Martin sat in the car and rubbed his throbbing temples. He didn't know what to do next. Normally, he'd go to the Camdens with his problems. He couldn't this time because he WAS the Camden's problem.
He reached for his cell and began scanning the directory. It took him only a moment to locate...
"Hey Mac - it's Martin." he said wearily.
Mac was glad to hear Martin's voice. He hadn't called that often since Mac had moved up North with his mother. They had kept in touch by e-mail. He knew all about Martin's unfortunate situation with Sandy.
"Did the offspring arrive yet?" Mac half joked.
Martin was silent.
Mac felt bad for once again pushing the envelope too far.
"Sorry, Man. How's things going?" he asked seriously. "Is everything okay with Sandy and the baby?"
"I don't know." Martin answered truthfully.
"Still not talking?" Mac asked knowingly.
Martin exhaustedly replied, "No, we talk a little - but not much. That's not why I'm calling though."
"Oh." Mac responded with surprise. "Well, what's going on?"
Martin took a deep breath and blurted out "It's Ruthie."
"Ruthie Camden?" Mac questioned.
Completely annoyed, Martin replied, "Do you KNOW any other Ruthie?"
Mac laughed and asked, "Did you two FINALLY hook up?"
Again, there was silence on the phone.
Mac mistakenly thought that Martin was trying to keep him in suspense.
"You DID didn't you!" Mac laughed. "Hey, don't you think you should get through the Sandy situation before you start messing around with the preacher's daughter?"
More silence. Martin knew this phone call had been a mistake.
Disgusted, Martin answered, "Look, I've got to go. I just wanted to check in with you and..."
Mac knew immediately that he had guessed wrong.
"Okay..." he concluded. "You didn't hook up with Ruthie. So, what IS going on with her?"
Martin choked on his words when he revealed, "She's in the hospital."
Concerned, Mac said, "Oh my God, what happened?"
Martin wiped his brow and quietly confessed, "She's in the psych. ward."
Mac was SURE that he heard his friend wrong.
"She's WHERE?" he yelled.
Martin repeated, "She's in Glen Oak - in the psychiatric unit."
"What the Hell?" Mac questioned.
"There was an accident tonight. I told her about Sandy and me." he revealed.
"Accident?" Mac confusingly questioned. "What kind of an accident lands you in a mental hospital?"
A lump formed in Martin's throat as he tried AGAIN to explain what he had seen tonight.
His steady voice became broken when he rambled to Mac, "She cut her hands. There was blood everywhere. She's not talking. She's not saying it was an accident. They won't let her out until she tells them it was an accident."
With fear and frustration, he added, "And she won't ADMIT it was a damn accident!"
Mac hesitated before quietly asking, "Well, was it?"
Martin sighed, "I don't know. I mean I thought I knew her. I thought I knew everything that was going on with her. But...after tonight...I'm completely clueless."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Martin regretfully explained, "Ruthie wanted us to be more than friends. But...I had no idea. She completely lost it tonight when I told her about Sandy and the baby." he explained.
Mac could tell his friend was completely unglued.
"Where are you?" Mac asked.
"Sitting in the hospital parking lot." Martin answered.
Mac didn't hesitate when he said, "Go home, Buddy. I'll be there in two hours."
"No." Martin asserted. "You don't need to come down here. There's nothing that you can do."
"You're right." Mac cockily answered. "I don't NEED to come down there. I WANT to come down there. Leave your back door unlocked, okay?"
Martin didn't argue because right now he knew he really needed a friend.
"Will do." he responded. "And Mac..."
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Thanks." Martin said sincerely.
Mac couldn't end the call without a joke. It was just the way he was.
"You know you're gonna owe me. Let Sandy know that I get to name the baby...and it's looking like it's going to be Mac or Mackenzie Brewer!" he laughed.
Martin just sighed with relief and hung up the phone.
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Ruthie refused all visitors and phone calls. It was her right and privilege. She valued that. At least someone respected her - even if it was only the hospital board of trustees.
Eric and Annie were shocked by the rejection. They understood her anger at Martin. They understood her disappointment at them for not revealing the secret about Sandy. But they didn't see it as the major betrayal of trust that Ruthie knew it was.
Ruthie had met with Dr. Rainling two times in the past 36 hours. He seemed very nice and genuinely interested in helping her. She felt a little guilty not coming clean with him. However, she knew it was for her own good. Her silence was the only thing keeping her in here. If she spoke, he'd just send her back home. Home was the last place she wanted to be.
