Maybe it was the fact that Dennis and Barbara's wedding was only a couple of days away. And maybe with that upcoming wedding it reminded Danny of his own special day when he and Sandra were finally able to be married.
He wasn't sure exactly why but since he returned from his last mission felt much like he had on their honeymoon and in the early days of their marriage. He felt as complete as a man could feel because he was still very much in love with his wife and as much as he loved being a father, his greatest happiness still came from Sandra.
"What's got you so preoccupied?" The voice of his best friend broke into his thoughts.
"Just thinkin'." Was all Danny said as he suddenly saw Rafe standing in the doorway.
"I can see that. And I think it explains why you volunteered to paint the bathroom. There ain't enough room for two people in here." He grinned.
"And while your standin' here jawin' with me, Dennis needs help with the rest of the house. We ain't got all night you know and it ain't goin' to paint itself." He replied and was irritated that Rafe had interrupted his thoughts of Sandra.
"I know that Danny. Gooz is wallpaperin' the kitchen and Red is helpin' with one of the bedrooms."
"And as I recall, you're supposed to be doin' the other bedroom while Dennis takes care of the master. They're gettin' married on Saturday and Barbara wanted us to have the paintin' done tonight so she can finish decoratin' the house tomorrow."
"Someone ain't bein' very sociable tonight." Rafe frowned before he pushed himself off of the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. "I think dealin' with paint fumes will be a hell of a lot easier than dealin' with you." And he turned around and walked across the hall.
Danny didn't mean to be short with him but as happy as he was to help Dennis get his house ready for Barbara and him, he really wanted nothing more than to be home with Sandra. It was a long six weeks the last time he and Rafe were away and in that time his kids had grown. Thomas had gained three pounds and grown, what seemed to him, at least two inches. His baby son was already changing and Danny didn't want to miss any more than he had to.
"Is everything all right? Something seems to be bothering Rafe." Danny turned to see Dennis standing in the doorway, wiping his hands on a rag.
"It's nothin'."
"I haven't known you for very long Danny, but you seem like a fellow who has something on his mind."
Danny put his brush down on the lip of the paint can. "That's what Rafe said. And the truth is, he's right."
"Sometimes a somewhat disinterested third party can be a good sounding board." He remarked as he sat down on the edge of the shower bath.
"It's somethin' Rafe goes through every time he has to leave Evelyn because I know how much he hates it. I thought I was used to it because in the last war I had to leave Sandra behind all the time."
"But this time it's different because she's your wife and you have three kids."
Danny nodded. "Yea. And the last time I flew out she'd just had Thomas and I couldn't say goodbye to her the way I wanted to. And when I got home this time, the doctor told her it was all right."
"Is that's what's bothering you? That you made love to your wife?" He seemed puzzled.
"It ain't that. I think Sandra was right when she said that we've become so used to being parents to our kids that we forget that we were once this young couple who waited through a war to get married."
"Is it true that you waited until you got married?" Dennis asked.
"Rafe and Evelyn got married in part because they didn't. The one thing that scared Sandra more than anythin' was that if we'd gone through with what we wanted to she might have ended up with a baby and she didn't want to bring a child into the world knowin' that I wasn't comin' home. So as hard as it was sometimes for the both of us, we waited."
"So I gather that you and Sandra have been making up for lost time since you've been home." Danny could see he was trying not to grin.
That made him smile. "That's it."
"Well if you don't mind my asking, what in the hell are you doing here? You should be home with your wife because you don't know when you'll have to fly out again." He looked surprised.
"I'm here because you're tryin' to get a house ready for your bride. We did this same sort of thing for Rafe and Evelyn when they got married and I was happy to help you get your house ready."
"I appreciate that Danny, I really do. But Rafe and Red are here to help me and we don't have too much more to do. Gooz is just about finished wallpapering the kitchen and he can finish in here. I would consider it a personal favor if you would go home and spend the time you would have here with your lovely wife."
"I can't do that."
