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 Twenty Six

Ryan pulled up into the mansion and knocked impatiently on the door. He wasn't sure what was going on. Luke wouldn't tell him on the phone but he had assured him that Ben was alright.

Luke opened the door with a beer in one hand and waved him inside.

"What's going on, Luke? What's wrong?" Ryan asked, as he followed Luke into the kitchen.

"I did something really stupid." Luke opened the fridge and grabbed another beer. He offered one to Ryan.

"No thanks." Ryan rejected the beer. "What did you do?"

Luke sat down at the kitchen table. "Colin just ran off on me." Luke confessed. "We got into a fight and he ran off on me and if I don't find him before Claire gets home then…Then I don't know what will happen. Shit. I didn't mean to blow up on the kid, I swear."

"Ben's with him?" Ryan asked. Luke nodded his head. "Okay, what exactly happened?"

"Well, the other day after I came home from your place, it kind of slipped out me and I told Colin that his parents had separated without telling him. Colin insisted that they weren't and that his dad was coming home. Which, I knew wasn't true." Luke covered his face. "I hit him and he ran off on me. Then today he was home sick and we were fighting again. Ben came over and they both took off without telling me where they were going. So, I called you…Shit, I don't know what to do."

"Well, sitting here in the kitchen isn't going to get us anywhere. It's already getting dark outside. Come on, we'll go drive around and look for them. I'm sure they're close by." Ryan replied. He was mad at Luke, but at the same time he kind of felt sorry for the guy. He knew he needed to help him.

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Instead of going back to Summer's apartment, Seth headed over to Marissa's house. He knew Summer would be there and he needed to talk to her.

Seth walked into the Atwood residence without a knock on the door and walked into the living room. "Crap, where's my camera when I need one?" Seth joked.

"Isn't she adorable?" Summer asked. She was sitting down on the couch, cradling Emily in her arms.

"Where is everyone?" Seth asked.

"Well, Ryan just called and said that Ben and his friend are missing, so Marissa went out with Connor to go look around."

"Ah, so you're babysitting." Seth sat down beside her. "Pretty soon this will be us, you know. Except that Emily's going to have curly black hair instead of this blonde hair."

Summer laughed. "So, how was dinner at your parents house?" She asked.

Seth shrugged. "It was good. Nothing like burnt chicken at the Cohen's house." He joked and then went very serious. "I lied to you before."

"Huh?"

"Before, when I said that I was going over to my parents house for supper. Well, technically I went there for dinner but not really. I really just went there to talk to my dad. About us." He quickly said and then added, "I love you so much, Summer and I don't…not…want to lose you over your father's opinion of me. This is who I am and if your father doesn't except that then it doesn't matter to me because I know that we're meant for each other." Seth said and then waited for Summer to respond, but she didn't. "Summer?"

Summer looked up at him and frowned. "Cohen, what makes you think that I wasn't going to marry you because of what my father thinks about you?" She questioned.

Seth's mouth dropped to the floor. "But…Summer…you…" Seth scratched his Jew-Fro. The other day he thought that for sure she was going to listen to what her father said about him. He knew pregnant women had mood swings, but at this early in the game, he wasn't sure.

"God Cohen, you're acting like such a puppy!"

Seth shook his head. "A puppy?"

"Irresistibly cute." Summer shot back.

"Oh, yeah. Right. That's me." Seth nodded his head. "But – But what about what your father? I mean, I thought that you wouldn't marry me because I'm Jewish. Not that you should think that about me. God, no. My Jewishness has nothing to do with this, but that seems to be what your father thinks."

"Well, my father's an ass." Summer tried to keep her voice low. She didn't want to upset Emily, who had fallen asleep on her.

"An ass? Summer Roberts, are you feeling okay?" Seth checked her head for a fever. "You're not hot. Well, you are…but, not in a feverish way."

"Kirsten called me." Summer stated.

"My mom? Why did my mom call you?" Seth was puzzled.

"Well, she is my soon to be mother-in-law, Cohen." Summer replied. "She called me just before you got here and we chatted about you."

"About me?"

"Uh huh. You're like our common interest. Anyway, we talked about the wedding and about my father and how he doesn't think I should marry you. Then, we got to talking about your grandfather and yeah, I get it. Kirsten never listened to her father and now look at your parents. They are like the happiest couple I know of and I want that to be us.

"Well, Summer…" Seth said, taking his hands and cupping her face. "We may not be as old or corny as my parents but I'm sure we'll be the happiest couple in Newport history. That's a fact I'll stick by." He kissed her lips, tasting her strawberry flavored lip-gloss.

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Colin heaved his backpack on to his shoulders and walked beside Ben. It was getting close to nine o'clock and neither of them knew what to do next. Colin had the idea of buying a bus ticket and going to see his Dad. He knew where he was staying, so that was easy. When they got to the bus station they found out the they couldn't buy the ticket. He was too young to purchase it so, Ben and Colin decided to walk around Newport until they figured out a new plan.

Ben stopped. "I got it. You can hitchhike. I've seen it in movies all the time."

