Chapter 2
The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the fields. The wheat waved slightly in the cooling breeze, it's rustling adding to the music of crickets and bullfrogs hidden in the weeds of the old swimming pond. Fireflies began flickering, their fairy lights enhancing the magical feel of the evening.
Danny stopped at the crest of the small hill that overlooked the swimming pond, pulling Kate into his arms. Kate was was content to rest there, her head aginst his chest, listening to his stong, steady heartbeat as she watched the sky slowly change color.
"It's beautiful," she whipsered.
Danny leaned down to press a kiss against her head, his cheek resting on top of her head. "Yes, it is," he agreed. He chuckled softly. "Though everything seems smaller than I remember."
"You were just a kid when you left," Kate pointed out, giving him a good natured squeeze.
"I wasn't that young," he protested. "I was......18. God," he shook his head in disbelief. "That was ten years ago!"
"Hmmmm," Kate murmured. "You've been through a lot in eight years. Seen a lot, done a lot. That will definitely change your perspective of home."
"Yeah, I guess," Danny agreed. "Did it change yours?" he asked.
"My perspective of home?" Kate asked. Danny nodded. "I guess. Being in China, and especially being with you, made me realize how...cold and superficial everything in my life was." She looked up at him, her eyes glowing with love. "Sometimes I feel like I never really lived until I met you. That I was just waiting for you to come along and....love me."
Danny smiled down at her, his hand carressing her cheek. "I know exactly how you feel," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met softly at first, barely more than the mingling of breath, but as Kate's hands stretched up his chest and tangled in his hair, Danny deepened the kiss with a small groan. Kate raised up onto her toes, pressing her body more intimately against his, feeling his response in the hardening of his body. A small purr of satisfaction from Kate caused Danny to pull her even more tightly against him, his mouth slanting feverently over hers; lips tugging, tongues softly carressing. Hands tangling in her hair, Danny made love to Kate with his mouth, amazed at the pasion she could ignite in him so easily.
Pulling away slowly, Danny smiled at how labored their breathing had become. He rested his forehead against Kate's, kissing her nose gently. "I love you so much," he told her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms.
"It's a good thing, too," Kate grinned at him. "You did marry me today."
Danny smiled a rare full fledged smile, taking Kate's breath away. "Lucky me."
Kate moved to kiss him again, but he moved away after a moment, holding her close instead.
"Unless you want to end up making love right here in the grass..." he trailed off, laughing as she seriously contemplated the idea. "No," he told her, kissing quickly. Seeing her crestfallen expression he grinned. "Not that I'm adverse to the idea. Just not on our wedding night."
Kate pretended to pout, doing a fair imitation of Grace. "What does it matter, you've already had your cake..."
Danny laughed lightly and Kate smiled. "I'm sorry about that," he told her. "Reverend Thomas was always a bit of an ass."
"Really?" Kate asked in mock surprise. "I thought all wedding ceremonies included lectures on premarital relations."
"Yeah, I know, it was a bit much," Danny frowned. "I wanted Reverend O'Hara, he was a friend of Rafe's dad, but he was out of town."
Kate smiled. "Don't worry about it, Danny," she told him. "Everything was perfect." A sly grin spread accross her face. "I thought it was highly entertaining how red his face turned when he found out that Sam was ours."
Danny laughed, shaking his head. "You have a devilish streak in you, despite your angelic little face," he told her. "I thought he was going to have a stroke right there."
Kate had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Well, he was being so self righteous and condescending!" she defended herself. "He doesn't know anything about us or our history. I just wanted to annoy him."
"I noticed."
"Well, at least he didn't stay much longer after that," Kate offered. "He was eating everything in sight!"
"I think he left," Danny teased, "because you told him it didn't matter whether we were married or not. Very shocking and improper!" he tsked.
"It's the truth," Kate said unrepetantly. "As long as we're together it doesn't matter to me. Married or not, being together is what is important."
Danny leaned down to look into her eyes. "Well, I for one am glad that you decided to make an honest man out of me."