Dennis stood up and sighed. "Yes you can. I didn't have that opportunity with Laurie that you do with Sandra. During the last war, I was stationed overseas for most of our marriage and I was lucky to get leave once to see her before she got sick and died."
Danny stood up next to him. "Do you miss her?"
He nodded. "Every day. The truth is, after she died the last thing I was looking for was to get married again. But then I met Barbara and she was able to help me start looking to the future again instead of looking at the past. You're a lucky fellow Danny because you've got the love of a good woman and you don't take it for granted. So please go home and show you're wife how much you love her."
He didn't need to be told twice and he held out his hand. "Thanks."
Dennis took it and shook. "No thanks are necessary. The look on your face says it all."
"If you need anythin' tomorrow just let me know." Danny said as he walked to the bathroom door.
"I will. Now get out of here." He smiled.
Danny nodded and without another word walked out of the bathroom and headed to the front door. He glanced over to see Gooz applying paste to a strip of wallpaper that was rolled out on to the counter. He'd done a hell of a good job with the kitchen and he knew Barbara would be pleased.
He grabbed his old Air Corps jacket off the sofa and dug his car keys out of the front pocket. The front door was already open to help with ventilation, so he pushed on the screen door and stepped out on to the front porch.
It was another beautiful evening in Paradise.
They trudged back up the beach to where he'd parked the car and Danny leaned against the hood as he emptied the sand out if his dress shoes. Sandra followed his lead and did the same with hers.
It was something that had been on his mind since he'd asked her to marry him. He'd joked about them being together and Gooz had razzed him about the very same thing earlier that night. He loved Sandra and he knew she loved him and the main reason that they had never made love was that there had been no formal commitment. But tonight they had made it official and as he helped her into the car and walked around to the driver's side, he thought about it some more.
It wasn't something he'd planned on when he'd made the reservations at the hotel for dinner. If he had, he would have gotten them a room with the hope that she would stay with him. But the idea that she might think less of him because of what he'd had in mind stopped him cold. It was a fine line he felt he walked sometimes, because he did love her and wanted to show her how much.
He didn't know how exactly, but he found himself in front of his house and the engine was off. There was a light in the window of the living room but the rest of the house was dark and Danny hadn't considered that Sandra and the kids might be down at Rafe and Evelyn's.
Gooz and his family arrived the previous afternoon and they were all finally able to see his second child. They had another girl about a week before Sandra had Thomas and it was only the second time that Danny saw his former co-pilot with his children. It was a Gooz he didn't recognize, but was a man he could relate to.
He hadn't lost his dry sense of humor and as with the other pilots, he liked Dennis right away. He never thought much of Barbara and told Danny that he was surprised to all hell that she invited him.
He walked into the house and in addition to the living room light, he saw that the stove light was on in the kitchen. He and Sandra used it as a nightlight for the girls in case they got up in the middle of the night.
Something didn't feel right though, because the house was just too damn quiet and he again considered going to the McCawley's. But as he headed down the hall, he noticed that the light was on in his and Sandra's room. He walked to the doorway and stood and watched as Sandra sat in her rocking chair with Thomas in her arms as she fed him.
He walked down the hall and checked on his godson, who was sound asleep. He saw that the light was on in Rafe and Evelyn's room and it was there that he found Sandra as she sat in the rocking chair and held the baby. He stood in the shadow of the dark hallway and watched as she smiled at Sarah and spoke softly to her. He couldn't hear what she said, but the sight of her with a baby in her arms made him flush.
"Sandra?" He said softly because he didn't want to startle her. When she looked up at him she smiled and he felt his heart stop. "I thought you'd be over at Rafe and Evelyn's."
"I was." She answered quietly. "But the girls got tired and Thomas needed to be changed and fed so I could put him down."
"Everybody makin' a fuss over all the babies?" He smiled at her and wanted nothing more than to kiss her.
"Of course." And she looked over at the clock on her nightstand. "It's still early, what are you doing home?"
"Dennis told me to come home. I guess I was bein' somethin' of a bear." Danny admitted.
