Danny tried to get a look at himself in the small mirror that hung inside his locker door.

He'd made a reservation, again, at the Royal Hawaiian and he had asked Sandra to put on her prettiest dress and be ready to go by six thirty that evening. He didn't tell her where they were going but he also knew her well enough to know that she would figure it out.

He had put on his best dress uniform, again, but for the life of him could not remember how to tie his tie. He grinned to himself because he remembered the day that Rafe had married Evelyn and his best friend had trouble with his own tie.

"Grinnin' like a fool and he isn't even married yet." Gooz commented as he and Red walked into the barracks and he sat down on the bunk across from Danny's.

Red smiled at Gooz comment and approached Danny. "You look like you could use some help." And he waited for Danny to drop his hands before he took the tie in his own steady hands and tied it.

"Thanks Red."

"Well, you'll have Rafe to help you when you get married, so I thought I'd take the opportunity now. Are you ready?" He asked him.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. The hard part was proposin', all this is, is dinner. Why should that make me nervous?"

Gooz grinned at him. "Because you put your neck in the noose Walker and there's no backin' out now."

Red tried not to laugh, but was unsuccessful because Danny had already begun to laugh. "You're being a big help Gooz." He smiled at his friend.

"I do what I can Red, you know that."

Red shook his head in amusement. "Danny, this isn't like having dinner at the Black Cat or the commissary. This is a dinner to celebrate something pretty special and to be nervous is normal."

"Thanks Red, that helps." Danny clapped his friend on the shoulder. "All right boys, do you think Sandra will be embarrassed to be seen with me?"

Gooz stood up and walked around Danny. "You'll do Walker."

"Gee, thanks Gooz."'

Red glanced at his watch. "You better get moving Danny. Those reservations won't wait."

Danny looked at his own watch. "Damn, you're right! I wanted to stop by Rafe and Evelyn's before we went to dinner. They don't know that I finally proposed."

"He's your best friend and you didn't tell him you were goin' to propose?" Gooz was surprised.

"He knew that I was plannin' on it, but he don't know that I didn't go through with it. He and Evelyn have been keepin' to themselves lately and I wanted to stop by to tell them and to see if everythin' was all right." Danny explained.

"Don't mind him Danny, just get going." Red smiled. "Have a nice evening."

"And Walker, behave yourself." Gooz grinned. "Or have you taken care of that already?"

Danny pulled his cap off of the top shelf of his locker before he closed the door. "Now why would I tell you that?" And he put his cap on before he walked out the door.

Sandra looked at herself again in her dresser mirror and couldn't help but frown. Danny had asked her to wear her prettiest dress, but she wondered if it was pretty enough. It was the velvet dress she'd worn to the nightclub the night their courtship had started and knew he would understand the significance of it. But was it pretty enough?

"He's going to eat his cap Sandra." Barbara joked from the doorway.

Sandra smiled. "Well, I'll stop worrying about it then."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm nervous and I don't know why. It's not like he's going to propose because he already has."

Barbara stepped into the room and put a gentle hand on Sandra's arm. "Your life is taking a turn that you've waited for, for a long time. I'd be nervous if I were in your shoes."

"Looking back on it, I wonder if we should have kept it to ourselves." Sandra wondered.

"You did what was right for you and we always understood that." She grinned. "We may not have liked it, but we did understand."

"I just think about all of the aggravation we could have saved ourselves if we'd just come out with it. All of you knew about it anyway."

"Sandra, why are you worrying about this now? You and Danny are engaged and you don't have to keep it quiet anymore."

She looked at Barbara and sighed. "But if we hadn't kept it quiet at all, we could have enjoyed it more."

"That's true, but now you can enjoy your engagement and not hide the fact that you are."

Sandra should have known that Barbara wouldn't let her feel sorry for herself about decisions that she and Danny had made and she hugged her. "I've always appreciated how you speak your mind because I needed that tonight. Thank you."

Barbara smiled at her. "We've known each other since you came to work at the hospital in New York and I should be able to tell you what I think by now."

They both turned to the door when they heard a soft knock and Martha was there. "There is a very nervous looking flyer out in the living room. Are you about ready?"

Sandra nodded. "Could you tell him I'll be out in a minute?"

"Sure thing." And she turned around and headed back to the living room.

She picked up her handbag while Barbara got her coat out of the closet and handed it to her. "Have a nice time tonight."

"Thanks Barbara." And she walked out her room to meet Danny.

Danny had gotten them a corner table that was out of the way and while they waited for dinner, he had opened a bottle of champagne to toast their engagement. They also toasted the news that Rafe and Evelyn were going to have another baby.

"I was wonderin' why those two had been keepin' to themselves. " Danny grinned.

"Ev hasn't looked that happy in a long time." Sandra told him. "I'm so glad for the both of them."

"Me too. But we ain't goin' to spend the whole evenin' talkin' about them are we?"

She smiled. "Then what do you suggest we talk about?"

"How about my tellin' you how much I love that dress you're wearin' and that I remember the first time I saw you in it." He told her as he took the hand that had his engagement ring on it and kissed it.

She felt her face flush. "Why do you think I wore it?"

He looked into her eyes. "You're really somethin'."

"I love you too." She smiled at him as he refilled their glasses and they toasted to the future.