Only Time

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A/N

This is a re-write of a story I wrote a very long time ago. My original goal was simply to tidy up the formatting, remove the insane amount of head-hopping, and fix internal continuity errors (like, seriously, why couldn't I keep my own characters' ages straight!?)

Of course, as I went along, it was impossible not make changes…..

The story is essentially the same, but there are a few more scenes and (most importantly) timeline is concrete (thanks to the streaming services and wiki-pages! I've been able to go back, re-watch episodes, get concrete cannon birthdays (where they exist), and chat with other fans about fannon information). I feel as if I'm a much stronger writer than I was almost 20 years ago. All the credit goes to various beta readers and editors who have slashed my work to pieces with their red pens. I love you all.

Since it wasn't in my original notes, it took me a while of going through old episodes to remember why I started this in the first place. I loathe Rose (sorry Rose fans!) She annoyed the snot out of me, and Simon is hands-down my favorite Camden. He deserved better. So, I gave him better.

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7th Heaven:

This story begins (after many rewrites and changes) in April of 2005 (mid-Season 9), but diverges somewhat, starting at the beginning of the season.

In the original/cannon Season 9, Simon's parents convince him to go to therapy at the start of the school year (that would be Simon's sophomore year at an unnamed college which seems to be located several hours north of Glen Oak); in this AU, he goes to see his dad's therapist, but shuts out Dr. Gibson and only shows up a few times to appease his parents. I'm making this choice for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the tone of the original version of my story (i.e., Simon is still suffering from guilt). While I wanted to line this up better with cannon, I wasn't willing to let go of certain aspects of the original story.

In the original/cannon Season 9, Simon gets an STD scare in February of 2005, but doesn't come home to get an STD test until May of that year. In this story, Simon comes home in March, gets the good news that he is STD free (although he still gets an ear-full from Matt about taking so long to get tested!)

In the original/cannon Season 9, Simon is on "disciplinary suspension" for skipping class, even though he somehow had a partial scholarship for academic excellence. This makes about as much sense as Kevin and Ben "requesting a transfer" from the New York Police and Fire Departments to the Glen Oak Police and Fire Departments, respectively. We do all realize that each city operates it's own police and fire departments and they are not interconnected, right? But I digress…. I'll roll with "disciplinary suspension" because I can use it for Simon's state of mind, but eventually, everyone is going to have a class they struggle with, especially if they're distracted and not as committed to attendance as they should be, so in my AU, Simon struggles through the first semester of his sophomore year and decides to withdraw with incompletes rather than flunk out altogether. (Greater explanation in the text of the story.)

I have also made some changes to Matt and Sarah's storyline; nothing major in terms of life-events. I love Matt and Sarah and want them to have nothing short of a happy life together! I have also worked to tie up a few loose ends with some of my other favorite characters, giving them little cameos that never happened in cannon (no doubt because television has limitations!)

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Beauty and the Beast:

First off, just to be clear, this is Ron Koslow's 1987 Beauty and the Beast. We shall speak of the 20-whatever remake even less than we speak of the it-never-happened-third season of the 1987 BATB!

This is one of several stories I have written—and will likely continue to write. They begin with my fix-it-fic of the it-never-happened-third season (which is also going to get a re-write, hopefully by this year's Winterfest).

In re-watching BATB, I discovered a couple of things that annoyed me with production. I understand the constraints of television production, especially during the era in which BATB was originally filmed (i.e., the kinds of production schedules they were working with), so I understand why, but am annoyed, nonetheless. When Catherine is abducted (while probably almost two months pregnant), the grass is green, there are green leaves on the trees, and people are wearing overcoats. During her funeral, six months later, the grass is green, there green leaves on the trees, and people are wearing overcoats. The original air dates for both episodes are December of 1989. Clearly, despite the airdates, the events did not take place in December, in New York City.

So, for the sake of something that resembles my sanity as a writer, Catherine's abduction happens in early fall of 1988 (she is already at least one month pregnant, possibly a bit more); she is found and saved in March of 1989 (giving Jacob a March birthday).

In my AUverse, Catherine conceives again (unintentionally) in late May. Under the circumstances, even Father can't quite fault her and Vincent—but does caution them against a second unintended pregnancy (especially so close after the birth of a previous child). Caroline is born on January 2, 1990; like Jacob, she came to full term sooner than a "normal" human pregnancy.

