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Day Ten - Sunday, June 25

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Early that morning

Clay and Kate jerked awake to a loud rapping at their hotel door. Clay glanced over at the alarm clock and groaned - 5:15. This scene is familiar... He exchanged a serious pout with Kate before getting up to answer the door. "Who's there?" he asked cautiously.

"Some rabid Claymate," Sally retorted through the closed door.

With a laugh that broke through his tension like the morning sun, Clay opened the door for Kate's cousin. "Good morning, Sally. Please tell me that this early morning wakeup call has better news than the last one."

Sally nodded, a slight smile on her face. "Haiti's still a mess, but the good news is that Pastor was able to bump our flight home up a day and arrange for transportation from Omaha to Lincoln once we get back. You have 45 minutes to pack and report downstairs for breakfast. Wear your team shirts, but put something else over the top of it until we get to the airport."

"That'll be hot," Clay answered.

"Yeah, but it's for security's sake. You understand."

Fortunately they did, and as soon as Sally left the couple started getting ready for the trip home. After a quick shower they dressed as Sally had recommended, with their mission team T-shirts worn underneath a different shirt. The couple packed in short order, and after their morning devotion and prayer time headed downstairs with five minutes to spare. Kate glanced around as the other bleary-eyed team members gathered their breakfast and sat at the group table. She didn't see Will and Sarah. Knowing that Sally had gone around to give everyone their warnings, Kate approached her. "Where are Will and Sarah?"

An odd expression crossed Sally's face and vanished in a moment. "They're coming. I learned the hard way that Will's not a morning person. And I remembered that disturbing newlyweds during their first week of married life was a bad idea..."

Kate blushed, and exchanged a grimace with Clay. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to ask. "Wh-What happened?"

"You know Sarah - the girl has absolutely no problems speaking her mind with someone she's comfortable with." As the Aikens each winced, Sally continued. "She told me in ways that left little to the imagination how she was planning to get him bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, even at this hour."

"Permission to engage the enemy, hunh?" Kate drawled with amusement, remembering her best friend's love of Star Trek.

"Well put, sweetie," Sally agreed as Clay started laughing at the reference. "Unless they're already packed and ready to go, I don't expect them down for..." she glanced at her watch, "... at least another fifteen or thirty minutes. She was planning on the two of them going at it pretty hot and heavy."

"Erm," Kate mumbled, putting an embarrassed hand over her mouth. "That's more than I ever wanted to know about Sarah's love life..."

Sally raised her eyebrow and skewered her with an amused smile. "Funny - that's exactly what I said to her Thursday night about the two of you."

Kate flushed a brilliant shade of red and shared a guilty look with Clay, who was equally as crimson as she was. What does a person say to that?

She was saved from having to respond by the arrival of Sarah and Will... who did indeed look surprisingly awake for six in the morning. "Hey, Katydid. Hey, Clay," Sarah greeted.

"Hey, Sarah," Kate squeaked, her voice crackling from her earlier embarrassment.

Sarah blinked and studied her for a minute before responding. "The answer to your question is yes, it was very good."

Kate buried her face into Clay's shoulder with a groan. "Too much information..."

"That's what we get for having blunt friends," Clay agreed.

The team ate breakfast in haste, wanting to depart for the airport at the first opportunity. Shortly after the last few people had finished their meal, Pastor Macy announced the arrival of John and the hired tap-taps. "They're here."

Sally glanced over at Pastor Macy. "So is John coming with us," she asked hopefully, "or is he taking a later flight out?"

"John," Pastor Macy began, "is going to be taking a later flight. There are some things he wants to handle here first before he leaves."

Frank shook his head. "Hope he's able to get out."

"We'll have to keep him in our prayers," Pastor Macy agreed.

The team walked out to the waiting tap-taps, one open-air truck and one enclosed van. "The six ladies," Pastor Macy informed them, "need to ride in the van. We'll fit as many of the guys in with them as we can, but some of us are going to have to ride in back of the other tap-tap."

"Oo, that sounds like fun!" Clay exclaimed. "Hon, let me get you comfortable in the van. I want to ride in the tap-tap."

