DISCLAIMER: 7th Heaven belongs to alot of people who pick the stupidest ways to pair people up! I don't really know what kind of car Cecilia drives, but I gave her an Accord, which belongs to Honda. Jessica Simpson (tee-hee) belongs to herself, or to Nick Lachey... Not sure which. "The Best Deceptions" belongs to Dashboard Confessional. Yay for Dashboard! Whoo-hoo! "Little Boy Blue" isn't mine, but I don't know whose it is, cuz my sis took her poetry book with her to babysit. "Sick Cycle Carousel" belongs to Lifehouse. "I'll Follow the Sun" used to belong to the Beatles, but now it prob'ly belongs to Michael Jackson *shivers with disgust*. "Hanging by a Thread" belongs to Nickel Creek. "Rufus" is my friend, Ruth's, nickname. Discman belongs to Sony!
MY NOTES: I just realized that when Simon and Cecilia were planning on...y'know...Matt and Sarah were already in NYC. BUT, this is how it's stuck now. Sorry! And, btw, in my story, Simon looks like he looked when Lucy and Kevin got married. *sighs* And, this is pretty random, but somebody please tell Ashlee Simpson that she looks SO much prettier as a blonde... "I'm going slightly mad." Yay for Queen! "Bohemian Rhapsody's" the best! Ugh! I'm so random!
Y'all, I so hope Martin's dad gets back soon, 'cause he and Martin need to leave. Then Simon can come back and rekindle the flame with Cecilia...Only, hopefully she won't end up pregnant on the show. Just in my maniacal plots... Ha ha ha! OK, so that was odd!
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Shan- I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad I'm capturing the tension and pain in the situation. (A little aside, didja get a new keyboard, or are ya just usin' the one at school?)
Lisa- Thanks so much! Glad it's realistic!
KayKayeLLe- Glad you're starting to like Cecilia more! She's pretty cool, with the exception of the fact that in RL, she is Jessica Simpson's lil sis. But that's not her fault.
RGblue16- Glad you like it! I'm continuing...
missalana- Glad you like it. And the "Simon calls Wilson" was sorta a favor to my pal, Shan...But I'm glad it worked out... And the no PC thing...Yeah...shoulda thoughta that before, huh?
Tanguay18- Thanks so much! You are too sweet!
AnnaG1- Thanks! You're a doll!
Camden-Kinkirk- I'm glad that you can deal w/ Simon and Cecilia in here! I like Ashlee Simpson myself, I just don't like Jess.
~Chapter 4: Hanging by a Thread~
That night at work, Cecilia and her dad were cleaning toilets. She had always hated cleaning toilets, but it was especially bad when the toilet bowl cleaner's smell kept making her sick.
"Cecilia, what's wrong with you?" Mr. Smith said, leaning over Cecilia, who had just thrown up for the third time.
"Nothing, Dad. I'm just..." She didn't want to lie.
"Sick?"
She nodded. She WAS sick, she just wasn't going to say WHY she was sick.
"Well, you go on home, now. I can take care of the rest of it. You need some rest."
"OK, Dad. But only if you're sure you can handle it."
"Absolutely."
She felt a pang of guilt wash over her when he said, "I love you, sweetie. And I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad. I love you, too."
She went out to her car, a 1997 Honda Accord, and climbed in, tossing her purse over to the passenger's side. She cranked up the car, and the radio came on playing a Jessica Simpson song, which Cecilia quickly changed, mumbling, "That ditzy idiot makes blondes look bad."
She popped a CD in, not really knowing or caring what it was. She hit the "Random" button, and a song began to play. Cecilia immediately recognized it as one of her favorites. "The Best Deceptions" by Dashboard Confessional. The song was extremely depressing, though. She sang along at the top of her lungs, letting out all the fear and frustration that she felt. "'Cause this will be the last time that I let you..." She let herself flow into the music.
She went home and took a hot shower before heading to bed. She wished she could go back to being young and innocent. But that would never happen. She could never go back again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At dinner, Simon noticed that Ruthie was almost as quiet as he was. So was Matt. Simon could feel Matt staring at him. Ruthie, too. She was acting weird. This was the quietest dinner the Camden family had had in a long time. Lucy and Kevin were out hunting for a house. Sam and David were tired, so they weren't their usual talkative selves. Annie and Eric detected the tension in the room, but they didn't know what was up.