Kate grinned. "Me too."
Kissing her softly, Danny said a little prayer of thanks. Ten years ago he never would have dreamed that his life would have taken the turns that it had, but despite all the pain and confusion he was thankful that it had led him to Kate.
Pulling away, he took her hand. "We should head back," he told her. "I bet Sam is pretty hungry by now."
"I suppose," Kate agreed forlornly. "Mooooo!" Danny laughed as she knew he would. She looked up at him. "Did I tell you that he's going to sleep in Rafe and Evelyn's room tonight?" she asked.
"Really?" Danny asked, his eyebrows raised.
Kate felt herself blushing. "Well, we've never actually made love in a room by ourselves," she pointed out. "First Grace and now Sam. I thought it would be nice if we didn't have to worry about being....quiet."
Danny laughed. "Oh, really?" he said suggestively.
Kate nudged him with her shoulder as they walked. "It was Evelyn's idea!"
"Well then I guess I'll have to thank her." Kate laughed and they continued in silence, enjoying the peaceful evening.
"Kate," Danny began after they had walked for a few minutes, a frown creasing his brow.
Sensing the change in his mood Kate looked over worriedly. "What?" she coaxed.
He glanced down at her, seeing her open expression. "Does it...does it...bother you that....Evelyn." he fumbled for words. Looking away from her caring eyes he focused on the road in front of them. He didn't know why he was asking her this now, but his conversation with Rafe earlier that day had never left his mind. "Does it bother you that Evelyn and I have a .....past....together?" he finally asked.
Kate frowned, taking his question seriously. "No," she answered honestly. "It doesn't bother me. Now."
"Now," Danny repeated, hazarding a quick glance over at her.
"Yes, now," Kate replied. "In China it used to bother me a lot - whenever I let myself think about it. Mostly because I didn't know what your past together was," she told him, "and because I didn't know what was between us."
"And when you found out...." Danny prodded, wanting to know how see really felt.
Kate shrugged. "Well, when you told me about Evelyn...and Danny, you also told me that you loved me. Don't get me wrong," she hastened to add. "I wasn't always this confident. I was terrified to finally meet Evelyn," she admitted with a small smile. "I was prepared to hate her, or at least really dislike her."
"Really?" Danny asked, surprised because that didn't sound like Kate.
"Sure," Kate admitted. "But I couldn't do it. You had loved her....she had to be a good person, and I saw almost immediatly how much she loved Rafe." Kate laughed softly to herself. "Did I ever tell you about our first meeting?"
Danny nodded, frowning slightly. "Rafe said that you passed out.."
"Yes," Kate interrupted, knowing that Danny didn't like thinking how sick she had been with him half a world away. "I fainted and Rafe carried me inside. When I finally woke up Rafe and Evelyn were arguing. I don't remember what Evelyn was saying, but Rafe said something like: 'I have no idea who she is and I am not that little girl's father!'"
Danny choked. "Really?"
"Yep." Kate smiled.
Danny shook his head. "That's....that's.."
"Ironic?" Kate provided. Danny nodded. "So you see," Kate continued, "I knew right away that they loved each other and I didn't feel threatened by her." Kate cleared her throat uncomfortably, sneaking a peek up at Danny's profile. "We also, kind of talked about you...and her...and what happened." Danny raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what exactly was said. "We didn't go into detail or anything," she hastened to add. "I got the feeling that Evelyn never had a chance to talk about what happened. To talk about you." Kate shruggd. "I think she just need to ...close the chapter on that part of her life, so to speak."
"And she couldn't talk to Rafe," Danny said softly.
"No she couldn't," Kate agreed. They walked silently for a few paces. "So where did all this come from? Does Rafe have a problem with you and Evelyn?"
"How'd you...." Danny began, surprised.
"Know?" Kate finished for him. "Well, it has to be Rafe. If it was me you were worried about you would have asked me before the wedding. But besides that, I've been talking with Evelyn. We've both noticed a change in him," she paused briefly. "I know they've been tring to have a baby for awhile now."
