Ohoho... (devilish laugh)... okay, enough Strongbad impressions, but i LOOVE this chapter... LOOVE! That's... that's my word... along with "Loser McLosingthings" lolol my mom is so dumb (yes she said that and i was like "uh... did you just say "loser mclosingthings?" and she was like "um... did I?" lolol!) and I just really like this one for some reason... and this intro would be a lot longer but on our roadtrip my bicep just completly froze, so i cant bend my arm... its not very fun... anyway, ON TO THE STORY!

I don't own nothing that i do not own in this story.

"Vesta? Vesta!"

"Oh my god, Vesta!"

"Dojo, fly faster!"

"Yes, Dojo, hurry!"

Vesta was in a bad way. When they first got out of the club, she was clearing her throat a lot and sniffling a little, but everyone assumed that it was from singing too much and being a little tired. Within five minutes, however, she was hacking and sneezing like no one had heard before. They constantly asked her if she was okay, and she would always reply with a

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm fine!"

Either way, they still kept an eye on her. About 10 minutes into the trip, she stopped coughing as much, to the relief of the Xiaolin Dragons. But she started to sway a little. She blamed it on being tired, and left it at that. 5 minutes later, she almost fell off of the Dragon.

"Vesta?" Clay asked, grabbing the girl before she fell, and noticing that her breathing was haggard and that she was unconscious, "Vesta!"

Kimiko looked over Clay's shoulder, noticing her future daughter limp in the cowboy's arms, "Oh my god, Vesta!"

Rai, at the front of the dragon, yelled to the flyer, "Dojo! Fly faster!"

Omi agreed, looking very troubled over the young teens predicament, "Yes, Dojo, hurry!" Dojo took off for the temple at full speed, also worried about the unconscious prophecy.

When they arrived at the Temple, Clay, who already had Vesta in his arms, rushed towards the infirmary, Kimiko, Rai, Omi, and a smaller Dojo not far behind. When they got there, the healers immediately took her from the cowboy and placed her on a bed, checking her out. They rubbed various ointments and salves on the girl, and placed some incense around her bed "To help wake her up," as the head healer said.

The healers had left and the girl was still "In freezing" as Omi put it, which Kimiko later realized to be meant as "Out cold". By now it was late, and, having an early start that morning and a fun then stressful time that day, all of the Dragons were tired. They decided to take shifts on who should stay with Vesta. Kimiko would go first, because she was the girl's mother, even though not really yet, and she wouldn't have it any other way. They then decided that they would go in alphabetical order by first names (considering Omi had no last name) for the rest of them, meaning that Clay would go next. The shifts would be 2 hours long, but an hour in, the cowboy knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, so he decided to get an early start on his shift. He knew that Kimiko really needed some sleep.

He walked to the infirmary, and saw the Dragon of Fire sitting there, trying with all her strength to stay awake and keep an eye on her future daughter. Clay walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll take it from here." He stated, chuckling a little at Kimiko's reaction. She was very tired, so her look of surprise was more of a "wha?" kind of look.

After she got a full grasp of what he said, she immediately started shaking her head, "No way, cowboy. I have this for another hour," she shrugged off his hand motioned towards the door, "Go get some sleep."

Clay grabbed a chair from near another bed and placed it next to Kimiko, sitting down, "Nah, I wouldn't be able to sleep, anyway." He looked towards the unconscious teen, "Well, I'm not leaving. Whether or not you are is up to you."

Kimiko glanced at Vesta who, normally so exuberant and fun loving, looked vulnerable and helpless. "No," she said, wiping a stray hair away from her daughter's face, "I can't just leave her. Even if you are here."

Silence. Can be awkward or golden, loved or unwanted, it always depends on the people involved, and the situation at hand. It was in this silence that Kimiko decided to get something off of her chest that had secretly been lurking there for the past 5 years, she herself just discovering it today.

"Clay?" she asked the young man who was straightening the sheets on the bed in which her future daughter lied.

"M-hm?" he asked, turning towards her a little.

She laughed, "If this girl had shown up when I first came here and told me that one of you guys would be my future husband, I would have probably gone into a coma from laughter. I mean, you guys were a surfer, a monk, and a cowboy. 3 totally different personalities, none of which, no offense" she said, gesturing towards Clay, "really my type. But, after all these years, I've realized that there's so much more to you guys.

Omi, though usually self absorbed and easily riled up… when he wants to be he's caring and gentle, always there to make you smile when you're down.

And Rai, I just thought of him as a lazy surfer dude. But he's really anything but. Sure, he shirks out on his chores a lot, but when it comes to the REAL big important stuff, he's always moving to finish his task, never stopping unless something makes him. But he can be calm when he needs to be, too.

