// SUMMARY: Life never asked Evelyn what she wanted... Instead she received a coffin in place of the man she loved. Yet, she also received the wishes of her young pilot... Wishes to see her and his best friend happy again...

// THANKS FOR REVIEWING: LEILIA CARTER - haa haa... thank you :) CENTRAL PERK - thank you... It is kinda sad isn't it : / It gets better in that aspect soon. ehh... I'm not sure about the Danny thing... Neither am i sure about Rafe... Jsut wait and see :) PEACHES-503 - thanks! and here's an update! ROYALTEARDROP - Thank you very much! :) I appreciate all of your alls comments! *mauhs*

"That's it, " Danny mumbled as he grabbed for his jacket at the sight of Rafe holding Evelyn's hands. He knew he had done the right thing, but it still hurt… Deeply and he didn't want to witness the two lovebirds. Quickly he walked out of the restaurant and managed to sneak by Rafe and Evelyn before they could see him.

"Taxi! Taxi!" He shouted at the car that was about to drive past him. Upon seeing that he wasn't going to stop and since Danny was desperate, he stepped out into the road not caring for his safety… He had to leave.

"What hell you doin', boy?" The cabbie yelled. "I already gots me a passenger. Wait fer the next 'un."

Danny grabbed at his hair, "Please? I gotta get out of here… I'll pay double."

The cabbie sighed, "Well, if its aight wit the miss, I don't see none harm." He threw a glance to the back seat.

"No… I don't mind," said an elegant, cheerless voice replied in clipped tones. Danny couldn't tell if they extended from exhaustion or anger.

"Thank you sir… Ma'am," He nodded his head to the woman as he stepped into the car.

"No skin of my back," The cab driver shrugged.

Danny heard the woman sigh at the remark as he turned to thank her. No sound came out of his open mouth when he caught his first glimpse of the lady. She wasn't a beauty by today's fashion standards. For one, she kept her light blonde, curly locks in a long fashion, not the short way that was in high style. She had huge, hazel green eyes that looked dull and lifeless. Her face was angular with sharp lines that blended with the softness of a female's face. All of it came together with pouty lips and an endearing dimple on her chin. The fashion of the day would have called her backward and old-fashioned, but regardless of that, her beauty shown true. She had an aura of sophistication and wealth mixed in with a sort of fear and melancholy.

Slowly she turned her head to face him and when she caught him staring at her, fear poured into her eyes. Danny was shocked and instantly attempted to put the woman at ease.

"Thank you ma'am for letting' me barge in on you this way. The matter was critical. I had to get away from the restaurant," Danny smiled at her and noticed her eyes lost most of their edge.

"You're welcome," She mumbled.

He held his hand out to her and noticed her flinch but decided to ignore it, "Danny Walker, miss…"

Hesitantly she reached for his hand to shake, "Chloe Ashton Whitlow."

Danny gawked at her when he heard her last name, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Ross Whitlow now would you?"

"Yes… He is my father," she answered, the icy tones found way into her voice again.

Danny smiled, "So you're Chloe. I know your dad pretty well. Good man… He talks about you all the time."

"Just how do you know my father, Mr. Walker?"

"He's a regular donator to our nation's cause. I met with him many times…" Danny trailed off when he realized he had said to much. Last thing he needed was for Miss Whitlow to mention him to her father. "Of course, it was only to shake a hand. I overheard a few conversations is all."

Chloe's eyes narrowed, "Well what a coincidence. Shall I give my father your regards? I assume Danny is short for Daniel… Right Mr. Walker?"

"Naw… He won't remember me. Never was of much importance in the military."

"But you were in the military, correct? How is it that you're a civilian now? Your Daddy buy your way out?" She cocked her head as she stared at his well-tailored clothes. It was a tactic she used on any man she met. Make them hate her and they wouldn't notice her beauty or make an attempt for her. Still, she figured her assumptions couldn't be far off. The war had just started a few months ago and it did not appear as though he was injured and he did seem to be well off enough.

