No one could figure out how Milly had started the plane, and she wouldn't tell them. Earl had spotted her later with a new starter switch and a few wires in her hand, but that was the extent of their knowledge. When the next plane rolled around, however, the problem with it was obvious. The propeller was missing, as was the tip of the tail; all the while, fuel, coolant, and oil all leaked simultaneously from the undercarriage.

"What in hell happened?"

Earl bellowed at the man who had used a small tractor to tow the mangled plane into the hanger. Milly immediately began putting pans underneath it to catch the leakage, only to have Gooz take her arm and pull her away.

"That thing's a tickin' time bomb, you should know that."

He scolded, motioning for the rest of the men to clear out of the hangar. Milly ripped her arm away and glared up at him, a sight that wasn't all that threatening, but Gooz backed off anyways. He intended on leaving her alone until she rounded on him, advancing until she had him pinned against the aluminum walls.

"And just what do you think is going to happen when all that junk seeps into the water?"

"Well I-"

"Did you ever consider that everyone on the base might get sick? You can forget about defending this little island with everyone hurling up blood before they even get shot at!"

She yelled fiercely, cutting him off. He was about to answer when he noticed Earl touching the badge sewed onto his sleeve. Gooz looked down at Milly and steeled himself. He didn't want to reprimand her. He had brought this upon himself by telling her not to call him sir, but he knew if he didn't put her in line she would soon get out of hand. It was either he set her straight there and then, or Doolittle would do it later on. He cringed at the idea. Doolittle could be real harsh sometimes. She opened her mouth to continue when he cut her short.

"Do you realise that this is the second time today you've spoken out of turn to a ranking officer?"

He asked calmly, raising an eyebrow. Deflated, Milly crossed her arms and bit her lip, averting her eyes to the floor.

"There could be damaged wires in there, and if a spark hits the fuel you would be incinerated in a matter of seconds, Private."

Milly glared up at him.

"When the men start to drop dead around here, don't say I didn't warn you. Sir."

She added in an almost bitter tone before storming out of the hangar towards the rest of the men. Gooz hated himself for that. He didn't like reprimanding anyone. He was a relaxed, playful individual, not a drill sergeant. Earl patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"She knows her limits now, Gooz. She won't cross that line again."

He said, seeing the distressed look on his face.

"Yeah, but who's going to fix the plane?"

"I'm putting this one down for parts. There's no use trying to revive something that's already dead."

Gooz nodded, knowing his friend was right. He looked from the plane, to Milly, and back to Earl before leaning over to his friend.

"Make sure they do put pans under there when it's draining."

He said lowly, making Earl chuckle as the two made their way out of the hangar.

Gooz was happy. Very happy.

All his troubles were being washed away with every crash of the waves as they rolled in towards the shore. The sands of the beach were packed with people, crowded and bustling. On the ocean, however, there was space aplenty. His abs tightened as he balanced himself, the board beneath him skimming smoothly down the barrel of the wave. Nothing could touch him there, nothing could make him feel anxious, or down, or shark. Shark?

SHARK!

The board tipped as Gooz staggered backwards out of surprise, sending him tumbling into the water. He narrowly avoided being bludgeoned in the head by his board. Instead, a sting in his foot let him know that the board had cuffed his ankle. He surfaced quickly, looking around and trying to find either his board or the shark. He quickly found out that he didn't like not knowing where either was. His board smacked him in the back of the head when the next wave rolled around. Thankfully it was a smaller wave, and so he was able to pull himself up and paddle like a maniac to shore where he dragged himself as far up shore as he could get. He sat himself down in the shade of a palm tree, and tenderly poked at the back of his head, searching for any blood or signs that he had split something.

"Excuse me, sir? You're sitting on my book."

A small, tentative voice called from behind him. He looked down to see his leg half covering the open pages of what appeared to be some sort of readers digest, though he couldn't make out the words; he assumed that was a bad thing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even see it there."

He said, picking it up delicately and handing it to its owner.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The woman asked, gently kneeling down beside him, placing the book a bit away so it wouldn't get wet.

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

He stopped when he saw the brown eyes that unmistakeably belonged to Milly.

"f-fine,"

He continued, looking down at his legs. He didn't want to deal with her right now, not after having to put her in her place in front of all the men. He jumped slightly more out of surprise than pain when he felt her fingers in his hair. He let himself relax, trusting that she would either explain herself, or at least not do something completely horrible like kill him while his back was turned.

"I saw you fall. Do you remember what happened?"

Her words made him realise that she was searching for any visible damage, but as her fingers brushed over the area where his neck met his skull, his mind went temporarily blank. It had always been a sensitive area for him.

"Uh... I saw a shark and panicked."

