A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Next chapter is the finale, but I'm thinking about and planning a sequel. This chapter's song is "Details in the Fabric," Jason Mraz ft. James Morrison. Great song off Jason Mraz's new album. Anyway, please review if you can--I'd love to get your opinions on the end of the story. Thanks guys!

DETAILS IN THE FABRIC

"Summer," Kirsten gasped, as she swung open their front door to reveal the girl she'd thought they had lost forever, holding hands with her own little girl. "Oh, Summer."

Summer's eyes watered happily. "I hope it's okay that we just showed up."

"Of course, of course," Kirsten said, ushering Summer and Audrey into the house quickly, leading them into a comfortable sitting room. "Sandy! Come down here, we have guests!"

Summer laughed, glad to be back in the bustle and warmth of the Cohens' household. The memories she had of them were all associated in the house where she was living, but something about Kirsten and Sandy and their relationship made her feel at home as soon as she entered their new house. "Kirsten, this beach house, it's gorgeous."

"Thank you, honey," Kirsten smiled. "But what is really gorgeous is your little girl." She leaned towards Audrey, bending down to reach the little girl's level despite her age. "Hi, I'm Kirsten."

"I'm Audrey," Summer's daughter announced precociously. "I'm four, and I go to preschool."

Kirsten laughed, taken aback and impressed. "Wow, do you like it?"

"Yes, I love school!" Audrey smiled brightly. "I moved with my mommy and now we live in a really pretty house and my school has painting and dress-up, and I get to play with Seth every day. Do you know Seth?'

"I'm Seth's mommy," Kirsten explained.

Audrey's eyes widened. "Really? That's so cool!"

"I would put it differently," Kirsten chuckled to Summer, who grinned. "I'm so glad you two popped up. Honestly, I've missed you, Summer."

"I've missed you too, Kirsten," Summer promised the older woman, reveling in the truthfulness of her statement. Never had an adult relationship been as stable and secure as Kirsten and Sandy's seemed, and she had always thought back to it enviously as she suffered through the years of the complicated and torturous relationship she had with Marcus. "Being back is…it's incredible."

"I'm happy you're back. You don't know how much of a difference it has really made to Seth," Kirsten began. "He went through some hard times, you know? I think he's felt lost for some time now."

"Really?" Summer's curiosity was piqued.

"You know, he never wanted to really be involved in the Newport Group, and he was thrown into it—I think he's just been very lonely and somewhat frustrated. But since you've been back in his life, Summer…even on the phone he's just seemed so much more alive."

Summer was full of happiness and pride and peace. Finally, this was the way everything was supposed to work out. She had always felt as though she and Seth would never be able to apart, and she had been right. Theirs was not a basic high school relationship, and they shared a bond that hadn't disappeared even after so much time had passed and their lives had diverged so sharply.

All of a sudden, there was Sandy, eyebrows and all, scooping Summer into a hug.

"And she makes her return!" He grinned brightly, making Summer feel warm again. Kirsten and Sandy had been the parents she dreamed of having, the people who always managed to make her feel welcome and valued, even when her own home life was falling apart. Theirs was the family she felt as though she belonged to, the cast of unlikely characters—Seth, Ryan, Marissa, and Summer herself—that had formed an unimaginably close friendship. "It's great that you're back, sweetie."

"It's great to be back!" Summer exclaimed. "This is my daughter, Audrey." Sandy and Audrey were introduced, and it was clear that Audrey immediately loved the older man. Sandy had always been good with kids—obviously this was where Seth had gotten his natural comfort and ease with her little girl from—and he was immediately impressed with Audrey's intelligence and quick laughter.

Summer was quick to agree to a Thai dinner, something she hadn't had in years and years since she'd had dinner at their house in high school when she was dating Seth, and she was excited to give Audrey the opportunity to experience the Cohen family tradition. As she watched her daughter interact with Kirsten and Sandy, she was overwhelmed with happiness; this was all she had wanted for her little girl, the comfort and love that a real family provided. As Sandy and Kirsten played and laughed with Audrey until it was far past Audrey's bedtime, Summer realized that this was it. This was perfect.

Kirsten walked Summer out to the car as Sandy went ahead of them, carrying a sleeping Audrey over his shoulder.

"Thank you for coming over," Kirsten said earnestly. "We love having all our kids with us, you included, Summer."

