Life was getting better for Lieutenant Daniel McCawley, mostly.

He had a girl whom he loved, who loved him back and he was no longer wearing a cast. It finally came off three weeks after Ann helped him with his sponge bath and it seemed, as a result that she began to avoid being alone with him. She continued to visit him at his parent's house but it would always be when someone else was there.

It was almost a replay of the previous December when she'd backed away from him because of Evelyn, but this time it must have been because of their encounter in his parent's shower stall. It seemed to have a much deeper effect on her than their nearly making love before he flew out, but he thought he knew why. They had not admitted their feelings for each other yet.

He didn't begrudge her decision because he knew that he's crossed a fine line that afternoon. He'd put them both in a no-win situation with his behavior and if they were going to honor the decision they made he knew that he could no longer tease her the way he had been or allow them to be alone together for any length of time. It was just too much of a temptation.

Although the cast was off, the doctor wanted him to remain on crutches while he began the job of rehabilitating his leg. He told Danny that it wasn't because he worried that there would be a setback, he would just be more comfortable that the young pilot have some extra support until his leg was strong again. He agreed.

Danny was just happy to have the heavy plaster off of his leg and was even happier to be returning to his own quarters. His doctor had given him the all clear to do that and he didn't waste any time to thank his parents for everything they'd done for him before he told them goodbye. Dad drove him home with the promise that if he needed anything that he would call. He would have preferred to drive but that was another restriction for the duration, he couldn't get behind the wheel.

So while he had much of his independence back, he still had to depend on other people to help him.

He was returning to active duty as well but would be flying a desk until he was cleared by the flight surgeon. But he wouldn't clear Danny until his doctor felt that his leg was completely healed. During his rehabilitation his squadron commander wanted him to be an instructor of sorts for the other pilots. Major Langley believed that his experience could be used as a valuable tool for the veteran pilots and for the young men who were coming out of the Air Force Academy and flight school.

When Dad approached him Danny wasn't sure he liked the idea, at first. He thought that if his squadron leader was asking him to take on the role of instructor that his days as a pilot were numbered. Dad assured him that from their discussion it was only to help his fellow pilots, as other veteran pilots had helped him.

"You need to get that mop cut Dan." Hank commented the afternoon Danny returned to his quarters. "You're returning to base on Monday and you can't go back looking like one of the Beatles."

"It's not that bad." Danny answered defensively as he ran a hand through his sandy hair, only because he knew Hank was right.

"It's worse." His friend laughed. "I don't get what the girls see in them."

"Maybe it's because they're British." He suggested. "Their music isn't half bad, but I grew up listening to swing music and it's more my style."

"That's one of the reasons that you and Ann are so perfect for each other, she feels the same way. Evelyn on the other hand thinks the Beatles are the ultimate, as she's told me more than once." Hank shook his head.

Danny was careful how he broached the subject. "How are things going with you two? You haven't been saying too much since I got out of the hospital and the last I heard from you, you were going to ask her out. Have you?"

The look on Hank's face was guarded, but not defensive. "I took your advice and we have had lunch in the Officer's Dining Room a couple of times. She seems all right with that and I've tried asking her out to dinner, but whenever I begin to she changes the subject."

"Do you think she'd go if you double dated with Ann and me? It could be that she's just not quite ready to go solo." Danny offered. "Ann likes her a lot and I know she'd be happy to help."

The idea didn't seem to have occurred to him and Danny could almost see the wheels turning as Hank mulled it over. "She might be more receptive to that, especially if Ann were there. Evelyn can't seem to say enough nice things about her."

"Ann feels the same way about Evelyn." Danny told him. "They spent a lot of time talking while I was missing and it really seemed to help. I don't know that I thanked her enough for that."

"Talking to Ann helped her too. She was as worried as anyone was but seeing how Ann was able to keep it together it made her feel better."

"That's good." He ran a hand through his hair again; it really was too long. "You know Evelyn has always been real selective about the friends she makes. We don't really count because we've known her since we were in Colorado and while she's become acquainted with my family she's become close to Ann."

Hank grinned. "She feels as though she's got another older sister keeping an eye on her but it doesn't seem to bother her as much as my keeping tabs on her."

"Evelyn's not nearly as ham fisted about it, as you are, that's why." Danny clarified. "She and Sarah are both that way."

"But Ann and Sarah are probably going to become sisters, so it makes sense." His grin grew wider.

"Planning a wedding are we?" Danny shook his head in amusement. "Don't walk us down the isle of the Hickam Chapel just yet Hank, because I'm not ready to propose."