Danny let out a long breath. "Yeah. He doesn't think he can be a father," Danny admitted. "He thinks he's the problem."
Kate nodded sadly. "That's what Evelyn was afraid of, but he won't talk about it. It can't be easy for Rafe to be thinking that," she said. "And then to see you with Sam and Grace...and Danny," she added softly.
"Yeah," Danny agreed. "That's part of it...the kids, but he also said he and Evelyn never talked about what happened at Pearl while he was in France. I get the feeling that he just kind of put it out of his mind, like he always does with things that are...painful or unpleasant. But now that I'm back......he's...jealous," he told her. "Evelyn and I have moved on, but Rafe is still.....dealing with it. I can't help thinking that if they had a baby, if Evelyn was pregnant, then none of this would be an issue. But because Danny is....mine and Rafe thinks he can't....." Danny shrugged hopelessly. "I just feel so bad. I'm hurting Rafe again." He paused, thinking. "Rafe was an only child and his parents......"
"You know it's not your fault, Danny," Kate interrupted suddenly.
Danny looked down at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"It's not your fault that they haven't been able to have kids."
He still didn't understand her meaning. He never thought that he was the cause. "What do you mean, Kate? I didn't think I was the cause, I mean, I couldn't be....it's not like I have anything to do with it," he told her.
"Oh, okay," Kate replied a bit flustered. "Never mind."
Danny stopped walking, trying to get her to look up at him. "No," he said firmly. "What are you talking about?"
Kate slumped. She hadn't meant to open this can of worms. She sighed. "When you mentioned Rafe's parents and that he was an only child I thought that you knew and I didn't want you to worry."
"Knew? Knew what?" he questioned with a frown. She wasn't making any sense.
"Knew why Rafe was an only child," she explained, though her answer didn't clear anything up.
"What has that got to do with Rafe and Evelyn?" Danny asked.
Kate sighed again. "Rafe doesn't have any brothers or sisters because his parents had different blood types." Danny looked even more confused so she tried to explain more clearly. "Look, Evelyn's the nurse, so I don't really understand," she warned him, "but if one parent has a positive blood type and the other has a negative one, then they can have one baby, but probably can't conceive again because the mother's body would have built up an ...a resisitance to the other blood type...or something like that." Even in the coming darkness Kate could see the color draining from Danny's face. "But that's not the case here," Kate rushed on. "You and Rafe are the same blood type, O+, and Evelyn is a positive too."
"Jesus," Danny whispered. "I...that..."
"It's not your fault and I'm really sorry that I brought it up," Kate told him, grabbing both of his hands to get his attention. "Evelyn doesn't know what the problem is, or even if there is a problem," Kate said with a sigh. "Sometimes these things just take time."
Danny laughed humorlessly, hearing his words to Rafe repeated back to him.
"What?" Kate asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"I think Rafe just needs some time," Kate finally said. "Time alone with Evelyn and Danny. They can talk and work things out."
"Yeah," Danny agreed, beginning to walk towards the house again. "I just wish..." he trailed off.
"I know," Kate told him softly. "You want them to be happy. But that's out of your control. A lot can happen in the next couple years, you know."
Danny smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I know."
They path they followed led them through the wheat fields. Just when Kate could see the roof to the house, Danny stopped. Looking up she saw a strange expression on his face.
"What? What is it?" she asked. Obviously he could see something that she couldn't. She tried standing on tip toe, but could still see nothing. When she tried to continue Danny pulled her back.
Placing his hands on her shoulders he squatted down to look into her eyes. "There's something I forgot to tell you about my last trip to New York," he said slowly, an intense look in his eyes.
"Okay," Kate responded, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach.
Danny took a deep breath, hoping that she was ready to hear this. "I ran into your father while I was there and..." he hesitated, "and I kind of invited him to the wedding."
"You what?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. Without waiting for an answer Kate spun on her heel and started walking back towards the pond as fast as her legs would carry her.
Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Danny sighed. Cursing softly under his breath he turned to go after her.
