Whose stupid idea was it to go for the itinerary that would take you there in the most inconvenient and roundabout way? Katrin found herself asking for the umpteenth time. Oh, that's right... YOU did! Very clever of you, Katrin. Thoroughly exhausted and undeniably uncomfortable, she rolled her shoulders, popped her neck, and made her way down the last aisle of the last plane to her last seat on the last flight in her journey.

Arranging her nest in the window seat, she pulled out a book from her carry-on bag before shoving it under the seat in front of her. With a sigh, one of mixed relief and exasperation, she adjusted the pillow behind her neck and closed her eyes.

At a sharp, "Ow!" coming from the aisle, she cracked an eyelid. A young woman was struggling to put her bag in the overhead compartment. With a final shove, it moved into place and she, in turn, slid into the seat beside Katrin.

"You know those measuring containers at the check-in desks?" she asked conversationally. "The ones you are supposed to be able to fit your bag into in order to make sure it is small enough to carry on the plane? What a waste of scrap metal. I can never get the things to fit right in these small spaces no matter how easily they go into those stupid containers." She buckled herself in and tied back her hair before turning to Katrin again. "By the way, hello. I'm Anja."

Always pleased to meet new people, Katrin opened the other eye and smiled. "Hi, I'm Katrin."

"Fly often?"

"No. This is my first time, actually. Well, not really my first flight, but my first trip via planes."

"Layovers?" At Katrin's nod, Anja rolled her eyes. "Figures. So what, you get around as nature intended up till now? You know, in a car?"

Katrin grinned. "Well, more or less."

"Cool. So where's your final destination?"

"After this one, the last of four flights, I end up in London."

"Four?" At Katrin's nod, Anja just shook her head. "Crikey. You must really want to get there."

"There is that, but I can be far too thrifty for my own good at times. I have no real reason to be, but there it is. What about you? Where are you headed?"

"The same, though in a meagre two legs. I'm in a mini-exchange program sort of thing where various colleges send some of their techs off for a two week workshop at one of the Really Useful Theatre group theatres."

"Sounds like something my mother would have enjoyed. She majored in Drama back in the day. Had to do something of everything in order to graduate."

"Gotta love the liberal arts program. So what are you crossing the great divide for?"

"It's a combination of wanting to play tourist and meeting up with a friend of mine."

"Casual friend or friend friend?" she asked with a meaningful waggle of her eyebrows.

Katrin giggled. "At this point, I'd have to say somewhere in between."

"Ah ha. Did you meet on the Net or something? Not," she added quickly, "that there's anything wrong with that."

"No, we actually met briefly over the summer. I guess you could say we just hit it off really well and, since it was his vacation that brought him out my way in the first place, I figured I'd return the favour."

"Oh ho! You're willing to take a vacation in order to meet someone you met while he was on vacation? Honey, give me details!"

"It's not that exciting a tale, really..."

"Eh, we have a long flight ahead of us and I'm not in the mood to sleep yet. So, come on, entertain me. If the story gets boring, just make something up!"

At such a command, Katrin could not help laughing and dutifully obliged her fellow passenger.

"We're about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, so that will give us a landing time of 8:32am. It is currently 17 degrees out at Gatwick this morning, that's about 63 Fahrenheit for those of you from the colonies. And with clear skies forecast for the next few days we'll be looking at a beautiful weekend in here in London."

"And here I thought I'd see nothing but rain and fog my whole stay," Katrin muttered as the pilot continued his pre-landing announcements. "How disappointing." There was a snort of laughter from her flight companion. Katrin, still amused by this for all that it had happened a few times before on the flight, grinned. "Well, fog is just so, you know, mysterious... and stuff."

"Right." She gave Katrin a contemplative look. "I guess it does add to the atmosphere."

"Exactly!"

