Make You Feel My Love

Bad Feelings and Chaos

Abigail wakes up the next morning with a very strong arm wrapped around her stomach. Her bare back is pressed against a strong set of abs, and then she remembers what happened after the beach. Her heart flutters and she turns to face the still sleeping Hangman. Her hand finds itself intertwined in his soft blonde hair. She feels something new, like an empty spot in her heart that she didn't know about had been filled.

Waking up in his arms felt right.

Hangman stirs awake, planting a kiss on Abigail's forehead before he even opens his eyes. "Enjoying the view, sweetheart?" He smirks, enjoying the way her fingers are slightly pulling on his hair. "Maybe." She hums, a fulfilled smile on her face. Her eyes move to the clock on the dresser in the background.

She jumps up, the blanket falling to her waist. "Shit, we're going to be late, Jake." She exclaims, sliding out of bed to put her undergarments on before rubbing into her closet to grab her uniform. Hangman rushes to get ready, silently thanking himself that he kept his work clothes in the backseat of his car after the previous shift.

They're out the door in record time, Hangman driving them straight to the base with less than a minute to spare. Abigail is fixing her hair in her bun as they walk through the door.

This time they sit together in the classroom, front row. But Abigail notices the beaten up look that Warlock wears. Once everyone is settled down, he turns the screen on. "Good morning. The uranium enrichment plant, that is your target, will be operational earlier than we expected. Raw uranium will be delivered to the plant in ten days time. As a result, your mission has been moved up one week in order to avoid contaminating the target valley with radiation."

"Good-freaking-morning." Abigail whispers, her and Hangman sharing a look after hearing the news. This makes everything ten times more stressful and rushed. The mission just got a whole lot harder.

"Sir, no one here has successfully flown the low level course." Phoenix chimes in. Warlock sighs. "Nevertheless, you have been ordered to move on. Captain." He steps off the podium, walking to the back of the room. Maverick takes his place, the stressed out look plastered in his eyes. "We have one week left to focus on phase two. It's the most difficult stage of the mission."

Abigail was stressing out because she hadn't even had the chance to fly the low level course. And now she's expected to move onto the next part.

Maverick changes the screen to the next slide. "It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less than two consecutive miracles. Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation. Teamwork. Precise coordination of these aircraft is essential to both the mission's success and your survival." Then the next slide. "As you know, the plant rests between two mountains. On final approach, you'll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude and the only possible attack angle. Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two-seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bullseye. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second team. That's miracle number one."

Abigail bounces her leg up and down as she watches the plane on the video demonstrate what's supposed to be done. It looks almost impossible.

"The second team will deliver the kill shot and destroy the target. That's miracle number two. If either team misses the target, that's a miss. The mission is a failure. Egress is a steep high-g climb out to avoid hitting this mountain." Maverick continues, fidgeting with the remote as he talks. Hangman raises his eyebrows. "A steep climb at that speed, you're pulling at least 8 g's." He chimes in. "Nine. Minimum." Maverick corrects. Abigail furrows her brows. "The stress limit for our F-18's airframe is 7.5 though." She questions.