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but her plea died in her mouth at seeing the excitement in his eyes. Since there was no hunch attached, Kate knew that it was just her very human wish to stay close to Clay. Let him have his adventure, she thought to herself. "All right."

"Nothing doing, Aiken," Jerome grumbled. "You're going in the van where it's safer."

Clay snorted. "If I haven't gotten mobbed before now, I won't on the drive to the airport. Come on, Jerome. One more little adventure isn't going to hurt. You can even ride with me." He waved his hand lackadaisically. "I already had the adventure that should have killed me."

Jerome glanced at Kate. "Go on, guys," she told them. "Have fun." Jerome rolled his eyes at receiving Kate's blessing as Clay went to assist her into the van. Before climbing the rest of the way in, Kate planted a kiss on his lips. "Have fun and stay safe, honey. I've sealed you with love - you're mine."

Grinning warmly, Clay stole one more kiss, slightly longer than the first. "Same to you." With that he bounced back to the waiting tap-tap. With a hand up, Clay scrambled into the back of the truck with the others. Sitting on one of the benches with Wayne and Frank, Clay watched Port au Prince flash by them on the way to the airport. At the pace they were going, his hair was going to be a complete mess by the time they got there. At the best no one would notice, but at the worst it would give his wife the giggles and she would run her fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it. Either way he would win.

Driving through the city, Clay studied the people and the conditions one more time. He still wished there was more that could be done. But what they were doing here this week helped - sharing the gospel, helping build relationships and structures, praying, and ultimately spreading the word about what still needed to be done in Haiti. Glancing up sadly at the immaculate and grand presidential palace, Clay sighed. The Haitian political situation wasn't going to be stable for some time.

Finally the team arrived at the airport, and the men from the back of the tap-tap quickly gathered around the van to assist the rest of their teammates. "I will say one thing about this trip," Sally said thoughtfully to Pastor Macy as she took Chris's hand to climb out of the van. "The bond of 'team' is the strongest of any year I've gone."

Pastor Macy agreed with a nod of his head. "A unified purpose, a willingness to serve, and love for each other. Those have made this year's team tightly knit."

"If I might say so, a little reminder of Who's in charge didn't hurt any of us either." Sally smiled wryly. "I know I had my faith tested this time."

"Didn't we all."

John walked the team into the airport to the security gate where everyone wished him farewell for now. He saved his good-byes to the Aikens for last. "You guys take care. Anyone who has gone through what the two of you have will have many opportunities to do great things for God."

Kate hugged John warmly. "Pray for us, cousin, that we'll always be ready for His challenges."

"Count on it."

Clay also hugged John. "We'll be praying for you too."

John grinned. "Thank you. I'll need it."

Wayne once more produced his medical card to alert the security attendants to his "bionic man status" as Sally jokingly called it. The attendants scanned the card visually before subjecting him to the wand that beeped at his knee. With satisfaction that all was as it should be, they ushered him through.

Finally at a waiting room with plenty of time to spare, the team put down their bags and relaxed in the chairs. The only exception was Kate, who laid her backpack beside Clay's and quickly left the room.

Clay watched her hasten down the hall. "Sarah... I didn't get to see her face. Was she...?"

"About to get physically sick?" Sarah nodded and stood. "I should probably go make sure she's going to be all right."

He continued to stare as Sarah hurried after Kate. Could it be that's she's still carrying our child? That we're still going to be parents? He heaved a hopeful sigh, quickly praying that if Kate was still pregnant that both she and little one would be well.

"Those VBS songs are going to be stuck in my head for weeks to come," Lisa told the others, with a smile that suggested it was not so much of a complaint as one might think.

"So which one," Tracy asked, "is the big earworm?"

"I Have a Friend," Lisa replied, giving them the English title for the song.

Clay joined the others in nodding vigorously. That was going to be the song bouncing around his brain when he wasn't going to be rehearsing and preparing for other things.

"Sing one of his songs," Sally suggested, pointing to Clay. "That'll get it out."

Shooting Sally an oh really? look, Clay frowned as Tracy laughed warmly. "I don't think that will help much," he told her.

