An: Ok so I know I really suck, I promised another chapter right after the last one and it's been five months. I decided to go a slightly different direction with this chapter then I was going to before but this way I think leads to a better story line so I hope you all enjoy! If you all like this story you should check out s/8158512/1/Together_After_Tragedy.

Chapter 29- Old Acquaintances New Friends.

Ruthie woke up to the sound of keys tapping on a keyboard. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Martin sitting on his bed across from her on his laptop. She glanced at the bedside clock and was shocked to see it was nearly seven o'clock.

"Hey," she said softly, tired from sleep.

"Hey, I didn't wake you did I?" he asked worriedly sitting aside his computer as he stood up and walked the two steps to her bed, sitting down in front of her.

"Nope, the girls did," she answered, he nodded.

"Kicking, have to go to the bathroom or hungry?" he asked.

"Hum all of the above," she answered, he nodded.

"Well I can help you up and then I'll go down stairs and get you some thing to eat. We had dinner a little bit ago, your mom didn't want to wake you. I'm sure there's some chicken left if you want some," he said.

"Uh no thanks, you know what sounds really good? A cheese burger with mustard and pickles and onion rings on the side," she stated.

"You got it," he said standing up and helping her up. They left the room and Ruthie went into the bathroom while Martin headed down stairs.

Ruthie headed back to the bedroom after going to the bathroom and settled back on her bed. Martin returned about fifteen minutes later with a plate in hand with a large cheese burger and lots of onion rings.

"You're the best," Ruthie said when he handed it to her.

"You're welcome," he said back.

"Thank you," she said kissing him softly on the cheek. "So what are you working on?" she asked motioning to his computer before taking a bite of her cheese burger.

"Writing to my dad actually. He's coming home," he said.

"What really? When?" she asked shocked.

"Next week. His enlistment ended, he's not going to reenlist so he's done. He'll be back next Saturday. He's going to get a house here in Glenoak and he's not sure what he'll do after that. He said with everything going on in my life, finishing high-school, starting college, you, the girls, he wants to be here," he said.

"Wow, Martin that's great!" She said happily then realized what this really meant. Beau was moving back, permanently, he'd probably want his son to live with him. Which meant Martin would be leaving.

Martin watched Ruthie's reaction to his news and he was glad she was happy about it. However the happiness soon faded and he saw worry and maybe a little sadness.

"Hey, this is good. What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, she sighed.

"Nothing, I'm thrilled for you and your dad Martin, this is great," she said forcing happiness, she did not want Martin to think she was upset or disappointed. He was getting his father back and that was great, she really was thrilled for him. She didn't want to seem selfish.

"Ruthie, you may be a better liar then most of your family, but you still suck at it. Come on this is me, you can tell me anything," he said and she sighed.

"It's just, with your dad back and moving to Glenoak...you'll be moving out," she stated.

"What? No Ruthie, I'm not leaving you or the girls," he said scooting closer to her. "I've kept dad up to date on everything, we've been talking about him moving back for a while. He understands that I'm thrilled to have him back and I'll be happy to have him close by but I made a commitment to you and to the girls and I'm not going to walk away from it, from you or them and he doesn't want me to, he just wants to be a part of it too," he stated.

"Martin I...I don't want to be selfish, you've wanted your father to move home for years and now..." she started to argue, she didn't want to come between Martin and his father.

"And now I have you and Jenny and Mattie to think about. We're going to be a family, the four of us and with the extended family the 20 of us," He stated and she smirked a bit.

"26, Matt, Mary and Lucy's twins to be," She corrected, he nodded.

"Twenty six. My point is, dad just wants to be included and I will still spend a lot of time with him and he's giving me a room at his new place if I ever need it, which I won't. He completely supports our relationship and he's proud of me and he wants to be there not just for me but for you and the girls. So please stop worrying, I am not going anywhere and my dad coming back is just adding one more person to the bunch," he said and she smiled.

"Ok and I love your dad, I'm glad he's coming home and that he gets to be a part of this. The girls will be so lucky to have him as a grandfather," she said.

"I know, he loves you too," he said and she smiled before kissing him softly then going back to her meal.

"Finish your letter. I'm just going to eat," she said.

