Title: Downfall
Type: 7th Heaven Fan Fiction
Rating: PG-13 (Sex, Alcohol, possible drug content)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of 7th Heaven. I do own all my original characters and this story, though. Don't take.
Summary: Tragedy strikes Lucy and Kevin, who then must decide what to do with their lives.

Downfall

Chapter Nine: Unmade Beds

The days flew by so quickly that Lucy and Kevin could barely believe it. A week passed before anyone felt like getting the house in order. The kitchen was set up, and both bedrooms were finished, but the living room still lacked furniture and everyone in the house still lacked jobs.

It was on a Tuesday that everyone felt semi-motivated to get some real work accomplished. Kevin sat at the kitchen table, searching through the newspaper's Help Wanted ads. Equipped with a highlighter and a phone close by, he was content for the time being.

Amelia found herself rushing around the house like a maid. She cleaned, straightened, dusted, and arranged. No one dared to speak to her, though, as she was in a complete funk.

Nichol entered the kitchen, picked up his car keys, and was almost ready to walk out the door when Lucy stopped him.

"Where are you going?" She asked, as she came out of her bedroom. Nichol turned around to face Lucy.

"I am going to hunt for some used furniture. I'm utterly sick of seeing the living room empty," Nichol announced, "Would you like to come? I'm sure you have a better eye for this kind of stuff than I do."

"Sure! I'm up for some shopping," Lucy agreed, then turned to Kevin, "Want to come, honey?" Kevin, still consumed in the newspaper, shook his head, then grunted. His grunt sent Nichol into a fit of laughter. Lucy playfully slapped his arm, then accompanied him out the door.

After a few unsuccessful stores, the two arrived at a used furniture store, Grunge Joe's, at around noon. They soon found themselves wandering about the place, checking out prices and sitting on random couches. Nichol led the way, cigarette in hand.

"Would you really buy anything from a place called Grunge Joe's?" Lucy asked, while fingering a green sofa.

"Why not?" Nichol asked, flopping onto the couch, "This is comfortable. And cheap."

"It's green! A really gross green!" Lucy exclaimed. Nichol shrugged.

"Does the color really matter?" Nichol asked, grinning. Lucy smiled, then nodded.

"Yes! It has to go with the living room. This doesn't," Lucy explained.

"What are you talking about?" Nichol asked, "The living room is white. We need to spice it up a little, don't you think?" Lucy shrugged, then sat beside Nichol on the hideous couch.

"Yeah, maybe," She agreed, "But whatever we decide on isn't going to be green." A smile tugged at Nichol's lips.

"You're dead set against the color green, aren't you?"

"Not the color itself, but this particular shade of it," Lucy explained, "It's so, so, so putrid. That's the word I'm looking for. I seriously wouldn't be able to tell if someone had vomited spinach on it."

"It's grungy," Nichol added.

"Exactly."

"What else do you think we'd find at a place called Grunge Joe's?" Nichol wanted to know. Lucy shrugged, then stood up.

"I don't know. I don't know anything except that in the three furniture places we've been to, I haven't liked anything," Lucy replied, "This is really stressing me out."

"I couldn't tell," Nichol stated, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"I'm ready to go home," Lucy announced, a hint of whininess in her voice. Nichol smiled, then stood from the couch.

"Me too," He agreed, "But I'm also starving and I know that we don't have anything that my stomach is craving at the house right now." Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

"Hardees?" Nichol suggested. Lucy's eyes lit up.

Lucy and Nichol each ate enough to feed a small army, then retreated back home. They arrived at the house around 4:00pm. They'd been gone four hours, which wasn't all that bad. Nichol was secretly glad to have been away from Amelia, and Lucy was secretly glad to be spending more time with Nichol. Her life had been lacking the happiness that it usually had, and Nichol's sense of humor brought an odd joy to her.

When she entered the house, Lucy noticed the lights off. No one was to be found. Kevin and Amelia were both completely out of sight. While Nichol was taking his shoes off, Lucy entered her room to change her clothes. She wasn't expecting what she was about to see, though. Lucy's heart fell when she saw Kevin, shirtless, in bed, on top of an unclothed Amelia. Nichol passed the room at that fateful moment, stopped, and bit his lip at the sight. Amelia didn't try to cover herself. The shock of being caught in adultery was too great.

