It was a beautiful day for a wedding he thought, as the bride and groom stood at the altar of the Hickam Chapel.

It was a long time in the making and Danny was the first to admit that he didn't see it coming. They were different than any two people could be, but the love they had for each other was evident as they stood together with her hands held firmly in his as they repeated the vows that would make them man and wife.

He couldn't help but remember his own wedding day and how he felt when he was finally able to call Sandra his wife. Their life together was full and because of her he was the father of three beautiful children. He had to admit that it wasn't something he gave much thought to before he met her and often thought he would never be anything more than Uncle Danny to Rafe's kids.

In the years since he'd become a husband and a father, Danny wondered how it would feel to see his own children get married. He wondered if his little girls would marry Air Force pilots or if his son would pick a Navy nurse. It wasn't impossible because they lived on an Air Force Base and Pearl Harbor was still teaming with Navy personnel.

He glanced over at his wife and as he expected, tears were rolling down her cheeks. What was it about weddin's that made women cry?

Danny leaned over and squeezed the slender hand he held after they'd been seated. "If you keep cryin', you're goin' to miss the 'I do's'." He grinned at her.

"I don't know how you can be so calm." She replied quietly as Danny took a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed her eyes. "This isn't an ordinary wedding Danny, this is something special."

"I know that honey. It ain't every day that someone's daughter gets married." He answered softly as he folded his handkerchief and tucked it back into his pocket.

"It's not that she's getting married, but it's whom she's marrying."

He suddenly understood. "You don't believe in premonitions and it seems as though this one came true."

"It wasn't a premonition Danny, it was a dream. And I still don't believe in dreams either."

"Well if you don't believe in dreams or premonitions, explain to me how we're sittin' here watchin' our Annie marry Danny McCawley."

His eyes were suddenly open and he was stunned at what he just dreamed. It must have been because of Barbara's wedding, what other reason would there be to have such a dream?

He looked over in the early morning dusk and Sandra was curled up next to him sound asleep. She had done too much at the reception and exhausted herself. But it was important to her that Evelyn did as little as possible the day of the wedding because she did so much already to help Barbara beforehand. Sandra told him that because the two women were such close friends they should be able to spend the afternoon together before Barbara left on her honeymoon.

His wife was stubborn in her insistence so Danny insisted that she not do all of it herself and enlisted the aid of Martha and Amy. In the meantime he, Gooz and Red spent the afternoon helping Rafe keep champagne glasses full while Sandra and the girls kept the buffet stocked so no one would leave the reception hungry.

He ran a hand through his hair as he puzzled over his dream. Could his and Sandra's dreams really be a window into the future or was it that he'd probably had more champagne then he should have?

He honestly didn't know what to make of it as he heard Thomas begin to fuss. He glanced over at Sandra again to make sure she was still asleep as he got out of bed and walked around to her side to check on his baby son. The look on his small face and the tiny fingers that were clenched into fists warned Danny that his son was about to cry. He didn't want to take the time to figure out what the problem was, so he reached into the bassinet and picked him up. He started out of the bedroom before he stopped and grabbed a clean diaper from the changing table.

Danny closed the bedroom door behind him and held his son close as he walked up the hall, checking on the girls as he headed toward the kitchen. The baby quieted as Danny rocked him and his fingers relaxed.

He could have put Thomas down and gone back to bed himself, but decided it would be the perfect time to spend some time with his son. The baby's gaze was steady as Danny settled on the sofa and began to talk.

"One of these days, when you're old enough to understand I'll tell you about the night I met your mama. She was a shy thing, but your daddy wasn't much better. We danced and she let me hold her a little closer than I probably should have, but we fit. I didn't think about it at the time, but that's how it felt. I'll tell you about the first time I kissed her and knew right then and there that there would never be another girl who could hold a candle to her. She was the only girl I ever felt at ease with right away because I knew she was less at ease than I was. She's real special, your mama and you'll find that out as you get older."

"I certainly hope you don't tell him about the first time you kissed me." Sandra's sleepy voice got him to look up and she was smiling. "There are some things that parents shouldn't tell their children Danny."

"Well, I could tell him about our weddin' night instead, if you want." He grinned at her as her cheeks turned pink.

She walked to the sofa and sat down next to him before she ran a hand over the baby's head. "Don't you dare."

He laughed softly. "You know me better than that Sandra."

"Yes I do." She said before she leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you for not arguing with me yesterday about helping at the reception. It was something I really wanted to do for Ev and I know she appreciated the help we gave her."

"I know she did."

Sandra snuggled up next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "So what got you up so early? You usually sleep in on Sundays when you're off rotation."

