A/N: Thanks for the reviews!! This chapter sucks but the next one shall be
better. Lets still try to make 200 reviews here!! Anyway, for those who are
confused about Charlotte's paternity.. Marissa will have a convo with
Summer in the next chapter to clear it up for you, sort of. I know, evil.
And wait till they have Chrismukkah Eve Dinner. Chaos. Oh yeah.. and I
don't really go into detail over certain 'nasty' things in this chapter.
but I do mention sex, just a warning for rating purposes. alright, enjoy!
Chapter 17: Seth's girls
"I guess things between Marissa and Ryan have been smoothed over." Sandy piped up as he slid into bed with a wallowing Kirsten.
"What makes you say that?" Kirsten asked as she nuzzled next to him.
"You don't hear that familiar splashing coming from the pool house?" Sandy and Kirsten laughed in that way parents do and then silenced themselves, remembering Charlotte was asleep in the next room.
"Did Summer say what time she'd pick up Charlotte?" Sandy asked, whispering.
"No. Seth was the one who dropped her off." Kirsten grinned as Sandy's thick eyebrows raised happily.
"Ohhh." Sandy smiled. "You do realize that tomorrow is Christmas Eve."
Kirsten shook her head, "Chrismukkah eve. And don't remind me."
"Good old Cohen holidays. You never know what to expect." Sandy chuckled.
"My father's coming. Julie's coming. I'll be drinking. It's basically going to be a repeat of the Thanksgiving of '03 disaster."
"Sans Jimmy and Rachel." Sandy pointed out and Kirsten sighed. Jimmy and Rachel had gone away together for the holidays. They were truly the lucky ones.
"And Anna." Kirsten added, laughing.
"Whatever happened to her?" Sandy asked and Kirsten shrugged.
"Let's just hope everyone can get along for a few hours." Kirsten smirked sarcastically.
"And that you don't get near the kitchen."
"Very funny." Kirsten laughed, kissing Sandy gently.
**************
"I guess we should go get Charlotte." Summer commented as she shut the apartment door behind Seth.
"I guess." Seth smirked. "Or we could just leave her with my mom. She owes me."
"I don't know." Summer's eyes became distant. "She's never spent a night away from me."
"She'll be fine." Seth said sternly.
"I don't know if I can spend a night away from her." Summer sat down on the couch, not even wanting to imagine a world without her precious daughter.
"You have me." Seth mumbled as he sat down next to her, cupping her hands in his.
She looked up at him and knew this was the most sincere thing Seth Cohen could say to her. He was always there for her. No matter what. It was always like that between them.
"Yeah, you're really hard to get rid of." Summer laughed, trying not to show how much it meant to her for him to be stroking her hands in his.
"Now," Seth cracked that loveable grin of his, "There is the Summer I know and love."
Summer's similar grin faded a little, but then widened once more. "Love?"
"Well," Seth let go of her hands. "I never stopped. Loving you, that is."
Summer raised her hands to her face, covering her eyes that started to pain with tears. Seth looked at her blankly, slightly confused by her reaction to his words.
"Why are you so perfect?" Summer started to cry.
"Sum," He tipped her chin up so she looked up at him through her tearing eyes. "Don't cry."
"I can't help it." She muttered. Things seemed too good to be true. She was afraid she was going to wake up and Seth would be gone from her life once again. She didn't know how she had survived this long without him.
Seth lifted his hand, wiping the tears from her face. Before he knew it, her lips were smashing against his, and he let his hands find the small of her back.
"Seth," Summer moaned, not sure of what was happening.
He let his lips slide off of hers and leaned back against the couch. She stared at him. She hadn't wanted him to stop, she was just confused. What else is new?
"Sorry." He fumbled nervously, wiping his lips.
She laughed, "For what?"
"For not finding you sooner."
"Don't you apologize for that, Seth Cohen!" Summer flared her nostrils angrily, grabbing him and kissing him again. "You're here now. And that's all that matters." She straddled him, feeling how excited he was, and he smiled, placing his hands on her hips as they continued to kiss each other.
*************
"That never gets old." Ryan whispered into Marissa's ear, wrapping his arm around her bare shoulders as they pulled the covers of his bed over their naked, half wet bodies.
