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Day Six - Monday

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Early that morning

Kate sat bolt upright in bed, the sweat pouring down her face as she pulled out of her nightmare and into blissful consciousness. Gulping in deep breaths of fresh air, she wiped her face. Definitely high time I went to a shrink for this. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Kate got out of bed. She wasn't exactly sure how long it would take her to get over the nightmares and some of her other emotional baggage, but she did know that the journey would be much easier with Clay's loving support. Why has it taken me so long to find a man like Clay? she wondered as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and pinned the tail to her head. Maybe because there's only one man like him...

In spite of the fact that she knew they were going hiking and that she would be cleaning up for their date later that evening, Kate went to take a shower anyway. Once she and her supplies were in the shower, she turned on the water. She let the water wash over the rest of her before sticking her face in the spray.

Suddenly her mind's eye saw her looking up at the skies from within a patch of trees. It was raining - no, pouring, as she stood there in the middle of what might have been a forest letting the rain fall on her face and everywhere else. Although she didn't look around, somehow she knew that Clay was right beside her... getting equally as drenched.

Kate stepped back out of the spray jet and shook her head to clear it. That was vivid. She chewed on her bottom lip. Would that be today's events? Kate sighed - if they were, she wanted to be prepared.

Once back in the room, Kate dressed for a long day's hike... jeans, t-shirt, and good walking shoes... before grabbing her cell phone to update Sarah on yesterday's events. Sarah answered quickly. "Morning, sweetie." Kate stretched as she greeted Sarah over the phone.

"My, you're chipper," Sarah sang. "I take it you had another good day yesterday?"

"Good enough," Kate agreed. "With one notable exception, I have no complaints."

Immediately Sarah knew. "Got recognized, hunh?"

"On the money, as always."

Sarah's concern was obvious to Kate, even from here. "So what happened?"

"I'll get to that," Kate nodded, "I do better if I remember the day in order. That way I miss nothing."

"Sounds good to me."

Let's see, the last time I talked to her was after church yesterday... "After I talked to you, I went into the back yard for a romp with Raleigh. Such a sweet dog... and kissy."

Sarah chuckled. "That's a dog for you. What did Clay have to say, or did he see you?"

"He took pictures with my own camera!" Kate protested. "So now I have photos of Raleigh giving me a slobbery bath."

Amused by Kate's term, Sarah giggled. "Slobbery bath... I like that."

"Clay played fetch with his dog for a while before we left. Oh," Kate snapped her fingers. "Almost forgot that... not that I'm going to share it."

"Katydid," Sarah scolded. "Now you have to share."

Oops. "Remember when I told Clay that I could lick him in a wrestling match anytime? Yesterday I had to make good on my threat."

"Mm," Sarah purred. "You should have made good on it in a literal manner."

"Um," Kate winced and bit her lip. "I... plead the fifth."

"Ack!" Sarah shrieked and burst out laughing. "I bet that got you kissed!"

"It did, until Raleigh ruined the mood."

Sarah sighed for her friend. "Darn."

"Hey, the boys were going to be arriving any moment anyway..." Kate sighed deeply. "You know what you told me about the movie? That you had a bad feeling?"

"Yeah."

"Once we got to Disneyland," Kate continued, "I had one too - a strong one. And of course it was an accident waiting to happen. Clay couldn't wear the disguise, you know, the fake hair and beard... but he had an oversized hat and some sunglasses that he wore. We wandered around Disneyland for hours." Kate described the attractions and the rides and all the fun they had at Disneyland. "I told Will and Jerome about my gut instinct, and they decided to trust me. It turns out they had already been over at Disneyland that morning to coordinate and work with their security. Bless those two, they had heard about the success of Clay's movie and were prepared to have him recognized too."

"Bless Will and Jerome," Sarah breathed.

"We were in the line for Thunder Mountain Railroad when a fan recognized us. Only at the time she didn't do or say anything - she waited until we had circled back around for another ride before she made her presence known." Kate sighed. "The really sad thing is that while we were waiting I could feel her watching us... and I pinpointed her while we were in the line. Sarah, I could have prevented that whole mess if I had just opened my fool head..."

"Katydid, you had no way of knowing what would happen," Sarah affirmed. "So what did happen?"

"Well, after our discussion of who was sexier," Kate teased as Sarah cried out, "we got back in line for the ride again - and this chick came up behind Clay and yanked his hat off. She started screaming and in general making a fangirly fool of herself while Clay was standing there in full view of everyone. I tried to get his hat back from her, but she wouldn't give it back."

Sarah growled. "Little tramp. So after she made a complete idiot of herself and drew everyone's attention to the two of you, what happened?"

Kate sighed deeply. "Got mobbed." Sarah gasped, and Kate went on. "The boys were instantly surrounding us to protect us from the crowd, but they still got our sunglasses... and I saw them pulling on Clay's clothes and his hair."

"Poor Clay," Sarah breathed.

"The beautiful thing is that he was trying to protect me!" Kate sighed. "He was in danger and he was thinking of me! How amazing is that!"

"That doesn't surprise me," Sarah admitted. "How'd you get out of it?"

"Did you know that Disneyland has plainclothes security people intermixed in the crowd throughout the park at all times, and they are ready for anything at the drop of the proverbial hat?" Kate asked.

"I do now."

Kate nodded. "Between his own bodyguards and those security people, they got us out of there to a little offstage area where Clay could get away and take a breather." She winced. "Of course after that experience Clay figured out that I had known too much about the whole thing, and made me explain myself... so now he knows about the family hunches."

Sarah snickered. "You knew you'd have to tell him eventually."

"Yeah," Kate admitted. "He'd figure out something was up when I kept pulling random information out of the air at unpredictable times. If not at Disneyland, then maybe today... because I have a funny feeling it's going to rain on our little hike."

"You're going hiking?" Sarah clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Better take an umbrella if you say it's going to rain."

"No kidding."

"So what did the two of you do last night?" Sarah asked.

Kate blushed deeply. "I cooked him dinner," she began, "and after dinner we did the dishes together and took turns giving each other massages. Unfortunately both of us were still about half horny, whether from that morning or in the backyard I'm not sure."

"Oh really..." Sarah drawled. "Hormones and massages make for interesting evenings. Just how steamy did it get in that room?"

"Really steamy," Kate murmured. "Last night put Saturday night to shame."

"So..." Sarah drawled. "Did the two of you speak in tongues?"

Instantly Kate knew what she was talking about and blushed even deeper. "Go away."

"Oh my..."

Kate rubbed her face. "Yeah. I'm surprised I'm able to see straight even now." Making a frustrated noise with her mouth, Kate continued. "Unfortunately Clay made us quit and go play card games so that we wouldn't get ourselves into any real trouble."

"Aww..." Sarah cooed. "That's no fun."

"I know," Kate grumbled. "We were both enjoying ourselves a lot. He was right, of course... and it just shows me how much he respects me, which means a lot to me."

"Good for him," Sarah responded instantly. "I told you he's a gem."

"I knew that. And of course I respect him too." An uncontrollable grin spread across Kate's face. "We have a date for dinner and dancing tonight after the hike."

"Enjoy every minute of it," Sarah ordered. "After all it's your last night there for a while."

Kate sobered at the thought, and a lump formed in her throat. "I'll remember that," she said hoarsely.

Sarah heard it. "How do you feel about him?"

"Sarah," Kate confessed, "I'm falling in love with him."

"I guessed that." Sarah sighed, empathizing for her friend. "Have you told him?"

"Not yet," Kate shook her head.

"I would if I were you. Has he told you he loves you yet?"

"Not yet."

Sarah blew a raspberry. "You two... Anyone who watches the two of you for long can tell that you're madly in love with each other. I can even see it from here. Tell him how you feel before you leave tomorrow. That way he knows."

Even after Kate hung up, she debated how and when to tell Clay... if she was ready to tell him at all.

Kate walked out to the kitchen to start preparing a picnic lunch for them along with whatever she came up with for breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon works for me. Another thought crossed Kate's mind and she reconsidered. No, that would divide my efforts. Maybe Mom's creamed egg recipe... Kate liked that idea better - while the eggs were boiling she could make their sandwiches.

Setting a kettle full of water and eggs on to boil, Kate went back to the frig to nab sandwich fixings. Peanut butter and jelly for Clay, and a ham and cheese for me. Kate tapped her lips thoughtfully and changed her mind again - she would make them both peanut butter and jelly.

Once the sandwiches were made, she put them in Ziploc bags. Grabbing a third Ziploc, she placed her cell phone inside.

"I've heard cell phones stay fresher in Tupperware."

Kate clapped a hand over her mouth. Clay Aiken... Her sides shook and her eyes started watering from the effort to keep from laughing out loud.

Clay walked over to stand beside her, considering her with amusement. "You like that?" Kate smacked him in the arm with her free hand and he grunted. "I take that as a yes." He looked at the phone and shook his head, his curiosity quite obvious. "Do I want to know?"

"There is an explanation for that," Kate managed at last.

Clay nodded, a thoughtful smile on his face. "I don't doubt it." He pursed his lips, glancing from the phone to Kate. "So what is it?"

Kate shrugged dismissively. "I just wanted to be prepared in case it rains."

Clay raised an eyebrow at her. "In case," he asked, "or when?" As Kate's eyes widened at him, he nodded again. "I guess I better take one for mine, too."

Kate gaped at him - she had wondered how she was going to bring that idea up with him. "Are you reading my mind?"

"No," he answered simply, "but I am learning to read you." A slight smile crept onto Clay's face. "There's something so familiar and natural about you, darlin', and I could see it even before I got to know you. It's like I've known you all my life."

Didn't I say that to Sarah just the other day? Are you sure we're not connected at the brain? "I know the feeling," Kate breathed, gazing up at him. "We have all the really important things in common... but we have enough differences to make things interesting."

Clay chuckled once. "That's probably one of the reasons we've connected so well... and so quickly." He took her into his arms and hugged her tight. "How bad is this storm going to be so I know whether to wear my contacts or my glasses?"

