Martin & Ruthie. Ruthie & Martin. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive 7th Heaven for tempting us with that pairing for sooo long and then never letting it happen. Well, that's the brilliance of fanfiction. I can write whatever ending I want. So there. This is a one-shot, but I may end up doing a series of 7th Heaven alternate ending one-shots. We'll see. Let me know what you think, and maybe if you have any requests? Anyone else have a better ending for that show in mind?

Also, you may want to listen to Crazy Girl by Eli Young Band while reading this. Might make the experience a little cooler :) That and it's just a great song anyway...

Crazy Ruthie

"I can't believe we're fighting about this!" Martin Brewer groaned.

"Martin, you spent the night at Sandy's apartment!" Ruthie Camden cried. How could he not see how this was a problem? She had always been afraid that one day he'd pick the mother of his child over her. Now she was scared to death that her worst nightmare had come true.

"I was babysitting Aaron," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"And you said you'd be home by ten," she said, on the verge of shouting. "Ten pm, Martin. Not ten am which is when you came waltzing in that back door this morning!"

"I fell asleep, Ruthie," he said, his voice as calm and steady as ever, but his words were currently being forced through a tightly clenched jaw.

"You fell asleep before ten?" she scoffed. That was hard to believe. Martin never went to bed before midnight. He was always awake when she went to bed and awake before she got up in the morning.

"You know I felt like crap yesterday. My head is still killing me," he said, gripping the counter of the island that they were standing on either side of so hard, his knuckles turned white. "I sat down on her couch after I put Aaron to bed and the next thing I knew Sandy was waking me up this morning."

"So why didn't you call me?" she asked, because actually, when he didn't show up and she couldn't reach him on his cell phone, she'd been worried about him.

"I didn't know I needed to," he snapped. "I thought you trusted me, Ruthie. I can't believe you actually think that I would do something so stupid that would risk what you and I have."

Ruthie spoke before she even had a chance to really think about the words that came out of her mouth. "With your track record these past few years, can you blame me?"

Not only did those words which she'd been keeping inside her far too long shock her, but they caught Martin off guard as well. He felt like someone punched him in the gut. He wasn't so egotistical as to think that he'd been a saint these past few years. There'd been plenty of pretty dumb mistakes that he'd made. But Ruthie... Ruthie had been right there beside him through it all. She was so much stronger than he was, and there were moments when he knew he would have fallen if she would not have been there to help him carry on. When it had seemed as though everyone else had given up on him, abandoned him, and left him to fend for himself, she had stuck by him when he needed her most. But now, to have her throw it all back in his face, that hurt more than he ever could have imagined. In his wounded anger, Martin said the first thing that came to his mind too. "At least I don't have Sandy's name tattooed across my back while I'm engaged to you!"

Ruthie's jaw dropped, and for once in her life she was completely speechless.

"How is T-Bone anyway? That's who you've been going to see when you disappear for hours on end these past few months, right?"

"You want to know what I've been doing, Martin? Fine," she said, lifting up her shirt to expose her lower back. Where 'T-BONE' had once been, 'MARTIN' was now permanently set on her beautiful tanned skin that was red and irritated. "This is what I've been doing, and it took a month because changing all that hurt like hell! I was going to surprise you on our wedding night."

Ruthie readjusted her shirt and turned back around to face him. She folded her arms across her chest and shrugged her shoulders a bit uncomfortably. "So... surprise."

Now Martin was at a loss for words. Although he was touched, he was also completely caught off guard by what she had done. "Ruthie, I..."

"You know what, Martin? Here's another surprise for you," she said, tears burning her eyes, but she refused to let him see her cry. She slid the diamond ring off her finger and dropped it on the counter between them. "We obviously don't trust each other, and if we can't even have a simple conversation with each other now, getting married is the last thing we should be doing."

Martin was a proud man, if nothing else. It took a lot to make him accept help from others, and as a general rule, he almost never asked for it. He never backed down from a fight, and he was always the last one to admit defeat. Yet, as he looked from that ring and back to Ruthie, all the walls he'd been building around himself his whole life came tumbling down, and he did something he'd never done before. He begged. "Ruthie, please," he said, choking on his own words, "please don't do this."

"Leave Martin," she said simply, her heart aching and her head spinning. When Martin did not move an inch, she said again, her voice growing louder with every word that fell from her lips, "I mean it. Get out of here! I don't care where you go, just so long as it's somewhere far away! I never want to see your face again, Martin Brewer!"

"Fine," he ground out, the walls coming up again as he set his jaw against all the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him. Leaving the ring where she had dropped it, he headed towards the same door he had come through this morning. "Goodbye Ruthie Camden."

