A/N: I hope my version this story does it justice. Any reviews will be appreciated. I may take a few liberties, but I want stick to canon as much as possible. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Waltons...too bad.

Curt returned to his practice tired. His afternoon with the Waltons was interrupted by another call from Yancy's. How that man is still alive in that pig sty he called home was beyond him. Same symptoms, same diagnosis, still no mange.

After he restocked his bag, he noted the late hour and closed down shop before returning to his home part of the practice. He walked in and sat down on his makeshift couch. He needed to get furniture he knew but he had bigger worries on his plate as he began to read the mail forwarded by his mother earlier.

He saw what looked like a bill and opened it. Sure enough, it was for the payment on his van, a payment he wouldn't have for at least a few weeks. Damn mine company. He did the right thing and the company is trying to discredit him along with holding his pay.

Getting up, he walked outside and sat on the porch, just taking in the view. The mountain air was a refreshing change from the coal dust he grew up with in West Virginia. He had always dreamed of being in a place like this, except from the people being all up in his business.

One of his newer patients hinted that he should join her for supper one night soon as her niece was coming to down. He wasn't blind or stupid. He caught women looking at him, ones that he didn't offend that is. He was being sized up as husband material.

Sure, he appreciated the opposite sex, and was appreciated in return many times over the years, but with all he had going on, the last thing he wanted to deal with was a woman, God forbid marriage. Deep down, he did think about a wife and children, but the women he encountered always wanted to be pampered, dainty, and delicate. To marry someone like that would drive him insane. No, bachelorhood was what was meant for him and Walton's Mountain wasn't going to change that.

"Curt Willard is such a blowhard. I'm surprised he hasn't fallen over from the hot air he vents all the time"

Erin looked at her sister as she was getting ready for bed. "Mary Ellen, you're not going to work for him are you?"

Mary Ellen looked back. "I don't know. I have to admit though that working for him I could learn a lot and make some money"

"But Mary Ellen, you've got David and the wedding to prepare for"

"It would be nice to put some money away for a rainy day. Besides, I won't marry David without something to contribute. If by doing that I work with that pain Dr. Willard, why not? Besides, David was all right with it."

Erin thought about her sister's fiancé. He was so handsome and nice, much different that Dr. Willard. He said things that were not always nice and didn't follow propriety according to her grandmother. Grandma said men needed to be respectful of women, but Dr. Willard was making everyone mad. Something about him was dangerous, but she wasn't sure what and was afraid for her sister. No, Mary Ellen shouldn't work for that man, but who would listen to her. She was a teenager.

The next morning, Mary Ellen sat in bed wondering what to do. She got up and began to get ready for her day.

Part of her wanted to be a good bride to be and work on the wedding, but the other wanted to follow her vocation. Yes, Dr. Willard was a blowhard, but she had a feeling she could learn from him, plus from what David was saying, she wouldn't be working after getting to Richmond. That is something that the two of them would be discussing before the wedding.

When she completed her morning routine, she realized she was wearing her nursing uniform. She realized that much as she could learn from working with the new doctor that part of her wanted to see him making a fool of himself with local patients.

After a quick breakfast, she walked to town to start her new employment. 'I'll be only working for him for two months. What's the worst that could happen?'

Curt was in the office contemplating where to find a nurse when he spied Mary Ellen Walton come in. He felt a moment of nervousness not unlike the one he got when he arrived at her engagement party of the day of his arrival. Not entirely liking the feeling, he shook it off before greeting her.

A few minutes later, Curt found himself in another spirited argument with Mary Ellen when he was showing her his plans for the office. As he inched closer to her in front of his desk, they continued to debate his setup of the office versus Dr. Vance's. Seeing the fire in Mary Ellen's eyes stirred something up in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. As the tension filled the room, he focused on her soft lips. He felt an urge to take her in his arms and kiss that almost smirk off her face. Something told him that the young nurse would respond by giving as good as she got.

Mary Ellen's saw the doctor's eyes get dark with something that made her insides tingle. Everything else in the room and on her mind dimmed from her vision as she could only look at the man in front of her.

