Miles snorted, coming awake suddenly. "Huh?" he asked, blinking wearily as he looked around him. What time was it? Where was Melina? Looking to his left, he could see the Daimler was no longer next to him, and a quick scan of the hanger revealed no trace of her at all. Glancing up at the wall clock, the Range Rover could see it was well approaching 10 AM. 10 AM? How could he have slept so late?
Driving out in a hurry, he quickly looked around for Melina, and figured she'd be over where Captain Hanson was still parked. He needed to tell her everything! He needed to come clean with her! But as he drove towards the area he figured she'd be working in, he braked, and slowed to a crawl.
Wait a minute… her words to him about how she hated liars came back to him now. Gulping, he came to a full stop as he thought this out. She was in the middle of an investigation… perhaps springing the fact that he was actually Miles Axlerod on her right now wasn't the best course of action. He would tell of her course… but not now. He could distract her from doing her job… it was too critical a time for her at present.
Sighing, Miles figured he'd better go and talk to Dusty again. Turning away from his destination, he set a course for where he could see Dusty Crophopper off in the distance, conducting dives in a series of practice runs as part of his training.
Driving up to the practice area, he could see Blade Ranger keeping a close eye on his protégé as Dusty performed his dives, shouting orders to him via his radio every so often to give the former crop duster pointers. Noticing the approaching Range Rover, Blade backed away a bit. "Oh, you again? What do you want? If it's another autograph then no! I only do one per vehicle!" the helicopter protested.
"Good to know, but no! Actually, I need to speak with Dusty! Can he take a bit of a break?" Miles asked.
"What, you want his autograph too?" Blade snapped.
"No! It's… we talked last night, OK? He gave me some good advice, and I need to ask him about something else." Miles insisted.
"Huh?" Blade asked, confused.
"It's OK, Blade! I can take a break after this run." Dusty radioed in.
"Yeah, sure, why not? You're lookin' good out there anyway, champ." Blade responded with a hint of pride in his tones.
Dusty conducted his run perfectly, unleashing his payload over the burning section of the tarmac and buzzing over the tops of Blade and Miles. "Coming in for my landing." Dusty radioed, and received permission from the tower to do so, sweeping in and coming to a halt as he idled his engine and rolled on over to the two. "Hey Miles! How'd you sleep?" Dusty asked, giving him a knowing look.
"Yes, good morning, Dusty. Um… better than I wanted to." Miles confessed. "I overslept."
"That's fine. Nothing wrong with taking it slow every so often. So… how'd it go?" he asked eagerly.
"Um… I… didn't tell her." Miles admitted now, causing Dusty to stop his engine and give him a concerned look. "I needed to ask your advice on something actually."
"Uh, OK! Shoot!" Dusty stated.
"So… the car I like… the one I was going to confess everything to…" Miles began, taking a bit of a drive now as Dusty rolled to follow him.
"Uh huh." Dusty nodded.
"She… hates… lies. See most of her family was killed in an accident that had a lot of lies and misinformation swirling around it. How… how should I approach this? I mean… I'm afraid I shot myself in the tires here with this one…" Miles outlined.
"Ahhh… she hates lies. Well, Miles… who doesn't hate being lied to? Now don't get me wrong… I understand that maybe she has a stronger aversion to it than your average car, and that's fine. But that's the test of a bond of friendship. I was tested in such a fashion during my big race." Dusty explained.
"You were?" Miles asked incredulously.
"Yep… twice in fact. Remember that racer I mentioned I have a crush on? Well she deceived me and nearly got me killed… but the biggest blow of all was learning my mentor… the plane I respected more than anyone at that point… had lied to me about his service record. He trained me… but I accidentally found out that he'd only flown one actual combat mission… Imagine my surprise when I found that out!" Dusty exclaimed, causing Miles's face to fall here.
"Oh I… I see…" the British Range Rover stated glumly.
"But… I forgave him. And I forgave her as well. They both helped me out… despite me feeling alone… used… betrayed… I just couldn't bring myself to hate them. I had gone through so much with them already… especially with my trainer. I could tell he had a heart of gold though… he just needed a strong friendship to help him overcome his own inner doubts and guilt. And you know what he confessed to me at the end of my race?" Dusty asked here.
"No… what?" Miles replied.
"He said that he learned more from me than I'll ever learn from him. To me, that was beautiful. It showed our friendship was stronger than any lie he ever told me, and it also showed that he had grown because of it as well. It was a learning experience for him. So long as you know what you did was wrong, and learn from it, how can a true friend hold it against you?" Dusty posed.
"Well… yes but… confessing that's… that's harder… what if she never forgives me?" he asked softly. "My lie's a pretty big one…"
"Yeah well… so was Skipper's. And so was Ishani's. Confessing you lied is NEVER easy, Miles. You deceived someone… but the ability to confess shows you DO feel guilty about it… and that you're honest in asking for the other's forgiveness. You have to do it at some point if you care."
