"You're about the saddest bunch I have ever seen. Your space flight is gonna be a brutal assault on your senses, I'm here to give you a taste of that. NASA has some of the best pilots in the world. They're gonna be sucking your eyes into the back of your heads. They're gonna twist ya. And they're gonna flip ya. We're gonna wrap your bodies until your bones hurt. When you squeal, we're just gonna go faster and harder."

Faith swallowed before looking over at her dad, who was already turning green.

She doesn't know whose bright idea it was to put flight training after weightless training but she owed them a piece of her mind and the tip of her boot. Yes, there was a lot for them to learn, especially how to keep their shit together going at Mach speeds, but this was just reckless. Half the team was already out of sorts from spending hours in the water, now Chuck, the guy in charge of their flight endurance training, just scared the shit out of them.

"Stamper," Chuck called in their direction.

"Yeah?" Faith and Harry replied on instinct. Apparently, one of them was flying with Chuck and if she was being honest, Faith was scared shitless that it was her.

Chuck looked at them as Watts chuckled. "They're father and daughter. Harry, you're with Chuck. Faith, you're with Sharp."

"Thanks," Faith said, breathing a sigh of relief as she looked around the room for the colonel. When she spotted the pilot, she grabbed her gear and followed him onto the tarmac.

"Nervous, Miss Stamper?" Sharp asked her.

"Terrified. I have a very healthy respect for gravity."

"I won't let anything happen to you but I won't go easy on you either."

Faith nodded. "Fair enough."

He told her to put on her helmet before giving her a quick rundown and instructing her to climb up the ladder. She paid attention during the safety brief, so she knew not to do anything unless he told her to.

"You'll be fine. I'm pretty sure that I know what I'm doing," he said with a smile. Who is this person and what did he do with the real Colonel Sharp?

"You have a sense of humor. Here, I was beginning to think that you weren't a real boy," she muttered.

"Come on," Sharp said, "you can do better than a Pinnocio reference."

"Only if I wanna hurt your feelings," Faith told him as he helped her strap in, Faith watching the way his hands moved.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. You know… nerves." Faith wasn't entirely sure that that was it but she wasn't going to tell him that. Sharp checked her one more time before getting into his own seat and strapping in.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"You have to breathe, Faith. It'll be a really short trip if you pass out on me."

"Now you use my first name?" She'd been trying to get everyone to stop calling her Miss Stamper to mixed results. "I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

"Whoa. This is…" It was like nothing she's ever seen before. And the feeling; it was like striking oil.

"Yea, it gets me every time."

"Did you always wanna be a pilot?" she asked.

"Since I was a kid. My dad was a Naval Aviator," he told her.

"So, following your old man's footsteps. Wonder where I heard that before," Faith said. "Maybe my team and your team are more similar than we all like to admit."

"I wouldn't go that far," Sharp said. "Much as I love it, I started flying to outdo my dad. He was an asshole."

"And as much as I love him, I started drilling to prove to my dad that I could. To show him that I wasn't a little girl anymore and that I was more than capable."

"Now, the fate of the world rests in your hands."

"And yours. See, similar."

"I'll give you that one. I'll also give you a warning," he said. "This is where I get to have some fun. Remember to breathe."

The next thing she knew, he pulled them into some maneuvers. Twists, turns, barrel rolls, spirals, spins, flips; you name it. Faith felt like she got tossed into that Gravitron ride at the carnival that spins you into the wall really fast, only this was a thousand times faster, and probably a thousand times safer. Despite the speed and maneuvers, she was actually starting to relax.

"Thought you weren't gonna go easy on me," she teased.

"I'm not," he said with a chuckled. "Maybe you're not as afraid to fly as you thought."

"I never said I was afraid," she pointed out. "I just like to keep my boots on the deck."

"Does that mean I shouldn't show you one of my favorite maneuvers?" Sharp asked. "I mean, it's not as intense as the other stuff, just really cool." She could hear the smile in his voice, Sharp was in his element and it sounded good on him.

