Chapter 6

Ruthie sat in the hospital waiting room just staring with blood shot eyes. Tears flowed from them but she didn't bother to wipe them away. The last three hours had been the ultimate test of her faith.

"Ruthie", yelled Annie Camden running towards her daughter.

Ruthie looked at her and couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Oh Ruthie, tell me, is he okay", asked Annie.

Yes that's right. Martin the love of her life was shot in the chest. Ruthie held unto Lillian rocking her back and forth and refused to give her away. She was the only thing that she had of Martin. She was their daughter and she had to witness that psycho take a shot at her father.

"I don't know mom, they still didn't tell me anything", said Ruthie rocking Lillian in her arms.

Annie Camden turned to her husband and he just wrapped her arms around him. He held onto her. He knew that Ruthie didn't want to be touched right now. He knew that his little girl was dying right now and there was nothing he could do to help her.

Flashback……………..

Ruthie dropped the phone and ran towards Lillian's room. The sight she saw made her heart stop. Martin was lying on the floor with blood.

"Noooooooooo", yelled Ruthie running towards him.

Sandy looked on in shock.

"NO Martin, no baby get up, god get up", yelled Ruthie holding him in her arms.

"Mommy, daddy hurt", cried Lillian.

Ruthie reached out and held her family. Ruthie looked up at the man that shot her fiancé.

"Why, why would you do this to him, why", cried out Ruthie.

Tears flowed down her face as she rocked Martin. She heard the sirens flashing and saw the panic on Tony's face. Ruthie saw him running.

"You won't get far, you will be punished for this do you hear me, both of you", yelled Ruthie looking at Sandy.

"I I didn't, I just", said Sandy.

"Shut up, you are a murderer too, you might not have pulled the trigger but you shot him too", said Ruthie crying.

"I'll make you pay for this, for hurting my husband and my daughter", said Ruthie.

Sandy looked at the girl. She wasn't the same girl that she remembered. This girl was stronger and more determined. Sandy felt the rush of jealousy once more. Ruthie Camden didn't know Sandy was jealous of her. Ruthie Camden had everything that she wanted. She had family, the love a man that Sandy knew was a good man, and now even the love of her daughter. She wanted to hate her but she couldn't. She couldn't because she just envied her. She wanted what she had; now it was her fault that Martin might be dying. Sandy looked at Ruthie crying and holding onto her daughter. When Sandy heard Lillian call Ruthie mommy it was like everything became clear to her. This was Ruthie's family. She was the one that messed it up, while Ruthie loved Lillian as her own, she shouldn't have had to. Ruthie and Martin should have been sharing the joys of being parents together for the first time, not Martin doing it by himself. She knew she had to be honest with herself. She knew she got some joy from being able to have something that Ruthie didn't have. But she was fooling herself into thinking that. Lillian wasn't hers. She might have given birth to her but she wasn't hers. Her having sex with Martin didn't constitute her being a mother; it was her just having sex nothing more nothing less. She would be forever Martin's mistake. Lillian wasn't a mistake to him she was.

"Martin please baby please, don't leave me", cried Ruthie kissing his forehead but he still had not made a sound, no movement, no sound.

He couldn't leave her like this. The cops rushed in then and the EMT took Martin as well as Ruthie with Lillian held closely in her arms. Ruthie looked back at Sandy once more and Sandy understood. She had to tell them her role in all of this. Sandy bowed her head down and told the police everything about her and Tony's plan.

End of Flashback…………….

"Martin Brewer?", asked a young doctor walking towards the Camden family.

Ruthie's head snapped up. Her heart was pounding and her hands were sweating. Her daughter was asleep in her arms and she was her strength. Lillian kept her going the past few hours. Entertaining her daughter kept her mind off of the fact that her soon to be husband was in an operating room having a bullet removed from her chest. That very though alone killed her. It made her want to cry, yell, and throw things. Martin was her strength and her hope and the fact that she didn't have him there to wipe away her tears and calm her down when she was upset. He was the force that kept that this family together. Now with him not there she felt empty inside like she couldn't breathe almost. When did Martin become such a part of her she wondered? She guessed he was always of part of her since that day he walked into her backyard. She thought he was Simon's friend. He spent the whole day with her and even though she was younger then she loved him. Even though she had been with Peter, Vincent, Jack, and every other knuckle head out there he was a part of who she was. She had sat in that waiting room after calling her whole family as well as Martin's dad to tell them the news and held her daughter and told her stories about her dad. She also remembered her times with Martin when they first got together.

Flashback………

"Martin", laughed Ruthie while being tickled by Martin.

They had been watching TV when Martin started to tickle her claiming she was being too serious all the time.

"Martin", yelled Ruthie giggling trying to move his hands away.

