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Day One - Friday, June 16

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Kate squeezed Clay's hand as he held onto her hair with the other. No pun intended, but I'm getting sick of this. At least I have my appointment with Doctor Kelley this morning, she moaned as she closed the lid to the commode.

Sarah knocked on the doorframe to the bathroom. "Katydid, are you sick?"

"Yeah," Kate groaned from where the two of them had knelt on the floor. "Great timing, isn't it?"

"Right before the Haiti trip," Sarah nodded.

"I'm going, and that's final." Kate glanced up at her roommate. "Unless Doctor Kelley determines that I have some contagious life-threatening illness, I'm still going to Haiti."

"You're crazy."

"So what else is new." Kate snorted.

"Something you ate?" Sarah asked with concern.

Kate and Clay exchanged a sheepish glance. "I don't think so. This has been going on for most of the week. For a while I thought I might have some sort of bug, but I don't think that's the case."

"Katydid, you need to take care of yourself..."

"I'm trying..."

Sarah winked at her. "Has Clay been looking after you like a good husband?" she teased.

Clay made a face. "And you expect her to give you an honest answer with me in the room?"

Blushing lightly at the innuendo, Kate smirked at him. "That's not what she meant, hon."

"Oh." This time it was Clay's turn to blush.

Kate chose to give Sarah the obvious answer rather than the one she wanted. "When his people haven't been running us ragged, we haven't done too bad looking after each other. Sleep is fleeting, meals are so-so at best... but we don't skimp on doing our twice a day prayers. All other things can slide just a little, but not that."

Sarah smiled. "Your mother would be proud."

"Nothing to be proud of," Kate mumbled. "It's a necessity."

"You still need to take care of yourself."

Kate snorted. "Yes, Mom..."

"What has the doctor had to say about this?"

"Dunno. My doctor's appointment is today."

"Today???" Sarah spat. "Are you out of your mind??? You haven't seen a doctor before today? Kate - you could have West Nile or something really serious."

"Hold it down, so you don't wake the others," Kate begged. "If it's what we suspect it is, it's not contagious at all."

Sarah raised her eyebrow. "What, are you pregnant?" When the newlyweds exchanged another embarrassed look, Sarah clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. "Oh, Katydid... And here I thought you've been using birth control."
"We have..." Clay began, moving over as Sarah entered the room. "We didn't want to get pregnant before we left for Haiti."

"With our... 'tour game' we had going on," Kate explained, "both of us were carrying at least a few at any given time."

"Tour game?" Sarah asked. "I thought those tour updates to your kids seemed rather stale. Do tell."

Kate shrugged as Clay shook his head with a patient sigh. "We knew that with the unique logistical headaches of touring, finding time for intimacy was going to be a challenge. So Clay suggested making a game out of it. Every city we gave a performance, we needed to find a time and location to... you know. And the bus didn't count."

By now Sarah had both hands over her mouth, and tears were running down her cheeks as she quaked with laughter. It took several minutes before she had regained enough control to speak again. "Did you?"

"We hit every stop on our tour," Kate verified, "and then some. I can't help but wonder if anyone has... um, indulged... in half the unique places or at the odd times that we did."

"What, you didn't just wait until the motel?" Sarah giggled.

"Sometimes," Clay admitted. "But with sound checks that run anywhere from three to five hours, a concert that lasts three to four, and a meet-and-greet that runs a couple more... there isn't that much time or opportunity, unless you make it. We've had to get really creative."

Kate grinned wickedly. "Fortunately a few of the other marrieds on that tour were willing to give the newlyweds plenty of ideas..."

Again Sarah muffled her giggles with her hands. "I warned you that if you didn't try to tone it down a bit you were risking getting pregnant. And did you listen? No..."

"Hey," Clay snapped defensively, "we put a lot of work into being prepared for the opportunity whenever it arose on tour. We did not want to have Kate get pregnant before Haiti if we could avoid it."

"So if while you were on tour you always went prepared," she asked at last, "then what happened that you think you might be pregnant?"

"Um..." Kate began as Clay bit his lip. "You remember that park we got rained on our first week together out in L.A.? Well, we went on another hike and another picnic... and the mood just hit us, BIG time. Don't laugh, Sarah, but some days it's near impossible to keep our hands off of each other."

