Chapter Text
Bradley watched Jake unlock the front door as they came home late from the hospital. Underneath his arm was Amelia where she was tucked against his side. He could still feel her trembling against him, knowing it had little to do with the cool sea breeze coming in. He didn’t know what else to do but to keep her safely pressed against him.
“Home sweet home,” Jake announced, pushing the front door wide open as he stepped back. His eyes quickly darted to Bradley when their house guest didn’t so much as move a muscle.
“Mel?” Bradley quietly said, trying not to spook her. “Did you hear Jake?”
Her eyes flicked up to him instantly. It was obvious the words weren’t making sense to her right then, which he supposed should be expected. Her entire world was shaken to its core again.
At least, that was how it felt for Bradley.
“How about you wash up while we work on supper, all right?” suggested Jake kindly.
She let out a little whimper that stopped Bradley’s heart.
Oh, Mel . . .
“Hey, no, it’s okay,” murmured Jake, kneeling in front of her and making sure to meet her gaze. He gently wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry. Everything’s all right. They’re just keeping her overnight as a precaution. You heard them say that, didn’t you?”
She drew in a shaky, trembling breath. Her arms quickly wrapped around her chest in that familiar protective manner again.
They were losing the battle with her mind.
Jake glanced at Bradley in an apparent loss for words. This was the very last thing the poor kid needed. Hell, it was the last thing any of them needed. That was beside the point, though.
“Amelia?” Bradley tried again, kneeling beside his husband. He sighed when she didn’t even react to the sound of her name. “Do you need us to call Dr. Sloane?” he asked quietly. “See if she can meet or talk with you right now?”
Because it was obvious how they would be little help to the teenager.
She shook her head a few moments later. It took a few more before her eyes finally met his.
God, she looked so terrified out of her mind right then.
He kept his eyes far from the smeared blood on her hands, knowing it’d only send her spiraling further. She either hadn’t seen it yet or was ignoring it entirely, so he’d do the same for now.
“All right. But if you change your mind, let us know. Okay?” She needed to know that she was free to change her mind. That she was in control here. Bradley knew that from experience.
Her lower lip trembled while her entire body shook. Her shock was getting worse.
“How about you take a hot shower and warm up?” suggested Bradley, slightly changing Jake’s words to her earlier. “You can try out all his expensive hair shit and skin stuff. See which one you like the best. Treat it like a shopping experience or something” He offered a small smile, hoping she’d agree. They needed to get her mind on other stuff quickly. When she didn’t respond, he felt his heart clench in response. “Mel?”
“I don’t have anything to change into,” she whispered a moment later.
“Not a problem,” declared Jake with a wide smile. “I’ll leave out some clothes for you. They’ll be a little big, but they’ll do for tonight.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
Considering the blood on her clothes, though, it was obvious she needed a separate set to change into later on. Otherwise, they’d be fighting off the impending panic attack when she finally noticed. If they could stave off that altogether, though, Bradley would be grateful.
“I know, princess,” Jake replied gently, lightly squeezing her shoulder. The touch seemed to do the trick and bring her more into reality again. “I’m one of those caretaker gays, though.”
“In other words, you’d be a total Omega?” she quipped, obviously shoving down her feelings to latch onto the lifeline before her.
“Sure. No idea what that is, but yeah, probably.”
“An Omega is a secondary gender sort of thing that pops up in fan fiction,” explained Bradley matter-of-factually, earning shocked stares from his husband and sister. “What?” Didn’t everyone know that at this point?
“How the hell do you know that, Roo?”
He sighed heavily. Guess not everyone did know that then. “Fanboy got me started on it a while back when I told him I wished Lonestar would take the whole Tarlos thing further sometimes.”
Jake chuckled quietly before his eyes returned to Amelia. “Think you know a guy.”
“You know, there’s some pretty hot Buddie fics out there,” said the teenager with a tiny shrug. “If you ever, you know, want to branch out from cops boning their former drug-addict paramedic bad boy boytoys.”
“Whoa! What?”
“Mel!”
She laughed faintly. “Guys, come on. It’s not like I suggested you read Owen Strand/Billy Tyson. Though, there’s some damn good ones of that pairing, too. Emotionally invested ones even.”
“They’re like Dad’s age!”
“So? If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that some men are like a bottle of wine and get better with age.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Bradley covered his face with a groan.
“I mean, Roo, she has a point. Mav’s certainly—”
“No! Nuh-uh! We are not discussing this!” Bradley instantly covered his ears. He so did not want to hear anything remotely close to what he was certain his husband was about to say. He, however, was glad to see some color start to return in his pseudo-sister’s face. Even if it was because she was laughing at his expense. He then hesitantly lowered his hands and pointed towards the bathroom. “Go take your shower, brat.”
“So easy,” she giggled lightly, turning away to head in that direction.
Bradley’s eyes darted to his husband, catching the sharp nod that Jake had things under control. Pulling his phone out from his pocket, Bradley quickly glanced through his last received messages. Most were from the Daggers asking if they needed anything. Bradley ignored those for now. He searched until he found one from his uncles. A text from seven minutes ago.
Uncle Slider: They’re resting finally. Meds are working so far. They’re giving her blood to replenish so her color’s coming back. Get some rest, kid. We’ll call if anything changes.
Bradley sent back a thumbs up emoji and sighed quietly, pocketing his phone again.
It was quiet in the house. So, when he heard the first sounds of muffled sobbing from the bathroom, his heart clenched tightly. He silently headed to the closed door, sliding down the wall to sit outside in case she needed him for whatever reason. He would be there for her no matter what.
