After Rafe's return, everything seemed to be as it should on Pearl Harbor. There was talk of peace with Japan, which put minds at ease, and the group had fallen into a normal routine of things, balancing work and play with startling ease.

It was difficult for Danny and Alex to hide their feelings for each other in front of Rafe, but they managed. Whenever he was assigned to work and they had free time, they were inseparable.

One day, when Rafe was scheduled to be running drills all morning, they went down to the spot where Alex had written her letters to Rafe. Seated on the hard rocks, with their feet dangling down just into the water, they enjoyed the private time together.

"I don't think I want to go home when this is all over," Alex announced quietly as they stared out at the slow waves that lapped across the shore. "The way things are going, I think Evelyn might move to be with Rafe. And besides, I've changed since I've been here, and I don't think my old life fits anymore."

"Alex, do you mean you would move to—"

"Tennessee?" she filled in for him, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm thinking about it. I would be by you and Rafe and Dad, and Evelyn too if she went… do you think it would be a good idea?"

"Are you kidding? It would be great!" Danny approved heartily. "Your dad would be thrilled to have you home, and we wouldn't always be away from each other."

Alex laughed at his response, feeling a lightening sense of relief. She knew that he had always loved Tennessee and he always would, but a part of her deep down had wondered if he'd want her there with him when this was all over. "I haven't decided anything yet, so don't get too excited," she said playfully. "I don't know what I want to do. It was just something I was thinking about."

"I'd love it if you moved to Tennessee," he told her softly, "but even if you didn't, we'd still work things out, no matter what."

She smiled at him, knowing that he was right. They would figure out how to be together, even if the world was against them. Just like Rafe and Evelyn or Hayley and Levi. She finally had what they had, and she knew what it felt like to really need another person. She tilted her head up towards his and he kissed her gently, wrapping his arms around her.

They were so caught up in each other that neither one of them heard the approaching footsteps or noticed when someone was only a few feet away from them. "What the hell is going on here?" a loud, angry male voice demanded. "Get your hands off her!"

"Rafe!" Alex gasped, pulling away from Danny so quickly that she slipped on the rock and would have tumbled to the ground if Danny hadn't reached out to grab her.

"Don't you touch her!" Rafe snarled.

"Would you rather me fall?" she asked, clinging to Danny's hand and still trying to regain her balance.

Rafe ignored the question, glaring deadly daggers at his best friend. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled. "How long has this been going on? Is this what you thought I meant when I told you to look after her while I was gone?"

"Rafe, calm down," she coaxed as Danny helped her down onto the sand.

"Alex, stay out of this," Rafe barked.

"No," she shot back, surprising herself as much as either of them; Danny was pretty sure he could count the number of times she'd stood up to Rafe on his fingers. "I won't stay out of it because I'm involved too, Rafe. Now calm down and let us explain."

"I just found out my so-called best friend thought looking out for my kid sister meant seducing her. How am I supposed to calm down?" he demanded angrily before turning on Danny. "What the hell were you thinking? She's my sister! Why did you have to go after Alex? Out of all the girls on this island who would go out with you, why her?"

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Rafe," she said sarcastically.

"I didn't seduce her," Danny began. "And it didn't start out like this…"

"How did it start out? You skipped the kissing and took her straight to bed?"

"Shut up," Danny growled, not willing to take that even from his best friend. "You know I would never do that."

"Well I thought you would never do this, but I guess I was wrong."

They were moving closer to each other, each man practically radiating with hostile testosterone, and Alex squirmed her way between them before the first punch could be thrown. The last thing she wanted to see was these two people fighting. "Rafe, come on. You're acting like he forced me to fall for him, and he didn't!" Alex cried.

"Fall for him?" Rafe repeated, spitting out the words like foul-tasting meat. "Fall for him? So now you've fallen for him?"

"So now I'm allowed in on the conversation?" she shot back, knowing that it wasn't ladylike but unable to stop herself. She'd suspected that Rafe wouldn't like her seeing Danny, but she'd never thought he would react this badly. "If you'd just listen to us for a second, Rafe…"

"We didn't want you to find out this way," Danny added. "We were going to wait until you settled in before we told you. But… we're not doing anything wrong here, Rafe. No one was seduced. No one's being used. No one's going to get hurt."

