Disclaimer: I don't own planes.
The Official Announcement, Planning and Wedding
The next morning, Blade slowly rolled up the road to the base. He knew he shouldn't have had that high-grade. Unlike everyone else on the base, he rarely drank anything higher than mid-grade. At least his date was fun. Jenny was so fun-loving and easy to talk to, he'd ended up staying at the lodge with her overnight. Now, he needed to talk to Maru about this pounding headache. As he entered the base, he noticed that something was wrong. It was way too quiet. Normally, everyone would be up and about, but the only vehicles he could see were Patch and Maru.
Maru was happily going about his business when he heard someone slowly approaching. When he turned around and saw Blade, he became concerned. Blade looked horrible. The mechanic rushed over to his boss and asked, "what's wrong, Blade?" Blade groaned. "I need something for this pounding headache." Maru motioned his boss to follow him into his hanger. "By the way, boss," Maru said quietly, "the others are sleeping in this morning." "Why?," Blade muttered as he rolled into the hanger right behind the team mechanic. "Because everyone was celebrating," Maru said cheerfully. "I haven't seen so much high-grade on the base since you've been here." Blade watched as Maru rolled over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pills. Shaking out two, he placed the bottle back and rolled over to the large red helicopter. "Here, take these, you'll feel better."
Blade swallowed the proffered pills. "So," he continued, "why was everyone celebrating, exactly?" Maru smiled, and said, "so it's official. Dusty and Dipper are engaged." At that Blade sat up straighter on his landing gear. "Really?! Since when did they start dating?!" Maru laughed quietly. "Remember that 'business trip' Dipper took several months ago? After she got back, I heard her talking to Dynamite and Pinecone about visiting Propwash Junction. I suspect they started dating before we went to Propwash Junction for their corn festival."
Blade was floored by that revelation. "And you didn't tell me?," he asked, slightly annoyed. Maru shrugged. "I thought everyone knew," he said simply, "although after watching all that high-grade being passed around because of lost bets, I realized I was wrong." At that, Blade couldn't help but grin. "Do tell," he said. Maru laughed as the memories from last night came back to him. "Blackout, Drip, and Avalanche had a bet going against Dynamite and Pinecone. Those three didn't think Dusty and Dipper were dating. They had to give the girls their entire stash." Blade couldn't help but laugh at the thought of the three base troublemakers losing a bet they really shouldn't have made in the first place. "And then, there was Cabbie and Windlifter," Maru continued, trying hard not to laugh, "Cabbie lost the same bet against Windy and tried to call it an IOU. Windlifter was having none of it!" By that time, Maru was laughing too hard to continue. Blade joined in. "I wish I'd been here to witness that! Too bad my date was last night!"
About that time, Windlifter rolled up. "Welcome home, boss," he said by way of greeting. Blade nodded once. "So I heard everyone was celebrating an engagement last night," the air boss said. Before Windlifter could respond, the door to Dippers' hanger was pushed open, and Dipper and Dusty rolled out, laughing about something Dipper had said. "If you thought that was entertaining, you should've been in Propwash Junction in early November!," Dusty said, trying hard not to laugh, "Leadbottom got so tired of hearing the younger aircraft complain about the cold, he took it upon himself to spend the night outside on the tarmac to prove it wasn't that cold out!" By this time, everyone else had left their hangers and were now listening to Dustys' story intently. "Go on," Dipper said, a huge smile on her face. "So anyway, Dusty continued, "that night a freezing rain came through. Early the next morning, we found the old biplane covered in ice, literally frozen to the tarmac. It took us some time to chisel his landing gear out so we could tow him into Dotties' garage so she could thaw him out. The whole time, he was uttering some rather colorful words." At that, everyone started laughing hard.