I have chosen this date for Caroline's birthday in some small part to address the squick factor of the age disparity between she and Simon. When I originally conceived the story a) I had Simon's age wrong (I had him older, which is actually worse), b) I hadn't run the math, I just started writing, c) I think the world was a slightly different place, or at least my perspective was a little less cynical. It was still a little squicky, but I found myself much more squicked out when I started re-writing. I will be addressing their age difference much more head-on in this second edition of the story.

Regarding Bridget O'Donnell: I never actually wrote the story, but I always had it in my head that at some point, Bridget comes back for a visit, perhaps after writing more faerie tales and poems, meets up with Catherine and becomes a part of her and Vincent's lives.

Lastly, if you haven't read my fix-it fic, you may have questions. The next section addresses some of them.

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The rest of the Crossovers:

I am not 100% certain why I crossed over everything I did in the original version of this story and it's greater AU. I realize that I could go back and edit out the least relevant-seeming crossover (Alien Nation; for the record, I am speaking of the television/book series not the movie), but it was one of my favorite television shows (later adapted into novel-form) in the late 80's and I believe it's message is even more relevant today than ever. Also: I love crossovers. We can do in writing what could never be done on the screen. So please indulge me my not-so-guilty pleasure and take this at face value. One of the things I loved about Alien Nation was the way it made the situation seem believable, in exactly the same way Beauty and the Beast made the impossible seem real.

When I decided to write a fix-it fic for Though Lovers Be Lost, I wanted to accomplish several things. 1. The obvious (save Catherine). 2. Keep Diana; I love Diana! She's awesome. And she deserves a good boyfriend. 3. Find Diana a good boyfriend (enter Fin Tutuola, from Law and Order: SVU). 4. Give Gabriel the end he truly deserved. Numbers 1 and 4 wound up being wrapped up in the same idea: James O'Barr's The Crow. I'd already written a couple of Crow fanfics (although these are not directly related to this story or it's extended AU) and it's not as if BATB doesn't allow for a little magic here and there!

If anyone is wondering, yes, I have a logical explanation for why Kate is still around; it simply hasn't been discussed on the page yet.

Also incorporated into my BATB AU is Joel Fleischman from Northern Exposure. Although there are fan theories that Joel's seemingly magical walk home from Alaska to New York is really him dying and going into the After Life, I've never interpreted it that way. Northern Exposure is another show that, while largely grounded in reality, wasn't afraid to allow for a little mystery now and then. I never wrote a "how Joel came to be part of the Helper Network" fic because it didn't really seem necessary. Perhaps the same magic that brought him home to New York also drew him to the Tunnels….

Lastly, Any Gray and her family are from television's Judging Amy. The crossover (which has it's own fic) came about because I wanted Elliott Burch to find someone special. I loved Elliot's story/growth arc throughout BATB and after initially avoiding the series Judging Amy (the title and trailers led me to believe it was something other than what it was), I ended up hooked on the show back in the early 90's (I'm so sad it's not streaming anywhere). After watching the character go through a series of terrible boyfriends, I decided she needed someone special in her life even more than Elliott did. My Elliott/Amy fic is called Breathless, and will also be getting an update in the coming months.

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To everyone who has previously read, enjoyed, and reviewed the first edition of Only Time THANK YOU!

I have recently re-read the old reviews, and truly, thank you so VERY much!

To anyone new stumbling across this, I hope you also enjoy (reviews don't hurt, either!)

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The usual Disclaimers apply. I did not create, nor do I own anything created by someone else.

The title of this story comes from a song by Enya; due to changing copyright laws, I'm editing out most of the song lyrics...

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Who can say where the road goes?
Where the day flows? Only Time
And who can say if your love grows
As your heart chose? Only Time

~Enya

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Original Story Stats:

Title: Only Time
Category: TV Shows » 7th Heaven
Author: Helen Pattskyn
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Genre: Romance/Drama
Published: 01-05-05, Updated: 03-19-05
Chapters: 14, Words: 89,260

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Chapter One: NYC, Monday, April 4, 2005

"Earth to Simon."

Simon Camden started as Matt's hand flickered across his vision.

"Anybody there?"

"Knock it off." Simon grabbed his brother's hand, just as Matt went to wave it in front of his face again.

"Have you heard a single word I just said?"

