By early afternoon, the house was full and Danny knew it was a Thanksgiving Day that he would always remember.

Mama's parent's and Mrs. Walker's parents had arrived and while Gramps took Grandpa Johnson and Mr. O'Connell on a tour of the farm, Grandma Johnson and Mrs. O'Connell chose to stay in the house and help with the final preparations before dinner was put on the table.

While their mother's and grandmother's were in the kitchen Ann was in the parlor ironing the tablecloth. Danny enlisted the aid of his brother and hers to put in the two table leaves that would extend the dining table so that it would fit all sixteen people. Sarah counted out the silverware while Shelby counted out the china pieces that would be set.

Grams came out of the kitchen when Ann called that she was done with the pressing. She helped her carry the tablecloth into the dining room as soon as the leaves were locked in place, so that it wouldn't wrinkle. As soon as it fluttered down into place Sarah began the task of setting out the silver while Shelby trailed behind and put the plates down.

Ann followed her sister with the linen napkins while Sarah organized the sideboard with the cups, saucers and plates for after dinner coffee and pie. It was a system they'd worked out together over the years whether it was a formal dinner or not because it meant that they would be able to eat that much sooner.

Danny watched the activity from the parlor after he'd carried more wood in from the wood box on the front porch and got a sudden and uninvited picture in his mind of a younger version of himself and of Ann helping their mother get ready for dinner. It wasn't a scenario he was prepared for and in his surprise proceeded to drop the armful of wood he held.

The noise of it brought his mother, grandmothers and Ann out of the dining room and kitchen in a panic.

"Are you all right son?" Mama asked with a look of concern.

"You didn't hurt your leg, did you?" Grams asked as she stood next to Grandma Johnson.

How could he explain to them that he thought he might have gotten a glimpse into the future and he wasn't ready for it?

"I'm sorry for scaring you." He said to no one in particular but glanced at Ann. "I was thinking about something and wasn't watching what I was doing."

"Is your leg all right?" His mother asked.

"My leg is fine Mama. Luckily I was standing over the wood box so it all landed where it should of." He forced a smile on his face to try and reassure them, but it wasn't how he felt inside because all that image managed to do was muddle his already jumbled thoughts.

"All right." The look on her face was one of caution and a little worry. "Why don't you go wash up and get dressed for dinner. We're almost ready to go in there and once we round up the other men, we'll be getting ready to sit down."

"Sure Mama." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Try not to look so worried, my leg is fine."

"It's a mother's prerogative to worry Danny." She smiled at him and patted his arm.

"Yes, Ma'am." He answered her with a genuine smile of his own and when he started to walk toward the stairs, Ann was no where to be found. She'd stayed out of his way the whole day and not for the first time, he wondered if he should have baited her the way he did that morning but he couldn't seem to help it. She'd made herself an unwitting target for him because it had been so long since he'd held her in his arms and kissed her.

But the feel of her warmth nearly did him in because his hands knew what they wanted to do as he felt her arms wind around his neck and it took some stern talking from his brain to tell his hands to stay where they were. He sensed from her too that her hands wanted to wander because he could almost feel the struggle within her and he'd wished at that moment that they would. But of course they didn't because he knew they couldn't.

His family had been keeping a close eye on him this trip and it didn't have as much to do with his leg than with how much he was helping his grandfather around the place. More than once, Dad would look absolutely perplexed when Danny would volunteer to help with any of the repairs or chores that needed to be done. It wasn't that he was helping, because they all did but it was how much he was helping.

But working helped him think and he knew that it wasn't much of a mystery to anyone that he was thinking a lot and he still wasn't sure what the answer was going to be. He walked up the stairs and tried to remember if he'd gotten his suit out of the closet because Mama told him if he'd do that for her, she would press it when she and Sarah took care of Joe's suit and Dad's.

As he reached the landing and headed down the hall toward the room that he was sharing with Joe and Tom he heard the door of Sarah and Ann's room open. When he looked to see who was there he was grabbed by his arm and pulled inside. He could see that there was a small lamp lit between Sarah and Ann's beds before he heard the door close behind him.

Now he knew where Ann disappeared.

The look on her face stopped his heart for just a moment because he knew then that he'd left her frustrated from that morning. "Please don't say anything."

"Annie, I'm sorry." He apologized and wasn't sure if it was because he'd kissed her earlier or because he wasn't sorry he had.

