While Trevor and Ben were on a Naval ship back to California, Weaver and Hall returned to the war at Engebi.
The day after arriving back to the base, Keith got a message from Pearl Harbor that was really strange. He rushed out of the radio tent and headed to Weaver's hut.
He knocked on Weaver's hut door.
"Enter," Weaver called from inside.
Keith entered Weaver's hut and rushed up to his desk, and he snapped to attention. "A message from Pearl, sir," Keith said after he saluted.
Weaver took the message and read it, and then his eyes widened in disbelief. He set the paper down on his desk and thought about his next move.
"Go have Lieutenant Foley report to me immediately," Weaver ordered.
Keith saluted and turned around and rushed out of the hut.
Weaver reread the message. "Stupid Pentagon people. They couldn't figure they're way out of a wet paper bag," said while he stared at the message.
Five minutes later, Henry stood in front of Weaver's desk.
"Read this message," Weaver ordered while he handed Henry the paper.
Henry read it then looked baffled and reread it. "I don't know what to say," Henry said while he handed back the paper.
"The Pentagon is claiming Trevor's service number was fake, and it took them this long figure this out?" Weaver said with a disappointed look. "How the hell can we rely on them to win this war?" Weaver added.
"I don't know what to say, sir," Henry said.
"How the hell did he get official-looking orders here to Engebi?" Weaver questioned. "I know you hung around with Ben and Trevor. Did you hear anything suspicious?" Weaver asked.
Henry thought for a few seconds. "No, sir. He seemed like a Marine. I mean he knew how to fly the Corsair. How else could he learn how to fly that bird if the Marines didn't train him?" Henry replied.
"Good point," Weaver said.
Then Henry's eyes lit up when it dawned on him. "I believe I know how he might have gotten fake orders," Henry said.
"How?"
"Well, there was a Gunny Sergeant. His last name was Sewickley that worked in personnel back at El Toro," Henry said.
"What about him?" Weaver said while his interest got peaked.
"Gunny sergeant Sewickley could get you anything, and I mean anything for the right price," Henry confessed.
"Anything meaning orders, fake identification card?" Weaver asked.
"Yes, sir. You could even buy orders to just about anywhere you wanted. We heard he had some brothers that helped. One of them worked in the Pentagon and the other one in Marine Corps headquarters," Henry replied.
Weaver didn't like the sound of that, and that type of crooked behavior always pissed him off. "Thank you, and you're dismissed," Weaver said.
Henry turned around and looked relieved that he wasn't in any trouble. He walked out of the hut.
Weaver grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He started writing down a message.
Ten minutes later, Keith sat at his radio desk and looked bored, as it was a quiet day.
Weaver entered, and Keith immediately snapped to attention. Weaver motioned for him to sit down while he walked over.
"Send this message to the Inspector General's office in the Pentagon," Weaver ordered while he handed Keith the message.
"Yes sir," Keith replied and proceeded to send the message.
Weaver watched to insure it got sent to the Inspector General.
Meanwhile, back in California, Trevor sat really nervous in the train, while he watched it pull into the station at Santa Barbara.
"There's Diana!" Ben called out so excited when he saw Diana, his mother, Betsy, and father, Jack, while they waited at the station with Robert in Jack's arms.
Trevor looked and got butterflies in his stomach.
The trained stopped, and everybody started piling out.
Ben got up with is seabag and walked down the aisle to the door. Trevor got up with his seabag and followed Ben.
Ben and Trevor stepped off the train. "Diana!" he called out and waved at her.
Diana saw Ben and ran over to him.
The hugged each other tight and then kissed.
Trevor's eyes welled up as all the challenges he went through was worth it after seeing them together again.
Ben and Diana separated then he grabbed her hand and walked her closer to Trevor.
"Diana, I want you to meet Trevor Walker. He saved my life in the South Pacific," Ben told her with a loving smile.
Trevor looked in awe at the site of a young Diana. She looked so beautiful and actually looked like a totally different woman from the one he knew before.
Diana gave Trevor a hug and kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you, Trevor," she said then she got this peculiar feeling while she looked at him. "Have we met before? I have this strong feeling that I know you," she asked.
"No. I'm from Spokane. But you just never know where our paths might have crossed before," Trevor replied.
Jack, with Robert in his arms, and Betsy walked over.
"Welcome home son," Jack said.
Betsy hugged Ben tight, and she cried so happily that her son was alive.
Trevor looked at Jack and Betsy and couldn't believe his eyes. He remembered seeing them when they were really old and lived in that nursing home that smelled funny to a young kid.