Sarah's eyes twinkled. "After seeing your dance together in Omaha, I believe that."

Kate blinked with surprise at her words - maybe their sultry stage dance had been more convincing after all. Then again, maybe Sarah just knew the two of them too well... "Um, yeah... and the dance we did at that concert was the toned-down version, just for my parents."

Ignoring Sarah's renewed snickers, Clay continued the explanation. "And of course since we had gone with a just hike and a picnic in mind, neither one of us had a single one on us..."

"Let me guess - you did it anyway," Sarah teased.

"Yep," Kate acknowledged, "we did. So if I am pregnant, it's our own fault. We knew full well that we weren't protected... and did it anyway."

Unable to hold it in any longer, Sarah burst into delighted laughter. "Which means that we could be seeing a baby Aiken in the near future."

Kate's smile grew larger at the idea. "Very possible."

"Was it worth it?" Sarah purred.

Impishly Kate waggled her eyebrows, making Sarah giggle again as Clay flushed bright red. "Even though we weren't planning on starting our family right away, neither one of us will regret it in the slightest if God decides to bless us already with a child."

Clay smiled warmly at Kate. "Not for one moment."

Sarah nodded, pleased at their acceptance of the facts. "Forgive me for saying so, Katydid, but I prefer that to you having West Nile or bird flu or something like that."

"So do I," Kate quipped, "even though if that's the case I'll never be rid of the cause."

"Nope," Sarah retorted. "Just the symptoms will change."

Clay snorted. "Along with the diapers..."

"Do you really think that's what it is?"

"I took a home test yesterday morning..." Kate began.

"The pee-on-a-stick kind?" Sarah snorted.

"Interesting choice of terms," Kate drawled as Clay made a face, "but yes. Unfortunately since the results were negative, I made the appointment with Doctor Kelley."

"Negative, meaning, not pregnant?"

Kate sighed. "That's what the test said, but I could have just as easily screwed it up somehow." She held up a finger. "I've got one more that I'll take this morning before I go in. I want to assure Doctor Kelley that I've been as scientific as I can about this."

Sarah nodded as Kate finally mustered the strength to stand back upright with Clay's help. "You always have been thorough."

"Mm," Kate mumbled as she pulled the remaining test out of her cosmetic bag. "I just hope to get the results of my tests before we go to Haiti."

Sarah rolled her eyes as she headed towards the door, Clay close behind her. "We'll let you get to it then. Just try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Of course," Kate mumbled.

After a few minutes, Kate let Clay back into the bathroom. As they waited for the results of the test, the couple quietly held each other in a warm embrace. "Kate..." Clay whispered, "whatever the answer is... I love you."

"I love you, Clay." Slowly Kate picked up the second home test to read the results.

Clay leaned his cheek on her temple as they looked at the test together. "Well, honey, are we pregnant?" he asked hopefully.

"Last I knew," Kate teased, "men couldn't get pregnant."

"Arnold Schwarzenegger did."

Kate nudged Clay in the ribs. "That was a movie, ya goofball."

Not letting go even after her poke, Clay giggled gently. "So is it a yes, or a no?"

Sighing deeply, Kate tossed the test in the nearby trashcan. "According to this, no."

"I still say you need to go to the doctor."

"You won't get any argument from me," Kate answered. "Even if I'm not pregnant, the symptoms remain. We need an answer for whatever it is that ails me."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Kate smiled gently at his concerned eyes. "Clay... it will be all right. In sickness and in health, remember? Whatever it is, we'll get through it together."

"We will." Heaving a wistful sigh, he gave her a squeeze and a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Too bad," Clay whispered, "that your parents and the others are in this house. If it weren't for that, well..."

Catching the twinkle in Clay's eye that told her he was in the mood, Kate smirked. "There's always the barn. At least by waiting until June to sneak out there, we wouldn't have to worry about getting cold."

"Get your shoes."

