I'll admit that in Fly Away, Susannah was a pretty unnecessary character, but she's a little more significant in this story.

Chapter 2- Fire!

"I'm home!" I called, trying to sound cheerier than I felt. I had originally intended to stay with Dusty and Celeste to comfort them, but the two of them had stalked off to mope alone. Besides, I'd feel guilty for abandoning Susannah.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Susannah responded.

"Honey, what are you doing?" I demanded, entering the kitchen. "You know you're not supposed to be out of bed."

My wife looked up at me. She had a spoon in one hand and a tin of cat food in the other. I sincerely hoped that this wasn't her latest craving.

"Marmalade was hungry!" she explained, using the spoon to point to the ginger cat weaving around her ankles.

"Isn't my mother here?" I wondered.

"She went to milk the cows."

"Well, I'm here now", I pointed out, gently guiding her towards the stairs. "I'll take care of it. You don't want anything to happen to this little guy, do you?" I asked, placing a hand on her pregnant stomach.

She smiled. "Of course not."

I smiled too. "That's what I thought. Let me feed the cat and then I'll bring you some tea."

"That sounds good. Thanks, babe."

My smile grew broader. "That's what I'm here for."

It only took a couple minutes to feed the cats (the other two cats, Larry and Missy, were quick to make an appearance when they heard the clattering of food bowls) and prepare the peppermint tea that Susannah liked. Then I brought it up to her.

She took a sip. "This is heaven!" she declared. "Thanks!"

"I'm glad you like it."

"So", Susannah began, "Chug dropped off the groceries. He said that Dusty had some kind of problem with training today. What happened?"

I told her.

"Gee, that's too bad", she declared sympathetically, sipping her tea.

"I know", I agreed. "I just wish there was something I could do."

"Well, I'm sure if anyone can cheer them up, it'll be you", Susannah assured me.

"Thanks!" I wasn't so sure, though. I had no idea what to do, but I figured that the first course of action was to just let Dusty and Celeste know that I was there for them.


The afternoon passed by. Susannah and I watched a movie. I made dinner. I gave Susannah back rubs, foot massages, more tea and anything else she asked for. I even found time to start putting the crib together.

"Why are you so good to me?" Susannah asked, rubbing my shoulder. "I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

I shook my head in disagreement. "I'm the lucky one, Sus." I gave her a kiss. I still couldn't believe that we were together. When Susannah first moved to Propwash Junction from Chicago, it took me nine months to get the courage to ask her out. (I only got the courage from my mom saying that you should never be afraid to ask for something; the worst a person can do is say no. My mom is full of sayings like that.) I still don't know what she sees in me.

"I'm serious, David!" she insisted. "You're the most caring guy I know. The way you're taking care of me, the way you've always taken care of your mom, the way you're worrying about your friends..."

I shrugged modestly and willed my face not to turn red. "Well, why wouldn't I do all those things? I care about all of you."

"As long as you're happy to do all those things..."

I nodded, not entirely sure what she was getting at. "Of course I am. Here; I'll take these downstairs", I added, gathering up the dishes.

At one point during the evening, my phone buzzed. I dove to check it out. It was a text from Rebecca.

We're taking the kids to Honkers. Feel free to join us.

"I'll be back in an hour", I promised my wife. "I'll just make sure Dusty and Celeste are all right. Mom's at work. So I'll take my phone with me." In addition to helping me and our neighbours, the Price family (also humans), run the farm, my mom worked as a bartender at Honkers. (She's also a really talented painter, so if we're a little strapped for cash, she'll sell her paintings.) I love running the farm, but sometimes, it's hard work. Even so, Mom and I just can't let it go. It was Dad's farm, his pride and joy. "Please don't hesitate to call."

"Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine", she assured me.

"Well, I promise I'll just be an hour", I repeated, heading down the stairs.


Over at Honkers, I found Dusty staring into his drink and Celeste staring at her phone. The latter wasn't unusual; Celeste was addicted to her phone, but they were both looking so depressed. Celeste wasn't even complaining about the country music playing, so it must've been serious. I had never seen either one of them so upset. I just hoped that I could cheer them up.

"Are you drinking whisky?!" I asked Celeste incredulously.

"Yeah!" she huffed. "So, what? I've had a s**t day!"

"Celeste!" Rebecca warned. We all knew she wouldn't accept swearing from anyone and, quite frankly, neither would I.

Still, I chose to ignore her pottymouth. "You're underage", I pointed out.

"Whatever, Mom!"

"And since when did you drink?" I wondered, watching Dusty take a tiny sip of Crudeweiser and make a hideous face.

"Since tonight!" he replied.

"You sure that's the best way of dealing with your problems?" I couldn't help questioning worriedly.

"Lay off, David!" Dusty snapped.

"Okay, okay." It wasn't like Dusty to talk like that, so I laid off.

The five of us- Dusty, Celeste, Emma, Skipper, Rebecca and I- sat in silence for a little while. Celeste was still on her phone and looking at a particular photo sadly. It was taken right after she and Dusty won the Wings Around the Globe. There were her, Dusty, Celeste's entire family, Skipper, Sparky, Chug, Dottie, Susannah, Mom and me at the front. Behind us were El Chu, Ishani, Bulldog, Rochelle, Emma and Franz/Von Fliegenhozen. Behind them were hundreds of people who had been inspired by them. None of us would ever forget that day. It was the happiest moment of their lives.

