Ok, I had lovey dovey sentimental stuff in the last few chapters and now I'm back to the same old me and I have a whole thing planned out so it should be exciting. This is for my twinnie Emzzie because she loves this fic.

Disclaimer – Don't own any OC character.

Sandy opened the front door of the house and ushered his glowing wife in before closing the door behind him where they were instantly greeted by Seth's voice booming, "Dude I thought you could play this! You suck!"

"You ready for this?" Sandy whispered to Kirsten as they inched themselves towards the family room.

"No but . . ."

"You know we don't have to tell them today if you're not ready, we can wait."

"No, the anticipation of death is far worse than death itself . . . best to tell them and send them out for pizza," Kirsten answered shakingly still reeling from her doctor's appointment.

"Ok and if they lose their appetite it's not like they'll die."

"Sandy, that's terrible," she joked.

"Come on," he chuckled silently as he placed his arm around her waist while they finished walking down the hall.

Seth and Ryan had parked themselves on the family room couch with the playstation controllers wielded to their palms and their faces contorted in concentration.

"You say I suck? Dude, you keep hitting me!" Ryan retorted.

"I'm supposed to!"

"Wait this isn't the uh-"

"No Ryan it isn't, so say farewell to your character as it is about to get decapitated by a Jedi Master," Seth said shortly before dropping his controller triumphantly.

"Farewell," Ryan replied solemnly.

"Hey fellas," Sandy announced as they entered.

"Oh hey, I just decapitated Ryan with a light-sabre."

"We're very proud son," he replied trying to hide his sarcasm, "but are you guys busy?"

"Just kicking Ryan's ass on playstation so no."

Ryan just looked at Seth nonchalantly.

"Ok well we need to talk," Sandy began.

"Is something wrong? Is this about the shelf?"

"What about the shelf?" Kirsten interjected almost immediately.

"What about the shelf?" Seth repeated feigning innocence.

"Your mother asked you first."

"Nothing please continue."

Sandy and Kirsten exchanged a glance and made a mental note to ask about the shelf which of course they won't do because they both suck at remembering since they still need to scold them about the rug and whatever vase it was that Seth insinuated something happened to.

On the journey back from the hospital, Sandy and Kirsten had been going over individually what they would say to their sons but being here in real life was a far cry for the safety of their minds. Here they had two teenagers looking up at them and a pregnant woman who had a dry throat with incoherent words which wouldn't be worthy enough to put in a sentence.

Kirsten began to nervously balance her weight from one foot to the other and seeing this, Sandy took the lead.

"Well um there's no real easy way of saying what I'm about to say and it's a good thing you are sitting down so I'll just come out and say it."

Ryan and Seth both noticed that Sandy had begun to ramble even though he recovered nicely at the end by finishing his sentence so they knew that nothing good could come from what was going to be said. Was it the Nana? Did Kirsten have cancer? Was there a huge storm coming to crush California making it a real life version of 'The Day After Tomorrow'? A thousand thoughts went through their minds however Seth's mind had the more eccentric ideas.

"O . . . k," Seth added.

"Well your mother and I," he began as he moved closer to her, "we're . . . we're going to have a baby."

Seth became deathly still and stared blankly at a spot near Sandy whereas Ryan stood up and approached Kirsten where he enveloped her in a hug.

"Congratulations, that's great."

"Oh thank you sweetie," she whispered delighted.

Seth was still unresponsive until he blurted, "I'm sorry I was caught in a little daydream there, what?"

"Your mom's pregnant . . . we're having a baby," Sandy repeated.

"Pregnant? As in pregnant pregnant?" Seth mumbled in an attempt to comprehend the situation and the two syllable word that made every recess of his skin crawl.

"Yes . . . and I gotta say Seth, it's a first for you being so quiet."

"Yeh well it's a first for a 17 year old to have a baby sibling," he spat.

Kirsten bowed her head ashamed. In her dreams she feared that Seth would react like this and her dreams had in fact been premonitions. Kirsten was a teenager when her sister was born but she at least hoped that Seth would be happy for her and not to mention she was near forty with a seventeen year old sister so Seth should put himself in her shoes.

"Seth don't," Sandy warned.

Seth angrily stood up and looked at his parents and Kirsten can't take his gaze and she looks away uncomfortably.

"Can't you at least be happy for your mother and me?"

"After all the lectures you have me? Come on dad!"

