Healing the Breach
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you would recognize, just the plot.
Notes from the Author: For the purposes of this story Anthony didn't die but he did suffer
from a head injury during the mission. There is some romance in this story, so far the
pairings are Rafe/Evelyn and Anthony/Sandra.
The eight nurses and pilots gathered around a large booth in the back of one of the clubs
in town. They met there at least once a week for dinner and dancing. Sandra loved nights
like these, ones that made life seem normal again. There was something about getting
dressed-up, knowing that she would see Anthony in his uniform, that reminded her of life
before America had joined the war. Tonight, they had even been able to persuade Barbara
to join them. After Billy's death she had taken a turn for the worse, hardly talking and
only leaving the house to work at the hospital. Sandra thought that Evelyn's baby had
begun to remind her that while life could be destroyed it could also be created.
And there Barbara sat, sandwiched between Gooz and Red, martini in hand, giggling
away at one of Gooz's jokes. She had curled her blonde hair, powdered her fair skin,
painted her lips a dark red, and poured her curvaceous frame into a dark blue dress. Gooz,
who seemingly appreciated her ample curves, had paid special attention to Barbara at the
table. He seemed to think that no one noticed his behavior but Sandra couldn't help
looking at them from out of the corner of her eye. She was glad that Barbara was having
a good time but was worried that she and Gooz could rush into a relationship like Evelyn
and Danny had.
Anthony looked over at Sandra and watched her begin to twist her dinner napkin in her
hands. "Hey," he whispered, twining his fingers around one of her hands. "Just relax. Try
and have some fun tonight." Anthony was surprised to see that Sandra wasn't wearing
her glasses tonight. She had explained to him when he picked her up that she only needed
them for reading and close-up. She dropped the napkin back into her lap but, did not let
go of his hand, just lowered it so that their joined hands were resting on one of her thighs.
Anthony looked down, rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles and squeezed her hand
reassuringly. "Everything's gonna be okay."
Gooz stood up as the house band began to play an up-beat swing number and offered his
hand to Barbara. "Well Miss Barbie," he said, as she giggled at her new nickname. "I
don't know about you but I think it's a shame to be sitting here when such good music is
being played." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Barbara adjusted her dress
over her hips, a gesture that did not go by unnoticed by the dozen or so men that had their
eyes glued to Barbara, and smiled. "I'd have to say that I'd love to dance."
Soon after Gooz and Barbara began to twirl energetically on the dance floor the other
couples followed. Anthony and Sandra were dancing intimately in secluded corner while
Red had summoned up the courage to ask Martha to dance, despite his stutter. Rafe and
Evelyn were soon among the few people still sitting at their tables. Evelyn was watching
the other couples, tapping her foot in time to the music. She missed dancing. She missed
everything that she had been able to do when she wasn't pregnant.
Rafe had been watching Evelyn all night long. He couldn't really help it, being around
her seemed to hypnotize him. He noticed that she chewed every bite of food exactly
eighteen times, that she laid her knife and fork upside-down on the sided of her plate
when she wasn't using them, and that she dabbed at the left corner of her mouth with her
napkin after every four bites. "Her mother must have been strict about good table
manners," Rafe thought. He didn't know much about Evelyn's mother except that she
had died when Evelyn was just a little girl and was the reason she became a nurse.
She seemed tired, he noticed, more than usual. Sandra had told him the other day that,
"This hasn't been an easy pregnancy for her, by any means. Just take care of her Rafe.
For all of us. He intended to do so, even though Evelyn was quite stubborn, insisting that
she didn't need any help. "Come on," he said, watching her head droop. "Let's get you
home." She nodded, not up for a protest tonight. "I'll go get our coats and tell Sandra that
I'm taking you home."
Rafe headed back towards the dance floor after retrieving his flight jacket and Evelyn's
light coat from the coatroom. He spotted Anthony and Sandra still dancing in the corner
that he had last seen them in. He smiled, thinking that Sandra would be good for
Anthony. He needed someone to talk to. He had Evelyn, Barbara and Red had formed a
special bond of late, and Gooz…, Rafe wasn't sure about who Gooz talked to. He tapped
Anthony on the shoulder.
"I'm taking Evelyn home. She's tired," he said, as Anthony turned around to face him.
