Author's note: Clay owns himself and his own name. I only wrote the words to the story.

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Day One - Friday, December 23

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Kate smiled, looking over the studious faces of her students as they took the final test of the semester. Only one more day, she thought, and I get to see my Clay again. Her mind drifted back to that day she boarded the plane to come home. She had cried for most of the trip, cried until she thought there were no more tears. Then Sarah had picked her up from the Omaha airport, and she had cried some more while petite little Sarah held her. Bless my roommate Sarah, she thought.

As she had promised, Kate started counseling. Fortunately for Kate she had built an immediate rapport with her therapist, a Mennonite minister with a degree in counseling. His specialty was actually marital and family relationships, but he had been the only one available at the time Kate needed for her fall schedule to work. Kate gave thanks to God for that - he was one more valuable resource in the healing process. Slowly the therapist walked her through all the myths and misconceptions, her nightmares, and all her own feelings... including the feelings of guilt and shame, emphasizing that in no way was any of this her fault. He also walked her through the issues of trust - why she had so much trouble trusting men, and how she could teach herself how to trust again. Of course Clay had happily volunteered to be her guinea pig...

The time had passed little by little, and her work had kept her busy. Of course there had been more letters, more emails, and more phone calls between her and Clay... her boyfriend. Thinking of their relationship always made her smile, even during the rough times. Though in retrospect, the past several months had been long and draining. There had been preparing for another year of school, lining up her overall teaching plan and the individual units. There had been ordering new supplies for her classes, six periods worth, with roughly twenty to thirty students in each class. There had been writing some new lessons, inspired by some of her conversations with Clay and the bodyguards while she had been in Los Angeles. Oh, and she had been roped into co-sponsoring the fall musical, Oklahoma!. That had proved to be one of the wildest rides thus far of Kate's teaching career. Although she had enjoyed every moment working with the kids on acting, singing, blocking, sets, costumes and more, it had eaten up a lot of her spare time and drained her beyond belief. Clay was excited for her, but gently reminded her that she needed to take care of herself - he wanted her to get plenty of good food and good rest so that she wouldn't collapse of exhaustion. He had been right, of course. She had promised him that she would keep track of her meals and how much sleep she got in order to keep herself accountable with both of them - and evidenced by the fact that she was still standing the night of the final curtain call, it had obviously worked. In the future, she didn't plan to put so many activities on her proverbial plate. Fortunately with today being the last school day of the semester, she would finally get a much-needed break. And this break promised to be quite eventful.

Kate was unquestionably looking forward to this break, to spending time with her special man and her family. Going to church.... reading the Christmas gospel... opening gifts... enjoying meals as a family... going on sleigh rides... playing card games and board games... watching movies... snuggling in front of the fire. And testing the mistletoe her parents faithfully hung every year... Kate was looking forward to it all - especially the fact that she was going to share it with Clay.

There was no doubt in Kate's mind that Clay had changed her life. Although she had always been her own person who followed her own path, she had always wished to find someone special with whom to share her life. She needed someone special. It amazed her how much Clay's friendship - and now his love - made a difference to her, and in her. His input enabled her to come up with new ideas and angles on all sorts of things. His support strengthened her enough to strive for an excellence in her teaching she had only dreamed of. His encouragement and his gentle companionship opened her heart to show that much more love to everyone around her. Kate knew beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

Everyone was speculating on her relationship with Clay - everyone from her students and church family to Sarah and Cousin Sally and even her own family (including her parents!). There were certainly plenty of opinions to go around. But most of the speculation seemed to center on where their relationship was headed from here - whether to the altar or merely cohabitation - and how soon. Kate was always quite adamant that it was marriage that was on her mind, nothing less. Clay deserved better than that.

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Clay smiled as he leaned back in his seat and adjusted his glasses on his face. Only a few more hours, he thought, and I get to see my Kate again. He recalled that day Kate had flown back to Nebraska. He had cried for most of the car ride home, cried until he thought there were no more tears. Then Kim had met him at the door, and he had cried some more while Kim held him. Bless my roommate Kim, he thought.

As she had promised, Kate started counseling while Clay awaited any and all good news. Fortunately Kate had built an immediate rapport with her therapist, and Clay rejoiced as he slowly walked her through all the heartache and nightmares and emotional baggage that had tortured her these past years. He also worked her through the issues of trust - why she had so much trouble trusting men, and how she could teach herself how to trust again. Of course Clay had happily volunteered to be her guinea pig, and did everything within his power to encourage and support her through this process. Fortunately their week together in Los Angeles was a good building block on which to begin.

The time had passed little by little, and his work had kept him busy. Of course there had been more letters, more emails, and more phone calls between him and Kate... his girlfriend. Thinking of their relationship always made him smile, even during the rough times. Though in retrospect, the past several months had been long and draining. There had been the release of the new album and the media flurry that followed when this album in its first week sold half again as many copies as his debut album had. There had been the filming of the first video from the album, currently very popular on the music channels. There had been the myriad of whirlwind concert and TV appearances until Clay didn't know which way was up. Oh, and he had fired Jeff, his public relations man, for overbooking him so that he almost couldn't get a good night's sleep any more. That had been Kate's recommendation after he had fallen asleep during three different phone conversations with her. Kate had been happy to see him doing well, but she didn't want to see his success come at the expense of his health. She had been right, of course. If he was stretched so thin that he was physically unable to dedicate time to things and people that meant something to him, then something had to give. In this case, that meant Jeff. Fortunately his new PR rep was much more understanding of his limits... and his need for an occasional break. And this break promised to be quite eventful.

Clay was unquestionably looking forward to this break, to spending time with his special lady and her family. Going to church.... reading the Christmas gospel... opening gifts... enjoying meals as a family... going on sleigh rides (his first!)... playing card games and board games... watching movies... snuggling in front of the fire. Maybe if luck was on his side, there would be mistletoe... Clay was looking forward to it all - especially the fact that he was going to share it with Kate.

There was no doubt in Clay's mind that Kate had changed his life. Although he had always been his own person who followed his own path, he had always wished to find someone special with whom to share his life. He needed someone special. It amazed him how much Kate's friendship - and now her love - made a difference to him, and in him. Her input gave him fresh new ideas and inspired his own song writing. Her support strengthened him enough to excel beyond his dreams at his music. Her unconditional acceptance and her companionship opened his heart to show that much more love to everyone around him. Clay knew beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Everyone was speculating on his relationship with Kate - everyone from Regis and Leno to Kim and Ruben and even his own family (including his mother!). There were certainly plenty of opinions to go around. But most of the speculation seemed to center on where their relationship was headed from here - whether to the altar or merely cohabitation - and how soon. Clay was always quite clear that it was marriage that was on his mind, nothing less. Kate deserved better than that.

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Kate chuckled underneath her breath as she remembered back to the first day of school - and how she had been subjected to the proverbial twenty questions by her students...

Kate never once disagreed with her decision to keep her and Clay's relationship private... but once a week (usually Monday) it became more difficult when a huge bouquet of fresh flowers (usually roses) was delivered to the school. On that day, she always found herself ribbed by students, teachers, and staff alike. It didn't make matters any easier when she received a second weekly batch at her apartment (usually Thursday) to earn Sarah's gibes as well. Oddly enough she never seemed to mind the teasing - somehow it reminded her all the more of Clay's love.

The final student in her last period advanced Spanish class brought up his test, and Kate smiled. This group of students was the cream of the crop, and they had worked very hard this semester. It was time they repeated the benefits of their work. "All right, class. Since everyone has put in some amazing work, I want to thank and reward you for your effort. As we agreed, we will have our Christmas treat time. Row by row you may go to the back counter and pick up some of the munchies that everyone brought. But don't go overboard the first time around - remember that we want everyone to get a chance at the goodies."

One of the senior girls, a lively brunette named Pam, glanced up at Kate as she returned her pens to her bag. "I know you said at the beginning of the year that you wouldn't answer any questions about your boyfriend... but since it's the last day before Christmas, would you consider answering a few? Please?"

Kate blinked with surprise as the rest of the class joined their pleas to the chorus. Another girl, Nikki added fuel to the proverbial fire. "We hear about the other teachers' personal lives from time to time. It's no fair that we never get to hear about yours."

"Other teachers," Kate replied, "aren't dating a celebrity whose privacy has all but vanished into thin air. The man deserves a private life, and I'm trying to give him one."

"You don't have to tell us everything," Nikki quickly answered. "Just a few things. Maybe if we asked you some questions..."

"Feel free to tell us if a question is, like, too personal!" Pam exclaimed.

"Aw," the class jock, Alec, taunted. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Kate raised one eyebrow. "I have plenty, Mr. Harding. Don't forget who told off Jacob Haskell at the premiere of the movie."

A mixture of shock, murmurs, and cheers went up around the room. "I knew it!" a boy named Ron cackled. "Pay up, dude!" he elbowed Alec.

Oy. Kate shook her head and sighed. "In the time we have left I will take a maximum of a dozen questions... so make them good ones, but not too personal. I won't answer them if they're too personal - but they'll still count as one of the twelve."

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Clay chuckled as he remembered his most recent interview with David Letterman - a man who was not afraid to ask the really personal questions from time to time...

Letterman had attempted to push him a few more times to divulge scandalous details about the relationship (namely if the relationship had been consummated), but Clay had always told him the honorable truth.

When the plane finally landed, Clay unbuckled his belt and grabbed his bags from the nearby rack. Opening up one of the pouches in his backpack, he reached in with his hand to make sure a certain parcel was still there. Feeling the familiar velvety surface of a jewelry store box, he smiled and closed back up the pouch. Suddenly remembering Kate's warning about Nebraska's winter weather, he also plucked a coat from the luggage rack. Wrapping himself up warmly, he grabbed the bags and prepared to exit the plane down to the car.

Will gave him a wry half-grin. "You ready for this, man?"

"Am I ever." The two descended the stairs to the car that was waiting to take them to the school where Kate taught.

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Kate took a deep breath as she prepared for the onslaught of student questions, some of which she could already guess. For those at least she knew she had better be prepared with her answers.

