-Pearl Harbor: Every Love Story Has A Beginning-

Chapter 1

Disclaimer** I don't own anything about Pearl Harbor etc.Some lines are taken from the movie, but it is an original story

"Oh I'm so jealous." Betty was leaned over across the isle toward Evelyn on the train, as she and her fellow nurses listened to Evelyn tell them about Rafe.

"That's the most romantic story I've ever heard!" Sandra dreamily sighed. Her chocolate brown curls bounced as she leaned against the back of her seat. "I wish I were in love."

"Its been the most romantic three months and two days of my life." Evelyn grinned, blushing as she thought about Rafe.

Evelyn was the first off the train. Sandra followed close behind, giggling and smiling with the other U.S. Navy Nurses.

Evelyn came to a stop in front of Rafe. They smiled, exchanging loving pleasantries. He pulled a single red rose from behind his back and kissed her gently. He picked her up and twirled her around. When he put her down, Evelyn turned toward her friends. "Rafe, I want you to meet my friends. This is Martha, Barbara, Betty, and Sandra." They all smiled at him, secretly wishing that they were Evelyn right that moment. Sandra looked past the sweet couple and looked at the group of U.S. Army Pilots. They were all like drooling dogs, except one. She met eyes with the tall, muscular flyer, who later she would learn was Danny. She blushed and looked away. "So y'all ready to go dancing?" Rafe said with such enthusiasm, that even Danny smiled.

In the smoky swing club, the music was loud, and people were dancing like there would be no tomorrow. Evelyn and Rafe sat at a table surrounded by their friends, drinking and laughing. Sandra got up and walked over to the bar to get herself a drink. Two of Rafe's pilot friends and Barbara were already over there. Billy was obviously hitting on Barbara, who was just eating it up. Anthony, the dark haired cocky pilot eyed Sandra like she was a piece of meat. She turned towards the dance floor, leaning against the bar as she waited for her drink. Anthony took this as a perfect opportunity. He streaked his hands through his slicked hair and turned to her, taking her hand in his, catching her off guard. "I just wanted to let you know, that if I get injured in this war, that it does my heart good to know that some one as sweet as you will be there to nurse me back to health." Sandra raised an eyebrow, as he was leaning to kiss her hand she snapped it out of his hand. "Well, we are not IN the war YET." She turned away from him and got her drink. "Ok, that was a bad line." Anthony said, trying to redeem some of his pride. Sandra shook her head and walked toward the table, with a slight grin on her face. As she came up to the table, she saw that Danny was sitting alone. She smiled and sat across from him. "Hello." She blushed, taking an instant liking to him. He looked up and nodded at her "Hi." He smiled at her, but was too shy to speak to her. Sandra looked at him, and smiled, sensing that he was shy. No one else was around, so she decided to be bold and take the opportunity to talk with him. "So, um, you're a friend of Rafe's?" Danny looked up at her, shocked that she was actually talking to him. He smiled. "Yup, he has been my best friend since we were little. You're a friend of Evelyn's I guess?" Sandra nodded. She could barely hear him over the sound of the music. She slid over to sit next to him. "So, a pilot huh? Wow. That sure must be some thrill. I don't think that I could ever do something like that." Danny grinned, the talk of flying made him more sure of himself. "Sure am! Its not so bad once you are up there. Its so freeing. Its like you can leave everything wrong in the world and fly where you're heart and soul connect." Sandra gazed at him for a moment and smiled. "You're a poet." Danny half blushed. "Well, I don't tell the fellas, cause it might give me a 'sissy' reputation." Sandra laughed and Danny joined in.

"Is Sandra actually laughing?" Evelyn peeked over Rafe's shoulder, from where they were slow dancing on the dance floor. Rafe turned his head to look. He grinned. "Well I'll be! Danny looks like he is actually enjoying himself!" Rafe turned back to Evelyn and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. He leaned his forehead against hers. "So Rafe, I hear that they are shipping us out to Pearl Harbor." "That'll be nice. You can go to the beach, get a nice suntan." Evelyn smiled. "Do you think maybe they'll ship you're squadron out there too?" Rafe just looked at her, he looked down, unable to meet her eyes anymore. "Rafe? What's wrong?" "Evelyn.there is something I need to tell you.but not here." Evelyn looked at him, a wave of fear ripped through her as she followed him to the coat room and out the door.

"So that is how I came to be in the Navy." Sandra traced the rim of her glass with her finger and looked up at Danny. Danny smiled at her, but his thoughts kept turning back to Rafe, and the danger he would be in. Sandra tilted her head to the side and looked at him. "Danny? Are you all right?" Danny looked at her, he was tempted to just smile and say 'yea I'm fine', but there was something about Sandra that made him unable to lie to her, something about her he trusted. "No.I'm not." He ran his fingers through his hair and heaved a sigh. Sandra gently put her hand on his arm. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk?" She gave him a compassionate smile. Danny smiled. "Yea, I would really like that Sandra." He stood up and extended his hand to her. She took his hand and stood up, and they walked out of the club.

