(Thanks for the reviews. They keep me going. Here's for you, Rose. You asked for it! A little romance on the way. For all, who don't know. English is not my first language. This is my best effort.)

How much did he hate heights. Strange for pilot but true. Mitch looked down from the platform, the wind blowing in his face from below. He could feel the platform swaying slightly under his feet while he watched Rafe repell, who had now reached the end of the rope. The difficult part came here. He had to let go of the rope and jump the last few feet. It wasn't very high but still took some skill and confidence. Rafe had both. Behind Mitch Danny watched his friend eagerly. He tried hard not to show his anxiety but his expression was so hard that anybody could have guessed he was stressed out.

The morning had been easy with a lecture on the special aviation features of the planes. Danny was good with these things. He had a good and quick grasp of technical aspects. So did Rafe as long as he didn't have to read them. So they had time to "relax" and chatted while others were absorbed in handouts.

Rafe had snuck away before lunch and spent some time on the phone with Evelyn, who wasn't working today. Danny admired their relationship. Evelyn seemed such a beautiful woman, intelligent sweet and best of all, she understood Rafe's passion for flying and his dedication, when it came to times like these. One day he would find himself a girl like that as well.

Now all these thoughts were gone as he stared at Mitch's back, who didn't move an inch although it was his turn.

The instructor looked at him questioningly: "Do you have a problem?"

Mitch swallowed still staring at the rope: "No, sir." But he still didn't move.

"But you seem to have one. Get on belay!"

Danny saw his back go tense, when his shaking fingers reached for the rope. Just before he reached it, he pulled his hand back.

"Get on belay, soldier!" the man now yelled.

Anthony looked up to see what was going on on the platform. Rafe stood next to him. He squinted as if he could see or understand what the guys up there were saying.

"I'm sorry, sir.I.I don't know how to do this." Mitch lied stepping back. The platform was very small and only 5 people could stand on it, so Danny put his hand on Mitch's back: "Watch it, there's people behind you."

"What?" Mitch whirled around staring at him. It was plainly visible that he was freaked out and trying to find a way to escape this situation. The broad shouldered guy started gesturing wildly towards their instructor: "Sir, Walker keeps annoying me. He's constantly trying to put me down."

"What?" Danny asked disbelievingly, when Mitch took a step towards him and grabbed his shirt. Danny could feel adrenalin rushing up his body. This wasn't a playground. One wrong move and they'd fall 20 meters deep and crush every bone in their body. With shaking hands, Danny grabbed Mitch's hands and resisted the urge to push him away. Their instructor was now right behind Mitch, ready to interfere. As calm as the situation allowed it, Danny said: "This is the wrong place to start a fight!" Mitch breathed hard, still holding on to his shirt but with a gaze to the side, started understanding. He couldn't just say he was wrong now though, so he hissed:" Screw you, Walker. You're not gonna make it anyway. Get your f*&^ing hand's off me, so I can repell!" A frown showed him that the instructor didn't buy it but he now had the confidence to grab the rope, get on belay and slowly repell. Danny stepped closer to the edge. When a gust of wind blew his hair from his forehead, he understood why Mitch had been so hesitant. He didn't dare to blink or look any other way. Very technically he grabbed the rope, got on belay, held the rope tight and slowly sat back. This was the worst part about it. That very first moment, when you have to step of the safe wooden planks, when your legs hang loose in the air and you swing with this tingling sensation, which adrenalin gives you, running all the way into your fingertips. Then he slowly let the rope run through his hands and repelled. He took a deep breath just before he reached the end of the rope.

So did Rafe, who watched him eagerly. This jump could decide whether Danny'd be flying with him or he'd be sent home.

Danny closed his eyes for a second and swallowed. He was well aware of the situation but what could he do? There wasn't any way to get around this. So he finally repelled the last few inches to the end until he dropped. A second later he hit the ground with an impact that his injured foot just couldn't take. Yelling out in pain, he fell to the side. He grabbed his foot as if it could make the pain that shoot through his body go away.

Rafe stood stiff as a stick. His gaze wandered from his friend on the ground to their second instructor, back to Danny.

He watched Major Demasden step towards Danny and kneeled down next to him.

Danny let his head fall back and quickly realized that he had to act fast. So he let go of his foot, sat up and attempted to get back on his feet.