Kirsten wanted to flee from the room because tears were threaten to breach their threshold and flow down her cheeks and she was about to turn around when Sandy interrupted her thoughts.

"Kirsten sweetie, why don't you go lie down and rest ok?"

"Yeh sure . . . excuse me," she sorrowfully replied without looking up.

She turned around with her head still bowed, holding one arm as she walked solemnly towards her bedroom.

Once Kirsten was out of ear shot Sandy continued, "Ryan would you please excuse us?"

"Erm yeh sure . . . I uh . . . I have some things to do anyway," and with that he left through the back door to the haven that was the pool house because there was indeed a storm to hit California and that was Sandy and Seth Cohen.

Ryan was stunned at Seth's reaction but more so was Sandy.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sandy asked trying to contain his composure.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?"

"You know what your mother has been through; have you any idea how petrified she was of telling you? And here you are not caring, just thinking about yourself."

"Dad! You guys are too old to have a baby."

"You think we haven't thought of that already?"

"Well obviously you haven't because if you had you woulda kept it in your pants!"

"Watch your mouth! Your mother has had a hard time since she was shot and this has made her overly happy since you guys left last summer and since the vow renewal, you have no idea how worried she was about telling you! And no wonder . . . the reaction you've given her, don't you think she'd been under enough pressure in recent months . . . she still has breathing problems sometimes."

"Yeh and whose fault is that?"

"Don't put this on me, would you rather I were dead?"

Seth looks down at his father's honesty.

"Why can't you be happy for us?" Sandy asked softly, "you always wanted a brother or a sister."

"Yeh when I was younger, younger dad! When I was 4 not 17!"

"W-what difference does that make? It doesn't mean things will change any more than it would if you were 4."

"How do you know that? Ryan and I are this close to college and then once this kid is born it'll replace us before you know it."

Sandy couldn't believe that his own son thought that he could be so easily replaced when Kirsten and he had been smothering him with their love and affection since the moment Kirsten found out she was pregnant with him. And with this new child, they wanted to give it the same attention as they did Seth but they didn't know how to do that without compromising their affection for Seth or Ryan. Will it come naturally?

"Seth, how can you think that? When Ryan came to stay here we didn't replace you, we can't replace you because you will make yourself known believe me, but why do you think we would replace you, you're our son?" Sandy said.

"Because it's a baby, not a teenager like Ryan, it'll cry and cry until one of you go and see to it and leave us."

"That won't happen, your mother and I will never leave you, whether you like it or not, but why can't you be happy?"

"I guess . . ." he began, "I guess since we almost lost mom, I've realised how distant from her I am and I just want her all to myself."

"You mean the world to her Seth and she would never even think of replacing you or shutting you out," he tried to tell his son sincerely.

"Yeh I know."

"And I think you owe your mother an apology."

"Yeh."

"So are you ok with everything now, you know your mom and I love you both?" he asked.

"Yeh I know, it's just that I like things the way they are."

"Well things are gonna change . . . but for the better, I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"You can," he said before bringing his son into an embrace.

"I've been an ass haven't I?"

"Just a bit," Sandy joked, "now come on let's go see your mom."

Together they walked down the length of the house to the corner where they climbed the few steps up to the bedroom that is Sandy and Kirsten's. At the threshold of the door Sandy stopped Seth and indicated that he would go in first.

So Sandy walked cautiously at first into the room but once he saw Kirsten lying on the bed facing away from the door did he start to stroll over towards her.

"Hey baby, there is someone here to speak to you," he said as he approached her.

Kirsten however had cried herself to sleep.

As soon as she had come into the bedroom she had thrown herself upon her bed and lay in the foetal position clutching a tissue to her face which was now lodged awkwardly in the exposed nape of her neck. One arm was draped protectively around her stomach as her tear tracks dried upon her cheeks.

Sandy sat down softly beside her on the bed and gently stroked her velvety blonde hair. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt down over his hand and used the material to tenderly erase the tears from her face.

Under his touch Kirsten moaned slightly and scrunched up a little more as Sandy looked over at the door where he saw Seth peeking in

"Hey come on," he teased before kissing her on the forehead.

Kirsten rolled onto her back rubbing her eyes.

"Hey," she answered softly.

"Hey," he replied before kissing her, "you ok?"

"Yeh I'm fine," Kirsten sniffled, "just pregnancy hormones," she tried desperately.

"Yeh."

Sandy looked over towards the door, "I have someone who wants to talk to you."

