A/N: Happy New Year. I have been working on this story for a little bit now and wanted to go ahead and start publishing it. I am still reworking the story. Not sure of a publishing schedule yet, but it shouldn't be more than a few weeks before Chapter 2 is published. I hope you enjoy this story.

Flameout – Chapter 1

"Fuck, Ace my engine just flamed out." Captain Jane 'Copper' Rizzoli told her wingman, Captain Alexander 'Ace' Gardner.

"What? What happened Copper?" Ace frantically asked.

"I don't know, there were no warnings. Fuck, fuck, fuck, Ace I need to try and put her down. Please help me find a field or someplace safe to put this girl down."

Jane's aircraft had malfunctioned. Her single engine aircraft flamed out. She was flying low at an altitude of five thousand feet with no engine. She had limited maneuverability. Once she regained some control of the plane, she could only maneuver the plane as if she were guiding a glider.

She loved flying F-16s however a flameout in a single engine aircraft was her biggest concern. If the engine flamed out you were out of luck, you didn't have a second engine to turn to. She trained for that possibility. All F-16 pilots practiced Simulated Flameout (SFO) landings and she was confident that she could bring her plane down without killing herself. Although, the plane might not survive.

Without a second thought, she began her emergency procedures. She had limited control of the plane so she needed to figure things out quickly. She and Ace kept in constant communication as they tried to bring Jane's plane down without killing her in the process. They were too far from base for Jane to limp her aircraft back to base, all they could hope for was a clear field in the vicinity. Ace told Jane, "I will contact base and get emergency vehicles in route."

"Thanks, Ace. I am going to concentrate on flying this beast to a safe location away from any populated areas."

"Sure Copper. I will fly ahead and look." Ace told Copper as he took off to go ahead and scout out somewhere for her to safely put her F-16 down. Ace and Copper both knew that she could lose her aircraft and possibly her life.

Ace was back and told her to try and navigate her plane to the left. She did the best she could to maneuver her aircraft to the left. As the field came into view she asked, "Are you sure that is a big enough space to put this baby down?"

"Copper, I am not sure but it is away from a populated area and well we don't have tons of time."

"I know Ace, sorry. I just had a memory about the crashes we studied in flight school."

"Jane," Ace used her first name to try and comfort her and get her mind on the action she needed to take, she didn't have a choice. She would have to put her aircraft down and hopefully not injure herself in the process.

"I know Ace, I know, thanks!"

"Anytime Jane, anytime."

Ace had communicated with the tower to have emergency vehicles available.

"Tower, this is Tiger Two. Tiger One has experienced a flameout and will have to ditch her plane. We have located a field in the vicinity and will try to put the aircraft down there as safely as possible. Please notify local emergency crews of a pending aircraft crash."

"Tiger Two, message received." The air traffic controller immediately called the local community emergency services, and dispatched their own emergency vehicles. They hadn't had an aircraft crash in years and they all prayed that their beloved pilot would be alright.

Jane had no idea what caused her engine to fail, there were no warnings. Her instrument panel had been quiet. There were no alarm warnings, no blips on her radar. She didn't see any large birds in the area. It all happened so fast. She just hoped that she would be able to get herself and her aircraft down to the ground safely. Ace was also looking for a safe landing spot as he was communicating with the base. He was Jane's wingman and he would stay with her.

She tried to keep the nose up and let the back wheels land first. When she hit the ground, she could tell that the wheels did not stay in place as the aircraft's body immediately slammed into the ground causing the aircraft to go into a slight spin as it lifted up and flew another couple hundred feet and then slammed back down to the ground causing Jane's body to slam forward and then into the right side of the aircraft. The right wing had broken off as the aircraft hit the ground and then continued to spin around.

Ace called in the location and requested immediate assistance. Within five minutes emergency personnel arrived and extracted Jane from the aircraft. There was some concern that the aircraft could still catch fire. Jane was unconscious as she had hit her head during the landing. She would have ejected from the aircraft but it was fast approaching a populated area and she wanted to make sure that the aircraft did not reach that area.

