Natasha had left for base, and Genevieve was at daycare when Emmett got a call.

“Hey Penny, what's up?”

The woman smiled at the other end of the phone. “Well, I just wanted to give you some good news. I know we could all use it right now.”

Emmett lifted an eyebrow. “Don't keep me waiting, Penny, the anticipation might just kill me.”

She laughed at the sarcasm bleeding through his tone. “You've got full approval. Your program is a go, Emmett.”

He smiled. Larger than he had in days, in fact. “That is good news. That's fantastic news, actually. Once I finalize the last of the details, with approval now, I'll get you everything. Thank you, Penny, seriously. You've helped so much.”

She laughed it off. “Honestly Emmett, what you're doing will only help the community. It was no trouble at all.”

And with that, the two hung up, and Emmett got to work on the last of the details.

He sent out messages to his fellow Ninjas, those who said they would be there and others who had participated in previous events. He checked and double-checked what obstacles would be set up and who he would need to monitor.

It had taken him well into the afternoon to set everything up, sending what Penny needed out and discussing with Rick and a few other members of his staff the set up time.

But finally, finally, everything was figured out, and Emmett could take a sigh of relief, if only for a brief moment.

His girlfriend, on the other hand, was not having a fun day.

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

The hanger still had a somber vibe around it. The mission was closer than ever, and after the funeral, the aviators just haven't been able to shake some of those negative feelings.

It's only made worse when Cyclone starts talking, standing at the front of the room.

"Captain Mitchell is no longer your instructor. And as of today, there are new mission parameters," Cyclone informs them. 

The mission clock on the monitor resets from 2:30 minutes to 4:00.

"Time to target is now 4 minutes. You'll be entering the valley level at reduced speed. Not to exceed 429 knots."

Everyone looks at each other with worried and concerned faces, Hangman especially looks concerned. This was not what they had been training. And it was going to get someone killed.

"Sir, won't we be giving their planes time to intercept," Bob asks the first one to snap out of his astonishment.

"Well, lieutenant, you have a fighting chance against enemy aircraft. What are the odds of surviving a head-on collision with a mountain?" Cyclone answers him.

"You'll be attacking the target from a higher altitude, and the cyclone continues, level with the north wall. It will be harder to keep your laser on target, but you will avoid the high-G climb out." Even Warlock is looking wary, observing the looks of the aviators around him.

"We'll be sitting ducks for those enemy missiles," Fanboy whispers to Payback.

Suddenly, the screen starts to move, and a beeping comes online. A small dot is being tracked.

"Who the hell is that," Cyclone questions as an F-18 appears on screen.

"Maverick to range control, entering point alpha, confirm green range." Maverick's voice comes over the speakers.

"Maverick, range control, uh green range is confirmed, but I don't see an event scheduled for you, sir," range controls answers back.

Everyone in the mission room looks excited to see Maverick let go of all restrictions.

"Well, I'm going anyway," Maverick says back. 

"Nice," Phoenix whispers. 

"Setting time to target, 2 minutes 15 seconds," Maverick says. 

"Two fifteen, that's impossible," Payback says.

Hangman looks at the screen with a slight smirk, anticipating finally seeing Maverick show his full range.

"Time set for you," control informs him.

"Never say no," Maverick says, locking it to start.

Everyone is watching the screen, hardly breathing as they watch Maverick fly the course, navigating tight turns faster than they've ever seen.

The time is 1:30, and he's already halfway there, as everyone watches in anticipation
39 seconds on the clock as he approaches the target point.

"Popping, 3,2,1," Maverick counts down as he prepares to enter the inverted climb.

"Bombs away," as he launches the first missiles.

The missile hits with 0.16 seconds left on the clock as maverick hits 9.5Gs.

"Bullseye," Payback calls out as the missile lands. "Holy shit," Coyote says.

Cyclone stares at the screen, showing Maverick has just hit 10Gs. His mind was racing, unsure of what to do now.

"Damn," Hangman admits.

But now, all the pilots know that this mission is possible to pull off, which is what they needed.

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Emmett, having run himself ragged for the day, made his way home, planning to get a few things done before picking up Gena from daycare.

So imagine his surprise when he walks through his front door to hear his daughter's infectious laughter echoing through the house, followed by his girlfriend's own laugh.

“Hello?”

His girls round the corner, Gena running to give him a hug. “Hi Daddy.”

He raised an eyebrow at Natasha. “Done early today, I see.”

She tilts her head slightly, eyes widening. “It was certainly an interesting day, that's for sure.”

“Well,” he began, “you can fill me in over dinner.”

And the small family went about their afternoon, getting housework done and grocery lists made. (With dance breaks here and there, of course).

And when it came to night time, something that somehow snuck up on them, the couple was struck by Genevieve's sleepy words.

“Goodnight Daddy, goodnight Mommy. I love you.”

The couple freezes, not expecting it. But Natasha quickly goes back to the girl’s bed, leaning down and kissing her forehead. “Love you too, sweet girl.”

And once her bedroom door was shut, Natasha collapsed into Emmett, overwhelmed with emotion.

But Emmett, despite not expecting his daughter to say that, had figured it would happen sooner or later.

“She’s not wrong, you know.” He looked down at Natasha, seeing the happy tears in her eyes. “You've been her mom since the day you met her.”

Natasha, somehow, had known that, too. She was there when Gena was sick. She was ‘interviewed’ for her pre-school parents' day. She attended any and all recitals Gena had if she was close by.

And Emmett had never had to ask her to do any of it. She would come because she loved that little girl and wanted to support her, to show her she was loved.

That night, in a house in the town of North Island, this family had changed once again.

But this time, it was for the better. And it was something that everyone had seen coming.

✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈

Word count: 1,139

Why was I so emotional about the end of this chapter?? Like so much happened but I can only focus on Gena being literally the cutest girl ever and calling Nat her mom!!

Does anything else really matter?

I don't think so, so bye guys!!