The debate over atmospheric fog continued through landing and into the Customs Hall where the two joined the same slow-moving line. Randomly, Anja cast a sideways glance at Katrin. "Speaking of mysterious fog, are you expecting a mystery like Sherlock Holmes, or more along the Film Noir style wherein you collide with the handsome, er, banker wearing his fedora in an alley while trying to hide from the score of fanatical secret society members who are hunting you down for the abnormally large diamond given to you by your father for safe-keeping?"

"I think you have your films a bit mixed up," came the response on the tail end of a giggle.

"Never." She grinned. "Seriously though, and I expect an answer since we likely will never see each other again so I'll never have the chance to see how things develop, what do you think will happen with this Bill character you're so smitten with? And what do you want to happen?"

"You're asking this now?"

"Meh," Anja shrugged. "I figured if I asked earlier, you might not tell me as you'd have to sit there for hours knowing I know. This way, you'll know I know for the rest of your lifetime, but at least you don't have to look at me and know I know and wonder what I think about it."

Katrin's laugh put her on the receiving end of some strange looks from numerous people, though this went unnoticed by the two women. "Alrighty then." She wrinkled her nose in thought. By the time she was ready to answer, both of them had gotten their stamps in their passports and were waiting by baggage claim. "To answer your second question in a nutshell, I guess I want a whirlwind romance that leads to a deep and passionate relationship, complete with approval from my parents and many grandchildren."

"Nutshell. Wa-ow. I'm hoping you mean eventually with that last bit."

"Oh heavens, absolutely."

"Good. Well, I suppose that suffices well enough. And my first question?"

"Beats me. I'm fairly certain he's more than casually interested in me --"

"Fairly certain? Hell, Katrin, I've only heard your side, but even I can see that."

"That's what I keep getting told by my Aunts and my mother. I just can't get rid of that lingering insecurity, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Anyway, fairly certain. But beyond that, I have no idea what he wants. It hasn't really come up, being as anything beyond friendship has yet to be really practical. I believe that long distance relationships can and do work, but I also think that in order to do so there has to be some sort of healthy and strong beginning in person."

"So I take it your short-term plans are to aim for that beginning in the coming two weeks?"

"Well, yeah."

"Aw, you're blushing. That's so cute!"

"Shut up." They pushed their carts down the hall and through the doors toward the meeting area. "Are you being fetched or do you have to fend for yourself?"

"Fetched, actually. We all arrive from our various places today and are being taken directly to the theatre for orientation."

"How will you find your people?"

"They should have a sign or something." Both caught sight of the large sign at the same time. "Ah, there they --" She stopped short as she saw the people gathered around it. "Oh, god. They're wearing matching shirts."

Katrin's eyebrows popped up. "Hate to say it, but they're tacky ones at that."

"I hope I'm not going to have to wear one. And if so, not be seen in public."

"I don't think they've recognized you as one of Them quite yet. I have a car service waiting for me if you want to sneak away and get a ride instead."

"Tempting, but no." Anja sighed heavily. "We weren't told specifically which theatre we're going to, so I'd be rather SOL."

"Well, if you're sure." She gestured at a stocky man who was polished to the nines in a chauffer outfit and held a sign reading, 'Miss King'. "That's me, so I guess here's where we part ways."

Anja whistled in admiration. "Ritzy ritzy. And you flew coach?" She shook her head, chuckling, as Katrin nodded sheepishly. "Though your driver looks more like a hit-man than anything else. Maybe you're in for a Film Noir after all!" Laughing, the two hugged and, wishing each other luck in their endeavours, went their separate ways.

Katrin pushed her cart over to the driver. "Hi, I'm Katrin King. Do you need to see my passport or anything for proof of identity?"

"Just your boarding pass will suffice, Madam."

"Ok then." Grinning at his formality, which continued the entire way to the brand new black Audi with leather interior and a complimentary basket full of various light snacks and a ribbon reading 'Welcome to Great Britain', Katrin finally allowed herself to relax being safely on the ground for two weeks.