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

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Day Two - Saturday, December 24 (Christmas Eve day)

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"Good morning, everyone!" Kate sang as she joined the crew already gathered - both of her parents, her brother Andrew and sister-in-law Holly, their two children, and lastly Sarah and Clay. She knew from previous conversations that Will was probably still asleep - he was not a morning person.

"My, you're chipper," Sarah told her with a wink, smirking when Kate blushed lightly.

"It's Christmas Eve," Kate responded. "A perfect time to be cheerful." She sat between Clay and her niece Alyssa, playing with Alyssa's hair and giving Clay a gentle kiss on his cheek before grabbing the closest serving plate.

Alyssa looked up at Kate, then at Clay, then back again at Kate with wide brown eyes. "Whose mommy are you?"

A confused frown crossed Kate's face as she glanced over at Clay. Noticing that he looked equally puzzled, she gave her sister-in-law a questioning look. Holly shrugged. Kate turned back to Alyssa. "I'm not anybody's mommy, sweetheart, not yet. I want to be a mommy someday though."

"Is Unca Clay going to be the daddy?" Alyssa asked, looking over at Clay.

Kate smiled warmly at Clay as he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm hoping he wants the job. But that will be after we get married. Why do you ask?"

"Mommy said that kissing is something mommies and daddies do," Alyssa explained innocently.

Kate nodded, remembering the peck on the cheek she had given Clay a moment ago. "Ah. You don't have to already be a mommy and a daddy to kiss, sweetie. Sometimes people who want to become mommies and daddies kiss because they love each other so much."

This seemed to satisfy the little girl. "I saw you and Unca Clay unner the kissletoe last night," Alyssa continued. "He was kissing you lots."

Muffled snickers and amused giggles went around the table at Alyssa's proclamation. As Kate blushed brilliantly and hid her face in her hand, Clay closed his eyes and groaned. I think I'm going back to California now...

"Next time," Sarah grinned wickedly, "sell tickets."

"SARAH!!" Kate exclaimed as Clay smacked his forehead.

Patricia walked around the table to where Clay was seated. Placing a warm hand on his shoulder, she leaned between Clay and Kate to whisper to them. "It's alright, Clay, that's what the mistletoe is there for. Looks like it was a popular gathering place last night."

"Yeah," Kate drawled, "I understand that there were a couple of rabbits cavorting around in the barn last night."

Clay jerked wide-eyed to stare at Kate. I can't believe she told her...

"Oh really..." Patricia asked, skewering Clay with an impish eyebrow.

Clay flushed with embarrassment. Telling his (hopeful) future in-laws that he had caught them getting romantic with each other was not the way to impress them on only his second day here. "That could have stayed between the two of us, you know," he whispered.

"Don't worry about it, Clay. It's not the first time we've been 'caught' at it." Patricia wrapped her arms fondly around her daughter's neck. "Keep this in mind for when you finally get married - what goes around, comes around."

Kate knew exactly what that meant - when that day came she would become the recipient of her own rabbit jokes. And considering how much she had teased her parents and her brother about it over the years, she would indeed be in for it. She grimaced at Clay.

Finished with breakfast, Arthur stood up with his plate and utensils. "I'm headed out to do the morning chores," he informed his wife as he placed them in the sink.

With a jerk of his head, Clay glanced over at him. Now's your chance to have that talk - take it. "Do you mind if I join you, Mr. Kirche?"

Arthur studied Clay for a moment. "Yeah... sure. I don't know how much you're gonna be able to help with, but you're welcome to come along."

Kate smiled as Clay hurried with the last few bites of his breakfast. It pleased her that Clay wanted to make an opportunity to bond with her father... even if he was a city boy. "Have fun," she told him as he placed his plate and utensils in the sink.

Clay blew out a deep breath - how could he have fun when he was a bundle of nerves? "Thanks hon," he answered her, giving her a kiss on her temple before joining her dad at the coat rack.

The rest of the family finished up their breakfasts and took their table settings to the sink as had Arthur and Clay. Kate glanced at her watch. "I think I've given them enough time," she told Sarah.

"Given who enough time?" Sarah asked.

"Dad and Clay," Kate answered. "I want them to be nice and busy so that they don't notice when I slip out there to sneak a couple of candid photos."

Sarah gave Patricia a significant glance. Instantly Patricia picked up on the silent message. "I was hoping to get you and Sarah to help me here in the kitchen." Patricia smiled at Kate. "Why don't you give your camera to Andrew and let him take some pictures of them for you? He always was a good photographer, and with his training he could be anywhere in that old barn and they'd never know it."

Kate heaved a disappointed sigh. She had really wanted to watch Clay helping her father. "All right," she reluctantly gave in, "I'll see if I can't draft Andrew for that. Give me a minute to go get my camera." With that she turned and went to the bedroom.

Sarah gave her forehead a melodramatic wipe. "That was close."

Patricia nodded. "I could tell by your look that letting her go out there was a bad idea. Glad I could help out." She smiled very slightly. "Unless I miss my guess, there's a reason Clay went with him in the first place... something we don't want Kate to stumble across."

With a smile, Sarah nodded. "You've got it." Sarah leaned closer to whisper to Patricia. "Of course Clay has kept in touch with you about the surprise..."

"Mm-hm," Patricia acknowledged. "He's done very well with keeping us in the loop."

Sarah indicated the barn with a jerk of her head. "I know he's been completely honest from the start about his intentions regarding Kate, but Clay still wanted to ask Dad Kirche for permission to marry Kate face to face... and that's probably what he's out there doing right now."

Patricia snickered. "Wondered about that. He seems like the kind of young man who would stick to those special kinds of traditions for the people he loves."

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Sarah raised a finger. Turning to see who entered the room Sarah smiled up at Kate and Andrew, the latter with Kate's camera. "Your mission," Andrew whispered, "should you choose to accept it, is to take intelligence photos of the sister's boyfriend."

As Sarah giggled, Kate wrinkled her nose. "Drew, you're weird."

Andrew pulled Kate close and mussed her hair. "I get it from you, sis."

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Clay poured a bucket of food into a feed trough for the horses. Kate's father had been right - there hadn't been a lot of tasks that needed to be done, and they were sure to complete them in short order. He moved out of the way as the two horses, Ginger and Strawberry, came to collect their breakfast. Rejoining Arthur with the empty bucket, Clay took a deep breath. "Mr. Kirche, there's something I want to ask you."

Arthur took the bucket from Clay with a glance at the younger man. "Shoot."

"I uh..." He took another deep breath and nervously began again. "I want to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."

Arthur frowned thoughtfully. "What good's just her hand gonna do you if you don't take the rest of her too?" He grinned unexpectedly as Clay relaxed with a chuckle. "No, Clay, you're a good man. You have both our permission and our blessings to marry Kate." Arthur extended his hand to Clay. When Clay took it, the two men shook hands. "Welcome to the family, son," Arthur said hoarsely, drawing Clay into a manly hug.

"Thanks, Dad," Clay returned, touched by Arthur's show of acceptance.

"Dang," Andrew's voice filtered down from the loft of the barn, "I knew I had the wrong camera." Scampering down the ladder, he dropped down beside them with a loud thump when his feet hit the floor. "I should have had my video camera."

Clay blinked at him. "Kate sent you out here to take pictures?"

"Yeah," Andrew nodded. "Kate wanted to do it herself, but Mom drafted her in the kitchen. Now I know why - brother." Andrew gave Clay a cuff on the arm.

That was close... Clay heaved a sigh of relief.

"You think she suspects?"

"I hope not," Clay told him. "Otherwise my surprise won't be much of a surprise." He smirked at Andrew. "Just keep that video camera handy."

"When are you going to spring the surprise?" Andrew asked, eager with anticipation.

Clay's eyes twinkled, and he sighed. "Let's just say that I need to borrow Sarah to help me with a few last-minute details before I'll be ready."

Finished with the tasks that needed done in the barn, the three men went back in the house. Andrew placed Kate's camera on the kitchen table. "There ya go, sis. Got you your pictures."

Kate grinned at him from where she and Sarah were cutting up vegetables. "Thanks, Drew."

Clay placed his arms around the shoulders of the two friends, stealing a kiss from Kate. "Mrs. Kirche, do you mind if I borrow Sarah for a little while?"

"Ask her," Patricia replied.

"That's my next step." Clay turned to Sarah. "Would you be willing to help me with a little last-minute Christmas shopping in town?"

Kate blinked with surprise. "I could always help you, sweetheart."

Clay firmly shook his head. "Trust me - you can't help me with this."

"Oh." Kate chewed her lip. Couldn't guess who he's going shopping for...

"What say you, fair Sarah?"

Sarah glanced up at Clay with a snicker. "Of course. But save the 'fair' business for your girlfriend."

"There's nothing wrong with calling another woman fair... as long as I have even better things to call her. Right, beautiful?" Clay wrapped his arms around Kate's waist and kissed her ear, causing her to blush.

"You are such a flirt," Kate giggled.

Clay shrugged. "That's what I hear." He kissed her ear again. "I always save the best for you."

Sarah made a face. "Gak. Do you have to do that right here where I can see it?"

Kate gave Clay a quick and gentle kiss on his lips. "Of course, Sarah. That way you can tell us if we're doing it right."

"Spare me," Sarah groaned and quickly cleaned up her mess. "Just for that, I'm stealing your boyfriend away now." She walked over to collect her coat.

"Allow me," Clay offered, assisting her with the sleeve.

"I can get it," Sarah told him.

"Of course you can," Clay nodded, "but that won't stop me from being nice."

"No, of course not. This is you we're talking about." With a slight sigh, Sarah allowed him to help her with her coat. "Not that enigmatic bodyguard of yours."

Enigmatic, hunh? Clay could tell by Sarah's response that Will had made quite the impression on her, and perhaps another impression since he last saw them together. Let's see what we can't do to encourage this... He snapped his fingers. "Speaking of Will, is he finally up? If we're going into town, I really should have him along."

Sarah frowned. She hadn't completely sorted out her thoughts after last night. "Do you have to?"

