Life was good, Danny Walker thought. Life was good for Rafe, for Evelyn and for his son.

He'd spent many anxious hours in his usual spot as he had watched what had transpired on Earth, but he needn't have worried. Love had seen the McCawley's through the crisis and had brought them closer than ever. That made him happy and was glad that Danny and Rafe's relationship had not changed for the worst.

Anthony had urged him to talk to Evelyn and Danny was glad that he'd resisted the idea. In his heart he knew that this was something that they would have to figure out on their own and any interference from him would have complicated matters.

One by one he saw the lights blink out around the McCawley home and he heard the soft laughter of Rafe and Evelyn. Their life really was good.

He didn't hear Anthony come up behind him. "You feel better now?"

Danny turned to him and smiled. "Yea. Rafe's been a real good daddy to Danny and I didn't want anythin' to change. I couldn't ask for a better Thanksgivin'."

"Well it's not quite over yet. There is a huge turkey waiting for us and it's your turn to carve." Anthony grinned at him.

"I forgot about that. Did I tell you that Danny shot the turkey this year?" Danny smiled with a father's pride.

"Only about a hundred times."

He wasn't one to dwell on his situation, but Danny became serious because he couldn't help but wish it had been him and not Rafe that had been with his son when he'd bagged the turkey. "It should have been me."

"I know Danny."

He hadn't realized that he'd said it out loud. "Oh hell Anthony, I shouldn't have said that."

"Why not? It's how you feel."

"I know, but that ain't the point. Things are the way they are and Danny is Rafe's son." He sighed.

"Do you ever think about what it could have been like if you'd survived?"

Danny nodded. "When we first got here and I met my son, I did. But the longer we were here and seein' what Rafe and Evelyn were goin' through because of what happened, I realized that they really were meant for each other. If I'd survived, Evelyn and I would have gotten married but I don't think she would have been as happy with me as she's been with Rafe."

"You don't know that Danny."

"Yea, I do. I ain't sayin' that she would have been unhappy bein' married to me, but she didn't love me the way she loves Rafe. And knowin' that I can say it wouldn't have been as good for us. She deserved more than what I could have given her because I wasn't Rafe."

"You're a hell of a guy Danny." Anthony told him.

"Not me Anthony, it's Rafe. He's been raisin' my son and never once let him feel as though he was anythin' less than his own. He forgave Evelyn and me and honored me by givin' my name to a son that wasn't his."

"You're still a hell of a guy. Come on, there's a turkey waiting for you to carve."

Danny clapped his friend on the back. "I don't think I've ever told you how much your friendship has meant to me since we've been here. We may not have agreed on a lot of things, but you've always been here when I've needed to talk to someone. Thanks."

It was Anthony's turn to sigh. "I know how hard it was for you to leave Rafe in that field and leave Evelyn with a baby on the way. I've never tried to be Rafe, but we went through a lot together and you needed a friend."

"Let's go carve that turkey." He said with a grin and the two friends walked away.

For the first time in sixteen years, Evelyn McCawley didn't wake up with the thought in the back of her mind that she and Rafe would eventually have to tell Danny about where he came from, or rather whom he came from.

No matter how many times they had talked about it over the years, the time just never seemed right. They had even discussed the possibility that they would never tell him, but always nixed the idea.

She often wondered if they'd done the right thing with Danny not being told about his father. It had been a strain on Rafe many times because he'd want to talk about his best friend, but it always brought them back to the fact that Daniel Rafe was not his by blood. But right or wrong they had done what they felt best for each other and Danny.

The sun had started to peak through the window and she sighed. For the first time since Danny had overheard his parents, it felt as though they had turned the corner on Thanksgiving Day and Danny had begun to mend his fences with her. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and it was still early, too early for anyone to be up except perhaps Thomas.

Rafe had inherited many wonderful qualities from his father, but being an early riser had not been one of them. He had always told her that he'd never been much good with the morning and when he'd been in the Air Corps he did it because he had to. "Being a civilian has its advantages." He'd always explained.

Evelyn smiled at the memory of that and looked over to see her husband still asleep. It was at times like this that she was so thankful to have him in her life.

It was something she had never really thought about, but a question from her son had brought it home to her. How different would her life, and his, have been if Danny had come home from the raid and they had gotten married? She had told Rafe at the time that she was going to give Danny her whole heart and she would have tried her very best to do that. But she also knew that she could never have been as happy with Danny as she had been with Rafe.

"What are you smilin' at?" She heard her husband's sleepy voice.

She turned her head to look at him and he had a grin on his face. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Honey, you know why I'm smilin'." He told her.

"I have a vague idea." She said as she felt a flush start to creep across her face.

"That's what I like to see, my blushin' bride."

"I'm hardly a bride anymore Rafe. And as to my blushing, we won't talk about that." She felt her cheeks get warmer.

He pulled her into his arms and smiled. "It hardly seems like sixteen years does it?"

She snuggled up next to him. "No. So much has happened to us and in spite of how it started, I wouldn't change anything."

"Not anything?"

She knew what he meant. "I do wish that Danny had been yours but when I think about it he really is, in spite of how he came to be."

"I'm just glad the whole thing ain't a secret anymore. Danny knows the whole story and he still loves me and still thinks of me as his daddy. I can't ask for more than that."

"We really have been blessed Rafe. We have each other and our children and as you said, no more secrets."

There was a soft knock at their bedroom door and Danny stuck his head in. "Gramps said you'd still be in bed." He told his father with a grin. "You promised me we'd go flyin' today."

Rafe looked at Evelyn. "I knew there was a reason I was awake." He looked at Danny. "Give me twenty minutes son and I'll meet you downstairs."

Danny looked at his wristwatch. "Twenty minutes Daddy." His grin got wider as he closed the door.

"That boy's really somethin'." Rafe told her as he threw the blankets back and put his feet on the floor. "Damn, it's cold!"

A half-hour later, Evelyn stood on the front porch and watched as Danny started up the engine of the old crop duster and Rafe sat behind him in the co-pilot's seat. He guided the plane down the dirt runway as his daddy had taught him and it lifted into the early morning sky.

Nothing had really changed.