Chapter 3

Gabby watched as Rafe and Evelyn kissed and embraced each other amidst claps, cheers and whistles from the watching crowd, her own heart filled with happiness and a certain degree of envy. She was happy for her friends for finally taking that final step, and she admired Rafe for being brave enough to propose in such a public setting…eyeing Danny from the corner of her eye, she shook her head and sighed. Danny would never do this, even though she had hinted numerous times that all he had to do was ask, and she would have said yes.

It wasn't so much a fear of rejection. It was just not his way of doing things. If he were ever to propose to her, it would be a very private affair, probably with just the two of them and no one around for miles around. That wouldn't be too bad either, having some quality time alone with Danny and then hearing him pop the question…

She didn't need rings, flowers, elaborate planning and expensive dinners…

Leaning over, she whispered in Danny's ear. "So, this was what the two of you were talking about so secretively earlier?"

Danny smiled as he nodded happily. "Rafe's been wanting to propose for ages, but I guess he's finally decided tonight was the right time to do it."

"So, when are you going to do it, eh?" Gabby elbowed him playfully. She was only teasing him, but she could still see a quick flash of discomfort in Danny's eyes as he coughed awkwardly. "Rielle, we've talked about this…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Gabby couldn't help feeling slightly upset at his reaction, and she turned away from him, all the happiness she'd felt since the start of the day dissipating in a flash. "There's still a war going on, you don't want to ruin my future chances of a happy life in case you don't make it back, we're happy enough the way things are…yeah, yeah, I know."

Danny could tell she was upset, and he sighed as he tugged on her arm and pulled her to the side so that they could speak with more privacy. Thankfully most people had their eyes on Rafe and Evelyn, and Danny was able to find a quiet corner relatively far away from the crowd. "Its not that I'm not willing, Rielle. You're all I ever wanted, and you know it. I love you, but I can't bring myself to hurt you…if we got married, and I…couldn't return from my missions, what's going to happen to you?"

Gabby's eyes flashed in a rare display of anger as she pulled her arm away. "You want me to go on and have a good life, maybe marry someone else, in case anything were to happen to you. You think that becoming a widow would ruin my life forever and I will never be happy again. Well, you know what? If anything were to happen to you…" Her voice broke slightly. "Do you think I'd be able to go on with my life as if nothing had ever happened? You think I'd be relieved that we were never married, so that I could happily marry someone else without second thoughts? Besides, I don't even care if we got married. I just want to be with you. Why can't you understand that?"

Danny fell silent, a small stab of pain in his heart at the hurt look in Gabby's eyes. He understood, he really did. But he couldn't bring himself to take their relationship to the next step. It would only mean more pain and grief for her if something went wrong…why couldn't she understand that? Wordlessly, he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly. She was everything to him, and he hated the idea of her being left alone in the world. If they were to live together…if they had children, and then he died…

To be honest, though he was happy for Rafe and Evelyn, he didn't really understand Rafe's decision. Choosing to get married at a time like this, when there is no way to guarantee their future together, was it really the right thing to do?

They've had a number of talks about this, and every time it had been a source of argument, so much so that they tend to avoid the topic completely nowadays…

Gabby took a few breaths to calm herself down, then started feeling guilty for her outburst. He had only just returned from a long mission, and tonight was meant to be a happy night. Rafe, his best friend, had just proposed to Evelyn. They had danced together for the first time since they got together. Yet, she had to spoil everything with this untimely outburst…Awkwardly, she shifted out of his arms and gave him a stiff smile. "I'll just pop into the washroom for a bit." She turned and fled before he could reply.

Taking a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror, Gabby tried for the twentieth time to apologize without sounding too awkward. "Danny, I guess I had a little too much to drink today…no, that sounds awkward. Ok, how about this? Danny, I think I got carried away by the atmosphere and said things I probably shouldn't have…urgh! Why did I have to rant at him? I could have just said things nicely, couldn't I? What's wrong with me today?"

Groaning, Gabby ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Why is this so difficult?" An image of the dejected look in Danny's eyes surfaced in her mind, and Gabby gave up. Squaring her shoulders, she looked at her reflection one last time. "Forget it, I'm just going to go out there, and tell him I'm sorry."

Leaving the washroom, Gabby looked over at where Danny had been standing, then frowned slightly when she saw that he wasn't there. He wasn't at their dinner table either. Maybe he was waiting for her outside? The party's almost ending anyway, most of the people had already left, in fact.

Trying to look above the shoulders of everyone in front of her as she searched for Danny, Gabby made her way towards the exit, then jumped when someone tapped her shoulder from the back. Whipping around, Gabby stared for a second, then subconsciously stood at attention. "Sir."

"Shut up, Connor, and just walk, alright?" Doolittle smiled and shook his head as he strolled casually beside her, silently thankful that he had waited for most people to leave before approaching her. The way she immediately recognised him and snapped to attention, there would be no hiding her previous military experience from the rest of the pilots in the room. A quick glance around showed that no one had noticed their little exchange, and Doolittle heaved a small sigh of relief.

Gabby gulped, but obeyed. "How did you recognise me, sir?" She thought he hadn't noticed her earlier, but it seemed like he had.

