Chapter Eleven: Propwash Party Part Two

At first, Sky didn't think much about the long drive. But when she looked out the window an hour later, she blinked in surprise to see corn fields instead of Sterling's buildings. The taxi drove into Propwash Junction, stopping at the Fill N' Fly to refuel. "We're here!" the yellow cab announced.

Sky felt confusion overtake her as she climbed out of the taxi, grabbing her bags. Rosa thanked the cab and moved with Sky off to one side. "Rosa?" Sky asked. "What are we doing here?"

"It's a birthday gift for you." Rosa said. "You can spend the afternoon with Skipper and Sparky."

"No, Rosa, I don't think that's a good idea." Sky said, staring at the ground.

"Why not?" Rosa asked.

Sky sighed. "You know those stupid scenes in movies when you're in the car driving away and you keep staring at the person still out on the street as they disappear? I'd like to not live that out."

"Oh come on, chica." Rosa encouraged her along as they walked towards the hanger at the end of the runway. "It'll be fun. I haven't seen you really smile all week." Sky sighed, not having the strength to argue and simply letting Rosa guide her down the runway. They reached the hanger and Rosa knocked on the doors. "Señor Sparky! Señor Riley! Estaban aquí!"

"Coming!" Sparky's voice called cheerily from inside. Sky sighed again, putting on a small smile for Sparky's sake.

When the hanger doors opened, Sky's jaw dropped in shock. The entire main room of the hanger was decorated with streamers and balloons all over the place. A banner hung on the back wall read "Happy Birthday Sky!" Sparky had a party hat on, a wide smile on his face. Skipper smiled too, just not as wide as Sparky.

Sky finally managed to find her voice. "Wh-what is all this?"

"We wanted to celebrate your birthday!" Sparky said. "Now come in!"

"Guys, you didn't have to do that." Sky said, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"It's not much, really." Skipper assured.

"Yeah, but we have cake and presents!" Sparky said. "Chug was gonna bring a piñata, but he ate all the candy from inside and now he's stuck at home with a stomachache."

Sky giggled. "That sounds like Chug." She sighed, smiling. "All right. I guess I can stay a while."

"Sure you can." Rosa assured.

"And Ms. Rosa, you're welcome to join us." Skipper invited.

"Gracias." Rosa nodded as Sky set her things down. Sparky disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a rectangular cake that had Sky's name and a big number 11 on the front. Sparky stuck several candles into the cake, lighting them all with a small torch and allowing Sky to blow them out. The cake was cut and eaten, the four of them chatting away.

"So how was your last week of school?" Sparky asked Sky.

"Really good." Sky said. "My classmates actually didn't bug me after I read my report."

"Hey, that's good news." Skipper said. "Made an impact on them, huh?"

"I guess they were impressed." Sky shrugged.

"Just as they should be." Rosa assured.

Sky laughed. "I guess. But, on an even better note, I got an A+ on my essay. It's the best grade I've ever gotten on….well, anything."

"Congratulations." Skipper said. "You really earned that grade."

"Thanks." Sky said gratefully. "I couldn't have exactly done it without you and Sparky."

"I'm glad it worked out." Skipper said. "Sparky says he gets quite a few compliments about how great the hanger looks thanks to your work. Mayday and Max tell me if you want a summer job, they'll hire you out as a cleaning lady."

Sky rolled her eyes. "As if." They all laughed, but Sky's face fell. She stared at the ground, rubbing her cake plate with her thumb.

"Something wrong, chica?" Rosa asked.

Sky looked to her foster mother. "Um…..when is that social worker expecting us? I wanna know how much time I have left here. You know, so I can have time to tell Chug and Mayday and Max goodbye." Rosa said nothing, only smiling and tousling Sky's hair. Sky stared at her in confusion, wondering why Rosa wouldn't answer the question. Unless she had even less time than she thought.

"So, you think I could go say goodbye to them now before I run out of time?" Sky asked, a pleading look coming to her eyes.

Sparky and Skipper exchanged looks before the former spoke up. "Hey, why don't we give you your presents now?"

