Tracy felt his l ips brush hers, she felt the infusion of oneness, and responded . Her arms wound around his neck, her hands twining in his hair, and she felt as she hadn't in all the time since that first forbidden kiss over two years ago. Marrying Richard was right, it was in the plan all along. Raine had gone on, with Steven, maybe on a mission, and she was supposed to be with Richard, here and now and the rest of her life, with Richard.

Richard's heart soared. This is what he felt all along, the joining of mind, spirit, and body that he'd always hoped for. He crushed her even more fully against him, melding their lips and plunging fully into the sweet togetherness that permeated every aspect of their union.

They drew apart, looking into each other's eyes. "We both know what comes next." She whispered.

"Um hmmm." He searched her snowflaked baby blues. "l wish it were otherwise in a way. That we were each other's first, but I had already blown that one away before I met you."

He kissed her again. ''Maybe later...." He said and pulled away looking into her eyes with undisguised interest. Then he looked down at her leg. "Maybe not."

Tracy smiled. "Maybe..." she pulled him closer again and let her hands wander over the contours of his back, feeling the strength there.

"I think ..." hetook a shaky breath. "I think maybe I should lash this stuff to the rock here." He slapped a palm against it.

"Just how do you propose to use the raft?" Tracy asked, turning their thoughts away from the more amorous feelings they were having.

Richard shrugged, looking at it, and at Danny now lining up shells and pebbles against the extra sticks and they'd brought. "I think I'll tie you guys to it, and rope it to this rock, and I 'll tie myself to the rock as well. If the water comes this high you guys will float, and I'll..." he glanced around. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Do you think it was an earthquake we felt in the cave?"

"Um hmm."Tracy watched him putting together their escape route in his mind. "Tsunami following a quake. Makes sense."

Richard's expression changed. "Hey. I found the camcorder in your small bag. We could be recording this... for posterity.''

"Seriously? It didn't get ruined in the water?"

"Well, it might still get ruined, but no, I think it works. The bag wasn't immersed." He retrieved it and turned it on. "Yeah, it's fine, and all your other camera stuff as well. All neatly packed in waterproof bags, film and all. Almost as if you planned this. You haven 't had any visions lately, have you? Dreams?"

Tracy didn't answer, but she looked away and her lower lip was trembling. 

"It 's the miracle bag, eh?" he finally said, choosing to ignore this one."Mylar space blankets, tools, baby diapers, medical supplies, food... my goodness, girl, you've thought of everything."

Tracy struggled to stand up on her own and limped a few feet away, staring out at the ocean around them. A gray blanket of water that loomed just out of sight. She knew it was there, gathering force, gathering energy with which to kill them all.

She felt Richard's hands on her shoulders. He rubbed reassuringly. Hard to believe this was happening. Hard to believe that just under a month ago he'd been in Sidney, on his mission, getting ready to leave for Salt Lake, where he was released and then called as an ambassador for the church to Mongolia. He'd been given a four month leave, to be married, honeymooned and to make a summer movie. Now? Well, he was married. And if this was the honeymoon....

"It 's not funny,"Tracy whispered.

''No, it's not."He chuckled again. 

"Then what are you laughing at?"

"Circumstances. Never a dull moment in your life, darling." 

"I don 't like the things that have happened in my life." 

"Ah."He chuckled again. "Don 't be a spoiled sport."

''Excuse me? A spoiled sport? I am not a spoiled sport." She turned in his arms, but he could see that her eyes were twinkling. He pulled her to him and cupped her bottom in both hands, pulling her against him.

"After the wave, I'll figure out a way to get help and we'll get on with our honeymoon."

"Why not right now?"

"What? Get on with the honeymoon?" 

"Can you think of a better time?" 

"Yeah, in a room with a bed ..."

"Really, you have no imagination. I say we try it on the raft with the kids watching." 

''You have a sick mind. I think I like that."

Tracy pressed herself against him. "You were hoping to start baby number one as soon as possible?"

"I didn 't say that. "

Tracy glanced over at Danny who had curled up in the spot she'd vacated , and pulled the back pack to his head for a pillow, his eyes were closed. She turned in Richard's anns, making up her mind. She leaned back against him to allow him better access to her and  gently moved his hands which were covering her arms so that they rested against the soft fullness beneath. ''Then again ..." he rubbed against that softness with a thumb. His eyes sought hers as she turned for his kiss.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, wondering if she wasn 't what he'd do.

She nodded. Then as he lifted her against him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against the wannth of his skin.

*****

Later they sat staring out at the retreating skyline debating if they really could walk to the other island they could now see above the gray and blue water line. The ocean bottom looked weird from their viewpoint.

Full of plants and rocks, bubbling spaces, deep chasms and crevices, and dead fish. The coral seemed to loom like gyrating trees in the wind, breaking off or falling under the weight of the seaweed wrapped around it. The children were waking up, and had started to explore the little plateau they were on. There were sticks and rocks and sand, things no self respecting child would ever be caught bored with. 