"You're not ready." His look was expectant. "Does that mean you've thought about it?"

"Not seriously. Marriage is a big step and it's not one that I'm ready to take yet." Danny tried to explain. "It may sound selfish, and it probably is but I want to be on my own for awhile. It's barely been a year since Ann and I started to see each other and a lot of that time was spent dealing with misunderstandings. I love her and I love being with her, but it took me so long to get to this point in my life and I'm just not ready to take on any more responsibility."

"Don't sound so defensive. I'm sure that Ann isn't any more ready than you are. She's got three and a half years of school ahead of her and as much as she loves you, she probably wants to concentrate on that."

If Danny didn't know better, he would swear that Hank was using a little reverse psychology on him, tell him what he wanted to hear so that he'll change his mind. It wasn't going to work. He knew that as much as Ann loved him and wanted to be with him, she wasn't ready for marriage either. It was a huge commitment that they both took seriously and it had to be when they both knew it was right.

"Did you hear me?" Hank's voice broke into his thoughts.

"About Ann wanting to finish school? I heard." He answered.

"I don't know about you Dan. You were never a daydreamer until you came back and it's seems that you have your head in the clouds a lot now."

How could he explain that it was his dreams, waking and in sleep that kept him alive? Through them, he was able to stay close to his family, his friends and to Ann and give him hope that he would be found. It was his daydreams that kept his mind occupied during the long daytime hours and his thoughts clear when he was in such pain and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and not wake up. When he began to feel that way he would think of Ann and how soft and warm her lips were when she kissed him and how her hands felt when they would find their way under his tee shirt and caress him.

"Having my head in the clouds kept me alive." Danny finally said. "By being somewhere else other than where I was, it kept my mind on happier times and with people that I loved."

"It must have been a hell of an experience out there." Hank commented.

"It was an experience that I'll never forget." He nodded. "But it's not something that I want to repeat."

"I'll bet." Hank concurred. "I guess you don't really know what you're made of until you have to face a situation like that. I don't know that I could have done what you did."

"You would have, I know it. It just comes down to deciding if you want to live or die and there was no way that I was going to leave my mortal coil in a god-forsaken jungle." Danny frowned. "That's not to say that I didn't have days where I said, to hell with it I'm checking out, because my leg hurt so bad and my head was aching from the concussion. But ultimately it came down to wanting to see my family again and not coming home in a box."

"That's a strong incentive to come home."

"Look at the two of you, sitting on the porch like a couple of little old ladies gossiping." Danny hadn't heard Evelyn pull up and was surprised when he saw her get out of her car.

"We weren't gossiping we were having a serious discussion." Hank seemed to take issue with Evelyn's teasing and let her know it. "It's the first time that I've had the chance to really talk to him about what happened."

Evelyn looked at Danny with a raised eyebrow and he gave her a surreptitious shrug of his shoulders. Hank was a funny guy when it came to her; his emotions were all over the map.

"Hank seems to think that he wouldn't have done what I did out there." He explained. "I've been trying to tell him otherwise."

She turned serious and looked at Hank. "After what Dan put me through with his little camping trip, I'll never forgive you if you decide to follow his lead."

Evelyn Ahern certainly had a way with words. His little camping trip?

"It's not going to happen." Danny interjected. "The odds are against it."

"They'd better be because I have no plans to go through something like that again." She added. "I've known you boys too long to lose one of you now."

Hank looked absolutely crestfallen and Danny wondered if he'd misread Evelyn. Maybe Hank's initial instincts were right and she didn't see him as anything more than her friend. It was time to put it to a test because it might be the only way he could see Ann without their parents present.

"You're not going to lose either one of us, so stop worrying." He tried to calm her and then changed the subject. "Evelyn, since you're here I need to ask you a big favor."

"What is it?"

"Ann's been keeping her distance since I got out of the hospital and she won't spend any time alone with me." He started.

She smiled at him and it was apparent that she knew what had happened. "She didn't go into much detail, but I got the impression that you put her in a situation that you oughtn't to have done." Then she turned serious again. "Really Dan, you have to start thinking things through when it comes to her. If you don't she's going to start thinking that there's only one thing you want from her."

"Hey, that's not fair!" He wasn't expecting her blunt observation and it upset him. "You, as well as anyone should know how much I love Ann and I resent like hell the fact that you're making it sound as though I only want her in my bed."

"Don't you?" Her question to him was gentle and without accusation.