"I… I know!" Miles sighed here, looking down. "Was uh… Ishani the name of the racer you have the crush on?" he looked over at Dusty here.
"Yeah heheh… yeah it is. The most aerodynamic racer in Air Sports Illustrated!" he commented, smiling here.
"Heh… wonder what she'd think of you now." Miles mused aloud.
"Well… knowing her, she'd probably be proud." Dusty replied. "So… what do you have to do?"
"Um… confess to her…"
"Yeeees." Dusty drew out the word for emphasis. "And if she really cares about you, she'll forgive you. I know she will. Now… have I answered your question?" the firefighter asked.
"You… have, yes. I wish… I just wish I had your confidence Dusty. You seem so perky and nice and determined."
"So do you, in all honesty." Dusty responded.
"I… do?" Miles stopped here, blinking.
"Sure! Just think back to how confident and kind you were on TV during the World Grand Prix. Muster up that same confident Miles and you'll be able to do this!"
"Yes well… uh… most of that was deception." Miles confessed.
"Just an extension of your normal personality though." Dusty pointed out.
"Heh… yes I… guess it was." Miles said quietly.
"I didn't say it would be easy… but you need to start somewhere… and you already started with me." Dusty reminded him.
"Not by choice!" Axlerod quickly responded.
"No… not by choice. But I helped you get that first part out of the way. You CAN do the rest. Go ahead… say it." Dusty offered him an encouraging smile again.
"I… CAN do it…" Miles repeated.
"There you go. Just repeat that to yourself and think about what you need to do. The longer you wait…"
"The worse it'll get…" Miles sighed again. "I-I know."
"Good! You can do it, Miles!" Dusty said encouragingly.
"I hope so… um… I was thinking of maybe waiting until after her investigation is over though… she's got a lot on her mind right now and well… I don't want to burden her." Miles suggested.
"That's very considerate of you, but don't let the delay cause your fear to win, OK? Stay focused." Dusty cautioned.
"I will… I won't forget that I need to tell her. Thanks again, Dusty. You really… helped me out." Axlerod told him sincerely.
"Hey no problem. We all need help and support sometimes! Well! Catch you later! Make sure you say goodbye before leaving!" Dusty called, rolling back over to Blade now.
"Will do! Thank you!" Miles shouted in reply, and turned to drive back to Melina.
The investigation continued throughout the day. Various tests were run on the housing of the power control module, but no clear sign of why it had broken in the first place could be found. There was no "smoking gun" so to speak, and Melina was growing frustrated with the lack of progress.
Miles stood by her all day, trying to reassure her at the low points, but it finally reached the point where Melina finally gave an exasperated sigh. "All right! We've tried every test we could think of to determine why this bloody part broke, and nothing! It's impossible to determine because of the way it broke, and the fact it's well… already broken!"
"Hey…" Miles said softly, rolling up to her. "Um… you'll get there eventually. What about Captain Hanson's history? You mentioned earlier he was one of the first 747s to be delivered to Northwest. He was put through vigorous high-speed tests! Maybe that caused unnecessary stress! Maybe that's what caused the part to eventually break?"
Melina considered this a moment, looking off to the side. "Yes… I suppose so. I considered it myself… but no way to bloody prove it!" she complained.
"Hey… I'm sure you will eventually… and even if you don't… is there anything you can think of to make sure this NEVER happens again?" Miles asked, trying to encourage her.
"I guess so…" Melina said dejectedly.
"Aww… come on! The Melina Markham I know wouldn't quit so easily! Come on, Melina! Think! How can you prevent this accident from occurring again?" he urged.
"Well… let's see…" Melina stated thoughtfully, studying the schematics.
"Come on! I know my Daimler can make the skies safe again! Let's work out a solution!" Miles declared enthusiastically.
"Huh… well actually… I think there might be a way…" Melina perked up here.
"Go on! Do it!" Miles practically cheered.
"OK so it's basically a giant cylinder… and the end of it broke off… allowing the piston to slide out and jam the rudder. So… what if we… put two pins inside the cylinder? That would block the piston and prevent it from moving too far and also prevent it from moving up against the housing. That should ensure this kind of accident never happens again!" she exclaimed, getting her spark back here.
"Brilliant! Melina, I think you've done it!" Miles praised, giving her a kiss now as she looked over at him.
"Miles… you've never… been the aggressor in our relationship." She told him now, looking at him affectionately.
"I… haven't? Well uh… I'm just glad to see you happy!" THIS was what Dusty was talking about! Seeing her happy was worth more to him than anything else! He finally understood now! Yes! Every time he did something around her, it was mostly to make her happy! Sacrificing for her! That's how this worked!
"You are?" Melina asked, a bit surprised at this.
"Well of course!" Miles responded, offering her a wide smile. "I think I've found what I've been looking for all my life!" he stated resolutely, not taking his eyes off of her.
