Chapter 2

Kim had no idea how long she'd slept, but she stirred when she felt herself being carried off the chopper into a building. Inhaling her husband's familiar scent, she was tempted to go back to sleep, but then she heard voices around her.

"Poor girl, she's been through so much," a higher ranking officer was saying to Chris. "She's lucky to have you."

"No," she heard Chris say. "I'm lucky to have her."

"You're welcome to use one of the rooms upstairs," the officer was saying. "Maybe you should take your bride's cue and get some rest yourself."

She heard Chris laugh. "Yeah, I think I will. When will we be leaving for the States?"

"Not for a couple of days. Just have to make sure everything's in order for you and your new bride. Go on, Sergeant. Get some rest and enjoy some alone time with her. That's an order." She heard Chris's superior chuckle. "Goodness knows you've earned a break for a while. We'll send word when we're ready to leave."

Kim chuckled as the man walked away and Chris, well aware his bride was wide awake now, carried her up the stairs to a private room. She looked up at him, expecting him to put her down. Instead, he laughed and kissed her again. "No, Kim. We're going to do this properly."

She giggled. "Another one of those American wedding traditions?" she teased. "Summer already drilled me on the something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Why do you think I was wearing that scarf around my neck?" She reached over and opened the door as her husband's hands were full.

Chris laughed as he carried his bride over the threshold and kicked the door shut. He then carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently, he kissed her again. "I love you," he whispered, his lips mere inches from hers.

Tears stung Kim's eyes as she saw the love in the depths of Chris's eyes. "I love you too," she whispered back as she let herself be swept away. She wanted to go with Chris as far as their love would take them.

In the peaceful aftermath, Kim found herself snuggling closer to Chris and seemingly under a spell that words would only break. Chris gently caressed her face, kissing her again. She gave herself up to the love they shared. It kept the rest of the world at bay, if only for a little while.

Haley smiled as she listened to Kim reminisce. Hearing about how her uncle and aunt got out of Saigon with Kim carrying nothing except some clothes and her family shrine in a bag made her believe that with love, anything was possible.

"So, two days after arriving at the military base in Germany, you flew to America with Uncle Chris, right?" Haley asked.

"Yes. I was so nervous because Chris told me his parents were meeting us at the military base in Virginia." Kim laughed. "Turns out he'd had his lieutenant contact them to let them know about me, so they wouldn't be too terribly surprised when they saw their son with a young Vietnamese bride. But I didn't have to worry if they would like me…"

Kim was a bundle of nerves as she felt the military plane descending. In about thirty minutes, she would be meeting her future in-laws. Chris had told her a little bit about them. His father was a teacher at a college in New York, and very open minded about social issues from what Chris had said. His mother was the daughter of a military man herself so she knew what Chris had been in for when he went back to Vietnam.

The plane landed and the newlywed couple waited until the plane was empty to begin gathering their things together. While in Germany, Summer had taken Kim shopping and she now had in her possession two modest dresses, a couple of pairs of jeans, and two nice blouses.

"You ready?" Chris asked softly. Kim nodded and slipped her hand in his, feeling him bring it to his lips for a soft kiss as they exited the plane.

It didn't take long for Chris to find his parents and when Kim first saw his father, she almost got a chill. He was an older version of Chris and it was easy for her to figure where her husband had gotten his handsome looks, even though there were subtle features that Kim recognized as coming from his mother.

"So this must be the beautiful bride," Calvin Scott said jovially, looking Kim up and down. "Welcome to America, Kim."

"Thank you," she said with a shy smile.

"Oh you sweet thing," Emma Scott said, gently taking her new daughter-in-law's hands in her own. "Chris's lieutenant told us he was bringing home a bride from Saigon; he just forgot to mention how beautiful you were."

It didn't take long for Kim's paperwork to be processed. She had to wonder if maybe Ambassador Kelly had something to do with it, but she didn't say anything as she was given her green card and made to pose for a picture for her American passport that would be issued to her later.

"Welcome to the United States, Mrs. Scott," the official said. "You will be allowed to go with your husband. And congratulations."

"Thank you," she managed to squeak out and left with her new family.

Chris and Kim stayed with his parents for first couple weeks of their marriage. Then he found a small two bedroom apartment not far from where he was working for an investment firm in Manhattan.

Three months after her arrival in America, Kim had begun exhibiting peculiar symptoms. She would be sick in the mornings and she tired easily. When she almost passed out while making dinner, Chris had called his physician and made an appointment for her to meet with him.

The doctor asked her some questions, a couple which had made her blush, and then he did a quick examination and it didn't take long for them to determine what was going on.

"Kim, you're pregnant," he told her. "And it looks like the baby will be due sometime in January." After giving her some prenatal vitamins and some instructions on how to handle the nausea, he sent her home in Chris's care.

When she told Chris about the baby, he was ecstatic. He enlisted his father's help in restoring the old crib for the extra bedroom that would now become a nursery. He was also ready to help her when she became tired or stressed. Emma took her shopping for some maternity clothes once her own clothes became tight.

Amid all this, Chris and Kim also learned that John had fallen in love with a woman named Ellen Spencer and that they would be marrying in a few months. Kim liked her right away, especially since she and John were working together to help some of the illegitimate children in Vietnam and reuniting some with their American fathers.

Two months after John and Ellen's wedding, Kim was laying back and reading a book when all of a sudden she was seized by a sharp pain in her midsection. I need to begin timing these pains, she thought to herself. This could be it.

Emma was visiting at the time and she heard her daughter-in-law moaning in pain. She hurried to the living room where she could see that Kim was in labor. "Are you timing those pains?" she asked gently, smoothing back a thin black tendril of Kim's hair.

Kim nodded. "Every three minutes give or take." She winced as a particular hard contraction hit at that moment. "I never thought it would be this intense!"

"Sweetie, you have no idea," Emma chuckled as she helped the younger girl to her feet. "I could tell you horror stories of my labor with Chris, but I think I'll spare you that. Do you have a bag packed?"

"It's in the bedroom. I can get it." Kim made her way to the bedroom and grabbed the bag that Chris had helped her pack two days before. Just then, she felt water gushing down her legs. "Emma, I think my water just broke!"

The moment Emma heard the panic in her young daughter-in-law's voice, she was quick to take charge, gently but firmly herding Kim out the door and asking their neighbor to please call the investment firm and let Chris know that Kim was in labor and that she was taking her to the hospital.

Amid her pain, Kim smiled as Emma helped her into the car. It will be okay, she thought. Soon, I'll be holding our baby, a product of our love. All this pain and suffering will be more than worth it.