"I'm game." She smiled, though he couldn't see it. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he took them into an inside loop, then corkscrewed into a spiral that went straight up. Then he leveled them out, upside down. "Okay, that is cool."

She doesn't know how long they were like that, couldn't have been more than a minute or two, when Sharp flipped the aircraft upright.

"They're calling us back," he told her.

"Just when it was getting good."

Sharp laughed. "Hey, I pulled out some of my best tricks. I'm surprised you didn't blow chunks. Bet you twenty that your guys did."

"I'm not taking that. Rock and Max did for sure, maybe dad. AJ and Freddy can go either way depending on the day." It wasn't anything against them, she just knows them all too well. Rock only flies when he has to, same with Max. Her dad is usually fifty-fifty.

"Some of the pilots bet against you," Sharp said. "Tucker didn't. Think he might be a little smitten."

"What about you?" she asked him before realizing just how it sounded. "Did you bet against me, I mean?"

"Wouldn't be fair if I did since you're in my plane. I bet against Harry," he said. Faith doesn't know why but that made her smile.

Sharp got them back and on the ground in no time flat. She was actually sad that it was over. After getting unstrapped, Faith climbed down the ladder after Sharp did. She was wobbly when her feet hit the ground.

"Steady."

She took a couple deep breaths. "I'm good. I'm good."

He took her helmet off her head put a hand on her shoulder. "Deep breaths." Faith nodded and did what he told her to do. "You good?"

Faith took a deep breath and stood up straight. "I'm good."

Sharp chuckled as he removed his hand. "You said that already, Miss Stamper."

"This time I mean it," she said, looking up at him.

"Yes, ma'am," Sharp said with a nod and a smile.

"So," Faith said as they started to walk, "we're back to Miss Stamper and ma'am, huh?"

"It's just habit. I'll call you Faith if it makes you feel better."

"Considering that we all might die, it does actually make me feel better."

"Okay, Faith."

"That sounded painful." She chuckled. "God. You know, I don't bite. Do we need to get back in the plane for you to be comfortable around me?"

"Maybe." He smiled at her and she could swear his eyes sparkled. "You were right about your guys."

Faith looked around; Max was leaning between Tucker and Davis. AJ was sitting with his head in his hands, Grace was rubbing his neck. Bear looked like years had been taken off his life. Freddy, Chick and Oscar looked okay but she didn't even see Rockhound.

"My dad is green," she muttered.

Sharp looked in Harry's direction. "I didn't know a human being could turn that color."

Faith chuckled. "Oh my God, you got jokes too?"

"Just a few," he told her as they walked into the hanger. A bunch of the pilots looked in their direction, waiting. "Tucker won your bet. She's not even nauseous."

"YEAH! Told you," the Independence pilot called.

Faith shook her head and looked at him. "Does this mean you're buying the drinks when we get back?"

"Definitely." Tucker tossed an arm over her shoulder. "We'll have a team Independence party."

"We can't exclude the others, Tucker," she told him in her most parental voice.

"You sound like my mom."

"Habit." With that, she slipped from under his arm and walked over to their resident skirt chaser. "You alright, Rock?" He shook his head. Faith wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder. "Don't puke on me and watch where you put your hands, I don't want to have to hurt you." She expected him to chuckle but he just nodded and closed his eyes.

"Rock's not groping Faith… it's a miracle," Freddy quipped from behind her.

The others laughed and Chick looked at her. "Never thought I'd see the day that he was too wreaked to notice that his face was near her chest." Faith didn't mind, she likes Rock when he's not flirting with her.

"I don't know about you but I'm gonna go get chow," Chuck said as he walked through the hanger.

Faith knew Rock was gonna lose it a second before he did. Davis handed Rock the trash can and she jumped back just in time to get out of the way.

Rock looked up at her. "That was mean."

