DISCLAIMER – By now you should all know that Josh Schwartz owns the OC, and I am now Josh...Therefore I don't own anything OC related.

A/N – In reply to a comment made...

Newportbabe44: "just please don't make it one of those fics where like Kurt's cheating on Marissa so than the guilt isn't there for Ryan/Marissa anymore, it's overused, too dramatic...blah blah."

I know what you mean, I'm sick of that storyline too. Kurt would never cheat on Marissa; he does love her...which is quite sad because it would be so much easier for Ryan/Marissa if he wasn't...but who am I to argue with my own story? And in this chapter there will be the re-introduction of two long missed characters...Seth and Summer! Yes they are back. Lol I'm hopeless at advertising…read on!!

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Ryan drove steadily across the road, his knuckles turning white as they firmly gripped the steering wheel. Where was he going? He had known where once he had left the hotel, but after that, he had just got in the car and...Drove.

He just needed someone to talk to. Chrissie wasn't his...He was still in love with Marissa...Theresa and he were getting a divorce...He was moving back to Newport...A million thoughts, swirling through his minds at a million miles per hour. He had no friends back in Chino...he was basically a loner. He had no one in Newport...Well, there was Marissa, but he couldn't talk to her! One of his problems was her. And there was Kurt, kind of. He couldn't talk to him even more.

And the only thing that his swirling mind could tell him was that he was going to see Sandy and Kirsten Cohen.

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He raised his knuckle to rap on the wood, and his arms automatically dropped back to his sides like dead weights, as he waited nervously for an answer. He hoped that they still lived here. He guessed they did. It was still their car in the driveway, and Ryan could see a surfboard lying around the side. He wondered amusingly if Sandy still surfed. It was a funny thing that he remembered the way to their house after all these years. One year in this town, and there was a map, permanently engraved in his mind. Ryan liked that map.

As he waited, he expected to hear voices inside. Sandy and Kirsten's voices, to be exact. He did hear voices...but not the ones he had expected. They were voices he hadn't heard for years, voices that brought back a flood of memories, like when he had seen Marissa for the first time.

"Summer, answer the door." A guys voice said lazily.

Ryan started at the sound. That was one voice he certainly hadn't expected to hear. After all these years...Seth! His voice hadn't changed...still as whiny as ever. What was he still doing in Newport? Ryan would have expected him to have left by now. And still living in his parent's house? And...Did Ryan hear him mention...

"COHEN, you JERK! Just coz I'm here does not mean I'm your personal maid!"

Summer.

"Well, it's not like you do anything else...Ow!"

Ryan wondered what Summer had thrown at him.

"Jackass! Go answer the door, or I swear, I'll kill you!"

Summer hadn't changed much either.

Ryan heard a scuffle as Seth jumped off the couch and walked to the door.

"No, I do not want to buy anyth – Oh my God." Seth's voice grew hushed as soon as he raised his head and saw who was standing at the door. "Oh...My...GOD!" Ryan could hear the sound bounce around in the marble foyer. He would have said something just about then, but he soon found out that it was impossible to talk when Seth was jumping on top of him and crushing his rib cages.

"Cohen?" asked Summer. "What is it?"

"Oh my God, Summer!" Seth exclaimed, not letting go of Ryan. "Come and see!"

"Cohennn!" whined Summer. "You KNOW I can't move!"

"Seth, honey, your making a lot of noise – Oh my God." Kirsten stopped halfway to her son, her face suddenly drained of all its colour.

"H-Hi...Kirsten..." Ryan managed to gasp out as he felt his ribs crush under Seth's arm.

"Seth!" exclaimed Kirsten. "Let go of him." When Seth didn't hear her, she pried him off. Spluttering for breath, Ryan managed to say,

"T-Thanks. Hi Seth."

Kirsten walked towards him uncertainly, and touched his shoulder. "You're here." She said.

Ryan nodded.

Kirsten's hand moved up to his face, just so she knew he was real. As soon as she touched it, she hugged him. Not the kind of bone crushing hug that Seth had given him, but a soft, motherly hug. Ryan remembered how much he missed her hugs. Kirsten didn't readily throw away hugs, but when they came, they were as touching as unexpected gold.

