I did this for a Cabin Pressure fic exchange. It's actually my first Cabin Pressure story, period. I really hope I did the characters justice!
All mistakes are my own, I don't have a beta.
'So, without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you,' the story!
"Why are we stopping in bloody America for the weekend?" Martin asked as he flipped through the papers for their next trip. Douglas looked over his shoulder with a scowl, but perked up when he read the location.
"This is not just any old America, Martin. This is Las Vegas. What happens there stays there, you know." Douglas nudged the captain. "Maybe you can, you know, meet somebody. If you know-"
"Yes, Douglas, we all know what you're getting at, calm down." Carolyn commented. "Now, focus on bringing the client to Las Vegas and then back at the end of the weekend. Do what you will in between as long as you show up Sunday evening alive, sober, and with at least one arm."
"Did you tell Arthur we're going to be travelling to Las-" Douglas began, but Arthur bound in just then, grinning widely.
"So, you heard? We're going to Las Vegas! Isn't it brilliant!" Arthur was nearly bouncing on his heels, like the overgrown five-year-old he truly was.
"Las Vegas is not brilliant, it's a place where people lose all their money and get far too drunk and forget their problems and..." Martin paused and looked back down at the papers. "Well, yes, on second thought, maybe that's not so bad."
"That's the spirit. Sort of." Douglas clapped Martin on the shoulder. "Maybe you'll meet a lady and take her back with you. You could live in that charming attic of yours."
"Which I measured, and I think it could hold plenty of otters!" Arthur chimed in. Carolyn sighed and took the paperwork back from Martin.
"If you're all done blathering on, we have to be on our way now." Carolyn pushed Douglas and Martin along. "Mush, pilots, mush. There's work to be done."
"I'm not a sled dog, Carolyn." Martin muttered. Carolyn pushed him along a little further.
"As long as you're getting paid by me, you'll be what I tell you to be." Carolyn prodded. Martin sighed, and Douglas raised an eyebrow.
"He's not getting paid by you." Douglas reminded Carolyn. Carolyn shrugged.
"I hired him, that's good enough." Carolyn let the boys into the plane ahead of her before calling up to them. "Feel free to have fun this weekend, men! Lord knows we need it."
Carolyn, luckily for her, woke up in her own hotel room the next morning, Saturday, in Las Vegas, to a harsh pounding on her door. She sighed heavily and heaved herself out of bed, grabbing her bathrobe off the desk chair as she passed and tugging it on. She checked the peephole to see Arthur bouncing on his heels, and she tugged the door open.
"Yes, Arthur, what is it?" Carolyn asked, rubbing at her face. Arthur grinned widely, his whole face lighting up; it made his mother smile slightly despite herself.
"I won a whole ton of money, Mum!" Arthur grinned and held up an average-sized women's purse, handing it over to his mother. "That's full of chips. What's one hundred thousand dollars in pounds?"
"Arthur, how on Earth did you do this?" Carolyn asked slowly, looking into the bag. Sure enough, there were dozens of chips there.
"It was easy, I remembered this card game Douglas taught me and found it. Then I just kept winning. Easy." Arthur took the bag back from Carolyn when she held it out to him again.
"Well, hold onto it. That's quite a bit of money." Carolyn cautioned. Arthur nodded vigorously.
"That's good! I was worried it was like yen and it wasn't worth as much as I thought." Arthur explained. Carolyn laughed once before Douglas rounded the corner towards her room.
"Ah, and here's our fearless First Officer now. How was your night?" Carolyn asked. Douglas, looking rumpled and hungover, rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair.
"It was not good. I think I lost all the money I had on me." Douglas admitted. Carolyn tsked.
"I always knew your luck would run out eventually, Douglas." Carolyn pat his shoulder comfortingly. "Maybe you can win it back tonight, hm?"
"Yes, maybe." Douglas murmured, yawning absently. "Has anyone heard from Martin? We were sharing a room, but he never showed up."
