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Rooster had not been in contact for over four hours. The mission ended well, he had done his job. But on the way back, his plane broke down, the GPS didn't work, and there was no contact or attempt at communication.
“Lieutenant Floyd, with all due respect, but according to protocol, after four hours of radio silence, we must end the operation and declare Rooster dead.”
Cyclone spoke softly, trying not to show any emotion or offend the Bobs. However, no matter how hard he tried, bitterness was clear in his voice. The communications room was packed to the rafters: the signalmen, the generals in charge of the operation, the entire Dagger squad, even Maverick. Everyone stood with bated breath, hoping for the slightest sign from Rooster.
Bob's voice trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes, which he stubbornly tried to push away.
“Admiral, let me stay here, in case something changes.”
“Stay, I'll fill out the report, I won't write anything about him yet. But I have to send it tomorrow at nine, so if nothing changes, you know what I'll have to do.”
Bob felt his hands start to shake, he realized the reality of the situation, would he never see Bradley again?
“I understand that, thank you.”
Cyclone turned to everyone present and, with barely perceptible notes of disappointment, announced:
“Thank you all, the mission is officially completed, everyone can go back to their work.”
A voice of defiance rose from the crowd, the voice of someone who ignored the rules and did what he thought was right. Maverick joined in the conversation.
“With all due respect, Admiral, you can't do this. We have to do something, you can't leave him there to die.”
“Maverick, you of all the people here have no right to order me around. These are your people and I understand that this is difficult for you, but it is also your fault, you should not have let him go himself, I warned you. Besides, he is a soldier, like you, so he should have understood what consequences could await him. You are one of the most privileged here, but even you cannot make me break protocol. Thank you all again, you can be free.”
The room quickly emptied. Robert stayed. He was left alone with his demons. The pilot's face fell into his hands. Uneven breathing, rapid heartbeat, a treacherous tremor throughout his body and the tears he had held back for so long insidiously rolled down, leaving wet, salty trails on his cheeks. Thoughts of Bradley's plane falling, crashing, him lying powerless on the ground and fighting for his life flashed through his mind.
Bob gripped the radio so tightly that the knuckles on his wrist turned white. He took a deep breath, which again did not come out evenly because of the tears. Gathering his thoughts into something at least resembling sober thinking, he cleared his throat and pressed the button on the radio.
“Rooster, can you hear me? Tell me something.”
In response: only dead radio silence.
“Hope dies last,” they seem to say. Unintentionally, Bob began to feel something similar. His usual thinking slowly slipped away, replaced by an anxious paranoia.
"Rooster, talk to me, please."
Silence again…
The radio fell to the table with a thud and Bob let go of his emotions. Tears flowed, his body trembled, and his heart shattered into a million pieces. In the silence of the room, between barely audible sobs, the door creaked. Familiar, soft footsteps walked through the room. Nat put her hand on Bob's shoulder.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Not good” - Bob put on a fake, broken smile. He looked broken. Fear crept under his skin, hid in his chest and tore at him from the inside.
“I don't know what to do, I feel powerless, I feel like I'm about to give up, I'm scared…”
“No, no, no, come here.”
She reached out, pulling Robert into her arms.
“Hey, I understand you're scared, we're all worried about him, but imagine how scared he is. He needs your faith in him. You know Rooster, he doesn't believe in hopeless situations and always finds a way out. Okay?”
Bob took a breath, wiped away his tears, and nodded.
“Yes, okay. If he needs me, I will do everything in my power to help him.”
“Okay, should I stay or do you want to be alone?”
“No, don't go, stay, please.”
Natasha pulled up a second chair, sat down, and placed her hand on Bob's.
“Everything will be fine, he will be fine” -Bob nodded and Nat took the radio.
“Rooster, this is Phoenix, talk to me, if you can hear me”
Again, nothing. Nat talked to him, knowing that he couldn't be left alone with his thoughts. Time passed, but the fear in Bob's chest did not disappear.
“What if something happened to him?”
“Bob, we have to believe that everything will be okay, especially you.”
“Okay…” -He exhaled - “It's late, you should go to bed”
“You too”
“I'm not going anywhere, at least until nine”
“I'm sure you'll hear from him sooner, I can feel it.”
“That's good” -Bob smiled shakely
Nat hugged Bob, said goodbye, and went to sleep.