“Hey?” Jake’s voice was barely above a whisper when he reappeared a short while later. “What’s your sister’s favorite food?”
“Huh?”
“What’s her favorite food, Roo?”
“Why?”
Ever patient, his husband flashed a warm smile. “Because we need to get some food in her stomach, so tomorrow she’s not feeling super shitty. Now, what’s her favorite food?”
“Um,” he lightly scratched his jaw “she likes BLTA and PB&J. But no crust. She hates crust.”
“All right. I can work with that.” Jake nodded to himself. “Grilled cheese okay, too?”
“Probably. As long as you cut off the crust that is.”
“Got it.” His husband turned to head back to the kitchen.
“Hey, did you already put the clothes in there for her?”
Jake paused, turning back. His eyes narrowed slightly onto him, clearly puzzled by the question. “Yeah. Left her my old USNA shirt you swear is silky soft and some shorts. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
His husband nodded lightly, giving Bradley a quick once over before his eyes darted back to the door. More heartbreaking sounds of Amelia’s sobbing in the shower filtered out from underneath the gap. “We should take her shopping tomorrow just so she has some clothes of her own here.”
“You think it’s going to be more than just tonight?” Bradley hadn’t even considered that. Though, in his defense, he’d been focused entirely on trying to pull his terrified sister out of the hospital room and keep her calm.
“I think it doesn’t hurt to over-prepare,” Jake replied diplomatically. He then took a step closer, kneeling to Bradley. “If you need anything . . .”
“I know, babe.” He gently squeezed his husband’s hand before his head turned back to the closed door. “We should reach out to Sloane. Get her perspective on what we should do here.” He didn’t want to make things worse here. Not after all the work he knew Amelia did to get where she was.
“We know what we should do, darlin’,” drawled his husband. “We stay with her. Watch her. Let her talk when she needs to and listen. Give her distractions when it’s too much. We do what we always do when one of us is hurting, Roo. We step up and be there, offering all our love.”
“Sweetheart,” Bradley sighed, glancing away as his eyes closed at another muffled wail from behind the door. “She’s going to brush us off.”
“Let her try.”
“She’s going to lie and say she’s fine.”
“We know better.”
“It’s always been her and her mom, Jake. Trust me. When that person in your life who has been your rock . . . when you find them like that . . . I . . .” He blinked back the memories threatening to play out in his mind of finding Ice on the floor once before the cancer diagnosis. This wasn’t like that. It wasn’t. This was much worse because he and Amelia could have lost their mom and new baby in one go.
“Roo, we’ve got this,” Jake replied, squeezing his hand again. “We do. You’ve got the firsthand experience and knowledge I don’t, and I’ve got the patient levelheadedness you don’t.”
“I’m patient,” he grumbled stubbornly.
“When it comes to flying, sure, but when it’s someone you love in pain like she is right now, you don’t have a shred of it. Because you and your beautiful big dumb heart take over, wanting desperately to fix it. And that’s okay. It’s one of the many things I love you for, babe.”
Bradley’s eyes fell to their joined hands.
“If we start to realize we’re not going to be enough for her, we then call, deal?” compromised Jake. “And we call for backup, too. Treat it like when I was late to Pop’s wedding and make a whole sleepover out of it like we did for you.”
“She shouldn’t sleep alone tonight.”
Nights after things like this were the worst. The What ifs would be non-stop in the dark of night.
“I’ve already got the air mattress set up for us. I’ll grab the blankets in a bit. Make a whole nest fit for our princess.”
Bradley’s eyes instantly narrowed. Nest?
“Wait a minute.”
Jake chuckled before miming zipping his mouth shut with a beaming grin.
“You know about the Omegaverse?”
His husband shrugged lightly. “You weren’t Fanboy’s only victim unfortunately. And, well, I do appreciate reading about one very slutty Dean Winchester getting railed somedays.”
Of course he did. “Oh, do you?”
“Hey, my man is very fine.”
Bradley’s brows rose. “Your man, huh?”
“What? We’re all allowed five celebrities we’d fuck. He’s mine.”
“All five?”
“Babe, once you had him, no one would ever compare.”
Bradley snorted. “Gee, thanks, sweetheart.”
His husband batted a hand dismissively at him. “Oh, you don’t count, Roo.”
“Wow, even better, Seresin.” Least he knew where he ranked.
“That’s not what I meant,” groused his husband. “Of course you’re my forever. I’m just saying I wouldn’t turn down one Jensen Ackles. And neither would you.”
“Oh, go make dinner.”
“Yes, bossy bear,” Jake mockingly saluted before he leaned closer and brushed his lips tenderly over Bradley’s prior to heading into the kitchen.
The shower was still running, but the sobs had gone silent.
Having inherited his dad’s dislike of silence, Bradley sighed heavily.
“Mel?” he called out, worrying even more about his heartbroken, tormented kid sister. “You don’t need to say anything. Just hit the wall or something if you’re okay, will you?” He paused, craning his neck to listen closer. A soft pair of thumps echoed back a moment later. His eyes closed in relief. He knew she wasn’t anywhere close to be being all right. No one would be after that scare. However, she replied, though. That was good enough for now.
He drew his legs up, settling in as he waited for her to emerge. Who knew how long that would be, considering she was probably still trying to find some way to compose herself again? He fiddled with his phone, finally replying to all the texts from the rest of the Daggers who checked in. The news must have spread like wildfire. Bradley made sure not to give any details on what happened, though. It was partly because it wasn’t his to tell. However, mostly it was because he didn’t actually know the full story.
