"Stop dithering and get on with it," Carolyn had decreed as soon as she found out that Martin had actually been offered the job at Swiss Airways; and it wasn't that Douglas didn't agree that the lad needed to spread his wings, he just wished it didn't mean they were destined to fold theirs a bit sooner than expected. Being a fifty-seven year old first officer he could take in his stride, never mind his three failed marriages and his history of alcohol abuse; taking early retirement and spending the rest of his life in the company of his own regrets, not so much.

All in all they carried on for a couple of months after Martin's departure. Arthur insisted they kept in touch even when MJN Air was nothing but a fond memory, and as it turned out it was quite the blessing in disguise – even if that meant he had to tolerate Herc's company on top of that. Martin called as often as he could afford to, and Douglas got into the habit of gently teasing him about it; though in all fairness, he had no idea where he would be the day his friends couldn't be bothered to keep in touch anymore.

Then the Christmas holidays drew nearer and he began looking forward to spending them with his daughter, as he and his ex-wife had agreed over a year before; only there was a small detail he'd failed to take into account, and that was the fact that being a teenager Emily would rather stay in Cumbria where she could hang out with her friends than come down all the way to Fitton where she didn't know anyone but his old dad. And since he pretty much couldn't deny anything to his beautiful girl, he had no choice but resign himself to the prospect of another gloomy Christmas all by himself.

"You're welcome to join us, Douglas," Arthur suggested in his unhelpfully helpful manner. "It'll be just Mum and me – well, and Herc, obviously."

"Thank you, Arthur, I'll be fine," he lied with practiced ease. "Enjoy your puddings and stockings, and whatever else you're planning on doing this year."

It was all good, he told himself as he hung up; Christmas was for families and happy couples, not for old fools with delusions of grandeur like he'd been for the better part of his life. Carolyn and Arthur had each other, as well as their soon-to-be husband and stepfather; even Martin had his royal girlfriend to spend the upcoming festivities with, be it at Vaduz castle or wherever else happened to tickle their fancy. As for Douglas Richardson, he'd better dispose of the last bottle of Talisker that was still knocking about his house, lest he fell back into old habits and made a fool of himself even more than he was already.

Carolyn would be ever so pleased when she opened the extra present he'd made sure to drop off as he stopped by to wish them all a merry Christmas.

xxx

Christmas morning dawned bright and crisp, and he padded to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea – or maybe a mug of cocoa, if he felt festive enough. It was still too early for his daughter to ring him, and he definitely wasn't expecting any visitors; that was why it took him a moment longer than strictly necessary to acknowledge the fact that the doorbell was, in fact, ringing.

He wasn't at all prepared for the sight of Martin Crieff in his shiny new Swiss Airways uniform, for all the world like he wasn't actually supposed to be either in Zurich or Vaduz instead of right there on his friend's doorstep.

"Happy Christmas, Douglas," the younger man said by way of a greeting; trust Martin to make it sound more like an apology rather than the cheerful wish it was meant to be.

"Happy Christmas to you too," he replied slowly, mindful of the fact that he was still in his dressing gown and far less a commanding presence than his former captain was used to. "Did you by any chance land your plane in the wrong airport?"

"I didn't, actually; one of my colleagues got sick, and I had to cover for him. At least I get to spend the rest of Christmas day off here in England, and that's not so bad all things considered."

There was one thing Martin would never be, and that was a convincing liar; it was quite obvious that he'd arranged the whole thing so that he could stop by and check on his friend, but in the end Douglas couldn't say he minded in the slightest.

"And what have you done with your princess?" he asked conversationally as he wandered back to the kitchen and dug another mug out of the cupboard. "Don't tell me there's trouble in paradise already."

"Not at all," was Martin's reply, the hint of a contented smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "She's celebrating Christmas with her family, but I'll see her on New Year's Eve; we should spend a couple of days in Geneva, as a matter of fact."

"Jolly good," he approved with a smirk, then handed Martin his cup of tea. "Just make sure I'm invited to your wedding, will you?"

"Douglas! There isn't going to be any wedding, I told you."

"Still, it's always good to be prepared, just in case."

Martin shrugged noncommittally. "Well, if there is a wedding – and I'm not saying there's going to be one – you'll be the first to know, I promise."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"Because you'll be my best man, obviously."

Douglas took a long sip of his tea before meeting his friend's eye once more. "You know, I never got to ingest that heroic quantity of festive sushi after our Christmas flight to Hawaii. How about we do something about it? My treat, of course."

"Can't see why not. And we could have another go at getting Arthur a proper stocking this time around."

"Pity you didn't bring along your green umbrella," he joked, and grinned, and decided that against all odds this was going to be as merry a Christmas as he could wish for.