"I don't have to," Clay said quietly, "but after our experience at Disneyland I take few chances. The last thing I want to see is you getting hurt because I didn't take any precautions."

Darn it all, why does he have to be so concerned, especially if that means he comes along? Sarah's frown deepened. "I suppose."

Clay hurried to the room where Will was staying. He raised his hand to knock on the door just as it opened. "Oh, there you are."

"What's up, man?" Will asked.

"I need to do some shopping in town," Clay told him. "I have some of my gifts for the family already in my luggage, and I mailed the teddy bears for the kids here weeks ago, but there are still a few things I need to do before everyone opens gifts tonight."

Will nodded. "Yeah, better not have Clay Aiken wandering the Kearney mall without an escort. Let's get our coats and go."

"If it's alright with you, I'll drive us around today," Clay told him as they came down the stairs, "and Sarah gets the passenger seat since she'll be the one giving us directions."

What? Will stopped abruptly on the stair, and Clay had to grab the banister to keep from colliding into him. "Sarah's going with?" Will asked.

"Yeah," Clay answered with a nod. "The errands I have to do I can't take Kate if I want them to remain a surprise."

Oh boy. Will sighed. At least by Clay volunteering to drive, it meant that he wouldn't have to sit next to her. He frowned. The things I do for the job. "Let's go." He started walking again, with determination in his step.

Once the three were bundled up, they walked towards Clay's rented SUV. "Sarah, since you're the native, I want you playing navigator while I drive."

Sarah shook her head. "Oh no. I'm afraid I have a 'thing' about driving versus navigating if I'm the one who knows the area. I'll do the driving."

"That's not possible," Will told her. "Only our names are on the list for the rental car. If we get in an accident while you're driving, we won't be covered."

Really. Sarah heaved a sigh. "Clay, you'll let me drive, won't you?"

Clay shook his head firmly. "He's right - you're not on the rental car insurance. I don't want to take a chance of an accident with the winter roads."

Feeling miffed by now, Sarah scowled deeply. "Fine. If that's your only excuse, we'll take my car. I hope I'm on the insurance for that one."

Clay opened his mouth to respond but closed it at seeing the angry fire in her eyes. "Lead the way," he told her with a gallant gesture of his hand, "because I am going to be depending on you to help me find what I need to here in Kearney."

Sarah nodded firmly as she unlocked the doors to her car, a very-compact hatchback. "Let me know what you need, and I'll get you to the best places in town to find it."

An impish twinkle lit Clay's eye. "Will, why don't you take the front seat? It will probably accommodate your long legs better than the tiny back seat will."

Will glanced with surprise at Clay. "What about your long legs, Stretch?"

Clay stifled a snicker. "I'm limber enough that I'll manage all right in the back seat. You're the one who will need a moving seat." To his amusement, both Will and Sarah gave him looks that suggested he had out-maneuvered them again and that he would definitely regret it later. Not wanting to give them a chance to switch the arrangements, Clay quickly crawled into the back and sprawled out with a contented sigh. "Come on in. I'm sure it will be much warmer once she starts the engine."

Slowly Sarah and Will climbed into their respective seats beside each other up front, studiously ignoring each other as they buckled up. Sarah used her rearview mirror to glance back at Clay as she started the car. "So what errands do you need to do yet?"

"I need to find a florist," Clay responded immediately. "One that will be able to get those lavender-colored roses Kate is so fond of. So far all the times I've sent her flowers I've gone through a florist there in L.A., and they've done all the work with the local florists."

Sarah heaved a thoughtful sigh. "Oh boy. Tell you what - let's stop by the apartment and grab the phone book. If the rest of your errands are like this one, then I'll want it. What else do you need to look around town for?" Clay gave her the rest of his things-to-do list, and Sarah made a raspberry noise with her mouth. "I definitely want my phone book. Let's go to the apartment first."

Knowing that she wouldn't take long, Sarah scampered into the apartment complex alone. After a moment or two she emerged with a phone book only an inch thick. Clay blinked with surprise at the book as she crawled back into the car. "That's it?" Clay asked, pointing at the book.

"Yeah," Sarah acknowledged as she fastened her seat belt. "When there's only 25,000 people in a city, the phone book isn't that large." She tapped the cover. "And this actually includes some of the neighboring towns too - the Class-B towns of Minden, Holdrege, Lexington, Cozad, and Gothenburg... and all the little ones around them." Clay gave his head a startled shake, and Sarah snorted. "Welcome to small-town Nebraska."

"It's just that I'm used to a phone book this thick," Clay said, indicating a distance of about five inches with his fingers.

Sarah shook her head. "The only phone books in Nebraska that even come close would be the books for Lincoln or Omaha, and even then those books include the surrounding area."

Small town Nebraska, indeed. Clay glanced over Sarah's shoulder at the phone book. "Where's our first stop, Miss Pilot?"

Sarah studied the Yellow Pages. "We should probably get the gift certificates for Mom and Dad Kirche since that'll take the longest." She placed a piece of scratch paper in one of the pages before turning to another section. "We'll hit the restaurant for Friday night just before we go to the florist. However, I'm going to narrow our search a bit by doing some calling around while you're getting everything."

Starting with the one closest to the apartment, Sarah drove them to the nicer restaurants in Kearney that Arthur and Patricia Kirche enjoyed - The Captain's Table, Red Lobster, Sydney's Restaurant, and The Alley Rose among them. While Clay and Will went inside each one, Sarah remained in the car keeping the car warm and running while calling the florist shops in town.

"Finally," Sarah said triumphantly after they returned from the fourth restaurant. "It took me six phone calls, but I finally found one that promised they could get lavender roses for next week."

"Perfect," Clay said. "Then that's where I'll go to get the flowers for tonight."

"That will be on the way back from Grandpa's Steak House," Sarah told him. "The one for Friday."

Again Sarah drove them to the restaurant, this one on the south end of town and across the interstate, but this time all of them went in. Clay greeted the host at the door. "Hi, and Merry Christmas. May I talk with your manager, or whoever would be in charge of reservations and parties?"

"Sure," the host said and slipped into the back part of the restaurant.

Within moments the manager emerged. "What can I help you folks with?"

"Hi, and Merry Christmas," Clay greeted him, extending his hand for a handshake. "We have a reservation for a party next Friday." When the manager gave him a blank look, Clay turned to Sarah. "What name did you reserve it under?"

"Sarah Daniels," Sarah told him. "I didn't want to take any chances putting it under yours."

"Parker would have worked," Clay shrugged. He turned back to the manager. "Do you remember a party room reservation under the name of Daniels?"

The manager smiled, remembering. "I do. Do you have the final head count?"

"I do," Clay nodded. "I came here to give you those numbers and work out the final details."

"Then let's do it."

For the next ten minutes Clay and Sarah worked with the manager over the details of the meal to come while Will watched them thoughtfully. Clay handed him a check towards the deposit and the two men shook hands. Finished with that piece of business, he turned back to Sarah and Will. "Ready?"

"Ready," Sarah replied. Back in the car, they drove back over the interstate towards town and the florist shop that was their last destination. The three of them entered the florist shop. Immediately Sarah walked toward the counter. "Hi, I called you a while ago. Sarah Daniels."

"Ah, yes." The middle-aged woman at the counter smiled. "You asked about lavender roses."

Sarah nodded. "I was calling around for a friend. He's the one who wants to buy them." She turned to glance at Clay, who stepped forward.

"Good morning, and Merry Christmas," Clay greeted, wincing slightly as the woman's eyes grew to the size of saucers. Oh no, recognized again. "I would like to place an order..." he began, describing what he had in mind. He paused as the woman kept nodding vaguely. "Would it help if you wrote it down?"

With that the woman sprang into action. Picking up a pen, she wrote up the flower order with shaky hands. "Wh-when did you need this to be ready by?"

"Next Friday," Clay told her gently, "since your sign says you won't be open that Saturday morning."

The woman firmly shook her head. "I think we can accommodate this order."

"But - "

Still shaking her head, the woman insisted. "For you, and for one of our own local girls... I'll make it work if I have to deliver them myself."

Clay gaped, his mouth opening and closing several times before Sarah patted his hand. "Just say 'thank you', Clay," she drawled.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Oh, and before you ring that up, I have something else I want to add to that order." Clay walked over to the flower cooler and sorted through the individual roses, picking out the best one each of red, pink, and white. Impulsively he also plucked a pink carnation from its own display. On the way back he picked up a large, brightly-colored poinsettia, cradling it in his arm. "These," he replied, placing all of them on the counter.

As Clay kept the carnation in his hand, the woman wrapped the individual roses, rang up the entire purchase, and processed Clay's credit card. She blinked nervously as Clay handed the roses to Sarah in order to take the poinsettia. "W-Would you mind if... if I got your autograph? Otherwise nobody's going to believe me when I tell them."

With a smile and a sigh, Clay nodded and pulled a sharpie out of his coat pocket. "What would you like me to sign for you?"

From behind the counter the woman brought up a copy of his most current CD. She placed the insert in front of him, the picture facing up. "This, please. If you would sign it to Ann..."

Clay glanced up at her. "You must be Ann." When the woman flushed, Clay began to sign the insert. "There you go. And thank you for all your help." He handed Ann the carnation with a smile, picking up the poinsettia and following the others to the door as the woman gushed over the single bud.

The three of them left the florist shop with their wares, and Clay shook his head with a groan. Some days I wish I had never left North Carolina...

"Better hand me the plant, man, so you can take the roses," Will told him when they got to the car. "She's gonna need both of her hands to drive." Clay handed Will the poinsettia and took the roses from Sarah as she opened the car. Once all of them were in, she put the car in gear and headed them back north towards the Kirche homestead as Clay called Patricia in order to find a task to get Kate out of the room when they arrived.

Patricia glanced up as the three of them walked in the door. "Just in time for lunch," she teased, making a motion to take the roses from Clay. "I'll slip these in the frig while Kate's downstairs."

"Not quite yet, Mrs. Kirche, I have one more thing to add before we put them in the frig. What do you have Kate doing downstairs?" Clay asked.

