"Pass theJammie Dodgers, Dim!" Tariq called excitedly down the aisle of the private jet, stretching out across Lucas to reach for the red packet, "I'm starving!"

"Hey!" Beth protested, spraying half-digested biscuit crumbs across Dimitri's lap as she fought to stop him handing over her supplies. Tariq, in his effort to beat Beth to the packet, fell forwards over Lucas's knees, and ended up in a squirming pile in the middle of the floor, clutching his prize.

"Tariq!" Lucas snarled.

"At least I got these, hey?" Tariq suggested helpfully, holding out the packet. Beth hastily snatched it back up and settled down to eat her biscuits, leaving Tariq's empty hand clutching at mid-air.

"Beth," Lucas began calmly, "Give me a dodger, right now. Or you'll pay. That is, if and when we finally arrive."

"Will you be my plane buddy if I share them with you?"

"He's my... plane buddy!" Tariq squealed, "You can't just bribe him, he..."

"Sure, Beth," Lucas agreed, adding in an undertone, "Whatever the hell a plane buddy might be."

Beth fired a triumphant grin at Tariq and threw a biscuit over the back of the chair. It bounced against the window frame and flew right into Ros's forehead.

"Oops."

Ros leapt up, narrowly avoiding a collision between her head and the roof of the plane, "Who. Threw. That."

All eyes spun round to face Beth. Her mouth slipped open, and flapped back and forth as a goldfish's would, "Cheers, guys. Great mates you are."

"Right. Well, when we get to South Antarctica, or wherever the hell we're heading, you're dead, Bailey."

"Ooh, I'm popular today, aren't I?"

"Naturally," Ros deadpanned, sinking back down and returning to her copy of...actually, thought Beth now, what was that?

"Ros?" she questioned sweetly.

"Mm."

"What're you reading?"

"Something far too advanced for you, no doubt," Dimitri smirked. Everyone now faced Ros, though, intent on discovering what she read in her spare time. Did Ros understand such a thing as spare time, anyway?

"Ros?" Tariq prompted.

"I...I..."

Harry now materialised, popping his head up over the back of his chair and glancing around with an equally pokerface expression, "It's called 'Be the life and soul of the party: socialising for success'."

The entire plane burst into uproarious laughter. Beth and Dimitri were falling all over each other, whilst Tariq and Lucas clutched their sides; even Ruth, who was curled up with her own tattered version of Wuthering Heights, seemed to be struggling not to look amused.

They laughed until they were choking back tears – until no one could remember what they were actually laughing about in the first place. None of them could remember the last time they'd felt this carefree with their colleagues. Ros's lips twisted into a small smile as the laughter around her died away, and this just made them all start over.

Lucas, eventually regaining control, snatched it from her, scanning the back cover, "Tips that work in all kinds of social situation, from casual parties to business events and beyond. The best ways to let the 'real you' shine through. And much more!"

"All kinds of social situation?" Beth sniggered, "Do you think the writer took into consideration flirting with terrorists when they wrote that?"

"LMAO!" Tariq added, by way of contribution to the conversation.

"Err, what?" Harry arched an eyebrow.

"L. M. A. O." the technician spelt it out.

"Yeah, we got that. But what is it supposed to signify?"

"Oh, right. Laughing my arse off."

There was a long pause. Beth fired a particularly evident glance at Tariq's lower body, "It appears to still be in one piece…"

"…Although you can't be too certain nowadays." Dimitri finished, collapsing back into a new fit of giggles, with Beth close behind him.

"Would OMG fit in at this point?" Harry suggested.

"I would've said WTF was more apt," Ros corrected flatly. Beth, Dimitri and Tariq all faced her, eyes wide. She just shook her head in mock desperation, "What? That one always stuck in my head – I knew it would come in some day."

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