When the couple returned to their bedroom over an hour later, they stared in confusion at a small object that had been placed upon their bed. Upon further inspection, they discovered a Beanie Baby rabbit whose paws had been sewn together. The rabbit had been placed lying on its back in the middle of the bed, a small bouquet of flowers clutched within its tiny paws. Kate knew that the stuffed rabbit, laying "rest in peace" style, referred to decades ago when real rabbits were used to confirm pregnancies. The newlyweds exchanged a knowing glance. "Sarah..." Depositing the gift upon the nightstand, the couple crawled back into the bed. With twin sighs of contentment, they pulled each other into a warm embrace and slowly drifted back off to sleep.

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"Hello, Kate!" Doctor Kelley greeted Kate cordially, shaking her hand warmly. "Originally when your mother scheduled an appointment several months ago, I thought that I would be seeing her. Then yesterday she calls over and says that you are going to be taking her place."

Oh really?? Kate thought but said nothing. She was going to have to ask her mother whether she had truly scheduled the appointment for herself or whether she had scheduled it on instinct alone.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I'll be honest with you, Doc," Kate told him sheepishly. "I think I might be pregnant." Quickly Kate told Doctor Kelley the details behind the circumstances, including both date of possible conception and choice and methods of her home testing. Doctor Kelley nodded throughout Kate's tale, listening without interruptions except to ask a few questions to clarify key points.

"Well, to be truthful, Kate, it sounds very much to me like you did get yourself pregnant. Since you took a home test this morning, I won't waste our time on another one here in the office." Making a note on his chart, he continued. "We'll go the more sure route and draw blood to send to the lab."

"Let me call for one of the nurses, and we'll get a blood sample from you."

A high-pitched yelp and several minutes later, Kate sat brooding over her sore arm. Why am I such a weenie when it comes to needles? she pouted. I've had far worse injuries than that and it never... argh.

Doctor Kelley returned as the nurse took the labeled sample to get the lab work done. "There we go, Kate. Typically we get the results back in twenty-four to forty-eight hours, but with the weekend it's very likely that you won't hear back from us until Monday."

"Monday?" Kate groaned. She had really hoped to receive news before they had left, but it looked like she didn't have a choice in the matter. "Doc, my husband and I are going to be traveling Monday. We're going on a mission trip."

"Really." Doctor Kelley leveled a serious gaze at her. "Will there be a number that I can reach you at? A cell phone, perhaps?"

Kate chewed her lip thoughtfully. Clay and Kate had decided to leave their cell phones at her parents' house while they were in Haiti as a precaution. "Why don't you give my parents a call? They have the number of the place where we can be reached starting Tuesday. You can tell them and they'll pass the news on to the two of us."

An amused expression lit Doctor Kelley's eyes. "You're all right with your parents knowing if you're pregnant before you do?"

"Doc," Kate drawled in reply, "we're pretty sure that I am. This appointment is for positive proof one way or the other."

Doctor Kelley nodded, the amusement remaining. "Monday, then."

Why do I have the feeling, Kate sighed under her breath, that I'm going to regret that one...

"I am going to give you a few instructions," Doctor Kelley informed her, "just in case you are pregnant. No alcohol, and no smoking."

Kate snorted. "Doc, this is me you're talking to."

"I have to tell everyone, Kate. You know the rules." When Kate rolled her eyes, he continued. "No heavy lifting or other strenuous activity. You are to take it easy on your mission trip, understood?"

"Am I allowed to have fun on this trip?" Kate gave him an exaggerated grin, but her eyes told him that she was about half-serious.

"Stick to teaching kids, Kate. That way you can still have fun, but you won't do any activities that would possibly jeopardize the life or health of your child."

Kate made a face. Party pooper.

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"I still say you could have stayed at my place."

Kate hugged her cousin Sally warmly. "You don't have that many spare beds," she told her.

"Trust me, Sal," Sarah said simply, "you don't want to sleep under the same roof yet with these newlyweds." Clay and Kate gave Sarah a minor scowl, but Sarah's eyes shone with mischief.

"I was at Omaha," Sally reminded her, "but I've also seen the St. Louis video. Don't tell me you didn't see the St. Louis video."

Sarah blushed and fanned herself. "Oh yeah..."

