Of all the ways a four-hour layover in Stockholm could go wrong, this was the very last thing Martin was expecting. He barely had the time to jot a brief note and leave it on the bedside table, before hastily scrambling into his uniform and slipping out of the shabby hotel room.
Three months later he received the phone call that would change his life forever. He didn't tell anyone, just doubled his efforts to juggle his career as a pilot and his job as a man with a van; skipping meals was nothing new to him, and he had an even more pressing reason this time around.
When either Carolyn or Douglas pointed out how drawn he looked, he simply shrugged his shoulders and hastened to change the subject. It was only when he abruptly demanded to have the week off on Birling day eve that he found himself unable to elude his friends' suspicions any further.
"I – I have to fetch my son. Carolyn, please," he blurted out at last, and under any other circumstance he would have laughed at the sight of his First Officer gaping in something very close to utter astonishment. As it was, it only made him even more nervous.
"Brilliant!" Arthur cut in cheerfully. "I had no idea you were a dad, Skip."
"Wasn't. Am now. Haven't seen him yet."
He waited for a sarcastic remark from Douglas, something along the lines of I had no idea that Sir had been sleeping around, but it never came. A friendly hand briefly squeezed his shoulder, and Carolyn simply nodded her agreement.
xxx
Ben's mother might refuse to have anything to do with her son, but that didn't mean the little boy wasn't utterly adored by his extended family. Carolyn had developed a soft spot for the child as soon as she'd caught a glimpse of him fast asleep in his father's arms, and Douglas had immediately appointed himself as the benevolent godfather and best uncle ever.
Arthur declaring that Skip's baby was the most brilliant thing in the whole wide world was definitely unsurprising in itself, and yet Martin couldn't help but feel proud of the one beautiful thing in his life.
Between the four of them they arranged a suitable accommodation for the new member of their odd little family. Martin moved in with Douglas, who was staying in a brand new flat after his latest divorce. Carolyn looked after the child when they were flying, and if she was flying too then Martin's mother would take her place.
Being a single parent wasn't always easy, but Martin wouldn't have it any other way. Every time he tucked his son in his crib and watched him sleeping peacefully he felt as happy as the day he'd finally become a pilot.
One day he would take Ben to fly with him, he smiled between himself. If the little boy was anything like his father, he would definitely love it.