The Daggers had all gathered together at the bar, what the sailors called the Hard Deck. It had been a really long week. They had to fill out tons of papers, there were a few medical exams, trying to get back in the flow of work life again. It was just a lot. So, they decided to blow of the stress with a few drinks. Thankfully, Maverick and Rooster had been released from the hospital now, so the team was back to their original numbers.

Music was playing in the background and Bob was sitting in his usually chair watching Phoenix beating Hangman in a game of pool. He was thankful to get a break. The stress levels had been high for him lately, he could hardly get any sleep. No one noticed. That was okay.

They heard a bell sound ringing throughout the bar. Some idiots must've done something stupid. Cheers rose up around the room. Hangman was busy aiming his next shot, "Hey, Bob," he said, without taking his eyes off the ball, "Could you be a darling and grab out drinks?"

Bob rolled his eyes. Hangman enjoyed calling his teammates weird names to get them to do something. It usually worked. "Yeah, yeah," Bob sighed dramatically, getting up from his seat, "I'll get you guys some drinks."

He started making his way though the tight-knit crowd, and finally reached the bar where Penny Benjamin was passing out free drinks.

"Hey, Mrs. Benjamin!" he called out, "What did they do this time?"

Penny looked at Bob, "They put their phones on the counter!" she smiled, tuning to him, "And how many times must I tell you to call me Penny?"

Bob smiled sheepishly, "As many times as it takes, Mrs.…I mean Penny."

"You're a sweet kid, Robert." Penny smiled warmly. "Let me get your friends some drinks. Do you want another root beer?"
"No, no, I'm good…." Bob trailed off. His heart almost stopped. He had glanced around the room and caught a glimpse of a face that haunted his nightmares every single night. The man who had harmed him in his past. One of his so-called friends.

He'd frozen up. He couldn't think clearly. His mind filtered out all the noise around him so all that he could hear was his quick, shallow breathing. He couldn't crawl out of the pit. He was stuck again. He was shaking, he couldn't move. He couldn't escape. It was just him and the man he'd seen.

Penny had heard Bob trail off and turned around to look at him. She instantly saw his eyes were glazed over, like he was in the past. "Bob?" She asked, having her hand in front of his face. Zero response. Then she noticed he was sweating and shaking. Oh, a panic attack. Penny quickly walked out from behind the counter and wrapped her arm around Bob's shoulders. "C'mon." she muttered, "Let's get you some fresh air."

Her sister had had panic attacks all the time when she was a teenager, so she knew what to do. She hadn't known that her favorite pilot had panic attacks. Poor Robert. Did anyone else know? Penny pulled Bob outside onto the porch that wrapped around the building. She brought him to a quite part and sat him down in a rocking chair. Then she sat down right next to him, muttering softly and rubbing circles around his back. She had thought her sister had had bad panic attacks, but Bob was next level.

He was so shaky, so sweaty, so…scared. In the dim light, she saw a few tears slip down his cheek. What had happened to him that made Bob have panic attacks? They sat there like that for a good ten minutes and Penny was getting a little nervous. Panic attacks didn't usually last this long, right? She was about to go call someone, when Penny felt Bob shake himself.

He took a deep, steading breath. "Hey," Penny whispered so as not to frighten him. He still jumped. "Shh, it's okay, I gotcha." Bob nodded. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I am." He whispered back.

"Do you need anything?"

A shake of the head.

"Do you want me to stay here?"

A pause. Then he shook his head. "I'd like to be alone right now."

"Okay." Penny stood up, "I'm right inside if you need me, okay? Don't be afraid to come get me."

"Okay," he mumbled. Penny started to leave, and felt someone grab her wrist weakly. She looked at Bob, who's eyes were wide, "Don't tell anyone, please?"

"I won't. Promise."

He nodded again and stared off into space. Penny left him there. It was best she could do. What triggered him? How could she protect him from it? Was it a person? She didn't know, but she promised to look after Bob more carefully.

"Hey! Penny!" she heard Hangman call out to her, "Have you seen Bob?"

Penny paused to think about the question as she slid behind the counter again. "Yes."

"Oh, where is he? He was supposed to get our drinks." Penny was surprised to see a little concern in his eyes.

"He just needs to be alone right now." Penny said, handing him a few drinks.

"Oh." Hangman paused before asking, "Is he okay?"

Penny glanced at the door, "I hope so."