DISCLAIMER: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything related to it. Suing me would be very, very dumb. But if you are dumb, then go on and sue. I just found some lint in my pocket that you can have.

"No," Abby said with the slightest hint of emotion in her voice. "It's just that about a month ago my husband was killed in Iraq."

Annie eyes grew wide with sympathy and she hugged Abby, who was trying to keep her composure.

…………

"Teagan, your mother lets you watch this?" Annie asked.

"Yup," the little girl said, totally involved in the show.

"And do you understand it?"

"Yup," and while they watched, Teagan explained a year's worth of history to her babysitter.

Chapter 5: Another Brick In The Wall; Part 2

After they left their driveway, Kennedy drove Dakota to the elementary school before driving herself and Marina to the high school. Both of the girls were obviously nervous, but they tried not to let the other notice. A rock station played from the speakers as they turned the drive to the large brick building.

Marina, who had been chewing on her fingernails, unbuckled her seat belt and gathered her belongings onto her lap while waiting for Kennedy to park the car in the Student Parking section. The area they parked in was more towards the road than the school because she honestly didn't want to park in someone else's regular spot. She had been one of the tough girls in her old school but she knew what it was like to be beaten up. And she didn't like it.

Once the roar of the engine had died, Kennedy turned to her sister and said, "You ready?"

Marina faked an excited smile and said, "Yes, I'm good." The sisters looked at each other for a moment longer before deciding that one of them, sooner or later, would have to make the first move.

Since she was the older of the two, Kennedy took a deep breath in, unbuckled and opened the door, letting the door swing out it's entire length. They hadn't parked near any other cars, which was good because if they had, the door would have hit that car. With the door open, and nothing else in her way, Kennedy let her feet fall to the pavement of the parking lot and heaved the rest of her body from the seat. Her belongings were still in the car, so she had to turn around to get them. When she did, she saw that her sister was still in her seat.

"I thought you were good?" Kennedy pried, knowing that her sister was almost about to faint.

"I was and I will be in a second, just let me do it." Marina mirrored her sister's behavior and took a deep breath in before she exited the vehicle.

Within minutes they were walking up the cement walkway in the campus in from of the school. To the left and right of them, trimmed green grass and a few lone trees pointed them in the direction of the school.

"Do you think Martin is here?" Kennedy asked, absentmindedly.

"Why?" Marina said. A part of her, the physical, was sick, but the mental part was floating. She felt like she was in an out of body experience and for the sake of her stomach, she hoped reentry would be soft.

"We know him, so I think it'd be nice to see him, or even Ruthie," Kennedy said, refocusing on her sister.

"Sure," Marina said. She thought she could hear her voice echo but she figured that it was a part of her imagination.

When they had almost reached the steps, the sisters heard a familiar voice calling to them. They turned around to be greeted by a running Ruthie. Behind her, Martin and another boy were walking closer to the girls.

"Hey!" Ruthie said, her straightened hair swinging nimbly behind her. She ran to Marina's side and said, "We've got geometry together, so after you stop in at the office to make sure your paperwork is together, we can go there." Ruthie was obviously excited by the way her smile stayed plastered to her face.

Marina didn't know exactly why she was so happy but she found herself sharing in the joy. Well, that and the out of body experience was giving her a natural high. She smiled back and nodded, glancing 'bye' to her sister as she followed Ruthie into the building.

Kennedy raised her hand to give her a wave and then dropped it as they boys walked in front of her. Her eyes lit up when she saw that Martin was smiling and to her, he looked like a prince. Her Smiling Prince. For a moment she stood there and grinned at him but when she realized that she was starting to look like a fool she stopped before he caught on and said, "Hey."

"Hi. Where are they going?" Martin asked, throwing his thumb back at Ruthie and Marina, who were now entering the main doors.

"Apparently they have a class together so they are going to… it, I guess," she said. The friend, who was kind of cute as well, just stood next to Martin, being very quiet and a little creepy. "Umm… who…?" she said, moving her head to point at Mr. Creepy.

"This is my friend, Mac," Martin said.

"Hi," he said and shook hands with Kennedy. Mac gave her an appreciated glance but Kennedy was too busy staring at Marin. If they were in a soap opera, Martin would be looking at either Ruthie or Marina, but they weren't, so he wasn't paying attention at all. His mind was on the Spanish test that he was taking that afternoon.

They talked for another minute outside of the school and then they moved inside, where Kennedy could get her locker and get ready for her classes to begin. Mac moved off to the upstairs hall to his class but Martin stayed with Kennedy.

"I remember how my first day was here," he said when they were waiting for the secretary to get Kennedy's information ready. There were only two other students in the office but already she felt crowded. This is going to be a long day, she thought.

"You're going to love Mr. Trent, he's an awesome math teacher," Ruthie said once she and Marina were seated in the classroom. A few other students had noticed that she was new but they kept to themselves and didn't bother with the girls. They figured it was another lost soul that the Camden's had under their wings. It is what they did, after all.

"Well, he has to be better than my last teacher," Marina said, going through the small pocket in her backpack to find a writing utensil. "She gave us homework every… single… night. And it wasn't like 'Do page 56, problems 2-30, even'; it was like, 'Do pages 45-46, all.' I honestly dreaded going to the class every day. When it comes to most things, moving her is awesome."

"Wow. If I moved, I think I would have the worst time adjusting. But you and your sister's are so… I don't know but you are," Ruthie said.

"Well adjusted?" Marina offered and when Ruthie shook her head in agreement, they both started laughing.

Eventually, the bell rang and the rest of the students filled in to their seats. A brunette girl with silky hair and tight jeans walked over to Marina and said, "That's my seat, so you need to move out of it, right now."

Ruthie looked up and stared at the girl. "Ginger, this seat isn't yours. You were sitting over at the other side of the room yesterday. You only sat here once in the passed quarter."

Apparently, the girl didn't like that answer because she huffed and twirled around, loudly saying, "Ruthie Camden thinks that she can do whatever she wants just because she is the ministers daughter. Well, she's gonna get what's coming to her."

Marina, who had been looking at her backpack through the entire ordeal, finally looked up. She didn't like anyone being mean to her friends and now she considered Ruthie her best friend, besides her sisters. She would have said something, that is, until she saw the size of the girl. Ginger had to be at least 6 foot tall, if not taller.

Ginger sat down on the opposite side of the classroom, where Ruthie said she had been sitting, and proceeded to give Marina and Ruthie dirty looks throughout the entire class. Ruthie was going to say something to the teacher after class, but Marina stopped her.

"I've never had anyone fight my battles before and I'm not going to start now that I'm in a new school."

Eh, kinda bad but I needed to have that there. I think I'm going through a dry spell cause I can't write anything interesting! The next chapter is coming soon and it will have drama with Martin and Kennedy. I can write a love for Ruthie, so tell me who you think it should be… besides Martin that is. Review!