Thanks to RJMoonspell4, newportgirl22, Girlz-Rule, tines, kursk, Juzzy88, and Movies are our business for the reviews. Let me know what you all think of this one!

The sky darkened, rolling thunderheads invaded the late afternoon threatening to erupt at any moment. The rumbling followed the sharp flashes of lightening coursing through the skies, the brilliant bolts of bright white light illuminating the surroundings for a few seconds each time. The winds began picking up speed, sweeping through the streets and carrying loose articles of trash across the town without regard to their safety. Rain would be coming shortly, large heavy drops that would pound the windows and shake the house but for now it held off.

Holding off was what Ryan was doing himself with his life and just like the storm that flew in with no warning, he wondered when he was going to erupt. For so long he thought he had been doing alright, slowly picking back up the pieces that constituted his life but that had all been a cover up. He had done such a good job of fooling everyone that he damn neared almost convinced himself as well but watching out the window as the sun lost it's battle with the thunderclouds and brought evening darkness upon them early, he felt like that storm. He wanted to just let go, let his problems and past pour out of him until they all disappeared but even then they would just regroup until they were large enough again for another storm to brew.

The rain drops began just like he knew they would, quickly pounding against the glass he stood in front of looking out. They started quickly, gaining in speed and intensity until the outside world was blocked out of view, the window now showing his reflection looking back at him. Not that long ago he had been a handsome man just turning thirty with a lifetime of happiness ahead of him. That man had been washed away and replaced by the man looking back at him now, a hollow face man who looked twenty years older than his age with no twinkle left in his eyes or smile upon his face. The last year had taken its toll on him, physically and mentally, and not for the first time did he wonder how long he could hold up like this. Age was just a number or so he had been told but if that was the case, he felt old enough for his death bed to be made and the covers pulled back, waiting only for him to lie down and call it a life.

He stepped back from the large pane of glass as the darkness lit up again, not because he was scared of the lightening that felt to be shooting down directly above his house but because he was terrified of seeing the man looking back at him again when the darkness returned. That man was a stranger to him and he didn't like the stranger's eyes boring into him. He didn't want to wonder why the man looked so sad or what could have caused him to fall so low in life that it looked as if he might be giving up. He didn't want to know the story because he had tried so hard himself to forget about it but like all things you truly want to forget, they have a way of slipping back into your memory and replaying over and over until you want to scream.

While Ryan was standing staring out at the freak storm that was engulfing the area, Seth and Summer were lying on the couch cuddled underneath a large blanket while watching a movie. Seth was at least watching it, Summer had long ago forgotten what or who was even involved as she watched Ryan. The last year had been horrible for him and as the lightening showed his face in the otherwise dark corner he was occupying, she worried about him. At first it seemed as if he had taken the positive road with Mya's condition and the upbeat attitude appeared to be working for the both of them. Mya still wasn't old enough to comprehend what cancer really was, only that it made her tummy hurt and she had to go to the doctor a lot to get checked out which helped because she didn't dwell on the negative aspect of it. The treatment she was receiving seemed to be taking control of the disease, the two of them remained positive about their situation, and all were hoping that life could return back to normal.

Unfortunately for all of them the happiness and go-lucky attitude didn't last very long. With no warning or explanation, the treatment started to lose its effect on Mya and the cancer began taking a hold of her body once again. Her health deteriorated, the hospital visits became more frequent until they began turning into overnight stays and then longer. The fear of something bad happening began seeping its way into her head and they struggled with how to tell her what could happen. By that point Ryan had lost it, no longer being able to watch his daughter cry out in pain or rushing her to the bathroom so that she could throw-up with a smile on his face and pretend that everything was alright. He began to shrink back into himself, becoming the scared teenage boy that had shown up one night in the Cohen's house. First the speaking became nearly non-existent which didn't cause too much concern, then his patience level dropped to a low, and eventually he just withdrew from everything and everyone. The only person that he seemed to speak to anymore was his daughter as if he didn't want to waste his breath or words on anyone else in case time ran out on them.

Summer watched him as he rubbed his hands through his hair, his jaw tightening up almost as if he wanted to cry but there were no more tears left inside of him to come out. She was scared for him, for Mya as well as her health continued to deteriorate, but she didn't want to imagine what would happen to Ryan if the worst possibility came true. She knew that as bad as things were now, that he would break if it came to that and as much as she loved him and thought of him not only as a true friend but family, she knew that she didn't want to be around at that moment. Because somewhere over the last few month's people's mindset had changed into not thinking if but when and the look on Ryan's face tonight said that his mind was switching over as well.

"Seth, go talk to Ryan," Summer said quietly, nudging her fiancé in the ribs as subtly as she could manage but still hard enough for Seth to let out a cry.

"Are you kidding me? I love the guy but every time I try and start up a conversation with him he looks like he's going to punch me," Seth whined to her, his eyes darting back and forth from the television set to where Ryan was standing in the dark.

"Seth, we have to talk to him about this instead of springing it on him," Summer continued, knowing that she had won every single argument the two of them had ever had, which amounted to plenty over the years they had been together, "We need to do it now so go!"

"It's your wedding, you go talk to him," Seth argued, the words slipping off his tongue before he could catch himself, knowing that they were the wrong words to be spoken out loud, "You know what, I'll go talk to him since it's OUR day."

"Good idea asshat," she said sarcastically as she slipped off of the couch and snuck out of the room before the conversation could take place.

Seth sat there pondering the question of who he would rather deal with, Ryan or Summer. Ryan was tougher than he was and was not a pleasant person to be around for any amount of time lately but Summer could be just as lethal if a rage black-out came along and of course she could always kick him out of the bedroom which was the deciding factor in the argument playing inside his head. He stood up, hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans as he slowly took the longest route around the room to where Ryan stood still staring out into the blackness.

