Wilson awoke Mary the next morning with kisses. As his lips greeted hers, Mary's eyes sprang open, then closed again quickly as she grabbed Wilson's cheeks and deepened the kiss. Mary pulled Wilson down to her, and he laid on the bed next to her. When they parted, Mary stared into his eyes happily.

"Good morning."

"That was some good morning."

"Yeah…well…" she said, not really saying anything at all.

"Well what? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. It almost feels like everything is right with the world, or close to it."

"And why is that?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders and rolled out of bed. Wilson rolled his eyes as the saying "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind" rang throughout his mind.

"Well, everyone is just starting to wake up downstairs, but I don't know about your parents. I think they're still sleeping. You might want to get dressed."

"OK." Mary's grin widened from ear to ear as she bent down to kiss Wilson on the cheek.

Wilson stood up and positioned himself in front of Mary, confused. "I'm liking this new attitude of yours."

"I knew you would."

"The only thing I am curious about is how long it is going to last."

Mary sighed, her smile slightly fading. "Who knows? Just be happy that it's here now."

Wilson kissed Mary's lips. "You don't hear me complaining." Wilson's hands rubbed Mary's cheeks. "I'm going to go check on Billy."

Mary nodded and Wilson walked out the door and down the hall to Billy's room. He knocked on the door and walked inside, instantly going over and sitting down on the bed next to Billy.

"So…" Wilson said trying to sound as youthful as possible. "What's up?"

"Are there ever things that you don't want to share with Mom? Things you think she just won't understand? Thing you don't want to have to explain to her?"

"Well, not so much now, because we live out lives together rather than separately, but before there was. When I first met Mary, I was so scared to tell her about you. I was petrified actually. She was only 15 and I was 17, and when we met at the park I just told her you were my baby brother. And she believed that for about a day, right through our first date and everything. But then when push came to shove, even though our relationship was new, I knew that I had to come clean. I really liked her and it felt wrong to lie to her. So I met her at church the next day, and I told her. I didn't tell her everything right then and there, but eventually I did. Then she got hit by a car and- and I'm getting off track." Billy looked up to his father for guidance. "What don't you want to tell Tori?"

Billy's shoulders slumped.  "Everything. I mean, I haven't really being lying to her, I just haven't told her some things about myself and our family. I'm not embarrassed or anything, it's just really personal. I never told anyone any of that stuff, ever."

"What stuff?" Wilson said, knowing fully well what Billy was alluding to, but forcing his son to say the words aloud. It would help him later if he could say them now.

"Well, she asked yesterday about Natalie, where she was and stuff, and why everyone was here all of the sudden. I have no problem telling her about that, but it kind of goes hand in hand with everything else. Me, you, Mary…my real mom. I don't want to talk about that stuff. I'd much rather just let things be."

"That's a tough thing to deal with. What I think, though, is that you'll feel better after you tell her. But if you really feel like you can't tell her, you really and truly feel like you can't, then you might want to take a good look at your relationship. If you want it to go anywhere, she's going to have to find out about all of this stuff." Billy nodded heavily and Wilson patted him on the back. "And while you're doing that, get dressed. Everyone's waking up and your boxers is not proper 'morning with the Camdens' attire."

Wilson walked out of Billy's bedroom and back into his room. He found Mary in the bathroom in front of the mirror, brushing her teeth. Mary spat minty foam into the sink and then turned to face Wilson.

"So, what is wrong with Billy?"

"Oh, it's nothing. He doesn't want to tell Tori about his past…my past…our past."

"What about our past, exactly, is he going to tell her?"

"About how you are not his real mother," Wilson said apprehensively.

Mary looked down at her feet. "Oh."

Wilson put his hands on Mary's hips. "Come on honey, smile. You were doing so good."

Mary hugged Wilson tightly and leaned her head against his shoulder. He rubbed her back slightly, then the back of her head. His lips gently touched the top of her head and Mary's smile returned. She squeezed him once more tightly, drawing strength from him, and then let go.

"Have you been downstairs?" she asked.

Wilson shook his head. "I was waiting for you."

"Good," she said," let's go."

Mary and Wilson walked out the door and Wilson pulled Mary toward the staircase. Mary tugged at Wilson's hand.

"Come with me?" she asked.

Wilson nodded. He knew where she wanted to go. The two of them went down the hallway, at the other end of hall from Billy's bedroom and next to the guest room, and stood in the doorway of Natalie's bedroom. They looked in at her belongings that she left behind, her open closet with most of her cloths inside, her stuffed animals, her books, and her homework on the desk. Mary looked on with sadness, as did Wilson, but she did not allow herself to break down. Not today. Today was going to be a happy day, a day of a new beginning and the start of a new chapter in her life, if everything went well. She had her doubts, but in her heart she hoped that this room would be filled someday soon…maybe in the next year.

