Loose Ends

***Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven, or any of the character's mentioned in this story. They belong to the talented Brenda Hampton.***

A/N: This is the third story in my series. The first is Strange Circumstances, the second is Love Conquers all, and now this. How about a little recap? This story starts where the other story leaves off, but about 10 minutes after. Not much to fill you in on. If you have any questions, try reading the other two stories, all posted on this site. Hope you enjoy!

Watching the police car pull away with Robbie in the back, Mary sobs on Wilson's shoulder. Many things are going through her head, but the one that screams for her attention is one of the more recent events, Wilson just proposing to her. Wow. We're going to get married. She is truly blown away by the thought of it. Yes, it is what she has wished for for a long time now, but it is still mind-boggling. I want this. I do. I'm just shaken up.

"Are you ok?" he asks her, breaking her continuous flow of thoughts.

"Yeah, sort of. Can we get out of here though?"

"Sure. I should go get Billy. We can go to my house and drop him off."

"I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere we could talk."

"Not a bad talk I hope." He says with a smile on his face.

"No, a good talk. We just have some stuff to work out, that's all."

"Like what?"

"Like when we're going to tell people, and a date, and what to do when everyone freaks out, and-"

Wilson touches Mary's face with his hand. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. And whatever you want to do is fine with me." He leans down and lightly kisses Mary's lips. "I love you. Now let's go." He extends his hand out to her and she takes it.

Mrs. Camden comes walking towards them, and Mary shoves her left hand into Wilson's pocket. "Not now." she whispers to him, as her mom nears.

"Are you all right Mare?"

"Sort of, I will be. I have to get out of here. Wilson and I are going to go somewhere, I won't be gone long."

"Okay, but come here for a second." She says, lightly tugging at her daughters arm.

Mary quickly moves her hand form Wilson's pocket to behind her back, as she follows her mother a couple of feet away from Wilson.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not understanding what you've been trying to tell me for six months. When Robbie showed up at the door, I saw the hate in his eyes. It was scary. He really has changed. I remember when he first came to the house, I honestly didn't think he was that bad. But I understand now, and I wanted to apologize for being so hard on you and for everything. I know this has all been tough on you, but seeing him now gave me a peek into your world." Annie clutches her daughter tightly to her. "And I'm sorry you had to go through all of this. I know it's not my fault, but I feel like I've failed as a mother, as a friend, and that I've failed you."

"You haven't failed me Mom, not at all. Neither has Dad. Even though I get a little annoyed at you both sometimes, I still love you. I couldn't ask for better parents. I know it's hard for you both though, because you want to try to get through to me and I won't let you. But just know that every time you talk to me, whether I like what you're saying or not, I listen. I take everything you say into consideration, and I love you."

"I love you too. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, let me go out with Wilson."

"Oh yeah," Annie says, remembering her daughter's previous statement. "Sure.  I hope everything will be OK for you Mary."

"It will be Mom, don't worry about me so much. Everything will be fine." She says, pulling away from her mother and rejoining Wilson.

"Ready to go?" he asks her. She nods, and they walk back inside to go get Billy. Billy doesn't want to go home, though. He is having too much fun playing with Sam and David. Annie says that he is more then welcome to stay, and Mary and Wilson leave the house in his car.

"Ok, so where are we going?"

"Uh…I don't know. McArthur's point?"

"In the middle of the day?"

"Do you have a better place?"

"No, that's fine."

Once they arrive, they turn in their seats to face each other. Before one word is said, they kiss passionately for 5 minutes.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Mary tells him. "Now what are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"Telling everyone."

"We don't have to tell them today. Whenever you're ready is fine."

"But I want to tell them today, as soon as possible. Not that I'm looking forward to it, but I feel like we're lying to everyone by not telling them."

"OK. So do you want to go round everyone up and do it right now?"

"Not right right now. We still have to figure out exactly what we're going to say to them."

"How about: Mary and I have something to tell you. We're engaged."

"Not funny."

"What? I was being serious. Why are you so tense?"

"Because I don't think my parents are going to exactly approve of me getting married at age 18 while going to college."

"Since when do you listen to them? And we don't have to get married when you're 18. We can get married when you're 19, or 20, or whenever you want."

"Are you saying you want a long engagement?"