"Yeah, sure," Simon lied. It couldn't be anything different that Matt had said yesterday or the day before, or the day before that. Ever since Simon got to New York on Friday, Matt had been hounding Simon about how had to stop wallowing and come up with a plan to get his life together. Wasn't the point of this trip to get away from everything, to get a fresh perspective? At this rate, he might as well have stayed in Glen Oak. He'd been getting the same lecture from Mom and Dad—from Lucy, Kevin, and even Ruthie—since he left school last month. It had been bad enough being on disciplinary suspension, which was total B.S., if you asked Simon. He'd passed his classes, hadn't he? Who cared whether or not he showed up? But even after making an effort, a real effort, last semester, he'd still screwed up.

In more ways than one.

His teachers had all advised the same thing—at least the ones willing to talk to him about it, because some of his teachers had said, in blunt and painful terms, that if he didn't care about their classes or his own future, why should they care about him? The ones willing to listen to see him, to talk to him, listen to him, had all had the same advice: if he dropped out now, took incompletes instead of failing grades, he could avoid being expelled and might have a chance of coming back next fall, if he could his head on straight by then. His counselor had reminded him that he'd only been granted early admittance because he'd shown not only academic excellence, but the kind of maturity that made the admissions office believe he was ready to live away from home, ready to start his life as an adult. So far, his choices hadn't been very mature. The worst part was that he didn't know what was wrong with him. He did care about his classes. His future. He just kept messing up.

Maybe Mom and Dad were right. Maybe he should see someone.

A professional.

A therapist.

Simon had tried going to Dr. Gibson back in August, before the school year started, but it was just too weird talking to his father's therapist. So, he'd gone just enough to satisfy his parents—he still couldn't believe Dad had threatened to cut him off, financially—and taken Gibson's referral for a couple of therapists near his school. He hadn't followed up with any of them. How was he supposed to find the time? Besides, what good would talking do, anyway? Maybe Dad could talk through his issues—issues that had taken a whole lot longer than a few sessions to sort through—but talking wouldn't bring Paul Smith back to life.

Simon shoved it aside and let his gaze flick back across the crowd to the girl…woman?

Beauty….

To the beauty sitting there on the other side of the crowded courtyard, outside St. Vincent's hospital, where Sarah had taken an internship last September. Matt was still interning at St. Luke's. Apparently, part of the plan to put their marriage back together involved spending less time together, so Sarah had arranged to have a different advisor and a different internship. Him and Matt were only there waiting for her to get off shift, so they could have lunch together before heading back to Matt and Sarah's apartment. Matt had a shift tonight.

Simon had…. Nothing.

Nothing to do. Nowhere to go.

What was the point of this trip, again?

He looked back at the girl—the absolute beauty—who had caught his attention almost the instant she sat down, with her long, strawberry blonde curls, pulled into a ponytail that hung over one shoulder. She was so engrossed in her book, she hadn't even noticed Simon existed.

"Hang it up, little brother." Matt had apparently clued in to what—or who—had Simon so preoccupied. "She is way out of your league."

"What's that supposed to mean? And how would you know?"

The look Matt shot him would have been enough to dissuade the average person. It only made Simon suspicious. "What—or rather who do you know that I don't?" He cast a meaningful look in the girl's direction. After all, Sarah worked here. Maybe she did too. Maybe Matt had seen her around. Maybe Sarah knew her. Maybe Matt knew her. And if that was the case…. "You have to introduce us."

"Did you somehow miss the part where I said she was out of your league?"

"You have no idea what my league is."

Matt shot him another withering look. It stung, but only because Matt was right. Mom and Dad. Lucy. Ruthie. They were all right. He was a failure. A screwup.

"I didn't mean it that way." Matt laid a hand gently on Simon's shoulder.

Simon brushed it off. "Yes, you did." It wasn't Matt's fault. The only person Simon could blame was himself, even if deep down—or not so deep down—he wanted to blame Cecelia. He'd broken things off with her before he went off to college last year because he wanted a fresh start. He started seeing Georgia. Cecelia started seeing Martin. She had the right to move on with her life, didn't she? Maybe it shouldn't have been with Martin, a guy who was living in Matt's old room, which was really, Matt and Robbie's old room, which as was really Ruthie's old room, before she moved up into the attic room with Lucy after Mary got shipped off to Buffalo. But then Matt got married and him and Sarah came to New York for school, and Robbie moved to Florida to be with his mom, and Martin moved in across the street to live with his aunt, only she was some kind of fashion designer—or something, Simon had seen her clothes and didn't think much of them. In any case, Simon's parents had let Martin move in with them—which was after Martin and Cecelia started dating, which was also after Simon and Georgia started dating, although his parents didn't know anything about Georgia, mostly because they were doing things his parents wouldn't approve of.

