"A woman who'll wait for the third time around, head in the clouds, feet on
the ground
She's girl he's glad he's found, she's his shipoopi."
---Shipoopi, The Music Man
Summer walked outside of LAX holding Sam's carrier in one hand, her suitcase in the other, and Sam's diaper bag was swung over her shoulder. It was hard to believe that she was almost back home. It was even harder to believe that she could still think of Newport as her home.
"Summer!" she heard Kirsten yell from behind her.
She turned around and exclaimed, "Kirsten!"
"How are you?" Kirsten asked taking a hold of Sam's carrier.
"Thank you. I'm good. School's been going okay."
"Are there any perspective boyfriends that Seth's going to have to send Ryan to beat up?"
"No. Well, wait, I take that back. I did get asked to the winter dance but I turned him down."
"You did?"
"His name is Pat Wood. 'Nough said."
"So you ready to go?"
"I'm so ready."
As they began walking to the Range Rover Kirsten looked at Summer.
"So I bet you're going to want to see Ryan as soon as we get to the house."
"Ryan? Why would I want to see him? And wait, I thought he was going with the guys on the bonding trip."
"No one called you?"
"No, why? What happened?"
"Theresa came by the house yesterday morning to see Ryan. And she wasn't alone."
"What do you mean?"
"She had a baby with her."
"Oh god."
"Exactly what we said." Summer opened the back door of the car and sat the car seat down.
"Okay, so you're going to need to back up and explain all of this. 'Kay?"
"Hey." Summer pushing the door to the pool house open half an hour later
"Hey." Ryan said back, lying his daughter down in her basinet.
"Kirsten told me. How are you holding up?"
"I've been better." Summer took a seat by the basinet and looked at the sleeping baby.
"So what's her name? "She asked.
"Cohen."
"Cohen?"
"Cohen Ryanne Atwood. Theresa named her before...you know."
"How did it happen exactly?"
"Theresa went to go see her mom and Eddie found out that she was there...found out about Cohen. Theresa decided that it was best if I took care of her rather than risk the chance of Eddie hurting her. But when she went back to Chino alone, Eddie realized what happened and..."
"God, I am so sorry Ryan."
"It's okay. My daughter's safe and Eddie's in jail and for right now that's all that matters."
"She's beautiful. Reminds me of Sam when she was that age."
"Speaking of my god-daughter how is she?"
"She's perfect. She's sitting up and attempting to say words."
"So is she here?"
"Mm-hmm. She's in the house with Kirsten."
Inside the house Kirsten and Hailey sat looking at Sam who was sitting on Kirsten's lap, chewing on her fingers.
"She's so cute!" Hailey said smiling at the infant.
"Isn't she?" Summer said walking into the room cradling Cohen.
"Where's Ryan?" Kirsten asked.
"He's making a bottle. He'll be in momentarily."
"So, she's yours?" Hailey asked looking at Summer
"Yeah, she's mine. And Seth's."
"Yours and Seth's? So that means that she's my..."
"Grandniece, yeah." Kirsten said rubbing the top of Sam's head.
"And that means that she's your..."
"Granddaughter." Summer said nodding her head
"I would have told you sooner but Seth was always around." Kirsten explained
"And what you didn't want Seth to know that other people know?"
"No." Summer said sitting down, "Seth can't know. Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Kirsten could you please explain this to her because I've been feeling like a broken record lately."
That night Summer sat in Seth's bed attempting to read Kavalier and Clay while Sam slept in Seth's old crib. Kirsten slightly knocked on the door and pushed it open.
"Summer?" she whispered
"Yeah." Summer said shutting her book.
"I was just wondering if we could talk before I went to bed."
"Sure what's up?"
Kirsten took a seat on the bed and looked at Summer "I know how hard it is to be your age and not really have anyone to talk to. So if there's anything you ever want to talk to about, you know you can come to me right?"
"Of course."
"Good."
Kirsten got up to leave and Summer stopped her.
"You think we could do that talking thing now?" she asked.
"Of course."
The next morning Kirsten and Summer sat at the breakfast table talking again after a few hours of sleep.
"Is it wrong that I was so set on getting rid of her and then something so small made me decide to keep her?" Summer asked sipping her coffee
"Seeing your child for the first time is not a small thing. It is a huge event in every mother's life. I was terrified that I was going to be the worst mother ever and then when I first saw Seth I knew it was going to be alright."