But the man placed a hand on his arm: "Hang on, Lieutenant. Are you ok?"

Suppressing a moan while he struggled back onto his feet, Danny bit his lip: "Yes, sir."

"Bullshit!" he watched him dance around on one foot. Then he waved for two other guys: "Go and help him over to the medic."

"No, sir." Danny felt his face get hot. Louder than normally he said: "I don't need to see a medic."

The older grey haired man eyed him suspiciously. Then he coldly added: "Are you trying to disobey my orders?"

"No, sir." Danny looked to the ground.

"Take him over there and come back straight away."

Rafe didn't know what to say to help him. He only knew, he didn't want him to miss out on his dream. This was their chance and nothing should stand in the way. At that moment Rafe could swear he felt just as bad as his best friend, who two other soldiers reached for now.

Bravely Danny put his foot down and stood up straight: "Sir, please, sir. Don't take this chance away from me. I don't need no medic. I'm fine. Please." He searched the major's face.

It was a single frown because he simply didn't like soldiers who didn't follow his orders. Deep down he also understood what this opportunity meant to the men. He carefully eyed the young man in front of him. He was well aware that he was hurting-they all were but there was something about him, that made him stand out. He admired his attitude and eagerness. It took him another second to decide that this spirit was exactly what his men needed.

Danny held his breath waiting for him to say something.

His friends Rafe, Red and Anthony, who had gathered around, stared at the scene disbelievingly until they saw the major's frown change into a lesser strict expression: "Ok, I like fighters. Get back here, if you can. But let me tell you: if you fail tomorrow, you blew your chance."

"I won't. Thank you, sir." A hint of relieve showed on his face, while he walked back to his comrades as normal as possible.

Rafe couldn't hide his trade mark cocky grin, while he said: "You just like attention, don't you?"

Danny looked to the ground while a smile of victory played on his lips.

To all of their relief this was the last physical exercise they had to go through that day.

At about 6 o'clock, they were allowed some private time, which some of them spent at the local pub in town.

Rafe met up with Red, Anthony and Danny in front of the main gate. They had taken a shower and changed into jeans and shirts.

"Evelyn's coming up on the train. I talked to her this morning." He announced.

Anthony smirked and attempted to imitate Rafe's southern accent: "Good for you. You two are just inseparable. I'll go'n find me a good ole local country girl."

"Is she bringing any friends?" Red asked.

"Like who?" Rafe teased him with a grin.

"Maybe Betty?" his friend blushed.

"Possibly? But I know for sure that somebody else is coming with her." He poked his best friend in the side, who suddenly looked like a little boy again.

"Rafe, you didn't ask her to come, did you?" Danny questioned.

Rafe gazed up to the sky as if there was something interesting to see: "Oh, well." Then he raised an eyebrow: "Told you I'd figure something out to help you."

The tall brown haired man shook his head laughing: "You're unbelievable. That's not exactly the kind of help I've been asking for."

"What?" he shrugged "She's only here to take care of your foot, or what do you expect?"

Anthony rolled his eyes: "As I said, I'm gonna find me."

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon let's meet them at the train station." Rafe cheered.

Only 15 minutes later they sat together in a local pub-diner chatting, drinking a beer or two and eating dinner.

"So, how are things here? Are you gonna be our next super-plane flying heroes?" Evelyn squeezed Rafe's hand, who sat so close to her at the small diner table that she could have sat on his lap just as well.

"You'll have to wait a few more days to find out." He gave her a quick kiss.

Then everybody looked at each other exchanging glances and thinking off something interesting to say. This was hard because they had just seen each other 3 days ago and the guys weren't allowed to talk about what they were doing now.

So everybody was thankful when the waitress brought their food only seconds later.

While Anthony and Red hungrily reached for the plates, Danny was still busy exchanging glances with Sandra. She was back to her normal shy ways and Danny was really insecure whether she even remembered that night. The fact that he didn't know where they stood, whether they'd be friends, lovers or whether she might even not want to talk to him again, made him very nervous.

"BBQ Chicken with Fries?" a polite voice questioned.

Nobody answered.

"BBQ Chicken with Fries!"

Rafe eyed Danny with amazement, while his friend still looked at Sandra.

