Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Disney. All OCs belong to me.

Chapter 25

Two days later…

Sara sighed contently as she watched the glowing red and orange sunset from the edge of the runway at the Piston Peak Air Attack. The events of the past couple of days now seemed like a distant memory that would eventually fade into the depths of time.

Sara's black boxes had indeed collaborated with her statement over what had happened between her and Grayson. The voice recorder had also picked up Grayson's confession to arson as well as attempted murder, and he was now under police guard in hospital. But Sara wasn't off the hook herself; not yet anyway. As soon as Grayson was well enough to face trial, Sara would have to testify against him. He would be charged with arson to public property, physical assault on a commissioned officer occasioning bodily harm, and attempted murder. Sara knew that it was very likely that he would be imprisoned for at least ten years. At least, that was what she was hoping for.

The police investigation had already decided that Sara would not be prosecuted for shooting Grayson, since she had clearly acted in self-defence. She wouldn't face any military discipline either, although Vice-Admiral Sharp had jokingly said to Sara over the phone that, since it took her three shots to disable Grayson, she should be required to undergo a refresher course in the use of firearms. They'd then discussed Sara's possible return to the Coast Guard. Sara was keen to return, even if it meant just doing a desk job, but in the end she'd agreed to wait a few years, and then see if her rotor shaft had strengthened enough to enable her to return. In the meantime, she's assured Vice-Admiral Sharp that she was perfectly content to stay in service at Piston Peak. For her bravery during the hostage incident with Grayson, Vice-Admiral Sharp had decided to grant Sara the Coast Guard Commendation medal. He'd wanted to give her another promotion, but since he'd only just given her one, he couldn't justify it. And so, he had to be content with presenting her with the medal. Sara, for her part, thought that the medal was too much for what she'd done. She'd wanted to refuse it, until Blade had managed to persuade her that she had fully earned it.

Someone quietly parked alongside Sara. She smiled when she saw that it was Blade.

"What a brilliant sunset!" Blade whispered.

"I know," Sara agreed. After a moment of silence between them, Sara continued. "I used to love watching the sunsets over the ocean. I never thought that anything could be more beautiful…until I saw the sun setting in the mountains. The colours I can see here are so much more vibrant than anywhere else."

Blade drew in a deep breath. What the hell! The worst she can do is say 'no'… "Sara?"

"Yes, Blade?"

"Uh… I was…wondering… Um… Do you like me?"

Sara cast him a confused look. "As a boss, you mean?"

"No… More like, a friend… A very, very close friend…"

Oh, I see where this is heading! Sara thought, smirking inwardly. I might just tease him a little bit. I'd like to see how much he squirms… "Well, yes, I do like you. Who wouldn't like you?"

Blade wanted to rip his rotors out. She doesn't understand what I'm trying to ask her! Why is it so damn hard for me to talk to her? Glancing behind him, Blade saw Maru watching him from the main hanger. The little forklift made a kissing gesture with his lips. Blade scowled before turning his attention back to Sara.

"Sara… What I'm trying to say…or, rather ask you is… Do you-"

Blade's question was cut short when chorus of the song 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?' resounded over the loudspeakers. Sara promptly burst out laughing. The shocked expression on Blade's face was priceless! But then, as the shock faded, Blade looked ready to burst into tears. Sara immediately softened.

"I have an idea. Let's fly to the top of the waterfall. We can talk in peace there."

Blade sighed with relief. That's a brilliant suggestion! Damn you, Maru! I'll make you pay for that later, and when I do, it will be long drawn out and painful… "I'm right behind you."

About twenty minutes later, Sara and Blade landed on the rock face at the top of the waterfall. It was actually rather quiet up there, and the view was incredible. Blade took in a deep breath of the crisp, cool evening air.

"Sara? I want to tell you that…well…" Just say it! "…I love you."

Smiling, Sara closed her eyes momentarily. "For how long?"

"I'm not sure, really. I guess it just slowly happened over time. I was worried sick about you when you were injured, and I was so relieved when you came back here. I didn't share my true feelings with you sooner, because I was afraid you wouldn't want to be in a relationship with your boss; especially considering my age. I mean, seriously, I'm old enough to be your father!"

"But I like that about you," Sara whispered in reply.

"Huh?"

Sara smiled sweetly at him. "I don't care that you're like, twenty years older than me. Age is no barrier when it comes to true love. Sure, I know my parents would be much more comfortable if there wasn't such a big age gap between us, but I know they want what's best for me. And they want me to be happy."

"And…would you be happy…with me?"

Sara moved closer to him. "Yes. I believe I would be very happy with you. I know I've denied my feelings for you in the past, but things have changed. I can now honestly say that…I'm in love with you."

Blade felt his oil temperature shoot up. He breathed in deeply to try and settle his racing RPMs. "So, uh… Does this mean that we're officially a couple now?"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend, you mean?"

Blade nodded eagerly. Sara smiled again.

"Sure! Why not? But, just so you know, I'm not going to go rushing into a marriage. I want to know everything I can about you before we even consider getting engaged, agreed? No matter how long it takes."

Blade nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. And, I want the same thing. It's time we learned to open up to each other. No more secrets."

"No more secrets," Sara agreed. Taking a deep breath, she moved in closer towards Blade, hoping that he'd realise what she wanted.

"May I kiss you?" Blade asked her softly.

"Of course you may!"

The two helicopters locked their lips together. For several minutes, they kissed passionately, until Sara finally pulled away to catch her breath.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "You're a surprisingly good kisser!"

Blade was too out of breath to say anything for several minutes. When he'd finally composed himself, he said, "We should head back now, before it gets much darker. Do you think we should tell the others our news, or leave them guessing?"

Sara smirked. "Oh, I'm all for leaving them guessing! It'll send Dipper, Dynamite and Maru mad!"

Blade chuckled at the thought. "Yes, I suppose I do owe Maru a chance to sweat after he chained me down during my last maintenance inspection… It was quite unnecessary!"

Chuckling, the two helicopters gently bumped their noses together.

"I love you, Sara," Blade whispered.

"I love you too, Blade. I love you too."

And that was the final chapter! I'm sorry this story has ended, but it had to at some point. For the record, I'm not planning a sequel anytime soon. I have too many other writing commitments right now, but it may happen one day if I get a good enough idea.

I'd like to extend a big thank you to everyone who's read this story, and especially to those who have taken the time to leave a review/reviews. They were very encouraging and helpful, and I'm so glad everyone's really enjoyed this story!