DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything 7th heaven related

Ruthie could feel her heart beating as she just stared at Martin. Someone had to break the silence. "What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"I live here" he replied.

What? Ruthie thought. Without thinking about it she reached over and gave him a hug. Suddenly realizing how awkward it was, she pulled away quickly. "It's been a long time" she told him

"Yeah, it has" he replied, hurt evident in his eyes. "I wasn't sure you would even come over and say hi" he told her.

"Of course" Ruthie replied

"Well after what happened I figured you'd never speak to me again."

"Yeah" Ruthie said laughing softly. "Time has helped, and I dunno, I grew up."

"I can see that," Martin replied speaking softly, gazing intently at her.

Wow, Ruthie thought to herself. She couldn't believe Martin was here. She remembered the day that she had found out Sandy was pregnant. She had been so mad. Turned out her whole family knew except for her, and to make matters worse they all knew how she had felt about Martin. She had been so humiliated. She'd stopped talking to Martin once she found out. She'd seen him in school, but things were never the same. Then he left to go to college, and as soon as she graduated she'd moved to New York. But yet, here was Martin. Ruthie smiled; it was almost as if they had been given a second chance. Looking at Martin, she could see why as a teenager she had fallen for him. He still looked the same, just older. His hair was slightly longer, but he still wore the same smile that had made her heart melt so many years ago.

"So you live here?" She asked.

"Yeah. I just moved here actually. I'm teaching at one of the local high schools."

"Really? Wow" Ruthie replied.

"Yeah. Biology."

"Wow" Ruthie said again. She felt sad, as she realized how far apart she and Martin had grown. She really didn't know anything about him. What made the feeling even worse was that it was her fault. Martin had tried to be friends with her, but she'd rejected him and eventually he'd stopped trying. But this was their second chance. Ruthie looked around, the bar crowd was beginning to thin out. She knew they'd be closing soon.

"Do you want to dance?" she asked Martin.

"Uh …." He looked at her nervously. "I don't really dance."

"Sure you do" she replied

"Uh …."

She went up behind him, and whispered into his ear "I'll teach you." She smiled, she knew she was being a little bit mean, but it was all in good fun. He just turned to look at her. She smiled back flirtatiously. "One minute" he replied to her. He turned to the barman, then turned back to her, and handed her a shot. "We do this, and then I'll dance with you."

Ruthie just looked at him. "Are you trying to get me drunk?" she teased.

"No," Martin replied "I don't think I need to" he teased. "And it'll loosen me up a little." He pointed his glass at her.

"Alright" Ruthie replied. Smiling at each other, with a twinkle in their eyes, they each downed their shot. Martin pulled a face, that was so unbelievably cute, that she couldn't help but laugh. He just looked at her.

"Ready?" she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. The music was pumping. She spotted Rachel dancing with a cute guy. She smiled and waved, and Rachel smiled back and gave her a knowing look. Ruthie started dancing, moving her hips in rhythm to the beat. She watched Martin as she danced to get a feel as to how close she should get. He was watching her as she danced, keeping up with her and the beat. She moved a little closer, and he didn't move away. She continued to shake her hips, moving seductively, getting closer to Martin and then pulling away. She danced around him, being careful not to get too close. God, she was having fun doing this. As she turned away from him, she felt Martin's hands on her hips and pull her in close towards him. He pulled her in tight against him, and kept his hands on her hips. She smiled to herself.

"Sorry" he whispered into her ear. "But you dancing around me like that was driving me nuts. Hope you don't mind."

Ruthie didn't say anything, just shook her head. Martin's hands were strong and he held her in close. She continued moving along to the beat and with Martin. She could smell Martin's cologne, and she closed her eyes as she breathed in his scent. She felt Martin's hands move as he spun her around so that she was now facing him. She stayed just as close and continued dancing. Martin was just looking at her, and she could feel the intensity between them. The chemistry that she had Martin had always had was still there. She could feel it, and she knew that he could too. Ruthie put her hands behind his neck and continued dancing, when the music stopped.

"That's it folks" a man's voice rang out across the room. Ruthie groaned. Martin just smiled. Ruthie pulled away from him, and shifted uncomfortably not sure what to do.

"You want to come back to my place?" Ruthie blurted out. Martin just looked at her. "I mean, I only live a couple of blocks from here. We could drink some coffee, talk for a bit. Catch up."

Martin gave her a knowing smile. "Sure. I'd like that."

Ruthie smiled. Leading the way, Martin followed her out of the bar.

Ruthie was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee, while Martin was exploring the apartment.

"It's nice" he said as he appeared at her side.

"Thanks" Ruthie replied. She handed him a cup of coffee then proceeded to walk over to the couch. Both she and Martin looked up as Rachel came out of the bathroom.

"Goodnight you guys" Rachel told them. "I'm gonna head to bed. It was nice meeting you Martin." Rachel didn't know much about Martin, Ruthie had just mentioned that he was an old friend. Rachel knew that there was something more but she hadn't pressed the matter. "Don't stay up too late" she said, winking at Ruthie. Ruthie just smiled in return.

"It was nice meeting you too" Martin told her. "Goodnight" Rachel smiled, and they heard her bedroom door close as she retreated to her room.