"You'd be surprised." Sally smiled knowingly. "Let's take a poll. Ladies, which ones of his songs are the ones that get stuck in your head and won't go away? Not saying that's a bad thing..."

"Oh, thanks..."

Tracy quickly shared the song she couldn't quit listening to. "I know it's an oldie, but Invisible is the one that I listen to all the time."

"Fantasy," Sally admitted. "I can't explain why, but that thing is too catchy for its own good."

I can't believe this discussion, Clay thought to himself, suddenly wishing that he really were invisible. Then again, visibility wouldn't change his discomfort with the conversation - he'd still be able to hear it.

Sheila smiled as Kate and Sarah returned quietly. "Although the whole Measure of a Man album is good, I'm partial to the newer album. I like You Are Always There best off that. My favorite off Measure of a Man is the title track."

Watching Kate sit gingerly beside him, Clay pulled her into his arms. "Are you all right?"

"Mm-hm," Kate moaned. "Just morning sickness, Love."

Morning sickness - she really is still pregnant. Clay took her hand. "Is there anything I can do for you to help you feel better?"

"You can hold me." Sighing with contentment as Clay happily pulled her close in his embrace, she posed her curiosity question. "I heard everyone talking about music - yours, if I heard right. Is that the topic of the day?"

"Earworms," Sally informed her before Clay could deny it. "Clay earworms. What's yours?"

"I always liked his version of Bridge Over Troubled Water the best," Sarah told the group. "Either that or Solitaire."

Kate gave him Clay a half-hearted wicked grin. "Friday in the jungle I couldn't help but think of I Will Carry You," she teased.

I should have seen it coming. Clay rolled his eyes as the ladies giggled. "Thanks, hon."

"You're welcome. Measure of a Man was a favorite because it really was about the character of men and women... how people should see each other for who they really are, not all the externals." Winking gently at his smile, Kate continued. "But the one I probably love most of all simply because I'm a big mush is The Way. Mom always called it our theme song. Goofy Mom."

"It is a love song," Clay offered.

Sally nodded. "That song is definitely an earworm for the sentimental."

"Face it, sweetheart," Kate told him. "You are an earworm."

Ignoring the women as they laughed harder, Clay made a playfully annoyed face. "You calling me a worm?"

"No no. Not a worm, as in a squiggly little earthworm or something like that," Kate told him, frowning as Clay's annoyed face deepened. "An earworm."

"You called me a worm." Clay shook his head.

"Earworm. It's not the same, hon." Kate poked him in the side.

Clay grabbed her hand and held onto it. "Watch those flying fingers of yours, darlin'. I'd tickle you back, but after you just got sick I know that's a bad idea."

"Smart man," Sally told him.

"Your hair's sticking up," Kate told him, lightly playing with a few of the out-of-place ends. "Here, let me help..." She stuck out her tongue, pretending that she was going to lick her hand and give him an old-fashioned spit bath.

"Don't even think of it," he said in warning.

"I wasn't going to," Kate teased. "Not after icking like that." She continued to play with the flyaway ends, attempting to smooth them into place and smiling wryly when they wouldn't cooperate.

Clay smirked at her. "You're having way too much fun doing that."

"And you're enjoying it," Sarah told him with a raised eyebrow.

Uh-oh. Caught. Clay grimaced. "She's my wife. I like it when she plays with my hair."

"Better playing with your hair than playing with your mind, I suppose." Sarah glanced over at Kate and snickered. "And by the look on your face, Kathryn Aiken, I know exactly where your mind is."

Clay also glanced at his wife, and upon seeing her guilty blush he knew her mind was in the gutter. He thought he knew where it had gone with that, but he was going to have to ask her later for sure. But later - not in front of the others.

"Sally, I got a question I been meaning to ask you." Taking a deep breath as she turned her full attention to him, Will launched into his question. "You said you've been pregnant four times but you have only two kids. If it's not personal or nothing..."

Sally smiled lightly, seeing that she had Clay's attention as well. "Between Martha and Joe I had a stillborn, and after Joe I had a miscarriage. There were a lot of complications with the miscarriage, and to make a long story short I have very little of my original plumbing left."

Clay winced at the story. "I'm sorry to hear that, Sally."

