Disclaimer: I do not own Tailspin, I only own Andy Miller, the "Sea Hawk", and Anna Miller (Andy's daughter)
Sorry that I had been gone for a long flight but had major writers block on this story, now you may recline your seats and remove your seatbelts, and walk around the cabin. We are at cruising altitude, so relax and enjoy the next part of this high-flying adventure…
(Authors Note: Just to let you know this chapter is going to be in 2 parts, so HEADS UP!)
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Part 1: New Life, New Job, New Friends
BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…
'What is that annoying beeping sound? It sound like a…heart monitor! That must mean that I am in a hospital and that Ed must have found my plane floating in the ocean and called in a ship. Yah that has to be it!' thought Andy to himself.
The sound of a door opening and the clicking of shoes, told him that a doctor had come into the room, followed by a nurse. He heard the sound of water dripping, the doctor must have just washed his hands.
"Alright lets take a look at him and see how he is fairing," said a deep male voice.
Fairing?
The footsteps got closer to his right, the shoulder that had gotten shit by a stray bullet. He slowly opened his eyes and saw two blurred figures examining his unwrapped shoulder. He blinked to clear his eyes and the movement caught the attention of one of them.
"Dr. Frederick, the patient is waking up!" said a female voice.
The second figure stopped examining his shoulder and leaned over Andy's face.
Andy's vision came into focus, and what he saw made his eyes widen. Leaning over him was bear that wore a white doctors coat, a pair of rimless glasses and a pencil behind his left ear. Standing behind him was a female mouse with long brown hair, dressed in a nurses uniform.
All the while Andy had been looking both animals over, the bear had been examining his face and eyes. His serious face broke into a grin.
"You are one lucky fox, my friend. Being able to keep your plane in the air as long as you did and then having to be air-towed over the cliffs, and all over this with a horribly wounded shoulder!" said the Doctor.
Andy turned his eyes back to the bear and then looked himself over. Instead of skin his body was covered in a red-brownish fur, his fingers had claws at the tips instead of nails, and he had a tail with a white fur tipped end.
"S-so it wasn't a dream, then…I actually made it here alive," he said, leaving out that he was a human part, he did not want these people, er, animals to think him insane.
The bear nodded and began to re-bandage the shoulder, causing Andy to wince through his now pointed teeth in pain. The bear then stuck out a paw.
"My name is Dr. Frederick Bearison, but you can call me Fred, I much prefer that to my full title!" Fred said with a smile, causing Andy to chuckle.
Fred then motioned toward the mouse nurse.
"Allow me to introduce you to my assistant, Mrs. Julia Fields. Now may we have your name, because the people who had brought you in here two days ago didn't give it to us?"
Andy nodded his head and slowly sat up, with Julia's help of course. Then sighed.
"My name is Andrew Miller, Sergeant Andrew Miller of the United States of American Air force," said Andy as he leaned against his pillow.
Fred and Julia stared at the fox in amazement, then the bear began to chuckle and held out a cup of pills and a cup of water, which Andy gladly took and swallowed.
"And I thought my title was long! So that was why when they brought you in, you were wearing an ace jacket and goggles. You are in the Air force and I take it that is why your shoulder is as bad as it is, that was no normal round that had hit it!" said the bear as he rubbed his chin, Andy looked at it closely and he realized that the patch of fur there was actually a beard.
Andy nodded his head.
"No, they are machine gun rounds from a plane. Me and my partner were flying a patrol in both of our planes, when were found the ships we had been looking for…"
Fred frowned and held up a paw.
"Now hold on, why were you looking for these…ships, what did they do to you?" the bear asked.
Andy lowered his head and ran a paw through his fur and over his pointy ears, he sighed.
"Because, just five days ago, those ships, they are called aircraft carriers, launched multitudes of bomber and fighter planes toward one of our military bases called Pearl Harbor. We had no warning…they came early in the morning and they attacked…" Pauses for breath, "…They destroyed most of our ships and planes, but they didn't stop there. They moved onto the air-strips and killed many of my fellow pilots.
"Not every bomb they dropped landed where it was supposed to…many civilians died from this attack…"
Julia placed a paw over her mouth and her eyes were filled with sadness.
"Oh, how horrible!" she gasped.
Andy kept his face lowered when he gave a sad smile, tears were now coming to his eyes.
"They left, leaving lots of destruction and death behind, but it wasn't over! If you thought I told you the bombardment was worse…well I lied. Many ships had been over turned and were slowly sinking, many of our soldiers and sailors were trapped inside…"
Fred's eyes widened in horror and his mouth went dry with a fear he had never felt before. Julia had to lean against the bed for fear of falling as her own tears came to her eyes.
The fox took a few deep breaths, trying to bring his emotions back under control. A few tears slid down his cheeks.
"W-we tried…tried to get as many out as we could! A friend of mine told me, after he had recovered enough, that when he and another sailor were drilling through the hulls of the ship…they could hear the screams and shouts of those trapped below…" he paused to wipe his eyes and sniff, "Suddenly a hand poked through the hole, begging for someone to pull him out…shouts of the water is rising…They never got the hole big enough to get them out, and my friend was left…h-holding onto the man's hand that had been thrust up to him…" And with that the fox broke into sobs as he thought of all of his friends who had died there.
Fred lowered his head in respect as he pulled the sobbing nurse to him. Julia took a deep breath and raised her head to look at the fox that was still sobbing into his paws.
"Who, h-how could anyone d-do this?" she asked in a whisper.
Fred looked up when he heard Andy give a low growl. The fox's eyes shown with a fire that glowed brightly. His paw was crunched up into a fist and he was baring his teeth.
