The doctor tried to send him home, but Danny wouldn't budge.

It had been hours since he'd brought Sandra to the hospital and no one had been able to tell him much of anything. Rafe had had the advantage when the girls had still been posted at Pearl Naval because they had always come to tell him what had been happening with Evelyn. He had no such advantage and had to hope that no news meant good news.

Sarah had told him that when he'd been a boy while he'd waited to find out if he would be the valedictorian of his graduating class. He was.

It was Red who finally talked him into going home for a little while. "Rafe and Evelyn are probably trying to get a hold of you to see how Sandra is so you should go home and call them. I'll stay here and if there's any news I'll call you."

"I can't ask you to do that."

Red put a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't ask, I volunteered. Besides, you know that everyone else has found out about it by now and they'll want to talk to you."

"But there ain't anythin' to tell them." Danny reasoned.

"And that's a good thing." Red answered before he frowned. "Danny, do Sandra's parents know about this?"

He sighed. "I've been hesitatin' callin' them because I don't want them to worry if there ain't anythin' to worry about."

"It's not my place to give you advice on this, but I'm going to anyway. It's only right that they know. Rafe's parents know I'm sure and it's not really fair that her parents don't."

Danny nodded. "But I don't know that Sandra wants them to know. She's been real squeamish about tellin' them anythin' bad because she don't want them to worry."

"I understand that, but what if they find out that everyone else knew something that as Sandra's parents, they should have too?"

"You're right Red, they do need to know. I'll call them before I call Rafe and his folks."

Red smiled in agreement. "They'll appreciate it Danny."

He headed toward the waiting room door before he stopped and turned around to look at his friend. "You'll call me if you hear anythin'."

"I promise I'll call you, now go." Red smiled at him in encouragement before Danny walked through the door and walked down the hall toward the front doors. As he walked out to his car, he couldn't help but think how he and Rafe had shared so much as boys and how they'd done everything together. Losing a child was not something that he wanted to have in common with his best friend. Sandra had had problems from the very start and though it wasn't anything the doctor had been alarmed about, he was nonetheless concerned. Danny didn't know if this might be their only chance for a child of their own and it worried him that he hadn't heard anything.

He worried because as much as he was concerned for their baby, he was mostly concerned about his wife. Sandra hadn't looked very good when they'd left for the hospital and he had no idea what was happening with her because she wouldn't tell him anything. He'd thought earlier about the possibility of losing the baby and he didn't know what he would do. But if he lost Sandra, his life would lose all of its meaning.

They'd waited to get married until the end of the war because he hadn't wanted to leave Sandra a widow and any children they might have had fatherless. It was something that had kept him from asking her to elope and get it done. That and the fact that she'd wanted a church wedding with her family and his present with all of their friends as well. It had been worth the wait and he didn't regret one moment of it.

He wasn't aware that he'd driven back to the base and toward their house until he found himself in the driveway. He shut down the engine and sat in the quiet of the car, wondering what he was going to tell his in-laws.

He stepped out of the car and headed up the front walk. He walked into the house and while it had a familiarity from having lived there for the last year, it felt strange to be in the house by himself. He remembered a telephone call he'd received from Rafe after he'd brought Evelyn home when she'd miscarried. The girls had taken Danny and Sarah back to their quarters with them and Rafe had carried Evelyn back to their bedroom after she'd fallen asleep on the back porch sofa. His best friend has sounded so lost and lonely and experiencing such a deep sadness. He'd come to the house and they'd sat out on the back porch and had a beer while Rafe worried about his wife.

Danny needed to talk to him but he needed to talk to Sandra's parents first. He dialed their number and it was Margaret who answered. He explained the situation to her and told her that he hadn't received any news about how she was or how the baby was doing. He promised to call when there was more to tell her.

"How was she when you took her to the hospital?" She wanted to know.

"You know Sandra, she don't say much. But she's scared about this and so am I." Danny told her.

"It was difficult to tell sometimes if she was ill when she was a child because she would never tell her dad or I if she didn't feel well. She's always kept those sorts of details to herself."

He couldn't help but smile. "That sounds like my wife."