What the bleedin' hell? Danny thought. Who the hell was she to make an assumption like that? It was far from that, he was a civilian now because he had given his very life to his nation and his loved ones. "For your information you spoiled little brat, I'm a civilian now due to injuries. I was on a mission and it backfired, leavin' me near death. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your damn assumptions to yourself and not waste 'em on me."

"There'll be no such talkin' like that to the lady, mister. Keep it up, I'll kick you outta this taxi so fast, yer head'll be spinin'."

Danny withheld a growl while Chloe's face registered shock. "Its quite all right sir," she told the cabbie. "I deserved it after what I said."

"If you say so," He shrugged.

"I apologize Mr. Walker. I had no right to make those assumptions. I'm glad you survived, "She said with an contrite smile.

Danny just stared at her, "Just leave me the hell alone ma'am before I say something I'll regret."

"I said I was sorry Mr. Walker," Her eyes shown bright with fear once again and Danny becoming increasingly annoyed, felt sympathy. It was obvious she was terrified, though he had no idea why.

"Miss, we're here at yer stop," The cabbie looked back.

"Thank you sir. Here is your money and please keep the change as a tip."

The cabbie's eyes gleamed at the sight of the bills, "Thank ye, miss."

"Your quite welcome… Mr. Walker," She nodded.

"Good night, ma'am," he replied with a nod back and watched as the beautiful young lass ran up the driveway to her house, glancing around with nervousness displayed on her face as though she expected someone to jump out at her.

"Strange girl that 'un is… Anyways, where you wanna go?" the driver inquired.

"263 Palm Meadow Rd.," Danny responded still staring at the door Chloe had entered. She was strange indeed.

Evelyn gasped, "Will I WHAT?"

"Marry me… I realize this is awkward and you probably don't want to, but Danny wanted me to have the baby. Evelyn, your gonna be single and raising a kid. I don't want you to have to deal with the scorn of other people. I know you aren't in love with me, but you said yourself you do care. It's a perfect solution, Ev."

"My God Rafe, you're serious? Hell… You are…" She drifted off as she thought about what he was proposing. It meant giving up on Danny and giving his child to another man. It meant living, caring for, and doing everything else that was expected of a wife with a man she was not in love with. On the other hand, she knew Rafe would make a good father and her child needed that. She knew first-hand what it was like to not have any fatherly guidance in one's life. She also knew it was what Danny would have wanted. "Oh Rafe… I don't know… Let me think about this please."

Rafe bobbed his head up and down, "I guess that better then a flat out no. For now, its all the answer I need. Can you meet me here next week at the same day and time?"

"I… uh… Yes… I can."

"Good… It's settled then. You have a week to think this through Ev. I hate to be a cold-hearted bastard but I'll be leaving for some flying stints over in the Pacific in a month for 6 weeks, so I need to know within a week… Evelyn…" He reached for her hands, "I know this is hard. I know you don't want me as a husband, but think of the baby and you need a man to take care of you. You might not be in love with me, but we can still have a happy life filled with companionship. Just Think about it, will you?"

"I will Rafe, I will."

Rafe pushed his chair back and got up "All right then, let's get you home.

// AUTHOR'S NOTE: oh lordy... life in interesting... Apprently I was caught doing soemthing I didn't do in school... don't ask... I'll find out tomorrow if the rumors are true... Not worried since I didn't do what I was accused off, but I'm mightly p.o.ed about this. *shrugs* anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter... ehh... Nothing to great I guess, lol.

// WEBSITE: I'm in the process of creating a new website. Nothing is up yet EXCEPT for the banner for the story... If you want to check it out go here http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/ra/index.html . Enter the site and go to My writings to get to the story. I love how the banner turned out!

// DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rafe, Evelyn, or Danny. Nor any of the other characters mentioned in this story that were taken from the movie. I do own, however, all the other characters unless they truly existed in time. This story is rated PG-13. Future chapters will be a bit more graphic. This is MY story. From my imagination. Please do not take it or copy it :) Not that you'd want to. lol. Please review! Share ideas or anything! I try to take ALL into consideration! Also, I'll read your stories if you review signed in. I'm always looking for more to read, lol

XOXO: Samantha