Kirsten followed Sandy's gaze and say her son shyly enter and shuffle towards her.

"Hey mom."

"Hey sweetie."

Then an awkward silence descended upon the Cohens as Seth wasn't sure of what to say and Kirsten was too melancholy to say anything.

"Well this is a first for the Cohens; no one is willing to talk."

"Well it's not a good idea waking up a pregnant woman, wait let me re-phrase that, it's not a good idea waking up this pregnant woman" she whispered groggily.

"Yeh Seth, she's right, when she was expecting you, she was such a pain."

"That's because your son didn't want to let me sleep," she laughed.

"Well, we just woke you up to erm say that Seth and Ryan have agreed to go out, haven't you?"

"Oh yeh that's exactly it and uh I'm sorry for being such an ass, it wasn't my place" Seth replied taking the hint.

"It's ok sweetie."

Seth leaned across the bed and enveloped his mother in an embrace. Then he thought how come she had to be traumatized for him to hug her?

"Come here you big softie," Kirsten said as Sandy stood back as his son and wife hugged.

Then Sandy joined the huddle.

Then Kirsten broke away, "If you'll excuse I need to go to the bathroom."

"Ok," Seth and Sandy replied in unison.

Kirsten untangled herself from Sandy and Seth and made her way over to the bathroom where she closed the door behind her.

"So you got baby's first surfboard yet?"

"No!" Sandy said defensively.

Seth looked at him.

"Yes," he answered barely audibly, "but that's from when you were a baby."

"Sure it is."

Seth spotted Ryan out in the backyard looking out at the horizon and Sandy followed his line of sight and walked over to the door where he invited Ryan into the room.

"So are you guys ok with everything?"

"Yeh I mean I was a little hesitant as you know . . . but know I'm looking forward to it," Seth answered.

"I'm really happy for you both . . . and Kirsten looks very happy."

"And for you too dude, we are going to be, picture this, 'big brothers'"

"Big brother huh?"

"Yeh and I'm gonna be counting on you two if this is a girl, to protect her from the guys," Sandy said.

"Don't worry dad, operation 'Protect Baby Sis' will be devised a.s.a.p."

"Good because if she turns out to be a little heartbreaker like your mom we'll have our work cut out for us."

"Mom was a heartbreaker?" Seth asked surprised.

"Yep 'fraid so and it took me to calm her down."

Seth merely rolled his eyes at this comment because he knew that his mom had been involved with Jimmy Cooper before his dad but he had looked through photo albums of when his mother was a teenager and he saw the attractive confident eighteen year old that became his mother only a few years later.

"She couldn't resist me," he continued.

"Ok we haven't had dinner yet so shut up," Seth warned, "oh yeh and Ryan we're going out for dinner apparently."

"We are?"

"Yeh."

"I hope you don't mind but I want to make your mom a lovely dinner, she deserves a romantic night after what she's been through."

"Yeh good idea, she does deserve it."

"Yeh but dad, be careful about what food."

"Good point I'll ask her what she wants, you know with cravings and whatever."

"Yeh we don't want her miscarrying again."

Ryan was stunned at the words that came out of Seth's mouth. Had Kirsten miscarried before? Seth instantly regretted the words that escaped his mouth.

"Its ok son, don't worry, you can tell him."

"You see," he began before looking at the bathroom, "when I was 5, mom got pregnant and at 18 weeks just miscarried for no reason, no one could give her an explanation, it just . . . happened."

"So that is why I want her to rest as much as possible and that she doesn't get stressed out because she doesn't have easy pregnancies, Seth's had a problem during it and she was so stressed out but I know she's worrying about this pregnancy because she's not 21 or 26 anymore. . . she's a perfectionist with things and being pregnant is one of those so she'll be high maintenance for a while," Sandy added.

"I can understand that, she musta been devastated."

"Devastated? No. Inconsolable? Yes," Seth replied.

The three men stood there in silence.

Until Sandy realised something.

"She's been in there a while."

All three sets of eyes look at the closed bathroom door.

Two pairs returned to Sandy.

"I'll go check on her," he said moving slowly towards the door.

The white door came closer and closer.

He knocked twice with his knuckles.

"Kirsten baby you ok?"

No answer.

Oooooo, why is there no answer? Find out next time hehe. I hope you enjoyed this and I just wanted to make Seth annoying here and a big thanks to Emz who role-played this with me over the summer. We are total geniuses aren't we hehe. Stay tuned for more drama.