A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed. I have a case of writer's block(don't you hate it when that happens?) so this is taking longer than it usually would… sorry about that. The reviews help me think, though, so please keep them coming! Anyway, here's part eight!

The women didn't sleep that night. They kept expecting someone—Danny or Rafe, or maybe even both of them together—to come by and tell them that they'd worked everything out. Even if Danny hadn't been able to talk sense into Rafe, Alex had thought that he would come by to see her. Each minute that passed without footsteps on the porch and a knock on the door made them more nervous.

Finally needing something to do at around three in the morning, Evelyn took out her diary and started re-reading the carefully organized letters that she stored inside—the letters that Rafe had sent her during his time in Britain. Those clumsily written words of love reassured her as even the other girls couldn't, reminding her that they'd survived much worse than such a pointless fight.

Alex sat on her bunk on the other side of the room staring down at the pages of a book, but she didn't see the words. Rafe's question from that afternoon kept repeating itself in her mind. Would you choose him? Just thinking about it made her feel cold inside.

It didn't seem possible that less than a year ago she'd been looking for them in a crowded military medical center, worried that she might have trouble recognizing them. Danny was such a big part of her life now that she couldn't imagine him not being in it. His absence would be like a black hole in the center of her heart, and how could someone live with something like that?

But Rafe was her brother, and she loved him. She couldn't count the number of hours she'd spent praying for his safe return and dreaming about the things they could do together when the war was done and life went back to normal. She'd promised herself that there would never be another eight-year period of unsatisfying letters as their only contact, so how could she just walk away from him now that he was back and all that she'd imagined was finally possible?

If it came down to a choice, Danny or Rafe, she had no clue what she'd do. Which was better to go on without, her heart or the air that she breathed? She was smart enough to realize that either choice meant she wouldn't really be living.

The early light of dawn came as a relief, even if it didn't bring the answers that Evelyn and Alex were so desperate for. They were both scheduled to work the morning shift at the hospital and they looked forward to the distraction, even if it did turn out to be a day of soothing sunburned skin and reorganizing supplies.

Alex was in front of the mirror pinning up her hair and silently despairing the circles under her eyes when she first heard the noise coming from outside—a loud rumble in the distance. Frowning, she secured the last strands and walked out to the living room. "What is going on out there?"

Hayley, still dressed in her night clothes because it was her day off, glanced out the window. "There are lots of planes flying around out there," she announced, her voice tinged with confusion.

"What? Why would they be doing practice runs this early on a Sunday morning? It's barely even eight," Amy complained, putting on her shoes and going outside to have a look. A second later, they heard her gasp. "Girls… those aren't our planes!"

Alex and Evelyn were running for the front door to see what she was walking about when there was another noise, this one loud enough to make the first seem like a pin falling to the floor. It took one second for Amy, Alex, and Evelyn, all crowded in the doorway, to take in the planes in the air, the explosions that rocked the earth beneath them, and the smoke on the bay.

Evelyn, always the calmest in emergencies, found her voice first. "Everyone, get to the hospital!" she yelled. "Now! Hurry! We have to get to the hospital!"

Hayley jumped up from the couch in a panic. "I'm not dressed."

Alex rushed back into the house and grabbed the first thing she could find—one of Wanda's robes. "We don't have time. Put this on," she instructed, simultaneously shoving the garment into her hands and pulling her out of the house. "We have to go."

Hayley slipped on the robe as they ran, screaming warnings into the nearby housing units as they went. Like them, people were beginning to understand what was happening, and came tumbling out of their homes in terror. Running in heels was no easy feat and they stumbled along the way. Planes—unfamiliar planes, visibly different from the P-40s Alex was familiar with thanks to Danny and Rafe—zoomed by above them like the chasing specter of death.

"Almost there!" Hayley screamed breathlessly as they neared the hospital, hoping against all hope that they could get inside that building before the planes got to them. All around them was destruction—fountains that had been blown to bits, buildings that had collapsed, trees that had caught fire.

The sound of rapid gunfire in her ears made Alex turn and look back for only a second and she fell hard, tripping over rubble.

Evelyn knelt hurriedly, already reaching down to help her rise. "Come on, Alex. Get up."

