A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it! The next chapter, maybe even thh next two chapters, will be the funeral. As always, please read & review!! Please feel free to give me constructive criticism. I'm always looking for a way to improve my stories.

Disclaimer: If I owned 7th heaven, the show would still be on, so, obviously, I don't own the show or any of the characters from it.

The day of Kevin's funeral was cold and cloudy. It looked like it could rain at any moment. Lucy sighed as she looked out the window. The weather matched her mood, dark and dreary. She was not looking forward to having to face the crowd that she knew would attend Kevin's funeral. She had been warned by Chief Michaels that most funerals for officers killed in the line of duty had a very large number of people in attendance.

As Lucy stared out the window, she saw the first of what she knew would be many reporters pull up outside the house. She sighed. There had been reporters camped outside her house since Kevin's name was first released to the press. That, along with a never-ending stream of phone calls which had eventually driven her to turn off her phone, was an intrusion that she despised. All she wanted was to be left alone to mourn in private, but instead she had the media camped outside on her doorstep. The Glenn Oak Police Department was doing their best to keep the media at bay, but occasionally a few vans from various TV stations would slip by unnoticed due to the limited resources of the department.

Lucy knew that all she had to do to get the reporter currently parked in front of her house to go away was make a quick call to the police department, but as long as they stayed away from the house and didn't try to talk to her, Lucy didn't care where they were parked. She knew that the department was doing it's best to handle the additional load placed on it since Kevin's death.

"Mommy," called Savannah from her bedroom, interrupting Lucy's thoughts.

"I'm coming," Lucy called back as she headed towards Savannah's room. She was glad that she had insisted on keeping the girls with her last night when her mom had tried to convince her that it would be better for them to stay with her. She knew that her mom was just concerned for her and the girls, but she knew that it was time the girls got back some sense of normalcy. It had been five days since Kevin died, and aside from that first night after his death and then again last night, the girls had been staying at her mom's house. She knew that both Savannah and Erin were frightened by this whole ordeal. Although they were too young to understand everything, they knew that something was terribly wrong. They needed to be with their mom during this time, not their grandma or an aunt or uncle.

Lucy entered Savannah's room and smiled at what she saw. Erin had at some point in the night gotten out of her own bed and gone to Savannah's room to climb in bed with her. From what her mom had told her, this had been a regular occurrence since Kevin's death.

Savannah looked up at Lucy. "Mommy, Erin wanted to sleep with me again," she said softly, so as not to wake Erin, who was still sleeping.

"I know, sweetie. She just wants to be near you right now," Lucy informed her daughter while carefully moving Erin over so Savannah could get up. "Come on, let's go fix you some breakfast, then we'll wake Erin up and we'll get ready to go to the church for Daddy's funeral."

"Okay, Mommy," Savannah replied, slipping her hand into Lucy's as they walked towards the kitchen. "Are Uncle Ben, and Grandma Karen still here?"

"Yes," Lucy replied. "They're still sleeping, though. Be quiet, we don't want to wake them up."

Ben and Karen Kinkirk, Kevin and Ben's mom, had been sleeping at Lucy's house since the first night she had stayed alone after Kevin's death. She thought back to that night.

*Flashback*

Lucy sat on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably. She missed Kevin so much. She didn't know how she could go on without him, but she knew she had to. She calmed herself down and headed towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Lucy was almost to the kitchen when she hear the sound of glass breaking. She ran as fast as she could towards the telephone and picked it up. No dial tone. She had unplugged it earlier because of all the phone calls she had been getting. She hurried over to her purse, which was still sitting in the counter where she had set it after Matt brought home from her doctor's appointment the day of Kevin's death. She reached inside of it and pulled out her phone. Quickly, she flipped it open and dialed Ben's cell phone number.

"Lucy? What's wrong?" Ben answered, his voice full of concern.

"I just heard some glass break," she whispered. "I think maybe someone's trying to break in."

"I'll be right there, Lucy. Hang on. Stay on the phone with me. I'm going to have mom call the police. Don't hang up, okay, Lucy?"

"Okay," she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. "Just hurry. I'm scared."

"I know, Luce. The police are on their way and so am I. Where are you?"

"In the kitchen."

"Okay. I want you to get out of the house,, okay? I'm almost there, just hang on, Lucy."