Wilson held Mary tightly, and for the first time, Mary acknowledged his needs. She held Wilson back, squeezing happiness back into his body to replace the sorrow that her touch forced out of him. Just because he was the husband didn't entitle him to anything different than she was entitled to, and didn't immune him from feeling the same things that she was feeling about the departure of their "daughter". Wilson realized that she finally comprehended the fact that sometimes in a marriage you had to forsake yourself to help your partner, and the rush he got from that overjoyed him. He wanted to pick Mary up and spin her around, and just might have done it if it weren't for Annie and Eric coming out of the bedroom next to them.

Annie and Eric stared at Mary, not having a clue what they should say to her. Part of them wanted to console her, but the rest of them wanted to yell at her. They always had the urge to reprimand her, mostly because she was so different from the two of them and the way that they handle things. Annie and Eric both figured that if they had taken Natalie, she would never have gotten taken back. They were good people and would have been looked out for because they were superior; Ruthie would have never had a fighting chance. Morally, they felt they were leaps and bounds ahead of where Mary, and even where Wilson, would ever be. They always would feel better than Mary.

All of that aside, she was their young. People have a natural born instinct to protect their offspring, whether it be from some sort of predator or an emotional breakdown. Inside, they were too conflicted to tell their outsides to do anything but stare.

"Good morning," Wilson said after a few moments, for the first time feeling what Mary had felt for years. Just like she now had a new understanding of him, he now understood where she was coming from, and where she was coming from was a place where there was not enough love to go around for everyone. Someone had to get shafted along the way, and Mary had apparently almost always gotten the short end of the stick.

"Good morning," Eric said back as he realized that Wilson could see right through him. He wanted to run away, feeling weak and powerless under Wilson's gaze, but didn't have enough strength to go anywhere.

Mary exhaled sharply, sounding as if she was trying to make herself cry. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I'm doing the same thing to you as I think you keep doing to me. I'm faulting you both for not acting the way I want you to act. We are all our own person and if we don't respect that we can't get through life. We all make mistakes, whether we think we never make mistakes or think that we make them all the time. I forgive you for whatever it was that made me feel like I hate you so much and I hope that you can accept my apology, because it comes from the bottom of my heart. I want you to accept it, and let me back into the family, and like me again, but you don't have to do any of that. I just had to say this out loud, regardless of what you think of me, because I can't keep beating myself up for all of this. Faulting both of you or myself isn't getting anyone anywhere except down the long and windy path to the loony bin. "

 Eric and Anne said nothing, shocked by their daughter's words. Obviously they were wrong. She was leaps and bounds beyond where they will ever be.

"I'm sorry," Mary said again, unsure if they had heard her or not.

Eric looked at Annie and she nodded. "We accept."

Mary and Wilson both waited a few seconds for them to apologize as well, but they weren't going to get that from them. Maybe one day they would, but today they weren't going to change. Reciprocated apology or not, Mary had let go. She had stopped being consciously angry with them and tried to accept them for who they are. Her parents. People. Humans. No better or worse off than she was at any given moment. Mary extended her arms and encompassed her parents in her tight embrace, praying that they would hug her back. Annie's arms wrapped around Mary loosely, not even sure if that was what she should be doing.

Mary waited a few seconds and then pulled back from her parents. Inside, she was crushed but fulfilled. This was something she had wanted to do for years, even more than telling her parents off, and she actually had done it. That felt so good. Mary stepped back toward Wilson, grabbing his hand and smiling at him. The two of them walked down the stairs; Eric and Annie followed them.

In the living room, everyone seemed to have convened. Matt, Sarah, Kevin, Lucy, Simon, and all of the children were all in the room. Mary heard Billy come down the stairs, too, and come and stand behind her. She turned around and hugged her son, the little boy she helped raise into a respectable young man for the past 10 plus years.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully to Billy.

"Good morning," he said back.

Mary turned to the rest of her family, looking each one of them in the eye as she planned her approach. The road to salvation was most definitely a bumpy one, but Mary never did take the beaten path. After silently debating with herself, bluntness seemed like the most effective way to go.

"Look, everyone, I just want to say that I am sorry. I'm sorry that I lost contact with all of you for ten years. That was ten years too long to go without talking to my brothers and sister, without seeing my nieces and nephews, and without being part of this unique and amazing family. I kind of had to loose myself to find myself…again…and I hope that you all can forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt any of you intentionally, I just didn't' know how to cope. But I have decided to just forget it all and move on, if you all will let me." Tears welled up in Mary's eyes. "What do you say?"

No one said anything, but their response was clear when they all rushed Mary. Matt hugged her first, then Simon, Sarah, Sam, David, Kevin, and last but not least Lucy. Mary squeezed Lucy hard.

"I've missed you so much Luce. I missed having my sister."

