Chapter 4

"Danny, come on. We are going to be late." Rafe yelled from the doorway.

"Coming." Danny answered hastily. He scribbled his last sentence, folded the letter and placed it inside the watch case. Slipping the watch case into Rafe's drawer, Danny left the room silently, locking the door after him. "An early happy birthday, Rafe."

Soon, they were waiting at the airfield for the plane to get ready. Many people were boarding the plane already. Rafe and Danny remained in the waiting area, both of them were waiting for the same person. Rafe saw Evelyn walking towards them, and he gave Danny an encouraging pat on the back. He wanted so much to tell Danny that he had given up on Evelyn, and about the baby… but maybe he should let the two of them have a talk first. Danny could only manage a tight smile. Rafe's pat on his back made him feel even more guilty. Looking at Evelyn walking towards them, Danny swallowed nervously.

"See you on board." Rafe said, picking up his bags and heading toward the plane.

"Yeah." Danny replied softly as he too picked up his bags and walked towards the plane with Evelyn.

After a short while, Danny stopped and turned to face Evelyn. "Evelyn, I just want you to be happy, no matter what. I…I love you."

"I love you too, Danny. And I'll be here waiting for you when you come back."

Danny gave her a small smile and kissed her goodbye. This was going to be the last time…Danny promised himself. He hugged her tightly, treasuring their last moments together, wishing that time would stop and they could just continue hugging each other…but he still let go. Picking up his bags, he waved to Evelyn and boarded the plane without turning back. Danny knew that if he turned back, he would not be able to let go of her again. I'll love you my whole life, Ev.

Settling down beside Rafe, Danny slid into his own thoughts. The mission was going to be dangerous, since it is top secret, and knowing Rafe, he would probably volunteer. Now Danny was determined to stop Rafe from going on the mission. If Rafe insisted on going, then the only thing Danny could do was to make sure that Rafe came back. He was willing to die to protect Rafe, if that could make up for what he had done. The only thing was…he would not be able to see that child of his…

Danny's mind went back to Rafe and Evelyn's conversation. Evelyn had said she was pregnant…if he didn't come back, then what would happen to Evelyn and his child? The child would be a reminder of what had happened between him and Evelyn, and that would make things awkward between Rafe and Evelyn. How are they going to be happy and pretend nothing had happened if they had to take care of his child?

There were so many questions, but no one to answer them. Danny could only blame himself for being too eager to start a relationship with Evelyn and losing control of himself, causing so much unhappiness for Evelyn and Rafe. What was done is done. There was only one thing he could do: return Evelyn to Rafe. He would have to think of something else for the child. But that would mean he had to make sure he came back, so that he could take care of the child. Danny wasn't sure he could face the awkwardness between the three of them in future.

Rafe observed Danny's expressions change from troubled to determined, to sad…many other complicated expressions that he could not describe, and he frowned slightly. Something was bothering Danny. He was so quiet since they boarded the plane. Rafe did not like Danny's expression. Somehow, he felt that Danny was going to do something. Something he would not like at all.

Things seemed different from what he had experienced before. That day, when Danny boarded the plane, he had been very talkative, full of questions about the mission. But now Danny did not seem to be in the mood to talk about anything at all. Why are things going differently? Was it because of him going to the park and delaying the conversation with Evelyn? But how could so small a thing change so many events? Does that mean other events were going to change as well?

Rafe did not like the way the events were progressing. If other events are going to change, he would not be able to predict what was going to happen. And he could not afford to let some unexpected event foil his plan and make him lose Danny again.

Both of them were silent for the whole flight, each engrossed in their own thoughts.