Author's note: Thanks to all those who bothered to leave reviews, especially such encouraging ones, does make me feel happy. :D Glad that people are still enjoying the story so far. Sorry that I couldn't update earlier, this year has been much busier than I thought it would be, and I just had an exam so couldn't write too often...^^" With the Easter break coming up, hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.

Chapter 8

The week seemed to fly by, and everything went smoothly, with Gabby charming all her peers and instructors with her humour and unbelievable talent in flying…

Of course, that was all in her dreams.

Gabby caught herself halfway through a yawn as the instructor shot another glare at her, ducking her head sheepishly as she bent studiously over her notebook and pretended to copy down notes. She knew she wasn't the best student, and her instructors should be given credit for the amount of patience and tolerance they had shown towards her blatant inattentiveness in all the classes. Occasionally, someone would try to shame her into listening in class by asking her questions about the lesson content when they caught her sleeping, but she always managed to give the right answers, and soon, they gave up.

The fact that the instructors had given up on her didn't bother Gabby one bit. Her days were practically inching by, and she couldn't help thinking about how long it had been since she'd last heard from Danny…

The only thing that kept her spirits up was her new roommates. They were an incredibly vibrant and fun group, and Gabby found herself liking them more each passing day. Despite her idealistic fantasies about army life, Nancy seemed to be settling in quite well, better than Gabby thought she would. Gabby had assumed that she would be one of those prim and proper people who turned their noses up at others who failed to meet their expectations of appropriate etiquette and behaviour, but the truth couldn't be any further from that. In fact, Nancy had become Gabby's partner in crime of sorts, always ready to slip out of camp with her after hours for a late night supper and didn't even raise an eyebrow at Gabby's apparent defiance and inattention in class. It seemed that although she set out to become one of the best pilots there could ever be, it didn't stop her from having a little fun in the process, and Gabby was glad.

Hazel was the ever studious person who would give them a slightly disapproving look when she caught them whispering to each other in lessons, but she would be the first to nudge them under the table if the instructor looked their way. Gabby got along fine without taking notes, but when Nancy started to struggle a bit and Gabby had no notes to share, Hazel willingly shared her own notes with her. The three of them were so different, but clicked together so well it was almost amusing.

Having another girl join in might mess up things a bit, but Gabby was sure they would be able to fit their fourth and last roommate in just fine when she arrives. However, she was disappointed when she learnt that the fourth girl, who was meant to arrive the next day, had withdrawn from the training programme. As a result, it was just going to be the three of them for the time being, until someone else signs up or got transferred here from another base.

Gabby sighed in resignation, but quickly put it behind her when Captain Barnes announced to the whole group that they were getting new flight instructors that day, which meant they could finally start learning how to fly.

Finally! Her mental self gave out a loud whoop and did a little dance of joy. It had been too long, she couldn't wait to feel the thrill of flying again.

"I trust all of you have made good progress in your theory lessons, because you're going to need it. However, I'm going to warn you against thinking you already know everything. There are two taboos in my book: arrogance, and ignorance. Cross any of those lines, and you're out of here. I do not want to be scraping any of you girls off the tarmac, is that clear?"

The murmurs of excitement died down as the girls sobered and gave him a solemn "Yes, sir."

Barnes nodded, then gestured at someone outside the door. "Come on in and meet your students." Watching as one, two, then three men dressed in uniform strode smartly in through the door, Gabby frowned slightly. She thought they would send someone older to teach them, just because all the younger ones were needed on the warfront. These guys looked young, like they were the same age as her…

Her question was answered almost immediately when the three men stood in a line and turned around to face them. Each of them have white bandages poking out from different parts of their uniform, around the wrist, on the neck, underneath the cap…

Gabby blinked as she realised these men were all injured in one way or another, and she felt a sense of respect towards them immediately. They couldn't be on active duty, but instead of taking the time off to rest, they've come here. That's dedication indeed.

As the men introduced themselves, her eyes fell on the last one in the row, and Gabby's face immediately paled in shock.

"Timothy Wood, call me Tim."

Gabby couldn't help staring. He looked the same as he did two years ago, with his wavy brown hair and striking green eyes…people can have similar names, but those green eyes were unmistakable. They hadn't been very familiar with each other back then, and had probably only spoken to each other a total of 5 times throughout the entire mission. However, the Doolittle Raid didn't recruit many pilots to start with, and the fact that she could recognise him meant there was a high chance he could recognise her…

Gabby instinctively ducked her head when she felt him look her way, her heart racing. Perhaps she had been too lucky for too long, and it was finally time for her to be thrown into the deep end again. With the training squad as small as it is, avoiding him was practically impossible. How was she going to get herself out of this?

No, calm down, its okay, just pretend you've never seen him before. You've never met before…

Chewing desperately on her lip, Gabby chanted those words repeatedly in her mind, then when she felt more composed, she glanced towards her friends to see if they had noticed her abnormal behaviour. Nancy was gazing at Tim with a starstruck expression on her face, and Gabby couldn't help but smile at that. Such…a typical Nancy reaction. She waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Earth to Nancy?"

Nancy blinked, then blushed as she elbowed Gabby in the sides. Gabby heaved a sigh of relief. Looks like Nancy hadn't noticed. Turning towards Hazel, Gabby was surprised to see that her friend was nowhere to be seen.

"Nancy, where's Hazel?" Gabby whispered under her breath just as Barnes launched into another of his lectures on flight safety.