When Jane reached the field, she pulled the lever to eject the seat, which released the canopy but the seat remained, it didn't eject. She wiggled around hoping that the seat would release but the seat stayed in place. She was getting closer to the ground.

When the aircraft struck the ground, the impact caused the seat to finally eject and Jane was surprised as the seat catapulted 100 feet into the air. Her leg caught on the aircraft as she was ejected and she felt a terrible pain. The parachute deployed and a piece of the aircraft that had broken off of the aircraft during impact punched a hole in the parachute.

Jane came down on the ground rather hard. The seat landed on its side and was partially covered by the parachute. Jane was unconscious.

Seeing that Jane's plane had crashed, Ace radioed the tower, "Tower, Tiger One is down. Repeat Tiger One is down, status unknown at this time. Tiger Two returning to base."

"Roger Tiger Two. We will communicate with emergency personnel at the site, and let you know the status of Tiger One as soon as possible."

"Thank you tower." Ace flew back to base in silence. His thoughts were with Jane, hoping that she was okay.

Earlier that morning

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning when Jane Rizzoli woke up and looked outside her kitchen window. 'It's a beautiful day to fly' she thought to herself as she rushed to get dressed. She normally struggled in the morning as her body wanted to stay in her nice warm bed.

She did what she did every month, first she took a nice warm shower. After getting out of the shower, she pulled back her hair into a high ponytail, so that it would be out of her way. Next, she put on her favorite Red Sox t-shirt and then her black shorts that she always wore with that t-shirt. Then she tugged on her flight suit, making sure that she had all of her patches in the proper location. Her squadron scarf covered the fact that she was wearing her Red Sox t-shirt instead of the black t-shirt that she was supposed to wear with her flight suit.

One time she had her patches in the wrong places and she was teased all weekend long about it, even though she had corrected them immediately. The last thing she did was to make sure that the blade of her P-38 can opener was covered so she didn't cut herself again, before placing it in the bottom right pocket of her flight suit.

She couldn't remember how many times she had reached into the bottom pocket on her flight suit to retrieve the can opener and cut herself with its sharp pointed blade. She finally covered the blade. She carried very few items in her flight suit but her trusty P-38 can opener was always with her.

She didn't know of very many military members that still had their very first P-38 from basic training, but she did. She never left home without it. It had saved her butt on many occasions when she couldn't open something. She even went so far to ensure she had it with her when she attended formal events that required her to wear a dress and high heels. She had her P-38 secured to the bottom of one of her heels, she figured it was a perfect place as no one really looked at her high heels. Electrical tape seemed to work well for holding it in place.

Jane was running late, as usual and she needed to hurry and get to the base. She looked forward to her Air National Guard (ANG) drill weekends. She looked forward to flying. She loved flying. She also loved being a police officer.

She felt conflicted when she was younger and people asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She wanted to be a police officer but she also wanted to fly fighter jets. Everyone told her she would have to choose one or the other but she didn't want to choose, so she found a way to do both. She left her police badge and gun locked up in her wall safe in the apartment, she wouldn't need them when she flew, but she never left them back home in Boston.

Jane drove her restored 1969 black Mustang fastback to the base with the stereo blasting. She had spent years restoring the mustang with her father before he passed away. The mustang was her pride and joy. It was the first car that she had ever purchased. At the time of its purchase, it was in need of repairs so she got it for a bargain.

She talked to her pops about it, "Pop, I really love this mustang but it needs some engine work. The seller has both the Haynes and Chilton repair manuals for the car. He had several people look at the mustang at the same time as me, but he really liked me and he offered it to me. He kind of pissed me off by asking that I bring a parent by to look at it before he would take my money. Do you think you could go look at the mustang with me this afternoon?"

Frank Sr. smiled at his daughter and said, "I would be honored Janie. If you think this is the right car for you than it would be my pleasure to go look at it." Later that afternoon they went and looked at the mustang. The seller was impressed with Jane's passion and the fact that she helped her father with his plumbing business after school and on weekends.

