𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐱𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 ❝ 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ❞ ✈ ✈ ✈

THE DUO RETURNED BACK TO THE HARD DECK AFTER THE SUN DISAPPEARED BEHIND THE SALTY WATER OF THE SEA.

They fell into conversation with their desperate groups once again, pretending like nothing had happened.

Both of them had this certain giddy feeling in their stomachs as they laughed and spoke with their friends. Occasionally, their eyes would find the other's, and they'd just hold their gaze until one of them pulled away.

They'd share clandestine smiles and glances at each other. Their faces shined with a unique glow once they'd made up about this, and they were glad they did. Everything was going back to how it was, and soon, Faith would reveal her feelings for Bradley.

Her conversation with Natasha, though, is broken when her phone vibrates in her pockets.

Sarah.

The bar was noisy as always, so Faith had quickly informed Natasha about the call, and the other woman just nodded as she waved her off with a shrug and a mutter of, "Dude, it's your mom. Take it."

Faith presses her phone to her ear after she tapped the call button, calling again as she was unable to pick the call up Sarah had made before. She made her way out of the bar.

"Hey, Sarah." There's no reply for a few seconds.

And then, "Faith. It's Ice. You need to come home, right now." Her smile falls off her face, and her heart and stomach are thrown out for a toss off a high cliff.

Faith takes no more than five seconds to register what Sarah had just told her, even though it wasn't in depth. It wasn't what she said, but how Sarah said it. There was a depression in her usual sweet voice, and that scared Faith. She felt herself freeze as her mind races within.

"I- I'll be home within the hour, Sarah, I'm coming." The older woman barely speaks a word, humming as she tries to hold in a sob.

Faith rushes inside with extreme urgency to find her car keys and bag. Her fellow graduates watch her as she frantically searches for her car keys she'd placed on the bar counter. She could hear Penny speak, but she couldn't make anything out, except the sound of her ears ringing. The older woman places a hand on her shoulder in comfort, before helping Faith search for the keys.

Natasha walks over in long strides as she watches Faith search around in panic, handing the woman her purse she'd placed by the pool table when they'd began playing. Bradley sees her expression, and immediately stops his conversation with Fanboy, placing the half empty beer glass on the table before moving in his best friend's direction. He places a comforting hand on her shoulder as her hair falls into waves on it.

Faith turns her head to look at Bradley's ever so comfort filled eyes. He could always sense if there was even the slightest shift of moods with her. She tells him everything as she tries to hold in the tears forming in her eyes.

"It's, it's my mom, I need to get home," Faith couldn't sit down at this moment to reveal her secret to him, and he's confused by her words at this moment.

Penny calls out to her as she finds the younger woman's car keys, throwing them in her direction. Faith catches them in her palm, shouting a quick, "Thank you, Penny!" The official pilot makes her way out of the bar as Natasha and Bradley follow right behind her to her car.

Faith stops in her tracks, before she turns around to look at her closest friends with tears in her eyes and a knot in her throat. The two just share a quick glance. Faith moves closer to Natasha, pulling the shorter woman in a very much needed hug, and she just closes her eyes as a tear escapes.

Faith pulls away, wiping her tear, moving towards Bradley who wraps his arms around her, his palm at the back of her head as he pulls her face into his neck and security.

Natasha makes Faith promise to text her the second she's reached, it was getting pretty late in the evening. Bradley had offered to drive her, but Faith had shook her head, saying this was something she wanted to do by herself.

When she's out of the parking lot, she looks back through her rear view mirror at her two friends who wave their hands at her from behind her.













































✈ ✈ ✈



FAITH REACHES THE KAZANSKY HOUSEHOLD WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES OF TERRIBLY FAST DRIVING.

She's out of the car the second she stops her car and pulls out the keys, skipping the steps of the porch which led up to the house, knocking repeatedly until Sarah opened the doors.

One look for Faith is enough, before she's entering the house and pulling Sarah into a hug she gladly welcomes, holding the younger woman tightly. They pull away, their hands still entangled as Sarah speaks nothing, just pulls her towards the kitchen table where Ice was sitting with a full glass of water in front of him at the head of the table.

