Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this last chapter done. I really suck at writing conclusions. It's seriously ridiculous. I'm planning on writing another story picking up about where this one left off with Ryan and Lindsay as the focus. Thanks to all of you who read this, and especially those who reviewed!

Jimmy's thumb stroked the back of Hailey's hand. "For months after you left, I lied awake every night, wishing that you would come back." His eyes searched hers, but she wasn't giving anything away. "Now that you have...please don't ruin it just because I've been an idiot."

"I missed you too," she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "But Julie Cooper?"

"I know," he sighed looking at the floor.

"Maybe I should have just stayed in Japan," she replied coldly.

"Or maybe you shouldn't have left in the first place."

Hailey stared into Jimmy's eyes, considering this. After a moment, she leaned in and kissed him. "It's good to be home."

Marissa spotted Luke and Alex talking in the next room. Well, Luke was talking. Alex was trying to listen but her gaze was darting around the room. When her eyes landed on Marissa, she smiled, and Marissa felt herself blush with embarrassment for the way she'd snapped at Alex earlier. She hesitated, but when Alex waved her over, she found herself beside her within a few seconds.

"Hey," Alex muttered as Luke continued to ramble, "I'm really sorry about before."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's really okay."

Marissa smiled back at her shyly, then forced her eyes away from the beautiful girl. "Hey Luke."

"Hey, how are you?" He asked her for the seventh time since Oliver had been taken away in handcuffs.

"I'm fine," she affirmed flatly. Alex took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "He's gone now and I don't think he'll be coming back." When she felt Alex's hand, a feeling of apprehensivenessoverwhelmed her. She and Summer had made the same gesture towards each other countless times, but this felt different, and she couldn't figure out why. "So, Alex, where's Seth?"

Alex didn't miss the glint of hope in Marissa's eyes and she tried to hide her smile. "He and I sort of broke up."

"Really? What happened?"

With a shrug Alex replied, "We're just better off as friends."

Marissa nodded, a small smile creeping onto her lips. She tried to tell herself that she was happy for Summer because now she and Seth would most likely get back together, but she knew that wasn't the reason she was smiling.

"You had an affair with Jimmy?"

"I know, Cal, I'm sorry. It meant nothing. I was just so upset because I thought you were going to jail and it was a huge mistake."

"You're right about that," he snapped, turning to walk away from her.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Cal."

"Why the hell not?" he demanded angrily.

"Maybe you've forgotten that I'm the CEO of the Newport Group, your claim to fortune. Without that, you're nothing."

"You're unbelievable."

"How so? Manipulative? Ruthless?" Caleb only glared at her, but she smiled. "Isn't that why you married me?"

Summer sat down on Seth's bed beside him. "You really thought I would leave you when Ryan left?"

Seth shrugged, because truthfully, he didn't know what he was thinking. "I freaked out. Ryan is not just my brother, he's also my best friend, and the thought of losing him was more than I could take. Being in Newport would have been a constant reminder of the fact that he's gone. I just wanted to get away for awhile. Spend some time just thinking. I never planned to be gone for that long."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"Well, aside from Ryan, you were all I had. And you weren't answering my phone calls, so I didn't think you'd want to see me at all. Newport without Ryan and without you...I knew I couldn't handle that."

"I was so angry," she said gently. Seth's eyes widened and he nodded. "But I wanted you to come back. I wanted you to come back so I could scream at you for all the pain you caused me, not to mention your family, and I wanted you to yell at me for the way I treated you before we got together, and then once we'd both gotten out everything we were holding against each other, I..." She trailed off and looked down, studying the floor.

He touched her arm lightly. "What?"

"I thought we would just make up and go back to the way we were."

"But..."

"But then you didn't come back, I started dating Zach, and I realized that I was so tired of waiting for you."

"Summer, I'm so sorry I made such a mess of things."

Tears glossed over her eyes. "I don't know what to do now." She leaned her head on his shoulder and he rubbed her back as she sobbed.

He looked at her like she was the most precious being on the face of the earth. "What do you want?"

"You." Her reply came so quickly that even she was surprised by it. "But I don't know if that's a good idea."