"Don't be sorry." She sighed as she approached him and put her arms around his waist.

"We can't do this, especially here." He tried to hold off what he was sure was coming.

"Nothing's going to happen, I just want you to kiss me." She swore and the look in her eyes told him that he could believe her. "Please. Today was the first time you've kissed me in months and I've missed being so close to you."

"I've missed you too Ann. I'm just afraid that if we start something that we know we can't finish, we'll both end up frustrated." He sighed in return because he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, for starters.

"Danny, I wouldn't ask you if I didn't believe that we haven't learned anything. But I haven't thought of anything else this entire day and we probably won't get another chance tonight." She punctuated her request with a gentle touch against his flannel shirt.

He put a hand to her cheek and smiled. "It's a damn good thing that those hands aren't under my shirt or we would really be in some trouble." And then he kissed her.

When she kissed him back he felt her arms tighten around his waist as he wrapped his arms around her and caressed her in response. There was nothing tentative about their actions but Danny was very well aware that they didn't have a lot of time and he never allowed his arms to leave her back, there was just too much at stake.

He heard her sigh as she broke their kiss and snuggled against him. "Thank you."

He grinned at her breathy gratitude. "Believe me Annie, it was my pleasure."

They stood together, just holding the other and Danny would have been content with that until his body told him otherwise and he stepped away from Ann before she could find out too. But from the flush on her smiling face, however he realized that he hadn't moved fast enough. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for loving me Danny." She smiled.

"I've never been sorry for that Ann." He answered her softly as he leaned in and kissed her again. He felt her hands caress him through his shirt as he struggled with the urge to deepen his kiss and it was then that he knew it was time to leave. "I have to go."

"I know." Her voice was a husky whisper and Danny had no doubt that she was feeling much the same things that he was.

Her arms slipped from around his waist and he took her hands in his because he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. He looked into her eyes and they had a sparkle to them that he had not seen in months and it made him smile. "I haven't told you recently how much I love you."

"You've let me know." She told him and he knew what she meant.

"But I haven't said the words to you." He nodded in understanding. "I know it isn't necessary to say it all the time because then the words lose their meaning. But I also think that it's something that we need to hear every once in awhile."

"Well then, using your logic it's my turn to tell you how much I love you because I haven't really said it either." Her smile grew wider.

"Then I guess that makes us even." He joked with a squeeze of her hands.

She grabbed his hand before he let her go and her look turned serious. "You are going to let me in on what you're thinking eventually, aren't you?"

"I'm not keeping anything from you, I promise. It's just that if I tried to explain to you what it was that I was thinking it wouldn't make any sense because it still doesn't make much sense to me." He knew that it sounded as though he were avoiding her question but he didn't know how else to put it.

"I don't know what it is about you McCawley's that you have to be so cryptic about things." She sighed before he let go of her hands.

"I wouldn't say McCawley quite like that if I were you, it might be your name one of these days." The words slipped out before he had the chance to think about them and felt his face burn as soon as he heard them because Ann looked absolutely floored. But he gave her a lot of credit because she recovered quickly.

"And what makes you think that I want it?" She asked before she started to laugh. "Walker is a much better name and easier to spell."

"What is it about you Walker's and the spells you cast?" Danny couldn't help but grin at his play on the word spell. "You sure as hell cast one over me."

"Are you calling me a witch?" He knew that she was enjoying their word game as he was and it spurred him on.

"No, but when you kiss me it is bewitching." He added and wanted so much to prove it to her. But he also knew that as much as he enjoyed sparring with her, it did have it's limits and they were reaching theirs.

Ann saved him, however when she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you actually said that."

"I seem to remember telling you that on our first date and I got a kiss for it." He teased.

She let out an exaggerated sigh. "You must still be feeling the effects of that concussion Daniel. What you said was that I had magic in my lips."

"You do Miss Ann." Danny laughed softly, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from downstairs. "Believe me."

"I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled before he gave her a quick kiss and put his hand on the doorknob. "I'm going to take a shower and change into my suit. If you want to wait for me, I'll walk you downstairs."

She smiled back and he could see that she liked the idea. "That would give everyone something to talk about."

"That's not why I want to do it."

"I know that and it's not why I'll go downstairs with you. I want to do it because I'll be very proud to walk into the dining room on your arm." She assured him.

"That means more than you know."