"Yea it was," she agreed. That guy might be good at his job but he was an ass. Before she could give voice to that thought, Truman walked into the room with some of the medical staff. Everyone who was sick got checked over and everyone else was let go for the rest of the night.

"Hey," Freddy said as they made their way back to the main building, "I think I'm gonna take a shower and crush. What about you?"

"Don't know. Might work on the rig some. I'm almost done," she told him.

"You need some help?" Oscar asked her.

"No, I got it." Faith shrugged.

The blonde laughed. "I think you just want to take all the credit for yourself."

"You know," Freddy said, "when we're all heroes, I'm gonna thank Faith for all she's done for me. Best sidekick ever."

She looked at him. "Sidekick my ass, I'm a super hero. Besides, it's my rig. I didn't see you designing it."

"I don't see you asking for help either," Oscar pointed out.

"Every good hero runs solo at some point," Faith reminded him. For most of the walk, the guys tossed around heroes. Who would be who. Who would have which powers.

"What about Faith?" Oscar asked. "Who would she be?"

"Easy. I'm Iron Man," she declared, earning laughs all around. "What's so funny?"

"You, Iron Man?" Freddy asked. "How do you figure?"

She was gonna answer them but Sharp beat her to it. "Tony Stark is a brilliant engineer who builds equipment that saves the world and is in charge of his father's company. Nice choice."

"How the hell do you know that, Colonel?" Freddy asked him.

"You aren't the only ones who grew up on comic books," Sharp said plainly.

"Oh, you're giving them too much credit, Sharp." She chuckled. "They haven't grown up yet."

"Somebody's hooked." She smiled as Sharp sat next to her. Faith took a shower and decided to watch as some of the pilots were doing their evening flight training.

"I had fun. So, did you, I could hear it in your voice," she said.

He nodded. "I wouldn't be one of the best pilots in the world if I didn't like it. You know, you aren't actually supposed to be out here."

"Really?" Faith asked. She didn't see any signs and nobody stopped her.

"Not without an escort. Luckily for you, I spotted you before the MPs did."

Faith chuckled. "Spotted me or came looking for me?"

"Maybe a bit of both, I guess." Sharp let out a breath. "Don't ask me why."

"Okay." Faith smiled and turned her attention back to the planes.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before he looked at her.

"If there was one thing you could do before the world ends, what would it be?"

"I'd ask my mom why she abandoned us," she said, surprised by her own answer. She doesn't usually talk about her mother, none of them did. "I get that her relationship with my dad had problems, I was there, but she just left us. Grace didn't deserve that."

Sharp nodded. "Neither did you."

"How would you know that?" Faith asked. "I mean, you don't know me that well, maybe I'm a huge bitch."

"You couldn't pay me to believe that. The way you interact with your team and your sister… Your dad. You look out for all of them," he said quietly and Faith could admit that he had a point. She spent half her time making sure that they were all okay, even if she wasn't. "You love them and they all love you back. From where I'm sitting, your mother is an idiot."

Faith felt like her heart was gonna beat out of her chest at the look he gave her. "So is your ex-wife."

"Na, not an idiot," Sharp said. "She ah… she didn't realize what she signed up for and I… I didn't understand how she felt. There was enough blame to go around, trust me."

"What about your daughters?"

"I get to see them when I'm not working. My ex got remarried but they don't live too far from here. Ella's just starting to fully understand but Clare gets it. She wants to be a pilot when she grows up… if she gets a chance to grow up."

Faith reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You'll make sure she does. We all will."

"I guess we will," he said, reaching up to give her hand a squeeze. "I just gotta have faith. No pun intended."

"Uh huh." She laughed. "I must've heard that like a million times."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he said, his thumb caressing her knuckle. "Not with your bunch."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

He looked at her. "They're fun. I've been paying attention and when you guys aren't up to your eyeballs in training or working on the 'dillos, you guys have fun."

"We try. What does the world's best pilot do for fun? And please don't say 'fly'." The smirk on his face told her that was exactly what he was thinking.

