A/N: Thanks to my friend Star2717 who helped me get over a small writers block!!! You really rock when it comes to helping me and I'm glad that I know you! I can't wait to co-author a new story with you :-D
A/N: I love all sorts of reviews; if they are good, bad, happy, or sad, I don't care I love them all!!! Thanks for all of your reviews!!! Someday I hope to have at least a hundred for every one of my stories that I have written!!!
A/N: Although I wished I owned 7th Heaven sadly I don't but I do own everyone else except for the following—Annie, Eric, Mary, Sarah, Matt, Kevin, Carlos, Simon, Ruthie, David & Sam, Sergeant Michaels, Ben, Patty-Mary, Mindy, Jeremy, Rod, Jimmy Moon, Kevin's Mom and anyone else I forgot (read the disclaimer on the first chapter)
A/N: Chapter Eight's title was borrowed from the Second Season Episode (It's the German-English translation)…I also borrowed some dialogue from this show…I had to watch it a few times to get what I wanted …and for all you Kevin and Lucy fans this is the moment you HAVE been waiting for!!!!
A/N: I also want to apologize how long this chapter and the last chapter have been…I wanted to make it something that everyone would remember…but don't worry the good stuff is still yet to come!
A/N:Thanks for all of the reviews…I just wanted to let you guys know that I finally figured out how to work ff.net and my chapters will be so much EASIER to read I swear!!!
"Eric," said Detective Michaels in a grave voice. "Is Lucy home?"
"No," said Eric quickly.
"Detective, we heard something about a car accident. Please, can you tell me where my daughter is?"
"We're still trying to figure out exactly what's going on, Eric," replied the detective. "Do you think you can come with me over to the accident scene?" Eric nodded and followed him out the door, with Matt following immediately behind while
Kevin stood in the exact same spot and waited to see what would happen next.
"Mrs. Camden...do you still want me to come with you or do you want me to stay here and keep an eye over Ruthie and Simon?"
"What? Yeah sure…whatever you want Kevin" she half heartily replied. She couldn't even remember what she was saying…let alone trying to remember that she still had two other children upstairs sleeping.
Outside the front door Matt and Eric were in a heated conversation about what happened. "Damn it Matt! Your mother and I both told you to keep an eye on your sister…and now…and now look what happened" he said getting choked up.
"Dad…do you really think I would have let her stay there if I had known what was going to happen?"
"I don't care Matt…you said you would take full responsibility of Lucy"
"Dad...I told you that…" before Matt could finish he was cut off by Annie.
"Eric…Matt…knock it off you two sound like children fighting back and forth about Lucy…I'm going to Pete's Pizzeria to see if she is still there" she told them both angrily as she hopped into the station wagon, backed down the driveway and headed north to Pete's. Kevin who had watched the whole thing from inside the house walked out onto the front porch.
"Rev. Camden?" Kevin spoke up.
"WHAT?" Eric practically screamed at him
"I think Detective Michaels is waiting for you"
"Dad…let me go…please…"Matt begged his father.
"No…Detective Michaels wanted me…stay here and call Mary…she needs to know we are looking for Lucy…I think she is at Wilson's" Eric told both Kevin and Matt before he headed off down the lawn and into the police car.
Matt stormed into the house and slammed the porch door behind him. Kevin watched helplessly as the detective's car pulled away. Tentatively, he let himself back into the house. Wandering into the kitchen, he could see Matt on the phone. Matt hung up and grabbed his jacket, crossing the kitchen.
"Matt, where are you going?" asked Kevin.
"Wilson's line was busy. I'm going to go get Mary and go to the accident site. I don't care what Dad says." Before Kevin could argue with him, Matt had walked out the door.
Kevin sighed, he was just as upset about Lucy, but was hoping that Matt was going to be rational... suddenly he heard a voice behind him.
"Kevin? What's going on?" He turned around to see Simon behind him. Kevin began to panic. What was he supposed to tell Simon?