"Skinny dipping in the Cohen's pool or sex?" Marissa laughed, cuddling into her favorite spot underneath Ryan's arms.
"Both." Ryan grinned, kissing her forehead.
"Agreed." Marissa smiled, moving even closer to Ryan so that she was practically on top of him.
"So it's officially Christmas eve in an hour." Ryan noted, glancing at his clock on the nightstand.
"Oh, god. Dinner is going to be nauseating. Every time my family comes over to have dinner with your family, it's chaos." Marissa shuddered.
"Maybe this year won't be so bad." Ryan said optimistically, but then laughed at Marissa's glare. "Or not."
"I'll be fine as long as you're there with me." Marissa nodded.
"Well then you'll be fine." Ryan heaved, shutting his eyes.
Marissa followed, closing hers and falling into a deep sleep.
*************
"Mommy!" Charlotte's scream pierced through the air and Sandy jumped up at it. He looked down at Kirsten, who was sleeping contently, and he sighed as he got up out of bed towards Seth's room where Charlotte had been sleeping.
"Charlie, what's the matter?" He asked, scooping her up out of the bed. Her eyes were red and she sniffled.
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's with Seth, sweetie."
"I want her now!" Charlotte wailed and Sandy sat down on the bed with her, picking up Seth's phone.
"Alright, I'm calling her right now, ok?"
"Uh-huh." Charlotte whimpered, clutching her stomach. "I don't feel too good Uncle Sandy."
"What hurts?" Sandy dropped the phone, worrying for the little girl. He clamped his hand over her forehead, which seemed a little warm to him, but he knew Kirsten would know better then he would. He walked over to his bedroom, Charlotte in his arms. He placed Charlotte down in the bed and nudged Kirsten until her eyes opened.
"I think Charlotte's sick." Sandy whispered and Kirsten jumped up in full mom mode, glancing at Charlotte who began to sway with pain.
"Charlie, what's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts." Charlotte gagged and Kirsten dove for the garbage can by the side of the bed holding it in front of Charlie as she held some of Charlotte's brown hair back, The tiny girl leaned over the garbage can, her hand still clutching her stomach.
"Call Summer." Kirsten told Sandy quickly and he grabbed his cell phone, dialing Seth's cell number.
************
"Seth," Summer nudged Seth next to her. They had both fallen asleep on the couch, the quilt drawn over them. Seth let his eyes blink open slowly, ready to wrap his arms around Summer, but then saw the stressful look on her face. "Your cell phone's ringing."
He grabbed his ringing cell phone from the pocket of his jeans, which were now on the floor. This only made him smile as he remembered the actions Summer and him had just taken part in.
"Hello?" Seth yawned.
"Are you with Summer?" Sandy's voice boomed out.
"Yes." Seth said, jumping up to search for his clothes, clearly thinking he was in deep trouble. But then he stopped, reminding himself that he was in college now. And if his parents still thought he was a virgin, well they were dumb. Considering Charlotte and all.
"Charlotte's sick. Get here quick." Sandy hung up the phone before Seth could get in a word and he shoved the cell back in his jeans as he scrambled to put them back on.
"What's wrong?" Summer asked, biting her lip as she covered her naked chest with the quilt.
"Put your clothes on." Seth winced. "Charlotte's sick."
"What?" Summer stared at him blankly and he passed over her bra and panties to her.
"That's as much as I know, so hurry up." Seth grabbed his sweater, throwing it on and searched for the keys to the Rover.
"What do you mean she's sick?" Summer panicked. Charlotte was never really that sick before, she wasn't sure of what to make of this.
"Summer," Seth kissed her forehead, forcing her to calm down as she pulled on her jeans. "I'm sure she's fine."
This seemed to temporarily smooth Summer over and she nodded, looping her hand in his as they ran down to the Rover as quickly as possible.
************
"Here, Charlie." Sandy coaxed the little girl as he handed her a glass of water, which she gulped down quickly.
Kirsten had never seen a child throw up so much before. Seth rarely ever got sick, so this was new to her.
"Feeling better, sweetie?" Kirsten asked, as she carried the girl over to the living room couch, flipping on cartoon network for Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded sleepily, settling onto the couch.
