Skipper and Dusty's Father-Son Relationship Stories (All Humanized)

Chapter 9: Dusty's Heart Attack

    One day, Skipper Riley was happily sitting outside his house, watching as his charge, Dusty Crophopper, walked and talked to his best friend and brother-figure, Chug. It looked like they were having a great time together. He then watched as Dusty lined up at the runway, dog some sort of a flying routine with Chug, no doubt, and saw him take off. The war veteran chuckled, remembering the first time he saw Chug get Dusty ready for his first big race. The fuel guy knew nothing at all about flying-in a funny kind of way. As he watch Dusty do loop-de-loops and other flying tricks just for fun, he thought back to the training he himself had to put him through. He was happy that it was all paid off with that one special win. No wonder the orange, white, and blue colors Dusty always wore made him feel so special.

    Yawning, he pulled his war hat over his eyes and was about to get into a really good nap when suddenly, he felt himself being shaken by someone. Yanking the hat off of his face, there was Chug-with a panicked expression. "Skipper! Dusty needs your help!" he panted. "He's falling from the sky! And he's in a lot of pain in the chest!"

    Quickly, Skipper got out his binoculars and looked through them. Sure enough, there was Dusty, falling down from the sky. Without wasting another second, Skipper raced towards the runway, ran down it, and jumped into the air, flying to the rescue. Sppoting Dusty not to far off from where he was, Skipper climbed into the air before going into a nose dive of some sort as he raced after Dusty, intent on catching him before he fell to his death. Making his timing perfect, Skipper caught Dusty and pulled up just in time. In no time at all, he landed on the runway with the young man in his arms, laying him down on the ground. "Dusty, kid, are you okay?" he asked.

    "H-H-Heart attack! Skipper, help!" Dusty screamed. He was in pain as tears streamed down his face.

    "Don't worry, Dusty! I'm not leaving you until help arrives!" Skipper assured him.

    At that point, Dottie raced forward. "I heard what happened!" she said. "The hospital workers are gonna arrive at any second!"

    As they waited, the pain got more and more intense-more than Dusty could bear. Once he finally saw an ambulance coming towards them, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to lose consciousness and fade away into the darkness.
......................................................................
    Days later, Dusty opened his eyes weakly, then shut them almost immediately. He was met in intensely bright light and faint but clear beeping sounds coming from beside him. His head swam as he began to wonder where he was and what happened He never remembered anything that happened, other than voices and movement-and being in someone's arms for a while. Then, he felt a fatherly hand on his face and a fatherly voice saying, "If you can hear me, Duster, just open your eyes slowly. They'll get adjusted to the light better that way."

    Obeying the voice, Dusty opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the bright light. His vision was blurry, but soon got clearer and clear as he saw a navy blue figure next to the bed he was laying on. "S-S-Skipper?" he asked. His voice sounded raspy and groggy.

    "Calm down, Dusty. I'm right here," Skipper said soothingly as he pushed his student's messy auburn-colored hair out of the way.

    "W-What happened?" Dusty asked. "Where am I?"

    "Don't you remember anything?" Skipper asked.

    "No," Dusty replied. "All I could remember was pain in my chest and then-blackness."

    Skipper sighed as he looked at the results the doctors had shown him. "Turns out you had a heart attack and now have to stay here for about several days. You had everyone scared once they heard-including Chug. He was scared when he told me you were falling from the sky. I had to fly out there and catch you."

    Dusty was saddened by this. He didn't mean to scare anyone, but at the same time, he didn't see his heart attack coming. "C-Can you t-tell everyone I'm s-sorry?"

    "Of course, Dusty. I'm sure they'll understand."

    Dusty smiled as his eyes closed again. He was tired. "See you when you get better," Skipper said, tucking him in.

    "You to...Dad," Dusty said as his slumber got to him.

    Skipper chuckled as he kissed his cheek. After keeping an eye on him for a little while more, he left.
......................................................................
    Several days later, Dusty was flying home. Treatment from the doctors would leave him tired easily, but that didn't matter. What mattered most was that now, he was better and had survived. As he spotted the town, he also saw someone watching him. Then, the figure started coming towards him, making him quicken his pace. By the time he landed, he saw that it was Skipper who was watching him. Happily, the young man raced towards him-and the two of them ended up running right into each other's arms. "Welcome back, Dusty," Skipper said gratefully as the whole town gratefully gathered around them, welcoming Dusty back.

    Dusty smiled in his mentor's arms. It was always so good to return home again.