Sandra watched Evelyn as she toured the house and stepped around the military issue furniture. Boxes were stacked everywhere, many partially unpacked and she looked absolutely beside herself as to what she was going to do. So Sandra prevailed on Mrs. Monahan that morning to take the girls and Evelyn's youngest so that her friend could start putting her house in order.

Captain and Mrs. Rafe McCawley had been issued a house two doors down from where they had originally lived and Sandra couldn't be happier. Having them so close again was more than she could have hoped for and she was going to do what she could to make Ev's transition back to Pearl Harbor and military life as easy as possible.

Everything had not gone the McCawley's way however and Sandra knew it was one of the main reasons that she was so distracted. Joseph McCawley was the only one of Ev and Rafe's children that made the trip back to Hawaii. The night he talked to Rafe, Danny asked her if she would check with the school about registering the kids. After talking to the school secretary the following morning, she gave him the bad news that the deadline for registering the children for school was well past. There was nothing to be done and he passed that information on to Rafe.

In turn Evelyn requested registration forms so that Danny and Sarah could come out to Hawaii when the current school year was completed and begin the following school year with their parents.

"Ev, why don't we wait until the boys get home and we can tackle this together." Sandra suggested as Evelyn sat down on the sofa and sighed.

"It's just so much." Evelyn replied and started to cry.

Sandra sat down next to her and took her hand. "I know how overwhelming this is, believe me. And I know how disappointed you were that Danny and Sarah couldn't come back with you. So why don't we just not worry about this right now? Come over to the house and I'll make a fresh pot of coffee."

"That won't get the house unpacked." She sighed again and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You are right about Danny and Sarah. Joseph is absolutely lost without them and that worries me. And when Rafe starts flying out again, he won't have that stability of having his father around."

"I understand that Ev. Ann and Shelby are going to go through the same thing when Danny starts flying again. They're so used to seeing him every day and this will be a big adjustment for them."

"What about you?" Evelyn gave her a watery smile. "You've been so used to having him around everyday too. The last time we went through this, you weren't married yet."

"And don't think I don't remember that. But now I have a much better understanding of what you went through and now you don't have to feel so alone."

"That does help Sandra. I knew how much you missed Danny the last time even though you never said much and even though you weren't married I know the feelings you had for him were as strong as the feelings I had for Rafe."

"Having you girls around helped me feel less lonely for him though. And being able to look after Danny and Sarah every once in awhile helped too because I had to concentrate on taking care of them and not dwell on the fact that Danny might not come home. That was the worst part of all of it, the not knowing. And if something had happened to him they would have notified Rafe's parents not me."

Evelyn looked surprised. "Didn't Danny ever tell you?"

Sandra was puzzled. "Tell me what?"

Evelyn smiled. "When he and Rafe first left for flight training, he did list Rafe's parents as the one's to be notified if something happened to him. But after they came back from the Doolittle Raid, he told me that Danny went to the personnel office to have the notification changed and have you listed."

She felt her cheeks warm because it was before he left on that mission that Sandra told him she loved him.

"I take it you suspect why he did it."

Sandra could only nod.

"It's okay Sandra. You don't need to explain it to me if you don't want to."

"It was the first time I told Danny that I loved him." She said simply.

"Did he tell you that he loved you?"

She nodded again. "I think it was probably the happiest and saddest day of my life and it's why I told him when and where I did. I didn't know if he going to come home and it was something that I wanted him to know."

"I remember that time too. I worried so about Rafe and then when I found out I was carrying Danny, I didn't know what I was going to do if he didn't come home."

Sandra smiled back at her. "And somehow we made it through and now we're about to start all over again."

Evelyn stood up and to Sandra it seemed that she recovered some of her spunk. "Except this time Rafe and I aren't newlyweds and new parents and you and Danny are married."

"What is that old saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same?" And then she laughed.

"How about déjà vu?" Evelyn laughed in return.

"If we got the girls back here, it really would be."

Sandra watched as her friend began to pick through the boxes and then suddenly stopped to face her. "So what do you think about Amy Bradford? Do you think Red has finally found someone to help him let go of Betty?"

"I think he has. Danny told me that he took down a picture of Betty that he's had on his locker door since we all transferred here. He also said that Red seemed to know that it was time." Sandra didn't tell her about Red's dream at Danny's request not to repeat it to anyone.

"I like her." Evelyn stated. "She seems to make him happy and that's all any of us could want for him."

"He brought her to dinner the Sunday after you went back to Tennessee and she was really shy."

"Sounds like someone I know." She laughed.

Sandra smiled back because she knew Evelyn was right. "That was until Danny and I got married because he won't let me be shy." And she felt her face flush again.

"I'm sorry Sandra, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She smiled. "You didn't. I was just remembering our wedding night and how wonderful it was."

"He didn't let you be shy." Was all she said.

Sandra nodded. "And that's spilled out into the rest of our married life."

Evelyn began to unpack as Sandra helped her organize. "So how did dinner go? How did Red do?"

"He seems absolutely smitten with her and once she and I started talking about the hospital, she lit up like a Christmas tree."

"I guess all we can do is make her feel as welcome as we can."

"And keeping our fingers crossed wouldn't hurt either, I think." Sandra added.

Evelyn stopped again and sighed. "You know, it's hard not having Danny and Sarah here with us. But Rafe and I are still together and we do have Joseph. And the best part is, we're home."

"It's nice to have you back Ev; we've really missed you." And she hugged her friend before they went back to unpacking and trying to put the McCawley house in order.