"Thank you," Summer whispered, hoping that Kirsten understood how honored and pleased she was with only those simple words. Summer had always wanted a family, wanted love, and Kirsten and Sandy had provided her with that. "So Kirsten…how do you feel about some shopping?"

Kirsten grinned broadly. "Now that you're back in Newport, feeling the need to replenish your Newpsie wardrobe?"

"You got it," Summer nodded. The two women made a plan for the next day and Kirsten and Sandy, his arm around her waist, waved as Summer drove off with Audrey in the backseat. They all felt contented and purely happy.

…

Summer picked up her cell phone on the first ring when Seth's name flashed on the front screen, giving herself a split second to take a deep breath before picking up, grinning. "Seth!"

He smiled into the phone. "Thank God you're there, Sum. I already miss you—"

"Me too," she filled in. She sat cross-legged on her bed, and if she listened carefully, she could hear Audrey's deep breathing from across the hall, signifying that she was asleep. "How's London? It must be so late there right now…"

"It's okay," Seth scowled. "Rainy. Dreary. I'm jet lagged. And mostly…you're not here."

Summer shivered as she imagined what it would be like to be there with him. She knew it was impossible, but she hadn't been to London since she was a little girl—eleven or twelve, probably. And she certainly hadn't traveled at all in years. The last time she'd been on a plane was coming back from Providence after breaking up with Seth the first time around, defeated and miserable. "I miss you, baby."

"This is so hard," Seth replied, voice full of honesty. "I never thought that I would feel this way so fast. But Summer, I—I love you."

"I love you too," Summer responded, blushing though nobody was there to notice. When he said that, it made her tingle all the way up her spine. "So guess what Audrey and me did for dinner tonight?"

Seth laughed, happy to be engrossed in the trivialities of her day after his, which had been full with dull meetings and appointments with boring middle-aged clients. "Pizza?"

"No," Summer smirked.

"Um…macaroni and cheese?"

"You really think I can't cook, huh?"

"Never said that!" Seth defended himself. "So what did you do?"

"Thai," Summer began. She noted his surprised noise on the other end. "At your parents' house."

"You were at my mom and dad's?" Seth asked, shocked.

"Yep," Summer said. "You're okay with that, right?"

"Summer, of course I am! That's great! I bet they were so happy to see you, and Audrey…my mom has missed you, Sum, really she has." Seth was proud of the way everything was coming together after he had worked so hard to get Summer to move back to Newport and allow Audrey to settle into her new life.

"It was amazing, Cohen. Your family was—it was like my only family, in high school, you know?" Summer sighed. "I'm just glad everything is okay now. Well, it will be okay, once you get your little ass back home. I am all alone in this huge bed…"

Seth closed his eyes and groaned. She was teasing him, he knew that, but it didn't make the longing to be in that bed with her any easier to handle. "I honestly don't how I'm going to make it through this trip without you. I wish you were right here with me."

"I know, Cohen," she sighed. "But it'll be over soon. Nine days, right?"

"Nine days," he agreed, somewhat defeated. Since she had become a major part of his life again, he had been so involved with her life and Audrey's that he didn't realize how hard and painful it was to be without them. "Tell Audrey I miss her, okay?"

Summer grinned. "I will. Tell my boyfriend I sort of miss him too."

"I'll pass the message along," Seth promised jokingly. They said their I love you's and hung up, each on separate continents, preparing to spend the night alone.

…

"Hi, honey!" Kirsten greeted as Summer opened the front door to reveal Seth's mother. "I know I'm a little early—"

"Oh, please," Summer eschewed Kirsten's objection. "Come on in. Audrey is just eating breakfast."

"Hello, Audrey," Kirsten smiled, laughing slightly at the sight of Audrey, her hair all over the place, biting into a bagel. She had always wanted her own daughter, and when she looked at the bright, sunny kitchen she had raised Seth and later Ryan in, it brought back sharp, poignant memories of her mornings there with the boys. She remembered tired Ryan stumbling in for a cup of coffee when they still weren't sure if he was going to stay; Sandy dutifully teaching him the art of the schmear. She remembered Seth's constant witticisms over orange juice. Sandy wandering in wearing board shorts and carrying a dripping surf board, masterfully halving their favorite breakfast item with their famed bagel slicer. Mornings in the Cohen household were family moments, they were sacred, and they belonged to them. She had loved those mornings, and she couldn't believe that now Summer was in her kitchen with her own little girl, the passage of time so blatantly apparent in the changes that had occurred.