Her head jerked up in surprise. He's... taking my word for it? Not even Dad is this calm about it. "Um... we're going to get well soaked. I plan to wear my glasses - the last time I got myself caught in a downpour, it got in my eyes and I couldn't see. Someone had to lead me out of the park by the hand."

A twitch of jealousy rippled in Clay's stomach. "That's one way to ruin a date..." he said tentatively.

"It wasn't a date," Kate answered. "It was our family reunion - and we ended up holding the rest of it at our house." She snorted. "If you can imagine thirty people in our house..."

Clay smiled wryly. "Until I see your house, I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Mm," she responded. "I hadn't thought of that. But it was a heavy, heavy rain - I thought for sure my contacts were going to float right out of my eyes... I'm not even sure which family member led me out of the park."

That thought sobered Clay immediately - getting out of the park was going to be interesting, no matter when they got caught in the rain. Of all days to own a convertible... Fortunately that was an easy problem to solve with a roof. He would just have to make sure to put it up before they went hiking. The only question that remained is how long they would be out in the rain... and just how wet the two of them would get. The last thing he wanted to see was either one of them with a head cold for a souvenir. "Do you know when this storm is going to hit?" he asked her, trying not to let his concern show.

Kate shook her head from inside his embrace. "Don't know... I'm afraid I don't know. But you can be sure that it will end our hike for the day."

Clay heaved a deep sigh. "Do you still want to do this?"

"Aaahh..." Kate shrugged. "Rain doesn't bother me... unless it gets in my eyes. I don't think it will be a lightning storm. If that happens, we're finding cover fast!"

She's still game for the hike? Clay blinked with surprise. "I guess if we're still going hiking, we should each pack a spare change of clothes."

And a portable tent to change in... Kate thought wryly. "Don't suppose you have an umbrella that will fit in a backpack?"

Clay shook his head. "No honey, I don't. I'm sorry."

"Mine's at home," Kate growled.

A smile crossed Clay's face as he studied Kate's pouty lips. She looks so very kissable right about now. The more that idea bounced through his head, the more he liked it. Using a single slender finger, he tipped her face up and leaned in to kiss her. A microsecond before he did, a sharp whistle sang out from the kettle and made both of them jump. Kate frowned, and Clay turned to give the kettle a nasty glare. Fine, he thought, and turned back to Kate to give her a quick peck on the lips. "What's with the kettle?"

"Boiling eggs." Kate emptied out the hot water and replaced it with cold so that she could handle the eggs. Once they were sufficiently cooled, Kate started to peel the eggs. She smiled with amusement as Clay stepped in to help her. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"Sure!" he replied. "I'm curious to see what you're making today."

"You'll see." Putting the peeled eggs to the side, Kate made a sauce or gravy for the eggs using butter, flour, and milk. "Would you make some toast, hon?"

Clay nodded and grabbed the bread. He glanced at her as she started to mash the eggs into the sauce. "That looks interesting..."

"It's really good," Kate murmured. "Family recipe."

After a few minutes of Kate mashing the eggs into the sauce (and Clay watching with fascination) the toast popped up. Clay grabbed the hot toast, juggling it back and forth between his hands as he put it on a nearby plate. Swiping the butter from Kate, he quickly buttered the fresh toast. "Are we ready, or is there something else I can help with?"

"We should set the table," Kate answered, "and get the juice."

Wearing a big, fluffy bathrobe over her PJ's, Kim wandered into the kitchen as Clay pulled the juice out of the frig. "Something smells good..." She sniffed the air thoughtfully. "I recognize the toast, but what's that other smell?"

"Kate's family recipe," Clay offered as he grabbed glasses for the juice.

Blinking into the pot Kate had finished the eggs in, Kim considered the mixture. "Looks good."

Kate arranged the silverware and the plates while Clay finished pouring the juice. "I'll let you guys try it for yourself before I offer my own opinion."

"Obviously you like it," Kim told her, "otherwise you wouldn't have made it for us."

Point taken. "Some people eat it on the toast, some people eat it straight." Kate frowned. "I should have made bacon or sausage or something. Where is my mind this morning?"

Clay glanced at her. "On the storm?"

Kate winced. She knew that her mind was on portions of her conversation with Sarah and not the two of them getting caught in the rain. "Maybe."

"Storm?" Kim gave both of them a puzzled look.

"Long story..." Clay told her with a wave of his hand. "I'll tell you later."

Kate read the annoyed look on Kim's face. That went over well. "One of us will - I promise."

Clay took a bite of the creamed egg. His eyes lit up as he slowly chewed it. "Wow, this is good."

A slight blush crept into Kate's cheeks. "Thank you."

The same expression flitted across Kim's face when she tried it. "Clay, I hope you remember how she did this. I want to be able to make it myself."

Clay's eyes widened, and instantly Kate knew that he didn't. Kate touched Kim's arm lightly. "I can get you the recipe," she offered.

Breakfast progressed with more amiable chat, and Kim cleaned up the table while Clay and Kate finished preparing their picnic lunch. Clay brought out a backpack for them to put the food in, and Kate filled it with the supplies for their lunch. "What do we want to do with the spare clothes?" he asked.

Kate chewed her lip in speculation as Kim glanced at them with curiosity. "I don't think we want to put them in here, 'cuz they'll get wet." Ignoring the confused look that crossed Kim's face, she went on. "Unless we put them in garbage bags or something - then they'll stay dry in the backpack. Or else we could leave them in the car."

"I definitely will want to change before I drive home in wet clothes."

Kim put her hands on her hips. "And just what are the two of you doing, that you plan to get yourselves completely soaked? Especially since you, Clay, are afraid of standing water?" She glanced back and forth between them. "Is this what you mean when you mentioned a storm?"

Clay and Kate exchanged a glance. "Should I explain, honey," Kate asked, "or do you want to?"

"You can, unless you want me to," Clay suggested. "It's your gift."

Kate made a face at him, but told Kim the story... including what happened to her in the shower.

Kim nodded thoughtfully. "I'll be interested to see what happens today," she said carefully.

I can tell she believes me. Kate sighed. "It's all right, Kim. I know the whole thing sounds weird. Why do you think I usually don't tell people about it until I have to?"

Kim put her hand on Kate's shoulder. "I'm not saying it isn't possible. It's just hard to believe without seeing it for myself because that's not a very common thing."

Clay nodded with understanding. If he hadn't seen her gift in action yesterday, he wouldn't have believed her either. "I'll grab a couple of bags for our clothes while you go grab your spare change."

Kate didn't wait around - she immediately went back to the bedroom to pull another change of clothes from the stuff she had brought to L.A. with her. With her clothes wrapped up in a bundle, Kate returned to join Clay and Kim in the kitchen. Clay handed her a large, new garbage bag and finished preparing his own spare change. "I'm ready if you are, honey."

Clay smiled at her. "I'm ready."

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Later

Clay finished putting the roof of his convertible up before rolling up the windows and locking the doors to the car. There. Opening the trunk, he pulled out the backpacks with their spare clothes and their lunch. Handing the lighter of the two backpacks to Kate, he gave her a smile. "Are you ready for this?"

Kate nodded. "Ready!" She slung the backpack over both shoulders. Taking Clay's extended hand, she started walking with him up the trail.

Clay glanced at the sky. There's not a cloud in sight, he thought. How is it supposed to rain when it's bright and sunny out? He chose not to say this to Kate. "I would have never have thought you'd be the roughing-it type, hon."

Kate snickered. "I'm not. I can handle it on a short or temporary basis... and if life ever turned upside down, I could manage. But as long as I have a choice... no. Granted, I don't need a lot... but I'm not a tent and sleeping bag sort of woman." She raised an eyebrow. "When we were in Haiti, we stayed at one of the local hotels."

"Hotel?" Clay asked with surprise.

"For our own safety," Kate quickly answered, "not for our comfort. The whole political, social, and religious situation down there isn't the safest in the world." She glanced at Clay. "If you really are serious about going down there with me, I would highly recommend you take a bodyguard or two. Two would be preferable... but warn them that they're going to get recruited to help with VBS."

Clay laughed warmly. "I'll do that." He giggled under his breath. "I think it would be a good experience for them too, not just me." Casting a wry smile at her, he asked another question. "So what's a Haitian motel like?"

Kate shrugged. "Don't expect the Hilton," she drawled. "Their fanciest hotels are probably a low-profile answer to Super 8. This is Haiti - the people, the nation is poor. Everything is simple... with the exception of the few who are quite rich and live very well at the expense of the vast majority of the populace." Kate frowned. "Trust me, we drove by their houses."

"Really."

"There is no such thing as a middle class there," Kate said somberly. "Anyway, I was just fine with the hotel we stayed at. Reasonably clean and comfortable, considering Haitian conditions. Decent food, decent hospitality. Nice pool." She glanced at Clay, who had turned a bit pale. "Which you can avoid, of course, but I found it rather nice after a long day... because Haiti is quite HOT and muggy."

Clay nodded. "I will avoid the pool," he agreed. Avoid going in or too close, anyway - but I'm not about to pass up the chance to see Kate in a swimsuit. "Good food?"

"Spicy - but good." Kate chewed her lip. "We'll need to get a complete list of your food allergies to give the powers that be... the last thing we want is for you to get an allergic reaction down THERE."

Clay hid a smile at Kate's suggestion. She's determined to look after me, isn't she? "Thank you."

"Once we introduce you to the pastor of Sally's church, you guys can swap phone numbers and email addresses to keep in communication... keep abreast of news and developments and stuff."

"Sounds great," Clay agreed. "Her pastor's going to have to keep it a secret - otherwise the publicity might make it a bit crazy for her church."

"That won't be easy," Kate murmured, "after we both said that you're going with me next summer live on Regis and Kelly."

"Oh no!" Clay grimaced. "I guess it depends on the people of her church. Those who remember that you went along with them in 2002 will figure it out pretty quickly."

"True," Kate sighed. "But on the other hand, they might get more funds that way."

"I hadn't thought of that." Clay bit his lip in thought. It would be almost a year until they could go on the trip, but he was already eager to be going. "I never thought I'd be going on a mission trip," he admitted.