"How long have you known each other?" Pam questioned.

Kate did the mental math. "I first started writing him the season he was on American Idol. That was Spring 2003. I got his first letter about 3 months later. Since it's now December 2005, I guess that means we've known each other two and a half years."

"Were you dating the entire time?" Nikki asked.

Kate shook her head. "No. We were just friends until this past summer. It was during my trip out to see him in California that we officially started dating."

One of the junior girls, Dee, asked the next question. "In all the interviews I've seen lately he's said he wants to marry you. Are you guys really that serious?"

Kate grinned wryly at the whispering in the classroom. "We're that serious, guys. If he thought he could have gotten by with it, he would have proposed that same week I was with him in California. But he knew I wasn't ready for it yet. So right now there's no proposal and no ring. Give it some time though. As they say," Kate grinned again and held up her left hand so that her students could see her bare finger, "watch this space."

Dee frowned thoughtfully and immediately followed up with another question. "Why weren't you ready? Clay said on Letterman that you had gone through something really bad. Was that it?"

Oy. I wasn't expecting that. Kate took a deep breath as she prepared to answer. "First of all, as long as I am your teacher and he is the man I am dating, you are to refer to him as Mr. Aiken. Understood?" She ignored the chorus of groans in the room. "He has his teaching degree too - you need to show him that same kind of respect. Second... that's a really super-personal question."

"Oh." Dee chewed on a nail contritely.

"However..." Kate began, "... in the interest of further healing I'm going to answer it." The silence was almost tangible as Kate wandered among the rows of desks, debating the best way to make her story clear without spelling it out in blunt, frank terms. "When I was still training to be a teacher, one of the guys I tutored tried to take from me by force that I believe should be saved until marriage (where I will share it with my husband freely). It's taken me this long to start dealing with that. First I was trying to finish school, and then I was a new teacher starting up a classroom, and then... Suddenly it was almost three years later and I still hadn't dealt with it. I knew it was time to finally do something when I had one of my nightmares out at his place in California... and he heard my screams all the way down the hall. It's taken a lot of support, patience and understanding by Mr. Aiken and by my roommate Miss Daniels... but I am finally working my way through it." Kate smiled at the somber class. "I guess I'll have a better idea how much healing I've had the next time I see Mr. Aiken."

"Which is today," Clay's voice rang out from the door to the classroom. Startled to hear his voice, the students spun around in their seats to see Clay leaning in the doorway with his arms folded. As Kate's jaw dropped, a smug smile crossed his face. "Hi honey. Did you miss me?"

With a small cry Kate ran over to him and threw her arms around him. Clay returned the embrace, picking her up and spinning her around as he stepped into the classroom. Will took up the post Clay had just vacated and leaned inside the doorframe, the school's principal behind him.

"I think she missed him," one of the boys drawled.

As Dee and several of the other students snapped pictures of the two with their cameras, she wiped tears from her eyes and hoped no one would notice that she was crying.

Clay placed Kate back on the ground but kept her in his arms. "I heard everything. I'm proud of you, honey." He gave her a gentle kiss on the temple.

Kate's smile grew wider as she closed her eyes. I have missed this...

Reluctantly Clay released her. Kate reached up and touched his cheek in amazement as Clay grinned warmly at her. "I wanted to surprise you," he said simply.

Kate snorted. "Well, you did."

With a contented sigh he took her hand in his and led her back up to the front of the classroom. "I hear that you're having question and answer time."

One of boys named Todd nodded. "She's telling us about your relationship. It's our reward!"

Clay giggled as Kate made a sarcastic noise with her mouth. "The party is your reward, guys. This is... a Christmas gift, I guess."

"Oh," Clay answered, turning with a thoughtful smile to Kate. "Carry on."

Kate made a face as she gave Clay a mock glare, but she was secretly amused. "You're not going to step in and help me?"

Clay shook his head. "Only if you need it." He made a gallant gesture with his hand towards the class and leaned on the edge of her desk.

Nikki grinned. "What was it like being on his arm at the premiere?"

Kate stole a glance at Clay. "Like Cinderella going to the ball on the arm of the prince."

"Don't forget," Clay told her with a fond smile, "that the prince loved Cinderella for more than just her outer beauty."

Another junior girl raised her hand to catch Kate's attention. "Is he a good kisser?" she asked to the coos and whistles of the class.

Kate merely raised her eyebrow. "You'll never know," she purred. Clay bit back a laugh as Kate looked for the next hand in the room.

Ron elbowed Alec for the second time this period. "So what's he like in bed?" the boy snickered.

"Ron," the principal reprimanded him with a glare. "That's not an appropriate question."

Kate heard Clay stifle a sigh. They still don't understand us, do they honey? She smiled gently over at him. "I'll find out on our wedding night, won't I?" Clay returned the smile, giving her a wink.

"When are the two of you getting married?" Todd broke in. "Give us an idea."

Clay's eyes widened. Oh no.

He was saved from having to answer that one by Kate. She shook her head firmly. "We won't know that until there's a proposal. And as I already said, 'watch this space.' That's your question."

Todd looked disappointed - he had obviously hoped to pry loose some secret information.

Kate glanced up at the clock. "We're almost out of time, you guys. There's time for one more question."

"I've got one for Clay," Alec piped up.

Oh really? Clay thought as he turned his attention to the boy, obviously one of the popular jocks of the school. This promises to be good.

"Mr. Aiken," Kate corrected with a mild glare.

Alec ignored it. "Why are you pretending to date our teacher when everyone knows you're really gay? You are, right?"

"Alec..." the principal scolded. "Ask good questions or don't ask them at all."

An impish twinkle lit Clay's eye. He walked over to Kate and enveloped her firmly in his arms, taking secret delight in her confused blink. In one quick movement, he dipped her, eliciting a surprised squeak from her. As the students cried out in amazement, Clay kissed her deeply on the lips in front of everyone. After too many months apart, Kate warmed to his kiss and took his face in her hand as a few of the students took pictures of the couple.

Pam was the first to respond. "Hello, Will!" she quipped, quoting from their fall musical.

Will turned to them with a surprised jerk of his head at hearing his name. "Hello, what?" he asked, a look of confusion on his face.

The principal tapped Will on the shoulder. "They did Oklahoma! this fall," the principal said. That explained everything to Will, who nodded his understanding.

After several moments Clay broke the kiss and looked over the top of his glasses directly at Alec. "Any more questions?" he replied, his voice huskier than he had planned.

Alec waved his hand in dismissal. "You're straight."

A camera flashed and Clay turned to the source, Dee. Lifting Kate upright, he pointed a finger at the young girl. "You got pictures of that? Could I get copies from you?" Dee giggled as she hopped up and down with excitement. "Make sure to get them to Miss Kirche," Clay said, indicating Kate as she stood there with a dazed expression on her face.

The bell rang to end the school day (and the semester) and the students immediately started picking up their bags and their food from the back counter. Once that was done, they slowly filed out of the classroom - save a handful of girls from the class who hoped to get photos with or autographs from Clay. Clay spent a little time with all of them, taking care of their requests as much as possible. It surprised them how many of the kids also wanted Kate in the pictures too - they seemed to accept the fact that he was dating their teacher surprisingly well.

The principal put his hand on Kate's shoulder between student requests. Kate gave him a chagrined grimace. "Sorry about that little display earlier."

"I'll let it go this time," the principal nodded. "Those boys' questions weren't appropriate questions - we'll look at it as Mr. Aiken's unique answer."

Kate snickered. "Thanks for understanding."

At last Clay turned to the remaining student, Dee. "Hello! You're the gal with the camera!" He grinned, putting one warm arm around her shoulders.

Dee winced, a distraught look in her eye. "C-Can I talk for a minute to Miss Kirche? I still want your autograph, but it-it's really important that I talk to her."

Clay noticed her reaction. "Of course." He cast a meaningful glance at Kate, who caught it immediately and took her aside.

Kate turned to her student, purposely ignoring Clay's concerned eyes to concentrate on Dee. "I'm glad you stayed after class a bit. I noticed the last few weeks that you've been a bit more quiet than usual... and you haven't put the usual gung-ho effort into your schoolwork. Is there something going on, or am I just reading into things?"

Dee shook her head quickly, the tears once more filling her eyes. "I w-wanted," she sniffled, "to talk to you s-since you would understand what I went through."

Kate's eyes widened and her mouth narrowed into a thin line as she instinctively knew what Dee meant. "Attempted, or completed?" she whispered. When Dee burst into tears, Kate pinched her eyes shut and gathered the young girl into her arms.

Almost instantly Clay remembered his prayer the final day of Kate's California visit - he had asked God to give Kate an opportunity to use her own traumatic experience to relate and minister to other young women in similar situations. Be careful what you ask for, Clayton, you just might get it. He looked over at Will and glanced pointedly to the door. Will stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him, but otherwise stayed where he was. With a slight smile, Clay glanced over at his sweetheart as she comforted the girl from the heart - he could wait a few more minutes to meet the rest of Kate's family. I have one very beautiful woman.

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Clay waved to Dee as the girl left the room. Once she was out of sight he turned to Kate. Alone at last. He smiled at her. "I hope you don't mind if I came a little early."

"Mind?" Kate chuckled. She wrapped her arms around him. "You give me the gift of more time with you, and you ask me if I mind."

With a chuckle of his own, Clay pulled Kate into a warm embrace. He closed his eyes as they held each other tight. "I have missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Kate murmured, "more than words could say."

"I don't know," Clay laughed as he gave her a gentle squeeze, "this right here says a lot."

Kate raised a wry eyebrow as she glanced at his lips. "I know something else that could say how much I've missed you..."

"Hmm..." Clay murmured as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

Will groaned. "Guys, this is a school..."

After a moment Kate broke the kiss. Casting a wicked grin over at the bodyguard, she nodded. "It's nice to see you too, Will." When he snorted, she turned back to Clay. "Tell you what, honey. Since he is right, we should probably hold off for now while he's a captive audience... But once we're at the house (where he doesn't have to keep an eye on us) we can sure pick up where we left off."