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It was KILLING Martin that Ruthie refused to see him. He thought if he could just talk to her, he could make everything okay again. And he could get her out of that place!
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"Maybe she'll talk to me." Mac offered.
Martin rolled his eyes and replied, "Now WHY would she do that? No offense, but she can't stand you!"
"I don't know." Mac answered casually. "She's refused everyone else. What harm would it do if I tried?"
Martin just shook his head.
"Can I borrow your car?" Mac asked.
"Are you serious? Why waste your time? She WON'T see you." he insisted.
Mac smiled, "Keys?"
Martin threw them at him and shrugged his shoulders.
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Ruthie was beyond lonely. She hadn't talk to anyone in two days. No one. She sat in her room - silent. She sat in her sessions with Dr. Rainling - silent. She sat through group sessions - silent. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. But she was determined NOT to go home.
A young nurse entered Ruthie's room.
She announced, "You have another visitor."
Ruthie just shook her head "no."
The nurse added, "This is someone different. He said to make SURE to tell you that he WAS NOT a Camden."
Ruthie looked up at the nurse. Her curiosity was peaked.
The nurse smiled when she said, "He said his name is "Mac" and he's kind of cute."
"Mac?" Ruthie questioned in her head. "Why would Mac be here? He doesn't even live here anymore."
It's got to be a trick she thought. But, she had her doubts. She rose from her bed and peeked out the door. And there he was - Mac.
The nurse could see the interest in Ruthie's face.
"So, I can tell him it's okay to come in?" she slyly questioned.
Ruthie nodded.
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Ruthie sat on the hospital bed in her soft pink bathrobe and slippers. Not one inch of make up traced her young face. Her hair was damp and curly from the shower. She knew that she looked...well...she looked 12. Then again, she thought - this is Mac - why did she care WHAT she looked like for him?
Mac came in and smiled at Ruthie. To him, she looked - beautiful. He always thought she was beautiful. He knew that most guys agreed.
"Hey" he said nonchalantly to Ruthie and sat down in the chair beside her bed.
She hesitated before returning his greeting.
"Hi." she said softly.
"See," Mac smiled and joked, "I KNEW you could talk. Everyone else was beginning to doubt it...but I knew you could do it!"
Ruthie looked away uncomfortably.
Mac realized it wasn't quite the time for jokes.
"Seriously, how are you doing?" Mac asked.
Sarcasm was about to burst out of Ruthie. She couldn't hold back any longer.
"Well, how does it LOOK like I'm doing? I'm locked up in a psych ward!" she snapped.
Mac nodded at the obvious. His eyes fixated on her two heavily bandaged hands.
He had a look of wonder on his face when he asked, "How do you shower like that?"
Ruthie shook her head in astonishment and replied cockily, "Very carefully."
Mac nodded again.
She couldn't help noticing that Mac seemed at a complete loss for words. She couldn't stand the silence so she ended it.
"So, why are you here? Didn't you move?" she asked coldly.
Mac didn't let Ruthie's attitude freeze him out.
"Yep. But I came to see you. Martin called me the night that you were admitted." he explained.
Ruthie winced when Mac said Martin's name.
It didn't go unnoticed.
Mac continued sweetly, "He's REALLY worried about you. He's upset that you won't see him or take his calls. To be honest, he's going out of his mind."
Ruthie wasn't buying it.
With a sharp tongue she replied, "How can he even have time to think about me? Shouldn't he be at Lamaze classes and baby showers?"
Mac responded, "Yeah, I think those are the last places that he wants to be. He wants to be HERE and talking to YOU."
Ruthie just shook her head in disbelief.
"Is this all about the baby? Or is there more to this?" Mac questioned.
"This?" Ruthie responded innocently.
"Yeah, THIS." Mac retorted. "Being locked up here. Refusing to see anyone. Not wanting to come home. Is it all because you found out about Martin and Sandy?"
Ruthie looked away from him.
Tactlessly, Mac said "Look, I know you have a thing for Martin and..."
"WHAT?" Ruthie screamed.
Mac realized he had just inserted his foot into his mouth.
Squeamishly, he tried, "I mean that..."
Ruthie cut him off.
"You KNOW that I have a THING for Martin? And just HOW do you know this?" she interrogated.
Mac shrugged uncomfortably and said replied timidly, "Because your brother-in-law told Martin."
"Kevin TOLD Martin?" she questioned loudly.