"Hey Ryan," Seth started out as he kept his distance in case a fist was thrown out of nowhere.

"What is it Seth?" Ryan whispered, his voice giving away that all the fight had left him if his body language didn't.

"We need to talk."

Ryan stood in front of the mirror struggling with the thing around his neck. He had been thinking about this for the last two weeks, his mind going back and forth on whether or not he should do it but eventually he had decided he would go ahead with it. Now that the moment was upon him, he worried that he had made the wrong decision, that maybe this wasn't the correct answer but he was determined to see this thing through to the very end.

"Having problems?" Sandy asked, coming into the room and walking up to him as he saw Ryan struggling with tying the bowtie that was part of his tuxedo.

"You know that me and these things never got along. It's amazing that I even learned how to tie a necktie but I refuse to learn a bowtie," Ryan said in defeat, handing the frustrating material over to Sandy whose hand was outstretched waiting for it.

"I remember the first time I had to do this for you," Sandy said as he slipped the untied piece of fabric behind Ryan's neck, "You thought you could get by with telling me the open-collar look was more in-style because you were too scared to acknowledge that you needed help. It's amazing how far you've come since that day Ryan and I know that Kirsten and I don't say it enough but we're both very proud of the man that you've become and we love you."

Ryan smiled sheepishly at the comment, turning to face the mirror and admire Sandy's work. The day Sandy was talking about flashed back into his mind, realizing how different a person he was now since then. From that point to this point he had conquered many obstacles and fears but yet he still felt like he was that teenage boy from way back then, a sense of deja vu overcoming him. If he looked hard enough in the mirror he could see that fifteen year old kid staring back at him, the black suit and necktie that he wore on his first of many Newport parties.

"I'm not sure I really have changed all that much Sandy," Ryan turned around and said, going to sit down at the edge of his bed, "I look in that mirror now and all I see is a scared person looking back at me."

"Who wouldn't be? I look in the mirror everyday and see a scared man. Nobody is saying you shouldn't be scared Ryan and nobody is saying that you shouldn't be handling this any different than the way you are but that doesn't mean that nobody else is scared for you. I've tried to put myself in your shoes and think how I would react if it was you or Seth dealing with this and I probably would be tackling this as well as you are but since I'm not and I can step back and look at this with different eyes, I just don't want you to look back someday and hope that you handled it differently. Whether Mya lives out a long full life or god forbid she's taken from us earlier, she's here right now Ryan. She's alive at this moment and is smiling bigger than Summer out there. Life may not be fair and we don't have to understand it all the time but we can live it to the fullest while we have it," Sandy said as he sat down next to Ryan, his arm going across Ryan's shoulders, "I think the best thing we can do for Mya is to keep letting the doctors do what they need to do and make sure that every day we have with her we make it a special one."

"I've been so worried about losing her lately that I haven't really been there too much for her," Ryan said more to himself than to his father sitting next to him.

"Then we go out there and make sure she has the best day ever and then tackle tomorrow the same way," Sandy suggested, "No one is gone yet Ryan but I think it's time we all start living again."

He gave Ryan a supportive squeeze before standing up, just in time to move out of the way as a little girl raced into the room, twirling around in her flower girl dress. The smile radiating off her face was enough to bring one to Ryan's, the first time in what seemed forever that a genuine smile appeared on his face. She ran over to her dad and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly like she knew that was the one thing he needed most at that moment.

"You look beautiful," Ryan told her as Sandy left them alone in the room, allowing a father and his daughter to spend some time together.

"My dress is gorgeous daddy," she exclaimed, "Everyone out there says I'm the prettiest girl here."

"I think that I'll have to agree with them," Ryan said, placing a kiss on the top of her head, "How are you feeling?"

"Daddy?" she asked hesitantly, the voice of a child worried that what she said would make the one person that mattered most in her world mad.

"What is it baby?"

"Today can we just forget that I'm sick and pretend that I'm just like everyone else?" she asked, her eyes slowly making there way up to his.

"How are we going to act like you're everyone else when you are the most beautiful girl out there today?" Ryan asked, squeezing her tightly so that she didn't see his throat constrict or the tears daring to come forth, "You've got to promise me one thing though Mya."

"Anything Daddy," she said sweetly staring up at him.

"You have fun today and promise me that you save me a dance later on tonight," he told her.

"If you promise me you'll have fun today, I'll dance with you all night," she said with a smile, jumping off his lap to go join the other girls getting ready, stopping just before walking out the door to wave quickly before she was gone again.

Ryan fell back onto the bed after she had left, amazed at how his daughter could be handling things so much better than he was. He could have learned a lot by following her behavior, finding the brighter side of things that appeared to be bleak when looked at with only one point of view. Starting today he would do just that, fulfill his promise to her and start living life again with her instead of worrying about when it would end. In order to do that though he would have to get up off the bed and start mingling with the people who had gathered at his house to get ready for the ceremony that would begin in a few hours.

Standing up he stood in front of the mirror again to check on his tux, wanting the day to be perfect for Seth and Summer. The two of them deserved it, they deserved all of the happiness and joy that life threw their way and he would do his best to make sure that everything went right today for them. Turning around to head downstairs and make sure that everything was on schedule he stopped without taking a step, wondering how many life-altering moments he was to have in his bedroom today.

There stood Marissa in his doorway, dressed in her bridesmaid gown leaning up against his door as if she didn't want to cross any line by going further in. It had been a year since he had last seen her, almost just as long as they had last talked but she was still just as beautiful as ever. Just seeing her again took his breath away, brought back the feeling of holding her in his arms. She stood there with a smile that was hesitating to open up too much, her eyes having a hard time reaching up to his as the two of them were finally paired back up after so much time.

"Hi Ryan."