Mary went and sat on the stairs that led to the attic bedroom. She was going to wake Wilson up, but then decided against it. She had already woken him up once tonight- at least once every night that week for that matter, and she decided to let him sleep. He shouldn't have to suffer because her mind was too preoccupied to allow her to get any rest.

As she sat there deliberating the same subject she had been for over a month now, she started to cry. Mary couldn't help it; it was a very emotional topic.

Do I love him? I think I do. If I'm in love with him then I have to tell him- keeping it inside is killing me. Love kills. Isn't that what happened to the last girl he got pregnant?

But I shouldn't tell him I love him unless I truly mean it. I wouldn't want him to confess his fake love for me. So that's the first step then. I have to figure out if I really do love him.

Now how in the world am I going to do that? Well maybe I could start by saying what I love about him. Yeah, that should work.

I love the way he looks at me.
I love how he protects me.
I love it when he touches me.
I love how he always brushes my hair off my face.
I love the way he smells.
I love the look he gets on his face when I do something stupid.
I love how his eyes are the windows to his soul.

Is that is? Well for now I guess it is. Is that enough, though? Maybe.

Ok, so now what do I like about him?

I like his clothes.
I like that he's always here for me.
I like that he was willing to sacrifice his own privacy to live here so that he could get back in my parent's good graces.
I like that he cares about me unconditionally.

Ok, now what don't I like about him?

I don't like it when he's too controlling.

And that's it. The pros outweigh the cons. But does that necessarily mean that I'm in love with Wilson West?

Mary started to cry as she continued this uphill battle within herself. Whenever she came to a conclusion she would doubt herself. She must have been sitting there for a while, though, because before long she heard Wilson bustling around the bedroom.

Mary stood up, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. Wilson opened it within seconds. Mary's heart jumped when she saw him, but she just couldn't bring herself to say anything. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she clasped her hands together behind Wilson's neck, encompassing him with her fragile figure. Wilson hugged Mary back, but he knew something was not right with her. He decided not to say anything, though. He had pried into her life so much recently that there was no mystery between them- their relationship was beginning to go flat. Mary's eyes got teary again, and she decided to leave before she started sobbing. She lightly kissed Wilson's cheek and exited as quickly as she had entered.

Mary went back into her bedroom and to her surprise Wilson did not follow. After three minutes of waiting for him to knock on the door, she decided he was not coming- her heart sank. She started to cry again, but this time it was more intense. She was letting all of her deep-rooted emotions out. Lucy entered the bedroom, startling Mary, and questioned why her sister was once again sobbing.

"It's nothing."

"Do you want me to get Wilson?"

Please don't," Mary responded quickly.

"Are you sure about that?" Lucy asked.

"Yes."

Lucy left the room and went to find Wilson anyways. She went to his room, but he was not up there. He was not in the kitchen either. Lucy went to the living room and found him watching cartoons with Ruthie. She informed him about Mary's emotional state and he went upstairs to see Mary. Wilson knocked on the closed door.

"Who's there?" Mary asked.

"It's me. Can I come in for a second?"

"Why?"

"A little birdie told me that you're upset. Cam I do anything to help?"

"No," Mary responded rudely.

"I'd still like to try if you don't mind," Wilson said, determined to get through to her.

Three seconds later, Mary opened the door just enough to poke her head though.

"Look, I'm fine. I just want to be alone and think for a while. This isn't something you can help me with," Mary informed him.

"OK, if that's what you want."

Mary smiled. "Thank you."

Wilson walked back downstairs to the living room to find Lucy was now watching cartoons as well.

"How's Mary? Did you talk to her?" Lucy asked him.

"Long enough for her to tell me she doesn't want to talk to me."

"Oh," Lucy responded as Wilson sat down next to her. "Can I ask you something?" Lucy turned toward Ruthie and gave her a stern look.

"All right, all right. I'm going," Ruthie said as she slipped off the couch.

"What's the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone?"

"I didn't think you had a boyfriend Luce," he said.

'I don't, I was just wondering."

"OK, well, um, let me give you an example. You can love ice cream, you can love Happy, and you can love your parents. Saying you love something is more of a friendly term. But being in love- it's different. It's…" Wilson searched for the right words. "You have a passion for that person, an infatuation. There's an attachment, attraction, affection…desire, devotion…a sense of oneness. It's kind of hard to describe."

"So, do you just love Mary or are you in love with her?"

"I…uh…I don't know. I-"

Before Wilson could finish his sentence, Mary darted across the foyer and up the stairs. She was obviously listening in on Lucy and Wilson's conversation. Wilson ran to catch up with Mary, only to arrive at the bedroom just in time for Mary to close the door in his face. He opened it right back up, however, and Mary glared back at him.

"Will you please just leave me alone?" she sad loudly.

"Not until you tell me what's bothering you."

In a moment of sanity, Mary calmed down a bit. "Look, I don't ant to yell at you. It's just not open for discussion yet."

"Soon?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

Wilson kissed the top of Mary's head and she turned a light shade of red. He left the room, and Mary could not stop smiling. He just thought he was so wonderful that there was no reason to wipe the grin off her face,

It was then that Mary decided she was in love with him. The only question now was when to tell him. She thought about just going up and telling him, but that did not seem right. She wanted it to be special and romantic, like the way it always was in those movies Lucy watched constantly. If she didn't have love like that, she figured, love was not worth having.