"Drive carefully Rafe. It's dark out," Sandra reminded him, reminding him strangely of
his mother at the moment.
"I always do Sandra," he chuckled. "I think I'm gonna do it tonight," he whispered, not
wanting Sandra to hear.
"It!" Sandra exclaimed, overhearing their conversation. "It, Rafe?!" she said happily.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Rafe smiled. It would figure that Sandra would understand and not Anthony.
"Do you have everything planned?" she asked. "Do you know what you're going to say?"
"Well sort of," Rafe answered. The truth was that he knew what he wanted to say and
what he wanted to happen but, he wasn't sure what he would say or what would happen
when he had to say it in front of Evelyn instead of in front of a mirror.
"Good luck," Sandra said, giving him a hug. "Just say what you mean. She loves you."
Rafe nodded, encouraged by Sandra's words, and started back towards the booth, leaving
Sandra to deal with a very confused Anthony.
"What was that all about?" Anthony asked. "What's he gonna do?"
Sandra laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. "You'll see tomorrow."
Rafe ran his fingers over the small box in his trouser pocket. He was going to ask Evelyn
to marry him, tonight. The ring, which he had bought in France, reminded him of Evelyn
as soon as he saw it. The band, which was silver filigree, held three diamonds, a bigger
one in the middle with a smaller diamond on each sided. His heart was beating so fast
that it made it hard for Rafe to breathe.
Evelyn smiled as Rafe helped her into the coat he had insisted that she bring. She was
tired of people trying to take care of her, even though she knew they all meant well.
Everyone was doing it, even Gooz. The other day she had been walking home with a bag
of groceries she had picked up from the store when she had met Gooz on the sidewalk.
He had insisted on carrying the groceries and walking her home. He even gave her what
Evelyn suspected to be a mini-lecture on why she shouldn't be walking around by
herself.
"Let's get you home," Rafe said, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded as Rafe helped
her to her feet. Evelyn had been becoming continually more tired as her due date neared.
The doctors had been worried that Evelyn wouldn't gain enough weight to be able to
safely deliver the baby but in the last month her stomach had grown every day. Her
ankles had swollen and she was constantly hot. She couldn't wait to give birth just so that
she wouldn't be pregnant anymore.
Rafe, who had always been a good driver, drove especially slow on the curvy roads that
led to the nurse's quarters. He grew steadily more nervous as they got closer to Evelyn's
house. He began to tap his hands on the steering wheel until Evelyn reached a hand out to
stop him.
"What's the matter?" she asked, taking his hand of the steering wheel and placing it in
her lap.
"What makes you think that something's wrong?" Rafe asked, recognizing her question.
He tried to think straightly but, it was a hard thing to do with Evelyn softly massaging his
palm. They knew each other's behavior and habits intimately.
"You're tapping the steering wheel," Evelyn pointed out. She knew that Rafe did this
when he was worried about something.
"Ev, I've got to ask you something," He said, as he pulled the car over on the side of the
road. "I was watching you at dinner tonight and it made me realize something. I realized
that I want to spend every meal of the rest of my life at a table, our table, with you and
with Danny. I don't want to be taking you home to your house, I want to be taking you
home to our house." he said, placing his hands on her stomach. "I love you more than
anything and nothing would make me happier than to hear you say that you'll marry me."
He pulled the box out of his pocket and gave it to her. "Evelyn Stewart, will you marry
me?"
Evelyn gasped as she opened the box, revealing to her what she thought must be the most
gorgeous ring in the world. His proposal was so very Rafe and Evelyn couldn't even
fathom saying no. Life had never asked her what she wanted but maybe it had heard her
tell Rafe and decided her worthy of getting what she wanted. A home with Rafe and for
them to grow old together. "Yes," she answered breathlessly. "Yes, Rafe McCawley, I'll
marry you." Rafe sighed as if relieved by her answer. Evelyn placed a hand on each of
his cheeks, drew his face to hers, and kissed him.
They sat in the front of Rafe's car, kissing, as if they were oblivious to the rest of the
world until Evelyn started to wheeze strangely. Her hands flew to her stomach where she
wrapped them around herself. She broke their kiss and Rafe looked at her, confused.
"Rafe, get me to the hospital. Now!"