"Seein' as how it'll be the last Sunday for awhile I would like to have slept a little longer, but Thomas was startin' to fuss and I didn't want to wake you up."

"That's why he was on my side of the bed Danny, so that I could take care of him." Sandra gently chided him.

"I know. But I had a dream and it wasn't like any dream I've ever had."

That got her to sit up. "Was it a bad dream?"

He shook his head. "Do you remember that dream you had about Annie and Danny McCawley?"

"What brought this up?" She looked at him curiously.

"I had a dream that they got married at the Hickam Chapel."

That seemed to stun her. "Well, it could just be you had a dream about them because I told you about mine. And it's like you told me, there was a wedding coming and my mind was probably on that."

"So you're sayin' that I had the dream because of Barbara's weddin'."

"I'm saying that it's something to think about. It just seems so odd to me that they would even give each other the time of day. He's five years older than she is and I just can't see him being interested in a girl so much younger than he is."

"And you don't find it the least bit odd that I would have the same kind of dream that you did." He frowned.

"Maybe it's wishful thinking on our parts without realizing it. After all, Annie is our oldest and Danny is theirs. You and Rafe grew up like brothers and if our children married, there would be an true family bond between the two of you because of them."

He sighed. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"The only way we'll know if what we dreamed is a look into the future is if it actually happens. But we have to let nature take its course and not throw the two of them together."

"Honey, I can't think that far ahead. My baby girl ain't even five years old yet and here I am dreamin' about her gettin' married."

"Well, now that Barbara's married we probably won't have any more dreams like that. And eventually we'll forget that we ever dreamed it."

"You think so?"

She tucked her arm through his and put her head back down on his shoulder. "We're going to be so busy raising our children over the next several years that we won't have time to think about anybody's children getting married. Besides, we have another war to get through and you have to come back to us when it's all over."

He kissed the top of her head. "Try not to worry too much about that Sandra."

"It's easy not to when you're home but once you go back on rotation then it's not so easy."

"I know. And I sure as hell wish that we were off rotation for more than a couple of weeks, but at least we got home for the weddin' and we did get to see Gooz and his family."

"And Martha made it back. I know that made Barbara happy to see her."

"They patched everythin' up?"

She nodded. "Everything was patched up and they had a nice long talk at the reception."

"I sure am glad to hear that because it wasn't right that you girls were on the outs. Ya'll have been friends for as long as the boys and I have and it ain't right that we don't talk to each other."

Her laugh was gentle. "That's why our telephone bill was so high when Ev and Rafe went back to Tennessee and Gooz went back to Kentucky."

He laughed with her. "I'm not the only guilty party here. You did a fair amount of talkin' yourself to Tennessee and New York."

"I did and I do. Our friendships with them saw us through one war and have sustained us through another. We shared so much during those years and it shouldn't be that because we're scattered to the four winds that we shouldn't stay in touch."

"Agreed." He looked down and Thomas had fallen asleep while they talked. "We need to remember to send pictures of the kids to your folks and to the McCawley's. Tom said he wanted to see all of his grandkids in their weddin' finery."

"Don't worry Danny. There will be so many pictures to choose from that we won't know which ones to send." And she ran a hand over the head of their sleeping son before she stood up. "It looks like Thomas wasn't hungry or wet, so why don't we put him back down for awhile. We don't have much time before your have to fly out again and I don't want to waste it."

He looked up at her and felt his face flush. "Are you suggestin' what I think you are?"

"Yes." She said bluntly and for the first time that he could remember, Sandra's face didn't flush. "It was thoughtless of me to come out of the bathroom yesterday in a towel and get us both thinking about something we didn't have time for. And you were so tired when we finally got to bed last night, there wasn't much point. But right now it's still early, we've had a good night's rest and all of our children are still asleep." And she headed back to the bedroom.

He grinned as he looked at his sleeping son. "You're mama is really somethin'."

He stood up carefully and carried Thomas back to the bedroom where Sandra waited for him.

His life had been truly blessed when the McCawley's took him in after his daddy died. He and Rafe lived and grew up as brothers and defended each other through thick and thin. They'd gone into the Army Air Corps together and become pilots and would eventually fly with each other through a world war. He met a young woman in a smoky New York night club and through years of waiting would eventually marry her and have three children with her.

He knew that his life would only get better as his children grew and Sandra was at his side with her common sense and her deep love for him and their family.

Barbara's wedding had been a wake up call of sorts for Danny because it reminded him of how far he and Sandra had come in a few short years and of all the wonderful years ahead that they had yet to share.

It was only going to get better.

THE END.