Lucy hear footsteps coming down the hall towards the kitchen. "Ben, I hear footsteps. They're coming towards the kitchen," she whispered anxiously.

"Get out of there, Luce! Get out of there now!" Ben shouted into the phone as he screeched to a halt in front of the house.

He threw open his door and ran towards the house. He heard sirens coming down the street, but they weren't coming fast enough as far as he was concerned. He was almost to the house when he saw Lucy run out of the house and towards her neighbor's house, tears streaming down her cheeks. The moment she saw him, she changed directions and ran straight into his rams, sobbing.

Ben wrapped his arms around her and held her. "Shh, you're okay, Luce, you're okay. I've got you."

A police car screeched to a halt in front of the house, two more directly behind it. The four officers from the first two police cars had their guns drawn and were running towards the house; the other two headed towards Lucy and Ben.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" one of the officers asked.

Lucy nodded. "There was someone in my house," she whispered, tears continuing to stream down her face.

"It's alright, ma'am, there are officers in your house now looking for the him. If he's in there, we'll find him, don't worry." he comforted.

"Do you want us to call a squad to check you over, just in case?" his partner asked.

Before Lucy had the chance to say anything, Ben said, "That won't be necessary. I've already called her brother, who is also her doctor, and he's on his way over now to check her over."

Lucy looked up at Ben and frowned. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "I'm fine."

"It's just a precaution, Luce. You're eight months pregnant and you've just been through your second traumatic experience in as many days. I just want to make sure you and the babies are okay."

The officers who had been sent in to search Lucy's house came out before Lucy had a chance to reply. They had a man in handcuffs and were leading him to one of the squad cars.

One of the officers that had searched the house came over to talk to Lucy. "We caught that man in your house, rifling through your things. He claims to be a reporter trying to get more information on your family and Sergeant Kinkirk. We're going to take him down to the station and do a little digging to see if he's telling the truth. Chief Michaels is on his way over here to talk to you about security." The officer turned and walked towards his squad car before Lucy had the chance to say anything.

"I don't want security stationed at my house," Lucy told Ben. "I want to retain at least some of my privacy."

"There's no way you're refusing security, Lucy, not after this. I'm not going to let you.."

Lucy sighed and was about to argue with him when she saw Matt pull up behind all the police cars. He came running towards her.

"Luce, are you alright?" he asked.

Lucy nodded. "I'm fine; just a little shook up right now, that's all."

Matt frowned as he looked her over. "Ben, can I talk to you for a minute in back?" he asked.

Ben nodded. He and Matt turned and started walking towards the back yard, but were stopped short by Lucy's call of "No, don't leave me!"

They both turned around and immediately ran back towards her, hearing the terror in her voice.

Matt reached her first. He pulled her tense body into his arms. "Shh, it's okay, Luce. We're not going anywhere. Don't worry; we're still here."

Lucy buried her face in his chest, just as she had done when she had been upset about something as a girl. "I'm scared, Matt. Don't leave me," she whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here as long as you want me to," he replied.

Ben, in an effort to give the brother and sister some time alone, headed towards the road and watched down the street for Chief Michaels. After a few minutes, he spotted the chief's car turning onto the street.

Chief Michaels got out of the car and walked over to Ben. "Ben, how's she doing?' he asked quietly.

"She's pretty shook up right now, Chief. This really scared her, but she claims she doesn't want any security at the house because she doesn't want to lose any more of her privacy."

"I understand, but I don't want what happened to day to happen again. She doesn't need this right now. I'll do my best to respect her need for privacy, but I'll do what I need to in order to keep her safe. I won't let anything happen to her. I can't." Chief Michaels said firmly. "If something happened to her, I'd feel like I let down both Kevin and Reverend Camden. I'll talk to Lucy and explain what I have in mind."

*End Flashback*

Sergeant Michaels had posted several officers at the end of her street, order a regular patrol around the neighborhood, and had also orders regular patrols in the Camden's neighborhood.

Matt had checked her over, and both she and the babies were fine. He had wanted to stay overnight with her, but she refused, telling him to go home to Sarah and his boys. Matt only agreed when Ben stepped in and said that he and his mom would stay with Lucy. When Lucy tried to argue, both Matt and Ben told her that if she didn't agree, they would go to Chief Michaels and have him post some officers in front of the house, like he had originally wanted to do. She had quickly agreed to let Ben and Karen stay at her house.