Clay nodded, an impish smile on his face. "I'll take that as a promise." He gave Will a sly glance of his own. "Especially since this performance I want to give to a private audience of one."

"Thank you," Will drawled, rolling his eyes.

Kate gathered up her supplies, which Clay insisted on carrying for her. They walked through the hall hand in hand as Will followed a few steps behind. Clay and Will collected their coats from the office, where they had checked in earlier, and the three left the school. Kate gave Will directions to her apartment, and the two cars drove over with Kate in the lead.

The apartment complex the two women lived in was in the northwest part of Kearney, a fairly nice neighborhood. Clay glanced at the complex and knew that while it wasn't an expensive apartment, it had nicer features than some places the women could have chose to live in. Kate gave the guys the "grand tour", which lasted all of five minutes. Kate indicated her bedroom, neatly decorated in hues of lilac, sage, and silver. Clay noted the dried flower arrangements and other things in Kate's bedroom that suggested a hopeless romantic - something that did not surprise him in the slightest. Next Kate briefly indicated Sarah's room, tastefully decorated with earth tones and southwestern artifacts. Clay glanced at Will, who was taking a closer look at the room - or more precisely, taking a closer look at pictures of petite little Sarah with her parents, with a woman that Clay guessed was probably her grandmother, and with some of her college friends. He clapped his hand on Will's shoulder, taking an almost devilish delight when the bodyguard jumped with surprise. Clay jerked his thumb after Kate, who had moved out into the living room. Kate's luggage was out here, a large suitcase, a smaller bag, and a large box of wrapped gifts. Within minutes Will and Clay had managed to talk her out of the largest of these as well, leaving Kate to walk back out to the cars carrying her purse and the small duffel. After receiving the next set of directions from Kate, the two cars drove to the Kirche acreage north of town.

When they pulled onto the property, Clay's heart sped up - in moments he would meet his beloved's parents for the first time. Deep breaths, Clayton...

"You'll be fine, man."

Clay grinned at Will. "Thanks."

The two climbed out of the car to join Kate at hers. Grabbing her bags and parcels, they walked towards the large white farmhouse. Kate pointed Clay towards the tree, and Clay placed the box of presents that he carried close to the others. "Hey, everyone! We're here!" Kate called out.

A voice that Clay recognized as Kate's mother responded. "Hi-hi!" Patricia entered the room and Clay had to look twice to match this lady to her voice, a voice he had heard several times from phone conversations he had placed to Kate's parents. Kate had mentioned that her best friend Sarah stood five foot two, but Kate's mother was shorter than that. Clay doubted that she was as much as five foot even. If it weren't for her matronly frame, she would appear fragile to those who didn't know the hidden strengths she possessed. Patricia's eyes twinkled at his obvious surprise. "Nice to finally meet you, Clay," she said as she opened her arms wide to offer him a big hug. With a bright smile he hugged her warmly as Kate winked at him. The two stepped back apart as the rest of Kate's family joined them in the living room. Patricia indicated her husband, a slender man who appeared to be about Ruben's height. "This is my husband Arthur."

Clay extended his hand to Arthur. "How are you, sir? Nice to meet you."

Arthur blinked markedly but shook the younger man's hand. "Sir? Boy, you got the wrong guy. How 'bout you call me Arthur?"

Clay laughed. "I probably shouldn't do that as long as I'm dating your daughter. But thank you for the offer - I really appreciate it."

Arthur shrugged as Kate motioned to Will to step forward. "And this other young man?"

"This," Clay said as he turned to his bodyguard, "is my bodyguard Will McLeod. I won't need his services here at the house, but there are a few other places where they'll be handy."

Will shook hands with Arthur. "Nice to meet you."

Arthur pointed to Will. "Same offer goes for you - you're welcome to call me Arthur."

"I'd probably better not, Mr. Kirche," Will told him politely.

Arthur glanced at his daughter. "They sure know how to make a guy feel old."

"No, Dad," Kate grinned, "they know how to show respect to someone who's entitled to receive it." Without further comment she beckoned to a few of the other family members so they could come over to meet Clay and Will. "This is my brother Andrew, his wife Holly, and their kids Alyssa and Alexander."

Clay shook hands with Andrew (who clearly had his father's height) and Holly. He gently touched the shoulder of toddler Alexander, still in the arms of his mother, before turning to greet their daughter. Somehow knowing it was her turn, Alyssa (whom Clay judged to be about four years old) reached her hands up towards Clay. With a brilliant smile Clay picked her up and balanced her on his hip. "Hi there, Alyssa! My name's Clay, but I'd like it very much if you called me Uncle Clay." She laid her head on Clay's shoulder, and he chuckled warmly. He glanced over at Kate and his heart skipped a beat at the look in her eyes. Kate was watching him with a wide-eyed sparkle that said Wow to everyone who could see it. He recalled reading a commentary somewhere that women preferred men who had a love for and a "way" with children... and right now Kate's eyes clearly stated that she preferred him. Glancing at the floor, Clay blushed and bit his lip before looking back up into her expressive eyes. Suddenly he wished there weren't so many people in the room - he wanted in the worst way to kiss her right then and right there.

Will rolled his eyes with a patient sigh. "I'm going out to get the other bags. I'll be right back."

"Let me help," Arthur offered, and the two walked out the door to the car.

Sarah came through the kitchen with an armload of wrapped presents. "Oh my! They're here."

Kate carefully took the top several gifts from her. "I'll help you with those, dearie."

"Thank you," Sarah told her as together they placed the gifts under the tree.

Alyssa wiggled in Clay's arms, and no sooner did Clay put her down when she skipped over to greet Sarah. Sarah gave the little girl a hug. With a big satisfied grin on her face, she ran over to Andrew and clung to his leg. Daddy's little girl, Clay chuckled to himself. The two best friends came over to him, and he smiled warmly at the petite woman with a full head of auburn curls. Clad in a long, flowing broomstick skirt and a tighter poet-style shirt that showed off deadly curves, Sarah's bohemian appearance was the complete opposite of Kate's conservative, tailored look. Somehow he managed to hide his surprise - though he wasn't quite sure how. Clay definitely wanted a front seat when Will and Sarah met for the first time. Kate made the introductions. "Sarah, this is Clay. Clay, this is Sarah."

Sarah extended her hand. "Clay... it is an honor to meet you."

Clay took her hand and pulled the tiny woman into a hug. "The honor is mine. Thank you for being my lady's best friend and confidant."

"Thank you," Sarah responded, "for loving her as much as you do."

The two chatted for a brief moment until Will and Arthur came in with Clay and Will's luggage. "Will," Kate called out, "come on over here a minute and I'll introduce you to Sarah."

Will placed the luggage on the floor with hers and came over to the huddle. His eyes met Sarah's and both Will and Sarah took an involuntary breath. Kate sensed the immediate change of mood in the room, but went on with the introductions. "Will, this is Sarah Daniels. Sarah, Will McLeod."

Studying her carefully with his eyes, Will looked Sarah over from curly head to booted toe. "So you're the little lady these two lovebirds have so much to say about." He shook his head in amazement. "You're certainly not what I expected."

Fire flashed in Sarah's hazel eyes. "What exactly does that mean, I'm not what you expected? What did you expect? And for the record, I'm not little!"

Will nodded his head at Kate. "Well, I expected somebody, well, more like Kate. As close as you are it made sense to me. But you two are as different as night and day. You definitely couldn't pass for twins."

"Really..." Sarah growled, folding her arms. The gesture somehow enhanced Sarah's "endowment", and Will's eyes bulged as they were involuntarily drawn where they should not have gone. Angered further, Sarah dropped her hands to her sides with a haughty harrumph. "Looks like you could take some lessons from Clay in how to act like a gentleman."

Will blinked in shock. "Now wait just a minute there..."

Clay gaped as Kate covered her mouth in horror. "Oh no..." she moaned under her breath.

Will scowled at her. "You think I'm not a gentleman!?! I beg your pardon, little lady," he said, earning another frown from Sarah, "but I know how to treat a lady. I'll prove it, too!"

Having learned not to cross her arms in front of her, this time Sarah placed her hands on her hips. "How exactly do you plan to do that?"

Will sputtered at her. "We'll start over. Nice to meet you." He extended a hand for her to shake, which she ignored. "Can I help you bring your things in from the car?"

Sarah lifted her chin, irked at the insinuation that she couldn't take care of herself. "What, you think a little thing like me can't carry her own bags? And who said I'd be willing to start over, you overgrown insufferable oaf!"

Annoyed by her high-and-mighty attitude, Will snorted. "I didn't mean it that way, Princess."

Kate choked back a snicker and bit her lip as Clay glared her into silence.

Her eyes narrow slits, Sarah gave Will a dirty look. "I'll have you know I've been taking care of myself for a long time now, and I've never needed a man for anything I couldn't do myself."

His mind still in the gutter from earlier, Will grinned wickedly. He leaned back with a thoughtful expression, muttering, "I'll just bet you don't."

Both Sarah and Kate's jaws dropped, making Clay wonder how different they really were - or weren't. Still irate, Sarah simmered like a tea kettle ready to blow at any moment. "Why you! You.... you... you notagentleman you!" Visibly flustered, she kept sputtering. "You, you... aaaarrggh!" Letting loose a scream of fury, Sarah turned on her heel to stomp away.

Will called after her. "Fine, Princess. The self-sufficient little lady can get her own bags!"

"I already got them earlier, you twit!" Sarah yelled back.

"Well, good for you!" Will stomped outside for a breath of fresh air.

For one brief moment after Sarah and Will stomped off in opposite directions the room was completely silent. Kate was the first to speak. "Beatrice and Benedick..." she breathed.

Patricia nodded. "Much Ado About Nothing," she agreed.

Clay bit his lip thoughtfully. He didn't know much about Sarah, but he did know that she would not have appreciated the reference.

"Been a long time since I've seen two people that attracted to each other," Andrew grimaced. He shot a mischievous grin at his sister and Clay. "It's been... all of five minutes."