Kirsten checked on the girl once more, who now closed her eyes and started to breath heavily, and walked back to the kitchen where Sandy was pouring some coffee for the both of them.
"Where is she?" Summer's voice echoed throughout the Cohen's mansion, her face appearing in the kitchen. Seth flying behind her, a sense of worry and amusement on his face.
"Living room." Kirsten nodded towards the living room and Summer sauntered over there quickly.
Seth slid down onto one of the chairs, smiling happily. Kirsten laughed at this and drank some of her coffee.
"So Mom," Seth chirped. "What did you feed Charlotte?"
"Huh?" Kirsten looked at him, dumbfounded.
"What concoction of yours poisoned Charlotte?"
"Kids get sick all the time, Seth." Kirsten rolled her eyes. She was glad to see Seth so chipper, but making fun of her cooking after midnight was intolerable.
"Don't make fun of your mother's cooking, Seth." Sandy chided, although he was barely concealing his amused grin.
"It's not 'making fun' when it's the truth." Seth pointed out and got up, walking briskly towards the living room.
He could feel Kirsten and Sandy's gaze from behind him and he whipped around, "What?" He tried as hard as possible to make his 'post sex' grin fade, but considering how much he loved being with Summer, it only made him grin wider at the thought.
"Nothing." They both laughed and he walked away, confused and disgusted that his parents could tell he had done something.
"You see the way he's walking?" Sandy asked.
"Yup."
"That's my boy." Sandy chuckled, Kirsten giving him a weary look. "What? Am I supposed to pretend that I'm not proud of my son's sexual acts?"
"You're not supposed to be proud of those things."
"And why not?" Sandy asked directly, as Kirsten hugged him tightly.
"What am I going to do with you?" Kirsten laughed, walking up to the bedroom.
"I could think of a few things." Sandy grinned, trailing after her.
*********
"How is she?" Seth asked, peering over Summer, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, stroking Charlotte's hair.
"She seems fine." Summer said, standing up and grabbing his arm, redirecting him back to the now empty kitchen. "I don't want to wake her up."
"Listen, Summer," Seth glanced at the angelic Charlotte and back at Summer, who was staring right through his eyes, "Tonight, the whole night, not just the sex, was amazing."
"The sex was amazing." Summer smiled dreamily. She hadn't had sex in about two years, so of course, sex with anyone would be amazing at this point, but sex with Seth Cohen never ceased to amaze her.
"Glad we can agree on that." Seth grinned, wrapping himself around her, kissing her lips gently. "I want to be part of your life. I want to be part of Charlotte's life."
"I want you to be part of Charlotte's life too." Summer sighed, barely believing this was all happening. She was so sure the day she left Seth that he would never speak to her again. She should have known better. Seth Cohen couldn't stay away if he tried.
"We're just chock full of agreement these days." Seth grinned, ready to kiss her again, until Charlotte's head popped up in the doorway.
"Mommy." Charlotte whispered and Seth wondered how long she had been standing there. She was holding onto her stomach, but her face was plastered with a knowing grin.
"Hey baby." Summer smiled, ignoring Seth's lips, which made him laugh. She picked Charlotte up quickly. "How are you feeling?"
"Bad." Charlotte squirmed in her mother's arms.
"Hey Charlie, you know what would make you feel a whole lot better?" Seth said, petting her head. "Ginger ale. When I have a tummy ache that always makes me feel better."
Charlotte nodded to this novel idea and Seth grabbed a can of Canada Dry from the fridge, pouring it into a glass. "Here," He said, as an amused Summer let Charlotte back down. Seth placed the glass in Charlotte's hand, and she gulped it all down, letting out a tiny burp.
"'Scuse me." She laughed, looking up at her pleased mother. Charlotte always remembered her manners that her mother had so adamantly taught her.
"Go back to bed, sweetie." Summer said, nudging her daughter towards the living room.
"Will you sleep with me, Mommy?" Charlotte asked, pulling down on Summer's hand. Summer looked up at Seth who chipped in.
"We both will." He grabbed Summer's arm and they followed Charlotte to the living room, the three of them curling up on the couch.