Tears fell from Lucy's eyes. "I did, too."

Mary and Lucy pulled away and they all stood next to each other, looking around the room and feeling the love that was radiating from everyone. Mary removed herself from the happiness and grabbed Wilson by the hand. She pulled him over to the corner of the room.

"OK."

Wilson looked at her confused. "What?"

"OK, yes, whatever."

"OK, yes what?"

"Remember what you asked me last night?" Wilson nodded, a slight smile growing on his face. "Well…OK."

Wilson could not contain his excitement. He lifted Mary off the ground, just like he wanted to do before, and gently pressed his lips to hers, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. Eventually, he put her down and grinned.

Mary smiled as well. "So…later…can we…?"

Wilson pecked her cheek. "Of course we can."

Mary and Wilson turned back to the group when the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Billy said, instantly thinking that it was Tori on the line. He ran over to the phone in the kitchen, but to his dismay found some other woman on the other end. "Mom, it's for you," he said once he came back into the room.

Mary took the phone and walked into the kitchen to have some peace and quiet. "Hello?"

"Mary? It's Ruthie."

"Ruthie? Hi. How is everything?"

"A lot harder than I expected actually. I never knew it would be this difficult, in less than 24 hours, to be the sole protector over a child. But I am going to try and live up to the high expectation you have instilled din my daughter. I just called to say thank you for the past 10 years. I owe you more than I will ever have in my entire lifetime. What you did was above and beyond the sisterly call of duty and I don't think I can ever thank you enough."

"Well, you're welcome. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to raise her for 10 years."

Ruthie laughed. "And I also wanted to apologize for running away, and being so fickle, and everything. I wasn't exactly a model prisoner."

"You were a teenager. What do you expect?"

Again, Ruthie laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well, if what you are looking for is my forgiveness, than you have it, although you don't think you need it."

"Thank you," Ruthie said quietly.

"No thanks necessary. I love you Ruthie."

"I love you, too. Could I talk to Wilson?"

"Sure," Mary said. Mary went and got Wilson and handed him the telephone.

"Hi Ruthie," he said.

"Hey. Look, I just wanted to apologize for everything. Natalie is an amazing person and I owe that all to you. It's going to be really hard to raise her, but I am going to try my best and hopefully I'll do half a good of a job as you and Mary did."

"And sure you'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Ruthie questioned.

"I remember when you first had Natalie, when I first saw you…the look on your face. You will make a great mother, all you have to do is apply yourself."

"Thanks Wilson. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Bye," Ruthie said.

"Wait, Ruthie," Wilson said quickly.

"Yes?"

"There is no sense in waiting 10 more years to here from you. Let me have your address and phone number." Ruthie gave him the information and Wilson recorded it on a sticky-note. "Ok, now you can go."

Ruthie giggled. "All right. Tell everyone I love them."

"I will. Bye."

Wilson put the phone down and then walked into the living room. The doorbell rang and Mary answered it. Tori walked inside and Billy greeted her with a kiss.

"Dad…can I…" Billy said.

"Go ahead," Wilson said, knowing that Billy wanted to talk with Tori in private. Good for him, he thought.

Wilson surveyed the room. The entire family was all smiles, and he really didn't know the cause behind it all. He walked over to Mary and put is hand on the small of her back.

"So, let me ask you, what was the inspiration to this whole morning? Because I know something must have happened for you to change your mind like this."

"I had this dream," she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I was pregnant- we were pregnant, and I was having the baby. My whole family was there, everyone, and they were so happy for us and they all, they all just loved me. And we were happier than I have ever seen us. I want to have that. I want a baby with you, and I want to be happy. I want both of us to experience that sheer joy that we had in my dream, and we weren't going to get that unless I fixed everything. So I fixed it and now everything will be OK. No more negativity from me."

Wilson kissed Mary and when they parted, Mary leaned her head onto Wilson's chest. "I love you," he said quietly, "and I would love you no matter if you 'fixed everything' or not, but I'm really happy you made everything all right."

"Me too. It feels so good," Mary smiled, "almost as good as it feels to have you hold me."

Wilson laughed. They surely had come a long way from when they were just newlyweds to now, but their love was still the same- undying and beautiful. Now matter how good or how bad things got, that was the one thing that always remained the same, their love and devotion to one another.

The End

A/N: So, what did you think? I liked this chapter up until the end. It was tied up very neatly, the story. Oh well, I am not redoing it now. It's waaay too late. As for what I am doing next, I don't know. Either some sort of a continuation of this, something with Mary/Carlos, or nothing at all. Taking a break sounds pretty good right about now. But at any rate, keep a look out for stuff from me. My break won't be for very long if I do take one. If not, see you later this week!

Review this chapter, the whole thing, whatever! Just please let me know if you liked it and what I could improve on. It means so much when you take the time to comment on my work.