A/N: I hope you all are enjoying the story.

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

Curt, Nora, Mary Ellen, and David arrived back at the doctor's home by late afternoon from their day at the first Walton homestead. All helped pull items from Curt's van into David's car and the residence. When all was situated, the couples separated to each of their vehicles.

Curt smiled as he and Nora got into his van. "Well, I'll be taking Nora home and doing more remodeling. I will be seeing you tomorrow morning, Mary Ellen"

"See you tomorrow morning, Curt"

David put his arm around his fianceé. "Good night you two"

Curt noted how quickly David's arm went around Mary Ellen but said nothing. "Good night Mary Ellen, David"

As the van drove away, Mary Ellen and David got into his car and headed off. After a few minutes of silence, David chimed in. "Mary Ellen, what has you so far away?"

"What?" Mary Ellen was embarrassed as she realized she was thinking about Curt and Nora today. Pushing her feelings down, she turned to her fiancé. "I'm sorry, David. Did you say something?"

"Yes, it's like your head is in the clouds today. Care to share?"

She put a smile on her face. "It's about the wedding. It's coming soon and I'm trying to think of what still needs to be done"

"Well, I talked to your parents and they said everything should be all set. My mother will have the caterers set up at the Baldwin's while we are getting married at the church. When is your bridal shower?"

"The day of the Hard Times Party. It's going to be at Mrs Brimmer's. Miss Emily and Mamie offered to host, but they're already hosting the wedding reception. We thought that it would be easier so people don't have to go back and forth for the Hard Times Party later"

"Good thinking, Honey. Did you talk to your professors at the university?"

"Yes. Ms. Drew offered to assist me in transferring my credits to the Medical College in Richmond so I could continue my schooling in Richmond"

David looked at his fiancée. "That's a nice offer, Mary Ellen, but school isn't going to be feasible once we're married and start a family. My father and I could maybe use you as a nurse at our practice when needed and after our kids get older."

"Yeah, that's what I told her. She seemed disappointed, but I told her it was my decision and she agreed. She then told me congratulations on our wedding and wished us luck"

David took her hand and kissed it. Mary Ellen sensed a small tremor. "David, why is your hand shaking?"

He made a promise to never let his habits interfere with his relationship with Mary Ellen and he wasn't going to break it now. "Nerves I guess. My final week of interning starts tomorrow. When that's done, we can do the final preparations for the wedding"

"Yeah" Mary Ellen replied before her thoughts drifted to Curt and Nora again.

Sensing her silence, David moved to get her attention again. "Mary Ellen, what's going on in that mind of yours now?"

"Just thinking that Curt better have an early night tonight. We have a lot of patients to make house calls on and it will be worse if he's grumpy. I know I have plans to do so later."

Suddenly David felt annoyed. He remembered the days when she didn't even think about 'early nights' as they necked on back roads by her family's property. "It's looking to be turning into a nice night. Want to go look at the stars before I take you home?"

"Sure, David. That would be nice"

The couple headed to the mountains, both with thoughts weighing on their mind.

The next morning, Curt walked into his waiting room, tired from another restless sleep. Some of the house calls they were going on later this morning were not going to be pleasant, but that was the life of a country doctor. He was just grateful for the coffee Mary Ellen would always try to have ready for him when he came in.

He was about to open the exam room door when he heard voices he recognized through the door.

"Mary Ellen, I'm so sorry for last night. What I did was improper"

"Improper. Nice choice of words, David. Do you know how hard it was to act normal after you dropped me off last night? My mom suspected I was having second thoughts."

"Mary Ellen, I love you and I want to be with you. Don't doubt how I feel about you. I shouldn't have been so forward."

"David, you know I've never been with anyone. Why would I want my first time to be in your car when it's dark out? You're the only who always said we should be sensible. Whenever I've pushed you said we should slow down and I agreed with you. Why the sudden change?"

Curt felt guilty for listening but felt pride for his nurse for sticking to her guns. He knew it was wrong but he continued to listen.