"Sandy! Sandy, come in here!" she cried, not letting go of Ryan.

"What – Oh my God." Ryan smiled over Kirsten's shoulder, wondering how many times one family could say that. "I...I'm not sure what shocks me more. Ryan, your back. Kirsten, you're hugging him. Again."

"I missed him so much." She said softly, and as she pulled away Ryan saw a twinkle of a tear growing in the corner of her eye.

"Me too." Said Sandy softly as he went to hug him. Ryan had never had so many hugs in such a short period of time. Seth was bouncing up and down like he had at Chrismukkuh, and Summer had started whining again.

"Cohen!" she yelled. "Something's going on! I have ears you know!"

"Yeah, and a hell of a voice." Shot back Seth.

"Shut up! Who's out there, Cohen?"

"Ryan, man." Said Seth, pulling his father away from Ryan, taking his arm and leading him into the living room. "Meet my wife..."

Ryan's stared at Summer, sitting cross legged on the couch, who took one look at him, her eyes bulging, and screamed, "Chino! Omigod, No way!"

"...And the mother of my future child." Seth continued. "Say hello to Summer Cohen."

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They – Kirsten, Sandy, Seth and Ryan – sat around the breakfast bar holding strong cups of coffee. Summer had declined them, moaning about how she was too fat to move. Seth had muttered to Ryan, "If she doesn't move soon, I think she'll become an elephant." He then had to duck several times to avoid a flying cushion missile that Summer had aimed at his head.

"OK, Ryan, tell us...everything." Kirsten was saying.

"OK." Ryan took a deep breath as he prepared to launch into the matter. "Theresa...Theresa had the baby..."

"Boy or girl?" interrupted Seth.

"Girl." Ryan told him. "Chrissie..."

"Was she yours?" Seth interrupted again.

"As I was about to say...Theresa told me she was mine. And, so, we...We got..." he cleared his throat awkwardly. "...Married."

Seth let out a low and surprised whistle.

"Seth..." started Sandy in a very warning tone.

"Shutting up, shutting up!"

"Keep going, sweetie." Kirsten coaxed.

"Seven years on..." Ryan sighed and held onto his mug a bit tighter. "Theresa's a drunk. She's goes out at night and doesn't come back until around 3 in the morning...I guess I know now that she was just "having fun" and sleeping with some strangers..."

Kirsten looked shocked and Seth opened his mouth to say something, but Sandy took one look at him and he closed it again.

"I'm a lawyer." Ryan said after clearing his throat one more time. He smiled as Sandy and Kirsten beamed at him. "A public defendant." He added, and Sandy's smile grew even larger as he clapped Ryan's back.

"Fantastic!"

"...I had a meeting down here." Ryan continued.

"...And you thought you'd pop in and see your family after, what? Oh yeah, seven years?" asked Seth innocently.

Ryan blushed slightly. "I had a meeting with this guy called Kur – actually, it doesn't matter what he's called. But he offered me a job and..."

For once, Seth didn't make a sound; he just gaped at Ryan as he waited for him to finish.

"...I'm taking it. I'm moving back to Newport."

"Oh, YES!" exclaimed Seth, jumping out of his chair, jumping up and down on the spot.

"COHEN!!" screamed Summer. "COOL YOUR JETS!"

Seth sat down.

"What about..." started Sandy, but Kirsten finished it off for him.

"...Theresa? Is she moving down too? And your daughter. Chrissie? Where are you going to stay? Do you have enough money? Can you afford a house? You could stay here if you needed to..."

"Wait." Said Ryan, and Kirsten paused mid-sentence. "It's not that simple. I called Theresa today...turned out that while I've been away, she's been going out and drinking at night. At leaving Chrissie at home by herself."

Kirsten gasped softly. "Is she..."

"Chrissie's fine." Ryan said. "Theresa's been bringing home some of her "friends" as well. Chrissie, thank God, has no idea what's going on...but...Theresa and I are getting a divorce."

"Oh my God." Muttered Kirsten. "What about Chrissie?"