"Simon…I...uhh…think you should sit down" he stammered grabbing one of the kitchen chairs and sitting down.
"Why were mom and dad yelling at Matt?" Simon wanted to know taking Kevin's lead and sitting on a chair as well. He had woken up and heard a lot of yelling coming from outside and he thought it was just a dream…but after a few moments he realized that it wasn't a dream…it was his dad yelling at Matt. So being the detective he was he decided to investigate. He walked down the stairs and sat at the first step like Matt had taught him and listened to everything…someone had gotten into an accident but he didn't know who. Now, sitting across from Kevin, he wanted answers.
"Kevin, who got into a car accident?" Kevin was momentarily shocked, but then realized Simon must have been listening.
"Simon... the important thing is, we don't know anything for sure yet, ok? That's why your mom and dad went out; they're trying to figure out exactly what's going on."
"Does it have something to do with Mary being over at Wilson's house?"
"No…"
"Well…if it's not Mary and it's not Matt or Ruthie…did something bad happen to Lucy?" he asked his eyes getting bigger by the minute.
Kevin struggled with his choice of words. "Simon, nothing is for sure yet, ok? There's been a car accident, and it seems that one of Lucy's friends was in the car. But we don't know where Lucy is -- that's where your mom and dad and Matt went, to try to find her."
Simon was blinking back tears. "What if Lucy was in the car?"
"Lucy wasn't in that car Simon…" Kevin replied back firmly…he wasn't going to believe it until he was told directly by a police officer.
"How do you know?"
"I don't know but I also don't believe Lucy was that dumb to disobey your mom and dad"
"How would you know? Your not around here long enough to know what she would do" Simon flung back at him madder than hell. Kevin blinked, slightly stunned. Simon was normally such a sweet kid. Before he could say something back, however, Simon had stormed out of the room.
"I seem to be getting that reaction a lot today," Kevin said to himself, trying to keep his sense of humor intact. He sat around the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity.
His thoughts kept flickering back and forth to the last few hours…everything had seemed so normal…so pure and innocent…and now… …now everything was in shambles and it was sucking the life out of him at that moment not knowing if the worst was yet to come.
Annie had to keep her mind on the road or else she would have driven off the road. She was so scared…scared that her little girl was in the car…frightened that her little girl was hurt so bad she didn't even know her own name.
She sighed with relief when she saw Pete's Pizzeria sign in the sky. The front parking lot was full so she had to maneuver the car to the back. She got out and started walking towards the entrance…and what's when she saw Lucy…She was sitting on the bench like a little kid swinging her legs back and forth.
Annie couldn't take it anymore…she broke into a run and headed straight for Lucy with tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Lucy…thank god" she cried reaching to the bench.
"Oh mom…I'm so sorry…I won't do it again I swear…we…we…were just going to go to a new restaurant…I'm sorry mom I swear I wont' do it again" Lucy cried hugging Annie tightly around her waist.
"Lucy…it's ok…your ok…that's all I care about right now"
"They never showed up mom…everyone keeps talking some sort of an accident…I'm sure they got stuck in that traffic" Lucy replied wiping away her tears…that's when she noticed Annie's heartbreaking look.
"Mom?"
"Luce, about the accident."
"It wasn't them. Tell me it wasn't them mom, please?!"
"I can't tell you that…I'm sorry Luce…I'm so sorry, I'm just glad it wasn't you!" Annie replied when Lucy's shoulders started to shake as she broke down in tears. Annie became aware of the crowd in front of the pizza place had gone completely silent and was staring at both of them.
"Come on Lucy," Annie whispered, helping Lucy up. "Let's get to the car, sweetie." Still bawling uncontrollably, Lucy let her mom lead her into the station wagon.
Once they had both gotten inside. Lucy momentarily stopped her sobs.
"Mom...who...did anyone...is anyone..." Lucy couldn't bring herself to say the words. Annie had gone very pale.
"Sweetie, I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't know. Let's go home and wait and see what your father finds out, ok? He went with Detective Michaels to the accident scene." Lucy nodded, and then burst into tears again as Annie began to steer the car towards home.
