~~~~Love Above All~~~~

Chapter Forty~Three


The party lasted all night and into the morning hours. The older children stayed awake until midnight or so and Bob and Jane crashed a few hours later. After the last guest left Nick and Elisha surveyed the mess with Nick's siblings.

"Leave it!" Elisha giggled, slightly tipsy from champagne. "I want to go to bed!"

They said their goodnights as Nick picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. He lost his footing and dropping her just as they reached the bed. Elisha laughed as Nick landed on top of her with a shout.

"Excited, Mr. Carter?"

"I�m just so happy �Lish. It�s over and we�re going home to our own house."

Elisha circled her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. "I love you. I love you for standing by me and understanding and just being you."

"I love you too, "Lish. You are my life." Nick leaned down and returned her kiss.

"I wanna sleep." she murmured. "Then, when I wake up, I wanna pack everything up and get the hell out of here!"

"Sounds good to me!" Nick laughed and rolled on to his side, pulling her close to him. "I�m so glad you won the case." he whispered in her ear.

"I didn�t win it!" she protested.

"You know what I mean. I don�t know what I would do without you here with me."

She turned to face him. "Well, I�m here and I�m not going anywhere without you, not ever. I love you Nickolas Carter."

"And I love you Elisha Carter." They entwined their hands together as they completed their mantra.

"More and more, every day."

"Oh Lord, what a mess!" Elisha exclaimed the next afternoon. She had finally woken up about noon, Nick was still sleeping soundly.

"Hi mommy! Can I help?" Brian hopped up and down beside her.

She ruffled his hair playfully. "Sure can, little man. Go get me a garbage can, okay?"

Brian nodded, and hopped into the kitchen on his mission.

Jane came up the stairs from basement to see what the noise was. "Oh hello dear! Did you sleep well?"

"Very well thank you! Nick is still passed out in there."

She hugged Brian as he returned and started helping him pick up the paper plates and cups that were strewn about the room.

"We�ve almost finished the basement. Rebecca is helping Bob and I down there and the twins are fed and asleep."

"I saw that, you have quite a way with them. I didn�t even hear them cry." Elisha admired.

"Oh, they didn�t cry very much. And don�t forget that I have had the twin experience already!"

Elisha smiled and then looked around wonderingly. "Yes, where are they, by the way? Still sleeping too?"

"No, they got up early and headed for the airport. They both had to get back for classes. Also, Christine called to let you know that she and Kevin, as well as most of the others are leaving this morning."

Elisha's face fell. "I was hoping to see them again today."

"Well, she said that she knew you wanted to get home as soon as possible."

"I do." Elisha agreed. "I want to pack after lunch and hopefully leave tonight. That way the kids can sleep most of the way."

"Well let�s get to work then!" Jane went back downstairs to finish up and Elisha turned to see that most of the garbage had been cleaned away by Brian.

"You little monkey!" She smiled at her son, who was trying to tug the full bag back into the kitchen. "Can mommy help you now?" she giggled.

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Nick tossed their luggage in the back of the van and went back for the boxes of kids toys. Elisha met him halfway with more clothes.

"We didn�t come with all this stuff, did we?" He gazed down at the clothes piled in his arms.

"We must have!"

"Then why won�t they fit in the suitcases?" Nick teased.

"Just put them in there, will you?"

After a hour, the van was packed and ready to go. They returned to the house and checked that everything was back in order and that nothing was forgotten.

"What about the food?" Nick asked, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a Coke.

"Ann is coming back in two days so everything should still be okay. I left her a note letting her know what�s here so that she doesn�t have to shop right away."

"So we have everything?" He stood beside her and draped his arm over her shoulders.

"I think so...I didn�t see anything we should be taking. We put the beds back and washed everything, right?"

Nick nodded and took a sip of his pop. "Are you going to miss this place?"

Elisha looked at him in amazement. "No! I don�t care if I ever see Kentucky again!"

Nick laughed and hugged her tight. "You know...I think I might agree with you there."