"Thanks, Clay. I appreciate the sentiment."

"Were you and Josh wanting more children?" Clay asked gingerly.

Sally shrugged lightly. "As a former Catholic, I really didn't want to take birth control, and Josh loved children so much that he was willing to step back and see what God had in store. We learned that two was all He had in mind for us."

"Did the two of you come from large families or small ones?" Will asked, hoping to get an idea of whether that size was similar to their own origins or not.

"Josh," Sally answered, "came from a semi-typical Nebraska German-Lutheran family of three kids. I came from a semi-typical Brooklyn Italian-Catholic family... of seven kids."

Will whistled. "Big family..."

"Yeah. Just like Aunt Trish, I was second youngest." A slight smile crossed Sally's face. "But that was pretty much where the similarities ended. While Aunt Trish grew up in a typical loving, rural Nebraska family, I grew up in an almost very typical dysfunctional family. My father never beat us, but abuse comes in more forms than just the physical."

Immediately Clay understood, as his mouth became a thin, solemn line. "Verbal?" he asked quietly.

Sally nodded. "Verbal. My father was forever telling mom or any of us kids that God was using us to punish him, that we were worthless, that we were stupid. Luckily or unluckily for us, depending on your point of view he had been having an affair for years... and one day my mother caught them at it."

I don't even want to know how. "What happened next?"

"He left us, and Mom couldn't make ends meet for one adult and seven kids under the age of sixteen. The State intervened, and took the youngest four of us away and placed us into foster homes so that we would be provided for." Sally studied her hands, and one could tell by the expression in her eyes that this was a story she had come to peace with years ago. "Shortly after we were placed, Mom was involved in an accident that left her permanently disabled, and she chose to officially give every one of us up for adoption in order to reassure herself we would have a better life."

Jerome blinked with surprise. "Were you able to keep in contact with her?"

"That was one of the conditions of adoption - that the adoptive family keep the lines of communication open so that we would know it was not because of a lack of love but an abundance of love that she gave us up. She wanted to make sure she knew how we were doing, make sure we knew that in spite of us legally being someone else's kids she would always love us and nothing would ever change that." Sally nodded very slowly. "So when my adoptive family moved to Missouri when I was eleven, I was able to keep in touch." A smile gradually crossed her face. "Of all of us, I probably healed the best from Dad's abuse. My adoptive parents were very careful to show me love and support, and to see that I received counseling. It took a good five or ten years, but I was able to get over the self esteem issues and myths that I had bought into because of my Dad."

"You had a self esteem problem?" Will asked incredulously, remembering the center-stage charm and wit he had seen Sally show since he had known her. If he hadn't heard it come from her own mouth, he would have never believed it. "You're not like that now."

Knowing that she had surprised a lot of people with that admission, Sally clarified. "It doesn't seem that way, does it? I've grown a lot, between the love and support of a wonderful Christian family and the healing provided by a loving, nurturing God."

Kate smiled a reassuring smile at Will. "Will, you of all people know that your past may help guide you to become who you are, but it is not the sum of who you are. It's your thoughts and values and beliefs and heart and the lessons that you've learned and how you apply all those things that makes a person who and what they are. You've tried to rise above your past and make a difference to other people... and that's part of what makes you who you are."

Sally winked at Kate as Clay kissed his wife gently on her forehead. "You may not be the most coherent when you're sick, sweetie, but you still couldn't have said it much better."

"Thanks, cous'," Kate drawled. "Occasionally I do say something profound."

"More than occasionally, hon," Clay insisted.

Kate grinned up at him. "I get it from you."

After placing a second sweet kiss on Kate's forehead, Clay turned back to Sally. "You have a lot of hidden strengths, Sally. I'm glad that I've gotten a chance to get to know you better this week."

A sincere smile warmed Sally's chocolate brown eyes. "Thank you, Clay. Considering I know that you see a person for their heart, I will take that as the best compliment I've received in a long time. I'm glad to have gotten a chance to know you better, too. It's obvious to me how much you and Kate love each other and are the perfect match for each other."

"Perfect?" Clay snorted as Kate grimaced. "Far from perfect. Perfectly right, maybe..."

