"So you finally told her. It's about time."

Danny smiled at his friend as she sat in the chair by his bed. "Hank said the same thing. And what makes it even better is that she loves me too."

"She really is a sweet girl Dan and perfectly suited for you." Evelyn added. "I watch the way that you two play off of each other and I must admit that I get a little jealous."

Danny was puzzled at her remark. He'd observed the word play between Evelyn and Hank when they'd ended up in his room at the same time and it sounded much like what happened between Annie and him. He was more convinced than ever that something was developing between his friends and something had to be done to get them to see it. He just didn't know what.

"You shouldn't be." Danny was treading into eggshell territory and he knew it, but he needed to start somewhere. "You and Hank sound the same way and you aren't even dating."

"We most certainly do not." She sounded too defensive. "Henry Metcalf is too cocky by half."

"No more than a lot of the pilots on base are." Danny challenged her. "You won't give any of them the time of day and yet Hank seems to have gotten under your skin. How is that?"

"You're imagining things." She frowned and he got the feeling that his suspicion was on target.

"If I am then why does your face flush every time I mention his name?" He pressed and Evelyn looked at him with a frown.

"Because you're seeing something that isn't there and I wish you'd let it go."

"I think I'm seeing two people who like being in each other's company and neither one has the courage to admit it." Danny threw down the gauntlet. "The both of you sparkle like Independence Day fireworks when the other is near and it frustrates me that you won't do anything about it. Hank is a really good guy, which I know you already know and you are one of the nicest girls I've ever met."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"I'm not done yet." He stopped her. "You've had this rule in place about not dating servicemen and I know it's because of your mother and what she went through. But you seem to forget that your dad was in the Navy when they met and she married him."

"But Dad was stateside during the war. Mom didn't have to worry about something happening to him."

It started to come together and Danny thought he was beginning to understand. "This doesn't have anything to do with your mother, does it? She fell for a guy and lost him and you're afraid that if you let yourself fall for someone the way she did, you'll end up the same way."

"That's ridiculous!" She looked flustered and Danny knew that he'd guessed right.

"Evelyn, Hank's a pilot and we're at war." He was stating the obvious but he wanted her to hear it. "You have to admit that he's been luckier than I have so far and that's got to count for something. I'm not saying that it's going to be easy because as long as we have to keep flying combat missions, there's always a chance that something could happen. I guess what you need to do is decide if he means anything to you and if he does, is he worth taking a risk for?"

"If I tell you something you have to promise me that you won't repeat it to anyone. I won't include Ann in that because you shouldn't keep secrets from her."

"I appreciate that. But when you say anyone, do you really mean Hank?"

"Just promise me." She refused to answer him and Danny nodded in agreement.

"When you were missing and your dad was worrying himself into a state, Hank talked about going out and trying to find you himself." She said quietly. "I ran into him one afternoon after the decision came down to scale back the search and I knew that once they did that it would only be a matter of time before they called it off all together.

"He told me that your dad had been to his commander about going out himself and Hank wanted to go with him. They wouldn't let him of course because he was off rotation and you know that means pilots are restricted to training flights and nothing else."

Evelyn was taking her time in getting to her point and Danny tried not to sigh. "So what are you trying to tell me?"

"I was already worried about you because there hadn't been any news and Ann was being stoic about it. But when Hank talked about going after you I got scared, I mean really scared." The look on her face was earnest as she tried to explain to him what she'd gone through. "That's why I've insisted on keeping my work life separate from my private life. I don't want the two to merge."

"Did you go out to the field to see him when our squadron came back?"

She shook her head. "I thought about it, but I didn't want him to get the wrong idea."

"What idea would that be? That you were happy that he came back alive, that he didn't have to be brought back sedated on a hospital ship?" Evelyn Ahern was just as stubborn as Henry Metcalf was, if not more so and Danny was at his wits end.

"That's not fair!" She stood up and walked to the side of the bed. "You're judging my decisions and me and it's not fair."

"I'm not judging you; I'm just trying to understand." He told her as he ran a hand through his hair. "Tell me honestly what it is that you feel for him."

She didn't hesitate. "I don't know."

"Evelyn, the hardest thing for a person to admit is when they feel something for someone or don't for that matter. I went through four years at the Academy with an AWOL girlfriend and Hank urging me the whole time to break things off with her." Danny tried to explain to her.