They carried the twins to the van and secured them in their seats before trying to catch Rebecca and Brian, who were running across the yard, shouting with joy.

"We�re going home! We�re going home!"

Nick ran up to Rebecca and grabbed her from behind.

"Got you!" He swung her around and hugged her tight. "Are you all ready to go?"

Rebecca nodded eagerly, showing her father that she had her purse filled with her Game Boy equipment at the ready.

"Good stuff! And how about you, little man?" Nick took Brian from Elisha and placed him on his shoulders. "Do you want to go home?"

"Yes daddy, please! Let�s go!"

Nick turned to face Elisha. "I think the natives are ready to head home, what do you say?"

Elisha grinned and took Rebecca's hand. "I say...Let�s get out of here!"

They all cheered and piled in the van, ready for the journey home.

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Elisha stirred and stretched in the passenger seat. She glanced over at Nick, quietly tapping the steering wheel and singing along to the radio that was barely audible. She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his knee.

"Whatcha� listening to?"

He placed his warm hand on hers and kissed the top of her head before turning the radio up slightly. The striking voice of Steve Perry flowed out of the speakers and Nick continued singing along.

"...faithfully, I�m still yours, faithfully..."

"Our song!" She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I haven�t heard it in awhile, it�s still a beautiful song."

"They�re having a 70's night on this channel, it�s been really great!"

Elisha glanced at the road and tried to get her bearings. "Where are we?"

Nick glanced behind him and merged onto the highway ahead. "Almost home. We�re about an hour away."

"Why didn�t you wake me up so that you could get some rest?"

"Aw, you looked so peaceful and the twins were asleep, there was no need."

Elisha rubbed his thigh. "You need your rest, you should have woken me up."

He placed his hand on hers again. "Believe me, when we get home, all I want to do is pull you all into our bed and sleep for 10 days!"

"I�m all for that! The kids might disagree however."

Nick smiled down at her. "Troublemakers!"

"Yeah, but just think what we can do without them around!"

They laughed quietly, and, after a few quiet moments, Nick noticed that Elisha had fallen back asleep, her hand still caught up in his.

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"We�re home!" Elisha called out.

Rebecca and Brian jumped at the sound of her voice and looked around.

"It�s our house!" Rebecca hollered. "Look Bri-Bri! There�s Nana and Oopa Carter waiting!"

The kids tossed off their seatbelts and ran to greet their grandparents. Nick and Elisha straggled behind with the twins and their diaper bags.

"Let�s go out to the deck, everyone, these babies need to eat!" At Nicks announcement, Gene let out a plaintive wail and Diana decided to join in too. "What did I tell you?"

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After dinner, Rebecca and Brian wanted to swim so they persuaded their grandparents to join them. Nick and Elisha sat side by side on the deck and watched them splashing happily in the water and listened to the twins seemingly laughing at them. Their coos and gurgles matching exactly the older childrens movements in the pool.

Nick clasped Elisha's hand and held it in his lap. "Happy sweetheart?"

Elisha wiped away a small tear. "I am so happy right now Nick, words can�t explain. I think you are the only person that knows without me having to try to explain it." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I want to remember this time forever."

"So get the camera." She looked at Nick, confused. "Mom and dad will take our picture, and then you will have this day in your heart, in your head and you will be able to see it whenever you want."

Elisha rummaged through the diaper bags until she found it.

"Come here guys, mommy wants a picture of us all home again!"

Nick held Diana and Rebecca perched on his knee, while Elisha had Gene and Brian. They all smiled and Jane snapped the photo. The kids ran back to the pool and the babies fussed to be fed.

"I don�t think I ever want to leave here again Nick, it�s so beautiful here." Elisha handed him a bottle for Diana and started feeding Gene.

"I�m with you Elisha." They sat quietly for a moment and watched the sunset. "But if I have to leave, you�re coming with me. I never want to be apart from you again."

"I love you Nick" Elisha leaned close to him and kissed his cheek.

"And I love you, Elisha." Nick returned her kiss and took her free hand in his. "More and more, every day!"

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