Mav had only texted that Penny was on her way to the hospital.
It wasn’t until Bradley and Jake showed up at the hospital and found Amelia in blood-stained clothes that they realized this was more serious than the prior times. God, the poor teen looked so damn lost sitting in the waiting room chair with Aunt Sarah surprisingly next to her. He tried to get the story from his pseudo-aunt. Only Aunt Sarah wasn’t talking either. She only gave him that soft, somber smile of hers that was a permanent fixture on her face these days after losing her husband of seventeen years.
Amelia and he went back to the room their mom was in once a nurse told them it was okay. Jake kindly offered to go back with them, but Bradley waved him off. They didn’t know exactly what they were walking into, and he didn’t want to fly off the handle and say anything stupid to his husband.
When he and Amelia walked in, the first thing he noticed was how pale Penny looked. She was unconscious, apparently resting. His dad was holding her hand, keeping vigil and looking as lost as ever. Bradley couldn’t help but be reminded of the few times he found his dad holding Ice’s hand just like that . . . or the many times vice versa.
The doctor came in not long after, thankfully explaining partly what happened.
Their mom had gone into preterm labor, thanks to high levels of stress. It was one of the bigger risk factors they had all been warned about unfortunately. The obstetrician explained they thankfully were able to get the contractions to stop with meds, but it’d be something they’d have to be on the lookout for the closer the due date came.
Then came the news about the pre-eclampsia, which Bradley didn’t really know what that meant but knew enough to know it was pretty fucking bad based on his dad’s sharp inhale and instant terrified look. The obstetrician assured them, though, it wasn’t a severe case. In fact, their mom could still be treated as an outpatient once she was released from this stay. They caught it early enough to regulate the condition. All good things supposedly.
Not really wanting to leave but knowing they had to, Bradley and Jake took Amelia home as soon as Uncle Slider showed up and declared he’d take over the watch. When the trio walked out of the hospital soon after, they quickly ran into Bradley's other pseudo-uncles, Hollywood and Wolfman, who reiterated the same mantra as Uncle Slider—they’d keep watch over Mom and Dad—before they headed inside.
There was nothing Jake, Bradley, and Amelia could do really, which sucked horribly. However, Jake pointed out that the longer they stayed there, the more withdrawn and shock-like Amelia was becoming. It wasn’t healthy for her to be there, which Bradley supposed Jake thought about him as well. Two traumatized kids (well, one teenager and one former traumatized kid) in that sort of environment was going to bring up all sorts of mental health issues, mostly abandonment and loss. So, they left, knowing their parents were going to be well-cared for and protected in their absence.
“Is she still in there?” Jake asked sometime later.
Bradley’s head jerked upwards in surprise. “Huh?”
His husband’s eyes narrowed minutely before he forced a small smile. “It’s been almost an hour, Roo,” he explained quietly. “Water has to be cold by now.”
Had it honestly been an hour already? Bradley’s eyes fell to his watch, realizing Jake was unfortunately correct. Damn it!
“Mel?” he called out again, pausing for half a second. “Hey, do you think you can come out yet? Jake’s starting to get worried, and you know how he gets.”
His husband rolled his eyes but said nothing.
They both waited for her reply. It came in the form of the shower finally shutting off a few moments later. It was a start. And for now, that was good enough. They weren’t going to rush her.
Jake helped him to his feet, silently pulling him into his arms in offer of strength soon after.
“It’s going to be okay, darlin’.” Jake kissed the side of his face lightly.
No one knew that, though. Not really. They just were all hoping for the best at this point.
“Love you, Bradley,” his husband murmured before hugging him tighter.
“Thanks.”
Jake gave him another brief kiss before he stepped back and headed into the other room.
Several minutes later, the bathroom door finally cracked open.
Bradley turned, unsure of what he should say exactly. Instead, he gave Amelia a gentle smile.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself again protectively across the USNA logo of Jake’s shirt, and her gaze was down on the floor. She looked absolutely devastated. Her eyes were, of course, puffy and red.
It was the shaking that got his attention, though. She was still trembling.
He could feel the thick humidity from her shower, though, and saw the steamed-up mirrors.
“You okay for a hug? Or . . . ?” his voice trailed off awkwardly. He really didn't want to make this worse for her.
She stepped closer, instantly burying her face into his chest. His right hand gently cradled the back of her head as his left fell to the small of her back loosely.
Bradley sighed heavily, tucking her further into his arms.
He knew words weren’t going to help here. Not when they both knew the words were just hopes and prayers that everything would be okay. That they’d weather this storm as well like they had with all the others before it.
Her trembling started to get worse, and his heart clenched more in response.
“You cold?” he asked softly, needing to break the silence settling around them.
He knew the answer, though. While she was cool to the touch, her shaking had little to do with that. She was holding everything in and fighting against her fears that were desperately trying to win. His eyes closed silently when he felt her shake her head against him.
Don’t be a burden.
Fuck! How many times had he thought the same thing after losing his mom all those years ago? Ice always called him out on it. Every single time. Not openly where Mav could hear, but Ice made it known he knew that was what teenage Bradley was foolishly thinking. Ice would always hug him just like Bradley was now with Amelia. He wouldn’t argue against Bradley’s kid logic verbally. It was always through tight embraces, silent declarations of love and strength. It was these silent moments that won the fierce battles waging inside. These little reminders that one wasn’t alone in the fight.
“So, did you use Jake’s coconut shampoo or his berry passion?” Bradley could smell it was neither, though. It was the sea salt one. The one Jake rarely used these days because it reminded them too much of the suicide mission where Jake saved him and Dad by mere seconds.