Colin shrugged. "Well, I've only seen it in the horror movies my mom allowed me to watch and in those movies the hitchhiker either was a viscous killer or a victim." He replied, dropping his backpack on the ground. Colin sat down on the curb and picked up a few stones, throwing them onto the street.

Ben sat down beside him and shivered. "Maybe we should go home, Colin." He suggested. "Your parents are already going to kill you for running off…So are mine. The sooner we get back, maybe the lesser the punishment will be."

"Go ahead. I'm not forcing you to come with me, Ben. Its not like your mom's boyfriend is going to yell at you and hit you. You just don't know what it feels like. How would you like it if you found out your parents were separated and they didn't even tell you?"

"I wouldn't know." Ben whispered. "What happens when you get to your dad's place, huh? He's there for a reason, right?"

Colin stood up and grabbed his backpack. "All I know it that my dad isn't like Luke or my mom. He may be in meetings 24/7 when he's home but he's there for me when I ask him to be." He left the curb and started walking.

Ben followed behind him, shoving his hands in his pockets and not saying anything else to Colin.

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Luke flipped his cellphone off and looked out the car window. "Claire's freaking out on me."

Ryan gripped the steering wheel. "Well, she does have a reason to be pissed, Luke. Have you told her why Colin ran away yet?" He asked, as he stopped at a red light.

"No." Luke said, peering out of the window. "Hey, I think that's them." He pointed over to a corner store. "Yeah, that's them for sure."

Ryan took a right turn and pulled into the small parking lot. Luke was right. Colin and Ben were sitting down on the ground, with their backs against the stone wall, eating popsicles. Both boys looked up at Ryan and Luke as they made their way over to them.

Colin stood up, throwing his popsicle to the ground and grabbing his backpack. "I'm not going back."

"Colin, your mom's worried about you and I'm sorry…About what I did to you." Luke said. "Once you get back to your mother, I'm gone, okay? You won't ever have to see or hear from me ever again."

Colin looked back and forth between Ryan and Luke. "Never again?" Colin asked.

"I swear, kid. Never again and I'm sorry." Luke replied.

"Whatever." Colin walked past him and got into the backseat of Ryan's car. Ben followed behind Colin and got in next to him.

Ryan drove Colin back home and offered Luke to stay at his place for the night. Luke accepted it, only because he knew didn't want to get into a fight with Claire. He knew that that relationship was over. Ryan called Marissa on her cellphone and informed her that Ben and Colin were found. When Ryan got home he found Seth and Summer in the living room sleeping on the couch.

"Hey." Ryan shook Seth's shoulder.

Seth jolted up. "What? What's wrong? Huh?" He looked over at Luke and then at Summer, who was still fast asleep.

"Nothing." Ryan replied. "Is Emily upstairs?" He asked.

"Yeah, uh, we just put her to bed." He replied. "Don't worry, she's fast asleep. Uncle Seth took care of everything."

"Thanks." Ryan said. Marissa and Connor walked through the door.

"To bed." Marissa ordered Connor. Connor waved at his uncle and ran upstairs to bed. "You too, Ben." She said.

Ben quickly left the living room, relieved that he was wasn't in any trouble – at least not yet.

"Is everything okay, Luke." Marissa asked, sitting down next to Summer on the couch. She shook Summer awake.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Don't worry about me. I'll be leaving Newport in the morning."

"To Portland?" She asked.

"Uh…" He hesitated. "I don't know. I guess I should go see my girls – that's if I'm allowed to." Both Summer and Seth exchanged looks. They had no clue what he was talking about. "I'll just find myself a job and start working, I don't know."

"What are you talking about, Luke?" Summer asked.

"Nothing. Long story. Ask me another day when I feel like explaining everything." Luke sighed. "You know what, I think I'm just going to go now. I have to get out of Newport." He turned to leave for the door.

"Luke." Ryan grabbed his arm. "You need help." He whispered. "What you did to your girls and to Colin is wrong. If you don't get help now, then you will never be able to see your girls."

"I already can't see them, Ryan. So what's the difference?" He asked.

"Well, if you stay here, then you know that you have people who care about you. It's a group effort – we'll all help you." He said. "We'll get you into some anger management program. Maybe then your wife will see that you're trying and then you'll be able to see your girls again."

"Please stay Luke, he's right." Summer spoke up. She still didn't know what they were talking about but all she knew was that Luke needed to stay here in Newport, where his friends were. "You're invited to the wedding and it's so soon, so you better be staying."

"She's right, man." Seth chirped in. "I'm gonna need some help on dusting up on my moves on the dance floor for the wedding. And we all know how good Ryan dances. Dude, you should have seen him on the dance floor at his own wedding." He joked, shaking his head.

"Hey, I was good!" Ryan said. "Right Marissa?"

Marissa laughed. "No comment."

Ryan turned to Luke. "I was good."

Luke smiled. "Okay, for Seth's sake, I'll stay."

"Sweet." Seth exclaimed. In all the years that he'd known Luke, he wouldn't think that he would be begging him to stay in Newport.

"Well, I better go. I should check into a hotel."

"What? No. Don't be stupid. You can stay here." Marissa said. "We have a pullout in the basement that you can sleep on."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Positive."

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