When secrets aren't secrets anymore
When Danny drousily opened his eyes the next morning, Evelyn was at his side reading the chart entry from the night before.
He decided not to mention anything to her. After all there was nothing to mention. He was still his own person and allowed to make friends whenever whereever. Still he almost felt bad about not telling her but then he suddenly remembered what Rafe had shouted out that day when Danny wasn't well at all.
Evelyn gave him a kiss on the cheek and said:"Morning, you slept in today!"
"Did I?" He asked scratching his head and trying to straighten out his hair.
A minute later a deep voice asked behind the curtain:"Excuse me, can we come in?"
"Yes!"
Col. Doolittle entered through the curtain followed by Seargant McKinney, who had his arm in sling, and Rafe.
Quickly Danny tried to sit up straight in bed and reply their salute.
"Easy, Walker. Relax." Col. Doolittle got closer to him and looked at him with his fatherly eyes quickly scanning over him. Danny's bandages were now partly hidden under a wife-beater.
The Colonell nodded:"You look a bit better. I was in here twice before but once you were asleep and once they said I couldn't see you. Do you feel better now?"
"Yes, sir."
Collonel Doolittle smiled at bit at his stiffness. Then he sat down on the side of his bed and thought for a moment about the right words:"We're just here to say hello, Lt. McKinney also wanted to drop in."
The two young pilots shook hands and exchanged a few words before their superior spoke up:"I wanted to tell you this. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." He looked at McKinney and Rafe as well:"All of you, that is. You risked a lot and some of you paid for it." He looked from Danny to McKinney and back at Danny:"But you've served your country well and I'm making sure that you'll get rewarded for what we have achieved. Good job." Then he stood up again and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder:"I hope you'll be back in the air soon, Lt. Walker."
With these words he had hit Danny's soft spot, who wasn't able to hide his feelings on this subject. It showed in his eyes and his grim expression:"I don't know, sir."
His superior gave him an irritated look and then looked at Evelyn questioningly, who said:"What do you mean, you don't know?"
Danny stared at his feet and said through gritted teeth:"Whether I can fly again."
Suddenly Evely began to understand why he had been in such a bad mood for the past few days and she was just about to ask why he hadn't told her but decided that this was not the time for it.
Rafe asked himself the same thing. Was his fear justified? That would be devastating. Not only for Danny but also Rafe. They had grown up together, learned how to fly together, sprayed the fields together for years and played chicken, went through pilot training together and fought side by side. He couldn't imagine his best friend without a plane under his butt.
"Why wouldn't you be able to fly? Who says you can't fly? As far as I know you'll be the old one, when you fully recover. It just takes some time. That's what the doctor said."
Evelyn explained quickly.
One litterary could heard a few rocks drop from everybody's heart in the room.
Danny cried out:"Why haven't you told me?"
"Why haven't you asked?" she argued.
For a second they all just stared at each other but the the good news sank in and Doolittle stood up, clapping him on his good shoulder and said:"I'll see you soon!"
Then he turned and went out the curtain closely followed by McKinney,who winked at Danny and pointed to the roof:"See you up there!"
Rafe stayed and sat down next to his friend: "I couldn't imagine flying without you-so don't even think about it."
"Allight,ok, you convinced me." And with a bit of envy, he added:"What are you guys doing at the moment?"
Rafe exchanged a glance with Evelyn, who had also found a seat holding on to the chart:"Flying...I mean we're just training and we're flying and...ah Danny, we're training-seriously, I mean, combat. It's not gonna be long."
Danny nodded in a serious way:" I wish I could come,too."
Then his eyes wandered from Evelyn to Rafe and back to Evelyn: "Listen, I have to ask you something."
Evelyn's and Rafe's hearts tightened and they looked at him with stern faces.
Rafe tried to put on one of his cockey looks:"Yeah?"
"I heard you say something the other day."
"What? I mean what did I say?"
"Something about Evelyn needing to tell me something." and he looked at her with those intense eyes.
Evelyn avoided his gaze and tried to get help from Rafe just by looking at him.
Rafe looked back at her as if to say:So you haven't told him.
"Yes, I did say that. But it's Evelyn who has to tell you."
His friend grew more nervous by the second and sat up straighter:"Tell me what? What on earth is going on here?"
Evelyn stared at the two with a mixture of not understanding and insult in her face:"What are you talking about?"
Rafe frowned:"Maybe we should take this outside, Evelyn?"