"I'm taking her," said Ryan. "But...When Theresa...When she told me Chrissie was mine...Well, it wasn't that simple..."

"So..." started Seth.

"She lied." Ryan said. "Chrissie isn't my daughter." He sighed and looked down, suddenly feeling very tired. He became aware of the hand stroking his back, and when he looked up he saw Kirsten.

"Sweetie..."

"It doesn't matter." He said, raising his head. "I love her; to me, she's my daughter. I'm taking care of her...she's my responsibility."

"Now you know how we felt." Whispered Kirsten, and she went to hug him again.

Ryan gratefully accepted her hug. "I love you, Kirsten." He told her. "I love all you guys." He said, raising his eyes to Seth and Sandy.

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Summer from the lounge room.

"Yes, OK, Summer, I even love you. A bit." He added.

As Kirsten pulled away from Ryan, tears glistening in her eyes, Seth started talking again. "Mum, dad, can Ryan live with us again? It'll be like our own little family again..."

"Seth." Interrupted Ryan. "I have a daughter."

"...Our own little extended family!"

"Seth, you're mother and I have some things to talk about." Sandy said, standing up and motioning for his wife to join him.

"Oh, come on..."

"Seth, we have some things to talk about." Sandy said firmly, pulling Kirsten out of the kitchen. "You just talk to Ryan, catch up! There's been seven years, you must have something to talk about!" with that, he led his wife up the stairs and out of sight.

"Soo..." said Seth, plonking himself down next to Ryan. "You..." he started.

"Not me." Said Ryan quickly. "Enough about me. You."

"Me? Well OK." Said Seth, as though he didn't really object. Ryan smiled. Seth had definitely not changed. Ryan knew he'd jump at the chance to talk about himself. After all, so much had happened if seven years. "OK, me..." mused Seth. "Well, after you left...I sailed to Tahiti!"

"You sailed to Tahiti?"

"I sailed to Tahiti."

"Then what?"

"Well, I realised I had so many people that love, treasured and valued me..."

From the lounge room, Summer snorted loudly.

"You know you love me!" Seth exclaimed, and Ryan's expression became amused. "...So I came back." He went on. "Summer, she was with some guy called Zach at that time, but of course, she couldn't resist the Cohen charm..."

Summer snorted again.

"If you've got something to say, would you like to say it in here, my darling?" asked Seth, getting no reply from his wife. "...And, we got back together."

"When did you get married?" Ryan asked.

"The end of last year." Said Seth.

"And she's pregnant?" said Ryan.

"Hey, Theresa was pregnant before you married her." Seth said.

"Not my kid!" pointed out Ryan.

"Oh, right..." said Seth. "Anyway..." he lowered his voice. "Do you remember when my dad told me that the Cohen's were "very sexual creatures"?"

Ryan nodded slowly, not exactly liking where this was going.

"Man, this is the first time I've ever admitted he was right, but he was so right!" exclaimed Seth.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "So it got...better? Since Valentines Day?"

"Are you kidding!" Seth said. "It's amazing...Dude, Nemo finally found his way home! It's like..." he would have launched into explicit detail about his sexual exploitations right there in the kitchen if it wasn't for his wife in the next room.

"Cohen!" screeched Summer. "I can hear you, you know! If you don't stop talking about our sex life right now, I will personally make sure that you will never have any sex life to talk about again!"

"My parents are upstairs!" whined Seth.

"Shh." Ryan said. "Hey, man, I need to tell you something."

"What?" asked Seth. "But I wasn't done talking about me..."

"Seth." Said Ryan. "Enough about you. This is about Marissa..."

"Coop?"

Ryan could hear the surprise in Summer's voice.

"If you're gunna talk about Coop, come in here." She said.

Ryan shrugged and followed Seth into the lounge room, where he sat down in an armchair, Seth joining Summer on the couch.

"Did you see Coop?" asked Summer anxiously.

"Yeah, and I needed to ask you if you know anything about..." Ryan began, but Summer interrupted him.

"Hey, Chino, I don't know anything about Coop anymore."

Ryan recoiled at her statement. "Y-You don't?" he stuttered.

