𝙁𝘼𝙈𝙄𝙇𝙔 𝙏𝙄𝙀𝙎, bradley bradshaw

𝟬𝟱. 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗔 𝗚𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗧

"The answer to that question will come down to the pilot in the box."

To test Maverick's theory, the pilots split off into teams of single and double F-18s. The first team was Coyote, Phoenix, and Bob. During their training, Coyote entered g-LOC which only panicked the following teams.

So far, no team had managed to hit the target. There was an overwhelming sense of failure amongst the group of pilots. The last team of the day consisted of Raven, Payback, and Fanboy. Payback and Fanboy were tasked with the laser bullseye for Raven's bomb. Raven's job was to trust her wingmen.

"That's a miss!" Raven groaned over the comms. It was official; no team could execute the first miracle of the mission. 

Maverick's F-18 appeared beside Raven's, "Let's return— Bird strike! Bird strike!" Maverick maneuvered his jet around the incoming birds. 

It was too late; Raven's F-18 took instant damage from the bird strike. The right engine light flashed rapidly, signaling the engine was on fire. Raven extinguished it like she was trained, but the left engine light followed promptly. She immediately extinguished the second engine fire, except it wasn't enough. Both engines failed. Raven's entire dash lit up like a Christmas tree while alarms and other warning sounds overcame the silence left by her dead engines. Both hands clasped her center flight stick. It was loose; she was dead in the air. There was no saving her plane.

"Raven, eject! Eject!" Maverick yelled through her comms.

Raven pulled strongly on the yellow loop below her. The canopy of her plane sprung open as she was airlifted out by parachute. She watched in the air as her plane crashed into the mountain near her and burst into flames. 

⎯

Maverick leaned against the doorway of Emerson's hospital room. She managed to walk away from the crash with only a few scrapes and a couple of bruised ribs. The doctors were going to keep her overnight for observation.

"You got any family I can call, kid?"

Emerson considered Maverick's odd choice of words. It wasn't like she was young, well she was younger than Maverick, but she was around the same age as the other pilots. She was only about four years younger than Bradley. Emerson didn't think she qualified for the nickname.

"My mom died several years ago."

Maverick crossed the room, "I'm sorry to hear that. Your father?" He sat in the seat beside her hospital bed.

"I'm sure he's out there somewhere."

He raised an eyebrow, hoping for further explanation.

"I don't know much about him, not even a name. My mom didn't like to talk about him. All she ever told me was that they met at a party in the eighties. He serenaded her with some stupid song while his Navy buddies sang backup. They ended up working together at Top Gun. They had a thing while he was there, but then he got shipped off as they all do. She said he was halfway around the world doing what he did best by the time she found out she was pregnant with me."

It felt like a ton of bricks just fell on Maverick. The ghost that had been haunting him for days was finally out of the shadows. He eyed Emerson; it was like looking in a mirror. Hell, she even flew just like him. It was all starting to make sense now. How was he supposed to keep her in the fight, knowing what he knew?

"I guess she didn't want to clip his wings, so she didn't bother to contact him. So, no, no family. Navy's all I got. It's all I've ever known; it's in my DNA. You got to keep me in the fight, Mav." 

Maverick remained silent, trying to collect his thoughts. His face was contorted with a mix of emotions. "What is it, Mav? You look like you've seen a ghost." Emerson said, trying to settle the uneasiness that was beginning to form between the two.

Maverick recalled his past with Charlie Blackwood, the now mother of his child. They met the night of his first day at Top Gun back in 1986 when Goose and Maverick made a bet. To get her attention at the party, he decided to sing "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" to her when all the Navy men joined in. The next day, he had no idea she would be introduced as one of his Top Gun instructors. Charlie Blackwood was the first woman Maverick had ever loved, but Emerson was right. His love of flying sent him away. Maverick never even told Charlie goodbye. Truthfully, it was because he didn't even know where to start; he had never felt that way about anyone. Maverick wasn't considered the 'settle down' type. Would he have made that sacrifice if he had known Charlie was pregnant with his child?

"You've Lost That Loving Feeling," Maverick smiled, remembering the night vividly. 

"What?"

"That was the song I sang Charlie, well before I knew she was Charlie, my instructor."

Emerson went wide-eyed, "No, that's—no—you're not—you can't be—" But who was she fooling? It clicked about why everything about Maverick felt familiar. She was looking at her own reflection; she was Pete Mitchell's daughter.

Bradley knocked on the open door of Emerson's hospital room, "Hey, Em—" He paused at the sight of the two. They looked like they were sharing a serious, intimate moment. "I can come back."

Maverick stood up, "No, I was just leaving." There he went again, leaving another Blackwood woman in a time of need. He passed Bradley in the doorway. Moments ago, back on base, the two had argued, but now, solemnly, Maverick whispered, "Take good care of her, Bradley," and walked down the hall. 

Confused, Bradley looked over his shoulder at the departing man, but Maverick never turned back around. Bradley faced Emerson now; she wore a dazed expression. "Are you okay, Emmie?"

She looked at him, expression instantly changing, almost like she was trying to hide something from Bradley. "Just a few scrapes and bruised ribs. Nothing I can't handle." That was a lie. There was, in fact, something she could not handle and that was the truth about her father.

He sat in the chair beside her, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh, that. He was just asking if I had any family he could call. It just got me thinking about my mom."

Bradley's face softened, "Yeah, I've been thinking about my dad, too." 

Emerson reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers, "Goose would be so proud of you, Bradley."

"I can't, I can't lose you too, Emmie. You're all I have left," he confessed.

Emerson scooted over and patted a spot on her bed, "Come here." Bradley crawled into the bed beside her. Emerson placed her hand on his cheek, "Listen to me, Bradley Bradshaw. I am right here. I'm not going anywhere. There is nothing in this world that could keep me from you."

Bradley rested his forehead against Emerson's, "How did I get lucky enough to find you?"

Emerson thought about it. With her new knowledge, it almost seemed like fate. Of course, the son of Goose and the daughter of Maverick would catch feelings. 

Bradley could tell Emerson was still distracted, "Are you sure you're okay?" She didn't answer, still off in her thoughts. "Emmie?"

"Huh? Sorry."

"What were you and Maverick talking about? He's not pulling you from the mission because of this, is he?"

She searched his eyes, wondering how he would react to the truth, "He's my dad, Bradley."

He laughed, "Who? Maverick? You're kidding." Emerson's expression remained. "Oh shit, you're serious, Em." It was almost comical. The man he despised was the father of the woman he loved.

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