She didn’t take the bait, though. She just kept her face buried in his chest, clutching him as if he was the only thing anchoring her currently.
He wished they called Sloane. At least then he knew how he was supposed to help her. She wasn’t him. Not by a long shot. She may have had the same Maverick Mitchell inherited tendencies as he did, but she was so much more emotional than he ever was. Bradley was a raging wildfire coming down the mountainside in the Sierra Nevada range. Amelia, though—she was a derecho tearing up cornfields in Iowa mercilessly; the fiercest hurricane battering Florida’s coasts relentlessly; the strongest twister ever to sweep across Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas; the big one—the earthquake rumored to break California off from the rest of the country; the drowning monsoons of Arizona. She was all of them wrapped up in one—an absolute force of nature.
Bradley had been lucky not to have been there when his mother passed. He was on his way with his dad to the hospital for their evening visit when she died. For some reason, something at work held his dad up at the time, but the way his dad rode his motorcycle, it didn’t really matter much, and they knew it. They’d only be a few minutes later than usual. Neither considered much about those few minutes. Not until the doctor stopped them from entering the room, informing them his mom’s body finally succumbed to the cancer. He remembered instantly burying his face into Mav’s chest, sobbing against him. Then those few minutes became another regret they added to their growing pile. Ice had found them like that not long after, holding them tightly in his strong arms.
“I hate him.”
The words were spoken so softly Bradley nearly missed it. He blinked back his confusion.
“Who?”
“Blake,” she mumbled, inhaling sharply as she likely tried to shove down her tears threatening to fall. “I hate him.”
To say, Bradley was confused was an understatement. He failed to see what that asshole had to do with any of this. However, he knew she’d explain eventually. He just had to be patient. There, he took after Ice.
“This is all his fault,” she declared, her voice hardening into absolute cold steel.
At the sight of Jake stepping back into the room, Bradley glanced at his husband helplessly. How was any of this Blake’s fault? What was she trying to say here? He was missing something, and he didn’t have a clue what that was.
“What do you mean?” murmured his husband, moving closer to them. “What happened?”
“He’s suing Mom,” she revealed, hesitantly pulling back from Bradley to look up with tear-filled eyes. God, she looked so damn devastated. “Asked the courts to do a paternity test on me even. She was so angry. So pissed with him over it.”
It took everything in Bradley not to give into his shock right then. The asshole did what?! Why? The fucking dick signed away his paternal rights months ago!
“He went so far as even to demand Dad be tested against me. And then that lady showed up.” The words were falling quickly from her mouth messily. At least she was talking, though. That was a good sign. “She was there for Dad, to give him some things for the hanger or something. Some of her late husband's things, I guess.”
Bradley nodded silently, realizing that Amelia was meaning Aunt Sarah.
“And then she told Mom how her husband got one of those letters the other day, too. Mom was livid then. I’ve never seen her that pissed before.”
“By ‘lady’, do you mean the woman sitting with you at the hospital earlier?” He had to confirm his suspicions.
Amelia nodded slowly.
Well, that at least explained that mystery.
Blake was asking Ice and Mav’s DNA be tested against Amelia’s, though? It wouldn’t be a match. Bradley knew the two wingmen were away on mission. Ice had sent him messages during that time, letting Bradley know Ice was okay and Dad, too. There was no way she’d be either man’s kid. He wondered if Blake was asking for others’ DNA to test, too. Would it end up being the entire Top Gun ’86 class since she was friendly with all of them?
He could understand their mom’s anger completely if that were the case. Her ex was basically shoving every man whoever talked to her in front of the courts, claiming any one of them could be their daughter’s real father instead of him. He was casting doubts and throwing wild accusations that boiled down to him basically calling the mother of his child— God, that fucker deserved a good ass-kicking.
If Penny said Blake was Amelia’s father, then Blake was the teen’s biological father.
The more he thought on it, the more impressed Bradley was with his dad right then. His dad would surely be justified for taking the first flight out to Hawaii and hunt the asshole down in his opinion. Bradley himself was seconds away from doing that as his irritation increased with each passing second over it. He only didn’t because his kid sister needed him more right then.
Bradley then blew out a large breath. Judging by how she referred to Aunt Sarah, she likely didn’t know who she was. He was unsure of how to put it exactly, but he figured she needed to know some of the backstory there. To know that Aunt Sarah wasn’t exactly a random stranger to their family. For all he knew, Aunt Sarah might have decided to come over and visit more for some reason.
“The woman you met, Mel, she's, um . . .” Their dad’s longtime secret lover’s widow? Yeah. He wasn’t sure how to finish that exactly.
“ . . . my godmother,” Amelia mumbled quietly against his chest.
He blinked in surprise. “Huh?” His eyes fell to the top of her head. Godmother?
“Mom said she’s my godmother.”
Bradley blinked again. “Okay. I, um, I didn’t know that.”
He knew their mom was close with Ice, but he hadn’t realized they were that close. Godmother? Really? Did that mean Ice had been Amelia's godfather then? Or was that someone else?
“Neither did I,” glumly replied his kid sister. “Thought godmothers were supposed to be close to their godchildren, taking them on shopping trips or whatever.”
Jake chuckled quietly, gaining their attention. “Not all godparents are like that, beautiful.” He offered a soft smile to her. “Sometimes, they’re just named and nothing else is said. Mine were a buddy Dad went to the Academy with and an old neighbor lady who lived down the street from us. No one really expected either to carry out any sorts of godparent duties with me, though.”