Savannah was almost finished with breakfast when Ben came in. "Uncle Ben!" she exclaimed.

Hey, munchkin," Ben replied, leaning down to give her a kiss. He then walked over to where Lucy stood at the counter, preparing breakfast for Erin, Ben, Karen, and herself. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

Lucy glanced at the clock. "You could go get Erin up. If she doesn't get up now, I'll never have her ready in time for the funeral."

Ben nodded and started to leave the room, but Lucy called after him, "Wait!" He turned back towards her. "She's in Savannah's bed," she stated.

Ben nodded and continued on down the hall. When eh reached Savannah's room, he stopped in the doorway and stood there for a couple of minutes, watching his niece sleep. Finally, he tiptoed over to the bed and called softly, "Erin, time to get up, sleepyhead."

Erin stirred, but didn't open her eyes. Ben smiled. Erin had always been hard to wake up. "Erin, come on baby, it's time to get up. Mommy's making breakfast for you."

Erin opened her eyes. "Daddy?" she asked groggily.

Ben's heart broke for his adorable little niece who would never see her daddy again. "No, baby, it's Uncle Ben. Daddy's in heaven, remember?" he said, his voice cracking.

Erin's eyes filled with tears. "I want daddy," she whimpered.

Ben sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Erin into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. "I know you do, baby. But daddy will always be with you." He placed his hand on Erin's heart. "Daddy lives in here. You can't see him, but he's there, and he'll always be watching over you."

Lucy quietly stepped away from the doorway where she had been standing, watching the whole thing. She quickly brushed away her tears and returned to the kitchen. Savannah had just finished eating and was putting her dishes in the sink. "Thank you, Annah," Lucy said, using the nickname Erin had given Savannah when she had first started talking. "I'm going to get Erin some breakfast, then I'll be in to help you get dressed and do your hair."

"Okay, Mommy," Savannah replied. She skipped down the hall to her room, almost running into Ben, who had just come out of her room carrying Erin.

Ben reached out a hand to steady her. "Careful, munchkin, you almost ran me over!" eh said jokingly.

Savannah giggled. "I can't run you over, Uncle Ben; you're bigger than me!"

Ben got a thoughtful look on his face, then said slowly, as if he was just realizing it, "Well, I guess I am bigger than you! Imagine that! And here I thought you were the bigger one."

"You're silly, Uncle Ben," Savannah laughed. "You'd better take Erin to the kitchen before mommy gets mad. She's waiting for her to come eat breakfast so she can get me dressed and do my hair."

Ben laughed. 'Well, I guess I'd better get a move on, then. I don't want your mommy to be mad at me. She gets pretty scary when she's mad." he said with a very serious look on his face.

Once Savannah had skipped on into her room, Ben continued down the hall and entered the kitchen, where Lucy was waiting. "I was informed that by a certain little munchkin that I had better get this little lady to the kitchen before her mommy gets mad."

Lucy laughed and reached up to take Erin from him. "Is that so? And what did you say?"

"Oh no you don't. You could have those babies any time now, Luce. You don't need to be lifting Erin." Ben sat her down in her chair. "I told Munchkin that I wouldn't want her mommy to get mad at me because she can get pretty scary when she's mad."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Ben." She started to go over to the counter to get Erin's breakfast, but Ben stopped her. "I'll take care of getting Erin some breakfast. You go help Savannah get ready and then get ready yourself."

"And who's going to help Erin get ready? I'd hate to see what she'd look like if you dressed her and fixed her hair!" Lucy joked.

Ben laughed. "Mom should be ready by the time Erin's done eating. She can help her get ready."

"Okay. Let em know if you need anything," Lucy called over her shoulder as she headed towards Savannah's room.

Ben turned back to Erin. "Okay little lady, let's get you something to eat."

"Savannah, I want you to brush your teeth and your hair, make your bed, and pick up your room. I'm going to go get ready, then I'll come and help you get ready, okay?" Lucy instructed her daughter when she reached her room.

"Okay, Mommy," Savannah replied.

Lucy went into her room and shut the door. Tears filled her eyes. What was she doing laughing today, the day of Kevin's funeral? She felt almost as if she were betraying his memory by laughing when she should be crying. She brushed the tears away and walked over to her closet.