Kate smirked. "You also never thought you'd be a professional singer and pop star..."

Clay chuckled - he had to give Kate that one. "I mean, when you think of missionaries you usually think of the people who are gifted at witnessing and teaching and things like that, people who never seem to get discouraged and always have the strength to go on year after year after year... You never think of people like you and me, going on short trips to build schools and clinics and teach bible school to the children..." He grinned broadly, thinking of some of the Haitian children that had been in Kate's pictures.

By the amused look on her face, Kate seemed to know what he was thinking of. "Even with the language barrier, those kids are going to love you, and you them. You are going to have sooo much fun..."

"Fun telling the kids about the love of God," Clay agreed, "singing songs and doing crafts..."

Kate snickered. "The skits..." She cast a wicked glance at him. "And the occasional bucket brigade on the building site."

If that were possible, Clay's grin grew wider. "And we're going to be having fun sharing this experience together," he told her, winking at her and squeezing her hand.

"It's going to be the trip of a lifetime, sweetheart," Kate nodded. Sighing contentedly, she gazed warmly at him. "I know I've had you tell me stories about some of your charges back home in North Carolina... but would you tell me a few more about your kids, both teaching and at the Y?"

Clay happily obliged her, talking rapidly and excitedly about Mike and all of the other kids he had worked with over the years both as a counselor and a teacher in training. Kate listened with eagerness, always ready to hear his stories... and to see the love he had for children and for his fellow man in general. While she enjoyed listening to his beautiful singing, it was his loving and compassionate heart that never failed to awe and amaze her. Although Kate had no proof, she suspected that God had put extra time and effort into creating Clay and making him the person that he was.

At last Clay fell into thoughtful silence, and the two of them walked along the path in that same silence, both looking forward to the mission trip to Haiti they would take next summer. Speaking of trips... "You know anything more about Christmas?"

"Yeah!" Kate exclaimed with a smile. "I talked to Mom this morning." She raised an eyebrow. "When she said she was ready for a houseful, she wasn't kidding. Not only has she extended the invitation to you, she's extended it to your family too... though she has her own suspicions as to how many she'll actually have there for Christmas."

Looks like Mom was right. "Mom had a feeling she was going to do that. She said that she would love to come but feels that it would be better if I went there on my own this year. She said maybe next year after all of us have had a chance to get to know each other better she would take them up on that offer."

Kate snickered. "That was her suspicion. When did you talk to your mom?"

"I talked to Mom earlier this morning."

"Oh," Kate said, her voice rising slightly in pitch. She hoped that she sounded nonchalant, but suspected otherwise.

"It was a good conversation," Clay said. "She knew that you invited me to your place for Christmas and thought that it was important for me to go. She said that since you've met all of them, it's only fair that I get the opportunity to meet your family."

It looks like his trip to Nebraska has his mom's approval.

"It will take some creative planning," Clay sighed, "but I should be able to carve out a week or so to spend at your place... if you can stand me that long." When Kate frowned and raised an eyebrow at him, he giggled. "I'm just teasing you, honey. I hope you can put up with me, or we're not going to last very long as a couple!"

Kate wrapped her free arm around his waist and gave him a hug. "I think I can tolerate you for another week..." she joked.

Clay made a scoffing noise. "Thanks a lot, honey."

Suddenly Kate stopped dead in her tracks and placed a hand in front of Clay. He also stopped, and glanced at Kate. Kate put a finger to her lips, and Clay nodded. Making no noise, Kate pointed at something a little ways through the trees to their left. Clay followed her motion and grinned at the deer that gazed warily back at them. He squeezed her hand, and the two of them quietly started walking again.

"Thanks for pointing that out, honey," Clay told her. "I don't often get to see wildlife living in L.A."

Kate nodded, a smile on her face. "I figured as much. When I travel there in Nebraska, I get to see the occasional deer. In fact, sometimes we see wildlife running around my parents' farm grounds. Hopefully you'll get to see some more at Christmas... at least, you might get to see what isn't hibernating."

Clay chuckled. "Maybe. What kind of wildlife do you have in Nebraska?"

"Squirrels and rabbits, even in town," Kate pondered, "deer, raccoons, 'possums, skunks... any number of different kinds of bird... and depending on the region, you'll see things like prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcats... and within the last handful of years there have even been some cougars wandering around the state."

"Cougars?" Clay breathed. "As in mountain lions?" When Kate nodded he blinked with surprise. "Wow. I thought they pretty much stuck to the mountains and forests."

"For a while we thought they had left Nebraska... but there's plenty of proof that they're back." Kate gave him a wide-eyed look. "A couple of years ago they caught one wandering Omaha. Omaha! In the city! Yeesh..."

"What happened?"

"Zoo officials helped them catch it with a tranquilizer gun," Kate replied. "But since one of the local law officers had nailed it in the leg with I think a pellet gun, they weren't going to release it back into the wild." She chewed her lip. "Last I knew, it was still at Henry Doorly."

"Wow," Clay breathed, obviously impressed. "Any special Christmas plans I should know about?"

Kate nodded. "We always attend services both on Christmas eve and Christmas day," Kate informed him. Clay agreed with a nod, and she continued. "Our family traditions include opening family presents on Christmas eve itself, and family meals and gatherings and games Christmas day. Of course when we were kids we did the presents on Christmas day... my parents never told me that Santa was real - they told us about how the legend of Santa arose from a real person, and then gave us the option of whether we wanted to play pretend or not." Kate grinned. "And Andy and I were always game for pretending."

Different, Clay mused. One way to handle the Santa Claus question. "Why did your parents do it that way, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I asked them that very question as a teenager," Kate admitted. "They told me it was because they didn't want us drawing the parallels between believing or not believing in Santa... versus God. So they were very honest with us about it... on the condition that we didn't tell any of the other kids. My parents had their own opinions, but they weren't about to tell other people how to raise their kids."

A slow smile crossed Clay's face. I like that - it makes sense to me. "Were you thinking about doing that with our kids?"

Kate shrugged. "I was... but we obviously would have to discuss and agree on it first."

Clay nodded. "It's worth thinking about."

"I hinted to Mom that she might make the sleigh ride suggestion to Dad... so it comes as no surprise if we ask him for one." Kate winked at him.

"It'll be lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you," Clay sang.

Kate grinned. Hon, you can sing to me anytime. Rather than voice that thought, she went on. "I'll warn you now - Mom's big on cooking, big on decorating, and big on gift-giving. Do not be surprised if the house is decorated from attic to basement, if she is constantly trying to feed you... and she cooks enough for a branding crew."

Clay graced her with an odd look. "Branding crew?" he asked tentatively.

Kate remembered back to the last time she had watched her father brand cattle. She thought she would never get over the smell. "I'll let Dad explain that one," she giggled sheepishly. Kate chewed her bottom lip, wondering if she should share the rest of what she had been thinking.

Clay cocked his head, sensing there was more. "So your mom decorates and cooks a lot for Christmas. Was there something else you wanted to warn me about?"

Kate made a face before deciding to say it. "Don't be surprised if you find a stocking with your name on it hanging on the fireplace with the rest." Or gifts under the tree.

Somehow that didn't surprise Clay a bit. There was a saying that the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree... and considering Kate's love, compassion and generosity, it would not shock him in the slightest to find those very traits in one or both of her parents. "I won't."

"Oh, Clay honey," Kate began tentatively, "both Mom and I were also hoping to get the phone number and address of your family in North Carolina. We have our own... um, Christmas well-wishes we want to share with them."

Clay nodded slowly. That didn't surprise him either. His own mother had planned to do the same thing for Kate's family. "We'll exchange that information later at the house."

"Good. Just please don't tell your mom what we have in mind." Kate debated how badly she wanted to ask the burning question that was on her mind - what did his family think of her? "Um... I kind of want to ask about your mom and the rest of your family and how they feel about me... if it's not too inappropriate..." she whispered.

Fortunately Clay seemed to know and understand her concerns. "Mom really likes you, honey. My whole family does." He smiled at her. "They can see your faith, your gentleness, your strength, and your love. I mean, they're just getting to know you, but already they can see some of the things that make you special. They can see why I like you so much."

A bashful smile crept onto Kate's face. "Wow. They honor me."

"You honor me, honey, and they see it." Clay gave her a guilty glance and continued. "Mom knows about what happened in Germany. She could tell from your conversation at the picnic that you had some private pain in your past and she told me that it was important for me to find out what it was if I wanted to have a strong, trusting relationship with you." He went on. "I told her that we already had that discussion and I knew everything. Within a short while she guessed that something bad had happened to you... and I gave her the basics." Clay bit his lip. "I hope you can forgive me for sharing that."

Her bad experience in Germany was Kate's most closely-guarded secret - and until this trip only Sarah and Kate's parents knew about it. Kate hadn't even told her brother Andrew, and they were as close as siblings get. (Somehow she suspected that he knew... that her mother had probably told him.) But no one else knew - and probably wouldn't until Kate had seen significant or even miraculous healing. The healing has to start somewhere... Kate sighed and made her peace with his choice. "From what I can tell, Clay, I can trust your mother. If you can, so can I."

"I don't plan to tell anyone else," he said quickly, "without your approval first. But Mom seemed to know something was up... and as you said, I trust her." He stopped in the middle of the trail and turned to address her face to face, taking her other hand as well. "With everything that happened to her with Vernon, she sympathizes with you completely. She knows you plan to start some kind of counseling soon and offered her ear in case you ever need to talk about it. I guess she feels that the two of you might be able to relate to each other about your experiences."

Kate gaped in shock. "Oh my... that's... that's quite an offer."

"She means it, honey. She agrees with me that what happened is nothing you asked for and nothing you deserved." A smile crept onto Clay's face. "She may have just met you, but so far she approves of you... of us." Clay knew that he didn't dare admit that he had also told his mother that he was already having serious thoughts about her... that the two of them had already started talking about their family... and that his mother seemed to approve completely of his sharing his life and his future with Kate... at least not right now. One shock at a time.