Martin slammed the door behind him and the whole house shuddered. Normally, Ruthie would have been tempted to go after him, but just now she was too angry to even see straight. So instead, she sprinted up the stairs to her attic room, slamming the door shut behind her. Looking around, she tried to find something to take her anger out on. Her helpless old stuffed animals would have to do. She picked each one up off the shelf, hurling it against the far wall, and screaming at the top of her lungs as she did so. She was grateful her dad was still at Church and her mom had taken the twins shopping. Being mad was so much easier when you didn't have someone trying to calm you down from the other side of your locked bedroom door.

When she had run out of stuffed animals to throw, her cell phone started to ring. For a moment, her heart stopped. Was it Martin? Part of her wanted it to be, but another part didn't. Daring to look at the caller ID, she saw it was her older sister, Lucy Kinkirk. Ruthie answered it, but regretted it almost immediately. Unknowingly, Lucy poured salt on an open wound. "Hey, Mom's going to get the boys fitted for their tuxes. I told her we'd meet her there so we can look at some bridesmaids and flower girl dresses."

"No!" Ruthie snapped harshly.

"What?" Lucy asked, shocked by her sister's response.

"I said no!" she shouted into the phone. "The wedding's off, ok? I hate Martin Brewer! I wish I never would have met him!"

Before Lucy could say another word, Ruthie hung up on her. She sank to her knees on the floor of her room, the severity of the situation finally hitting her. Martin was gone. She had chased him away for good this time. And she knew he would not be coming back. Tears began to flow down her cheeks and sobs shook her entire body. And it felt like they would never stop.

Martin sat at the bar at The Pool Hall rubbing his temples, trying to ease the throbbing pain in his head, which had grown steadily worse since his fight with Ruthie. How could he have let this happen? He'd said and done some pretty stupid stuff before, but he knew he'd really gone too far this time. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, that now matter what he did, he'd never get her back.

"Thought you'd be here," an all too familiar voice said from behind him.

"How stupid of me to think that I could go somewhere to have some time alone," Martin said with biting sarcasm, not even bothering to look up as Kevin Kinkirk sat down beside him.

"In this family, yeah, it was," Kevin smirked. Then, indicating to the various bottles behind the bar, he said, "I know you're 21 now, Martin, but none of this will help you fix whatever happened between you and Ruthie."

"Ok one, I've been drinking water. Even I know that alcohol is not what I need in my system right now," Martin sighed, finally turning to look at Kevin. "And two, how do you already know about Ruthie and me?"

"Once again, you underestimate this family. Especially the women in this family."

Martin gave Kevin an irritated look. He just wasn't in the mood today. Kevin sighed. "Lucy called Ruthie. Ruthie told her that the wedding is off, that she hates you, and wishes you two never would have met. Lucy then called me and asked me to come find you. So here I am."

"Yeah, here you are," Martin sighed, with little to no enthusiasm.

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

"Not really. But I know you won't leave me alone until I do, so here it goes," Martin sighed. "I babysat Aaron last night. Ruthie knew this and was fine with it."

"Well he is your son," Kevin said. "I don't see how she could not be fine with it."

"Right, but that wasn't the problem."

"Ok, what was the problem?" Kevin said, feeling himself slipping into that mode where he was half police officer, half overly protective big brother.

"The problem was that I fell asleep on Sandy's couch. She had to wake me up this morning, and Ruthie's convinced I did more than just crash on the couch."

"Did you tell her that's all it was?"

"Yes. Multiple times," Martin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose again. "She said she doesn't believe me because of my track record though."

Kevin sighed and put his hand on Martin's shoulder. "Martin," he said slowly, "you had a baby with Sandy. You wanted to marry Sandy. Surely you can see where Ruthie's coming from here."

"I guess," Martin said, watching the ice swirl around in his glass as he mixed it around with his straw. He'd use any distraction to not have to look at Kevin when he said, "Unfortunately I responded with something really stupid after she said that."

Kevin raised one eyebrow warily. "What did you say?"

"I accused her of cheating on me with T-Bone, when really she's been sneaking out so she can get her tattoo changed to my name instead of his. It was supposed to be a surprise but I definitely ruined that."

Kevin let out a low whistle. "No wonder she's mad at you."

"Yeah, well I didn't think she'd get so mad she'd want to call of the wedding and say she hated me," Martin said quietly. Out of everyone in the world to hate him, it hurt the most when it came from Ruthie.

Kevin cleared his throat. "Alright," he said, "I know you usually get your advice from Simon, but we've known each other for a while now, and I've known Ruthie even longer, so here it goes. Ruthie is... a very passionate person. She's hot tempered, stubborn, and even a little intimidating sometimes. You have a quick temper, you're just as stubborn as she is, and I'm not gonna lie, there are times when I want to hit you."

"You know, I think I might stick with Simon as far as advice goes, but thanks for trying."

"I'm not done," Kevin said, looking Martin straight in the eye. "Despite all that I just said, when you and Ruthie are together... it just works. You can get each other worked up better than anyone else can, but you also calm each other down. You balance each other out. When one of you blows their top, the other one steps in and saves the day. That's what makes you two perfect."

