Thousands of miles away on a distant shore, a young man bows in honor to his family and to his ancestors. He has been trained for a mission to bring glory to his homeland. His father hands him the samurai sword, so he can die with courage. . . He walks away from his home , looking back at what was and now ready to face what he can foretell…his death…but a death with honor and courage.

Ross held his treasure in his arms. He watched as her chest rose and fell. This is what he was fighting for. This beautiful woman and the hope of any children these two people might bring into the world. As he lay watching her sleeping, his mind kept alert. He listened for any noise at all. It was now the fifth of December. Back in New York they would be walking the streets and looking in brightly lit shop windows and soon lighting the candles of Hanukkah. Here they were thousands of miles away, in a tropical paradise with no chance of ever seeing snow here. The Hawaiian sun streaked in the lace curtains announcing another day in paradise.

"Good morning lover." she smiled tossing her hair from her eyes. "That was quite a welcome home, wouldn't you say." she leaned over and kissed him on the nose. He acted like he didn't even hear her , he had other things on his mind. "Ross?" she said as she shook him. He wondered when it was coming. His superiors told him that all talks with Japan had fallen through and that war was now imminent. Logically the target would be Pearl because of the thousands of ships that were stationed there. As the sailors played , Japan would use that to their advantage. Japan would become Hitler's ally and worst of all, American soil could now be used as a war zone. He actually wondered if back on Long Island, his parents were safe or if all of New York was no more than a bunch of sitting ducks .

"Sorry sweetie. It's this transfer on my mind. I wonder why they would bring me here. I'm not naval." he said concerned. "I'm just glad they did." she smiled. "Now I won't worry so much." She threw her arms around him. "I wonder if they are expecting an attack." he said out loud. "Then they would need fighter pilots to shield the mainland."

"Ross, come on it's Christmas time. I realize we can't go to Macy's or skating at Rockefeller Center, but we can find a tree and decorate it. And go shopping. Maybe buy you one of those cute Hawaiian shirts with the flowers on it and I am sure somewhere in Hawaii , they have mistletoe." she said as she reached over to kiss him, "but I am sure we don't need it." she said as she nibbled at his ear. "Now I don't have to report for my shift until eleven hundred hours, and I plan to take advantage of that." she bit at his neck.

"Good God I haven't even reported in yet. " Ross said as he sprang from the bed. He grabbed his uniform off the floor and struggled to put his pants on. Rachel was still clinging on to him as he tried to get dressed. "Honey, I am going to get court marshaled if you don't let go." he whined. "When will you be back?" she asked as she perched herself on the edge of the bed.

"Tonight, I promise." he said kissing her on the lips. "I gotta go, I have a briefing." He ran from the nurses quarters as Rachel peeked through the drapes.

It was an eventful reconciliation as Joey laid on Phoebe's chest. His arm encircled her body and he took one sniff to realize that he was with his Pheebs.

"Pheebs, baby." Joey said as he shook her to consciousness. Phoebe was barely awake. "Joey?' she said as she moved the homemade afghan from her body. "What do you want? I have to work late at the hospital." she moaned.

"I'm hungry, could you make me some breakfast?" he whined. She sighed and jumped from the covers. "This is what you always do. You lay in bed until you get hungry and then you whine for an hour about food." she complained. She walked to the small kitchen and pulled out an iron skillet. "How do you want your eggs?' she said as she took out a container of eggs.

"No time babe, I got to report back to the ship . I had a three day pass." he said as he put on his pants. Phoebe just shook her head. "It hasn't been three days." she said angrily. "I left the ship on Tuesday and today is Thursday." he smiled. She picked up the pan and threw it at the floor. "Damn you Joey Tribbiani." she screamed as she watched him run from the door. He quickly ran back and kissed her. "I might get liberty this weekend, so I'll see you unless I get beat up again." Phoebe just shook her head.

The young oriental man was festooned with concubines. His nose couldn't reach where he couldn't touch a naked breast. A young oriental girl brought him shots of alcohol. She was told this was how she could serve her emperor, by aiding young pilots before they were to embark on this journey.

"The main thing to remember is to stay calm. Panicking will make you an even bigger target for the enemy." Ross spoke as he lectured the young men who would be soon be on their way to Europe. Each face was littered with that Mom and apple pie look. Ross had that look himself a long time ago and a million years. The young man who studied science and loved a cheerleader from a far. Now he was training young men for war . Sadly enough, he was barely the same age as most of the young boys in the room.

Rachel was the starry eyed teenager in love. Barely eighteen, she had enlisted to be a nurse. She liked the idea of helping rather than her parents idea of debutante parties and yachting on the Hudson. One day while in the city, she was in a coffee shop and sat next to a young man who was reading a copy of Darwin's Theories of Evolution. He was a student at NYU and majoring in one of the sciences. This was when she found her boyfriend Ross., who it turned out was the same guy who had a crush on her in high school.

