Arthur stayed in the flight deck for the remainder of the flight. After they landed and finished up their post-landing checks Herc got out of his seat and went to find Carolyn before she came to find Arthur. She was just finishing up seeing the passengers off the plane. She was always in a rush to get rid of the passengers, but she was in even more of a rush this time. Herc had a pretty good idea as to why.

"Goodbye, and thank you for flying OJS Air." Carolyn said in a sickeningly fake cheerful voice. Herc was surprised that anybody actually bought it. As soon as the last passenger was off the plane her impatience came out.

"Good riddance," Carolyn muttered. She turned with determination, only to suddenly stop when she saw Herc standing there watching her. Herc had tried to keep his expression even, to not show just how he was feeling, but something must have shown on his face because Carolyn gave him an unimpressed look.

"Herc, I swear, if you say a single word to try to comfort me or some other nonsense-" She was clearly not in the mood for being coddled, but that wasn't why Herc was here. Douglas needed time to talk to Arthur about what he had learned, and Arthur needed some space from his mother, even if it was just for a few more hours. And really, Carolyn needed to know what her ex-husband had said to her son, and Herc wasn't going to be making Arthur repeat those terrible words again.

"Arthur told us what his father said." Herc said, interrupting Carolyn. She would normally tear right into him for cutting her off, but she had something else to worry about.

"What?" Carolyn asked. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did that man say to my son?"

Herc knew that Carolyn didn't like to beat around the bush. If someone had something to say, she would prefer that they just say it, no matter how terrible the news was. However, he also knew that if he told her here and now then Carolyn would storm right into the flight deck to speak to Arthur immediately, and he just wasn't ready for that.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Herc suggested. It would give Douglas time to get Arthur to the hotel.

"I do not want to go for a walk." Carolyn said with her usual contrary air. "I want to know what's wrong with my son, and if you won't tell me then I'll have to discuss it with him myself." She started to push her way past Herc, but he put his hands on her shoulders, gently but firmly stopping her in her tracks.

"Of course I will tell you." Herc promised, and he meant it. "However, it can't be here."

"And why not?" Carolyn asked.

"Do you trust me?" Herc asked.

"Of course I do." Carolyn snapped, and even under these circumstances Herc still felt rather pleased with himself. He always enjoyed these small moments when Carolyn let slip that she did, indeed, care for him.

"Then trust that I know what I'm talking about." Herc said. "Douglas will speak to Arthur, and when he's ready he'll talk to you, but you mustn't push him on this."

Carolyn looked like she desperately wanted to argue, but for once she held her tongue and reluctantly nodded. "Promise me that he'll be okay."

"Of course he will be." Herc said. Her slowly adjusted his grip on her so his hands were no longer on her shoulders but her back. He gave her every opportunity to pull away, but Carolyn stepped closer to him and Herc took this as her permission to embrace her. He pulled Carolyn close and held her in a way that she very rarely allowed him to.

"Arthur's strong." Herc said. "He's hurting terribly right now, but he'll be back to his old self soon. It's only a matter of time."

Carolyn didn't look completely convinced, but she sighed and leaned into his embrace for a long moment before she huffed and pulled back.

"Enough of this." Carolyn said. "Let's just get this over with."

Herc thought that if somebody wanted to just get a walk over with then perhaps they were missing the point of taking a leisurely walk in the first place. He didn't say as much to Carolyn though. He knew what she meant.

Carolyn still had a bit of work to do, to make sure that the aeroplane got refueled and everything was arranged with the airfield, but it wasn't long before she and Herc were walking to a nearby park. Herc knew that Carolyn was eager to know just what Gordon had said, so he wasn't surprised when she quickly settled on a park bench and looked at him expectantly.

"So? Out with it." Carolyn said. "What did Gordon say?"

Herc was not ready to talk about this, but he couldn't exactly hide this from Carolyn just because it made him uncomfortable. This was about her son. She deserved to know.

"He told Arthur that he wished that he hadn't talked you out of getting an abortion." Herc said plainly. Carolyn looked stricken. She was quiet for a long moment before she abruptly stood up. Herc had expected that she would storm her way right back to the airfield to speak to Arthur right away. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Carolyn, don't-" Herc began.