"I'm normal. I love spending time with my kids and watching movies and football."

She smiled. "That sounds like fun times to me."

"Come on, it's getting dark and I really don't want to get shot."

"They wouldn't. Would they?"

"No… but the look on your face was priceless." Sharp laughed, his hand still tightly clasped around hers. She could almost feel his amusement with every heartbeat. She gave him a little push but he caught her hand against his chest. She could feel his heart beating, it was going a thousand miles an hour. Faith looked up and those intense blue eyes drove all coherent thought from her mind. Instead of pushing her away, Sharp pulled her closer. "Tell me to back off."

"Not my style," she muttered before went for it and kissed him. Sharp shocked the hell out of Faith when he kissed her back, his arm wrapping around her waist and his lips parting.

It only lasted a few seconds but the taste of him, coffee and Will, was gonna be seared into her brain for the rest of her life. "We should head back."

Faith nodded. "Yea."

She couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning for an hour and a half, she decided to do some work. The rig was almost done and Faith figured that she as long as she was awake, she might as well finish it. Faith didn't even need to think about what she was doing, she was on autopilot. Ha… autopilot.

That errant thought brought a whole bunch of other thoughts with it. Why did it have to be here? And why now? Why him? Yes, a lot of people dig the whole 'men in uniform' thing but she wasn't one of them. Why did she have to like him? Why couldn't it be Freddy or Oscar or something? It would be easier to wrap her head around. But nope, she likes Sharp. More than likes him, if she's being honest with herself. Nothing she could really do about it either way, they have a planet to save.

"What are you doing up?" her dad asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Couldn't sleep. What are you doing up?"

Harry chuckled as he handed her the wrench she was about to grab. "Thinkin'. Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "What's your take on Grace and AJ?"

"I think," she said, "that love comes from all over the place. If you find it then you find it. Grace is young in age but she's more mature than any other nineteen-year-old you'll meet. A.J. is, well… he's sorta like you. You know, hardheaded and stubborn as hell but he loves her. She's the only reason he agreed to this. I mean, there are six billion people on this planet and he's fighting for one, Grace." The look Harry gave her told Faith that he didn't know. "Dad." He looked at her. "Grace is an adult who grew up surrounded by a bunch of guys who taught her to stand up for herself and go for what she wants out of life. She loves A.J. We all do. If you keep pushing, he'll leave and she'll go with him. Don't let your pride… I can't watch another member of our family walk away."

"Ah, Faith." He pulled her into a hug. She was sure that her father didn't think about what would happen if Grace left with A.J.

"Just let them be, dad. You should see them together, it's the sweetest thing in the world."

He chuckled. "You really think it's alright?"

"I would've pulled the shotgun on him myself if I didn't."

"I'll try to keep an open mind but I'm not making any promises."

"That'll do. Now, since we're both up, you wanna help me finish this?"

She fixed it. She knew she would but she thought it would take a few more days. Oscar decided to bust her chops a little. "Is that a smile on Faith's face?"

Everyone looked at her as she sat at the table. "The rig is finished. All other efforts have been noted and you're welcome." She gave earned chuckles from the guys, she even saw Sharp try to hide his smile.

"Is that what you and Harry were doing last night?" her best buddy asked.

She nodded at him. "Yep. Had some stuff on my mind. You probably shouldn't eat that?"

Freddy looked at her. "Why?"

"Because you guys are hitting the treadmills today," Watts said. "Medical needs to get a baseline on you for when you're stressed out and working hard."

"They're gonna hook you up to monitors while you run," Sharp told them. "I'm not gonna lie, it sucks."

"That's scarier than yesterday," Oscar said.

"That's because working out for you consists of shoving doughnuts in your mouth," she teased.

"We'll remember you said that, monkey," Chick said.

"You can, if you want. It's the truth." Faith shrugged. "You guys are gonna watch the torture, aren't you?"

The flight teams smiled and Watts nodded. "Of course, we will."