Where was the time going?

It was already June and Danny and Sandra celebrated their fourth anniversary at the Royal Hawaiian. Red stayed at the house for the weekend to look after the girls while the Walkers enjoyed their annual weekend.

Two weeks earlier, Shelby turned a year old and it didn't seem possible to them that their youngest daughter wasn't a baby anymore. She was barely walking and was already desperately trying to keep up with her older sister.

There was also a new arrival at the Pearl Harbor Naval Hospital.

It was time for the girls' annual checkups and when Sandra checked in at the reception desk, she saw a new face. She introduced herself to the young woman and in turn she introduced herself to Sandra as Lieutenant Amy Bradford. She'd been transferred from the Naval Receiving Hospital in San Francisco and had begun her new duty in Hawaii just recently. She wasn't married and hadn't had much of a chance to meet anyone since she'd arrived.

Sandra's first thought was to set her up with Red, because something told her that they might get along. But she also knew that Danny would remind her she thought that of every girl she'd set him up with. She decided to mention it to him when he got home and ask him what he thought.

Amy took them down to the pediatrician's office and help Sandra put the girls in a playpen in the corner of the office while she waited.

The reception door opened and Danny was standing on the other side. He looked uncertain and Sandra knew that he had had something on his mind. She felt it has something to do with the two weeks that he and Red had spent in California at the McClellan Air Force base in Sacramento. He flew some of the newer jet aircraft and she got the feeling after he returned to Hawaii that he wanted to get back in the cockpit. Not as a flight instructor, but as a pilot.

He hadn't said as much to her but Sandra had known him for the better part of ten years, four of those years married. And she knew when he wanted to tell her something, but just didn't know how.

"There's a new nurse at the desk." He observed as he sat down next to her and grinned. "I don't suppose you can tell me anything about her."

Sandra flushed because he knew darn well that she could. "Her name is Amy Bradford and she just transferred from San Francisco."

"And I suppose you've already got Red lined up for a date."

She feigned indignation and tried not to laugh. "What a thing to say."

"And you've already booked the Hickam Chapel." He laughed as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "The doctor ain't here yet?"

Sandra shook her head. "We haven't been here that long so it will probably be a few more minutes."

He nodded before he stood up and walked over to the playpen and pulled Shelby out. He carried her around the room while they waited and Ann began to fuss at the attention her baby sister was getting, so Sandra picked her up and put her on her lap when she sat back down.

"Danny, you've had something on your mind since you've got back from California. I wish you would just say something so we can hash it out."

"It looks like we're gettin' into another war." He stated.

"That's the way it looks because Wheeler has been on another high alert." She answered him.

"I know how hard it was on you durin' the last war when I was flyin'. When it was all over and I decided to stay in the Air Corps I took the job as a flight instructor to help the new crop of pilots comin' in."

"And with a new war on the horizon, you want to get back to being a pilot." Sandra finished his thought.

He nodded and sat down next to her before he settled Shelby in his lap. "Yea, that's it. If we get into this thing, and it looks like we are, the Air Force is goin' to need all the experienced pilots they can get."

So there it was.

She sighed and lay her cheek on Ann's head for a moment before she looked at him. "We waited until the last war was over to get married to avoid this sort of thing and now we have to face it anyway."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this sooner, but I just didn't know how." He admitted.

"I know." And she sighed again. "We've been really lucky here Danny. We waited to get married after the war was over and have had nearly five years of peace. We started our family and have been able to raise them in such a beautiful place in the world, but it came at a price that friends of ours had to pay. If you feel that you need to go back to flying to help, if we get into this, then it's what you have to do."

He looked more than a little surprised and didn't seem to know what to say.

The door from the doctor's office opened and he stepped in. "Good afternoon folks." He smiled as he sat down at his desk and looked at some charts. "I see it's time for the girl's checkups. Why don't you bring them in to the examination room and we'll get them taken care of."

He stood up and waited for Danny and Sandra before he followed them inside.

*~*~*~*~*

Danny talked Red into coming over to the house the following Friday afternoon. Their shift was done for the week and the two friends sat on the back porch, each with a cold beer.

"So how did Sandra take it when you told her you wanted to fly?" Red asked

He smiled. "She's more of an Air Force wife than I gave her credit for. She told me that if it was somethin' I felt strongly enough about, then it was what I had to do."

"She's really something Danny."

"That she is. But you also know that she dabbles in matchmakin'." He commented with a badly disguised grin.

Red shook his head and sighed. "I know she means well, but it seems that she's been trying to fix me up since you got back from your honeymoon."

That got Danny to laugh. "You ain't too far from the truth on that. She just worries about you."

"Just like her husband." He grinned back.

"Not quite. At least I don't look at every girl we meet as a potential date for you."

"That's true. So tell me, who's the latest on the list?"

"From what Sandra tells me, she's a nurse at Pearl Naval." He started.

"Oh, god Danny not a nurse." He sighed. "She's always managed to avoid that."

"Her name is Amy Bradford and she's a Lieutenant." Danny ticked off his mental list of details his wife gave him. "Sandra says that she transferred from a Navy hospital in San Francisco and hasn't had much of a chance to meet anyone because she's workin' so much."

"And I suppose I'm just the fellow to show her around." He rolled his eyes.

"That's about it. Now I ain't tellin' you what to do of course. But once Sandra knows that I've told you about her, she's goin' to be on pins and needles. So from one friend to another, don't take too long because I have to live with her." He finished with a grin.

"I'll keep it in mind." Red answered and they relaxed while they finished their beers.