A Different Kind of Worse Chapter Two, a 7th heaven fanfic

A/N: This chapter is super long. What can I say, I was on a roll. Oh, and another point I forgot to make in my previous notes. Wilson and Mary were monogamously sexually active from shortly after the death of the baby until shortly before Wilson left.

Wilson locked his car and walked through the darkening night into the synagogue. When he entered through the thick double doors, a man a few feet inside gave him a Yamika to wear, standard procedure. Wilson thought nothing of it and went to go inside when he felt the touch of a light hand on his arm. He turned around and there she was- his tall blonde beauty, hair pulled off her face, donning an elegant dress with black bodice and a white skirt. They briefly hugged hello. Goosebumps formed on Mary's bare arms as Wilson touched her.

"You look nice. Well worth my trip here," he said.

Mary blushed. "Thanks. You look good, too." Her eyes roamed his body. She had seen him in a suit on multiple occasions, but he always looked exceptionally dapper dressed up. It took everything she had to look him in the eye again. "Well, I really should get back there. I don't want Sarah to throw a pre-nuptial hissy fit over me going missing."

"She didn't strike me as that type," Wilson responded with a laugh.

She smiled at him genuinely. "Stress does crazy things to people." She paused. "So let me get you situated. You can either sit with my mother, Grandpa Charles, Ginger, The Colonel, and Ruth, or you can sit with Lucy's boyfriend and his brother."

Wilson furrowed his brow. "Lucy has a boyfriend? Since when?" In the five years that Wilson had known Lucy, she barely dated. Mary and Wilson's relationship consumed the entire household, and hardly made Lucy want to date or her parents let her date.

"Remember when she was complaining about being bored? She went to Buffalo for a weekend to visit my grandparents- that's where he lives, Buffalo. He's a cop. The Colonel let Lucy drive three streets away to pick up a pizza in his Impala and, of course, Lucy gets stuck in the only high speed car chase the city has seen in fifteen years. Kevin ran her off the road in pursuit, that's her boyfriend, and he circled back to make sure she was OK. Apparently it was love at first sight or something."

"That's quite a story. He flew in for the wedding then I suppose?" Mary nodded. "So, what's this guy like? Do you like him?"

Mary shrugged. "He's nice, a good guy. Lucy likes him a lot and that's all that matters."

"Well, with all due respect to your family, I think I'll sit with this Kevin guy."

Mary grinned slyly and took Wilson's arm to bring him in the right direction. "I don't blame you."

Mary walked Wilson over to where Kevin and his brother were seated toward the back of the synagogue. She went quickly, fearing the ceremony would start any moment and she would ruin everything.

"Kevin, Ben, this is Wilson. Is it all right if he sits with you?"

"No problem," Kevin responded.

"What is he, your boyfriend or something?" Kevin whacked Ben in the side of his arm hard to make him shut up. "Ow, that hurt. What did you do that for?" Kevin just shook his head. "Oh. Oh. He's- he's – isn't he?" No one replied. "Right, sorry."

Ben, sitting in the aisle seat, and Kevin next to him stood up to allow Wilson access to the bench. Wilson sat and so did Kevin, but Ben remained standing and proceeded to chat up Mary, much to Wilson's disdain. Mary giggled as Ben made a few dumb comments. That in itself was enough to drive Wilson up the wall, but there was more than that. Wilson saw the way Ben was looking at Mary; no man should have the right to look at a woman that way. Wilson followed the path of Ben's eyes and it sickened him. He was eyeballing Mary like a toy he was eager to play with.

Before Wilson became ill all over the floor, Mary excused herself.

Ben turned to Wilson. "So you're the first person to bed a Camden?" he said with a laugh. Kevin glared at Ben but he didn't care. "She is something though. A sweet girl, not to mention gorgeous. She probably was a little scrawny at fifteen, but I'm sure she blossomed. Looks that way to me"

"I'd rather not discuss Mary…or our relationship."

"Whatever you want."

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The wedding party began to file down the aisle. First the flower girl went across the red carpet, then Mary. Wilson was transfixed. After not seeing Mary for so long, he almost had forgotten how truly beautiful she was. Seeing her in front of him, he couldn't remember why he ever thought of leaving her. Mary was not the type of person you let slip through your fingers.