The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the fields. The wheat waved slightly in the cooling breeze, it's rustling adding to the music of crickets and bullfrogs hidden in the weeds of the old swimming pond. Fireflies began flickering, their fairy lights enhancing the magical feel of the evening.
Danny stopped at the crest of the small hill that overlooked the swimming pond, pulling Kate into his arms. Kate was was content to rest there, her head aginst his chest, listening to his stong, steady heartbeat as she watched the sky slowly change color.
"It's beautiful," she whipsered.
Danny leaned down to press a kiss against her head, his cheek resting on top of her head. "Yes, it is," he agreed. He chuckled softly. "Though everything seems smaller than I remember."
"You were just a kid when you left," Kate pointed out, giving him a good natured squeeze.
"I wasn't that young," he protested. "I was......18. God," he shook his head in disbelief. "That was ten years ago!"
"Hmmmm," Kate murmured. "You've been through a lot in eight years. Seen a lot, done a lot. That will definitely change your perspective of home."
"Yeah, I guess," Danny agreed. "Did it change yours?" he asked.
"My perspective of home?" Kate asked. Danny nodded. "I guess. Being in China, and especially being with you, made me realize how...cold and superficial everything in my life was." She looked up at him, her eyes glowing with love. "Sometimes I feel like I never really lived until I met you. That I was just waiting for you to come along and....love me."
Danny smiled down at her, his hand carressing her cheek. "I know exactly how you feel," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met softly at first, barely more than the mingling of breath, but as Kate's hands stretched up his chest and tangled in his hair, Danny deepened the kiss with a small groan. Kate raised up onto her toes, pressing her body more intimately against his, feeling his response in the hardening of his body. A small purr of satisfaction from Kate caused Danny to pull her even more tightly against him, his mouth slanting feverently over hers; lips tugging, tongues softly carressing. Hands tangling in her hair, Danny made love to Kate with his mouth, amazed at the pasion she could ignite in him so easily.
Pulling away slowly, Danny smiled at how labored their breathing had become. He rested his forehead against Kate's, kissing her nose gently. "I love you so much," he told her, his hands rubbing up and down her arms.
"It's a good thing, too," Kate grinned at him. "You did marry me today."
Danny smiled a rare full fledged smile, taking Kate's breath away. "Lucky me."
Kate moved to kiss him again, but he moved away after a moment, holding her close instead.
"Unless you want to end up making love right here in the grass..." he trailed off, laughing as she seriously contemplated the idea. "No," he told her, kissing quickly. Seeing her crestfallen expression he grinned. "Not that I'm adverse to the idea. Just not on our wedding night."
Kate pretended to pout, doing a fair imitation of Grace. "What does it matter, you've already had your cake..."
Danny laughed lightly and Kate smiled. "I'm sorry about that," he told her. "Reverend Thomas was always a bit of an ass."
"Really?" Kate asked in mock surprise. "I thought all wedding ceremonies included lectures on premarital relations."
"Yeah, I know, it was a bit much," Danny frowned. "I wanted Reverend O'Hara, he was a friend of Rafe's dad, but he was out of town."
Kate smiled. "Don't worry about it, Danny," she told him. "Everything was perfect." A sly grin spread accross her face. "I thought it was highly entertaining how red his face turned when he found out that Sam was ours."
Danny laughed, shaking his head. "You have a devilish streak in you, despite your angelic little face," he told her. "I thought he was going to have a stroke right there."
Kate had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Well, he was being so self righteous and condescending!" she defended herself. "He doesn't know anything about us or our history. I just wanted to annoy him."
"I noticed."
"Well, at least he didn't stay much longer after that," Kate offered. "He was eating everything in sight!"
"I think he left," Danny teased, "because you told him it didn't matter whether we were married or not. Very shocking and improper!" he tsked.
"It's the truth," Kate said unrepetantly. "As long as we're together it doesn't matter to me. Married or not, being together is what is important."
Danny leaned down to look into her eyes. "Well, I for one am glad that you decided to make an honest man out of me."
