The telephone on the admissions desk was not to be used for personal calls, but since Evelyn going into labor was a hospital matter Barbara told Danny to use it to contact everyone. He was appreciative of what she let him do because she could get in trouble for it.

He put in a call to the barracks to let Red and Gooz know what had happened and he also called the nurses quarters. Sandra answered and told Danny she would grab Martha and they would be there as quickly as possible.

True to her word, she and Martha were there ten minutes later and beat the pilots by five. Barbara had already taken Rafe down to the father's waiting room after he'd filled out all of the paperwork and had come back down the hall to collect everyone else.

"How is she doing?" Martha asked.

"She's doing as well as could be expected but it's going to be a while." Barbara told her as she turned around and waited for them to follow.

The first thing Danny saw when they walked in was his namesake as he toddled around the room, with his father right behind him. "How you doin' Rafe?"

Rafe turned around and Danny saw the worried look on his face that had been there since he'd come over from the barracks earlier. "I wish someone would tell me somethin'."

Danny walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "We ain't been here that long Rafe and this new baby may take awhile."

He nodded. "I know that Danny, but it don't make it any easier."

"I know. Is there anythin' I can do?" He asked.

Rafe shook his head. "Other than waitin' with me, there ain't anythin' you can do." And he continued to follow his son around the room. Sandra had saved him a seat and he took it as she took his hand. He smiled because she didn't seem to think about it.

"He looks really nervous." Sandra observed.

Danny nodded. "He is. Since he wasn't here when Danny was born, it's like this is his first."

"Is there anything you can do to help?"

"I wish there were but since I don't know what it's like to wait for a baby to come, I can't."

They sat close together as Gooz pulled a deck of cards out of his jacket pocket and talked Red into a game of poker. As they began to play, Martha picked up a magazine and began to read while Danny watched his godson continue to toddle around the room as his best friend backed him up.

The room grew quiet and minutes turned into hours as they all waited for news about Evelyn and the baby. Early on Danny had decided that he didn't want to walk anymore and sat down on the floor. Rafe bent down to pick him up and take him back to his chair. The boy put his head back on Rafe's chest and fell asleep.

His godfather shook his head and grinned. That boy could fall asleep anywhere, just like his daddy.

He didn't know how long it had been when Rafe tried to get everyone to take a break and get something to eat. Red let him know that they could stay, but Rafe was adamant. Gooz joked that he wanted them to clear out and leave him alone. But Rafe assured the group that he didn't want them to leave for good.

Sandra stood by the waiting room door as Danny tried to persuade him to let him take the boy so Rafe could take a break for himself too. But he didn't want his son to wake up and not know where he was.

"Okay Rafe. We won't be long." Danny assured him.

"Take your time." He answered and before Danny had left the waiting room, Rafe was asleep.

The others seemed to have disappeared when Danny and Sandra started down the hallway, so he took her hand and tucked it through his arm. "Since no one is lookin'." He smiled at her.

"It's been a big day, hasn't it?"

He nodded. "You should have seen the two of them honey. Evelyn was as cool as a cucumber tellin' Rafe what he needed to do to help her and he was yellin' his head off because he was so scared. If he hadn't been so serious, I would have laughed."

Sandra looked at him and her face flushed. "What would you have done in his situation?"

Her question did make him laugh. "Probably the same thing that he did." And he grinned at her. "But there's only one way to find out isn't there?"

Her flush deepened as she shook her head. "Honestly Danny." Was all she said as they continued to walk down the hall.

She's really something, Danny thought. "Do you want to go to the cafeteria for somethin' to eat or go to a restaurant?"

"I'd like to stay close by in case we get some news." She said.

"All right, cafeteria it is." And they turned around and walked back up the hallway to go to the cafeteria.

When they got there Red, Gooz and Martha were at a table and called the pair over after they'd gotten something to eat. Danny could sense Sandra become tense and he put a little distance between them. He wasn't sure if it made matters better or worse, but she seemed to appreciate the gesture as she gave him a brief smile before she sat down next to Martha. Danny sat down next to Red and began to eat.

"I wish Barbara would tell us something." Martha frowned.

"I think Evelyn has a long way to go Martha." Red told her.

"I know that Red, I just hate waiting." She answered.

"The kid will get here when it's ready and not before." Gooz commented.