Clay laughed. If what Kim told him was any indication, the chemistry between him and Kate easily rivaled what he had just seen between Will and Sarah.

A wicked gleam shone in Kate's eyes. "Who are we to argue with Shakespeare?"

Arthur turned an uncertain eyebrow to Kate. "What...?"

Kate rubbed her hands together evilly. "Who are we to argue with Shakespeare! In that very play, the lovebirds," she put her arm around Clay, who returned the gesture, "and her family and his friends scheme to fix up the quarreling duo of Benedick and Beatrice." She looked at Clay and each member of her family in turn. "They say life imitates art... or is it art imitates life..." Kate frowned and shrugged. "Either way, how many of you would be game to pulling a Shakespeare - or in this case, a Cupid - on those two?"

Holly caught on immediately. "You're suggesting we try to fix them up!"

"Oh yeah!" Kate nodded vigorously. "I've never seen Sarah look at a man the way she looked at Will! I mean, talk about your 'Hello, Will!' moments! That was it!"

Patricia snickered. "She'll never let you live this down..."

"So?" Kate snorted. "I figure I owe her a prank or two by now." She grinned wickedly at the group. "Who's with me?"

"I'm in!" Holly answered quickly.

Andrew nodded. "Make that two of us."

Clay's eyes twinkled. "I'll play."

Patricia snickered again. "Oh, why not. Arthur?"

Arthur considered all of them skeptically. "Leave me out of this."

"Party pooper," Patricia muttered. "Fine, you don't have to help. Just don't tell them."

"I don't know a thing," Arthur said, holding up his hands to distance himself from the plot.

Holly raised one eyebrow. "So what's the plan?"

Kate beckoned everyone closer to whisper to them. "We need to find every way possible to throw the two of them together. Talking them up in each other's presence. Giving them shared tasks and errands. Making them sit together at the dinner table."

"Especially since our family tradition," Patricia said evenly, "is to join hands when we pray."

Arthur gave his wife an odd glance. "It is? When did this tradition start?"

"Just now."

Arthur frowned. "Sorry I asked..."

Clay bit his lip with a giggle. "Of course, honey, you and I are in the place to have the biggest influence on them. You're Sarah's best friend and roommate, and I'm Will's employer and friend."

Patricia raised a thoughtful eyebrow at her daughter. "How much do those two already know about each other? I remember at least a few conversations with Sarah around where you mentioned he was coming for Christmas."

Kate and Clay turned to each other, shocked looks in their eyes. "Come to think of it," Kate said with chagrin, "this probably is our fault. I know I've been telling Sarah about Will from time to time because he's a nice, upstanding guy and I thought they could provide each other with some company this week. What about you, sweetheart?"

Clay grimaced. "I've been telling Will what I know about Sarah in hopes they'd get along well."

Putting a hand to her mouth, Patricia hid an amused snicker. "So you two have already started setting them up and didn't know it! And from what I've heard about Sarah's wedding dream, Will fits the description of the man."

Hunh? Clay glanced at Patricia. "Description?"

"Oh my..." Kate gaped as she turned to Clay, glanced briefly at the door Will had exited and back at Clay again. "Sarah's dream... oh my goodness..." She turned to her mother. "That clinches it. We have to set them up - they're meant to be."

Patricia nodded. "Especially since Clay was in the dream."

"I was?" Clay asked uncertainly.

In answer Kate gave him a quick nod. "Oh yeah. You were best man." Eyeing her mother, Kate asked a serious question. "Is this an official hunch, Mom?"

Immediately Patricia shook her head. "I don't have any feelings on this one."

"Pooh," Kate pouted. "We just have Sarah's dream to go by, and it's not complete."

Clay considered Kate warily. "What dream?"

Kate took Clay's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll tell you later, hon."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Clay wrapped his arms around Kate's waist as she started laying out the plates on the table. "Clay..." she chided gently, "I still have the rest of the table to do." When she started to move around the table, Clay followed her closely, keeping his arms wrapped around her. Kate giggled. "You're ornery."

"Yep," Clay said as he gave her a noisy kiss on her neck.

Kate squeaked, her eyes wide with amusement. "Hey, now, it's bad enough what you pulled in my classroom. You'd better watch your step around my family, mister!"

Sarah raised her eyebrow as she followed the couple with the cutlery. "What, did he ravage you in the middle of your classroom?"

"No," Clay responded. "I did this." Taking the opportunity while Kate's hands were empty, he dipped her backwards and kissed her briefly before returning her upright. "Only it lasted longer."

Applauding to show her appreciation, Sarah nodded. "Bet the kids loved that."

Kate snorted. "You have no idea..."

Agreeing with Kate, Clay nodded. "They definitely liked seeing us kiss."

Giving them a knowing grin, Sarah nodded. "Especially... what's his name, Alec the smartaleck."

Clay grinned. "They took pictures and everything."

With an annoyed frown, Kate sighed. "Bet a few of them will have those pictures posted on the Internet by now..."

Sarah giggled. "Oh dear... That's right, you have that girl, Dee, one of the school photographers in your last period class."

Clay blinked. "School photographer? Oh no..."

Kate shook her head. "I don't think we'll have to worry about her. She's a good kid who will respect our privacy."

Clay snapped his fingers. "Because of your conversation with her after class."

"What conversation?" Sarah asked. "I know you've been concerned about her odd behavior lately."

"Sarah..." Kate began. "You know how I have carefully avoided talking much about Clay in class in order to respect his privacy?" When Sarah nodded, she continued. "As a bit of a reward, I agreed to answer a handful of questions during last period. They've been such a good bunch of kids - barring the occasional monkey business from Alec and Ron..."

Sarah snickered, recalling stories about the gruesome twosome she'd heard over the years. "I can only imagine some of the questions those two dreamed up. I hope you gave them a limit and some guidelines."

Kate nodded. "You know me. Twelve questions tops, and any that were too personal I wouldn't answer."

"Good for you," Sarah grinned. "What were some of the questions?"

With a sigh, Kate searched her memory. "Mostly the usual. How long have we known each other and how long have we been dating... is he a good kisser..."

Sarah laughed. "How did you answer that one?"

"I didn't."

"Darn," Sarah answered, winking at Clay. "I wanted to know."

Clay gave her an impish grin. "Want a sample?" he asked as he turned to her.

Kate skewered him with a mild dirty look. "Don't you dare, or you'll find out how quickly I can hog-tie someone."

Clay's eyes brightened. "Oo, kinky! Is that a promise?"

Sarah howled with laughter as Kate turned bright red. "Serves you right for bluffing."

"No, honey," Clay responded, "there's only one woman whose lips I want a sample of." He gave Sarah a platonic kiss on the cheek before returning to Kate. "Yours."

Somehow his choice of words made Kate blush deeper. "Good," she responded.

Sarah moved the conversation back to the original subject. "So what else happened with the class?"

Kate went on. "There was one who asked me what it was like going to the premiere with him... and it turns out Ron and Alec had made a bet on what had gone on between Haskell and me."

Sarah snickered. "Cool. Hope Alec had to pay up."

"Yep," Kate nodded. "Todd asked us when we were getting married..."

Catching Clay's wink, Sarah smirked. "What did you tell him?"

"Wait until the man proposes first, and then we'll talk..."

"Works for me. Any other good questions?" Sarah watched the expression on Kate's face change. "So what were they?"

Kate chuckled once under her breath - Sarah knew her entirely too well. "After I admitted to them that we were serious and Clay would have proposed this past summer if I had been ready, Dee asked me why I wasn't ready... and brought up the Letterman interview."

"Oh boy..."

With a slight smile Kate glanced up at Clay, who was beaming at her with pride in his eyes. "I told them the truth. Without giving detail, of course... those kids are smart enough to figure it out without all the ugly, gory detail."

Sarah nodded, heaving a deep sigh. "Wow. You have come a long way."

Kate's eyes took on an impish twinkle. "Of course that was the point where Mr. Aiken chose to enter stage left..."

"Eek!" Sarah shrieked. "I'll bet those kids were surprised."

"Not just the kids, honey..." Kate drawled, "the teacher too."

Clay shrugged, a cheesy grin on his face. "What can I say? I have good timing."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "How did they react to your story?"

"Dead silence," Kate said quietly, "until Clay's entrance, which changed the mood back to something much more cheerful." She gave him a smile. "Then again, you always can cheer me up."

"Gak." Sarah made a face as the couple gazed lovingly at each other. "So why'd he end up kissing you?"

"Because," Kate rolled her eyes, "of tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. First Ron asked me what he was like in bed."

"Good grief," Sarah grunted. "He's living up to his reputation as the less-than-bright star in the sky."

Clay snickered. "Cute..."

Kate sighed with a shake of her head. "Welcome to Sarah's world. Of course I told him that I wouldn't find out until my wedding night... and that's when Todd asked us when we were getting married."

Sarah raised her eyebrow. "That still does not explain why the man kissed you like that in front of your kids. You're not usually one for PDA."

"In case you hadn't noticed," Kate retorted as she placed the last plate on the table, "he's the one who kissed me. But to answer your insatiable curiosity, the question that tweedle-dumber asked was... why he's 'pretending' to date me when supposedly he's gay."

Sarah winced. "Ouch. I take it Clay responded with the kiss. I'd love to have seen Alec's response to that one. Nobody who's seen the two of you 'get physical' with each other can doubt your hetero-ness, or lust for each other. Gak." She made a gagging motion with her finger. Clay frowned at her for a moment before turning back to plant another kiss on Kate, a much longer kiss. Sarah rolled her eyes with a snort. "Ewww... have some respect for those of us without lovers, okay?"

Clay and Kate exchanged a significant we'll-see-about-that glance. "We'll try," Clay said.

"If it's any consolation," Kate carefully interjected, "Will was the same way about it."

Sarah crossed her arms with annoyance, a glowering look on her face. She went on, eager to change the subject. "So what else happened this afternoon?"