“Well, you know Dad was my godfather,” stated Bradley, picking up where his husband stopped. Everyone at this point knew that fact. “My godmother was, um, some friend of Mom’s she knew from high school, I think. After the, uh, accident, she never came around again, but Dad stayed. Ended up bringing Uncle Ice along shortly after, too.” Though, now Bradley understood why that was. “He used to joke with Mom how Ice was more mother hen with me than Aunt Izzy ever would have been.” And it was likely very true.
Amelia didn’t respond.
“Damn,” Jake whistled, though. “How’d the Iceman take that?”
“He’d laugh it off usually. After Mom . . .” his voice cracked untimely. “They stayed with me as much as they could between deployments. I only ever had one time when they were both away. Spent a few months at Uncles Hollywood and Wolfman’s that time in West Hollywood. Whenever Dad and he would get time to call home, it was usually Ice asking how things were, how school was going, how my games went, what my uncles thought parenting actually was—that sort of thing. After a bit, I think Dad and he turned their check-ups on me into a competition: who could get me to cheer up first, laugh, smile, whatever.”
“Who usually won?” Amelia asked softly.
“Dad.” Bradley smiled softly. “But it wasn’t for lack of trying on Ice’s part. Just Dad was better at losing that military rigidness." He sighed softly. "Back then, I always thought Uncle Ice was super strict. He wasn’t, though. He just didn’t know what the hell he was doing and didn’t want to screw things up with me.” He shrugged. “He never talked about his childhood, but . . . I always got this feeling it wasn’t a good one, you know?”
“He was from Navy royalty,” stated Jake. “Growing up in those kinds of households, you don’t get a childhood really. Everything’s about preserving the family legacy. Being the best.”
“Yeah.” His husband would know that better than anyone.
“Well, not to break this up, but you two think we can head into the living room?”
“Your legs needing a break there, sweetheart?” he teased his husband.
Jake’s pale green eyes rolled hard. “Hardly. I just made us dinner and—”
“—I’m not hungry,” interjected Amelia instantly.
“I know,” his husband replied solemnly. “That’s why we’re going to take it slow. A bite every fifteen minutes. And”—he held up a finger—“you only have to eat a half. Deal?”
Bradley felt her slump dejectedly against him.
“Fine,” she grudgingly agreed.
The fact she wasn’t fighting too hard was worrying. However, if it got food in her, then it’d have done its job.
“Thank you, princess,” smiled Jake, kissing the top of her head affectionately as he squeezed Bradley’s arm tightly for a brief moment. So much was said in that gesture.
You are my family, and I’m going to protect you both.
“Thought you were princess anyway,” remarked the teenager a moment later while they slowly headed into the living room.
His husband snorted. “Nah. I’ve been elevated to queen status, thanks to marrying my handsome king over there.”
“Well, then, slay it, queen,” mumbled Amelia.
Bradley chuckled lightly when his husband bowed at the waist with a wide grin.
“Always,” Jake drawled.
The air mattress was set up in front of the sofa and big screen TV. There were blankets neatly placed over it, making it look so damn inviting. Jake even went so far as to use the super-premium blankets they hadn’t used yet. The real plush, fluffy kind. There were also big fluffy pillows. It was absolutely perfect.
“You made a nest?” Amelia gasped between them.
Bradley was sort of impressed by the whole setup honestly. It was probably the nicest, most welcoming arrangement he’d ever seen. And, damn, if he didn’t enjoy his Omegaverse fics sometimes.
“What can I say? It’s the Omega in me,” joked Jake.
“I knew it!” cried the teenager, more life springing to her than despair. Of course, she was distracted currently. “Come out with it. Which fandom? Come on, Jakey boy.”
His husband instantly stiffened at the affectionate term.
Bradley's face fell in concern. Oh no.
Amelia caught the reaction, and all the progress they made vanished from her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her breathing turning shallow and quick again. The anxiety had returned.
“No. It’s . . .” Jake shook his head lightly. “It’s all right. My brother used to call me that all the time. That's all.”
“Oh.” Her eyes instantly darted to the floor, and she swallowed thickly.
“You couldn’t have known that.” His husband forced out a low chuckle, smiling softly. The pain was hidden from all corners of his face, even his eyes surprisingly. “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting to hear that again. It just caught me off guard.”
She nodded silently, clearly withdrawing back into herself again.
Bradley watched the sorrow swiftly sweep over his husband’s face.
“Um, it’s Supernatural by the way,” Jake answered quietly a few moments later.
“Yeah?”
He nodded, motioning for her to sit so they could eat their sandwiches that he put out for them earlier.
Bradley paused for half a moment realizing Jake had given the other half of the grilled cheese to him. He supposed he understood it, though. He had that same behavior, needing to be forced to eat practically during emotionally charged moments like these. The moment she sat in the middle, he and Jake joined her on their sides of the King-sized air mattress.
“I’m a sort of Jensen Ackles fanboy, I suppose,” Jake answered.
“Aren’t we all?” she quipped, leaning forward to pick up the plate. She hesitantly took a bite, quickly setting her plate back down as she chewed slowly before she forced herself to swallow.
Bradley followed her example, taking two bites, though. Damn, he loved Jake’s cooking. There was just something so perfect about it. He smiled inwardly as he recalled his dad once saying something similar about Ice’s cooking, too, back in that happy house in Coronado. That it tasted that good because it was made with extra love. And wasn’t that the truth?