"If that were all I wanted from her it would have happened before I flew out. But it didn't because she means a hell of a lot more to me than that!"

"Have you made that clear to her?"

"Of course I have." He frowned.

"Then answer me this. Have you spent any time with her since you've been dating that you haven't gotten physical in some way? Have you ever just talked or gone for a walk without it leading to something?"

She had him on that one. Their relationship had rapidly become more intimate and he couldn't remember the last time they'd gone for a walk and all they'd done is walked and talked. Could Evelyn be right?

"Don't browbeat the guy Evelyn, he gets your point." Hank stepped in. "He and Ann seem to know the pace that works for them."

Danny shook his head. "No Hank, she's right. I really pushed things with her the last time we were together and it wasn't something that I thought about until after it happened. The fact is I don't think very clearly when I'm around her, I just feel and I've told her that. I also can't remember the last time we were together and nothing happened." He looked at Evelyn and let out a frustrated sigh. "I love her and I've told her that, but you're right. I tell her one thing and my actions tell her something completely different."

"So let's change that. She won't spend any time alone with you and that's smart thinking right now. You understand that but you want to see her, so how exactly do I fit into this?" Evelyn brought him back around to what started the discussion, how to get her out on a date with Hank.

"I was thinking that if you and Hank would have dinner with us, than she would see me." He explained.

"And at some point you want us to bug out." Hank smiled.

"Hell no! If you do that then she'll think I planned it that way and she might call it quits. We're skating on some pretty thin ice right now because of me and I don't want to make it worse."

"So I guess a double feature is out of the question." He laughed and got a glare from Evelyn.

"Your attempt at humor isn't helping Henry." She scolded him before she looked at Danny. "So what do you want to do then? A casual dinner at the Black Cat?"

"That crossed my mind because she's familiar with the place and she likes it. I think if I keep things on neutral territory, so to speak she'll be all right." Danny elaborated. "We've both been aware that things have been moving too fast and I think it's well past time to back up."

"It seems as though your last encounter shook you up pretty badly too." Evelyn observed. "If it didn't we wouldn't be having this conversation, I suspect."

He didn't think of her anymore, but his former girlfriend suddenly came to mind and Danny couldn't help but think how different his relationship with her had been. "I never had this problem with Caroline. When I was at the Academy, I never gave her much thought but I always thought it was because I was so busy."

"You didn't give her much thought because you weren't in love with her." She reminded him. "And even if you'd been in close proximity of each other, you wouldn't be flailing yourself because you took more liberties than was prudent.

"As to having dinner with you and Ann I will, but don't think that I'm unaware of why you're really doing this. Lieutenant Metcalf has been trying to talk me into having dinner with him and I haven't been giving him the opportunity to do so."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Hank spoke up. "If you've got something to say then say it to me."

Evelyn glanced at Danny. She was trying not to smile before she turned her attention to the irritated flyer. "In the interest of helping Dan see Ann I think we should have dinner together, the four of us."

"How about having dinner with me because you want to?" He challenged her. "Not because you think of it as a favor to friends."

Danny could see that Evelyn was continuing to fight a battle with herself whether she wanted to proceed with a relationship or let things stay where they were. But something told him that she was tiring of being strictly platonic with his best friend. He hadn't misread her after all.

"Ask me and I promise I won't stop you this time." She finally said.

Hank looked a little wary because he didn't know if he could trust her.

"I said I wouldn't stop you and I won't." Evelyn reassured him.

Come on Hank ask her, she's giving you the chance. Danny thought. Don't blow it.

He stood up and Evelyn's face flushed. Could it be that she was really seeing him for the first time? "Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night? We could double with Dan and Ann at the Black Cat, if that would be all right?"

"That would be fine." Her voice sounded a little breathy and Danny knew it had taken a lot of courage for her to accept.

"Dan and I can pick you up around six and then we'll get Ann." He suggested.

"I'll be ready." She promised and took a step back. "I need to get going now. I just stopped by to see how Dan was doing and he seems to be in good hands."

"Thanks for stopping by Evelyn." Danny stood up next to his friend. "I do appreciate it."

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and walked to her car.

"That took a lot of guts Hank, you should be proud of yourself." Danny put a hand on his friend's tense shoulder as Evelyn drove away.

"I'll be proud of myself if we get through tomorrow night without my making a fool of myself." He sighed.

"I wouldn't worry about it; she's used to that by now." He grinned as he turned around to grab his crutches and tuck them under his arms before he walked inside, leaving his nervous friend by himself.