"Don't you dare." Carolyn said. Her voice shook from fury and fear. "Don't you dare tell me what to do. You have no idea...you don't…" Carolyn's voice broke and Herc took the opportunity to pull her back down onto the bench.

"You're right," Herc said. "I couldn't possibly understand what you or Arthur are going through." He tried to pull her in for another embrace, but Carolyn was tense and clearly uncomfortable, so he refrained. Instead Herc took her hand and rubbed small circles on her hand."

"Is that why I've barely seen Arthur today?" Carolyn asked. Her tone was forcibly casual. She was clearly trying to hide just how she was feeling. "Is he avoiding me?"

"I believe so, yes." Herc said.

Carolyn took a deep breath. "How dare he?" Herc frequently heard her sound furious, but very few things could truly anger her like this. "As if it wasn't bad enough that that man has ruined his own relationship with Arthur, he has to try to poison my relationship with him as well." Carolyn gave Herc's hand a small squeeze. "Does he truly hate his own son so much? Or does he care so little about Arthur that he doesn't care how much he hurts him just as long as he can hurt me as well?"

Herc scooted a little closer to Carolyn. "You mustn't blame yourself, love." He knew it was just asking for trouble to call her love, as she wasn't too fond of either nicknames or his overuse of saying he loved her. Carolyn was far too worried about Arthur to care much about just what he called her.

"And why not?" Carolyn snapped in that way she did whenever anybody tried to tell her what to do. "Why shouldn't I blame myself when I was the one who...who…" Carolyn broke off and leaned closer to him.

"Carolyn," Herc said quietly. "You know I won't judge you, and I know it's none of my business, but did you want an abortion?"

Carolyn was silent for a long moment before she nodded. "Yes," She said quietly, almost inaudibly. "I-I was young, and had just started to make some progress in my career. I didn't want to put that all aside and become the good little house-wife that Gordon so desperately wanted. I-I didn't want a child."

Carolyn rubbed her forehead. She looked exhausted. "I love Arthur."

"I never doubted that for a second." Herc said. "And I'm sure that Arthur is just as aware of that fact as I am."

"I don't regret having him." Carolyn said. "I stopped regretting it when he was just a few months old." Herc decided to not ask or comment about those first few months of Arthur's life, when Carolyn may have regretted and possibly even resented her young son's life. There was no need to bring up that old pain.

"However, I do regret having him with Gordon." Carolyn said with cold conviction. "Arthur never deserved that horrible man as a father, and Gordon certainly never deserved a boy like him."

"You won't see me argue with you about that." Herc didn't think that Gordon had ever deserved either Arthur or Carolyn. Nobody truly deserved to be mistreated and manipulated by such a man, but especially not these two, who Herc believed were some of the most genuinely kind people that he'd ever met.

He was probably part of just a handful of people who considered Carolyn to be kind, but Herc would stand by that to his dying day. Perhaps she wasn't nice in a traditional way, but when Carolyn wanted to she could be remarkably selfless. Besides, Herc didn't think that anybody who was truly self-centered could raise a boy like Arthur almost entirely on their own.

Carolyn took in a shuddered breath and Herc avoided looking at her face. He didn't know whether she was about to start crying or not, but if she was he knew that she would like to keep her pride and privacy about it. If Herc didn't see her crying, then she had plausible deniability.

"I want to hold him." Carolyn said. "I wish I could chase away his fears like I did when he was a child, but I can't." She pulled her hand away from Herc's so that she could wrap her arms around herself. "The only thing I can do is wait until he comes to me."

"You say that as though it's a bad thing." Herc gave her a small smile, though she wasn't looking at him to see it. "Carolyn, everybody needs help sometimes, but very few people can claim that they have somebody right there to give it to them should they need it. Arthur may not be ready to talk to you quite yet, but when he is you'll be right there, ready to listen to and support him, and that is far more precious than you are giving yourself credit for."

