Author's note: It has been quite a while since I last updated. I hope you will enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I am going to end this story soon, so please continue to review and tell me what you think of it!

Chapter 11

Danny and his team mates trudged wearily on the beach. The distance was father than they thought, and the sea was so cold. It had taken a lot of strength for them to swim to the shore. Well, at least they were lucky enough to land in the sea. The sea put out most of the fire on the plane, and they were able to get out. Tired as they were, they could not rest, though they wanted to. They had to look for the Chinese camp. Somehow, somewhere.

Suddenly, shots rang from somewhere to the left of Danny's group, and they heard shouts, some in English and some…in Japanese. Danny's blood ran cold. "It's Rafe's group! The Japanese got them!" No, this could not happen! Danny forgot his pledge to return Evelyn to Rafe. He forgot the conflict they had ever since Rafe returned. All that remained was Rafe, and he was in trouble.

"This way!" Gooz pointed in the direction of the shouts. Danny and Anthony followed him as they walked briskly into the long grasses. Despite their worry for their friends, they have to be cautious and watch out for hidden Japanese soldiers in the field. It would not do Rafe and the others any good if they got themselves killed. Danny spotted two Japanese soldiers huddled among a clump of tall grass, with their guns pointed at the direction of the crash site. It was evident that they were positioned there to prevent any American soldiers from escaping. Danny and Gooz advanced on the Japanese slowly. Taking care that there were no other Japanese soldiers around, they fired. The Japanese soldiers went down with a surprised cry. Anthony kept a watch out for approaching Japanese troops as they continued through the tall grasses, but they did not meet with any more resistance. It seems that Rafe's group was caught by a patrolling troop instead of a regular fighting troop. On patrols, the soldiers were less heavily armed and they were not prepared to fight. This would make rescuing their friends easier.

They emerged shortly onto some padi fields, and Danny immediately spotted Rafe's burning crash site nearby. There was a group of Japanese soldiers pointing guns at the American soldiers, who had their arms raised.

Danny fought the urge to start shooting the Japanese soldiers threatening his friends, and whispered to the other two, "I'll take the two in the center. Gooz, you take the two on the right, and Anthony, you take care of the rest." They nodded grimly, and took up positions surrounding the Japanese patrol group. The Japanese were so preoccupied with subduing the Americans that they did not notice the three soldiers creeping up behind them.

Rafe's feet were being tied up by a Japanese soldier, and Danny hated the way Rafe was helpless to stop him. Rafe had never been helpless, no matter how much he was bullied for not being able to spell properly. Alright, maybe whatever happened to Rafe in England made him unable to help himself, so he was unable to come back to America, unable to give word that he was alive, unable to prevent the events that followed his presumed death…

Grinding his teeth against the surfacing of unwanted memories, Danny steeled himself for the impromptu ambush of the Japanese soldiers. He had made up his mind to give up Evelyn, and thinking about it would not help matters at all. Raising his hand, he gave the signal for his friends. Now. Aiming his own gun at the Japanese soldiers, Danny squeezed the trigger.

Rafe had prepared himself to die. He was prepared to be shot, prepared for the worst, but he was not prepared when the Japanese soldiers surrounding his group was suddenly attacked and shot by who knows who. Imagine his surprise and relief to see Danny's group emerging from the bushes. Danny, looking perfectly alive, was coming towards him. He had not failed in his personal mission. At least not yet.

"Rafe!" Danny hurriedly bent down to untie Rafe's binds. "Gosh, that was close. Did they…"

For the second time in the day, Danny did not get to finish his sentence. Rafe's eyes widened as he saw more Japanese soldiers coming up behind Danny. The Japanese soldiers had gotten backup support! The leading soldier of the approaching group raised his gun, and he was aiming straight at Danny, who was unaware of their presence as his back was to them.

Without thinking, Rafe pushed Danny aside…and took a shot in the shoulder and another in his side. White-hot pain burned him where the bullets penetrated. As Rafe fell to the ground, vision blurring from the pain, he realized that this was what Danny had to experience when HE blocked the bullets for him the last time. This time, at least, Rafe had repaid that debt.

Danny felt a bullet whizz past the air where his head had been moments ago. Everything seemed to slow down, and he watched in horror as Rafe took the bullets for him. Shocked at the sudden change of events, he felt a burning anger towards the Japanese soldiers. They were going to pay for that.

Whirling around, Danny fired off shots wildly, dimly aware that the other pilots were retaliating as well. The Japanese soldiers fired back, but they were outnumbered by the Americans. It turned out that they were not backup for the previous group of soldiers. Danny and his friends were just lucky to meet up with a second patrol group, come to find out what was taking the first group so long.

Soon, the fight was over. For the moment, Danny and his friends were safe. Danny rushed back to Rafe's side, alarmed at the amount of blood his friend was losing. Taking off his jacket, he pressed it to Rafe's wounds, trying to stop the blood flow as best as he could.

By now, Rafe was weak from loss of blood. With some difficulty, he lifted one hand to stop Danny's actions. "No need…for that."

"No, Rafe, you are going to be fine. Help will be here soon, and then we will all go back to America. Evelyn is there waiting for you. You have to go back. " No! This was not right! It was not supposed to happen this way! Danny felt utterly wretched. Despite his attempts, he was still unable to protect Rafe. If anything happened to Rafe, he would never forgive himself. He owed Rafe too much.

Rafe tried to comfort Danny, to think of anything to comfort him, but somehow his brain refused to co-operate. He heard himself to say, "No, Danny, Evelyn…she's…"

Danny smiled bitterly. "Don't talk now Rafe, save your energy. I know."

Rafe slowly looked up at Danny, saw the look on his friend's face, and realized that Danny did know. He had known all along that Evelyn was pregnant…with his child. "But…how did you…" He did not get to finish his sentence. His body went limp in Danny's arms.

"No! Rafe, you can't! Evelyn is still waiting for you…how could you do this to her again? How could you do this to me?" Breaking down, Danny hugged Rafe close, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I heard everything Rafe. I was there. I'm so sorry…so sorry."