Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to The OC.
A/N-Yea, I lied about when I said I was waiting to post this until I finished a different story. I started to write this and I kind of loved it, so I just finished it. Hopefully everyone likes it too! Thanks to Meg for editing for me!
Seth was having a good sleep, something that had been next to nonexistent in his life for the past few months. He had actually not been woken up by any dreams that night and had been sleeping soundly.
That was until he was awoke by someone poking him repeatedly and calling out to him.
"What?" he groaned, opening his eyes to see Emma and a sobbing Madeleine standing next to his bed. He sat up quickly. "What happened?"
"She had another nightmare Daddy," Emma replied. "And then she came in my bed. And she wouldn't stop crying."
Seth took his three year old daughter into his arms, trying to comfort her. He looked at Emma, who looked annoyed at her little sister.
"I'm sorry Em. Thank you for trying to take care of her though."
The eight year old looked back at her father's tired and worn face. "It's okay Daddy. I don't mind too much."
"Madeleine are you ready to go back to your own bed?" Seth looked at her as the tears had now stopped.
She shook her head, sticking her thumb into her mouth. Seth sighed, realizing that she was probably going to insist on sleeping there for the night.
"Fine Madeleine, you can stay in here," Seth said.
"Can I stay too Daddy?" Emma asked.
"Hop on in."
Seth watched them climb into the empty spot that was next to him. He noticed how much room he still had despite his two daughters being in his bed. It wasn't supposed to be like that. There wasn't supposed to be extra space. He missed the times when there wasn't. He wanted those times back.
Seth woke up and began his usual morning routine of getting up before the girls and making them breakfast. Just as he went to go and get them, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
Silence was met on the other end. He instantly knew who it was.
"Summer? Summer, please don't hang up," he pleaded. "Please talk to me."
Nothing. He could hear her breathing though, he knew she was still there.
"Sum, please. Please, come home," he whispered.
Nothing more was heard, not even her breathing. He realized that she had hung up on him once again. He slammed the phone down on the counter, unable to control his anger.
He just wanted her to come home. He missed her, Emma and Madeleine missed her, everyone missed her. He just needed to get through to her. He was pretty certain that was never going to happen.
He leaned against the wall. So much had happened to them in three years. Too much had happened. It had been going so well for a year, at least. Then everything started to go downhill.
He wished it hadn't. He wanted her back. He didn't want to have an empty spot in bed next to him every night. He missed her smile in the morning and her being there to help him.
He looked at the clock, realizing he didn't have another minute to waste. He had to get the girls up so they could get ready.
He walked up the stairs and was surprised to see Emma already up, prancing around in a tutu with fairy wings attached to her back. He had seen his daughters make some weird fashion choices before when he let them pick out their outfits, but this one really took the cake.
"Emma, what are you wearing?" he questioned.
"It's Halloween Daddy!" she exclaimed. "I get to wear my costume at school today and then for when we go trick or treating tonight."
Right. Halloween. A holiday he had forgotten existed. He didn't even remember buying Emma that costume, let alone Madeleine having one.
"Em, how did you get that?"
"Aunt Taylor got it for me."
"She got one for Madeleine right?"
"Of course. She figured that you would forget. She also said that we would all go out trick or treating with Josh and Molly."
"Good thing Taylor exists."
"That's what she said!"
"I'm going to go get your sister, you can go downstairs if you want."
"Okay. Come on Lilly." Seth looked at the dog and just noticed that she was wearing something similar to Emma. He shook his head, then continued to get Madeleine, who he found still asleep in his bed.
"Madeleine, time to get up," he said to her.
"Noooo."
He smiled slightly at her; she was always reluctant to get up in the mornings. Emma would sometimes be awake before him, but never Madeleine. She took after Summer's sleeping habits.
"Come on. Today's Halloween. Emma's already got her costume on."
"Nooo, I hurt."
Seth looked at his daughter, slightly alarmed. "What hurts?"
"My tummy," she replied, sitting up. Her brown curly hair was a mess and her cheeks were flushed red.
He sighed, realizing that she had probably caught what Emma had the week before. That was a relief-until he realized that it meant he had to take off work once again. His boss was going to kill him but he would have to understand that there was no way he could leave Madeleine with anyone for the day. She was attached to Seth; it was difficult enough to get her to daycare everyday.
"Do you want to go in your bed?"
Madeleine shook her head, lying back against his pillows. "No."
He nodded his head. He somehow had to manage getting Emma to school, call his boss, call Taylor to tell her about the apparent change of plans for the night, and make sure Madeleine was all right. Well, this was going to be a fun start to do the day.