"But I'm not talking about just being scared, I'm talking about having an...an abortion."
"I know. And believe me I know how hard it is to make the decision to go through with it or not."
"Have you..."
"I was a little younger than you are..." Kirsten looked down at her empty cup and paused
"Do you regret it?"
"Every know and again. But I know that it was the right thing for me at the time."
The two looked at each other for a moment and just as Summer opened her mouth to speak she was interrupted by the phone ringing.
"Hello?" Kirsten asked answering it, "Sandy hi...Yes, she is...You are?.. Okay, yeah. Bye."
"What was that about?" Summer asked.
"That was Sandy calling to say that there's a major storm up where they're camping so they're heading back home."
"They are?"
"Yes."
An hour and a half later Summer knocked on Marissa's door with Sam on her hip and bags at her feet.
"What?" Marissa asked swinging the door open and then exclaimed, "Summer!"
"Hey Coop!" Summer said bouncing Sam.
"I wanted to surprise you. And then I got a little surprise of my own. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure." Marissa said opening the door wider.
Summer walked in followed by Marissa with the bags.
"So, what's up with the bags?" Marissa finally asked looking down at her hands.
"That's the surprise. Seth was supposed to be gone during my stay, you see. But as you may or may not have heard they're coming back."
"And you need a place to stay?"
"Kirsten said that you're mom and Caleb aren't going to be back for a few more days."
"They're not. So I guess there's nothing wrong with you staying over here."
That night Summer and Marissa sat in their pajama's watching re-runs of General Hospital on cable while Sam slept upstairs.
"So, Sam sure has grown since I last saw her." Marissa said taking a handful of popcorn.
"I know. Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's the same little girl that I gave birth too."
"She looks a lot like Seth doesn't she?"
"Yeah. And she's already acting a lot like Seth too. She's definitely her father's daughter."
"Okay, Dillon looks confused." Marissa said changing the subject.
"Of course he looks confused. He's the Joey Potter of this scenario." Summer joked
A knock at the door stopped the girls from laughing.
"Ugh." Marissa groaned getting up. "Who is it?"
"It's Seth."
"Coming!"
Marissa shot Summer a 'What do I do?' glance and Summer mouthed open it.
"Hi." Marissa said opening the door.
She's girl he's glad he's found, she's his shipoopi."
---Shipoopi, The Music Man
Summer walked outside of LAX holding Sam's carrier in one hand, her suitcase in the other, and Sam's diaper bag was swung over her shoulder. It was hard to believe that she was almost back home. It was even harder to believe that she could still think of Newport as her home.
"Summer!" she heard Kirsten yell from behind her.
She turned around and exclaimed, "Kirsten!"
"How are you?" Kirsten asked taking a hold of Sam's carrier.
"Thank you. I'm good. School's been going okay."
"Are there any perspective boyfriends that Seth's going to have to send Ryan to beat up?"
"No. Well, wait, I take that back. I did get asked to the winter dance but I turned him down."
"You did?"
"His name is Pat Wood. 'Nough said."
"So you ready to go?"
"I'm so ready."
As they began walking to the Range Rover Kirsten looked at Summer.
"So I bet you're going to want to see Ryan as soon as we get to the house."
"Ryan? Why would I want to see him? And wait, I thought he was going with the guys on the bonding trip."
"No one called you?"
"No, why? What happened?"
"Theresa came by the house yesterday morning to see Ryan. And she wasn't alone."
"What do you mean?"
"She had a baby with her."
"Oh god."
"Exactly what we said." Summer opened the back door of the car and sat the car seat down.
"Okay, so you're going to need to back up and explain all of this. 'Kay?"
"Hey." Summer pushing the door to the pool house open half an hour later
"Hey." Ryan said back, lying his daughter down in her basinet.
"Kirsten told me. How are you holding up?"
"I've been better." Summer took a seat by the basinet and looked at the sleeping baby.
"So what's her name? "She asked.
"Cohen."
"Cohen?"
"Cohen Ryanne Atwood. Theresa named her before...you know."
"How did it happen exactly?"
"Theresa went to go see her mom and Eddie found out that she was there...found out about Cohen. Theresa decided that it was best if I took care of her rather than risk the chance of Eddie hurting her. But when she went back to Chino alone, Eddie realized what happened and..."
"God, I am so sorry Ryan."
"It's okay. My daughter's safe and Eddie's in jail and for right now that's all that matters."
