It looked as though the tide was finally going to turn that June in 1944.

Word had spread like wildfire around Pearl Harbor that the Allies had begun a real push against the Nazis and had landed on a beachhead in France. There was no word on how bad the casualties were, but it was the first real piece of news that the war might finally come to an end.

Danny, Rafe and the other pilots were told in their daily briefing about the landing and they all sat in stunned silence, but after the shock had worn off they all started to cheer. That is until their commander reminded them that the war wasn't over yet and that the invasion on June 6th was only the start of a whole new fight. They still had a long way to go before the Axis was brought to its knees.

His comment sobered them and they were told that they would be back on rotation in a week's time because in spite of the good news, there was still a war on.

It was with that thought that Danny called Sandra at the hospital and asked her to have dinner with him that evening. She accepted and he told her he would pick her up at six thirty. She told him she would be ready.

When he showed up at the house, he found her on the swing on the front porch. She seemed to get prettier every time he saw her and it crossed his mind, not for the first time, about marriage. He loved her, of that he had no doubt and he knew that she loved him too. But they had made the decision together that if they were going to get married that it would be when the war was over.

She stood up as he stepped up on the porch and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When he loosened his hold on her he smiled. "I've been wantin' to do that all day."

She always seemed a little surprised when he did something spontaneous but never displeased. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"For bein' you and because I love you." He told her.

"We heard about the landing on the radio. Could this really be it?" Sandra asked him hopefully.

"I hope so honey. All ready to go?"

She nodded. "Just waiting for you."

He took her hand and walked her to his car. After he got her settled, he started the motor and pulled away from the curb. "Rafe asked if we could have dinner with them tonight. Evelyn's been wantin' us over for a while and I thought it would be all right with you."

"Of course it's all right." She smiled at him. "I like being able to spend time with them."

He smiled. "I'm happy to hear that because they really like you. Rafe says he don't recognize me because I'm so happy all the time."

"I never thought you were an unhappy man Danny, just very serious."

"You are too sometimes." He glanced at her for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road.

She nodded in agreement. "That is true, but when I'm with you I don't feel like being serious."

"That's the way it should be honey."

"I love you Danny."

He glanced at her again. "I love you too."

It wasn't long before they reached Rafe and Evelyn's and after Danny pulled his car into the driveway, he shut down the motor. He got out of the car and walked around to help Sandra out and took her hand as they walked together to the front porch. The door opened before they reached the bottom step and Rafe stood there with a smile on his face. "Evelyn's been havin' me check for you two for the last ten minutes."

Danny looked at his wristwatch. "We're on time."

"I know you are and Evelyn does too. She just gets a little anxious whenever you come over."

"Why?" Sandra asked him.

"She knows how you feel about keepin' things private and she don't want you to feel that you have to hide anything from us. She wants you to be able to relax and have a good time."

Danny grinned and shook his head. "That wife of yours worries too much Rafe."

"She does, but it's only because she cares." And he stepped aside and waited for them to walk ahead of him into the house.

They walked into the living room and Evelyn stood in the doorway of the kitchen. She had a smile on her face, as her husband did. "I'm glad you could come. Dinner is almost ready, so make yourselves comfortable." She told them and turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Danny looked at Sandra and smiled.

She smiled back at him and followed Evelyn into the kitchen while Danny watched her go. A moment later Sandra returned and handed a bottle of beer to Danny and Rafe. "Ev said to take these out to the back porch and relax." Then she turned around and went back into the kitchen.

They did as Evelyn had requested and while Rafe sat down in his favorite chair, Danny stood across from him and leaned on the porch rail. "What am I doin' Rafe?" He asked

"What are you talkin' about?"

"All my talk about waitin' until after the war is over to ask her to marry me. It's the sensible thing to do and I'm not changin' my mind about that. But it's at times like this that I really wish we were married." He admitted.

"You love her Danny, I understand that. But you also made the choice to wait and it's somethin' that's goin' to frustrate you sometimes."