Ben looked at Robert in his father's arms. "Hello son," Ben said while he walked up to Jack and kissed Robert's forehead. Jack gave Ben his son, who looked so happy to hold him in his arms for his first time.
Ben looked at Trevor. "Where are my manners, mom, and dad, this is Trevor Walker. He saved my life in the South Pacific," Trevor told them.
Jack shook Trevor's hand. "Thank you, Trevor," he said.
Betsy gave him a kiss on his cheek to thank him, as she was still emotional for seeing Ben that she couldn't speak.
"So, where's Carl?" Jack asked.
Ben and Trevor looked at each other and knew it wasn't the right time.
"I'll tell you later tonight," Ben responded.
"Tell us after dinner," Betsy said.
Then Jack looked at Trevor. "We would love it if you join us for dinner," Jack said.
"Plus since you're probably tired from your long trip here, why don't you stay for a few days?" Diana offered.
Trevor looked at their eyes and could tell they really wanted him to stay. "It would be my pleasure," Trevor replied.
Trevor followed them out of the train station.
Later that evening, after a nice dinner of fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, and some chocolate cake, they retired to the living room in Ben's house. Trevor's seabag was by the front door in the living room.
Ben held Robert in his arms while Diana and Trevor sat on the couch with him. Jack and Betsy sat in nearby chairs. They looked in shock at Ben since he just told them the whole story about Carl.
"He got court-martialed and will spend the next twenty-five years in Fort Leavenworth for attempted murder," Ben finished his story.
Diana's eyes welled up. "I can't believe Carl would do that," she said then blew her nose into a hanky.
"Well, he always wanted to marry you. I believe the war allowed him to do just that with the pact we made," Ben replied.
"He seemed like a really nice kid. His mother will be devastated," she said while she wiped away a tear.
"Poor Ernie. I better go over and see him make sure he's okay," Jack said and looked concerned.
Ben looked at Robert then at Trevor.
"Trevor, I want you to hold my son," Ben offered.
Trevor looked surprised with Ben's request. "Are you sure?" Trevor asked a little nervous.
"Please, you're sorta like family," Diana said with a warm smile.
Trevor smiled that he accepted their offer. Ben handed Robert to Trevor.
Hi dad. Trevor thought to himself while he couldn't believe he was holding his father in his arms.
Robert looked up at Trevor and smiled. He reached up and touched his face, and then Robert vomited on Trevor's uniform.
"I'm so sorry," Diana said while she jumped up off the couch. She immediately took Robert away from Trevor.
Trevor smiled while he looked at Robert in Diana's arms. "It's not a problem. I'm sure I did that to my father when I was a baby. So Robert's just paying him back," Trevor said.
They all chuckled over Trevor's response.
"Come with me Trevor, I believe there's one of Ben's shirts you can wear," Diana said.
Trevor got off the couch and followed Diana with Robert out of the living room.
Then the phone rang in the kitchen. "I'll get it," Ben said and got up from her chair and left the living room.
In the kitchen, Ben picked up the phone. "Grayson residence," he answered.
"Ben, welcome home, it's me Mister Eastman," Ernie Eastman said from the phone in a soft tone.
"Hello, Mister Eastman," Ben replied and didn't know what to say.
"Listen, I was wondering if you could come by the house tonight. There's something I want to discuss," Ernie offered.
Ben hesitated for a few seconds, as this phone call was very awkward. "Sure, but I have a friend I want to bring. He was stationed with me in the South Pacific," Ben replied.
"That's fine. I'll see you in a few," Ernie said then hung up his end of the call.
Ben left the kitchen and walked back into the living room.
"Who was on the phone, honey?" Diana asked while she entered the living room with Trevor who wore one of Ben's shirts.
"Mister Eastman wants me to come over now. There's something he wants to discuss," Ben said and looked a little nervous about the meeting.
"Do you want me to come along?" Jack asked.
"No dad, but I want Trevor to come along," Ben said while he looked at Trevor.
"Ah, sure," Trevor replied a little nervous.
Ben motioned at Trevor that they should leave.
Trevor followed Ben over to the front door.
The drive over to Ernie Eastman's home was quiet between Ben and Trevor in his 1939 Ford. But the trip gave Trevor the chance to see a little of 1944 Santa Barbara.
They arrived at the Eastman home and Ben parked his car in the driveway. They got out of the car, and it was a long walk to the front door.
Ben knocked on the door, and their hearts raced while they waited. The door opened and Ernie, now fifty-three years old with some gray hair starting to take over his head, appeared.
