For those of you who have not read my previous stories they differ from the movie plot, with the exception of Aftermath and Trespasses. Danny and Evelyn never get involved, Evelyn does get pregnant but the baby is Rafe's and Danny does not die in China.

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It was their second Christmas since they had gotten married and this year Evelyn had two children. Danny had turned a year old in September, the day before his baby sister Sarah was born. Rafe had made it home on Christmas Eve the year before but it didn't look like he was going to make it this year. He'd been home for their second Thanksgiving but he and Danny had been sent out on a mission with the other pilots a couple of days later and Evelyn hadn't heard a word, from Rafe or anyone from Wheeler Field.

The last time he'd been away for so long was when Danny had been born and he'd missed it. He'd been determined that he would not miss the birth of their second child and had been allowed to stay off rotation for a longer period of time. She still had hope that he would make it home in time; he still had a couple of days.

She'd waited as long as she could before she'd finally gotten a tree. She'd wanted to wait until Rafe got home so they could decorate it together. Danny was still too young to help and she had put him in his playpen so he wouldn't get in the way. With so many fragile glass ornaments, it worried her that he could cut himself if he dropped one. He was such a curious child and now that he could walk on his own, without any help from Evelyn or Rafe, she had to be extra careful.

It really is a nice tree, Evelyn thought as she stood in front of it and could smell the fragrance from the pine boughs. The girls had promised that they would come over and help her decorate when they had gotten off their shifts at the hospital. So to help expedite matters, she had the lights untangled and the ornaments out of their boxes. Evelyn had always loved Christmas but with Rafe away from her and the children it wasn't as joyful a time as it would have been otherwise. Christmas was for family and her family wasn't complete without him there.

A knock on the front door brought Evelyn out of her reverie and she gave herself a mental shake before she went to answer it. As Barbara had said they would be she, Martha and Sandra were there.

As soon as Evelyn had closed the door behind them, Barbara hugged her. "How you doing sweetie?"

Evelyn hugged her back. "I'm fine Barbara, just missing my husband."

"That's understandable. Any word if he'll be home in time for Christmas?"

"I haven't heard anything from Rafe, which could be good or bad."

"I'm sure everything is all right Ev. You know what they say about no news being good news." Martha commented.

"I know. I'll just be glad when I see him walk through that front door." She told her friend.

Evelyn couldn't help but notice that Sandra was quieter than usual. She suspected that her friend missed Danny something awful, but couldn't say it. They had chosen to keep things quiet and Evelyn respected that decision and said nothing. What she did do when Barbara and Martha had gone into the kitchen to make cocktails, was to take Sandra's hand for a moment. "He's one of the best pilots in the Air Corps." She said quietly.

Sandra smiled at her. "Who's the other one?"

Evelyn smiled back at her. "Rafe, who else?" And they followed the other girls into the kitchen.

Danny had started to get fussy and Evelyn knew her son was ready for bed. So after she put him down, she joined the girls in the living room and they started to decorate the tree.

Bing Crosby was on the radio doing his annual Kraft Music Hall Christmas show and as he opened his program with "Adeste Fidelis", the girls sang along as Barbara helped Evelyn string the lights around the tree.

"The only thing missing is a fire in a fireplace." Martha observed as she and Sandra organized the ornaments. "We've been here for two years and I still can't get used to the balmy weather."

"You said it honey. Now while I do not miss the snowstorms and the blizzards, it just isn't Christmas without snow." Barbara threw in her two cents.

"Or hot cider." Sandra added.

"That sounds wonderful." Evelyn looked at Sandra and smiled. "I can't remember the last time I had hot cider."

"Or wanted it." Martha laughed. "Who can be in the mood for hot cider when it's not even cold outside?"

That got Sandra to smile, which did not go unnoticed. For Evelyn, the evening became more than to try and get through the holiday without her husband but to help Sandra get through it too. She'd never said anything to Evelyn but even to the most casual observer, Danny and Sandra were crazy about each other.

Rafe had told her that Danny was always too shy to ask a girl out when they were in school so he never socialized much. But in Sandra, he'd found a girl he felt he could be himself with and she didn't try to make him into someone that he wasn't. Danny had told him that words were not necessary because she seemed to understand what he wanted to say, sometimes before he tried to say it.

As she and Barbara finished with the lights, Martha and Sandra picked up the ornaments off of the coffee table and started to hang them on the tree. Evelyn picked up an ornament and as she hung it on the tree had a memory come to her about a Christmas not long ago.

She and the girls were still stationed in New York and she'd only known Rafe for a couple of weeks. Barbara was the only one who knew that Evelyn had been seeing him and had kept it to herself. He wasn't that far away, but she missed him.

"Hey Ev, where are you?" She heard Barbara ask her, her voice soft.

She smiled at her concerned friend. "I'm all right. I was just remembering a night like this when we were still in New York and Rafe and I had just started to see each other."

She grinned. "You don't know how hard it was to keep that a secret. The girls kept asking me what we were always talking about and I always had to come up with some sort of reason. It was a good thing you told them when you did because I was running out of things to tell them."

Evelyn laughed. "I don't know that I ever told you how much I appreciated you keeping it secret."

Barbara's grin got wider. "Kind of like a certain nurse and pilot we both know, don't you think?"

Evelyn became serious. "Sandra and Danny are a different story. They're two very different people and they don't want to talk about this, to anyone."

"I can see Sandra not talking to any of us, but are you telling me that Danny hasn't said anything about this to Rafe? They're best friends after all."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Rafe says he doesn't want to talk about it and he hasn't pressed the issue."

"So you're saying we shouldn't either?"

"Barbara, Sandra doesn't have to tell us anything if she doesn't want to, even though you want her to."

She looked absolutely exasperated. "For crying out loud Ev, this is ridiculous!"

Evelyn glanced toward the kitchen where she'd seen Martha and Sandra go a moment before and she frowned. "Barbara it's none of our business, Sandra will tell us if she wants to so let it go."

She sighed. "I'm being an awful pest about this and I know I am."

"Yes you are." She told her friend with a smile. "Just give them time, just like you gave me."

"When you put it that way I'll leave it alone."

"Thank you."

Barbara grinned. "For now."

Evelyn shook her head and smiled back. "Oh, Barbara." And she tucked her arm through her friend's. "Now that the tree had been decorated, what about those Manhattan's you promised to make us?"

And they headed into the kitchen.