"Well, when I talked with Mom this morning," Kate began as they started walking again, "she already seemed to approve of you. I know she's never met you, but because of American Idol and all the interviews you've done she knows a lot about you." As Clay's head jerked with surprise to look at her, Kate laughed openly. "Honey, she started doing that after the first day you appeared on Idol. I thought my mom was finally going crazy when she started looking for every little bit of information she could find about you. Until you started writing me back, she knew more about you than I did... and took great delight in sharing all of it with me!" Clay gaped and Kate snickered at his reaction. "Except for the fact that she never got... mushy-gushy or fangirly about it, I thought for sure that she had turned into the queen Claymate!"

At last Clay laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time a woman had done that... even for a woman old enough to be my mother or my grandmother!" He shook his head. "I still find it hard to believe that people are making such a big fuss over me." Clay chewed his lip in speculation. "But your mom... that's, that's interesting. You said she was looking for all this information to share with you?"

"That's sure what it seemed like! Every interview, every article, every performance that she could get her hands on, she made sure that I heard it or saw it. It was like she wanted both of us to know every little thing we could about you." Kate snorted as Clay shook his head sharply. "Sometimes she even shared stuff about you with Dad and Andrew... but only the significant things, like your faith, your family, your background... and your charity work. It was as if she knew - " Kate stopped mid-phrase, her eyes widening with realization.

Clay blinked with surprise as he too realized exactly what had gone through Kate's mind. "As if she knew about us before we did," he finished.

Kate's jaw slowly dropped, and she nodded. "She did know. From the day you appeared on American Idol, she knew." Kate took in a deep, amazed breath. "I remember her asking me, 'What did you think of the redhead with the golden voice?' I told her, 'He seems really, really nice, Mom. I only hope that America will look beyond his everyday appearance and see him for who he really is... because he certainly has the talent to succeed at this.' After that we discussed you and your progress regularly, and she started sharing every little fact she discovered about you. And it didn't surprise her a bit that I started writing you - if anything, it delighted her to no end." As Clay digested this new revelation, Kate covered her mouth with her free hand. "Right now I'd pay good money to get my hands on her journal to see if she did know."

So would I, Clay thought. Oh my gosh... He turned to meet her wide eyes, the shocked wonderment passing between them without a word. Is it possible? Is it really possible to fall in love without meeting, or to fall in love at first sight? Is it possible to know the love of my life, the one woman I want to marry and grow old with after only a week's time together? Is it possible for others to see such a couple before the fact? Is it really possible? Too many questions ran through Clay's mind, questions without answers. But Clay knew he had the answer to ONE question: After a lengthy and heartfelt conversation with her son, Faye Parker wrapped it up with one simple question. "Do you love her?" she had asked him. Without hesitation Clay had answered. "Yes," he had told her firmly. "Yes, I do love her." With that one solid answer in his mind, Clay gently touched Kate's face with his hand and kissed her. Stroking her cheek, he gazed deeply into her eyes. "Ready for lunch?" he asked quietly.

Slowly Kate nodded. "Let's see if we can find a clearing a little off the trail."

They walked a bit farther before finding a grassy clearing that suited their purposes nicely. Kate pulled a blanket out of her backpack and spread it on the ground while Clay started to dig for the lunch that was in his backpack. He placed the items on the blanket as he found them - their sandwiches, a couple bags of chips, a Ziploc bag full of grapes, another Ziploc containing two sugar cookies, and two bottles of soda. They ate their sandwiches and chips quietly, holding hands and admiring the scenery around them as they stole the occasional glance at each other.

With both sandwiches and chips gone, Kate broke the seal on the grapes and grabbed a couple, placing the open bag between her and Clay. She popped one into her mouth immediately, noticing with her peripheral vision as Clay watched her. Kate looked at him, and he quickly turned his gaze to the bag of grapes between them. I bet I know exactly what's on his mind. Kate gave him a wicked smile and scooted closer to him on the blanket. She held the second grape in front of his mouth, waiting patiently. His eyes sparking with mischief, Clay met her eye and carefully ate the grape from her fingers. He reached into the bag of grapes to pull out a couple more. Clay moved to sit right beside her, placing his other arm around her. Meeting her eye again, he offered her a grape exactly as she had him moments before. With delicate deliberateness, Kate took it from him with her mouth. Smiling to himself, Clay popped the other grape in his own mouth as Kate leaned into him and laid her head on his shoulder.

After several moments of sharing the grapes in this manner, they got to the bottom of the bag. Clay and Kate stared dolefully down at the last grape, both wishing that there were more. "One left," Clay sighed. "Want it, honey?"

A sly smile turned the corner of her mouth. "I'll take it." Kate pulled it out of the bag as Clay put the empty bag in his backpack with the rest of their garbage. She kept it in her fingertips, waiting until he had closed the backpack again.

Noticing that she hadn't eaten the grape, Clay gave her a puzzled glance. Giving him a slightly naughty look, she placed the remaining grape in her lips and held it there. For the briefest of moments Clay gaped at her, his expression slowly turning to one of interest. He leaned in, taking the other half of the grape in his own mouth and carefully biting it in half. Pulling back, he cast an amused look at her as the two of them chewed their own halves of the grape. I've got to remember that one, he thought as she turned her eyes away shyly. Whoever said conservative Christian girls had no imagination didn't know what they were talking about. Gently he guided her face back towards his as he leaned in to kiss her again. After a moment of that slow, sweet kiss, Clay laid down on the blanket, beckoning for her to join him in the crook of his arm. She did, laying her head on his shoulder and draping her arm across his chest. He held her close, smiling contentedly to himself. And I was ready to talk her out of this hike...

After a while of cuddling and some light chat, Clay glanced over at the horizon. He blinked slowly at the gathering clouds, watching as they built and crawled slowly towards the two of them. Those weren't there earlier, he frowned. We just might get that storm after all. "Honey..." Clay nudged Kate and pointed to the growing thunderhead.

Kate considered it with a frown. "That's gotta be it."

"We'd better get going," he suggested, "if we have even a chance of beating it to the car."

"Then let's pack up." Kate sat back up, and the two of them gathered and folded the blanket. Putting it back in the plastic garbage bag, Kate returned it to her backpack. "Ready?"

"Ready," Clay acknowledged.

The pair hastened back down the trail towards the car as if they were being pursued, as the storm clouds built and closed in. "We're not gonna make it, are we?" Kate panted at one point.

Clay gave the sky another glance. "I dunno."

Soon the clouds were right on top of them, and they were still a fair distance from the car. Kate felt the first sprinkles on her arms and her cheeks. "Ah no..."

"Here we go..." Clay sighed as the tempo of the rain built in a gradual crescendo.

They came into a small open space on the trail and at once the skies opened up. Caught in the very downpour they were trying to outrun, Clay and Kate halted. Kate scowled and made a frustrated noise as they stared up at the clouds, the rain pelting their glasses and washing down over their faces. "Days like this I hate it when I'm right..."

Clay considered his appearance, which was becoming more bedraggled by the minute. Kim will have no choice but to believe us now, he mused. "Honey, the next time you have a hunch, just tell me, and I promise I won't tell you that it sounds crazy." With humor in his voice he glanced over at her.

Kate smiled wryly. "I'll remember you said that..." she drawled with amusement, placing her hands comfortably on her hips. She turned to look at Clay -

- and caught him staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at her. Oh, that's right, she recalled as she noticed how quickly Clay was getting soaked. I wore a T-shirt today. Even though she had known about the storm, she still hadn't thought about her choice of clothes. Brilliant move, Einstein. Clay walked very slowly towards her, and Kate got a much closer view of how his own drenched clothes clung to him. Wow, he looks hot, she thought, noting the look in his eyes that said the same about her. For another moment they scanned each other from head to toe, letting the rain continue to fall around them. And this man claims he isn't sexy, Kate thought as she found herself reeled in by and unable to look away from Clay's smoldering green eyes. How wrong he is. Kate stared at Clay in absolute wonder - the most amazing and beautiful man that she knew was standing right in front of her looking more drop-dead gorgeous by the moment... and he was looking at her as if she was the only woman he ever wanted to be with. Finally she couldn't stand it any longer. Kate slid her arms slowly up Clay's chest and around his neck, breathing his name over and over again as she kissed him passionately on the mouth.

Clay kissed her in return, holding her pressed up close against him as the storm raged around them. The rain continued to run in rivulets down their faces, but he didn't care about that. All that Clay cared about at that moment was that his lady, his one true love, was in his arms and that they were making the most beautiful of music together. As if the kiss wasn't passionate enough Kate deepened it even further, once more discovering the sweet taste of his mouth and his tongue with her own. Clay's heart burned inside of him and his knees started to weaken at Kate's amorous attentions.

At last after an almost endless stretch of steamy kissing, they broke with a breathless gasp. Clay shut his eyes and pulled Kate closer, panting her name as they held each other tight. The rain continued to beat down upon them with a ferocity he hadn't seen in years, so fierce that he almost didn't notice when Kate started showering her affections on his neck. His jaw dropped with a tortured moan at her growing nips and nibbles. Burying his hand in her wet hair, he turned her face upward to capture her lips again.

It was when Kate pulled at his wet shirt that Clay finally jolted back to his senses. Realizing that things would get out of hand if he didn't do something now while he had a moment of clarity, he broke the kiss and took her face in his hands. "Honey, your rules," he tenderly reminded her.

Kate's glassy eyes refused to focus. "Hmmmnh?" she moaned at him.

Wow. She really was into it. He stroked her face and waited a moment for her mind to clear. "Honey, we need to stop," he began again, "before we break one of your rules and end up doing something that both of us will regret later."

"Um... 'kay." Kate shook her head sharply to dislodge the fog that had taken over her mind. After several moments she spoke again. "I... I'm sorry, Clay. I... don't know what came over me."

"It's all right, honey. In fact..." Clay bit his lip with a sheepish giggle, "it's quite flattering that you got that way over me." He blushed slightly. "So far I've only dreamed of being able to do that to a woman. Never thought for a moment that it would actually happen."