But then Simon and Georgia split up and Cecelia broke it off with Martin, just before Simon came home for the summer, and for a little while, things were back to normal. Him and Cecelia were together. Lucy and Kevin were having a baby. Matt and Sarah had hit a rough patch, but were working things out. Ruthie was starting high school, the twins were starting kindergarten. Mary was…well, she was Mary, what did anyone expect? They'd even heard from Robbie. He was getting married to a girl he'd met in Florida, a minister's daughter, if they could believe it—which of course they could. They hadn't set a date yet but were thinking some time next spring and he hoped at least some of the family could make it because he really wanted Simon to be his best man. Simon wasn't sure if that was Robbie's way of trying to make up for Matt asking Robbie instead of Simon to be his best man, when Matt's best friend John couldn't make it to the wedding, but Simon was flattered just the same. And he would be lying to himself if he tried to say the news hadn't gotten him thinking about his own life, his own future with Cecelia—but then Cecelia dumped him, right out of the blue, because she was going to college in the fall, a different school from the one he was attending, and hadn't he been the one to say a long-distance relationship would never work? So, like an idiot, he got back together with Georgia, even though he didn't love her anymore—he wasn't sure he'd ever loved her. He'd liked her. Liked being with her, especially in ways his parents, the Reverend and Mrs. Camden didn't approve of. But if God didn't want people to have sex, why did He make it feel so good?

Only…it didn't feel good. It did. The physical part was good. It was great. It was just afterwards it felt all wrong.

Lately, everything felt wrong. It was more than Cecelia or Georgia—Georgia lying to him to try and trick him into marrying her—or the stuff that happened with Sandra, the girl he'd dated after Georgia, the one he was afraid he'd gotten the STD from.

"Matthew Camden."

Simon had been so mired in his thoughts he didn't realize that strawberry blonde girl…woman…was standing right over him until she said his brother's name. Heat flashed up to his cheeks when he looked up to find sky-blue eyes fixed on him, even though it was his brother she had clearly addressed.

"Hi," Matt muttered in response.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Well now. That was the most lukewarm welcome I think anyone has ever given me." She held a well-worn hardcover book out towards him. She was shorter than Cecelia, her figure all soft curves, barely obscured in the folds of an over-sized fuzzy blue sweater. The puffy-sleeved blouse under it sweater was buttoned to the collar, where she wore a large blue cameo pin. Her skirt came almost to her ankles. "I promised Sarah she could borrow this. Would you mind giving it to her for me?"

"No, I mean sure. Sorry. No problem," Matt stammered. "I'll be happy to give this to Sarah." He took the book and glanced at the cover. "Bridget O'Donnell?"

"It's a copy of her first book. Bridget is in town this weekend and Sarah's coming with me for one of her readings. I'm sure you're invited, too."

"Thanks, but…ah, I think I'll sit this one out." Matt offered up a wan smile.

The smile she returned it with, the one she flashed in Simon's direction, was filled with the kind of warmth that sent tingles up and down Simon's spine. "I suppose poetry readings aren't for everyone," she said. "Anyway, this particular book can be difficult to find, and my parents had a copy, so I told Sarah she could borrow it before the reading."

"I'll make sure she gets it," Matt promised.

The girl turned her gaze fully onto Simon. "I'm Caroline Chandler-Wells, by the way." She held out her hand.

Warmth flared once more in Simon's cheeks. He felt sure his heart had skipped a beat or two, but before he could speak, Matt chimed in:

"This is Simon. My kid brother. Visiting. He's visiting. From California."

Simon accepted Caroline's delicate little hand. It was tiny inside his. "N-nice to meet you," he managed. He grasp was gentle. Soft. "You have beautiful hands." Was it possible to sound any more stupid? "I mean…um….that is…they're so small and…um…." Why was he suddenly such a tongue-tied idiot?

Caroline chuckled. It was sweet and not at all condescending, even though he was sure he must sound like a moron. "I can honestly say that is something no one has ever said to me before," she told him. "Thank you, Simon."

"You want to join us? I could buy you a cup of coffee or something."

Matt's displeasure was palpable. But what as the big deal? It was just a cup of coffee. Not even that, it was the offer of a cup of coffee. Hospital coffee, at that. Even he wasn't going to go broke buying someone a cup of hospital coffee, even with the mountain of credit card debt he'd accrued over the past year, which was yet another the long list of Simon's mistakes.