"That's what I said," Sally agreed with a nod. "Perfect for each other. Only One was perfect, and you aren't Him." She gave him a wicked grin, winking at Jerome. "He wouldn't have fallen for my little attempts to mess with His head like you did."

Clay shot her a wry look. "Yeah, He would have caught on quicker than me."

Kate glared mildly at her cousin. "Sal, you harassing my man?"

"Think Sopranos, hon," Clay told her.

"Sal..." Kate groaned. She looked up at Clay. "Sally and hams have one key thing in common, Love. Plenty of salt."

"Thanks a lot, sweetie," Sally replied.

"One thing she doesn't have in common with a ham," Sarah answered, ready to add to the tease. "Hams can be cured."

"Oh, you're gonna get it for that, Sarah..." Sally pretended to threaten as several of the other team members started laughing.

Clay finally got his laughter under control. "So how did you meet Josh?"

"My adoptive family was a bunch of Lutherans," Sally told him, "and I was gradually eased into the flock. When I wanted to go to school to become a church musician, they introduced me to the college in Seward." Heaving a contented sigh, Sally recalled her days in college. "It was a warm, safe, laid-back experience, and one of the best church music programs around. Or at least that's how I feel about it. They prepare a lot of church workers for service... pastors, teachers, directors of Christian education or DCE's for short... and the like."

Smiling gently, Clay thought he knew where this was leading. "You met him there?"

"Sure did. A lot of people meet their spouses in college, and we were no exception." Sally grinned wickedly, but the twinkle in her eyes told everyone that the memory she was thinking of was a fond one. "I'd like to say that it was love at first sight, but that's not the case. We met at a football game. I had sat in the bleachers where the pep band was because I had a friend there. The two of us could care less about football - and being a football fanatic, Josh got tired of us yaking and stuck his tuba over my head in hopes that it would shut me up."

Immediately Clay began giggling helplessly - the image of Sally with a tuba over her head was too much for him to keep it in. "Did it work?"

"What do you think?"

Clay shook his head. "Of course not."

Finally it was time to board the plane, and the team grabbed their backpacks to head out to the tarmac. Heading up the stairs, they entered the flight that would take them back to Miami - back to the States and comparable safety and normality. It took them very little time to settle in and buckle up, but once they did everyone seemed to quickly get lost either in conversation or their own thoughts.

Sarah nestled close to Will as they waited for takeoff. "Did you enjoy this week after all?" she asked.

"Yeah," Will agreed. "As you suggested, I got a lot more out of it than I had planned. Got a wife, got God..."

"The second being more important, of course."

Will pondered that one for a moment. It hadn't started out that way for him, but it seemed to work for the couples he knew. "I'm working on that one, Princess."

"At least you're honest enough to admit it."

"This is all so new to me," Will confided. "I'm still learning."

Sarah squeezed his hand. "When it comes to matters about God, all of us are still learning. Even the pastors and the priests and the people who study it for a living. It's an ongoing process."

Will blinked at her. "You mean, lifelong?"

"Lifelong," Sarah agreed. "And it only gets better and better the more you learn."

Dang... Will met her eye. "I'm glad I have you by my side as I learn. I don't think anyone else could be as patient or understanding with me as you."

A warm smile lit up Sarah's face. "That's what I'm here for."

Meanwhile the Aikens cuddled in each other's embrace before the first leg of the journey home. Kate gently kissed Clay on the jaw, noting that her affection made him smile but otherwise did not change the faraway look in his eye. "I'd offer a gourde for your thoughts," she told him, naming Haiti's native form of currency, "but somehow I suspect they're worth a lot more than that."

Clay blinked and turned a warm smile to Kate. "Just thinking, honey. Thinking about the work we did this week, and the difference we made." He sighed. "Wishing that I could figure out a way we could still make a difference, because I have a feeling after my manager hears our story, we'll never be allowed to go on a trip like this again."

Kate's eyes twinkled. "Mission bug bites hard, doesn't it?" she asked. Unfortunately she knew exactly what Clay meant when he said they would probably never get to go on another mission trip again, and he was probably right. They didn't have to like it... but that just meant they would have to resort to other ways of affecting the world around them.