Bob picked up the radio and spoke to his boyfriend again. He heard nothing again, but this time the despair dissolved, leaving behind a new hope. Bob's tired brain refused to work, and eventually he fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Bob woke up, he saw that two hours had passed. If Bradley had spoken to him, would he have heard? Bob picked up the radio again.
“Rooster, can you hear me?”
Fear began to creep up on him again. It was already six in the morning, and he still hadn't heard from Rooster. Had he really lost him? Robert couldn't accept the thought of having to live without his beloved.
“Damn it, Bradley, tell me something, please. Tell me where to find you.”
“Base, this is Rooster, how can you hear me? I repeat, this is Rooster, how can you hear me?”
“I hear you, Rooster.” -Bob finally smiled sincerely, tears welled up in his eyes, only this time from happiness, his hands trembled again and his heart began to beat wildly.
“Bob, is that you?”
“Yes, yes, dear, it's me, how are you?”
"Everything is fine, just cold, hungry and badly want to smoke
Bob couldn't hold back his tears. He was so happy that he was ready to get on a plane and fly to get him himself. Wait, where is he?
“It's good that you still feel it, where are you?”
“In Alaska, the plane crashed while I was talking to Cyclone, I fell and crashed the plane. Can you imagine, for the first time in my entire career, I couldn't even imagine that something like this could have happened.”
“Don't worry, the main thing is that you're okay. Can you send me your coordinates, I'll write to the evacuation team”
“The plane is completely destroyed, I'm afraid it won't work”
“Okay, I'll think of something. Um, tell me the tracker is intact”
“Intact, but almost discharged, it won't last until the team arrives”
“That's okay, then I'll write to them, and you turn on the tracker when I tell you”
“Copied”
“Wait a minute, there it is, they are relaying the message to the unit in Alaska, we have to wait twenty minutes, maybe half an hour.”
“Okay, that's no problem. Tell me something.”
“Oh, I was so worried, I thought I would never see you again.”
“It's all good now, tell me how did i do , because I didn't even hear it.”
“You did great, we were all celebrating.”
“That's great. You know, it's so boring here, everything is so gray, I think I'm going to fall asleep now.”
"No, no, no. Bradley, promise me you won't close your eyes”
“Okay, I won't. Do you remember that we're hosting a BBQ at home this month?”
“Yes, of course I remember”
“What do you want me to cook?”
“I love your chicken steaks”
“Chicken steaks, okay, whatever you say. We should probably reschedule dinner tomorrow, I'm sorry about that”
“It's okay, I'm not really ready for it either. Bradley, honey, turn on the tracker for me.”
“Copied. I turned it on and I think I can already hear the helicopter”
“Great, you'll be there in three hours”
“Finally I'll be with you”
“Yes, finally. I can also hear the helicopter, wish you a safe flight. If you need anything, let me know, I'll be here”
“Copied. Love you”
“Love you too”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sound of footsteps echoed through the room. Bob looked up.
“Nat,” - He stood up, hugging her
“You are happy, tell me what happened”
“He's coming back. I spoke to him, he's being flown here by helicopter”
“That's great news, when was the last time you spoke to him?”
“A little after six”
Phoenix glanced at the watch on her wrist.
“Looks like he'll be here soon”
“Just a little more to wait”
The clock stubbornly struck 8:30 when the sound of an approaching helicopter could be heard outside - the signal announcing Rooster's return.
“Nat, that's him.”
Tears welled up in Bob's eyes, he almost cried with happiness.
“Come on, Bradley will be waiting for you.”
Robert nodded and they went outside, where the noise of the helicopter became so loud that it was impossible to speak. He squeezed Natasha's hand as the helicopter descended. The hum stopped, the door opened, and Rooster emerged, tired but happy.
"Go to him," - Nat smiled sincerely, looking at both of them.
Bob ran into his boyfriend's arms, almost knocking the tired Bradley off his feet.
“Hey” - Bradley laughed softly, pulling Bob closer
“I'm so glad you're okay.”
“I'm glad you saved my life. Come here”
Bradley pulled Robert into a gentle, lazy kiss. His tired brain was incapable of more. But it came out so sensual that it probably wouldn't have come out that way even if it had been intentional.
"I'll never let you go anywhere alone again," Bob whispered with all the tenderness he hid in his heart. - “Don’t you dare scaring me like that ever again”
“Oh, I would never, not with how much I love you”
“I love you too”