Detective Michaels and Eric rode silently through the streets of Glen Oak to reach 13th Street. It was eerie for Eric to be riding in the front seat of a police car…especially since it was to check out an accident that his middle daughter could have been in…an accident that could have seriously hurt his daughter…or worse…an accident that might have killed his daughter.
"Eric…when we get there I need for you to stay in the car…I don't need for anything to happen…I'm going out on a limb right now…" Detective Michaels told him "Under normal circumstances I would have called but…with…what happened and everything…but we needed you to come along…just in case"
"I…I understand…" Eric replied forcing the words out while his mind screamed "I DON'T UNDERSTAND".
Detective Michaels pulled up to the accident scene as close as he could get, and got out. He walked up to some of the other officers there and walked back to Eric. He face had changed. He opened the car door, "Eric Lucy wasn't in the car, but Sarah was killed. Her sister Jen was sent to the hospital…would you come with me to tell her parents?"
Eric breathed a sigh of relief…his little girl was ok…"thank you god" he prayed…except now was the hard part…telling the Andrew's that one of their own children had died and the other was in critical condition.
Matt was speeding along Alta Road and slammed his foot as hard as he could before he flew through the four way stop sign. His mind was more on what had happened in the past hour than anything else right now. His little sister was missing and no one could find her…they didn't know if she was dead…or even alive. He wasn't paying attention to the road again and almost missed his turn. He slammed on the brakes and threw the car into reverse and stopped. He was looking for 20358 Alta Road which was where Wilson lived with his parents. He slowly started the car again and crept along looking at both sides of the road for the address. He finally found the address that he was looking for and parked the car. He dreaded having to go and tell Mary that she needed to come home but since he was the big brother he had to do something. He got out of the car and walked slowly to the front door and just as he was about to ring the doorbell the front door opened.
"I'll see you later Wilson!" Mary yelled walking out of the front door, closing it tightly and turned slightly walking directly into Matt.
"Oww…Matt? What are you doing here? Did mom and dad send you to spy on us? I can't believe that they would sink so low into do that…I thought that they trusted us not! God I'm so sick and tired of this!" she yelled.
"Mare…I wasn't here to spy…I…I was told to come and pick you up…and take you home"
"What for? Did they think that I can't handle myself riding my bike that I need my big brother to come and make sure I didn't fall? Well I have news for you Matthew Camden…I'm old enough to ride my bike and—"and before she could say another word Matt clamped his hand over her mouth.
"If you would just shut up before opening your big mouth and listen to me for a minute…mom and dad don't know I'm here…I'm not spying on you for them…something happened tonight…and I figured that before we got home you at least had the right to hear from me than from anyone else."
"Oh great…what do you have to tell me that is so important that couldn't have waited until I got home?" I was looking forward to my ride home…all the piece and quiet that I could have had before I actually got—"
"DAMN IT MARY" he screamed getting very aggravated "Listen to me…Lucy is missing…we can't find her…and the worse thing is that there was a car accident about an hour ago…it seems that the two girls that she went to meet were in it…and it looks like one of the girls was seriously injured"
"Wha…What?" Mary gasped "Are they sure it was Sarah and Jen? I mean it could have been two other girls that looked like them…I mean Lucy wouldn't be that stupid not to listen to mom and dad right?" she started to cry "right Matt?"
"I…I don't know Mare…when I dropped her off I had this terrible feeling in my stomach…I knew I shouldn't have left her. I thought it was just my big brother radar…but it wasn't…it was something else…a sign" he choked barely able to make the words come out of his mouth.
"Tell me you are lying Matt!"
"I…I can't Mary…it's the truth…"
"Tell me you are lying Matt…please…" she pleaded with tears running down her face. This couldn't be happening…after all nothing bad was suppose to happen tonight…she had baby-sat for Billy and had a hard time it didn't matter…she was doing Wilson a favor.