"Yeah," Clay chuckled. "I can't help wondering if there's some way we could make this some sort of expansion of BAF."

"Mm," Kate mumbled, pondering that for a few minutes. "Considering BAF's mission is predominantly the assistance of autistic and other uniquely challenged individuals, it would just be a matter of figuring an angle to pull that under BAF's umbrella. We might have to bounce that one off a few other people like Diane or Pastor Macy to give us ideas. I'm sure we can figure something out. If we can't, there's nothing saying we can't take part in mission work in spite of that." Mulling it over for a few more moments, Kate began to smile. "Either way, I'd be willing to head that up. That sounds like just the right challenge to keep me out of trouble."

"You, stay out of trouble?" Clay asked with a snarky grin.

"Hush," she told him, poking his side once to elicit a giggle from him. "You know, keep my mind active and my hands busy... the like. Now I'm going to have to take a business admin course or two, or else get some advisors to help me figure out what the heck I'm doing, but..."

Clay grinned as he watched her eyes sparkle in that way which told him her mind was racing through ideas and possibilities. While business and administration were not her fields of expertise, he had complete confidence that she had enough heart to attack the project with gusto until she figured it out. Maybe he could come up with some ideas of his own to feed her. "I'd offer a gourde for your thoughts," Clay suggested, "but that look in your eye tells me that's not enough."

Kate cast a sheepish gaze up at him. "I'm okay with the idea of you being my 'boss' if we're able to get this to mesh with BAF, but I have to ask... what's my chances of getting a cradle in the office?"

Laughing warmly, Clay hugged her closer for a brief moment. "If you're in charge, honey, you're the boss and if you want a cradle in the office you can have one. Why do you want a cradle in the office?"

"I really want to be a part of this," she admitted, "but I want both of us to have an active, hands-on role in the nurturing of our children. Call me crazy if you want, hon, but I want to at least attempt to balance full-time motherhood with whatever else we come up with to keep me occupied."

"You are crazy, hon," he giggled, "but I love you anyway. Do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"I don't know. Time management has never been my best suit." Kate heaved a thoughtful sigh. "If I have to make a choice between the two jobs, motherhood wins hands-down. That's the way I was brought up, that's the way I am.

Clay gently rubbed his thumb over the surface of her hand as a light smile turned the corner of his mouth. "I'm looking forward to seeing you as a mother."

Kate blushed, glancing down self-consciously. "I'm looking forward to being one, and to you being a father. I'm looking forward to the two of us being parents together." She gently placed her free hand on her abdomen solemnly. "Raising God's children side by side..."

His smile grew as he once more pulled her closer. "Raising God's children to be faith-filled men and women to share His love with the people around them."

Holding his one hand in both of hers, Kate pulled it closer. "How is it that God blessed me so much to be loved by you?"

"Darlin'," Clay whispered, "I wonder the same thing about you, all the time." Her eyes glanced up into his, and breathlessly the two of them leaned forward to meet for a heartfelt kiss.

At last the plane landed in Miami, and Sally fought down the urge to belt out "God Bless America" at the top of her lungs. The team was once more given the opportunity to deplane first, and they quickly went to their private waiting room in the Miami terminal.

"This is going to sound strange," Lisa confessed, "but one of the things I've missed the most is a clean bathroom." Immediately the others laughed warmly, giving Lisa smiles and hugs that told her they not only understood but agreed.

"One thing I've missed is being able to look down at my plate and know what I was eating," Tracy added, making them laugh all over again.

Clay sighed thoughtfully. "One thing I've missed is being able to walk around and interact with people freely, knowing that I didn't have to worry about being recognized or mobbed." He smiled. "And between this team and the Haitians, I got to feel normal again for a week."

For a brief moment things were quiet until Chris spoke up. "Clay, you are normal. You just happen to be known and loved by a lot of people."

"Thank you," Clay said solemnly at seeing all the nods of confirmation. "You guys have meant a lot to me this past week."

After a few more minutes of conversation, Will put his hand on his growling stomach. "Is it lunchtime already?"

