I was inspired to write this fanfic by the good people over at the
Television Without Pity site.
This fanfic is not based on one specific episode, but rather on a string of different plot lines we've seen over the years. I have always preferred Mary to Lucy in the 7th Heaven series, but lately the writers have turned her into such a bimbo that she's ridiculed by everyone, most of all her family. This work is focused on Mary and I've tried to being some humanity back to her.
None of these characters belong to me, they are sole property of the WB or Brenda Hampton. Yadda, yadda, yadda…
******
CHAPTER ONE
Mary had always been the "bad" one. Granted, she knew she had made some mistakes: trashing the school gym, getting fired from job after job, the financial problems that resulted from her job instability. But all of those troubles seemed trivial compared to what she was facing now. She knew her parents and siblings were able to forgive her previous mistakes, but she knew what she had done tonight could never, never be forgiven, least of all by herself.
*****
Mary and Lucy had enrolled together at Crawford Community College at the beginning of the year. Lucy had always seemed so sure of what she wanted to do. She had planned out which classes to take during the coming two years so she could transfer to a better school back east in her junior year.
Next to Lucy, Mary felt like a loser. She didn't really know what classes to take, there was nothing in particular that interested her. But Lucy had encouraged Mary to enroll anyway, unlike Mom and Dad who made her feel obligated to go to college. Plus having her sister there brought back some of the old high-school rivalry which helped both of them to stay motivated.
During their two semesters at Crawford, Lucy has excelled in the grades department while Mary had done better on the social scene. Thanks to Mary's connections, the two of them had found themselves invited to a cool frat party.
At first, Lucy had been totally against going to a party on a school night. But Mary knew the magic words that would get her sister to come with her: hunky boys! As soon as she told Lucy that Ben and Kevin, two cute guys from their math class, would be there, Lucy couldn't wait for Thursday night.
Before the party, Lucy had tried on at least 10 outfits trying to find the "right" one.
"Come on Lucy, it's just a party, no on is really going to pay that much attention to what you wear," said Mary impatiently.
Lucy replied, "You never know when you might meet Mr. Right and I want to make my best impression. Plus, you know I've had a secret crush on Kevin for months, tonight's outfit might just encourage him to finally ask me out."
Mary thought Lucy had been reading too much of The Rules again, but was happy when her younger sister was finally ready to go.
*****
When they reached the party, the sisters decided to separate so they could talk with their friends who were at the party. But they agreed to meet at 12:30 at the door so they could get home before their parents' curfew of 1:00.
Mary took a look around at the other party guests, looking for someone she knew. Suddenly someone came up behind her, covered her eyes and asked "Guess who?".
She replied immediately, "Don't even think you can fool me like that Ben."
"How did you know it was me?"
"I just have a sixth sense for these kinds of things. Plus your cheap cologne gave it away."
"Alright, enough with the wisecracks, smartass! Can I get you a beer? There's a keg out back with your name on it."
Mary had never really been a drinker, but she figured one beer couldn't hurt. And besides wasn't discovering new things part of the "college experience"?
Ben came back with Mary's beer, and he began introducing her to his frat brothers. They talked about sports, school, teachers… The time seemed to fly by and before she knew it, it was 12:45. She told Ben and his friends that she had to be home by 1:00 or her parents would freak. They said goodnight and Ben said he couldn't wait to see her in class the next day.
Mary felt a little funny walking to the door to meet Lucy. She wondered if it could be the beer. But she thought to herself, "It's not like I drank a lot. Ben did refill my cup a couple of times, but it was never totally empty. I couldn't have drunk more than two beers in total. It's not like I'm drunk or anything." She did her best to keep her cool as she approached Lucy who was already waiting at the door.
"Sorry I'm late Lucy, I didn't notice the time," said Mary, hoping she wasn't slurring her words or anything.
Luckily Lucy was on cloud nine and didn't seem to notice any difference in Mary's behavior. She couldn't stop talking about Kevin, the guy in their math class that Lucy had been watching out all semester. He, like Lucy, was majoring in religious studies, but hoped to get into the police training program once he got his degree. Evidently he and Lucy had really hit it off. She was convinced that he was "Mr. Right" and they already had plans for the following Saturday night. "Of course I couldn't accept for this Saturday," Lucy said "because you should never accept a date for the coming weekend after Wednesday. Otherwise you will just look desperate."