"Don't know. Washroom, maybe?"

Gabby frowned slightly. It wasn't like Hazel to disappear without saying anything, even if it was just to go to the washroom. Maybe she wasn't feeling well…

But it served as a legitimate reason for her to make a quick getaway after the briefing was over, and Nancy didn't even bat an eyelid when she said she was going to check on Hazel and find out if anything was wrong. As subtly as she could, Gabby edged towards the door while the rest of the girls swarmed around their new, young and handsome flight instructors, chatting excitedly at the top of their voices and asking all sorts of questions about what it was like fighting in the war. Then, she slid out the door and was gone.

A pair of green eyes watched thoughtfully from behind as Tim frowned slightly at the brief sense of familiarity he had felt when he saw that figure leaving the room. She had her back to him, and he wasn't close enough to have a clear look at her face before she left, but something about her struck him as familiar, and he couldn't think of a reason why that was so.

All girls looked the same to him from the back, apart from some differences in hair colour and length, probably. But there was something different about this one…

Rob Channing, one of his best buddies who had come here with him, nudged him in the side and teased softly. "What? Took a liking to someone so quickly?"

Tim laughed and shook his head, brushing off the absurd thought that had popped up in his head. It couldn't be. He could count the number of girls he knew on his fingers…well, maybe with his toes as well, but that was it, and none of those struck him as the type who would join the army as a pilot.

He was just tired, that's all. He couldn't have known that person, whoever she was.

His eyes were playing tricks on him.

Yeah, it must be.

Gabby poked her head into the toilet down the corridor, but it was empty. Frowning, she went around the building, looking into all the places they used to go, including the canteen, but there was still no sight of Hazel.

Don't tell me Hazel suddenly found it in herself to leave the camp without permission? Gabby mused to herself, dismissing the thought almost as quickly as it came. Nah, impossible. If it was Nancy, maybe, but not Hazel.

Maybe she was just tired and went back to their room…

Gabby quickly bounded up the stairs leading to her room, naturally reaching for the door handle and turned it while stepping forward. It was a series of actions she had grown used to as the girls never bothered to lock their door. They didn't own anything worth stealing anyway. As such, she yelped in surprise when the door remained stoically in position and she literally walked into it, ramming her face hard on the polished wood and activating pain fibres in areas of her face which she never knew existed.

Moaning as she clutched her nose, Gabby took a big step backwards and glared balefully at the door, then sighed. Danny would have laughed his head off if he'd seen what she just did…that thought brought a reluctant smile to her face and Gabby shook her head in resignation. The mental image of Danny doubling over in unsympathetic laughter was too amusing for her to continue feeling sorry for herself.

Well, if anything, at least she'd found Hazel.

The noise she made when she walked into the door could have been heard throughout the entire hallway, so there was no way Hazel would have missed it. Sure enough, the door creaked open slightly, but the sight of Hazel's pale face made Gabby bite back the accusing remark she was about to make.

"Gabby?"

"That's good, at least I'm still recognizable." Gabby made a feeble attempt at a joke, cradling her swelling nose in one hand as she looked with concern at her roommate. "What's wrong?"

Hazel smiled faintly as she mumbled an apology. "Nothing. Sorry, you must have been surprised."

"It can't be nothing, you look almost as awful as I do." Gabby raised her eyebrows in mock accusation, then when Hazel flinched, she softened. "If you don't feel like talking about it, it's fine, but just know that I'm ready to hear you out if you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks, Gabby." Hazel forced a smile as she opened the door wider and gestured for Gabby to come in. "It's nothing, really. I just…needed to wash my face and freshen up a bit, I didn't want to get caught falling asleep in front of our new instructors. Come on in, I won't take long." And with that, she disappeared into the washroom, swiftly locking it behind her and leaving Gabby standing in the open doorway with a deepening frown on her face.

Something was definitely not right with Hazel today. For one, no one needed to lock the door if they were just going to wash their face.

Wondering what could make her usually composed friend behave so out of character, Gabby went over to her bed and sat down on it, preparing to wait for Hazel to go down to lunch together. She couldn't help noticing that Hazel's bed was somewhat messier than usual, with her pillow lying at a strange angle as if it had been dragged over hastily to cover up something.

Gabby hated being a snoop, but she knew that it could be related to what had unsettled Hazel so badly, and her curiosity got the better of her.

Well, if I knew what it was, I would be able to come up with a better way to cheer her up. Gabby convinced herself of her own righteous intent as she reached for the pillow and gently lifted up a corner.

What she saw almost made her drop the pillow in shock.

Tim. That was definitely Tim.

Hazel started acting strangely after she saw Tim, and now she hid herself in their room looking at his photo…were they once lovers?

Staring at the photo hidden under the pillow, Gabby gingerly reached out and flipped it over, revealing a few words in Hazel's neat handwriting.

Dear brother,

Stay safe.

Love,

Hazel.

Right.

Gabby's mind flashed back to the day when the three of them had gathered together and chatted long throughout the night about each other's motivations for entering the army, and suddenly she understood.

It seemed Hazel had found her brother, that brother from her father's first marriage who she loved and admired but never dared to approach. That same brother who hated her very existence and couldn't stand the sight of her. And they were now both caught in a situation where they would see each other every single day.

Well, at least she wasn't alone in her need to avoid Tim.

"You're such a pain in the butt, Tim." Gabby complained softly. "Just go away, will you?"

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