick, Bradshaw, but I'm not a liar. I'd tell you she was here and then tell you to go fuck yourself."

"Right," Bradley's response was sarcastic and quiet. His eyes were staring down at his shoes. "Do you know when she'll be back?"

Jake shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. She left about an hour ago to finish her transfer paperwork."

Rooster's eyes shot up. "Transfer?"

"She's joining Bob in Lemoore. You'd know that if you'd tried contacting her more than one half-assed voicemail in the last two weeks, though."

Bradley opened his mouth to retort, but Jake didn't wait for him. He turned away and made his way back into the house, leaving the door wide open.

"Where are you going?" Bradley called.

"To get a beer," he called back. "I'm not jumping into this battle again with you while I'm sober. You want one?"

Jake didn't hear a response and for a moment, he wondered if Bradley had left. He opened the fridge door and grabbed a beer, glancing up slightly to look back at the front door. The door was closed, and the fellow pilot was now standing in the living room, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Beer?" Jake asked again.

"Yeah, sure."

He grabbed a second beverage and hip-checked the door closed. He took his approach towards Rooster slowly, watching him as he drew closer - when he got close enough, he stopped and held out a beer. After a moment, Bradley took it and murmured, "Thanks."

"So, how'd you find the house?" Jake asked. "I thought we were pretty off the grid."

"Penny," Rooster murmured. "She knew that Jimmy hooked you up with a rental, and she got him to give me the address." He glanced at the black eye that Jake was sporting before looking down at his feet. "I suppose I should apologize for yesterday."

"You don't owe me an apology. I've had five year old hit me worse than you did." Jake popped the cap of his beer and took a swig, walking back to the kitchen. "But you owe Christina one Hell of an apology. You're lucky that she didn't tell Bob what happened."

"I know. I'm going to apologize to her, too." Rooster sighed. "I guess my brain shut down from trying to comprehend what was going on. I know that's not an excuse for pushing her, though."

Jake didn't respond right away. He sat down at the counter and set his drink down, trying to figure out what he would say next.

Rooster beat him to it as he took a seat on the couch. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Jake glanced back to the living room.

"Somehow convince Nat to get into…" Bradley sighed. "...whatever you guys are doing."

"There was no convincing. Neither of us wanted to be alone after the mission and decided it would be best to stick together for two weeks." He paused. "Actually, now that I think about it, there was a little bit of convincing on my part after she tried to sneak out of my hotel room that first morning."

Bradley grimaced. "I don't want to hear about your one-night stand with my best friend."

"Is it truly a one-night stand if she's still spending every night with me?" He raised both eyebrows in a challenge, and Rooster rolled his eyes.

"So, you just decided to stay in bed for two weeks and forget about the rest of the world for a while?" It wasn't hard to hear the condescending tone in his remark.

"We actually did a lot of things over the last two weeks, since you seem so keen on slutshaming your best friend." Despite his anger, he attempted to keep his voice collected. "We went kayaking and bike riding. We ate way too many tacos and spent too many hours at the beach. I took her to a padded room and let her hit things with a baseball bat -"

"What?" Bradley nearly spat out his beer.

"- and we had some very nice get-togethers with Bob and his fiancee. Oh, and I should probably mention that I took her home to Texas and we spent three wonderful days with my sisters. But if you're so invested in what we did in bed, I could give you a rundown of that as well."

The room was silent. Jake took the opportunity to take a large gulp of his beer before glancing back to Rooster. He was staring straight back at Jake, his lips pursed together in a straight line.

"No witty comeback, Roo?" Jake gave a halfhearted chuckle. "No staking your claim?"

"No witty comeback," Bradley confirmed with a sigh. "Just trying to figure out what your game is."

"There's no game," He shrugged one shoulder, doing his best to act casual. "When it comes to her, there's never been a game."

When Bradley spoke, his voice was timid - it was almost like he was afraid of the answer. "You actually care about her, don't you?"

"I'm in love with her."

It was the first time he had actually said the words out loud, and he surprised himself with how easy it was. He let out a huff of air and chuckled. "Phew, that feels good to get off my chest."

Rooster, in the meantime, was staring at him. "You love her?"

"I'll repeat it for you if I have to," Jake took a swig of his beverage. "But I'm pretty sure you heard me the first time."

"Does she love you?"

"That is the million-dollar question right there," he found himself laughing. "I've been a little more focused on making sure that she's ok than asking her to explain how she feels about me."

Rooster's voice was meek and defeated when he spoke again. "I really fucked up, didn't I?"

"I don't believe you fucked up by deciding to save Mav; I actually applaud you for that. Not realizing that you single-handedly destroyed Nat when she thought that she had just listened to you die and not even have a thought to have a grown-up conversation about it before you ditched her to hang out with your long-lost father figure in the middle of the desert?" Jake cocked his head slightly. "Yeah, you fucked up. What were you even thinking leaving her there?"

"People seem to ask me that a lot," Rooster sighed, leaning back into the couch cushions. "The best answer? I wasn't thinking. I got caught up in the thought of having Mav back in my life. I guess I figured that she would go home with Bob."

"And you didn't take a moment to confirm that with him?"

He slowly shook his head.

"I need you to listen to me, Bradshaw." Jake leaned forward slightly. "If you had taken just a few minutes to really talk with her after what we went through, you'd realize how much this mission fucked her up. You left her to pick up those broken pieces by herself while you ran to go play house with Maverick. You left her high and dry after the absolute worst moment of her life. The Phoenix you've known since school? She imploded. She's gone."

Rooster swallowed hard and remained silent.

"She is considering walking away from you for good after what happened, Rooster. Do you not get that?"

"What?" Rooster's question came out as a terrified yelp. Within moments he was on his feet, his eyes wild as he walked towards Jake. "What do you mean 'walk away for good'?"

"I believe the words she used were 'I think I need to figure out who I am without him'." Jake grimaced as he watched Bradley's reaction, shaking his head quickly and running his hands through his hair.

"No," Bradley's commentary was quiet. "No, no. No. I'm not going to let that happen."

"She might not give you a chance to stop it."

"She's my best friend, Hangman. She's my family." Jake watched as he paced around the living room, his hands gripping his hair. "I can't lose her. I won't lose her. No. She can't do this."

"This right here, Rooster? The panic that you are feeling right now?" He opened his arms with a shrug. "This is just a small sample of how she's been feeling the last few weeks. Now add in the nightmares, and the anxiety, and the flashbacks…"

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Rooster suddenly asked, still walking around the living room.

Jake sighed. "Because if you can believe it, I've actually spent the last two days convincing her to not drop you off the face of the planet. That woman loves you more than I care to understand, and you're the closest thing she has to family. Despite what she thinks, I don't think her heart could manage without you."

He was going to continue, but Rooster had stopped pacing and was staring at him. "Uh.." He clicked his tongue. "What, do I have something in my teeth?"

"How do I win her back?"

Jake laughed at the comment. "She's not a prize to be won, Rooster. You don't win her back."

"Jake." His eyes shifted to Rooster's face, which looked as if he was seconds from falling apart. For the first time in all the years he had known him - this was the first time he had ever been called by his name and not as Hangman. The man in front of him was no longer his rival or the pilot who got on his last nerve every single time they were around each other - he was just a man completely terrified of what was to come.

"Please." Bradley's voice was barely a whisper, the words marked with pleading. "Help me. Please."