"Try not to worry too much. Sandra is a strong healthy girl and she'll come through this."

"She's my whole life." Danny told her simply.

"You're her whole life too Danny. When she first started to tell her father and me about you, I could see that you meant a lot to her. The way she would talk about you, well, she'd never talked that way about any other boy. To be truthful, we worried about her being so far from home and we worried about the kinds of fellows she would meet. But from the moment she began to talk about you, we stopped worrying because we knew she'd finally met someone special."

"Thank you ma'am that means a lot." He sighed.

"We'll keep a good thought for her and the baby. Just let us know when you've heard more." She requested.

"I'll do that." And after they said goodbye, he hung up.

"Danny, you don't need to worry about them, they're both fine."

A gentle voice from his childhood got him to turn around and Danny shook his head. He must have been more tired than he thought because what else would explain the sight of his mother by the front door. His heart skipped a beat and he could only whisper. "Mama?"

"I'm not a dream Danny, I'm really here." Rachel Walker smiled at her son. "She's a lovely girl and I couldn't have wished anyone more perfect for you."

"How do you know?" He still couldn't believe it was his mother and it wasn't until he felt her take his hand and walk him back to the sofa.

They sat down and she shook her own head. "You've grown into a very handsome young man Danny. You remind me of your daddy when he was courting me."

"Daddy died."

"I know he did honey because he's with me now."

"He is?" He was in disbelief.

"Your daddy wasn't a bad man. He just saw things when he was in France that were too horrible to remember. I always understood that, even if Daddy didn't."

"Even after everythin' that happened?"

She put a hand to his cheek. "He took care of me when I was sick, remember? And you got to see the man that I fell in love with, if only for a little while. That's why you never hated him."

"Mama, how do you know that Sandra's goin' to be all right?" He wanted to know.

Her laugh was soft. "When your daddy saw the trouble Sandra was having, he started to pester anyone he could find to see how his grandchild was doing. He would have gone straight to the Good Lord Himself if he could have. And because he's been such a pest, he was finally told that they're both fine. So take comfort in that son."

"What about the pains she's been havin' and the contractions?" He needed to know.

"I suspect that the pains are from the baby because I went through the same thing with you. It looks like she's going to be a big one."

He flushed at the thought of a daughter. "How come the doctor couldn't figure it out?"

"Don't be cross with him son. He's been a good doctor for Sandra and I know she's been happy with him."

"It's really goin' to be a girl?" He asked before he smiled.

Rachel shook her head. "I've already told you too much and I shouldn't tell you any more. You and Sandra will just have to find out for yourselves."

"I've missed you Mama."

"I've missed you too Danny. But Daddy and I have watched you grow up and he's very grateful that you had the McCawley's to go to. He wanted me to tell you that the biggest regret of his life was that he couldn't stay sober after I went to my reward. He knows that his drinking was hard on you and if he'd been stronger he would have stopped and been the kind of father that you should have had."

"I miss him sometimes."

She smiled at him and stood up. "I know you do and so does he."

Danny stood up next to her. "You ain't goin' are you?"

"I'm sorry son, but I've stayed longer than I should have already. It was just so important for Daddy and I to let you know that we keep an eye on you and your family all the time."

"Please stay." He pleaded and before she had a chance to answer the telephone rang.

He opened his eyes and he was stretched out on the sofa and was completely alone. It was a dream, or was it?

He sat up and reached over to pick up the receiver while he tried to figure out what had just happened. "Hello?"

"Danny, it's me." He heard the voice of his best friend from Shelby Tennessee. "How the hell are you?"

"Wishin' you were here." He admitted.

"Give us the word and we'll be there." Rafe told him.

"The sooner the better. Long distant phone calls ain't goin' to cut it."

"Done. We'll be back in the next couple of days, all right?"

"Thanks Rafe."

"They'll be all right, y' hear?"

Danny nodded and thought about what his mama had told him. "I know. Let me know when you've got your travel plans made and I'll meet you."

"Will do Danny." And they hung up.

He leaned back against the sofa and sighed. It had been one hell of a day.