It was a few days later and Martin was sitting in his bedroom thinking to himself. Ruthie was finally out of the hospital, but the two of them had not spoken to each other since then. Martin wasn't sure what to say to her. He told her how he felt, but he never really got around to talking to her about it.

Two hours before, Martin received a message from Sandy on his cell phone asking him to come see her. He didn't know if he should see her; he still had Ruthie on his mind.

After debating it in his head for a bit, Martin decided to go and see Sandy, if for no other reason than to see Aaron.

On his way Martin to go see her, Martin he thought about what he was going to saw to Sandy when he arrived. Despite his nervousness, he was looking forward to finally have a chance to spend time with his son. When he first saw Martin first saw his son, his time was cut short because not even five minutes into the room; Ruthie woke up.

Sandy was pacing nervously as she awaited Martin's arrival. What if Martin doesn't want to be in his son's lifeShe thought to herself. As she continued to pace, Sandy could only hope that things go well when Martin arrives.

Martin approached Sandy's apartment and took a deep breath. Here goes nothingMartin thought to himself as he knocked on her door.

Sandy opened the door surprised to see the father of her child there already. "Martin…. I wasn't expecting you to come this early." Sandy stated. She was so nervous; she began biting her bottom lip.

"Yea, I decided to come early." Martin replied. He waited in an awkward silence a moment, then asked Sandy with a laugh, "May I come in?"

She had apparently not realized that Martin was still standing outside. "OH! Please do come in Martin." Oh great now he must think I'm rudeshe thought to herself.

"Thanks. So what did you want to talk about?" He inquired.

"Well… I was wondering if you plan on being a part of your son's life or not? Personally, I would like it if you were. He deserves a father Martin." Sandy was holding back the tears that were forming in eyes.

Martin took a deep breath and exhaled. He had suspected that this would be part of their conversation. It was time for him to let Sandy know what his intentions were. After all the grief he had caused her, it was the least he could do.

"Yes, I do want to be in his life. You're right. Aaron deserves a father. It won't be all the time, but I can come to see him whenever I get the chance." Martin would keep his word.

"That's fine Martin. Just as long as he has you in his life, I'm happy." Sandy stated. She knew raising a baby would with him would be hard, but she had to try for her son.

"Maybe we can try to be friends, for our son's sake." Martin offered. If he was going to be in Aaron's life, he would have to get along with Sandy.

"Would it be ok if I held him?" Martin asked. He knew that if he was going to be a part of Aaron's life that he would have to get use to holding him.

"Sure! Of course you can hold him, Martin he is your son." Sandy smiled. Martin was finally going to get to hold his son.

Sandy went into Aaron's room and gently picked him up. Aaron was cooing happily as she brought him out to the living room where Martin was sitting and waiting to see his little boy.

"Here's your son." Sandy said as she looked at Martin. She noticed how nervous he was. "Can you say hi to daddy?" Sandy playfully asked her infant son.

Martin was scared. What if he dropped him? He had to be calm about this. Martin gently took Aaron from Sandy's arms. Looking down at the baby in his arms, he smiled. Aaron was looking up at Martin with this curious look on his face. Martin just stared at the weird expression on his sons face. The way Aaron was looking at him was like Aaron instinctively knew who he was. This felt weird for Martin, he never held an infant before. Was he holding him the right way? All these things were going through his mind. Martin picked up one of Aaron's hands and smiled. He marveled at his son's tiny little fingers on his small, but delicate hands. Aaron cooed as he felt Martin hold his hand. Never having heard a baby coo before, brought this glowing smile to Martin's face.

Sandy watched Martin with amazement. He was holding his son, and was smiling like every father should when they first hold their child. This feeling of joy washed over Sandy's body like waves on a beach. The feeling of seeing her son with his father was like nothing she ever felt before. She was happy that her son was going to have his dad in his life, unlike her.

"Wow! He's so calm in your arms. It's amazing." Sandy watched with astonishment.

"Yea it is. I'm surprised that he's so calm with me. I've never been around a baby before." This was all new to Martin. Then something came to his mind, he would be able to teach his son how to play baseball when he got older, just like his dad did with him.

"So, how is Ruthie doing?" Sandy never found out what had happened to Ruthie that day.

All of a sudden Martin's eyes grew wider. He still hadn't talked to her since that day in the hospital. Sandy saw how tense Martin became after hearing Ruthie's name. She wondered if everything was ok with them.

"Listen, I think you should take Aaron now. No, you know what? Let me put him in his crib." Martin said. After Sandy nodded in agreement he walked to Aaron's room and gently placed him in his crib. Before leaving, Martin placed a kiss on Aaron's forehead and left the room.

"Did I say something wrong before? I didn't mean to upset you." Sandy inquired. She didn't know what she did wrong to upset him. Was Martin even talking to Ruthie? She noticed the look in his eyes every time she said her name. It was love; Martin Brewer was in love with Ruthie Camden.

"You didn't upset me. Ruthie is doing fine. She woke up and is now home where she belongs." Martin stated. He really didn't feel like talking about this right now. He came there to talk about Aaron, not Ruthie!

"I am only asking because when I said her name you like tensed up. Please, tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help you." Sandy said trying not to make it sound like she was butting into his life. But, she did want to help him.

"It's nothing, ok! I didn't mean to snap at you it's just...forget it." Martin said. He then sat on the couch and put his face in his hands and sighed. Why was it that everywhere he went, something or someone would bring up Ruthie.