"Come on Mare…I'll take you home…dad doesn't know I'm out and the last thing I need is him yelling at me for defying his orders" he told her taking a hold of her bicycle and placing it in the back of the mini-van. She followed and hopped into the passenger side and but her seatbelt on. This was going to be one long drive to their house.
Annie parked the station wagon at the side of the road. She looked over at Lucy who appeared very distant and was still crying. "Luce? We're home now…" Annie told her grabbing her purse and getting out of the car. She waited on Lucy's side for a few moments and sighed…this was going to be harder than what she thought. "Lucy…you are going to have to get out of this car sooner or later"
Lucy looked at Annie for a moment as if she were in a daze; however, she slowly climbed out of the car. Annie guided her daughter into the house, trying not to burst into tears herself. She slowly dragged herself to the kitchen table when she heard a noise behind her.
"Lucy?" Kevin whispered in disbelief. "Oh thank God." Kevin moved forward as if to hug her but stopped at the last moment, as if he thought the better of it. His relief, however, quickly turned to concern when he noticed the remorse looks on both Lucy and Annie's faces. "Lucy? Mrs. Camden? What..." he trailed off, not sure he wanted to finish that sentence.
Suddenly, Lucy exploded. "SHE'S DEAD! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED! YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT? MY FRIEND IS DEAD. THEY PULLED HER BODY OUT OF A SMASHED CAR. AND I'M ALIVE, AND SHE'S NOT. SHE'S DEAD!" Lucy's screams echoed throughout the house.
Annie moved towards her. "Lucy, sweetie..." Annie sounded close to tears. Lucy jumped back at the attempted contact as if she'd been shocked.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lucy dodged a bewildered Kevin and sprinted out of the room, nearly tripping over Simon and Ruthie, who had been listening outside the door. Kevin and Annie stood in silence as they heard Lucy's footsteps frantically climb up the stairs, race across the hallway, and then slam her bedroom door. Annie slumped backwards into a chair, resting her head in her hands as she did so. Kevin stood, not quite sure what to do and walked to the front of the house and went onto the front porch to wait for Matt to come back.
That was the worse thing that Eric had ever had to do in the 19 years of being a minister. He could see the pain in their eyes when Detective Michaels told them what happened. He stood there and watched their grief spill onto the ground…he turned away trying to hold his own emotions in. He couldn't related to their grief but he could relate to the worry of their eldest daughter. He walked back to the car with Detective Michaels and they left the Andrew's getting into their car and driving to Glen Oak Hospital.
Matt had to concentrate on the road…or else he would be driving like a maniac. He looked over to his right hand side and watched Mary lean against the car window. She looked upset as well…but she was taking it a lot better than he was. They pulled into the driveway at the same time Detective Michaels and Eric arrived. Matt put the car in parked and gave a quick smile to Mary before they both got out of the car. They met their dad at the top of the driveway…he looked so old and so worn for only being 44 years old.
"Dad? Did you find anything out?" Matt asked him anxiously looking back and forth between Mary and Eric.
"I thought I told you to stay home with Ruthie and Simon" he answered furiously. "What I don't remember telling you was to go and get your sister…but since you defied me anyways at least you were smart enough to pick her up" he replied sarcastically going up the steps and into the house. Completely ignoring the fact that Kevin was sitting on the porch swing.
"Kevin…have you…is there…is she…?" Matt started to say but couldn't finish the words himself.
"She's ok" were the only two words Matt heard as him and Mary raced into the house searching for their sister.
Two days later…the day of the funeral the Camden household was on edge…everyone was practically tip toeing around Lucy…it didn't matter if they tried to talk to her or tell her that everything would be ok…she would just get madder and walk away. Even Kevin whom Lucy normally adored couldn't get through to her…he was one of the few that knew what she was going through. She refused to go to the funeral because she didn't want to have to face reality. When the Camden's and Kevin returned from the funeral several hours later, they found Lucy exactly where they had left her, sitting at the dining room table.
