Disclaimer: No ownership of the show or characters once so ever. Trust me the story would be going different if I had say.

Sorry about taking a long time to update. Weekends are family time and so I do not get to use my computer.

Martin cradled Ruthie in his arms and slowly, so as not to wake her, walked upstairs to her room. About half way up the stairs he felt her wrap her arms around his neck. Still holding her in one arm, he used his other arm to pull down the covers on her bed. After laying her on the bed he sat down and pulled her feet into his lap so that he could remove her shoes. Tucking her tightly under the covers, he placed a feather-light kiss against her hairline and then walked out quietly shutting the door behind him. Holding Ruthie in his arms felt so normal, so familiar, and so right. It didn't make sense because there were very few times that he remembered even hugging Ruthie. The one memory he did have of holding Ruthie made him smile and at the same time confused. It was the night that they met Vincent's parents. He had answered the door with Ruthie slung over his shoulder and then for a reason he still didn't understand had just continued to hold her rather than putting her down. He always wondered what Vincent's parents were thinking of the scene in front of him.

Ruthie woke up at about three am and began to try and figure out how she had ended up tucked in her bed. For some strange reason she seemed to remember Martin kissing her. But it seemed almost to be a dream. Dream or not, she had to admit she liked the idea of being kissed by Martin. Knowing that she could not sleep any longer, Ruthie decided to go downstairs and get a drink. Maybe she would be hit with inspiration to finish her latest writing. It seemed impossible to write these days, because how can you write about romance when you definitely are not experiencing any. However, Ruthie's musing upon her writing were interrupted by the fear of finding someone else in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Of course as soon as the scream left her mouth she realized it was Martin.

"Ruthie, are you alright. Sorry I thought I would be the only one awake." Martin asked the concern showing across his face.

"Yea, sorry! I was lost in my work, you know, we writer's tend to be dreamers." She explained. "Couldn't sleep?"

He sighed, "no I've just been lost in my thoughts all night." "It's so crazy to be back here, I feel like I'm back in high school," he continued after a long pause.

"I know what you mean. Being home makes me see how much I miss it. I only come back for Christmas, I guess I'm missing a lot." She thought for a minute and then smirked, "so what's the reason you decided to grace us with your presence this year?"

"Your mom wrote and asked me to come," he said hoping that she would buy the simple answer.

"Uh huh, and?"

"Well, the last two years I went home with my girlfriend but I thought it might be a little uncomfortable with her new boyfriend there and all. My stepmother hates me because I remind her that my dad had a life before her. You can't be without family over the holidays so there you go."

"What are we competing for the most depressing life? Because I want a shot. I'm a romance novelist who can't seem to keep a guy around for more than a week. Why? Because I'm too 'good' for them. My last decent boyfriend was also the one who was best at making excuses for dating other girls. And that was Vincent in high school. Why did your last relationship fail?"

He laughed, "I can't believe we are sitting here complaining about our failed love lives. I just realized I couldn't see myself ever married to someone who would always put herself first; although, I'm sure there was a better way to tell her. One that didn't involve her throwing vases at my head. All the baseball practice came in handy catching them." Of

By the time he reached the end of his story they were both laughing so hard they could barely breathe. And it felt nice, neither of them could remember the last time they had sincerely laughed at something. Once they caught their breaths, it was almost six o'clock and so they decided to make breakfast for everyone.

Okay I just needed to establish this information. Mainly for me, by the way. Please review. Make me feel loved.