"Ok," he said before kissing her forehead then going back to his own bed and finishing his letter to his dad.

The next morning Martin woke up around nine the next morning and got dressed as quietly as possible so not to wake Ruthie. He then headed down stairs and was glad to see both elder Camden's awake sitting at the table having coffee and reading the paper.

"Good morning," Annie greeted warmly.

"Good morning," He returned with a smile.

"I'm going to start breakfast in a few minutes, hope that's alright," Annie said.

"Oh no rush, I'm fine. I actually am glad you're both awake, I wanted to discuss something with you," he stated sitting down at the table as well.

"Ok," Eric agreed setting aside his newspaper.

"I got an email last night from my father and his enlistment is up and he's decided to not reenlist. I've been keeping him updated on everything going on here and he wants to be here to support me and Ruthie and be around for the girls, since they'll be like his grandchildren," he stated.

"That's great news! We'll have to throw a little welcome back for him, when will he be here?" Annie said happily.

"It is, it's great and he'll be home by sometime next week, he wasn't entirely sure what day yet. What I wanted to discuss is I know that my staying here was originally intended to be just until my father was able to return home, however not that he is Ruthie and I are together and we have the girls and I don't want to leave them. Not with Ruthie having this condition and not once the girls are born. I know that asking to stay when my dad is home is a big favor but I'm willing to pay rent and I will help out around the house more and running errands and driving the boys around, whatever you need," He offered, hoping that they would let him stay, especially since he'd already promised Ruthie he would.

The older couple looked at each other and somehow they both already knew this would happen. They had seen Martin with Ruthie the last few months and they knew he wouldn't want to leave her if his father were to come back or when he would start college in the fall.

"Martin over the last couple years you've become like a son to us and we know how much you love our daughter and our future granddaughters, you're family now and this is your home for as long as you want it be, no rent needed," Annie assured him.

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Really, you're welcome here as long as you want, you help out a lot with the boys and Ruthie and we're sure you will the girls, that's plenty pay for us," Eric assured.

"Thank you," Martin said relieved.

"Of course, like we said, you're family now," Annie stated, he nodded in return.

"So are you," he returned.

"Good to hear, now are you hungry?" she asked standing up and moving to start breakfast.

"Yes, do you want any help?" he asked standing as well.

"I'm fine, why don't you go get the boys and Ruthie up?" she asked.

"I can do that," he assured and headed upstairs, Eric and Annie looked at each other and smiled.

"So how long do you think it'll be before he wants to ask Ruthie to marry him?" Annie asked.

"Graduation," Eric answered, she nodded.

"Wouldn't be surprised. You think they're really ready?" she asked a bit nervously.

"I think they've both grown up a lot the last few months and if they can get through this Coach Madison ordeal together, they can probably get through anything," Eric answered, she nodded.

"They are great together, you know I think if they get married we'll be the luckiest parents in the world that our girls ended up with three wonderful guys who take good care of them," she said, Eric nodded.

"Yes we will be," He agreed and they fell silent, Eric went back to the newspaper and she started preparing French toast.

That afternoon Ruthie and Martin decided to take the twins off of her parents hands and they all four headed to the batting cages, somewhere the boys could have fun and Ruthie could sit down and relax. Ruthie sat outside on the bleachers with Sam, who had already had his turn at bat with Martin and now it was David's.

"Ruthie?" She heard and turned and was surprised to see none other then Wilson and Cory West walking toward her, with two pre-teens that must be Billy and Lily, though she could not believe they were that big already! Though as she did the math they would be about eleven, that was hard to believe.

"Wilson, Cory!" She said happily standing up and hugging Wilson.

"Hey, it's good to see you," Wilson said and they pulled away.

"It's good to see you too," She said.

"Hey," Cory said hugging her as well and Ruthie of course returned it.

"Wow, are you Billy and Lily?" She asked the two pre-teens.

"Who are you?" Billy asked.

"I'm Ruthie Camden, I'm an old friend of your parents," she answered.

"We have known Ruthie since she was six years old, you two used to hang out," Wilson stated to his son.

"You were just a baby then though so it's nice to meet you again," she said.

"It's nice to meet you too," Lily said.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Billy said and Ruthie turned a bit seeing something from the corner of her eye and saw Martin and David coming out of the cage and Sam came over to them as well.