"Sure is," Pastor Macy acknowledged with a glance at his watch. "We ought to see what we can do about getting something to eat."

"What kind of fast food is available in the airport?" Adam asked. "We could all take turns grabbing stuff and coming back here."

Clay quickly shook his head. "We shouldn't have to take turns. The only people who can't have free reign of the airport is Kate and me." Fishing in his wallet, Clay pulled out some bills to hand to Jerome. "Everyone - go out and grab some familiar American food, on me."

The members of the mission team quickly voiced their gratitude for his generous offer. "Can we get something for the two of you in return?" Sheila asked.

"Please," Clay replied as his own stomach growled at him. Handing Sheila another bill, he made his request of Sheila. "Kate honey, do you want something?"

Kate patted her stomach thoughtfully and requested one of their smaller entrees without onions. "Thank you, Sheila. I appreciate that."

One by one the team members returned with food in their hands, including for those who had remained behind in the room. Some ate quickly, while others ate slowly in order to appreciate it more. In the end, it all still disappeared, and before long the team was on the move again to catch their next flight. Clay held on to Kate's hand as they boarded the plane from Miami to St. Louis. After this flight, only the leg from St. Louis to Omaha remained - once at the Omaha airport the team would go their separate ways. Once back in Lincoln, their group would spend the night and return to Kearney the next day. Clay reflected that it was a good thing he had requested some extra time off - he had a suspicion that there was going to be a small, private wedding in the very near future... and he and Kate wanted to be there.

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On the tarmac of the Omaha airport

Clay and Kate slowly blinked awake as one of the flight attendants spoke over the loudspeaker, announcing that they had arrived and welcoming them to Omaha. They looked into each other's eyes sleepily, knowing that the last leg of their journey was through. Clay gently leaned down and kissed Kate on the lips. "Ready?"

"Sure," Kate moaned, reluctantly sitting up from his arms. "A nice, warm bed will be much more comfy than these seats."

"Once we get off this plane, we'll meet up with your family..." He gave Jerome an impish glance. "After Jerome gets out of the way."

Jerome gave Clay's shoulder an amused pat. "Sure. Just don't give your bodyguards any respect. Then see what happens."

The team quickly collected their belongings and exited the plane. Clay took Kate's hand and led her down the aisle. "It's going to be strange," he murmured to her, "not to pick up our luggage."

"I know." Kate made a face. "The good news is that we'll be done here that much quicker..."

"True." Once off the plane, Clay waited until Kate moved up beside him before walking up the entrance ramp to the terminal. He joined the group as they slowly walked from their arrival point past the phone booths and the shops to the security gate. Just beyond the security gate would be the place where the mission team would meet up with their families and other well-wishers. The advantage to coming back a day early was the issue of crowd control. The fewer people who knew that the team had returned, the easier that problem would be to handle. "Kate," Clay squeezed her hand. "I see your dad."

As tall as Kate's dad was, he was hard to miss in a crowd. "I see him too," Kate smiled. Reaching up high with her free hand, she waved to her family. A tiny hand shot up between the shoulders of the people in front of its owner, waving fiercely. "And there's Mom..." she giggled.

Finally through the security gates, the team met up with their loved ones. Clay and Arthur shook hands and exchanged a manly embrace while Kate and Patricia exchanged a much more close-knit hug. Patricia stroked her daughter's hair over and over, crying softly. "I was so worried about you... Mom."

An uncontrollable grin lit up Kate's face as she held her mother close. "You knew all along that we were going to be fine, didn't you?"

"I didn't know... I merely had faith."

The hugs and kisses of greeting continued for the next five minutes as people welcomed the team back onto friendlier soil while one of the media staff members from Sally's church recorded it all on video. Wrapping his arm fondly around Kate's shoulder, Clay sighed. "It is so good to be back home."

"'There's no place like home'," Kate quipped.

"Back to living in a fishbowl..." Clay groaned.

"That's okay, hon. You look sexy in a swimsuit," Kate teased, grinning at Clay's modest blush.

"Oh yeah," Clay scoffed, "so sexy that they're lining up by the thousands to see for themselves..."

Kate raised her eyebrow. "If you think you're being sarcastic, you haven't read any of your fan sites recently," she told him, making him blush further.