Seth looked at both of his girls. The girl to his right, who had loved since he was a kid and the girl in his lap, who he only had met hours ago, but was already in love with. Seth closed his eyes, wondering how his miserable life had suddenly turned out to be the best life anyone could ask for.
Chapter 17: Seth's girls
"I guess things between Marissa and Ryan have been smoothed over." Sandy piped up as he slid into bed with a wallowing Kirsten.
"What makes you say that?" Kirsten asked as she nuzzled next to him.
"You don't hear that familiar splashing coming from the pool house?" Sandy and Kirsten laughed in that way parents do and then silenced themselves, remembering Charlotte was asleep in the next room.
"Did Summer say what time she'd pick up Charlotte?" Sandy asked, whispering.
"No. Seth was the one who dropped her off." Kirsten grinned as Sandy's thick eyebrows raised happily.
"Ohhh." Sandy smiled. "You do realize that tomorrow is Christmas Eve."
Kirsten shook her head, "Chrismukkah eve. And don't remind me."
"Good old Cohen holidays. You never know what to expect." Sandy chuckled.
"My father's coming. Julie's coming. I'll be drinking. It's basically going to be a repeat of the Thanksgiving of '03 disaster."
"Sans Jimmy and Rachel." Sandy pointed out and Kirsten sighed. Jimmy and Rachel had gone away together for the holidays. They were truly the lucky ones.
"And Anna." Kirsten added, laughing.
"Whatever happened to her?" Sandy asked and Kirsten shrugged.
"Let's just hope everyone can get along for a few hours." Kirsten smirked sarcastically.
"And that you don't get near the kitchen."
"Very funny." Kirsten laughed, kissing Sandy gently.
**************
"I guess we should go get Charlotte." Summer commented as she shut the apartment door behind Seth.
"I guess." Seth smirked. "Or we could just leave her with my mom. She owes me."
"I don't know." Summer's eyes became distant. "She's never spent a night away from me."
"She'll be fine." Seth said sternly.
"I don't know if I can spend a night away from her." Summer sat down on the couch, not even wanting to imagine a world without her precious daughter.
"You have me." Seth mumbled as he sat down next to her, cupping her hands in his.
She looked up at him and knew this was the most sincere thing Seth Cohen could say to her. He was always there for her. No matter what. It was always like that between them.
"Yeah, you're really hard to get rid of." Summer laughed, trying not to show how much it meant to her for him to be stroking her hands in his.
"Now," Seth cracked that loveable grin of his, "There is the Summer I know and love."
Summer's similar grin faded a little, but then widened once more. "Love?"
"Well," Seth let go of her hands. "I never stopped. Loving you, that is."
Summer raised her hands to her face, covering her eyes that started to pain with tears. Seth looked at her blankly, slightly confused by her reaction to his words.
"Why are you so perfect?" Summer started to cry.
"Sum," He tipped her chin up so she looked up at him through her tearing eyes. "Don't cry."
"I can't help it." She muttered. Things seemed too good to be true. She was afraid she was going to wake up and Seth would be gone from her life once again. She didn't know how she had survived this long without him.
Seth lifted his hand, wiping the tears from her face. Before he knew it, her lips were smashing against his, and he let his hands find the small of her back.
"Seth," Summer moaned, not sure of what was happening.
He let his lips slide off of hers and leaned back against the couch. She stared at him. She hadn't wanted him to stop, she was just confused. What else is new?
"Sorry." He fumbled nervously, wiping his lips.
She laughed, "For what?"
"For not finding you sooner."
"Don't you apologize for that, Seth Cohen!" Summer flared her nostrils angrily, grabbing him and kissing him again. "You're here now. And that's all that matters." She straddled him, feeling how excited he was, and he smiled, placing his hands on her hips as they continued to kiss each other.
*************
"That never gets old." Ryan whispered into Marissa's ear, wrapping his arm around her bare shoulders as they pulled the covers of his bed over their naked, half wet bodies.
"Skinny dipping in the Cohen's pool or sex?" Marissa laughed, cuddling into her favorite spot underneath Ryan's arms.
"Both." Ryan grinned, kissing her forehead.
