It had been a beautiful day and Evelyn's first out since the birth of their son, Joseph Michael McCawley.

Rafe didn't even try to hide a grin when he'd seen how his wife looked in the dress Sandra had asked her to wear as her matron of honor. Evelyn had gotten her figure back and was more beautiful than ever.

Evelyn wished she'd gotten her figure back before the wedding, but the dress Sandra wanted her to wear hid that fact and in the end it didn't really matter how she looked. Sandra was a vision and Danny was so serious in his dress uniform.

Even though it was their friend's wedding day, it was just as special for Rafe and Evelyn because they had been asked by the bride and the groom that Danny and Sarah be their ring bearer and flower girl. Evelyn thought they were a little young, but it was important to Danny and to Sandra that all the McCawley's be a part of their wedding day.

They walked their children up the aisle as Danny tried not to drop the rings and Sarah grabbed the rose petals in her chubby hands from the small basket and tossed them in front of her.

When the four McCawley's got to the front of the chapel, their parents sat the youngest members of the wedding party next to Rafe's parents, who had arrived the night before at Danny's request. They had been the closest things he'd had to parents after his daddy died and he couldn't imagine getting married without them there.

Rafe and Evelyn stood up with their friends as they repeated the same vows they had four years before and Rafe couldn't keep a grin off of his face as he watched his best friend finally get married.

By the end of the day, Danny and Sandra were gone and everyone who had come back for the wedding had returned to their hotels. That left Rafe, Evelyn and his parents with three sleeping children on the front porch of their house.

The baby had slept through most of the day. It amazed Evelyn that he had because he'd shown his parents how strong his lungs really were over the last month. It was hard for the older children to understand why the baby cried so much and as much as Evelyn tried to explain it, they were only three and two.

Rafe had his sleeping son in one arm and his other arm around Danny, while Sarah had fallen asleep in her mother's lap. Rafe's parents were having their evening cup of coffee. "I don't know how you can do it son."

"Do what Daddy?"

"Leave this place. The moment your mother and I got off the ship, we agreed that this is what heaven must look like."

"I can't argue with that sir, but I really want to come home now." Rafe told him.

Thomas could see how much it meant for his son to come home, so he didn't say another word. "Speakin' of comin' home, when can your mother and I expect all of you?"

"My separation papers should be comin' through this next week, so another couple of weeks I would think."

"Your rooms will be ready for you whenever you do come back." Sarah was so pleased her wandering gypsy of a son was finally coming home and he was bringing a family with him. She looked at Thomas and smiled. "Tom, I'm ready to go back to the hotel now. "

He smiled back at her and took a last sip of his coffee and put the cup down on the side table. "Let's go then Sarah."

They stood up and Thomas leaned over and gave his daughter-in-law a kiss on the cheek. "It was nice to see you again daughter."

"It was nice to see you again too Dad." And he kissed his sleeping granddaughter.

"In all the excitement, I never had the chance to see how you were doing." Sarah told Evelyn. "All Rafe would tell us was that the baby came faster than you had expected."

Evelyn laughed. "He was in an awful hurry to get here that's for sure."

Sarah looked at her son. "And you really delivered him yourself?" She was amazed.

He grinned. "Yes ma'am."

Thomas laughed and looked at his wife. "You always did say when that boy of ours put his mind to somethin' he could do it."

"I didn't have delivering our grandchild in mind when I said that Thomas McCawley." She shook her head.

He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "Come along mother. Let's leave them alone now." He took her arm and they walked to the car Danny had left with them while they were in Hawaii. He wasn't going to have much use for it he told them and they might as well use it to get around.

Once his parents were gone, Rafe and Evelyn looked at each other and smiled. "You were beautiful today, Mrs. McCawley."

She smiled back. "You didn't look too bad yourself today either Captain."

He looked down at his dress uniform. "This is the last time I'll wear it."

She thought she heard a sound of regret in his voice. "Rafe, are you sure about this?"

"It's out of my hands now honey."

"That's not what I asked and you know it." She sighed.

"Evelyn, it's time to go home." And he got up as carefully as he could so he wouldn't wake his sons. Joseph was still asleep in the crook of his arm and as he got up, Danny curled up on the swing. "I'll put the baby down."

"All right Rafe." She kissed Sarah and laid her cheek on her daughter's head as Rafe took the baby into the house. Were they doing the right thing? Not for the first time did she wonder if it was fair to the kids to take them away from the only home they knew. Rafe did a lot of talking about wanting to go back to Tennessee but was it for him, or for her and the children? She had done a bit of talking herself too, saying that the children would adjust. But could she? They were going from having a home of their own to living with Rafe's parents. How was that going to work? She sighed again, the only way she would know that is after they got back there.

When he came back out to the front porch, he'd taken his jacket off, loosened his tie and his sleeves were rolled up. She took one look at that and laughed. "You had to change the baby didn't you?"

He grinned. "Yea." And he picked Danny up from the swing and helped Evelyn to stand. "Let's get these kids to bed."

They walked into the house and Rafe took her hand for a moment. "We're doin' the right thing honey."

She smiled at him before she leaned up to kiss his cheek. "If this is what you really want, then it's the right thing."

They didn't say anything else as they got the kids into their pajamas and put them down for the night. When they got to their room, the baby was sound asleep and Evelyn hoped he would sleep through the night. They had been taking turns getting up with him so Evelyn wouldn't be so tired. She really did count her blessings on that score because it was something a lot of husbands wouldn't do.

Rafe was standing over the bassinet that held his sleeping son. He still couldn't get over the fact that he's been born in this very room and that he'd helped Evelyn accomplish that feat.

She came up behind him and put her arms around his waist. "What are you thinking about Rafe?"

He took her hands in his. "I'm just thinkin' how lucky I am to have you and the kids and that I helped to bring our son into the world." And he kissed the hand that had his engagement and wedding ring on it.

"I love you Rafe." Was all she said and it was all he needed to hear as he turned around and put his arms around her.

He was serious as he asked her, "Did the doctor tell you when it would be all right for us to...". Rafe's voice trailed off, but Evelyn knew what he meant.

"We really should wait another couple of weeks." She said sensibly.

He sighed. "Would I be a terrible husband if I told you I can't wait a couple of weeks? I've missed you Evelyn."

"You wouldn't be a terrible husband because I've missed you too." She also sighed and tightened her hold around his waist. "Now would be the time though."

"Are you sure?"

She smiled. "Are you changing your mind?"

He grinned at her. "Of course not. I just want this to be all right with you."

Evelyn leaned against him and kissed him. "It's perfectly all right with me." She assured him and Rafe's grin got wider as he kissed his wife back.