Carolyn gave him an annoyed look, and Herc had never been so glad to receive her ire. He would much rather see her be annoyed than angry or distressed. "You sound like you're giving the moral of a children's story."

"Am I wrong though?" Herc asked almost smuggly, because he knew it couldn't be refuted. She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and didn't say a word, which was enough of an answer for Herc. He knew that was her way of refusing to admit that he was right. Herc was always rather pleased with himself when Carolyn in her own, special, Carolyn way admitted that he was right about something.

Herc stood up. "Do you want to return to our walk? Perhaps we can pick up some food before meeting Arthur and Douglas at the hotel. That may give Douglas enough time to speak to Arthur and calm him down."

Carolyn made an odd face. "What could Douglas possibly say to Arthur?"

"Honestly, when it comes to Douglas, I've learned to stop questioning exactly how he does anything." Herc said. "He said he would handle Arthur, and I saw no reason to not believe him."

"I suppose so." Carolyn said. "Still, I will feel much better about this after I've spoken to Arthur myself."

"And you shall." Herc swore. "Just as soon as Arthur's ready. In the meantime, it's a lovely evening, and I'm rather hungry. So, shall we?" He offered his arm to Carolyn, giving her a charming smile. She gave him an unimpressed look, but rose and accepted his arm anyway.

As they continued their walk Herc reflected on the discussion. It had gone much better than he thought it would. Carolyn was still clearly distressed, and Herc could feel her arm trembling in his, but she would be okay. Herc just hoped that things went just as well for Douglas.

Arthur loved pineapple juice, and he enjoyed spending time with Douglas outside of work. Douglas was one of just a few people who actually seemed to like being around Arthur. Sometimes the older man would get impatient with him, but it was far less often than other people. Douglas let Arthur participate in their games, even if he wasn't very good at all of them.

There weren't many people whose company Arthur preferred over Douglas, and yet being invited to the hotel bar for a few drinks wasn't enough to cheer him up.

Arthur sighed heavily and tilted his glass around. It was still half full while Douglas was already on his second glass of pineapple juice. Maybe it was just Arthur's mood, but the juice just didn't taste as good as it usually did.

Douglas finished off his juice, set down his glass, and then turned to face Arthur. "You know I have a few daughters, don't you?" Douglas asked. Arthur nodded. He'd only recently learned about Douglas' daughters, and even now he didn't know their names or ages. Douglas wasn't normally that eager to talk about his home-life.

"Well, here's something you may not have known." Douglas said in a quiet tone that Arthur very rarely heard from him. "Me and my first wife also thought about getting an abortion."

Arthur finally turned his attention away from his juice to stare at Douglas in shock. "But you love your daughter." Arthur may not know very much about Douglas' daughters, but he knew that he loved them both, even if he didn't get to spend very much time with them. The thought that Douglas had ever not wanted either of his daughters was an odd one.

"Yes, I do." Douglas nodded. "I've loved them from the moment I held them in my arms. Before they were born though, I didn't know how to feel about them. I was a pilot and had only just become the captain. I worked so much that I barely had time for my wife, and I didn't know how to fit a child into that schedule. A small part of me was jealous at the thought of having a child."

Arthur frowned slightly. "You were jealous of a baby?" Not just any baby, but a baby that hadn't even been born yet.

"Yes, I suppose I was." Douglas chuckled slightly. He also seemed to think that his jealousy had been odd and just a bit petty. "I could see the early signs that our marriage was starting to fall apart. My ex-wife was already mad at me for being so busy, and I was a bit resentful that I wasn't able to spend as much time with her as I liked. I thought that having a baby would just make things worse. Because of my job, I would have to leave her to care for the child by herself, and when I was home I would have to help take care of the baby, sacrificing time with my wife."

Arthur didn't completely understand it. His confusion must have shown on his face, or Douglas just knew how he was by now, because the older man hummed thoughtfully before simplifying it.

"Having a child is a big responsibility." Douglas said. "And if you do it right, it never really ends. You don't just stop being a parent after your children are adults, or even after they've moved out. It's a life-time commitment, and it wasn't one that I thought I was ready to make. After my daughter was born, I was still overwhelmed with it all, but that didn't stop me from loving her, and now I wouldn't give her up for anything."