"Weren't you the one telling him to find company?" Carolyn reminded him. Douglas' expression changed into realization.
"Ahh. Well, I hope he found it." Douglas nodded to himself and rubbed a hand over his face. "Arthur, what would you like to do today?"
"You really want to spend the day with me, Douglas?" Arthur asked curiously, handing his mother back the bag. Carolyn left it on her dresser for the time being.
"Well, Martin's not here, and you're an adult human male who I'm at least an acquaintance of." Douglas paused, thinking a moment. "We could make a day of it. Maybe find Martin while we're at it."
"Alright!" Arthur grinned at the First Officer before looking to his mother. "You want to come with us, Mum?"
"That's quite alright, dear, I think I'll just hang around by the pool for today." Carolyn assured him, handing him the chips. "Maybe you can use a few and play some games."
"Okay, Mum." Arthur agreed easily before leaving the hotel room quickly, leaving Douglas to practically chase after him. Carolyn just sighed and shut her door again.
Martin had a pounding headache throbbing against his temples when he woke up that morning. He pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned loudly.
"What's wrong?" A woman's voice asked softly, and Martin jumped so suddenly that he accidentally threw himself out of the bed he was in. He flew to his feet and searched for the source of the voice; it wasn't hard to find, as there was a woman in the bed he had just been in. She had light golden skin, chocolate brown eyes, and her waves of chestnut hair were spread over her pillows. She sat up, adjusting her shirt - actually, it appeared to be Martin's shirt that she was wearing - before looking up and studying him worriedly.
"Who are you?" Martin asked back, trying to stop his voice from shaking. The strange woman frowned, and Martin looked at her more closely, recognizing her in a flash of memory from the night before. "Oh, Samantha. Samantha, the wonderful woman beside me at the bar who understood what I was saying..."
"That would be me." This woman, Samantha, smiled up at Martin. "You do remember, good. I was worried you were too drunk. Even if you only had a few shots."
"I don't hold my liquor very well." Martin murmured shyly before shivering and looking down to see what he was wearing. To his horror, he wasn't wearing anything; he grabbed the sheet off the bed and quickly wrapped it around himself. "Sorry, I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, sweetheart." Samantha pulled herself out of the bed, stretching like a cat once she was standing, her back to Martin. Martin couldn't stop himself from watching her, admiring her long, slim frame. She turned back around and smiled at him. "Don't be embarrassed to be naked in front of me. Especially not right after our wedding night, honestly."
Martin's face immediately flushed bright red. "Wed...wedding night. Right."
"You remember that, right?" Samantha's smile twisted into a sad frown, and Martin rushed to cover his words, not wanting to see her upset; in fact, he actually did remember it now.
"Of course I do. You looked beautiful." Martin answered quickly, smiling at her. She nodded her head quickly, her long tangles of hair whipping as she did so.
"Good." She grinned at him again before motioning over her shoulder with her thumb. "I'm going to go take a shower, okay? Get your bearings and then... feel free to come join me."
Martin swallowed and nodded, not trusting his voice anymore. Samantha disappeared into the bathroom, and Martin fell heavily onto the bed. A ringing noise sounded from somewhere close by; Martin sighed into the mattress before picking his head up. He spotted his cellular phone laying on the dresser across the room, so he dragged himself over to it and flipped it open.
"Hello?" Martin asked, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand, abandoning the sheet now that he was alone.
"Martin? Oh, good, at least you're alive. Listen, Arthur and I have been on a scavenger hunt of sorts for you, but it would be loads easier if you'd just tell us where you are." Douglas' tinny voice came through the receiver. Martin ran a hand through his curls of ginger hair and looked at the notepad on the dresser, sighing in relief.
"I'm in the same hotel we were staying at." Martin took a deep breath. "Douglas, I got married last night."
There was a long moment of silence on the other end before Martin heard Arthur in the background ask if Martin had hung up. Douglas shushed him and spoke again. "You got married?"
