HARD DECK
a top gun: maverick fanfiction
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ONE LAST TIME
Summer was relaxing on her back porch, a book in her lap and a glass of lemonade in her hand. Golden hour flowed over southern California, casting warm yellow shadows over her backyard.
The pilots were set to leave in two days' time, and Rooster had been avoiding her since their argument in her office, five days beforehand. She didn't blame him, and she knew she was at fault, but that didn't help it from hurting. She'd done what she had to do, and it would be better for the both of them in the long run. She just hoped he'd eventually see that, too.
She heard a car pull into her driveway, a peculiar notion, as people rarely came to visit her. Her mother still lived in Oklahoma, and she always met Joey and Thomas at one of their houses, or at the bar. For a split second, her heart raced as she imagined it might be Rooster.
Then she realized that was a crazy thought. He didn't have her address, and he wasn't speaking to her.
She stood slowly and made her way back into the house and to the front door. Just as she was attempting to stealthily look out her front window, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Summer, open up!"
Summer relaxed as she recognized the voice, and she moved to unlock the door. "Joey? Is everything okay?"
"No, it's not!" Joey replied, pushing past Summer into the house. Summer studied her friend's face carefully, seeing that their eyes were red and their cheeks were tear-stained. Joey's shoulders shook as they let out a sob.
"Oh my God, Joe, what's wrong?" Summer said, ushering her friend to the couch.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Joey asked, glaring at Summer through teary eyes.
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me about the mission? About Natasha?"
Oh.
Summer had been wondering when Lieutenant Trace would tell Joey about the impending mission. She'd been worried about how Joey would take the news, ever since Rooster told her that Phoenix would also be going on the mission.
"Joey..."
"You knew this whole time, didn't you? This was why they were in San Diego in the first place."
"Joey, I didn't know that she would be selected," Summer replied. "And you know I'm not at liberty to discuss things like that."
"But you did know, didn't you?" Joey sobbed. "How long have you known?"
Summer sighed. "Joey, you can't be mad at me for this. I can't talk about these things with you, and you know this. And neither can Phoenix."
They sniffed, wiping a hand under their eye. "You could have given me a head's up."
"No, I couldn't have."
Joey sighed and leaned back into Summer's couch, blinking back tears as they stared up at the ceiling. "Do they really think no one is coming back?"
"I know it's extremely dangerous," Summer said, wrapping an arm around Joey's shoulders. "Whatever it is."
"Who else is going?" Joey asked, looking at their friend. "Is Rooster?"
At the mention of Rooster's name, Summer felt her face crumple. Her lip involuntarily wavered, and she felt wetness spring to her eyes.
"Oh my God, Summer," Joey whispered, pulling the woman in for a hug. "I'm so sorry."
"Still not the worst news I've gotten this week," Summer mumbled. Thankfully, Joey missed it. Summer still hadn't told her friends about her diagnosis, and she wasn't sure how to break the news to them, especially Joey. Joey had clearly had enough bad news this week.
"I should have known it was too good to be true," Joey muttered, running a hand through their hair. "I mean, I knew what Natasha did for a living. I just ..."
"Now you know why I don't get involved with the pilots," Summer said quietly.
"Yeah," Joey said, shoulders slumping. "It's just not fair, is it?"
Summer sighed. "Nothing is fair."
"What are you going to do?" Joey asked, turning to Summer.
"What do you mean?"
"About Rooster."
"Oh." Summer shrugged and cleared her throat. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Joey repeated.
"I'm sorry, what am I supposed to do? Joey, my patients --"
"Oh, don't give me that shit," Joey scoffed, rolling their eyes. "You can lie to yourself, you can lie to Rooster, you can lie to everyone else, but you can't lie to me. Don't act like I don't know what happened when the two of you disappeared at the bar last week."
Summer sighed. "Joey, you don't understand."
"I don't understand?" Joey echoed with a short laugh. "I'm the only one that does understand! Natasha is going on the same mission as Rooster, Summer. She's got the same death sentence."
It wasn't the same, but Summer couldn't begin to explain that to Joey. Joey was healthy. If Natasha came back home alive, she and Joey could go on like normal.
It was different, because Rooster wasn't the only one with a death sentence.
"Don't you care about him?" Joey asked in a soft voice.
"Of course I care about him!" Summer exclaimed, exhausted. "Joey, I --"
Joey's phone rang, loudly playing SexyBack by Justin Timberlake.