"Clay hon," Kate said as she gazed up into his eyes, "right now I'm in the kind of mood where I want to do all sorts of wicked things with you..." she caressed his chest, "things that husbands and wives do." She shook her head a second time. "I've never felt that way with a man."

Clay smiled gently. "I know what you mean. I'd never wanted a woman in that way until I met you," he admitted, "and I certainly never felt that as strongly as I do for you. But I believe in waiting until marriage to share that kind of relationship with someone, and I know you do too. I am so lucky and blessed to have a woman who not only believes the same way, but respects me enough to wait for me, wait for both of us to be ready to take that next step. And someday," Clay murmured gently, again stroking her face and her hair, "when we're married we'll share that kind of love with each other. Believe me, honey, I'm looking forward to the day when we can have that kind of relationship. But right now we should stop... and get out of this rainstorm before both of us catch pneumonia."

Kate nodded. "Let's go back to the house."

With the downpour continuing unabated around them, they made the rest of their way to the car, and Clay debated the best place for them to change from their wet clothes. "Honey," he began, "I'm not seeing anywhere around here we can change into our dry clothes... unless you want to try it in the car."

Kate snorted. "That will still leave one of us wet, because that person will have to wait outside the car while the other one is changing." She wasn't about to suggest being in the car at the same time, even if she knew Clay was gentleman enough to close his eyes. After the time they had exchanged farther up the trail, she didn't trust her own hormones to be on the honor system right now. She bit her lip thoughtfully. "What if we were to use the garbage bags our clothes are in as seat liners, and we can change either at some restaurant or gas station on the way home... or wait until we get home, I guess."

Clay nodded - after all, it was just a car. "We can wait until we get home." Working quickly, Clay and Kate lined their respective seats with the garbage bags and climbed in. He started the car and drove the route home slowly, watching the road in cautious silence.

Not wishing to distract Clay's concentration with chatter, Kate mulled over her thoughts quietly... and what thoughts they were. Everything from her conversation with Sarah from that morning to the one she had with Clay on their hike bounced around her mind... Faye knowing about her traumatic experience and her offer to talk... the approval from Faye and the rest of Clay's family... her own mother's foreknowledge regarding the two of them... the too-sexy-for-words way Clay looked in the rain... the way he had looked at her, and how he had admitted that he wanted her... and the way he had told her that he still planned to wait until they were married... And their future as a couple. So many moments this week Kate had felt as if she was walking in the most delicious of dreams, on the verge of waking up at any second. Especially the times the two of them had talked about things like marriage and families, because it was obvious to her that Clay wanted to share his future with her. So when should I tell him that I love him? she wondered. No easy answer came to mind, and she continued to ponder her thoughts in silence.

At last they pulled into the driveway of the house that Clay and Kim shared. Clay noted with irony that the rain was already through here. "We're home, honey."

"Thank goodness for small favors," Kate muttered, grabbing the backpack and the trash bag she had used as a car seat liner.

Kim's eyes grew huge as she watched the two of them enter the house. "Oh my gosh, you two did get rained on out there!"

"We got caught in a ruddy downpour," Kate muttered, "which soaked us in about a minute flat."

"Really?" Kim asked as Kate put the backpack down. "It looks like you were right this morning about the storm. That would freak me out if I were able to do that."

Kate gave a shrug. "It does, but I try not to think about. Now when Mom does it, that's when it's frightening."

"To be honest," Clay told her as he walked into the room where Kim was, "I feel the same way when you do it. It takes some getting used to. But between yesterday and this morning you made a believer out of me." He grimaced. "No matter how odd they sound, I'm going to trust your hunches."

An impish grin lit Kate's eyes. "Ooo, now that sounds like a recipe for mischief..."

Clay laughed as she rubbed her hands together. "I wouldn't go that far!"

"Clay, turn and look at me a minute," Kim ordered. Clay obeyed, facing her and noticing the puzzled look on her face. He stood there for a moment as she stared at something near his shirt collar. As if on reflex, his hand immediately went to where she looked. "No no, Clay, don't cover it," she said, moving in for a closer look. All at once she broke into wicked laughter. "Oh my gosh... Kate, for shame."

Kate frowned. "Hunh, what?"

Kim smirked at Kate, her eyebrow raised. "You decided to put your mark on him."

The confused expression on Kate's face grew deeper as she came over to inspect his collar as well. She took one glance and turned away, blushing brilliantly.

Instantly Clay knew exactly what Kim was talking about - his jaw dropped as he glanced at his profoundly embarrassed girlfriend. This I have to see. Clay walked to the bathroom to inspect the area Kim had indicated in the mirror. Sure enough, a bruise the size of a quarter was visible at the base of his neck. Well. Clay grimaced. It looks like I'm going to be wearing collared shirts for a while.

"Can you forgive me?"

Clay turned to Kate as she peeked warily at him from around the doorframe, still a shade of deep pink. "I don't know..." he teased.

"I didn't mean to!" she protested.

He chuckled - of course she hadn't, even if her embarrassment and earnest words just now hadn't convinced him. "It's a good thing you waited until after the premiere to give me this, darlin'. Can you imagine what people would have said if I had gone on Regis and Kelly with this on my neck?"

Kate's face fell and she cringed. "Oh geez..."

"You're still going to have to watch it for a while, Clay," Kim laughed from the hall. "I can just imagine what your public would say if they knew Kate gave you a hickey."

Kate whimpered at hearing the term said aloud. "I don't even want to think about it." She glanced at the mark, guilt etched upon her face. "I didn't mean to do that..."

Clay smiled gently at her. "I think in the mood you were in you didn't give it a second thought. Not that I did either..." he admitted ruefully.

Kate shook her head. "I've never had one before and I sure as heck don't know how to give them."

"Well, girl, whether you meant to or not, you did." Kim continued to laugh. "Mind if I get a picture of that as proof?"

"Don't you dare!"

Clay turned back to the mirror again, fingering the discoloration with amusement. Although in his own way he was quite proud of it, he was still going to do his best to hide it from the public eye. Fortunately with the release of the movie this past weekend, he wasn't going to be doing any significant public appearances for a while. "The least you should have done, honey," he quipped, "is give me a matching one on the other side."

Kate's jaw dropped as Kim laughed hysterically. "Clayton Holmes Aiken!! I-I-I... aaagghh..."

Kate's speechless? That's a first. With a wicked grin on his face he walked over to embrace Kate warmly. "You know I'm teasing you, honey." He giggled as he held her close. "My little vixen..."

"Never knew you had a seductress on your hands, did you?" Kate asked weakly, shivering slightly.

"You two had better change out of those wet clothes," Kim told them, "before you catch cold." She held up a warning finger, a naughty twinkle in her eye. "But after seeing that little number I'm going to insist that you do it in separate rooms."

"That," Kate squeaked, "goes without saying..."

Clay kissed her on the forehead. "Maybe once we're both showered up and have on dry clothes we can get some hot tea in our systems, to warm up the rest of the way."

"What," Kim asked innocently, "you two don't want to cuddle and try for that matching one?"

As Kate's eyes grew to the size of saucers, Clay glared at her. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too..." he cackled in a high falsetto.

"Oh my," Kate giggled, "that's... that's... that's scary how well you do that, hon. Way too scary. Um. How much time," she asked, "do we have to get ready for tonight?"

Clay stepped back from Kate and glanced at his watch. "Several hours," he noted. "Plenty of time."

Kim gently pulled Clay from the bathroom and shoved him down the hall towards his own room. "Then get going, loverboy."

"All right, all right!" he protested. "I'm going." With that he shut his bedroom door behind him.

"Let me loan you a bathrobe," Kim offered, "so you don't have to walk around this house in those wet clothes for another minute. I can see that you're freezing in them."

"Thank you," Kate said, shivering harder now that she wasn't in Clay's embrace. Until now she hadn't realized that she was cold. "I appreciate that."

Kate peeled off her wet attire and left it in the sink to drain as she entered the shower. The last time a warm shower had felt that good was back in March, after the last big snowfall of the season. Kate's mother Patricia often insisted that one of God's best creations was hot water... and right now Kate was in no position to disagree. Within moments Kim returned, and after a polite knock on the door she left the borrowed bathrobe where Kate could reach it easily. Kate finished with her shower and toweled off. Wrapping up her wet hair, she put on the fluffy warm bathrobe. I have to remember to thank Kim for this favor later. Cleaning up her mess in the bathroom, she left to put on some clean, dry clothes.

Upon leaving the bathroom, she unexpectedly came face to face with Clay... who looked as surprised as she felt. Kate saw as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back a smile, and knew exactly what was going through his very male mind. Between the rainstorm and this bathrobe, there's not a whole lot left for your imagination to play with, is there honey? Men... "Excuse me," Clay said breathlessly and let her slip by him, watching her the entire time she did.

Kate raised a single impish eyebrow at him as she gave him a polite half-smile. "You're excused." Clay blinked at her. Heaving a disappointed sigh at the lack of the response he expected, he turned to walk the rest of the way to the kitchen. Kate waited until he had completely turned his back on her before she swatted him mischievously on his hindquarters.

Clay jumped with a surprised exclamation. He whirled around just in time to see Kate dart into her room with a girlish giggle. Well... I wasn't expecting that. If I had only been a minute quicker, I could have got her back for that... Clay chuckled and finished his walk to the kitchen.

No sooner did Clay arrive at the kitchen when Kim handed him a fresh mug of tea. "Thank you."

"I gather that tea is not the only thing putting out a lot of steam today." She gave a meaningful glance at his neck.

Clay blushed but otherwise ignored her and started blowing on his tea.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Clay firmly shook his head. "No."

"Aw, Clay, you 're no fun." Kim smiled. "It's a good sign though. Just the other day you were worried about her not showing much affection and wondering if you'd ever work it out."

"I know." Clay nodded thoughtfully. "It's promising."

"Still thinking seriously about her?"

"More than ever," Clay admitted. "We've always connected spiritually and emotionally, but now we're connecting physically too. It's probably a good thing that she lives halfway across the country, or we might elope before Christmas."