"I recruited her to wrap presents for me," Patricia smiled, "thanks to the warning call that you were on the way back here."

"Good idea," Clay nodded. He smiled when Sarah fished a small Ziploc bag out of her purse and handed it to him. "Now I know where she gets the Ziploc idea from."

Sarah shook her head. "Other way around." She unwrapped the roses while Clay opened the bag and pulled out the contents to hand to Sarah. Sarah untangled a length of braid, made from strands of white, silver, and gold, and tied it around the roses to make a delicate bow. "There," she said proudly and quickly wrapped the roses back up. "They're ready for tonight."

"Did you make that yourself?" Clay asked.

Sarah nodded. "I had to in order to make it the colors you wanted."

Will whistled. "It's good work. Makes the roses look prettier." He nudged Clay. "You ready?"

Clay heaved a nervous sigh. "Almost, but not quite." He glanced at the stairs to the basement. "I have to wrap my gifts for her first... which I can't do until she's done down there..."

Patricia snickered. "Of course."

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Clay snuck down the stairs carrying two double-lined plastic bags containing his remaining gifts for everyone. Alone at last. He opened the first bag and laid the items on the work table one at a time... a stack of greeting cards, a stack of envelopes containing gift certificates, two small boxes for the certificates, two computerized learning toys, a CD, and the velvet jeweler's box. Unwilling to take chances with his surprise, he put the latter two items back in the sack to keep them hidden from view. Walking over to the shelves where Patricia had directed him, Clay grabbed the boxes he had mailed to the Kirche farm. He opened the boxes and smiled, seeing the large stuffed bears inside. Bingo. Placing the greeting cards with their proper items, he took a deep breath. It's all here... let's start.

He wrapped the children's gifts first - each child would get a stuffed bear and an interactive learning toy from him for Christmas... or as he saw it, something for work and something for play. Next he wrapped the gift for Andrew and Holly, a voucher for a getaway weekend in the bridal suite at a nice motel in the area they were stationed. With a deep sigh Clay took a breather before tackling the gift for Arthur and Patricia Kirche... the restaurant gift certificates, which would provide them with a handful of sweet and fun dates. After seeing for himself last night how loving their relationship was, he was quite happy to help them keep their romance alive in any way he could.

Done with wrapping the gifts for Kate's family, he turned to the gifts for Will and Sarah next. Will's gift went in the Christmas card - a bit of a Christmas bonus, for good service and for agreeing to work the holiday... and a set of season tickets for the L.A. Dodgers. From his size one would expect Will's favorite game to be football, but the bodyguard was in fact a fan of the sultans of swat. After soliciting a few ideas and tips from Kate, Clay had decided to get Sarah a handful of Christmas ornaments. Sarah collected "traditional" Christmas ornaments, things like nutcrackers and old-world Santas and religious ones like nativity scenes. Clay had lucked out in finding a Christmas specialty shop there in L.A. and had picked out several. Carefully wrapping each one in tissue, he put all of them together in one box to wrap. He hoped she agreed with his taste in ornaments.

At last he turned to Kate's gift. Here goes. He wrapped the CD first, a task which took very little time once he put his hands to it. Then he deliberately turned his back on the second gift, searching through a small stack of empty boxes for one that would suit his purposes. Seeing an empty bread machine box in the stack with each side approximately a foot and a half long, he nodded. Perfect. He set that box on the floor near a larger box filled with Styrofoam. Filling the bread machine box about halfway with Styrofoam, he returned to the sack for the jeweler's box. Placing the velvet box squarely in the middle, he filled the rest of the larger box with Styrofoam. Making sure it was packed tightly, he closed the box. Clay smiled with satisfaction as he brought it over to the table for wrapping. She'll never know what hit her.

As Clay made the final adjustments to the bow, Patricia called down the stairs. "Clay, whenever you're done, we want to get together to rehearse our songs for tonight."

"Alright," Clay called out. "I just finished up. I'll be right there." He glanced around at the boxes with a thoughtful frown. There was no way he was going to get all of them in one trip. Suddenly he smiled - maybe those bears would be the "Santa Clay" gifts and the learning toys would be the gifts they opened tonight. Able leave the largest of the boxes downstairs out of the sight of the children, Clay knew that he could manage everything in one trip after all. Tucking one of the learning toys in a plastic bag each and the gifts for the others in along with them, Clay put one sack on each arm, leaving his hands free to carry the large box with Kate's second gift up the stairs.

Kate's eyes bulged as Clay entered the living room. "Oh my gosh! That's... that's... oh my..."

Biting his lip to keep in a giggle, Clay placed the large package under the Christmas tree towards the back. "It only seems like a lot, honey, because there are a lot of people here." He emptied the contents of each sack in turn, placing them under the Christmas tree. Satisfied with their placement, Clay stood up. "Let me grab my music from my room and I'll be right back."

As Clay darted upstairs for his music, Kate and Sarah both gathered at the Christmas tree to inspect the packages that Clay had placed underneath. "It figures," Sarah teased as she fingered the box in back, "that you'd get the biggest one."

"What?" Kate gaped open-mouthed. "That's mine?? Clayton Holmes Aiken, what did you do?" She sighed. "He really is trying to spoil me." Kate stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "He knows I'd rather have him than all the... Christmas presents and flowers and stuff in the world. Of course while he travels so much and I'm just a teacher here, I'm kinda stuck..." She heaved a second sigh, this one deeply wistful.

"I know." Sarah put a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. "I've never seen you as in love with a man as you are with Clay."

Kate snorted. "Sarah... I've never been in love until I met Clay."

"Details, details..." Sarah shrugged as Clay bounced down the stairs, Andrew and Holly following behind with their kids in tow. Trying desperately to ignore Will as Andrew left him in charge of their kids, Sarah smiled at the group. "Now all we need is Dad Kirche, and we're ready to start."

As if on cue, Arthur entered the room from the kitchen. "All right, Momma!" He clapped his hands once, an eager twinkle in his eye. "Showtime!" he said melodramatically.

Patricia raised her eyebrow and handed Arthur his music without comment as the rest of the family giggled at his antics. She took up her seat on the piano bench as the rest of them shuffled through the three pieces they would be singing this weekend. "Now Clay, the rest of us have been rehearsing already. Have you had much of a chance to look over the pieces?"

Clay nodded. "I've practiced them a time or two myself."

"Good." Patricia smiled up at the assembled crew. "In years past when we've sung selections for church, we've always been listed in the bulletin as the Kirche family musicians. But this year, between Sarah and Clay joining our family choir, I decided that we needed a real name." She paused, and the others waited for her to continue. "We've going to be listed in the bulletins this weekend as 7th Day."

"As in the seventh day of the week?" Holly asked.

Patricia nodded. "On the seventh day He rested... and since that's the day we all gather together to worship Him, I thought that would be an appropriate name for a group dedicated to singing to His name."

Clay smiled at Kate. "I like it."

"Line up, everyone, high soprano through low bass." Patricia organized them around the piano from Holly and Sarah through Andrew and Arthur. "Everyone knows which line you're supposed to be reading?" she asked unnecessarily.

Clay blinked with surprise to see Kate still standing beside him. "You're an alto?"

Kate gave him a mock-frown. Although she was far from ashamed of the fact that she was an alto, she couldn't help but remember the article a music major friend of hers from college choir days had shared with her. Found in one of her professional music magazines, the article was a hilarious write-up on altos - one of the jokes debating whether it was better for your daughter to be an old maid or an alto. Kate still had it in her file. "You got a problem with that?"

"No! Of course not, it's just..." Clay blinked again. "After hearing you sing the songs in church that Sunday, I thought you'd be a soprano with that sweet, melodic voice of yours."

Quickly Kate wrapped her arms around him. "Oh gosh, I love this man..."

Will grunted as Clay laughed. "We know. Get a room already."

"Get us a marriage license first," Kate retorted, "and we'll talk!"

Giving Kate big, innocent hazel eyes, Sarah smiled. "I thought it was Kim who was going to get you two a marriage license and motel room for Christmas."

Kate blushed, a red almost as deep as Clay's. "Go away."

"Ahem," Patricia cleared her throat. "Rehearsal?"

"Right." Kate took a deep breath, quickly holding up her music. Quietly Sarah reached over and took the music from her hand, turning it right-side up. Kate's blush deepened as her brother and sister-in-law snickered. "Just start, Mom."

Patricia led the six singers through the pieces they were singing tonight and in the morning as Will kept Alyssa and Alexander busy off to the side. Each of the singers had strong ears and strong voices, and held their own parts well in the group. Within moments Patricia was prepared to run through the pieces from beginning to end with no stops.

After the second piece, Clay interrupted. "Forgive me, Mrs. Kirche, but I couldn't help noticing that this one isn't a piece of choir music like the other two are - this one's printed off using a computer program."

"You don't say." Patricia cocked her head to the side. "How can you tell?"

"Some of my fans have sent me their music before. Some of it's written by hand, some of it's done on the computer. A lot of songs on my current CD were written by a fan and printed from her computer. Not all of the song's I've been sent were as good as Aunt Dizzy's though, or as good as this one." He glanced again at the front page of the music, hoping for a clue to its composer but finding none.

"This one sounds familiar somehow." Will shook his head with a thoughtful frown. "I'd swear I've heard it sung for Christmas services at church before now, but I'm not sure."

"Really?" Patricia cast a glance at the bodyguard. "There in California?"

"Yeah," Will said with a nod. "Except I think I heard only one person singing it."

Patricia nodded. "Probably. It was first written as a solo."

Clay blinked at Patricia. He knew from conversations he had carried over the phone with Kate's mother that she was an elementary school music teacher, so it would not surprise him if she knew the composer. "Did a friend of yours write it?"

Patricia smiled up at Kate, giving her a wink. "Close, but not quite."

Kate blushed lightly and shrugged. "Mom and I wrote it," she offered as Clay's jaw dropped. "I wrote the words while Mom set them to music."

"Wow," Clay breathed. "It's really beautiful."

"Thank you," Kate smiled.

