It had been a wonderful Thanksgiving and it hadn't taken much to convince Danny and Sandra to stay after everyone else had gone.

Sandra felt comfortable with Rafe and Evelyn because they understood her wish for privacy in her relationship with Danny and respected the fact that she didn't want to talk about it.

Evelyn had made a fresh pot of coffee and she, Rafe, Danny and Sandra sat in the living room and talked as Danny held his godson and she had coaxed Sandra to hold Sarah.

It felt strange to her to sit next to Danny as they held the children because she wondered if this was how they were going to end up. She supposed they would after the war was over, but that seemed such a long time away and Danny might not survive. That was something she didn't allow herself to think about very often and she pushed it out of her mind as Sarah started to fuss.

Sandra was ready to hand the baby back to Evelyn when she shook her head. "She's probably hungry. Her bottle is heating and since you're holding her you can feed her." And she got out of her seat and headed into the kitchen.

"Ev." Sandra called after her but to no avail.

"It's easy honey." Danny reassured her. "I fed Danny a lot and I was nervous the first time, but there ain't much to it."

She looked at him and sighed because she wondered if he understood what she felt.

"Makes you wonder if this might be us when the war is over." He grinned.

"Doesn't it feel a little strange to you?" She felt her face begin to warm.

He shook his head. "Not at all. It feels like it ought to be."

"Even though we've never…?" Her voice trailed off with the unasked question.

Out of the corner of his eye Danny saw Rafe get up out of his own seat and follow Evelyn into the kitchen. He was grateful for his friend's consideration as he took Sandra's hand. "This ain't somethin' we've ever really talked about because you told me once that you didn't want to do things the way Rafe and Evelyn had. If you've changed your mind about that, then we need to decide what we want to do." And he felt his own face begin to flush because Sandra had always shied away from anything too intimate with him. Not because she didn't love him, but because she didn't want to start something she wouldn't be able to finish. And the last thing she wanted to do, she had told him once, was to disappoint him.

He understood her reasons and had never tried to press her into anything she wasn't ready for.

Neither had an opportunity to think about it for long because Evelyn and Rafe came back from the kitchen and she had the bottle in her hand. She smiled at Sandra and assured her that she could do it.

Sandra was a little dubious but took the bottle from Evelyn and gave it to Sarah. The baby quieted down and put her small hands on the bottle, looked at Sandra and her heart melted. She'd always been nervous around small children, but Sarah seemed contented in her arms.

"I knew you could do it." Danny smiled at her.

"Honestly Danny." Was all she could say because she couldn't take her eyes off the baby but her cheeks warmed from his compliment.

Evelyn laughed softly. "You're doing fine Sandra."

She looked up at Evelyn. "How will I know when she's had enough?"

"She'll tell you." She told Sandra and sat down next to Rafe on the arm of his overstuffed chair.

"So what was the call that took you away from the dinner table?" Evelyn asked Rafe and Danny saw that he couldn't look at her for a moment. He sighed and glanced at Danny before he took Evelyn's hand.

Danny sighed because he knew what was Rafe was about to say. "We're back on rotation."

Rafe nodded. "Yea. We're flyin' out in a couple of days."

Sandra looked at Danny. "That's not a lot of time."

He shook his head before he looked at Rafe. "Any word on what the mission is?"

"We'll find out when we get there, like we always do."

Sandra always hated this. Maybe it was different for Evelyn because she was married to her pilot, but Sandra had a hard time when ever Danny would tell her he had to fly out. It wasn't that she had any doubt about his ability, but as good as she knew he was the pilots he was in combat against might be better and he wouldn't stand a chance.

She couldn't look at him as she tried to get her emotions under control. "I hate this." She said quietly to him.

"I know you do honey, so do I."

Rafe stood up and picked up his son off Danny's lap and Evelyn followed his lead and took Sarah and her bottle out of Sandra's arms. "We need to put the kids down, but don't go anywhere." Evelyn told them as she followed Rafe down the hall.

Danny watched them go and turned back to Sandra. "Are you goin' to be all right?"

She nodded but didn't trust her own voice for a moment. "This seems to get harder every time you have to fly out."

"I know it does, but we still have two days before I have to leave. What we do with them is up to you."

The thought came to her before she had a chance to stop it and her face burned with a flush and she looked down at her hands that were clasped in her lap.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked her softly.

"I'm not sure about anything right now except how much I love you." She answered him, her voice barely above a whisper.

Danny put his arms around Sandra and pulled her to him. She trembled and he wasn't sure if it was because what had been on her mind or because she was scared for him. It was probably a little bit of both. "Whatever you're ready for, or not for that matter, it's all right with me."

He continued to hold her as Rafe and Evelyn returned.

"Try not to worry about him Sandra. He's one of the best pilots we've got." Rafe told her.

"And Rafe will look after him." Evelyn added.

Sandra pulled away from Danny and looked at Evelyn. "How do you do it?"

Evelyn sighed and sat down across from her. "I have two children to keep me busy during the day, but the nights are hard because it gives me too much time to think. When Rafe is gone, some days are better than others are and on the bad days I call you girls. That's how I do it."

Sandra sat quietly and thought about that as Danny held her hand.

"I think maybe it's time for me to get Sandra home." Danny said and stood up, her hand still in his.

Sandra got up and stood next to him. "Thank you for everything Ev. It was a really nice day."

Evelyn smiled and hugged her. "I'm glad you could come today. It was nice for us to be able to have all of you here."

Danny shook Rafe's hand and grinned. "Thanks for not burnin' that bird Rafe."

His best friend grinned back at him. "If I hadn't had Evelyn to help me, I might have."

"You were doing fine without my help and you know it Rafe McCawley." Evelyn smiled at her husband.

Rafe grinned at her as they both walked Danny and Sandra to the front door. "Thanks again for comin'. It really was a nice Thanksgivin'." He told them as Danny helped Sandra on with her coat before he put on his own jacket.

"It was that Rafe. It would have been nice to have your folks here but maybe we'll be able to do that next year."

"Maybe we can. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." And he raised a hand in farewell. He took Sandra's hand and started down the front walk as Rafe closed the door behind them.

She had been quiet on the ride back to the nurses quarters that had not gone unnoticed by Danny. He pulled up in front of the house and turned off the motor. He turned to look at her but before he had a chance to say anything she spoke.

"I'm sorry about being such a wet blanket."

"What are you talkin' about?" He was puzzled.

"We were having such a nice evening and I spoiled it." She told him.

He turned in his seat and when she wouldn't return his gaze, put a finger under her chin and tipped it up so he could look at her. "You didn't spoil anythin' honey. The news about out flyin' out was a surprise to all of us."

"But Ev always handles it so much better than I do."

Danny shook his head. "She doesn't handle it better, she just handles it different. It's like she said, she's got two kids to look after and that helps her get through the day. You've got your job at the hospital and that gets you through your day."

"I hadn't thought about it that way." She admitted.

He smiled at her before he got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side and helped her out. He took her hand again and walked her to the front door. "Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

"Sleep well." And he put his arms around her.

Sandra smiled and put her arms around his neck and waited for his kiss.

When he eventually let her go, she smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too honey." He smiled back at her and reluctantly let her go.

She opened the door and watched him walk back to his car. When he got there he waved at her and she went inside.

Danny stood there and wondered for a moment if they might actually be together before he left, but that would be up to her and that was all right with him.