"He what? Oh, congrats, Skip!" Arthur chimed in from the background. Douglas shushed him again.
"What have you done, Martin?" Douglas sounded exasperated. "Who is she?"
"Her name is Samantha Maria Wilson." Martin told him. Douglas made a surprised noise.
"You remember her name? Wonderful." Douglas said, still sounding genuinely surprised. Martin rolled his eyes.
"Of course I do. Have you met me?" Martin sat down on the edge of the soft bed. "I wouldn't have married her if I didn't know all about her and trust her. No matter how drunk I was."
"I suppose we should be thankful for that, then." Douglas sighed. "So, what're you going to do? Divorce her, bring her home?"
"I don't know." Martin answered honestly. "I really do like her very much... and she was willing to marry me. That's a plus."
"Did she wake up and scream this morning?" Douglas asked, laughing. Martin blushed, glad that Douglas wasn't there to see him.
"No, that- I did, though. But I fixed it." Martin defended himself. Douglas started laughing again.
"As long as she's still there, that's a good sign." Douglas reminded him. Martin nodded before remembering Douglas couldn't see him.
"Yes, she's still here. She-she-she wanted me to take a shower with her." Martin could feel his face turning a brilliant red. He turned his face to the ceiling and took another deep, steadying breath.
Douglas let out a low whistle. "Way to go, champ. Why aren't you in there right now? Go!"
"I am, I am." Martin was about to hang up before remembering something. "Wait, wait! Did you want to meet for lunch? Give me an opinion on her or something?"
"Lunch? Martin, it's four o'clock in the afternoon. You really did have a long night." Douglas chuckled. "We'll meet for dinner in the hotel restaurant at six. Make a decision soon, we have to leave frustratingly early tomorrow morning." In the background, Arthur was exclaiming excitedly about a couple of Hawaiian shirts he'd found. Martin rolled his eyes again.
"Yes, yes. I'll see you at six, thank you, Douglas." Martin flipped the phone shut and got up, laying it carefully on the dresser.
He looked up at the shower door and squared his shoulders, breathing deeply before crossing the room and stepping into the hot bathroom. He blinked through the steam, navigating to the walk-in shower. The walls of the shower were glass, but he couldn't see Samantha inside because the walls were fogged up. He pushed the door open gently, and there was a slim hand wrapped around his wrist almost instantly, pulling him in.
"I was worried you weren't coming." Samantha said quietly, pulling Martin under the stream of water. Martin took a deep breath and smiled down at her, gathering all of sober courage not to run from the shower.
"Of course I was coming." Martin reached up hesitantly and pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. After a moment of silence, he asked suddenly, "What's your favorite book?"
"Well, let's see..." Samantha looked down, biting her lip as she thought. "There's so many to choose from. I'd have to say The Hound of the Baskervilles."
Martin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her deeply under the stream of warm water. "I love you."
Samantha laughed and patted his cheek. "I'm glad, we are married. I know this is crazy, I wasn't sure you'd want to stay married. You seem like kind of … Nervous Nellie, I guess I'd say."
"I guess I kind of am." Martin smiled and shuffled on the slippery tile floor. "But I'm also a bit of a romantic. And I don't want to give up on something that could be great."
"Neither do I." Samantha thread her fingers through with Martin's and grinned widely at him. "So, I can... I'll come back with you?"
"Yes, you will." Martin leaned down and kissed her again, already feeling more comfortable and at peace with his decision.
"Richardson, party of five." Douglas told the maître d' at the door of the restaurant. Arthur grinned widely, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"I can't wait to meet Samantha!" Arthur cheered, keeping an eye out for Martin or Carolyn approaching across the lobby.
"On another note, thank you for helping me out today, Arthur." Douglas commented, putting in his hands in the pockets of his khaki shorts. He and Arthur were both wearing Hawaiian shirts, though Arthur was wearing slacks, and the two of them were wearing loafers. "You're a master at that game. I've earned all my money back. Guess you're my lucky charm, then."
