A/N: I know it's been awhile since i posted anything on here; I've been insanely busy and didn't want to start a new story until I knew that I'd have time to finish it. Lots of people asked for another 7th heaven sequel, so I hope you enjoy this! Not quite sure where I'm going with it yet, or even who it's going to focus on, I guess we'll just see what happens...if you have any ideas or suggestions, or any character (preferably a Camden) that you want this story to focus on, please let me know!
Disclaimer: I own no part of 7th Heaven.
"Ben, do you know where my keys are?" Lucy called from the bedroom.
Ben smiled, picked Lucy's keys up off the kitchen table where she had thrown them when she'd gotten home the night before, and walked to the bedroom. He leaned against the door frame, watching Lucy rush about the room getting ready, and waited for her to notice him.
"Ben? Did you hear-" Lucy started to call again, and then she saw Ben standing in the doorway.
Ben held up Lucy's keys, pushed himself off the door frame, and walked over to her. "They were on the kitchen table where you put them last night."
Lucy reached out to grab them from him, but Ben held them up out of her reach. "Ben! I need my keys! I'm going to be late if I don't leave soon," she said, glancing at her watch.
Ben just smiled. "You need to slow down, Luce. You're constantly running off somewhere, whether to the church, a counseling session, or to make visits at the hospital. The girls and I hardly ever see you anymore."
Lucy sighed. "I know, Ben. It's just hard right now. With Roxanne on complete bed rest until the baby comes, Chandler doesn't feel right about leaving her alone for very long. It seems like lately it's been even busier than usual, too. It seems like every day, someone else is in the hospital, or I get another call from someone requesting a counseling session."
Ben wrapped his arms around his wife. "Have you ever thought about saying you're too busy right now and referring them to someone else when someone calls asking for a counseling session?"
Lucy leaned against Ben's chest. "I hate doing that. I feel like I'm letting people down when I tell them that I'm too busy. Often when I refer them to someone else, they say that they don't feel comfortable seeing anyone except for me and Chandler. What am I supposed to do then? I can't just turn people away."
"Maybe you should try seeing if Chandler can do some counseling sessions at home. That way he can still be with Roxanne in case she needs anything, but it will also take some of the load off of you. You're going to wear yourself out, Luce, and that's not healthy."
Lucy looked up at Ben and smiled. "I know. I'll talk to Chandler and see if we can't work something out. I'll try to slow down and spend more time at home. I really do miss spending time with you and the girls, and I hate imposing on Mom or the others so much to watch the girls and Eric when we're both working."
"Okay," Ben replied, placing a kiss on Lucy's cheek. "Now you'd better run so you're not late. I have to work today, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Only a 24 hour shift today?" Lucy asked.
Ben nodded.
"Good," said Lucy, "I'm glad, I hate it when you have to work 48 hour shifts, even if it does mean more days off."
"No more than I do, sweetheart. I don't like being away from you and the girls that long," Ben said, walking Lucy to the door. "Have a good day. I'll try to call you tonight to say goodnight to the girls if I get a chance. I'll drop them off at Mom's on my way to work."
"Okay, thanks. Be careful at work, okay? Come home safe," Lucy said, giving Ben a kiss. "Love you!" she said as she walked out the door.
"I will. Love you, too," Ben replied, watching Lucy walk out and get in her car. Once she pulled out of the driveway, Ben closed the door and walked to Savannah and Erin's room.
"Annah, Erin, time to wake up girls!" Ben called. He went over to Savannah's bed and sat down of the edge of it. "Good morning, munchkin," he said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head, which was about eh only part of her that wasn't covered up with her bedspread.
Savannah rolled over and pulled the covers down. "Good morning, Daddy," she said sleepily.
Ben smiled. He loved hearing the girls and Eric call him Daddy, but he especially enjoyed hearing Savannah say it. Erin had started calling him Daddy just a few months after he and Lucy married, and the twins, of course, had copied their big sister, but Savannah had called him Ben until a just a few months ago. Kevin's death had been the hardest on her, of course, since she was old enough to remember him. Although Erin remembered him, too, it wasn't quite as hard on her, since she was so young when Kevin had died.
"Come on, it's time to get up or you're going to make me late for work," Ben said, standing up and helping Savannah pull the covers back the rest of the way.
Once she was up and headed to the bathroom, Ben went over to Erin's bed and sat down on the edge of it. Erin was always the hardest one to wake up, so he figured if he started now, then left to get the twins up, she should be up by the time he finished helping them get dressed.
"Erin, it's time to wake up, sleepyhead."
Erin, just as Ben had known she would, rolled over to face the wall and pulled her covers over her head. He smiled, but pulled the covers back down. "Come on, Erin. You need to get up or you're going to make me late for work."