"I'd love to, but my ride's here." Caroline nodded towards a black mustang that had just pulled up to the curb. She hesitated, her gaze fixing on the ground between their feet for several heartbeats before finding his face again. "I volunteer at the hospital from three to eight on Tuesday, Wednesday, and every other Friday. If you want to buy me a cup of coffee then, I would be delighted to accept. You can ask for me at the Volunteers' Desk."

"Yeah. Sure. Sure, I'd like that." A lot? Too much? Hadn't he just been thinking about all his other failures with women?

Her smile set another flutter of nerves in Simon's stomach. "Well, I guess I'll see you again, Simon. Matthew." She nodded at Matt, turned, and hurried towards the waiting car.

"Out. Of. Your. League." Matt hissed, just barely under his breath, after Caroline had slid into the passenger seat. Simon didn't miss the way the driver, a big, burly black guy with a goatee and ponytail, glowered over at them. More importantly, he was sure Matt had noticed, too, at least if the way his eyebrows were getting more and more scrunched up was any indication.

In any case, Simon couldn't argue with Matt's assessment, even if he had no idea who the scary looking black guy was. On the other hand, "If the whole point of my coming out here was to get my mind of Cecelia—and every other mistake I've made the past year where women are concerned—it seems like meeting someone new, for coffee," he emphasized, "is a good thing, right? Besides, it's not like I'm moving to New York. I'm just here for a couple of weeks."

Matt shot over a dubious look that only got more dubious when Simon picked up the book Caroline had left behind for Sarah and started leafing through it. He was only curious, or so he told himself. He only got more curious when he started reading, because the last thing he'd ever pegged Sarah as being interested in was old Irish Faerie Tales….

…

"Who's the guy?" Fin—Odafin Tutuola—asked as Caroline buckled herself in. She was blushing. It was cute, even if the guy had to be a few years too old to be looking at Caroline the way he was. Not that the poor kid probably realized it. Caroline might be fifteen—and a half, she would be quick to remind him—but she looked and (much to her parent's, aunt's, uncle's, and grandfather's chagrin) acted a good three or four years older. Some of it was genetics. Some of it was just who she was, the way she was raised, and the people who raised her. None of it was an act, at least not in the way Fin was pretty sure some of her classmates thought. Not that he was supposed to know that last part. Caroline did a good job of hiding how unhappy she was at that school—or maybe all Cathy's focus for that kind of thing was being taken up by on Jake, who'd been expelled three times in the last four years.

As to Fin's question, Caroline shifted in her seat and pulled her nearly ankle-length skirt needlessly down, so it practically covered the toes of her boots. "Matthew Camden. Well, Matt." She shrugged. "His wife is a medical intern at St. Vincent's. He's an intern too, but he's at St. Luke's across town, so I'm really more friends with Sarah. Well, you know, not exactly friends, but I like talking to her. She doesn't treat me the way most of the rest of the staff does."

Like some rich kid ticking off boxes on their college application…. Yeah, Fin knew the story. He was one of the few people Caroline would talk to about stuff like that, stuff that made it sound like she was complaining. He knew Vincent and Catherine would want to know, that they would understand, but he also knew Caroline trusted him with her secrets, so as long as it didn't get too out of hand, he would keep her confidence.

However, "I'm pretty sure I was asking about th' other guy."

Caroline's cheeks turned crimson. "Oh. Him. Simon." She shifted in her seat. "He's Matt's little brother. He's just visiting."

"Uh-huh."

"He is!"

Fin snickered. "You do realize that 'little brother' or not, that guy is way too old for you." It wasn't a question.

"I'm sure he's not going to be here long enough for it to be an issue." An almost bashful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "He is cute though, don't you think?"

"Maybe. But your father would have a conniption."

Her grin turned mischievous. "It might be worth it, just to watch."

Fin chuckled. "Yeah. It just might. But do us all a favor—"

"I know he's too old, Uncle Fin." She smoothed out her skirt. "But…I could have a cup of coffee with him, couldn't I? It's not like coffee, especially hospital coffee, is anything special."

Fin wasn't sure whether he should laugh or skip town for a couple of days until this all blew over. "Just do the rest of us a favor and make sure you let Romeo there know that fifteen'll get him twenty."

Caroline went wide-eyed. "I—"

"Maybe you wouldn't, but he might try."

She snorted. "If he does, having you arrest him will be the least of his worries."