Kim gaped for a moment before giving him a wicked grin. "Josh eloped with his wife."

Don't give me ideas... Clay nodded again. "I know... but we've both said that we want to get married in the church. Though I always knew if I met the right woman I might change my mind on that." He ran his hand through his damp hair. "Especially when you think about how much we're attracted to each other."

"Really - didn't notice." Kim's eyes twinkled with mischief, and Clay knew she was teasing him. "When do you think you would want to marry her?"

"Sooner would be nice," Clay said sheepishly, "but I haven't even told her that I love her yet."

Kim blinked in surprise. "Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation?"

Clay blushed furiously. "No, I - " He sighed. "I'm looking for the right time to tell her. I don't want to just drop it on her, 'by the way honey, I love you', or something dorky like that. I want the moment to be special, to be natural. I want the time to be right."

Kim nodded, understanding. "You want it to be romantic and meaningful." She saw him nod and glance at her guiltily, and sighed. "And if she's half as sentimental as I believe she is, she'll appreciate you all the more for that."

"That's my hope." Clay took a sip of his tea.

Kate walked into the kitchen dressed in drier clothes and her wet hair pulled up into a neat bun, none the wiser about the conversation that had just taken place. She smiled when Kim handed her a mug of tea as well. "Thank you, Kim. That was thoughtful of you."

Kim shrugged. "I figured you guys could use the help." She winked at Clay. "I'll be in the study if the two of you need anything."

Clay glanced briefly after Kim as she left. I kind of wish she had stayed around, he thought. As long as she's here I know I'll behave myself. He turned back to Kate just in time to catch her looking away from him, a light blush coloring her cheeks. Clay chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully. He knew that tonight would probably be a very romantic night for both of them - it would probably not be a good idea if they had a repeat now of what they had earlier.

"Sweetheart," Kate whispered, "if you want to sit on the couch for a while, that's fine with me. But... I should probably not sit too close." Her blush deepened. "I'll hold your hand, but I'd probably better make that it right now."

Oh my goodness, Clay chuckled. She's still in the mood? Darn... No matter how much he would have enjoyed continuing exactly where they left off (or starting over, for that matter) he appreciated that she was keeping her distance out of respect for him. Both of them were determined to respect each other and wait until marriage, no matter how much they were attracted to each other. "We can talk a while," he told her gently, putting emphasis on the word talk. Taking her hand in one hand and keeping his tea in the other, he walked with Kate out to the couch in the living room.

As agreed, they sat together on the couch with nothing touching but their tightly-linked hands. "I talked to Will," Clay began, "and he thinks I'm crazy for wanting to go to Nebraska for Christmas. He told me, 'Clay man, you know what their winters are like? You're going to freeze your scrawny little white butt out there.'" He grinned as Kate giggled with delight, waiting for her laughter to die down before he continued.

"Clay hon," she giggled helplessly. "We have some nasty winters. There are a lot of things I like about living in Nebraska, but winter is not one of them."

Just what I needed to hear, Clay sighed.

"There's an old Nebraska saying: Don't like the weather? Wait ten minutes, it'll change."

Clay snickered. That saying told him a surprising lot about Nebraska's climate. "Will warned me about your weather. But he's still willing to come with me for the holidays. I know it seems crazy to travel with a bodyguard for the holidays, but..." Clay shrugged, "after yesterday in Disneyland I'm not going to assume anything. And I'm not about to take Jerome away from his kids at Christmastime..."

Kate squeezed his hand as she wiped happy tears from her eyes. "It'll be fun to have him. We'll make sure to have a bunk available for him out on the farm. And I'm sure that Sarah can keep him occupied at least part of the time."

Clay gave her an odd look. "You're saddling those two together?"

"You knew that Andrew's married," Kate reminded him, "with two kids. My parents have each other, and you and I have each other." She made a gesture with her hand. "They'll be the only singles in the place. It sounds obvious to me." Clay gaped at her. "Hey, all I'm suggesting is that they can keep each other a bit of company. It's not like I'm trying to fix them up or anything!" she protested.

"Will would never forgive either one of us if we tried to do that..." Clay drawled.

"Although he could do far, FAR worse than my roommate. In fact, I dare him to find a woman better." Kate frowned.

"He's too late for that," Clay said quietly. "You're my woman."

Kate turned a deep pink as Clay gazed at her affectionately. "Thank you, honey. That's very sweet of you to say that."

"I'm only saying the truth."

"And my truth," Kate answered, stroking his hand warmly, "is that I am the luckiest woman in the world to be by your side."

Clay giggled, a light blush coloring his cheeks. "You're so sweet honey, but I can't help wondering what you see in me."

"Everything," Kate replied immediately.

Giving another giggle, Clay shook his head. "It's a definite: the best hope that Will has now for finding a good woman is Sarah... which isn't very likely, as sour as he is."

"I noticed that he's kind of an ol' grumpy-bear when it comes to romance. He's sure been giving us a hard time. What, he have bad luck with women or something?"

Clay shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't talked about it at all."

"For all we know, he got burned somehow too." Kate shrugged. "Maybe someday when he finds just the right woman for him, that story will come into the open."

They talked until it was time to get ready for their date. Since Kate wanted to redo her hair, she needed some extra time. While she started preparing, Clay took the time to answer a few long overdue emails to some of his friends and family... including giving a reply to Brett, who had asked if she had quoted any more movies after he left. When it was finally time for him to get ready he shut down his computer. Studying his closet, he grabbed several different suit-and-shirt-and-tie combinations so that he could get a woman's opinion from Kim. In no time at all she had narrowed down his choices, and Clay made his final pick.

Since Clay had shaved earlier, all he needed to do was change his clothes and work on his hair. Clad in his dress shirt and slacks, he took his trusty flatiron to his finally-dry locks. He gave himself a critical look in the mirror before approving of his hair. Grabbing the tie, he added that to the ensemble. It's still kind of funny how long it took for me to learn how to tie one of these. Once that was done, he put on his shoes before picking up the jacket that had been hanging on the back of the chair. He slipped it on, lining up the sleeves and smoothing out the bottom hem. For several moments Clay studied his reflection in the mirror. Although he agreed that he looked polished, he still couldn't figure out why Kate or anyone else thought he was handsome... or sexy. In truth the only opinion he cared about was Kate's. With a shrug and a sigh, he grabbed his camera and left the room.

Clay walked down the hall to the kitchen and opened the frig to scan its contents. It's here somewhere... At last his eyes rested on a medium-sized white cardboard box and he grinned. He pulled it out and opened the box, nodding with satisfaction to see the wrist corsage made of white roses that he planned to give Kate. Thanks, Kim. I owe you one.

The buzzer for the door sounded, and Clay opened the door to admit Jerome and Will. "Thanks for doing this for me, guys."

"Sure," Jerome answered. "We're gonna try not to intrude on your date... but we're gonna make sure any more trouble doesn't find you tonight."

"I appreciate that."

Will glanced inside the box with a frown. "That better be for Kate."

Clay considered the flowers. "But they match your eyes so nicely..." he said innocently.

Jerome guffawed as Will scowled. "Keep this up," Will told Clay, "and you can go on that Christmas trip alone."

Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, Clay quickly closed the box and placed it behind his back. Kate rounded the corner and met his eye. A slow smile spread across Clay's face. Ignoring the low whistle that came from Will, Clay walked over to Kate and gave her a closer look. She wore a tank-style sundress with a walking vent in the back, the conservative Hawaiian print causing her eyes come alive with color... and the way the dress hugged her curves made his heart come alive too. Clay also noticed that she somehow looked taller between the high-heeled shoes and the way she wore her long hair hanging straight down her back. He pursed his lips and let out a deep breath, his eyes sparkling with wonder. "Honey... you look amazing."

Kate smiled gently up at him. "Thank you. You do too... but I've always liked you in a suit."

Suddenly reminded about the object he held behind his back, he shook his head thoughtfully. "Even with as beautiful you are, that look is still missing something."

Confused, Kate blinked and quickly looked herself over. She touched her ears, making sure she was wearing both earrings. At a loss to know what she had forgotten, she shrugged. "What am I missing?"

"This." Clay pulled the box out from behind his back and opened it.

Kate gaped at him as he pulled the corsage out of the box. "Clay..." He took her hand in his and slowly threaded the corsage onto her wrist as her jaw trembled. "Clay... I'm touched."

Clay gently placed his finger under her chin and tipped her face up. "You're worth it," he told her quietly and brushed her lips with his. Mm... strawberry. He extended his arm to her with a smile, and she took it. The couple followed the bodyguards out the door and to the car.

Within moments the four of them were at the restaurant - a quietly elegant place where it soon became clear that they would be able to have their romantic evening in peace. Clay had requested a table with some privacy for him and Kate, and the bodyguards would be at the table right next to theirs where they could still keep an eye on them. Once the maitre d' seated them, Clay gazed warmly at Kate. Maybe this is the time to tell her how I feel about her, he thought. "Kate, honey," he began.

Their waiter arrived, cutting Clay off. Or not. Clay stifled a sigh as the waiter placed two water glasses at their table and handed them menus, including a wine list. Quietly Clay laid the wine list to the side unopened.

Immediately the waiter noticed. "Do you have a particular wine in mind, or do you wish for me to recommend one?"

Clay shook his head at the suggestion. "That's okay, thank you."

Kate smiled gently. Between Clay's wish not to indulge in public and her complete lack of tolerance for alcohol, the wine industry was not going to make any money off the two of them. "Wine's not my thing, and he knows that. Thank you for offering."

"All right," the waiter replied, "I'll give you a few minutes to look over your menus before I return to take your order."

"Sorry honey," Kate whispered as the waiter left.

Clay shook his head. "It's not your fault if you can't drink it."

"No," Kate sighed, "but it does limit our choices at restaurants. Especially when you're sweet enough to take me to a nice place like this."

"I'm just happy to be with you," Clay told her, smiling at the blush that colored her cheeks. By the warm look in her eyes, he could see that she was happy to be with him too. Clay studied Kate as she cracked open her menu. Maybe after we order I can tell her, he mused, and if all goes well tonight I can pop the question. Encouraged by this thought, he opened his own menu to glance over the selections. "What sounds good to you, honey?"