"Daddy!" Erin groaned. "I'm still tired."
"I know, but it's time to get up. Annah's already up. I'm going to go wake Eric and Allison up and help them get ready, and if you're not up and getting ready when I come back, you're going to be in trouble, young lady."
Ben walked down the hall to the twins' room. As he had expected, both of them were lying in their beds wide awake, waiting for either him or Lucy to come get them and let them know they could get up.
"Good morning, kiddos," Ben said as he turned on the light in their room.
Allison and Eric both immediately sat up in their beds. "Good morning, Daddy," they replied together.
Allison held out her arms to Ben, and he walked over to her bed, sat down on the edge, and pulled her into his lap. He was greeted with a hug, as he knew he would be. Allison was the most affectionate of the four kids, and always greeted whoever got her up with a big hug.
"Good morning, Sunshine," Ben said, using the nickname he'd given to Allison when she was only a few months old because she was almost always smiling. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Mommy left for work already, but Annah's already up. Why don't you take your clothes that Mommy laid out for you and go see if Annah will help you get ready," he suggested. Savannah and Allison were very close, and Allison loved having Savannah help her get ready in the mornings, and Savannah was more than happy to oblige.
"Okay, Daddy," she replied, giving him another hug, and then jumping down from his lap. She grabbed the clothes that Lucy had laid out for her the night before, and went off down the hall to find Savannah.
Ben got up off of Allison's bed and went over to sit on the edge of Eric's bed. "Good morning, little man," he said, pulling him into his lap like he had done with Allison.
"Hi, Daddy. Is Erin up yet?" he asked hopefully.
Ben smiled. Eric and Erin had a special relationship much like Savannah and Allison's. Eric was one of the only people that could get Erin out of bed without complaint.
"I don't know. I woke her up before I came in to get you and Allison, and I told her to get up. Why don't you go run and see if she obeyed?"
Eric's face lit up with a smile, and he nodded his head eagerly. He jumped out of Ben's arms and ran down the hall to Savannah and Erin's room.
Ben laughed. Eric hadn't walked anywhere since he had learned to run. He and Lucy had to constantly remind him to walk, not run.
Since he knew that Savannah would help Allison get ready and Eric would make sure that Erin was up and then got get himself ready, Ben went out to the kitchen to start getting breakfast ready. He looked at the clock, and realizing that if they took time to sit down and eat a bowl of cereal he would be late for work, he grabbed the cereal bars that Lucy always kept on hand for days like this, as well as four bananas, one for each kid, and threw them in a bag. He would have Savannah hand them out in the car on the way to Annie's house. He knew that Annie would probably insist on making them pancakes or waffles once she found out that all they'd had for breakfast was a cereal bar and a banana.
Savannah and Allison came out into the kitchen. "We're ready to go, Daddy," Savannah announced. She and Allison were dressed in matching outfits, and she was carrying the backpack containing her and Allison's stuff, including snacks, a few games and books, and a change of clothes for each of them, as well as a pair of pajamas, just in case something came up and they had to spend the night at their grandma's house.
"Okay. Are Erin and Eric ready to go yet?" he asked.
"I'm ready, Daddy," Eric said, coming into the kitchen carrying a backpack identical to Savannah's. His backpack contained all of the same stuff for him and Erin. "Erin's going potty, and then she'll be ready," he said, very matter-of-factly.
Ben smiled. Eric reminded him so much of Kevin, in the way he looked, in the way he acted, and in the way he spoke. "Okay, little man. Savannah, go ahead and help the twins get in the car for me, please. I'll wait for Erin to finish up, and then we'll be out."
"Okay, Daddy," Savannah replied.
At almost eleven years old, Savannah was very mature for her age, probably due in large part to the death of her dad when she was just five. Lucy and Ben hadn't gotten married until she was eight, and since Lucy had had her hands full with the twins and Erin, Savannah had learned very quickly to help her mom and to take care of herself. Although it had been hard on her at first when her Mom and Uncle Ben had gotten married, she had soon gotten used to the idea, and enjoyed having Uncle Ben around all the time. It had taken her nearly a year to stop calling him "Uncle Ben," and up until a few months ago, she had just called him "Ben," but she now called him "Daddy" and never acted as though he wasn't her real dad, although, unlike her siblings, who didn't remember their real dad, or, as was the case with the twins, had never met him, she remembered him quite vividly, and still talked about him often, something that Ben and Lucy both encouraged.
"I'm ready, Daddy," Erin said, skipping into the kitchen.
"Okay, kiddo. Come on, let's go. We've got to hurry or I'm going to be late for work," Ben said, rushing her out the door.