Ann's smile grew. "Go take your shower before someone comes up here and finds us together."

"Yes Ma'am." He answered her before he turned and opened the door. He looked to his right to make sure no one was coming up the stairs and to his left to make sure that the coast was clear the other way, then he turned back to Ann. "I'll be back for you in about twenty minutes."

"I'll be ready." She promised as he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Twenty minutes later as promised he knocked on her door and as Ann said she would be was ready. She was dressed in the way that she preferred, simply. He was no fashion expert but he thought her choice of a skirt, blouse and cardigan was a good one. She wore her favored flat-heeled shoes and Danny thought she looked nice. He told her so and she smiled and returned the favor.

"You look very nice in that suit Danny."

"It feels a little odd being in a suit and not a uniform, but I thought that if I wore it I would be overdoing it." He grinned self-consciously.

"It doesn't matter to me because you're handsome either way." She said as her face flushed.

"Thanks Annie." He kissed her cheek before he took her hand and they walked down the stairs together. When they got to the bottom their whole family was there, in the parlor and the dining room. The looks from all seemed somewhat expectant and Danny wasn't sure why.

"My goodness, you two make a handsome couple." Grandma Johnson smiled at them. "This is the first time since Evelyn told me about you that I've had the chance to see you together."

Danny glanced at Ann and her face flamed red. "She's the one that makes us look good Grandma."

"I'll second that." Mr. O'Connell grinned and walked to Ann and hugged her. "You look very smart Annie girl."

"Thanks Grandpa. You look pretty smart yourself in that suit." She answered.

"We're not trying to embarrass you honey, believe it or not. It's like Faye said it's the first time we've seen you together." He hugged her again.

"All right now James that's enough, you're making your granddaughter blush." Mrs. O'Connell approached and took her husband's arm. "We're just waiting on your grandparents. Sarah wants to wait before putting the food on the table because she thinks it's going to be another ten minutes before the turkey is ready. In the meantime, your mother has asked that everyone go out to the parlor so when the turkey is ready, we can put the food on the table."

"Does that mean that we have time to go for a short walk?" Danny asked her.

"I wouldn't advise it." She told him. "But I don't think it would be a problem if you just went out on the front porch."

"What do you say Ann?" Danny asked her and she nodded her consent. "We'll be right out front."

"All right son." Mrs. O'Connell agreed and Danny walked Ann to the front door, where he took her coat off the coat rack and helped her into it before he put on his own.

They stepped out into the early evening cold just as the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared and the sky began its turn from a slate blue into an inky black. The stars were just starting to blink on and the porch light did too.

Danny laughed softly as he took Ann's hand. "I think we've been issued a warning."

"With a house full of people, I don't think we can get away with much." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You seem to forget that I got away with kissing you last Thanksgiving."

"That's true." Ann laughed. "But we were in Hawaii without a couple of coats between us. And I didn't love you then."

"Good point." He nodded his agreement. "But here we are a year later with two coats between us and we're in love."

He saw her right eyebrow rise and he knew she'd detected his challenge. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you just dared me to kiss you."

"I don't have to do that do I?" He grinned.

"I won't give you the opportunity." Her voice was soft as she took hold of the front of his coat, boosted herself up on her toes and kissed him.

"That's the best you can do?" Danny teased her as she struggled to stay up on her toes.

"A little help from the peanut gallery would be nice." She quipped as she held onto his coat.

"Are you calling me a nut?" He asked and tried to keep a straight face.

"Of course not, but I am nuts about you." She seemed to be trying to stifle a laugh because she knew what was coming.

"I can't believe you actually said that." He repeated her earlier words with a grin. "But since you asked for some help it's my job as an officer and a gentleman to oblige." And as best he could he put his arms around Ann and picked her up.

She put her arms around his neck and smiled. "That's much better."

"I aim to please Miss Ann so be quiet and let me kiss you before someone starts blinking that porch light." He admonished her gently before he kissed her and the porch light began to flash off and on.

It would figure. He sighed before he loosened his hold on her.

"If we were married, they wouldn't be able to do that." She said with her own sigh and the look on her face when she finally managed to look at him was of surprise.

He could have made a joke of it as Ann had earlier but chose not to. The very fact that marriage was suddenly part of their conversation told him that their relationship had made yet another turn and when they got home they were going to have to talk about it.

Marriage?