Who Can It Be Now Chapter 1, a 7th heaven fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven, GlenOak, Mary, Wilson, Billy, or any of the Camdens or their fellow GlenOakians that will appear in this story. They belong to Brenda Hampton, Aaron Spelling, The WB, and Paramount. The title is taken from an 80's song from Men at Work.

A/N: I don't really know what to say about this. It's set, I think I'm going with late Winter, early Spring of Season 8. And, just so that you have a little bit of a heads up, these whole first three or four chapters are not the actual story. They're just the set-up for what I really want to explore. It'll end up going sci-fi-esque, trust me, just not for a while. And no, there will not be any aliens. I guess supernatural would be a better word.

Who Can It Be Now

Mary made a right turn off the main drag and onto a side street. Then a left, right, and then two more rights after that. She stopped at a sign that said "Construction Entrance Only" and looked around. It was 8:30 at night and no one was around as far as Mary could see. She went through the entrance that took her almost directly to Wilson's new house. Mary took a left and turned down his street, passing the only other house that had people in it, and pulled into Wilson's driveway.

Mary got out of her black sedan and a chill went down her spine. Wilson was the first one to buy into his development. In fact, that was the only way he could afford to buy his first house- getting in on pre-construction pricing. Because of that, he was one of two homes alive with people in them for about five or so acres. Mary always felt safe around Wilson, but she feared for him being alone in that house in the wee hours of the night with just Billy.

Mary knocked on the front door and let herself in with the key Wilson had given her a few weeks earlier. Wilson came into the foyer from the living room where he had been sitting with Billy. He went over to her and kissed her lightly.

"Hello," she said cheerily.

Wilson noticed the look in her eyes, the same look she had every time she came over at night. "What?"

She spun away from him and put her purse on a nearby table. "What 'what?'?"

"You know what. You're scared again." He placed his hands on Mary's elbows. "There's nothing to be scared of. Just because it's empty out here does not mean something is going to happen."

She glared at him. "I'm not scared."

He kissed her again. "Whatever you say."

Billy came running in and gave Mary a hug.

"Hey kiddo, how are you?"

"Good." He smiled.

She followed Billy back into the living room. "How was school today?"

"Boring, except for recess. We played TV tag."

Wilson sat down next to Mary and squeezed her knee. "How do you play that?"

"Well," Billy started, "there's no base. So when you think you're gonna get tagged, you go down on the floor," Billy demonstrated in front of the couch, "and say the name of a TV show. Then whoever's 'It' can't tag you."

Mary looked to Wilson and he smiled at her. She blushed, looked down at her hands, and then back to Billy. "Speaking of school, have you showered yet?"

"No." He sighed. "I'm going." Billy reluctantly trudged up the stairs, leaving Mary and Wilson alone.

Mary smiled at Wilson. "So…now that I have gotten us alone for ten minutes-"

"Ten minutes? Billy likes to take nice, long twenty-five minutes showers."

Mary giggled. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. We won't see him for at least another half an hour, probably more."

"I see."

Wilson went in for the kill. He turned toward Mary, placing a hand on her cheek. He stroked her skin before moving in to kiss her. She allowed him in, like she had done so many times before, and got lost in the sensation. She was all set to make out with Wilson for a half an hour, when half-way through she pictured them kissing out in the middle of nowhere- in a dark hole that was the bustling town of GlenOak. She couldn't shake the image from her mind. Mary pried her lips from Wilson's and, with eyes closed, rested her forehead on his.

"At least let me give you Kevin's number. He'll come and help you if anything were to happen."

"If it will make you feel better." Wilson went to kiss Mary again, but she pulled back. Since she wasn't having any more of that, he knew he would have to talk to her about this. Personally, he thought that Mary was paranoid, crazy even, but he would never tell her to her face. Still, he knew she knew what he thought of her. That was why she was never really able to come right out and tell Wilson she hated him living in a deserted spot off of North Street. "I'll tell you what. Saturday morning, we can both go to the hardware store together and pick up some flood lights. …I can point them at the house so it's not so dark out there."

She stood and sighed. "Fine."

Her tone did not go unnoticed to Wilson. "What? What do you want me to say to you? I'm sick of fighting over this Mary. This is where I live now. And, like it or not, I have no intentions of leaving. I'm not scared and I'm sorry that you are. But this is it, honey. Take it or leave it."

"Oh, of course I'll take it, but I'm going home." She stood.

Wilson went from slightly frustrated to very frustrated. "Why?"

"Because you think I'm crazy." He came over and put his arms around her waist, his lips in a mock pout. "And I'm tired."