As she stared at the picture, Skipper started to talk. "Dottie's an excellent mechanic. You know as well as I she wouldn't have said what she said unless she was sure."

"That's exactly the problem", Celeste mumbled.

"What're you so upset about?" Dusty wondered. "You could still race. You'd just have to find another partner."

Celeste shook her head firmly. "I don't want to, Dusty. Let's face it. Our racing days are over."

"You know", Rebecca began, "I've always believed that when one door closes, another one opens. Why do you think we moved to Propwash Junction in the first place? Perhaps you should think of this as an opportunity."

"Yeah, right!" Celeste groaned as Dusty shook his nose, unconvinced. "I don't know how to do anything else."

"You didn't know the first thing about air racing either until Skipper coached you", Rebecca pointed out. "Sweetheart, you're only twenty years old."

"Almost twenty-one", Celeste cut in, still staring at her phone. "Cynthia!" she called to my mother, holding up her empty glass, indicating for a new one.

"That's still young", Rebecca insisted. "Your life isn't over yet."

Skipper nodded in agreement. "For either of you. It just feels like it right now because you haven't figured out what the next chapter is yet."

"No matter what happens, we'll figure it out together", I assured them. "I mean, we're a family. That's what we do, right?"

"Right", they agreed half-heartedly.

"Hey, Dusty! Celeste!" we heard Chug and Sparky call, zooming into the bar as if it were a racetrack.

"Slow your roll!" I laughed. "You're gonna hurt somebody!"

"Dust, listen!" Chug began excitedly. "We just got off the radio with Ethan up in Grand Flaps."

"Old Grand Flaps Ethan!" Sparky chimed in.

"He's got the gearbox?" Dusty guessed, lighting up.

Chug and Sparky laughed weakly before answering in unison. "No."

Celeste's shoulders slumped. "Oh."

"But", Chug continued, "his buddy owns twenty-one service hangars! And he's gonna check his inventory, and he's gonna put the word out for you, Duster! It's a good start, right?"

"It's a great start!" Sparky agreed. "Can you believe it?"

"You guys are the best!" Celeste grinned. "I'm sure that your gearbox is somewhere, right?"

"If it is, we're gonna find it for you, buddy!" Chug vowed.

"And hey!" a familiar voice called out. "If you don't, it's all right! Because the answer is yes!"

"Yes?" Dusty echoed.

"What?" That was Chug.

"Yes?" Skipper repeated.

"Huh?" Sparky seemed confused.

"Yes, of course you can have your old job back!" Leadbottom rolled over to join us. "Don't even have to bother asking. That's just the kind of guy I am."

"Leadbottom, I'm sure Dusty appreciates your offer-" Skipper began politely.

"Of course, you've got to start back at minimum wage, and you lost all your vacation time, gotta go through orientation again", Leadbottom rambled.

"Leadbottom, please!" Skipper begged.

"Once you acquire the taste for Vitaminamulch, you can't live without it!" Leadbottom continued obliviously. "It's like Mama's jalapeno chilli. Spicy!" He backfired, releasing a cloud of his fertiliser, which made a forklift on the other side of the bar keel over. "Twice!"

"It's just that now is not the best time", Skipper reasoned, still managing to sound civil.

"Come on, Skipper! I can get his sprayer back from that Germany place", Leadbottom insisted, causing Skipper to groan and roll his eyes. "Have it cleaned up and bolted back on him in no time."

"I'll tell you what, let me buy you a can of oil", Skipper offered.

"I'll tell you what, Dusty is the best duster I've ever known!" Leadbottom countered.

"And I'm telling you that Dusty don't crop dust no more!" Chug spoke up.

"That's right!" Sparky echoed. "No more!"

"He and Celeste are racers!"

"Racers!" Sparky agreed.

"And they're gonna be back to racing in no time."

"In no time!"

"Right, Dusty?"

"Right, Dust?"

There was no answer.

"Dust?"

Dusty was gone. So was Celeste.

Emma sighed. "When do you think we lost them?"

"Probably around the time that Leadbottom started talking", I assumed.

Emma nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Rebecca!" Leadbottom looked at Celeste's mother. "You know I'm right, right?"

Rebecca smirked. "I can see why I'd be your best shot, but no."

"Don't you think that Dusty and Celeste should go back to doing what they do best?" the old biplane persisted.

"I think that Dusty and Celeste are old enough to make their own decisions", Rebecca stated firmly, placing her drink down on the table.

"But everyone has their destiny in life", Leadbottom argued. "Dusty is a crop duster. His destiny is crop dusting."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe some people want more out of their lives than dusting crops?" Skipper demanded.

"No. After all, I've-"

I didn't hear the rest of his argument; I nudged Emma and whispered, "Let's go find them. I think this could go on for a while."

I didn't have to twist her arm. We slipped out of the bar unnoticed.