They were young and in love until one day Ross had heard of the terrible treatment that Hitler was giving to the Jewish people in Europe. Originally he was going to Europe to help, instead he decided to enlist. With his education, the military decided that he would make a good officer and then he was also trained to fly. One day he was sent to England because of his abilities.

Monica started the day in the bathroom. It must be this tropical weather, she wasn't used to it yet. After all, in New York the snow would be on the ground. She took one of the linen towels from the hospital and put it under the faucet. The cool water felt good on her neck and forehead. Immediately she started to feel dizzy again and rested her head against the toilet bowl.

Phoebe came through the door. "I hate men." she spit. "I thought you and Joey made up." said Monica as she left the bathroom. "Well he just spent his last three day pass with me, except today was the third day and he had to get back to his ship." Phoebe said disgusted. Rachel came through the door with a smile on her face and humming." Well it is my guess that Miss Green was entertaining the troops last night." laughed Monica. "You could say that." she giggled." Just doing my part for the war effort." Monica said. "We are not at war yet."

"Nurse ! Nurse! I have a marine who was in a bar fight and needs stitches." said the corpsman . Over the intercom system the familiar strains of Deck the Halls started to play. Monica ran to aid the marine . "Another day in Hawaii." Phoebe sighed as she walked to get the necessary forms.

The planes sat on the deck as the young boys mounted their planes. All at once thousands of engines were started. A man with a covered face moved his hands to look like propellers . White flags with the emblem of the Emperor were waved as a signal that it was time. The planes glided off the deck into the sky. The US wasn't expecting this, they were still in peace talks. Tomorrow they would end, and then it would be the sixth. Two days to fly from Tokyo to Honolulu .

Rachel stood by the door with her compact in hand. She fluffed the curls by the side of her head and took out her ruby red lip stick. With her smile, she could have been one of the many starlets that became pin up girls to adorn soldiers lockers. She took the white nurses cap from her head and brushed her hair. It had been hours since a patient had come in. Phoebe was reading her tarot cards and Monica was trying to read the latest Photoplay.

"Good evening ladies." Ross said as he came in the door. "Busy night tonight. See many drunken sailors come in." he laughed. Rachel pulled herself away and put her arms around his neck. "I've been waiting for you." she whispered. "See you later girls." she giggled. Phoebe went back to her tarot cards. Just as the door was closing , it opened again . "Pheebs babe, I told you I'd be back." smiled Joey. In his hand he was carrying an orchid. Phoebe jumped up from her chair and ran to his arms. "Oh Joey, I thought you were lying." she said as she kissed him. "I told you Pheebs, you're my girl. I even got it on my arm." he rolled up his sleeve and proudly showed her his tattoo of the statue of liberty and the name Phoebe under it. "Look Monica, he wrote my name on his arm." she squealed.

After dinner, Rachel and Ross strolled on the beach. He had his arm around her. In the true native fashion, she had an orchid behind her ear and was wearing a native sarong. It felt good to have the sand between her toes. He was wearing a red and white flower printed shirt and a pair of linen pants. It was very risky walking around Honolulu in a civilian outfit, but he had seen a lot of servicemen with them.

"That shirt looks good on you." Rachel smiled. "You look like one of the natives." He smiled and looked at her." And you look like Dorothy Lamour or one of those native girls from the movies." Rachel blushed. "Well there is a story to the flower in my hair. The natives say that if a girl wears it over her left ear , she's available , and if she wears it over her right ear, she's taken." He leaned in towards her and whispered. "It's on the right." she whispered back "I know."

"Rachel , I love you. " he said looking into her eyes. The wind blew her hair as she gazed at him in the moonlight over the water. "Ross, I love you too." she said as she began to kiss him. There couldn't have been a more perfect Saturday night. They walked down to the edge of the water. For December it felt warm. Underneath both their clothes were swimsuits.

"How about a midnight swim?" Ross asked . Rachel turned to him and untied the sarong , revealing her one piece suit. He pulled down his pants to reveal the shorts under his pants. Leaping into the water, they swam out so far and then playfully started to dunk each other. Finally holding her hand, they both ducked under the clear water. It was more sensual than they had ever experienced. Her hair framed her face as the bubbles escaped from her mouth and she moved her hands . His dark hair seemed suspended as he grabbed her firm ass and proceeded to take her down further into the depths of the ocean. At first she flailed as she was helpless in this weightless environment, but then she surrendered to him. Her lips were pursed as she became breathless and he blew air into her. Slowly they began to kick their legs to propel themselves to the surface still connected by their mouths. Breaking the surface, she exclaimed. "Wow, how did you ever learn to hold your breath that long?" He shook his dark hair and said. "In training for pilots, you have to be submerged and then swim to the surface." Just like the ancient Christmas carol, all was calm , all was bright…on this silent night… only a few hours away the world would turn upside down.