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Maverick groaned as he sat up, his head pounding something vicious.
He was on a couch.
He frowned.
"Where am I?" He mumbled.
"He lives!" Somebody laughed. Maverick's eyes widened. "Nah, it can't be," He said. His vision cleared a little. The radio played top of the pops, the number one being sang out of tune in the kitchen by a woman.
"It can be my dear friend! Come on! Up up!" Maverick scrambled up, placing a hand on his chest. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. You don't have injuries here," Maverick rubbed his eyes. "Pinch me,"
Goose grinned. "With pleasure," Maverick's arm twinged with pain as his best friend pinched it. He rubbed it. "Son of a bitch," He smiled. He wrapped his arms around Goose tightly. He barely came to Goose's shoulders, standing at 5' 5" to Goose's 6' 1"
"Hey, whoa, buddy. Didn't know you missed me that much!" His friend chuckled awkwardly, patting him on the back. "Told 'ya,"
Maverick laughed at the voice. "Hello Carole," He smiled warmly. He pulled away with a small wave in her direction.
"Where am I?" He asked, looking around. "Our house. Or, rather, Carole's house." Goose smiled. "No, I know that. But... where? I-I was in the jets, on the uranium facility," He frowned. Goose shifted. "Goose..." He frowned. "What's the last thing you remember, Mav?"
He took a seat. "Going down. Rooster was gonna get hit, so I pulled a cobra and... then I went down, I think?" He rubbed his head. Goose sat down. "Well, thanks to you, he's ok. Shaken, but ok." Maverick sighed shakily. "Good... good I'm glad,"
The clock ticked loudly in the background.
"I'm dead. Aren't I?" He asked. Goose nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm sorry buddy. The ejection handles were blown when you were hit." He nodded slowly. "How..." He swallowed. "Can we watch? Like how you protected Rooster?" He asked.
Goose stood up with a smile. "Come on, I'll show you,"
Maverick frowned but followed his friend out of the house and down the street. "This is yours, yeah?" They stopped outside a house. "Yeah... how do you know?" Maverick asked. Goose opened the front door. "Bradley wasn't the only one we watched over,"
He walked in, with Maverick following. "I'm happy for you though. You finally found a woman who could keep you down," Goose smiled. Maverick sighed fondly as his wife, Amelia, hugged his children. "Yeah... she's an angel, Amelia is." He smiled. Goose nodded at his kids. "What are they called?" He asked.
Mav pointed. "Madalyn. She's just joined the academy. She's 17. Then there's Sky, Taylor and Nicholas. They're 15, 11 and 8." He nudged his friend. "Lia named him after you, ya know. As a tribute,"
Goose smiled. "I'm glad you had a family, Mav." They stood by the wall, unseen by the living side. "And... I know it sucks at first, seeing them grieve and struggle, but when they get better, and you get to watch them live their life, it's..." Goose sighed. "Well, it's as good as,"