"How could I ever forget the face of my first female pilot?" Doolittle smiled. "I didn't just come to say hi, I've got good news you might want to consider."

"What is it?" Gabby blinked. Good news? From Doolittle?

"Although women are still not allowed to enlist as combat pilots, there is this new squad of female pilots that the army is recruiting to fly non-combat missions. I thought you might be interested."

"Non-combat missions?"

"Yeah. We now have female pilots helping us to fly planes from the factories to the airfields, or between airfields, and some are helping us in target training. Its so that the military can free up more of our male pilots to go onto the frontline." Doolittle smiled at her somewhat sadly. "That being said, it's not completely danger-free either. There's always a risk of being injured during training, and if you're involved in ferrying aircraft to combat zones…you get my point. It's going to be something no one hears about, but its important work all the same. If you feel up to it…"

"I'll go, sir!" Gabby said enthusiastically. Out of the whole chunk of words Doolittle said, she only grasped the part about female pilots. She could fly again…she could join the army and fly again…this time as herself, without having to worry about being caught…

Doolittle glanced somewhat warily at her shining eyes. "I'll have to warn you though. If you enlist, you're going to do so as a complete beginner, go through all the basic training like everyone else. Unless you feel up to explaining to the people in charge why you, as a woman, had prior experience with military aircraft, you're going to have to hide your skills and learn everything from scratch. This could be unbelievably boring."

"I can do it." Gabby smiled confidently. "Thank you for telling me sir, you're the best!" Laughing happily, she waved at him and skipped out the door. Doolittle chuckled as he shook his head in resignation, making his own way out of the now empty ballroom. He'd almost forgotten how jumpy Connor used to be. Ah, the good old times…

Once she stepped out of the hotel, Gabby spotted an anxious-looking Danny pacing outside the door. She went up and hooked her arm around his, smiling up at his startled face. "Where's Rafe and Evelyn?"

Danny blinked. "They…they've gone on ahead to buy supper."

"I'm sorry about earlier." Gabby sobered and said earnestly. "I shouldn't have ranted at you like that."

"Rielle…" The look of relief on Danny's face was obvious. He thought it would take longer for her to get over it.

"I know." She sighed. "Its not the first time we've argued about this anyway. I promise I won't bring it up again, alright?" The last thing she wanted was to make Danny feel uncomfortable around her. It wasn't as if she was unhappy about the way their relationship was going anyway.

Danny smiled as he kissed her lightly on her forehead. "I promise I'll think about it too, alright?" She did have a point earlier. It wasn't going to be easy for her to move on if anything happened to him, and whether or not they were actually married didn't matter. Actually, a part of him was secretly pleased when she said that. Knowing that Gabby would continue to love and remember him if he died in the war…was oddly comforting.

Maybe he was thinking too much. If only he could let things go as easily as Gabby seemed to be able to…

Sighing, he tightened his hand around hers as they started walking back to the nurses' quarters. Gabby was staying with Evelyn, and his temporary barracks wasn't far off as well. At least they would get to see each other more often for the time being, until he got shipped off again two weeks later, that is.

"I met Doolittle just now. He told me about a new squadron of female pilots that is helping to fly aircraft from one place to another, and asked me if I was interested."

Danny frowned slightly. "What's this about?"

"Its a non-combat squad, and we'll just be helping to get the planes where they are needed so that male pilots can be sent into battle like you guys. And maybe occasionally we'll get to help out in target training." Gabby grinned gleefully at the thought. "Maybe we'll get to help train you guys for your next mission, who knows?"

Danny froze, then looked at Gabby in disbelief. "We? You've already said yes?"

"Of course. I've always wanted to be in the army, and this is the perfect opportunity for me to go back as, well, me, and not Gabriel Connor like before." Gabby shrugged. "There's no reason for me to turn him down, isn't it?"

Being in the army had lots of benefits, as far as she was concerned. Flying would keep her occupied, put her mind at ease, and on top of that, keep her updated about the missions that were being organized.

She wouldn't need to wait for weeks for Danny's letter to know what was happening with him.

Danny could tell she'd already made up her mind, and nothing he said was going to change anything, but that didn't mean he felt good about it. Pursing his lips in worry, he asked, "There won't be any combat missions?"

"Yeah, Doolittle said so." Gabby smiled, both touched and exasperated by his uneasiness. "Relax, Danny. What you're doing is heaps more dangerous than this, and I haven't said anything, have I?"

"Yeah, well, that's…"

"The first few months are going to be training anyway, so it'll be a breeze." Gabby stuck out her tongue. "I've been through all that, but I'll have to make it look like my first time flying military aircraft."

Danny couldn't help smiling at the thought of Gabby sitting through all those flight lessons again. "Well, try not to correct the flight instructor on everything he says, yeah?" It did set his mind at ease somewhat, knowing that Gabby wouldn't be involved in combat missions, though he would have preferred it if she stayed out of the war entirely.

Gabby laughed. "I won't."

Danny ruffled her hair dotingly, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. "Don't try anything dangerous."

"I won't." Gabby smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder, eyes gleaming at the thought of returning to the cockpit.

It had been a year. Too long.

Women Airforce Service Pilots did exit in WWII, haha, and I thought it'll be a job which suits Gabby well. Reviews? :D