Author note:

This is not the chapter I had outlined, but it's where the muse took me. I hope it makes sense and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you again for your support and reviews of my story! I means so much to me! :)

CH 87-Pony-Tails

The days flew by quickly. Soon Emma would be finishing up at the Day Care and headed to classes for college. They also knew that Clay had a deployment looming on the horizon. Neither one of them wanted to think about being separated for months.

They tried to make the most of the pleasant weather and their time together. This particular weekend, they decided to spend some time at the beach and maybe hit the boardwalk. They staked out a place on the sand and Clay set up an umbrella while Emma set out their chairs. Hoping the section of the beach they picked wouldn't get too crowded they settled in. The chairs were close enough that Emma could lean against Clay's shoulder and close her eyes to listen to the waves. The breeze was blowing off the water, causing a few strands of her hair to whirl around, tickling his nose. She felt him brushing them down, and away from his face.

"Sorry honey." She shifted away from him as she giggled at his scrunched-up nose.

"No, you don't have to leave Em. It's fine."

He reached an arm around her shoulders to keep her next to him.

"But my hair is bothering you."

"It's fine, really."

"How about I put it up? Can you pass me the bag? I'm sure there's a hair tie in there somewhere."

He nodded and passed her the tote. Unbelievably, after a couple minutes of searching, she came up empty. He was in shock, those things were everywhere he looked, they seemed to multiply when no one was watching. As she was about to give up, he thought of a solution and slipped off the para-cord that he often wore on his wrist.

"Come here honey."

She turned around and he gathered her hair up and twisted the cord around it, securing it into a ponytail.

"Okay, how is it that I'm just finding out that you know how to do that," she laughed incredulously. "And…how exactly do you know how to do that?"

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," he joked. "I've known how to do ponytails for a long time, actually. There were lots of little girls at my Grandparents' mission. I learned how from watching Gram. Then, I would help out the really young ones when they needed it."

The picture he painted didn't surprise her one bit. She could clearly imagine an adolescent Clay acting as "big-brother" to the younger kids in his Grandparents' care, especially the scared, little ones. She had never put much thought into it before, but it must have been there, in Liberia, with his Grandparents that he learned to be such a compassionate, protective, and nurturing soul. Those traits certainly didn't come from Ash, or from the little she knew, his mother either. No wonder he was so patient and good with Jameelah and RJ, and even Mikey. She was certain that he was going to be a fabulous father one day. The thought of being the one to have his babies filled her with warmth and affection down to her soul. She slid onto his lap and kissed him. He responded to her automatically, folding his arms around her and deepening the kiss

When they needed to separate for breath, he grinned and questioned her.

"What was that for? Not that I mind at all."

How could she put what she was feeling into words?

"I…I love you; I love who you are." Her next words caused her to flush slightly. "And… I love that one day I'm going to get to be the Mother of your children."

"I love that too Emmie," he responded warmly, pecking her on the lips.

Even though he was moved by her admission, he wasn't sure he could follow the train of thought that had led her to her declaration. When he asked, she told him of her thoughts about his personal qualities and where he learned them. Being abandoned by his mother and abused and neglected by Ash could have led him down a very dark path. But instead he had grown into the finest man she knew, a man she was honored and blessed to call 'hers'.

He agreed that most of what he learned in life had come from his Grandparents. Sure, other mentors, like Adam and her Dad, had impacted him as well. Though his early years, the years that helped to shape his character, were influenced by his Grandfather and Grandmother.

He kept her in his lap, tracing patterns lightly on her skin as he spoke to her about them. He looked out across the waves as he told her about first coming to live with them and how overwhelming it all was to be shipped off to a new country with unfamiliar customs and a language he didn't understand. They loved him immediately and showed him the support and acceptance he had been denied by his parents. They took the time to get to know and understand him. Soon they discovered his talent for languages as his Grandmother patiently tutored him in the local dialect. His Grandfather instilled in him a thirst for knowledge and the drive to better himself. Both of them, supported his interests and encouraged him to pursue them. It was the two of them that taught him about caring for and serving others. It was there, with their guidance and love, that he learned to be a man.

"I wish…I wish I could thank them," she told him softly.

"Why is that babe?'

"They helped you become who you are today…the man that I love & want to spend my life with."

Clay tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I do owe them a lot. I think about how hard it must have been for them. After the mess that my Mom made of her life, to be saddled with a kid again at their age."

"They obviously loved you Clay."

"And I loved them."

After hearing him talk about them like this, and knowing how he felt, she wondered why there weren't any photos of them at their place. She couldn't imagine not having any photos of her mom or the memories they had made together. So, she decided to ask.

"Do you have any pictures of them, any mementos? "

Clay shook his head.

"No." he drew in a deep breath. "It was an extremely poor little town and we didn't have a camera. I wish there had been one, somewhere. And Gramps and Gram didn't have much. They used what they had to help the people, the kids. My Gram's ring that's in your necklace is really the only thing I have from them."

"And there wasn't anything among the stuff from your Mom…."

She let the question fade as he shook his head sadly.

"I never saw anything. I did have a couple boxes that got shipped to me, but with moving around and everything, I don't even know where they are now."

"I'm sorry. I know they were really the only family you had."

She knew he didn't consider his Father to be family.

"They were all I had, until I got on the teams. Now I have Bravo. But, most importantly, now I have you Emmie. You're my family. I'm not alone anymore."

"And you never will be again," she answered emphatically, sealing her promise with a kiss.