So, hello there. This is my second Cabin Pressure fic so I hope you enjoy it. My updates will be sporadic, some days you may get a couple and then may not hear anything from me for a few weeks. Sorry, that's just how I write. Anyway, here is chapter 1. Unfortunately I do not own Cabin Pressure.

I would love to hear what you think so please, drop me a review.

A Childlike Mind

Chapter 1- Don't let your dreams go up in smoke

Arthur was dragged out of his dream by the repetitive ringing of his mobile phone. Blearily he looked at his clock, three in the morning. Who phoned at three in the morning? Not that he particularly minded; it was just unusual. However when he saw the name 'Martin' displayed he lost all sense of confusion and answered the phone in pure excitement. "Skip! Did you know I was just dreaming about you, well not just you, I was dreaming about all of us. G-ERTI was a unicorn and…"

"Excuse me," interrupted a voice which was definitely not the voice of his captain. "Are you Arthur Shappey?"

"Yes," replied Arthur slowly. "Did you steal Skip's phone because Douglas won't be happy? Well neither will Martin I suppose nor mum, and to be honest I don't think that I'm too happy about it. Unless you buy him a nice new phone because his is quite old."

"This phone was used to call the fire brigade about an hour ago to alert them to a house fire. We found it with a male burn victim and this number was the first one on his contact list. We were hoping you could tell us who it belongs to."

There was a brief pause as Arthur took in this new information. There wasn't a lot on the earth which could stop him talking but he was rendered silent for a few seconds before words started pouring out of his mouth in a great torrent of panic which was ever increasing in volume. "Well this is Skip's phone, that is the phone which you're calling from is Martin's phone. He's a captain, Captain Martin Crieff and he flies for mum. But you see he can't be the one in the fire because he's a Captain and if he's hurt who's going to fly G-ERTI? Someone must have stolen his phone and then got caught in the fire because that person can't be Skip."

At three in the morning Carolyn was woken up by the sound of her son talking in his room the other end of the corridor. She groaned and rolled over in her bed. Arthur always used to talk in his sleep when he was little and some nights the old habit returned. And just like in real life, when her son talked in a dream he talked a lot. Suddenly his mere normal chatting transformed into the tone of someone who was terrified. Her motherly instincts caused her to jump out of bed instantly (she tried to ignore the fact that her son was 29 years old so shouldn't need her to comfort him after a nightmare) and dash down the hallway.

She found him babbling into the phone in a way which scared her. Carolyn plucked the phone out of her son's hand. He turned to look at her, his eyes wide and frightened. Not knowing quite what was wrong she held her free arm out and Arthur instantly ran into it and she held him close. With her other hand she lifted the phone to read the ID then held it to her ear. "Martin, what on earth is going on?" A female voice replied momentarily surprising her.

"May I ask who I am talking to?"

"I'm Carolyn Knapp-Shappey. Why do you have Martin's phone?"

"I'm Sergeant Martha Sutherland. I'm with Fitton Police Department. Who does this phone belong to? It was found with a male burn victim in a house fire and this is the only way we can identify him."

"Um, yes," she stammered. Subconsciously she held her son a little closer. "His name is Martin Crieff; he's a pilot in my airline. I'm his boss," she said uncertainly. "Is he ok?"

"He's alive if that's what you're asking." Carolyn wasn't sure if she felt reassured or terrified by these words. She was, of course relieved that he was alive but from what the woman had said he was obviously hurt.

"Is anyone else hurt?"

"We haven't found any more survivors." Carolyn felt slightly nauseous at this, she found herself envying the woman at the other end of the phone. At least she had a professional façade to hide behind.

"What hospital has he been taken to?"
"St Margaret's."

"Right, thank you," Carolyn replied before hanging up and turning her attention to Arthur.

"Arthur, get changed. Martin's been hurt but he's still alive. We're going to go and get Douglas then go to the hospital. Understand?" Arthur nodded, there were tears falling slowly down his cheeks but he did exactly as he had been told. By the time Carolyn had made it down the stairs he's made coffee in three travel mugs. Douglas' house was only a ten minute drive away; it'd still be warm by the time they got there. She took hers gratefully before the two of them clambered into the car.

Once they were moving she handed her phone to Arthur. "Phone Douglas and tell him what's going on, and don't go into a huge explanation. Just tell him Martin's hurt and to meet us outside his house." Arthur nodded and phoned Douglas. It took two attempts before the older man answered.

"Carolyn, if you're phoning about an early morning flight it just isn't happening." The pilot's voice sounded rough from sleep.

"It's Arthur," the steward said in response. Something of the situation must have slipped through into his voice because Douglas actually sounded concerned instead of angry when he spoke next.

"Oh, hello Arthur. Is everything ok?"

"No, someone phoned me at three. It was Martin's number so I started telling them about the dream I had where G-ERTI was a unicorn and you and Martin were flying her and…"

"Please get to the point," Douglas interrupted trying to keep any annoyance out of his voice. The young man was obviously flustered and a bit scared.

"Martin was caught in a fire and now he's in hospital. We're just driving over to yours." There was a brief silence.

"I'll meet you outside." And with that Douglas hung up the phone.