It was something that Evelyn had dearly missed when Barbara had been transferred back to New York.

Sandra had become a good friend, but her friendship with Barbara had gone back to their early days after they had joined the Navy so they could go to nursing school. They were an odd pair to be sure. Evelyn had been raised in middle class Philadelphia and Barbara had been raised in working class Queens and their parents had wanted more for their daughters than they could give them.

The Depression left them without extra money to pay for their daughters to attend nursing school so one of the options open to them was the United States Navy. There, they would get the education they needed to become nurses and be able to send some money home to their families.

It had taken the girls a while to warm to each other because they were so different. But the one thing they had in common was their skill and they began to help each other when things got particularly difficult. After they had received their nurses caps and been awarded the rank of Lieutenant, they had been posted to a Navy hospital in New York. Barbara was home but instead of going back to Queens she, Evelyn and two other nurses they had met after they'd been posted got a house together.

Sandra and Martha were about as different as Evelyn and Barbara, but they all got along.

The one habit they had started while still students was to sit together at the end of the day and talk things over. It had helped Evelyn to stay focused on what she wanted to do because she knew that there was someone else who had many of the same problems as she did.

It was a habit that saw them through their first assignment in New York, their transfer to Pearl Harbor and the news that Rafe had been shot down when he'd gone to England to fly with the Eagle Squadron. It saw them through the war and it had been more than a little difficult when at the end of that time, she and Barbara had had to say goodbye.

So to have her back was something that Evelyn was thankful for.

"Gee Ev I wish I could have been here for Joseph's birthday. I can't believe he's already five." Barbara commented one Friday afternoon after she had stopped by on her way home from the hospital. "I remember when Rafe delivered him."

"So do I." Evelyn smiled at the memory before she became serious. "But he's not used to Rafe being gone so much and that worries the both of us."

"I know it does and I wish there were something I could do to help." She told her friend. "Danny and Sarah were too young to really understand and we were here to distract them if they started to miss Rafe too much."

Evelyn sighed. "They were lucky because they had you around from the time that they were born. My baby didn't have that."

Barbara laughed. "He's always going to be your baby, isn't he Ev?"

"Probably." She smiled back.

"Once the other kids get here, that should help. You said yourself that he's missing his father and his brother and sister. He's probably missing his grandparents too."

"I know. We haven't decided when to bring the kids out because I really want Rafe to be home. Tom and Sarah don't want them traveling on their own, so they need to get someone to look after their place for a week or two while they bring the kids."

"Do you know how long Rafe is going to be gone?"

Evelyn shook her head. "It's the same situation I was in during the last war. I never know how long he's going to be gone because he doesn't either."

"It's kind of funny though, don't you think?" Barbara smiled.

"What is?"

"That we ended up back where we started." She said.

"It's funny too how much you can really come to appreciate a place when you've left it. I loved this place before we left in 1946 and it was really hard to leave."

"Why did you leave?"

"Because I loved Rafe more and he wanted to go home." Evelyn told her simply.

"And as it turned out he missed it as much as you did."

She smiled. "Maybe more. This was a place for him to be away from the war and be with his family. It was something he never took for granted and sometimes felt pretty guilty about."

Barbara frowned. "Why would he feel guilty? He was pretty lucky, they all were."

Evelyn nodded. "He told me once, before we left here that he'd always felt so lucky to be able to see the kids and me as much as he did. But he felt a lot of guilt too because there were so many of the boys who were overseas in Europe and hadn't seen their families for months or years at a time."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Neither had I. So whenever I start to miss him too much I think about that and realize how lucky we were then and how lucky we are now."

Barbara sighed. "Who would have ever thought that we'd be in another war? That's why it feels sometimes like we never left."

"The way Rafe explains it to Joseph makes a lot of sense. Somebody wants something that isn't theirs and it's his job to make sure they don't get it."

Barbara nodded before she got up off of the sofa. "Well Ev, it's time for me to go. I've got a date with a pilot from Hickam and he's taking me to a movie."

Evelyn got up and walked with her into the house. "Anyone we know?"

They reached the front door and Barbara smiled. "I don't think so, but I'm not about to introduce him to that motley crew of pilots just yet."

Evelyn laughed. "I don't think Rafe, Danny or Red would appreciate being called a motley crew."

"Then don't tell them." Barbara told her as she gave Evelyn a hug and stepped outside.

"Have a nice time" And she waved as her friend started down the walk.

"Thanks Ev. I'll call you later." She said as she turned around and waved.