"I want to be the rainbow one." Arthur smiled happily at Douglas. "Always happy to help, Douglas. I'm glad I could help you with the game and getting your money back and all."
"Well, I'm glad you could, too." Douglas smiled slightly and leaned in to the younger man. "And, uhh, we won't tell your mother about the ladies."
"Where do they even learn to dance like that?" Arthur asked, his eyes going wide with the memory. Douglas clapped a hand on Arthur's upper arm and looked him in the eye.
"We'll discuss that later, kid." Douglas told him sternly, and Arthur just nodded in agreement as Carolyn approached, wearing a purple sundress and low purple heels.
"Are we ready for dinner, then? And what's this big surprise that I'm "just not going to believe"?" Carolyn asked, standing outside the restaurant with her son and her First Officer.
"Give me a moment." Douglas held up a hand and looked behind him at a woman on a bench; her hair was done up in a bun, and she had a silken yellow sundress on, and low blue heeled sandals. "I've been waiting for that … lovely young lady there to get off her phone since we got here."
"Douglas, you couldn't possibly think you could persuade her to date you or do whatever it is you do when you actually do land a woman. She could be your daughter, for God's sake." Carolyn said, disbelieving.
"I think I can, and, much like the little engine who could, I will." Douglas moved away from his small group and sat directly beside the young woman on the bench. "Hello, miss. Was that an earthquake, or did you just rock my world?"
"Good one, Douglas." Arthur whispered loudly. Carolyn smacker her hand to her face and pushed Arthur back a little further so he wouldn't get involved. The young woman smiled at him, clearly easily tolerating this.
"I'm sorry, but I'm waiting for my husband to come down from our room." The woman said kindly. Douglas nodded, understanding but looking upset. "It was nice to meet you. I suggest using a different pickup line."
"Oh, there you are. Sorry that I took so long." Martin's familiar voice came across from the lobby as he hurried over. He was wearing a white button-down that was rolled up at the sleeves and had the top three buttons unbuttoned, along with khaki shorts and men's sandals. The woman stood as he approached, and he wrapped an arm around her waist when he reached her. She stood up on her toes slightly to kiss him, and Carolyn's jaw nearly snapped off and hit the floor in shock.
"Is this the surprise?" Carolyn asked loudly. Martin scowled and shushed her.
"I suppose Douglas told everyone she's a surprise, then. Alright." Martin stepped back slightly, letting go of Samantha. "This is Samantha Maria Crieff."
"Oh, good lord, you married her!" Carolyn exclaimed, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Martin!"
"I know what I'm doing, Carolyn." Martin returned to Samantha's side and wound his arm around her waist. "She's coming back with us."
"And you tried to score with her, Douglas. Your luck really has run out." Arthur laughed, and Martin shot Douglas an angry look.
"You hit on my wife?" Martin hissed. Douglas stood from the bench and shrugged.
"I didn't know she was your wife at the time. To be honest, she's stunning. Congratulations." Douglas held out his hand, and Samantha shook it happily. "Nice to meet you, Sam."
"And it's great to meet you, too." Samantha took turns shaking hands with Arthur, and then a bewildered Carolyn. "All of you. Martin has nothing but nice things to say about all of you."
After a moment of tense silence, Martin laughed awkwardly and stuffed his free hand in his pocket. "So, shall we go in?"
"Yes, we shall." Douglas held his arm out, and Samantha shrugged at Martin and moved forward to wrap her arm around Douglas'. Martin kissed the top of her head and fell back, half-listening to Carolyn's hissed arguments and half-watching Samantha when she started laughing at something Douglas was telling her.
"It's certainly been an odd trip, hasn't it, Skip?" Arthur asked Martin as they were led to their table. Martin nodded vigorously, but smiled.
"Completely worth it, though." As Martin held out Samantha's chair, something caught his eye. He sighed heavily. "Douglas, get that lemon out of Sam's bag!"