"He knew as well as I did that Caroline didn't love me or even care for me but I insisted on hanging on to a relationship that was nonexistent. You've got the opposite problem. There is a really nice guy that I think you care for but won't admit it to yourself because of what could happen."

Evelyn looked so solemn with her reply. "I'm not cut out to be a military girlfriend. I want to know that the man I'm involved with is going to be around, that something bad won't happen to him."

"We don't get those kinds of guarantees in life. Your mother found that out the hard way but she opened her heart again and found your dad. And even if Hank were a civilian something could happen to him and you couldn't say that it was because he was a combat pilot."

The look she gave him was one of irritation. "All right Dan, let's play it your way for a moment. Let's say that I put myself out on a limb only to find out that Hank doesn't see me as anything more than a friend. Then what do I do?"

"If I believed that he didn't see you as something more, I wouldn't have brought it up. The fact is, my sister broke up with him because she believed that he had feelings for you that he was unwilling to even consider."

The look of surprise on Evelyn's face surprised him because he thought for sure that she at least suspected it.

"He's just as uncertain about this as you are and I think that it's well past time that the both of you talk about it. You should take the opportunity to get to know each other and decide if you want it to work into a relationship."

"That's easy for you to say, you've got a girlfriend." She commented.

It annoyed Danny that she tried to make it so simple and wanted to set her straight. "It's not easy because nothing was preordained when it came to Ann and me. I could have been like Hank and Sarah, hanging on to a relationship that wasn't going to progress farther than it had already. I had plenty of excuses at the time and I used them with regularity because my focus wasn't on her, it was on the Academy.

"But once I graduated and got my commission I had to face the fact that I was cheating myself out of finding someone that I could share my life with because I knew Caroline wasn't it. I didn't know that Ann was, I had to figure it out."

"So if he is interested how do I go about finding out?" Evelyn asked before she sat back down in the chair.

"Start out with something simple. Go for a walk on the beach, have lunch with him in the Officer's Dining Room if he asks you or a casual dinner at the Black Cat. You've already been there so at least it's familiar and you might be a little more comfortable." He looked at her and tried one last appeal. "Just give him a chance Evelyn, please."

She looked up at him and Danny could see the turmoil on her face. "If it were anyone else I'd tell them to take a flying leap."

"Does this mean that you'll think about it?" He asked as gently as he could.

Evelyn nodded and stood up. "I'll think about it, I will."

"That's all I'm asking you to do." He let out a silent sigh of relief that he at least got her to do that much.

The door opened suddenly and a grinning Hank walked into the room. "Hey Romeo!"

Evelyn glanced at Danny and he could see that she was trying not to roll her eyes, but there was a smile on her face when she turned to face him. "Henry, you seem to have forgotten your Shakespeare. Romeo killed himself."

"A mere detail Ev." He waved his hand in mock dismissal. "Danny will have better luck."

"Oh, brother." She shook her head in feigned dismay and turned back to Danny. "I must say that you look much better than the last time I saw you and I'm glad that your leg is starting to heal. It sounds like it's a very good omen for you getting back into the air."

"I hope so Evelyn." He replied as she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I won't tell Ann I saw that." Hank promised as he walked into the room.

"Don't be so annoying Henry, there's nothing to tell her and you know it." She tried to stare him down and only succeeded in flushing.

"But I'm so good at it." He laughed. "If anyone would know that it would definitely be you."

"I'll be back soon." Evelyn ignored Hank as she talked to Danny. "I haven't seen Ann in awhile so please tell her I say hello when you see her."

"I will." And he watched as she brushed past Hank.

"No goodbye for me?" Hank asked as she reached the door and opened it.

"You're not worth it." She shot back and left the room.

Danny looked at his friend and frowned. "Why do you insist on doing that? If you want her to start taking you seriously, that sure as hell isn't going to help."

"But that's part of my charm Dan. If I didn't do it, she'd wonder what was wrong with me." He was unapologetic about his behavior.

"You really have decided to go full steam ahead, haven't you?" Danny felt as though he'd missed something during the time he was under sedation. "The last time we really talked about this you were still balking at doing anything."

"Damn the torpedoes and all of that." He said. "I did some talking with Ann, too and she's just as stubborn as you are when it comes to Ev and me."

There it was again, he said Ev.

The urge to say something was strong, but a promise was a promise. "So she kept you in line while I was gone?"

"My dad would say she's a keeper Dan. And I think you should keep her." Hank grinned at him.