Her face flushed and he suspected that Sandra knew why. "And why were you being a bear?"
"Because I missed you and I wanted to be here with you."
He watched her as she checked the bottle and put it back in the baby's mouth, which Thomas promptly pushed away. She tried again and he pushed it away again, so she put the bottle on her nightstand. "I guess he's finally finished." And she stood up before she handed him the baby and picked the bottle up. She leaned up and kissed Danny's cheek. "I'm glad your here." And she walked out of the room.
He found a clean towel and tossed it across his shoulder before he began to walk around the room, rubbing the baby's back. It didn't take long for Danny to hear him burp and sensed that his son had fallen asleep.
He held the baby away from him long enough to see that he had indeed fallen asleep and put him down in his bassinet. He pulled the small blanket over the sleeping infant and stood and watched.
"He's starting to look more like you everyday." Sandra's soft voice was behind him as he felt her arms wind around his waist.
"Poor little guy." He grinned because he knew she would comment.
"I happen to think that his father is very handsome." She laughed softly as he turned around and put his arms around her.
"And I think his mother is beautiful." He said and leaned over to kiss her. She pulled her arms from around his waist and put them around his neck before she kissed him back.
"The girls are down for the night, Thomas will sleep for awhile and you came home early." Sandra stated.
"And what are you suggestin' Mrs. Walker?" He grinned.
"I'm suggesting exactly what you came home early for, knowing that the kids would probably be asleep." She smiled back.
"Well I like that suggestion."
"I thought you would." Sandra laughed again as Danny pulled her close and kissed her again.
"What's happening with us Danny?" She asked as he loosened his hold on her and her face was flushed.
"I've been thinkin' about that myself. It's been our honeymoon all over again these last few days, at least in the way I feel because we didn't have to wait any more." He said. "There was somethin' about those six weeks that I was gone that was harder than any other time I've been gone."
"For me too and I don't know exactly why." She admitted. "It was like waiting to get married again and worrying about you because I never knew what was going to happen while you were gone. And maybe because we are married now, that feeling was even stronger."
Danny held her for a moment. "I was also thinkin' that it's because there's another weddin' happenin' and that's why we're feelin' the way we do."
Sandra pulled away from him enough to look in his eyes. "Or maybe without realizing it, we were starting to take each other a little for granted."
He didn't like that answer. "Sandra."
"Let me finish. I don't mean in the sense that we don't love each other as much as we always have because I've never doubted that. Remember when I said that we've gotten so used to being parents that we sometimes forget that we were a young newlywed couple once? For some reason, Dennis and Barbara's wedding seems to have reminded the both of us about that."
"Even though we still spend our anniversary at the Royal Hawaiian?"
She laughed softly. "And what did we do the last time we were there?"
"We talked about the kids." They said in unison and Danny suddenly understood what she meant.
"Even on our anniversary weekend, we're parents." He grinned
Sandra shrugged. "We can't help it really. I was about to have Ann the first year we went, I was still carrying Shelby that third year and as I recall we didn't go."
"And every year that our family grew, we started talkin' more about them than us."
"That's it."
Danny sighed. "And you still want to give Rafe and Evelyn our anniversary weekend?"
He saw her flush again but this time she looked a little embarrassed. "I've been thinking about that and wondered if you would mind if we did that for them next year? If we're both feeling the way we do and understand why, then it seems to me that we can't pass it up. Even for friends as good as they are."
"And we won't talk about the kids?"
"Not if you don't want to. I've never believed in signs, but if ever there was one to remind us of how we started out, this is it. And I think to pass up on our weekend, even for the noblest of reasons is something we would come to regret."
"I don't like to think about it, but I think you're right about us takin' each other a little for granted. I never considered it because it didn't seem possible. So as far as the McCawley's are concerned, we'll figure out somethin' for them to have a honeymoon of there own because I really don't want to give up ours."
"Agreed."
He smiled. "You really are somethin' Sandra."
"So are you." She smiled back at him as he pulled her back to him and kissed her.