"Wow," Clay said again. "You two wrote this song. I feel special to be singing it."

Kate smiled wryly at him. "The man who has had dozens of songs written specifically for him to sing, songs which have gone multi-platinum... and he's honored to do our song."

Clay blushed, and Patricia turned back to the piano. "Let's finish up this rehearsal, and we can start getting everyone ready for church."

The third song went smoothly, and the group broke up to go their own ways. Clay and Kate hung back as Andrew and Holly took their children upstairs, knowing that it would take far longer for their family to get ready than it would either of them.

Sarah put her music back in the stack, as she was also waiting for Andrew's family to finish in the bathrooms. Stealing a glance at Will, she sighed. It is Christmas Eve - maybe a peace offering would be in order. Carefully she approached Will. "You know," Sarah began gently, "for such a big man you relate well to little children."

Will scowled up at her. "What, does a guy have to be their size to be good with kids?"

Kate groaned and leaned her head on Clay's shoulder. "Here we go again..."

Sarah sputtered in shock. "Th-that's not what I - "

"What did you mean, hunh? Did you mean that I relate really well to them 'cuz I think like them or I'm not mature or something? You tell me, Princess."

"No, I-I..." Sarah flushed.

"I'm waiting."

"I-I just meant that you were... um..." Sarah winced.

Will scowled at her tied tongue. "Oh, since I'm obviously so immature, then it proves your point that I'm not a gentleman. You probably don't think I'd be a good dad either, since you obviously think I'm just one of the kids."

"Now you're putting words into my mouth," Sarah told him. "I was just trying to - "

"Trying to get your kicks in while I seem to be vulnerable?" Will growled at her. "Sorry, little Princess, I'm not as soft-bellied as you seem to think I am."

Kate whimpered and clapped her hand over her mouth. Clay pulled her close. "This conversation isn't happening, is it?" he whispered.

"Now hold on one second there, Mister Interruptus..."

"Mister what??"

"Yeah, you've interrupted me three times in less than two minutes..." she held up three fingers to emphasize her point, "...and now I'm going to respond. You can call me a lot of things, but vindictive or mean is not one of them! I was trying to offer a compliment, a peace offering so we could get along for the rest of your stay, but nooo, you have to be Mister I-take-everything-personally."

Will shook his head sharply. "A compliment. Suggesting that I have the maturity of a four-year-old is supposed to be a compliment. That's rich."

Sarah frowned deeply as Will stood up. "Yes, a compliment, but you certainly act as though you wouldn't know a compliment if it bit you in the backside. Fine, if that's the way you want it, it just proves you are not the gentleman I was tempted to believe you actually might be."

"All right... I've had enough of this abuse." Will glared down at Sarah. "I'm going upstairs to get ready for tonight. After all, a gentleman knows when to walk away from a fight." Leaving the others gaping after him, he turned and stomped up the stairs.

Clay and Kate exchanged a quick glance with each other before they turned to Sarah. Fuming, Sarah let out a small scream and stomped towards her own room.

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

Patricia glanced at those who had already gathered - namely Arthur, Clay, and Will. "You'd think that my kids would know how to be on time by now - we've certainly done our best to raise them that way..." She called up the stairs as Will adjusted his tie for the tenth time since putting it on. "Is everyone ready?"

"Coming, Momma!" Kate called out, skipping down the stairs in a royal purple knit dress that clung to her slender figure.

A tortured moan sounded in Clay's throat. Will grinned at him. "Down, Killer."

Catching his entranced eye, Kate slowly sauntered over to him. Gently wrapping her arms around him, she smiled up at him. "Hi," she breathed.

Clay closed his eyes at the sensation of her fingers playing with the back of his head. "Unless you want to get yourself smooched silly," he told her with a husky voice, "then you'd better stop..."

Kate gave him a naughty wink. "I hope that's a promise for later..."

Oooo, Clay thought to himself, his heart racing in anticipation.

Light murmurs and coos wafting down with them, Andrew and Holly came down the stairs with the kids in their arms. "That's daddy's good little girl..."

Patricia called up the stairs one last time as the young family headed out the door to their minivan. "Sarah, the bus is leaving!"

Lightly stepping on her toes to avoid catching her heels on the edges of the stairs, Sarah came down at Patricia's call. Her long auburn hair was pulled back on the sides but flowed loose behind her. Sarah was dressed for Christmas Eve service in a dressy-casual way that was often hard to pull off... but she succeeded. Sarah wore a flirty red and black patterned georgette v-neck silk blouse that had slits up the sides. Her skirt was a black a-line that hugged her hips and flared at the knees, lined with faux satin and covered with a light, see-through silky fabric overlay. As far as Will was concerned, the way that blouse and skirt hugged her curves should be criminal. And those shoes... how did anyone walk in heels that high?? Sarah gave a tiny spin on the landing to show off her outfit. "Everyone like? I'm so worth the wait..." she teased.

Will stifled a deep sigh. "I sure hope so..." he mumbled under his breath.

Sarah extended a trim leg and tiny foot to show off her black satin spikes complete with ankle strap. "I just looove these shoes." Will's breath caught as his gaze stuck on her leg. He had no idea her legs were that nice...

Placing her foot back on the ground, Sarah looked up at Will and felt her breath catch in her throat. He filled out a suit in a way that she had only imagined in her wildest dreams. Sarah swallowed as her imagination started wandering, visualizing what she could do with that satin tie. Her eyes lifted to see his taking her in from head to toe. Immediately the heat rose to her cheeks and she lifted her chilled hand to cool them.

Clay clamped his mouth shut to hold back the snicker threatening to burst loose at the sight of the quarreling twosome checking each other out. This is way too good... Leaning towards his friend and bodyguard, he whispered with a laugh. "Down, Killer..."

Will suddenly noticed that his slacks were a hair uncomfortable and he squirmed, thankful to be wearing a suit jacket. His eyes still on Sarah, he watched as she dealt with her own... physical reaction... to him. Inclined to help her hide this reaction, which was quite apparent with her choice of blouse, he took Sarah's coat from Kate. He extended the coat to her, ready to help Sarah put it on, nodding pointedly toward her torso. "Here. You might want this now."

Confused, Sarah looked at him for a minute before realizing that her top was hugging her enough for him to know what reaction he got from her. "A gentleman..." she began with a scolding tone.

"...Would help a lady with her coat," he interrupted, thinking that now was definitely not the time to discuss whether or not it was gentlemanly to point out her obvious attraction to him.

Sarah glared at him holding her coat. "I can get this myself."

"I'm sure you can," Will said gently, "but I want to help."

Raising one delicate eyebrow, Sarah's expression softened a little. "Proving yourself again?"

Will shook his head with a resigned sigh. "Let's not start that again." He helped her get her coat on, walking over to hold the front door for her.

Sarah paused for a brief moment before walking out the open door. "Thank you," she mumbled grudgingly. Will followed her out the door, letting it swing shut behind him.

Unable to hold it back any longer, Clay burst into giggles. "Oh my..."

Kate chewed on her own bottom lip in a desperate attempt to stop her own. "This Christmas keeps getting better and better..."

Patricia shook her head, also amused. "We'd better get going. Dad and I are riding with your brother. Think you two can keep them out of mischief?"

Kate exchanged an impish grin with Clay. "Out? I thought we wanted to get them into mischief..."

"You're incorrigible," Patricia giggled as the four of them walked out the door.

Outside the Kirche house, Clay and Kate caught up with Will and Sarah... who were debating about which car to take. "I thought we agreed," Sarah said with a scowl, "that I was driving since I am the native who knows where we're going."

"That," Will retorted, indicating Kate with a hand, "was before we added another person. We need to take the rental car to fit all of us."

"I'd sooner drive myself," Sarah huffed.

"Forget that noise!" Kate exclaimed. "If you're planning to replace that old junk heap of yours with a shiny new SUV, you need to start saving your gas money. Today... since I refuse to let anyone be alone on Christmas Eve." She pointed to the SUV with a stern expression on her face. "Get in."

Sarah scowled at Kate for a moment before sticking her tongue out at her.

Will raised his eyebrow. "Be careful what you do with that thing. Someone might take it another way, Princess."

Leaving Sarah gaping behind, Clay opened the back door for Kate. "My lady..." he said with a gallant bow.

Kate giggled but climbed in with his assistance. "Thank you, my knight in shining armor..."

Sarah made a face, sticking her tongue out further to show her disgust. Will nodded and rolled his eyes as he walked around to the driver's side. Sarah followed after to climb in the seat directly behind his.

"Oh no, you don't!" Clay exclaimed, cutting her off. "Front seat, hon - I'm sitting with my girlfriend tonight." He waggled his eyebrows. "We can smooch while the two of you are fighting - I mean, driving."

"Gak, no!" Sarah complained as Clay hurried to beat her to the disputed seat. He hopped in the SUV, immediately taking Kate into his arms as she squawked with surprise. Giving him a dirty glare, Sarah sighed deeply. "Fine..."

Will scowled at Clay. "What kind of gentleman are you, not getting the door for a lady?" Still giving Clay a dirty look, Will walked around to the front passenger door and held it open for Sarah.

Sarah looked at him as he subtly adjusted his slacks. Quickly glancing down to the ground, she noticed her high-heeled shoes. Hm... She gave the floorboard of the SUV studious gaze. There's no way I'm getting in that thing without some help. "Um..." she began. "Would you... give me a hand up there?"

A self-righteous twinkle lit his eyes but got no further. "Sure." He extended her a hand, helping her climb up into the front seat of the SUV. Closing the door behind her, Will walked back around to the driver's side of the vehicle and climbed in.

Once in his seat, Will shifted uncomfortably. Sarah glanced over with a puzzled look on her face, watching from the side of her eyes as he squirmed some more before placing the belt over his lap. Suddenly Sarah's eyes bulged, and she immediately turned away. Oh my... help...

"Sarah?" Kate asked, noticing her discomfort. "Sarah, what's up?"

"Oh..." Sarah squeaked, "nothing." She kept her face turned away from him as she stole another glance at Will from the side of her eye, noting the slight smile on his face that suggested he had seen everything. Help. "Just the newest Motorola," she mumbled to herself.