Curt was about to get closer when the Baldwin sisters arrived to be seen. He was flustered by their arrival when he wasn't ready for patients but even more flustered when he realized where his thoughts were heading. Mary Ellen Walton was too young for him, plus she was engaged to someone else.

A while after the Baldwin sisters left in a huff, Mary Ellen and Curt began work on the office. He was knocking out the wall he was working on before while she was organizing the patient files into a compromise system created by the two of them.

As he pulled drywall, he contemplated what he saw last afternoon at the Walton's.

The family was very close-knit, something that he appreciated and almost made him homesick for Wheeling. He remembered those times with his family, even his sister Vanessa before she became a discontented teenager. Resentful of her life, she made things difficult for their parents at times. He tried to give her as much of an influence as possible, but also knew better than to get sucked into her games. He knew he wanted to be a doctor since he was a child and did what he had to so to make that dream a reality.

Here and there while conversing with the family, he would watch Mary Ellen and David with an increasing incredulity during the meal.

He didn't get her relationship with Dr. Spencer. From what he had seen, he was a nice man and from what he heard a good doctor with a bright future. He also observed the almost undetectable shaking of his hands on and off during dinner and the effort David made to cover it whenever his fiancée took his hand. It could be a number of things, but he was fairly certain as to the reason.

The two made a handsome couple, but the young doctor was just not someone he would picture with a woman like Mary Ellen. David was one who would seem to match well with someone gentle, soft, and who made their goal in life to tend a home. Mary Ellen Walton was kindhearted, but she was also feisty and argumentative. For himself, he enjoyed a woman who wasn't a pushover. He found out tonight that she was eighteen years old and it threw him. Younger than expected, but he liked how she carried herself with a maturity that belied her age.

He remembered their argument after he remarked on Dr. Vance's cockeyed filing system. It was a pain in the ass to him and when he remarked on the intelligence of whoever created it, Mary Ellen gave it back to him with both barrels. He cracked a joke about his popularity in Walton's Mountain to the entertainment of the people at the table.

When he looked back at her, he had to admit he was momentarily blindsided. Her eyes were brown like his, but a softer shade. It was the steel in them though that drew him. She would stand her ground and was no shrinking violet.

During the meal, Elizabeth asked the innocent question of when her sister and David were going to have babies. He didn't miss Mary Ellen's flicker of annoyance when David replied as soon as he was established at his father's practice and how she would be giving up her career to be a full time mom.

For him, he understood how society worked with the mother caring for the family. For him, though, if he were ever to get married, he entertained the possibility of his wife working with him side by side in their own practice. Yes, his wife would be the primary caregiver for their children. However, he saw no reason why if she wasn't caring for a brood like Olivia Walton that she should have to or would be sitting at home doing nothing when she could be doing something useful. His mother worked on and off while he and his sister were growing up.

'Nope…..if Mary Ellen Walton were married to him, she would be working with him side by side if she wanted'

Suddenly he stopped as he realized where his thinking was going. 'Where the hell did that come from?'

The next morning, Mary Ellen woke up from a fitful sleep. She felt out of sorts but decided to blame the reason for the bad sleep.

"Or who I should say' Mary thought to herself.

Curtis Willard

Mary Ellen got out of bed and started to get ready for the day. The younger ones were in school so she was lucky to get the bathroom and take her time. When she got into the shower, her thoughts wandered again, annoying her.

She remembered their debate over the office filing system during supper. After she told him off, she met his eyes across the dinner table. They were dark brown and piercing, like they could look through you and see your soul. She also found out that he had turned thirty the previous month. He was older, but she did appreciate his dry sense of humor and his honesty….when he wasn't being a jerk.

He wasn't traditionally handsome, but there was a ruggedness to his face she couldn't help but admire. He was lanky but tall. Her instincts told her quite loudly that a kiss from Curt would surely set her insides on fire, as would his calloused hands on her skin.

Suddenly she felt shame. No one had ever made her feel that way, not even David. His kisses were nice but unfortunately lacked sometimes in the fireworks department, but it wasn't the most important thing. Being dependable and someone to rely on when the times got tough was the most important thing.

'I need to stop thinking of Curt in that way. I love David. I'm marrying David.' Mary Ellen told herself before she got up to get ready for work at the office.