A/N: Okay! I figured after so long, this thing needed a bit of a facelift. For those who read the original version, this one is going to have a hell of a lot more detail (and way better grammar) than the first one did. Hopefully you like the extensions I plan to make in here.

Thanks to: fmjl11 for not only betaing but soundboarding too.

Disclaimer: I still don't own it. Never have, never will. Otherwise, Marthie would be more than the words in this story...

Ruthie Camden sat slumped on her bed with tears pricking her eyes. He hadn't even called to wish her a happy birthday. Disheartened for only a moment, she was once again reminded of the reality that touched them all. Sadness was quick to turn to anger. She could live fifty years and never understand why she'd been kept in the dark so long. The claim was, it was all for the sake of her heart, her protection. That had to be the lowest of lows she'd ever been dealt. She wasn't exactly thrilled about his silence but Ruthie knew she had little if any say in the matter. Calling her would be the farthest thing from his mind. Martin had a new set of priorities that didn't always include her. But at least he always tried to talk to me she thought as the tears silently began to make their way down her cheeks. She wasn't even sure why she was crying anymore. She decided it was a tangled web of just about everything to do with him. The secrets, the lying, and the avoiding. Like being around her or seen with her was some kind of taboo.

Ruthie closed her eyes and shook her head. Martin himself would never...The mother of his child? Probably. It wasn't even that she hated Sandy. The girl wasn't even a real threat when you got down to the root of it all. She just seemed to have a little bit of everything. Who knows what that even meant. But Sandy had enough for pizza and sex. The girl could taste bile crawling up her throat. She couldn't even think the word without wanting to tear something up. She sighed thinking herself even more ridiculous. She had no claim, no place. That ship, if it even left the harbor at all, had sailed far into the Pacific. There was no calling it back now. Not with the way things played out for them. He had his life, his family and she had...Well, she had T-bone. They had both made their choices and whether she agreed with them or not... Whether she liked them or not, there was no other way to do it than to live with it.

In the silence of her room she heard the phone ringing. Quickly looking at the caller ID, she ignored it. Oh, so now he decides to call? Ruthie could feel frustration rising once more, the topic she entrained in her head not helping at all. With a huff she answered but then quickly hung up. He deserves it she thought angrily. She looked at the clock noticing it was already almost midnight. After showering quickly she snuggled into the welcoming warmth of her bed.

Suddenly, a knock at the door startled her from sleep. Groggily, she rolled over in bed taking in the digits on her alarm clock.What the heck? Who would be knocking at the door in the middle of the night? Noticing the knocker hadn't given up she quickly stumbled out of bed. Turning on the light, she made her way down to the kitchen. She opened the door to see Martin holding a whimpering Aaron in his arms. Her plans to yell at him instantly went out the window. Something in Ruthie froze then. She wasn't even sure if it was seeing him there at all or the time of night. Perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, words she was hoping to say seemed impossible. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Ruthie sighed, a slight yawn escaping her.

"Martin?" she asked slightly confused. "What in the world was going on? It's... Well, not that it matters but...Shouldn't you two be...It's late. Unless someone's sick or dying you usually..."

"Ruthie, I need your help," he said in a rush trying his hardest to comfort the fussing infant. Quietly, she took Aaron from his father, shuffling further back into the kitchen.

"He's gonna be sick," she yawned. "You too, if you just stand there like that. You practically live here. Or...lived. Whichever. Get in here, you're turning blue."

"Doesn't freeze in Glen Oak," he mumbled. The brunette only served him an all too familiar glare as a slight smirk tugged at his lips.

"Too late to hurt you," she muttered.

"And, you know, sleeping baby in your arms," he pointed out. Ruthie just smiled running her fingers gently through Aaron's hair.

"What's going on?" she asked, carefully using her free hand to pull out a tray of cookies and bringing them to the table.

"For me?" Martin teased.

"They've been sitting in there since dinner or something. We forgot about them. Might wanna watch your teeth," she warned.

"Listen, I know it's late but I had nowhere else to go," he said apologetically. Ruthie was quick to shake her head. At this hour, they all knew where he would be. Sleeping at least or trying to. She bit her lip slowly, not quite sure how to phrase such a question, even if it was one that knocked on the side of her brain for days now, likely months. As long as the two had been some kind of item, Sandy herself never really made much of an appearance at the house. Her visits had become even less since Aaron was born.

"Where's Sandy?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "She just left me this," he said handing her a piece of paper. Ruthie quietly looked it over, her fingers making creases in the paper as she read.

Martin,

I'm sorry to do this but I have to get away for a while. Before you say anything, it was nothing you did. I just need to get my life in order. I don't know how long I'll be gone for. It could be a couple of weeks, months, I don't know. All I know is that I need to do this. I left Aaron with you because I knew it would be wrong of me to keep you away from your son. I know you'll take good care of him for me while I'm gone.

