It was a perfect night for flying: clear skies, bright stars, full moon, and a crisp cold wind. Linayah stared down the runway to the tall corn fields, green and well cared for. She breathed in the fresh air and sighed contentedly. The silver and red plane inched forward on the runway, the cold wind under her wings. The field stretched far in every direction only cut by her hanger and runway. She stayed under a thousand feet, taking in the night sky. The few minutes of flying felt good on her stiff wings.

Suddenly a navy blue airplane screamed past her, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. His nose was beginning to fall low. Linayah streaked across the sky, "Nose up, nose up!" The blue plane listened to her. "Alright, my runway is just that way," she banked to face the strip of asphalt. "Flaps down, ease off the pitch," her counterpart was struggling to keep his wings steady. "Good, landing gear down." His wheels bounced on the runway as he applied his brakes.

He stopped with heaving breaths, "Thank you." Now that Linayah could see him properly she was surprised to see an F4U Corsair panting on her runway. "I don't know what happened; I don't think I would've made it without you. I'm Riley, by the way."

"I'm Linayah," she said, escorting him to her hanger. "You've gotta rest and I'm sure Kate can fix ya right up."

Riley shook his nose, "I have to get to St. Paul before ten. I've gotta train for war."

"No, you can't fly after a fit of engine failure; you'll hurt yourself worst and end up crashing and in the hospital."

She showed him to a wing of her hanger where a golden forklift was putting together a puzzle. She looked up. "Who is the Corsair and what is he doing here?"

"Engine failure," Linayah explained, "He's gotta be up and runnin' again soon or he'll be late for his training."

Riley folded one wing in a snappy salute, "That's right. I'm going ta be deployed to the Jolly Wrenches' ship, the USS Dwight D. Flysenhower."

"Oh," Kate said crossing her lifts, "So you think just because yer goin' to be sent off to war you don't need to be fixed. Listen, buddy, yer not goin' anywhere until I look at that wing of yers and fix up yer engine."

"I told him," Linayah said smugly. Riley gave her a glare.

Riley pulled his wing away from Kate's wrench, "I don't need your help, thank you."

Kate slapped his wing and fierce pain pulsed through it, "Yer a stubborn plane aren't ya. Look, I'm not gonna even let you set one wheel on that runway until you get fixed. I don't care what important business you have to do."

Riley groaned but this time let her look at his injured wing. "Isn't my engine more important than my wing?"

"Sure," Kate said, "But yer engine will prevent you from flying on this wing of yers. You won't be able to fly on a bad wing if yer engine doesn't work." Riley watched as she tightened his aileron. As soon as she was done she looked up at him, "I'm not sure why I'm doin' this fer ya when ya don't even want me to. It seems a waste of time."

Riley smiled weakly, "You're a mechanic, what am I gonna do?" As Kate moved to his engine Riley began wondering about the crop duster that had saved him. It seemed so lucky that she had been flying that night or that his engine gave out when it did. It was as if he was supposed to be here for some reason. As if it was fate that called him here. "Typical," Kate muttered, "Redlining it for quite awhile. You war planes need to find some time to relax. Maybe these kinds of things wouldn't happen if ya just calmed down sometimes. It would be good fer yer engine."

Two weeks passed before Riley was gassed, geared and ready to fly, but he didn't want to go. He'd taken to Linayah. She had grown the corn field on her own, plowing, planting, and dusting the field until it grew tall. She was also kind and stern. "I know you can't come with me, but can you fly with me to edge of the fields?"

She smiled, "Of course."

Linayah flew with him farther then she expected to. She liked Riley and she sensed that he liked her too. Then Riley began to point his nose to the sky, "C'mon, Linayah, we should fly higher, the view is extraordinary."

Linayah hesitated before blurting, "No, Riley, I'm afraid of heights." Riley slowed down, staring at her in shock. "I'm a crop duster, not a fighter; I've never flown over a thousand feet."

Riley nodded, "I understand."

"You… do?"

Riley smiled caringly, "If I hadn't been raised to fly high, I wouldn't like heights either." They shared one last look before parting. Riley called behind him, "I'll come back, I promise."

And Riley did return every month to say hello. Linayah and Riley developed a bond like no planes had seen before. And one day he returned with excitement bright in his eyes, "I came back with a surprise!"

He faced Linayah on the runway, "Will you, Linayah, be my wife?" He produced a ring strapped to his wing and showed it to her.

Linayah was too shocked to respond at first. "Yes," she whispered hoarsely. "Yes!" Riley slipped the ring over her propeller with a grin wrapping around his nose.

Linayah felt different, as if there was something wrong with her engine. She took it to Kate, "Is there anything wrong?"

Kate's eyes shone, "No, you're with child." Riley would be excited beyond measure… and shocked.

The crop duster couldn't quite believe it, "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Kate said with a nod, "I know and how often have I been wrong."

Linayah smiled, "Never."

Riley returned from training that night tired. Linayah didn't know if she should tell him. She couldn't leave him in the dark. "Um, Riley?"

Riley smiled, "Yes?"

"Um, I was feeling funny this morning and went in to see Kate and…"

Riley looked concerned, "Are you alright?"

The plane took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."