Alex winced, glancing down just long enough to see the blood matting her ripped stockings; all the little concrete bits had cut into her legs. "Just go!" she ordered, struggling to get up.

"I'm not leaving you," Evelyn breathed stubbornly, yanking Alex up and forcing her back into a run. The gunfire was closer now. "Friends forever, right?"

"Always," Alex replied.

They reached the hospital at full speed and didn't slow when they'd passed the doors. Evelyn led the way, veering left toward the traction ward. Four men were laid up in beds, wounded during an automobile accident days ago. "Cut the lines! Get them away from the windows!"

Alex rushed to the drawers of supplies, grateful that there had been enough free time lately to have things stocked up, and pulled out razor blades. She handed them to the nurses who had followed Evelyn, automatically gravitating toward a leader, and together they cut through the cords that held the patients into their beds. As soon as they'd been moved away from the windows, the women grabbed the mattresses and dragged them over to use them as protective cover.

The patients had just been covered safely when an explosion from outside rocked the building, showering glass shards into the room. No one moved or even breathed for a long moment afterward, waiting to see if another bomb would drop and perhaps kill them all. When it stayed quiet, the nurses slowly pushed the mattresses away. There was glass everywhere, and chunks of shrapnel where the men had been only moments before, but no one had been hurt.

"What's happened?" one of the doctors asked, his voice shaking.

"I think we're about to enter the war," Evelyn answered honestly.

Alex brushed the glass from her skirt with trembling hands and silently willed herself to get it together. There was too much to do to fall apart now. "Come on, we need to get this place ready. The hospital is going to be swarming with injured people when the bombing and shooting stops."

Everyone hurried off to prepare space for the men that were already starting to approach with wounds as the bombing continued outside. They all knew that it was going to be a day unlike they'd ever seen or even trained for. Pearl Harbor wasn't prepared for the attack. Ships were sinking, burning, and exploding before they even knew what was happening, and it had just barely begun.

Danny woke up with the sun shining on his face to the sound of deafening explosions. Lying down in the front seat of his car, where he had fallen asleep while staring at the sky and talking to Rafe the night before, he mentally decided that beds were a whole lot more comfortable. Groaning at the pain in his neck, he rolled over. "Why do they have to practice so early on a Sunday?"

Rafe had spent the night stretched out in the back seat, and rubbed at his eyes sleepily as he sat up. As soon as he looked up and saw the planes, he did a double take. "Shit, Danny, those aren't our planes!"

"What?" Danny's head whipped up to look and he recognized the Japanese Zeroes immediately. "They're Japs!" He turned towards the harbor, ignoring the crick in his neck, and paled when he saw the sinking ships through the thick smoke. "Oh shit."

"Get me to a damn plane," Rafe ordered, hopping into the front seat and pounding on the dash with his fist for emphasis. Danny grabbed the keys and started the car, putting it in gear and slamming his foot down on the gas pedal.

He drove to the base like a man possessed, barely stopping on the tarmac before he and Rafe were jumping out and running for the hangar. There were already men all around them—men holding rifles, shooting at the planes that flew overhead and cursing the near futility of it.

Bullets were showering down on them, and men ran and danced their way across the airstrip in an effort to save themselves that would have looked comical under any other circumstances. But right then, if you were too slow or zig-zagged the wrong way you were dead.

Danny and Rafe made their way between the clusters of landed planes, but every single one was damaged or destroyed. "Damn it," Rafe muttered, still ducking under a wing as he thought. "I can't do a thing for us unless I'm in the air."

"We have to get to the car," Danny announced, cautiously peeking out his head to look around them.

"What? You don't even know if there still is a car!"

"Any better ideas?"

"No," Rafe admitted. "Let's go." They scrambled out and broke into a mad run for the car. Danny gunned the engine and roared off almost as soon as his butt hit the seat. "Where are we going?"

"An auxiliary field about ten minutes away from here," Danny yelled back over the sound of the enemy fire. "It probably hasn't been hit yet. I work on some of the planes there."

"We'll need help," Rafe pointed out.

"You're right… Red! Goose! Get in, now!" he yelled when he saw their friends ducking and firing up at the planes. He barely slowed the car, but neither man hesitated to hurtle into the backseat. "Hold on!" He executed a quick turn at full speed and silently gave thanks to the car's powerful engine and new tires.

