Introduction:

I sat at the edge of my bed, tears in my eyes, my heart torn between the here and now, and the memories of yesterday. Yesterday, just yesterday, he was alive and well, telling us all how he planned to go on another road trip, now that all the kids were older, all the grandkids now older, all the memories now so new and amazing. Just yesterday, he was telling us how he was so happy to have us all back in Glen Oak, how he was grateful that Matt, with Sarah and their twin boys Micheal and Josiah, Mary, with Carlos and their son Charlie, and their twin daughters Maria and Michelle, Lucy, with Kevin and their daughters Savannah and Grace, Simon and Cecilia, with their daughter Renee, Ruthie and T-Bone and their son Theo, and Sam and David, and me, their adopted daughter, all decided to stay close to home after the news came back three Christmas' ago, that his health had taken a turn for the worse. But when he got better, he was so grateful that we were all here to share the good news together.

Then this morning, this morning that all changed.

6 AM

"Katie, answer your phone, it's been ringing all morning," Martin, my boyfriend of 2 years, and the close friend of the Camden family mumbled from his side of the bed. I rolled over, and checked the caller id. It was Kevin. Kevin never called before 8, unless he and Lucy desperately needed a babysitter.

"Hello?" I said tiredly.

"Get dressed. Then come over, meet us at the house, not our house, the house," he said. Something in his tone told me to get up, that it was urgent.

"We'll be right there," I said as I hung up. I pulled the covers off Martin, which made him growl at me. Or grumble. It was too early to tell.

"Get up, there's an emergency" I said sharply as I yanked my brush through my tangled wave of hair.

"Who's dying?" Martin grumbled, as he rolled off the bed.

"Oh, God," I yelped when his words hit home. Suddenly, my stomach launched and I narrowly made it to the bathroom in time.

Rocking back on my heels, I took a shaking breath.

"Morning sickness?" Martin asked, as he came into the bathroom, now fully dressed, holding a glass of water.

"Shut up," I growled as I took the water from him and drank it. I stood up, still a bit off balance. We were only twenty weeks into the pregnancy, but the morning sickness had set in from the very beginning.

Martin helped me pull on my jacket and we let the dogs back in before rushing out the front door. We lived a few houses down from Lucy, so rather than take the car, we decided to detour through their backyard.

We reached the Camden's house just in time to hear the cries of Lucy and Mary.

"What happened?" Martin demanded when he saw the tear-streaked faces of the Camden's, of my family.

"Matt, what happened?" I asked my oldest brother.

"Dad...Dad's..." he tried to explain, but he choked on his tears before he could.

"Matt, what happened?" I demanded, my voice raising an octave.

"Katie...Dad's...Dad's...Gone," Kevin said from across the kitchen, Lucy sobbing into his chest.

"What do you mean Dad's gone?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Dad's dead," Ruthie, my youngest older sister said as he came into the kitchen, Theo in her arms. "Mom couldn't wake him up."

"Excuse me," I gasped as I pressed my hand tightly to my mouth and ran for the bathroom.

I felt Martin come in and sit on the bathroom floor with me. But I didn't really. I felt numb. I felt empty.

"I'm so, so sorry, Katie," he whispered as he pulled me into his arms. I laid there, on the bathroom floor, sobbing into his chest, as my world fell apart for the third time in my 19 years here on earth.

Noon

The house was quiet. No one wanted to talk, but no one wanted to leave. The entire family, and their families, were crowded in the house. All the kids, with their wives or husbands, their kids, and their in-laws. I felt small and out of place amongst the siblings I have come to love.

"How are you holding up?" Martin asked as he joined me in the kitchen, where I was filling up a glass of water.

"Eh," I murmured. I sank to the kitchen floor, in the same spot I had spent the entire morning, after having been chased out of the bathroom by the twins.

"You feeling okay? You look pale," Martin said softly as he pushed my hair out of my face.

"Yea, as okay as possible, considering," I said with tears in my eyes.

"I didn't know you were pregnant," Simon said as he walked into the kitchen and saw Martin and I sitting on the floor. He knelt down, letting his daughter reach out her tiny hands to touch my nose.

"Yea, 20 weeks today," I said with a sigh.

"Crap!" Martin suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" I asked tiredly.

"You have a doctors appointment today, we're supposed to find out the sex of the baby," he said, standing suddenly, making at attempt to pull me up with him.

"Martin, I don't care," I said sharply, pulling my arm out of his grip. "The baby doesn't matter anymore."

"Hey, hey, Dad wouldn't want you talking like that," Simon said, as he sat on the floor next to me and pulled me into his arms, with little Renee's tiny hands still exploring my face, as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I should have been here. I should have spent the night like he asked," I cried. I felt Simon rub my back, but he said nothing.

"It's not your fault, Kate," Martin said as he knelt down, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You didn't know."

"It does matter, Martin. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of my staying with you when we're not married! He told me that the only reason he was allowing it was because I graduated with honors, and he knew he couldn't object since I'm 19 now, but he didn't approve! I didn't even get to tell him..." I cried bitterly, my entire body shaking.

"Hey, hey, shhh, it's okay, it's all going to be okay," Simon said.

All I could think, was sure, sure it's going to be okay. Yeah right, Dad's dead.

A/N - Clearly, I don't own 7th Heaven or any of the characters! Everything Changes is a fanfic, taking place in current time - meaning 5 years after the series finale.

As for all the 'mary sue' haters out there, let me just clarify that 'Katie' is not a Mary Sue, not in the least bit. You'll find out how she became a Camden later in the story, but I promise, she is not the perfect character, and actually, she has traits of many of the actual series' "House Guests" all wrapped up into one oc.

I hope you enjoy! And c'mon, let's be real, we all thought Eric was going to die before the series ended!