Faith looks back at Sarah who doesn't say a word, taking a seat beside Tom. Faith slowly walks towards the table, taking her seat beside Tom and opposite Sarah. This wasn't like either of them, sitting in such a miserable manner with their heads down.

They sit in complete silence for what felt like absolutely forever. Faith had grabbed onto Tom's hand and encased her fingers with his, just squeezing. Sarah grabs Faith's hand in one, and her husband's in the other, squeezing his hand in support. Tom meets her eyes, and Sarah nods in Faith's direction.

Faith takes the chance to ask in a soft whisper, "What's wrong, Ice?"

She meets a reply from silence, for a few moments.

And then, the angel who brought her in, reveals his suffering in a strained voice coated with a light cough, "Before your finals, I went to the doctor's for my yearly check-up." His words are slow, and Faith observes that she's never seen him so terribly exhausted in all the years she'd stayed with him.

Her eyes are furrowed with curiosity and confusion, "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Sarah speaks for Tom, "We didn't tell you because you had much more important things on your mind, finals." She stresses on the particular word, "It would have only distracted you, honey." Sarah squeezes her hand.

Tom continues on, "Everything seemed fine. Then my reports came back today, Faith," He looks back down at the family's hands in each other's.

Tom looks directly into Faith's eyes now, and she sees the way he's crumbled inside with the horrible news. She squeezes his hand, bringing her other hand to place it over his. He's unable to continue with his words when several coughs escape his throat, and Faith hurriedly pours some water from the glass jug they'd painted together into a cup, handing it to him.

His cough settles down, but when he opens his mouth to speak after a few gulps of water, nothing escapes. So Sarah continues for him, "There's a knot in his throat. They don't know what it is yet. The doctor wants him to go through with a biopsy as soon as possible. He didn't want to tell you, at first, but then he fainted on the way home in the morning, so I had to call you."

"When's the procedure?" A simple question escapes Faith before she could hold it back. She receives a simple reply to her curiousness, "Friday."

"Faith, they think it's cancer." And it's out in the air now. The depth of those words made Faith feel like she was drowning.

Faith presses a hand to her mouth, a shaky breath thrown out, few crystalline tears escaping her eyes. Her hand glides across her face as she wipes away the tears. She stays quiet for a few minutes, no words escaping anyone as they simply take in the true depth of the words Sarah had spoken.

Faith stands up after a moment of silence, wiping her tears, and pulls Tom into a hug from behind, her hands going around his neck as he places his hands around her arms. Sarah wraps her arms around the pair.

The three of them let the tears escape their eyes, holding each other with a tight grasp, and no promise of letting go anytime soon.

The thought of ever having to lose her Iceman, someone who'd taken her under his home and into his arms after so long of yearning a true father's love. And she had it when she was with him. But now, the fact that there was a chance of being deprived of his beautiful soul despite of his cold reputation, it brought her heart down to her stomach with a free fall. He was her confidante, and he knew what she felt, how deeply she felt. He taught her what she knew about flying. About an F/A-18, the Tomcat, the F-35, the T-6, the Talon, you name it. He taught her the mechanics, the physics and depth to it all, the solutions to countless problems regarding, not just flying or the Navy, but in life. He had her listen to his favorite songs, which became her favorite ones. He brought out the shotgun that one time she'd brought Bradley home for a dinner. He put a hand on her shoulder that day, a significance of his liking towards the man she'd brought home.

He gave her a mother, and a father, himself. He gave her a family, a second chance at life, away from her asshole of a biological father. He helped her excel at nearly every aspect in her life, let alone flying. He never said no to her, never even yelled at her, and gave her chance after chance to prove herself and give back in a way that she wanted to give back to him. The life he gave her still felt unreal at every high point she'd had and knows she will have in her life, and it was all because this life was given to her by him.

And now, his was slowly being snatched away from him, aspect by aspect, piece by piece.

He was her father through and through.















































✈ ✈ ✈



It had been mere weeks since Tom had brought Faith home, and her life had never been better. There was a distinct memory of her mother lying in her deathbed in her mind, but there was a far more vivid moment right now, the moment where she felt like crying.