Then Sandra nudged him under the table "I think that's yours." She smiled.

In confusion Danny looked at the round and realized that the waitress held his plate. With an embarrassed smile he reached for the plate: "Sorry."

Rafe just shook his head with a grin: "Danny, Danny!"

"Yeah, yeah." Was the reply while Danny looked back at Sandra and shrugged.

Evelyn smiled at both of them and then placed her hand on Rafe's lap.

Red and Betty had only eyes for each other and just wouldn't stop holding hands under the table. For some reason Red didn't stutter once he was around her. And even if he did, Betty didn't mind. He was the loveliest guy, she had ever met and a little stutter wouldn't change that. She took a bite of her hot potato with sour cream and then gasped because she burned her mouth.

"Spit it out!" Red held his napkin in front of her. At first she gave him a look meaning 'what?!' but then she couldn't hold it in her mouth any longer and spit it out.

Red replied with a grin and so did Betty, thankful that he didn't mind her not being the perfect lady.

Evelyn gave her a reassuring nod.

Anthony, who didn't know about anything, didn't understand anything either. He scooted a little closer to Sandra and asked her for the salt.

Sandra, of course, realized how close he had gotten. Raising an eyebrow, she reached for the salt, handed it to him and then scooted away.

Danny and her exchanged some glances, while Anthony eyed them suspiciously.

Sandra could see him out of the corner of her eye and decided to concentrate on Danny: "So how are you doing?" Danny took a bite of his BBQ chicken and chewed on it with pleasure. Thinking about a good answer, he swallowed and said: "Hm, ok."

Sandra looked him in the eye: "Rafe said something else this morning."

While Danny shot a quick glance at Rafe, who was engaged in a conversation with Evelyn and Betty, Anthony scooted another bit closer to Sandra, who gave him an irritated look. Then she looked back at Danny, who now seemed very busy eating his meal. He didn't like all this attention and he especially wasn't used to the attention of girls. On top of that he felt embarrassed.

"So what have you been doing lately, Sandra?" Anthony asked.

Sandra shot another glance with Danny, who now looked up at her remembering their nightly encounter. Sandra grinned and turned to Anthony: "Is there a reason why you're getting so close? You need the pepper or what?"

Anthony looked at her stunned and then scooted away. Now it was him, who became very busy with his meal.

That evening went by to fast. After having dinner, they all stayed at that place and had a drink. The later the evening, the more people arrived. The group had drinks, danced and just chatted.

Rafe and Evelyn had found themselves a small tabled in the corner and were busily engaged in their own conversation and cuddling as much as appropriate in public.

Anthony had decided to chat up girls at the bar and was quite successful doing so. The only problem was that he couldn't decide which of the three girls he should go for.

The smoke and smell of booz in the diner/bar got more intense, so Sandra asked Danny whether he wanted do go outside.

Danny told himself that that had to be a good sign. You wouldn't ask somebody, who you're not interested in to come outside. "Sure." he smiled.

The night air outside was so cool that they could see their breaths. Sandra drew her coat closer around her, while she looked down the empty streets. Danny put his hat on, while he watched her from the side.

In front of them lay a small park.

"Let's go over there." she suggested.

Danny nodded and followed her over. He was now limping clearly visible. Whether it was to get her attention or just because he didn't have to hide it around her, he wasn't quite sure himself. He liked her and being with her made him fidgety on one hand but easy on the other. This feeling was confusing and new. Not that he hadn't had a girlfriend before but he'd just never considered a real relationship. He didn't know whether he was now, he didn't even know whether she actually liked him. What was he thinking? He shook his head.

They had reached a small park bench and sat down.

Sandra looked at him and asked: "What?"

"Nothing."

"Uh huh!" she said.

Then they just sat and let a few seconds pass by.

The darkness made it hard to see further than a few meters and the bushes and trees formed strange, giant shadows swaying in the cold breeze.

The only light came from a street lamp next to the bench, they were sitting on.

Sandra looked at Danny from the side and studied his face. She liked what she saw. He had this boyish look, yet very masculine features. It took her a lot of guts to finally speak up: "Danny?"

He looked at her and searched her face. She wore her trademark glasses, her brown hair was neatly rolled up in a bun. When she smiled slightly, he could see small dimples forming on her cheeks.

"Yeah?"