The sound of everyone laughing around him wasn't doing Blades' headache any good. Neither was his own laughter, but he ignored the pain as best he could. Dustys' story was just so funny. He could see the SEATs' former boss doing something crazy like that just to prove a point. The old plane didn't seem all there, but that could be chalked up to pure stubbornness or his rigid way of looking at the world. A part of Blade understood where the old biplane was coming from. He too, could be very stubborn and rigid, especially when it came to his rules. He looked around at his crew. All of them looked like they could fly out at that moment if need be. Which was good, because they never knew when a fire would break out. He cleared his throat to get everyones' attention. "Ok everyone," Blade said in his firmest tone, "I'll allow last night to slide, but no more high-grade for anyone until after the fire season is over." He looked everyone in the eye, letting them know how serious he was. After they all agreed, Blade looked over at Dusty and Dipper and said, "you two come with me." He than rolled towards his hanger, with the two planes following.
Blade stopped near his hanger and turned around to face the planes. "I didn't want to have this conversation with everyone around," he said. "First off, congratulations. Although, I wish I knew you were dating. I hate being the last one on the base to find out what's going on with my crew. Second, you'll have to wait until fire season is over to get married. Third, where do you plan on getting married?" Dusty and Dipper glanced at each other. "We discussed this last night, and we plan to get married in Propwash Junction sometime after the fire season ends," Dusty said. "Besides, since I'm moving out here, I have to pack up my stuff and arrange for a cargo plane, as well as say goodbye to everyone. I'm going to call Skipper sometime today and have him help make arrangements. First, we wanted to ask everyone individually whether or not you want to attend, starting with you."
Although Blade would never admit it, he thought Dipper and Dusty made a good couple, and he couldn't be happier for them. "I'd love to attend," he said, "now if you'll excuse me, I've got some things to do in my hanger." With that, he turned and rolled into his hanger. After staring at Blade for a few seconds, Dipper and Dusty turned and rolled over to the others. A short time later, after everyone else accepted the invitation, Dipper asked Patch if she wanted to be there for their wedding. "Sure," she said, I'll just have to arrange for a transport, as I don't think Cabbie could carry the smokejumpers, Maru and me."
While Dipper was talking to Patch, Dusty rolled into his hanger and contacted Skipper. After Dusty told him he had some news for them, Skipper asked him if he'd hold on so he could find Dottie, Sparky, Chug, and Mayday. Once they were all assembled, Skipper said, "ok, what's the big news?" Dusty cleared his throat and said, "well, since you were able to find another firefighter, I popped the question to Dipper." For a few seconds, there was silence, followed by cheering and shouts so loud, Dusty thought there had been an explosion. After a few moments of pure cacophony, during which, Mayday blared his siren, Skipper finally managed to get a few words in. "Congratulations, Dusty!," he exclaimed. At that, everyone else calmed down. "So, Dusty," Dottie said, "when do you plan on getting married, and do you plan on having your wedding here?" "Well," Dusty replied, "after this fire season ends, we plan to fly to Propwash Junction and have a simple wedding there. That's one of the reasons I contacted you. We need you to help with some of the details. We plan to get married the first week of October." At that, Dottie cut in, "sure, we'll help any way we can. Just let us know what needs to be done."
Cabbie was rolling down the tarmac, lost in thought when he heard what sounded like an explosion come from Dustys' hanger. Changing course, he rushed over to see what was up. By the time he got there, he could hear Dusty talking about wedding plans with his friends back in his hometown. Turning, he headed back to his own hanger, thinking about contacting Skipper later that evening. Having lost that bet with Windlifter, Cabbie needed to restock his private stash of high-grade.
In the early afternoon, Blade rolled out of his hanger. He was glad it was an uneventful day without any fires. Before he made it ten feet away from his hanger, Maru rolled up to him. "So, how're you feeling?," he asked. "Much better," Blade replied, "so, what did I miss?" Maru gave him his biggest grin. "Aside from the explosion from Dustys' hanger, which was his friends' reaction to the announcement, not a whole lot. Dipper and Dusty are planning on getting married the first Wednesday of October, and they plan for all of us to get there a couple days before the wedding, and stay for a couple days after. Dustys' hometown friends have already made all the arrangements." Blade looked thoughtful. "So, how long will we be gone exactly?," he asked. "About a week," Maru answered. Blade considered this for a few minutes. A vacation would be nice, especially since he would get a chance to catch up with Mayday. Plus, he figured Maru would like to talk shop with Dottie again, and surely, Cabbie and Skipper would trade more war stories. Nodding at the mechanic, Blade rolled through the base, listening to the others discussing the upcoming event.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
To Blade, the next two months passed quickly. There were several fires, most of them large enough to keep the team busy for entire days, and the smokejumpers off-base for days at a time. He saw Jenny a few more times before she flew back to New York. While he knew he'd miss her companionship, Blade knew that it would never really work out. He was a firefighter in a national park, and she worked for a rich forklift as his transport, flying him all over the world. Finally, in late September, a few good rainstorms came through, ending the season early. With the fire danger mostly past, Blade felt comfortable leaving Piston Peak with his team. He was only slightly surprised when a huge cargo plane landed at the base and introduced himself as the transport for Patch and Maru. The original plan was for everyone to leave when the plane landed and Patch and Maru loaded up, but owing to a delay, the cargo plane didn't land until just before sunset, so Blade decided that they would leave first thing in the morning.