He told her after his mind began working again.

"Hmmm."

She mumbled, signalling that she was paying attention to both him speaking and her inspection.

"So you read a lot?"

Gooz asked after a few long awkward seconds, remembering that he had nearly sat on her book.

"Yeah, my parents used to read to me before I went to sleep at night. It helps calm me down."

She gently took his jaw and tilted his head slightly, allowing her better access to the side.

"Do you have a headache or feel nauseated at all?"

She asked again, moving herself to kneel where he didn't have to crane his neck to see her.

"Define headache."

He said dryly. Milly chuckled and nodded.

"Alright I admit dumb question. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two."

"Congratulations sir, you are concussion free."

She said with a smile before collecting her book. Gooz rubbed the back of his head, feeling a sense of guilt rise in his throat.

"I'm sorry."

Gooz was surprised to find that the words hadn't come from his own throat.

"I shouldn't have spoken out. I'll do better next time, sir."

"You know you still don't have to call me sir."

He said, looking up at her, noticing a touch of pink dust itself lightly over her cheeks. She cast her eyes downwards and cleared her throat.

"You look nervous. You okay?"

He asked, slightly concerned that he had done something wrong. Her blush only worsened at his inquiry.

"No, I'm fine, but I'd better be going. See you tomorrow, sir."

Gooz watched as she stood, brushed the sand off her sundress and walked away, all the while wondering what he possibly could have done to make her want to leave.

Stretching out his legs and leaning back on his hands, Gooz took in the view of the ocean. The sun was just beginning to turn the water to a vibrant orange colour, and soon it would set in an array of magnificent reds and gold. Sighing to himself, he picked up his board and made his way back towards the surf. He only knew one cure for the blues, and it sure as hell wasn't sitting around on a beach waiting for the waves to come catch him.

Back at Wheeler Airfield, Earl had just been reading the paper when Milly walked into the barracks and sat down cross legged in front of him on his bed.

"Can I help you?"

He asked from behind the paper.

"What's Lt. Wood's favourite dessert?"

She asked, her head cocked slightly to the side. Earl lowered the paper just slightly so that he could see the girl overtop of it. He raised an eyebrow at her, making her turn her head to the side to hide a blush.

"I just want to do something nice for him. He hit his head, and I want him to have something nice to return to. Make him feel better."

Earl didn't believe the girl for a minute, but he figured he would let it slide, lest she become flustered.

"I don't know for sure, but I know he likes chocolate chip cookies."

"Great idea!"

She cried, getting up and rushing to the door, her heels tapping lightly against the tile. He laughed when he heard her stop scuttle back and poke her head into the room.

"Thank you!"

She called, making Earl smile as she ran off again. Turning back to his newspaper he shook his head and chuckled.

Gooz lumbered home from the beach just as the darkness of the night was beginning to fully set in. He knew as well as anyone that it was dangerous to surf at past sunset. Walking home at night he didn't mind so much. He was an army officer carrying a giant wooden plank. The odds may not have been in his favour if he happened to be attacked by someone with a gun or a knife, but he could at least do a bit of damage if they got close enough. He saw a few women walking alone along the streets and vaguely wondered if Milly was the type to walk outside at night on her own. He didn't think women should walk alone at any time of day really. Not because they were vulnerable, though men could generally defend themselves better during an attack, but because he thought they would enjoy the presence of another with them. Yes, walking was good quality time with one's self he supposed, but it was rather lonely and even a chore if one didn't enjoy it. He supposed men might want someone to chat with as well; he, however, didn't mind walking alone, which made him wonder whether other men minded it. He wouldn't be surprised either way. Everyone was differe-cookies?

He could smell the fresh scent wafting over him as it seeped through the cracks of the door of the barracks. As Gooz walked in he noticed Danny, Red, Joe, Anthony, Billy, and even Earl tucking into a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"Where'd you get those?"

He asked, reaching for one only to have Billy snatch the last one away from him.

"You snooze you lose."

"Come on Billy give it to him, they're his after all."

"Fine."

Billy relented, handing Gooz the treat. It was gooey and soft, just the way a fresh, homemade cookie should be. He savoured it for a moment before turning to his friend.

"Who sent them?"

Earl just shrugged as he bit into what remained of his own cookie. Gooz frown and sat down on his bed, eyeing the empty plate. Now really who would do that? The girls from the kitchen might have but why would they have given them only to him, unless Earl was lying, though he didn't have a habit of it. Mary, the nurse? She might have, she was a kind old lady; it still seemed unlikely though. Well, one thing was certain. He had no idea who would do this for him, but he would appreciate it if next time they didn't let his barrack mates get their meat hooks on his cookies.