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you would recognize, just the plot.
Notes from the Author: For the purposes of this story Anthony didn't die but he did suffer
from a head injury during the mission. There is some romance in this story, so far the
pairings are Rafe/Evelyn and Anthony/Sandra.
The eight nurses and pilots gathered around a large booth in the back of one of the clubs
in town. They met there at least once a week for dinner and dancing. Sandra loved nights
like these, ones that made life seem normal again. There was something about getting
dressed-up, knowing that she would see Anthony in his uniform, that reminded her of life
before America had joined the war. Tonight, they had even been able to persuade Barbara
to join them. After Billy's death she had taken a turn for the worse, hardly talking and
only leaving the house to work at the hospital. Sandra thought that Evelyn's baby had
begun to remind her that while life could be destroyed it could also be created.
And there Barbara sat, sandwiched between Gooz and Red, martini in hand, giggling
away at one of Gooz's jokes. She had curled her blonde hair, powdered her fair skin,
painted her lips a dark red, and poured her curvaceous frame into a dark blue dress. Gooz,
who seemingly appreciated her ample curves, had paid special attention to Barbara at the
table. He seemed to think that no one noticed his behavior but Sandra couldn't help
looking at them from out of the corner of her eye. She was glad that Barbara was having
a good time but was worried that she and Gooz could rush into a relationship like Evelyn
and Danny had.
Anthony looked over at Sandra and watched her begin to twist her dinner napkin in her
hands. "Hey," he whispered, twining his fingers around one of her hands. "Just relax. Try
and have some fun tonight." Anthony was surprised to see that Sandra wasn't wearing
her glasses tonight. She had explained to him when he picked her up that she only needed
them for reading and close-up. She dropped the napkin back into her lap but, did not let
go of his hand, just lowered it so that their joined hands were resting on one of her thighs.
Anthony looked down, rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles and squeezed her hand
reassuringly. "Everything's gonna be okay."
Gooz stood up as the house band began to play an up-beat swing number and offered his
hand to Barbara. "Well Miss Barbie," he said, as she giggled at her new nickname. "I
don't know about you but I think it's a shame to be sitting here when such good music is
being played." He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Barbara adjusted her dress
over her hips, a gesture that did not go by unnoticed by the dozen or so men that had their
eyes glued to Barbara, and smiled. "I'd have to say that I'd love to dance."
Soon after Gooz and Barbara began to twirl energetically on the dance floor the other
couples followed. Anthony and Sandra were dancing intimately in secluded corner while
Red had summoned up the courage to ask Martha to dance, despite his stutter. Rafe and
Evelyn were soon among the few people still sitting at their tables. Evelyn was watching
the other couples, tapping her foot in time to the music. She missed dancing. She missed
everything that she had been able to do when she wasn't pregnant.
Rafe had been watching Evelyn all night long. He couldn't really help it, being around
her seemed to hypnotize him. He noticed that she chewed every bite of food exactly
eighteen times, that she laid her knife and fork upside-down on the sided of her plate
when she wasn't using them, and that she dabbed at the left corner of her mouth with her
napkin after every four bites. "Her mother must have been strict about good table
manners," Rafe thought. He didn't know much about Evelyn's mother except that she
had died when Evelyn was just a little girl and was the reason she became a nurse.
She seemed tired, he noticed, more than usual. Sandra had told him the other day that,
"This hasn't been an easy pregnancy for her, by any means. Just take care of her Rafe.
For all of us. He intended to do so, even though Evelyn was quite stubborn, insisting that
she didn't need any help. "Come on," he said, watching her head droop. "Let's get you
home." She nodded, not up for a protest tonight. "I'll go get our coats and tell Sandra that
I'm taking you home."
Rafe headed back towards the dance floor after retrieving his flight jacket and Evelyn's
light coat from the coatroom. He spotted Anthony and Sandra still dancing in the corner
that he had last seen them in. He smiled, thinking that Sandra would be good for
Anthony. He needed someone to talk to. He had Evelyn, Barbara and Red had formed a
special bond of late, and Gooz…, Rafe wasn't sure about who Gooz talked to. He tapped
Anthony on the shoulder.
"I'm taking Evelyn home. She's tired," he said, as Anthony turned around to face him.
