Author's Note: Prompt suggested by AlphabetUBet.


A is for AWOL


"…the third member of the group never actually bothered showing up to any of the group project meetings and didn't even make a single edit on the google document."

Blade blinked in confusion at his lieutenant. His brain felt at once like it was being squeezed by a vice and like there was something important, he was supposed to remember but was hiding just beyond his grasp. Throughout all of this Windlifter just kept on speaking.

"So, I gave him a failing mark on the assignment. As one would expect the student was highly incensed that he had gotten an F on the final project. So, it was not surprising that he and his parents sitting in front of my office before office hours began…"

"But when they rolled in to complain about failing the class project, you handed them a calendar with a record of every time his teammates had tried to collaborate on the group project with him..." Blade licked his lips trying to chase the taste of ash from his mouth and the nagging feeling of wrongness from his brain. "Windy…why do I know the end of that story?" Windlifter opened his mouth and Blade felt the overwhelming need to clarify his statement a bit. "A straight answer, please."

Windlifter gave a quick bob then spoke. "You remember the ending of the story because your mind is starting to heal."

Blade really did want to say something in reply to that…but honestly, his brain felt both on fire and wrapped in cotton balls at the same time, so he wasn't sure if he had missed the meaning of the Skycrane's words or if Windlifter was simply being Windlifter. Luckily, a knock on the door rescued Blade from having to figure out which scenario was correct.

"Good, your awake." A tug rolled in…but it wasn't the right tug…it wasn't Maru, but the vehicle didn't see to understand just how wrong this situation was and turned his attention to Windlifter. "How is his short-term memory doing? Anything sticking?"

"What the Chrysler is going on?" Blade could keep the anger and frustration from his voice.

Both vehicles stared at him for a moment as though they expected him to continue his outburst, but Blade just felt tongue-tied under their gaze. When it was clear that he wasn't going to add anything more to the conversation, Windlifter cleared his throat and focused his attention on the unknown tug. "The Chief's memory does appear to be partially recovering as he was able to remember part of the story was telling him, though he was not where he had heard it from."

"Windy…what is going on?" Blade asked pointedly, only to have tug park himself in front of him and take charge of the conversation.

"Tell me the last thing you remember and then I will fill in the information you are missing." The tug tutted not leaving any room for argument.

"Alright…" Blade muttered. While he was unhappy about the situation, he recognized concussion protocol when he saw it. So, he tried to remember what had happened earlier that day…only to be greeted by an impenetrable bank of mental fog. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to grasp at fleeting mental threads. After a few breaths, he was finally able to catch one. "I remember coffee this morning…Blackout made cinnamon rolls but Drip distracted him while they were in the oven and half of them got burnt, not that that stopped the smokejumpers and Cabbie from finishing them all off…" As Blade spoke the words flowed with greater ease. "Windy and I chatted about a meeting I was going to be dragged in with Spinner later that afternoon…and…and the next thing I remember is Windy rambling on about his undergrads and somehow understanding the end of the story…" Blade let his words trail off as he stared at the vehicles in front of him hoping that one or both of them would help provide him with clarity.

"Well, as you clearly don't remember me, I'm Hector."

"He is one of the road crew mechanics." Windlifter added in uncharacteristic helpfulness. The tug gave a grunt in reply and settling on his treads, then the two vehicles started into the clearly practiced cliff note version of the last 30 hours.

"This tale truly begins about 45 minutes after your memory ends. Patch received an alert warning that there was a vehicle fire in progress on the entrance road of the park. Cabbie and the smokejumpers were dispatched only to find that who had initially reported the incident had failed to relay the true severity of the situation…"

"It was a slagging tanker on fire." Hector interjected the moment that Windlifter paused for dramatic effect.

"Indeed." The Skycrane took control of the story once again and continued to speak with the measured cadence he usually reserved for campfire tales. "Dynamite quickly understood the gravity of the situation and had Cabbie call for additional back up…"

"Because you had a flaming semitruck that was pulling a multi-compartmental tank filled with aviation fuel!"

