You're On Your Own, Kid (A Lt. Bob Floyd Fanfic)

Chapter 6

Caroline barely listened as Admiral Simpson lectured her.

"You're lucky I don't ground you! You should be thankful your father is Admiral of the Pacific Fleet, because if I were your Admiral you would be sent packing back to your previous station!"

Simpson all but threw the book at her. It wasn't the first time she'd pissed off a superior. "Be that as it may. I am not interested in facing the wrath of your father. You're dismissed."

As Caroline turned to leave, Simpson sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose muttering something under his breath that sounded, "Can't believe there's two of them."

She opened the door and Maverick sat in the chair outside the office. "You too, huh?" she asked.

Maverick only nodded.

"Well I warmed him up for you."

Maverick looked down with a bashful smile.

"See you later, Captain." She gave him a small salute and made her way back to the rec room.

Hangman was there with the rest of the pilots.

"Where's Rooster?" Caroline asked.

"Him and Mav got into it in the air. They executed a Cobra maneuver."

Caroline's eyes went wide. "What!"

Rooster could have crashed his jet. He could have been killed! All because of his stupid temper.

"He's doin' his push-ups now," Bob told her.

Caroline rushed down to the jets in time to see Rooster sit back. She walked up to him and he looked up at her.

"Don't Caroline. Just don't."

Caroline sat down next to him and took one of his hands in hers.

"When they told me..." She took a deep breath. "I was so scared, Bradley. Your temper is going to get you killed one of these days and then where will I be? You're all I've ever had, Roos."

Her dad had been a doting father, but there were still times where he missed school plays or holidays. Until he met Sarah, it had just been her and her father. Then when her siblings came along, she felt like an outcast in her own family. The older she got, the more she leaned on Rooster and his mother Carole. Rooster wasn't just her godbrother or best friend, he was part of her.

While the two sat in silence, Phoenix walked up to them. "Breaking the hard deck, insubordination. Are you trying to get kicked out?"

"Don't worry about it," Rooster told her.

"Look, I'm going on this mission. But if you get kicked out, you leave us flying with Hangman. Talk to me. What the hell was that?"

"He pulled my papers."

Caroline went deathly still. No one outside herself, Iceman, and Maverick knew about that.

"What? Who?" Phoenix asked.

"Maverick. He pulled my application to the Naval Academy. Set me back four years."

"Why would he do that?" Rooster didn't answer her.

Phoenix sighed and sat down next to Rooster.

Caroline squeezed Rooster's hand and stood up. "I'll see you later." Caroline retreated to the locker room to change. On the way there, she ran into Bob.

"Oh, hey," he said.

Caroline smiled. "Hey. You wanna get a drink?"

"Oh, I..."

"Oh yeah, you don't drink. Uh...you wanna go get something to eat then?"

Bob nodded.

"Cool. I'll meet you outside in 5."

Caroline changed out of her flight suit and back into her civilian clothes.

Bob was waiting outside for her. He was dressed in his uniform. "Why aren't you wearing yours?" Bob asked her.

"It's mostly because I don't wanna have "Kazansky" emblazoned across my chest."

Bob chuckled. "That makes sense."

"You got a car? I rode here with Bradley."

Bob nodded and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. They walked out to the parking lot where Bob's white F150 sat.

"Damn! Nice truck. You're a country boy, aren't you?" Caroline asked.

Bob stuttered out a response which Caroline laugh. "I'm just teasing you."

She climbed up into his truck and put her feet on the dashboard. It was so much more spacious than her father and Sarah's fuel-efficient cars.

"Wh...where are we goin'?" Bob asked.

Caroline smiled. "I know a place."