Frank Sr. and Jane had done some plumbing work for his business in the past and that is why he wanted to sell the mustang to Jane. He knew she was able to repair things as he had seen her work first hand. He was up in age and didn't have any children to leave the mustang to and he really wanted to know who would have the mustang before he passed away.

He explained his illness to them and the importance of why he wanted to sell the mustang before he passed away. He knew he only had a few months left to live. The mustang was one of his prized possessions. He had bought it brand new and all though he loved it dearly, due to his failing health the mustang had become in disrepair over the years.

After talking with Frank Sr. and Jane he decided to sell the car to Jane for one dollar. Jane told him, "Mr. Smith, I need to pay more than one dollar for the mustang."

"No, Jane, it is my desire for you to have the mustang. I know you will care for it and love it as much as I do. As a teenager, I know you have worked hard for your money. I would like for you to use the money you would have paid me for the mustang, to make the repairs to the engine that I have neglected. It is drivable but I wouldn't wait too long to make the repairs."

Frank Sr. nodded in approval and Jane gave Mr. Smith one dollar. He signed the title and the bill of sale and handed them to Jane. After a few more minutes he handed Jane the keys to the mustang. She hugged him and then drove off in her mustang. Frank Sr. went with Jane the next day to register the mustang in Jane's name and to sign her up for automobile insurance. Jane had told her father that she would pay for her auto insurance.

She loved her mustang and music so it was expected that she would be listening to her favorite songs while she sped to the base. She always drove over the speed limit. Most of the roads to the base were empty so when the weather was nice, she rolled down the windows and pushed the gas pedal down and had some fun.

The local cops knew who she was and what she drove. For the most part they just let her be. She had helped them over the years with some of their homicide cases. They often emailed her or had her come in when she was in town for her drill weekend. They didn't condone her speeding but the back road that she took to base was hardly traveled and very rarely patrolled.

"Copper!" Ace yelled as he passed by Jane on her way to get some coffee in the squadron's break room. Copper and Ace were F-16 pilots with the New York ANG in Syracuse, New York. It was their drill weekend. Once a month most of the unit got together for their monthly drill weekend. Pilots also flew at other times as they had to keep their flight requirements up to date.

"Ya, Ace, what do you want? I'm trying to get my morning coffee, you know damn well I don't function until I have had my morning coffee." Jane told Ace as he had stopped so he could converse with her.

"Damn, Copper, didn't you have some coffee before you left your apartment this morning?" Ace asked knowing that Jane would come up with some sort of excuse, she always did, she was a creature of habit. Ace just wished she had better habits.

"No, I forgot to buy K-cups for the Keurig, again." Jane knew she had given Ace that excuse before, however, it was true. She often forgot to do her grocery shopping. Ace and his wife, Cindy, had bought Jane the Keurig so it would make it easier for her to make her coffee. They both knew that she loved her coffee. They even gave her a 100 pack of k-cups so she wouldn't have to buy any k-cups for a little while.

Jane was authorized a hotel room during her drill weekends as she lived in Boston, however, she maintained a small studio apartment in Syracuse so that when she was in town for some of her other flight times, she had a consistent place to stay. Sometimes the hotel she was given didn't have comfortable mattresses and she wanted to have a little bit of control over her comfort level. She spared no expense on her mattress in her apartment, as she wanted to be comfortable.

"Shit, you need a wife to help you with all that crap. But hey, we have a flight ops briefing at 8 AM, don't be late, AGAIN."

"Shit, Ace, don't start about my love life. You know the saying 'if the military wanted me to have a spouse, they would have issued me one.' I will be at the briefing on time, don't worry." Jane was one of two women pilots in the squadron. The other woman pilot was out on maternity leave. She was about to give birth to her second child since joining the squadron. Jane was single and the guys liked to tease her about that. She hated being teased, she had no desire to settle down and get married and pop out children.

Ace was one of the few people in the squadron that knew that Jane was bisexual and preferred women. Jane was very private about her personal life when it came to her sexuality. They had joined the unit about the same time and had been assigned to fly together. They hit it off from the first moment they met.