"Do you want to tell the rest of this story?" Windlifter stared at the tug with one eyebrow raised.

Hector smirked at the massive helicopter. "No, go ahead."

"You arrived just as the fire was reaching its zenith. The smokejumpers were working to rescue civilians and Dynamite asked if you could help get the traffic that had back up around the crash site moving away from the danger. As far as anyone can tell, you were coming in for a landing when the tanker finally blew, and your proximity to the ground probably saved your life."

"But you still ended up with a nasty concussion." The tug muttered.

"Dipper and myself were inbound with retardant when the explosion happened. Once the level of destruction become apparent, I was diverted to bring Maru directly to the crash site to start providing medical support. All other medical personal in the park were also dispatched quickly but they did have the challenge of arriving at the site of the emergency on the ground, which given the snarl of traffic took far longer than anyone would desire."

"Things were pretty much under control once I got to the scene. Your mechanic had gotten everyone stable as they could be given the situation. The smokejumpers were being loaded into your jump plane for transport to a proper burn center…and before you ask they scruffy looking but all are on the mend. Some EMTs and paramedics had arrived to take care of the civilians and this big guy," Hector motioned to Windlifter, "was getting ready to transport you back to base. I tapped out your mechanic, Maru, and that was the point when he kind of bolted…" The casual way that Hector said these words caused Blade's hackles to rise far more than just the words themselves.

"Maru wouldn't just go AWOL…" Blade tried to argue only to find the tugs tine pressed to his lips.

"No one said he was AWOL, just that I didn't know where he was. There is a big difference in that." The tug seemed to recognize that statement didn't satisfy Blade in the least. "Listen, some folks need space to decompress from this kind of thing. The rangers in the park are keeping an eye out for your mechanic, but the fact that they haven't bumped into him so far lets me know that he really doesn't want to be found."

"When he is ready, he will return." Windlifter stated with an unnerving level of confidence. "Until then, sleep and heal."

The rest of the day seem to move asphalt being poured from a truck. For the first couple times, he woke up again, either Windlifter or Hector was parked in front of him, insisting that he rattle off a list of concussion questions. Though as the day wore on and they were comfortable with the fact his memory was gradually returning, they had mostly left him to his own devices in his hanger with a headache as terrible as it was constant.

He continued to doze as much as his injured brain would allow, when his hanger door slid open bathing Blade in the light of the setting sun…moments later a smell also rolled over him. Blade knew that smell. Wrinkling his nose, he had to work hard to keep a snarl from his voice. "Your drunk…"

"I know." Maru said with such a look of defeat in his eyes, that the bubble of Blade's anger instantly popped. The mechanic leaned heavily on the frame of the hanger door with a sigh. "I messed up big."

"What happened?" Blade asked quietly.

"I broke…I just managed to keep everything together until everyone was stable and backup had arrived…but between the smell and the color of the scorched paint and, slagging fact that it all had to happen on August 6th…" Maru left the words hanging, but even Blade's concussed brain was able to connect the dots. August 6th was the anniversary of the crash derailed both of their lives. August 6th was the date that they had lost Nick.

No more words were needed, as Blade remembered the heat and terror of that day. He could only imagine just how the flashback must have been to cause his reliable friend to realize the best thing he could do for his patients was to call in help and then back off. The guilt he must be feeling right now must have been utterly crushing.

Blade's attention was pulled back into the moment when he heard Maru make a faint choking noise. The little tug breath hitched slightly as he tried to even out his breathing. Once it was back under control Maru mechanically closed the hanger door and gingerly made his way over to Blade's side. Without asking he rolled over and pressed his windshield against Blade's side. The helicopter stayed very still, as he felt his skin become wet and little tug quiver with sobs against him. It was a moment of complete powerlessness for Blade, but he would be there Maru…and right now that would have to be enough.