I do not own 7th Heaven.

Author's Note- I am very, very sorry for the delay in this story. I had a bit of writer's block, and then I got a huge surge of ideas for my other story and kind of put this one aside for a bit. I apologize profusely for this taking so long, and to make it up, this chapter is super long, and will encompass many different people and families. Enjoy!

Chapter 8- Good Days for Some, Bad Days for Others

It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon at the Kinkirk house. Kallie and Jake were sitting at the kitchen table, a few toy catalogues spread out on the table. Jake was circling just about every toy car on the page with his green marker, while Kallie was carefully copying the names of all the toys she saw in the book in front of her.

Lucy was sitting at the other end of the table, reading a book. She looked up every few minutes, surprised at the way the children were being so quiet, but then, there were presents on the line, and they were obviously trying to make sure to get each gift marked, so they would hopefully find it under the tree in a few weeks.

The phone rang, making them all jump. Kallie ran over to answer it. "Hello?" She said into the receiver. Her face brightened as the person on the other end of the phone "Hi Daddy!" She exclaimed. "I'll get her." She handed the phone to Lucy.

"Hi, honey."

"Hi Luce. I have some bad news." Kevin told her, Lucy already had an idea of what he was going to say next. "I have to work late tonight."

"I figured." Lucy said with a sigh. "What time do you think you will be coming home?" She asked him.

"Really late. I don't want you to wait up for me."

"Okay." Lucy was getting a bit frustrated that lately he hadn't been spending any time at home with his family, but she knew that he was just doing his job. "We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow." She reminded him.

"Eleven o'clock, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"I have to go, I love you." Kevin said.

"Love you too." She told him. "Kids, say good night to Daddy."

Kallie took the phone. "Goodnight, Daddy."

"Sweet Dreams, Sunshine."

Jake grabbed the phone from his sister, who made a face. "Good night Daddy."

"Night, Champ."

Lucy took the phone back from her son, who went back to creating his long wish list. "Don't work too late, Sweetie." She told him before hanging up the phone.

Lucy sighed again, and went back to reading her book. Kallie and Jake didn't seem to be phased by the fact that their father wasn't coming home that night, but it bothered Lucy. Kevin wouldn't discuss the cases that he was working on with her; he said that he didn't want to bring his work home with him, but lately, he hadn't been home very much. He came home late nearly every night, and each time he came home later and later. Lucy didn't know how much more of this she could take.

~*~*~

Abby paced around her living room, she couldn't sit still, she couldn't think straight. How could she have forgotten? Today was a bad day, a very bad day. She had been so busy lately; she hadn't realized what day it was.

At work, she had looked at her calendar, and seen that it was December eighth. She had just stared at the little blank block. Six years ago, it hadn't been blank. Six years ago, that had been a day she looked forward to, but now, she dreaded it.

The rest of the day had been a blur. Abby had gone home, saying that she was sick. But that had been hours ago, and she didn't know what to do with herself now.

The phone rang again, it had been all day. She didn't answer it; there wasn't anyone she wanted to talk to, at least, no one who would call.

"Abby, are you there?" The concerned voice of her older sister Katherine filled the room. "Abby, if you are there, please pick up the phone. Are you okay? We're worried. Call me if you need to talk to someone, alright?" The answering machine beeped, ending the call.

Her mother, father, brothers and sisters had been calling all day, leaving message after message. Uncle Sal, her godfather, had even left one, along with a few of her friends who knew what today was.

She had to get out of here, she needed to go home. There was something she had to do.

~*~*~

Ruthie stood up from the desk in the silent classroom. She picked up her test and her school bag, and walked quietly up the rows, trying not to disturb any of the other students still taking their Ethics in Business final.

She was so glad that it was over. Ruthie only had one more final on Friday, and then she was finished. Friday was also the last day of the semester, and then she had almost a month off until the spring semester.

Ruthie walked across the quad, heading to the coffee shop on the edge of campus. She was meeting Maggie, they both decided to go and unwind after the day's final.

Stepping inside, she inhaled the aroma of coffee beans. This was her favorite place on campus, it was a great space. The deep red walls were covered in paintings painted by the art department. The big, overstuffed couches and chairs were so comfortable. On Saturday nights, there were bands and poetry readings. This was a great place to hang out; she had spent a lot of time here over the past three and a half years.

Maggie was waiting for her, sitting on their couch, off to the side of the stage. Ruthie sat down, and Dorian, one of the waiters, came over and took her order.

Collapsing back on the green cushioning, Ruthie sighed. "I am so glad that this is almost over."

Maggie nodded and took a sip of her latte. "I know what you mean. Tomorrow, I have a final at eight AM, and then at four, I'm getting on a plane and heading back to Dallas. I can't wait; it is going to be so nice to be back at home for a whole month."

"One double shot caramel cappuccino and a blueberry muffin!" Dorian's cheery voice rang out from behind them. "Ruthie, do you still have my notes for chapter 7? I can't find them anywhere."