"I'm going out with Sarah after dinner," Matt said, trying to cut through the silent tension in the room.
"Oh, all right," Annie said distractedly.
Ruthie kept looking at Simon, and he found himself squirming a little under her gaze. He wished she wouldn't look at him like that.
"Uh...um..." he stuttered, tossing his napkin on the table. "I've got alot of homework to do."
"So do I," Ruthie said, following him up the stairs.
Simon rolled his eyes. Why did Ruthie always seem to have a built in radar that picked up all signs of trouble? That thought brought a smile to his face. It was the first time he'd smiled since Cecilia had told him. And it wasn't even THAT funny.
He got to his door and turned to go in. "Wait, Simon," Ruthie said, just as he reached for the doorknob.
"Huh?"
"I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy."
"This is important, Simon."
"So's my homework."
"C'mon, Simon. I need to talk to you."
"OK, come in."
She followed him into his room, and he closed the door. "What's up?" he asked, as he sat on the bed.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Ruthie asked, concentrating a gaze on Simon that said without words, "I know everything, so don't lie."
"What do you mean, Ruthie?" he asked, trying to play dumb as long as he could.
"Listen. I heard you talking to Wilson last night."
Simon immediately looked at the floor. "What'd you hear, Ruthie?"
"That you and Cecilia..." she looked up at him. "You and Cecilia are having a baby."
"When are you going to learn to mind your own business?!" Simon snapped. "Stay out of it, Ruthie!"
"I can't 'stay out of it', Simon. You're my brother, and I love you."
"If you love me, then leave me alone. Quit butting into my business." By now, tears were flowing freely down Simon's cheeks.
Ruthie was crying, too. Simon turned over, and buried his face in a pillow.
Ruthie sat down beside him and rubbed his shoulder. "So it's true?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he replied, sniffling like mad. "It's true."
Ruthie sighed. "It's OK, Simon. I won't tell anyone."
"Cecilia and I are gonna tell everyone tomorrow. I always felt sorry for teenage girls who got pregnant. And now, Cecilia's pregnant, and it's my fault."
"It's gonna be OK, Simon," Ruthie said, trying to keep him from crying anymore. "Don't cry."
"I wish I could stop crying."
"Well, if you need to cry, let it out. I'll be here for you."
"Thanks, Ruthie," he managed through his sobs.
He buried his face in his face in his pillow and let it all out. He couldn't hold it back any longer. So he cried, and cried, and cried some more. Ruthie rubbed his shoulder gently. "I promise it'll be all right. You and Cecilia are tough. You'll make it. And you two are right for each other, even if this is a little earlier than you had planned. Just hold on and have faith, and everything'll be just fine."
Simon sniffled even as he smiled. "Ruthie, you're startin' to sound alot like Dad."
Ruthie smiled. "Maybe. But that's not such a bad thing, is it?"
"Nah. Maybe not," he replied as he sat up. He put his arm around Ruthie and squeezed her shoulders.
"I love you, Simon."
"I love you, too."
"Well, I gotta go do my homework."
"OK. Thanks, Rufus."
She grinned, but raised one eyebrow. "Rufus?"
"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly.
"No. I like it. Sort of."
"So can I call you that, now?"
"Every once in a while. Not too often."
Simon flashed a half-smile. "OK."
"No problem. That's what family's for."
Simon pulled out the poetry book he had to read for literature class, and leaned back on his bed to read the assigned pages. It was a terribly depressing poem called "Little Boy Blue."
"Stupid thing!" He thought. "Does everything have to be depressing?"
He rolled over and closed his eyes. "God, are You there? It's Simon. And I know I haven't talked to you in a while. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be in this mess. But, God, please show me and Cecilia what to do. We shouldn't have done what we did...But please don't take Cecilia away from me. Or our baby. God, I don't know what to do...So if you could...send a little help my way. Well, God...I guess that's it. Amen."