Sally smirked knowingly. "They may be into each other, but they are able to put a lid on it." When Sarah burst into helpless giggles, Sally gave her a sideways glance. "I don't see what's so funny about that," she muttered.

"Give it time," Sarah gasped, "and you will."

Kate scowled as a blush started coloring Clay's ears. "I knew we shouldn't have told you."

Sally took in Sarah's unbridled amusement and the couple's embarrassed expressions. "Oh... my... heck. Are you guys serious?"

"We'll know by Monday or Tuesday," Clay confessed weakly.

"But we'll be arriving in Haiti on Monday morning," Sally recalled, " and traveling the roads to Jérémie that afternoon."

Kate nodded. "Mom knows where we can be reached when. She'll pass on the news when she receives the call."

Sally pursed her lips and blew a deep breath through them. "Oh my heck. That was fast. Well guys, look at it this way - Aunt Trish is as tight-lipped as it gets." Smiling warmly at the idea, she continued. "The only other people who will know for the entire week we're in Haiti will be Mom and Dad Kirche, Mom Parker, and anyone on the team you choose to tell."

Clay's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Oh, we've thought of that... and believe me, it's a welcome change of pace from what we usually have to deal with."

"Living life under a microscope," Sarah sighed with sympathy.

Clay heaved an offhanded shrug. "The price of being a celebrity, I guess."

A smile slowly spread across Sally's face as she watched Kate reach up and gently give Clay's cheek a reassuring touch. My cousin's good for him, all right, she mused as they touched their foreheads together lovingly. If anyone can give him a taste of what it's like to live a normal life as a regular, ordinary guy, it would be my cousin. "Josh should be home soon, and then we can go out to eat. Let's think about what sounds good for dinner."

"I'm thinking," Sarah murmured, "that if we are going to be having a full week of spicy Haitian food (which Kate will probably turn her nose up at now that she might be pregnant) this would be the weekend to enjoy a few last meals of real American for a while."

"Hey," Kate protested. "Just because I have a touchy stomach..."

"You had a touchy stomach before, dearie." Sarah raised an impish eyebrow. "I'm thinking fish, hamburgers, pizza, chicken... something that definitely says 'American' food.

"I like the sound of that," Jerome agreed.

"I know just the place - a little grill and old-fashioned soda fountain called The Ville Grille up in the University Place neighborhood." Sally's eyes twinkled. "It's a bit out of the way, but they have really good food for the price, and they don't skimp on portions either."

"Shouldn't have mentioned ice cream," Kate moaned, "because now that sounds really good."

"Congratulations, Clay," Will guffawed. "Your wife's first food craving."

"Funny man," Clay grumbled.

Shortly Josh arrived home from work. Sally greeted him with a warm hug and kiss before stepping aside to give him the opportunity to say hello to the Aikens. After a few minutes they loaded the vehicles and drove north to the restaurant. Sally had called ahead to arrange for a group of seven, and by the time they arrived the tables were prepared. The staff seated them immediately and gave them menus to peruse.

"What are you having, honey?" Clay asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know," Kate confessed. "Cous', you've obviously eaten here before. If I want to have one of their shakes from the soda fountain, which is smaller - the BLT wrap or the cheeseburger?"

"Wrap," Sally answered without hesitation. "Their burgers are huge."

"Don't let size stop you, Kate," Jerome told her, "if you're eatin' for two."

Kate raised an amused eyebrow at the bodyguard. "I just might be eating for two, but that doesn't change the truth in a saying of my dad's: There's only so much you can put into a container."

Slowly Jerome nodded. "And you have a tiny container."

"My petite little wife," Clay drawled as he kissed Kate on the cheek.

"Aiken, your wife isn't petite, she's just plain skinny," Will insisted. Indicating Sarah, he grinned. "My girl's the petite one."

"Thanks, Will," Sarah told him, leaning closer to kiss him. "I really do prefer 'petite' to 'tiny'."

Will grinned as she kissed him right next to his lips. Suddenly he blinked with surprise as she subtly pressed something about the size and texture of a credit card into his hand. As she pulled back, Will couldn't help but notice the light blush that colored her features... and the slightly uncertain shyness in her eyes. He glanced down at what she had placed in his hand - and instantly recognized a spare key card for the motel all of them were staying in until Sunday. Quickly he slipped it into a pocket, hoping nobody at the table noticed. The last thing he wanted was for the others to find out.

