A/N: I feel deeply ashamed you guys. I have had a complete chapter written and I never published it. I haven't updated this story since September 2004. Eeek! I swear I'm trying my hardest but it's just so hard when I don't have a BETA anymore. I can't seem to get a hold of my Beta Sara. I hope she's doing okay right now.
A/N2: I don't personally own 7th Heaven like most of you don't as well, but I do own this story, the families you don't recognize, and anything else that sounds like I pulled it from the bottom of my desk drawer.
A/N3: I love reviews…seriously I do. If I could go on any diet I'd want to go on a "review" diet only because the less I get the less I weigh LOL. But please remember this: If you don't like this chapter let me know, but tell it to me in a non-harsh way because nasty reviews won't get you any chapters faster.
One month later
Katelyn watched as Mitch packed three of the suitcases that were lain strewn over their king size bed.
"Do you..." she cleared her throat. "Do you need some help?"
Mitch looked up as he dumped one of the dressers into the suitcase "No I'm fine" he said shortly to her, snapping the largest of the suitcases closed.
"Mitch--" she started to say.
"Don't bother Katelyn; I already know how you feel. I don't need to be reminded of it again" he replied snapping the second suitcase shut.
"But—"
"No buts Katelyn. I'm leaving for Glenoak whether you want to come or not" he told her.
"Why—"
"Damn it Katelyn!" Mitch yelled. "Haven't you figured out that I don't want to talk about it? That I'm sick and tired of arguing about this? I asked you if you wanted to go and you told me no. I respected that but now I have to go and all I asked from you was to come with me. But, you can't bear to let someone else be in charge of your family so now I'm going to Glenoak and you're staying here…like you wanted"
"Mitch—"
"Just GO!" he yelled at her pointing towards the bedroom door.
Tears streaming down her face she walked slowly towards the door savoring every last moment that she had with her husband before shutting the door softly behind her to let him have some privacy.
Lucy rolled over as best as she could to Kevin's side of the bed when she felt him get off the bed. "Kev?" she mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah?" he replied putting on a pair of socks.
"What time is it?"
Kevin glanced at the clock that was on top of the dresser. "It's almost 7am"
"Uhhhh" Lucy groaned rolling over back to her side of the bed.
Kevin frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing" she sighed.
"Luce" Kevin said sternly.
"It's nothing really" she replied with a wave of her hand.
"It must be something if you are bringing it up"
Lucy bit her lip. "Well I was thinking, maybe we could go and visit your mom before Dr. Jacob's won't let me fly anymore"
Kevin shook his head "Nuh uh, no way, I don't think so"
Lucy rolled back over slowly with a shocked expression on her face. "What? Why not? We haven't seen your mom in over 4 months now. All we do is talk to her over the phone every time we go to a doctor's appointment to keep her updated.
Kevin got back on the bed and started to button up his shirt. "Lucy, what's the real reason for going to Buffalo?"
Lucy bit the inside of her cheek. "Nothing" she sighed. "It's just that we haven't seen your mom since the beginning of June and I thought since it was almost your birthday we could go out there and celebrate it before I can't fly anymore"
Kevin paused. "Well…"
"Please Kevin. Pretty Please?" Lucy pleaded with her bottom lip stuck out as far as she could get it.
Kevin just laughed. "That's not going to work"
Lucy just rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you think it doesn't work. How else do you think these two got in here?" she replied, with a little twinkle in her eye as she got up off the bed and grabbed the pillows off the bed and threw them on the floor.
Kevin got up and just stared at his wife not sure if he should take offense to her comment or laugh. Instead he choose to ignore it and went to his side of the bed and started to help her make up the bed.
"Do you really want to go?" he asked after a few moments of silence passed between the two.
Lucy stopped moving the sheet and looked up at Kevin. "Yeah, I do really want to go. I haven't seen your mom and George in a long time and neither have you" she added softly.
Kevin turned away from her as a few tears started to slowly build up. His birthday was almost 2 weeks away and the anniversary of his dad's death was 8 days after that.
He really didn't want to go because he knew that if they went everyone would be somber and quiet and not really willing to be the normal, outgoing people everyone knows the Kinkirk's and the Millers (Kevin's mom and Stepdad's last name) usually are.
"Kevin?" he heard Lucy call his name out softly.
Kevin cleared his throat "What?" he replied pinching the space between his eyes and quickly rubbing away the few tears that were still sitting there before he turned and faced his wife.