Danny looked across the table at Sandra and as he caught her eye, they smiled at each other. Gooz and Martha were never the most patient people in the world, but as a nurse and as a pilot they were top notch.

They took time with their meal and when they were finished, didn't know much more than they had before. Barbara had found them only to tell them that Evelyn's labor had progressed but she was still in labor. She couldn't tell them how much longer it was going to be but that Evelyn was a real trooper.

They had been at the hospital since early afternoon and Red said that he needed some fresh air. He invited the rest of the group to go for a walk around the hospital grounds. After they had cleared their trays the friends headed to the exit but Danny wanted to check on Rafe. "I won't be a minute." He told them as he glanced at Sandra for a moment and she nodded before she followed the others.

He reached the waiting room door and after he opened it he saw that Rafe was still sound asleep. He grinned to himself as he closed the door and jogged down the hallway to catch up with the others.

Gooz saw him first. "How's McCawley holding up?"

"He's sound asleep and with two kids now, he's goin' to need all the rest he can get." And he laughed as he fell in step next to Sandra.

They strolled around the grounds and took deep breaths of the clean air. A slight breeze blew and it seemed to Danny that it cleared the cobwebs out of his tired mind. He thought Rafe could do with a walk, but he also knew he would never leave the waiting room as long as Evelyn was in labor.

By the time they reached the front door of the hospital, Danny felt refreshed and more awake than he had just an hour ago. He looked at his watch and it was well past midnight as they made their way back to the waiting room. He was more than a little surprised when Red opened the door and General Doolittle stood next to Rafe.

He stood at attention with the other pilots and the General returned their salute. He spoke to them for a few moments before he asked Rafe to contact him when the baby came. Rafe promised him he would and the General was gone.

No sooner had he left that Barbara came in and she had a smile on her face. She wanted Rafe to come with her and when he asked about the baby all she told him was that he needed to come with her. It was only then that Rafe handed his son to his best friend and followed Barbara out the door.

They all looked at each other and grinned. "I wish we had a bottle of champagne to toast with." Martha said.

Sandra sighed. "I wish we'd thought of that because it's a wonderful idea."

Red smiled. "Well, we don't have champagne but we can toast just the same." And he raised his hand as though he held a glass and the others followed his lead. "Let's toast to the newest McCawley whatever it might be and to Evelyn for coming through it all right."

"To Evelyn and the baby." They all answered.

Ten minutes later, Rafe was back and gave them the news that they had waited for all day. Evelyn had had a girl and they were both fine. They hadn't decided on a name but Rafe said the baby looked like Evelyn and Danny could see from the look on his face that it made him really happy.

After Rafe had received congratulations from everyone else, Danny persuaded him to go for a walk. He grinned at his best friend. "You look like hell Rafe." And put a hand on his shoulder as they left the waiting room and walked down the hall.

"She looked great considerin' that she just had a baby." Rafe told Danny. "She looked real tired, but she was beautiful."

Danny smiled. "Spoken like a man in love."

"I can't imagine what this would have been like if we'd been back east. If Evelyn had never said that she wanted to stay, that's where we'd be and I would have been sittin' in a waitin' room all by myself."

"I'm glad you stayed Rafe. I was glad that you weren't goin' to fly combat anymore, but I was goin' to miss you somethin' fierce."

"I would have missed you too. Deep down I didn't want to go and I knew the closer it got Evelyn was havin' second thoughts. But I thought what I was doin' was best."

"Well that don't matter now because you're here and you're both happy, that's the most important thing."

Rafe nodded. "That's true and I'll be a sight happier when this whole thing is over."

"I won't argue with that." Danny agreed. He could see that Rafe wanted to ask him something and wasn't sure how. "You want to know about Sandra." He prompted.

"I ain't tryin' to pry Danny, but Evelyn and I want you to be happy too."

He understood. "When Sandra and I decide to get married, it's goin' to be after the war is over."

"When?"

"We've been seein' each other all this time and we love each other. Marriage is somethin' that we've talked about but haven't decided on yet. If she would have me, I don't want to possibly leave her a widow. I want it to be free and clear without a war hangin' over us."

"I understand."

"I know you do Rafe and I appreciate the fact that you haven't been pressin' me for answers." Danny said and smiled at him. "How about you show me that beautiful daughter of yours now?"

"Let's go." Rafe smiled back and they walked back into the hospital so Danny could see the new baby.