***Hello. I haven't posted I a long time. You guys seem to like this one so far, and I'm actually going to listen and attempt to fix the tenses. I've written about 6 stories in present tense and this was my first in past, so it takes some getting used to. Please bear with me.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own or have any rights to 7th Heaven or any of these characters, except for the nameless doctor. Everything else belongs to the talented Brenda Hampton and Aaron Spelling.
Less Than Blessed
9:45 P.M., just as Reverend Eric Camden was about to go upstairs for his first early night in over two months, the kitchen telephone beside him rang. The phone rings constantly in this house, so thinking nothing of it, he answered it.
He clicked on the "TALK" button on the phone. "Hello?" He said into the receiver, trying hard to keep from rudely yawning into the other person's ear.
"Reverend Camden?" the voice on the other end of the phone spoke.
"Yes, who is this?" he said displeased that the call was for him. He was ready to go to sleep for the night; it had been a tiring day to say the least. His face frowned to the extent that his eyebrows appeared to come together at a fixed point on his forehead.
"Its Wilson- Wilson West."
"Oh hey Wilson," Eric said, sitting back down on the stool at the kitchen island, as his mood slightly brightened. At least this would not be church business he had to attend to. "I haven't heard from you in a while, over a year actually. How is little Billy?"
"Billy's fine sir, but- gosh how do I say this." Wilson said to the reverend sounding discomposed and flustered.
"Something tells me this isn't just a social call." Eric said getting a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"You're right Sir. There's been an accident."
"Who? What type of accident?" He said slightly raising his voice with newfound energy within him- energy he could have used at his meeting with Lou and Chandler early this morning. As he talked into the cordless telephone, Lucy and Kevin walked in from the back door. Both of them saw the expression on Reverend Camden's face and exchanged nervous glances. "Oh dear God, no." Eric said next, his face turning as white as the counter top before him. "But where are you? Oh, ok. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone, and stared blankly at the two twenty-something lovebirds in front of him.
"What's wrong Dad?" Lucy asked him.
"Mary's been in a car accident. She's in the hospital."
Lucy clutched Kevin's arm for physical and moral support. "Is she ok?" she asked apprehensively.
"Maybe, Wilson didn't really say." Eric answered her flatly.
"Wilson?" Lucy asked thinking she had heard her father wrong. As far as she knew, Wilson hadn't been around in over a year. Then again, no one had heard from Mary since she moved to Florida all the way back in September, and anything is possible with that Camden woman.
"Yes, Wilson. Come on, go get in the car. We're all going to the hospital."
Lucy nodded, and she and Kevin walked toward the back door as Eric walked up the kitchen stairs.
"Wait!" Lucy called out to Eric in retrospect. "Isn't Mary in Fort Lauderdale?"
"She was, but now she's here. She's at Bay General." He yelled back at her from the upstairs hallways above her head.
Four hours later, with no news on Mary's condition, the entire Camden Family was sitting in the emergency waiting room of the only hospital in GlenOak. Lucy was sitting next to her fiancé, officer Kevin Kinkirk. Her eyes were a little teary, but other that that she was OK- worried, but OK. She couldn't help but think of the old saying "no news is good news". Somehow, she knew that now was not one of those instances described in the old cliché. Kevin wrapped his arm around Lucy and she nuzzled into him. Kevin whispered for her to sleep, but she shrugged him off. Despite the fact that it was well past one o' clock in the morning, nearly two in fact, she refused to get any sleep until she found out if Mary was all right.
Lucy looked over at the rest of her family, all seated in the same row of chairs as her. Ruthie, who was seated next to Kevin, looked distressed. She had been tapping her foot nervously since she first sat down in that chair. Next to Ruthie was Simon, who appeared indifferent to the whole situation- either that or he didn't care. After Simon was David, then Sam, both asleep lying next to one another. They looked so adorable huddled up together like they were at that moment. Robbie sat beside the twins. He looked a little strange to Lucy. She couldn't tell whether he was sad or going to be sick. Nonetheless, he looked upset, at least on some level. Annie sat next to Robbie, and next to her was Eric. The couple was holding hands, both looking as if they were on the verge of tears.
Lucy's eyes continued to wander around the dull room. She took notice of the imitation leather on the seats across from her, the beige colored walls, and the tile that looked like it solely belonged in a hospital. She looked around for something interesting to focus on, something to keep her mind off of everything, when she spotted Wilson in the corner. Sitting on the other side of the room, completely isolated from the Camdens, his head was in his hands. He could have even been crying, but Lucy wasn't quite sure. She couldn't see his face. Lucy kissed Kevin on the cheek, and then got up. She walked over to Wilson and sat down in the chair next to him. Wilson was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, though, that he didn't even notice she was there. Lucy put her hand on his back and he sat up.