God, he missed Ice. Probably not as much as his dad did, but Ice had been Bradley’s lighthouse in the stormy, rough seas after the shit storm that was the Academy Incident. He kicked them both out of his life after it, seconds after breaking down in Ice’s arms. His heart shattered into a million pieces at the absolute betrayal he hadn’t seen coming.
However, Ice refused to be cut out fully, and Bradley found he couldn’t cut his uncle out entirely either. If his dad hadn’t thrown himself so hard into the Navy after the betrayal and respected Bradley's wishes, Bradley knew he would have apologized sooner for his disgraceful behavior that night to the man he loved like a father. It wouldn’t have taken nearly dying to get them to sit down and really talk.
Ice would have known they made up before his death. That they finally stopped being so damn stubborn and listened to one another. Ice would have seen his wingman he had loved regain that spark of hope for second chances, to get it right finally after Bradley destroyed it that night with his foolish words.
He knew his dad told Ice this during their last visit to the cemetery, though, while Bradley told his parents about his own blond heartthrob.
“I seem to do that a lot,” Amelia quietly said, pulling Bradley from his thoughts.
“Do what?”
“Remind people of their dead loved ones.” She picked at her crust-less grilled cheese.
Where was this coming from all of a sudden? He was trying to follow her logic, but it was frankly all over the place honestly.
“What do you mean?”
“Dad and I played hooky a couple of months back.”
Bradley nodded slowly. Okay. Sounded like something their dad would do.
“We went jet skiing first. I, um, I somehow picked . . .” her voice trailed off.
“You picked Ice’s?” he guessed, catching her instant nod.
“They all got super awkward about it. I just picked it because it was the best looking one. That’s it. And then I made some stupid remark . . . and they all seemed weird about that, too. Said I reminded them of him. That my making sure they didn’t get hurt or killed was something he’d say, too.”
“Well, it would be something he’d say,” Bradley replied with a gentle smile. “He was all about safety after the accident. Making sure everyone was safe, did things the smart way so they wouldn’t get hurt or else. Dad called him an annoying mother hen sometimes actually.”
“But I didn’t know the dude,” she argued. “Just like I didn’t know Jake’s brother. I don’t do this shit on purpose. Honest. I don’t know why it happens.”
“It’s not a bad thing to remind us of them,” commented Jake quietly. “And we know you aren’t doing it intentionally. That it’s not you trying to hurt us. It’s just a coincidence. That’s all. Nothing to fuss over. I mean, I remind idiot over there of your dad constantly. Half the reason Roo hated my guts actually. It wasn’t like I did that on purpose either. It’s just who we are, kid.”
“Yeah, but then you don’t see the way Uncle Slider stares at me sometimes. Like . . . like he thinks I’m his best friend reincarnated or something.”
Bradley stated with a small smile, “I’m sure that’s not what he’s thinking. They’re just—well, shit—all of us who knew Ice are searching for pieces of him here still because we miss him,” he admitted quietly. “Because he had such a commanding presence in our lives. He was our rock, the one we counted on to be steady and calm through all the shit thrown at us.” He then sighed heavily. “We always thought it’d be Dad we’d bury next, not Ice. Ice was always so damn careful, so safe. I mean, when he beat cancer the first time, we didn’t doubt it once because of course he would. He was the strongest man I knew, and he didn’t even seem fazed when the doctor told him. He just took the diagnosis like he took everything else. Ice cold acceptance and dealt with it while Dad and I were an absolute fucking mess.”
“He probably did what Dad does. Break down later behind closed doors,” she mumbled.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he conceded. “It’s probably a habit he picked up from Ice even. However, that’s my point. You and me . . . we try to hide our hurt, our worry, our fear, and it nearly eats us alive every time. We can’t do it. I mean, you hold out longer than I do admittedly, but eventually you end up like me.”
She glanced down at her half-eaten sandwich, picking at it more.
“He’s not saying that’s a bad thing,” remarked his husband softly. “It’s something you both learned from growing up the way you did. It’s a learned behavior. That’s what he’s saying. You both had childhoods filled with abandonment by a parent. One intentional, and one not. Childhood trauma like that . . . it messes with you. Forces you to adopt unhealthy habits easily.”
“Since when did you become such an expert in adolescent psychology?”
“Har-har,” Jake scoffed. “It’s important to learn that stuff, especially when you’re looking at raising a kid, you know?”
“Yeah.”
“Speaking of which,” Jake sighed, glancing at Bradley.
“What?”
“The adoption agency contacted us earlier.”
“They finally approved you two?” Amelia asked, cutting in before taking another small bite.
“Not exactly.” His husband forced a smile. “More like they’re wanting to inspect the living conditions, environment, that sort of thing. See if we're suitable parents. That sort of thing.”
Ah. Which couldn’t come at a worse time honestly.
“Need me to get lost tomorrow then?” inquired the teenager softly as if she was actually expecting that from them.
“Absolutely not,” his husband answered, beating Bradley by a breath. “You’re actually probably going to help us get approved faster, our precious princess.”
She rolled her eyes, though. “Glad my—”
“—that’s not what I meant, and you know it, brat,” he stated with a frown. “I just mean having you here will show our parenting abilities.”
“Or lack thereof,” she retorted.
“Keep it up and I won’t let you pick the movie tonight,” his husband warned.
Bradley caught her eyes instantly flash dangerously. Shit! He gently reached out to her, placing a hand on her forearm to calm her. It did little good, though.
“You think I give a shit about that right now?” she snapped, wrenching her arm out of Bradley’s grasp. “That a movie is going to make everything all better? Erase seeing Mom grab her belly before she collapsed? About the blood? Fuck you, asshole!” She scrambled backwards to stand up.
