Disclaimer: I don't own The OC.
A/N-As I am experiencing a slight writer's block on oh, pretty much all of my stories, I decided to write this. I originally was going to write this and post it next week Wednesday, as it is my birthday. Then today, as I was watching several episodes of The OC, I decided I was going to post a birthday fic for each of the characters, the last one being posted on my birthday. Each story will show significant birthdays for each of the characters and what happened to them on that day. Also, the title really will applies mostly to this fic, so if it doesn't make complete sense for everyone, it was just the best I could come up with. Tomorrow, I will be posting the fic for Seth. Also this is self-edited once again, meaning there are most likely mistakes because my patience only gets me to read half of this before deciding it's good enough, so my apologies for any mistakes. Please read, it would be an awesome early birthday present to me. :D
Summer was practically bursting with excitement. She couldn't contain it anymore.
She ran out of her room to her parents bedroom. She launched herself onto their bed, jumping excitedly to wake them up.
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! I'm five now!" she exclaimed, never stopping the jumping.
Her mother opened her eyes, smiling at her. "No, I don't believe that it's your birthday."
Summer opened her eyes wide. "It is so my birthday!"
"Your mom's just teasing you Summer. Happy birthday, baby," Neil pulled his daughter into his arms. He turned to look at her mom. "What do you say Liz? Do you think the birthday girl deserves to be tickled by the tickle monsters?"
"No!!" Summer squealed as both her parents started tickling her, her squeals turning into laughter.
She wriggled away from them, darting off their bed. "I have to get in my party dress!"
"Summer, it's seven in the morning. Your party doesn't even start until two this afternoon," Liz commented.
"I wanna get in my dress."
"Fine, fine, go ahead."
Summer flashed her mother a smile, then ran from the room. She put her brand new pink checkered summer dress on, slipping on the matching pink jelly sandals. Liz came in the room several minutes later.
"Do you want me to braid your hair Summer?" she questioned.
"Yes, please." Summer handed her mother her hairbrush and hair clips and sat down on her bed.
"Are you excited for your party today?" Liz asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Yes! I can't wait to open all my presents 'n have everyone come to see me and my prettyful dress."
Liz laughed at her daughter. "I'm glad. You just have to wait until two."
Summer groaned. "Mommy, that's soooo long. It's like a bijillion years!"
"You'll be fine."
"I'ma gonna go wait for everyone!"
Summer darted out of the room as soon as the hairclip was placed in her hair. She ran down the stairs, taking her place at the front window. She was going to sit there, until someone came for her party.
Finally, at exactly two o'clock, people started showing up. The first family to arrive was the Cooper family, causing Summer to get even more excited that her best friend was there first.
"Marissa!" Summer ran to greet her friend, giving her a hug.
"Happy birthday Summer," Julie said to the little girl.
"Summer, what do you say?" Liz said before her daughter had a chance to run away to their backyard to play.
"Thank you Mrs. Cooper," she replied politely, then looked at her mother. "Can we go play now?"
"Go ahead."
Soon enough, the party was in full swing, Summer ecstatic at the amount of people who were going to celebrate her birthday. All of her friends were there--plus some people who weren't her friends, but her parents friends, but it didn't matter to her. She was just enjoying being the center of attention for the whole day.
"Summer?" a quiet voice came from behind her in the middle of her game on Simon Says with all her friends.
She turned around, wrinkling her nose when she say who it was. "What do you want Smelly Cohen?"
Seth looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet. "Can I play with you guys?"
Summer sighed. "If you have to, Smelly."
"Hey, Summer, be nice to Seth," Liz came up behind her daughter. "Or you won't get any cake."
"Fine, Sm-Seth. You can play with us."
The game continued on until it was time for Summer to open her presents. She darted over to the table, tearing the paper off each present, barely leaving time to say thank you before she opened the next.
Finally, she got the present from her parents. It was a small box, wrapped in pink paper, her favorite color.
She tore off the paper, squealing in delight when she saw what it was. "You got me Princess Sparkle!"
Summer had seen the small toy horse in the store a month ago, right away dubbing it Princess Sparkle. She had almost got it that day, until she got in trouble for throwing a tantrum about not getting the dress she had wanted.
