**NOTE: I don't own these characters. This is fan fiction to fill in some of the gaps that the movie didn't include. I hope you enjoy it.
"Everything is going to be all right," Danny whispered as he held Evelyn close, fingers wrapped in her hair.
"I know," she said after a few minutes. Evelyn smiled up at him.
"Let's go get some coffee." Danny took her hand in his, kissed it gently and they started walking to the diner that was just outside the entrance to the base.
She couldn't help it; she kept stealing glances at him as they walked. She really hadn't known him well before. She had always been with Rafe. Evelyn closed her eyes. Everyone was right – it did get better. She missed him but the pain wasn't as raw anymore. She'd said her goodbye and was finally moving on. She stole another glance at Danny and found his eyes looking back at her. He smiled and squeezed her hand a little. She couldn't help but smile back. His smile was just so infectious. It made her want to forget everything she had said about things moving too fast. She forgot everything as she looking into those deep brown eyes, wanting to melt into them. She even forgot how to walk and tripped, stumbling a little, and fell into Danny who promptly caught her around the waist.
"Are you okay, Evelyn?" he asked with a growing grin, one side of his mouth turning up more than the other.
She flushed slightly. "Yeah, just a little distracted."
He chuckled and settled his arm around her waist as they walked through the gates to the naval base and across the street to a little diner. They sat at a little table in the corner, ordered some coffee and an awkward silence descended over them. After several minutes, Danny broke the silence nervously by clearing his throat. Evelyn just smiled.
"I didn't think this would be so…" Danny paused, unsure of exactly what he was trying to say.
"I know." Evelyn looked up and again met Danny's eyes.
"My God you are so beautiful," Danny breathed, lifting her hand to his lips.
The move was so sweet and so innocent. Her heart just melted. He could see the change in her expression so he leaned over and put a small, very chaste kiss on her cheek. Evelyn blushed even more.
They sat there holding hands and talking about everything for what seemed like hours, although it couldn't have been more than one or two. They laughed together over descriptions of childhood antics and even though many of his stories mentioned Rafe, Evelyn found herself focusing more and more on Danny and his part in the adventures. He laughed when she told him about the time she'd gone swimming in a pond on the outskirts of town she was eight or nine.
"It was such a hot day," she began, "and there were five or six of us girls being silly." Evelyn smiled at the memory. "We knew our parents wouldn't approve but it was so hot and no one was around so we stripped to our underthings and jumped in. The water felt so good – cool and refreshing. We splashed and played like little hellions."
Danny chuckled at the image he was developing in his mind. He could never imagine Evelyn being a hellion or even any sort of rule breaker. She was so serious most of the time.
"What none of us knew – or noticed as it started happening – was that the pond was a popular spot for church picnics. We never heard the large group approaching the clearing where we had left our clothes. We were on the far side of the pond when we realized that not only were there lots of people, but that a minister was with them. And we were too scared to show ourselves so we stayed in the water, hiding where a large tree grew low over the surface and the crowd couldn't see us. We must have stayed in that water for over two hours." Evelyn smiled and Danny chuckled again.
"Good and waterlogged, huh?" he asked, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Yes, and cold too but that wasn't the worst of it," Evelyn said as she kept her eyes on the table and Danny's hands, not daring to look in his eyes. "One of the boys with group had found our clothes and took them to his mother. We could hear them calling around to see if anyone had left them but we were too scared and embarrassed to say anything. No one could really see us because that tree practically touched the water and hid us really well. Anyway, that mother gave the clothes to the minister's wife who packed them up and took them with the group when they left. I heard her saying something about clothing for the poor."
Evelyn was blushing crimson and Danny was really struggling not to laugh out loud.
"They all left and we finally realized we'd have to some out in our underthings and go home that way – probably almost a mile away – and this wasn't a small town. And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, on the way, we were met by the sheriff who has been alerted when we failed to turn up for lunch. He took us in his car but we had to march into the police station, still only in our underthings, where most of our parents were anxiously awaiting us."
Danny could no longer contain the laughter and Evelyn found herself laughing along with him.
"What did your parents say?" he asked.
"Mother was mortified and didn't say a word but it was the angriest I'd ever seen Father. I got five swats with his belt for making my mother worry so much."
"Five?" Danny blurted out, interrupting the story. "If that were me my daddy would have tanned my hide somethin' awful. Heck, Rafe's mama would have whipped both of us if it had been the two of us together. I know because she did on more than one occasion." He smiled at the thought.
"Oh, the five was just for making my mother worry. I got five more for losing my dress and ten for losing my shoes." She laughed. "I literally couldn't sit down for two days."
Danny let out a burst of laughter so loud that he earned a disapproving look from the middle aged woman behind the counter and from several other customers as well.
"Come on, I'll walk you home." He paid the bill and they left together still smiling over the silly stories. As they walked, Evelyn was surprised to find herself disappointed that they were heading back to the house she shared with the other nurses. As they neared the front walkway, Danny seemed to sense a change in her mood.
"What's wrong?" he asked, a frown crossing his features as he stopped at the walk leading to Evelyn's house.
"Nothing," she quickly replied, and then she blushed again, looking down because she was afraid of meeting Danny's eyes.
"No, not 'nothing.' It's something," Danny said as his frown deepened. He put his fingers under her chin and gently lifted it so he could see her face. "Come on; is it something I've done? What is it?"
"Well," Evelyn started hesitantly, looking once again into Danny's eyes that were growing steadily darker with concern. "I guess I'm just a little sad that today is ending so early. That's all."
"Oh, Evelyn," Danny gathered her in his arms, cupped her face gently and touched his lips to hers. "I didn't intend for this to be the end of today. I thought we'd go down to the beach for a while."
"Oh," she blushed again, looking down a bit.
"I thought you might want to change into a swimsuit or something first. I'll go get my car and we can drive there. Maybe we get lunch or get something to take with us," Danny said, his voice growing a little more uncertain with each word.
Evelyn thought for a moment. Then a smile began to spread across her face. Danny began to relax again, slowly letting out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"I'll pack a picnic lunch for us while you get the car." Evelyn leaned forward and kissed Danny quickly on the cheek, then turned and practically ran in the house.
Danny stood there for a moment, feeling almost stunned. He knew he'd fallen for her and that he'd fallen hard. His fingers briefly touched the spot where her lips had brushed his cheek and huge grin spread across his face. He turned to walk down the street and to his car. This was turning into an amazing day.