Jake was a beat quicker, though, and pulled her back.
“Let me go!”
“Not until you calm down,” he replied calmly, holding her against his chest as she thrashed against him in an attempt to break free.
“Jake,” he sighed, knowing this was definitely not going to help anything here.
“Your mom is okay,” his husband stated, brushing off the warning. “She’s okay, Amelia. They’re keeping her overnight to make sure the drugs work. That’s it. They know what the problem is, and they’re going to regulate it. She’s going to be okay.”
“You don’t fucking know that!” she screamed, trying to fight him off harder.
“You’re right,” he replied neutrally, maintain his hold on her. “I don’t. But if anything changes, we have our phones on and we’ll be contacted. However, right now, darlin', you need to calm the fuck down. Because this right here, this absolute rage you have inside, it’s not going to do any good.”
“Well, not all of us can just shut off our emotions like goddamn robots!” she snarled, still trying to break free of his steel-like grip on her.
“I’m not asking you not to feel. I’m asking you to take a breath and calm down before you work yourself up again.”
Heart clenching somberly, Bradley watched the angry tears roll down her cheeks.
“She’s my mom, Jake!”
“I know, darlin’,” his husband murmured softly.
“She’s my mom and I’m . . . I’m not even there with her.” Her words came out shakily through her tears. “ . . . I . . . I’m stuck here with you two. And if anything . . . I should be there . . . I’m always there with her. Always.”
Bradley’s heart clenched further.
“Why . . . why not this time? What’s so damn different about this time?”
He could hear her grief and confusion pour out of her. He wanted nothing more than to hug the pain from her, protect her from all future heartbreak always. He knew he couldn’t, though. No one could. That was what made this the worst.
“Why’d he send me away from her?” she sobbed.
Jake gently turned her around, so she’d face him, tenderly cupping her face in his hands. “Listen to me. You can’t help her any more than we can, Amelia. We’re all just as helpless together.”
“Why’d he send me away?” she cried, repeating her question. “Why?”
“Because you’re a kid, Mel,” answered Bradley, feeling his heart break even further the more she cried. He hated seeing her so vulnerable like this. “Because you’re not supposed to be exposed to this level of adult bullshit yet. He’s protecting you. Like he always he does.” Like their dad always would.
“I don’t need protecting,” she stubbornly replied, sniffling loudly.
“Oh, baby girl,” Jake drawled with a broken, tearful laugh, “you do. You just don’t know it yet.” He tenderly brushed her tears away before pressing a loving, gentle kiss to her forehead. “Listen. We know you’re scared, okay? We know you want to be there. We do, too, honestly. However, your dad asked us to take you home, so that’s what we did. Because we know he’s right. That you don’t need any more goddamn fucked-up trauma added to your young life. Especially not this.”
“Jake—”
“No,” he interrupted. “You’re fourteen, princess. You’ve gone through so much already. From a bastard of a father who never deserved you to everything you saw with your mom in between those years and now with Pops. To your idiot boyfriend and jealous best friend. To that shit hole school of yours with that absolute waste of fucking space Mr. Kirk. You’ve gone through so much shit it’s no wonder you’re pissed with the world. Frankly, I’d be too, Kill Bill, but you can’t just rely on your anger all the time. Lash out to hurt others to get rid of the pain. Because, and I hate to break it to you here, but that’s fucked-up thinking, too. You got to stop and take a breath. Remind yourself how you’re not alone anymore in this life. How you got us to help you out. To shoulder that shit sometimes, too. Okay, our precious princess?”
She nodded shakily before she swallowed. “I’ve never been away from her like this. I was at least in the building last time!”
Jake nodded carefully. “We’ll go see her tomorrow after the adoption person, okay?”
“I can’t lose her.”
“You won’t. She’s in the safest place she can be right now. The doctors and nurses will watch her like a hawk, and if they don’t, your dad and uncles will.”
“She’ll be okay, Mel,” Bradley murmured, rubbing her back lightly. “She’s got Dad with her, and he’s got our uncles to lean on. They’ll be okay. And the baby . . . well, it’s not named Miracle Baby Mitchell for nothing, sis.”
God, he hoped that was true. They went through so much heartbreak as a family already. Losing a child . . . like that . . . after everything . . . He didn’t want to think about it too much.
“I don’t want to lose her because of it.”
“We won’t. Okay?” Bradley grabbed her hands, holding them in his and squeezing hers hard. “We won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because Ice is up there now,” he explained, pointing his thumbs upwards. “And he sure as hell is not going to let Dad suffer any more. I promise you that. He’ll demand an audience with God themself if he has to, and no one—I mean—no one can bend someone’s will like Ice can when it comes to Dad. How do you think Dad was able to fly all these years, hmm? It was all Ice.” Bradley gave her a somber, watery smile. “No. No, he wouldn’t leave Dad’s side, Mel. Not after thirty-three years together.”
“You never leave your wingman,” stated his husband quietly, meeting Bradley’s eyes a moment later. I’ll never leave your side, darlin’. “Ever.”
“Why wasn’t he with him?” she asked, glancing between Jake and Bradley. “Like, if they loved each other so damn much like my godmother said . . . like Mom said, too . . . why weren’t they together?”
Well, that explained if she knew that history, too.
“Because back then if they were open with their actual relationship, Mel, they’d be kicked out of the service.”
“So?”
He forced a rueful chuckle. Point taken.
“So, Dad has always wanted to be the best fighter pilot there ever was.”