Seth sat back in his chair, looking up from the television at Madeleine. She was sleeping soundly on the couch now, having fallen asleep after watching a Care Bear movie.
He hadn't moved from this spot. He couldn't help but be paranoid about her. So much had happened with her, he was always going to be looking out for her.
His eyes fell on a family portrait. It was taken when Madeleine was still a baby. The pictures all around the house were of happy times. Everyone of them that had Summer in them had her smiling and happy. He liked that. He didn't like to think of her the way she had been when she left. She had been so different then. He didn't like to think of it and yet he still did.
Seth brought his hand up to the door knob to open it up. He had flowers in his hand. He wasn't sure how flowers were going to make anything better, but it was their anniversary-he needed to give her something, even though he doubted that she would remember.
When he walked into their bedroom, he saw her packing clothes into a bag. For some reason this didn't shock him at all. He had a feeling lately that she was going to be going somewhere for a while-after all he had contacted her father a week before, telling him to ask her to stay with him for a while.
"Happy Anniversary," he said softly, handing her the flowers.
Summer looked at Seth. He noted how different she seemed to be. She wasn't the same cheerful Summer. He missed that Summer but he certainly hadn't been cheerful either, recent events in their lives didn't really allow for that.
"So you're leaving then?"
She nodded her head, throwing the flowers on the bed and placing another shirt in her bag.
"I think it's good that you're going to see your dad. How long are you going for? A week?"
"I'm not going to see my dad."
"Uh, where are you going then?"
"I don't know Seth. I just need to get away. Away from everything. I can't stay here anymore. At least not for now. With everything that has happened…"
"Y-you're leaving me? And Emma and Madeleine? You're just going to leave everything behind? Not come back to us?"
"I need to Seth. You don't understand-"
"Like hell I don't understand. This hasn't been happening only to you. I've been there through everything. It's affected me a lot too but it doesn't mean that I'm going to up and leave my family who needs me!"
"You have to understand that I need time alone to think about everything that's happened."
"I can help you Summer. I want to help you. I need you to help me."
She zipped the bag closed. "It's better this way."
"I don't understand how you leaving me is any fucking better!"
Summer didn't respond to him. She picked up the bag and started to walk out of the room downstairs. Seth followed closely behind her.
"You're not even going to say goodbye to your daughters?!" Seth exclaimed, thinking of Emma and Madeleine playing up in Emma's bedroom. They loved their mother more than anything and now she was just going to leave them behind with no goodbye.
"It'll make this too hard. I won't want to leave."
"Then stay."
She got into her car, throwing the bag next to her. Seth saw the tears in her eyes and somehow he found that he didn't care that she was hurting. She was hurting them more than anything else. She wasn't going to say goodbye to the girls, to him, to anyone.
He turned and walked back into the house after watching her pull away. He didn't know when or if he was ever going to see or talk to her again.
The ringing of the phone pulled him out of his trance. He grabbed it and walked into the kitchen as he didn't want to wake Madeleine from her slumber.
"Hello?"
"Seth? You're home."
It was Summer again. This time she was talking. He sat down, surprised that she had actually said something to him.
After recovering from his shock he replied to her. "Yea, Madeleine's sick, I'm staying home with her."
"Is she all right?" He heard the alarm in her voice and was tempted to leave it that way, making her feel all the worry that he had been experiencing since she had left.
"It's just the stomach flu." He decided he wasn't going to let her worry.
"Oh."
"Why did you call if you know I wasn't going to be home?"
"I was going to leave a message for you guys. I…just wanted the girls to hear my voice." Her voice had become small and Seth knew that she wasn't going to be on much longer.
Still, that fact didn't make him refrain from commenting on what she was saying to him. "So now you want to talk to the girls? It's been nearly two months and all we've gotten is a few silent phone calls over that time, nothing else and now you want to talk to them?"
Seth heard her sigh into the phone. "Seth…"
"Is there anything you want me to tell them for you?"
"Can I talk to Madeleine? Please?"
Seth hesitated for a minute, thinking about giving in to her. God, he still loved her so much and would still do anything for her. He just didn't know if she deserved to.
"Dadddyyy." Madeleine started calling to him from the other room.
"I have to go. Madeleine is calling for me," he paused. "Don't call back unless you're deciding to come home."
He heard her sob and felt his heart break a little. "I'm so sorry but I can't. I can't come home yet."
He did one of the hardest things that he had done in a while and hung the phone up. He couldn't handle it.
"I'm sorry too," he whispered to the empty room.
He headed towards the living room, trying to compose himself as he did so. He had to be strong for Madeleine and for Emma. They needed someone after everything that had happened. He was the only one who seemed to be capable of doing so. He was going to make sure that didn't change.