He'd been feeling like hell all day.

Red and a couple of the other pilots had gone to the hospital the night before with a bad case of influenza and it didn't look to good for Gooz either. Danny and Gooz were in their bunks with fevers, chills and very bad coughs. The base doctor had checked them out when he'd sent the others to the hospital and said that as sick as they were, he didn't feel it was bad enough for them to go too. He ordered them to stay in bed and he'd be by early the next morning to check on them again.

Gooz got progressively worse as the night wore on and Danny began to worry. Gooz was not one to get sick and this flu had hit them all like a ton of bricks. But his coughs would be so bad sometimes that he couldn't catch his breath for a moment or two and Danny stayed awake all night to make sure he didn't stop breathing.

When morning came he was exhausted, as much from being sick as listening for Gooz.

The doctor was there early and after taking one look at him, ordered him to the hospital. He looked Danny over and ordered him there as well. "Doc I can't go, I've been ordered back to New York." And he coughed.

The doctor was taking his pulse and shook his head. "You're not going anywhere except for the hospital Captain. That cough of yours has gotten worse since last night and that concerns me."

"Come on Walker, if I have to go so do you." Gooz tried to smile but only ended up coughing.

The doctor walked over to the telephone and called the hospital, ordering an ambulance for the two pilots. They looked at each other and sighed.

They were admitted twenty minutes later and all Danny wanted to do was sleep. Listening for Gooz all night had taken its toll and he finally closed his eyes.

He had no idea how long he'd been asleep but when he opened his eyes, Sandra was there looking concerned. "Hi." He said to her.

"Hi yourself. How do you feel?"

"Like I'm goin' to cough up a lung." And he thought he was about to do just that as another spell overcame him. When he was done, Sandra cranked up the bed and fluffed his pillows.

"It may not be too comfortable, but sitting up should help keep your lungs a little clearer."

"I got my very own Florence Nightingale." He grinned.

"Oh honestly Danny." But she smiled.

He wanted to take her hand but could see the other pilots watching them. "I'm glad your here." He told her quietly.

"Me too. Is there anything I can do for you while I'm here?"

"Yea. Could you call Rafe for me and tell him what's happened? We were supposed to go back to New York tomorrow afternoon and it don't look like I'm goin'."

She'd forgotten that the trip was coming up so soon. "Did the General tell you why he wanted you back there?"

He nodded. "He wants us back there to talk to the new pilot's he's trainin'. He's a little worried about how they talk about gettin' into combat and givin' it to the Japs. They have no idea what they're in for and he wants us to tell them what they can expect. I really should call him myself and tell him."

"Rafe can tell him. The only thing you should concern yourself with is getting better."

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled. "Don't be smart Captain Walker. I'll go call Rafe for you."

"Thank you." And this time he did take her hand for just a moment before he let her go.

After Sandra left the room, Gooz was grinning at him. "All right Walker, what gives?"

Danny looked back at him and grinned back. "None of your damn business."

"Okay." And he kept grinning until a cough made him stop.

That made Danny laugh, which only made him cough and that got all of the pilots going.

It wasn't until later that afternoon that the phone rang and woke Danny out of a sound sleep. He was disoriented for a moment because he'd been dreaming about that terrible day he and Rafe had gone up against the Japs after they'd bombed Pearl Harbor. He'd never told Sandra that he dreamed about that because he knew she'd only worry. He reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey Danny it's me." He heard his best friend's familiar voice.

"Hey Rafe."

"Sandra called awhile ago and told me you were in the hospital. Are you all right?"

"I'm here with a bunch of the other pilots. We came down with the influenza." He explained.

"It sounds pretty damn serious."

"We'll be all right but I can't come back to New York. I ain't goin' to be well enough by tomorrow to go, so could you tell the General for me?"

"Sure Danny."

"Thanks, I sure appreciate it."

"I'll call you tomorrow before we go, see how you're doin'."

Danny smiled, Rafe McCawley was worse than a mother hen. "All right Rafe." And they hung up.

"I'm sorry you can't go back Danny." Red told him.

"So am I Red, but it's all right. This'll give Rafe and Evelyn some time together which they haven't had a lot of."

"That's true. But what about you and Sandra? I know Gooz has been ribbing you a lot about it, but you know we only want you to be happy."

"I know Red and as far as anythin' with Sandra and me, I'd just as soon not talk about it if that's all right."

"Fair enough." And he dropped the subject.

Sandra walked in and saw the two men looking at each other and then her. "How are you feeling Red?"

"I've felt better."

"I know you have. Martha's going to be here in a few minutes to take you for a short walk."

He looked incredulous. "A walk? Sandra, I can't even sit up for five minutes."

"We don't expect a five mile hike around the hospital, but if you stay stationary for too long, all that fluid in your lungs could settle in there and cause pneumonia. We want to keep you moving so you cough everything up."

"Well that sounds really disgusting." Gooz commented as he woke up.

Sandra looked at him and smiled. "Well disgusting or not Gooz, Barbara will be in for you."

"And I suppose you'll be taking Walker." He grinned.

"Knock it off Gooz." Danny was serious.

He grinned for a moment and then proceeded to cough.

"Serves you right." Danny said and smiled as Sandra helped him to sit up and he put his feet into his slippers. He was a little unsteady after he stood up and she helped him put his bathrobe on. She put his arm through his and they walked out the door and down the hall.

"Danny?"

"Yea?"

"Why are we keeping this a secret?"

He smiled. "If our seein' each other is a secret, it's got to be the worst kept secret of the war."

She smiled back at him. "All right, it's not a secret. But why are we not talking about it with anyone?"

"I didn't think you wanted to. Besides, it's no one's damn business if we're seein' each other or not."

"I agree."

He stopped in the middle of the hall. "If you want to tell everyone what they already know we can. But I don't feel like we should have to tell anyone anythin'."

"Not even Rafe?"

He tucked her hand back through his arm and began to walk again. "Rafe understands honey. He and Evelyn went through this and he knows that I'll talk to him when I'm ready."

"But he's your best friend." She reasoned.

"That's true. But even though he is my best friend, we don't tell each other everythin'. There are things that happened to him when he was over in England that he hasn't told me."

"How do you know?"

"He'll start talkin' about somethin' and he gets this look on his face and then changes the subject. I figure it's somethin' he ain't ready to talk about or he just wants to forget it, so I don't push."

Sandra nodded and they kept walking. By the time she had gotten Danny back to the room, the other pilots were gone. She helped him out of his bathrobe and he sat down on the edge of the bed. He sighed before he got back into bed and settled against the pillows. "We didn't walk that far, but I'm beat."

"You did very well Captain Walker."

"Thanks honey." And he smiled at her. "We seem to be in the clear for the moment, what do you say?"

She flushed. "Honestly Danny." And she leaned over him. "If I get the flu, I know who to blame." And she kissed him.

"I feel better now." He grinned and she kissed him again.

"Honestly." She replied as she left the room so he could get some sleep.