"That's not all." Liz smiled at her daughter as Neil lifted up a larger wrapped gift for their daughter to open.
She tore the paper off as fast as she could to reveal a large doll house, complete with a horse stable for Princess Sparkle. She once again squealed, then threw herself at her parents, giving them a hug.
She had already decided that it was the best birthday ever.
X.X.X.X
Summer sighed, resting her head back on the pillow. This day was not turning out to be how she wanted it at all.
She was in her bed, as she had been since she woke up early that morning. She hadn't gotten out, except for her frequent trips to the bathroom. She had a fever and she couldn't move without feeling achy, not to mention the amount of times she had thrown up.
This was not the way her tenth birthday was supposed to go.
She and her mother had planned her party for weeks. She and a group of her friends were going to the mall to shop, then to see a movie, and then out to dinner. It was all perfectly planned and Summer had been so excited for the day to finally come.
Of course, when she woke up sick to her stomach, the whole party had been cancelled. She had tried to pretend that she wasn't sick, but it was impossible to prove.
She curled under the covers, trying to make the pounding in her head go away. It didn't help when there was a loud knock on the door that just added.
"Summer?" Liz stepped into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Not good," Summer replied. She felt the tears spill out of her eyes at the sight of her mother. "Mom, it's not fair!"
"I know it isn't."
"It's my tenth birthday and I can't even celebrate it," she sobbed.
Liz came over and hugged her daughter tightly. "I know this really stinks Summer--"
"No, Mom, it sucks!"
"Yes, it does. But we can fix this. Actually we already have," Liz smiled at her daughter, then walked to open the door.
Marissa walked in the room, followed by four of their friends, Holly, Leslie, Amy, and Maureen. They were all holding wrapped presents, plus Marissa had a stack of DVDs.
"Wha-what are you guys doing here?" Summer asked. "I could get you all sick!"
Marissa shrugged. "Oh well. When your mom called to tell us you were sick, we couldn't just not do something for your birthday. So the four of us were willing to come over here to celebrate with you by watching movies. The rest were too chicken."
"Hey, it was all their ideas," Liz said. "You've got some good friends Summer."
They all smiled at her. Summer returned the smile happily.
"Thanks guys." She looked at her mom. "You too Mom, for letting them come."
"Happy birthday, baby," Liz replied. "I'm going to go downstairs with your dad now. Come get me if you need anything."
The girls all piled on Summer's bed, throwing the DVDs and presents at her, chatting away. Summer's grin grew larger with each moment she got to spend with her friends. Even though she was sick, it was turning out to be a great day. It most definitely no longer sucked.
X.X.X.X
Summer slammed her bedroom door shut, shaking the shelf on the wall. She couldn't believe that they would do this to her. It was her thirteenth birthday and they were arguing.
They were always arguing. It had been going on for the past year and a half.
She had stupidly thought that maybe, just maybe, for one day the arguing would stop. For her thirteenth birthday, she wanted it to be perfect.
It had started out all right. It had been the day she had wanted. Her parents took her and Marissa out for the day, since Summer didn't really feel like having a huge party with all her friends. They went to the movies and then out to dinner. It had been fine until they got to the restaurant. That's when the arguing had started.
It had started out small, something about ordering food. It had escalated from there, about the check and then their personal problems had been brought up for the whole restaurant to hear. Summer had never been so embarrassed in her life. She had stood up and ran out of there, never wanting to look back.
When they had given her the cake at the restaurant and she had blown out the candle, all she had wished for was her family to go back to normal.
She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She didn't want to cry anymore. She had listened to her parents fight so much, she hated when they did.
She just wished her wish would come true. She knew it wasn't going to though. She knew that her family was broken and there was no fixing it. She knew it.
The next morning, she woke up and her mother was gone, a short note written to her.
Summer,
I love you. Please don't think this is because of you. We've been having problems for a while. There's no fixing this. Happy birthday, baby. I'm sorry it wasn't everything you wanted.
Mom
Summer crumpled the note in her hand, not stopping the tears from coming out of her eyes.
Her family was officially broken.