"Not particularly, but if that's what's going to satisfy you then so be it."

"I don't want that long of an engagement, maybe a summer wedding…"

"Sure, that's fine."

"And you know, what you said before is fine too. We shouldn't have to think of this big elaborate speech."

"So want to go tell everyone that one day this summer you are going to make me the happiest man alive?"

Mary smiles. "Sure. Whose parents should we tell first?"

"How about we swing by my house, pick my mom and dad up, and bring them over to your house and tell everyone together, that way no one will feel left out."

"That'd be a lot of people. We could tell our parents first, then tell my brothers and sisters."

"Yeah, that's fine. But I have one thing to ask of you. When you're parents tell you how ridiculous this all is, pleas don't start yelling at them. Try your best to remain calm; everything will go much easier that way."

"Fine."

"And will you lighten up? You really are acting crazy. I'm serious; chill."

"Sorry, I'm just nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"I don't know, everything…"

"Like?"

Mary doesn't answer.

"Come on, talk to me Mare. What's going on inside your head?"

"I'm scared."

"Okay. Scared about what?"

"Well, getting married is scary, and so is getting engaged."

"I guess."

"And having to tell everyone is way scary. Couldn't we just run away?"

"Where? Why? See, I think you're making this too difficult. Tell them first, then worry about that they say. Maybe it won't be that bad."

Mary glares at him, and he smiles as he starts the car.

Back at the Camden house, Annie and Eric are on the couch, Dr. and Mrs. West on the other, and Mary and Wilson are sitting together on the oversized armchair. The young lovers hold hands nervously, clutching to the others sweaty palms for dear life. No one dares speak, for fear of what this is will bring about, as their eyes dart around the quaint room.

Finally, Reverend Camden can't take the silence any more. He is a man of words more than actions, unlike his idol. "What exactly is this about you two?"

Mary's quickly looks up at Wilson, looking for his approval. He smiles at her, and she begins.

"Wilson and I have something we want to tell you."

Worry quickly overtakes the faces of both sets of parents. Wilson is truly hurt by the action. He thought the four adults knew him better than that, especially the Camdens. He quickly dispels those feelings though, and focuses on the matter at hand.

"Mary and I got engaged."

The West's breath a sigh of relief as the worry on the Camdens' faces turn to shock, then to anger.

"Y-you're getting married?" Annie stutters.

Mary nods her head. Dr. West stands up and hugs his son. "Congratulations." He says to Wilson, who is then followed by his mother. While Wilson and his family rejoice, Mary's eyes stay glued to her parents. Before she knows it, Mrs. West has her arms around her, happiness radiating from her body. "I guess you're going to be my new daughter in law." She says in a cheerful tone. Mary smiles, happy that Wilson's parents are handling this well - definitely better than her parents are.

Everyone retakes their seats, as their glances turn to Eric and Annie. They haven't moved at all, nor have they even blinked.

"We'll see ourselves out." Mrs. West says to them. "Congratulations Wilson, Mary."

Once they hear the front door close, Eric stands up.

"Wilson, I've known you for a while now, long enough to treat you like my own son. And Mary, I know you too well. So I have to ask, did you pressure him into this? Did you make him propose to you?"

"Dad! No, I did not make him propose to me. I didn't have any idea he was even thinking about it."

"So you two got engaged without even discussing marriage first?"

"We've talked about it."

"And this was the conclusion you came to?! To get engaged a week and a half before you start college!"

"Its not like I planned it like this, but this is the way it worked out." She says, trying her best to remain calm. "And it's not like we're getting married tomorrow. We were thinking more like next summer."

"Oh and I assume you got engaged weeks ago but just decided to tell us now."

"No, we got engaged this morning, and the first thing I wanted to do was tell you guys."

"Was this before or after Robbie dropped by to stalk you?!"

"During." Mary mumbles.

"WHAT?!" Eric screams. "I-I don't know what to say to you." He sits back down on the couch.

"With all due respect, Sir," Wilson interjects, "I think you're being a little hard on Mary- a little hard on us." He squeezes Mary's hand tightly as a he sees a tear rolls down her cheek. "I love Mary with all of my heart-"

"And I love Wilson."

