Author's note:

Thanks for your review, my-voice-rising! I have changed this chapter, and tried to put in more details. Hope you like it.

Chapter 2

Hard choices

Sitting down on a roadside bench, Rafe buried his head into his hands. If only things had not turned out the way they did…

It's about time I went back. Rafe thought. I have been out here for too long, the others are going to worry. He lifted his head from his hands, and found himself in a totally strange place. Where am I? Rafe looked around, frowning. I thought I was outside that watch shop. This place looked sort of empty, and bland. Hazy, too.

The monotonous grey colour was beginning to get on Rafe's nerves. He got up quickly from the bench. The surroundings were blur, and strange. An old man walked slowly up to Rafe. His clothes were plain, the clothes of a farmer. His hair was streaked with grey, and wrinkles on his face told of countless hardships. There was a certain bitterness to the lines on his face, but when he looked up at Rafe, the look on his face was sympathetic. Rafe frowned. He didn't need anyone showing him sympathy. He wanted them to leave him alone.

Before he could get up and leave, the old man sat down beside him. His eyes were full of regret and pain. It was as if he shared the pain Rafe was feeling. Rafe turned away, refusing to look at those eyes. No one would understand how he felt. The old man was a complete stranger. How would he know what it felt to lose Danny? For goodness sake, that man hadn't even known Danny.

There was a small thought nagging at him. He couldn't help noticing the way those eyes resembled Danny's. A slightly older version, but still strangely alike nonetheless…

"Nice weather." the old man said.

Rafe snorted, but did not reply. Nice weather? The man was nuts. He couldn't even tell the weather from the hazy and blur surroundings. All he knew was that it looked grey, and if grey qualified as nice weather in the old man's opinion, he didn't want to know what bad weather was.

The old man paused, as if waiting for a reply. Rafe ignored him. He was too busy trying to figure out where he was and how he got here. The old man turned around to look at Rafe. "Do you really want your friend back?"

"What do you mean?" Rafe was startled. Things are getting stranger by the minute. First he ended up in who-knows-where, and the next second a complete stranger seems to know his personal troubles. "Wait a minute, where on earth am I?"

The old man shrugged. "This place can be whatever you imagine it to be."

Whatever I want to be? It reflects what I am thinking of? Rafe was rather startled. I don't believe him. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of happier things, and the first thing that cropped into his mind was his home. Tennessee, where he had spent his childhood. Back then, he had nothing to do all day except play with Danny, and dream of flying. A smile came to his lips at the thought of those times.

"Quite impressive, I have to say." The old man's voice jerked him back to the present. Rafe opened his eyes, and an entire stretch of golden fields greeted him. A wooden house in the background caught his attention. Isn't that his house? Boy, he was back in Tennessee, just like that? The familiar scene made his heart ache. When they left to join the army, neither of them had any idea that joining the army could mean going into war. And since they had left, for all these years, they hadn't returned.

Rafe's throat constricted. Danny would never have a chance to come back. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have talked Danny into joining the army with him.

The scene before him faded, turning into muddy fields. With a jolt, Rafe recognized the place where both his and Danny's planes had crashed into that day. This was where Danny had died.

Fresh tears sprang to his eyes, and he made no effort to wipe away those that escaped down his cheeks. He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts, otherwise he would have noticed the old man turn away, blinking furiously to hide tears as well.

Having composed himself, the old man patted Rafe on the back. "You haven't answered my question, son."

Rafe looked blankly at him.

"I asked if you were serious about wanting to get your friend back."

"But…how did you know?"

"Never mind how I knew. Do you really want your friend back?"

Rafe nodded.

"If you are allowed to choose between your girlfriend and your friend, who do you want to keep?"

Rafe asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"

"You are only allowed to change one event. Which would you choose? You leaving for England, leaving your girlfriend behind, or your friend going on the Doolittle Raid?"

If it meant that Danny would come back to him, he would gladly let Danny have Evelyn. Anything to have his best friend back again.

Before Rafe had a chance to answer, the old man spoke again. "You have two days to consider. Remember, you can only change one event."

Rafe blinked. He was back at the watch shop. What was that? And who was that old man? Somehow, he looked familiar…

Was that a dream, or was it real? Rafe had never been someone who believed in dreams, but this was the first time he hoped that that dream-like encounter was real. A chance to change history!

Between Evelyn and Danny, it was a hard choice. He loved Evelyn, but he knew Danny for practically his whole life. True friends were hard to come by. From young he had always been the one who attracted the girls. Now it was about time he let Danny get the girl of his dreams. Now, the problem was, which event was he going to choose?

Going back to his room, Rafe weighed his options. If he had not left for England, Danny would not have gotten involved with Evelyn. They would have been posted to Pearl Harbor together. Then Danny would not have gone on the Doolittle Raid out of guilt towards Rafe. Then Danny would not have died. They would still be best of friends. Wouldn't they?

But what if Danny still went on the raid, just to protect Rafe? He knew Danny. Danny would want to repay Rafe for protecting him when they were younger, and he would still go on the mission. Or maybe Danny went on the raid because he wanted to? Rafe had never thought of this possibility before. Just like he had volunteered for the Eagles' Squadron a year ago, maybe Danny just wanted to help? Danny disliked wars, after what the war did to his father. But the raid was after Pearl Harbor was attacked, and Danny would most likely feel obliged to protect his country. Something Danny said came back to Rafe. If trouble wants me I'm ready for it.

No. The crucial part of everything is the Doolittle Raid. No matter which event Rafe chose, it was still the Doolittle Raid that would change everything. Whether he went to England or not may not have been the reason why Danny went on the mission. Rafe would just have to stop Danny from going on the raid. If Danny did not go on the Doolittle Raid, he would not have died. Simple as that. Nothing could go wrong if Danny did not go on the raid. He would not die, Evelyn would be Danny's girl, and they could still be friends. What could go wrong?