By the time they reached the auxiliary field they'd picked up more than a few holes in the exterior of the car, but thankfully no one had been hit.

"I was here and checked 'em out yesterday, Danny," Red said as they all piled out of the car. "There are three in there. One's in no condition to fly anytime soon, one's good on fuel and ready to fly but low on ammunition, and the third needs some fuel."

"Get two ready and get us up," Danny replied simply, leading the way into the large storehouse.

The men started to work, going into the supplies and loading the planes with the ammunition and fuel that they would need. It didn't take long to finish prepping them, but to Danny and Rafe, itching to get into the air and make a difference, it felt like forever.

"You watch out for us from the ground," Danny told his friends as he climbed into one of the planes.

"You take care of yourselves up there and we'll shoot at any bastard that dare try to get you down," Goose replied loyally, a loaded rifle in his hands. "You know you'll be alone up there. I think these might be the only planes that we've got left."

"The Japs are leaving now that they've done their filth," Rafe answered as he closed the hatch on his plane. "And you guys are behind us."

"You bet we are," Goose agreed.

"Let's do it," Rafe encouraged, switching the buttons on the front panel and bringing the plane to life. "They'll regret this." With that he took off, his plane rolling along the badly paved runway and picking up speed.

Danny followed, ready for whatever the Japs could throw at him. He had a lot to fight for, and he wasn't going to let those damn Japs take him down.

The hospital was swamped with injured and dying men almost as soon as the attack ended. So many had been shot, burned, or involved in an explosion that the nurses literally had no place to put them all. Patients were taken into every available room, including storage spaces and the kitchen.

Alex, Evelyn, Amy, and Wanda tried to stay close to each other when they could. Hayley and Betty had somehow gotten separated from them, probably sent out to administer morphine to those that couldn't actually get into the hospital. For so many, death from their horrible wounds was inevitable. No one could help them once they reached a certain point.

Alex and Evelyn worked together steadily in one room, knowing that Wanda and Amy were only in the next one over. Even moving from one patient to the next had become difficult; in a room made to accommodate six to seven patients, almost thirty had been packed in.

"Evelyn, start marking the men according to what treatment they need," the doctor who'd been with them all morning instructed. "We need a way to organize the patients."

Evelyn was busy stitching up a gaping slash in a man's neck and nodded numbly, not even sparing a glance up from her work. Her fingers were quick and steady, revealing none of the fear and nervousness that swamped her. As soon as she was done, she went to do as the doctor had asked. Keep busy, just keep moving… "I… I don't see a marker," she stuttered. She found one, but tried it and it came out dry. "There aren't any markers!"

Alex, trying to calm down a man as a doctor worked on getting a bullet out of his leg, let her eyes wander around the room. Everything that had been so orderly before was in chaos: trays overturned, drawers pulled open and left empty, stacks of towels and gauze fallen onto the blood-soaked floor so it was unusable. "Evelyn! Evelyn, use my lipstick. It's in the bag I left the other day, in the desk."

Evelyn got to the desk and dug desperately for the little tube. When she found it, she tossed the cap aside and started marking the patients' foreheads: M for morphine to ease the pain, C for critical so the doctor would know immediate attention was needed and… F for fatal. Those were the hardest for her.

She hadn't even finished with the people in that one room when the doctor approached her again. "There are too many people in here and they're still bringing others in. I need you and Alex to go outside and make sure that only those who still have a chance get inside."

Alex walked over, hearing what he'd said. "Doctor, we can't…" She simply wasn't up to playing God, deciding who would get medical attention and live, and who would die.

"You have to. Please. Go."

Evelyn and Alex both hated the idea, but they went outside together, Alex grabbing her spare tube of lipstick on the way.

"Are you holding up okay?" Evelyn asked her younger friend as they walked through the hall towards the entrance. She knew it was a stupid question as soon as she said it. Of course she wasn't okay; no one who'd seen what they'd seen was okay. "How are your legs?"

Alex glanced down dismissively. To be honest, she'd almost forgotten about her cut-up legs, and the sight of her dress covered in blood—the blood of so many people she couldn't count, some of which were dead by now—hurt more than any physical injury she had. "Just scratches. I'm fine."

