It was early Saturday morning and it was almost time for Danny and Sandra Walker to leave their honeymoon suite and rejoin the world.

It was also the time of day that Danny had come to appreciate in his young marriage because he could watch Sandra as she slept. It was something that he still had to adjust to, being able to go to sleep at night with her next to him and wake up with her as well.

Their honeymoon week had passed so quickly and he found himself almost as nervous as he'd been on his wedding day. But who had ever heard of post-honeymoon jitters?

He supposed it was the fact that once they left their room, they would have to begin the balance of marriage and everyday life and they were going to have to do it at a disadvantage. They couldn't move into Rafe and Evelyn's house for another week and they were going to have to stay in the nurses quarters until then. He grinned to himself because that was going to put a crimp into their love life for a few days.

He was seated against the headboard as his bride slept and he wondered what it would be like to go back out into the world as a husband. This was where the real work would begin, Tom McCawley had told him.

Danny had called him one evening a few weeks before the wedding because he needed Tom's council. These were the times that he was so grateful to have Rafe's parents to hash things out with and he knew that they would give him the same sound advice as they gave their own son.

Much of his concern had been about his wedding night, but he had had a great deal of concern as well as to what would happen when their honeymoon was over.

"As far as your weddin' night son, the only thing I can say to you is to about that is to be as considerate as you can. You both waited for this for a long time and expectations can sometimes be more than what actually happens. Just help her as much as you can and take it as slow as she needs to."

"I just don't want to disappoint her." Danny had sighed.

"No husband who loves his wife as deeply as I know you do her wants that to happen." Tom had told him. "But you also need to remember that you ain't marryin' her for just the physical part of it. If that were all that you two wanted, you would have taken her to bed without a second thought. But you and Sandra wanted more and wanted it to mean more. Not a lot of fellows look at it the way you have."

"I just don't know what she expects."

He could hear Tom cough on the other end of the line and knew it was always his way to hide the fact that he tried not to laugh. "You have to ask her son. The one thing that I've learned livin' with Sarah all of these years is that if you don't talk to her and find out what she's thinkin' or what she wants, you'll never understand why she's upset. If you don't know what Sandra expects, then you need to ask. And if you're too shy to do that, or she's too shy to tell you then just do what your heart tells you. If you're talkin' to her with your heart, everythin' will work out better than you expected."

"You make it sound so simple." Danny had frowned.

"That's the last damn thing it is Danny. But after sleepin' in the barn a few times because I didn't understand what Sarah was tryin' to tell me, I learned to talk to her and find out what it was that she expected of me. Not just as her husband, but as Rafe's father."

He had felt his face flush at the idea of becoming a father. "How do you adjust to bein' married?"

"Carefully." And then he had laughed. "Keep in mind that it's not just you anymore and that anythin' you do from the day you make your vows to Sandra affects her. Everyone has their own way of adjustin' to bein' married, but my advice would be to set a pattern as soon as you can. It makes things a whole lot easier when you both know what to expect from the other. Then the more comfortable you get and the more you find yourself adjustin', you change your pattern."

"Be flexible." Danny had said.

"I can tell you that bein' flexible on both our parts has saved us a lot of time arguin' about things."

Flexibility.

"What are you thinking about so hard Danny?" He heard the sleepy voice of his wife and looked down to see a smile on her face.

"You mean other than how much I love you?" He smiled back at her.

"I love you too, but that wasn't what I meant."

"I know honey. I was thinkin' about a talk I had with Tom before we got married." He explained to her before he slipped back down in the bed and put his arms around her. "I was concerned about what was goin' to happen on our weddin' night and what was goin' to happen when our honeymoon was over."

"And what did he tell you?" She asked as she put her arms around him.

"To listen and be flexible."

"That sounds pretty simple."

Danny laughed. "I guess we'll find out how simple it is when we actually have to try it."

"We're going to be fine Danny. We've been through so much together over these last few years and the one thing that I've learned is that as long as I have you I can handle just about anything." And she kissed him.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her back.

They stood at the foot of the bed and packed the last of their belongings.

The time had finally come for them to check out and they were both more than a little apprehensive. It had been one thing to be newlyweds, secluded in a romantic bridal suite but now it was time to get back to reality and be just another married couple.

At Sandra's request the hotel had sent up a garment bag so that she and Danny could have something to carry his dress uniform and her wedding dress in. It lay on the bed and Danny smiled before he put his arms around her. "Are you ready for this?"

She sighed. "I wish I knew."

"I know honey." He pulled her close and smiled. "What would you say about comin' back next year on our anniversary? We started our marriage here and I can't think of a nicer way to celebrate it."

She nodded. "I'd like that very much. And it's a very romantic thing for you to do."

He laughed. "And I'll remind you of that after we have our first married argument."

"All right." And she kissed his cheek.

"Let's not start somethin' we can't finish." He grinned at her before he picked up their suitcases and she picked up the garment bag. They walked out to the sitting room and stood by the front door and they looked at each other and smiled.

Sandra opened the door and Danny waited for her to step out before he followed her out and she closed the door. They walked down to the elevator and when they reached the lobby, Danny put the suitcases down and took the room key out of his pocket.

The concierge who had arranged for all of the activities during their week was there when they checked out. "I trust you had a pleasant week?"

"We did." Danny told him and put the key on the desk. "And we'd like to book the same room next year for our anniversary."

"Very good sir." He smiled at them and pulled out a ledger. He flipped through the pages until he found what he wanted and Danny watched as he wrote something down. "I've made a note about the date and room request and someone from the hotel will call you to confirm the reservation."

"We appreciate that very much." Sandra told him.

"And we appreciate that you chose to spend your honeymoon here." He nodded. "And before I forget, there was a message that was left for you yesterday and we were asked not to give it to you until you checked out." And he handed an envelope to Danny.

Sandra stood next to him as he opened it and read the note from Rafe and Evelyn. They wanted Danny and Sandra to come over to the house when they had checked out.

"Is that all right with you?" Danny asked her.

"Of course." She answered.

He picked up the suitcases and the concierge told them that a cab was out front if they wanted to take it. "Good luck to you both."

"Thank you for everything you did for us this week. We'll never forget it." Sandra told him.

"We'll see you next year Mrs. Walker." He nodded.

They walked out to the front of the hotel and while the driver stowed the suitcases and the garment bag in the trunk, Danny opened the back door for Sandra and after she was settled, he got in next to her. He gave the driver the address for the nurses quarters and when Sandra looked at him in confusion, he explained that if they dropped off the suitcases they wouldn't have to carry them around for the rest of the day.

She smiled. "Good thinking."

It didn't take long for them to drop off the suitcases and head to the McCawley's. When the cab pulled up in front of the house, Rafe and Evelyn stood on the front porch.

Danny got out and held his hand out to Sandra. He paid the fare and as the cab pulled away he took Sandra's hand again and they walked up to the front of the house.

"Well Danny, it looks like marriage agrees with you." Rafe grinned at him.

He looked at Sandra and smiled. "It does."

Evelyn stepped off the porch and hugged Sandra. "You look wonderful." And she smiled at Danny. "Come on in you two. The kids are taking a nap and I've got lunch ready."

"That's good because I'm starvin'." Rafe smiled at his wife and waited for Danny, Sandra and Evelyn to go into the house before he followed them inside.