"I was just .never mind." she mumbled.

"What did you want to say?" he asked politely.

"Oh, well." She stared at him. This whole situation, being around him, made her very nervous. She felt embarrassed for what she had done the other night because it had been a lot more 'open' than she would usually behave. Not that she regretted it, not at all, not yet at least. Her mind started spinning around. How could she suddenly feel so insecure? She had to find a subject she was comfortable with. So she finally said a bit louder: "Rafe called this morning and said that you still have problems with your foot and that you could use some help."

Danny raised his eyebrows: "Did he say that?"

"Yeah, and I'm not blind. I can see you're limping.although I wear big glasses and my eye-sight's not perfect." she grinned.

Thankful for the funny remark, which eased the situation, he replied: "They look good on you."

With a blush, she held out her hand: "Thank you. Can I have a look at your ankle?"

Danny nodded, lifted his foot onto the bench, pulled up his pants leg and took his boot off.

Sandra gasped. One look was all she needed to see that this wasn't any good: "You can't walk around on that. You have to go see a doctor." she said in a very authoritative tone.

Quickly he reached for her hand: "No, please. Sandra, I can't go to a doctor. The test is tomorrow and if I go to a medic on base, they'll send me home." The look in his eyes was now almost pleading, when he added in a low voice: "Please, help me. You don't know how much this means to me."

Undecided whether this was compatible with her work ethics, she had a closer look.

Danny watched her holding his breath.

Then she started to carefully examine his foot. She twisted it slightly and knocked on the bottom of his heel.

Danny bit his lip and scooted backwards.

Sandra knew a lot about medicine. Not only was she a certified nurse but also did she study in the evenings, read books and went to lectures when she could. Her goal was to become a pediatrist one day, although she hadn't even told her friend's about this. "I don't know.does this hurt?" She knocked again.

The young man nodded: "Yes, a bit. But my whole foot constantly hurts."

Warily her fingers were placed on his ankle, which felt hot.

Then she pulled them back and shook her head:" I really can't tell. I think this is more than just a sprain, it's inflamed. If you ask me, you should go to a hospital and have some x-rays done."

"I can't! Sandra, this might be the only change I get with this." He once again reached for her hand, not on purpose but it just happened and it didn't miss his effect on the girl. She practically melted under the touch. Swallowing hard, she nodded: "I understand. I know. I think, I know exactly what you mean." Then she grabbed her purse and fumbled a few things out: "I expected you to act like you do, so I brought some things." "Here's some anti-inflammatory ointment." She applied it and then wrapped his foot tightly with a bandage. "Put a lot of ice on it tonight and tomorrow you apply this salve. It contains a local anesthetic and you take some painkillers and off you fly!" Then she frowned at him and said rather unnerved: "This is against everything I've learned and believe to be good. So don't blame me, if ."

He carefully touched her shoulder: "Sandra, thank you. I really appreciate what you're doing."

Then their eyes met. For a second she just stared at him, before she nodded. After a few moments, she squeezed his hand and mumbled: "Good luck.promise to see a doctor afterwards."

"I promise."

"Promise me something else?"

"Hm?"

"See me when you come back."

"I would love to." He smiled.

She nodded and replied with a slight smile: "Yes, me too."

Once again their eyes met. Sandra's nose had turned red from the cold but her eyes sparkled.

Danny blinked briefly afraid he would miss something.

The next thing Sandra knew was that he softly placed a kiss on her cheek.

At first she was taken aback but the next second she turned her head so their lips met.

That was all he needed to know. He enclosed her in his arms, closed his eyes and felt her beautiful full lips on his. With growing passion he sucked on them with their tongues touching and a sweet sensation running through their bodies.

This moment in the park at night was so perfect, it could have lasted forever.

When Sandra opened her eyes again, she saw a broad smile on Danny's face.

They didn't need any words. Their finger's linking was all they needed to have.

Across the street Evelyn stared at them wide-eyed. Then she excitedly jumped up and down and grabbed Rafe's arm: "Oh, that's so cute. Did you see that?" Suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck as well and placed a big kiss on his mouth. For both of them it had already become normal to show their affection in public.

Rafe looked at his beautiful girlfriend and then over towards the park. He pulled up the left corner of his mouth: "I knew she would help!"