Sandy

"What?!" Ruthie muttered, letting the paper fall at her feet. As if no call from Martin had been enough, Sandy had to pull this crap on him...On them. She allowed her tense muscles to turn soft as the little boy nuzzled her quietly. "When was this?" she asked taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I don't know. I woke up to hear him screaming. It was her turn or something. Sometimes it's all her so I just figured...I was expecting Sandy to get him but he just kept crying. Then, after a while I noticed we were alone and found this in his crib. Took him an hour to stop. It'll hit him again when he starts wanting her, looking for her...I don't even know what any of that means. 'Get my life in order'. Isn't this her life? Aaron...Her job...I just...It doesn't even make sense. She wanted him. Or at least, learned to want him. And suddenly she doesn't?" Martin let his head fall in his hands, a heavy, tired sigh falling from his lips. She couldn't help a slight leap of joy when he seemed to leave himself out of the equation for Sandy's happiness. Not that it meant anything. All the same, Ruthie was fuming. How could she do this? Just simply leave without a word to anyone? Well, she had left him a letter but that was different. They were words on a piece of paper. The older girl's lack of compassion and sense made Ruthie shake her head. "What am I gonna do Ruthie?" Martin asked. He looked so lost. She almost laughed at how he'd shaped the question. Like somehow she knew exactly how they were going to figure any of this out. The truth was, she was just as lost and utterly confused as he was. Ruthie simply rose from her seat and gathered him in her arms as his head rested on her shoulder, the younger Brewer already fast asleep.

"We'll get through this together, Martin, I promise," she whispered hoping more than anything that she could keep to such a tall order considering the situation they were dealt. A quiet whimper pulled her from her thoughts, Martin's head coming up to meet his son's expression. She mumbled. "Shh," she murmured to Aaron. "You're good." It took him no more than two minutes to fall silent again, Ruthie's choice in nightgown in his mouth. "This is... better, I think," she whispered. "If you can stay quiet in the morning, Grandma's in for a great surprise," she smiled. The baby watched in fascination as her lips moved pulling at them curiously. "That there's my lip," she smiled playfully biting at his fingers. The sound of his laugh practically shattered the silence they'd fallen into. "Shhh, not so loud! I have to teach you how to be good at the surprise thing. That's not it. You gotta be nice and quiet," she whispered. "Like this," she added letting her voice fall quieter. Aaron stared for a moment and grinned taking a clump of Ruthie's hair in his fist and pulling at it. "Oh no, not the hair," she said shaking her head and taking his hand away gently. Letting out a small whimper his arms went around her neck as he snuggled into her before finding sleep again. Kissing the top of his head, Ruthie ran her hand along his back. Martin just looked on in amazement. Watching them never seemed to get old. At the same time, there was nothing new about it, yet he couldn't find it in him to let his eyes wander.

"Do you think we could crash here tonight?" Martin asked. There was no way he'd be going back over. Not when familiarity would only serve to eventually upset him, though more Aaron than anything. It was late and he looked more than a little comfortable anyway.

"Sure, you guys can take your old room upstairs. I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind," she whispered. He nodded his thanks, not entirely sure what the appropriate words would be in a case like this. Ruthie of all people had no grounds to be gracious, yet that was all any of them knew. The Camden law was one of the many things that kept him so closely tied to the family, even after making one of his own. They had virtually no qualms about his lack of sense. None that they didn't quickly let go of anyway. Even so, he couldn't help but wonder why.

"Thanks Ruthie, I owe you one," Martin said giving her a careful hug. She just nodded making her way upstairs with him in toe. "Oh Ruthie?" Bed seemed even more inviting now with the weight of a tiny person against the body.

"Yeah Martin?" she called back, head still facing forward.

"Happy birthday," he whispered only inches from her ear, her hair suddenly pulled back behind it, making the quick breeze all the more noticeable. Ruthie felt that familiar electricity shooting through her body. Not in a million years did she expect something like that and from Martin of all people. She suppressed the desperate need to kiss him right then and there. She would likely regret it at first sun, or worse, flat out rejection.

Instead she barely managed a breath and replied. "Thanks," before continuing her trip upstairs. Reaching Martin's room she carefully laid Aaron down surrounding him with pillows. She noticed his face scrunch up and gently caressed it with the back of her hand. "Night Aaron," she whispered before turning around and leaving. "Goodnight Martin," she added, making her way out. She had to process this alone before she could so much as look at him.

"Goodnight Ruthie," he whispered.

A/N: Alright. How goes round two? Let me know?

Also note: Since this is a revamp of something I've already worked through a lot of, chapters will come much faster. I'm more inspired to write than I have been in a while so hang in there with me!