"Whatever," thought Mary, as she got into the driver's seat of the car. She wasn't sure if she should really be driving, but she figured it wasn't too far and didn't really want a lecture from Lucy about drinking. It was just a couple of beers after all, and all college kids do it.
*****
On the ride home, Lucy wouldn't stop going on and on about every detail of her conversation with Kevin. Mary tried to concentrate on the road, but with Lucy's yapping and the woozy feeling in her head, she was swerving a bit.
Lucy asked "Are you alright Mary? Do you want me to drive?"
"No, it's okay, I'm just a little tired, that's all. Besides we're almost home," replied Mary.
It was true. They were almost home. Mary was having more and more trouble concentrating on the route and it seemed suddenly out of nowhere a red light appeared. She didn't really remember exactly what happened, just the screeching of the van's tires and the crunch of metal as a car rammed into the passenger side of the vehicle.
Mary couldn't believe it, they were this close to the house and she had been so stupid to run the red light. She knew she would be in trouble this time for totaling the van. She looked over to see how Lucy was and couldn't believe her eyes. Her sister was there in the passenger seat, twisted and crumpled and bleeding.
Mary started to panic. She noticed the people in the other car coming towards her. She jumped out and yelled "Call 911, my sister is bleeding to death!"
When the police and ambulance arrived, emergency workers immediately extracted Lucy from the car and whisked her off to the hospital. Mary wanted to follow, but the police insisted she come down to the station for a few questions. She knew that wasn't a good sign especially when she noticed the other driver was being let go.
*****
Once at the station, she was made to wait in a small room with nothing but a table with a machine on it and a few chairs. She wondered when all of this was going to be over. She didn't mean to run the red light, it was an accident after all. She couldn't help thinking that if she had just listened to Lucy in the first place, she wouldn't be here right now. She should have just stayed home and finished her homework, like her sister had originally wanted to do.
Finally she saw a figure behind the glass door and her father's friend Detective Michaels entered carrying a plastic baggy with what looked like a pipe inside.
"Hello Mary," Detective Michaels said, "I'm afraid we've got a serious problem on our hands here. The driver of the other car told me he smelled alcohol on your breath, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you a breathalizer."
"Do I have to agree to this?" asked Mary.
"Yes, otherwise we will be obliged to take a blood sample, and no consent is needed. So why don't you just go ahead and take the breathalizer test. It'll be less painful for us both."
Detective Michaels took out the pipe, hooked it up to the machine on the table and asked Mary to blow into it for 30 seconds.
Mary complied and after 30 seconds nervously asked Detective Michaels about the results.
"Well, the test shows you at .09%, Mary. It's below the legal limit, but it's still proof that you were drinking and driving tonight. I must say I am disappointed in you. You put both you and your sister's lives in jeopardy tonight, not to mention the lives of other innocent people on the road."
"Are you going to tell my dad?"
"No. You're going to do it yourself. Reverend Camden is on his way over here and Annie is already on the way to the hospital to see your sister. Legally I can't press charges for drinking and driving since you were below the legal limit, but I will be giving you a ticket for causing an accident. I hope tonight will serve as a warning for you in the future and I pray to God your sister pulls out okay. From what the officers at the scene told me, she looks to be in pretty bad shape."
"Thank you Detective Michaels," says Mary as she saw her father's figure behind the frosted glass door.
"I'll leave you two alone now," Detective Michaels said as he stood to leave.
Reverend Camden took his oldest daughter into his arms, "Mary, you can't believe how relieved I am to see that you're okay. When we got the call from the police we were so worried."
"Before you start, there's something I need to tell you Dad. The accident tonight was my fault, I ran a red light and… "
"It's okay honey, we know it was your fault, but the most important is that you're ok."
"Wait Dad, that's not all. I had been drinking before getting behind the wheel tonight. I had a few beers at the party. I thought I was okay to drive, but I guess I wasn't. I'm so sorry Dad," Mary cried into her father's arms.
Reverend Camden stiffened when he heard this news, "I'm really disappointed in you Mary. You should have let Lucy drive, called a taxi or even us. You know drinking and driving is not an option."
"I know Dad, but I wasn't drunk. And since the house isn't very far, I thought it would be okay."