Danny practically jumped up in his bed:"What?" He stared at Rafe:"Rafe! What's going on here? What are you hiding?You two should be honest to me! I thought you were my friends."
Evelyn and Rafe exchanged glanzes.
It was obvious how angry they had made him. His face also reveilled that the fact that his two best friends were hiding something from him hurt him.
Rafe motioned for Evelyn to tell him:"C'mon Evelyn, tell him!"
"Tell him what?" Evelyn yelled.
"Stop playing games!" Danny now joined in.
"Freaking..."Rafe exclaimed:"She's pregnant, Danny!"
A few seconds of silence passed while Danny tried to understand the news and Evelyn tried to figure out how to react:"Rafe...oh goodness, Rafe..that's not...that was ...shit!" She turned away from her friends, her face red and completely unable to express herself.
Danny shook of his shock and whispered:"You're pregnant?"
Evelyn raised her eyebrows, her thoughts going a thousand miles a minute not knowing who to talk to first. She turned around with tears in her eyes, shook her head and ran out the room.
Both of her friends called after her but she wouldn't listen.
While Rafe followed her to the curtain, Danny got up as well trembling slighly:"Wait! Tell me!"
Rafe turned back towards him and gently pushed him back onto the bed:"You stay in your bed."
Danny was now getting really angry:"You're not telling me what to do! How long have you known?" He wasn't even sure whether it was his baby or whether this was supposed to mean that Rafe and Evelyn had gotten back together while he was in hospital. Why had they kept this from him?
With a guilty look in his eyes Rafe replied:"A while."
"Since when!"
"Before we went away."
Danny relaxed slightly knowing that Rafe couldn't possibly have been with Evelyn before the Raid.
Another question popped in his mind:" But why has she told you and not me?"
Rafe didn't want to answer this question. There was only one answer to it. He was almost sure Evelyn had told him to explain why she wanted to be with Danny not him. But he couldn't possibly tell his friend that. And he also hoped Danny would never figure it out himself.
But Danny wasn't stupid. With blank expression he mumbled:"I see." and he turned his back towards Rafe closed his eyes as if he could bear the truth more easily like that.
(Jeez, how dramatic and cheesy. But you just sit tight and wait and see.)
When Danny drousily opened his eyes the next morning, Evelyn was at his side reading the chart entry from the night before.
He decided not to mention anything to her. After all there was nothing to mention. He was still his own person and allowed to make friends whenever whereever. Still he almost felt bad about not telling her but then he suddenly remembered what Rafe had shouted out that day when Danny wasn't well at all.
Evelyn gave him a kiss on the cheek and said:"Morning, you slept in today!"
"Did I?" He asked scratching his head and trying to straighten out his hair.
A minute later a deep voice asked behind the curtain:"Excuse me, can we come in?"
"Yes!"
Col. Doolittle entered through the curtain followed by Seargant McKinney, who had his arm in sling, and Rafe.
Quickly Danny tried to sit up straight in bed and reply their salute.
"Easy, Walker. Relax." Col. Doolittle got closer to him and looked at him with his fatherly eyes quickly scanning over him. Danny's bandages were now partly hidden under a wife-beater.
The Colonell nodded:"You look a bit better. I was in here twice before but once you were asleep and once they said I couldn't see you. Do you feel better now?"
"Yes, sir."
Collonel Doolittle smiled at bit at his stiffness. Then he sat down on the side of his bed and thought for a moment about the right words:"We're just here to say hello, Lt. McKinney also wanted to drop in."
The two young pilots shook hands and exchanged a few words before their superior spoke up:"I wanted to tell you this. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." He looked at McKinney and Rafe as well:"All of you, that is. You risked a lot and some of you paid for it." He looked from Danny to McKinney and back at Danny:"But you've served your country well and I'm making sure that you'll get rewarded for what we have achieved. Good job." Then he stood up again and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder:"I hope you'll be back in the air soon, Lt. Walker."
With these words he had hit Danny's soft spot, who wasn't able to hide his feelings on this subject. It showed in his eyes and his grim expression:"I don't know, sir."
His superior gave him an irritated look and then looked at Evelyn questioningly, who said:"What do you mean, you don't know?"
Danny stared at his feet and said through gritted teeth:"Whether I can fly again."
Suddenly Evely began to understand why he had been in such a bad mood for the past few days and she was just about to ask why he hadn't told her but decided that this was not the time for it.