The next morning, as everyone was loading up and fueling, superintendent Jammer entered the base. "Well, guys," he said, "enjoy your vacation. You've all earned it. I'm sorry I couldn't attend the wedding, but I still have work to do here." At Dusty and Dippers' request, Patch had contacted Jammer, about attending the wedding himself, but he'd respectfully declined, saying he had way too much to do at the park. He did offer his congratulations though. "Don't worry about fires here," he continued, "I called in a couple of tankers from a nearby county to come stay until you get back, just in case." Blade thanked him, and he left. A short time later, everyone took to the skies and headed towards Dustys' hometown.
When they arrived in Propwash Junction, the whole town turned out to offer their congratulations to the engaged couple. Dottie pulled Dipper aside and told her not to let Dusty do anything too reckless as he had a tendency to do. Dipper promised she'd try her best. Skipper and Cabbie got together and exchanged stories, while Chug and Sparky gave Drip, Blackout, and Avalanche ideas for pranks to pull back at the base, much to Dynamites' chagrin, and Maru and Dottie discussed all things mechanical. Later that night, Skipper, Dottie, Sparky, Chug, Dusty, and the rest of the Piston Peak crew gathered at the local hangout where Dusty proved he could dance, much to the shock of his friends, especially Blade and Skipper. When it came to karaoke though, he proved he couldn't sing to save his life. Everyone did have a good laugh though, including Dusty.
The days went by quickly, and soon it was time for the wedding. Blade really had to hand it to Dottie, she'd found the perfect location for the event. The whole town turned out for the simple affair, which was situated near the runway, right in front of a corn field. The ceremony was as beautiful as the scenery, and Blade spent the whole time trying not to cry. It would wreck his reputation. It didn't help that Dynamite, Pinecone, Dottie, Chug, Drip, Blackout, Avalanche, Patch, Sparky, and even Cabbie and Skipper were crying. He could see the girls and some of the guys crying, but Cabbie and Skipper? That was the breaking point for Blade, and he couldn't keep a few tears from falling. Dusty and Dipper looked so happy. After the ceremony, Blade saw Windlifter and Maru staring at him. Maru had a grin on his face that Blade just didn't trust. He'd tried to slip away quietly before anyone noticed his tears, but the looks on the faces of two of his team told him he wasn't as successful as he'd hoped to be. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice as they were too busy congratulating the newlyweds.
A few days later, with Dustys' belongings packed and stored on the cargo plane, along with a crate marked 'for Cabbie,' everyone loaded and fueled up and took off for home. When they reached the Fusel Lodge, Dipper and Dusty landed. They would spend a couple nights at the lodge for their honeymoon. Blade hovered for a few seconds, and watched Jammer greet the happy couple. Dipper and Dusty were surprised when Jammer insisted on the arrangement, but they took the superintendent up on his hospitality. Everyone else headed to the base and settled in, talking about how beautiful the wedding was and how happy Dipper and Dusty were.
Blade was quietly heading for his hanger, when Maru practically yelled, "hey, Blade! I saw you crying at the wedding!" At that, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at their boss. For several seconds, Blade stood their speechless. Finally he replied, "yeah, so was just about everyone else!" At that, he turned and rolled into his hanger. He had a week of work to catch up on.