A/N: So there are only going to be two more chapters after this one, and then maybe an epilogue that will lead into a potential sequel I'm thinking about, so please review! I've been missing some of my commenters lately and I really love getting people's opinions. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading this story. This chapter is called "Mine to Remember", which is a really great song by an artist called WAZ, who is somewhat obscure but incredible. Check it out!

MINE TO REMEMBER

When Seth awoke the next morning to an empty bed, he panicked momentarily. His heart dropped fully when he bounded into Audrey's room and saw that her bed and the bathroom were both empty. His world spun wildly as his eyes stopped being able to focus, and a sinking sense of dread settled in his stomach. He clenched his fist.

"Shit," he hissed, his voice reverberating as he entered the kitchen.

"You know, that's a bad word." Audrey was standing at the doorway, looking at him condescendingly, and despite his general anger and frustration, he couldn't help but chuckle. The little girl continued. "My mom went for a run on the beach and she also said she had to go to the grocery store. And you are supposed to go to work when she comes back."

"Your mom told you to tell me all that?" Seth asked, calming down as the little girl bobbed her head in reply. "You know, you are more and more like your mom every day," he laughed, walking over to her and swinging her up so she was seated comfortably on his shoulders. "You know what? How about we go out and do something today, me and you? Before I go to work?"

"That sounds good," she said agreeably. "I won't tell my mommy you said that."

"Thanks," he grinned, adoring her affability and her sauciness, her personality mimicking the woman he loved most. "How about you go get dressed and I will take you to get some of the best food in the world?"

"Peanut butter and jelly?" She inquired.

"Better," he promised. Her eyes grew large and she raced upstairs to get ready for an adventure with Cohen.

…

"What do you think?" Seth asked, gazing at his brunch companion's serious face.

"It's really good," Audrey determined, after chewing thoughtfully and thinking for a few moments. "I mean, my mom's PB&J is like really, really good, but this is maybe second place."

"Alright, fair enough, I can take that," Seth nodded, taking a large bite of his own burger, finishing it off with a slurp of the best chocolate milkshake in Southern California. Though he had traveled extensively all though the country and the world, he had never found a diner with a combination of burger, cheese fries, and milkshake to rival that of the diner on the pier in Newport Beach, where so many of his memories had taken place. "You know, I used to take your mom here all the time."

"Really?"

Seth laughed. "Oh yeah. We came here whenever we had to talk, or just to hang out. It was like our own special place."

"Were you and my mom best friends when you were little?" Audrey asked.

"Sort of, you could say that," Seth started. "When we were a little older, though. When we were like sixteen."

"Tell me a story."

"A story?"

"About my mommy and you, when you were sixteen," Audrey explained.

"Oh, wow," Seth laughed, going through the stories in his mind, trying to find one that would be both understandable and appropriate for a four-year-old girl. "Once, we got stuck in the mall for a whole night."

Audrey cracked up. "You got stuck? In the mall?"

"It was completely empty except for me and your mom and two of our friends. Well, my brother, and another friend."

"Ryan and Marissa," Audrey filled in knowingly.

"You know about Ryan and Marissa?" Seth asked, surprised. He wouldn't have thought that Summer would tell her daughter so much information about her past.

"Sure," Audrey nodded, laughing at the notion that she wouldn't know about Ryan and Marissa. "They met in the driveway, and Ryan was from far away but he moved in with you and he was your brother, and it was like Marissa was a princess and Ryan was the prince, because he was always saving her, whenever she needed him."

"What did your mom tell you about me and her?"

"That she was really mean and had mean friends except for her best friend Marissa but then Marissa started talking to Ryan so she started talking to you a little when you went to Mexico, and then she realized she actually liked you a lot and so you guys talked all the time and all four of you were like best friends, at school and stuff."

"That's pretty good," Seth nodded, happy with this child-sized version of the tale he considered near epic. "You know, you're going to go to the school we went to some day."

"Really?" Audrey's eyes widened.

"Yeah. It's a pretty special place, you know? You're going to meet a lot of interesting people. And some of them won't be so nice, or so smart—sort of like your mom's old friends. But you're stronger than that, and I know you're always going to be the kind of girl who does the right thing and is nice to everyone, right?"

"Of course," Audrey laughed. "Just like my mom says, I have to keep my head on straight and turned the right direction."

"Exactly," Seth smiled, gazing at the girl sitting at the booth, who seemed, in his eyes, limitlessly tough and smart and brave. He was proud of her, and proud of the woman who had done such a good job in raising her, and proud that he could be in their lives.

…

Summer was nestled in bed that night when she heard Seth come in from work, and she instantly felt happy, her pink lips curling into a dreamy, peaceful smile. There was something about his presence, just knowing he was near, that made all the painful memories and hard thoughts in her head mellow out so that she could focus. It was like there had been a buzz, a constant buzz, since they had last been together, and that now that they were together again it had faded.

This inner happiness stopped promptly when she looked up from her spot in bed and saw the tortured expression on his face.

"Seth, what's wrong?" She asked quickly, growing anxious when he didn't immediately respond. She sat up in bed, panicking slightly. "Seth? What's going on?"

"I just got a call from the office," Seth sighed, frowning in frustration. He sat down next to her on the bed, putting his hand on her knee. "They need me to make an emergency trip."

Summer pouted teasingly. "I can spare you for a few hours. But seriously, this late at night they need you? You have one powerful job, Mr. Cohen."

