First Officer Nolan's stopover

[AislingN]

As the localizer sounded, she established on the glideslope and breathed a sigh of relief. As handling officer for the last leg, Aisling had been busy. First they had to dodge around a thunder cell just north of the field, then the active runway had been changed. After a bit of a scramble, she had located the correct approach plate (patting herself on the back for having studied them quickly the night before). Under the watchful eye of Captain Rogers, she had managed the diversion well, considering the gusting winds. Now it should be pretty much plain sailing down to the threshold. This was her first time landing at this airport, and she didn't want to mess it up.

As the plane descended along the glideslope, Aisling glanced at the Captain, sitting beside her. He was one of the most experienced officers on the line and was due for retirement in the next six months or so. Ruggedly handsome, but gruff, Captain Rogers had a reputation for being hard on tyro First Officers. Beyond the necessary operational exchanges, he had said very little to Aisling during the eight hour trip. She had been quite surprised, but inwardly proud, when he confirmed that she would be doing the landing. The briefing room gossip was that Captain Rogers had recently remarried, following the tragic death of his wife three years earlier. Aisling knew of quite a few female flight crew who had been devastated by the news. While she had no interest in finding a new partner at the moment, she had to admit that the salt and pepper Captain cut a dashing figure.

As the threshold lights disappeared beneath the nose, Aisling prepared for the round out and landing. Keep her main focus on the end of the runway, she glanced occasionally to either side, making sure her wings were level. As the mainwheels greased down onto the runway, she slowly closed the throttles, allowing the front wheel to settle with a soft thud onto the runway. This was followed by a regular series of thuds, as the wheel rolled over the centreline lights. She began the task of cleaning up the aircraft (raising the flaps and checking the cabin pressure), while Rogers got their taxying and parking instructions over the radio.

Ten minutes later, Aisling was ready to deboard. All the paperwork had been done and she was about to leave the cockpit to join the rest of the crew. The cockpit door was open and Craig, the steward was already waiting for her with her coat. "Nolan! Before you go, kindly remember that you are flying a Boeing 747-400 and NOT a Cessna 150!" barked Captain Rogers. Mortified, Aisling blushed scarlet. She stumbled out an apology. Craig rolled his eyes, muttering "The old goat..." The Captain seemed to relent and continued in a gentler tone, "You head back to the hotel now, Nolan, The crew bus will be leaving shortly. I have a few things to sort out here for the return tomorrow."  As Aisling turned again to go, he added, almost as an afterthought, "See you in the bar at 2130?" Confused, Aisling stammered out a plaintive "Sure!" before retreating to the safety of the galley. She couldn't help noticing Craig pursing his lips and giving her a knowing luck. "Bitch!" she heard him hiss under his breath, before tossing his head with a laugh. They bounded over the airbridge and were soon through Security and spinning their way to the Radisson.

Settled into her room, Aisling cursed herself for having agreed to go down for a drink with the Captain. She always avoided this sort of situation. Normally, she would have been prepared to escape the invitation. However, the incident with the landing had unbalanced her. Now she was committed to going downstairs to have a drink with this older man. Awkward! She didn't even know the protocol for this sort of thing. What was the dress code? Should she change or go down in her uniform, which was very much worse for wear after the long journey. It was already after eight o'clock and she'd have to make her mind up quickly. She stamped her foot petulantly, and, through clenched teeth she asked herself out loud "Aisling, how do you always get yourself into these situations?"

In the end, she really had little choice. She had a clean uniform in the overnight bag, but she'd need that for the trip home. She also had a dress. Not just any dress, It was a very sexy halter neck, swing dress in black chiffon. A Marilyn Monroe dress. She had bought it online and it literally had arrived as she was packing to leave. Knowing that she only had seven days to return it, she had transferred the package to her suitcase, so she could try it on in the privacy of her hotel room. That way, she would be able to return it if necessary, when she got home. It had looked amazing on the website. She was dying to see how it looked on.

After a quick, but thorough, shower, Aisling had put on her undies and settled down to do her makeup. Appraising her handiwork, she was pleased to see a very pretty woman staring back at her in the mirror. The white lace of her bra and panties made her feel so feminine. Her lightly tanned and lithe body looked perfectly toned. She was looking good. No sign at all of the trauma that had brought her to this point in her life. On balance, things were working out OK for Aisling, but it had been a long struggle. And it wasn't over. She shivered slightly as she thought of Rocky. He didn't know where she was...for now. But he'd found her before...what if he tracked her down again? Breaking out of her ruminations, Aisling glanced at her phone: 21:35 stared back at her. Bother! She was late. At least she didn't have to worry about stockings or tights. She would be wearing the simple strap sandals with a four inch heel. Her legs were smooth and her nails perfectly done. All she had to do was put on her dress...

The moment she looked at herself, she knew she had bought a gem. The dress looked amazing on her. She caught her breath looking at herself. She was one hot lady. Too hot! She couldn't go down like this. It would send completely the wrong signal. But what choice did she have? She was already late. Grabbing her key and her pocketbook, she hurried out of the hotel room. As the lift descended, she checked her appearance again in the mirror. She had to admit, she looked gorgeous. Smiling wryly, she was amused by the irony of looking too good. Not often she felt like that! From the reception, Aisling headed towards the bar. She could see the Captain at the bar with two other men. All three were in flight uniforms. She spotted the BA Speedwing badges on the other two men's lapels. Maybe she could still retreat? Too late! The Captain had seen her. After the briefest of pauses, he beckoned her over.

"Aisling! We're over here!" called Captain Rogers. As he was about to introduce her to the two other men, Aisling could feel their eyes on her. Blushing slightly, she instinctively stood closer to the Captain. "Sorry, Captain Rogers. Is this your wife?" the older man asked, with a note of approval in his voice. "No!" the Captain almost shouted. Now it was his turn to blush. "I mean, no", he continued. "She is my First Officer" The younger man was about to make some bawdy remark, but was checked by a look from his partner. Thinking that they had somehow stumbled into a date, the two men quickly excused themselves, leaving Aisling and the Captain together. There was an awkward silence, and Aisling wished the ground could swallow her up. Once more she was stumbling out an apology, when the Captain stopped her. "It was my fault," he insisted. "I'm sorry that I put you in that situation. Now, can I get you a drink?"

A couple of minutes later and they were sat at one of the circular tables. He had a gin and tonic and she had a glass of white wine. After his earlier embarrassment, the Captain had recovered well and was turning out to be rather an interesting conversationalist. They chatted easily about flying (including his RAF career flying fast jets), before moving onto the topic of families. Captain Rogers spoke movingly about the death of his first wife and the joy he had found when he met his new bride. He went on to talk about his daughter, who was only three years younger than Aisling. He did so with such obvious love, tenderness and pride. She had taken the death of her mother badly, but was beginning to come out the other side. Aisling brushed away any inquiries about her own family life. It pained her to see how much this father loved his daughter By the end of the evening, if she was jealous of any woman, it was of the daughter rather than the Captain's new bride.

Flying back home the following day, the Captain was much more talkative. He chatted and joked with her easily. So much so, that even Craig began to suspect that something had happened between the two during the stopover. He had to admit, they were both very attractive people. Indeed, he couldn't decide which he would prefer to be with! "Control yourself, Craig!" he admonished himself. "You are just jealous!"