He got up to take a long shower, then changed for bed. He wanted to turn in early, but he couldn't go to sleep, thinking about Cecilia. And he had a splitting headache. He needed an aspirin. But he would have to go downstairs, where his mom still was. He knew he'd be questioned about the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. But he couldn't take the headache.
He went downstairs and into the kitchen, reaching up into the cabinet for the aspirin bottle. He got two pills and went to the fridge to pour a glass of juice. As he swallowed the pills, he heard his mom's voice. "Are you OK, Simon?"
He turned around to face her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bad day, and got a headache."
"Oh, well, do you want to talk about it?"
Simon shook his head. "Nah. I talked it out already. I'm kinda tired of talking about it."
"Well, OK. But if you want to talk later, I'm here."
"OK, sure. Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome," she replied. "Would you mind putting the boys to bed?"
"No problem."
"Thanks, Simon."
He went upstairs and helped Sam and David into their pajamas, then tucked them into bed.
"Good night, Simon," David said.
"Good night, Simon," Sam repeated.
"We love you," they said in chorus.
"I love you, too, guys," Simon replied with a genuine smile. No matter what, Sam and David would always love him.
He went back to his room and cloised the sliding doors. He put on his headphones, popping Lifehouse's "No Name Face" CD into his Discman. He hit the "Random" button and closed his eyes as "Sick Cycle Carousel" poured into his ears.
"If shame had a face, I think it would kinda look like mine. If it had a home, would it be my eyes?"
Simon knew the song well, but it took on a new meaning for him. Shame had indeed found a home in his eyes. He wished he could cry more. But his eyes were really itchy already. So he just put on a happy face. For the moment.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cecilia spent much of the night talking and singing to her baby. She had come to care for the baby, even though it had come into her life at a most inoppertune time. It hadn't taken her long to come to love it. She lay awake, stroking her still-flat belly. She was glad that her dad was still at work and her mom was out with some of her old school friends. Cecilia had the house all to herself. "I love you, baby. No matter what happens, your momma will always love you. I'm sorry your daddy and I made you before we were married. I really didn't mean for this to happen. But we're both gonna love you. This isn't your fault."
Cecilia began struggling against tears as she began to sing a lullabye to the child inside of her. Well, it wasn't actually a lullabye, but her mom had always sung it to her to put her to sleep when she was a little girl. It was an old Beatles song called "I'll Follow the Sun." She finished her song as she heard her dad's van in the driveway. "I love you. Goodnight."
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~
A/N: Does anyone know Cecilia's mom's name? If not, she gets a random name...
MY NOTES: I just realized that when Simon and Cecilia were planning on...y'know...Matt and Sarah were already in NYC. BUT, this is how it's stuck now. Sorry! And, btw, in my story, Simon looks like he looked when Lucy and Kevin got married. *sighs* And, this is pretty random, but somebody please tell Ashlee Simpson that she looks SO much prettier as a blonde... "I'm going slightly mad." Yay for Queen! "Bohemian Rhapsody's" the best! Ugh! I'm so random!
Y'all, I so hope Martin's dad gets back soon, 'cause he and Martin need to leave. Then Simon can come back and rekindle the flame with Cecilia...Only, hopefully she won't end up pregnant on the show. Just in my maniacal plots... Ha ha ha! OK, so that was odd!
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Shan- I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad I'm capturing the tension and pain in the situation. (A little aside, didja get a new keyboard, or are ya just usin' the one at school?)
Lisa- Thanks so much! Glad it's realistic!
KayKayeLLe- Glad you're starting to like Cecilia more! She's pretty cool, with the exception of the fact that in RL, she is Jessica Simpson's lil sis. But that's not her fault.
RGblue16- Glad you like it! I'm continuing...
missalana- Glad you like it. And the "Simon calls Wilson" was sorta a favor to my pal, Shan...But I'm glad it worked out... And the no PC thing...Yeah...shoulda thoughta that before, huh?
Tanguay18- Thanks so much! You are too sweet!
AnnaG1- Thanks! You're a doll!
Camden-Kinkirk- I'm glad that you can deal w/ Simon and Cecilia in here! I like Ashlee Simpson myself, I just don't like Jess.