"No, they don't need me tonight." He looked at her, pained, knowing she was going to hate this. "They need me tomorrow. In London."

"London?" She asked abruptly, her eyes widening.

"For ten days," Seth continued, hanging his head. He was just as upset as she was about to be.

"You have to go?" She questioned him quietly, evaluating the situation. She didn't want to be needy, but in reality, she was—she was needy. She needed him with her. She needed him desperately.

"Yeah. I promise you, it's the last thing I want to be doing, but I can't—"

"I understand," Summer replied simply. She was sad, but not angry. There wasn't anything he could do about the situation.

"You do?" He asked, surprised. "I thought you were going to be completely pissed."

"I'm sad, and I'm going to miss you," she smiled, and he grinned back—she was too cute not to. "But I know it's not in your power."

He crawled into bed next to her, pulling the comforter over the both of them and poking her leg with his foot. "We'll talk on the phone every day."

"Multiple times," she continued, laughing.

"You'll tell me every single funny thing Audrey says and I can give you summaries of all my boring meetings," he teased.

"Sounds like a deal."

"We can even do more than that…" he winked suggestively.

She squealed. "Cohen! Are you kidding me?" After shoving him, she curled up against him, leaning her cheek on his chest, knowing this would be the last time they could be like this again for a while, and realizing that she was going to relish every moment until he had to go.

…

"Say goodbye, baby," Summer instructed Audrey as the little girl looked up to see Seth wearing a suit and holding a briefcase. "Seth is going to go away for a while, okay?"

"But I'll see you later, right?" Audrey asked, eyes widening, horrified. She stood up from her spot on the living room floor where she had been playing with some toys, looking up at Seth. It was clear she was still fragile. Summer knew that she had messed with her baby girl's head and heart recently. It was hard for anyone, let alone a confused four-year-old, to have someone so important enter and exit and reenter their life, and that was exactly what Summer had forced Seth to do. Audrey's anxiety was clearly not unwarranted, but Summer hoped she could fix it.

"In a little more than a week," Seth replied honestly, frowning.

"How long is a week?" Audrey asked in her little voice. Summer was going to cry. She realized how much Seth meant to Audrey and she was so glad of it. Audrey's life had improved since they'd made their move to Newport, Seth had been right. Audrey had completely come out of her shell, she was bolder and more vibrant and she even laughed more. She loved Seth, and they had the relationship that Summer had always dreamed that Audrey would someday have with a father.

"A few days," Summer said airily, not wanting to depress her daughter. Seth understood.

"I'm going to miss you, Cohen," Audrey said earnestly, going over to Seth and wrapping her arms around his legs, hugging him tightly. Her adoption of Summer's longtime nickname for Seth was appreciated by the two adults, loving that the memory of the early years of their relationship would be carried out into the future.

"I'm going to miss you too, Aud," Seth grinned. "Take care of your mom, okay?"

"Okay," Audrey nodded seriously. It was as if she understood what he meant, that Summer would have a hard time giving him up, and that the two girls would lean on each other without him until he returned.

…

Summer walked Seth to his cab for their own goodbye. As they walked down the driveway, she realized that he was leaving her for over a week, and she wondered if she could manage.

Seth could read her mind. They stopped a few yards from the taxi that was waiting for Seth. "You're going to be fine, Sum." He tucked a few loose wisps of dark smooth hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek gently with a patient thumb. She was trying not to cry, trying not to be that dependent girl she had always detested, but it was hard to think of what it would be like to be alone for the next ten days. She had done it for years before, but now that she had a taste of what life with Seth Cohen was like again, she wasn't sure she could manage without him.

"I'll call you constantly," he promised. "You'll get bored of my voice."

"You know that would never happen," she smiled. He carefully but firmly wrapped his arms around her petite frame, and she swallowed a sob as he rocked her back and forth. "I love you, Seth. You saved my life."

"I love you too, Summer." He released her briefly and pulled something out of his pocket. "Now look, I don't want you to say a word. I did this one hundred percent for my own reassurance and peace, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, then realized that he had pulled a credit card out. The bottom had Summer Roberts embossed into its plastic. "Seth—"

"Hey, you promised," he smiled. "I just want to make sure you're safe and secure while I'm gone, okay? In case anything happens."

"Anything where I need to buy stuff, you mean?" Summer laughed.

"Think about it this way," Seth smiled, glad she wasn't panicking with the new development. "If you miss me too much and are completely depressed, you could go for some retail therapy."

"I haven't done that in forever," she realized out loud.

"Exactly," Seth agreed. "Indulge yourself, okay? That's an order."

She was tired of arguing with him and after everything that happened, she wasn't ashamed of her circumstances anymore. She had gone through so much, and the pain and frustration would be internalized within her soul forever. The memories were not going to fade just because she accepted Seth's help and support, and she could still be independent and strong and Audrey's mother while still being the Summer she had abandoned long ago. She could do both, she just had to learn how.

"Can I say thank you?" She asked cheekily. He smiled broadly, and she caught his smile in one last, passionate kiss.

"You're going to miss your flight," she murmured into his mouth, and finally they broke apart. He slid into his taxi, suitcase secured in the trunk and laptop case in the backseat with him. He rolled down the window and waved all the way until he couldn't see her anymore, and she waved back long after that. They were strong enough to manage ten days, and she walked back into the house smiling, proud of that. They were strong.