"We'll talk about this later. We'd better get to the hospital to see how your sister is doing."
This fanfic is not based on one specific episode, but rather on a string of different plot lines we've seen over the years. I have always preferred Mary to Lucy in the 7th Heaven series, but lately the writers have turned her into such a bimbo that she's ridiculed by everyone, most of all her family. This work is focused on Mary and I've tried to being some humanity back to her.
None of these characters belong to me, they are sole property of the WB or Brenda Hampton. Yadda, yadda, yadda…
******
CHAPTER ONE
Mary had always been the "bad" one. Granted, she knew she had made some mistakes: trashing the school gym, getting fired from job after job, the financial problems that resulted from her job instability. But all of those troubles seemed trivial compared to what she was facing now. She knew her parents and siblings were able to forgive her previous mistakes, but she knew what she had done tonight could never, never be forgiven, least of all by herself.
*****
Mary and Lucy had enrolled together at Crawford Community College at the beginning of the year. Lucy had always seemed so sure of what she wanted to do. She had planned out which classes to take during the coming two years so she could transfer to a better school back east in her junior year.
Next to Lucy, Mary felt like a loser. She didn't really know what classes to take, there was nothing in particular that interested her. But Lucy had encouraged Mary to enroll anyway, unlike Mom and Dad who made her feel obligated to go to college. Plus having her sister there brought back some of the old high-school rivalry which helped both of them to stay motivated.
During their two semesters at Crawford, Lucy has excelled in the grades department while Mary had done better on the social scene. Thanks to Mary's connections, the two of them had found themselves invited to a cool frat party.
At first, Lucy had been totally against going to a party on a school night. But Mary knew the magic words that would get her sister to come with her: hunky boys! As soon as she told Lucy that Ben and Kevin, two cute guys from their math class, would be there, Lucy couldn't wait for Thursday night.
Before the party, Lucy had tried on at least 10 outfits trying to find the "right" one.
"Come on Lucy, it's just a party, no on is really going to pay that much attention to what you wear," said Mary impatiently.
Lucy replied, "You never know when you might meet Mr. Right and I want to make my best impression. Plus, you know I've had a secret crush on Kevin for months, tonight's outfit might just encourage him to finally ask me out."
Mary thought Lucy had been reading too much of The Rules again, but was happy when her younger sister was finally ready to go.
*****
When they reached the party, the sisters decided to separate so they could talk with their friends who were at the party. But they agreed to meet at 12:30 at the door so they could get home before their parents' curfew of 1:00.
Mary took a look around at the other party guests, looking for someone she knew. Suddenly someone came up behind her, covered her eyes and asked "Guess who?".
She replied immediately, "Don't even think you can fool me like that Ben."
"How did you know it was me?"
"I just have a sixth sense for these kinds of things. Plus your cheap cologne gave it away."
"Alright, enough with the wisecracks, smartass! Can I get you a beer? There's a keg out back with your name on it."
Mary had never really been a drinker, but she figured one beer couldn't hurt. And besides wasn't discovering new things part of the "college experience"?
Ben came back with Mary's beer, and he began introducing her to his frat brothers. They talked about sports, school, teachers… The time seemed to fly by and before she knew it, it was 12:45. She told Ben and his friends that she had to be home by 1:00 or her parents would freak. They said goodnight and Ben said he couldn't wait to see her in class the next day.
Mary felt a little funny walking to the door to meet Lucy. She wondered if it could be the beer. But she thought to herself, "It's not like I drank a lot. Ben did refill my cup a couple of times, but it was never totally empty. I couldn't have drunk more than two beers in total. It's not like I'm drunk or anything." She did her best to keep her cool as she approached Lucy who was already waiting at the door.
"Sorry I'm late Lucy, I didn't notice the time," said Mary, hoping she wasn't slurring her words or anything.
Luckily Lucy was on cloud nine and didn't seem to notice any difference in Mary's behavior. She couldn't stop talking about Kevin, the guy in their math class that Lucy had been watching out all semester. He, like Lucy, was majoring in religious studies, but hoped to get into the police training program once he got his degree. Evidently he and Lucy had really hit it off. She was convinced that he was "Mr. Right" and they already had plans for the following Saturday night. "Of course I couldn't accept for this Saturday," Lucy said "because you should never accept a date for the coming weekend after Wednesday. Otherwise you will just look desperate."