"You're right. No one is going to get hurt because this is going to end right now," he stated firmly. "You are not going to touch her ever again."

Alex blanched, horrified at his words and the high-handed way he said them. "Do I have any say in this?"

"No."

"Rafe, you can't tell me what to do," she protested. "I'm not five years old anymore. I'm an adult, and I don't need your protection! Definitely not from your best friend."

"He's not my best friend," Rafe said in a low voice. Danny looked like he'd been punched as Rafe went on. "No best friend would ever do something like this. I asked you to look out for her and make sure she was okay, not corrupt her. Did you do this with Evelyn, too?"

"Rafe, you're being an idiot," Alex pointed out harshly. "Of course you're best friends, and he would never touch your girl. He does one thing you don't agree with and you decide everything he's done for you in the last twenty-four years doesn't matter anymore? Are you going to disown me too because I wanted it to happen? Because I followed my heart instead of what you want me to do?"

"Alex—"

"No, I really want to know! When you went after Evelyn I was nothing but happy for you. How is this any different?"

"Alex, we aren't talking about this anymore."

"Like hell we aren't," she snapped. Both men gaped at her in surprise. They hadn't heard her swear since they were kids back in Tennessee, and her mother had washed her mouth out with soap. "I'm not done!"

"Alex, there are too many problems—"

"Work them out," she ordered, staring at her brother. "You two have been friends for longer than I've been alive. You love each other, look out for each other. Don't throw that away over me."

Evelyn came running down the beach, grinding to a stop when she saw the three of them together. Her heart sank when she saw the murderous glare in Rafe's eyes. "What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, though she already knew.

"Danny's been messing around with my sister," Rafe answered bitterly.

She frowned. "Rafe, don't say it like that. It's not like they have anything to be ashamed of."

"You knew?" he demanded, whirling his fury onto her. "You knew and you didn't tell me? You just played along?"

"I made her promise to keep it quiet," Alex said immediately, feeling like the world was crashing down around her. First she'd caused a rift between Danny and Rafe, and now she was about to ruin Evelyn's relationship, too? It was a nightmare. "Don't be mad at her."

"Don't be mad at Alex, either," Danny told him. "It's my fault."

"Danny." Alex laid a gentle hand on his arm and shook her head. She knew he was being a man and standing up for her, but at the moment she would much rather have him on speaking terms with his best friend. "Don't ruin your friendship standing up for me. It is not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

Rafe snorted. "Finally, some truth."

"No one asked you," Alex pointed out. "And you're wrong anyway. It wasn't like this was something we plotted to hurt you, Rafe. And I know it hurt you because I can see it in your eyes, and for that I'm sorry. We should have told you when you got here, but I was just… I was worried about how you'd take it, just getting back from war, and I was so happy to see you that I didn't want to argue."

"No one meant to hurt you, Rafe," Evelyn assured him, walking over to her boyfriend.

"Well then, everyone screwed up, huh?" he asked caustically before turning and walking away.

"Rafe!" Evelyn called after him. "Rafe, wait!" Distraught, she ran after him. "Rafe, please…"

He pulled back his arm when she reached for him. "Not now, Evelyn," he warned in a low voice.

The three of them were silent as they watched him walk up the beach alone in long, angry strides. Alex didn't dare move until he was out of sight, then she let out a low breath. "He came out here and saw us together on the rocks," she explained numbly when she caught sight of Evelyn's blank, shocked expression. "We thought he was supposed to be working."

"So did I," she said, sniffling. "But when I got in from shopping, Amy told me he'd come by looking for me because his time got pushed back until this afternoon. I came to warn you, but I guess I was too late."

Alex shook her head. "It's not your fault. We should have been more careful. Now we have to fix it."

Danny ran his hands up and down her arms, offering warmth and comfort. He couldn't stand to see her looking so miserable. "He'll forgive you, Alex."

"I know. He'll forgive me because I'm his sister and he's not the kind of guy who could really disown his sister. And he'll forgive Evelyn because all she did was do as I asked. I'm worried about you two. He thinks you betrayed him, Danny. I don't know how to fix what I did."