Joey wiped at their eyes before grabbing their phone. "Sorry, that's Natasha." They pressed the phone to their ears, answering it. "Hey. N-No, I'm not crying. I wasn't crying." Joey's eyes drifted towards Summer. "Yeah, I'm with her right now. Mhmm. Why didn't he ask? Oh. Well, why didn't he ask? Uhuh. I see. Yeah, okay. Give us a half hour. Yeah, see you then."
"Joe, what was that?" Summer asked as they hung up the phone.
"That was Natasha," they said, seemingly finished crying. "Penny's hosting a send-off party at the Hard Deck. Mav's idea. They want us there. They want you there."
Summer rolled her eyes and sunk back into the couch. "I'm not going."
"Summer Maria Hackett," Joey groaned, grabbing a pillow and swinging it at the doctor. "You are going."
"No, I'm not," Summer replied firmly. "Joey, Rooster and I got into an argument, okay? He doesn't want me there."
"Okay, firstly, I doubt that is true, and secondly, the request actually came from Hangman, though Natasha says the others want you there as well. She said to say that Hangman says, 'Doc is as much a part of the team as anyone else.'"
"Well, I don't want to go to the bar," Summer said. "I'm not drinking."
"Since when?"
"Since last week. You know that alcoholism runs in my family."
Alcohol wasn't good for much, and once she started her treatments, she wasn't going to be drinking anyways.
"Summer, you're not an alcoholic."
"Yet."
Joey let out an annoyed sigh and stood, grabbing Summer's hands and pulling her off the couch. "I will knock you out and drag you there myself, Dr. Hackett."
"Fine," Summer grumbled. "For Phoenix and Hangman only."
Joey was already making their way towards Summer's bedroom. "Come on, I'm borrowing some clothes. And as much as I'm sure they'd love to see you in your tanning bikini, you're not wearing that to Penny's bar."
Joey borrowed a black slip dress that didn't fit Summer anymore. It was a beautiful piece of clothing, and even though it didn't fit, Summer had a hard time getting rid of it. Seeing it on Joey, however, made it easy.
Not like she'd have much reason to wear the dress anymore, even if it did fit again.
"You're taking that dress home with you," Summer said as she pulled her hair up with a clip. "Doesn't fit me anymore, and it looks much better on you than it ever did on me."
Joey scoffed. "Please, Summer. Look at you."
Summer wore a white sundress with flutter sleeves, patterned with tiny red flowers, and a pair of sandals. She felt a little overdressed for the Hard Deck, but Joey insisted that the pilots would be wearing their formal uniforms.
Once she started her treatment, Summer doubted she'd find herself feeling pretty, or even find the energy to do her makeup. So she obliged Joey.
After wearing scrubs for most of her conscious hours, and shorts and a t-shirt for the rest of them, Summer silently admitted that it felt nice to be a little dressed up.
Joey drove them back to their house, and they walked the rest of the way to the Hard Deck, along the beach like they always did. Summer held her sandals in her hands as she stared out at the ocean horizon, thinking about Rooster and Phoenix and the rest of the pilots, wondering where exactly they'd be headed.
The Hard Deck came into view and its parking lot was packed. Its open sign was off, and there was a note taped on the front door declaring it "CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT."
Joey pushed open the door, a cacophony of loud voices and music hitting them. Pilots and civilians mingled inside, along with other Navy personnel that Summer recognized from work. She spotted Lucas and Palewski in the corner near the dart board, finding it strange to see them out of scrubs and in their Navy uniforms.
Phoenix and Bob were chatting with Penny at the bar, and as the door opened, they looked over. Phoenix's eyes lit up as she saw Joey, and she immediately headed towards them, Bob in tow.
Phoenix pulled Joey in for a hug, and Summer swore they'd shared a private kiss, before pulling back. "Joey, Doc. I'm so glad you both came."
"Yeah," Summer held in a laugh as she exchanged an awkward look with Bob. Joey's hand was unashamedly clamped over Phoenix's ass.
"Can I get you a drink, Doc?" Bob asked, his cheeks reddening. Clearly, Joey and Phoenix needed some privacy.
"Please," Summer replied, taking Bob's arm as he quickly led them away from the couple and their PDA. They reached the bar, and Summer ordered a club soda and lime, while Bob ordered a whiskey sour. Just as they settled onto their barstools, the rest of the pilots seemed to notice Summer's arrival.
"Doc!" Hangman's voice rang out louder than anyone else's, as it tended to.