"Why Miles… you're positively glowing, you know that?" Melina asked, chuckling as she studied him, pleased with what she was seeing."What you've been looking for your whole life? That's… a pretty heady claim there. So what is it you've been looking for your whole life?" she asked here, though she knew the answer already.
"You… and it's SO clear! It's like a fog lifting after a very dark night! After so much pain and hurt and uncertainty… it's all lifting! I know EXACTLY what I have to do now! Thank you, Melina!" Miles declared, grinning.
"Miles… is your pain actually receding?" she asked here, offering a smile of her own.
"Yes! It is, Melina." He looked at her warmly. "And every bit of that is thanks to you!"
"But I haven't even spoken to you about your past yet…" she trailed off here.
"But you will! You will! And it'll happen soon! I'm gonna come out and tell you everything about me! I promise!" Miles told her adamantly. "Who I am, what sort of car I am, all of it! You'll know everything very soon because I'll share it all with you!"
"Miles… you're… ready to do this?" Melina asked.
"If it means being with you, then yes, I am." He replied, still smiling. "You wanted to help me erase my pain… and I'll trust you with that." He told her seriously.
"Miles… you're like a changed Rover." She commented, finding she was liking this determined and freer side of him.
"A dashingly handsome changed Range Rover!" he joked. "I found out last night what I have to do… and I'm far more comfortable with it now." He informed her. "But for now, you should type up your recommendations and finish up! I want to take you to Taipei for Halloween!" The Range Rover knew the holiday was coming up, and also that Melina had always wanted to go to Taipei. It would certainly be nice to see during Halloween. The city would be even more lit up than usual, festive lights no doubt bedecking buildings for the holiday and streaming throughout the city in a dazzling display.
"Taipei for Halloween? Miles, are you serious?" Melina asked, face lighting up here.
"You bet! It'll be our long awaited vacation!"
"Well then, I guess I better get things wrapped up. I'll hand this over to our… oh! Hold on! I'm getting a call from our team in Queens! Probably reporting on the progress they've made! If I'm lucky, their investigation is finished and I can FINALLY take some time off! Hold on!" She backed away to answer her phone now as an antenna popped up from her fender.
Smiling at her as she backed away, Miles looked out to the beautiful mountains beyond Anchorage, sighing happily as he studied the majestic vista. Finally… things were going his way. He wasn't sure how it would ultimately end up, but he was ready to at least reveal everything to her and get that first step out of the way.
In a few moments more, Melina returned, seeming quite happy about something. "Well it turns out they've solved the Queens case! They can actually send a few investigators out here to relieve me, though I told them I'm pretty much done here as well! Still, anything further that needs to be done can be taken care of by my relief! We could fly to Taipei tonight, if you wanted to." She suggested here.
"Great! Let's do it! I'll handle the flight, don't worry about that! Oh and I want to say goodbye to a friend I made here!" Miles quickly added.
"Of course… not a problem. I still need to prepare my reports for the incoming team anyway. We'll leave several hours from now, I'd say." Melina replied. "Oh and I need to brief my relief investigator!"
"Great! Well let me go say goodbye and I'll buy us some first class tickets on an Airbus 380!"
"Hm-hm, looking forward to it already!" Melina stated, and Miles turned to head back to where he figured Dusty and Blade would be wrapping up their own training for the day. Honking at the pair as they were standing to the side in the gathering darkness and chatting, Miles braked as he pulled up to them.
"Hopefully this isn't another autograph request." Blade murmured, though mostly wasn't being serious.
"Nope! I just wanted to say… goodbye." Miles said here. "We're leaving tonight for Taiwan, and it has been a REAL pleasure to meet both of you, especially you, Dusty! If it wasn't for you, I never would've gotten the courage to face my past! I must thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart!" he said sincerely.
"Oh, well that's a coincidence. We're going home tomorrow ourselves." Dusty replied. "And hey, Miles. It was very nice to meet you as well! I'm glad I was able to know the real you as opposed to the car you used to be." Dusty winked at him here.
"Yes well… it's a work in progress for sure, but yes… thank you, Dusty. I'll be sure to visit you in Propwash Junction when I can! Maybe after this Taiwan excursion! I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing your town, though!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, causing Dusty to smile.
"I'm sure you'll love it. I'll show you around when you get there. Well, take care of yourself, Miles, good luck on doing what you need to do, and safe flight!"
"You too! And thanks, Blazin'-"
"I'm NOT… Blazin'… Blade…" Blade narrowed his eyes at Axlerod here.
"Ha! I got you to say it! Thanks for the autograph! Ciao! Safe travels!" Miles turned and zipped across the tarmac now, heading back for the building he'd left Melina in, Dusty and Blade watching him go.
"What was that all about?" Blade asked.
"Just helping him come to terms with something, Blade." Dusty replied with a smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing him in Propwash Junction!"
"You sound sure he's gonna show up." Blade commented.
"I am… somehow I just know he's gonna be there." Dusty said simply, still smiling as he watched the Range Rover drive off into the darkness.