Seth looked over at the clock. Thirty seconds until midnight. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"I promise. And I don't think either of us wants to ring in the new year with tears." He brushed the tears off of her cheeks and waited for her sobs to cease. "I love you, Summer."

"Cohen..." she started, but she was cut off by his lips. They gently brushed against hers and when she didn't pull away, he slid his tongue into her mouth and her hands ran through his curly hair.

She shoved him onto his back and he smiled back at her. "Happy New Year."

Settling on top of him, she kissed again and she found the familiarity of it as exciting as it was comforting. "I...I love you too, Cohen."

"Well, that was awkward," Lindsay stated as Ryan put his shirt back on.

"Yeah, but at least it was just Anna. Not Kirsten, or Caleb, or anyone else we're related to."

"True." They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a moment, before Lindsay spoke up again. "I think I may have told Kirsten about us."

"What?" Ryan bolted up from where he was lying on his bed and his eyes widened. "You think you did?"

"Well, Julie told Hailey that I was her sister, and then Hailey said that she thought I was your girlfriend, and I wasn't thinking, I just told her that I was. And Kirsten and Caleb were both there."

Ryan sighed and futily attempted to hide his worry. "What did they say?"

"With Hailey's yelling, they couldn't really say anything."

Ryan chuckled. He'd seen Hailey angry a few times and he found it somewhat frightening. "Did Caleb survive her wrath?"

Lindsay smiled, leaning back into Ryan's arms. "So far. Are things always this crazy around here?"

"I'm afraid so," he replied, trying to reassure her with his smile, "but it's always interesting."

"Was your family as crazy as this one?" she asked timidly. Her knowledge about Ryan's past was very limited, and she wanted to get to know him, and really know him.

Ryan's tone was detached, but his eyes revealed what he was thinking. "It was really different and not at all stable, but I guess it was more predictable. My dad was, and still is, in prison, my mom was always drunk and she usually had a boyfriend who would hit her and/or me, and my brother Trey was always in trouble. He's in prison now, too."

Lindsay didn't know what to say and she didn't want to make him think she pitied him. "Do you keep in touch with any of them?"

"I hear from my mom every now and then. She seems to be doing a little better. I haven't talked to Trey in over a year, and I can hardly remember the last time I spoke with my dad." He looked at Lindsay and stated, "I really think of Sandy as my dad. And Seth as my brother."

"What about Kirsten?"

"Last year it was hard to see her as my mother because I was still very much Dawn Atwood's son. But now that I've really left Chino behind...it's becoming more and more like she's really my mother, not just the woman I wish was my mother." For a moment neither of them said anything and Ryan took this opportunity to take the attention off of him. "So how are things going with you and Kirsten?"

"Good," she replied a little too quickly. "I still can't believe I have a sister..." she trailed off, connecting what Ryan had just said with what she had just said.

Ryan laughed. "They say that a guy looks for a girl who's similar to his mother. And since Kirsten and I aren't genetically related, it's not illegal or anything."

"Yeah. They also say a girl looks for a guy like her father." Ryan's eyes widened and he shuttered. "But since he wasn't my father until last week, I don't think that counts."

Ryan smiled with relief. "Good."

Lindsay stood from the bed and peeked out the window of the pool house. "Ryan?"

"Hmm?" He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.

"Everyone's inside."

He stopped kissing her. "Oh, do you want to-"

She turned around, placing her hand on his chest. "Stay right here. With you. Away from the insanity."

"Last year, Hailey locked me and Seth in here and apparently Seth is claustrophobic. He freaked out."

"He freaked out in here? This place is huge!"

Ryan laughed. "That's what I said, but you know Seth."

"Yeah...maybe someone will lock us in here." She leaned into him, pressing the full length of her body against him.

"That might be cool." Ryan tried not to react to her words and the way she was touching him, because he thought that if she knew what he was thinking, she'd be running away.

Lindsay couldn't help but laugh at Ryan's sudden nervousness. He was deliberately being unpresumptuous, so she figured she might as well go along with it. Things would happen when the time was right. "Okay." She looked up the clock and noticed it was well past midnight. "Happy New Year!"

Ryan turned and looked at the clock. "Happy New Year."

Fin! Please review!