Mary rolled over onto her side, praying that Wilson would come back through the door and sweep her off her feet. However, getting very little sleep last night was starting to catch up with her, and Mary fell asleep waiting for Wilson to be her Romeo. As she slept, Mary was greeted with peaceful dreams. These dreams were in contrast with the ones she had been having recently- dreams of happy thoughts rather than ones of screaming children and being abandoned in a dark and cold alleyway.

Around noontime, Wilson nudged Mary awake.

"I hate to make you get up, you look so peaceful, but everyone is downstairs having lunch. Would you like something?"

"No," she replied as she rubbed her eyes. "I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure? I can make you something special," Wilson coaxed.

"No, that's OK. I'm fine."

Wilson took her hand in his and rubbed it gently. "Go back to sleep then," he said soothingly.

Mary wanted to tell Wilson right then and there, but the timing was all wrong. She needed it to be better than that- exceptional, extraordinary. Mary did follow Wilson's orders, however, and go back to sleep. She woke up later to find Lucy shuffling about in the room.

"Is it raining out?" she asked as she lay motionless in her bed.

"Yeah, pretty hard actually," Lucy replied.

"What time is it?" she asked Lucy as she began to wake up.

"Um…around 10:00 I think."

"At night?" Mary asked flabbergasted.

Lucy laughed. "Yes, at night. Oh, that reminds me. Wilson left for work a while ago. He's not going to be home until at least 11 or 11:15 though because he's working a shift and a half or something like that."

Mary nodded in response.

Lucy sat down on her bed opposite Mary. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing is 'going on' with us," Mary replied.

"Then why did you stay locked up in here all day?"

"I wasn't locked in here I was sleeping. I was tired. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Lucy said. "But you have to admit that you both have one strange relationship."

"Why do you say that?" Mary asked, genuinely wanting to hear Lucy's response.

"One day you're mad at each other, the next day you're all over him, then the next day you sleep…and then it starts all over again."

"Do you think we fight a lot?" Mary questioned Lucy.

"For a pregnant teen-aged couple? No," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that you're both under a lot of stress and sometimes that can come out as anger. But I'm not with you all of the time. Maybe you don't fight as much as I think you do."

Mary just shook her head at Lucy. "I'm going downstairs."

Lucy nodded and Mary got up and left. She went into the living room and turned on the television, turning down the volume as to not disturb the rest of the house. The ten o'clock news was on, and Mary curled up on the couch with a blanket. Again, she dozed off for a little while. About a half an hour later, the rainstorm was getting more intense. Lighting struck close by, shaking the entire house and waking Mary up in the process. She awoke just in time to hear the loud boom of the thunder to seemingly roll through the living room.

Mar focused on the T.V. a few feet away form her. The news was still on, and the clock in the right-hand corner of the screen told her it was not yet 11 o'clock. The reporter on the television was reading off a list of something…street names.

"And if you are just tuning in to Channel 9 Nightly News, GlenOak is in the middle of a very bad rainstorm. The town is predicted to get nearly five inches of rain tonight. Oh, I am just getting a report now of 2 more accidents on Main Street. If you add that to the staggering number we had before, that makes the total of weather-related car accidents tonight up to 14."

The first thing that flashed through Mary's mind was Wilson. Was he home? Did he wake her up and she didn't remember it? Mary walked upstairs to his bedroom only to see his room completely deserted. Mary went back downstairs and sat back down on the couch. As she waited for him to return home, awful thoughts ran through her head. She tried to use the T.V. to distract her, but it didn't help much. The rain was coming down furiously, which only made her more nervous. Just then, another lightening bolt stuck close by, and the lights flickered before the power completely went out. Mary heard both Lucy and Ruthie let out a yelp as soon as the lights went out and she smiled. Nothing comforted her more than being home with her family.

The only thing that might match that comfort level was being with her other half, her best friend, her boyfriend, and the father of her unborn child- Wilson. Mary felt her way out of the living room and to the window in the foyer. She peered out onto the driveway, squinting in the darkness to make sure that his car was not there.

Mary stood by the window for 20 minutes until Wilson pulled up. The lights had just gotten turned back on, so Mary was absolutely sure that he was home.  She caught a glimpse of his face as the car came to stop, and Mary knew that now was the time. It might not have been picture-perfect, but it felt right.

Mary ran out into the rain toward Wilson who was just getting out of his car. The warm rain touched the bare flesh on her arms and feet, bridging the gap between wet and dry, and her and Wilson. Mary went closer and closer to him until she met him in her innocent embrace.

"What are you doing out here? It's pouring."

"I just wanted to tell you something." Mary grabbed his hands and stared deep into his dark eyes. "Wilson, I love you. I mean, I'm in love with you."

Wilson laughed at Mary's choice of words. "I'm in love with you, too, Mare…so much."

Mary grabbed Wilson's face and kissed his lips with more passion than she knew she was capable of. And there in the middle of the worst rainstorm of the summer, Mary and Wilson shared their first "I love you" and made out in the driveway until their clothes each held enough water to wash Wilson's car twice.

A/N: So, does it make more sense now? Did you like it? PLEASE review I would love to hear your feedback.