Before long, the kids had been dropped off at Annie's house and Ben was on his way to work. He was so thankful that it was summertime and he didn't have to worry about dropping Erin and Savannah off at school or he definitely would have been late to work.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Lucy sighed. She was exhausted, and the day wasn't even half over yet. He head was pounding, and she was feeling rather nauseous, so she laid her head down on her desk for a minute to rest.
"Lucy," someone called. She felt them place their hand on her shoulder and gently shake her. "Lucy, wake up."
Lucy sat up and blinked her eyes a couple of time in an effort to wake up, and then looked at the clock. "Oh no," she groaned. "I fell asleep." She looked up to see who had woken her up, and saw Chandler standing on the other side of her desk. "When did you get here?" she asked.
"Oh, about an hour or so ago. You were out when I got here, and looked exhausted, so I decided to let you sleep," he replied.
"What about my counseling session? I was supposed to meet with a lady half an hour ago!"
"She called and cancelled shortly after I got here. She said that something else had come up, and she would call back sometime to reschedule."
Lucy sighed. "Thanks, Chandler."
"No problem," he replied, perching on the edge of her desk. "Now, do you want to explain to me why you're so tired that you fell asleep here at your desk?"
"I just laid my head on my desk for a minute because my head was hurting. I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"Well, you did. And despite getting over an hour of sleep, you still look exhausted. What's going on, Lucy?"
"Nothing's going on. I've just been really busy lately, that's all."
"Lucy, Ben called here about twenty minutes ago. I told him that you were sleeping, and he asked if you'd talked to me yet. Lucy, you could have told me that you were so busy. I could have come in to help out."
"Roxanne needs you right now, Chandler. I didn't want to take you away from her. I can handle everything here," Lucy said emphatically.
"Lucy, you fell asleep on your desk. Whether or not you meant to, you were obviously tired enough that you ended up falling asleep."
Lucy sighed. "Chandler, I can handle everything here. I've handled everything fine so far, haven't I?"
"Lucy, have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently? You look exhausted. From what Ben's told me, it sounds like you've been running yourself ragged these past few weeks, ever since Roxanne was put on bed rest and I cut back on everything so I could stay home with her." Chandler would have gone on, but Lucy cut him off.
"There's only two more weeks until the baby's due; I can handle everything here for those two weeks. I know exactly how Roxanne is feeling right now; I was on bed rest for the last few months of my pregnancy with Savannah. I wouldn't have made it without Mom, and a lot of times, Dad and Kevin, there to help me with whatever I needed. Right now Roxanne needs you to be there with her more than I need your help here at the church."
"Fine; I'll try to come in for a couple of hours every day. Annie's with Roxanne now. The twins are down for their naps right now, and Erin and Savannah are watching a movie. I'll talk to Annie and see if she'd be willing to stay with Roxanne every day for a couple of hours so I can come in and help you out; I'm sure she won't object. I can do some counseling sessions at home, too, which will take some of that load off of you, and when I take Roxanne in for her doctor's visits each week, I can do some of the hospital visits."
Lucy sighed. She knew there was no way she was going to win this argument. "Okay, that works, but if something comes up and you can't come in, or you don't feel comfortable leaving Roxanne, just call and let me know, and I'll work it out."
"Okay, I'll do that." Chandler looked at his watch. "I should probably get home now, but call me if you need anything." Chandler started to leave, and then stopped. "Oh, Ben wants you to call him back when you have time."
"Okay, thanks, Chandler," Lucy replied. She picked up the phone and dialed the station number. It rang a couple times, and then someone picked up.
"Station 14, Firefighter Kinkirk speaking."
"Hi Ben, it's Lucy."
"Hi Sweetie, I take it Chandler gave you my message?"
"Yes, he did, what did you need?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to call and check up on you. Chandler said you were sleeping when eh got there; how long were you sleeping?"
"I don't know exactly. I just laid my head down on my desk because I had a headache and wasn't feeling very well, and the next thing I knew, Chandler was waking me up."
"You're not feeling well?" Ben asked, concern filling his voice. "What's wrong?"
"I'm feeling fine now. I was feeling kind of nauseous earlier, but I think it was because I had a headache."
"Maybe you should go home and take the rest of the day off, Luce," Ben said, sounding worried.
Lucy smiled. "I'm fine, Ben. I'll try to leave a little early tonight, if that will make you feel better."
"I'm just worried about you, Luce. You look so tired and worn out, and now you said you're not feeling well, I just don't want you to get sick."
"I'm fine, Ben," Lucy replied. She heard a knock on the doorway to her office and looked up. Her next counseling appointment was standing in the doorway. She motioned for them to come in, then told Ben, 'My next appointment's here; I've got to go. I'll call you when I get home, okay? I love you."