"You guys didn't have to get me anything." Sky said. "I'm not going to be able to carry much."

"Don't worry about it." Sparky assured. "We both have two gifts to give you and transporting them won't be a problem." He disappeared into the back room before emerging with a large box and a small box in his forks. "The small one's mine. Open it!"

Sky giggled at Sparky's enthusiasm, and she took the smaller of the two boxes. The tag on the ribbon read "To Soarin' Sky, with love from your little Sparkplug." Sky smiled warmly and gently tore off the wrapping paper. Opening the box, Sky found a necklace made from white puka shell beads and round, sky blue beads. "Wow, pretty! Thanks, Sparkplug."

"It's not much, but I figured you'd like it." Sparky shrugged.

Sky nodded in appreciation, setting the necklace aside and picking up the larger box. This one was from Skipper, if the tag was correct. She ripped the paper off, lifting the lid of the box and gawking. "No way!" She lifted a Navy Commander jacket from the box, the Jolly Wrench insignia stitched into the back and over the left side of the front. "Is this real?"

"You bet." Skipper nodded. "An old buddy gifted it to me. He said, and I quote, 'This is not a decoration to be put on a wall. It's a jacket and it's meant to be worn and used.'"

Sky laughed and pulled the jacket on. It was quite a few sizes too big, but she didn't care as she hugged herself. The Jolly Wrench insignia on the front of the jacket rested right over her heart, only making her smile grow. "Thanks, Skipper."

"But wait, that's not all!" Sparky said in a singsong voice.

"Guys, this alone is too much!" Sky laughed. "And I still have to go see everyone else."

"Just be quiet and let yourself be spoiled." Sparky ordered, making Sky laugh more. "And now, for my second gift!" Sparky rolled to a corner of the hanger blocked off with a curtain, which Sky somehow never noticed until now, and he pulled the curtain back. Resting in the corner of the hanger was a bed and several boxes of girl things: bedding, clothes, books, and some toys. Sky's face fell into one full of shock and some confusion. There was no way she could carry all that to her foster home in Colorado. She looked to Skipper for an explanation.

Skipper smiled warmly. "And now, for my second gift." He looked to Rosa, who reached into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. She handed the folder to Sky, and the raven-haired girl opened it up to find papers inside. She stared at the paperwork, mostly paying attention to a certain Certificate of Adoption.

This is to certify that

Skylar Amelia_
has been formally adopted

Into the Riley Family_

By Commander Skipper Riley_

Sky was silent, staring at the papers. Skipper rolled a little closer to the girl. "I know we didn't exactly get along when we first met, Skylar Amelia. But make no mistake: I truly have grown to care for you. It wouldn't feel right to let you leave when you already have people that care about you here." Sky still didn't say anything, and Skipper continued. "I want to try being a father, and I want you to live here with Sparky and me. You can get to know the people of Propwash better and you could have a family; you could be happy here, and nobody would ever take you away. Sparky and I will take good care of you. I promise."

Suddenly, Sky dropped the paperwork and ran over to Skipper, jumping onto his wing to better reach his cockpit. She gave him her best and biggest hug, happy tears streaming from her eyes. Skipper leaned into her touch, sighing happily. Rosa blinked, but couldn't stop her own joyful tears, and Sparky couldn't stop smiling.

"Thank you." Sky whispered. "Thank you for giving me a home and a family."

Skipper chuckled a bit. "And thank you, Skylar Amelia Riley, for not giving up on me so easily."

Sky smiled broadly. Skylar Amelia Riley. Had a rather nice ring to it. She may have left Sterling, but Propwash Junction would be a perfect place to live. She already had great friends, and now a fantastic family to look out for her. She could learn more about everyone here. She finally found somewhere where she belonged. No longer would she call herself an orphan or hate herself for being a psyche human. That was all behind her because of what happened in this one moment.

I'm home. Sky thought.

THE END

A/N: For a moment, I thought about what would've happened if Sky had been transferred, but I definitely like the happier ending! So that's the end of Part Four! Coming up, we'll see Sky's role in the Planes movies, where she'll learn how to use her powers to help a friend and accomplish their dream.