He flipped her over pinning her and laying on top of her closing his eyes.

"Martin, get off of me", said Ruthie but Martin laid there kissing her neck and smiling.

"Oh Martin", moaned Ruthie.

Martin removed his lips from her neck and smiled.

"Ruthie, I love you", said Martin looking at her seriously.

Ruthie slowly smiled until she had a full blown smile on her face.

"I love you too baby", whispered Ruthie pulling him down and kissing him.

After kissing he stayed there on top of her and closed his eyes. His face nestled on her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair making him sigh. She began humming a little bit. This was their time together. She loved him in her arms.

"What are you singing", asked Martin with his head on her chest.

"Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Lucy loved that song and used to sing it all the time. She is the best singer I remember. She used to sing it to the boys when they were younger. They wouldn't stop crying to Lucy packed them up and held them singing to them to give mom and dad a break. They calmed down fast after that", answered Ruthie still running her fingers through his hair.

This was making him sleepy. He ran his fingers through Lillian hair all the time to get her to sleep. It must have been something she inherited from him.

End flashback………….

"Martin is okay, we removed the bullet from his chest and he is breathing on his own. I'm telling you that man is a fighter. There were times that we thought that he wouldn't make it", said the doctor smiling.

The doctor smiled even more when he saw the pure joy on everyone's faces.

"Can I ask? Who is Ruthie?", asked the doctor.

A young woman carrying who he assumed was Martin's daughter said, "I am".

"Oh so I have you to thank for keeping Martin alive", said the doctor. Ruthie looked confused.

"He screamed your name, yelling, his heart was failing we were do all we could, it was like he was having this fight or something be began thrashing around, and swinging his arms around. We were trying to keep him calm when he yelled out your name before falling back onto the operating table, it was the most amazing sight I have ever seen. He must really love you", said the doctor.

"I love him too, can we see him?", asked Ruthie wiping the stray tears that flowed down her face.

"In a little while", said Doctor.

"He is still out, he might be a little out of it when you see him so don't be alarmed", said the doctor before walking away.

Lillian woke up then.

"Mommy, where's daddy?", asked Lillian.

"He will be with us soon I promise baby I promise", said Ruthie kissing her forehead.

Everyone smiled at the picture that they made. Martin's father steeped up to Ruthie. His eyes were bloodshot. He had been beyond scared when he had received the call that his son had been shot at. Ruthie Camden, the girl, no the woman that his son loved called him and told him the devastating news. He could tell that she had been crying and that she was still crying over the phone.

"He was shot, we are at the hospital now", said Ruthie crying over the phone holding onto Lillian.

Her words killed something inside him that very moment. He basically sped to the hospital to find the girl surrounded by her family with his granddaughter in her arms gently rocking her to sleep. Martin's dad saw that anytime that someone wanted to take Lillian form Ruthie she flat out refused telling them that no one would take her daughter from her until they got word about Martin. He smiled at her determined look. No one would tell her that Martin wouldn't be with them. He admired the young woman that Martin chose to be with. Ruthie Camden was the girl he wanted his son with, the girl that he had always wanted his son with. He never let Martin know this because he wanted Martin to make his own choices. But Ruthie Camden that would have been his choice. This girl reminded him so much of Martin's mother. He knew that Martin's mother would have loved her. God it was times like these that made him miss his wife even more.

Everyone had been in and out of Martin's room. Ruthie went in last with Lillian in her arms. Martin looked up when he saw the door opening and smiled.

My god she is beautiful. It makes me almost forget the pain, I said almost. Do you know how painful it is to have a bullet go through your chest? All I kept thinking was that I would never see my girls again; that this was it and I was going to leave her. I was afraid that she would never forgive me.

"Hey", whispered Ruthie.

"Hey", I say.

I know it sounds stupid but I couldn't say nothing else. I know she had been crying and that she was scared for me. I knew all of this because everyone that walked that walked through those doors told me that Ruthie cried but she had been strong for Lillian. I even laughed when they told me that Ruthie actually growled at Annie Camden for actually suggesting that she give up Lillian so that Lillian could go sleep at their home. Her answer was a growl and holding Lillian tighter.

"We are waiting for Martin mom", said Ruthie before turning her attention back to her daughter.

Ruthie smiled at him before climbing into the bed next to him. He had moved over to give her room. Lillian lay in between them holding onto Ruthie's arms sleeping. Ruthie on her side closed her eyes.

"I love you Martin", said Ruthie laying her head on his pillow next to his head.

"I love you too Ruthie", said Martin closing his eyes because the painkillers were making it hard to stay awake.

At that moment they weren't going to worry about Tony, Sandy or anything else right that moment it was just them and Lillian their little family and that was all that mattered.