"Agreed." Marissa smiled, moving even closer to Ryan so that she was practically on top of him.
"So it's officially Christmas eve in an hour." Ryan noted, glancing at his clock on the nightstand.
"Oh, god. Dinner is going to be nauseating. Every time my family comes over to have dinner with your family, it's chaos." Marissa shuddered.
"Maybe this year won't be so bad." Ryan said optimistically, but then laughed at Marissa's glare. "Or not."
"I'll be fine as long as you're there with me." Marissa nodded.
"Well then you'll be fine." Ryan heaved, shutting his eyes.
Marissa followed, closing hers and falling into a deep sleep.
*************
"Mommy!" Charlotte's scream pierced through the air and Sandy jumped up at it. He looked down at Kirsten, who was sleeping contently, and he sighed as he got up out of bed towards Seth's room where Charlotte had been sleeping.
"Charlie, what's the matter?" He asked, scooping her up out of the bed. Her eyes were red and she sniffled.
"Where's Mommy?"
"She's with Seth, sweetie."
"I want her now!" Charlotte wailed and Sandy sat down on the bed with her, picking up Seth's phone.
"Alright, I'm calling her right now, ok?"
"Uh-huh." Charlotte whimpered, clutching her stomach. "I don't feel too good Uncle Sandy."
"What hurts?" Sandy dropped the phone, worrying for the little girl. He clamped his hand over her forehead, which seemed a little warm to him, but he knew Kirsten would know better then he would. He walked over to his bedroom, Charlotte in his arms. He placed Charlotte down in the bed and nudged Kirsten until her eyes opened.
"I think Charlotte's sick." Sandy whispered and Kirsten jumped up in full mom mode, glancing at Charlotte who began to sway with pain.
"Charlie, what's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts." Charlotte gagged and Kirsten dove for the garbage can by the side of the bed holding it in front of Charlie as she held some of Charlotte's brown hair back, The tiny girl leaned over the garbage can, her hand still clutching her stomach.
"Call Summer." Kirsten told Sandy quickly and he grabbed his cell phone, dialing Seth's cell number.
************
"Seth," Summer nudged Seth next to her. They had both fallen asleep on the couch, the quilt drawn over them. Seth let his eyes blink open slowly, ready to wrap his arms around Summer, but then saw the stressful look on her face. "Your cell phone's ringing."
He grabbed his ringing cell phone from the pocket of his jeans, which were now on the floor. This only made him smile as he remembered the actions Summer and him had just taken part in.
"Hello?" Seth yawned.
"Are you with Summer?" Sandy's voice boomed out.
"Yes." Seth said, jumping up to search for his clothes, clearly thinking he was in deep trouble. But then he stopped, reminding himself that he was in college now. And if his parents still thought he was a virgin, well they were dumb. Considering Charlotte and all.
"Charlotte's sick. Get here quick." Sandy hung up the phone before Seth could get in a word and he shoved the cell back in his jeans as he scrambled to put them back on.
"What's wrong?" Summer asked, biting her lip as she covered her naked chest with the quilt.
"Put your clothes on." Seth winced. "Charlotte's sick."
"What?" Summer stared at him blankly and he passed over her bra and panties to her.
"That's as much as I know, so hurry up." Seth grabbed his sweater, throwing it on and searched for the keys to the Rover.
"What do you mean she's sick?" Summer panicked. Charlotte was never really that sick before, she wasn't sure of what to make of this.
"Summer," Seth kissed her forehead, forcing her to calm down as she pulled on her jeans. "I'm sure she's fine."
This seemed to temporarily smooth Summer over and she nodded, looping her hand in his as they ran down to the Rover as quickly as possible.
************
"Here, Charlie." Sandy coaxed the little girl as he handed her a glass of water, which she gulped down quickly.
Kirsten had never seen a child throw up so much before. Seth rarely ever got sick, so this was new to her.
"Feeling better, sweetie?" Kirsten asked, as she carried the girl over to the living room couch, flipping on cartoon network for Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded sleepily, settling onto the couch.
Kirsten checked on the girl once more, who now closed her eyes and started to breath heavily, and walked back to the kitchen where Sandy was pouring some coffee for the both of them.
