NOTE: I do not own any of 'The O.C' characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com

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Chapter Twelve

Ryan and Marissa were lying down in their bed talking. It was close to nine in the morning and neither of them wanted to get up. The summer holidays were ending, so the kids were going to go back to school soon. All they wanted to do right now was sleep for the whole day, but they knew that would never happen. It was only a matter of time until Conner would wake up and demand something from them.

"She's kicking." Marissa said, grabbing Ryan's hand and placing it on her belly. "Do you feel it?" She asked.

Ryan smiled at her. "We've got another athlete in the family. Maybe a soccer player?"

"Or…" Marissa laughed. "A ballerina."

"A ballerina?" Ryan questioned. Marissa glared at him and then Ryan added, "I could deal with that…But, you know, if she does like soccer…"

Marissa laughed at Ryan. "You had your fun with the boys. Now it's my turn to play dress-up, house or teach someone to cook."

"The boys played all of those." Ryan commented.

"True, but when they played dress-up it wasn't with cute little dresses with little frills on them. And they never played make believe house. It was always cops and robbers." Marissa replied. "But don't worry, Ryan. She'll probably end up being Daddy's little girl."

"Oh, so are you saying the boys are Mama's boys?" Ryan joked.

"They're nothing close to being Mama's boys." Marissa laughed. Ryan's hand was still on her belly. "Have you thought of any names for her, yet?" She asked.

"A few. But, I want to hear yours first." He replied.

"Well, before the twins were born we thought of the names Madison and Meagan. I still like those."

"I don't think it's a good idea to go with those names." Ryan replied. It's not that he didn't like them – He did. They just reminded him too much of Aden. "I was thinking, Skylar. Have you ever seen the movie 'Good Will Hunting'?" Ryan asked. Marissa shook her head. "Well, when I was young, that was my favorite movie. She was one of the main characters."

"Oh really? And let me guess, you had a crush on her?" Marissa asked.

Ryan shrugged. "A little."

"Skylar." Marissa said out loud. "Sounds too much like a boy's name, don't you think?"

"You're thinking of Skyler." Marissa shook her head and laughed. "Well, we'll think about it. She's not popping out any time soon. Three more months."

"Three long months." Marissa groaned. She could hear one of the boys getting up. "That better be Ben. Conner's been driving me nuts lately."

"He's just excited about the baby coming, that's all."

"And Ben?" Marissa asked

"He's good. We haven't fought with each other for a long time. So, that's good, isn't it?" Ryan threw back the sheets and got out of bed.

"You don't think he's just putting up a front?" She asked. She pulled back the sheets and stayed in bed.

"He's trying, Marissa. I heard him the other night talking to himself, though." Ryan went over to his dresser and pulled on a pair of pants. "I hope he's talking to that horse and not himself."

"I hope so, too." Marissa laughed. "So, do I get bed in breakfast this morning?"

"Oh, so now you think you get breakfast in bed just because your belly is getting bigger?" Ryan joked.

Marissa chucked a pillow at Ryan's head. "Are you saying I'm fat?" She asked.

"Hey, I think I just heard one of the boys calling for me." Ryan ran out of the room and went downstairs. Just as he was about to turn on the coffee maker the phone rang.

"Hello?" Ryan answered it.

"Ryan! How are you? Is Marissa there?"

"Hey, Summer. I'm good and yes Marissa is here. Hold on." Ryan ran up the stairs with the cordless phone and gave the phone over to Marissa. "Here. Summer's on the phone for you."

Marissa took the phone and Ryan left the room. "Hey, Sum."

"Coop! Do you know where Seth is?" She asked.

"I thought he was over at your place last night. He's hardly ever here anymore – not that I'm complaining."

"Well, he told me that he was going to go over to your place to pick up some stuff he left in your basement." Summer explained. "When you see him, tell him to call me. Also, tell him it's very urgent!" Summer asked. "Do you think maybe he went down to the store instead, or maybe he went over to Sandy and Kirsten's house…"

"Okay, what's wrong, Summer? You sound like Seth now." Marissa asked.

"Well, uh, I don't know, really." Summer laughed nervously. She was trying hard not to have a break down. "I just came back from the doctors."

"Why were you at the doctors?"

"Precaution." Summer replied, flatly.

"For what?" Marissa asked.

Summer hesitated. "Well, Seth and I…we've been uh, together, right. And well, I was getting worried because I missed my period so I went over to see my doctor this morning."

Marissa clued in. "Summer are you pregnant?"

"No."

"No?"

"I mean, yes." Summer replied. "Yes, I am pregnant and I need to talk to Cohen."

"Oh my God. Summer's pregnant with Seth Cohen." Marissa was in shock. She never thought of Summer as a mother. She could see Seth as a father, though. "Congratulations, Summer!"