Dinner couldn't go fast enough as far as Will was concerned - all he could think about was the rest of his evening with Sarah. Jerome had just rolled his eyes when Will had told him that he was going out for the rest of the night, but at least Will knew that he could trust Jerome to keep silent. Hoping that he wouldn't be seen by the newlyweds, Will walked quietly down the hall to Sarah's single hotel room and keyed in. He had looked forward to this day for a very long time.

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Clay studied his wife, who had been quiet ever since they left the restaurant. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Kate asked him.

"You haven't said more than two words since we finished dinner," Clay explained. "That doesn't always mean anything, but there's something in your eyes that says... I don't know, that something's on your mind, or wrong, or..."

"Guilty." Kate heaved a deep sigh, giving the matter another moment's thought before she told her husband what she was thinking. "I was thinking about what the boys said tonight about my size. Clay... if I'm pregnant, I'm not going to stay nice and trim. I'm going to... blow up like a balloon."

Clay raised an eyebrow at her. "Hon, pregnant women do get larger to accommodate the new life growing inside of them." Sensing that she really was concerned about this issue of vanity, Clay embraced her. "I bet you'll be the most beautiful pregnant woman there is."

"What if I don't lose all the weight once I've had the baby?" Kate asked. "What if I don't return to the size I am now... trim and slender?"

Reaching up to stroke her cheek, Clay lifted her face so that she had to look him in the eye. "I won't love you any less or any differently, if that's what you're worried about. Our love will grow and change over time... and our looks will change over time." He studied her eyes for a minute. "Will you still love me when I'm old, bald, gray, and pot-bellied?"

Kate giggled as she tried to picture Clay looking like that and failed miserably. "Clay, of course I will. You'll still be who you are inside, which is the man I fell in love with. I didn't fall in love with you because your hair changes colors with the seasons or because you're tall and trim, or because of your freckles or green eyes or anything on the outside. I fell for you because you're a beautiful person inside."

Clay blushed lightly as she gazed lovingly at him. "Thank you, hon. It means a lot to me to hear you say that... especially since you've just made my point." Taking her face in both hands, Clay kissed Kate on the nose. "I fell in love with you because you're a faith-filled, loving person who sees me for who I am, loves me anyway, and because we get along so very well." He smiled gently. "I don't see anything changing that."

At last Kate smiled. She hugged him tightly. "I don't either."

"However," he warned, "I'm not going to let you forget that snarky remark about my hair changing color with the seasons, Miss Smarty."

"That's Mrs. Smarty," Kate retorted. "I'm your wife, remember?"

"You are?" Clay asked innocently. "I always thought you were my love slave."

Kate blushed furiously at the reference to a prank that had been pulled on her at the occasion of their wedding. Instantly she remembered the morning after their wedding when they found the dark black writing that Sarah had left on her back as she slept Friday night. It had taken them fully five minutes of vigorous scrubbing to get the marker off. Kate was already plotting what she could do to get Sarah back for that one... "Now who's being a smarty?" she growled, tickling him in his side.

"Hey, now," Clay protested, squirming in her grasp. She kept tickling, and he scowled gently at her. "Stop that." When Kate didn't listen, Clay unleashed a mild threat. "Don't get me in a tickle fight with you... because I know what happens when I tickle you."

"I went to the bathroom at the restaurant," Kate answered as she continued tickling him.

That sounds like an invitation to me. Ignoring her own wiggling fingers, Clay placed his own long, slender fingers on her side and declared the beginning of the tickle war. Within moments the war had escalated into a full-fledged wrestling match punctuated by the occasional giggle from one of the friendly antagonists. Clay grinned at her smugly as she tried to maneuver him into a losing position, knowing that she hadn't won a wrestling match with him yet. Then again, most of their wrestling matches never had a clear winner - they had usually turned into something else entirely. Somehow Clay doubted that this would be one of the exceptions.

He was soon proved right.

Go to the next day, Day 2 (June 17)

Go to yesterday, Day 0 (June 15)

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