"Wow, are you Sam and David?" Cory asked the twins.

"Yes," They answered in unison.

"Sam, David, Martin these are some old friends Wilson and Cory West and their son Billy and daughter Lily. Wilson and Cory went to school with Mary," Ruthie explained.

"Nice to meet you," Sam and David said together while Martin and Wilson shook hands in hello.

"It's nice to meet you both too, well again, last time we saw you, you were little babies," Cory said.

"Seems to be a pattern," Ruthie said and the other couple laughed.

"So what are you all upto now?" Wilson asked.

"Batting practice, we're done now, probably head to Pete's for lunch because I am starving. Do you guys want to join us?" Ruthie answered.

"That'd be great, we can catch up," Cory agreed.

"Great, we'll meet you there," Ruthie stated.

"Sounds like a plane," Wilson agreed and the groups headed to their cars.

Half an hour later Sam, David, Billy and Lilly sat at one table and the two couples sat at one right next to them. The kids were all talking about school and friends and didn't appear to be giving any attention to their parent/siblings table.

"So you two have been keeping up on the news I take it," Ruthie said taking a sip of her water, they had not acted surprised or asked any questions about her very obvious stomach so she knows they know, of course who didn't?

"We have and I also called your dad to see if there was anything we could do. He didn't know if you wanted any more people involved in your business," Wilson answered.

"Strangers I'd rather stay out but you two are hardly strangers and I can use all the friends I can get," Ruthie stated.

"Well you've got us," Cory assured.

"Good because you two are the only ones I know who have done the whole teen parent thing, juggling school and the baby and all that and I could really use some advice cause honestly, I've been really nervous about it lately, as the due date gets closer.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my daughters and I am not rethinking keeping them by any means, they're the light in all the darkness, they keep me sane, they give me a reason to wake up in the morning. Well and Martin of course," she said smiling at her boyfriend who returned. "But the fact remains that I am only sixteen, barley. I remember Sam and David as babies, they were always crying, one or the other or both, they drove us all crazy. I don't know how I'm going to do it, I don't know if I can do it, I don't want to screw up, I don't want to hurt them," she stated.

"First you have to remember to breath and not panic, panicking makes everything worse. Second you have to remember you are not in this alone. You have your family and the church who are all a great support system. Also from what we've heard, this guys no slouch either," Cory said smiling at Martin.

"He's certainly not. He's been amazing the last few months, I really do not know if I would have gotten through these few months with my sanity if it weren't for Martin," she stated to the other couple.

"I love you and that's what I'm here for to help you through the hard times and enjoy the good together," he returned with a smile.

"I know and that makes me one of the luckiest girls in the world and I love you too," she said before kissing him softly on the lips and they looked back at the other couple.

"See, that right there is why we both know you two will be fine with this new step in your lives, with raising these babies. I think it's great how Martin has stepped up to help support Ruthie through this and the many years to come. Do you two have a plan on how it's going to work?" Wilson asked.

"Not yet. I'm working on taking my graduation equivalence test, hopefully I'll pass and I'll graduate in May with Martin which will make things a bit easier. I've been looking into colleges for the specific degree I want, I should be able to get my bachelors at Crawford and I can do it all online. Which is nice, I can be home with the girls while Martin's at school," Ruthie explained.

"And where are you going?" Wilson asked.

"UCLA, which is an hour from here but I'm also taking online courses and I'm willing to drive to and from when I have to for baseball," he said.

"You play baseball?" Cory asked.

"He's the best player on the team," Ruthie answered.

"Some major league teams have tried to draft me but my dad wants me to finish school so I'm going to play for the UCLA team, I won't get paid but I'll be able to keep scouts interested the coach is willing to give me some flexibility because of the babies. The coach and Eric are going to help me find a job," Martin stated.

"Impressive. Ruthie what are you studying?" Wilson asked.

"Psychology, I want to be a clinical psychologist, getting my PhsyD. Will take about eight to ten years but mom and dad will help for the first few years, let me stay at the house rent free and help with the girls," she said.

"What's a Phsy.D? Isn't it PHD?" Cory asked.

