Training resumed for them a couple days later. When they got into their class, Vice Admiral Simpson was where Maverick would usually be. Ellie looked at Jake with a puzzled look.
"Where's Mav?" She whispered to him.
"I have no idea." He replied.
Everyone filed into their seats, all having the same puzzled look Ellie had. Vice Admiral Simpson waited for everyone to come in before announcing Maverick wasn't coming back. Ellie thought something was off about the entire situation. Why get rid of their instructor so soon before their mission? Did Commander Kazansky's death affect him that much? What did he do wrong? Vice Admiral Simpson was telling us how the enemy was moving faster than usual, so our mission date was getting bumped up. Everyone had nervous looks. They weren't ready. They were getting there, but no where near ready to go so soon. He also was going against everything Maverick had been teaching us.
"Sir, how is that possible?" Phoenix asked.
"We won't make it there before someone notices." Ellie chimed in.
"It will be." He stated.
Just as he was starting to explain the new rules, flying speeds, and the heights when a plane flew into their system. Everyone looked at him confused, and he looked just as confused as they all did. All of a sudden, Maverick's voice comes through the intercoms. He announces to everyone what he is going to be flying by. It's what he's expecting us to fly by.
"Jesus." Ellie shook her head.
They looked at the digital map and watched Maverick's plane very cautiously. If he couldn't do it, no one could. They watched him increase speed as he still stayed low below the hard deck. He was keeping good time as he made every turn perfectly. Then towards the end, he made it upwards, went inward, and dropped his missile. He made a bullseye and flew upward and out of there in decent time. Everyone cheered as he made a bullseye.
"Damn!" Ellie said, very clearly impressed.
"Holy shit." Jake chuckled lightly.
Vice Admiral Simpson looked defeated.
"Pretty ballsy of him to do that." Coyote leaned forward to Jake and Ellie.
"No kidding." Ellie chuckled.
"They're 100% going to let him lead us on this mission. If they don't they're all crazy." Jake said to them.
"That only leaves three spots for all of us to compete for then." Coyote replied.
"I would feel more comfortable being his wingman than leading the entire thing in general." Ellie pointed out.
"Hopefully they figure out what the hell they're doing, because we can't keep wasting more time here." Jake said.
"I'm sure they will today. We can do this." Ellie smiled at the both of them.
Jake looked at her and smiled. He grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it assuringly. Vice Admiral Simpson finally left with Rear Admiral Solomon. Everyone assumed it was either to bring Maverick back or have him court-martialed. About 20 minutes later, Maverick returned. Everyone had a sigh of relief. Ellie had called it, they had asked him to lead them on the mission. He was to fly with them during training, and made sure they got the map down perfectly. There was no almost perfect in this situation. Maverick needed perfect...to ensure they all will make it out alive.
After class and their training, most of the group met back at Ellie's house for a barbecue. It was a perfect day, so why not try and keep the spirits high a week and a half before the mission. A lot of them weren't going to be flying and doing the hard part, but everyone was still going, and still being involved. Nat helped Ellie cook outside, while they sent Bob, Coyote, and Fanboy all inside to prep all the food. Jake and Rooster helped set everything up outside, and left everyone else do the hard parts.
"Since you boys aren't doing anything, why don't you go bring us more food, so we can eat." Ellie chuckled. She wasn't even looking at them, and she could tell they were sitting down drinking their beers.
"And while you're at it. Bring us some beers." Nat chuckled.
Jake and Rooster chuckled and handed them both beers. Ellie kissed Jake on the lips, while Nat kissed Rooster on the cheek.
"No PDA yet?" Ellie chuckled.
"I'm not good about publicly displaying affection." She chuckled lightly.
"You'll get there. I wasn't really either before Jake. All the other ones sucked." Ellie said causing them both to laugh.
"Aren't you scared about this mission? And if something might happen?" Nat asked her.
"Terrified. I'm Terrified. But I don't want to be. I still hold onto the hope that nothing will." Ellie smiled at her.
"So do I. I hope we all come home. I like doing these types of things." Nat smiled, gesturing to the barbecue.
"We will. And these will keep happening. We'll make it a yearly thing...depending on who all stays here or not." Ellie chuckled.
"Are you staying?" Nat asked.
"I hope to. Obviously if I get deployed overseas, I have to go. This is always gonna be my home. I'll always come back here." Ellie smiled.
"Sounds like a good plan." Nat said as the boys were all walking out with food.
"What does?" Rooster asked.
"Cooking up all this food to feed you pigs." Ellie laughed.
Everyone else acted so offended, following it with laughter. Once everything was cooked, everyone sat down and feasted on all the food. Ellie was so pleased at how well this worked out. If she could get rid of the mission as a whole, and live every day like this...she'd be content with that. The entire evening was filled with laughter and Joy. She looked down at Jakes hand resting on her thigh and smiled. She put her had atop his, and he grabbed it gently.
"You okay?" He asked her.
"More than okay." She smiled at him, squeezing his hand.
After the evening ended and everyone left, Jake and Ellie cleaned up her house and went upstairs for the night. They hopped in the shower together, a now usual thing they do together, and showered. Once she was done, she got out to let him finish, while she did her skincare and freshened up for bed. Once he got out he walked up behind her and held her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder, before trailing it with kisses. He made his way to her neck before she turned around to face him. She pulled him down to kiss her as she backed him up towards her bed. She didn't realize they were at their bed until he fell backwards onto it. She chuckled and took her towel off before crawling on top of him. She gave him another long kiss before taking off is towel. He scooted them backwards a little, and then pulled away from her and smiled.
"I love you a lot, Ellie." He smiled up at her.
"I love you too, Jake." She smiled at him before kissing him again.
After they were done and cleaned up again, they just laid in bed and watched tv until they fell asleep.
"I had a lot of fun today." He said as he held her.
"I did too! I was thinking of making it a yearly thing for us all. That is on how busy everyone is and if they're in the country or not." She chuckled.
"Are you planning on staying?" He asked.
"I do. If I have to leave for a mission or deployment I will, but I hope to come back here when I'm done. It's my home, and I was away for too long. Being back here just made me realize how much I miss it." She told him.
"I don't blame you one bit." He chuckled.
"What about you? We all kind of got thrown here...do you plan on staying?" She asked.
"If you are, I am. We can stay in the homes we're in now. And whenever we're ready, we can go find a home of our own." He smiled down at her.
"Really?" She said very excitedly.
"Really. I told you in the very beginning I was not going anywhere. I intend to keep it that way." He smiled.
She looked up at him, and gave him the biggest kiss ever. She was so happy. He was planning on staying...and had even come up with a plan for our living situation. She had the feeling he was the one for her. Him planning on staying really solidified it. What hadn't hit her yet, was that Jake was thinking the exact same thing.