"Ben, please come inside," Ernie offered.
Trevor looked in awe at a younger Ernie as he remembered a frail old man in a nursing home.
Trevor and Ben entered his house.
Inside his house, Ernie walked them to the living room.
"Please have a seat," Ernie said in a polite tone.
"This is Trevor Walker, he was stationed with me in the South Pacific," Ben told Ernie while they walked to the couch.
Ernie walked over and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you," Ernie said with a smile.
Ben and Trevor sat down on the couch.
Ernie paced around the living room while he thought about what he was going to tell Ben. Then he stopped and looked at Ben and Trevor while they say on the couch. "We got the word about Carl the other day," Ernie said then he paced around a little.
"I'm so ashamed of Carl's behavior. So ashamed," Ernie said while his eyes welled up.
"I'm sorry all this had to happen also, Mister Eastman," Ben said.
"My poor wife has been crying non-stop for the past two days," Ernie said while he paced. "Where did I go wrong?" Ernie said believing Carl's behavior was his entire fault.
"You did nothing wrong, sir," Ben said to comfort him.
"And we also were told how he tried to kill you Mister Walker," Ernie said.
Trevor didn't know how to respond, so he just nodded in agreement.
"Well, there's nothing more that can be said, Ben. Carl will have to take his punishment like a man," Ernie said.
"Yes, sir," Ben replied.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you back in the office?" Ernie said.
"Yes, sir," Ben replied.
"You can start back in two weeks. I can imagine you want to spend some time with Diana and Robert," Ernie said.
Ben and Trevor stood up.
Ernie walked up to them and shook their hands. He walked them to the front door and let them out.
Ernie's eyes welled up at the thought of his son being behind bars.
It was a quiet ride home for Ben and Trevor.
When they walked into the living room, they noticed Jack and Betsy went home, and Diana had the couch made into a bed with sheets, and a pillow.
"What did Mister Eastman have to say?" Diana asked while she entered the living room with a pillow.
"How sorry he was that Carl acted that way," he told her while she dropped the pillow on the couch.
"It must be hard on them," Diana said with sadness in her eyes. "War brings out the horrible things in men," she added.
"I know," Ben said with sadness in his eyes from losing his best friend.
Trevor felt terrible for coming back in time, but now he knew the truth behind his grandfather's original death. The fact was that Carl killed Ben during World War II.
"Trevor, I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch," Diana said.
"Oh no, that would still be far more comfortable from the bunks the Marines provided us," he replied with a loving smile.
"I also washed your shirt and ironed it," she added.
"Thank you," he replied.
"Well, I'm exhausted, so we're going to bed," Ben told Trevor.
Diana walked up to Trevor and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight and make yourself at home," she said.
Ben winked at Trevor then they walked out of the living room and turned off the lights. They went upstairs to their bedroom.
Trevor looked at the couch and undressed. He climbed under the covers and closed his eyes.
Then twenty minutes later, Trevor could hear the squeak of a bed from upstairs. He knew exactly what that meant and tried to block the sound of his grandparents making love with his pillow. But he understood since Ben hasn't seen his wife in a long time.
Two hours later, Trevor woke up hungry. He got up off the couch and got dressed in his pants.
He left the living room and walked into the kitchen and opened up the Frigidaire.
He grabbed the plate of leftover fried chicken and sat down at the kitchen table. Then he remembered how he would do this during those weekends he spent at Grandma Diana's house, and she would eat left over's with him in the kitchen. He bit into a drumstick; the second Diana entered the kitchen in her nightgown.
"Ah, I see we both had the same idea," she said while she opened up the Fridgedare and removed the bottle of milk.
She removed two glasses from the cupboard and poured some milk. She walked the glasses over to the table and sat down.
He grabbed a chicken thigh off the plate and started eating. "I just can't shake this feeling that I know you from somewhere," she said then took another bite of chicken.
If she only knew! Trevor thought to himself.
"Unless you have family from Chicago," Trevor said.
"We don't," Diana said then drank some milk.
After they finished their mid-night snack, Diana had to show Trevor her family photo album. And she showed him some of the pictures he's seen before.
An hour later and Diana was back in bed asleep. Trevor made sure the house was quiet, and then he walked over to the desk in the living room and opened up a drawer. He looked inside and didn't find what he wanted. He closed it and looked inside another drawer. He removed a pen, paper, and envelope.
He walked back over to the front door and grabbed his sea bag. He walked it over to the couch and sat down. He wrote a note on the pad of paper.