Author's note: I'm terribly sorry for the long delay! ^^"

Chapter 4

Hand in hand, Rafe and Evelyn walked down the brightly lit street in amicable silence, content with enjoying each other's company. Despite the late hour, many restaurants and pubs were still crowded with people, with laughter and music drifting onto the street from the open windows. It was a scene of peace and happiness, and for a while, Evelyn could convince herself that the world was not at war.

Two little children ran onto the street in front of them, giggling as they chased after a small red ball, which just kept rolling away from their short, chubby fingers. Their flustered mother hurried after them. "Be careful of the cars…" The kids just kept running. She threw a frustrated look at the man strolling behind her, presumably her husband, but he just shrugged at her and grinned. Obviously he was not going to go running after the children. Rolling her eyes, she resumed her chase of her kids, who had disappeared around the corner. "Alex, James, come back here!"

Rafe chuckled as he looked sideways at Evelyn. "You know, in a few years' time, that could be us."

Evelyn smiled in amusement. "I can imagine you doing just that. Enjoying yourself, while leaving the kids to me." She tried to look stern as she met his eyes. "Don't you even dream about getting away with that."

Rafe laughed as he wrapped his arm round her waist and pulled her closer towards him. "I wouldn't bear leaving all the hard work to you." He winked at her. "I'll do the running, and you can watch."

Evelyn shook her head. "Then I believe I would end up losing both my husband and my children."

Rafe heaved an exaggerated sigh. "You know me too well, my dear. It's not fun anymore."

"You can still reconsider, we're not married yet." Evelyn shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not a chance."

Evelyn smiled, laying her head on Rafe's shoulder as she wrapped her arm around his waist. "I know I might regret this afterwards, but right now, running after our kids doesn't seem like such a bad idea."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Fine, I take it back."

"Too late."

"I thought someone said he wouldn't bear leaving all the hard work to me?"

"I believe someone rejected my offer to run after the kids for her."

Evelyn laughed, then tiptoed slightly to peck him on the cheek. "Fine. Whatever you say."

Rafe grinned, then bent down to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "I knew I picked a fine lady." His eyes shone as he looked lovingly at her. "Even now, I still can't believe how lucky I am."

He had a best friend who was closer than a brother to him. The most beautiful woman in the world just said yes to his proposal. He had escaped death not once, but twice, although the second time had nearly cost him Danny's life…

His deep brown eyes darkened slightly at the thought of what had almost happened a year ago, and he shuddered slightly. Evelyn sensed the change in his mood, and reached down to interlock her fingers tightly with his. "I'm the one who's lucky." She whispered. "Thank you, for coming back."

Rafe would never understand how she felt each time she stood at the sidelines, watching the plane land with her heart in her throat, craning her neck to see if her boys stepped off that plane…

Each time he came back, she felt so grateful and relieved, only to have to send him off again a couple of days later…

"Hey," Rafe murmured softly as he drew her into a deep embrace. Deep down, he felt somewhat useless that there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. Well, he could resign from the army and set her mind at ease, but it would be going against his sense of duty, and he knew she wouldn't want that from him.

He couldn't leave the army now, not when there was still so much to do…

Still, it made him feel better to think that she had said yes to his proposal.

If he had to die on this next mission, he would die a happy man.

As if she could sense his thoughts, Evelyn's head shot up as she glared fiercely at him.

You promised me a lifetime, Rafe. Don't you forget that.

The unspoken words hung like a cloud between them. Rafe couldn't bear the look of sadness and resignation in Evelyn's eyes. He knew what she was thinking, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Its ok, Ev." He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes as he inhaled the familiar scent of shampoo. They were together now, that's all that mattered.

They stayed that way for a while, then Evelyn pushed him away slightly as she turned her head in embarrassment. "We're in the middle of the street, for goodness sake."

Rafe raised his eyebrows. "You just realised?"

He watched in amusement as her cheeks flushed spectacularly. "I see, you just realised." He chuckled, then waved to some people throwing curious glances their way as they walked past. "She just agreed to marry me." He called out joyfully towards them, then grinned as the tips of Evelyn's ears turned red.

Curiosity gave way to looks of realisation as the people smiled and nodded their heads at the newly-engaged couple. A couple even gave Rafe a knowing wink and a thumbs up as they walked past.

Somewhat flustered, Evelyn slapped Rafe lightly on the shoulder. "Why did you do that for?"

"I'm letting everyone know how lucky I am." Rafe grinned as he hooked his arm through hers and resumed their little stroll down the street. "What did we come out here for again?"

"Supper?"

"Ah right! Can't believe I got distracted by those kids and forgot about my supper…" Rafe grumbled half-heartedly, then looked over at Evelyn eagerly. "That bakery down the road makes the best cakes ever. You haven't tried them, have you?"