"We don't have to go if you don't want to" she stated simply picking the pillows that she had dropped on the floor and placed them neatly back on her side of the bed.
"No, I want to go" he said firmly, also throwing his pillows on the bed and sat down on the bed.
"You sure?" she asked crawling onto the bed and laid down on her back her face looking up at him.
"I'm sure" he replied forcing himself to give Lucy a smile back.
"Good" she replied pushing her elbows into the mattress so she could be a little elevated.
"Do you want me to make the reservation or do you want to?"
Lucy thought for a moment. "Well I'll call your mom and find out what weekend or week is good for them and then when you get home tonight from work we'll see what is a good time for you to take a vacation. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good Luce" Kevin replied giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before standing up and heading out of their bedroom.
"What time do you think you'll be home at?" Lucy yelled after him, but it was too late he was already downstairs and out the door before she could say goodbye.
"You don't have to do this you know" Katelyn told him quietly as he packed his dark blue GMC Envoy.
Mitchell ignored her comment as he finished throwing the last of his bag into the back and in the back seats and slammed the hatch down and looked at Katelyn.
"I'll call when I get to Illinois and then when I hit Colorado and then when I get to Glenoak" he replied opening the driver's side door.
"Fine"
Mitchell looked up at Katelyn who had her arms crossed and was looking away from him.
"Where is Elizabeth?"
"Sleeping" Katelyn replied rubbing her hands together. For it being September it was unusually cold that morning in Buffalo.
"Well do you think you could go and get her so I could say goodbye?" Mitchell asked.
"If you want to say goodbye to your daughter go get her yourself" Katelyn snapped back.
An annoyed look overcame Mitchell's face as he slammed the drivers side door and walked up the steps towards the couple's two story home and went inside, slamming the door behind him.
Katelyn put her hand to her mouth and started to sob. Her whole life she had been raised in New York. Hell, this was the house that she grew up in when she was little that her parents gave to her as a wedding present.
It had always been her dream to raise her children so close to her mom and dad. To watch Mitchell drive off every morning and wave to him as his car disappeared down the road towards New York City for his publishing job that so quickly flourished after they had Elizabeth.
And now…and now everything that she ever wanted in her life was quickly crumbling into an unknown tower of chocolate chip cookies.
She heard the door slam and that startled her out of her thoughts and she stepped away from the Envoy and looked up watching her husband holding Elizabeth.
"Please tell me you did not wake her up"
"I didn't wake her up. When I got upstairs she was playing with her bear so I thought I'd bring her out with me." Mitchell replied watching his daughter pick at some lint that was on his sweater.
"Whatever" Katelyn mumbled stepping aside to let Mitchell get towards the drivers door.
She let her husband and their daughter have some time alone. So she walked around towards the back of the Envoy and sat down on the bumper.
Standing beside her high school sweetheart Katelyn Hepler, dressed in a plain cream colored dress with her hair in curls turned towards Mitchell and gave him a smile as Judge Scott who was marrying them, began the ceremony.
"Do you, Katelyn Adair Hepler, take this man to be your husband?"
Katelyn looked up into Mitchell's sky blue eyes and smiled. "I do" she said softly.
Judge Scott turned to Mitchell, "Do you take this woman to be your wife?"
"I do" Mitchell replied with confidence.
Katelyn and Mitchell had turned towards to face each other and stared deeply into each other's eyes, while holding each other's hands, totally oblivious to everyone and everything that was around them.
Judge Scott handed one of the rings to Katelyn. "Mitchell, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment." She replied, placing the ring on Mitchell's finger.
Judge Scott then handed the other ring to Mitchell for him to place on Katelyn's ring finer. "Katelyn, I give you this ring as a sign of my love and commitment.""Mitchell, please repeat after me," Judge Scott begin. "I, Mitchell Van Spencer, take you, Katelyn Adair Hepler, to be my lawfully wedded wife."
"I, Mitchell Van Spencer, take you, Katelyn Adair Hepler, to be my lawfully wedded wife."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"For better and for worse, for richer and for poorer."
"For better and for worse, for richer and for poorer."
"In sickness and in health, forsaking all others."
"In sickness and in health, forsaking all others."
"For as long as we both shall live."
"For as long as we both shall live," Mitchell finished his vows.
"Katelyn, repeat after me," Judge Scott smiled at the young girl. "I, Katelyn Adair Hepler, take you, Mitchell Van Spencer to be my lawfully wedded husband."