Sensing the pain that couldn't be fixed by any ointment or bandage, Evelyn reached out to squeeze her hand.

They got to the entrance, and Evelyn turned to speak to the orderlies stationed at the doors. "Don't let anyone without a mark from us on their foreheads through."

The orderlies nodded and started trying to clear some room by the doors.

Alex and Evelyn made their way through the sea of men, marking foreheads, holding back tears, and always keeping a thought on where the other one was. Somewhere in their minds, both girls were worrying about whether or not they would see Danny and Rafe appear in the crowd of injured. Where were they now?

A man who was apparently still in good shape approached Alex, carrying a woman in his arms. All Alex could see was her reddish-brown hair, matted with blood, and the awful gash in her side. It looked very possibly fatal—deep, with the piece of shrapnel that had done the damage still visible in the wound. Without even thinking, Alex reached for her wrist to check for a pulse and found one, thready and weak but still there.

"I found her like this not too far away," the soldier explained. "I couldn't leave her there…"

"Thank you. Please just set her down and go see if you can find anyone else who will need our help. Thank you."

"Will do, ma'am," the man replied, easing her down on the ground and going back into the fray.

"Evelyn, I need your help," she called as she pushed the girl's hair out of her face, ready to check how responsive she was. When she saw Hayley wincing up at her, she gasped and tears filled her eyes. "Hayley? No… no," she choked out, shaking her head. "Oh God… Evelyn!"

Evelyn rushed over as soon as she heard the terrified scream. "Alex, what is it—Hayley?" She dropped to her knees beside her friends, hands fluttering for something to do. But she was an experienced nurse, and she knew after one glance at the wound that there was nothing she could do.

Hayley was shaking as Alex lifted her head into her lap, petting her hair like she'd do to soothe an upset child. She tried to smile at the familiar gesture. "I…I guess I wasn't… fast enough…"

"Hold on, honey, we're going to get you some help. I need a doctor over here!" Alex yelled, looking around desperately. "Don't you give up on us, all right? Hold on. You'll be okay." The tears that fell from her eyes as she stared at the pale face of her friend told a different story.

"I'm… not," Hayley got out weakly, her eyes fluttering open and closed. "I know… I'm not."

"No! You have to be. You can't leave us. You have to hold on and be strong… we'll get you in there right now. Someone get her inside!" she barked, searching for someone—anyone—in the crowd who could help.

"Alex… don't bother," Hayley panted, her eyes staring blankly up at her friends as they leaned over her. "I'm with… you two. It's better here…"

"No, Hayley, please don't talk like that," Evelyn begged, pushed beyond logic. Today, right now, she needed a miracle.

"I'm so cold…" Hayley muttered. "Tell Levi I love… him."

"Hayley? Hayley! No!" Alex wailed as Hayley's body grew still. "Please, Hayley, don't leave us." There was no response and she clung to the body on her lap desperately, not looking at the blank eyes that showed that her friend was gone.

"Alex…" Evelyn's voice was nothing more than a mournful whimper. "Alex, there's nothing we can do."

Alex let out a harsh sob and covered her face with her hands, knowing the truth in Evelyn's words. Hayley was gone, and no amount of grief or anger would make her come back. Still, she couldn't help staying there on the ground, holding her friend's body in her lap and weeping for so many lives lost, for a moment. It was all too much, and she didn't think she was strong enough to get through it.

Evelyn couldn't stand to watch, feeling like her heart was breaking. "Good bye, Hayley," she wept, and then walked away, trying to stop the flow of her tears.

Alex swiped at her cheeks with an angry hand and looked down at her friend. "I'm sorry, Hayley. I'm so sorry," she whispered, tears dripping down onto the lifeless face. "I should have gone out to help. I should've been the one to go." She brushed her hand down Hayley's eyelids, closing her eyes one final time, and pressed her lips onto her forehead.

Tears still streaming down her face, Alex got up and found one of the hospital workers. "Take her over there," she ordered in a voice void of emotion, motioning to the area where the dead had been placed. "Be careful with the body."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good-bye," Alex murmured to her friend as she was taken away. "I'll always remember you."