"You didn't do anything wrong," he told her. "Don't think you did. I regret how we handled the situation, but I will never regret you and me, Alex. No matter what happens, I won't regret it. Whatever Rafe and I have coming, I'll deal with it. Don't blame yourself for this mess."

"But it's my fault," she insisted. "I'm what's breaking up your friendship, and I have to fix it. I can't let this happen."

"I'm gonna give him some time to cool down and then I'll talk to him," Danny said, forcing a smile for her sake even though he felt nearly sick. "It'll be all right, okay?"

"I hope so." She sighed. "God, Ev, I'm so sorry you got dragged into this. We never meant for this to happen… we should have listened to you and just told him when he got here."

"Don't feel bad about it," Evelyn replied, hugging her. "If you'd told Rafe about it when he first got here he would probably have reacted the same way and been angry with me for letting you get together. He's shocked and upset, and just looking for ways to strike out. He'll calm down and then I can apologize."

"But you shouldn't have to apologize," Alex argued. "You were only being a good friend to me."

Evelyn smiled at her. "Well, we're friends forever, right?"

"Always," Alex replied with a smile, remembering when they'd said those exact words for the first time. It was when she was fifteen, a few years after she had moved to Massachusetts. They'd been friends from day one of knowing each other, and Alex really believed nothing would change that.

"Let's go back to the house," Evelyn suggested. "We can get cleaned up and rest. I think we could all use some calm after this morning."

"Yeah, I guess so," Alex echoed with a worried glance back at Danny, who still wore that sad smile. The three of them made a pitiful procession back to the house, all too lost in thought to bother with conversation.

With each step she took, Alex let out a silent prayer. Please, Rafe, please get over this… don't ruin your friendship over me. Danny needs you… and you need him.

Alex intended to listen to Danny and Evelyn when they suggested giving Rafe time to cool off after their argument. She spent the morning at home, worrying about the mess she'd made of her relationships, and when Danny left and Evelyn went to lie down in their room, Alex told herself that she would clean up a little around the house and then maybe try to rest.

She managed to tidy up the living room before she left, her legs carrying her almost against her will toward Rafe's workplace. A part of her said that it might not be the best idea, but she couldn't leave things the way they were, and feared that if she let Danny talk to him first, words would be exchanged that could never be forgotten.

It didn't take long for her to find her brother, working on his plane with a few other guys. She could tell just from his posture that he was still in a foul mood, but she steeled herself and approached the plane, stopping just a few feet away. "I need to talk to you."

Rafe glanced down at her, acutely aware of the curious glances that the rest of the crew was giving them. They'd been looking at him that way since he stalked onto the runway and started barking orders, but for some reason it made him even more annoyed for them to see the cause of his bad mood. "Now's not a good time, Alex."

He expected her to murmur her understanding and leave, but she didn't. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest—an instinctively defensive move—and planted her heeled feet like she was getting ready for a fight. "I wasn't really asking. I need to talk to you."

Rafe sighed, already feeling a headache coming on, and looked at his mechanics. "Can you guys give us a minute?"

Alex smiled at them hopefully, her eyes bright and pleading, and there was no way they were going to say no.

"Yeah, sure. We'll just go… away."

"Thank you." She waited while they climbed off the plane, collecting loose tools as they went, and started off into the hangar to give them privacy. When she was certain she wouldn't be overheard, she looked up at her brother and frowned. "You're overreacting."

Immediately, he felt his temper flare to life again. "You think I'm overreacting? You want to call those men back in here and ask them how they'd act if they were in my place? I promise you, they'd be ready to kick Danny's scrawny ass, too."

She made a face and willed herself not to react to the insult. "There's no reason for you to be so upset," she said reasonably. "You love me. You love Danny. Why does our being together bother you so much?"

"He had no right to touch you," he growled furiously. "You're my little sister. He promised me he'd look out for you."

"Rafe, he does look out for me. We haven't been together for very long, but he's actually a very good boyfriend—protective, and sweet," she informed him with a little smile.

Rafe rolled his eyes.

She rolled hers right back, seeing that speaking with her emotions might not be the right way to approach the conversation. "You know Danny. He doesn't jump into anything without thinking it to death, and he's not flighty. Our relationship isn't just something to pass the time, not for him and not for me."