"So" Martin said

"So" Ruthie replied

"You're a good dancer" Martin told her. "You uh …. Definitely know how to move. It was definitely a turn on."

Ruthie blushed "I get a lot of practice. Rachel and I go out most weekends." She didn't really know what else to say.

"Huh" Martin replied. "So you never told me what it is that you do here?"

"Oh right" Ruthie replied. "I write for a small magazine, 'daily living'" she told him. "I write an advice column"

"I see" Martin replied. "Very cool. Well, New York seems to agree with you. You look great."

"Thanks" she replied. "So do you" Which was true. Age had treated him well. "I really do love it here." She smiled, and sighed. Martin was just looking at her. She wished he wouldn't do that, it was making her nervous. She felt like she was sixteen all over again.

"It's so weird seeing you now" Martin told her.

"It is?" Ruthie asked. She didn't actually think it was weird, more like comfortable. While there were still many things they didn't know about each other. Things that had happened in the past couple of years, it was still Martin. She realized Martin would always be the one person that she'd be comfortable with, no matter how much time passed. And that was a rare quality to find.

"Not being here with you. Just seeing you" he explained. "I still think of the Ruthie who was sixteen years old. It's hard for me to think of you living out here by yourself."

"Oh" Ruthie replied.

"I'm really glad I ran into you today" he told her. Ruthie smiled. "I was so hurt when you stopped talking to me. You were my best friend"

"I'm sorry" Ruthie told him "I was sixteen, and the guy who I loved was having a baby with another girl. It was like the end of the world for me."

Martin just nodded "I never meant to hurt you"

"I know" Ruthie just smiled back at him. She was so glad that she and Martin had been given this second chance. All these years, she'd still wondered what had happened to him and how he was doing. "Since we're on the subject, what ever happened between you and Sandy?"

"Uh … well" Martin began, "Sandy had the baby, a little girl, which she named Julia. Surprisingly, Sandy didn't want me to have anything to do with the baby, so she disappeared. About a year later, she returned and handed Julia to me. Turns out she didn't want the responsibility of being a mother. I haven't seen or talked to her since."

"Wow" Ruthie didn't know what to say. "So you've raised Julia this whole time?"

"Pretty much" Martin answered "My dad was always around to help."

"Wow. And you still managed to get through college" Ruthie was beyond amazed. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks" Martin replied "I just did what I had to."

"Uh so if Julia is with you, where is she now?" Ruthie asked.

"Oh" Martin laughed. "She's back in California with my dad. I moved out here by myself, to get everything unpacked and set up and get orientated with the neighborhood. You know, meet with the school before starting my job. I figured it'd be easier without a six year old around, asking all kinds of questions" he joked. "My dad's flying her out here in a couple of days."

"That makes sense" Ruthie replied. She was so amazed by Martin. He was so much older and wiser, but he was still the same good guy, pure of heart.

"You can meet her if you want" Martin told her

"Sure! I'd love to" Ruthie answered.

Martin smiled. He looked at the clock. "Wow it is 5am. I should go."

"Yeah, I guess" Ruthie answered. Truth be told, she really didn't want him to leave. She was enjoying just talking to him, catching up. She'd really missed him. "You could stay here."

"What?"

"Well it's late, and it beats paying for a cab" she told him "And then in the morning I can take you to this cute little diner that Rachel and I always go to. Unless of course you have other things you need to do."

Martin was just looking at her. "Oh, uh …. Sure. If you don't mind, that sounds great."

"Not at all."

Ruthie got up and started walking down the hall to her room. Martin followed. "So, uh where should I sleep?" he asked.

"I was thinking the couch" Ruthie replied, "Is that not ok?" She opened one of the closets and started pulling out blankets for him.

"It is. But, well, what about your room?" he asked.

"My room?"

"Yeah. Why can't I sleep there?" Martin asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Um …" Ruthie didn't know what to say. His suggestion caught her off guard. "There's not much space" she lamely said.

"Oh, so you think I'm fat, huh?" he teased.

"No. I think you look fine" She replied. Martin walked right by her and into her room. "Wow, someone's a slob" He stated.

"Hey!" Ruthie cried indignantly. "Take that back. I'm not a slob, I just don't like things very …. Clean" she said as she looked around at her mess of a room.

"That's right" Martin replied as he made his way around her things and jumped into her bed. He pulled the blankets tight so that only his head was sticking out. Ruthie had to laugh at the sight. He was looking at her expectantly. She sighed. She didn't know how she felt about this. She knew that Martin wasn't expecting anything, but it was still a little weird to think of the idea of them sharing a bed together. She sighed, and switched off the light. She left the door open, so she could see and made her way over to the bed. She crawled into bed next to Martin. She lay down on her side, making sure not to face Martin. She didn't think she'd be able to handle looking at him right now.

"Goodnight" she heard Martin say. "And thanks"

"Goodnight and you're welcome"

Ruthie just lay there thinking about all that happened that night. It all seemed so surreal, and it was so unexpected. I guess there's no escaping your past, she thought to herself. She smiled to herself, as she listened to Martin breathing. Slowly and steadily she began to drift off to sleep, dreaming of tonight and of Martin.

Ok, hope you guys liked it. Please read and review. Suggestions are welcome. Thanks!