The Good Ending

Chapter 13. Goodbye, Old Friend

"I take it back." ~ P.M.M

Rooster and Goose were waiting anxiously. Rooster was sitting down, bouncing his leg while Goose was pacing the floors, looking up at the clock every now and then.

Maverick had been gone for about twenty minutes now and the two Bradshaw men were getting nervous. Goose sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket to see if Maverick had texted him, but there was nothing.

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat in the doorway which captured Goose's and Rooster's attention. Maverick was standing there and he had the information that would either make or break the two of them.

"They're gonna keep Phoenix and Bob overnight for observations, but other than that they're fine." Rooster let out a breath of relief while Goose smile, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Rooster headed towards the two older men who wrapped him in a tight hug. Rooster and Phoenix were close, the two knew that. So of course he'd be worried about her, and it was their job to comfort him.

"I've never lost a wingman before." Rooster finally spoke, pulling away from his father and uncle. He wiped away a stray tear that had fallen from his face.

Maverick, trying to comfort Rooster decided to chime in. "You know, to my surprise, I haven't either." Both Goose and Rooster laughed while both slightly nudging Maverick at the same time. Causing the brunette to stumble backwards before regaining his balance.

"Maverick!" Bates was now standing in the doorway, staring at the three men. They all stood at attention before Bates motioned with his head for Maverick to follow him outside of the room.

Once the two disappeared, Goose and Rooster both dropped their tense demeanour and turned to face each other.

"What do you think that's about?" Rooster asked while pointing towards the door.

"Who know's." Goose shrugged, trying not to think too much of it.

The Admiral had looked slightly worried, which of course worried Goose. But if there was one thing that Goose was good at, was keeping his composure. When they found out Carol was dying, Goose never once let his fear show. At least not in front of his son. Goose and Rooster were all each other had left, and Goose's job now was to be his son's anchor.

Once the Captain walked back inside the room, the first thing the two noticed was the tears in his eyes. "I take it back." Maverick shrugged as his voice cracked slightly.

Confused, both Rooster and Goose were looking at him with a mix of confusion and worry. "That I've never lost a wingman. I take it back." He clarified.

Maverick walked between the two, looking at the floor the entire time before taking a seat. The Captain was trying to wrap his head around the news he'd just received.

"Ice is gone." The brunette spoke just above a whisper, finally looking up to gauge Goose's reaction. Both Bradshaw's faces turned from concern to complete sadness within a split second.

Iceman had done a lot for the three of them in the last 30 years and now he was gone. Without hesitating, Goose wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him even tighter when he heard Maverick's sniffles.

"I'm sorry, uncle Mav." Rooster spoke, cutting through the silence. Both Goose and Maverick removed a single arm from each other and motioned for Rooster to join in on their hug. And he did, without a second thought.

Everything was eerily quiet aside from hearing the occasional sniffle from each of them.

They all let go of each other and wiped away any stray tears once they heard the sounds of muffled voices heading in their direction. Maverick sighed as he watched the oblivious pilots walk out of the base and head to their homes, unaware of what had just happened.

-

It was a relatively nice day, clear skies and sun. Unfortunately, nobody would be enjoying the nice weather today.

It was Iceman's Funeral, and everyone was there. Both Maverick and Goose were standing by the coffin as Maverick placed Iceman's wings onto it, pounding it into the coffin at the same time as the guns were fired.

The two older men stood there, saluting their fallen friend while fighting to keep their tears at bay. Meanwhile, Rooster standing with the rest of the Lieutenants while watching his father and Maverick. He felt his jaw tighten when he felt the stinging sensation of tears welling in his own eyes.

After the service, Maverick was standing off to the side. He watched as Iceman's family embraced each other and cried. He let out a deep sigh before looking up to the sky, hoping that maybe he'd see any sign that Ice was there.

"Hey." The Captains attention was snapped toward Penny, who was making her way towards him. He gave her a half smile in return as she stood next to him, placing a light hand on his shoulder.

The Captain was grief stricken, and it hurt Penny to see her friend like this. She was never good with comforting words, so she did the next best thing, she pulled Maverick into a hug.

Her arms were wrapped around his torso, her head leaning against his chest. While his arms were around her neck, chin resting on the top of her head. Neither of them said anything, they didn't need to. Their embrace said everything that they wanted to.

Goose began to make his way towards the two who were embracing, clearing his throat to get their attention. The duo stepped apart, looking towards Goose.

Before Penny walked off, she placed a kiss on Maverick's cheek and a hand on Goose's shoulder before giving the two of them her condolences.

As soon as Penny was gone, Maverick and Goose wasted no time pulling each other into their own embrace.

Maverick had barely said a word the whole day which was how he handled his grief, and Goose knew that. So he wasn't going to push his friend. Instead, he let his friend stay silent while offering comforts to him.

The two stared out towards the cemetery where a few people still lingered. Some where saying their condolences to Sarah, while others were saying their goodbye's to the Admiral that they never got to say out loud.

They watched as Rooster spoke to Sarah for a moment before he pulled the women into his chest once she started crying. Meanwhile, they watched as Hangman, who rarely showed any emotion, was crying while staring at the Admiral's tomb stone.

Tom Kazinsky, AKA Iceman, had made a huge impact on the future generations of fighter pilots, as well as his friends and family. And he had inspired so many great aviators.

But now it was time to let him go.

A/N

I'm sorry for the sad chapter, but not really. All I'm gonna say is that this isn't even the saddest it gets. I don't have too many more chapters left to write so this story will be done in less than 10 chapters. Personal life update: I saw Six the Musical on Sunday and I loved it. 10/10 would recommend .

Let me know if you have ay likes or dislikes and I'll try to add it into my next chapter. And if not, I'll update again in 2 weeks!

~ Jo