Author's note: Captain Brown and Gabrielle are my characters, I don't own the others. :) I did borrow some of Brown's actions from the flight instructor in the movie, but other than that, I've tried to be as original as possible. :)


Chapter 1

Long Island, January 1941

As the two planes swooped dangerously close to each other only to flip and brush past with their bellies barely touching, training commander Captain Douglas Brown shot them a smothering glare, then cursed as he was temporarily blinded by the sunlight glinting off metal. "Those two are going straight into Doolittle's office. I'll make sure they get a whole month of kitchen duty..."

The two planes roared by as they went in for another game of suicide.

"Make that toilet duty..."

Blissfully unaware of their commander's dark thoughts, Lieutenants Walker and McCawley's cheerful voices crackled over the radio.

"That was awesome...I mean horrific, Rafe! You almost hit my nose!" Danny's failed attempt at hiding his obvious glee made Rafe chuckle.

"Give me a break, Danny. And besides, your nose is already so dented one more hit wouldn't make much of a difference."

"Oh yeah? Well that's still better than yours, its practically nonexistent."

"Since when?"

"You should see it Rafe, its sparking like crazy. Maybe you did hit some part of my baby after all. "

Danny sounded so earnest that Rafe got a bit worried. He strained forward trying to see the nose of his plane, but the harness held him back. Did he really go too close? Oh crap, the cost of one of these noses...

"Heads up, Rafe."

Rafe's head shot up just in time to see Danny's plane descend from above right into his path, so close he could see the rivets in the plane's hull, and watch his life flash in front of his eyes. Instinctively, he yanked hard on his yoke, sending his plane into a steep left turn, spewing expletives as he cursed Danny's ancestry. Danny only laughed. "Gotcha."

"We'll see about that." Rafe growled as he geared up for another round at his friend, but Danny's plane just danced out of his path.

"Face it, Rafe, I've always been the better pilot."

"You're the better pilot, I'm the best, I win hands down."

Captain Brown's jaw dropped as he listened to his two best pilots bickering like little kids after they'd tried to blow each other out of the sky. With his expensive, brand new equipment. He swore he'd never let them into a cockpit again. Reaching for his hat, he realised rather belatedly that it had been blown onto the runway.

Some other pilots were standing close by, cheering their friends on as those two tried yet more dangerous stunts, and he turned his laser glare on them. "You, get my hat." The red-haired pilot he pointed to scrambled to comply.

Grabbing the radio, he delivered his best threat as calmly as he could. "Planes 16 and 17, if you don't come down right now you'll be dealt with as threats to national security."

"You've always treated us like one, sir."

"I'm not joking, McCawley."

"Yes sir, of course sir."

"We'll be down in a minute, sir." came Walker's apologetic tone. Rafe's massive sigh was audible over the crackles of the intercom.

Captain Brown couldn't help but smile. After being their mentor for the few years these boys had been in the army, he had learnt a few things. While McCawley usually took the lead, on those occasions when Walker spoke up, his decision would be final. Learning that fact had saved Brown much heartache over the years, and he thanked his lucky stars that Walker was usually the more sensible one.

Usually.

As they descended from their ridiculously high positions in the sky, the two planes twirled like flies around a flame and shot by overhead with their wings almost touching.

Obviously they didn't take his threat seriously. Damn.

Brown walked towards his usual position beside the runway and waited while those two farmboys brought their planes to a light touchdown. Grudgingly, he admitted they're good pilots. Perhaps better than he was at their age.

Looking at the cocky, confident expressions on their faces as they walked towards him, he heaved a silent sigh of exasperation.

When will they learn?

"What were you two doing?" Captain Brown demanded as his pilots stood at attention in front of him.

"Coming down, as you ordered, sir." McCawley had an innocent look on his face.

"Did I tell you to perform stunts WHILE coming down, McCawley?"

"You didn't say not to, sir." McCawley was enjoying himself. "Anyway, those weren't stunts sir, its how Danny and I usually come down from practice, sir."

"So that was normal routine?" These boys were unbelievable.

"Sort of, sir."

"SORT OF?" Captain Brown was this close to blowing his top, but he admired their apparent disregard of the wrath of Doolittle which they knew was going to descend on them very shortly. Anyone who dared to stand up to Doolittle has probably earned the right to be cocky.

They are talented, young, and confident. Perhaps, deep down, he was slightly envious. But on top of that, as their mentor, he was proud. Very, very proud.

"You're smiling, sir."

Brown glared at McCawley's infuriating face and bared his teeth. "I'm just entertaining myself with thoughts of what Doolittle would do to you when he gets my report. And what I do with my face is none of your business, Lieutenant."

"I'll try my best to stay out of it, sir."

Brown growled and stalked off with two grinning pilots in tow. Someday, he'll win an argument with McCawley. He had spent the past two years losing every single one.


Pacing restlessly outside Doolittle's office, Danny looked worriedly at the closed door. Doolittle had seemed a little angry with them, but Rafe had managed to make him smile with his usual smart talk, so they were probably going to get away with it this time round. If it wasn't about the training they just had, he couldn't think of another reason why Doolittle would want to talk to Rafe in private...

Finally, the doors opened and Rafe came out looking perfectly alive. So Doolittle hadn't murdered him, yet. Danny smiled with relief and went to meet his friend, but stopped when he saw Rafe's expression. "What is it, Rafe?" Danny asked, concerned. "Surely you aren't suspended from flying?"

