Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, own nothing 7th Heaven except my own ideas…a few of which I would like to see on the show. (Especially Martin and Ruthie…together!)
The kiss was soft and sensual, full of passion just waiting to burst forth. He swallowed hard when it ended, sure that he must be dreaming. But there she was, like an angel, before him, lips parted slightly, silently begging him for more. Taking her beautiful face into his strong hands, he brought his mouth down upon hers once more. He buried his hands amidst the mass of dark curls surrounding her head, and deepened the kiss, letting his mouth tell her how much he cared…
"GOOD MORNING! GET YOUR ASS OUTTA BED AND START PACKIN'! WE'RE OFF TO GLEN OAK!" came a loud voice, interrupting Martin's dream.
Martin rolled over, covering his head with a pillow, as his roommate and soon-to-be ex-best friend pulled open the dark curtains, letting sunlight into the dark room. Martin gave a groan. He would have shared a few choice words with Mac, but instead, prayed to the Lord for mercy and strength.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not going to Glen Oak!" Martin mumbled from under his pillow.
Mac paid no attention to his grumpy friend while he threw open the closet doors and started heaving clothes left and right. Martin peeked out from under his blankets and saw his crazy friend tossing shirts and pants everywhere.
"What are you doing?" he yelled, sitting up.
Mac stopped his task and turned to look at his disheveled friend. "I'm helping you pack."
"I'm not going."
"You're just saying that. You have to put up a fight to save face. I get it. But you are going," Mac announced. "You can't not go to your best friend's wedding."
"You are my best friend and no girl in her right mind would marry you."
Mac threw a sweater at his friend. "I'll pretend like you didn't just insult me that way. I'm talking about Sandy. She'd be devastated if you missed her wedding."
Martin sighed. What Mac said was true. Sandy would be crushed if Martin wasn't there. "Sandy will get over it. I'm not going."
Martin got out of bed and stretched. He grabbed a towel, turning to head for the shower, when Mac stopped him. "You have to face Ruthie sometime."
Martin froze. Just the mention of her name did that to him. He turned slowly. "This has nothing to do with Ruthie."
Mac raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? Then, enlighten me. What's the real reason you don't want to return to Glen Oak?"
Martin shook his head. "It's a part of my past that I'd just as soon like to forget." With those words, Martin walked off.
Ruthie stood back and held her breath, pointing to the mirror. "Go ahead and have a look. Be honest."
Taking a deep breath, Sandy stepped in front of the long mirror. Tears sprang to her eyes instantly as she saw her reflection. "It's absolutely perfect, Ruthie. Thank you!"
Ruthie's smile grew and her shoulders relaxed now that she knew for sure that Sandy loved the dress. To say she had been nervous was an understatement.
"I'm glad that you like it," Ruthie whispered, fluffing the back of the skirt just a bit.
"Simon said that you were talented, but I really had no idea. I love it, Ruthie. I really love it!" Sandy said giving the dress a twirl of satisfaction. She stopped and looked at Ruthie, tears still filling her eyes. "Simon will love it too."
When Sandy had left, Ruthie busied herself putting away samples of material and strands of thread. The whole time she was smiling, thinking of Sandy's approval. It was important that her new sister-in-law be happy on her special day, especially after everything Sandy and Simon had gone through to get here.
The phone rang, shocking Ruthie out of her happy daze and back into reality. "Hello?"
"Hey there!" came the deeply masculine voice. "Miss me?"
Ruthie smiled. "It's been about three hours, silly. Not nearly enough time for me to miss you."
Jack pouted. "I'm crying inside over that one, you know? I just wanted to call and see how things went with Sandy. Did she like the dress?"
Ruthie's smile widened. "She loved it and she said that Simon would love it too. I'm telling you, this is the greatest day."
"Can I make it better?" Jack asked slyly. Ruthie said nothing, so he continued on. "I booked our honeymoon today."
Ruthie dropped the pair of scissors she was holding, just narrowly missing her baby toe. "You what?"
"I called the travel agent and booked our honeymoon. What do you think of Hawaii?" he asked.
"I think that Hawaii sounds wonderful, but don't you have to get married before you can have a honeymoon? We haven't even set a date yet!" Ruthie exclaimed.
Jack snapped his fingers, gaining the attention of his secretary and handed her a file. He twirled his seat around until his back was to the door and he was looking out over Glen Oak. "I figured this little venture would force you into setting a date for our wedding instead of focusing all of your time on Simon's."
Ruthie sighed. "Simon and Sandy deserve a perfect wedding."
"And so do we. Come on, Ruth. We've been engaged for almost two years now and we're still no closer to the altar then we were back then. So the honeymoon is booked for next August. We have until then to get married."
Ruthie knew that Jack wasn't meaning to pressure her, but she still felt that way. Ruthie wasn't sure why it was taking her so long to come up with a solid date for her wedding to Jack. Money wasn't an issue. Jack was quickly moving up the ladder at his accounting firm and Ruthie's fashion design business was steadily taking off, more orders coming in by the day. Age wasn't a problem, since both were young, but well on their way to stability. So what was the issue?
"Ruth?" Jack asked. "You mad at me?"
Ruthie tried to smile, but her good mood was ruined. "Not mad, just surprised."
"It's time to make a decision, Ruthie. You either want to marry me or you don't."