Tennessee, 1945

The war was over.

It was a cold evening, and there was a chill in the air. Rafe McCawley sat in front of his best friend's grave and gently ran his fingers over the engraved words on the tombstone. He had had Evelyn spell it all. It was the least he could have done.

DANIEL WALKER 1917 - 1942 For Danny. May you fly forever.

Danny was gone, but Rafe still had him etched firmly in his heart, and he knew he wouldn't ever really be leaving him. That didn't make the grief any lesser though. And although he had tried to make things better for Evelyn, inside the pain still lurked. He could feel it. He could hear it when Evelyn sobbed in their bed and cried out Danny's name in her sleep. He couldn't really blame her though. Danny had been his brother, his friend, and he too had had to endure so many sleepless nights thinking of Danny's face just before he died.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Evelyn. "Hey."

Evelyn sat down beside him. "I miss him."

He put an arm around her, and she leaned against his shoulder. "I know. Me too."

***

Danny stood behind a tree and watched as Rafe and Evelyn sat wordlessly in front of his grave. They were too preoccupied to notice him, so he had taken the risk of staying visible. They hadn't seen him in the past three years he'd been watching them either. He missed them too, but didn't want to reveal himself. They seemed so happy together, it really wasn't his place to intrude. Sometimes he wished he had listened to Rafe and never gone on the Doolittle Raid.

What am I thinking? he chided himself for being so selfish. No, he was glad that he'd been able to protect Rafe when he most needed it.

He heard a faint noise behind him. He turned instinctively.

Danny Jr., his son, was standing there with a toy plane gazing up at him.

Oh, hell! thought Danny. He'd completely forgotten that he might be noticed by him.

Before the child could say anything, he ran over to him, bent down, and put a finger to his lips. "Not a word, Danny," he whispered. "Your mother and Uncle Rafe are busy. I'm a friend. Let's go somewhere and play, okay?"

Danny Jr. smiled. "Can you play planes?"

"Yes, I can," replied Danny. "Let's go."

***

Is this how it feels like to spend time with you son? wondered Danny. I should do this more often.

Tired out, Danny and his son were sitting on the wing of Rafe's plane and silently watching the darkness fall. He ruffled his son's hair. "You're good at this," he said.

"Uncle Rafe usually plays with me a lot," the boy replied. "He's fun. But you're better." He grinned at Danny.

Danny felt his heart swell with joy. He reached over and gave his son a warm hug.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Danny! Danny, where are you?"

Danny let go of his son. "Your mother's looking for you. You'd better go. Don't tell her about me, whatever you do. Okay?"

The boy nodded, then quickly leaned over and gave Danny a kiss before jumping off the plane. "Will you come back tomorrow?"

Danny hesitated. Was it really his place to come and interfere with Rafe and Evelyn's life? But it was his son, after all. What harm could it do to spend some time with him? He nodded. "I'll be back, Danny. Goodbye." He was about to fade out when he saw Danny Jr. suddenly turn back.

"Wait!" the boy cried. "You didn't tell me your name, Uncle - "

Danny smiled enigmatically. "Call me Danny," he said. Then he faded into invisibility, leaving his young son standing alone.

***

Evelyn McCawley tucked her son into bed and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Goodnight, dear," she said.

He looked at her with serious eyes. "Mother?"

"Yes?"

"What was Daddy like?"

Evelyn felt the familiar tears return to her eyes, but she blinked them away. "Your Daddy was a wonderful man. He was very sweet, very caring, funny and friendly...he loved little kids. He would have loved you more than anything."

Danny Jr. thought for a while, then asked, "And I was named after him, right, Mother?"

"You sure were, dear," said Evelyn. "You are very much like him, you know?"

"I am?" asked Danny Jr. He yawned.

Evelyn nodded. "Yes. But I'll tell you about that some other time. You're tired."

Danny Jr. leaned over and kissed Evelyn. "Goodnight, Mother."

"Goodnight." She stood up and flicked off the bedside lamp. Then she walked out of the room, lost in thought. Danny Jr. was so much like Danny, it hurt her sometimes to watch him. He had the same seriousness, sincerity, intelligence...and spirit of adventure, she thought, laughing to herself as she remembered all the times he had disappeared on her. She was glad in some ways that her son so resembled his father. It brought some semblance of Danny back into her life.

She got into bed. Rafe was already asleep. She closed her eyes and before long fell into another fitful sleep.

Unknown to her, there was somebody watching. Or rather, there was a spirit in her room.

***

Danny was taking advantage of the last few hours of night to watch Evelyn and Rafe as they slept. He missed them so much, but seeing them for a short while each day was all he could handle. He couldn't come out until after sunset, and preferred to be visible when he did come, for the simple reason that being invisible took a lot of his limited energy and would have reduced his already short time amongst them.

Rafe was fast asleep, his hand on Evelyn's. He was usually tired after a full day's work, but always took time to go and visit Danny's grave and play with his son. He appreciated that. He appreciated Rafe. What did I ever do to deserve a friend like him? he wondered.

He watched Evelyn toss and turn in her sleep, and wished that he could do something to comfort her, tell her that he was fine and not to worry. On an impulse, he went over to her and stroked her lightly. "It's all right," he murmured softly. For good measure, he leaned around and gave Rafe a small pat on the shoulder. Then he faded out completely.

***

Evelyn awoke with a start. She opened her eyes, half-expecting to find Danny next to her bed. But he was gone.

I must have dreamed it, she thought. It had seemed so real. She felt a little disappointed.

Yet the dream had been a comforting one. In it Danny had come to her in her sleep and stroked her gently, looking at her with those amazing warm brown eyes, and told her everything was all right. That alone gave her hope for the future. And in it he had seemed so real, so much more alive than she had ever seen him. It was almost as if he really was all right.

She felt Rafe stir next to her. He got up and looked around wildly. "Danny?"

Evelyn stared at him. "You too?"

Rafe gave her an inquiring look.

Evelyn looked at her hands. "I dreamed of Danny last night. He was right next to me."

Rafe nodded and smiled wanly. "Me too, Evelyn." He sighed. "It's been three years, You'd think..."

Evelyn vehemently shook her head. "No, Rafe. I'll never forget Danny. Never."

***

Author's note: I don't know if this fic seems cheesy or something, but please review, ok?