Rafely smiled slightly, shaking his head. "Nah, he can't afford to lose his only source of entertainment, he would become even crazier than he already is..."

"Softer!" Danny hissed. Rafe realised too late that the doors were still open, and he whirled around just in time to see Doolittle's bemused expression. "Did I just hear what I think I heard, McCawley?"

"I'm sure you didn't just hear what I think you heard, sir."

"Is that so?" Doolittle raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps. Then run along, McCawley, before I decide that I did hear what I think you think I heard."

Rafe didn't need to be told twice. Executing a hurried salute, he disappeared down the corridor, dragging a protesting Danny along, while Captain Brown watched with his mouth gaping open. Did he just see McCawley lose an argument?

Doolittle hid a smile, then went back to his paperwork. He was going to miss these little arguments with McCawley once the boy went to England. Even though he had encouraged McCawley to follow his dreams of fighting in the war, he wondered if he made the right choice. The boy was still young, and his ideas of war were too idealistic. And if, just if, the boy didn't make it back, it would forever weigh on his conscience that he was the one who encouraged him to go.


The next day, as he stepped on his flight towards Pearl Harbor with Red, Anthony and Billy, Danny still couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that Rafe had been assigned to fight in the war in England. Why? Why would Doolittle do that? But there had been no time to ask questions. In fact, Rafe had already left for England that morning, and he himself had to rush to catch his flight to Pearl Harbor right after sending Rafe off.

It was the first time they had received different assignments since they enlisted in the army eight years ago, but it meant that Rafe was going to face death every single day while he spent time on beaches, enjoying the sunset from the Hawaiian sky. It didn't seem fair at all, and as much as he hated the idea of going to war, Danny would gladly have exchanged his assignment with Rafe, just to make sure his best friend stayed safe.

Goodness, without him to fly as wingman, would Rafe be able to cope?

Rafe's last request still weighed on his mind. If anything happened to me, I want you to be the one to tell her, alright?

Damn it, Rafe. I don't want to be telling anyone anything, you hear me? He wanted to yell in Rafe's face, but seeing the solemn look in Rafe's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to reject that request. He knew, that despite Rafe's apparent cheerfulness and enthusiasm, Rafe was very much aware that he might not come back, so he wanted to do what was best for his girl.

Trust Rafe to want to make things easier for Evelyn in case he died. Danny's eyes softened at the thought of the beautiful navy nurse who captured his best friend's heart at the last physical examination they had. She was a special lady, and Danny had been so happy for Rafe when he learnt that they were going out. But now...

Don't make me have to bring her bad news, Rafe. Whatever you do, come back safely.


"Hey Doc, I think we've got new pilots coming this way." Gooz yelled from the door of the hangar where he was painting his new surfboard.

"Ah, they did say some were coming today. They're early." Doc grunted. "Come on then, boys, let's meet our guests."

Gabrielle scrambled to follow the other pilots as they rushed excitedly to greet the newcomers. She'd been the last newcomer to arrive 4 years ago, and since then there had been no new pilots. There was still an empty bunk in her room, which meant that one of these new pilots could become her roommate.

She wasn't sure what she thought of that idea. Having a roommate would...complicate things. If her roommate discovered she was actually a girl...so far she had managed to escape detection, but for how long?

To be honest, she had grown to love her life as a pilot, and felt it was quite a pity that only men could become pilots in the army. It wasn't fair, but then, the world was unfair. Sweet, kind and loving Danny had a violent drunkard as a father, and afterwards he had died in that accident at such a young age even though he deserved so much more...

Life was unfair, period.

As she made her way out of the cluttered hangar, she heard Gooz introduce himself to the new pilots as "Pride of the Pacific". Snorting, she was just about to tell Gooz to shut up when she heard one of the new pilots laugh and introduce himself, "Terror in the Skies. Danny Walker, at your service."

Blinking at the familiar name, she looked up and was stunned. That hair, the eyes...even the voice sounded similar, just somewhat deeper. When those soft brown eyes fell on her, her heart skipped a beat, but nothing in those eyes showed any signs of recognition. He just smiled politely at her and inclined his head in greeting. It was obvious he was meeting her for the first time. Whatever she wanted to believe, he was not her Danny.

"And this is Gabriel, but we all call him Shortie." Gabrielle snapped out of her thoughts as she felt Gooz clap her on the back. Trying to act normal, she responded indignantly, "You're not much taller yourself." The other pilots laughed, and she heaved a sigh of relief as Doc led the new pilots away on a tour of the base. No one noticed her awkwardness, thank god.

How long was she going to continue like this, jumping at every man called Danny in the hope that it would be him? It had already happened four times before, during the annual physical examinations when all army pilots were gathered to have their fitness and eyesight checked. She'd hear a nurse call out the name "Danny Walker", and whirled in the direction of the voice just to see a completely different person from the one she was looking for.

Only once, she thought she spotted a tall man with dark-brown hair much like Danny's stand up in response to the name "Danny Walker", but he'd disappeared in the crowd before she could catch up.

This new pilot just had the same name, that's all. Much as she hated to admit it, there were probably quite a few Danny Walkers in the army. Its just that he resembled Danny so much...she was going to need some time to get used to having him around.


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