Chapter Text
"So Martin, do you have any plans for our day off tomorrow? Any jobs with the van?" Douglas questioned his captain.
"No..." Martin answered cautiously. "No plans, no jobs. Why?"
"Fantastic."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is because I have set you up on a blind date."
"You what?!" Martin sqeaked indignantly. "Douglas!"
"You don't have to thank me right now," the first officer replied nonchalantly.
"I'm not thanking you at all!"
"Well you should be. I've set you up with someone very sweet."
"I - I - I - I - I - I - I - I -" Martin stuttered ineliquently, trying to come up with a reason, any reason at all, as to why he couldn't or shouldn't go. He came up blank.
"Great, so it's settled. Show up at that park a few blocks from the airfield at noon."
Martin was a nervous wreck. He sat on a bench, tapping his right foot anxiously on the ground and trying not to vomit.
He checked his watch again. 12:07. So now he was being rejected by people he hadn't even met yet. Great. That's how pathetic he was. Not even worth showing up to meet.
He told himself that perhaps this girl was just running late. So he'd wait a few more minutes. Even if all he wanted to do right now was run away. But that wouldn't be fair to the girl. Showing up to find that she wasn't worth meeting either... well Martin didn't want to inflict this horrendous feeling on anyone else, so he waited.
"Oh, hi Ski-Martin."
The airdot captain looked up from his shoes. "Arthur," he smiled at the familiar face. "Hi. What are you doing here?"
"Taking Snoopadoop for a walk. Want to join us?"
"Uh..." Martin glanced around the small park again and found not another soul. He looked at his watch. 12:32. "Sure."
"Brilliant!" Arthur beamed, reaching down and taking Martin's hand so he could help him up. "Let's go."
"So how did yesterday go?" Douglas asked the following morning in the portacabin as he set his tea down on top of a precariously stacked pile of papers that he was supposed to be filling out.
Martin glanced over at the steward briefly and a small smile crept onto his features. "She didn't show."
"Who didn't?" Douglas asked.
"The girl you set me up with."
"Martin," Douglas let out an exasperated sigh. "Why would I set you up with a woman? You're terrible at talking to women."
For a moment Martin's face scrunched up in confusion before his eyes got really wide. He tilted his head in Arthur's direction.
Douglas gave an overexaggetated nod in response.
Martin blushed. "Thank you, Douglas."