However, Clay and Kate had both heard her, and the joke was quickly apparent to both of them. The couple collapsed into uncontrollable laughter in the back seat of the SUV. "I see," Kate choked out. "No-no... you see."

Clay snorted, taking her hand. "Kathryn Kirche..." he gasped.

Will glanced at the giggling couple in the rearview mirror. "I can tell there's a story I'm gonna have to pry from you later..."

Clay blinked at him. "Oh, now that's personal..."

"That doesn't surprise me. Meanwhile, Princess," Will murmured, "we need directions to the church."

Sarah frowned, clearly annoyed at being assigned to navigator duty. "This one isn't that hard to find. Go straight until we get to Highway 30 and take a left. It'll be on the right-hand side, right after the KFC."

Will blinked. "That is easy."

Following Sarah's simple instructions, he got them to church in good time, snaring a parking space beside Andrew's minivan. The four of them climbed out of the car, each gentleman assisting the lady beside him out of the SUV. Clay shut the door behind Kate, extending her his arm. Taking it with a smile, she stood on tiptoe to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. Sarah rolled her eyes at the couple. Suddenly she blinked with surprise as she saw Will's extended arm. "Is this because you are a gentleman," she asked skeptically, "or because you think I can't walk in high heels?" When Will did not answer, she took his arm with a sigh. "Fine. But I'm not kissing you."

Will raised his eyebrow as they began walking towards the church. Yet.

Hanging up their coats in the coatroom, the four of them quickly moved to join the rest of Kate's family. Andrew met them outside the sanctuary, pointing out where the rest of them had already claimed several pews to accommodate their large group.

"So," a deep baritone boomed from behind Clay, "is this the man who won the heart of our own Kate?" Clay turned around to see a burly, bearded man in clerical garb. "Nice to finally meet you after talking to you."

Clay's eyes widened. Oh no.

Kate glanced at him. "When have you talked with Pastor Sullivan?"

"Wh-When?" Clay stammered, noticing the sudden guilt in Pastor Sullivan's eyes. Come on, brain, think of something... "W-We were talking about the family singing for the services," he finally said, "because I-I wanted to ask him about the acoustics." Am I the only one who thinks that sounds lame?

"Oh," Kate replied evenly. Giving Clay an uncertain glance, she raised an eyebrow. He seems awfully shaken over a mere matter of acoustics. Dismissing that thought, she moved to formally introduce the two men. "Clay, this is Pastor Jeff Sullivan. Pastor Sullivan, my special man, Clay Aiken."

Pastor Sullivan shook Clay's extended hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Clay. Kate talks about you all the time."

"Really?" Clay glanced at Kate, who blushed lightly as she suddenly found her shoes fascinating. "I know I talk about her all the time too."

A twinkle lit Pastor Sullivan's eye. "Somehow I don't doubt that. Well, for now I'll let you join your family... but I trust we'll be talking more later."

"Of course," Kate told him with a smile. "Have a Merry Christmas, Pastor."

The four of them walked to the pews claimed by the family members already there. They filtered in, first Sarah, then Kate, Clay, and Will, behind the pew with the others. Placing his arm around Kate, Clay read the bulletin over her shoulder as she skimmed through its contents. "Oo!" he cooed. "They're singing some of my favorite Christmas carols tonight."

Kate nodded. "I know. I love the music at this time of year. It's always... special." She pointed to the order of service listed in her bulletin. "Normally we have more liturgy in our services, but since it's Christmas Eve they are doing a scripture and carols service. It always goes over really well."

"Liturgy?" Clay asked, curious.

"The fancy name for order of service," Kate explained, "except it's more formal and consistent from week to week. Sometime get my cousin Sally going on liturgy and what it means. It's a fascinating study."

"Really."

"Oh yeah!" Kate nodded again. "Every little part has meaning. It really is fascinating... and once you know what it's all about, it somehow makes the service mean more."

Clay smiled. "I ought to have you tell me."

Kate firmly shook her head. "I don't know it that well - I'm just a language geek. She's the one who studied it in order to become a church musician. That's what she does there at her church in Lincoln."

Within moments Pastor Sullivan greeted the congregation in the sanctuary filled to capacity. Giving them a few moments to greet each other with Christmas well-wishes, he began the service with the invocation. Turning back to the congregation, he invited them to join him in the Christmas hymn O Come, All Ye Faithful found in their hymnal.

Kate grinned as they sat back down in the pews. One of my favorites. She grabbed a nearby hymnal and flipped through the pages until she found it. Clay glanced over at the open book and immediately Kate moved it so that she could share it with him. Placing his arm back around her, he took his edge of the hymnal in one hand and winked at her, and their voices blended together as they sang the hymn with the rest of the congregation. Every so often Kate glanced up at him and caught him smiling at her... and she shyly returned her eyes back to the hymnal. When the hymn was over, Clay met her eyes with an adoring smile. Blushing lightly, Kate smiled back at him. Sally, a graduate of a private church university, had insisted that she knew it was love when she and her husband started sharing a hymnal during their daily chapel services - apparently only best friends and couples shared hymnals at her school. Sally's never going to let me hear the end of this...

For the next twenty minutes the service alternated between short excerpts from the Christmas gospel of Luke and Christmas hymns, giving Kate more opportunities to share a hymnal with Clay. Once the entire Christmas gospel (the first twenty verses of Luke 2) had been read, Clay and Kate stood with the rest of her family, filing out of their pews to line up for their first piece.

Holly turned to her children. "Go back there with Mr. Will," she whispered to Alyssa. Alyssa smiled broadly and joined him without another word as Holly passed Alexander to Will. Will placed the toddler in his lap, patting the seat beside him to show Alyssa where he wanted her to be. She scrambled up beside him, watching with interest as the family gathered up front around the microphones. Will strained with his ears to catch the mild buzz going through the congregation - Clay's presence had been noted up front with the family. He sighed - never a dull moment around that man.

After making sure everyone had their music, Patricia claimed the piano. She played through the first few bars of the accompaniment, and the group began to sing. Smoothing Alyssa's hair as she sat beside him, Will watched them as he listened. His eyes rested on Sarah, and he gave an involuntary smile. She really is beautiful. He blinked with surprise. Kind of like a princess.

Once they finished with their song, the family came back down to their pews. Sarah glanced after Holly as she moved to take Alexander back from Will. She blinked with surprise as he lifted the toddler back to his mother with a reluctant look on his face. He seemed... quite content to hold little Alex, Sarah mused, watching as Alyssa chose to stay between Will and Clay for now. Her confused mind sorted through the events of the past day and a half, no longer sure what to believe about him.

After thanking the family for their music, Pastor Sullivan gave one of the shortest sermons Kate had ever heard from him. Kate blinked with surprise. Is that why they call it a homily, because it's too short to be called a sermon? Kate glanced in the bulletin, noting the other listing for 7th Day as the offertory anthem, the next part of the service. Here we go again, Kate thought as they gathered up front again to sing the piece that she and her mother had composed.

The offering was brought up front by the ushers, and Pastor Sullivan led the congregation in Christmas Eve prayers. Kate hid a smile as Clay encouraged Alyssa to fold her hands and pray along with the rest of the congregation. The prayer finished, Pastor Sullivan led them in the benediction. "Use your bulletins for the last hymn," Pastor Sullivan told the congregation, "because although it's the familiar Silent Night, we've added the rest of the verses and put them back in their original order. Surprise, folks - Silent Night is actually six verses long." Clay and Kate exchanged a well-what-do-you-know look with each other before opening up a bulletin to share. Placing his arm around her again, Clay harmonized the tenor along with Kate's alto.

With the service finished, the congregation started filing out. A pair of elderly ladies came up to Kate. "Is this your young man?" the taller of the two began.

"Yes, Edna," Kate nodded. "This is Clay."

The second one held out a shaky hand, which Clay grasped warmly. "You didn't tell us that he was that famous young singer all the kids like so much these days."

Kate shook her head with a slight grin. "No, I didn't, Edith. I wanted my friends here at church to hear about the man I fell in love with, not the public persona that they see on TV. So... I didn't tell a lot of people exactly who I was dating."

"Well," Edith squeezed Clay's hand with a wink, "if he's half the caring Christian young man that you say he is, then we approve."

"Thank you," Clay told her with a smile.

Edna shook a bony finger at Kate, but a smile turned the corners of her mouth. "No more holding out on us, Katie! Anytime you want to talk about your young man, you can tell us anything!"

With a wry smile, Kate nodded. You'd like that. "I'll remember your offer." Kate watched as the two elderly ladies walked down the aisle towards the back.

Clay leaned close to whisper in Kate's ear. "You'll 'remember their offer'... but you won't take them up on it?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

Kate snickered. "Clay... there's a reason I didn't give those two half the detail they wanted." Clay waited for her reply, and she continued. "Those two are both sweet, lovely Christian ladies with hearts of gold... but they're also the two biggest gossips in the church."

Clay chuckled. "Somehow I believe that. There's just something about them..."

Kate nodded. "They're two retired spinster sisters. They don't have anything to do besides church activities and gossip." She snickered again, shaking her head. "I did not tell them how serious we are... yet they seem quite ready to plan my wedding already..."

Oh really... Clay chewed his lip to hold back a giggle. "It's nice to know that you have people in your church who care about you so much."

"Yeah," Kate acknowledged, "but some days I wish they wouldn't care so much."

With a chuckle Clay helped Kate into her coat, and the family left the church. Holding warmly onto Kate's hand, Clay almost bounced along to the car.

"You're in a good mood," Kate teased.

Clay opened the door for Kate with a twinkle in his eye. If you only knew the truth, darlin'. He smiled at her. "Because I am spending Christmas with the most amazing and beautiful Christian woman I know." A light blush colored her cheeks. "Best way I've spent Christmas in a long time," he confessed. Kate reached up and gave him a gentle kiss on the jaw before climbing into the back seat of the SUV. Catching Sarah's amused eyebrow, Clay grinned wickedly. "Now's the time to catch up on that kiss..."

