It was Valentine's Day and while Sandra wasn't a particular believer in celebrating it, she hadn't been out for an evening with her husband since before Ann was born. And now with their eight-month-old daughter Shelby, a dinner date was out of the question.

Danny had suggested asking Red to baby sit so they could go out, but Sandra didn't want him to spend an evening babysitting her girls. She wanted him to be out on a date.

It was out of her hands though, because Red volunteered and wouldn't take no for an answer.

When he got to the house that night he tried to explain to her that it wasn't a big deal and he really didn't mind. "I'll feel bad if you don't go out tonight Sandra. You didn't have your anniversary celebration last year and I know how much you look forward to those weekends, so please go. The girls are asleep and if anything happens, I know what to do."

Sandra wasn't convinced and looked to Danny for support. She didn't get it. "I happen to agree with him honey. We ain't been out alone since before Annie came along and I think that since Red here was nice enough to look after the girls for us, and you trust him we should let him do it."

"Danny."

He took her hand and smiled. "If you keep standin' here arguin' with me, we're goin' to miss our reservation." He looked at Red. "You know where we'll be if there's a problem."

"We'll be fine Sandra." Red smiled at her. "Just have a nice relaxing evening and don't worry about things here."

She wanted to protest further, but Danny put a shawl around her shoulders and walked her to the door. "Call us if you need anythin'." He said as he walked Sandra out of the house and down the walk to their car.

"Daniel Walker!" She frowned at him. "If that wasn't the most..."

He leaned over and stopped her protest with a kiss. "You'd never admit it because you don't want people thinkin' your a bad mama for wantin' an evenin' alone with their daddy, but I know you've been lookin' forward to this as much as I have."

"But..."

"No buts, Sandra. We've been so busy bein' Annie and Shelby's parents that we haven't had the chance to be Danny and Sandra Walker for one evenin'. Now the girls are in fine hands and you know it, so indulge me for one night and enjoy yourself."

Sandra looked at the earnest face of her husband and began to laugh. "I do sound like an outraged mother, don't I?"

"It's all right honey, I understand. The truth is, I don't much like leavin' the girls either. But we agreed when we got married that we would never forget that we were us before we were parents. It don't seem possible now, but those girls of ours are goin' to be grown one of these days and then it'll just be us again. When that happens, I don't want to be lookin' across the supper table at a stranger."

He opened the passenger door for her and waited for her to sit down. When she did and he'd closed the door she laid a hand on his. "Neither do I."

He grinned. "That's my girl." And he walked around to the driver's side and got in. He started up the motor and pulled the car out of the drive and headed off base.

He hadn't told her where he was taking her and it was probably a good thing because she understood that he wanted to surprise her. He'd made reservations at the Royal Hawaiian.

He pulled up in front of the hotel and the valet waited for him to get out. Danny walked around to the passenger side, helped Sandra out and she took his arm. They walked into the hotel and when they reached the dining room, were shown to a secluded table in a small alcove of the restaurant.

The waiter brought a champagne bucket over to their table with a chilled bottle and opened it. He instructed them to leave it for a few minutes so that it could breath and left the table. "Why in the hell does a bottle of champagne need to breathe if all we're goin' to do is drink it?" Danny grinned at her.

"Maybe it tastes better." Sandra speculated before she smiled back at him. "Now I understand why you were so insistent that we go out to dinner."

"I figured it was the least I could do since we didn't get to have our weekend here." He explained.

"You did make reservations for this year didn't you?" She asked.

Danny laughed. "I actually didn't have to. The concierge called me to ask if we would be doin' it this year. I really hated cancelin' those reservations."

She nodded. "I know you did and I hated asking you to do it. But in exchange we got Shelby."

"That we did honey." And he pulled the bottle out of the bucket. "You think it's had enough time to breathe now?"

*~*~*~*~*

It was later than they'd planned and when she and Danny walked into the house, Red was asleep on the sofa. Neither of them wanted to wake him, so Danny got a blanket out of the linen closet and covered his friend.

That woke him up and he grinned. "You two are later than I expected."

"Why don't you just stay here tonight?" Sandra suggested. "You were already sleeping and it doesn't make sense for you to go home just to go back to sleep."

"Thanks for the offer Sandra, but my bed is a lot more comfortable than this sofa." He said and ran a hand through his hair before he stood up. "Our commander called earlier and he had some news for us."

"He didn't say what it was?"

Red picked up his flight jacket that he'd been using as a pillow and pulled it on. "It's nothing urgent. But he did mention that one of the airbases in California was looking to do a temporary trade of officers and said it would only be a few weeks. He didn't come out and ask if we'd be interested, but he thought it would be a good opportunity to see how other bases operate."

"California? Do you remember the last time we were in California?"

Red nodded. "I sure do. That's how we got to China in '42."

"That seems a lifetime ago." He commented with a sigh and Sandra saw a look of sadness pass over his face.

"Don't I know it. But we'll know more on Monday." The smile returned. "So did you two have a nice evening?"

"We had a very nice time." Sandra told him.

Danny put an arm around her. "The steaks were tender, the champagne was cold and my wife was beautiful."

"And on that note, I'll head back to my quarters. The girls have been asleep since you left and everything has been quiet."

"Thanks for babysittin' for us Red. We really appreciate it." Danny put his hand out and Red shook it.

"I'm happy to do it for you." He answered as Sandra and Danny walked him to the door.

"Can we expect you for breakfast on Sunday?" She asked him.

"I'll be here." He promised as he opened the door and stepped out on the porch. "I'm glad you had a nice time." And he was gone.

Danny closed the door and grinned at his wife.

Sandra knew what he was thinking and she flushed. "Do I need to ask what you have in mind?"

He closed the distance and put his arms around her waist. "I think you know exactly what I have in mind. The girls are asleep, the house is quiet and how many times since Annie was born have we had that kind of luck?"

"Not very often." She smiled as he leaned in for a kiss. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

He leaned away for a moment and Sandra saw a look in his eyes that she hadn't seen for a long while. But she knew it was because she hadn't been looking. "In case I haven't told you lately, I love you."

"I love you too Danny. And if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have my girls."

"I feel the same way." He smiled as he caught her behind her knees and started to carry her down the hall.

Sandra was taken by surprise and put a hand on his chest. "Danny, what on earth are you doing?"

"As soon as we get to our room, I'll show you." He said as he kissed her again before he carried her down the hall.