"Are you sure the bakery is still open at this hour?" Evelyn laughed as she followed him down the street, casting those dark thoughts deep into the corners of her brain. She had plenty of time to stew over them when Rafe's gone on his mission. For the short period of time she had with him, she wanted to make sure he was happy.

"While we're on the topic of kids," Evelyn smiled as she looked up at him. "If we have a son, what would you call him?"

Rafe was silent for a while, then said quietly. "Danny."

"Danny…" Evelyn repeated, her eyes softening at the thought of the quiet, charming young man whom she owed everything she had now. "It's a good name. I like it."

That night, after saying goodbye to Rafe, Evelyn made her way up to her room, smiling happily to herself as she thought of the romantic supper they just had.

Well, it wasn't much actually. They just sat by the beach with a random assortment of cake, fries and melted cheese, and Rafe managed to get her to laugh and laugh and laugh…

It still made her heart warm all over to think that they were now engaged.

Evelyn opened the door to her room, then blinked in surprise when she saw Gabby still sitting up in bed. She had thought Gabby would be asleep by now. Amused, she watched as Gabby sat hunched over a small notebook, writing something down furiously. "What're you doing?"

Jumping in surprise, Gabby's head jerked up, then she grinned sheepishly at Evelyn. "You're back? Sorry, I didn't even realise…"

"You're busy, I can tell." Evelyn smiled as she went over and sat down beside Gabby on her makeshift bed. "What's it about? You seem excited."

"I'm going back to the army." Gabby's eyes shone with enthusiasm as she looked at Evelyn. Evelyn frowned at those words. She hadn't expected that answer. "How?" Surely she couldn't be thinking of passing off as a guy again…

Gabby shook her head as she laughed. "Not as a man, obviously. I'd get skinned by Doolittle if he sees me. No, this time, I'm going as me, and I'm going to make me a pilot. Imagine that," Her eyes took on a dreamy look as she sighed. "My very own dogtag, with my name on it. It's just…perfect."

"Woah, hold on a second." Evelyn's frown deepened. It wasn't that she didn't understand Gabby's love for flying, but she wasn't really following Gabby's train of thought here. "Since when are women allowed to be pilots in the army? I thought they weren't, which was why you had to pretend to be a guy for all those years, wasn't it?"

Gabby quickly explained the roles of the new female pilot squadron. "There wouldn't be any combat missions, so I still won't get to be with Danny. Still, I'd be able to fly a proper plane again, and I've been wanting to do that for ages! Not that there's anything wrong with Rafe's old crop-duster, but its just…boring, after a while."

If Danny was there to fly the crop-duster with her, that would be another matter. But she'd already spent a year in Rafe's old farmhouse by herself, and flying that old crop-duster wasn't half as fun as flight training in the army used to be.

"So you're just going to help them get the planes where they need it?"

"Yeah, like between airfields, factories…it used to be done by male pilots, but the army needs more people to join in the fighting, so they want to free up the male pilots to do that."

"Even though your missions aren't combat missions, these airfields you are flying to could still be in combat zones?"

Gabby hesitated. "Yeah, I suppose." She hadn't really thought of that…

Evelyn sighed. "Does Danny know about this?"

Gabby nodded. "I told him."

"And he agreed?" Evelyn raised her eyebrows incredulously.

Gabby shrugged somewhat sheepishly. "Only because there wouldn't be any combat missions." His reaction would likely be very different if he realised her "non-combat" missions involved flying through combat zones. Glancing over at Evelyn's worried face, Gabby smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

Evelyn shook her head in resignation. "Why you people keep throwing yourselves into war I'll never understand…" Rafe's like that, Danny's like that, and now Gabby…

Taking Gabby's hand in hers, she grasped it firmly. "But its your decision, and I'll respect it. Take care of yourself, alright?"

Gabby smiled and nodded. "I will."

"You haven't told me what this has got to do with you going back into the army." Evelyn pointed at the small notebook in Gabby's hand.

"Ah, this? Its my shopping list. There are a few things I should get ready before signing myself up. I'm going to buy new pairs of shorts, socks, toothpaste…you won't believe just how quickly these things run out in the army. My socks always disappear for some strange reason…"

Evelyn smiled vaguely as Gabby chatted enthusiastically about her plans, but she couldn't bring herself to share in Gabby's obvious joy. Why couldn't the people she cared about keep themselves safe?

A sense of loneliness edged its way into her heart, dampening her good mood. Because Rafe had proposed, it was supposed to be the happiest night in her life, but that happiness is being tainted by all these goodbyes she was going to have to say in the very near future. Both Rafe and Danny would be going away in two weeks, and she had no idea when she would be able to see them again. And now, Gabby was going away too. For the past year, she had Gabby to share her anxiety and worry with, but two weeks from now, she would be on her own again. This time with one more person to worry about.

Evelyn heaved a silent sigh, rubbing her temples. Well, she should have gotten used to it by now, isn't it?

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