We looked at Dusty's hangar; Celeste's home and the Fill 'N' Fly, but our friends were not at any of those places.

"Maybe they want to be alone", Emma suggested.

"Maybe", I acknowledged, "but I'd still feel better if we knew for sure."

We walked back towards the Fill 'N' Fly. As we walked around, the thing Leadbottom said about destinies was stuck in my head. I wasn't sure why, though.

Before I had a chance to question it, Emma grabbed my arm. "I found them!"

"Where?" I questioned.

I looked up to see Dusty coming in to land with Celeste riding on him. He was going way too fast as he bounced along the runway.

"Dusty?" I gasped.

"Oh, no..." Emma murmured.

The crop duster had lost control and was heading straight for the Fill 'N' Fly and, luckily, Emma and I managed to dive out of way. He tried to screech to a halt, but he slammed right into the one of the metal pillars. Celeste slammed her head hard on Dusty's canopy and fell backwards off of him.

"Celeste!" I exclaimed, rushing forward. "Celeste, are you all right?"

"Stay back!" Emma instructed, panicked, grabbing my shoulder and yanking me back.

I was about to ask her why, but then I could see for myself. There was a terrible creaking sound right before the metal column collapsed right where I had been standing just a few seconds earlier.

KA-BOOM!

Of course, since it was a fuel station, there was a huge explosion. I gasped again.

"Fire! FIRE!" Dusty screamed. "Someone, get some help!"

"Celeste!" I shouted. "Where are you?!"

"I'm here!" Her weak voice came from somewhere behind the flames. Oh, no… What was I supposed to do?!

"What do we do?!" Emma wondered.

"Go find Tim!" I told her urgently. Timothy Jankovski was a semi-retired doctor who moved to Propwash Junction from Lexington, Kentucky about fifteen years ago. "I can hear the alarm. Someone's getting Mayday! We need Tim, though!"

Emma disappeared in the direction of Tim's house. The second she was gone, I heard wailing sirens. Normally, I find the sound eerie and it makes me shiver. This time, though, I was just relieved. Mayday arrived on the scene quickly. Skipper, Sparky, Dottie, Chug and Rebecca were not far behind, watching anxiously.

"Now listen up!" Mayday called to the crowd. "We gotta cool this down before it spreads!"

While Dottie and Sparky were busy hooking up Mayday's hose to the fire hydrant, Rebecca gasped.

"Where's Celeste?!" she demanded.

Reluctantly, I pointed into the blaze.

Rebecca gasped again. "You gotta get her out of there, Mayday! You gotta help her!"

"Rebecca, I can assure you that I'll save Celeste", Mayday promised as he aimed his hose at the flames. "I can't get to her right now. I need to control the blaze."

"What if she's hurt?" she asked hysterically.

"Emma's getting Tim", I spoke up, trying not to let my fear show. "It's going to be okay, Rebecca. Mayday knows what to do."

Unfortunately, there was a huge problem: Mayday's hose was so old that it had been patched up with duct tape countless times. All the little pieces came off at the exact same time. Despite Sparky's efforts to keep the holes sealed, water spewed out in all directions, except towards the fire. The end of the hose had no water coming out. To make matters worse, the fire was slowly starting to consume a banner advertising the Corn Festival. It was spreading.

"Now, what?" Chug demanded.

Fortunately, Mayday had an idea. "I'm gonna need some help!"

It was a moment's work for Dottie, Sparky and I to loosen the bolts to the nearby water tower and attach cables to the tower, Mayday, Dusty, Skipper and Chug.

"Now pull!" Mayday ordered. "Pull!"

All of them pulled with all of their might, hoping to bring the tower down.

"What's happening?" Celeste wanted to know, her voice weak and her words masked by loud coughs.

"Don't worry, Celeste!" I tried to reassure her. "We're gonna save you!"

"But you're probably not gonna like how we do it", I heard Dusty murmur. That's when I remembered that Celeste is afraid of water.

I was beginning to doubt that this would work, but finally, I heard another creaking sound. The tower toppled over, sending a huge wave of water gushing towards Celeste. I heard her scream as it headed for her. In a couple of seconds, the fire was out.

"Celeste!" Rebecca rushed forward and I followed her. "Are you okay?"

"I think so…" she murmured, touching a huge bump on her head. Even from a distance, I could see that her hands were burnt quite badly. She tried to stagger to her feet, but grimaced and collapsed back to the ground.

I helped her up. "You sure?"

"No."

"Where's your helmet?"

"I, uh… I didn't have time to get it", she explained sheepishly.

"What were you thinking?! It could've protected your head and provided you with oxygen!" she scolded her daughter, swatting her shoulder. Then she threw her arms around Celeste. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!"

"Doesn't look serious", a friendly, calm, laidback voice spoke up. It was Tim. "Fortunately, those burns look worse than they are. Still better not take any chances. Let's get you looked at properly, Celeste."

Tim scooped Celeste up bridal style and carried her to his home/clinic. We all watched them go, each of us full of regret, wishing that we could've prevented this somehow.

Foolishly, I believed that that was it. The fire was out. Celeste was going to be okay. We could move on with our lives. Unfortunately, the trouble had only just begun.