What was supposed to be a family vacation has turned into a frightening waiting game for one American father stranded overseas with his young children and pregnant wife.

Christian Walker of Prairieville, Louisiana, has been stuck in Dubai for two weeks while trying to find a way to safely return home with his family. During that time, the situation around them has grown increasingly tense, with missiles and drones reportedly being intercepted in the skies nearby.

Walker told Fox News Digital that some nights have been especially unsettling.

He said he has heard “missiles and drones getting shot down at night,” adding that the activity has even shaken the hotel where his family is staying.

For a father traveling with a pregnant wife and two young children — ages 1 and 3 — the uncertainty has been stressful. Walker explained that he has done everything he can to follow official guidance and get his family home.

“The officials urge you to get out, but there’s no way out,” Walker said. “And then you call the number, and they say that they’re not evacuating U.S. citizens at the time … [and] to contact your airline.”

Each morning brings another round of calls and hope that a flight might finally work out. Walker said he has been spending hours each day trying to rebook travel plans.

“Nearly every morning,” he said, he spends “about two hours on the phone with [the] airline” attempting to secure a seat home — only to see flights canceled later that same day.

Walker said he has gone through the “proper channels,” registering with the U.S. embassy and contacting the State Department for assistance.

According to a State Department spokesperson, the U.S. government has already helped bring home more than 20,000 American citizens from the Middle East since Feb. 28. On Wednesday alone, about 8,500 people arrived safely, while thousands of others have moved to temporary safe locations in Europe or Asia or are still traveling.

Still, for families like the Walkers, the waiting continues.

Some Americans have been attempting to leave the region through Oman, which is about a five-hour drive from Dubai. But Walker said the idea of making that journey with very young children — without knowing whether a flight will be available at the end — makes him uneasy.

“There are a lot of unknown variables, and I’m not very confident with taking a 1- and 3-year-old [child] across the border [without a guaranteed flight],” he explained.

Instead, Walker said the family has decided it’s safer to remain where they are for now.

“We find it’s better to be safer [and] stay put than just be at the mercy of the airline opening and getting the flight out,” he said.

Even with the uncertainty, Walker is doing what parents everywhere try to do in stressful moments: keep life as normal as possible for his children.

Thankfully, the family’s hotel is connected to a shopping mall, allowing them to stay indoors while still getting essentials.

“It’s connected to a mall, and [there’s] a store similar to a Walmart,” Walker said. “So, we were able to get baby diapers and wipes and kind of stroller around the mall.”

Meanwhile, tensions in the region remain high. U.S. officials have urged Americans to leave 14 Middle Eastern countries as Iran’s counterattacks intensify. One Iranian drone strike even landed near the U.S. Consulate in Dubai this week, though it did not directly hit the site. Walker said his hotel is about a mile away from that location.

For now, the family is holding onto hope. Walker said he has a flight booked for Saturday with Emirates — though after so many cancellations, he’s cautious about getting his hopes up.

He said he’ll “believe it when [he] sees it.”