"Mary Ellen, I admit I was still a bit annoyed when you seemed jealous of Curt and Nora. You practically pushed them together and then got mad when they had fun"

"So you wanted me to prove how I felt about you by having intercourse with you?"

"No, no Mary Ellen. I just wanted to show you how much I love you. I'm sorry if I was…persistent"

"David, you shouldn't have pushed the issue when I told you no. It made me feel like you didn't respect me. You're the one I am engaged to, not Curt, Ike, or anyone else. My mother always told me that I should wait until it felt like the right time to me and last night was far from it."

"I love you so much, Mary Ellen. Please forgive me"

"Of course"

When Curt heard footsteps a moment later, he ducked behind a wall in time to see David walking out of the room. He watched Mary Ellen for a moment and the pensive look on her face. He hated to admit it, but he was glad to see that face at that moment. It also put a small spring in his step when he realized she didn't tell David she loved him when he told her.

When he saw her walk back into the examination room, he counted to ten, then came out and followed her into the office. The Baldwin sisters would be here shortly for Miss Emily's follow up appointment.

Saturday began with the unfortunate event of Olivia falling down the steps when she got up to make breakfast. By the time Curt was able to get there to examine her, it was almost noon. Luckily, she only bruised her ankle some but needed to stay home and rest it so she could attend church tomorrow. This meant that she had to stay home from the shower and Hard Times Dance.

Over the protests of her mother, Mary Ellen postponed her scheduled bridal shower to next Thursday. Mrs. Spencer protested, but Mary Ellen didn't care as she couldn't have any wedding celebration without her mother.

By mid-afternoon, she was going through her choices of clothes for the Hard Times Party. Originally she was going with her overalls, but this morning she was looking towards wearing a dress. Grandma said it was proper for ladies to wear one for a dance, even with a theme such as this one. Her grandma also brought up that David may enjoy seeing her in it.

Her talk with Momma after she got home from the picnic helped her see what she had and needed to concentrate on. David scared her the night of the picnic when he pushed past where she was comfortable, but he apologized and she knew that he didn't mean to upset her. David had his faults, but he was always considerate to her and was dependable.

Curt Willard on the other hand was rude and insensitive. Thankfully, he was also honest and caring with his patients. What some saw meanness towards his patients was his effort to give his patients honesty and help them take care of themselves. He was also fun when he wanted to be and his sense of humor was on the dry side, something she liked more than she was willing to admit.

It didn't matter, though. She loved David and was going to spend the rest of her life with him. She needed to put her feelings for Curt aside. David deserved better than that.

The Hard Times Dance was in full swing. Mary Ellen had fun dancing with her fiancé, but every dance she got in with her boss she could feel the electricity in the air. Swallowing her feelings, she pushed thoughts of happily ever after with David into her mind.

Earlier, Mary Ellen saw David drinking out of what looked like a small flask before he left it in his trunk. When she tried it later without him knowing, she realized it was whiskey. When she asked him about it, David promised he just wanted a sip since the punch didn't have any of 'the recipe'. It wasn't the first time she saw him sneaking drinks when he thought no one was looking or knew. However, with the exception of the night of the picnic, he never lost control and was always nothing less than dedicated to his patients and to her. Nobody was perfect and Momma always told her when you love someone, you love all of them, not just the best parts.

She stood to the side as she noted everyone else dancing. Erin was dancing with David and as much as she hated to admit it, at that moment, she felt relief. She knew Erin had a big crush on her fiancé and David wouldn't mind. She saw the clock and noted Curt still hadn't returned to the dance after he left about an hour earlier with Nora.

'It's none of my business who Curt goes steady with. I'm marrying David, so why am I feeling this way?' She thought to herself.

Curt pulled the van into Nora's driveway. He moved to accompany her inside, but she stopped him.