X.X.X.X
Seth Cohen. She hated hearing that name, she hated seeing it, she hated every last thing about it.
Because of Seth Cohen her birthday was not even close to what it should have been.
It was the exact opposite. It was everything she had never wanted it to be.
She had thought this year her birthday was going to be different. Every year since her mom had left her, her birthday had been avoided. Her dad would wish her a quick happy birthday, a few presents, a quick dinner, and that was it. It was no longer special.
Last year there had been a party, but half of the people there didn't even know it was her birthday. It was another excuse for kids to find an easy way to get drunk.
She had thought this year was going to be different. She had Seth, her Cohen. She had been foolish enough to think that he was going to be there for her birthday.
She had thought she was going to have someone to say "Happy birthday, baby" to her once again.
She had been so wrong. So completely wrong.
She should have known better. She should have known that it wasn't going to last, that he was going to break her heart.
She wished she had known what he was going to do. Then she would have never given him her heart to break.
She sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. There was a small cake sitting a top it, a note written from her dad about an emergency surgery, telling her to call Marissa over to order a pizza and eat the cake.
She was completely alone on her birthday.
Her dad was at his surgery and the step-monster was passed out somewhere in the house. Marissa wasn't going to come over, mostly due to the fact that she was wallowing over Ryan leaving her with a bottle of alcohol.
Seth should have been there. She wondered if he even remembered it was her birthday. She wanted him to call her, to talk to her. She wanted to scream at him for what he did.
Most of all, she wanted to tell him to come home.
She didn't go to the phone to call him though. She grabbed a lone candle, sticking it in the cake. She hummed happy birthday to herself, then leaned towards the candle to make her wish.
"Happy birthday, baby."
X.X.X.X
Summer put the final touches on her makeup, then straightened her dress. She practically bounced out of the room, something her roommate took notice to.
"Excited Summer?" Taylor asked with a smirk on her face.
"Excited doesn't even begin to cover it Taylor," Summer replied.
She was turning 21 and had never been happier. She was going to see Seth for the first time in nearly six months.
She had continued with GEORGE after her one year, enjoying it so much that she wanted to continue. She had finished with it about two months before, arriving back in California.
That was how she ended up living with Taylor Townsend, a person way back when she was 17 she never thought she would be rooming with. But now, Taylor was her best friend and the one person she would want to room with in Berkeley.
Taylor had come back from France around the same time as her, to be close with Ryan, therefore solving both of their problems of rooming.
Of course, Summer had a problem of different sorts, one that Taylor couldn't solve for her. She hadn't seen Seth and had thought he was coming to Berkeley. That was until she had found out he had gotten a summer internship in Providence and was staying there for the whole summer.
Immediately, she had wanted to fly and live with him in Providence. When he told her that he was living with four other guys in one apartment, that had lessened the appeal. Sure, she was proud of him for conserving and all, but it still didn't make her want to go and stay with him. Though she was a different Summer than her high-school Summer, part of her was still there and that part came out when invited to live with five guys, most of them probably like Seth, but not as cute.
Plus, she had found a job that she kind of enjoyed and didn't feel like leaving. And as much as she had loved her short lived time on the East Coast, California was her home and it was where she needed to be.
So she had waited the extra two months to see the man she was in love with. It had been hard at times, but she was able to do it. And now, he was home for her birthday. She couldn't wait for him to pick her up, to kiss him.
Summer looked at Taylor, who was dressed up quite nice, which surprised Summer. She hadn't known she had plans to go out.
"Your going out tonight?"
"Yea, you know, Ryan just called and asked me to go out to dinner. We haven't done anything like that in a while, mostly hanging out at home, so I thought it would be a good idea."
"That sounds nice."
Summer held her cell phone in her hand, anxiously waiting for the call from Seth, telling her he was coming up to the apartment to get her. She was almost pacing, she just couldn't wait.
"Sum, calm down. He'll be here soon."
"I can't calm down. I really want to see him."
"I know. He'll get here eventually."
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Summer said, getting off the couch. "If he comes while I'm in there, yell to me."
"And you're just going to come mid-pee?"