Pastor Macy scanned the group. "Normally we would go to the baggage claim area to pick up our bags, but there's no luggage." He frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose we can all just go..."

Clay walked hand in hand with Kate as they followed his in-laws out to their vehicle. "Kate honey, I have a strange question to ask you." Seeing that he had her attention, he continued. "What would you think about naming a future son Joseph?"

Joseph Aiken... Cocking her head back and forth a few times, Kate considered it. "I think it sounds all right. Why Joseph, might I ask?"

"Symbolic reasons," he told her in way of an explanation. "You did say that names of biblical people always meant something... and if the young man in my dream really was our son, it's only fitting that we name one of our sons Joseph."

"Clay... he is our son."

A bright twinkle lit Clay's eye as he grinned. He knew better than to ask Kate why she was so certain. "I suspected that." He sighed deeply. "Now all we have to do is figure out which son to name Joseph."

"This one," Kate said, gently placing a hand on her abdomen. Pausing very deliberately as Clay turned to stare at her, she took a deep breath. "He's the child I'm carrying." Clay's eyes widened as he gaped in astonishment at her, and she nodded again. "When you told me about the dream..." she placed a hand on her abdomen, "I just knew that he was alive and well, and that the boy in your dream and this one is the same person. I know it sounds crazy, honey... but I believe every bit of it. Like I said, gut feeling."

Oh my gosh... Kate smiled gently at him as he continued to stare wordlessly. Finally it sunk in: the young man who had helped save their lives in Haiti was their unborn child, the child that Kate was still carrying. Overjoyed at the news, Clay took Kate's face in his hands and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Hold on there, big guy," Will teased, his own arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulder. "That kind of thing is what got her pregnant in the first place."

Sarah snickered. Jabbing Will in the ribs, she shook her head. "It takes a little more than that..."

Will turned to Sarah with a raised eyebrow. "Really? Maybe you could explain it to me later tonight..." he grinned.

"Mmm," Sarah purred, kissing him gently.

Clay broke his own kiss, still holding Kate's face in his hands. Gently stroking her cheeks, he attempted to take a deep breath... but with the news he had just received, those breaths were coming short and shallow. "Our child... our child... you're carrying our child... you're carrying our son..."

"Our son..." Kate breathed back to him.

Another smile crept across Clay's face. "We're going to be parents..." Collecting her in his arms, Clay held her in a tight embrace. At last he released her again, reaching up to caress her cheek. "You'll love him so very much," Clay told her. "He's an absolutely beautiful boy."

"Of course," Kate agreed. "He has you as a father."

Father... I'm going to be a dad. Clay shook his head sharply, hoping that it would drive away the lightheadedness. "And you as a mother." Once more he stroked her face. "Joseph it is. Now we just need to figure out his middle name."

Kate made a raspberry noise with her lips. "Time to get out the name book..."

"At least knowing it's a boy will cut the choices in half." Clay gave her a sideways glance. "From 35,000..."

"You can't blame me for being thorough."

"All right, all right, you two..." Arthur grinned, interrupting their playful discussion. "You can finish this later in the hotel, after you tell us more about your trip."

Kate smiled up at her husband, who returned the smile with equal enthusiasm. Her father may have suggested waiting to continue their conversation in the hotel, but one thing needed said now. "I love you, Clay Aiken," she whispered, looking into his warm green eyes.

"I love you, Kate Aiken," Clay responded, gently kissing her on the forehead.

"Many waters cannot quench love," Kate thought to herself, remembering a passage from Song of Solomon that they had read together often over the last year they had openly known their love for one another. "Neither can the floods drown it." Their experience with the bridge and the Haitian river had not weakened their love at all - it had strengthened it, exactly as Kate's mother had predicted it would. As long as they continued to seek God together and as individuals, and as long as they did not take that love for granted, it would continue to grow stronger and stronger as time went on. Kate smiled as she laid her head on Clay's shoulder, content in the knowledge that their future was safe in God's hands.

Go to the sequel, Let All Our Tomorrows Begin

Go to yesterday, Day 9 (June 24)

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