"Okay, love you too," Ben replied.
Lucy yawned as she walked out to her car. She didn't know why she'd been so tired recently. Maybe Ben and Chandler were right, maybe she was working too hard. Once Roxanne had the baby, she'd see about taking a few days off. Maybe Ben could see about putting in for some vacation time, too, and they could spend some time together as a family.
Before long, Lucy had arrived at her mom's house. She got out of her car and went into the house. "Mom? I'm here," she called as she walked into the kitchen.
Annie came walking in from the living room. "Hi, Lucy. The kids are upstairs playing. They were angels today, as usual. Do you want to stay for dinner? Savannah said that Ben's working today. I have dinner in the oven right now. I wasn't expecting you to get here so early, so I made extra."
"I was able to leave a little early today. As tempting as staying for dinner sounds, I think I'll pass on it for tonight. Right now I just want to go home, feed the kids their dinner, and put them to bed, then sit down and relax for a little bit before going to bed myself."
"Are you sure? Ruthie, Peter, Mary, and Carlos are coming over with their kids."
"As tempting as seeing all of them sounds, I really just want to get home. It's been a long day, and I'm tired, plus, I told Ben I'd call when I got home."
"Okay, if I can't convince you to stay, why don't you at least leave the kids here? Let them spend the night tonight. It's Friday, which means that Sam and David will be home for the weekend, and you know how much they enjoy seeing the kids."
"Are you sure? You've had them all day; I feel bad asking you to keep them longer," Lucy said.
"You're not the one that asked; I was. Come on, they love spending the night here, especially when Sam and David are home."
"Mommy, do we get to spend the night here at Grandma's house?" Erin asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Eric, as always, was right behind her, and he looked just as excited.
"Do you want to?" Lucy asked, even though she already knew what the answer would be.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" shouted Eric, jumping up and down.
Lucy laughed. "Eric Kevin Kinkirk, if you don't settle down and use your inside voice, I'm going to take you home and just let the boys spend the night at Grandma's house."
"I'll be quiet," Eric whispered. "I promise," he said, looking very solemn and serious.
Savannah and Allison had come down when they heard Eric yelling, and they, too, were excited at being able to spend the night at Grandma's.
"Okay then, you can all spend the night here, but you have to promise to be good. If you're bad, then Grandma's going to call and I'll come get you, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," four voices replied in unison.
"Okay, give me hugs and kisses, okay? Daddy will pick you up tomorrow after he gets some sleep, okay?"
"Lucy, why don't you let them stay here until Sunday?" Annie asked as the kids told Lucy goodbye. "The boys and I will bring them to church with us. It will give you and Ben some time alone."
"I don't know, Mom, are you sure?" Lucy asked
"Please, Mommy, can we spend tomorrow night at Grandma's, too?" Allison asked.
"It will be fine, Lucy. The boys will be here to help, and if I have any problems, I'll give you a call. Now go home and get some rest. We'll see you on Sunday," Annie said, ushering Lucy towards the door. "And don't worry about dropping extra clothes off for them; I have extras here that they can wear."
"Okay, thanks, Mom. See you on Sunday," Lucy said, walking out the door.
When she got home, she sat down on the couch, meaning to just sit there a minute before getting up and making herself something to eat and calling Ben, but she was soon fast asleep.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
Ben smiled as he hung up the station phone. He had just gotten off the phone with Annie, and he was pretty sure he now knew why Lucy hadn't called when she got home. He was almost positive that since Annie was keeping the kids, Lucy had gone home, sat down on the couch, and fallen asleep.
"Did you get a hold of your wife yet, Kinkirk?" his captain, Captain Stevens, asked him.
"No, Sir, but I got I called my mother-in-law, and Lucy went there to pick up the kids, but Mom convinced her to let them spend the next two nights there, so more than likely she went home and fell asleep on the couch without meaning to," Ben replied.
His captain looked concerned. "She looked pretty tired last time I saw her, is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine; she's just been working too hard lately. The other pastor at her church hasn't been able to do as much lately. His wife's about eight months pregnant with their first child and is on total bed rest, so he's had to stay home with her lately."
"Just wondering, I though maybe there was a chance that she could be…" Captain Stevens started to say something, and then changed his mind. "Never mind."
"Could be what, Cap?" Ben asked.
"Could be pregnant," his captain replied after a few minutes.
Ben looked at his captain in shock. "P-p-pregnant?" he sputtered.
Captain Stevens laughed. "I was just jumping to conclusions. I'm sure it's just like you said, she's just been working a lot lately, so she's more tired. Don't look so scared, Kinkirk."
A/N: So, what do you think? Should Lucy be pregnant? I haven't decided yet...let me know what you think!