"Curt, go to her"

"What do you mean? Who am I going to go to? We're on a date"

Nora laughed. Curt was a lot of fun but knew his heart didn't belong to her. "No, I came with you to a dance where you spent half the night dancing with your nurse or looking at her. You're in love with Mary Ellen Walton, Curt. The question is what are you going to do about it?"

Curt got defensive. "What am I going to do about what? I'm not in love with her. It's ridiculous, Nora. I came out to be with you"

Nora smiled at Curt. "No, you came here to forget her, but being with me won't do that for you Dr. Willard"

"Even if I were in love with her, what the hell am I supposed to do about it? She's engaged to someone else." Curt replied annoyed.

"You let me get out. Then you hurry yourself back over to the dance and get her alone to tell her how you feel. If she's not there, you find her, but you need to do it tonight. If she doesn't return your feelings, then there's no harm done and you move on with your life. But if she does feel the same, Curt, you owe it to yourselves to express your feelings before she makes a mistake and marries the wrong doctor"

Curt sat for a moment, feeling like a heel. When Nora smiled, he did the same. "I'm sorry, Nora"

"I'm not. I've made a good friend and happy to have a new colleague here in our region" She kissed him. "Good night, Curt"

She got out of the truck and walked up her sidewalk. After a few seconds, she turned around and saw Curt staring at nothing from the windshield. "What the hell are you waiting for, Dr. Willard? Go tell her!"

Putting the van into gear, Curt hit the gas, backed out, and then sped down the street back to the Hard Times Dance.

Mary Ellen was feeling stuffy so she came outside. Her thoughts wandered again, shaming her.

When her and David first got together, she wanted to be with him always. Now, she seemed to enjoy her time with Curt Willard more. She hated herself for feeling that way and didn't know what to do without hurting someone. She loved David, but something felt wrong. Before she could contemplate any further, she heard her name called.

When she turned around, her heart started to race as she saw Curt Willard walking towards her. Trying to hide her excitement, she turned and played with the flowers. She tried to make an excuse when Curt asked her to dance, but felt herself go along with it anyway.

Curt felt her pulse racing and felt his heart race also. He got that nervous feeling again, the one he got when he first arrived at the Walton's and when she first arrived at the office. 'It was all because of her' he thought. 'It must mean something if she's the reason I get like this'

Nora was right. It was now or never. Steadying his nerves with the woman he loved in his arms, he moved forward with what he needed to do.

Five minutes later, Mary Ellen was in the throes of what was proving to be the best kiss of her life when reality hit. Suddenly, she pushed Curt back. "Curtis Willard! I'm engaged. Why are you kissing me?"

He loved when she got all high and mighty. Someday he would do other things to knock her off her high horse, but for now, humor would do. "Well Nurse Walton, you were surely kissing me back"

"I-I….You….."

Seeing as he had the advantage, he went for it. "I did suspect that when we did that it would rival the Fourth of July and I was proven right. It's also a miracle…Mary Ellen Walton is speechless"

Mary Ellen saw the look of satisfaction on her boss's face and was determined to quiet the lust she was feeling at that moment. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, but it was wrong as she was engaged to another. She hated that her suspicions about Curt Willard were correct as kissing him made her breathless.

She was saved from a reply when she heard David. "Mary Ellen?"

Her eyes were steel as she looked at Curt. "Excuse me, but my fiancé is looking for me"

She walked away from the bushes before he could respond. All her thoughts about that kiss were pushed down as she got closer to David. When she saw him, she kissed him. "I'm ready to go David. I have church in the morning with the family"

When Mary Ellen left with David, Curt went back in his van and sat there at the wheel. He did it. He fell in love with someone. Young, beautiful, stubborn, gentle, nurturing…getting married to another man.

He didn't know what was to happen next, but he had to hope the man upstairs had a plan for him involving Mary Ellen Walton. Shaking his thoughts off, he started the van and drove home.

As Curt's van left the dance, Erin came out from behind the bushes full of fury. 'Curt needs to find someone else. David Spencer is a wonderful man. I won't let him ruin David and Mary Ellen's wedding'