Arthur stared at his glass of juice. He took a small sip. It still didn't taste as good as pineapple juice should, but he thought it tasted a little better than it had before.

"Do you think it's like that with Mum?" Arthur asked quietly.

"I can't say for certain." Douglas admitted. "However, this is Carolyn that we're talking about. I don't know about you, but I for one have never known her to hide how she's truly feeling. If your mother says that she loves you, and she does, then I believe that she means it."

Arthur was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. Remembering his father's words, and having that thought in the back of his head that his mother didn't care about him, still made his chest hurt. But for as long as he had known Douglas the man had always seemed to know better than Arthur did, and this time wasn't any different.

Arthur's mother did say that she loved him, and the only reason she would say that if it wasn't true was to try to spare Arthur's feelings. But if she was lying in an attempt to make him feel better, then didn't that also mean that she did, in fact, care about him? After all, why would someone care about sparing someone else's feelings unless they cared about them? And if Arthur's mum cared about him enough to lie about it, then she did love him. She wasn't lying at all.

Arthur felt a little better, but he still felt far from brilliant. "It still hurts." He said.

"Yes, I should imagine so." Douglas said. "This kind of pain doesn't go away with just a few pretty reassurances. I imagine this is the kind of pain that never truly goes away."

Arthur's eyes widened in alarm. "Never?" Arthur was having a hard time dealing with just one day of this. He didn't want to feel like this for the rest of his life.

"That doesn't mean that you'll always be hurting." Douglas said. "It may be like the pain of your parents' separation. Some days it barely bothers you, and others it makes you feel like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Right?"

Arthur thought he understood. Douglas was right, Arthur did indeed still have a few days where he was hurting a bit because of the divorce. Days when he desperately wanted a father that he felt like he could talk to. More often than not though, Arthur didn't miss his dad at all. Mum was good enough for him.

If this pain that he was feeling right now turned into that pain, maybe Arthur was strong enough to deal with it after all.

Arthur's chest still hurt, but it was a different kind of pain. It was a similar feeling to what Arthur got when he had himself a good cry. It was an odd feeling that felt both absolutely terrible and a little bit pleasant.

Arthur sighed, letting out some of the bad feelings in his chest. He took another drink of his pineapple juice, and then just continued drinking it. For the first time that day it actually tasted good. Soon enough Arthur finished off his juice, and when Douglas ordered himself a third glass Arthur got another one as well. Douglas also asked for some simple foods to snack on, which Arthur appreciated. Even though it was dinner time he didn't think he was hungry enough to have a full meal. He always appreciated a good snack though.

They talked a little bit about absolutely nothing at all, and this was what Arthur truly enjoyed about Douglas. The man could hold up a conversation with anybody about anything at all. Even if it was something that Douglas didn't know anything about, he still talked with the confidence of a man whose opinion mattered more than anybody else's.

Eventually Douglas got a phone call. He passed Arthur the last of his juice, told him to feel free to finish it off, and left to answer his phone. Arthur sat by himself for a few minutes, sipping on pineapple juice and munching on the snacks. When Douglas returned he had a serious, but not too distressing, expression on his face.

"That was Herc," Douglas said. "They just finished up dinner and are on their way back here. Carolyn wants to know if you're ready to talk to her."

Arthur's eyes widened. He knew that he needed to talk to his mother sooner or later, and he would definitely rather it to be sooner, because he had never not spoken to his mother for this long before. He didn't like it, but he didn't know if he wanted to talk to her right now either.

"You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to." Douglas said quietly. "Nobody will blame you."

"I want to." Arthur insisted. "But what if I start talking to her and I get upset in the middle of it?"

"There's no shame in leaving a conversation early if you're feeling overwhelmed." Douglas said. "It doesn't have to happen all at once. You can start the conversation, leave, and then come back to it later."

This was another reason why Arthur really liked Douglas. The man always had really good plans. "I can do that." Arthur said. He was still nervous, and he didn't really feel ready for this, but he felt a little better now that he had a Douglas plan to follow.