And then…" she paused, trying to collect her words, "There's you."

"Yeah," he said, staring at his feet, "The American hick who can only do things that are useful on a farm." He turned his head away a little.

"No!" she said loudly, grabbing his head and turning it her way again, "That's not it at all!" she smiled, "You're always there when you're needed, even if we don't KNOW that we need you. You never miss any amount of detail; you can always tell if we're feeling down even if it's just by the lack of sparkle in my eye or something. You're such a gentleman. I've taken Kung Fu classes all my life, and you are the first and only one who wouldn't hit a girl because it was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty where they won't hit a girl because we're not 'worthy enough to fight', but none who didn't because they didn't think it was right.

You always help me up onto Dojo, help me off. You're always pulling me away from danger. I admit, I'm a little of a hothead, and when I get that way I don't always know when to leave well enough alone. But you're always there to pull me away. Whenever I see you I can't help but just break into a huge smile, like the one that's always on your face, because I know you're always going to be there to smile it. And," she looked away too, a small blush creeping up on her face, "And I don't think that Vesta would be the same if… you… weren't her father."

Clay's head snapped up, "What?" he asked, all hints of tiredness drained.

She looked towards him again, her face now completely red, "I said… I don't think Vesta would be Vesta if you weren't her father." She balled up her fist and pressed her index finger to the bridge of her nose, "Oh my god, I'm such an idiot." She started to tear up, "Why did I tell you that? You know what?" she said, turning back to the girl, "Just… forget I said anything, okay?" she was biting her lip, and she couldn't help a small tear to fall onto her daughters chest.

Clay was stunned. Did she really just say that she wished he was the father? Well, of course, he did too! He'd always loved her. Sure, when he first came here it started as a "like", but as years pass feelings grow. He would always get so nervous while talking around her; he would hide the nervous chuckles with random cowboy sayings. She always giggled at least a few at them, so that time he used the Mind Reader Conch on her completely dissing them well… he didn't know exactly what to think. The sayings were part of who he was, and if she didn't like them, he decided, there was no way that she could like him. But apparently that wasn't the case. And he couldn't be happier. Though it was, he admitted, the tiniest bit unlike he anticipated. The situation was a little different and a little odder then he always imagined. But you take what you can get.

Clay stood up and walked to the chair where the Dragon of Fire was sitting. He picked her up. He thought a second about what he was about to do. He kissed her.

It was his first kiss. He had only been 15 when he came here, and even so, he wasn't the most popular kid at school. The rest of his life he had lived here, where would he have gotten a kiss? Well… there was one place, but he didn't realize it until just now.

She was confused when he picked her up, and even more confused when he kissed her. For a moment all she could do was sit there, not even sure if what was happening was real. But when she confirmed it, she too closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss. Clay had his one arm wrapped around her, gluing her torso to his, his other on the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. She, in turn, had her arms over his shoulders, her hand grabbing the hair on the base of his neck. They stayed like this for a few minutes before pulling away.

"I don't think she would either." He stated. For this she gave him another little peck on the lips.

He walked towards his chair and sat down, still carrying Kimiko. She sat on his lap and nestled into his chest, almost falling into a long awaited sleep.

"God I hope you're the father." She stated, "Or I don't think I'll have the will power to keep the timeline in order." With this, she fell into a long awaited sleep.

Silence. It can be golden or awkward, wanted or hated, depending on the people involved and the situation at hand. To Clay Bailey at this moment, the silence was golden and very much wanted. The people involved were a family. The situation at hand was realizing that they were one. Without knowing it, Clay too fell into a deep, peaceful sleep while sitting in a deep, peaceful

Silence.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... Clay is Kimiko's Boi! (lol, long story, but I'm gonna tell you anyway! In my brothers dorm they have whiteboards on their doors for like "nametag" type things, and he had one for like 3 months that was something about a buttpirate(?) ((college people... weird)) and he has a girlfriend that he loves to DEATH and viceversa so i made a cool sign with all kinds of awesome designs and in the middle it said "Margo's Boi!" in awesome letters that i made XP) (wow that was longer than i expected) (and this --> XP was the main design in it other than little chibis of them holding hands... awww...)

so yeah its the same basic concept with Clay and Kimiko... really... it is... I AM NOT CRAZY

BUT PLEASE REVIEW! I THRIVE ON REVIEWS! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE! NO FLAMES OR YELLING AT ME BECAUSE ITS CLAYKIM, BUT PLEASE REVIEWS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

please?