As much as Mac didn't want to have this conversation with Ruthie, he knew this was no time to be lying to her.
Mac tried to explain, "He told him the night that you...that there was...the night that you got hurt. He chewed him out. He told him that he did this to you because he had led you on for over a year and then he dumped the news on you about Sandy."
Ruthie tried to bury her head in her hands but then cried out in pain from the pressure on her wounds.
Mac immediately jumped out of the chair and went to her. He sat down on her bed beside her and put one hand on her shoulder.
Concerned, he asked softly, "Are you okay?"
She looked up at him and he could see the tears forming in her eyes.
As hard as she could, she tried to hold back the tears as she confided "Everything is SUCH a mess. I'm SO embarrassed."
"Embarrassed that you like Martin?" he questioned.
Ruthie looked away and choked out "Embarrassed that HE knows about it. Embarrassed that everyone knew about Sandy but me. Embarrassed that my parents let me walk around for months talking about Martin and never saying a word."
Truthfully and sympathetically, Mac said "I can understand why you're so upset."
He paused before he questioned, "But did it make you do this to yourself?" as he gently lifted up one of her hands.
Ruthie started to panic a little inside. She knew if she told Mac the truth than he'd tell everyone else - and she'd have to go home.
Tearfully, she answered, "I can't go home."
"What?" Mac asked - not making the connection.
"If I say that it was an accident - they're going to make me go home. And I just...I just...I just can't do it. I can't face them." she cried.
Mac moved closer to her on the bed. He opened his arms and took Ruthie in. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and whispered to her, "Hey, it's okay, Ruthie. Don't cry."
His sweet plea of "Don't cry" made Ruthie cry harder. She felt so safe in Mac's arms. It was the first time she had been able to let herself go since the accident.
After a minute of Mac holding her tenderly, she calmed herself down enough to just sniffles.
She pulled away slowly and apologized, "I'm so sorry."
"For what?" Mac warmly questioned.
Ruthie laughed softly, "For acting like a big baby and unloading all of this on you."
"Hey, just think of me like your 8th brother." Mac joked.
"8th brother?" Ruthie questioned.
"Sure, you know you have the regular ones - then there was that Robbie guy, then Martin...and who knows who else you're family has adopted since I've been gone." he laughed.
Ruthie smiled and repeated the word "Brother."
She thought for a moment and then asked in a depressed tone, "Does that mean that Sandy will soon be my sister-in-law?"
Mac immediately responded, "Not unless she marries Sam, David or Simon."
Ruthie looked confused.
Mac continued, "Ruthie, I don't know what image you have in your head but Martin doesn't love Sandy. Heck, I don't ever think that Martin LIKES Sandy. They're NOT getting married."
There was a brief glimmer in Ruthie's eyes that quickly disappeared.
She concluded, "But this baby will tie them together...forever."
Mac agreed with a sigh, "Yeah, it will."
He noticed that Ruthie looked teary eyed again.
Without forethought he asked, "Are you jealous?"
Ruthie couldn't look at him.
Mac insisted "Ruthie, don't be jealous of Sandy. She's the last person you would want to be right now. She's in the middle of college and pregnant with a high school guy's kid who doesn't want to give her the time of day."
She couldn't help defending Martin with, "But he's really not like that..."
Mac added, "You're partially right. If it WERE you - he would never be like that. And if it WERE you - he'd marry you in a heartbeat. But that's only because...he cares about you. And that's why he's going out of his mind right now."
Ruthie felt just a twinge of guilt.
She whispered, "But how am I going to face everybody?"
She looked so sad. He felt SO sorry for her.
He hardly recognized his own voice when the words "I'll help you. I'll do this with you." tumbled from his mouth.
Amazed, she looked up at him with her huge brown eyes and asked tenderly asked, "You'd do that for me?...Why?"
Her marble eyes on him melted his heart.
Trying to shrug it off, he answered truthfully, "Because I like you, Ruthie. And I can't STAND seeing you locked up here. And I need to make sure that you're okay...8th brother thing, remember?"
Ruthie smiled but revealed, "I'm scared."
Mac took hold of her once again in his arms. As he held her, he reassured her, "I'm going to do this with you. There's nothing to be afraid of. We'll start by talking to your doctor and then we'll move on to your parents."
Ruthie rested her head on Mac's broad chest. She lingered in the peaceful moment knowing that, very shortly, her life was going to become even more complicated.