Sarah groaned as Clay scrambled around to the other door. "You're incorrigible."

"Yeah, he is," Will snorted as he opened the door for Sarah. Giving her his hand to help her up into the SUV, he scowled at the couple already cuddling in the back seat. "And we're the ones who've got to put up with it."

Once he closed the door behind Sarah, Will joined them in the driver's seat. "One tour of the Christmas lights of Kearney, coming up," he said as he buckled his seat belt. "I trust that you two ladies know where the best ones are." An odd muffled noise came from the back seat and Will frowned. "Do I want to know what that's all about?"

Sarah made a face and quickly shook her head. "No, you don't," she murmured, tapping her lips and pointing towards the back seat to give him a subtle hint.

Will rolled his eyes and started the SUV. "You'd think they were already married, the way they carry on..." he muttered beneath his breath. Putting the car into gear, he scowled at the shadows in the rearview mirror. "Knock it off, guys, you're foggin' up the windows."

Breaking off the kiss with an annoyed sigh, Clay pulled Kate into his arms. "You're just jealous..." he told Will, giving Kate's ear a delicate kiss.

Will snorted. "Right, Aiken."

"The best lights in town," Sarah interrupted, eager to change the subject, "are up around the Hilltop Mall area. It's one of the nicer residential areas, so they have the money to blow on a lot of lights."

"Make sure to lead him by the one with the live nativity," Kate suggested.

Clay blinked at her. "Live nativity?"

"Oh yeah!" Kate nodded. "Most days it's just the live animals penned up in the yard, but on Christmas Eve it's completely live with people and everything. They even have a camel."

A camel?? Clay marveled. The more he heard from Kate and Sarah about Nebraska, the more it seemed to be a much more interesting place than he was led to believe...

"Turn left here - no, here!" Sarah's voice rose slightly as Will barely made the turn. "You are following my directions, aren't you?"

"I will if you give them soon enough for me to follow, Princess."

Sarah heaved a huffy sigh. "I still say I should have drove."

"I still say you're not on the insurance," Will grumbled. Hearing a noise that suggested Clay and Kate were stealing another kiss, Will scowled into the rearview mirror. "If you two keep that up, I'm gonna throw a blanket over the top of you so we don't have to watch."

"Oo! Privacy!" Clay exclaimed. "Please?"

Sarah made a face. "We'll still be able to hear them..."

"True," Will snorted. He glanced in the rearview mirror again, shaking his head as the two of them started kissing again. "He should at least leave her some lipstick... 'cuz if he doesn't, her parents are gonna know exactly what they've been doing in that back seat."

For the next ten minutes the four of them drove around Kearney looking at Christmas lights - Clay and Kate stealing kisses in the back seat while Will and Sarah exchanged the occasional barb over Will's driving and Sarah's directions - until they decided to return to the Kirche farm before Kate's family sent out a search and rescue team.

Back at the house, everyone quickly changed from their nice church clothes into more casual attire. Some, like Andrew and his family, even came down in PJs and robes. Clay in particular found himself staring at Kate in her long-sleeve knit sleep shirt and flannel PJ pants. Who would have ever guessed flannel could be so sexy...

His old bible in his hand, Arthur invited everyone to have a seat. "I figure since being fed by God's Word is more important than being fed by real food, we would read the Christmas story before we go get something to eat." Opening the bible up to Luke 2, he glanced around the room. "Every year we take turns reading the Christmas story. Sarah, last year you got to read it." Sarah nodded warmly, and Arthur's eyes turned to Clay. "Unless I'm mistaken, we're gonna have a new addition to the family sometime in the near future. Clay, would you do us the honors of reading tonight?" he asked, handing the book to Clay.

Moved by the gesture, Clay accepted the open bible from Arthur. "I'd be happy to." Turning the book text up, he read from the pages clear and strong, starting with verse one and ending with verse twenty. Finally he looked up at Arthur. "Any more?"

Arthur shook his head. "That's the usual. We don't read the second part of Matthew's Christmas story until January 6."

Kate wrapped her arms around his waist and planted a kiss on his jaw. "Good job, sweetheart."

Patricia motioned the other women into the kitchen. "This will go faster if I get everyone's help. Kate, would you help me set out plates and glasses and silverware? Sarah, would you get the food out of the refrigerator, and Holly, would you help Sarah set up the buffet?"

As Patricia brought other food supplies from the cupboards and pantry, the others went about their tasks with singular diligence. Clay leaned in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the proceedings in silence. "Anything I can help with?" he asked tentatively.

Kate glanced up at him and grinned wickedly. "Yeah! You can hold still a minute..."

Clay snickered as he realized that she had caught him absentmindedly lounging under the mistletoe. "Yes, ma'am!" he told her, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.

Sarah frowned at him. "Didn't you two get enough of that in the car?"

With a sigh Kate broke the kiss and made shooing motions. "Better get going, sweetheart."

"All right." Clay turned back towards the living room, jumping with surprise when Kate swatted him on the seat of his jeans. Giving her a mock-glare, he watched as she returned to her task in the kitchen. He smiled evilly - she didn't know he was still there. Sneaking up on her with sock feet, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a noisy, wet kiss on her neck, just below her ear.

"Augh!" Kate shrieked as the other women laughed with delight. As he scrambled back into the living room, Kate shoved out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout. "I've been debacled..." she whimpered.

"Cute, Clay!" Sarah called out to him. "Next time wait until we have the camera ready!"

Clay laughed as he returned to his seat on the floor close to the fireplace. "Sure."

Holly nudged her sister-in-law with a smile. "The back seat of a car is one of the best places to steal kisses, you know." She waggled her eyebrows as Kate glanced at her.

"How would you know?" Kate teased.

With a knowing look in her eyes, Holly shrugged. "That's where Andrew and I ended up after our walk last night."

Kate snickered under her breath. So that's why Clay and I got away with making out as long as we did. Only Kate suspected that the married couple didn't stop where she and Clay had. There must be something in the water...

Sarah kept pulling the prepared food out of the refrigerator, carefully leaving the roses stashed towards the back. It had been deliberate on Patricia's part to assign Kate a task as far away from the refrigerator as possible. She smiled to herself at the knowledge of a very special secret. She couldn't wait to see the look on Kate's face when it was sprung.

"All right, everyone!" Patricia announced at last. "The food's ready. Gather around." The ten of them gathered in the kitchen, linking hands for a prayer before starting through the line. Waiting for the kids to go through first with their parents, Sarah hung back for a moment. She stole a glance up at Will, only to catch him looking away from her to the kids. For a brief moment she considered her own casual attire before glancing back up at him wearing a turtleneck and jeans. And darned if those jeans don't look good on him... she thought. As if he could read her mind, Will looked back up at her and their eyes met. Flushing brilliantly, Sarah looked away again.

Smiling to herself at the looks Will and Sarah were stealing at each other, Kate leaned back onto Clay's chest. When he didn't respond right away, she wiggled back and forth until he firmly surrounded her with his arms. "You don't want to put me in that kind of mood right now," Clay warned her, breathing the words into her ear.

Hunh? Kate thought, raising one eyebrow in confusion. Just a short while ago he had been quite content to steal a kiss from her... and now he was holding back. "Why not?" she whispered.

Clay took in a shaky breath before responding. "You just... don't," he breathed again, releasing her and walking out into the living room for a moment.

Puzzled by Clay's cryptic response, Kate followed Sarah through the buffet line. She had found Clay's nervous behavior today completely baffling. Stealing a glance into the living room, Kate saw Clay sitting alone on the couch with his head bowed and hands folded. Her heart ached for him, in whatever he was going through. There's got to be an explanation for this... For one brief moment the horrible idea flickered through her head that Clay was having second thoughts about their relationship. Remembering the warm, loving look in his eyes at church and the insistent, needy hunger of his lips in the car afterwards, she quickly dismissed that idea. No, something else was on Clay's mind... but what?

Will and Arthur had already gotten partway through the buffet by the time Clay walked back into the kitchen. Sarah raised a concerned eyebrow at him, and he shook his head nonchalantly. She placed a hand on Kate's arm. "Ready to head into the living room?"

"Yeah!" Kate took her food and her glass into the living room and reclaimed her spot close to the fireplace, relaxing slowly as the warmth stilled her shivers.

Sarah frowned thoughtfully as she debated where to sit - she wanted to sit next to her friend, but also wanted to make sure Clay could sit next to Kate too. After all, she was his girlfriend. She glanced up as Will entered the room, hiding a sigh of relief as he took a chair opposite from her. At least I don't have to sit next to him for once. The more she thought about it, sitting close to Kate and Clay would give her the opportunity later to slip him the roses unseen. Sarah sat Indian-style next to Kate on the floor - Clay could pick his own spot close to Kate.

Shortly after Sarah had sat down next to Kate, Clay also sat next to Kate, placing his drink on the floor as he started working on his food. His impromptu prayer session had made him the last person through the line - but that hadn't seemed to affect the amount of food on his plate.

The family ate for a while, some in silence and some with light chat.

"Sarah," Patricia began, "do you want to help Alyssa play Santa Claus and pass out the gifts?"

Sarah grinned eagerly. "I'd be happy to." She stood up and held out her hand to Alyssa, seated between her parents on the couch. "Want to pass out the gifts, sweetie?"

"Yeah!" Alyssa squealed and gleefully took Sarah's hand.

Clay giggled as the two made their way over to the Christmas tree, Andrew's video camera picking up every move. "She is so cute," he whispered to Kate.

Kate nodded as Alyssa took the first gift to Arthur. "She is. Make sure to tell Andrew and Holly."

"I hope our kids," Clay smiled as he placed his arm around Kate, "look as beautiful as you."

A light blush colored her cheeks. "What about your gorgeous features? I hope they get some of those." Clay made a skeptical face, but his eyes suggested he didn't mind the idea. "Especially your eyes."

"My goofy green eyes..."

"No, your expressive green eyes that are the windows to your soul." Alyssa brought the next gift over to Kate. "Thank you, sweetie!" Kate gushed as she accepted her package from her niece.

