Ruthie and Martin stopped just inches from the doorway, aware that Annie, Eric, Lucy and Kevin were all staring at them. Martin had never felt so nervous walking into this familiar house before, not even when he first moved in. He didn't like feeling this way about the Camdens; they were family.

"Is she back yet?" Simon yelled, bounding down the stairs, stopping short and almost tumbling the rest of the way down the stairs when he saw Martin and Ruthie at the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Ruthie said easily. "Looks like you've all been waiting for us."

Lucy shifted nervously from one foot to the other and crossed her arms awkwardly over her chest. Simon appeared to be frozen on the last step of the staircase, like he was afraid to move further into the room. Eric was holding his breath and Annie was using Savannah as a means of distraction. Kevin, the only one who didn't look scared as hell, tried to hide his amused smile.

"We should take Savannah home. It's almost time for her bath," Kevin said, nudging Lucy toward the kitchen. Lucy wanted to stay, but realized that Kevin would only cause a bigger scene if she chose to stay. Reluctantly, she walked over to her mother, took Savannah into her arms, mouthed 'call me later' to Eric, and left with Kevin.

"I should go call Rose," Simon announced a little too loudly, before turning to head up the stairs in quick time.

"We sure know how to clear a room fast," Ruthie said looking up at Martin.

Martin still hadn't said a word, taken a step, or allowed himself to breathe normally since he'd walked into the front door with Ruthie. And by the looks on Annie and Eric's faces, he wouldn't be doing any of those things soon.

"So I think we all have some talking to do," Ruthie finally announced.

Eric nodded his head slowly, followed his wife into the living room, where he sat on the edge of the sofa, awaiting this news from his baby girl. A sense of dread seemed to fill the stuffy air.

"Ruthie?" Martin whispered, pulling her back towards the door. "I don't know about this."

Ruthie smiled at Martin, reassuring him that everything would be okay. "It will be fine, Martin. My parents love you."

Ruthie lead Martin into the living room and the two nervous teenagers sat down on the sofa opposite her parents. She had to admit, her parents did look like this was the last place in the world they wanted to be. Had her mother told the rest of the family about Ruthie admitting she had feelings for Martin? What was she thinking? Of course she had! (Secrets rarely stayed secret in this family!)

"So?" Eric finally asked, breaking the awkward silence that was hanging in the room. "You wanted to talk to us about something?"

Ruthie looked up at Martin, who shook his head firmly. Ruthie sighed before turning to her parents. "Martin and I want to date each other," she said matter-of-factly.

Martin cringed hearing the words spoken aloud. Eric began to rub his chest. He was sure the next big one was on its way. Annie, who had been preparing herself for this all along, sat, calmly thinking on her response.

"Well?" Ruthie asked.

"You aren't allowed to date older guys," Eric stated, still clutching his chest. "You knew this, Ruthie. This all came out when you wanted permission to date Jack. Your mother and I want you to date, just not with older guys."

"Yes, but this isn't just any guy. It's Martin," Ruthie said, smiling up at Martin, who still looked like he was dying inside.

"Well the rules don't just change," Eric shrugged. "Rules are rules."

"Yes, but you've made exceptions in the past," Ruthie pointed out.

"You're talking about Kevin and Lucy?" Annie asked. "Lucy wasn't fifteen and asking to date a boy almost two years older than her. If she had, we would have told her no."

"I would think that this rule is meant to protect your children, right? Well, you don't have to worry about that if it's Martin. You know Martin and you trust Martin. He lived in our house for nearly a year. So this rule can be bent slightly to accommodate my dating Martin."

Eric and Annie exchanged looks. Annie smiled at Martin. "Of course we know and trust and love Martin. That's not the issue."

Martin slid himself to the edge of the sofa cushion, leaned forward and asked, "Is the issue Sandy?"

Eric fidgeted, giving his answer away. "You've just gotten over a colossal situation here, Martin. I would think you'd want to give girls a rest for a while. Maybe concentrate on school and baseball. Give yourself a little breathing room before jumping into another relationship right away."

"This wasn't something I really thought about, Mr. Camden," Martin admitted. "I've always cared for Ruthie, but I thought we were just friends. It wasn't until this 'colossal situation' that I was able to step back and really see where my," he paused and looked at Ruthie before, "where my heart really is."

"Oh boy," Annie whispered.

"I'm sorry that it took my making a huge mistake like I did for me to realize that I care for Ruthie and want to be with her. In a perfect world, I would have known all along and never gotten involved with Sandy in the first place," Martin said.

Ruthie looked at her father. Her eyes were pleading with his to just give them a chance. Lucky for Eric, he'd been through this with two other daughters.

"I'm sorry, Ruthie, but the answer is still no."

Tears formed behind Ruthie's eyelids, threatening to spill out at any moment. Her eyes were misty as she looked to her mother for support. Annie immediately looked away. Tears fell onto Ruthie's cheeks. She made no attempt to dry them away.

"I should go," Martin finally said.

Ruthie walked him to the door, tears still streaming down her face. "We'll try again later. They'll change their minds, I know it."

Martin hated seeing Ruthie this way. "Ruthie, I think it's best if we just put things on hold for a while. The last thing I want to do is come between you and your family."

Ruthie's eyes searched Martin's for an explanation as to why moments ago he had given her his heart and now he was taking it away. "You can't mean that?"

Martin nodded his head. "I do. Maybe, maybe it just wasn't meant to be."

"Martin?" Ruthie pleaded. Martin turned his back to Ruthie; his shoulders slumped with the weight of his decision, and headed toward his own house. Ruthie quietly closed the door.

Ruthie walked into the living room and looked at her parents, tears streaming out of control down her face. "I want you to know that if I can't be with Martin, my life is over! I hate you both!" she screamed before exiting the room.

A/N: A little dramatic I know, but isn't it what we love most about Ruthie?