Kate grinned. "Me too."
Kissing her softly, Danny said a little prayer of thanks. Ten years ago he never would have dreamed that his life would have taken the turns that it had, but despite all the pain and confusion he was thankful that it had led him to Kate.
Pulling away, he took her hand. "We should head back," he told her. "I bet Sam is pretty hungry by now."
"I suppose," Kate agreed forlornly. "Mooooo!" Danny laughed as she knew he would. She looked up at him. "Did I tell you that he's going to sleep in Rafe and Evelyn's room tonight?" she asked.
"Really?" Danny asked, his eyebrows raised.
Kate felt herself blushing. "Well, we've never actually made love in a room by ourselves," she pointed out. "First Grace and now Sam. I thought it would be nice if we didn't have to worry about being....quiet."
Danny laughed. "Oh, really?" he said suggestively.
Kate nudged him with her shoulder as they walked. "It was Evelyn's idea!"
"Well then I guess I'll have to thank her." Kate laughed and they continued in silence, enjoying the peaceful evening.
"Kate," Danny began after they had walked for a few minutes, a frown creasing his brow.
Sensing the change in his mood Kate looked over worriedly. "What?" she coaxed.
He glanced down at her, seeing her open expression. "Does it...does it...bother you that....Evelyn." he fumbled for words. Looking away from her caring eyes he focused on the road in front of them. He didn't know why he was asking her this now, but his conversation with Rafe earlier that day had never left his mind. "Does it bother you that Evelyn and I have a .....past....together?" he finally asked.
Kate frowned, taking his question seriously. "No," she answered honestly. "It doesn't bother me. Now."
"Now," Danny repeated, hazarding a quick glance over at her.
"Yes, now," Kate replied. "In China it used to bother me a lot - whenever I let myself think about it. Mostly because I didn't know what your past together was," she told him, "and because I didn't know what was between us."
"And when you found out...." Danny prodded, wanting to know how see really felt.
Kate shrugged. "Well, when you told me about Evelyn...and Danny, you also told me that you loved me. Don't get me wrong," she hastened to add. "I wasn't always this confident. I was terrified to finally meet Evelyn," she admitted with a small smile. "I was prepared to hate her, or at least really dislike her."
"Really?" Danny asked, surprised because that didn't sound like Kate.
"Sure," Kate admitted. "But I couldn't do it. You had loved her....she had to be a good person, and I saw almost immediatly how much she loved Rafe." Kate laughed softly to herself. "Did I ever tell you about our first meeting?"
Danny nodded, frowning slightly. "Rafe said that you passed out.."
"Yes," Kate interrupted, knowing that Danny didn't like thinking how sick she had been with him half a world away. "I fainted and Rafe carried me inside. When I finally woke up Rafe and Evelyn were arguing. I don't remember what Evelyn was saying, but Rafe said something like: 'I have no idea who she is and I am not that little girl's father!'"
Danny choked. "Really?"
"Yep." Kate smiled.
Danny shook his head. "That's....that's.."
"Ironic?" Kate provided. Danny nodded. "So you see," Kate continued, "I knew right away that they loved each other and I didn't feel threatened by her." Kate cleared her throat uncomfortably, sneaking a peek up at Danny's profile. "We also, kind of talked about you...and her...and what happened." Danny raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what exactly was said. "We didn't go into detail or anything," she hastened to add. "I got the feeling that Evelyn never had a chance to talk about what happened. To talk about you." Kate shruggd. "I think she just need to ...close the chapter on that part of her life, so to speak."
"And she couldn't talk to Rafe," Danny said softly.
"No she couldn't," Kate agreed. They walked silently for a few paces. "So where did all this come from? Does Rafe have a problem with you and Evelyn?"
"How'd you...." Danny began, surprised.
"Know?" Kate finished for him. "Well, it has to be Rafe. If it was me you were worried about you would have asked me before the wedding. But besides that, I've been talking with Evelyn. We've both noticed a change in him," she paused briefly. "I know they've been tring to have a baby for awhile now."