With Sarah's body language obvious to both, Clay and Kate exchanged another glance - they knew that Sarah didn't want to talk about it. They would let the subject drop for now. Clay smiled warmly at Kate. "Kate's already using her 'experience' to help other people." At Sarah's raised eyebrow, Clay turned to Kate. "Honey, why don't you tell her? It's your story."

Kate glanced up to him with a thoughtful chew on her lip. "One of my students came to me after class with a similar experience." Kate sighed. "I'm the first person she's told."

Tears of compassion filled Sarah's eyes. "Oh wow. What did you do?"

"Hugged her, for one. Poor girl was a teary mess." Kate sighed again. "Recommended she tell her mother, for another... and recommended some counseling for a third. I told her that I was seeing a therapist here in town and mentioned that it's doing me a lot of good."

"Good for you," Sarah answered. "Is there any chance that she reported it?"

Kate shook her head with a serious face. "Not considering who it was. She's going to have an uphill battle with this one."

Sarah gasped. "Oh no..."

"Yeah," Kate murmured, frowning.

"Anything more you can tell me?" Sarah asked. "Or want to tell me?"

"Want," Kate began, "and can are two different things. I dare not give out too many details for the sake of my student."

"Of course," Sarah replied. "I'm so proud of you - you encouraged counseling, something you wouldn't do for way too long."

Kate made a face. "I urged her, very strongly, not to make my mistake." She cast a wicked glance up at Clay. "I told her that if I had dealt with this back when it first happened, all this would be over now... and I'd already be Mrs. Clay Aiken."

"Really?" Clay asked, wide-eyed. "S-So... are you saying that... if I had asked you to elope with me that night, you would have... if it weren't for this whole thing?"

Blushing lightly, Kate remembered back to a conversation she had with Sarah where Sarah had asked her a tough question. "If he were to ask you to marry him, how soon would you want to marry him? Would you want to wait, or would you rather marry quickly?" Kate had answered Sarah honestly. "Sarah... with as much um... tension as there is between us... sooner is better."

"Kate?" Clay awaited her answer.

Kate shrugged. "I can only speculate on that. Chances are good, though, my answer would have been a definite yes."

A grin quickly spread across Clay's face. "What if," he asked eagerly, "I asked you to marry me tomorrow?"

Kate snorted. "Clay hon... no one's going to marry us on Christmas eve."

"All right," Clay said, letting his head hang but secretly holding back another grin. "You have me there - I guess I'll have to wait." He stole a glance at Sarah, who gave him an I-told-you-so look.

"Besides, honey," Patricia broke in as she placed a platter full of fried chicken on the table, "you don't have a wedding dress."

"True," Kate murmured, "cuz there's no way I'm fitting your dress."

"I should say not," Patricia replied. "You're too thin."

"Whatever..." Kate snorted again.

Clay snickered and grinned over at Patricia. "I bet she might weigh 110 pounds at most."

Kate glared at Clay. "Who spiked your Mountain Dew?"

Clay returned the glare. "Let's find out how light you really are." Careful not to bump the table or Sarah or Kate's mother, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Kate cried out in surprise, her eyes wide as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Oh yeah, he thought, nice and light. Now what to do with her... Carrying her in his arms, he took her out to the living room. Once there, he put her down on the couch and started tickling her.

Kate shrieked as she tried to fend off Clay's hands. "Clay!!! Stop!! Clay!!!"

The noise brought Andrew down the stairs. "Nice..."

"Drew! Help me!" Kate pleaded.

Andrew turned to Patricia as she handed him her camera. He focused it on the two of them. "Say cheese, sis."

"Aaauuggghhhh!!!" Kate squealed as Andrew took the picture of Clay tickling her. "I am so going to get you back for that..." She kept struggling as his fingers kept flying over her sides. "Clay, if you don't stop, I might lose control of my bladder here and now..."

Abruptly Clay stopped tickling her and pulled her close with a giggle. "All right, honey. Though it wouldn't be the first time I've been peed on."

Kate grunted. "I don't even want to know..."

Patricia grinned wickedly at the two of them. "Supper time. Kate, since you have to wash your hands anyway, you can take care of that errand now."

Clay barely moved out of her way and Kate made a sprint for the bathroom. He bent over double with laughter. "Oh my gosh, she wasn't kidding."

Sarah shook her head. "No, she wasn't kidding. If you get either one of us laughing too hard, we have to go to the bathroom."

"Oh really..." Clay laughed again.

Patricia called up the stairs. "Supper time! Come on down before it gets cold!"

Clay studied Sarah for a moment. I think I have an idea to make sure we seat those two together... "I've never known anyone who did that." Clay smirked up at Andrew. "Want to test it on another subject?"

"Sure."

Sarah very quickly found herself at the mercy of both men, sandwiched in between their tickling hands. "NO!! STOP!!" she shrieked. For several minutes they tickled her, until Kate re-entered the room. She took in the sight of them tickling Sarah and rolled her eyes. The two men released Sarah with matching grins. Sarah skewered each of them with a glare and a smack on the arm as she hurried into the bathroom.

Kate frowned unsympathetically at them as Holly walked by with the kids. "You guys had that coming."

Clay giggled and put his arm around Kate's shoulders. "Oh, but it's all part of the plan..."

"The plan...?" Kate asked unsurely.

Andrew raised his eyebrow. "The plan...?"

Clay gave them a wink as Will walked towards the dining room. "It guarantees a certain someone is the last person to get a seat at the table."

Kate's jaw dropped as she started to quake with laughter. "Oh my... you are evil, hon... but I love it."

Andrew nodded appreciatively. "If that's your plan, then we'd better head to the dining room and make sure that we get a seat where we want."

Kate wrapped an arm around each of the guys. "Let's go."

Within moments they had joined everyone in the dining room. Holly had already set up the kids so that each one of them would be under the care of at least one parent. Patricia had claimed the spot on the other side of Alyssa, Arthur had claimed the head of the table next to Andrew's seat, and Will sat next to Arthur. Taking note of the setup, Kate quickly moved to sit next to her mother, leading Clay by the hand to sit beside her. Will looked at Clay, then at the empty seat. His eyes widened as he realized who would be sitting in that seat if things didn't change soon. Will looked back at Clay, and hinted with a nod of his head that he'd rather Clay sat beside him. Clay indicated Kate, who was still holding his hand, and shrugged. Will did not look pleased... in fact, he looked rather irate.

Sarah entered the room muttering. "Ooooh... I can't believe you two did that. How can two grown men... and I use the term loosely..." She quickly moved to the remaining empty chair, yanking it out and plopping herself down in it while continuing her tirade. "...behave in such a juvenile manner is beyond me. In fact..." Her voice drifted off when she saw who was in the next chair.

Kate held her breath and pursed her lips to keep from exploding with laughter. Clay leaned over to her and pressed his lips against her cheek in his effort to avoid chuckling. Andrew and Holly busied themselves with their children as Arthur, completely calm, spoke. "If we're all ready to say grace..."

Patricia held out her hands, and Kate took the one close to her as if on cue. "Everyone join hands," Patricia invited them. Arthur raised his eyebrow at her but held out his hands. As everyone around them joined hands for the prayer, Sarah and Will both gave Patricia a you-have-got-to-be-kidding look. When Patricia nodded at them to join hands, they met each other's eye with a wary grimace. Gingerly they joined hands, holding on just to each other's fingertips. "Art..." Patricia said quietly.

Arthur gave the prayer, giving thanks for everyone's safe arrival and for their company during the holiday season. He asked for blessings and safety for the days ahead, giving thanks and asking for blessings the food on the table. With that he wrapped up and everyone gave the 'amen' together. "Let's eat," he said, and picked up the nearest serving dish.

Clay smiled at Kate, and was pleased to see her return the smile. The two squeezed hands before looking to the food nearby. Will held onto Sarah's hand a moment longer, almost apologetically. Sarah frowned and yanked her hand from his grasp with a harrumph.

Clay picked up a serving dish. Offering it to Kate first, he smiled at her. "Potatoes?"

Kate smiled back, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said as she put it on her plate with a vigorous flick of the wrist. Most of the potatoes landed on her plate, but a tiny bit flew back up and landed on her hand.

Will glanced at the Jell-O in front of him, roughly between him and Sarah. With full intent on offering it to Sarah first, he reached for it - at the same time Sarah reached for it. Their hands met on the bowl and instantly shot back as if the bowl were blistering hot. Once more they skewered each other with a wary glance.

With a snicker, Clay glanced at the stray morsel of potatoes. "You're deadly with those."

"Looks like it." Kate wiped it off her hand with a fingertip. Impulsively she reached up and smeared it on the tip of his nose.

"Oh," Holly giggled, "that's cute."

Clay pulled a tiny bit of mashed potatoes from the handle of the spoon. As Kate turned to him with a wicked grin, Clay reached up and put the potatoes he had picked up onto the tip of her nose. "There," he giggled, "now we're even."

Patricia laughed. "Even better."

A second impulse ran through Kate's mind, the impulse to lick the potatoes off his nose. Oh my... where did that come from? Blushing deeply, Kate looked down at her plate. She wiped the potatoes from the tip of her nose as Clay considered her thoughtfully. With a slight shrug, he wiped the potatoes from his own nose and helped himself to the potatoes before passing them to Sarah.

Sarah took some potatoes and placed them on her plate. Returning the spoon to the bowl, she passed them to Will. Will glanced at her, involuntarily drawing her eyes to his. Just as quickly both of them turned their attention to the potatoes. Attempting to remain a gentleman, Will smiled politely at her. As Will took the bowl from her, Sarah turned away, her cheeks flushing hotly.

The food was quickly passed around the table, from the chicken to the rolls, and everyone started eating. Clay gave Kate a conspiratorial wink before turning to Sarah. "Kate told me that you work for Social Services. What exactly do you do?"

"Two things, really," Sarah told him. "I translate, and I'm also a social worker working with the foster care program."

Out of the corner of his eye, Clay could see Will cast an admiring glance at her - he was obviously impressed. "Foster care?" Clay whistled. "I bet you see some really difficult situations in that program."