Summer shook her head slowly. "After you left...Marissa, she turned into...well, into a..."

"Total drunk." Seth finished off helpfully.

"Yeah." Said Ryan in a what's-new kind of voice. "So..."

"No, I mean, a total drunk." Summer said. "Like, 24/7? Her mum sent her off to even more shrinks and...Well, eventually, we just..." Summer shrugged. "We just stopped hanging out."

"Just like that?" asked Ryan.

"Well, we had a huge fight. I found her in the bathroom one time. She had snuck some vodka into a party in her purse..."

Ryan suddenly felt a bad case of déjà vu.

"...And she had pills."

Ryan looked up in shock. "Pills?"

Summer nodded slowly. "Yeah. She was passed out by the time I got to her. Chino, it was like Tijuana all over again." Summer was becoming obviously distressed by the memory, and Seth put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"What happened?" asked Ryan.

"I called 911, and...Well, she was OK. Kind of. Then, he mum came."

"Ah."

"Yeah, ah. Julie sent her of to rehab for six months."

"Oh wow. I bet she hated her."

"Actually..." Summer said. "She hated me more."

"What'd you..."

"I dunno. She said it was my fault, and if I'd just left her there to...to die!" Summer spat the words out viciously, tears starting to gather in her eyes. Seth rubbed her shoulder. "...Then she wouldn't have to go! That she'd be dead and she wouldn't have to live with it anymore."

"What happened?" asked Ryan lightly.

"She went off to rehab and...When she came back...She was just so...so different. She wouldn't talk to me. She wouldn't talk to anyone. And eventually we just...we just stopped seeing each other."

"Pretty much." Said Seth.

All of a sudden, Summer started crying. She just broke down and sobbed, right on Seth's shoulder. "It was all my fault!" she exclaimed. "All...My...Fault!"

"Shh, Summer, shhh, sweetie." Seth soothed her calmly, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head. "It's not your fault, it's OK..."

"I love you, Cohen." she exclaimed suddenly. Ryan's eyes widened in shock at her statement. Only a few minutes ago, he had been her human dartboard. Ryan looked at him questionably.

"Hey, man, she's pregnant," claimed Seth. "Hormones, flying everywhere." As if just to prove his point, Summer sat up and hit him.

"Jerk!" she exclaimed angrily, sitting up straight again and crossing her arms. Ryan still looked shocked, but Seth didn't seem to notice.

"The point is, we haven't seen Marissa for years Ryan." Summer finished. "When did you see her? I mean, is she...Is she OK? She's not..." she couldn't finish, but Ryan knew what she meant. "Is she?"

"No." Ryan told her. "She's fine. And guess what her job is?" he asked. "She's a shrink."

Summer's eyes grew wide and Seth snorted with laughter. "That is totally stuffed up." He said.

"Yeah. Anyway, we met yesterday." Ryan didn't define to them that "met" actually meant "went and had sex in a motel".

"And..." said Seth expectantly.

"And what?" Ryan asked, blushing. "And nothing! We met, that's it. OK?" He took a deep breath. "And then, I had my job interview. And Kurt..."

"Kurt?"

"Kurt. My new boss? Offered me a job."

"I don't see the problem." Seth said, slightly confused, and for once, Summer agreed with him.

"Yeah. Me neither."

"Kurt..." said Ryan, sighing. "Is Marissa's fiancée."

Seth whistled, but was drowned out my Summer's screeches. "WHAT?" She exclaimed. "Coop's getting MARRIED?"

"To your BOSS!" exclaimed Seth, noticeably excited at this new cause for sarcastic remarks.

"And it's NOT funny." Ryan told him.

"Something else happened." Said Summer quietly. The room was instantly washed over in awkward silence.

"Um...what?" asked Ryan.

"Something else happened." Repeated Summer. "I can see it. What'd you do?"

"I...I..." Ryan stuttered as he felt Summer's eyes glare through him. Her dark brown eyes weren't as penetrating as Marissa's piercing blue pair, but Ryan knew that Summer could see through to his secret. "Nothing happened!" he said, hopelessly trying to defend himself.

"Yes it did..." said Summer, still trying to put the pieces together. She looked into Ryan's eyes... "Oh my God." She muttered.