Next came Lucy, then Ruthie, Simon, then some men Wilson believed were part of Sarah's family. When Sarah appeared at the far end of the walkway, he did the respectable thing and stood, turning to look at the bride coming down the aisle. After he filled his obligatory gaze, his eyes flashed over to Mary standing in the front. It took a moment, but her eyes finally met his. They locked for seconds that seemed to drag on for hours. Mary eventually looked away; staring into his eyes became too intense for her to handle. From fifty feet away, Wilson could still see Mary blush that adorable shade of pink on her pale cheeks.

Wilson continued to stare at Mary as the ceremony ran through, but she failed to look in his direction. The only thing that pulled Wilson out of his stupor was the group screaming "Mazel Tov!" at the top of their lungs after Matt symbolically broke glass with his foot. Before he knew it, the happiest day of Matt's life was ending. Matt and Sarah proceeded down the aisle together and the rest of the wedding party followed suit. After pausing for some photos, Mary finally returned back to Wilson.

"OK, now I have to go home and change into my other outfit and then we can go over to the reception. You wouldn't mind driving me back there and waiting twenty minutes tops for me to get ready, would you?"

"Resurrecting Wilson's Taxi Service again, are we?" he said referring to what he used to say when Mary would ask him to drive her somewhere.

Mary smiled sadly, remembering. "I'm sorry. You don't have to-"

"No no, that's not what I meant. I'd be happy to drive you."

Ruthie huffed her way into the room and over to Mary and Wilson, breaking up the brief moment between the pair. "Can I ride back home with you guys?"

"If it's all right with Wilson," Mary responded, "but why us?" Mary was looking forward to riding home alone with him. They'd only had a small bit of alone time and, so far, things weren't really going anywhere.

"Let's see. I'm mad at Mom and Dad for letting Matt go to school all the way in New York, and Kevin ran Lucy off the road in Buffalo so I doubt he is the best driver in the world."

Wilson laughed at a very mature preteen Ruthie. "Sure kiddo. Let's go."

On the ride back home, the car was pretty quiet. Ruthie noticed this and, being one to make waves, she tried to strike up a conversation.

"Wilson, did you meet Kevin and Ben?"

"Yes, I did. I sat with them actually."

"What did you think of them?" Mary asked.

"Kevin was fine. He seems like he'd be good for Lucy."

"What about Ben?" Mary and Ruthie asked in unison and then laughed at themselves.

"What do you guys think of him?" Wilson countered. Answering a question with a question – Ruthie and Mary both noticed it.

"He's a nice guy- funny and lighthearted," Mary said.

"I agree," Ruthie said.

Wilson laughed. "OK. I guess he's fine then. He didn't seem like a bad person," Wilson lied through his teeth. Neither Ruthie nor Mary picked up on that, though.

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Mary opened the front door to her house and let herself, Ruthie, and Wilson in. Ruthie quickly ran up the stairs to go change, and Mary turned to Wilson. It was weird to have him back in the house again, but she couldn't say that she wasn't enjoying it. She felt so nervous and calm in his presence, all at the same time. There were butterflies in her stomach, but the butterflies were a welcome change from barely feeling at all.

"I guess I'll go change," she said with a smile.

"OK."

"If you're hungry or thirsty or anything, help yourself."

Wilson nodded and Mary scurried off up the front staircase. He went into the living room and sat down on the right couch. He barely had a chance to regroup before Lucy, Kevin, and Ben walked through the door. He was spotted first by Lucy, who practically squealed when she laid eyes on him. Grudgingly, though trying not to show it, Wilson stood and went over to her.

"Hey Luce." He hugged her briefly.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to see you at the wedding. I was back with Sarah, and then after the ceremony I went to go find you but you guys had already left."

Wilson smiled a genuine-looking smile. His face was starting to hurt. "I think Mary wanted to leave quickly so we could get to the reception quickly so I wouldn't get mad about waiting- which I wouldn't do. She knows that, too, but what can I do."

"She's been acting weird all day. It's like she's walking on eggshells or something. It's strange." Lucy shrugged. "But, speaking of people getting mad about waiting too long, I think I should get going."