"Oh my goodness!" Clay exclaimed when she brought the next one to him. He accepted the gift with a smile. "Thank you, Alyssa."

Alyssa and Sarah continued distributing the gifts to the various people in the room, most of them going to different members of Kate's family. Will blinked with surprise when the little girl stopped in front of him with a brightly wrapped package. "Me?" When Alyssa nodded, Will held out his hands for the gift. "Thank you, Alyssa." As Alyssa skipped back to the tree, Will stole a peek at the gift tag. From... Sarah? He shook his head in amazement. She gave me a gift? Will looked up at Sarah, who hid a slight smile at his bewildered reaction.

The two passed around gifts until all that remained was the large gift from Clay to Kate way in the back. "Want some help with that one?" Sarah asked as Alyssa tried to drag the large box out from behind the tree. Carrying the top part in her hands, Sarah assisted Alyssa in bringing the gift over in front of Kate. "There we are, Katydid."

Kate shook her head in amazement. "Clay Aiken... I-I... oh my..."

Greatly amused at Kate's wonderment and Clay's giggle, Patricia grinned at her. "I think all of us have been dying to find out what's in that box. So we're making you save it until last."

"Last?" Kate glanced up at her mother. "Meaning, the last gift I open, or the last gift opened?"

Patricia nodded. "The last gift opened."

"You think it's going to be that good? For all you know, I might have given her a new toaster or a pair of boots or something," Clay teased with a wink.

"Well, whatever it is," Kate told him, "I know I'm going to love it, because it comes from you." With that Kate gently kissed him on the cheek.

Starting with the kids, each family member opened the gifts one at a time while everyone else watched. As Clay had anticipated, the learning toys went over well with the kids, easily keeping them occupied while the others were taking their turns opening gifts.

"Dude!" Will exclaimed as he opened the envelope from Clay. "Season tickets? Thanks, man. I'm impressed." He indicated the other item in the envelope, his Christmas bonus. "Thanks for this, too."

Sarah picked up the next gift from her pile and did a double-take upon seeing the name on the tag. From... Will? He gave me a gift? Sarah's hazel eyes darted up to see his brown ones watching her intently.

"Go on," Will nodded quietly. "Open it."

Her hands shaking nervously, Sarah opened the package. She gasped with amazement as she unwrapped the tissue from a beautiful porcelain ornament of Santa kneeling at the manager. "It's... it's..." she stuttered, touched beyond words.

Will shrugged. "I heard you like Christmas ornaments, and since I knew you were a Christian gal, this seemed to fit you. Hope it's alright."

"It's..." Sarah breathed in deeply, heaving it out slowly. Wow. "I... don't know what to say."

"Somehow that says more than any words you could come up with," Will smiled gently.

"Your turn, Kate," Patricia told her.

Kate picked up the smaller of the two gifts from Clay. Her jaw dropped as she pulled off the wrapping to find a very special CD. "C-Clay... th-this is..."

"I recorded that at the studio this past fall," Clay offered quietly. "It's all love songs, love songs for just the two of us to share." He shrugged. "Other than the master, there are only three more copies of that CD in the entire world. Your mom has one, my mom has one, and I kept a third as a backup copy."

Andrew zoomed his camera in closer. "Hold it up, sis."

Obliging her brother, Kate studied the playlist of songs contained on the CD that were printed on the back cover. "Wow - and these are some of the best ones." She hugged Clay warmly. "Thank you, love."

Clay held her tight, enjoying the scent of her perfume as he played with her hair. "I did it just for you, honey, because I love you so much."

"I vote we skip Clay for now," Andrew teased, leaving the camera focused tightly on the two of them, "while he and Kate are schmoozing it up."

"Go ahead," Clay urged. "I don't have that many more anyway... and one of the greatest gifts I could have for Christmas is this," he said as he gently kissed Kate.

As Arthur picked up the next package, Andrew pointed towards the kitchen. "Mistletoe's over there."

Kate snickered as she laid her head on Clay's shoulder. "We've already found it, Drew."

Once Arthur finished his package, Will picked up the last one in his pile - the one from Sarah. Hoping to hide his nerves, he tore through the wrapping paper with a few swift motions.

Oh my... Suddenly too warm, Sarah gently fanned herself with her hand, her thoughts distinctly headed for the gutter.

Oblivious to Sarah's minor discomfort, Will thoughtfully considered the contents of the package - a DVD of some of the best bloopers and funny moments in baseball. Wow. She knew I like baseball. "I know I'm going to enjoy this. Thanks, Sarah."

Hiding an amused smile under her hand, Kate leaned in toward her very pink roommate. "Need I ask where your mind is, dear?" she whispered, giving a meaningful glance to the hand she was using as a fan.

"Oh, go sit in a snowdrift," Sarah muttered, carefully ignoring Will as he went to the kitchen to throw away his paper plate.

Kate raised an eyebrow. "You sure you don't need it worse than I do?" Ignoring Sarah's annoyed pout, Kate leaned back in to snuggle some more with Clay.

Clay nudged Kate. "You torturing Sarah?"

"Yeah," Kate snickered. "She'd do the same to me if the roles were reserved."

Tsking gently, Clay wrapped his arms around her waist. "And all this time I thought that you were a sweet, innocent girl..."

"You like it and you know it..."

Hoping for a diversion, Sarah glanced around to count the unopened gifts remaining and saw that Kate's second gift from Clay was almost the only one left. I think it's about time I grabbed the roses. Slowly Sarah stood, taking her empty glass with her to give her an excuse to enter the kitchen. She walked towards the kitchen, thoughtfully reflecting on the gifts that she and Will had exchanged with each other.

Suddenly she found herself face to face with the man himself in the doorway to the kitchen. Speak of the devil... She moved to one side and then the other to let him slip by, wincing when he unwittingly mirrored her actions. I didn't need this...

Alyssa watched Will and Sarah's little dance in the doorway. "Look, Auntie Sarah's unner the kissletoe with Mr. Will," she pointed.

Kate glanced up and turned away with a muffled snicker. "I would pay good money for her to make them kiss..." she whispered in Clay's ear.

Clay's eyes widened at the suggestion. "Shh..." he told her, but secretly agreed.

"That means he has to kiss her!" the little girl said innocently.

What? Clay turned to Kate with a surprised expression on his face. "How do you...?" He broke off the thought when Kate put a finger to his lips to silence him.

Sarah looked at Alyssa with horrified eyes as Alyssa walked over to watch them. Andrew nodded as he swung the video camera up to capture them on film. "That's right, sweetheart. It means that they have to kiss each other."

Alyssa smiled expectantly up at Sarah and Will. Sarah blinked down at her, not sure how she should handle this one. When it was clear that Alyssa would be disappointed if they didn't, Sarah heaved an annoyed sigh. "Fine." She puckered her lips tightly together and tilted her head up, pinching her eyes shut.

Will shook his head firmly. "No way, Princess. Nobody is gonna say I don't know how to kiss right." Sarah gaped, her eyes wide in shock as he cupped her face in his hand. Slowly he placed a serious, tender kiss on her lips, lightly pressing his against hers for a moment and increasing the pressure, teasing the inside edges of her lips open. When the kiss didn't end right away, a muffled squeak of surprise came from Sarah. After a moment she gradually put her arms up around his neck. Equally surprised that she was returning his kiss, Will wrapped his other arm around Sarah and pulled her closer.

Kate stared. "Oh my..." she breathed, nudging Clay. "They're... getting into it..."

"Unh-hunh..." Clay nodded with amazement, unable to take his eyes off the sight.

Alyssa giggled. "They kiss good!" she proclaimed and ran to sit back down beside her father.

Arthur gently cleared his throat. "The children..." he hinted.

Will broke the kiss off with a gentle film-screen caress of her chin with his finger. "Now that's a kiss," he told her.

Recovering rapidly, Sarah shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, I've had better."

Chuckling warmly, Will shook his head. "Whatever you say, little lady... but I haven't." He winked at her and gave her a grin as he walked back into the living room.

Sarah gaped slack-jawed after him, stunned into silence. "Well, I never..." she huffed at last and turned on her heels into the kitchen.

Kate sighed with a glance at Clay. "It was nice while it lasted," she whispered under her breath.

Clay giggled quietly and whispered to Kate. "Maybe... but the memories will last forever on Andrew's video tape..." Kate clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

Sarah rounded the corner of the kitchen and backed up against the wall out of sight, pinching her eyes tightly shut. She sighed deeply, tears filling her eyes as she touched her fingers to her swollen lips. Oh my... Contrary to what she had told Will, she had never experienced a kiss quite like that - and wanted very much to experience it again. Reliving the moment again in her mind, she stifled a slight moan. Suddenly her eyes opened wide as she realized that while she had been pressed up tight against him, she had felt much more than just his kiss. Just the newest and best Motorola... she gaped in shock.

Back in the living room, Will walked over to stand behind one of the high-backed chairs. This is a bad time for this to happen, he grumbled under his breath. He fumed as he leaned on the back of the chair, knowing full well that there was no way he was sitting back down just yet. She was kissing me back, he breathed with amazement. Will wonders never cease.

Breaking herself out of her trance, Sarah raced towards the refrigerator and opened the door wide. Leaning bodily inside, she reached in for the roses, letting the cool air of the refrigerator chill her skin. Oh my... that helps. With a relieved sigh, she closed the refrigerator. Unwrapping the roses, she threw the paper away in the nearby garbage. Careful to keep the roses stashed behind her back, Sarah walked back out to the living room and sat back down beside Kate. Grabbing for her glass, her hand connected on empty air. Duh... Nonchalantly sliding the roses behind Kate's back to Clay's waiting hand, Sarah stood up and hurried back into the kitchen. She grabbed her glass and refilled it, quickly returning to the living room to sit back down beside her roommate. Kate gave Sarah an amused glance and snickered under her breath. Sarah flushed at Kate's amusement and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Well," Patricia said quietly, eyeing the large box in front of Kate. "The last one's yours."