"No Martin, tell me please. Maybe I can help." Why was he being so stubborn? Sandy thought to herself. She hated when he was stubborn.

"How can you help? You don't know what's going on." Martin shot back at her.

"Martin, I can see it in your eyes. You're in love with Ruthie aren't you?" Sandy asked theoretically. She already knew the answer. Martin just stared at her with this blank expression, like he had gone deaf or something.

"Is it that obvious?" Martin asked her.

Sandy simply nodded her head.

"I told her that I had feelings for her, that I realized it after almost losing her. She said she didn't know if she could trust me again, that we should start over as friends and learn to trust each other again. But what if she doesn't ever trust me again? I want Ruthie in my life, even if that means just being friends." Martin knew he was lying to himself, and to Sandy. He didn't want to be just Ruthie's friend; he wanted to be with her. In order to do that Martin had to earn her trust.

"Listen, I know you say you told her how you felt, but did you talk to her more about it?"

Martin shook his head no.

"You need to talk to her, make her understand that you're telling the truth. Don't just say I love you; show her that you love her. Go to her, talk with her. If she says she wants to first be friends with you again then fine. Martin this is your chance, don't blow it. Earn her trust again; make her see how much you really do care. But you need to tell her how you really feel about her." Sandy advised.

This was the best advice that she could give him. Sandy knew that Martin needed to talk to Ruthie. She could easily see in Martin's eyes how much he cared about Ruthie.

Martin knew she was right. If he was ever going to have a chance of anything with Ruthie, he would have to talk to her face to face. He hoped that if he talked to Ruthie, that maybe, just maybe, she might forgive him. If he was going to have any hope of being with Ruthie, he would have to gain her trust back, and that was going to be hard.

"You're right. If I want to have any sort of chance, I have to go and speak with her." Martin stood up and walked to the door. He turned back to face Sandy. "Thanks Sandy, you were a big help. Oh, give Aaron a hug for me and tell him I will be back to see him soon." Martin smiled and left.

Sandy watched as Martin left to go confront the woman he loved. If only she had someone who loved her as much as Martin loved Ruthie.

Ruthie was in her backyard thinking about Martin. She knew that she had feelings for him. The problem was; she wasn't sure if she could trust him again. She wanted to, but it was going to be hard. Some things still needed to be discussed. They would have to talk again. But why was she dreading it? Did she not want to work things out with Martin? Or was she afraid of getting hurt again.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the back gate was opened, and through that door came Martin.

"Hey, can we talk?" Martin asked. Ruthie could tell that there was eagerness in his voice, like he had been waiting to talk to her forever.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Ruthie inquired. She was curious to what Martin had to say.

"Well, first of all, I went to see Aaron today. I got to hold him and everything." He said like a little kid who had just gone to the toy store.

"That's great Martin! I'm glad you got to see your son. I know you didn't get much time to see him because I was in a coma. You would have gotten to see him earlier if I hadn't reacted the way I did." Guilt was running all through her body. Like someone had put poison in her body to make her feel like crap.

"Ruthie, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself!" Martin said.

"Ok…so, back to Aaron. You said that you saw him today?" She said trying to change the subject as quickly as she could.

"He's doing fine. Thank you for asking. But that's not why I'm here Ruthie. I want to talk about what I said to you back at the hospital the other day." This was it, now or neverhe thought.

"What about the other day?" She asked worryingly, hoping that he did not change his mind about starting over, or about loving her.

"Well, I feel like I didn't tell you everything. You see, when you were in that hospital bed unconscious, I told you how I really felt. When you woke up, it was a lot harder for me to say what I wanted to say." Martin didn't know if he was confusing her or not. He didn't want to do that.

"So wait, you're telling me that you spilled your guts to me and I wasn't even conscious? Wow!" She found it odd that he could tell her his feelings when she was in a coma, but couldn't tell her when she was wide awake and ready to listen.

"Yes and no. What I told you in the hospital I meant. I meant every word that you heard. There are some things that I need to say. Ruthie, I love you. When I'm with you, I feel alive. The last time I remember feeling that alive was when my mom was still here." Martin paused. He was getting teary eyed. "You bring this light into my life, I can't explain it. I felt empty inside until I met you. Ruthie don't you see, you make me happier than anyone else in the world. Being with you is like being in heaven, but without you I feel like I'm in hell." He was trying his best not to choke up, but it was hard. How could he tell her she is the light that brightens his heart with love?

Hearing all of this was making Ruthie cry. She never knew that he felt like this about her.

"Ruthie I need to know, do you have feelings for me?" Martin hoped that she felt the same way back.

"Yes Martin, I do have feelings for you. I want us to have a fresh start. Please, let's try to regain our friendship back to the way it was. You still have to earn my trust, and it's going to take awhile, but I want us to try." Ruthie said and wiped some tears from her eyes.

"Maybe one day we can be more than friends, but until then, we are going to be friends." She knew this was killing him on the inside.

"I promise Ruthie, you will be able to trust me again. As long as I have a chance to be with you and make things right. Thank you Ruthie." Martin looked into her eyes and saw the hope.

He moved closer to her, leaned forward, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

AN: Well that was ch 8...I hope you all like this ch...I was sooo thrilled with the reviews I got for 7...thanks a bunch...now if you want ch 9 or another update review...I would like to get to 145 reviews or at least 142..lololololol...you guys are the best