He ran an impatient hand through his hair. "I wish this damn war were over because I want to start a life with her, if she'll have me and I'm getting' tired of waitin'."

Rafe grinned at him. "Wantin' to be with the woman you love is only natural. The thing is, this war will be over before we know it and you'll be able to settle down for good. The Japs and the Nazis have to give up sometime and this invasion is only the beginnin'."

Danny nodded.

"You're doin' the right thing. Hell, I have a lot of respect for the fact that you want to wait. It isn't what I would've done, but then I'm not you and as luck would have it, Evelyn didn't want to wait either."

He grinned at his best friend. "As I recall Rafe, ya'll didn't have a choice."

"We always have choices Danny. Evelyn and I chose to be together before we got married and Danny was a result of that. It wasn't exactly how we planned it, but we got married because we wanted to be together. It's as simple as that."

"Nothin' about this situation is simple. Every time we go out on a mission, there's a damn good possibility that I won't come back. That was one of the main reasons we decided to postpone any decisions about marriage until after the war. But then I think about what you said about regrettin' not bein' married to her if somethin' should happen to me."

"Ya'll forget that I hadn't slept all night and I was surprised when I heard your voice on the telephone."

Danny frowned at him. "Don't hand me that Rafe, you told me what you thought."

"Yea, I did. This whole invasion business seems to have knocked you sideways because I can't remember when I've seen you so frustrated, or impatient for that matter. You've always had the cooler head Danny and I've always wished I were more like that. You're doin' the right thing with Sandra because you're puttin' her wishes first and that's what love is."

Danny looked at Rafe and shook his head. "Rafe McCawley, I think that is the corniest thing I've ever heard you say." And he laughed.

Rafe grinned back. "You tend to get a little corny when you love someone."

Danny knew that Rafe was right. The invasion of the Normandy beachhead had knocked him sideways because what he wanted more than anything finally seemed within his grasp and he felt the impatience start to deepen. "Rafe, could I ask you somethin'?"

"Shoot."

He looked at Rafe hesitantly, unsure how to ask. "What was it like? The first time you and Evelyn were together?"

The look on his face told Danny he hadn't expected that question, but it was something he needed to know. Rafe didn't answer for a moment or two and when he finally did, he sighed. "I don't know how to explain it. Bein' with her after wishin' I had when we were in New York was somethin' real special. The one thought on my mind was makin' her happy and showin' her how much I'd missed her. But not only how much I missed her, but how much I loved her too."

"How did it change things?"

"You see the woman you love differently because you've been as close as two people can get." His expression was serious. "Why are you askin' me about this Danny?"

He glanced at his friend and felt his face suddenly flush. "It's not as though we've never thought about it or wanted to. But she's always worried how things would change between us if we did, especially if there wasn't any sort of commitment to go along with it."

"And you agree with her."

"Yea. This ain't the sort of thing I take lightly Rafe and you know that. I've seen so many of the pilot's get involved with girls here and it don't mean anythin' to them. I never wanted it to be that way with Sandra so we never have."

"Does Sandra know we're talkin' about this? I remember askin' you about it and you said you didn't want to talk about it because it involved her."

"She told me it would be all right and there was just never a way to bring it up until now." He admitted.

"Danny, you know Sandra best and you know how much she loves you. And I know the frustration you're feelin' ain't because you haven't made love to her. When you love someone as much as you love her, you want to be with her and share everything with her and that'll come."

He didn't have a chance to reply before Evelyn and Sandra stepped out on the porch and while Evelyn sat down on the arm of Rafe's chair, Sandra walked over to Danny. "You two are awfully serious. Is everything all right?"

He put an arm around her and smiled. "Everythin' is fine honey. We were just talkin' about how much longer we're goin' to be at this."

"Not much longer I hope." Evelyn replied. "I'd like my husband home for good." And she kissed him.

"I can't argue with that." He told her.

"We just came out to tell you boys that dinner is ready." Evelyn smiled back at him.

Rafe stood up and took her hand. "That's good because I'm starvin'."

"Then let's eat." Danny smiled as he took Sandra's hand and they all went inside.