The sandwich that Annie had made and encouraged her daughter to eat lay untouched on the table. Eric and Annie shared concerned glances as the rest of the family filed in. Matt, Kevin and Lucy were somber, but Simon and Ruthie were still too young to be fully aware of the situation. Ruthie in particular didn't really understand what was going on.
"Mommy, can Simon and I play now that the funeral's over?"
"Maybe a little later, Ruthie. We still need to be quiet." Annie hushed, trying to escort Ruthie up the stairs. Ruthie, however, was having none of this.
"It's not fair! I've been quiet for three whole days. When are things gonna be normal again?"
"It is my fault! It's all my fault! Nothing will ever be the same again! Nothing!" Lucy had appeared in the front hall. Her face was bright red and her eyes were shiny with tears. Annie quickly grabbed Simon and Ruthie and began carrying them up the stairs. Matt and Mary were quick to follow. Kevin however hung back, an idea starting to form in his head.
"Lucy, how about we sit down and have something to eat, ok? We can talk about this..."
"I DON'T WANT TO EAT!" Lucy screamed, nearly collapsing with the effort.
"Lucy, you have to eat something. You haven't eaten in three days." Eric's tone was grave but kind.
Lucy turned her head away and repeated more softly, "I don't want to eat."
Eric was about to respond, but Kevin suddenly stepped forward.
"I have an idea. How about I take Lucy out to get something to eat? I need to get some fresh air. How about it Luce, go on a walk with me?" Lucy was about to yell at him, but something stopped her. Kevin was looking at her very intently, and she felt a little bit of her anger at the world lessening.
"Ok," she whispered softly, and hurried out the front door before the tears could start to fall again. Kevin looked back at Eric.
"Don't worry, Rev. Camden. I'll take care of her." Eric nodded -- he had a hunch about what Kevin was going to do.
They walked a few blocks down from where the Camden's lived in silence…it wasn't until they reached the cemetery that Lucy realized what was happening.
"Kevin," Lucy said quietly, coming to a halt. "I don't want to see her grave." Instead of protesting like she had expected him to, however, Kevin simply grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along. "Who said that we're going to see your friend's grave? I wouldn't force you to do that." Puzzled, Lucy let Kevin lead her through the cemetery gates.
"It's been a long time since I've been here" he told her grabbing onto her hand as they walked up the steep stone path. She said nothing because she didn't know what to say...the truth was the last time she was at the cemetery was when his dad died as well.
"When was the last time you came?"
"Almost two years ago...when things in my life were taking a turn for the worse...when I felt like my life was starting to crumble around me...I needed to feel some closure...I need to be near my dad again…that's why I came and visited you guys…you have been our friends for so long that I knew I would feel better once I was out here" he told her honestly as they started to weave between the headstones until they reached the section they were looking for. There was some silence before they came to a headstone and stopped…it was only then that Kevin spoke first
"No one else has come with me before"
"Then why did you invite me to come?" she said suddenly.
Kevin was silent for a moment, and Lucy bit her lip, wondering if she'd asked the wrong question. He led her over to a small bench that was placed beneath a petite tree and began to speak.
"Lucy... I'm not going to lie to you. Losing someone you love is hard. No matter how many people tell you that the person is in a better place or that you'll feel better eventually -- it still hurts so much you think it might burst. When my dad died..." Kevin stopped, squeezed Lucy's hand a little, and continued.
"When my dad died, I felt so alone. Even Patty-Mary, Ben, my mom... I felt like I couldn't talk to any of them, because I had to be strong for them. Looking back on it, I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I had shared my pain and let them know about hurt I was feeling." Tears were streaming down Lucy's face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away.
"Lucy, I know that you think no one can understand what you're going through right now. And to a certain extent, you're right. But if you want to be weak for a little while -- you can be. I'm here for you Lucy, and I always will be. Whenever you can't be strong, you just tell me. And no matter how many times you do, I'll never stop thinking of you as the amazing girl that you are."