"How can you even want to be with him? He's like a brother to us, Alex."

"He's like a brother to you," she corrected gently. "He's not that for me, Rafe. Maybe he was once, a long time ago, but I haven't seen him that way since I was at least ten. We're not kids anymore."

He ground his teeth. "You're still my little sister."

"I know, but I don't need you to protect me all the time, Rafe, certainly not from Danny. This isn't like when I was twelve and you threatened to break Tom Morten's legs for trying to walk me home every day after school."

"You knew about that?"

"Of course I knew about that," she said with a laugh. "And maybe I even needed you to look out for me then, but this is different. Who was right beside you then, ready to help you hurt that kid if he so much as touched me?"

His expression mutinous, Rafe remained silent.

"Danny," she filled in, determined to speak her mind no matter how uncooperative he was. "He's not someone you need to protect me from, Rafe."

"You can't know that. Any guy who'd go after his best friend's family while he was gone—"

"Best man you know."

He stared at her blankly. "What?"

"Best man you know," she repeated. "You've said that about Danny more times than I can count. What makes you think it's not true anymore?"

Frustrated, by his own stupid words and by her resolve to fight this out, Rafe shook his head. "Things change when women get involved. A decent guy can show he's nothing but a dirty coward." He swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair. "He didn't even have the courage to punch me in the face, he had to stab me in the back from seven thousand miles away."

"It wasn't like that at all. Look, Rafe, I know that it was nothing compared to the horrors you were going through, but missing you, worrying about you, wondering if you would ever come back… it hurt so much that I was drowning in it," she told him, her eyes locked on his. "Danny kept me afloat. If he hadn't been here with me…"

"So now I guess it's my own damn fault that you two were messin' around behind my back?" Rafe demanded. "I go off to fight and should've expected you to comfort each other, is that it?"

"It's not your fault, Rafe. It's no one's fault," she cried in exasperation, "but you know what? Maybe you have a point. I understand why you left, I even respect you for it, but you did leave us behind and you did make sure Danny couldn't go with you."

"Sure as hell regret that now," he shot back, before he could think about the words.

Alex froze, her eyes narrowing. "I can't believe you'd say that."

"I can't accept you being with him," he stated coldly. "And I'm sure as hell not his friend anymore."

Had nothing she'd said sunk through to him? "Don't make me choose between you two, Rafe," she pleaded quietly.

He straightened like his spine had turned to stone. "Why, Alex? Would you choose him?"

She was silent for a long moment, her face pained, and he wished that he could pull the words back inside him, erase them as though they'd never been said. But he couldn't, and because he couldn't, he needed to hear the answer.

Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she admitted, "but if you force me to make that decision—if you make me break my own heart—I'll never forgive you. Even if I do choose you." She turned and walked away, her shoulders hunched in disappointment, and all Rafe could do was stare after her.

They were the ones who'd betrayed his trust when he was off at war, so why was everyone acting like he was the bad guy?

The bar was just starting to get crowded when Danny arrived, the noise of talk and laughter filling the air. There was a pit of nerves in his stomach when he walked in the door, and it only intensified when he caught sight of Rafe sitting at a table with some of the guys—Army pilots Danny recognized and Navy men he didn't. Even if there hadn't been a cluster of empty bottles on the table, Danny would have known from Rafe's eyes and the way he sat that his friend was well on his way to being wasted.

Apparently he wasn't too drunk to notice Danny, though, because he sat up a little straighter and nudged the stranger in the seat next to him as Danny approached.

"And here's Danny, a friend so good that he had to take special care of my little sister when I was at war." He raised a glass of scotch in a mocking salute and drained it.

"Rafe, we need to talk about this."

"What, you want to tell me about your relationship with my kid sister?" he scoffed. "I don't wanna hear it, Danny. I don't want to hear a thing you did to her. It might make me have to hurt you."

Danny started to walk away, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere with Rafe in his current condition. "You're a rotten drunk, Rafe, you always have been."

"And you're a lousy friend, but that's a new development," he threw back, swiveling in his seat to keep an eye on him. "And where are you off to now, huh? You're gonna go back to her? Are you?" He got out of his seat, swaying a bit from the alcohol, but steadied himself quickly. Even drunk, pilots had excellent balance. "Don't you dare! Don't you touch her! Don't even look at her!"

