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.

Notes: Thanks for the positive reviews! To those who don't like it, I'm sorry that you don't like it. To those that do, here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Downfall

Chapter Sixteen: Cries in the Night

Ruthie's tears had dried by six am the next morning. She stepped out of the truck. The crisp wind hit her face and sent a chill down her spine. She walked slowly. She felt a slight pain between her legs. She could feel the scratches from his fingernails on her stomach and chest. Remembering what he'd done to her and what she felt made her want to cry again, but she stayed brave and entered the house. Lucy and Amelia sat at opposite ends of the table, both reading the paper.

"I'm going to take a shower," Ruthie announced, her voice shaky. Not only was it an opportunity to buy some time to herself, she felt dirty. Ruthie wasn't sure where Jake was. She grabbed some clothes, then headed to the bathroom. She entered it, then closed the door. She looked forward and noticed that Nichol was shaving. It startled her.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, from shock, "I'm sorry." Nichol turned to her. He was wearing boxers and a loose t-shirt. His hair, which had grown significantly, looked like he'd just been through a tornado. It was obvious he'd just gotten up.

"It's ok," Nichol assured her, "I'll be done in a minute." Ruthie was almost afraid of him, though she knew that he wouldn't harm a fly. She noticed the similarities between Nichol and Jake, which made her almost sick to her stomach.

"Where's Kevin and Jake?" Ruthie asked, casually. Nichol shrugged, then continued shaving.

"I'm not sure. I think Jake's sleeping. Kevin left earlier. I don't have any idea where he went. He might be taking a walk," Nichol replied.

"When's your brother leaving?" Ruthie wanted to know.

"I'm not sure," Nichol answered, honestly, "Soon, I hope."

"Yeah," Ruthie whispered back, then casually asked, "How old is he?"

"Uh, he'll be twenty-nine next month," Nichol replied. Ruthie's heart jumped. He was fourteen years older than her.

"And how old are you?" Ruthie wanted to know.

"Twenty-six," Nichol told her, then glanced at her. He'd finished shaving and his face looked smooth. Jake had stubble that felt like cardboard. Nichol noticed Ruthie looking at him. "Are you ok? You're acting kind of funny."

"I'm fine," Ruthie lied. She made the mistake of letting a tear roll down her cheek. Nichol's eyes filled with concern.

"There's something bothering you. Do you want to talk?" Nichol asked. He placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort, but she jerked away and pushed herself against the wall.

"I can't talk!" Ruthie exclaimed, then added, in a whisper, "Not with him here."

"Who?" Nichol asked, "Jake?" Ruthie nodded, then slid to the ground. Nichol closed the door to the bathroom and kneeled beside her.

"What did he do to you?" Nichol demanded, his voice strong.

"Nothing," Ruthie lied, "I can't say."

"I need to know, Ruthie. Did he hurt you?" Nichol demanded, shaking her. She began to cry louder. Tears flowed freely, and she nodded. "What did he do?"

"I can't say, Nichol!" Ruthie yelled. Nichol felt like punching a wall.

"What did he do to you?" He yelled back, with force that would have knocked Ruthie down if she hadn't already been sitting.

"Last night," She began, whispering, "He told me I looked like Amelia when she was younger. He said he was angry that you slept with her. That he'd corrupted her. That I was beautiful. Then he raped me." Nichol's heart fell. He stood up and exited the bathroom, angry. He found Lucy and Amelia at the table. Ruthie followed, running to catch up with him.

"Don't say anything!" Ruthie begged, tears falling. Lucy and Amelia were immediately alert.

"That bastard raped her!" Nichol yelled, "Where is he?"

"What?" Amelia asked, her voice low. Lucy glanced at Ruthie, who was falling apart.

"Is it true?" Lucy asked her sister. Ruthie only nodded. She was quickly losing strength. Lucy and Amelia bolted from their seats and followed Nichol on a rampage to find Jake. Nichol burst into his bedroom, where he found Jake looking at a picture of Amelia when she was seventeen. Nichol pounced on his brother, knocking him to the ground. He spit in his face, then punched him in the eye. Jake may have been stronger than Nichol, but Nichol's rage was greater than any emotion than Jake would ever feel.

"What did I do?" Jake asked. Nichol kneed his brother between his legs.

"You know good and well what you did!" Nichol yelled, then slammed his brother's shoulders, "You raped Ruthie, you perverted son of bitch." Jake used his strength to roll over to where he was over Nichol. He spit in his brother's face, then rammed his head against the side of the bed. A gash appeared across Nichol's face, which became bloody as quickly as he'd gotten hit.

"Did you ever think that maybe the kid is lying?" Jake asked, "No, you didn't. You assumed that I did that because of my past. I've told you, I cleaned my life up."

My sister wouldn't lie about something like that!" Lucy yelled, then, out of nowhere, whacked Jake on the head with a glass plate that she'd brought from the kitchen. Jake moved quickly, allowing Nichol to stand up.

"I'll get you a cold washrag," Amelia told him. Nichol nodded, but kept his eye on Jake, who was on the ground, glaring up at Lucy.

"No one does that to my sister," Lucy explained, "Don't think you'll get away with this. You've stolen her innocence and she's probably never going to get over this. What's wrong with you?" Amelia returned with a cold, wet washrag. She handed it to Nichol, who placed it over the gash near his eye.

"He tried to rape me when I was seventeen," Amelia admitted to Lucy, who had broken into tears. "That's when I got involved with Nichol. Jake had really been scaring me and Nichol seemed so sweet and caring."

"Why'd you allow him in this house?" Lucy asked. Ruthie was standing in the doorway, her tears finally drying.

"I don't know," Nichol replied, "I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." He turned to Ruthie. "How are you doing?" She shrugged, not knowing what to say. Amelia kept staring at Jake.

"Leave," She demanded. Jake quickly got to his feet, gathered his stuff, and left the house. Everyone hurried to Ruthie's side. That's when Kevin came back from his morning jog. He noticed the tears and hostility.

"What's going on?" Kevin wanted to know. Amelia glanced up at him, then back at Ruthie. Lucy was hugging Ruthie, who continued to cry.

"Jake raped Ruthie last night," Nichol explained, his voice soft. He patted Ruthie's back and squeezed her hand. Kevin fell beside them in one quick movement.

"What?" He asked, "What happened?" Nichol motioned that they go into another room. Nichol led Kevin into Kevin and Lucy's bedroom, then closed the door.

"My brother had a lot of issues when we were younger," Nichol began. Kevin nodded. "You know that he dated Amelia, but we kept it a secret that he tried to rape her. He's a lot older than her and she thought he was looking at her little sister kind of funny. We realized that he liked teenagers and preteens. We thought he'd gotten over it, but Ruthie said he said that she reminded him of Amelia. He raped her."

"Bastard," Kevin mumbled under his breath, then spoke up, "Did he do that to your face?" Nichol had almost forgotten about the gash on his face, which throbbed every other second.

"Yeah," Nichol answered, his voice low.

"You know, I'm sorry," Kevin whispered. Nichol glanced up at him.

"For what?" He asked, hoping he'd get a sincere apology.

"For the whole ordeal with Amelia. I knew it was wrong, and I knew it would hurt you and Lucy, but I did it anyway," Kevin explained.

"Yeah," Nichol whispered, "These past few days have been hard. It was selfish to react the way I did, but thanks for the apology. I don't think anything can be the way it was, though."

"Yeah, me neither," Kevin agreed. They continued to sit there, staring at each other. Two men wanting to cry, but not knowing how.