~Chapter 4: Hanging by a Thread~
That night at work, Cecilia and her dad were cleaning toilets. She had always hated cleaning toilets, but it was especially bad when the toilet bowl cleaner's smell kept making her sick.
"Cecilia, what's wrong with you?" Mr. Smith said, leaning over Cecilia, who had just thrown up for the third time.
"Nothing, Dad. I'm just..." She didn't want to lie.
"Sick?"
She nodded. She WAS sick, she just wasn't going to say WHY she was sick.
"Well, you go on home, now. I can take care of the rest of it. You need some rest."
"OK, Dad. But only if you're sure you can handle it."
"Absolutely."
She felt a pang of guilt wash over her when he said, "I love you, sweetie. And I'm very proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad. I love you, too."
She went out to her car, a 1997 Honda Accord, and climbed in, tossing her purse over to the passenger's side. She cranked up the car, and the radio came on playing a Jessica Simpson song, which Cecilia quickly changed, mumbling, "That ditzy idiot makes blondes look bad."
She popped a CD in, not really knowing or caring what it was. She hit the "Random" button, and a song began to play. Cecilia immediately recognized it as one of her favorites. "The Best Deceptions" by Dashboard Confessional. The song was extremely depressing, though. She sang along at the top of her lungs, letting out all the fear and frustration that she felt. "'Cause this will be the last time that I let you..." She let herself flow into the music.
She went home and took a hot shower before heading to bed. She wished she could go back to being young and innocent. But that would never happen. She could never go back again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
At dinner, Simon noticed that Ruthie was almost as quiet as he was. So was Matt. Simon could feel Matt staring at him. Ruthie, too. She was acting weird. This was the quietest dinner the Camden family had had in a long time. Lucy and Kevin were out hunting for a house. Sam and David were tired, so they weren't their usual talkative selves. Annie and Eric detected the tension in the room, but they didn't know what was up.
"I'm going out with Sarah after dinner," Matt said, trying to cut through the silent tension in the room.
"Oh, all right," Annie said distractedly.
Ruthie kept looking at Simon, and he found himself squirming a little under her gaze. He wished she wouldn't look at him like that.
"Uh...um..." he stuttered, tossing his napkin on the table. "I've got alot of homework to do."
"So do I," Ruthie said, following him up the stairs.
Simon rolled his eyes. Why did Ruthie always seem to have a built in radar that picked up all signs of trouble? That thought brought a smile to his face. It was the first time he'd smiled since Cecilia had told him. And it wasn't even THAT funny.
He got to his door and turned to go in. "Wait, Simon," Ruthie said, just as he reached for the doorknob.
"Huh?"
"I need to talk to you."
"I'm busy."
"This is important, Simon."
"So's my homework."
"C'mon, Simon. I need to talk to you."
"OK, come in."
She followed him into his room, and he closed the door. "What's up?" he asked, as he sat on the bed.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Ruthie asked, concentrating a gaze on Simon that said without words, "I know everything, so don't lie."
"What do you mean, Ruthie?" he asked, trying to play dumb as long as he could.
"Listen. I heard you talking to Wilson last night."
Simon immediately looked at the floor. "What'd you hear, Ruthie?"
"That you and Cecilia..." she looked up at him. "You and Cecilia are having a baby."
"When are you going to learn to mind your own business?!" Simon snapped. "Stay out of it, Ruthie!"
"I can't 'stay out of it', Simon. You're my brother, and I love you."
"If you love me, then leave me alone. Quit butting into my business." By now, tears were flowing freely down Simon's cheeks.
Ruthie was crying, too. Simon turned over, and buried his face in a pillow.
Ruthie sat down beside him and rubbed his shoulder. "So it's true?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he replied, sniffling like mad. "It's true."
Ruthie sighed. "It's OK, Simon. I won't tell anyone."
"Cecilia and I are gonna tell everyone tomorrow. I always felt sorry for teenage girls who got pregnant. And now, Cecilia's pregnant, and it's my fault."
"It's gonna be OK, Simon," Ruthie said, trying to keep him from crying anymore. "Don't cry."
"I wish I could stop crying."
"Well, if you need to cry, let it out. I'll be here for you."