Lucy looked through the clothes hanging in her closet, looking for the black dress she was planning on wearing to the funeral. After a minute or so of looking, she found it. As soon as she pulled it out, she realized that it was not the black dress she had been looking for; rather, it was the black dress she had been wearing the night Kevin proposed.

Lucy backed up to the edge of her bed and sat down, still holding the dress. She smiled as she thought back to that night. Kevin had surprised her when he had gotten down on one knee and pulled out the ring. The words that the had spoken to her then, "Lucy Camden, will you marry me?" echoed over and over again in her mind.

"Yes, Kevin Kinkirk, I will marry you," was the answer she had given him that night. She had been so happy and so in love with Kevin. That day had been one of the best days of her life.

At that time, she never would have guessed that in less than eight years she'd be a widow, left with two children and two more on the way. Not that it would have changed a thing. Even if she had known then that she would only have eight years with Kevin before he died, she still would have agreed to marry him. Even though they'd only had eight years together, they were the best eight years of her life. She loved Kevin just as much, if not more, the day he died as she did when she'd agreed to marry him.

Lucy got up off the bed and hung the dress back in her closet. After a little more searching, she finally found the black dress she had been looking for.

After putting the dress on and doing her hair and makeup, she went back to Savannah's room, where Savannah was patiently sitting on her bed and waiting.

"Okay, Savannah, let's get you dressed and ready to go," Lucy said. She walked over to Savannah's closet and pulled out the dark blue dress that she had ironed for Savannah yesterday. It was a dress that Savannah had just worn a couple of weeks ago to get her picture taken with Erin.

Lucy took the dress off of the hanger and slipped it over Savannah's head. "Okay, Annah, let's see what we can do with your hair," she said, grabbing a brush and a hair bow off of the dresser.

Twenty minutes later, Lucy, Savannah, Erin, Ben, and Karen were ready to leave for the church. Ben was carrying Erin and Lucy held Savannah's hand as they walked out to the car. After getting Erin all strapped into her booster seat, Lucy turned to Ben and handed him the keys. "You're going to have to drive. I can't fit behind the wheel anymore," she said quietly, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Ben took the keys from her. "Luce, it's fine. That's nothing to be embarrassed about," he replied, in a voice equally as quiet as Lucy's had been."

He looked over at his mother, who was getting ready to open the door to the passenger's seat. "Mom, I'm driving. Why don't you let Lucy ride up front? That way she'll be more comfortable."

"Of course," Karen replied, giving Lucy a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Lucy. I remember how it was to not be able to fit behind the wheel of the car when I was pregnant. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." She climbed into the back seat and sat beside Savannah.

Lucy walked around to the passenger side of the car and reached to open the door when an arm reached around her and opened it for her. She turned around and saw that Ben had followed her around the car. "Ben, I may not be able to fit behind the wheel, but I can still open my own car door."

Ben just ignored her and helped her into the passenger seat of the SUV. After making sure that she was completely in and settled, he shut the door, walked back around to the driver's side, and got in. After he had started the car and backed out of the driveway, he asked,, "Lucy, could you really have gotten up into the car by yourself?"

Lucy blushed. "No," she admitted softly. "I guess not." She shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

Ben glanced over at her. "Are you okay?"

Lucy nodded. "I'm fine," she said quickly.

Ben returned his eyes to the road but kept an eye on Lucy out of the corner of his eye. She changed positions several more times before reaching the church, and a couple of times, he saw her grimace.

After Ben had parked the car, he turned around and looked at his mom. "Mom, can you take the girls and go on in?"

Although puzzled, Karen Kinkirk agreed.

Once hi mom and the girls were on their way into the church, Ben turned back to Lucy. "Now, do you want to tell me the truth?" he asked.

Lucy sighed. "Ben, I'm fine, really. My back is bothering me a little but, but that's nothing unusual."

Ben stared at her for a few minutes, trying to determine whether on not she was telling the truth. Finally, he sighed and said, "Alright, Luce. I believe you. But you have to promise to tell me the minute you feel anything slightly more than what you're feeling right now."

"I will, Ben, I promise. Believe me, I plan to have these babies at the hospital. Even though the hole in baby boy's heart has grown together, I would much rather deliver at the hospital than in an elevator or at the church."

Ben laughed as he got out of the car. "That's probably a good thing," he joked as he helped Lucy get out of the car.

Lucy smiled and said dryly, "I'm glad you think so." She took the arm that Ben offered to her and walked with him towards the church