Disclaimer: I don't own any part of The OC.
A/N-This was written for the Fandom Sanctuary Forum contest, in which the story had to start with "Welcome to…". Thanks to Meg for editing.
Welcome to Newport Beach, California. Have a pleasant stay!
Summer would have liked to have laughed at the sign. She always did whenever she saw the sign. Going to Newport Beach was really anything but pleasant. This visit was no exception.
She felt a hand grab hers and she looked at the owner of it. He gave her a sad smile.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
She shrugged. "Not really."
His thumb stroked her hand. She was glad to have that bit of comfort. Comfort was something that she needed desperately as they were on their way to her father's funeral.
She turned her head to look out the window at the passing scenery. She reflected on her thoughts as the car was silent.
She didn't want to be going to her father's funeral. This was the last thing she had wanted to do this weekend. It had all been so unexpected, his heart attack. She had thought that he had been in good shape. Sure, she knew that his lifestyle was unhealthy, eating take out and hospital cafeteria food, but she didn't think that any of this could happen.
His death was unsettling to her. It wasn't the sadness. It was the fact that she felt she should have an empty spot in her heart from the pain of losing her father.
It wasn't there.
She had wondered about this the whole night after she got word of his death. She had wondered why she felt sad but not as sad as she should have been. She had wondered why she had cried but not for as long as she thought that she should have.
She figured it out the following morning, when she had finally woken up. She had gone into the kitchen to get breakfast and saw Seth in there, their one year old daughter in his arms. She watched the way that Seth's face lit up when she let out even the slightest sound. She thought about the way he held her when she cried, picked her up when she fell down. He would do anything for his daughter.
Summer had then realized that as much as her father said that he loved her, it had never truly connected. She had often wondered when she was younger if he would do anything for her or if his job would come before her. She had tested it out many times and it was a close race. Finally, when she was old enough, she had just let it go. She decided to not worry about it, that yes her father did love her and she was his world.
Then things happened, her mom left, and he got remarried. Summer oftentimes felt like she was no longer second but now third. She remained with the thought that she and her dad were close, that nothing could come between them. They still had that strong father daughter bond that kept them together.
As the years went on and she married Seth, she realized that maybe he hadn't loved her as much as she thought he had. Yes, he had loved her, but he had put her second or sometimes third in his life. He always had interrupted lunches with her or cancelled their plans at the last minute due to something else in his life.
This was made even clearer to her when she and Seth had a daughter. She had called her father to tell him about his first grandchild and he couldn't even make it the phone for more than a brief minute to tell her congratulations and that he would come and visit.
He never came and visited. And now he would never get to see his beautiful granddaughter or any other future ones there might be.
She snuck a glance back at her sleeping daughter and realized that this was one of the reasons that she was the most upset. Her daughter was never going to get to meet him or receive well deserved love from him. Granted, Kirsten and Sandy gave her more than enough of that, but that wasn't the point. It was the point that she had already been down one grandparent and now she was down two. It wasn't fair for her.
"Sum, we're here," Seth stated.
Summer looked out the window at the church looming in front of her. She didn't want to go inside. She didn't want to say goodbye to her father.
Summer stared at the freshly piled dirt, his body underneath. Looking at this spot made her realize that he was really gone.
She felt an arm wrap around her slender waist. She knew it was Seth and she leaned into him. He kissed her head, pulling her even closer to her.
She was thankful for him at that moment. She had been there for, well, she wasn't sure really how long. She had just been standing there and thinking about how she wasn't feeling as much pain as she should have.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
She nodded. "Surprisingly enough, I am."
"Are you ready to go yet?"
"Yea. Let's go."
She was ready. She had said her goodbyes to him and she realized something. He wasn't the most important thing in her life. Yes, he was her father, part of the reason that she was alive, but that was all he had been. He hadn't been much of anything else.
She had a family, a family that was better than the family that her father had ever been. Seth and her daughter were her family. The Cohens, Ryan, and Taylor were her family now. They were the ones who cared about her, who were there when she needed them most. She knew that they would always be there, unlike her father.
She glanced at the plot of dirt once more before taking Seth's hand in her own. They turned and walked away, going to their family.