"And we want to get married. And I'd like to point out that we have been dating longer than a lot of couples date before they get engaged. We've dated for almost four years now."

"Yes, but not consecutively."

"Dad!'' Mary pleads.

"Mary, why don't you give your father and I a little time to adjust to all of this. We'll talk later, the four of us." Annie interjects. "Come on, Eric."

The two of them leave the room, leaving Mary and Wilson alone. As soon as they leave the room, Wilson clutches Mary tightly to him. He never realized how hard she has it. Now he understands why she was so freaked out before.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I will be. I really do wish we could run away though."

"But we can't. Let's go get your brothers and sisters and tell them the good news."

They walk out of the living room and into the kitchen, where Ruthie is making herself lunch. Just as they are asking her to go into the living room, Simon walks in the back door with Matt carrying his laundry. The three of them leave and go inside, as Wilson and Mary go upstairs to get Lucy. They find her and bring her down with them.

They group disperses throughout the couches, and Mary and Wilson stand before them. Mary whispers something into Wilson's ear and he nods.

"Okay, you guys aren't Mom and Dad, so there's no need to beat around the bush. This morning, Wilson asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

They all begin to talk at once as they stand up to hug Mary and congratulate the happy couple. Even Matt, who has an opinion on everything Mary does, has no comments on their recent engagement. All he does is shake Wilson's hand and hug his sister, like the rest of the family does.

After they all leave and return to what they were doing before, Mary and Wilson flop down onto the couch.

"Who are we forgetting?" Wilson asks Mary as he puts her arms around her gently.

"Mom, Dad, Matt, Lucy, Simon, Ruthie, your parents…Sam and David?"

"Billy" they both say at once.

Mary turns to Wilson, unsure of how to handle this. "Its up to you how you want to tell him. Whatever you decide to do is perfectly fine with me. I don't have to be there if you want to tell him alone."

"I completely forgot about Billy." Wilson remarks. He remains seated for one more minute, and then he kisses Mary on the cheek. "I'll be right back." He tells her as he gets up. Mary feels for him, but lets him go.

Wilson walks upstairs and peers into the twins' room, where they are both playing with Billy. He stands there, watching his four-year-old son, and tears form in his eyes. He falls victims to his emotions, and starts weeping at the door. Billy hears him and looks up, and sees his father crying.

"What's wrong Daddy?"

"Nothing Billy." He sniffles.

Mary walks up behind Wilson and wraps her arms around him. She notices that he is hurting, and doesn't really know what to do. She sees the tears falling from his eyes, even though he is trying his best to hide them. She takes her hand and wipes them away from his eyes.

"I never thought I'd be wiping away your tears." She says to him with a smile. "You're not OK with this, let's talk."

"Could you give me a little bit?" he asks her.

"Sure." She lightly kisses his lips, not sure if that was the right thing to do. "I love you."

Wilson just nods. Even though this hurts Mary, she understands. She walks upstairs to her bedroom, and lies down on her bed. What do I do now? My life is so complicated. As soon as she starts to organize her thoughts, Wilson enters her room.

"I'm going to take Billy home. I-I'll come back later, or I'll call you, OK?"

"Yeah, I guess."

She gets up and kisses him good-bye. She can feel the tenseness running throughout his body, and he looks at her in shame. Wilson turns around and walks out of the door. A confused Mary walks back to her bed and sits down.  Three minutes pass, and she hears Wilson's car door close. She quickly springs up, and looks out her window. She sees Wilson sitting in his car, sobbing uncontrollably, not even attempting to start up his car. I can't let him leave like this.

Mary runs out of the house as fast as she can and rushes to Wilson's car.

"Don't go. Talk to me, please. Say something to me. I don't understand- I mean, I can assume- but make me understand. Please."

"I can't. Not right now. I'm not ready. I have to go bring Billy home."

"Ok. Are we OK though?"

"I'll come back later."

Later, Mary is still lying on the bed, bawling her eyes out. She is in a state of utter confusion, and wishes Wilson would call. She is lost in her thoughts, and does not notice Ruthie enter the room.

"Uh…is Lucy up here?" she asks apprehensively.

"No." Mary answers, barely audible.

Ruthie walks over and sits down on Mary's bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you wouldn't understand."