Danny let out a long breath. "Yeah. He doesn't think he can be a father," Danny admitted. "He thinks he's the problem."
Kate nodded sadly. "That's what Evelyn was afraid of, but he won't talk about it. It can't be easy for Rafe to be thinking that," she said. "And then to see you with Sam and Grace...and Danny," she added softly.
"Yeah," Danny agreed. "That's part of it...the kids, but he also said he and Evelyn never talked about what happened at Pearl while he was in France. I get the feeling that he just kind of put it out of his mind, like he always does with things that are...painful or unpleasant. But now that I'm back......he's...jealous," he told her. "Evelyn and I have moved on, but Rafe is still.....dealing with it. I can't help thinking that if they had a baby, if Evelyn was pregnant, then none of this would be an issue. But because Danny is....mine and Rafe thinks he can't....." Danny shrugged hopelessly. "I just feel so bad. I'm hurting Rafe again." He paused, thinking. "Rafe was an only child and his parents......"
"You know it's not your fault, Danny," Kate interrupted suddenly.
Danny looked down at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
"It's not your fault that they haven't been able to have kids."
He still didn't understand her meaning. He never thought that he was the cause. "What do you mean, Kate? I didn't think I was the cause, I mean, I couldn't be....it's not like I have anything to do with it," he told her.
"Oh, okay," Kate replied a bit flustered. "Never mind."
Danny stopped walking, trying to get her to look up at him. "No," he said firmly. "What are you talking about?"
Kate slumped. She hadn't meant to open this can of worms. She sighed. "When you mentioned Rafe's parents and that he was an only child I thought that you knew and I didn't want you to worry."
"Knew? Knew what?" he questioned with a frown. She wasn't making any sense.
"Knew why Rafe was an only child," she explained, though her answer didn't clear anything up.
"What has that got to do with Rafe and Evelyn?" Danny asked.
Kate sighed again. "Rafe doesn't have any brothers or sisters because his parents had different blood types." Danny looked even more confused so she tried to explain more clearly. "Look, Evelyn's the nurse, so I don't really understand," she warned him, "but if one parent has a positive blood type and the other has a negative one, then they can have one baby, but probably can't conceive again because the mother's body would have built up an ...a resisitance to the other blood type...or something like that." Even in the coming darkness Kate could see the color draining from Danny's face. "But that's not the case here," Kate rushed on. "You and Rafe are the same blood type, O+, and Evelyn is a positive too."
"Jesus," Danny whispered. "I...that..."
"It's not your fault and I'm really sorry that I brought it up," Kate told him, grabbing both of his hands to get his attention. "Evelyn doesn't know what the problem is, or even if there is a problem," Kate said with a sigh. "Sometimes these things just take time."
Danny laughed humorlessly, hearing his words to Rafe repeated back to him.
"What?" Kate asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"I think Rafe just needs some time," Kate finally said. "Time alone with Evelyn and Danny. They can talk and work things out."
"Yeah," Danny agreed, beginning to walk towards the house again. "I just wish..." he trailed off.
"I know," Kate told him softly. "You want them to be happy. But that's out of your control. A lot can happen in the next couple years, you know."
Danny smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I know."
They path they followed led them through the wheat fields. Just when Kate could see the roof to the house, Danny stopped. Looking up she saw a strange expression on his face.
"What? What is it?" she asked. Obviously he could see something that she couldn't. She tried standing on tip toe, but could still see nothing. When she tried to continue Danny pulled her back.
Placing his hands on her shoulders he squatted down to look into her eyes. "There's something I forgot to tell you about my last trip to New York," he said slowly, an intense look in his eyes.
"Okay," Kate responded, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach.
Danny took a deep breath, hoping that she was ready to hear this. "I ran into your father while I was there and..." he hesitated, "and I kind of invited him to the wedding."
"You what?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. Without waiting for an answer Kate spun on her heel and started walking back towards the pond as fast as her legs would carry her.
Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Danny sighed. Cursing softly under his breath he turned to go after her.