"She's beautiful. Reminds me of Sam when she was that age."
"Speaking of my god-daughter how is she?"
"She's perfect. She's sitting up and attempting to say words."
"So is she here?"
"Mm-hmm. She's in the house with Kirsten."
Inside the house Kirsten and Hailey sat looking at Sam who was sitting on Kirsten's lap, chewing on her fingers.
"She's so cute!" Hailey said smiling at the infant.
"Isn't she?" Summer said walking into the room cradling Cohen.
"Where's Ryan?" Kirsten asked.
"He's making a bottle. He'll be in momentarily."
"So, she's yours?" Hailey asked looking at Summer
"Yeah, she's mine. And Seth's."
"Yours and Seth's? So that means that she's my..."
"Grandniece, yeah." Kirsten said rubbing the top of Sam's head.
"And that means that she's your..."
"Granddaughter." Summer said nodding her head
"I would have told you sooner but Seth was always around." Kirsten explained
"And what you didn't want Seth to know that other people know?"
"No." Summer said sitting down, "Seth can't know. Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Kirsten could you please explain this to her because I've been feeling like a broken record lately."
That night Summer sat in Seth's bed attempting to read Kavalier and Clay while Sam slept in Seth's old crib. Kirsten slightly knocked on the door and pushed it open.
"Summer?" she whispered
"Yeah." Summer said shutting her book.
"I was just wondering if we could talk before I went to bed."
"Sure what's up?"
Kirsten took a seat on the bed and looked at Summer "I know how hard it is to be your age and not really have anyone to talk to. So if there's anything you ever want to talk to about, you know you can come to me right?"
"Of course."
"Good."
Kirsten got up to leave and Summer stopped her.
"You think we could do that talking thing now?" she asked.
"Of course."
The next morning Kirsten and Summer sat at the breakfast table talking again after a few hours of sleep.
"Is it wrong that I was so set on getting rid of her and then something so small made me decide to keep her?" Summer asked sipping her coffee
"Seeing your child for the first time is not a small thing. It is a huge event in every mother's life. I was terrified that I was going to be the worst mother ever and then when I first saw Seth I knew it was going to be alright."
"But I'm not talking about just being scared, I'm talking about having an...an abortion."
"I know. And believe me I know how hard it is to make the decision to go through with it or not."
"Have you..."
"I was a little younger than you are..." Kirsten looked down at her empty cup and paused
"Do you regret it?"
"Every know and again. But I know that it was the right thing for me at the time."
The two looked at each other for a moment and just as Summer opened her mouth to speak she was interrupted by the phone ringing.
"Hello?" Kirsten asked answering it, "Sandy hi...Yes, she is...You are?.. Okay, yeah. Bye."
"What was that about?" Summer asked.
"That was Sandy calling to say that there's a major storm up where they're camping so they're heading back home."
"They are?"
"Yes."
An hour and a half later Summer knocked on Marissa's door with Sam on her hip and bags at her feet.
"What?" Marissa asked swinging the door open and then exclaimed, "Summer!"
"Hey Coop!" Summer said bouncing Sam.
"I wanted to surprise you. And then I got a little surprise of my own. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure." Marissa said opening the door wider.
Summer walked in followed by Marissa with the bags.
"So, what's up with the bags?" Marissa finally asked looking down at her hands.
"That's the surprise. Seth was supposed to be gone during my stay, you see. But as you may or may not have heard they're coming back."
"And you need a place to stay?"
"Kirsten said that you're mom and Caleb aren't going to be back for a few more days."
"They're not. So I guess there's nothing wrong with you staying over here."
That night Summer and Marissa sat in their pajama's watching re-runs of General Hospital on cable while Sam slept upstairs.
"So, Sam sure has grown since I last saw her." Marissa said taking a handful of popcorn.
"I know. Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's the same little girl that I gave birth too."
"She looks a lot like Seth doesn't she?"
"Yeah. And she's already acting a lot like Seth too. She's definitely her father's daughter."
"Okay, Dillon looks confused." Marissa said changing the subject.
"Of course he looks confused. He's the Joey Potter of this scenario." Summer joked
A knock at the door stopped the girls from laughing.
"Ugh." Marissa groaned getting up. "Who is it?"
"It's Seth."
"Coming!"
Marissa shot Summer a 'What do I do?' glance and Summer mouthed open it.
"Hi." Marissa said opening the door.