"Drive carefully Rafe. It's dark out," Sandra reminded him, reminding him strangely of
his mother at the moment.
"I always do Sandra," he chuckled. "I think I'm gonna do it tonight," he whispered, not
wanting Sandra to hear.
"It!" Sandra exclaimed, overhearing their conversation. "It, Rafe?!" she said happily.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Rafe smiled. It would figure that Sandra would understand and not Anthony.
"Do you have everything planned?" she asked. "Do you know what you're going to say?"
"Well sort of," Rafe answered. The truth was that he knew what he wanted to say and
what he wanted to happen but, he wasn't sure what he would say or what would happen
when he had to say it in front of Evelyn instead of in front of a mirror.
"Good luck," Sandra said, giving him a hug. "Just say what you mean. She loves you."
Rafe nodded, encouraged by Sandra's words, and started back towards the booth, leaving
Sandra to deal with a very confused Anthony.
"What was that all about?" Anthony asked. "What's he gonna do?"
Sandra laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. "You'll see tomorrow."
Rafe ran his fingers over the small box in his trouser pocket. He was going to ask Evelyn
to marry him, tonight. The ring, which he had bought in France, reminded him of Evelyn
as soon as he saw it. The band, which was silver filigree, held three diamonds, a bigger
one in the middle with a smaller diamond on each sided. His heart was beating so fast
that it made it hard for Rafe to breathe.
Evelyn smiled as Rafe helped her into the coat he had insisted that she bring. She was
tired of people trying to take care of her, even though she knew they all meant well.
Everyone was doing it, even Gooz. The other day she had been walking home with a bag
of groceries she had picked up from the store when she had met Gooz on the sidewalk.
He had insisted on carrying the groceries and walking her home. He even gave her what
Evelyn suspected to be a mini-lecture on why she shouldn't be walking around by
herself.
"Let's get you home," Rafe said, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded as Rafe helped
her to her feet. Evelyn had been becoming continually more tired as her due date neared.
The doctors had been worried that Evelyn wouldn't gain enough weight to be able to
safely deliver the baby but in the last month her stomach had grown every day. Her
ankles had swollen and she was constantly hot. She couldn't wait to give birth just so that
she wouldn't be pregnant anymore.
Rafe, who had always been a good driver, drove especially slow on the curvy roads that
led to the nurse's quarters. He grew steadily more nervous as they got closer to Evelyn's
house. He began to tap his hands on the steering wheel until Evelyn reached a hand out to
stop him.
"What's the matter?" she asked, taking his hand of the steering wheel and placing it in
her lap.
"What makes you think that something's wrong?" Rafe asked, recognizing her question.
He tried to think straightly but, it was a hard thing to do with Evelyn softly massaging his
palm. They knew each other's behavior and habits intimately.
"You're tapping the steering wheel," Evelyn pointed out. She knew that Rafe did this
when he was worried about something.
"Ev, I've got to ask you something," He said, as he pulled the car over on the side of the
road. "I was watching you at dinner tonight and it made me realize something. I realized
that I want to spend every meal of the rest of my life at a table, our table, with you and
with Danny. I don't want to be taking you home to your house, I want to be taking you
home to our house." he said, placing his hands on her stomach. "I love you more than
anything and nothing would make me happier than to hear you say that you'll marry me."
He pulled the box out of his pocket and gave it to her. "Evelyn Stewart, will you marry
me?"
Evelyn gasped as she opened the box, revealing to her what she thought must be the most
gorgeous ring in the world. His proposal was so very Rafe and Evelyn couldn't even
fathom saying no. Life had never asked her what she wanted but maybe it had heard her
tell Rafe and decided her worthy of getting what she wanted. A home with Rafe and for
them to grow old together. "Yes," she answered breathlessly. "Yes, Rafe McCawley, I'll
marry you." Rafe sighed as if relieved by her answer. Evelyn placed a hand on each of
his cheeks, drew his face to hers, and kissed him.
They sat in the front of Rafe's car, kissing, as if they were oblivious to the rest of the
world until Evelyn started to wheeze strangely. Her hands flew to her stomach where she
wrapped them around herself. She broke their kiss and Rafe looked at her, confused.
"Rafe, get me to the hospital. Now!"