"I, Katelyn Adair Hepler, take you, Mitchell Van Spencer to be my lawfully wedded husband."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"To have and to hold from this day forward."
"In sickness and in health, forsaking all others."
"In sickness and in health, forsaking all others."
"For as long as we both shall live."
"For as long as we both shall live," Katelyn finished softly, squeezing Mitchell's hand.
"For what God had joined together, let no man put asunder," Judge Scott announced... "I now pronounce you man and wife," he paused. "You may kiss your bride," he smiled at both Mitchell and at Katelyn.
Mitchell placed his right hand under Katelyn's chin and gently lifted her lips to his. Before meeting, though, Katelyn heard him utter a very soft, "I love you."
Katelyn?" she heard someone calling her name and snapped her head up and started to search where that voice was coming from.
"What?" she snapped back, after realizing that it was her husband who was looking for her.
"I'm getting ready to leave. Would you please take Elizabeth for me?" he asked holding out their daughter to her.
"Sure" she replied taking a hold of Elizabeth and hoisting her on the left hand side of her hip.
"Well…" Mitchell started to say but stopped.
Looking uncomfortable Katelyn looked down at the ground. "Well…"
"I guess I'll get going" he replied opening the door to the dark blue Envoy and climbed in.
"All right"
"I'll call when I'm in Illinois"
"Ok"
Mitchell gave her a short wave before he closed the door and started the engine. He looked in the side mirror and saw Elizabeth giving him a big toothy grin and waving happily. He smiled and gave her a short wave before his attention was diverted towards his wife, whose arms were shaking and her hand was covering her mouth. What he couldn't see were the tears that wouldn't stop coming down her cheeks.
He sighed, he didn't want to leave like this but she had given him no choice, his job took him to a new city in a new state and he had given her the choice and she made it. And now they were both paying that price, he placed his foot on the break and shifted the Envoy into drive and crept down the driveway before turning left towards the freeway.
Lucy stared at her alarm clocked that blinked 8:10 am and groaned. All she wanted was a few more hours of sleep before she had to get up and do some errands.
She felt her stomach grumble with hunger and sighed. This pregnancy was starting to hit her really hard. Not only was she craving the weirdest things but she was also craving for sleep something she hadn't done for a long time.
Sitting up from the freshly made bed, she frowned at the bed she had just made that was now messed up.
Shrugging her shoulders she got up from the bed and walked down towards the hallway to the nursery room that they had yet to finish.
Her bare feet treaded lightly over the newly polished wooden floor as she walked over to the rocking chair that her dad had re-stained for them to match the hardwood floors and sat down, but not before grabbing one of the pale yellow fleece blankets to cover herself with.
Rocking very slowly, she closed her eyes and wrapped the blanket around her tighter and within a few moments fell asleep.
Katelyn watched as Mitchell turned the corner and disappeared from both her and Elizabeth's view and started to go back towards the house when their neighbor Dr. Hundley or Michaela as she preferred walked towards them both.
"Hi Elizabeth! Katelyn" she waved at both of them as she wheeled her garbage cans towards the curb.
"Hi Michaela" Katelyn replied trying to give her hardest to give an upbeat, positive smile around their neighbor that was normally very peppy all the time.
"Was that Mitch I saw just leaving now with the Envoy packed to the brim?"
Katelyn nodded and shifted Elizabeth from her left side to her right side. "J&J offered him a promotion out in California for a little while" she stated.
Michaela nodded solemnly. "That's great! When will he be back? I know John wanted to get together soon for dinner at the club!"
Katelyn shook her head. "I don't' know when he'll be back. It was kind of a…well it was a permanent move for him"
Michaela stared at Katelyn until the words sunk into her head. "Oh, so you'll be staying here until the house sells I take it then? Have you already put it up for sale? If you do, I have a great friend who's interested in buying your house. She loves the look that your mom gave to it years ago when we first moved out here"
When Katelyn didn't answer Michaela felt embarrassed. "Did I say something wrong Katelyn?"
Katelyn shook her head and held the tears back as best as she could. "No" she whispered. "He and I have decided to take some time apart. It was for the best. Now if you'll excuse me I need to give Elizabeth her bath" she replied.
Giving Michaela a short wave, Katelyn turned around and walked up her driveway towards the house. It had only been a few minutes since he left and already she wanting to jump in her car and chase after him.