Hadn't Evelyn said the same thing? He couldn't remember.

"That's my intention."

"Are you thinking about marriage already?" His grin was gone and his look was dead serious.

"Marriage?" The thought hadn't crossed his mind; he was still getting used to the idea that Ann loved him. "Why would I be thinking about that? I'm laid up in a hospital bed; my career as a pilot may be in jeopardy and she just started her freshman year in college."

"Then what did you mean?" Danny could hear the concern in his voice. But was that concern for him or for Ann?

"I love Ann, but I'm not ready to make a lifetime commitment to her yet. We need to take the time to get to know each other as more than our father's children. Besides, I want her to finish school before we decide on anything permanent."

"You're willing to wait for four more years?" Hank was more than a little incredulous.

"Her parent's waited that long mostly because mine didn't. And as hard as it's going to be, I don't want go through with something that means Ann might not graduate from college and we have to get married sooner than we were ready for." He was getting tired of having to repeat his reasons for waiting, or was it that he was justifying them? "It would disappoint our parent's because we would be repeating a history they don't want repeated, it's as simple as that."

"All right Dan, I give. You have your mind made up about this and I won't give you a hard time about it any more."

"Thank you." Danny sighed and wondered if this would really be the end of it. "So, if you've decided that you're ready to give it a try with Evelyn, do you have something in mind?"

"Not a thing." He answered bluntly. "She's keeping me at arm's length and won't give me a chance to broach anything with her."

"Well gee Henry, I wonder why?" Danny was deliberately sarcastic. "You're going out of your way to be a complete ass around her when all you want her to do is take you seriously. If you want her to do that you have to stop being the class clown."

"That's squadron clown to you Lieutenant." Hank grinned.

"Be serious will you?" He wasn't amused. "Evelyn is scared. She's hesitating mainly because she doesn't want to deal with the possibility of something happening to you and she's left behind to grieve. You have to be able to convince her that you're worth taking that risk on. But if what I just saw is a recurring thing I'm starting to think that I was wrong in telling her to take a chance on you."

That wiped the grin off of his face. "You did that for me?"

"You're my best friend; of course I did that for you! But if you don't wise up and start taking her seriously as a prospective girlfriend, she won't take you seriously." He finished.

Hank sat down in the chair next to the bed as the gravity of what Danny told him seemed to sink in. "I don't want to mess this up."

"Then don't. Stop egging her on and stop trying to get her to react. Treat her like you would Ann or Sarah and she might just surprise you."

"I don't think she'll go for the Black Cat, but she might accept lunch at the Officer's Dining Room." He thought out loud.

"There's only one way to find out Henry, you need to ask her."

He stood up and walked to the side of the bed. "This was so much easier with Sarah."

Danny nodded. "I'm sure it was. You and Sarah hit it off right away but it wasn't enough to see anything through. You've been at odds with Evelyn since she got here and some of that was from the beginning because you thought she was a threat to Ann and me. The fact is she's not going to make it easy for you to smooth things over."

"I know." He admitted.

"Well then Lieutenant, you've got some fences to mend. And you're not going to do it standing here jawing with me, so get the hell out of here so I can get some sleep."

"I thought they took you off the sedation." He looked concerned.

"They took me off the heavy sedation that was keeping me knocked out so much." Danny clarified. "But they're still giving me enough so that I get a full nights sleep and stay relaxed when I'm awake."

"Has the doctor told you when he's going to release you?"

"He says it's probably going to be another couple of weeks. He wants me to be able to get up on crutches for short periods in the next few days so that I can start doing some things for myself. But it doesn't change the fact that he wants me to stay in bed even after I'm discharged."

"It's got to be rough Dan, being waited on hand and foot." Hank smiled at him.

Danny laughed in response. "But I had to pay a hell of a price for the privilege. I'd rather be taking care of myself with two good legs."

"I know you do and that will come with time. You've got a determination that got you through the Academy and it's going to get you through this."

"That's my plan. I'm an Air Force pilot and I plan on remaining an Air Force pilot." He vowed.

"I'm glad to hear that because you're the only wingman I want."

"Because I'm the only one who puts up with you." Danny quipped. "Hank, don't put off talking to Evelyn. Decide what it is that you want to do and ask. I'm expecting a full report the next time you come to visit."

He stopped at the door. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'm counting on it." He replied and Hank was gone.

Their future was in his hands.