Rafe sat outside of the hotel on a bench next to Evelyn, holding her hands in his. Tears streamed down her face. "How can they order you to go?" She desperately tried to make sense of what Rafe had told her, that he was leaving the next morning to go with the Eagle Squadron, and into the war in Europe. "They didn't order me, I.I volunteered." Rafe looked down, unable to see the pain in her eyes anymore. "But.But I passed you! I let you through! And now you volunteer for the most dangerous place you could go?!" She dropped his hands and stood up, unable to look at him anymore. She turned away from him and folded her arms around herself. Rafe looked down, tears welling in his eyes. He stood and walked up behind Evelyn, and wrapped his arms around her, her back still facing him. "Evelyn, all I have ever wanted was to be a fighter pilot. Nothing else seemed to matter.then I met you." He let go of her and turned her to face him, he held her hands in his. "I love you Evelyn. I didn't plan on falling in love with you.but life doesn't care what you plan. You are the best thing that has ever come into my life. I love you so much." Evelyn smiled through her tears. "I love you too Rafe." They kissed, unwilling to let each other go. Rafe kissed her forehead and started to lead her through the doors of the hotel. As they were walking through the doors, Rafe stopped and led her outside again. Evelyn looked up at him with a puzzled look. "Evelyn, I can't do this. I mean, I want to, but I love you so much, and I don't want to do anything that you would ever regret." Evelyn looked up at him, she had such a love for him, and how much he wanted to respect her. "You couldn't ruin it Rafe. If I had one more night to live.I'd want to spend it with you." A tear rolled down his face. He didn't dare tell her, but there was a twinge of fear that he might never see her again. Evelyn didn't want to leave him. "When does your train leave?" "10:30 in the morning." Evelyn mentally calculated how many hours they had left together. "Rafe, just stay with me, please. I don't want to lose one minute that I have with you." Rafe smiled at her. "I'll stay with you Evelyn." He took her arm and they walked into the hotel.

Danny shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he and Sandra strolled through Central Park. Sandra folded her arms across her chest and walked beside him. "So, Rafe and I are more like brothers than best friends. My father died when I was still young, so Rafe's Parents took me in and raised me, since my mother had died when I was only three." He smiled and let out a breath. "Y'know, its funny. I still remember some things about her. Mostly her blue eyes and her smile. There was this one song that she would sing to me, it half inspired me to go into service for our country. She would always sing 'America the Beautiful' to me before I went to sleep." He glanced over at her and blushed, amazed that he had told her so much about himself. Sandra smiled. "Wow. That is quite a life. I grew up in West Virginia, the middle child of three girls. My mother died giving birth to my little sister Victoria. I was just five. I never understood until I was older why she had died, why God had taken her from our family. I just made myself understand why, that God must have needed her more than we did." She half smiled, and wrapped her arms tighter around herself, feeling a gust of cold autumn wind. Danny smiled and timidly put his arm around her, to keep her warm. She smiled. "Thank you." He grinned. "Y'know, we have a lot in common. I have never spoken this freely with anyone but Rafe." Sandra smiled at him. "I feel the same." They stood there for a minute. 'Um, I guess I better get you back to the hotel." Danny said, breaking the silence. "Yea, it is getting kinda late."

Danny walked with his arm around Sandra until they reached the hotel. They talked until they got to Sandra's room door. "Thank you Sandra, for listening to me. I had a really nice time with you." Sandra smiled at him. 'I had a wonderful time with you too. And Danny? Don't worry about Rafe. From what Evelyn has told me, he is a fighter. He can make it through anything." Danny smiled and he self consciously stuck his hands in his pockets. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Night." He walked quickly to the elevator, afraid to look back, that Sandra may not have liked that he kissed her on the cheek. He made his way up to his room for the night. Sandra smiled and raised her hand to her cheek. She turned and walked into her room, biting her lower lip. Danny was perhaps the sweetest guy she had ever met. She passed Betty, who was already asleep on her bed. She changed into her night gown and climbed into her bed. She fell asleep smiling, thinking of Danny. Up in his room, Danny lay on his bed, thinking of the evening he had spent with Sandra. He looked at his clock, it was well past two in the morning, he would have to get up shortly to go to the train station with Rafe. He shut his eyes and soon fell asleep.

Rafe held Evelyn close, dancing with her to the slow beat of a Cole Porter song. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair mixed with her perfume. He wanted to freeze time, to make this night last forever. He glanced at the clock.3:15am. Evelyn had her head rested on Rafe's chest, half awake, but too afraid to go to sleep, to lose one second with Rafe. "Rafe? I want to give you something." She reluctantly pulled her arms from around him and fumbled with the chain around her neck. She unhooked the lock and pulled it from her neck. She reached out for Rafe's hand and let the chain with a small locket on the end fall delicately into his hand. "This was my mother's. It means a lot to me. I want you to take it, so I will always be near your heart." She undid the latch on the locket, to reveal a picture of her mother, and on the other side, of her. Rafe looked up at her and smiled, loving her even more. "Thank you Evelyn. I will wear it at all times." He latched it around his neck. He didn't care if the guys thought it looked girly. It was from Evelyn, and he intended to wear it. He gently kissed her. He took in a deep breath, hardly believing what he was about to do.

"I have something for you too." He reached for the small gold ring on his pinky finger and with some effort, pulled it off. He slipped it onto Evelyn's ring finger, it fit almost perfectly, since it was so small even on his pinky finger. Evelyn looked up from the ring to his eyes. "When I come back Evelyn, I will buy you a real ring. I would love nothing more.that.that when I come back, for you to be my wife. I love you so much." Evelyn smiled as a tear ran down her cheek. She covered her mouth with her hand, hardly believing what Rafe had just asked. "Yes Rafe." She kissed him. "Yes!" She rejoiced again, wrapping her arms around his neck. Rafe smiled. They spent the rest of the night, until well after dawn wrapped up in each other's arms.