Rafe asked himself the same thing. Was his fear justified? That would be devastating. Not only for Danny but also Rafe. They had grown up together, learned how to fly together, sprayed the fields together for years and played chicken, went through pilot training together and fought side by side. He couldn't imagine his best friend without a plane under his butt.
"Why wouldn't you be able to fly? Who says you can't fly? As far as I know you'll be the old one, when you fully recover. It just takes some time. That's what the doctor said."
Evelyn explained quickly.
One litterary could heard a few rocks drop from everybody's heart in the room.
Danny cried out:"Why haven't you told me?"
"Why haven't you asked?" she argued.
For a second they all just stared at each other but the the good news sank in and Doolittle stood up, clapping him on his good shoulder and said:"I'll see you soon!"
Then he turned and went out the curtain closely followed by McKinney,who winked at Danny and pointed to the roof:"See you up there!"
Rafe stayed and sat down next to his friend: "I couldn't imagine flying without you-so don't even think about it."
"Allight,ok, you convinced me." And with a bit of envy, he added:"What are you guys doing at the moment?"
Rafe exchanged a glance with Evelyn, who had also found a seat holding on to the chart:"Flying...I mean we're just training and we're flying and...ah Danny, we're training-seriously, I mean, combat. It's not gonna be long."
Danny nodded in a serious way:" I wish I could come,too."
Then his eyes wandered from Evelyn to Rafe and back to Evelyn: "Listen, I have to ask you something."
Evelyn's and Rafe's hearts tightened and they looked at him with stern faces.
Rafe tried to put on one of his cockey looks:"Yeah?"
"I heard you say something the other day."
"What? I mean what did I say?"
"Something about Evelyn needing to tell me something." and he looked at her with those intense eyes.
Evelyn avoided his gaze and tried to get help from Rafe just by looking at him.
Rafe looked back at her as if to say:So you haven't told him.
"Yes, I did say that. But it's Evelyn who has to tell you."
His friend grew more nervous by the second and sat up straighter:"Tell me what? What on earth is going on here?"
Evelyn stared at the two with a mixture of not understanding and insult in her face:"What are you talking about?"
Rafe frowned:"Maybe we should take this outside, Evelyn?"
Danny practically jumped up in his bed:"What?" He stared at Rafe:"Rafe! What's going on here? What are you hiding?You two should be honest to me! I thought you were my friends."
Evelyn and Rafe exchanged glanzes.
It was obvious how angry they had made him. His face also reveilled that the fact that his two best friends were hiding something from him hurt him.
Rafe motioned for Evelyn to tell him:"C'mon Evelyn, tell him!"
"Tell him what?" Evelyn yelled.
"Stop playing games!" Danny now joined in.
"Freaking..."Rafe exclaimed:"She's pregnant, Danny!"
A few seconds of silence passed while Danny tried to understand the news and Evelyn tried to figure out how to react:"Rafe...oh goodness, Rafe..that's not...that was ...shit!" She turned away from her friends, her face red and completely unable to express herself.
Danny shook of his shock and whispered:"You're pregnant?"
Evelyn raised her eyebrows, her thoughts going a thousand miles a minute not knowing who to talk to first. She turned around with tears in her eyes, shook her head and ran out the room.
Both of her friends called after her but she wouldn't listen.
While Rafe followed her to the curtain, Danny got up as well trembling slighly:"Wait! Tell me!"
Rafe turned back towards him and gently pushed him back onto the bed:"You stay in your bed."
Danny was now getting really angry:"You're not telling me what to do! How long have you known?" He wasn't even sure whether it was his baby or whether this was supposed to mean that Rafe and Evelyn had gotten back together while he was in hospital. Why had they kept this from him?
With a guilty look in his eyes Rafe replied:"A while."
"Since when!"
"Before we went away."
Danny relaxed slightly knowing that Rafe couldn't possibly have been with Evelyn before the Raid.
Another question popped in his mind:" But why has she told you and not me?"
Rafe didn't want to answer this question. There was only one answer to it. He was almost sure Evelyn had told him to explain why she wanted to be with Danny not him. But he couldn't possibly tell his friend that. And he also hoped Danny would never figure it out himself.
But Danny wasn't stupid. With blank expression he mumbled:"I see." and he turned his back towards Rafe closed his eyes as if he could bear the truth more easily like that.
(Jeez, how dramatic and cheesy. But you just sit tight and wait and see.)