"Arthur, light of my life and eternal idiot, surely even you can see that you can't work with a broken arm."
"But Mum, I can do it!" The steward whined, his eyes filled with the indescribable sadness that only Arthur could manage. Only he could get upset about something that would ensure time from work.
Douglas sat a distance away, grinning wolfishly. He knew that Carolyn's pique was underlaid with concern and worry for her only child. For all she criticised and rebuffed any attempt at anything other than her usual cool and distant attitude, she cared deeply for her son, and was worried about him. Arthur seemed fine, apart from the broken arm and very mild concussion that the fall had left him with, but she remained unsatisfied.
"Remind me how it happened again, Arthur," he muttered dryly. Carolyn had not been present when it had happened, but the circumstances were such that he couldn't quite help but smile.
"But Douglas, you were behind me."
"I was distracted by Martin's new hat. The sheer size of it is awe inspiring," he shot back quickly, still grinning.
"I told you, I just tripped."
"Because you forgot that you had spilled coffee earlier. On G-ERTI's steps. Well done, Arthur."
################################################## ######
Martin and Hercules waited impatiently at the hangar, the Captain tapping his foot impatiently as they waited for news of Arthur. Hercules had driven straight over to Fitton when he had heard, only to be met with a cold Carolyn, intent on taking her son to hospital, Douglas insisting that all was well.
"Do you think Arthur will be okay?"
"Even if he wasn't, Carolyn would have bullied doctors into fixing him straight away. So yes, I think he's fine." Herc sensed the other pilot's anxiety, and sighed slightly. Arthur was forever getting himself injured, but never this badly. The incident with the dragon-fruit had been dangerous, but over as soon as it had started. This seemed to linger, like a bad odour.
"What will we do?"
"Well," he began, stretching his legs out from the sofa, eyeing the kettle longingly, "I think that we should make ourselves some coffee before we think about anything else."
Martin filed the flight plan from the trip they had returned from, and smiled softly, following Hercules' orders. Though they were of the same rank, Martin Crieff automatically fell to rank of underling when Herc was around.
"What will we do without Arthur to steward? Do you think Carolyn will go on all the trips?"
Herc couldn't help but chuckle gruffly. The idea was an absurd one. Half the reason she 'employed' Arthur was so that she didn't have to deal with passengers.
"God no. She would kill them after the first two or three flights. No, I think she might just have to employ someone temporarily."