Summer just glared at her best friend before going into the bathroom. The minute she came out, she heard a very familiar voice, talking in a low whisper.
"Cohen!"
As soon as she saw looked at him, she knew she was going to be unable to wipe the smile off of her face. She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him and never intending to let go.
He kissed her and she realized how much she had missed having his lips touch hers. Six months without kissing him had been too long. She never wanted to go that long without him ever again.
"Summer's bedroom is right there. Please, use it."
"Can't. We have dinner reservations. But later…well, yes. We will be using it."
"Should I take that as a subtle note for me to not come home tonight?" Taylor questioned, an amused smirk on her face.
"Yes. Hey, at least I was subtle. I could have said "Summer and I are coming back here tonight to have lots of hot, wild sex. You shouldn't stay here tonight unless you want to hear us having said hot, wild sex". You're glad I didn't say that, aren't you?"
"Very."
Summer was so glad to see Seth that she didn't even scold him for saying what he just said. In normal circumstances, she would have, but today was special. She didn't want to yell at him at all.
"Are you ready to go?" he questioned.
"Of course."
They walked out of her apartment to his car. As soon as they got in the car, she kissed him again.
He smiled at her. "I forgot to say happy birthday. And I didn't forget about your present either. You'll get that at dinner."
"You coming to see me was present enough."
"Well, I really think that you're going to like this present. So, you're going to want it."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you that, it would ruin the surprise."
"Please?"
"No."
Summer looked at him curiously, but decided to drop it. She didn't want to ruin this moment.
"Hey Cohen?" she asked after they had been driving for a few minutes.
"Yea?"
"Can you promise me something?"
"Of course," he said, grabbing a hold of her hand and not letting go.
"Can we not be away from each other that long again?"
"Definitely."
They drove for a while in silence, but a comfortable one, until they got to the restaurant. Summer reached to get out of the car when Seth grabbed her hand. He pulled her as close as he possibly could, then started to kiss her, moving what they had started earlier farther along.
"Cohen, we have dinner reservations," she reminded him, though she found herself caring less and less each second she was kissing him.
"I know, I know. And we really should get inside."
"We should."
"I don't want to."
"But we should."
Seth pulled away from her, frustrated. "Okay. Right. We really do need to get inside. After all, I have to give you, your birthday present."
Summer leaned in to kiss him one more time, this time pulling away before things got so heated that this time they didn't stop.
They got out of the car and walked hand in hand to the restaurant, both smiling the whole time. They were together and that was all they needed to be happy.
The meal went faster than Summer had thought it would go. She had wanted it to go slowly, she had so much to tell Seth and he had so much to tell her. Despite the fact that they talked every night to one another on the phone, it didn't make up for the fact that there was still a lot that they needed to tell one another.
"Do I get my present yet?" Summer questioned after they had ordered their dessert.
Seth looked at his watch and then at the door. "Not yet. Soon. I promise."
Summer wanted to question him, but didn't say a word. She also was starting to wonder why all of the sudden he was nervous and jumpy but decided it was best left alone.
After being embarrassed completely by having the whole waiting staff sing to her, she dug into her dessert. She looked at Seth, who was still watching the door and not eating his dessert.
"Seth? What's up? You're not eating your dessert at all."
"Ah, sorry. I got distracted." He picked up his spoon and started eating, though Summer could tell he was still distracted.
The next time she looked up at him, she saw him look even more nervous than he had a few minutes before. She was about to force him to tell her what the problem was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and was shocked to see Sandy and Kirsten standing there, Sophie in Kirsten's arms. After looking closer, she saw Ryan and Taylor coming through the door.
"What are you guys doing here?" she questioned, getting up to hug them all.
"Um, Summer, could you sit back down?" Seth asked, after she had given the required hugs and received the happy birthdays.
She did so and watched as his family moved away slightly, still in view of the table. The whole restaurant seemed to take sudden interest in this as well, as they turned to stare at them.
Summer looked at Seth, yet to have caught on to what was going on. She smiled at Seth, who was practically shaking, fumbling for something in his pocket.