"Yeah, thanks." Summer replied, not all that happy.

"What's wrong, Sum?"

"Well, this wasn't exactly planned, Marissa. I mean, I love Seth and all, but I never thought we'd, you know, have a kid. My life is going downhill way too fast and, well, I don't think I'm ready for a child."

"Summer, you're thirty-one. Your life went downhill at thirty. And besides, you love Seth and he loves you."

"Yeah, I know, Coop. But what if he, you know, leaves. I don't think I can handle going through that ordeal again."

"Summer, you're pregnant. There's no way in hell Seth is leaving you."

"Okay, well I better, you know, clean my house because that's what I always do when I'm stressed out. So, if Seth shows up, tell him to call me. Bye, Coop."

"Okay, bye." Marissa hung up the phone and relaxed into her pillow.

Summer Roberts was pregnant. Marissa laughed to herself, as she pictured Summer with a belly. Summer was right though; she wasn't ready to have a child. She was still a child herself at the age of thirty-one.

Marissa got out of bed and shoved on her slippers. She then made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" Ryan asked, as she sat down at the table.

"No, thanks." Marissa replied. "So, guess who else is going to be a Dad?" She asked.

"Who?" Ryan asked.

"Seth."

"What?" Ryan choked on his coffee. "Summer's pregnant?" Marissa nodded her head and smiled at him. "Summer Roberts? With a kid?"

"I know. She's going a little crazy right now because she can't find Seth."

"Summer Roberts…With a kid?" Ryan repeated.

Marissa slapped Ryan's arm. "Don't say that to Summer, or she'll kill you."

"I just…Wow." Ryan shook his head in disbelief. Summer with a child was like Seth with no sense of humor. It just didn't fit.

Just then they heard a loud thud coming from upstairs and then a cry.

"If that's Conner trying to stretch his body again, I'm going to kill him." Ryan said.

"He what?" Marissa asked.

"I always walk in on him dangling from his closet. He thinks it can stretch his body out."

"Or, he could be jumping off his dresser again." Marissa added.

"Well, I guess I should go check on him." Ryan said and then left the kitchen. He went upstairs and knocked on Conner's door. "Conner?" He opened the door to find Conner on the ground holding his knee and crying. A bed sheet was tied around his neck and Ryan could only think of one use for that – a cape. "Conner, were you jumping off your dresser?"

"No." Conner replied, choking at his sobs.

"Oh, really." Ryan laughed and helped him up. "Let me take a look at your knee." Conner went over to his bed and sat down. Ryan crouched down next to the bed and looked at his knee. "Well, it's not bleeding. Conner, you know you can't fly."

"I know." Conner said. "I was only trying to go skydiving and I used my bed sheet for my parachute." Conner untied the sheet from around his neck. "But it didn't work."

Ryan roughed up Conner's hair and stood up. "No more jumping off large objects, okay?"

"Okay, but…" Conner stuck up his finger. "Can I still jump off the diving board in the backyard?"

"Yes, that's the only thing you can jump off of from now on."

"Then can I go swimming?" Conner asked.

"Maybe in an hour or two. I want you to eat breakfast first and then let it settle into your stomach, otherwise you'll sink to the bottom of the pool." Ryan replied.

Conner didn't protest. He was in a hard thinking mode right now. Sinking to the bottom of the pool sounded like lots of fun to him.

"Conner, I know exactly what you're thinking right now and don't you dare try it. You'll be grounded until your eighteenth birthday." Conner pouted at him. "Why don't you go wake up Ben."

"Fine." Conner replied, dryly. He hated how his dad could tell what he was thinking all the time. It drove him nuts.

Ryan retreated back downstairs and into the kitchen to find Seth sitting down at the table with Marissa.

"Hey, man." Seth said, lifted his coffee cup up to Ryan.

"Hey." Ryan replied, eyeing Marissa. He didn't know if Seth knew about Summer or not. "I thought you were at Summer's place."

"I was. I just came here to pick up a few clothes." Seth replied. "I should be leaving, though. But the coffee called me into the kitchen. Summer doesn't believe in coffee. Insane, huh?" Seth asked.

"Yeah." Ryan smiled at him and swallowed hard. "That's uh, yeah, insane."

"Okay, what's up with you two?" Seth asked. "You guys are acting really weird on me."

"Seth, I told you…Nothing is up." Marissa reassured him.

"Okay." Seth didn't believe them. "Well, I better go back to Summer's place. I'll talk to you guys later." Seth got up and left the Atwood's residence.

"I think he's going to make a great Dad, don't you?" Marissa asked, holding her belly.

"Seth was meant to have a child." Ryan replied.

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