Ruthie tried to remember. "I'm not sure, I might. When we go back to the dorm, I'll check, and bring them down to your room later if I find them, okay?"

Dorian grinned. "That would be great. I don't want to have to go through that whole chapter again. It was like one hundred pages!" He set the muffin and steaming, full cup down on the table in front of them. "My shift ends at five thirty, and I should be back at Walton by about six. I think that Shane should be there, though, so if you need to, you can just leave them there with him, okay?"

Ruthie nodded and Dorian was called away by a group at one of the tables in the back. She blew on her cappuccino, and took a small sip. "Only one more final, and then we're done!"

"At least you get your finals in English!" Maggie joked, stealing a bit of Ruthie's muffin. "I have a final tomorrow morning, and the whole thing is in Japanese!"

~*~*~

"I just wanted to thank you for Saturday." Mary said. "It really meant a lot that you were there for me, in spite of everything that has happened."

"Mary, I will always be here for you, no matter what."

Mary heard the key in the door, and knew that her husband was home. "I have to go, but I have a flight on Friday, maybe we could get together and talk again?" She suggested.

"That would be nice, I'll see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye, Mary."

Jason walked into the kitchen, holding a box of pizza. "Hey, hon." He leaned over to kiss her, but she had already slipped off the chair, and was getting plates out of the cabinet. "What's up?"

Mary looked at him. "What makes you think something's up?" She asked him sharply. Did he know? She thought.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, it's an expression. Geez, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He touched her arm lightly. "I know something's wrong, why don't you just tell me."

"I told you, nothing's wrong."

"Mare, I know you, something has been bothering you for a while now. Why don't we talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Mary snapped, grabbing her coat and keys from the hook on the wall. "I'm going for a drive. I'll be home later." She stormed out of the apartment, leaving behind a very confused husband.

~*~*~

Cecilia and Simon sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office. They were about to have their first sonogram. After about ten minutes, their names were called, and they were shown into a room. Cecilia changed into a gown, and lay on the table.

"Hello, Cecilia, how are you feeling?" Dr. Andrews greeted them as he entered the room. "Any morning sickness?"

Cecilia smiled. "Yeah, but it's not too bad. Just a little nausea when I first wake up, but for the most part, I feel great!"

"That's good to hear." Dr. Andrews smiled, "Are you ready for the show?"

They nodded, and he squirted gel onto her stomach. A nurse flipped the switch on the machine, and the screen came to life. Simon squeezed her hand as the doctor pointed to a tiny, moving spot.

"That's our baby!" Cecilia exclaimed, as Simon kissed her forehead. This was amazing, she had never been so happy than she was at this moment.

~*~*~

Annie was folding laundry when the doorbell rang. She finished off David's tee shirt, and hurried through the kitchen, dining room, and down the hall to the front door. She opened it, and was surprised to see a very distraught looking Abby.

Annie had never seen this woman look so out of sorts. Her face was tear stained, and her usually vivid emerald eyes were cloudy. "What's wrong?" She asked, stepping out of the way for her to come inside.

Abby brushed past her, and pulled at her auburn curls. "I need you to help me."

"What do you want me to do?" Annie asked, wondering what could be making the young woman so upset.

~*~*~

Both Chandler and Eric had been in counseling sessions all day. It was customary for Chandler to turn off his cell phone while he was working with someone. Today it seemed like everyone in the congregation was having some sort of problem. It was nearly seven o'clock when he left the church.

His home was dark, but when he pulled into the garage, Abby's car was in the spot next to his. Maybe she's upstairs. He thought, confused. His wife usually had every light on when she was home by herself.

"Abby!" He called, but only silence greeted him. He looked around the kitchen, the den, and finally went into the living room. The light on the answering machine was blinking. Chandler hit the button and loosened his tie.

"You have 19 messages." The machine told him. He raised an eyebrow. That was a lot of messages; usually Abby erased them after she heard them.

"Abby, darling," His Mother in law, Marianne said. "How are you? Please call me if you want to talk."

"Hey Abb. I hope that you are doing okay." Her brother Tim said.

Her twin siblings Patrick and Erin, only a year older than she was left a message together. "Abby, we're here for you if you need us."

Her father, Thomas Sutton, left one too. "Abigayle, call me right now. We are all very worried about you. Today is not a day for you to be by yourself."

There were messages from her sisters Katherine and Hannah, her Uncle Sal, Aunt Liza, and even her brother Michael, who was serving in the marines right now. Her mother and father had each called several more times, one carrying the same message: to call them, and that she shouldn't be alone.

Chandler groaned. He had finally figured out what was going on here. He was about to leave again, until he heard the last message.

"Chandler, its Annie. I got a visit from your wife a few hours ago, and I thought you should know that she asked me to drive her to the airport. She seemed pretty upset, and said that she had to talk to someone. I don't know why, but she said that it was impossible to talk to them on the phone. She's on the nonstop to New York City, it left at five thirty."