"Wish I could make her see that," Martin said. "Calling off the wedding was the last thing I wanted to do. We've waited so long to be together. I'm not ready to give her up yet."

"Why don't you try telling her that?" Kevin said, standing up to leave. "After all, you're the only one who she'll listen to."

Martin lifted the latch of the back gate and entered the Camden's backyard. As usual, the backdoor was unlocked. Stepping inside he found Mrs. Camden and Lucy standing in the kitchen. "Martin!" Mrs. Camden gasped, rushing over to him and embracing him.

He hugged the woman who was the closest thing to a mother that he had, feeling his heart break all over again. When Annie Camden let go of him, he found himself in Lucy's arms. "Did Kevin find you?" she asked.

"Yeah, we had a, uh... nice talk," he said somewhat awkwardly. "Is Ruthie here?"

"Upstairs in her room. She won't come out or talk to anyone," Annie said.

"Would you mind if I gave it a try?" he asked.

"We'd love it if you did," Annie smiled.

One flight of stairs down, Martin entered the familiar hallway where he'd once lived, and headed towards the other set of stairs that would take him to the attic room which had once been coveted by all the Camden children. Walking past the twin's room, he heard, "Martin?"

He turned to see Sam and David looking up at him. "Hey guys," he said, putting on a fake smile as he knelt down to their level.

"Are you going to talk to Ruthie?" David asked.

"She's really sad," Sam added. "She yelled at Lucy and Mom."

Their innocent words were daggers to Martin's heart. "Yeah guys, I am going to talk to her. I know she's really sad, but I'm gonna try to make it better."

"Do you still love her?" David asked.

"Are you two still getting married?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I still love her," Martin said sadly, "and, if she wants to, we're still getting married."

"Ruthie's loved you forever," Sam smiled.

"Yeah. She'll marry you," David said confidently before they both went back into their room to resume whatever they had been doing. Martin watched them go and desperately hoped they were right.

Entering the attic, Martin came face to face with Ruthie's closed, and locked, bedroom door. He gripped the stair railing, his headache coming back full force. How could she even think he could ever go back to Sandy? Didn't she see how much he loved her?

Knocking on the door, Martin called, "Ruthie? It's me."

A moment of heart stopping silence passed, and then he heard, "Martin?"

There was shock in her voice, but she didn't sound angry. A spark of hope flashed within him, until she apparently remembered their fight and shouted, "Get out of here, Martin! I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again!"

"Technically, unless you open this door, you can't see me," he teased the way they always did... or used to, anyway. "I'm not breaking any rules."

He heard her walk across the floor, and then the door clicked into the unlocked position. She opened it just far enough for them to have eye contact. "There," she said, "I see you, now go away."

But Martin had seen an opportunity and he did not hesitate to take it. "Nope," he said, sticking his foot in the door. He pushed against the door, and although she leaned her entire body weight against the other side of it, he managed to open it all the way.

"Ok," she snapped, sitting down on her bed and facing away from him. "You've proved you're really strong. Will you leave now?"

"No," he said, moving to sit down beside her. "And I won't until we talk."

"Ruthie," he said softly, "I love you more than anything in this world."

"I want to believe you," she sighed. "But we've tried this before, Martin. Something always gets in the way though, and usually, it's another girl. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's true. Sandy, and Jane, Celia, and Margaret, and more that I can't even remember right now. I want us to be together, but it just hurts too much."

"I know I've put you through a lot," he sighed. "But I will never hurt you again."

He covered her hand with his, but she pulled away. "Ruthie, what do you want me to say? I know what I did was stupid! And I regret every single thing I did that ever put distance between you and I. Ruthie, you... you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Martin," she said, "I have loved you my whole life. The moment I met you, I knew I loved you. But..."

"But nothing," he said, taking her hands in his and rejoicing when she did not pull away. "Yes, we both have bad tempers. I can't guarantee that they won't flare up and result in a huge fight. But I know that if anyone can get me to shut up and give in, it's you. And I know that if anyone is going calm you down and make you happy again, it's me."

Still holding tightly to his hands, Ruthie turned her head away so he wouldn't see the tears that were falling down her cheeks. He kissed her curly brown hair and murmured, "Don't hide from me, Ruthie Camden."

She sniffed and looked up at him. "Promise to never let me, Martin."

He let go of her hands so he could wrap his arms around her. She buried her head against his chest, and he felt her tears soak through his shirt. "I promise," he whispered, choked by his own emotions as he held the one woman he loved.

"Will you still marry me?" she said suddenly into his chest.

"Crazy girl," he smiled, tilting her head up so he could look her in the eye. "Of course I will. If you can forgive me."

"Of course," she smiled back, her heart soaring. "Do you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," he said, before leaning down and kissing her lips, years of love pouring through both of them in that one kiss.