"Hey," Lucy said quietly once he made eye contact with her.
"Hi Luce," he mumbled forlornly.
"Are you OK?" she asked hoping to lend a hand.
"When I find out she's OK then I'll be OK," he snaps back at her. Lucy doesn't mind, though, because the veracious look on his face told her that he was speaking from the heart.
"When did you guys get back together?" Lucy asked out of curiosity. "You and Mary are back together, right?"
Wilson nodded. "We've been together for almost six months now."
"Wow. It would have been nice if Mary had told me, or anyone else in the family for that matter, but still I'm happy for both of you. Personally, I think you both belong together. When she came home last winter she was so depressed without you. You were the only thing on her mind." Lucy told him plainly. "So you got back together in September then?" she then asked trying to change the conversation to a lighter tone.
"Yeah." There was a pause in the conversation as Wilson shifted nervously in his seat. "I really hope she's OK." He said looking away from Lucy and down at the floor. He couldn't talk about how he felt about Mary with anyone other than Mary, so whenever he even began to bring her up he avoided eye contact at all costs.
"Well you've been here longer than I have. Did they say anything to you?"
"Nothing except that she was in a car accident." He said letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Why is she here? - GlenOak I mean. Where is she staying?"
"We're staying with my parents."
"So did you two come to GlenOak together or something?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Oh." Lucy had about a thousand more questions to ask Wilson, but refrained from verbalizing them. Now was not the time to corner him about his relationship with the elusive Mary.
"Look Luce, I can't say anything." Wilson said, almost scaring Lucy. Was she that transparent? "Sorry. I've been sworn to secrecy by Mary."
"I understand."
Lucy leaned back in her chair as a forty-five year old doctor came out from behind the door.
"Mr. West?" he said in a low, booming voice that seemed to shake the room.
Wilson stood up in front of the doctor. "How is she? Is she all right?"
"That would depend on your definition. She has a broken elbow and a broken finger. I'm sorry, but we had to cut her rings off of her, otherwise she would have never have been able to take them off. I have them though; I'll give them to you."
Eric and Annie stood up and walked over to where Wilson and the doctor were standing. "We are Mary's parents," they said.
"Well, as I was just telling Mr. West, Mary has a broken elbow and a broken finger. She also had a very deep gouge on her head, near her hairline, and had to have four stitches. Besides that, she's OK. We're going to keep her overnight just to keep an eye on her." All three of them let out sighs of relief, their minds eased that she was going to be fine. "Oh, and one more thing. She could possibly have a hairline fracture on her right shin, but as of right now we can't really tell. It probably is nothing, but if she does a lot of walking, it could very well turn into an extremely painful stress fracture. So she should avoid walking long distances, going to the mall, standing for long periods of time, things like that, for at least two weeks. If it starts to bother her though, she should stay off of it completely."
"Ok." Eric and Wilson said at the same trice.
"Can we see her?" Annie asked.
"Yes, but no more than two at a time and not for very long. She seemed very tired, and has good reason to be," the doctor told them frankly.
Annie and Eric nodded and walked back over to their family. Everyone crowded around them- Wilson hung behind. Overhearing most of the conversation with the doctor before, Lucy disregarded her parents' instructions momentarily and walked over to Wilson in attempts to include him with her family. Lucy figured that if Mary was the same person she was when she left, Wilson could end up part of their family one day, just as Kevin was about to.
"Your mother and I will go in first." Eric said. "Then, um, Ruthie and Simon, then Robbie I guess, then Lucy and Kevin, then Wilson can go in last so he can get the most time with her. OK?" Sounds of agreement filled the air.
"Actually," Lucy said above the rest, "I was hoping to go in to see Mary alone, if you don't mind."
"She's in no shape to have a conversation with you Luce." Her father retorted.
"I know, but if its all the same to you…"
"That's fine Lucy, as long as you promise not to be in there for too long. It's been a long day for you as well as Mary." Annie said and Lucy nodded.
Eric and Annie walked out of the waiting area and into Mary's room. The doctor told Mary before he left that he was going to talk to her family, so automatically she assumed they would be in there within five minutes. She rolled her head against the pillow as she heard them approach the door, and quickly closed her eyes. She heard her parents walk inside and the click of the doorknob closing behind them.