"Not the steak," Kate said quietly but firmly. "I'll wait until I go back home to order that. Got to support the local cattle ranchers, you know."

Clay snickered at Kate's mini-commercial. "Somehow I don't think they have Rocky Mountain Oysters," he teased.

Kate glared at him playfully. "Just for that, when you come at Christmastime I'm taking you to someplace that serves them."

With a sigh, Clay shook his head at her mischief. "Better that than sushi."

"Nebraska sushi. Yuck." Making a thoughtful face, she weighed her options for another moment. "I'm torn between the chicken cordon bleu or fish..."

"Which fish?" Clay asked. "They have several good ones."

"Either the grilled salmon," Kate murmured, "or the Mahi-Mahi. Andrew insists that a good Mahi-Mahi is to die for."

Clay enjoyed salmon, but he couldn't vouch for the Mahi-Mahi. "It's up to you, darlin'. And don't even think about asking him for the prices."

Kate frowned and sighed. "I wasn't planning to. Tempted, but..."

"This is my treat," Clay told her, "something special on our last night together."

Our last night together... The thought sobered Kate immediately, and she looked up at Clay. His somber eyes told her that the impact of what he had said just now hit home for him too. Something special it is. "The Mahi, then," she whispered, meeting his gaze.

Shortly the waiter returned, and Clay gave him their meal orders. With the menus out of their way, Clay reached across the table and took her hand. Tell her now. He took a deep breath. "Kate..."

Will nudged Clay, and Clay jumped. "What are you guys getting?"

Must teach Will timing. Clay turned to his bodyguards. "Kate's having the Mahi-Mahi, and I'm having the New York strip steak."

"Wait 'til I get you to Nebraska," Kate purred, "and I'll find you a good steak."

Jerome chuckled. "Kate, these are good steaks."

"I don't doubt that they're good," Kate replied. "I'm talking a gooood steak. Trust me, there's a difference between good and really good."

Will snorted. "Since when did you become a beef expert?"

"Since my dad raised cattle for a living?" she answered.

Will's expression turned apologetic. "Oh. That's right, I knew that."

Jerome leaned closer towards them. "And just what do you recommend?"

"Black Angus," she said immediately. "A good Black Angus steak is nearly impossible to beat."

"Dang," Jerome said as he sat back upright. "She knows breed and everything."

Not everything... Kate shrugged. "Like I said, Dad used to raise them. I've tried steaks made from other breeds like Hereford and Charolais, but Angus are still the best."

Will blinked with surprise. He was obviously impressed. "What's the difference?"

Again Kate shrugged. "Build... color... beyond that, I don't know. Ask my dad at Christmas."

The two bodyguards returned to their own conversation, and once more Clay mulled over the best way to tell Kate his true feelings. Let's try this one more time. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh my gosh!" a startled woman's voice exclaimed from close by. "It's Clay Aiken!"

Clay glanced up at the speaker, a fifty-something woman with obviously bleached hair and entirely too much jewelry. Immediately Will got up and led the woman away from them. Once again Clay sighed - these interruptions were becoming annoying. Fine, he frowned as he stroked the back of Kate's hand, I'll wait until after dinner to tell her.

Kate seemed to sense that something was on his mind. "Is there something you wanted to talk about, Clay sweetheart?"

Clay smiled gently at her. "It can wait until after dinner. I don't want to get interrupted again."

That sounds serious. Kate nodded. "All right." She decided she would wait to hear what was on Clay's mind before sharing the depth of her feelings with him.

Will returned to his seat with an irritated snort. Clay grinned wryly at him. "Want to tell us about it?"

"She wanted your autograph, of course," Will grumbled. "I managed to talk her out of it... but I had to give her mine and pose for a picture with her in order to do it."

Kate giggled warmly as the other two tried to hold back their own laughter. "You're a master negotiator, Will. Thank you."

Will brightened at Kate's praise. "Anytime."

Still holding hands, Clay and Kate talked until their food arrived. After a quick prayer they began eating, conversing throughout the course of the meal.

The waiter cleared their plates when they were finished. "May I suggest dessert for the lady and gentleman this evening?"

Clay glanced at Kate, whose eyes widened as she shook her head. "I think we're fine, thank you." The waiter left again, and Clay winked at Kate.

"I think if I had tried to eat anything more, I wouldn't be able to dance this evening!" Kate confessed. "Not that I dance well to begin with..."

Considering her with half-closed eyes, Clay bit his bottom lip. "I think it's about time we found out." Clay stood and assisted Kate from her seat. He turned to Jerome and Will, indicating the dance floor. "We'll be out there if you need anything."

Will rolled his eyes as Jerome nodded. "We'll just keep an eye on you two."

Clay led Kate by the hand out to the dance floor and immediately took her into his arms. "So," Kate smiled wickedly, "who wants to be the first to step on the other person's foot?"

Clay chuckled at her wit. "You can step on mine, honey. You're lighter."

Within moments the two of them were dancing to the up-tempo music and thoroughly enjoying each other's company. While neither of them was a natural at fancy footwork, both knew just enough about dancing to be able to work together with minimal stepping on toes.

"I don't care what you say," Kate whispered, "you're a good dancer."

Clay smiled at her. "That's because I have you to cover up my mistakes!" He giggled. "It's easy to look good with someone like you for a dance partner."

"Miss Calamity Kate, klutz extraordinaire..." Kate raised an eyebrow. "...Moonlighting as a dance instructor at the local college in her spare time."

Clay giggled at her joke. "Something like that." Suddenly he focused sharply on a point over her shoulder. "What the..." He squinted, trying to make something out in the distance.

"What is it?"

Clay shook his head. "I don't know - but from here it looks like Jerome and Will are up to no good."

"Well, that much is obvious." Kate glanced in the bodyguards' direction. The two men were furiously scribbling on sheets of paper, occasionally stealing glances at the couple. "They're up to something, all right. I think we should check it out."

"Okay." Clay led their dancing towards the part of the floor closest to the bodyguards. Will saw them coming, because as soon as they came close enough the bodyguards held up their pieces of paper for Clay and Kate to read - Jerome's paper read "7.1" and Will's read "6.3".

Kate giggled, smiling wryly at a slack-jawed Clay. "They're your bodyguards."

Clay broke into amused laughter as he shook his head at Jerome and Will's mischief. "You guys are too much sometimes."

"Dude, you love us and you know it."

Several more high-paced tunes later Clay and Kate stopped for a breather. "Either they need to play something slower," Kate panted, "or I need to take a few minutes to rest."

As if on command, the music of a waltz began. Clay gave her a deep bow. "May I have this dance, my beautiful lady?"

Kate giggled but curtsied. "Of course."

Again Clay gathered Kate into his arms for a dance. This is more of what I had in mind, he admitted to himself, when I suggested a dancing date. Fortunately they proved to be far better at waltzing than two-stepping, as the point values on the bodyguards' signs showed when they danced by again.

The musicians took a break after several waltzes, and couples milled around the dance floor keeping conversation with each other. Kate wrapped her arms around Clay's waist. "Thank you for suggesting this evening, sweetheart. I'm enjoying it very much."

Clay pulled her close to rest her head on his shoulder, stroking along the length of her hair absentmindedly. "I'm enjoying it too, honey. I'm enjoying every little moment I have with you."

Kate sighed, closing her eyes as she inhaled his cologne. This is one of those little moments that I don't want to let go. "Do I have to go back tomorrow?" she joked. When Clay didn't answer, she lifted her head to look up at him. "Clay?"

Clay gave her a weak smile. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm trying to think of a good excuse to keep you here with me longer." Say, for the rest of my life...

"Don't I wish I could," Kate murmured wistfully. "Unfortunately there's too much work for me to do at home - I have no choice for now."

Darn, Clay sighed. So much for finding the nearest available justice of the peace...

The music started again, another slow and sultry ballad. Clay and Kate gazed longingly into each other's eyes before Clay pulled her close again. Kate wrapped her arms around him as Clay touched his forehead to hers. Both of them closed their eyes as they began to dance very slowly, savoring each note and phrase as they swayed in time to the music.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hours later back at the house

Clay held the door for Kate. "Thank you, honey," Kate said as she entered.

"You're welcome." Locking it behind them, he turned back to Kate. He bit his lip. "I uh... don't know about you, honey, but I didn't get quite enough dancing with you there at the restaurant. Do you mind if I turn on some music and we dance a bit more?"

Kate nodded. "Sure."

Clay took a moment to set up the stereo, choosing some CDs he had made of super-romantic music that were both of their favorites. He started the music, and as one of Kate's favorite Yanni pieces played he walked over to Kate with a slight smile on his face. Wordlessly he offered her his hand. Kate took it, gazing into his loving eyes. Clay pulled her close to him, sighing happily as they danced cheek to cheek in each other's embrace to everything from James Taylor and Shania Twain to Enrique Iglesias and Steven Curtis Chapman.

He's humming, Kate thought to herself during one of the songs. She smiled warmly as she listened to him harmonize with the CD. I'd listen to this anytime. Feeling appreciative, Kate turned and lightly kissed him on the cheek near the corner of his mouth. Abruptly Clay stopped humming. Without releasing her, he pulled back in their embrace just enough to look her in the eye. Slowly Clay leaned back in towards her, his lips mere inches away from hers. He continued to dance slowly with her, his smoldering green eyes daring her to take a risk, to make the next move. Answering his challenge with one of her own, Kate gazed right back into his eyes almost without blinking. Every other moment one of them shifted a bit, and they danced closer and closer as the music played on.