Yeah. Very slowly Kate shook her head. "Clay Aiken... what did you do?" Ignoring him as he bit his lip with amusement, she carefully pulled off the bow and added it to the pile. Slicing through the tape, Kate pulled off the wrapping paper intact.

"Yay!" Sarah clapped her hands gleefully as the paper fell away. "He got you... a bread machine??"

Kate blinked with growing puzzlement as Andrew zoomed his video camera closer. "Lightest bread machine I've ever seen... must make low-cal bread." The others laughed at Kate's witty remark, and she grinned back at them. She reached towards the top of the box, carefully slicing the tape that bound the flaps together. Pulling them back, she peeked inside. A patient mock-frown crossed her face. "Nice..." she mumbled at seeing the Styrofoam.

"So what is it?" Sarah asked, also peeking in the box.

Somehow I doubt it's the bread machine... "Dunno yet." Kate chewed her lip. "I guess we'll find out." Pulling the garbage sack closer, she took small handfuls of the Styrofoam and placed them in the sack. Repeating this process over and over again, she finally got to the middle of the box where Clay had placed the velvet jeweler's box. Lifting it out of the box, Kate blinked several times in succession to keep back her sudden tears. Does this mean what I think it means? "Clay..." she said hoarsely as she ran her fingers over the velvet box filling her palm.

"Don't open it just yet." Laying the velvet box and the roses beside the larger box, Clay shifted until he was kneeling directly in front of her. Taking both of her shaking hands in his, he inhaled very slowly. "Kate... I, um..." He took another deep breath, chuckling to himself. This is a lot harder than it looks. Slowly running his thumbs over the tops of her hands, he attempted one more time to collect his thoughts. "Kate... ever since the day I read your first letter, you've touched my heart and soul. Your faith, your love, your gentleness, your humor have all captivated me, these and more have captivated me." Noting the mist shining in her eyes, he smiled warmly at her. "During the past two and a half years I have been privileged to be your friend... the last six months, lucky enough to be your boyfriend."

"My one true love," Kate breathed, smiling at him.

Clay nodded. "Your one true love." Still caressing her hands, he continued. "And you are mine. You are the one and only woman I have ever loved, the only woman I ever want to love... the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with." He looked back up into her eyes, biting his lip when he saw the first tear trickle down her cheek. "Don't start yet, hon, or I'll never be able to get through this." He swallowed the lump in his throat, praying that he would not lose his ability to speak before he finished. "I love you, Kate, with all my heart and soul. And I want, more than anything in the world right now, for you to be my wife." Taking one last deep breath as Kate's jaw trembled, he began slowly. "So... Kathryn Joy Kirche... will you make me the happiest man on earth tonight by agreeing to become my wife?"

Kate's trembling increased, moving from just her hands and her jaw to the rest of her body. "Yes," she squeaked out as she reached up to caress his cheek. "I want nothing more than to marry you."

Biting his lip again to keep back the tears, Clay pulled Kate into a warm embrace as everyone in the room applauded and cheered. For several moments he held her, fighting to keep hold of his emotions but not quite succeeding. He felt Kate pull back and he started to let her go, until she leaned forward to kiss him. Drawing her close again, he drank in the sweetness of that kiss. At last he pulled back, wiping happy tears from her cheeks as she did the same for him. So much for getting through this without crying...

Alyssa looked up at her parents. "Why are they crying, Mommy?"

Holly gently rearranged curls of her daughter's hair. "Uncle Clay just asked Aunt Kate to marry him. So very soon he's going to be your real uncle instead of just your pretend one."

"Yay!" Alyssa clapped happily. "How soon will he be my real unca, Mommy?"

Holly put her finger to her lips. "Just listen, and you'll find out."

Knowing that he wasn't finished just yet, Clay picked up the trio of roses. "One always hears about the number three," he told her. "Things come in threes, third time's a charm..." He held up the roses. "These are symbolic for a lot of threes." He fingered the red rose. "This one stands for love, passion... and me." Next he fingered the pink rose. "This one stands for romance, sweetness... and you." Last he fingered the white rose. "This one stands for respect, purity... and God." Indicating the braid tying the roses together, he smiled. "And this is the cord of three strands which is not easily broken. With God at the center of our relationship, we can weather anything together - our marriage will be solid between the three of us working on it." Finished with his story, he handed the roses to her.

Accepting the roses from his hand, Kate nodded with a smile. She had indeed heard of the myths and symbolism connected to the number three... only in this case it was good symbolism. "Thank you. I like that. I like it a lot." Slowly Clay picked up the velvet box. Holding it in the palm of his hand, he smiled at her again. Kate smiled back at him as he very carefully opened the box. "Oh..." she breathed with surprise as she saw two petite rings in the box, one with a diamond and one without. "You got a wedding set." Kate blinked thoughtfully, trying to come up with just the right thing to say to cover her surprise. "At least that way you know they fit together," she smiled.

"They're meant to go together, just like you and me," he told her, pulling the solitaire from the box and closing it again. He placed the ring box back on the floor beside them and slowly slid the solitaire onto her finger, smiling warmly once it was on her hand. "There's one ring for tonight, and one ring..." He paused, looking into her eyes. "... for next Saturday."

Kate stared at him, unsure that she had heard him correctly. "N-Next... S-S-Saturday?" she breathed. He nodded slowly, and she shook her head. "Hon, I'd do it in a heartbeat if the preacher was available, but... but... a wedding takes planning. Weeks and months of planning. You... you just asked me tonight."

"Maybe," Clay answered, "but we've been planning for weeks and months."

Hunh? Kate stared at Clay. "We? Wh-wh-who's we?"

"I've had the help of a few key accomplices," Clay confessed. "Without their help I couldn't have found out that you were willing to marry me, let alone made any of the arrangements."

Oh really? Still reeling, Kate cast a vacant gaze first at her best friend Sarah then at her parents. "Key accomplices..."

"He's right," Patricia told her quietly. "All of the arrangements have already been made. The only things that remained was for you to say yes... and for us to buy you a dress."

Kate stared at her mother incredulously before going on. "But next Saturday is New Year's Eve! What pastor would be crazy enough to marry some starry-eyed couple on New Year's Eve!"

"A pastor," Sarah broke in, "who claims that he owes you big-time for dozens of favors." She gave Kate an exaggerated, toothy grin.

Key accomplices indeed... "You're in on this!" Kate accused her. When Sarah's expression did not change, Kate shook her head sharply. I would bet my firstborn child that my mother is in on it too. "Just my answer and my dress?"

Clay nodded slowly. "Your answer and your dress." He shrugged apologetically. "It won't be big or fancy - just our immediate families and our closest, dearest friends."

Sarah snorted. "The smaller the better, if I know Kate."

Encouraged by this, Clay smiled. "But it is going to be in a church."

"My church, with my pastor!" Kate answered with a slow grin. Clay nodded again, and Kate broke into giggles. "If he were to ask you to marry him, how soon would you want to marry him? Would you want to wait, or would you rather marry quickly?" Kate knew now that Sarah's question that day had not been idle conversation - it had been a fishing expedition, to see if she would be willing to go through with this. And she had given Sarah exactly the answer she - no, Clay - had been looking for. "Oh, why not..." she groaned with another giggle. "Far be it from me to tell you 'no' after all the work you people have gone to..." And to be completely honest, Kate really did prefer it this way - a small, private wedding in the church. She glanced back at Clay. "Immediate family and closest, dearest friends. Other than the people in this room, who else does that guest list include?"

"My family," Clay answered. "They're flying into Lincoln on Thursday. Kim and Ruben are flying into Lincoln on Wednesday..." He sighed. "That's it. There are a few of my other friends from back in North Carolina who wanted to come, but they won't be able to make it."

"Amanda and those guys," Kate supplied. When he nodded, she heaved a sigh. "I feel for you - the only one of my friends who's going to make it will be Sarah... unless you have any more tricks up your collective sleeves."

Clay shook his head with a giggle. "I think that just about covers it."

"Oh, and Katydid..." Sarah grinned wickedly, "you do have one more friend coming. Your marriage license and motel room have been paid for in advance by Kim."

Kate snorted. Why am I not surprised...

With the major excitement over, everyone started cleaning up - Kate's parents and Sarah worked on the food in the kitchen while Clay, Kate, and Will picked up the paper and bows and things in the living room. Knowing cleanup would go faster without their kids under foot, Andrew grabbed Alyssa while Holly took Alexander. Andrew grinned at his younger sister and her new fiancé. "Congratulations, you guys. From what I can tell, you really fit together... like salt and pepper, mac and cheese... or George and Gracie." He kissed the cheek of his yawning daughter. "We're going to put the munchkins to bed and be back down."

Clay chuckled as the two of them headed up the stairs with their kids. "George and Gracie were married..." he reminded Kate.

"I know - for many, many years." Her eyes drawn to the fiery sparkle of the diamond, Kate shook her head with a contented sigh. "What if I asked you to marry me tomorrow?" Clay had asked. Kate noted with irony that Clay had done exactly what he said he would, even though she had misunderstood him at the time. One week from today I'm going to be married, she thought, married to the most wonderful Christian man I have ever known.

Once they were finished with the cleanup and had put the kids' "Santa" gifts by the tree, Clay and Kate sat together on the couch near the fireplace. "I love you, Kate," Clay told her as he stroked her cheek. "I love you very much."

"I love you too, Clay." Kate wrapped her arms around him, taking great delight when he did the same to her, and laid her head on his shoulder in the crook of his neck.

Sarah gave a slight smile as she watched Clay and Kate hold each other close in front of the fire. While it was true that she was very happy for her best friend, Sarah was also a bit jealous too. It hadn't even taken Sarah a full day to determine Clay would not have been the man for her... but she had to admit that she did want a loving, tender relationship similar to what Clay had with Kate. Sarah became aware of the sensation of being watched, and she turned to look up into Will's surprisingly vulnerable eyes. As soon as her eyes met his, Will glanced away. Sarah's eyes fell to the floor. Maybe someday I'll find my special man, she sighed. Maybe someday I'll have my own dream come true.

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