"Hi, Kirsten!" Audrey exclaimed, happily jumping off her stool to give the older woman a hug. Kirsten hugged the little girl back, enjoying being around the cheery, lively, and vivacious girl. She was a mini-Summer, truly and completely. "Happy morning!"

"Happy morning to you, too," Kirsten laughed lovingly.

"Bagel?" Summer offered, concealing a grin, pointing to the bowl of assorted bagels on the kitchen counter. "I've heard they're a specialty around here."

"I'll try one," Kirsten chuckled, taking one and spreading it with the cream cheese on the table. "Audrey, do you know what this is?"

"Cream cheese!"

"Yes," Kirsten nodded. "But in this house, we call it 'schmear'."

"Schmear?" Audrey tried out the new vocabulary, confused with its foreignness.

"Yep," Kirsten laughed at Audrey's expression, the little girl's face full of wonder, so unaware that she was being handed a piece of legacy and of tradition. It was trivial, their bagel mornings, but it had become the foundation for their family, and when Kirsten thought of her children, now grown-up, she could with assurance say that their family and its foundation had been a success. She was passing Audrey a little piece of everything the Cohens had been and had loved, and she could only hope that Summer's daughter would grow up with the love surrounding her that she deserved.

…

Kirsten and Summer dropped Audrey off at Harbor and continued on to South Coast Plaza, where Summer had spent countless afternoons with Marissa back in high school, trying to find the perfect jeans, the perfect dress, the perfect shoes. Money had been no limit then, and Summer knew that thanks to the handy piece of plastic Seth had gifted her, it was no limit now either. That wasn't to say she was going to take advantage of him, but she knew that if she spent a little on clothes, he would be thrilled. It wasn't that he was superficial or wanted to show her off, or anything like that—Seth wasn't that guy. It was more that he knew the important role clothes and fashion had played in her life once, and he knew that she could not be the same Summer unless she had at least the opportunity to be that old Summer in front of her. He had equipped her with that opportunity, and she appreciated his effort.

The two women perused the racks, selecting various pieces while giggling and gossiping, and Summer slowly began to feel like everything had reverted to that time years ago, when finding a cute dress at South Coast for homecoming or prom had been at the top of her mind. It felt like she had finally struck a balance between her first Newport life and her Los Angeles one. She didn't have to look at price tags obsessively, but she didn't have to try on every designer item in the store, either. And she liked that balance, liked the person she had finally become. She was finally at peace with her past and her future.

Summer left with two bags and a grin. They made it to Harbor just in time to pick up Audrey before the extended day care started, and as Summer, Kirsten, and Audrey informed one another about their days, each was enormously happy. Finally they pulled into the driveway at the house again.

"So, Summer—you have the plan all ready?"

"I just have to make the phone calls," Summer nodded, grinning and blushing.

"This is going to be great, sweetie. I'll see you later?"

"Yep," Summer nodded, hardly able to contain her excitement. "Bye, Kirsten!" Summer called as Kirsten drove off back to her own house.

Summer made Audrey's dinner—plain pasta, chicken, and carrot sticks, something even she could handle—that night with a mixture of longing and excitement. The next day would bring an onslaught of emotion, she knew that, but they were all good emotions, happy emotions, emotions she was ready for. She had spent years being thoughtful and organized and practical, and this was her turn to be slightly impractical and make sudden decisions and allow her life to be fast-paced and exciting. She was ready. Seth had allowed to her to realize that having a child didn't mean her life was over, didn't mean she had to change who she was or what she wanted. Especially what she wanted.

And in this case, all she wanted was Seth. She wanted him, all of him. She wanted the feeling of his legs entangled with hers, under a blanket and completely intentionally. She wanted his lips on hers, and hers on his, over and over again until they couldn't remember those years when their lips hadn't touched at all. She wanted her hand in his, swinging slightly while walking down a street. She wanted their eyes connecting, watching, gazing, staring—with nothing to hide. She wanted his arm around her waist, around her shoulders, holding her and protecting her and loving her, forever and always.

And in the style of the old Summer Roberts, the Summer Roberts she had been in high school—she was going to go and get what she wanted.