Ice had brought her to school. Him and Sarah had kept her admission a secret, and when they'd revealed it to her, she had smiled a bright one, pulling both of them into a hug from excitedness. But right this moment, as she sat in the backseat of Tom's car with Sarah's arms wrapped around her shoulder from beside her, Faith felt like crying.

The days had passed in a rapid manner, and her first day had already come around as she watched the bustling crowd of kids like her pacing around in nervousness, or excited to enter a higher level of education with their friends by their side.

Faith didn't know any other kids beside the ones at home with Tom and Sarah who'd accompanied her to school this day. Yes, she got along with them perfectly, and maybe wanted to pull her ears out at the constant nagging of theirs, she loved the little family she'd been given another chance with. And right now, she did not want to leave them.

"You'll be alright, sweetheart." Tom had called out from the drivers' seat as he turned his head to meet her nervous gaze with a comfort-filled smile. Sarah nods in agreement with him, looking at Faith who turns to look at the woman, "Yeah, you're gonna make a lot of friends, you're gonna learn new things."

Faith nods herself at Sarah's words, "I am excited about learning. But not the other kids." Tom barely holds in his snort at her mutter. Sarah slaps his shoulder with a scolding look, failing to hide the smile on her face.

"It's gonna be okay, honey, I promise." At this, Tom had brought forth his pinky to grasp the girl's, and Sarah had too. Faith had clasped both her pinky fingers to wrap around with her caretakers. With a determined nod, and the sweetest smile the couple had seen, the girl opens the door to the car and jumps out, them following right behind her with her siblings in their arms.

She stood a few steps ahead of them on the school grounds, watching the kids laugh with their friends, or cry at their parents leaving them. Faith looked back at the couple who'd welcomed her into their home with wide open arms, and they nodded with soft and gentle smiles towards the school building.

Faith turned back towards the school, and made her way near to the building with a deep breath. She walked further towards the entrance, but then she stopped in her tracks as she gazed up at the big sign on the two doors which said the name 'Meadowbrook Middle'.

She turned her back towards the entrance and ran back the steps she'd walked up to the school. The Kazansky couple had sat back into the car as they watched the girl go towards the entrance, but their eyes still lingered on her far figure. The second she turned back to run in their direction, they got out of the car and stood by it, waiting for their little girl to run up to them.

Faith's smile got brighter and brighter as she ran back to them, and when she reached them, she let out a beautiful giggle the Kazansky's swore they'd never forget the sweet melody of.

Tom leant on his knee to catch her in his arms when the girl reached them, standing up the second he'd caught her back in his hold, wrapping both arms around Faith's back. He brought his hand to Sarah's and pulled her into the hug, and she immediately wrapped her arms around the both of them. A huge smile painted Faith's face as she felt multiple kisses on her face from her parents, a melodious laugh escaping her throat at the feeling she wore she'd never get enough of.

In this moment, she wished this peaceful moment would last forever and ever.



































✈ ✈ ✈



THE PEACE FILLED SLEEP IN HER COMFORTABLE BED BACK AT HOME IS DISTURBED BY HER PHONE VIBRATING ON HER BEDSIDE TABLE.

She'd gone back to her beach house after making dinner for the herself and her parents, wanting to bring Hulk with her to the Kazansky household the next day when she'd planned to take a break from everything since she hadn't been assigned any mission. Keyword, hadn't.

Her eyes flutter to an open, shifting her body towards the vibrations of her phone. The grey Siamese on who had slept by her side through the night had woken up too at the sound, purring to a close touch towards Faith as she pulls him into her lap when she sits up in her bed, the phone in her hands as she doesn't check the caller i.d before placing it to her ear.

"Archer." It was Hurricane.

Immediately, the woman stands up in attention at her CO's voice, her right hand flies up to the side of her forehead by the arch of her sharp eyebrow.

"Hurricane, sir." Faith calls out.

"Listen carefully, Archer. I want you here at TOPGUN at 0500 hours." Her gaze finds the alarm clock on her bedside table, it was four in the morning.

"There's a mission, and I want you to fly it. We have a crisis situation." The words at the end make Faith awaken completely.

"I'll be there, sir."