"Whatever," thought Mary, as she got into the driver's seat of the car. She wasn't sure if she should really be driving, but she figured it wasn't too far and didn't really want a lecture from Lucy about drinking. It was just a couple of beers after all, and all college kids do it.
*****
On the ride home, Lucy wouldn't stop going on and on about every detail of her conversation with Kevin. Mary tried to concentrate on the road, but with Lucy's yapping and the woozy feeling in her head, she was swerving a bit.
Lucy asked "Are you alright Mary? Do you want me to drive?"
"No, it's okay, I'm just a little tired, that's all. Besides we're almost home," replied Mary.
It was true. They were almost home. Mary was having more and more trouble concentrating on the route and it seemed suddenly out of nowhere a red light appeared. She didn't really remember exactly what happened, just the screeching of the van's tires and the crunch of metal as a car rammed into the passenger side of the vehicle.
Mary couldn't believe it, they were this close to the house and she had been so stupid to run the red light. She knew she would be in trouble this time for totaling the van. She looked over to see how Lucy was and couldn't believe her eyes. Her sister was there in the passenger seat, twisted and crumpled and bleeding.
Mary started to panic. She noticed the people in the other car coming towards her. She jumped out and yelled "Call 911, my sister is bleeding to death!"
When the police and ambulance arrived, emergency workers immediately extracted Lucy from the car and whisked her off to the hospital. Mary wanted to follow, but the police insisted she come down to the station for a few questions. She knew that wasn't a good sign especially when she noticed the other driver was being let go.
*****
Once at the station, she was made to wait in a small room with nothing but a table with a machine on it and a few chairs. She wondered when all of this was going to be over. She didn't mean to run the red light, it was an accident after all. She couldn't help thinking that if she had just listened to Lucy in the first place, she wouldn't be here right now. She should have just stayed home and finished her homework, like her sister had originally wanted to do.
Finally she saw a figure behind the glass door and her father's friend Detective Michaels entered carrying a plastic baggy with what looked like a pipe inside.
"Hello Mary," Detective Michaels said, "I'm afraid we've got a serious problem on our hands here. The driver of the other car told me he smelled alcohol on your breath, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you a breathalizer."
"Do I have to agree to this?" asked Mary.
"Yes, otherwise we will be obliged to take a blood sample, and no consent is needed. So why don't you just go ahead and take the breathalizer test. It'll be less painful for us both."
Detective Michaels took out the pipe, hooked it up to the machine on the table and asked Mary to blow into it for 30 seconds.
Mary complied and after 30 seconds nervously asked Detective Michaels about the results.
"Well, the test shows you at .09%, Mary. It's below the legal limit, but it's still proof that you were drinking and driving tonight. I must say I am disappointed in you. You put both you and your sister's lives in jeopardy tonight, not to mention the lives of other innocent people on the road."
"Are you going to tell my dad?"
"No. You're going to do it yourself. Reverend Camden is on his way over here and Annie is already on the way to the hospital to see your sister. Legally I can't press charges for drinking and driving since you were below the legal limit, but I will be giving you a ticket for causing an accident. I hope tonight will serve as a warning for you in the future and I pray to God your sister pulls out okay. From what the officers at the scene told me, she looks to be in pretty bad shape."
"Thank you Detective Michaels," says Mary as she saw her father's figure behind the frosted glass door.
"I'll leave you two alone now," Detective Michaels said as he stood to leave.
Reverend Camden took his oldest daughter into his arms, "Mary, you can't believe how relieved I am to see that you're okay. When we got the call from the police we were so worried."
"Before you start, there's something I need to tell you Dad. The accident tonight was my fault, I ran a red light and… "
"It's okay honey, we know it was your fault, but the most important is that you're ok."
"Wait Dad, that's not all. I had been drinking before getting behind the wheel tonight. I had a few beers at the party. I thought I was okay to drive, but I guess I wasn't. I'm so sorry Dad," Mary cried into her father's arms.
Reverend Camden stiffened when he heard this news, "I'm really disappointed in you Mary. You should have let Lucy drive, called a taxi or even us. You know drinking and driving is not an option."
"I know Dad, but I wasn't drunk. And since the house isn't very far, I thought it would be okay."
"We'll talk about this later. We'd better get to the hospital to see how your sister is doing."