"What?" asked Seth.

"You guys Did It." Summer whispered. Ryan's eyes bulged...how the hell had she figured it out?

"I...I..."

"You guys Did It, didn't you!" Summer exclaimed, more loudly this time. Seth's grin grew even bigger as he, too, figured out what was going on. Ryan looked down, not wanting to admit it.

"So that's why it's such a big deal!" said Seth happily. Ryan slowly nodded. "Oh man. That is some deep shit you're in there dude." He said wisely.

"Thanks, Seth." Muttered Ryan, running his fingers through his hair.

"I knew being pregnant would be useful!" exclaimed Summer brightly. "It's like I have a sixth sense now!" Seth opened his mouth to make another smart remark, but was cut short when Sandy and Kirsten entered the room.

"We've been talking..." Sandy began.

"And we think..." Kirsten continued.

"Ryan can live with us again?" said Seth hopefully. Kirsten rolled her eyes.

"Way to spoil the moment, Seth."

"Hey!" exclaimed Seth. "I was joking. You guys mean it?"

Sandy sighed and sat down in the spare chair, while Kirsten remained standing.

"Ryan, we..." she started.

"No." said Ryan.

"What?" asked Sandy. "No?"

"I couldn't make you do that."

"Ryan, listen..." Kirsten tried to say.

"It'd be too hard..."

"Ryan!" exclaimed Kirsten. Finally he was quiet, waiting expectantly for her to talk. "Listen. We want you to live with us again."

"My new company was going to set me up with a house."

"Ryan, you have no money. No furniture. And now you have to support your daughter. All by yourself."

"I've done it before. Theresa never helped in Chino. We always had to get her mother to baby-sit her while I worked."

"Ryan." Said Kirsten kindly. "Theresa's mum isn't in Newport. Your mum is in Newport." She finished softly. Ryan turned to look at her in surprise, his sparkling blue eyes looking at her questionably.

"You mean it?" he whispered.

"I mean it Ryan." Said Kirsten, smiling at him. "We want to help. We want to see our granddaughter. She's our granddaughter, no matter what you say. We can take care of her after school..."

"I can help." Offered Summer eagerly. "I mean, I better get used to kids, right?" she asked, looking at her stomach meaningfully. "We can shop! She could be like, my new best friend, now I'm stuck around the house all day..."

"Hey, Sum, you have me!" said Seth.

"You're my husband, that's different. I need another girl to shop with, I can teach her everything I know about Newport..."

"Uh, Summer?" asked Ryan. "She's seven."

"Yeah, so?"

"...The point is," interrupted Kirsten again. "We want you to move in again. You can stay in the poolhouse again..." Ryan smiled. "...And Chrissie could have the spare room."

"But..." stuttered Ryan. "It's just too much. I mean, you have enough people here already..." he looked meaningfully at Seth and Summer.

"It's a big house!" said Sandy brightly. "The more the merrier! We could use the extra life."

"What, I'm not life enough?" asked Seth in mock hurt.

Everyone laughed, as Seth looked around in confusement "What?"

"Please, Ryan?" asked Kirsten, and Ryan suddenly became very aware of the four pairs of eyes boring into him.

"Would it...Would it really be best?" he asked. "For Chrissie?"

Seth answered before anyone else. "Ryan, man, the kids live in Chino his whole life. I can teach her the Seth Cohen sense of humour!"

"God no, we get enough of that from you." Objected Summer.

"Hey, Ryan, it worked for you, didn't it?" asked Seth.

"Yeah, and great lot of good did it me." Said Ryan sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Ha!" exclaimed Seth. "See, see?" he asked everyone. "That...was thanks to me!"

"OK, Cohen, we're all getting tired of your voice now." Said Summer.

"This girls a lifesaver." Sandy said, turning to Ryan. "I don't know what we'd do without her."

Summer beamed around the room as Seth scowled.

"Is it always like this around here?" Ryan asked.

Kirsten nodded. "At first, I had a permanent headache, but it goes away after the first couple of days." She added brightly.

Ryan grinned. "Then how can I turn it down?"