"PHD in Psychology is geared more toward researchers, PhysD. Are more about the actual practice, both are recognized as licensed psychologist but people with PHD's are more in labs and teachers and things like that, while PhysD's are more likely to work as councilors in hospitals and schools and things like that. They both take the same amount of time which is 4-6 years after the bachelors," she stated.

"Wow. You know while I'm impressed, I'm not surprised. You've always been a good listener, good advice giver, I think that's a perfect field for you," Wilson said and Ruthie smiled brightly.

"Thank you," she said.

"So you'll be living at home for the next few years? What about you Martin?" Cory asked.

"I'm going to stay living with the Camden's," Martin stated.

"You live with the Camden's?" Wilson asked, the couple nodded.

"Long story short Martin's mom passed away when he was young and his dad is a Marine and has been deployed the last couple years. Martin was supposed to stay with his Aunt but then she wanted to move to New York and Martin wanted to stay here so my parents offered to let Martin live with us. First he lived in the house but then he moved into the garage apartment when Kevin and Lucy moved out. Then when I was diagnosed with this condition, preeclampsia which is basically high blood pressure, and was told to be on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy Martin moved back into the house and he and I now share a room on the second floor, that used to be Mary and Lucy's, while my room in the attic is being redone. Martin's dad is returning from Iraq next week, having finished his enlistment and now retiring. However Martin is going to stay living with us because he doesn't want to leave me and the girls," Ruthie explained.

"And the Camden's are ok with Martin continuing to live there?" Wilson asked.

"They are, they understand that I love Ruthie and our daughters and I want to be there for her and for them and I'm welcome to stay," Martin answered.

"Good. You two will be great, I can tell but if either of you ever need to talk we're here for both of you. While I'm sure a lot of the Camden's have some parenting tips, they don't understand what it's like to be teenage parents, the balance of school and home and the looks and reactions you get when people find out you fathered or mothered a child as a teenager, no matter the circumstances. For those kind of things, you've got us," Wilson assured.

"Well I think we'll become best friends," Ruthie said with a small laugh.

"Sounds good to me, what about you?" Cory said looking at her husband.

"Sounds good to me," he answered.

"Me too," Martin said with a small smile. "So can I ask…how is it exactly that you all know each other?" he asked.

"Ah fair question and it's quiet a story, for me it started one day at the park…" Wilson explained everything about meeting Mary and Ruthie at the park, he and Mary dating, breaking up, getting back together and breaking up again. Then Cory explained about being on Mary's basketball team and what Mary did for her when she got MVP. They then explained that they got together after Wilson and Mary broke up the last time, meeting on a flight home to Glen Oak. They'd hit it off and gotten married a year later and now raising their children together. Wilson was a lawyer and Cory was a nurse at Glen Oak hospital. They then spent some time with Ruthie catching them up on all of the Camden family happenings the last few years. It was soon two hours later and the couples decided to split ways, as Ruthie needed to get home and rest. However they made plans to hang out again soon, without the children tagging along.

-TBC-

Shoutouts:

HaN: I promised a chapter by Monday, hope you like it!

Emsoreoangel: Again sorry this update took a while. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanks for the review!

AndreaElizabeth94: Yep they are, I think it would have been interesting to show all the twins together on the show! Lol yes it was most of my childhood too! This story has already lasted almost six years, hard to believe! We'll see what happens but I am going to try to update more frequently now.

Eryn1993: Thank you! I am sorry this chapter took a while!

Clickchick18: Yes it is! Thanks for the review!

Kylielink: Thank you!

Roganjalex: I will keep going with this story, even if there's some spacing between chapters! I will have to check that out even though I don't watch that show lol.

Ang5632: I am glad you came back to reading this, hope you will continue to read it. Sorry this update took a while. Thanks for the review!

Jenny: I love Marthie too! I am glad you are enjoying this story, thank you for the review!

Happy reader: Thank you, I will try to keep it up lol!

YaleAceBella: There's more, hope you enjoyed, thanks for review!

Friends4ever55:There's the update, sorry it took a while. Thanks for the review!

Megan: Thank you!

ValleyRoseS1726: Thank you for the review, and can't wait for the next chapter of your story! Hope you liked this chapter!

AN2: If you read, please review and I promise to try and update sooner next time!