"You have no idea," Sarah acknowledged. "There are some cases that come before me that should never have been reported that I have to deal with simply because they were... and some complete hard-luck cases where I always wish I could do more." She heaved a thoughtful sigh, unaware of the hidden glances at her that Will was stealing. "You know the ones - mostly abuse or neglect." Sarah frowned. "Probably my biggest trouble comes from making people see that I am in charge and have the authority to act. Between being a woman and being a very short woman, people don't take me seriously."

Clay winced. "I bet." Leaving Will to chew on that one a while, he changed the subject slightly. "Where does the translation come in?"

Sarah looked up at him. "Not everyone involved in my cases speak English." Immediately Sarah switched to Spanish, and Will's head jerked with surprise at hearing her fluency.

Kate quickly translated for the benefit of the others. "I want to be able to speak to all involved parties. One cannot exclusively depend on the translation abilities of a child. And that's who can usually speak English in these cases."

Clay nodded appreciatively. "How did you get to be so fluent? I thought you spent your semester abroad in Germany with Kate."

"I did," Sarah admitted. "My family lived near the Texas-Mexico border for many years. Half or better of my schoolmates were Hispanic, and we did our best to teach each other our languages. I lived there until my senior year of high school."

"Wow," Clay told her.

Kate nodded. "It's pretty much a second language to her. I'm nowhere near that fluent."

"In Spanish," Sarah finished. "You're much more fluent in German."

"Than I am in Spanish," Kate qualified, "yeah. Than you, no - we had the same amount of training in German, remember?"

"My grandmother," Sarah drawled, "didn't teach me slang."

"No, but Hans, Sebastian, and Frieda did."

Sarah shrugged as Will gave her a skeptical eye. "They taught you too."

Kate grinned at Clay. "It's amazing the things one learns in that semester abroad."

"I bet," Clay told her. "Would you say something in German for me? Something romantic?"

An impish twinkle lit her eye. "Sure." Taking his hand warmly, Kate looked him in the eye and started speaking in a low, quiet voice.

He listened for the next several minutes as she spoke in a surprisingly gentle German, caressing his hand the entire time. At last she stopped. "Wow," Clay breathed. "That was amazing. Was that a poem, or - " He broke off at hearing Sarah's muffled snickers turn into uncontrollable laughter. Or not. He glanced back at Kate, whose eyes sparkled with mischief. "So what was that you just said?"

"The words from the Gilligan's Island theme song," Kate said innocently as Sarah hummed the tune.

Clay shoved his tongue into his cheek as Andrew broke into guffaws of laughter. "Atta girl, sis..."

"I maintain," Kate told him with a smug smile, "that it's not what you say but how you say it."

Well... Clay thought, considering Kate with a slow nod, I fell for that one. "Just wait, hon..."

Suddenly Kate let out a single hiccup, a high-pitched "eep" sound. Andrew and Sarah both laughed harder as she covered her mouth. "Scuse me."

Clay turned to her with wide eyes. "What was that? It sounded like one of Raleigh's squeak toys."

As Kate and Clay gave each other funny looks, the rest of the table broke into delighted laughter. Kate made a face as she glanced around at the others. "Thanks a lot, guys."

"Clay," Andrew gasped, "great comeback. I couldn't have done it better."

"Um... thanks." Clay blinked at Kate. "You didn't answer my question! What was that... little noise you made?" Kate hiccuped again, and this time Clay joined the chorus of laughter. "Oh my gosh... Honey, you should have warned me..."

"And deny you this magic moment...?" Kate told him dryly. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

As if answering her question, Sarah let loose an identical hiccup. Will stopped laughing and turned to Sarah with a surprised blink. "You've got to be kidding..."

"There goes your twins theory, Will," Kate drawled. "We have plenty of differences, yes... but we also have plenty in common."

"I'm noticing that," Will admitted as Sarah gave him a dirty glare.

Sarah muttered under her breath as she turned back to her meal. "Ooh, how observant..."

Will cast an icy glare at Sarah but said nothing for the sake of his hosts.

Arthur turned to Will. "How long have you been working as a bodyguard?"

"As a bodyguard," Will said thoughtfully, "eight years. About two of those have been working with Clay here. So far he's been the celebrity I've enjoyed working for the best."

Clay smiled over at him. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

Will nodded and continued. "He's a good guy... stands up for what he believes in, nice to pretty much everyone, and the like. Not all of them are like that."

Kate winked at Clay, who was flushing modestly. "I'll say."

"Before I started the bodyguard thing I was a security guard with a bank." Will shrugged. "I changed because I'd rather work with people. Can't strike up a conversation with paper presidents."

Arthur chuckled appreciatively. "No, you can't have a good bull session with ol' Ben Franklin."

Will shook his head. "It gives me the opportunity to travel too. I've been able to see a few more places than I would have at the bank." He jerked his thumb at Clay and Kate. "Next summer I'll be goin' to Haiti with the lovebirds."

"You," Kate told him, "are going to have so much fun." She turned to her mother. "Mom, want to take bets on which of the three guys is going to be the biggest kid magnet?"

"Three?" Patricia asked as Clay laughed. "Oh, is Jerome going too?" When Clay nodded, Patricia gave the matter some thought. "Considering I haven't met Jerome yet, I don't think I could make an accurate guess. Probably Clay, because he looks so different from them."

Kate grinned wickedly at Clay. "Hope you don't mind kids playing with your hair, hon. We found out in a hurry that they loved our hair - different lengths, colors, textures than theirs."

Clay reached up and fingered a strand of Kate's hair. "I can only imagine how much fun they had playing with yours."

"Personally I think they'd get a huge kick out of Sarah's. They don't see too many redheads."

"Probably not," Clay murmured, running his hand over his own hair.

Realizing that she had sidetracked the conversation, Kate turned her attention back to Will. "Are you looking forward to the trip?"

Will frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know. It's going to be different from anything I've ever done. Granted it's not the first time I've worked with kids, but I just know it's going to be different."

Sarah eyed Will skeptically. "You've worked with kids? When?"

"Since high school," Will told her. "I'm in a mentoring program - you hang out with them and try to be a good influence."

"Oh." Sarah blinked with surprise. I would never have figured him for that.

Will shrugged again. "It's just my way of giving a little something back."

Sarah raised her eyebrow. "Give what back?"

Realizing that he had said too much with his antagonist within earshot, Will shook his head defensively. "Giving back to society. I'm trying to make this world a better place, make some kid's life a little easier by just bein' there for him. I hope that's okay with you, little Princess."

At hearing those two terms used as her new nickname, Sarah blew. "It often takes a whole lot more than just 'being there'... big boy. It takes time, money, effort, generosity, the putting of another human being before yourself. I'm so thrilled to hear that you think your mere presence should make a kid's life easier."

"You think I don't know that?" Will growled. "I don't have a lot to give, little lady, but I can give my time when I can."

This time Sarah ignored the endearment. "Your time, when you can...when you happen to have some available. Lucky kid, that one. What about when you can't? That's what makes a kid feel valued, when you make time for him beyond just what you happen have available. When you're there when they really need you, not just when you CAN." Sarah drew out the last word in a patronizing manner.

"Hey, I'm not their dad. I'm just a mentor - a volunteer. My own kids, that'll be different."

Sarah snorted. "Now that's a frightening concept...you, breeding."

Clay gaped as he glanced worriedly at Kate. Kate's eyes held an oh-no look in them.

Will scowled at her. "I have plenty of good qualities the world needs more of. It's not as terrifying as thinking about more of you."

Patricia broke the silence that followed. "Anyone want dessert?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Clay watched as Patricia smoothed the fresh, clean tablecloth out on the table. Once everyone finished with dinner, they had cleared the table, put away the food, and done the dishes. With the last dish dried and put away, Patricia had suggested playing card games. I see exactly where she gets it from, Clay thought to himself as the group gathered back around the table. While he looked forward to the game, he also hoped to steal a moment or two with Kate's father in private. "Okay," Patricia told them, "there are eight of us. I figure that gives us four teams of two - one game will be going on at this end of the table, and one game will be going on at that end of the table."

Will cast an unsure glance at Clay. "What's the name of this game again?"

Clay shrugged. "Pitch. I've never heard of it before I met Kate."

"Is it a local game or something?"

Kate snorted as she wrapped her arms around Clay's waist from the back. "Must be. The only people I know who play it are people with Nebraska ties."

"We need to choose our teams," Arthur said as he laid two pencils, two notepads, and two decks of cards on the table.

Sarah walked back over from where she had been playing with Alyssa and Alexander. "I think we should play gals against the guys. It would be fun to see these two competing against each other for a change." She gave Kate a toothy grin.

"We have to teach them the game first," Kate told her.

"You didn't do that while you were out in California?" Sarah asked innocently, batting her eyes.

Kate quickly shook her head. "Not when I was the only one who knew how to play it."

"Though we did play a few rounds of blackjack," Clay chuckled, "to decide who got the check."

Andrew clapped his hand on Clay's shoulder. "You're joking, right?" Clay told him no, and Andrew went on with a shake of his head. "You're the kind of guy who insists on being a gentleman - I'm surprised you put up with that."

"I didn't have much choice," Clay answered. "Kate insisted that was the fairest way to do it."

"I'm not the one he was trying to argue with over the check." Kate gave Andrew a mild dirty look in defense of her boyfriend. "The first time it was Clay, Jerome, Kim Locke, Ruben, Ruben's bodyguard, and myself playing for it. The second time it was Clay, Jerome, Regis, and myself."

"Regis?" Andrew asked in shock. "You played blackjack with Regis Philbin over a meal tab?"

Kate smirked at him. "Yeah. So what's your point?"

Andrew opened and closed his mouth several times in succession before finally speaking again. "Sis... you've got guts. You're the only person I know who would do that. Did ya beat him?"

"No..." Kate groused. "He stomped us all."

"Don't remind me..." Clay muttered.

"Who won the first time?" Patricia asked.