"I understand more than you think. Why are you crying? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I am happy, I think."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"He's upset and I can't help him. And I don't know if he still wants to marry me or not."

"Why wouldn't he? We all know he loves you."

"Maybe."

"He does and you know it."

"But-"

"Does this have anything to do with Mom locking me and Simon the twin's room this morning?"

"No. Well, sort of."

"Talk to me. I'm not going to tell anyone, and you know I'll find out anyways."

Mary laughs. "Ok. Wilson's upset, really upset, and I can't help him."

"You told me that already. Why can't you help him?"

"Because he won't talk to me."

"Do you know what's bothering him?"

"I have an idea…"

"Tell me."

"He's in love with someone else."

"WHAT?!"

"No, no no." Mary says, trying to dismiss Ruthie's backwards thoughts. "Billy's mother."

"Oh."

"You know, I don't feel comfortable talking about this, not before I talk to him."

Ruthie thinks back to the many in-depth conversations she has had with her siblings. This would definitely be the toughest problem she has had to tackle so far.

"I have an idea." She says suddenly, as she stands on the bed and peers out the window. She runs out of the room, and flies down the stairs. She sees her mother sitting in the living room with her father talking.

"Where's Lucy?" she asks.

"In the kitchen." Eric says unenthusiastically.

Ruthie storms into the kitchen, startling Lucy. She grabs Lucy's hand, and drags her out.

"What are you doing?"

"I need you to do me a favor, a huge favor. Well, not for me exactly, for Mary."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Ruthie opens the front door, and points at Wilson.

"He helped you once, now it's your turn to help him, and help your sister."

Lucy and Ruthie approach Wilson's car, as he tries to pull himself together before they reach him. Ruthie opens the door to the back seat and takes Billy out of his car seat and walks him into the house as Lucy sits down in the passengers' side.

"Remember when you helped me when my friend passed away? Well, I'm here to return the favor, and to help out Mary, but mostly to help you. Can I do anything? Are you ready to talk?"

"Only if you promise not to tell Mary anything." Lucy nods. "I love Mary. I really do. And I want to marry her. But then when I saw Billy, I lost it. I miss her so much, Lucy. I won't talk to Mary because she won't understand. I don't want her to feel like I don't love her either, or that I don't love her as much as Billy's mother. I shouldn't even be thinking in terms of that, who I love more. Its not the amount of love, its just that I love Mary. And I do want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't know. I'm confused."

"Well, I haven't talked to her yet today, but if I know Mary, she's probably just as confused and scared as you are. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I don't know what to say."

"Tell her what you just told me. She'll understand. And if she doesn't, try to explain it to her. It will make you both feel better."

"Ok. I'll try it. Thanks Lucy."

Wilson knocks quietly at Mary's bedroom door and walks in. She is extraordinarily happy to see him standing there, and motions for him to sit down on the bed. She grabs his hand, and looks into his eyes, trying to find some indication that things were going to be OK. She doesn't find whatever she is looking for, but she feels compelled to kiss him. She grabs his face and pushes her lips against his, needing to physically feel his love. Wilson does not resist or pull away. He enjoys every second of it, and begins to deepen the kiss. She lets his tongue enter her mouth, as they lie back onto the bed beneath them. Their joy from the day is let out in their kiss.

Wilson slips his hand under the hem of Mary's shirt, caressing the smooth skin just above her belly button. She moans slightly, as her hands move form his face to his hair, running her fingers through his black locks. Eventually they gain composure of themselves, and pull back, leaning their foreheads against one another's.

"I'm sorry. I just got confused. I love you, and I want to marry you. What happened was, when I saw Billy, and thought of you being his mother, it made me think of Brittany. I kind of lost it. I'm sorry."

"I figured that's what it was. So are we all right?"

"Yes, everything's fine."

"So, um, did you tell Billy?"

"No, I want to tell him with you. But let's sit here for a little bit."

Mary leans her had against Wilson's shoulder, and he kisses the top of her head. "Everything is going to be fine. It has to be, I couldn't possibly handle any more pain."

If you read the other 2 stories: Is this worth continuing? Are you getting sick of it? Is this too repetitive and tiring? I could get one more story after this one out of this main plot. Is it worth the effort? Please tell me what you think of this story by itself, and this story as a part of my little series I have going.