"So they're all here because I asked them to, because well…" he got down on one knee, causing Summer to gasp and her hand to fly over her mouth. "I love you so much Summer, more than anything in this entire world. We've had our ups and downs but we've always worked through it together. Will you marry me?"
Summer was shocked that this was happening to her but somehow, through this shock and the tears flowing from her eyes, she managed to choke out an answer.
"Yes, Cohen, I will marry you." She threw herself into his arms, everyone in the restaurant clapping for them.
"So was this a good birthday present then?" he whispered.
"The best."
"Happy birthday, baby," he said, kissing her once again.
She nearly started to cry when she heard him say the phrase her parents would always say to her on her birthday. She hadn't heard that since she was 13 years old--but it was right that Seth said it to her. It fit in perfectly with what had become her perfect birthday.
X.X.X.X
"So, does this birthday win?" Seth questioned, smiling at his wife.
"Hm, let me think about that for a minute. I spent the majority of it in labor. Does that seem like a good birthday to you?"
Seth's face fell. "But you got this beautiful little girl out of it."
Summer looked at her daughter, who Seth was currently holding. She smiled at the sight of her. "I know. It was worth the pain."
"Good."
"But she's our last. Seriously, Seth, three kids with your genes is enough."
He shrugged. "I can't help that the Cohens are a fertile bunch."
"Ugh, that is not what I needed to hear when I enter a room."
Seth and Summer looked to see Sophie coming into the room, followed by Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth and Summer's other two children come into the room.
"Hey, Soph, you have to deal with it. You're a Cohen too," Seth said.
"Unfortunately," she groaned.
Seth smiled at his fourteen year old sister. She was growing up to be the exact opposite of him, something Seth was certain his parents were rather thankful for. He had to agree--he liked being one of a kind.
Kirsten immediately darted over to Seth to see her new granddaughter. "Oh, she's so beautiful."
"I wanna see!" their six year old son, Jacob, tugged on his grandmother's shirt, wanting desperately to see his new baby sister.
"Me too!" their three year old, Alyssa, followed her brothers actions.
"Calm down guys," Seth said. "You'll get to see her."
"Are Ryan and Taylor coming?" Summer questioned Kirsten.
"Of course. They're parking our car for us. We were in the parking lot at the same time and these two were just too anxious to see you guys and the baby," Kirsten replied.
"A lot of babies seemed to be born today, we walked past the nursery," Sandy added.
"Well, I have to say, it's a pretty good day to be born on. Don't you agree Summer?"
"Of course I agree. Best day of the whole year."
"That's right. Happy birthday Summer."
"Thanks."
"Summer now has to share her birthday with Brooke," Seth commented, handing the baby to Summer. "Are you all right with that Summer?"
"Yes, of course. This is the best birthday present I could have gotten."
Jacob looked at his mother, his face no longer bright and smiling. "Was it even better than the handprints me 'n Alyssa made for you?"
"Of course not," Summer said, smiling at her son. She normally hated lying to him, but felt this was necessary. He would never know the difference anyway.
"We're going to leave for a few minutes, go find Ryan and Taylor. They probably got lost or something," Sandy commented.
"Can we stay Mom?" Jacob asked.
"Of course you guys can stay," Summer replied.
"Are you sure Summer?" Kirsten commented. "We don't mind taking them on a walk around."
Summer shook her head. "I missed my babies."
"All right. We'll be back in a few minutes, Ryan and Taylor in tow."
They walked out of the room, leaving the family alone.
"Can we get on the bed with Mom?" Jacob questioned.
"Yes, just be careful," Seth warned.
The two climbed onto their mother's bed, cautious around their baby sister. They looked like they already liked her, which Seth and Summer were glad to see, considering the nerves they had about the two reacting to a new baby.
Seth took a seat on the edge of the bed, smiling at his family. He looked at Summer, who had the same look in her eyes that he was certain he had.
"Happy birthday, baby," he said. "To both of you."
Summer looked at him, then at her children. She was now 32, with an amazing husband, two young children, and now a new baby. If she had thought back to her birthdays from long ago, she would have never thought this was where she would be on her birthday,
But now that she was there, on her 32nd birthday, she was happier than she ever was before. And that was just how she wanted it to always be.