"Kim," Sarah answered, "but Kate insisted on paying her back for lunch when Kim informed her that she was paying for the outfit she wore to the movie premiere."

Clay turned an oh-really? eyebrow to Kate, who knew she was going to hear about this later. Kate smiled sheepishly at him before turning to Sarah. "That was supposed to stay between the three of us..." she whispered.

"If we're going to play guys against the gals," Patricia broke in, "I might suggest that the two of you - " she pointed to Kate and Sarah, " - teach the two guys, while Holly and I will tackle Andrew and Dad."

Sarah scowled, but Kate nodded. "Sure! We can do that." Kate released Clay, and the two of them joined Will and Sarah at the table - the latter two sitting on opposite sides of the table, sandwiching Clay and Kate in between them.

Kate and Sarah led Clay and Will through two or three "dummy" games of basic ten-point pitch, teaching them first the rules of the game, the ranking of the cards, and point system before suggesting any kind of strategies. Before long the guys felt confident enough to take the women on in a real game or two.

Several hours (and rounds) later, Andrew and Holly broke up their table with the purpose of bathing their kids and getting them ready for bed. As the young couple took their kids with them, Patricia turned to the second table. "Sarah, Kate, would you two see to getting the rooms ready?"

"Sure, Mom," Kate nodded as Clay collected the cards.

"We'll turn down the beds and turn on the table lamps," Sarah told her.

Kate smiled at Clay. "I won't be long, sweetie," she told him gently, giving one of his eyebrows a light kiss.

Clay glanced up at her, his eyes twinkling. "All right, hon." His heart beat a little faster - it looked like he might finally get his chance to talk to Arthur in private. No matter when she came down, he won.

"First one to Andrew and Holly's room," Kate called as she took off for the stairs, "is a rotten egg!"

"Hey!" Sarah called as she followed on Kate's heels. "You got a head start!"

The two women tore up the stairs on a dead run, collapsing in giggles at the door to the bedroom. "That was fun," Kate panted.

"Give me some warning next time," Sarah told her, "and I'll give you more of a challenge."

"Aw..." Kate grinned, "where's the fun in that?"

Sarah snorted as she turned on the overhead light to Andrew and Holly's room. "Fun for you..." The two entered the room and started to pull back the edge of the bedspread. "Kate," Sarah began with a sigh, "you know how you've been telling me about Clay's bodyguards Jerome and Will as well as his friends Kim and Ruben. You never mentioned that Will could be this annoying."

At a loss to reply, Kate shrugged. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I've always gotten along with Will just fine. Granted, he's never been afraid to harass Clay and me about showing our affection for each other... but that's the kind of thing I'd expect from you, so I just let it go." She grinned. "Or else do something goofy on purpose just to pull his tail a bit. Like Clay did earlier when you said that smart comment about lovers - after you hinted that you didn't want to see that sort of thing, that's exactly what he gave you."

Sarah's nose wrinkled. "Yeah. I should have known Clay would do that."

"But as for the rest of Will's bizarre behavior..." Kate chewed on her lip. The explanation was obvious to anyone who saw him interact with Sarah - he liked her. Upon the moment they met Will and Sarah had been instantly attracted to each other, and everyone in the room had seen it. Unfortunately with both of them being the strong personalities that they were, they had gotten off on the wrong foot from the start. Kate wasn't entirely sure how to keep them from any more verbal sparring matches, let alone get them together. How to put this without giving anything away... "I don't know what to tell you."

"Don't know what to tell me," Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow, "or don't know how to phrase it?"

"Hunh?" Kate asked, surprised that Sarah had already caught her out.

Sarah shook her head. "Never mind," she replied, and Kate hid a sigh of relief at being safe for now. "It's just that... I don't understand how a man can sound so interesting, be so danged handsome, and yet be so infuriating in person." Kate looked up into Sarah's eyes, listening very intently as Sarah continued her train of thought. "How can he seem to have such a big heart yet appear so clueless? How can he say things that make me either want to hug him or shake him? How can he seem so vulnerable yet so distant? How can he make me want to be with him and run away from him at the very same time?"

Slowly Kate shook her head. "I don't know," she confessed. She gave her friend a gentle smile as Sarah turned on the table lamp. "You sound... torn... confused."

Sarah frowned as she walked around to rejoin Kate. "I don't know what to think." The two of them walked to the next bedroom to prepare it the same way. "He treats me with kid gloves, like I'm some kind of delicate glass bauble that has no real purpose, is pretty to look at, but has to be handled carefully or could shatter at any moment. People have treated me that way all my life, and it drives me crazy. They have no idea how capable I really am."

Kate nodded. "Most people have no idea what you've been through, so they never give you a chance. They just know what they see... and base their opinions off of that."

"Exactly," Sarah agreed. "You and your family are among the few who have looked past my outward appearance and seen me for who I am."

"That's the kind of people we are," Kate shrugged. "I'm surprised more people aren't like that."

Sarah nodded vaguely. "The way you described him, I thought Will would be that way too. And then I met him, and he's been giving me all that 'Princess' crap." With another deep frown, Sarah wrinkled her nose. "It drives me crazy... and yet I like it."

Well. Kate blinked with surprise. There just might be some hope after all. "He's like one of those Tootsie Pops - once you get past that tough exterior you'll find he's a real softy inside."

With a raised eyebrow at Kate's analogy, Sarah snorted. "More like a walnut - maybe there is a soft interior, but he's not that easy to crack." She shook her head. "He'll have to apologize a bit and open up a lot before there would ever be much of a connection between us, Katydid. I know you had hoped that we could at least get along and keep each other company this week, but..."

Kate's eyes widened. Oh no. "Where did you get that idea?"

"I'm not stupid, sweet-cheeks, and I know you too well. You and Clay engineered that sitting together business at dinner in hopes that we would - how shall I say it - kiss and make up?" When Kate grimaced with guilty embarrassment, Sarah shook her head and heaved another sigh. "It was a nice thought, but ill-conceived. Like I said, there needs to be an apology or two and a serious attempt to get to know the real me. The real Sarah. And he has to believe that I'm a fully capable adult woman. Until then, I will try to be civil to him."

Well, hon, Kate thought wryly, I think he's got the woman part all figured out.

Finished with the beds, Kate and Sarah went back into the hall where they met up with Andrew and Holly and their brood. "Hey, sis." Andrew wrapped an affectionate arm around her neck, careful to keep hold of his daughter too. "You guys don't get to see Alyssa and Alex all that often, and - well - the wife and I were hoping to escape for a walk while the weather's still nice. You want to put the kids to bed, do their reading and prayer time with them?"

Sarah's eyes lit up with an expression that Kate knew matched her own. "Do they want us to?"

"Auntie Sarah," Alyssa mumbled sleepily, "read us a story."

Holly smiled warmly as she smoothed her daughter's hair. "Does that answer your question?"

"We'd love to," Sarah answered quickly and moved to take Alexander from Holly. Kate collected Alyssa from Andrew, and the friends took the kids to their room while the couple went downstairs for their coats. "Have you decided which story you want us to read?"

"The Kissing Hand," Alyssa answered eagerly as Kate tucked her in.

Kate led the two children in their bedtime prayers. Once those were completed, Sarah dug through the small stack of books Andrew and Holly had brought for their kids until she found it, a colorful book by author Audrey Penn. "Ooooh, this is one of my favorites," she cooed, neither woman noticing as Will paused at the doorway to the room. Sarah opened the book to the first page. "Aunt Kate, do you want to be Mrs. Raccoon or Chester?"

Alyssa grinned at her. "Be Chester, Auntie Kate! I like how you talk like Chester."

Kate blinked as Sarah gave her a knowing look. "She likes your voices."

"Gawrsh," Kate drawled with a Goofy-like laugh. Immediately she switched back to her own voice. "All right, I'll do Chester. But Auntie Sarah can read Love You Forever all by herself since she doesn't get to read for you all that often. Think you can handle that?" When the two children nodded, the women began. Taking turns reading their way through the book, they told the story of Chester the raccoon on his first day of school... how his mother gave him a secret to help him overcome his homesickness while he was at school.

With that book through, Sarah picked up their other favorite, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. She read through the book slowly and softly, taking note as the children drifted off to sleep at the gentle lull of her voice. When she finished with that book too, Sarah returned both books to the stack as Kate gave the children a gentle kiss on their foreheads. Sarah smoothed their hair and gave each of them a kiss in turn, and turned to join Kate in leaving. Both women glanced up in surprise at Will, who leaned on the doorjamb with a slight smile on his face. His eye fell on Sarah. "You do that well," he told her quietly. "I take back what I said earlier about you having kids."

A deep blush covered Sarah's cheeks as she realized he was completely sincere. "Th-thank you."

Will winked at Kate. "I'll make sure to tell Clay what he missed later."

Kate flushed with embarrassment. "Thanks, Will," she said hoarsely as he turned and walked to his own room. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. Well. "Um, Sarah..."

"Not a word," Sarah breathed. "I-I don't suppose I could kick you out of the room for a while. I've got to have some time to myself to think."

"All right," Kate answered. "I planned to meet back up with Clay anyway. That should give you your time." She raised an eyebrow. "How much do you need?"

Sarah blew a sigh slowly through her lips. "Dunno. Give me at least thirty, maybe more."

"Can do," Kate agreed and turned to head down the stairs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Clay sat reading the newest Max Lucado book (a birthday gift from Kate) in an alcove he had found at the top of the landing that gave a perfect view of both the living room and the entrance to the kitchen where Patricia worked on preparation of future meals. He still had not been able to catch Kate's father for that private conversation, and he was hoping that by staking out the living room he would finally achieve his goal. As long as Kate didn't come find him...

Arthur finally entered the house and Clay returned his bookmark to his book. At last...

Not noticing Clay up above, he went straight to the entryway to the kitchen. "Hey, Momma..." he leaned in the doorway. "How's it going?"

"Going well," Patricia answered. "Just finishing up." A delicate snicker wafted up to Clay's ears. "You realize where you're standing, don't you, Art dear?"

