It was Sunday evening and Danny had to return to duty in the morning.

He and Sandra had spent the better part of the last two days of their honeymoon with the McCawley's because time had run out. Rafe's final day as a Captain in the Army Air Corps was on Friday and then he would take Evelyn and the kids back to Tennessee the day after that.

Sandra had been in full agreement with him about how they spent those two days and Danny knew that she had begun to feel a little lost. Evelyn was the last of the nurses she'd come to Pearl Harbor with and once she was gone, Sandra would be alone. When she'd explained it to him, she was afraid he wouldn't understand but Danny knew exactly what she meant.

The difference in their situations was that at least Danny would have Red on base. And that meant that even though Rafe would be gone, there would still be someone around that Danny had come to Pearl with.

Their living arrangements hadn't been as awkward as Danny thought they would be and the nurses had accommodated them as best they could. That didn't change the fact though, that as much as Sandra didn't want to see Evelyn go she was anxious to have a home of her own.

Supper that evening had started out like any other meal that Danny and Sandra had spent with the McCawley's over the last four years, but the later it got the quieter it got. No one wanted to say it, but this was the last Sunday that they would have a meal together for a long time.

Inevitably they started to reminisce about their time in Hawaii and how they had all met before that in New York. It was that that finally saw Evelyn undone and she tried not to cry as she got the kids together and took them to their rooms to get them ready for bed.

Danny looked at Sandra and she didn't look much better than Evelyn. He looked at his best friend as he sighed and lay his napkin on the table. "I'm goin' to go help her with the kids. We'll be right out."

"Take your time Rafe. We ain't goin' anywhere." Danny assured him as Rafe got up and followed Evelyn.

They looked at each other again and he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He stood up, took her hand and walked her out to the back porch. She put her arms around his neck and before he could get his arms around her, she had started to cry. He sighed and pulled her close to him to try and comfort her. This was going to be a difficult week for all of them and he felt that there were going to be more times like this before the week was out.

"I would never say anything to Ev, but I wish they would stay." Sandra finally whispered.

"I know honey, me too." Danny said quietly and tightened his hold on her. It wasn't any use to say anything more because the decision had been made and as much as Danny agreed with his wife, he had promised Rafe not to bring it up any further.

"Remember to put in for Christmas leave tomorrow."

"I will Sandra, please don't worry about that." He tried to sooth her.

"Thank you." She pulled away to look at him and she managed a smile. "Here we are only married for eight days and I'm already telling you what to do."

"I wouldn't expect anythin' less." He smiled at her as he carefully slipped her glasses off and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to dry her damp cheeks. He put them back on and pulled her to him again.

"You're getting very good at that." Sandra told him and he thought he heard her try not to laugh.

"I'd say we're gettin' pretty good at a lot of things." He grinned because he knew what she was about to say.

"Oh, honestly Danny."

Bingo!

"I knew you would say that." He laughed softly in her ear.

"That's why I said it." She laughed with him before she kissed his cheek. "Thank you for making me feel better."

"What kind of husband would I be if I couldn't help you feel better?"

"You're the very best husband I could ask for Daniel Walker and I'm so glad to be married to you." Sandra smiled at him.

"I'm glad to be married to you too Sandra because that means that even with Rafe goin' back to Tennessee, I ain't really alone." He told her.

"I knew there was a reason that I loved you so much. You always know the right thing to say." And she hugged him.

Danny heard Rafe at the door as he cleared his throat. "Everythin' all right out here?"

"We're fine Rafe, just gettin' some fresh air." He fibbed as he turned to the door and Rafe stepped out. "Is Evelyn all right?"

"As well as can be expected I guess. This move is real hard on her even though she'd never admit it to me and I just have to be there for her as much as possible." He sighed.

"If there's anything I can do to help her Rafe, I've got time." Sandra volunteered.

"I know she'd appreciate that Sandra, thanks."

"I'll go in and talk to her about it." She said and walked into the house.

Rafe stood on the porch with two bottles of beer in his hands and grinned. "We ain't goin to have many more opportunities to do this." He said as he handed a bottle to Danny and sat down on the sofa. Danny took his usual place at the porch rail and leaned against it.

"How are you doin' Rafe?" Danny wanted to know.

"We ain't havin' this conversation." Rafe frowned.

"I wasn't askin' you to try to talk you into stayin'. I was askin' because I want to know how you're doin'."

He sighed and took a pull on his beer. "I'll be better as soon as we get home."

Danny knew that that was all he was going to get out of him. "All right Rafe."

"I haven't had a chance to tell you this, but I don't remember when I've ever seen you happier." He smiled at Danny.

"I thought the night she accepted my marriage proposal was the happiest I'd ever been, but standin' in front of that minister and makin' vows to her made me even happier."

Rafe grinned at him. "And your weddin' night didn't have anythin' to do with that smile on your face."

Danny laughed. "Somethin' to do with it."

"All right Danny, no more pryin'." His grin got wider.

"It ain't that. I was just thinkin' about some time back when I asked you what it was like when you were finally with Evelyn. You told me that you didn't know how to explain it to me and now I understand why. It ain't somethin' you can explain if you ain't ever been through it."

"It was worth the wait, wasn't it?"

"Yea it was. And now I realize how it is to love someone completely and have them love you back."

"I can promise you one thing Danny, it only gets better. After you've lived together for awhile and get to know each other better, you forget what your life was like before you married her."

"I'm forgettin' already Rafe." He smiled. "And bein' able to finally make love to her is only part of it. It's bein' able to say goodnight to her and not have to leave her. That was the part I hated the most."

Rafe nodded. "I know Danny."

"I would never have told you this before, but I was always a little jealous of what you have with Evelyn. You didn't do the sensible thing and wait, you loved her and you married her."

"We didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter." Rafe smiled.

"And how many times have you told me that you would have married her whether there was a baby comin' or not." Danny pointed out.

"It's still true and I've never regretted any of it because Evelyn and I were always meant to be together, just like you and Sandra."

He nodded. "The one thing that I was always proudest of was bein' a pilot but now the thing I'm proudest of is bein' her husband."

"That's the way it should be because now that you're married, priorities are goin' to change."

"And Sandra and I have the advantage of bein' married now without my havin' to go away."

"You did the right thing Danny and I am just so damn happy for you."

"I know you are Rafe and that means a lot."

"We should get a picture of this Ev." Danny looked and saw Sandra and Evelyn at the door. Sandra opened it and walked over to him. "Rafe teases you about being out here all of the time but it seems that every time we get together for dinner, these two are out here having a beer."

Evelyn laughed and sat down next to Rafe. "I've got my Brownie up in the closet somewhere."

"How many pictures have we taken with that camera?" Rafe smiled at her.

"Too many to count." She smiled back at him.

"We'll have to take a few before you leave." Sandra said.

"I'll make sure of it." Evelyn answered.

"In the meantime, I'd like to propose a toast." Rafe told the group.

"What kind of toast?" Evelyn asked him.

He raised his bottle. "To friends."

Danny raised his bottle as he, Sandra and Evelyn answered, "To friends."