Alex was sitting on the rocks staring out into the ocean when Danny walked up. She'd changed from her uniform into a black patterned dress, her hair loose down her back, and there was something about her then, outlined against the water, that was heartbreakingly beautiful. He worried for a moment over her blank expression—worried that maybe the war was affecting her as it had affected his father.

"What are you thinking about?" he called as he got closer.

She seemed startled by his voice, but the melancholy on her face disappeared when she looked at him. "You," she answered simply. "What happened with Doolittle? Did you get into trouble?"

Danny shook his head as he sat down next to her. "No, nothing like that… Alex, we're going away on a secret mission, me and Rafe," he informed her gently. "I don't know where to, or for how long. All I really know is that we fly out tomorrow."

She felt her throat close up, and wondered if it were possible for words to strangle someone. Medically it seemed ridiculous, but nothing else could explain this sudden sensation of being choked by absolutely nothing. "Oh," she managed to force out. "Okay."

Danny was stunned by her response. He'd been expecting more. He'd even been ready for more—anger or tears or a soft plea to stay. It was easier this way, her indifference letting him off the hook because he didn't seem to be causing her any pain by leaving, but he did wonder why she seemed to care so little when he loved her with all of his heart. It hurt, more than he'd thought it could. "It's a chance to make a difference, and I have to take it."

She forced herself to nod calmly. "I understand."

"Well, how do you feel about it?"

She whirled to look at him, and the emotions she'd been trying to hold back erupted like a volcano. "How do you think I feel about it?" she hissed. "The two most important men in my life are going away tomorrow on a dangerous mission to who-knows-where. I hate it, and I hate myself for feeling that way because I know this is bigger than us and the way I feel about you. You need to go, and no amount of screaming or crying or wishing is going to change that, but it still makes me feel like I'm dying inside."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I have to leave, and I'm sorry it hurts you—"

She shook her head, struggling to block out his words. "Let's not talk about it, Danny…"

"No, I want to say this," he insisted, his voice serious as his eyes met hers and held. "Leaving you is going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"Danny—"

"But that's a good thing, don't you see? Because it means coming home to you when the mission is done will be the easiest thing I'll ever do."

She smiled weakly, her chin quivering. "I do like your logic."

He smiled back, wrapping an arm around her. "Schooling does pay off after all."

They were quiet for a while, enjoying the simple pleasure of company they would soon be deprived of. After a minute, Alex sighed. "I want to go with you and Rafe back to Tennessee," she blurted out. She'd been planning on easing into her announcement, but it just didn't happen.

"You mean that?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. Rafe asked Evelyn if she would move out there and she said yes, but even if she hadn't, I'd still want to go." She shrugged, a little nervous. "People always talk about what home means. And I love my mom, that's why I went with her without throwing a fit when my parents divorced, but out there isn't where home is. It's in Tennessee, with Rafe. With you."

Aside from praying that he wouldn't laugh at her, she didn't know how he would respond to that. The way he leaned in close and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips made her relax again. "You're my home, too."

"Danny, what about Rafe? Do you think he'll have a problem with me moving back?"

"Of course not, Alex. He's wanted you back home ever since you left," he assured her. "He might not be thrilled about us right now, but it'll get better."

"You two are working things out?"

"He still wants to talk with you. He probably would've done it sooner, but with the attack… we haven't had time to think about much else. But that day, nothing between me and him seemed wrong," Danny told her. "Flying with him was just as easy as it's ever been."

"Then at least one good thing came from that day," Alex whispered bitterly.

He eyed her carefully, wondering if asking the questions running rampant in his mind would be helpful or seem like pushing. Finally, he just took a breath and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" What she'd intended to be a light, nonchalant question came out sounding forced.

Danny sighed. "Don't do that, not with me. Don't act like nothing's eating you up inside, because I know you better than that and I can see it in your eyes." She glanced away quickly, as if she could hide from him, and he shook his head. "The things you saw that day would be enough to haunt anyone, but keepin' them to yourself won't make 'em go away."

She cringed as the thoughts she'd tried to banish pushed their way to the forefront of her mind. "Hayley died in my arms, Danny, and I should have been able to help her. I'm a nurse, I'm trained to help people, but… I lost so many patients that day."

"That wasn't your fault. Every nurse and doctor in the hospital lost patients that day, Alex," he pointed out rationally. "The best doctors with the best equipment couldn't have saved most of those people once the damage was done. Some injuries just can't be healed, you know that. You did the best you could."

"My best wasn't good enough."

"Your best probably saved more than a hundred people—people that would have died without you," he countered. "Don't focus on the ones who were gone before they got to you."

"I can't help it," she confessed. "It's who I am, remember? The girl who's so crazy that she can't stop thinking about the what-ifs."

"It's not just you. Something like this happens, everyone starts thinking about what they could have done differently."

She looked up in surprise. "Even you?"

"Of course even me. Why wouldn't I?"

"You're one of two men who actually got into the air to fight back. You and Rafe took down seven planes."

He shrugged it off as if the accomplishments were nothing. "And if we'd gotten those planes up a little faster, how many could we have taken down? Eight? Ten? Too many of those bombers got away." He sincerely hoped that this upcoming mission would help remedy that, but he didn't say so aloud. "We all did what we could. There's no use looking back on it and beating ourselves up about what might have been."

She sighed, reluctantly admitting that he had a point. "All right. But for what it's worth, I'm proud of what you did, Danny."

He kissed the top of her head. "For what it's worth, I'm proud of what you did, too."