April 4, 2002- I seem to have caused some confusion with readers not familiar with my stories. I did not follow the movie plotline in three respects because I did not like what happened. In my stories 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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Oh my gosh. Evelyn thought as she looked at her pale reflection in the bathroom mirror. She hadn't been feeling well for the last few days and thought it might have been a touch of the flu. But after having two children and being a nurse she knew what was probably happening, she was having another baby and she sighed. Oh my gosh.

She wracked her brain trying to think of when it could have happened. Rafe had been gone for the last six weeks and they hadn't been together since.. since after they'd spent the day together at the beach. Oh my gosh.

After Sarah had been born, they both felt their family was complete and didn't consider she would get pregnant again. It was wishful thinking she knew, but they both should have known better.

How would she tell him when she didn't know how she felt about it herself? She loved her children with all of her heart, but they were a handful. Danny was walking now without any help from her or Rafe and Sarah was trying to roll over. She was three months old and Evelyn was constantly on the run, trying to keep up with her son. How would she manage when she was eight months pregnant, Sarah crawling and Danny running around?

She sighed again and left the bathroom to go down to the bedroom. It was her quiet day, when the nurses took the kids and gave her a break. She was grateful they were willing to give up one of their days off to baby sit and she always took advantage of the time to herself. The new baby would change that.

Her stomach settled as she laid down on the bed but her mind was racing, three children. How would she manage with Rafe gone so much?

But a part of her was happy because she was having Rafe's child. His third child.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Barbara gently shaking her roused her from her slumber. "Hey Ev, are you all right? We've been calling you and you haven't been answering the phone."

Evelyn looked at her, sat up and sighed. "Barbara, I think I'm pregnant."

She looked a little surprised at that piece of news. "Have you been to the doctor yet to be sure?" Barbara asked her.

"I don't need a doctor to tell me what I already know. I've been through this before and I know the signs."

Barbara sat down next to her and took her hand. "Just yesterday you thought it might be the flu. Are you sure it's a baby?"

"I guess I won't really know for sure until I go see the doctor." She stated.

"Since the girls have the kids, let's go over to the hospital and find out." Barbara suggested.

Evelyn nodded her agreement and got off the bed.

Neither of them said much on the way to the hospital. As she drove, Barbara glanced over at Evelyn and noticed how quiet she was. Her reaction to her possibly having another baby was different than it had been when she'd found out about Sarah.

She really couldn't blame her friend. Two small children and her husband was always gone. When he was home, Rafe was as helpful as could be. He was different than most of the husbands she'd seen with their wives and Evelyn was a very lucky woman. But she was alone so much and Barbara and the other nurses helped as much as they could, but they had their own lives too.

Not that any of them were seeing anyone exclusively, except Sandra. And Danny was gone as much as Rafe.

When Barbara pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, she turned off the engine and looked at Evelyn. "Are you ready for this kiddo?"

Evelyn put her hand on her tummy and sighed. "Danny was so unexpected. But I always knew if something had happened to Rafe during that mission I would have always had a part of him with me. We tried for Sarah and I was a little surprised we conceived her as quickly as we did. And now this..." And she ran a hand across her slender form.

"If you are going to have another baby, the one thing you have to remember is that every one of those kids was a result of the love you and Rafe have for each other." Barbara was very serious.

Evelyn smiled because she remembered a conversation much like this one she had had with Rafe while she was pregnant with Danny. "Two of our children were conceived because we weren't careful." And for the first time she laughed.

"Come on, Ev. Let's go find out before you decide what color to paint the baby's room." She got out of the car and walked toward the hospital with Evelyn right behind her.

A few hours later, Evelyn and Barbara were back in Evelyn's kitchen and were having a cup of coffee. Evelyn was told the results wouldn't be back for a couple of days, so she might as well go home and wait for the hospital to call. As they sat together Barbara promised to let her know by the next day if she could. "Thanks Barbara, I appreciate that."

"You're still not sure how you feel are you?"

"It sounds odd, but I never minded being pregnant through most of either one. It was the last month that was always the hardest and when I felt the ugliest. But that was when Rafe would always make me feel the most beautiful."

"That's because he loves you. And it was probably when you were the most beautiful to him."

"I love him so much."

"Let's just wait and see, Ev. Until you know for certain, there's nothing you can do."

Evelyn smiled at that. "It's like waiting for Rafe to come home from a mission, there's nothing I can do until I see him walking through the front door."

"Are you worried he might not be happy about this?"

She shook her head. "That never crossed my mind. I think he would be concerned about another baby with him being gone so much. But I know he'd be happy about it."

"Either way, you know we'll be here to help."

"I know that." She looked at her watch. "The kids should be back any time."

"Why not let us keep them overnight? Take the rest of the night for yourself to relax and get used to the idea of maybe being a mother again." Barbara suggested.

"I couldn't let you do that."

"Why not? We would love to have them and we're not working tomorrow."

"They're a handful." Was all she said.

"Ev there are three of us, we can handle it." She insisted.

Evelyn's first reaction was to say no, but Barbara was offering her time to herself so she nodded. "I'll pack an overnight bag for Danny and give you his favorite stuffed animal. As for Sarah, I'll do the best I can." And she smiled.

After Barbara left, the house was quiet and as much as Evelyn enjoyed these rare times to herself, she had to admit she missed the sounds of Danny's small feet running down the hallway and the sounds that Sarah made when she would give her a bath.

Evelyn went into the living room and turned on the radio. Bob Hope was on with his usual round up of characters, which included Jerry Colonna, who could always make Rafe laugh with his goofiness. Bob was no slouch in that department either. She curled up on the sofa to listen and smile as she thought about how much her husband would enjoy the program.

"How is ol' Ski Nose?" She heard the familiar drawl from the front doorway.

She looked toward the front door and saw her husband leaning against the doorjamb. His cap was tilted at that angle that always made her heart stop and he held his travel bag. She got up from the sofa, walked toward the door and no sooner had Rafe dropped his bag, Evelyn was in his arms. Thank God he was home.

He loosened his hold on her, but did not let her go. He looked around the living room and saw they were alone. "Where are the kids?"

Evelyn still had her arms around his neck. "They're with the girls. Barbara said they'd keep them for the night."

"So we're all alone." He grinned at her.

"We are."

"So we can actually listen to the radio and not have Danny wantin' somethin' every five minutes."

"We can."

With that, Rafe gently pulled Evelyn's arms from around his neck. He took her hand and pulled her toward the sofa and after he sat down, she curled up next to him and they listened to Bob Hope.