"We truly are blessed. It couldn't have been a better find."Tracy crawled back to where the large protruding rock sheltered the sleeping baby. Richard joined her. He watched as she helped the children pull out wet suit after wet suit.

"No wonder it was so freakin' heavy!" Richard exclaimed laughing.

"I was planning to take us all snorkeling ." Tracy laughed.

"Is there one for each?" Richard held up the two smallest suits in wonder. "You've got to be kidding. I can't believe we have at our fingertips, the very things we need the most."

Tracy pulled the final suit out and held it up to him. "Ithink it will fit you. I had to guess at your size." 

Richard started stripping out of his clothes.

"I know it'll fit me."He assured her with a grin, as Danny and the girls now watched in amazement their new father revealing his entire body to them. Richard pulled up the suit and smiled. "What do you think? The latest fashion?"

Danny grabbed his own. "I 've worn my wet suit before," he said proudly. "I go surfing with my mom."

He began to strip which had Melia staring dumbfounded, and Megan working the button on her overalls with deft little fingers. Tracy beckoned to the girls. "Come here. I'll help you get this on."

A few minutes later Tracy had them all line up and she checked her camera and started snapping. "This one still works, but I'm not sure about the camcorder." She was examining it carefully for water seepage when Richard came and sat beside her. He stroked her hair as her crystal clear eyes stared into his. He cupped her cheek.

"Thankyou," he whispered.

She closed her eyes and turned into his caress. There were no words, just beautiful music, a beautiful new music, urgent and unexplainable.

She took a deeper breath and let it out, then turned on the camcorder and pointed it directly at the children. ''This is Tracy and Richard on our honeymoon."She turned to Richard and he waved then took the camera from her and she waved as well. "We have encountered a hurricane at sea on our way to Hawaii, and have crash landed our plane which has been utterly destroyed. We are here on this little island, one of literally hundreds no doubt. We survived the night in a cave high above the shore during the worst of the storm ." She turned to look out to sea. 

"And now because of an earthquake, we believe to have happened sometime this morning, we are awaiting the arrival of a  tidal wave."She pointed the camera at the raft. "Richard and Daniel have made us a raft which they hope will carry us over the worst of the waves." She panned back to the children now gathering rocks. "Daniel is six, Megan and Melia are two, Kylie is four months." She stopped and stared back at Richard. Her light blue eyes were capturing the reflection of the diamond gray storm in the distance.

He noticed she was watching him and smiled calmly. "What's on your mind angel?"

She took a deep breath."Would you want to say anything to anyone at home, in case we--- well ... if we don't make it and somehow the camera is found...."

Richard felt a shiver of dread course through him, but he tamped in down firmly. "I told you before."

Tracy turned the camera on him. "Hi Richard." He detected tears in her voice so he decided to play it up, and made a face. "Hi Trace, hi whoever finds this, Hi Austin, hi Zack, Hi Julie, Hi Sam, Hi Paul, Hi mom .... Wish you were here!" he motioned her to stop by slashing a hand across his neck. Tracy stopped and tears glistened unshed in her lashes. "What are you doing?" 

"Making a..... memorial."

Richard nodded. "Fine."He turned to Danny. "Daniel come here." 

Danny looked up expectantly then trotted over. "Yeah?"

"Can you use this thing? Push the button? Keep us in the screen , Mommy and Daddy are going to dance." He handed the camera to Danny who gleefully put it up to his eye and pushed the buttons to make it record, then Richard playfully grabbed his bride, who in shock, allowed her hand to be pulled and she forced herself to put weight on her hurt leg. Richard began humming the tune to the Chattanooga Choo Choo.He twirled her, pressing her firmly to his body, taking most of her weight as they dipped. He left her and moon walked backwards. The twins laughed joyously and clapped their hands, squealing in delight and started swinging around, so Danny turned the camera on them for a few seconds and then demanded to be allowed to dance too, but Richard motioned for him to wait.

"Let it be said...."He laughed, out of breath between gulps of air. ''That on the eve of possible destruction , the Richard and Tracy Mann family chose to spend the day dancing and singing and...praying and if we make it through this day, we promise to record what happens to all of us, if at all possible."

Tracy took the camera from Danny, laid it down and swung him up against her, bouncing lightly on her good leg. She swung each little girl carefully, zipping their little wet suits into place, as Richard also swung the children around. 

Megan began a high piercing scream that set both Richard and Tracy running to her.

The camera was still on the ground, and Tracy grabbed it, knowing there was no time to film what she was seeing, but she hit record anyway and pointed it directly at the looming wall of water heading toward them. Then she shoved the camera in its plastic container and zipped it carefully into the waterproof duffel, hoping they would have that little piece of tape for all time.

The tidal surge was too terrifying to even describe.Before her eyes, the ocean simply rose higher and higher, not a wave at all, just a block of water, coming higher than the island they were on.

 Tracy lashed Megan and Melia on the raft with vines and told them to hang onto the raft with all their strength. They were screaming at the top of their lungs. Tracy took the baby and attached her carrier to her chest and then got on the raft and Richard lashed both she and Danny to it.

"Richard, get on! I can 't stand to lose you."