"Where is she?" Summer's voice echoed throughout the Cohen's mansion, her face appearing in the kitchen. Seth flying behind her, a sense of worry and amusement on his face.
"Living room." Kirsten nodded towards the living room and Summer sauntered over there quickly.
Seth slid down onto one of the chairs, smiling happily. Kirsten laughed at this and drank some of her coffee.
"So Mom," Seth chirped. "What did you feed Charlotte?"
"Huh?" Kirsten looked at him, dumbfounded.
"What concoction of yours poisoned Charlotte?"
"Kids get sick all the time, Seth." Kirsten rolled her eyes. She was glad to see Seth so chipper, but making fun of her cooking after midnight was intolerable.
"Don't make fun of your mother's cooking, Seth." Sandy chided, although he was barely concealing his amused grin.
"It's not 'making fun' when it's the truth." Seth pointed out and got up, walking briskly towards the living room.
He could feel Kirsten and Sandy's gaze from behind him and he whipped around, "What?" He tried as hard as possible to make his 'post sex' grin fade, but considering how much he loved being with Summer, it only made him grin wider at the thought.
"Nothing." They both laughed and he walked away, confused and disgusted that his parents could tell he had done something.
"You see the way he's walking?" Sandy asked.
"Yup."
"That's my boy." Sandy chuckled, Kirsten giving him a weary look. "What? Am I supposed to pretend that I'm not proud of my son's sexual acts?"
"You're not supposed to be proud of those things."
"And why not?" Sandy asked directly, as Kirsten hugged him tightly.
"What am I going to do with you?" Kirsten laughed, walking up to the bedroom.
"I could think of a few things." Sandy grinned, trailing after her.
*********
"How is she?" Seth asked, peering over Summer, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, stroking Charlotte's hair.
"She seems fine." Summer said, standing up and grabbing his arm, redirecting him back to the now empty kitchen. "I don't want to wake her up."
"Listen, Summer," Seth glanced at the angelic Charlotte and back at Summer, who was staring right through his eyes, "Tonight, the whole night, not just the sex, was amazing."
"The sex was amazing." Summer smiled dreamily. She hadn't had sex in about two years, so of course, sex with anyone would be amazing at this point, but sex with Seth Cohen never ceased to amaze her.
"Glad we can agree on that." Seth grinned, wrapping himself around her, kissing her lips gently. "I want to be part of your life. I want to be part of Charlotte's life."
"I want you to be part of Charlotte's life too." Summer sighed, barely believing this was all happening. She was so sure the day she left Seth that he would never speak to her again. She should have known better. Seth Cohen couldn't stay away if he tried.
"We're just chock full of agreement these days." Seth grinned, ready to kiss her again, until Charlotte's head popped up in the doorway.
"Mommy." Charlotte whispered and Seth wondered how long she had been standing there. She was holding onto her stomach, but her face was plastered with a knowing grin.
"Hey baby." Summer smiled, ignoring Seth's lips, which made him laugh. She picked Charlotte up quickly. "How are you feeling?"
"Bad." Charlotte squirmed in her mother's arms.
"Hey Charlie, you know what would make you feel a whole lot better?" Seth said, petting her head. "Ginger ale. When I have a tummy ache that always makes me feel better."
Charlotte nodded to this novel idea and Seth grabbed a can of Canada Dry from the fridge, pouring it into a glass. "Here," He said, as an amused Summer let Charlotte back down. Seth placed the glass in Charlotte's hand, and she gulped it all down, letting out a tiny burp.
"'Scuse me." She laughed, looking up at her pleased mother. Charlotte always remembered her manners that her mother had so adamantly taught her.
"Go back to bed, sweetie." Summer said, nudging her daughter towards the living room.
"Will you sleep with me, Mommy?" Charlotte asked, pulling down on Summer's hand. Summer looked up at Seth who chipped in.
"We both will." He grabbed Summer's arm and they followed Charlotte to the living room, the three of them curling up on the couch.
Seth looked at both of his girls. The girl to his right, who had loved since he was a kid and the girl in his lap, who he only had met hours ago, but was already in love with. Seth closed his eyes, wondering how his miserable life had suddenly turned out to be the best life anyone could ask for.