"Thanks, Ruthie," he managed through his sobs.
He buried his face in his face in his pillow and let it all out. He couldn't hold it back any longer. So he cried, and cried, and cried some more. Ruthie rubbed his shoulder gently. "I promise it'll be all right. You and Cecilia are tough. You'll make it. And you two are right for each other, even if this is a little earlier than you had planned. Just hold on and have faith, and everything'll be just fine."
Simon sniffled even as he smiled. "Ruthie, you're startin' to sound alot like Dad."
Ruthie smiled. "Maybe. But that's not such a bad thing, is it?"
"Nah. Maybe not," he replied as he sat up. He put his arm around Ruthie and squeezed her shoulders.
"I love you, Simon."
"I love you, too."
"Well, I gotta go do my homework."
"OK. Thanks, Rufus."
She grinned, but raised one eyebrow. "Rufus?"
"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly.
"No. I like it. Sort of."
"So can I call you that, now?"
"Every once in a while. Not too often."
Simon flashed a half-smile. "OK."
"No problem. That's what family's for."
Simon pulled out the poetry book he had to read for literature class, and leaned back on his bed to read the assigned pages. It was a terribly depressing poem called "Little Boy Blue."
"Stupid thing!" He thought. "Does everything have to be depressing?"
He rolled over and closed his eyes. "God, are You there? It's Simon. And I know I haven't talked to you in a while. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be in this mess. But, God, please show me and Cecilia what to do. We shouldn't have done what we did...But please don't take Cecilia away from me. Or our baby. God, I don't know what to do...So if you could...send a little help my way. Well, God...I guess that's it. Amen."
He got up to take a long shower, then changed for bed. He wanted to turn in early, but he couldn't go to sleep, thinking about Cecilia. And he had a splitting headache. He needed an aspirin. But he would have to go downstairs, where his mom still was. He knew he'd be questioned about the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. But he couldn't take the headache.
He went downstairs and into the kitchen, reaching up into the cabinet for the aspirin bottle. He got two pills and went to the fridge to pour a glass of juice. As he swallowed the pills, he heard his mom's voice. "Are you OK, Simon?"
He turned around to face her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bad day, and got a headache."
"Oh, well, do you want to talk about it?"
Simon shook his head. "Nah. I talked it out already. I'm kinda tired of talking about it."
"Well, OK. But if you want to talk later, I'm here."
"OK, sure. Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome," she replied. "Would you mind putting the boys to bed?"
"No problem."
"Thanks, Simon."
He went upstairs and helped Sam and David into their pajamas, then tucked them into bed.
"Good night, Simon," David said.
"Good night, Simon," Sam repeated.
"We love you," they said in chorus.
"I love you, too, guys," Simon replied with a genuine smile. No matter what, Sam and David would always love him.
He went back to his room and cloised the sliding doors. He put on his headphones, popping Lifehouse's "No Name Face" CD into his Discman. He hit the "Random" button and closed his eyes as "Sick Cycle Carousel" poured into his ears.
"If shame had a face, I think it would kinda look like mine. If it had a home, would it be my eyes?"
Simon knew the song well, but it took on a new meaning for him. Shame had indeed found a home in his eyes. He wished he could cry more. But his eyes were really itchy already. So he just put on a happy face. For the moment.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cecilia spent much of the night talking and singing to her baby. She had come to care for the baby, even though it had come into her life at a most inoppertune time. It hadn't taken her long to come to love it. She lay awake, stroking her still-flat belly. She was glad that her dad was still at work and her mom was out with some of her old school friends. Cecilia had the house all to herself. "I love you, baby. No matter what happens, your momma will always love you. I'm sorry your daddy and I made you before we were married. I really didn't mean for this to happen. But we're both gonna love you. This isn't your fault."
Cecilia began struggling against tears as she began to sing a lullabye to the child inside of her. Well, it wasn't actually a lullabye, but her mom had always sung it to her to put her to sleep when she was a little girl. It was an old Beatles song called "I'll Follow the Sun." She finished her song as she heard her dad's van in the driveway. "I love you. Goodnight."
~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~
A/N: Does anyone know Cecilia's mom's name? If not, she gets a random name...