A Different Kind of Worse Chapter One, a 7th heaven fanfic

DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor am I affiliated with 7th Heaven, The WB, Paramount Entertainment, Aaron Spelling, Spelling Entertainment, or the cast or crew. This is a non profit fanwork and is receiving no subsidization for its creation.

A/N: Hold on there pal. Let me catch you up a bit before you read this. This story is supposed to go with my story that I wrote a while back, Let's Give Them Something to Talk About- the story where Wilson gets Mary pregnant at fifteen, moves into the house, gets prosecuted and acquitted for statutory rape, and then the baby dies. (For the link, click on my penname to get up my profile page.) And if, by chance, you do read it, just forget about that whole epilogue-ish chapter at the end, Chapter 17. That stuff doesn't happen in this story.

What you need to know: I do go into the back-story a little bit, but if you want the condensed version here it is. Wilson stayed in the house and lived with Mary and the rest of the Camdens for years, three to be exact. It is now Season 6. Over the years, our favorite couple developed this inseparable bond that only comes with true and fated love. However, as much as they loved each other, all was not quiet on the western front so to speak. Things turned sour fast and, while the love was still there, they fought constantly. One day Wilson announced that he was moving out into an apartment. Of course Mary was devastated.

This is post Matt and Sarah's engagement announcement and most of the "Gasp! Jewish!" drama that will probably be nonexistent in this story, save a sentence or two. Wilson was there, living in the house, when the news broke.
There is no Robbie, Sam, or David, and Billy is off in a foreign land still living with Wilson's parents. And, in case you are wondering, Kevin and Ben will be making appearances. Look for them in the next chapter.

Any questions? Feel free to e-mail me. On with it now.

(By the way, zeros are spacers in this one.)

Different Kind of Worse

Mary slowly sipped her tall glass of orange juice at the island in the Camden kitchen. She'd been sitting there for forty-five minutes waiting for the family to eat and vacate the room. Mary drummed her fingers quietly on the white countertop and stared continuously at the cordless phone diagonally to her left. She was going to call him, and she needed privacy to be able to do it.

Yesterday morning, when Mary had been eating breakfast with Matt and Sarah, Sarah casually asked Mary if Wilson was still coming with Mary to her and Matt's wedding. She needed a final head count in three days. Matt kicked Sarah's leg under the table, but Sarah just shrugged. She had only been around for four months, and did not fully understand the gravity of the question she had just asked.

Mary shrugged in response, too. "How about I get back to you on that one? I'll be within the three days, I promise you."

"OK. But, you know, if he's not coming then you could always go with someone else." Mary half-smiled at Sarah's good intentions. "Or you don't even have to find a date. I've got tons of cousins my age, your age. I could introduce you, or ask one of them to take you."

"Thanks," Mary responded, "but I don't think my father could survive two Jewish weddings." Sarah laughed and Mary smiled amicably at her brother and future sister-in-law and stood to go upstairs. She sighed heavily as she reached the summit of the staircase and turned left, walking toward her bedroom. She could hear Lucy rummaging around inside clearly through the door, so in a last second decision turned into the bathroom. Time for her morning shower.

Mary loved taking really warm showers, showers that fogged up the entire mirror and window, made the ceiling drip from steam condensation, and would make wallpaper curl. When she was younger, she'd taken an evil pleasure in using up all the hot water the house had to offer. She would smile innocently when her brothers and sisters would scold her for making them take yet another cold shower. Lately, Mary used the hot water as a way to take her back to him. The water made her feel like she wasn't so alone, like his presence was still with her. She could close her eyes and pretend the heat on her back was his body heat, warming her skin as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closely.

She missed him so much. She hadn't missed him when they fought almost constantly for two months, when they barely spoke to each other, when he kicked her out of the attic and made her sleep in her own bed on the second floor. It was when he first hinted that she was losing him that she started to care. Wilson told Mary on a Thursday night two months and a week ago that that coming Saturday he would be moving out of the house and into his own apartment. He said it so casually that Mary didn't even think to get upset. But that Monday morning, when she rolled over in her bed and fell out, thinking she was upstairs in the full mattress with Wilson on reflex, was when she wept for the first time.

That first week was nothing short of a living hell for Mary, but after that it got easier. Her family knew how much she was hurting, though, and continued to coddle her even to this day, but her moods had certainly improved. She had even felt almost neutral when answering Sarah's question yesterday. She barely even missed Wilson living at home with her, save his presence in the house. They had not spoken since he left. He hadn't given her his number or address, but that didn't make much of a difference to Mary. They were barely on speaking terms for over a month before he moved out, so it wasn't as if she had given him up cold turkey. Emotionally they had been separated for a while.

Ruthie put her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and skipped into the hallway. Mary listened to make sure Ruthie had gone upstairs and no one was on the first floor besides her. Finally, she was alone. Mary got up and retrieved the phone from its base. She pulled a piece of paper out of her back jean pocket and dialed his number carefully. Mary prayed that he was home and she didn't have to leave a message.

"Hello?"

"Wilson?"

"Yeah." He paused. "Mary?"

She cringed; he'd used her full name. "Hi."

"Hi."

No one said anything, so Wilson spoke up. "How did you get my number?"

"Chuck," Mary responded plainly. Chuck was Wilson's best and only true friend from college. Mary had to dig through boxes and boxes of stuff yesterday to find his number, but he easily led her to Wilson.

"I see." Yet another pause. "Did you want something?"

"Yeah. Um," she took a deep breath and continued, "are you still going to Matt and Sarah's wedding with me? Do you want to go?"

Wilson smiled on the other end. "Do you still want me there?"

To avoid answering the question, Mary turned it around a bit. "Well, you were invited. Not just by me, but by Matt."

"Fine, then if you'll still have me I'd be happy to escort you to the wedding. I just-"

"Just what?"

He sighed. "I don't want it to be a date. Would it be possible to go as friends? If not, I-"

Mary cut him off once again. "Sure. I didn't really want it to be a date, either. I think that would ruin their wedding for them."

Wilson laughed. "Probably." He let out a deep breath and savored the last few seconds he had on the phone with her. "Bye Mary." He hung up.

A/N: Well, I've had this idea for months now and I am finally writing it out. Most of this spilled out today, though. Usually when I ran through it in my head, I started from Mary on the phone. I can deal with blanks in my head, but I knew the readers needed some gaps filled.

I don't know exactly where I am taking this one, like always, but I've a pretty decent idea. I have no ending, but what else is new. Chapter Two is half written, so that'll be out sometime soon.

Want to score your own secret invite to Matt and Sarah's wedding? Review.