Evelyn watched as Barbara got into her car, started up the engine and with one last wave drove away. It became clear, quite suddenly to Evelyn what Rafe had tried to explain to her once. She had miscarried their third child and while she was in the hospital the girls had taken Danny and Sarah for the day and he was alone. He'd gotten so used to his family being around that when he found himself on his own, he hated it.

She understood what he meant.

Joseph had spent the afternoon with Sandra and her girls at the beach and Evelyn decided to join them. She and Sandra took turns with the kids so that each of them could have some time to themselves. It had worked out that Barbara had stopped by that afternoon and they were able to have a long talk.

She slipped into a pair of sandals and closed the front door and headed toward the beach. A gentle breeze stirred the trees as she walked and she smiled as she got closer to where Sandra had told her they would be. Shelby sat with her mother because Evelyn knew that she could still not quite keep her balance when she tried to walk on the sand. Joseph and Ann didn't have that problem and they ran in and out of the water as the tide chased them as it came in and rolled out again.

Sandra must have kept an eye out for her, because she waved at Evelyn. She waved back and when she'd reached her friend, sat down on the blanket next to her. "Did you have a nice afternoon?" Sandra asked her.

"I did. Barbara stopped by on her way home from the hospital and she said to say hello. She's also got a date with a pilot from Hickam tonight."

Sandra smiled. "Do you think she'll ever get married Ev?"

"The way she looked when she told me she had a date, she just might."

"Do you think the boys know him?"

"She doesn't think so, but she didn't tell me his name so I couldn't ask Rafe, even if he were here." She said with a sigh.

"I miss Danny too." Was all Sandra said before she started to get up.

Evelyn put a hand on her arm. "Let's stay out a little while longer. I always love coming out here."

Sandra nodded before she sat back down before she looked at Evelyn. "Are you all right Ev?"

"I miss Rafe, that's all."

"I know you do." She said. "It doesn't get any easier does it?"

Evelyn shook her head. "In some ways I think it's gotten harder. We're at war again, Rafe got shot down again and I'm alone with a small child."

Sandra smiled at her. "The difference this time is that you're not going through it alone."

"I know. Are you all right?" Evelyn asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I thought I missed him the last time we went through this. But it's so much harder now because I've lived with him for almost six years and had two children with him."

"Your anniversary is coming up soon, too." Evelyn remembered.

"And hopefully Danny will be home for it." She looked at Evelyn. "Do you realize if they're away, it will be the first anniversary since we've been married that we haven't spent it together?"

"The first one is always the hardest." She observed. "And if he does have to miss this one, hopefully it will be the last."

Sandra seemed to be distracted by something suddenly because Evelyn saw her look up the beach. "Ev, I think I see Amy coming." And she got up.

Evelyn turned around and sure enough, she saw Amy Winkle walk down the beach. Evelyn got up and walked over to her. "We're that predictable are we?" She asked with a smile.

"I couldn't stand being in that house by myself any longer." Amy admitted. "I hate it when Red's gone."

Evelyn put a hand on her shoulder. "We were just thinking the same thing about our husbands. Come and sit with us for awhile before we have to go home. Once that sun goes down it can get a little chilly."

"Thanks Evelyn." She smiled in relief. "That would be swell."

They walked back to where Sandra still stood and looked worried. "Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine. I just didn't want to be by myself anymore."

"We understand that, don't we Ev?"

"We certainly do." Evelyn agreed before Amy sat down and she sat down next to her. "That'll start to get a little difficult in another month or two."

"Don't I know it. My mother told me that something as simple as sitting down or getting up would get to be something of a challenge." Amy told her with a smile.

Evelyn and Sandra laughed because they understood what she meant.

"Girls, why don't you come back to my house and we'll have dinner. That way the kids get fed and we can keep each other company." Evelyn suggested.

Amy nodded. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like that."

"I'll round up the kids and we can go." Sandra told her before she walked down to the water's edge to collect Joseph and Ann. Shelby in the meantime, had settled herself in Amy's lap and Amy smiled.

Evelyn smiled back at her. "Shelby doesn't usually take so quickly to strangers. It took nearly a month before she even smiled at me."

Joseph and Ann came up the beach with Sandra behind them and she smiled as she saw her youngest daughter with Amy. "I think that's a first." Shelby's mother commented before she put her daughter on her feet and Evelyn helped Amy to stand up.

She picked up the blanket and shook the sand out of it. She folded it while Sandra collected the pails and shovels and picked Shelby up.

Evelyn picked Joseph up and Amy offered her hand to Ann. The little girl took it and after one last check to make sure she had everything, Sandra followed Evelyn, Amy and the other kids up the beach.