"Do you have enough time?" Wilson quipped while glancing at his watch. "The reception should be almost over in three hours."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Lucy turned to Kevin and Ben. "OK, you boys sit. I'll be ready…eventually."

Kevin kissed Lucy before she disappeared up the stairs. Ben and Kevin made themselves comfortable on the couch opposite Wilson. The three men stared at each other for a little while. Kevin had heard all about the sorted tale of Wilson and Mary's relationship from Lucy and had then gave Ben the condensed version when Ben seemed to express an interest in Mary. Kevin told Ben as a way to make him stay away, but the story had only intrigued Ben and made him more fascinated with Mary.

Wilson could sense that Kevin and Ben knew all about him, making him slightly uncomfortable. "How long are you both in town for?" A neutral topic of discussion seemed best.

"Just the weekend," Kevin answered. "We're flying back Sunday night." Wilson nodded. "You still live in GlenOak, right?"

"Yup. About seven minutes from here."

"You're not living with Mommy and Daddy are you?" Ben asked.

"No. I haven't spoken to my parents in four years. I live in an apartment by myself."

"Ben still lives with our mother," Kevin added. "And please excuse my brother. He can be a bonehead, well, all of the time."

Ben just rolled his eyes. "What do you do for a living?"

"I work in insurance. I'm an actuary. I just graduated last semester from Crawford. That's where Lucy goes," he said turning to Kevin. "What about you Ben?"

"I'm a fireman in Buffalo. I just finished my training this spring."

"Public service is a noble field."

"As is risk assessment," Ben said. He could not keep a straight face; he burst out laughing. How could a babe like Mary fall in love with a math nerd? The concept made no sense to him whatsoever.

The conversation lulled and the room became quiet. Ruthie emerged a few moments later and flopped down on the couch next to Wilson. The skirt she was wearing fanned out around her and onto Wilson's leg. She moved it off of him timidly.

"I can see you're done."

"Yup."

"What about Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?"

Ruthie giggled. "Lucy hasn't even changed yet so she'll be at least another hour," Wilson nodded, "and Mary is fussing over herself because you're here so she'll be at least another twenty minutes, easy."

Kevin groaned and the group waited for the girls to return from upstairs. Within a half hour, Mary descended down the stairs. She was wearing a form fitting brown shirt with an off-white knee length skirt with brown heels. She had chosen this outfit purposely, and when she saw Wilson's face she knew she had made the right decision. Wilson was immediately transported back to the last time Mary had worn that outfit.

It was one of the coldest days of the year toward the end of January. Mary was freezing that morning at church, so Wilson had tried to warm her up. First he rubbed her arms, but that hadn't worked very well. She insisted that it was just making her colder. During the service, Mary huddled next to Wilson. He wrapped his arm around her and she moved her hands into his lap. When the sermon ended Wilson kissed Mary. That was all it took. They skipped out before everyone, before refreshments, and rushed home. They petted each other the entire way there. They kissed the whole way up the stairs and into the attic, hurriedly locking the door behind them.

When Wilson saw Mary, it brought him back to that morning. Kissing the area exposed by the v-neck of her top. Slowly undressing her. The brief but passionate twenty-five minutes they shared alone before the family came back. That was the morning that Wilson thought heaven had nothing to do with church. It was right here on Earth with Mary.

Wilson walked over to Mary and stood next to her in the foyer. The two stared at each other, their faces devoid of any noticeable expression. After sharing one intense moment, they both looked away, embarrassed. This time it was Wilson's turn to blush.

"Maybe we should get going," he said, still not able to look her in the eye.

"Sure. Ruthie, do you want to come with us?" Mary asked in the direction of the living room.

"No, Mom and Dad are coming back home to pick me up."

Wilson nodded and opened up the front door. "After you, Mare."

A/N: I'm already loving this story. I am taking a bunch of different scenes that have been floating around in my head for a while and stringing them together with plot. I'm quite proud of myself.

And just a note about the Ben thing. I don't foresee that being a huge issue in the coming chapters. It'll come up at the reception, but that should be the end of it. Mary and Wilson have bigger fish to fry than a little manly scuffle.

Reviews will get you into the VIP section of the reception.