After an eternity of staring deep into each other's eyes, Clay took Kate's face in his hand and stroked her lips with the tip of his thumb. Her jaw quivered at his touch, and Clay's breath started to catch in his lungs. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he mouthed her name as all other words failed him entirely. Kate responded immediately, letting his name trail on her breath as her eyes started to close. Accepting her invitation, Clay kissed her on the lips, at first sweet and simple, and then with building emotion as he breathed her name between kisses. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, pulling him closer for a longer kiss. Keeping his arms firmly around her back, he straightened, lifting her off the ground without breaking the kiss. Kate gave a slight cry of surprise, but hung on tight. They kissed for several uninterrupted minutes, not stopping even when Clay placed Kate back on the ground. Finally coming up for air, Kate released her hold to shift her tiring arms. Giving Clay a steamy look, she slid her hands down his chest and around his torso underneath his jacket.

Clay stepped back out of Kate's arms for a moment, pulling on the tie and shirt collar that had suddenly become too tight. Briefly turning his back on Kate, he shrugged out of his suit coat and placed it over the nearby chair. Careful to keep his back turned, he added the tie and his shoes to the discarded items before turning back to an amazed Kate. He nodded at the items and explained. "I want to be able to breathe," he told her and indicated his loosened collar, smiling as she nodded with understanding. Slowly Clay extended his hand to her, and when she took it he walked her over to the couch. Once they sat he pulled her close, stroking her hair as they held each other tightly in a warm embrace. Impulsively Clay kissed her on the shoulder. He heard Kate's quick intake of breath and kissed her shoulder again. Continuing with slow, deliberate kisses on her bare skin, he worked his way from her shoulder towards her neck. Kate's breathing quickened, coming fast and shallow as he nuzzled and kissed her neck. By the time he had made his way back to her face, Kate appeared to be in a mood very similar to that afternoon's. Clay once more took her in his arms, lightly kissing the apple of her cheek, the tip of her nose, and each of her eyes in turn. Kate braced his face in both her hands as she returned the gesture, kissing every inch of his face once, twice, even three times before she focused on his lips. By the time she did, Clay was burning at the hands of his own personal fire. He laid siege to her lips with abandon and was answered in kind. They kissed at length, the passion building little by little until neither one of them was thinking too clearly. Fueled by his desire to spend one last magical evening together before Kate's return home, Clay slowly tipped her backwards towards the couch.

Suddenly Kate clutched his arms with a fierce grip, crying out in alarm. Immediately Clay stopped, looking into her eyes wide with fright like he had never seen in her as she trembled visibly. "Kate? Are you all right, honey? What is it?" he asked with mounting concern.

"This," Kate gasped, leaning upwards with a clear indication of wanting out of that position. "All of a sudden I... Germany... I..."

For a brief moment Clay frowned, unsure what she meant. Suddenly it dawned on him - that fateful night Viktor had forced her back onto the couch as he had attempted to violate her. And in the heat of the moment, he had just now unconsciously brought up that memory. Clay grimaced and pulled her back up into his arms. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I didn't even think..."

"I-I-I'm the one who should be sorry," Kate choked out. "I know you didn't mean to..."

Clay continued to hold her close in a reassuring embrace, stroking her hair. In spite of the fact that he was not a violent man, there was little more he wanted right now than to rearrange Viktor's face or other key parts of his anatomy for what he did to Kate. He still wanted to declare his undying love for Kate... but it was painfully clear to him that tonight there would be no proposal. Kate would not be ready for that until she was farther along in the healing process. "Kate..."

"I mean, you're a sweet and gentle man who would never harm anybody," Kate told him, speaking entirely too fast, "at least not intentionally. Never in a million years would you hurt somebody that way." She reached up and touched his face. "You're totally loving and compassionate, you're faith-filled and steadfast. You're confident about who you are and what you feel and you're not afraid to show affection. You're loyal and you're true, you're smart and you're funny. You're the complete package, well-rounded and absolutely beautiful in every way." Clay stared wide-eyed at her as she continued without the hint of taking a breath. "You deserve amazing and wonderful things. You deserve every little beautiful thing that life has to offer. You deserve happiness in abundance."

Clay bit his lip with concern. Kate was talking much too quickly, and he feared that she was on the brink of hysterics. "Kate..." he began.

Kate never heard him. "You deserve a woman who is every bit as amazing and wonderful as you are. I could only hope," she chuckled once, a desperate sort of sound, "hope and dream to be the kind of woman you want and need. You're so much better than I deserve, but that doesn't change the fact that I love you, Clay Aiken. I love you wholly, completely, madly, passionately, deeply, in a 'til death do us part kind of way like I've only ever dreamed of loving a man. But I can't help but wonder if that's ever going to be enough. I don't have anything to offer but my love and devotion... and how could that ever be enough?"

Obviously surprised by her revelation, Clay took in a sharp breath. Kate loves me? He gaped, his jaw trembling as he gazed into her turbulent eyes. Kate just told me that she loves me... she loves me... With all the tenderness he could muster Clay took her face in his hands. "It's enough for me, honey... because I love you too." Kate's eyes focused sharply on him, and Clay knew he had broken whatever spell had frightened her. "I love you, darling Kate, with a love that never ends but only grows. I love you with the kind of love that would be content in all things if you and only you were by my side the rest of my life." Kate's jaw dropped, and Clay shook his head. "I had hoped to propose to you tonight... but after what just happened I want to give you some more time. I trust you and I trust our love for each other, and the last thing I want to do is rush you into something that you might not be ready for."

Kate blinked rapidly. "You love me... even with all my faults, with everything that's happened, you still love me," she breathed.

"As you do me," Clay answered her.

Once more reaching up towards him, this time to run her fingers through his hair, Kate bit her lip in a futile attempt to keep the tears from falling. When they rolled down her cheek anyway, Clay smiled gently and wiped them away. "I love you," she mouthed without a sound.

"I love you," he returned in kind. His smile grew as Kate continued to run her fingers over and through his hair, her eyes begging him for a bit of affection. Slowly, carefully, Clay pulled her close for a soft, tender kiss. When they broke, Kate wrapped her arms around him tighter. She laid her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart contentedly. Clay placed a sweet kiss on her forehead as he caressed her face, relishing the sensation of what it was like to be in love with someone who completely, wholly loved him back. I am the luckiest man alive, he thought. Thank you God.

All at once Kate opened her eyes. Either my ears are playing tricks on me or he just... She blinked with confusion. "Clay?"

"Mmm?" Clay asked.

"What did you just say? I mean... after you said that you loved me... what did you say? I..." she bit her lip, "think I may have heard, but I'm not sure what I heard, so I figure I'd better make sure in case I'm delusional or something like that."

Not sure what you heard? Clay smiled wryly. She probably remembered exactly what he said, but now doubted her own memory. Looks like I need to tell you again. Very gently he lifted her chin with his finger so that she could look him in the eye. "Kate honey... we've been talking in very general terms about marriage... but I know in my heart that I really do want to marry you. I'd marry you yet tonight if I thought you were ready and would tell me yes." Noticing as she breathed in sharply, he continued quietly. "But I don't want to rush you, darlin', into something you're not ready for. And after what happened a few minutes ago, I don't think you are. I know that you are planning to see a counselor in the near future, and I want to give your therapy some time before I even think about proposing to you."

"You said," Kate blinked, "that you had hoped to propose to me tonight?" Clay nodded and Kate blinked incredulously. He wants to marry me... for real?? Suddenly light-headed, Kate took two or three really slow, deep breaths. "Wow. I-I-I... wow."

Clay chuckled under his breath. "I'm glad I didn't. It doesn't look like you would have said yes."

"We're still so new," Kate breathed, "as a couple. In spite of... how much I do want to marry you, we would not have been ready. We still need to take some time to be an average couple."

Clay smiled and shrugged. He hadn't come to his choice lightly - between his love for Kate and his remembering a choice bible passage (one that said people should marry quickly rather than burn with desire) he felt that they shouldn't wait too long to exchange vows. For now their saving grace would be the distance between them. "I can wait for you," he told her. "I want for you to see some healing before I propose to you." Still unable to believe her ears, Kate enthusiastically threw her arms around him. Carried by her momentum, Clay lost his balance, and the two fell off the couch. With a light bump they landed on the carpeted floor below, Clay on his back holding Kate in his arms. Amused, Clay laughed with hearty enthusiasm as Kate tried to hold back her own giggles. "You're determined to put us on the floor from time to time, aren't you honey?"

"At least this time," she snickered, "I did it in the privacy of your home, not a witness in sight."

A wicked gleam lit Clay's eye. "Maybe this is where we should make love for the first time..."

Kate blushed brilliantly as a slight smile turned the corner of her mouth. Although a bit embarrassed at hearing it come from Clay's mouth, she found the idea both wonderful and surprisingly sexy. And somehow completely appropriate for the two of them. "We'll just have to see," she whispered, "where the mood leads us on our wedding night."

Clay nodded. "We'll just have to see." He smiled impishly at her as she gave a girlish giggle. "Come here, honey..." he purred, threading his fingers through her hair and bringing her down for a tender kiss. After a moment of that, Clay carefully broke the kiss. "Why don't we get back up on the couch? That's a lot more comfortable than this floor."

"You're the one," Kate told him, giving him a single tickle in his side, "who started it."

Clay chuckled sheepishly as Kate helped him sit up. "You're the one who put us on the floor in the first place..."

"Which time?" Kate retorted.

For a moment Clay paused, trying to remember all the times they had unexpectedly found themselves laying on the floor in compromising positions... in the limo, in the kitchen, both times on the lawn, on the set of Regis and Kelly, and now here in the living room. Once he gave it some thought, she always had started it somehow. "All of them!" he answered.

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but said nothing as she also recalled each time. In some form or another, she had brought about every one. Her protest died on her lips, a high-pitched squeak coming out in its place. She clapped her hand over her mouth at seeing Clay's wide eyes.

"Oh my gosh..." Clay giggled at Kate's embarrassed reaction. Some days, honey, you're just too cute. Moving back up to the couch, he extended her a hand. "Come on, honey. Let's try this again." Kicking off her high-heeled shoes, Kate laid down beside him on the couch. Clay grinned warmly as she snuggled close in his arms, and kissed her on the top of her head. He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes as he inhaled the scents of her hair and her perfume.

Within moments both of them were breathing deep and slow, having fallen asleep in each other's arms once more.

Go to the next day, Day 7

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