She took the time to study the group of pilots, seeing that they were all dressed in their Service Dress White uniforms. She'd noticed Bob was wearing his, of course, but all together, she realized that they all looked more handsome than they did in their regular uniforms, and that was saying something. Her eyes unconsciously searched for Rooster and she found him almost immediately, leaning against a pool stick. He turned to look at her, and as their eyes met, the drink in her hand shook, and she quickly set it back down on the countertop.
"They probably want to say hi to you," Bob said quietly, shrugging as he hopped off the barstool and headed towards his comrades, Summer following reluctantly behind him.
"Your crew showed up, but we didn't know if you would," Hangman said, slinging a hand around Summer's shoulders as he nodded towards Lucas and Palewski.
"Well, you insisted, Lieutenant," she replied, forcing a tight smile as she glanced up at the blond pilot.
"We're glad you're here, Doc," he replied, clapping her on the back. "Some of us more than others."
She unintentionally met Rooster's eyes again, and both of their faces flushed. She looked away, focusing her attention back on Hangman, while he looked down at the floor.
"What are you drinking?" Payback asked, nodding towards her glass, which was nearing empty. "Can we get you another?"
"Soda and lime," she replied, taking another sip.
"No rum?" Rooster's voice sounded at last, and she glanced towards him, seeing he was watching her with a teasing smirk.
"No. I, uh... I'm not drinking."
He raised an eyebrow questioningly, but said nothing as Payback headed towards the bar to get Summer a refill.
She stood with them for a while, watching as they played pool, tossed insults back and forth, and prodded her with questions she'd usually find inappropriate, but for this group, she answered. They truly were different from the cohorts that came before them, and she was going to miss them when they left. Even after the mission was done, and even if they all came back alive, they wouldn't be staying in San Diego. They'd head off to wherever the Navy needed them next. She might not see any of them ever again.
Eventually, when the standing became tiresome and she was beginning to feel dizzy, she headed back to the barstool. Suddenly, she was sixteen again, unable to stand at school for the Pledge of Allegiance, because it practically took the wind out of her.
Summer sat alone at the bar, sipping slowly from her soda and lime. She heard the pilots laughing loudly behind her, listening as the jukebox changed to a Motley Crue song.
The stool next to her scraped against the wooden floor as someone pulled it out, then sat beside her. She knew who it was before he even spoke. She felt his presence in the depths of her soul.
"Lieutenant," she greeted, hesitantly glancing over at him. She was worried that if she met his warm brown eyes, she'd fall apart right in front of him.
"Doc," he replied coolly, a brief but sad smile crossing his face. "I'm glad you came."
"Me too."
"You look nice," he said, reaching over to gently pinch the hem of her sleeve between his fingers.
"You too."
He sighed and took a swig from his beer bottle, then turned to look at her, clearing his throat. "The name of this bar? It's called the Hard Deck. Do you know why?"
Summer shrugged. "It's a flight term, I'm sure."
"It's an altitude limit used in flight exercises," he began. "Basically, if you go below it, you've failed the exercise. Means you've hit ground, you've crashed, you're done. We're not supposed to fly below the hard deck. Cyclone sets the limit, and no one is supposed to push it. But Mav did. Mav came in, and he bumped the hard deck. He pushed us harder, further, faster. He's the reason we have the slightest chance of making it back alive." His brown eyes locked on Summer's, and she felt butterflies in her stomach. "Sometimes, Doc, rules are meant to be broken."
He took a swig of his beer and stepped away before she could say anything else. She watched him go with a pit in her stomach.
Oh Rooster, she thought. How I wish that were true.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.
i've had this chapter done for a while, and i apologize for not posting it sooner! i got super busy with work and kind of stopped writing for a bit. i also got diagnosed with a medical condition which i am now receiving treatment for (which was making me SOOO TIRED and i felt like absolute dogshit after work, aka no time or ambition for writing) and now that i'm feeling better i've had more energy and ambition for writing.
i think i need to rewatch TG:M for more inspo again, tehehe. fyi it's on amazon prime rn if you live in the states.
also HAPPY SPEAK NOW TAYLOR'S VERSION DAY! i was ten years old when speak now came out the first time, and it makes me so emotional to think about. this was my favorite album as a kid, and it's still my favorite album of hers.
also, the vault tracks? holy shit taylor. holy shit. the FOB collab? ughhhh if you have anything to say about this album please share. i know it's not related to this story but i can't help it lol
thanks for reading, ily guys!
xx,
madi