The fall of 1951 was a time of changes for everyone.

Before Sandra even suspected that she and Danny were going to have another baby, Red and Amy found out two months after they were married that Amy was expecting. She told them that it happened faster than they planned, but were happy and excited nonetheless.

Barbara and Martha returned to Pearl Harbor in May after being reassigned from their post in New York. It had been their intention to ask for a transfer when they'd returned from Red's wedding, but with war in Korea the Navy wanted as many of their nurses staffing hospitals as close to the action as possible. And even though the two girls had already done one tour in Hawaii, they were sent back.

By September however, Barbara had a surprise of her own when she brought around a pilot that she'd been seeing. As Evelyn later told Sandra, their friend was nervous about him meeting everyone but it was he that finally talked her into joining the large group for their Sunday picnic at the beach.

She couldn't remember when she'd ever seen Barbara happier and her pilot won everyone over. Evelyn also told her that he'd been widowed during the last war and never had the desire to begin dating again. But Barbara's bubbly personality got his attention and it surprised her when out of the blue he asked her to dinner.

Danny and Sarah McCawley returned to Hawaii in early August and they along with their little brother Joseph started the new school year.

Sandra was once again dealing with morning sickness. It was unusual to still have morning sickness at six months along and it wasn't bad but her doctor was concerned nonetheless. He kept a close watch on her progress and told her to let him know immediately if it worsened.

She knew that Danny was concerned as well because he tried to keep her from doing too much. It was because of her own situation that Sandra understood how Amy might be feeling because Red was being a typical first time father. He worried about every little thing and it was driving her to distraction. She had asked Sandra to meet her down at the beach one October afternoon because not only did she find that walking helped with her late term leg cramps, but that they could talk privately.

Sandra found her at the spot where everyone usually met for Sunday picnics. She had a hand on her lower back and looked as though she was trying to stretch.

"That's darn near impossible now, isn't it?" Sandra called out as she approached.

"Not only that, but I think I forgot what my toes look like." Amy smiled back.

Sandra looked down and her toes were still barely visible, but they wouldn't be in another month. "Add swollen ankles to the list and you're in fine shape."

Amy sighed and took her hand for a moment. "Thank you for meeting me here. My doctor wants me to walk everyday and I really needed to talk to someone, so I thought I could take care of two things at the same time."

They started to walk and Sandra smiled at her. "I don't know what was harder when I was carrying Ann, the difficulties with her or with Danny. He seemed to worry about everything and the farther along I got, he started to watch me like a hawk. I always understood the reasons, but it didn't make it any easier at times."

"I know why he worries. He doesn't want anything to happen to me or to the baby but we're both fine. I just had my monthly checkup and everything is progressing the way it should. I really don't like to say it, but I'm starting to lose patience with him." Amy flushed as she made the admission.

"It's perfectly understandable to feel the way you do. I think it's always that way with first time fathers because everything is a new experience and every time you have a twitch or a pain, they worry that something's wrong."

"But understanding it doesn't make it any easier." She said.

Sandra laughed. "You don't need to tell me. This is our third and you'd think it was our first."

"Are we awful to be complaining about their caring about us?"

She put an arm around Amy's shoulders for a moment. "We're not complaining about them caring for us, we're just frustrated because they care so much."

Amy nodded in agreement.

"I've been meaning to ask if you had your nursery ready yet?"

She smiled. "I had to talk Red into not doing anything until a month ago. We have everything we need and we have you and Evelyn to thank for that."

"Well, we didn't know if anyone was throwing you a shower and it was something we wanted to do. Now at least you have a good start." Sandra explained. "And I'll tell you from experience that the diaper service comes in very handy for the first couple of weeks."

"I can't believe it's almost here." She sighed.

Sandra stopped and looked at her. "I'd say you've got something else on your mind other than Red being overly protective."

"What's it like?"

It didn't take any thinking to understand what she meant. "It's probably one of the hardest things you'll ever go through, but the result is worth it."

"Does it hurt?" She seemed to brace her self.

Sandra had to think carefully what to say because she didn't want to worry the girl. "Why do you want to know?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders. "So I know what to expect."

She nodded. "I could tell you but you still have a month to go and if you worry about what's going to happen when you finally get it that delivery room, it's going to make it harder."

"So you're not going to tell me?"

Sandra shook her head. "I went through the same thing when I was carrying Ann and I asked my mother what it was like. And she told me that the only thing that I should be thinking about was when I finally had my baby in my arms. And I can tell you from personal experience that there isn't another feeling like it."

Amy seemed to think about what she said. "Were you scared?"

"A little. But I think it was more that I was by myself and didn't have Danny or one of the girls with me. If I could have had Barbara or Martha there, I would have felt better."

She nodded. "I must admit I would feel better if Red were with me."

Sandra laughed. "But I don't know how he would feel about being in there with you."

"I think you're right." Amy answered with a smile.

"It's going to be all right Amy." She tried to assure the younger girl. "And remember that Ev and I are here if you need anything."

"Thank you." And she sighed again. "It's just kind of nice that I'm not going through this by myself because you're having a baby too."

Sandra smiled at her. "It's been nice for me too. So now that you've had your walk and we've talked, why don't you come back to the house with me and we can have a glass of iced tea."

"That sounds wonderful." She answered as they walked up the beach and headed to Sandra's house.