“But isn’t he that now?”
Jake and Bradley laughed quietly. She had that point, too, didn’t she?
“Yeah. His record is legendary for sure,” he answered.
“No one can ever dispute he’s the best,” Jake commented, “considering the mind-blowing missions he was able to pull off successfully over the years.”
“Or the flight records no one will ever beat,” he stated.
“Or try to out of respect for him,” remarked his husband, meeting Bradley’s eyes to show the truthfulness of his words. If there were anyone out there who could beat Maverick Mitchell’s flight records, it’d be Jake. “Pops is . . . well, shit, he’s a fucking icon, a beacon of hope to all those who come behind him. Just like the Iceman was. They broke so many barriers. Made it so your brother and I could serve together if Roo had stayed in. Made it so there was only a requirement of us being upfront about our relationship and make a few compromises. Because of your dad and Iceman, we’re able to be together. Not something I think I’ll ever forget honestly.”
Amelia bit her lower lip nervously, her eyes flitting between them for half a moment.
“Mom said they were soulmates, he and this Ice guy. I don’t . . . he looks at Mom like she’s . . . I don’t understand. Aren't soulmates final? No one else is good enough stuff?”
Bradley sighed heavily.
“Dad explained it to me once. Said you could love more than one person. And I think Dad does. He loves Mom very much. Moved on with her when he was finally ready to offer his heart to her. However, I know without a doubt, growing up with them, that he and Ice were soulmates,” he confirmed, watching her confusion settle in more. “In fact, I'm positive that in some other universe, they were together openly like Mom and Dad are now. However, in this one, Dad did what he always does. He sacrificed his happiness at the time for the one he loves because he wasn't ready for it yet. For either relationship honestly.”
“Why?”
“Your mom said he did it for Ice because Dad didn’t want to hold Ice back in his career. Course, knowing Ice, I doubt he cared for any of those promotions he received. He wasn’t power hungry, wasn’t one to seek out climbing the ladder to the top really. No. I . . . if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say Ice rose the ranks for Dad. To make sure he would always have Dad’s back. No matter what.”
“And Mom?”
Bradley sighed quietly, scratching at his jaw lightly. He could tell she was trying to figure all of this out. Even he didn't have all the answers, though. “My understanding is she wanted kids. Dad didn’t, and he made that clear. He was too messed-up inside because of what happened with me. Because of what I said to him back then when I was angry about something stupid. He was terrified he’d mess things up if he had kids of his own. He always thought he’d be the worst parent ever.”
“That’s bullshit,” she declared fiercely.
“Agreed.” He chuckled lightly. “We know the truth. But it’s Dad. He’s . . . he’s fought more battles than we ever will, Mel. And he’s done it unfortunately mostly on his own because people—well, people absolutely fucking suck. It’s why he wraps us up in those fierce hugs of his when we’re upset. Because he’s trying to let us know he’s there for us, how we’re not alone in fighting this time. That he will do everything he can to protect us. In other words, he’s trying to give us a better life than his in the only way he knows how. By giving us what he didn’t have before my parents, before Ice, before my uncles, before your mom even came into his life. And, Mel, she was there before Ice. At least a few years, I think, before Dad met him at Top Gun. And they knew Dad loved them both in different, yet similar ways. It wasn't ever a competition between Mom and Ice. At least I don't think it was. They just . . . were, you know?” Two people in love with Maverick.
“We left him—”
Bradley held up a hand, though, quieting her. “Our uncles are better equipped for this, sis. They’ve got about . . . thirty-four years of experience in handling Dad, especially at his worst. We have to trust them. All right? Trust them to watch over our parents. I know that’s not an easy task, but we have to, Mel. We have to trust them right now.”
“She was bleeding, Bradley. Bad.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“And Dad was trying to keep her awake. He was yelling at her to stay awake, to keep her eyes open, and she wasn’t . . .” Amelia’s eyes searched his frantically. “I can’t lose her. I can’t. Because if Blake’s not . . . then everything’s . . . then the whole adoption . . . then who am I even?” she cried.
So, it wasn’t just the whole seeing her mother collapse that was the issue. It was also the whole paternity bullshit, too. On top of the Blake asshole-ness. The school. God, this poor kid.
His hands gently went to her cheeks, cupping her face lovingly.
“You are Amelia Benjamin. Okay? That’s who you are. You’re fourteen—almost fifteen. You are the daughter of Penny Benjamin and adopted daughter of Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. You’re my little annoying sister.” He smiled when he caught her broken laugh in response. “You’re Jake’s fierce sister-in-law who gives him a run for his money in terms of sass sometimes and by being a royal pain in the ass. You’re loved by the entire Dagger squadron . . . and probably even Dad’s class of ’86 Top Gun, too, I’d bet. You have an emo boyfriend and a petty best friend. And you are one of the smartest and fiercest young women we know. That’s who you are. This shit with Blake—he can’t take that away from you. He can’t. We will always love you, Amelia. Always. That’s what happens when a squadron adopts you. You get the whole damn Navy on your side, ready to fight to the death for you.”
She quickly buried her face into his chest a moment later, sobbing into him. His husband gently rubbed her back, sharing a look over the top of her head with Bradley.
This couldn’t be fixed overnight. No matter how badly Bradley wanted it to be, he knew it couldn’t be. All they could do was be there for her. Offer their strength to her. Reassure her. Be a sympathetic ear. That was it. That was all anyone could do at this point.
The rest was up to the Fates.
He just hoped and prayed this time the Fates didn’t decide to break another family again.