"Lucy," Kevin whispered, breaking the deadly silence with a word he'd never wanted to utter while with Amelia. Only then did Lucy's eyes become a fountain. Amelia stared at Nichol with hatred in her eyes. He stared back in hurt, pain, and embarrassment. Kevin moved off of Amelia, who pulled the sheets around her chest.

"Are you even going to say anything?" Lucy wanted to know. Her words were barely audible through her tears. Nichol glanced at Lucy, his heart aching for her and himself.

"What am I supposed to say?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know! You're supposed to explain something. I don't know," Lucy replied.

"I'm sorry you guys had to find out like this," Amelia stated. Nichol harrumphed.

"Find out like this," Lucy repeated, "Find out like this? How long has this been going on?"

"A few months," Kevin replied, "That's all."

"That's all!" Lucy exclaimed, "That's all. Well, that's dandy. I catch my husband in bed with what I thought was my best friend and they tell me that they've only been having an affair for a few months? What is this? Why?"

"We fill each other's needs, for one," Kevin explained. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed.

"Excuse me?" Nichol interrupted, speaking the first words he'd spoken the whole time.

"Kevin is rougher," Amelia simply stated. Nichol was taken aback. Lucy continued to cry. She leaned against the door, her face in her hands. Both hands were soaking with salty tears that just didn't seem to dry up.

"So what, he's better at sex than I am?" Nichol asked, his voice rising.

"Yeah," Amelia replied, getting a little angry, "And he's much more considerate of my feelings."

"So he asks you if you're ok when he pounds you to the ground? Is that it?" Nichol asked, crossing his arms. Kevin was becoming more increasingly uncomfortable, but Amelia wouldn't let up.

"That's not even funny, Nichol. You think you're so witty and so great and tough and whatever, but you're really not as great as you think you are. Maybe you should come off of that high horse you're always on!" Amelia shouted.

"You have no right to be angry with me! Why do you always turn yourself into the victim?" Nichol asked, his voice nearly as loud as hers. Lucy lifted her face out of her hands to glare at everyone in the room.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Lucy yelled, as loud as she possibly could.

"Lucy, we can talk about this," Kevin suggested.

"I'm just so confused right now. I just need to get my head back," Lucy explained, her voice low. Nichol sank down beside her and took her hand. She squeezed it. Amelia stood from the bed, reached to the ground and picked up her bra. She proceeded to put it on, then sat back on the bed.

"You remember that baby I said I lost, Lucy?" Amelia asked. Lucy glanced at her and nodded.

"What's she talking about?" Nichol asked, facing Lucy. They stood up together and listened intently to Amelia.

"I didn't lose that baby, Lucy. I aborted it. I aborted it because it was Kevin's baby. I could have told Nichol that I was pregnant with his child and pretend to have lost it, right?" Amelia asked. Nichol's eyes were fastened on his wife, as were Lucy's. Kevin's head sank low.

"Yeah," Lucy answered. The knot in her throat almost prevented her from speaking.

"Nichol and I hadn't had sex in at least three months. Neither of us had been in the mood. That's why I told you not to tell him about it. Not because he would have been hurt when I lost it, but because that baby belonged to your husband. Not mine," Amelia explained, her eyes meeting Nichol's. Lucy's rage was boiling over. "Nichol wouldn't have made much of a father anyway."

"And why'd you tell me?" She wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. Fear, I guess. I found out that I was pregnant and needed to tell someone. I couldn't tell my husband, but I could tell you. Our affair was right under your nose, but you couldn't smell it from a mile away," Amelia replied. She locked eyes with Nichol again, but before she could say another word, he bolted to his room in tears, then slammed the door shut.

"Tell her about the tattoo," Amelia pushed. Kevin lifted his head and looked at Lucy. His eyes held no emotion, none of love or hate.

"AS stands for Amelia Smith. We were drunk recently and thought it would be a funny idea. We were drunk," Kevin explained. Lucy's hands began to shake. Never had she felt more betrayed than she did at that very moment.

"You lied to me on countless occasions," Lucy stated, her voice shaky, "And I can't be around you right now." Although still shaking from humiliation, Lucy quickly found herself darting to Nichol's bedroom door.