"Mary?" her mother whispered. Mary let out a low groan in response, not lifting her head from the hospital pillow. "Are you awake?"
"Mom?" She mumbled trying to seem as though she scarcely knew her current whereabouts.
"Its OK sweetie, its just me and Daddy." Eric and Annie walked closer to her, approaching the twin bed. Annie grabbed Mary's hand, which was sticking out form the pale blue linens that covered her battered body.
"How are you feeling?" Eric asked sympathetically looking down upon his daughter.
"Dizzy and exhausted," Mary said reaching up to touch her head.
"Dizzy? Do you want me to get the doctor? I'll go get the doctor." Annie said dropping Mary's hand and lunging towards the door.
"I told him and he said that that was normal since I hit my head on the steering wheel." She said in a low tone of voice barely audible to her parents.
"OK." Annie paused for a brief moment to take in her daughter's presence. It had been nearly six months since she saw her, and equally the same amount of time since speaking to Mary. "Your father and I are really glad that you're OK and that you weren't injured any worse than you were."
"As are your brothers and sisters." Eric adds, more for his wife's benefit than Mary's, trying to pull Annie back to reality.
Mary yawns loudly, dramatically covering her mouth. "We'll go now sweetie. We just wanted to make sure you were really OK."
"Goodnight," Eric told her. "You're exhausted, so we won't send your brothers and sisters in here. Get some sleep though. I love you."
"I love you too," Mary said. "And you too Mom."
Eric and Annie bent down and kissed their daughter goodnight, and then vacated the hospital room as quickly as they had appeared. They reentered the waiting room and informed their children that Mary was too tired to see them tonight. Lucy was disappointed, but not as much as Wilson. His gaze dropped as he listened to the reverend speak. Thinking that he couldn't let the night pass without seeing Mary, Wilson decided to approach Eric.
"Sir, could I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure Wilson," Eric said warmly.
"I know you said that Mary's tired and everything, but I'd really really like to see her," he pleaded.
"I don't know Wilson-"
"Please, ' he said seriously. "I'll be in and out in five minutes tops. And if she's asleep already I'll walk right out."
"Sure Wilson, go ahead. I just want to make sure she rests."
Wilson thanked Rev. Camden, grinning widely, and walked towards Mary's room. He opened the door silently, to avoid wouldn't disturb her, and poked his head in the door. He saw her tossing and tuning slightly, and could tell by her motions that she was still awake.
"Hey sunshine," he whispered quietly as he entered the room.
"Wilson?" she said excitedly as she rolled over so the door was in her line of sight. She verified that it is indeed Wilson and grew confused. "I thought they only called my family."
"Honey we are family," he said as he reached the side of her bed.
Mary smiled at his remark. How could she have forgotten? Thirteen days from now would be their six month wedding anniversary- exactly one week after her birthday. As she pondered if she hit her head hard enough to cause temporary memory loss, Wilson started questioning her.
"Are you OK?" he asked placing a hand on her soothingly.
Mary lifts her bandaged arm out from underneath the covers. "Does it look like I'm OK to you?"
Wilson stares at Mary's arm, almost completely covered by an off-white cast going from her wrist to three inches past her elbow. "Does it hurt?"
"It did, but then they gave me some pain killer stuff. Now I'm just dizzy." Mary studies her arm, tracing the outline of the cast with her eyes as she goes from one end of it to the other. She reached her hand and started to contemplate her fingers. "My rings!" she said nearly screaming in panic. "Where's my wedding ring? My engagement ring?"
Wilson swiftly pulls a small plastic baggie out of his jean pocket and lifted it up for her to see. "I have them," he said gently. "Don't worry."
Mary stared at them, squinting her eyes and holding her head. "Is there four pieces in there or am I just terribly overmedicated?"
They had to cut them off of you, otherwise they would be stuck on forever."
"So?" Mary said seriously. "They're my wedding rings. They should have asked me before they decided I wanted to part with them."
"Look," Wilson said, his husbandly instinct kicking in. "I'll get them fixed before your arm is better, don't you worry."
"Ok." Mary looked down at the bed. "I'm sorry.'
"You have nothing to be sorry about," Wilson said taking her unscathed hand in his. "They should have asked you first. Blame them." Wilson smiled, as did Mary.
***To anyone who read this before, I am so sorry. I cannot believe I posted that. the mistakes on here were brutal- I wrote mart instead of Mary, an immortal sin in my book. Anyhoo, thanks for pointing out the mistakes you guys. Otherwise I would have never known.
