Evelyn was still working at the hospital, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she would have to stop. She was still barely able to camouflage her pregnancy but she also knew that as soon as the Navy found out, she would have to resign her commission. And without her job and the Navy, what would she do?

She could go home to Philadelphia. She'd written to her parents explaining the situation and the reply she got back was of deep disappointment in their daughter, but she also received unqualified support from them. If she wanted to come home they'd told her, they would figure something out.

Rafe had been home for two weeks and she hadn't seen him since they'd talked that night. Evelyn figured he didn't want to have anything to do with her because of what had happened between her and Danny. She couldn't blame him if he never spoke to her again.

Something Rafe had asked her kept running through her mind. He'd asked her if the baby had been his, would she have told him? She hated herself for even thinking it, but she would have a lot happier if the baby had been his. And she would have told him, just as she should have told Danny.

Well Evelyn, you can't look back. She chided herself as she got ready to leave for the day. Her feet hurt and her back ached and she just wanted to sit down and put her feet up. What bothered her the most, though, was that she wished she were happier about this. She was bringing a new life into the world and as much as she wished she and Rafe had created it, it was life.

She sighed as she ran a hand across her forehead, wishing she knew what she was going to do.

Rafe didn't know why he'd let Red and Gooz talk him into coming.

The last time he'd been at the Hula-La, he'd gotten drunk on shots of Jack Daniels and had punched his best friend. It had been a hell of a shock finding out about him and Evelyn and once that shock had worn off, he was very hurt and really angry. The sense of betrayal from the two people who had meant more to him than anything was overwhelming and all he wanted to do was make that feeling go away.

Danny showing up didn't help matters because he was the last person Rafe wanted to see. And then he tried to explain things and that just made it worse. He didn't want explanations, he wanted the son of a bitch to go away and let him drown his sorrows. But Danny wouldn't leave him alone and kept trying to tell Rafe that they hadn't betrayed him, they thought he had died. As he kept talking, Rafe got the sudden feeling that Danny was making him responsible for what had happened and that was when he blew his stack.

He ran a hand through his hair and had to stop the tears he felt coming. They had, as the Colonel had said, mended their fences and that was something that Rafe would always be grateful for. But it didn't change the fact that he had come back and Danny hadn't.

He sighed and took another sip of his club soda. He couldn't stomach alcohol these days because it was too painful a reminder that he'd struck his best friend. It didn't matter that they had made their peace, he had hit Danny in anger and that was something he would never get over.

"Rafe, you all right?" Red's concerned voice broke through his sadness and he took a swipe at his damp cheeks.

"Yea." Was all he said.

"I should have thought better than to ask you to come here. I wasn't thinking." He apologized.

"It's all right Red. It's just goin' to take some time."

"You've got a few people worried about you." Gooz told him.

"Daddy called again?"

"He's really worried Rafe. You haven't talked to him or to your mother since we got back from Tennessee and they really want to hear from you." Red said.

"I know."

"And what about Evelyn?" Gooz asked. "Walker asked you to be that kids father and you haven't done a thing to make it happen."

"I know." He said again.

"Come on McCawley, what are you going to do?"

Evelyn had changed into a loose fitting dress and had driven her car to the beach. It was a place she had always gone to feel close to Rafe even though the warmth of the sun had been a sore substitute for the feeling of his arms around her. She'd brought her journal that held the paper crane Rafe had made for her. It was where she had recorded all of her thoughts and dreams when she had met Rafe and her grief when she thought he had died. It also held her thoughts about her relationship with Danny. She had also found all of Rafe's letters and sat on a blanket that she'd laid on the sand and read them again. It didn't matter that she knew every one of them by heart.

She had made such a mess of things and wondered if they would ever find their way back to each other, or if she even had the right to want it.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the letter she'd been holding had been caught by the breeze and had blown down the beach. It wasn't until she felt a chill that she looked up and saw Rafe standing there, blocking the sun and holding the letter in his hand. "You kept them." He seemed surprised.

"Of course. It never occurred to me to get rid of them."

He sighed. "I burned all of yours. It wasn't right that I keep them when we weren't together anymore."

"Are you all right Rafe?" She asked him because he looked so tired.

"I don't know how I feel Evelyn." He admitted.

"Rafe, could you sit down please? I'm getting a kink in my neck looking up at you."

"Oh, I'm sorry." And he sat down, as far away from her as he could without sitting on the sand and he handed the letter back to her

"Thank you."

"How are you feelin'?"

"I'm doing all right. The baby gets really active sometimes and kicks like crazy."

Rafe's gaze moved down to her rounded form and wanted so much to feel what she felt. But it wasn't his place.

She saw him look and she flushed. If this had been his child she would have had no qualms about taking his hand and laying it where the baby had just kicked her. She wanted so much for him to be a part of this and not because he was Danny's friend but because she loved him.

"You still workin' at the hospital?"

She sighed. "For the time being. It's just a matter of time before I can't hide this anymore and then I'll have to resign my commission."

"Then what are you goin' to do?"

"I wish I knew. My parents have told me I can come home if I want and they'll help me." She told him as she put a gentle hand over the baby who had decided to really kick its mother.

"They know?"

"I had to tell them Rafe. They had a right to know they were going to be grandparents." And Danny had a right to know he was going to be a father. She couldn't help but think.

This he hadn't expected. "You'd leave?"

She looked at him. "What else can I do? I'm not married and I'm going to have a baby."

She needs a husband. Rafe said to himself and sighed. He knew that but couldn't bring himself to ask. It wasn't because he didn't love her, but something about it felt so wrong. He wanted to marry her, but it couldn't be just about the baby. It had to be because she loved him and he wasn't sure about that anymore.

Something had to be done though, because once Evelyn couldn't hide her pregnancy anymore she'd be out of the Navy and on her own.

"Would you really go home?"

"It may be my only option."

He sighed and stood up. "It's gettin' cool out here, so why don't we get you home."

She wanted to tell him she didn't need to be treated like a child but resisted the urge. So she nodded before she put her journal and the letters back in her bag and gave a hand to Rafe to help her up. After he'd helped her to her feet, he picked up the blanket and shook the sand out of it before he folded it and handed it to Evelyn.

"I can see why you like to come here, it's a nice spot." He commented as he walked her back to her car. He helped her in and closed the door once she had gotten settled. He took a deep breath before he asked, "Would you like to have dinner with me Saturday night? Or maybe go to the movies?"

"Dinner would be nice."

He nodded his acknowledgement. "Six o'clock all right?"

"I'll be ready." And she gave him a small wave before she drove away.

Rafe stood there and watched her go. If he was going to propose to her, she deserved a proper courtship before he did. They couldn't pick up where they'd left off in New York, but maybe they could start something better.

At least he hoped they could.