Arthur gave her an exaggerated frown as if he had no idea what she was talking about. "I'm standing in the door to the kitchen, right, Tricia dear?"

"You're such a tease," Patricia giggled as she joined Arthur in the doorway and wrapped her arms around him. With the marked differences in their heights, it made for an interesting picture. "Ready to test that mistletoe?"

Mistletoe? Clay's ears perked up as he took note of where it was as Kate's parents exchanged a sweet kiss. They have mistletoe? Oh yes... He waited for them to end the kiss so that he could talk to Arthur... but to Clay's growing embarrassment the kiss kept going. And going, and going... and turning steamier by the moment. And whether Clay liked it or not, his seat allowed him to see all the action. Please tell me that's not what it looks like when I kiss Kate... His cheeks burned red as it deepened further - but in spite of how much he wanted to give them their privacy, he didn't dare move a muscle. He knew that if he tried to leave his post, he would be seen.

At last Patricia broke the kiss, but to make matters worse for Clay, she skewered Arthur with her best bedroom eyes. "Art dear... I almost wish the kids weren't here yet, because right now I'd love nothing better than a hot and heavy roll in the hay."

Clay's jaw dropped. Oh my... how did I get myself into this...

Arthur gently caressed his wife's cheek. "Your wish is my command, love of my life. I think I have an old blanket locked in a trunk out in the barn where the mice can't find it... and if we do it out there, we can make all the noise we want and don't have to worry about disturbing the kids."

Clay put his hand to his mouth. I didn't hear that. The good news, however, was that although Clay would know what was going on he didn't have to watch a single moment more.

Patricia giggled like a teenage schoolgirl as she took her husband's hand. "I've always wanted to seduce a man twice my size," she cooed as she led him through the kitchen.

His ears burning red with embarrassment, Clay heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the back door close behind them. Thank goodness for small favors. Picking up his book, he got to his feet and came down the stairs. Walking slowly over to the place where Kate's parents had stood moments ago, he looked thoughtfully up at the ball of mistletoe hung just above the doorframe. Goofy plant - makes grown adults act like smitten children.

A footfall sounded on the stairs and Clay glanced over to see who was coming. Kate turned the bottom of the stairs and blinked with surprise to see him standing there. "Clay! Is Mom still in the kitchen? I had a question I wanted to ask her."

"Um..." Clay began, biting his lip. He could feel the blush return to his cheeks. "She's not here right now. You'd probably better wait until morning to ask your mom."

Kate raised her eyebrow as she came up to him. "Wait until morning? Where did she go?"

"Um..." Clay grimaced. How does a guy tell his girlfriend that he saw her parents...? He couldn't finish that thought. "They're... busy."

"They're busy??" Kate asked. "Let me guess - she and Dad are having some private time, right?" When Clay's blush deepened, Kate shook her head with a sigh. "The rabbits are at it again..."

Clay looked at her uncertainly. "Rabbits?"

Kate shrugged. "Andrew and I always teased them that at the rate they... you know... they were lucky that they didn't breed like rabbits. Of course once Andrew got married, I started teasing him with rabbit jokes." Kate mused thoughtfully. "I suppose that means that when I get married, Sarah will take up the teasing..."

Oh no... Clay shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. We have to fix them up and soon...

Kate smiled at him with understanding. "However you found out, I am truly sorry. Do I want to know how?"

Clay winced - he didn't dare tell her the whole truth. "I was reading up there on the landing," he explained, holding up his book, "and caught them making out under the mistletoe. It started out really sweet... and got... um..."

"Ouch," Kate also winced. "And I know from sitting up on that landing that there's no escape without drawing attention to yourself. No matter how much they were going at it, you would have been noticed." She sighed. "So what happened? Where are they now?"

Clay indicated the back door. "The barn."

Caught up in a fit of giggles, Kate collapsed into his arms, and her momentum pushed Clay's back up against the inside of the frame of the door. "Oh my... Clay... I am so sorry..."

"It's all right," he told her. "I'm a grown adult who's planning on getting married sometime..."

"True," Kate giggled, "but that doesn't mean it's any less awkward for you to catch my parents at it... especially as long as we stay as serious about each other as we are."

Clay couldn't disagree with that. He held her as she kept giggling until he too was laughing. At last the two of them were laughed out, and Clay continued to hold her in his arms there in the doorway. Wait a minute... he thought, realizing that with Kate's brother and sister-in-law on a walk and Kate's parents busy in the barn, they were in little danger of being disturbed if they too decided to share some alone time. Clay looked down at Kate and started stroking her hair. "You know, honey," he began, his voice low and quiet, "earlier you promised that we would 'pick up where we left off'." As she turned her face towards his, Clay glanced up at the mistletoe. "What better place to start?"

Kate felt her heart quicken as his smoldering eyes met hers. At least we won't have to worry about being caught making out by my parents... She nodded slightly as she let her eyes wander to his lips. "What better place to start..."

Clay leaned closer to her, drawn in by her eyes. "I've missed you so..." he whispered as he kissed her warmly on the lips. Unaware that they too had an audience, Clay and Kate kissed each other over and over again, breathing each other's name between kisses.

After a few minutes, Clay put his fingertip to Kate's lips. "Let's move to the couch," he whispered. Kate nodded, and after she had turned off the light to the kitchen Clay took her hand to lead her to the couch. A shadow flickered on the floor nearby, and Clay glanced around. Not a sound could be heard save Kate's quiet footsteps behind him, and he saw nothing that explained the shadow. Dismissing it as a trick of his imagination, he turned to Kate and took her other hand.

The two of them sat facing one another on the couch, gently touching each other's face in the low light as they gazed deeply into the eyes of the one they loved. Looking down at her lips, Clay brought up his other hand to brace her face. Taking her cue from Clay, Kate leaned closer and kissed him. They kissed gently and simply at first, but their kisses started deepening and building as the moments passed. Kate slowly ran the tip of her tongue over his lips, teasing him. Immediately he responded, parting his lips for her and pulling her closer to himself. The kiss deepened further still as their passion for each other grew.

It wasn't right away, but gradually Clay realized that their position had changed from the way it started out - Kate was lying down on the couch and he was partly on top of her. Oh no... what have I done? Quickly he broke the kiss to look into her suddenly confused eyes. "Kate honey... I'm sorry," he panted, caressing her cheek in his concern. "Are you all right? Did I frighten you or hurt you in any way?" Clay waited nervously for her reply, looking into her eyes for a clue to how she was feeling. Within seconds he got his answer... but not the one he expected. Reaching up to imbed her fingers in his hair, Kate pulled him back down and captured his mouth with hers. Content to go on exactly where they left off, Clay continued to give Kate deep, passionate kisses there in the dark.

Much, much later - before either of them had their fill of each other - Clay and Kate took a break in order to catch their breath. Gently resting his cheek on hers, Clay closed his eyes to keep his head from spinning. Her kisses tonight were seriously messing with his mind. "I should probably let you get to bed," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear, "before Sarah wonders what's happened to you."

Kate moaned and held him tight. "You can stay here with me," she suggested.

Clay blinked with surprise. "I had better not," he answered quickly. "I still want to show you the honor and respect you deserve. You're worth the wait."

"It's not like we're going to do anything," Kate protested. When Clay raised an eyebrow at her, she winced. "Okay, so we already were doing something... but nothing compromising, just... nothing I want my niece or nephew seeing yet."

"We're at your family's place," he told her. "I don't want to give them a reason not to trust me."

Reluctantly Kate nodded. "I appreciate that..." Clay helped her up, and walked her up the stairs to the room that she and Sarah were sharing for the week. At the door the couple shared one last kiss and one last embrace before saying their I-love-you's and wishing each other goodnight.

Kate crept silently into the room, but she quickly discovered that she wouldn't have needed to. "So what have you been doing all this time?" Sarah asked in a hushed voice.

"Um..." Kate mumbled as she walked over to her suitcase to fish out her sleepwear. "Clay and I have been spending a little alone time together."

"Say no more." Sarah turned on the light beside her to study her best friend closely. "You've been making out with him, haven't you?" Kate opened her mouth to protest but stopped when she realized that's exactly what they were doing. Sarah giggled quietly. "I thought so - it's written all over your face. Does this mean I should check you for more love bruises?"

Kate's eyes widened. "Sarah!! I'm sorry, but you are NOT the hickey patrol!"

"Aw..." Sarah raised her eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me about it?"

"Certainly not," Kate answered firmly.

"That good, hm?"

Kate glared at Sarah. "Why do I tell you anything?"

"Because you love me," Sarah grinned, "and would trust me with your life."

With a sigh Kate nodded. "Yeah." Changed into her sleepwear, Kate shuffled over to the bed. "Well, goodnight, Sarah." She climbed in, pulling the covers up close around her. "Oh, and by the way, I finally came up with a nickname for you."

Sarah paused. "What?"

"Princess," Kate teased. "After all, that's what Sarah means in Hebrew."

"Don't even think of it," Sarah growled.

"Would you rather I called you Beatrice? I could call you Bea for short." In the form of an answer, Kate received a pillow to the head. She snickered. "I'll let you get the light."

Over in his own room, Clay flopped down on top of his bed with a contented sigh. The sound of hushed giggles reached his ears, and he recognized Andrew and Holly as they snuck into their own room. It's a good thing we quit when we did, Clay thought as he touched his kiss-swollen lips. I can only imagine the teasing we would have gotten from those two. Rabbits, hunh? Clay chuckled silently at the thought. After a moment he reached for his backpack and pulled the hinged velvet jeweler's box out of the side pouch. Opening it, Clay considered the contents in the lamplight. I wonder if Kate really would have married me tomorrow, if I had been able to convince her pastor to do it. Clay bit his lip. I guess I'll never know the answer to that question. He gently touched the contents of the box with the tip of his finger - there were still many questions to be asked, but he thought he could probably guess the answers to a few of them. Heaving another sigh, Clay returned the velvet box to its place in his backpack and prepared himself for a good night's sleep.

Go to the next day, Day 2 (December 24)

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