"The most evilest race that would attack you for no reason, but only to keep you from joining a war that you were already partially fighting. The Japanese…it was them who bombed Pearl Harbor and it was those ships that I was sent out to find. Me and my partner were ambushed by four of their planes, I was shot down…I remember my friend shouting at me to pull up and then cliffs, then I don't remember anything else,"
Julia pulled herself together and smiled at Andy.
"Well at least you are still alive! I am sorry about what had happened to your country," she said.
Andy smiled and shook her paw.
"Thank you for your concern!"
The mouse smiled and then walked out of the room. Fred slowly stood up and picked up his clipboard. He then placed a paw the fox's shoulder and smiled warmly at him.
"Well, first let me say that I am also sorry for what had happened, you have my sympathies. Now I just have a few questions to ask you and I also want to let you know that your shoulder is healing well, you should be able to leave here sometime tomorrow!"
Andy's ears perked up and he smiled, this was good news.
"Thanks Doc, that is the best news I have heard in…48 hours!" he said with a chuckle.
Fred smirked and shook his head.
"Alright now for the first question…"
--
"Baloo, tell me again, why we are going to the hospital?" asked Kit as he walked beside the big bear.
Baloo looked down and smiled.
"Because, Lil britches, I want to ask that fox about that plane of his, I have never seen anything like it! And…" he was interrupted when Kit elbowed him in the stomach.
"Baloo! Is that Mrs. Cunningham's car?" asked the bear cub as he pointed toward the car that was parked in front of the hospital.
Baloo scratched his chin in thought.
"Hmmm, now why would Becky be at the hospital, Molly is well, so that can't be it, unless…." Baloo halted his forward progress and slapped his forehead, "Oh, no!"
"What? What's 'Oh, no' Baloo?" asked Kit.
The bear began running toward the hospital.
"I believe that Becky might try and talk him into working at the Higher for Hire!" he called back to a confused Kit.
The bear cub held onto his ball cap as he ran after Baloo.
"And what is wrong with that Papa bear?"
Baloo glanced back at Kit and gave him a look 'Why-do-you-think?' look. Kit's eyes widened and he put on a burst of speed. As soon as they reached the hospital and burst into the waiting room the both collapsed into chairs gasping for breath.
"You…don't really…think…that…Mrs…Cunningham…would give…him our…job, do you?" Kit asked between breaths.
Baloo panted as he looked over at the counter.
"I…wouldn't…put…it…behind her!" he panted and pointed at the counter, where a female bear was talking to a mouse nurse with long brown hair.
Kit stared and then slid lower into the chair with a paw on his face.
Rebbecca Cunningham smiled as she signed the guest list to see patients.
"There that should do it, Mrs. Cunningham, you can see Mr. Miller in ten minutes, will you please take a seat in the waiting room?" asked Julia as she placed the list back on the counter.
"Thank you!" said Becky as she started to walk back into the waiting room.
She stopped when she saw Baloo and Kit both laying back in chairs panting for breath and fanning themselves with their hats. She frown and walked over to her two employees.
"Baloo! What are you and Kit doing here! Don't you have deliveries to make?" she asked with paws on here hips.
Baloo sat up and raised his paws in a stopping motion.
"Whoa, whoa! Time-out Becky, we don't have any deliveries today so we thought we would come up here and talk to the fox about his plane! Now what I want to know is what are you doing here, Becky?" asked Baloo as he scratched his head.
Becky sighed and sat down beside her pilot.
"I am here to ask him if he wants a job," she glanced at Baloo's worried face and broke out in a fit of laughter, "Don't worry Baloo I couldn't replace you as my pilot. I mean to give him a job as a Mechanic or as a security guard for Higher for Hire, that's all!"
Baloo blushed.
"Oh!"
Rebbecca giggled again.
"You seriously thought that I would replace you with someone I didn't know, did you?" she asked with a smirk.
Baloo blushed even some more as he covered his head with his hat.
--
Andy looked up from the book he was reading when the door to his hospital room opened up. In stepped a female bear wearing a deep red jacket and a pair of purple jeans. She was followed in by Julia who smiled.
"Good afternoon Andy, This is Mrs. Rebbecca Cunningham, it was her pilots that had brought your plane down before it crashed," said the mouse nurse.
Andy smiled and nodded to the female bear.
"My thanks, Mrs. Cunningham, I am in yours and your pilot's debt!"
Rebbecca blushed as she smiled.
"Well, how would you like a job, to repay that debt!" Becky asked.
Andy looked up, crossed his arms across his chest and smiled.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well, we could use another mechanic, because Wildcat could use some help with repairs. And we also could use a stay on security guard, because there have been many thefts from the surrounding harbor and I don't want my company to be next, its up to you, what do you say?" asked Becky with serious eyes.
Andy sat up and thought for a moment and then he smiled, stuck out his paw and shook Becky's.
"Well, Mrs. Cunningham, looks like you've got yourself a new mechanic and security guard!" said Andy with a big smile.
Rebbecca could hardly contain her happiness.
"Really you want to do both jobs?" she asked him.
The fox nodded his head.
"Of course I do, I have nowhere else to go and live, so I might as well take on the security of the place if I am going to be living there. You do have spare rooms right?"
Rebbecca nodded.
"Good, and now about pay?"
Rebbecca smiled.
"I will pay you $400 dollars a month, what do you say?"
"Deal when can I start!"
Rebbecca turned and started to walk out of the room.
"The day after tomorrow sound good?" she asked over her shoulder.
"See you then…Boss!" he said jokingly.
Rebbecca laughed as she walked out of the hospital room.
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Well what did you think of part 1? Are you ready for part 2? Well let me know what you thought about this story! Please review!
Dune
Part 2: A Daughters Love