Jane looked at Ace as if he was another brother, one that was not as much of a pain in the ass as her two younger brothers, Frankie and Tommy. Ace was happy to take on that role. He didn't have any sisters but Jane wasn't like most women that he had met in his lifetime. She was like one of the guys in quite a few ways.

Cindy had tried to fix Jane up a few times but Ace never really approved of any of her selections. It made for awkward double dates sometimes. After three failed attempts she gave up. She tried, she just wanted Jane to be happy. Jane appreciated Cindy's efforts but she just figured if she found someone then it was meant to be, she wasn't going to go looking for someone to love.

"Okay, see you there. 8 AM Copper, don't be late. You still need a spouse to look after you though."

"Damn, get lost Ace, leave me to drink my coffee in peace, you're as bad as my mother sometimes, she nags me all the time to get married and give her grandchildren. At this rate I'm sure she would give up on me getting married if I just spit out some grandchildren for her."

"Ya, ya, whatever, Copper, 8 AM." Ace replied as he walked away from her. He was going to make damn sure he was at the briefing on time.

His wife had made breakfast for him while he was taking a shower and his twin six-year-old boys were happy to get up early on a Saturday and have breakfast with him before he had to go to work. Once a month they went through this routine as he left for his weekend duty with his ANG unit.

"Bye Ace." Jane said as she downed her cup of coffee. She knew she shouldn't have inhaled it so fast but she had a few things to accomplish before the dreaded flight ops briefing that would soak up probably an hour of her time.

At 7:59 AM, Jane walked into the briefing room. Colonel Noble, the Wing Commander, arrived right after her, mentioning to her, "Glad you could join us on time, Captain Rizzoli." Jane smiled at him as she took her seat next to her wingman, Ace. She was hoping that he wouldn't remember that she was late to the last ops briefing that he had attended. The Wing Commander was sharp he didn't forget things like that.

"Man, Copper, could you cut it any closer?" Ace asked as he gave her a light punch in the side.

Colonel Noble gave his brief statements and then turned the briefing over to the Operations Officer, Lt. Col. Bridgers. Colonel Noble had a seat in the front row right across the aisle from Captains Rizzoli and Gardner.

As the briefing wrapped up, Colonel Noble and Lt. Colonel Bridgers stepped over to Copper and Ace. Lt. Col Bridgers stated, "We have a special mission that we would like for the two of you to fly today." He explained the mission and told them that they would fly it until they could get their time down, no more than five times. They were the best pilots in the squadron and the colonel was sure that they could complete the mission within the allotted time.

After they finished their flight preparations and their F-16s were ready, they sat at the end of the runway waiting for permission from the tower to take off. They were using the call signs Tiger 1 and Tiger 2 for their mission today.

Earlier, Jane was successful in their rock, paper, scissors game and won the right to use the call sign designation of Tiger 1, meaning she would be lead on the mission today. Ace was Tiger 2. "Tower, Tiger 1 and 2, request takeoff clearance." Jane announced after she and Ace had taxied to the end of the runway in position to take off.

The tower immediately replied, "Tiger 1 and 2, winds remain same as given, runway 5, cleared for takeoff. Safe travels, Tiger 1." Jane smiled, she had gone through some of the air traffic controller training on her off-duty time so that she would understand everything that the air traffic controllers did to help keep her safe while flying. One of the sergeants always told her 'safe travels' and she appreciated it. He knew her voice and always knew when she was the lead pilot on the flight.

Copper and Ace were equal in their experience and capabilities to fly the F-16, so the colonels didn't care who was lead on the mission. They just wanted to know that they could complete the mission in the allotted time. Copper and Ace weren't told what the mission was about. They knew they were the best pilots in the squadron and if the powers to be told them to fly a certain mission they flew it.

They completed the first run of the mission and felt that they had a great time but they knew they could be better so they ran it again and again. Each time they ran the mission their time improved. The colonels were pleased. On the last run, they were set to break their previous time when something happened. Jane's engine flamed out.