Danny turned back towards Rafe, ready to argue that he had no right to forbid him or Alex from seeing anyone, but he hadn't even opened his mouth before Rafe's punch landed across his cheek. The impact snapped his head back, and he wasn't sure which was worse: the sting from the knuckles or the fact that it was his best friend who'd done the hitting.

Probably the latter.

Logic abandoned him and he ran at Rafe, fists flying in retaliation. Soon they were fighting all out, and even the bulky Navy men who had come in for a drink or two after a day's work couldn't pull them apart. In the excitement, smaller fights began to break out between men who'd, only moments before, had absolutely nothing against one another.

Vaguely, Danny heard Goose's voice above the scuffling noise, yelling that the owner had called the MPs and they'd all better get out. Grabbing Rafe by the collar, Danny dragged him outside in the middle of dozens of fleeing soldiers. "Come on, Rafe. We get caught and we're in a lot of shit," he muttered as he ran towards his car.

They both hopped in the car and Danny took off, not really paying attention to where he was going as long as it was away from the club. When he reached a flat clearing, away from the city and the lights, he pulled over and shut off the engine.

Rafe, bleeding from a cut above his eye and rubbing a sore jaw, glared at him. "Why are we stopped here?"

"Because we need to talk, and you won't do it unless I get you somewhere where you have no choice," Danny answered honestly. He half expected another punch to be thrown at him, and considered it a good sign when it didn't come. "Rafe, I really didn't mean for any of this to happen. I wasn't looking for anything more than a friendship with Alex. It just happened, I swear."

"She's my little sister," Rafe said gruffly. "You know how much I care about her, Danny. You know how protective of her I am."

"I know, and I wish I could say that I'm sorry it happened, but I can't," he declared apologetically. "I just can't, Rafe."

"Why not?" he asked, his tone bitingly bitter. "Aren't you trying to make things all better?"

"I'm trying to explain this situation to you," he corrected. "I can't make you forgive me. Rafe, I can't say I regret any of this because I'm in love with your sister. I'm not just messin' with her and I would never hurt her. I love her."

Rafe stared at Danny for a minute, trying to process this new information. He'd never heard Danny say those words about a girl, not even once. The fact was, Danny had rarely been in relationships, and never in something serious; that was a part of what had shocked—and worried—Rafe about seeing him with Alex. "You're in love with my sister?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I can't help it," Danny tried to explain. "You know Alex, Rafe. There's just something about her that… it gets under your skin and grabs hold of you."

"If you hurt her—"

"I won't," Danny promised.

Rafe sighed. He'd heard that tone before a thousand times. Danny was serious. "Does she love you?"

Danny's heart jumped just at the thought. "I wish I could say yes, but I don't know. Maybe one day she will."

"I hate to ask this for fear I might have to strangle you, Danny, and she probably will strangle me if she ever hears I asked, but I need to know. You never… you didn't… sleep with her, did you?" He had to choke the words out, not even wanting to think about it.

"Rafe!" The horror on his face was matched in his voice.

"Did you?"

"No!" Then, guiltily, he added, "Well, sleep, yes. Just sleep."

Rafe eyed him suspiciously before breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay. I had to make sure."

Danny shook his head, thinking that this had to be the most awkward talk he'd had in all of his twenty-four years. "Are we going to be okay?"

"I guess I need to talk to Alex," Rafe stalled, because he was feeling so betrayed and angry that he couldn't just let it go, even when his head was telling him it was the right thing to do. "She's pretty mad at me right about now."

"I don't think she's mad at you. She's just worried," Danny told him.

Rafe sighed, thinking back to the talk he'd had with her earlier. He kept picturing how beaten down she'd looked as she left the runway, like a little child whose faith in a hero had been completely destroyed.

"Keeping this quiet didn't exactly sit right with us," Danny went on. "But we didn't know whether or not to tell you. It's a lot to take, after everything."

"You weren't trying to hurt me, I get it."

"I'm sorry we did."

"I know. We'll see how things go." Both of them stared up at the dark sky, silently gazing into the night and wondering what was in store for them.