Wilson pulled Mary in closer and kissed her neck. "Can't I entice you to stay the night?"

Her hands went to his shoulders. "Oh, of course you could. But I wouldn't. Besides, Billy is home and we both have to work tomorrow morning." Their relationship had always been more of a weekend thing, and only recently had Mary started to come over during the week. Since Wilson had given her a key, she figured it was her obligation to put it to good use and drop by whenever she missed him. "And…"

Wilson knew there was an "and". He smiled knowingly. "Yes?"

"And nothing. I'm just going to leave Kevin's number and be on my way. You'll be rid of me and my crazy antics."

Wilson pulled her back. "You know that I don't want to be rid of you. I want you to stay. At least stay for an hour if you don't want to stay over." He stepped in closer to her body and whispered into her ear. "You know I'll make it worth your while."

Just as Mary was about to give in to temptation and melt into Wilson, Billy came bounding down the stairs, just in time to ruin all the fun. He sat down on the couch, saying nothing, and turned on the TV. Mary heard Wilson sigh into her ear. He kissed her neck and pulled back from Mary, keeping one hand on her hip.

"That was fast," Wilson yelled out to Billy.

"There's something I wanted to see at 9:00. I didn't want to miss it."

"When is it over?"

"9:30."

"You can stay up until then, but right after it's done you have to go to bed, OK?"

"OK." Billy grinned widely. "Thanks Dad."

Mary looked at Wilson, perplexed. "Isn't that a half hour past his regular bed time?"

"Yes, but I feel bad for him. He had to switch schools again and there aren't any kids here for him to play with. A few extra minutes on occasion won't hurt anyone."

Mary smiled a genuine smile. Wilson really was the most considerate person she had ever met. He really cared about how his actions affected others, and always thought everything through before he acted, a byproduct of his rash decisions as a teenager Mary assumed. He was the sweetest, most level-headed guy she ever had had the pleasure of meeting. Needless to say she was crazy about him. "That's sweet of you. But, unfortunately, it's passed my bed time." Mary put her hand on his chest. "I'll see you… whenever I see you."

"I'll be looking forward to that." She turned toward the door, but turned back. "Having second thoughts? You can still stay."

"I know." She half-smiled. "I just want to go home." Mary picked up her purse. "Walk me out?"

"Sure." Wilson turned his head on Billy's direction. "I'm going to walk Mary to her car; I'll be right back."

Billy said that that was OK and Wilson walked Mary outside. The lights from inside his house were enough to illuminate most of his driveway, but not much more of the cul de sac. Mary put her keys in her ignition and turned on her lights to allow them to see better.

"Mare-" Wilson let out a sharp breath and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For being insensitive. I shouldn't have been so forward."

She knew what he meant and why he meant it. "Wilson, don't even think about it. I didn't."

"I know."

Now it was Mary's turn to catch the look in Wilson's eyes. He didn't know it, but Mary knew all about reading his face. She'd pasted enough expressions together over the years to amass a good mental guide of what he was feeling or thinking about by looking at him. Right now, he was thinking about her. 'Her' as in Billy's mother. He rarely ever talked about her, but it was so easy to tell when she was on his mind. Wilson got this distant look in his eyes, yet he intently contemplated Mary's face. It was a hard thing to describe, but it was unmistakable when seen. Mary was unsure what had brought the look on, but guessed that it was about him pressuring her to stay over and his intentions for the evening when Mary called and said she was coming over.

Mary reached out and grabbed Wilson's face, kissing his lips sensually. "Don't get so worked up sweetie."

"But-" He struggled with what he wanted to say.

"I respect what you want from our relationship just as much as I respect what I want from it myself." He still had the look in his eyes, but Mary knew that that was not something she would be able to get rid of. "Now let me go. I want to get to bed so I can conserve my energy for the next time you see me."

He laughed and eased. "OK." He leaned in and kissed her chastely. "Bye Mary."

"Bye."

Wilson stood back and watched Mary drive away into the blackness. When he stood outside by himself, he thought that Mary might have a point about it being creepy, but quickly dispelled those thoughts. He was a man, and men were not allowed to be afraid of the dark. He needed to set a good example for Billy. Besides, in nine hours the sun would be coming back up again and all would be well. He just needed to make it through the night.

Wilson laughed to himself as he turned back to his house. Mary had forgotten about Kevin's number.

A/N: See, I told you it was bad. And trust me, it gets worse. But I figured since I have eight chapters, time to post this puppy and see how it fares. Next chapter I think is the hardware store. You'll get some of Mary's backstory there.

Review if you're afraid of the dark.