Lucy tried to get out words -- a thank you, or anything appropriate, but she found herself bursting into tears. Kevin wrapped his arms around her, and Lucy began to sob in earnest. She cried harder than she had at the Pete's Pizzeria, harder than she had at home -- as she leaned her head into Kevin's chest, it suddenly all seemed so real. Her friend was really dead. Soon, she would be buried, and all that would be left was a gravestone, and Lucy would go and visit it just like Kevin did to his father's.
As Lucy thought about how there were never going to be any more trips to the pizzeria, or sleepovers where they stayed up until dawn, or whispered conversations about cute boys, she began to feel as if her insides were about to explode. She clutched on to Kevin for dear life and wished that she would never have to open her eyes again. Kevin, for his part, just let her cry, occasionally stroking her back or rocking her back and forth.
He remembered a similar reaction from Patty-Mary when his father had died, but as he remembered those days, all he could remember was a sense of numbness. He had been grieving, but he hadn't been able to feel his grief. Now, as he held Lucy, it was like the old wounds were being opened up all over again.
All he wanted to do was to make the pain disappear for her, and make her smile again. Kevin swore to himself that he'd do anything for her, help her in any way he could. His thoughts momentarily ceased as he noticed that Lucy's sobs seemed to have stopped and she was now down to sniffling against his chest.
She slowly pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. Her piercing blue eyes were shiny with tears, and her face looked almost hollow with sorrow. Kevin found himself thinking that she looked beautiful. Before he knew what was happening, he was reaching down and wiping a remaining tear from her face, and gently stroking her cheek.
Slowly, their faces began to tilt towards each other. Kevin's lips were about three inches away from Lucy's when suddenly his common sense exploded back into his brain.
"What was he doing? Lucy was in the height of her grief, and here he was, taking advantage of her? Stop it Kinkirk," he told himself. "There's no way she could like you like that."
"Lucy," Kevin whispered. "I think we should get home." Lucy opened her eyes and looked confused for a minute, before leaning back a little.
"Yeah," she said softly. Kevin stood up, as did Lucy. "Thanks Kevin," she said, still looking at the ground as they began to walk. "For everything." Kevin smiled a little, and wrapped his arm around Lucy's shoulders.
"I meant what I said, Luce. Anytime." On that note, Lucy and Kevin slowly strolled out of the graveyard, both occupied in comfortable yet thoughtful silence.
On their way back to the Camdens home, thoughts were racing through Lucy's head.
~*~Lucy's Point of View~*~
"I can't believe I almost kissed Kevin…well actually he almost kissed me" she thought but it was pretty much the same thing. "Why did he stop? It's not like that was going to be my first kiss or anything…maybe it's because I'm Matt's little sister and if he found out he would kill him or something…" she shook her head laughing at the thought of Matt getting mad at Kevin when she felt her hand being dropped by Kevin. She looked up and he smiled her and squeezed her shoulders and grabbed her hand again as they walked out of the cemetery. She felt a lot better…better than how she had been feeling for the last couple of days…and it was due because of Kevin…she felt something…but she still wasn't sure what.
~*~Kevin's Point of View~*~
"I can't believe I almost kissed her…what the hell was I thinking?" he thought to himself holding onto her hand…"that would have been the biggest mistake of my life…Matt would of killed me if he found out what I almost did!" he dropped her hand for a few moments to crack his fingers and looked at her. She had grown up so much since the last time he had seen her…she wasn't the same little girl he use to push around in the stroller with his mom…she wasn't the same little girl who use to call him Kevvy because she couldn't pronounce Kevin at 2-years-old. She wasn't the same little girl that use to come over and prince and princess with Patty-Mary anymore…she was 14-years-old and no longer a little girl. She was turning into someone special that fills a portion of his heart up. He grabbed her hand as they walked out of the cemetery and down to the sidewalk towards the house…he was feeling something towards Lucy and he knew what it was but very unsure what to do about it…he didn't want to do anything about it…it might makes things worse or better yet…it might come back to haunt him like it did with Mindy.