Disclaimer: I still own nothing except sarah. I will not write this anymore, I hope everyone has figured it out.
Chapter three: The Divide.
Seth, Ryan, and Summer. Three of the "fantastic four" brought together by a situation far from fantastic. Summer was never really that close to Mr. Cohen, the only time they ever really talked was during the two month span in which she lived with them. Her "step monster" kicked her out of the house while her dad was in Florida helping a smaller plastic surgeon with some cases. She and Cohen were not together at that point in time, but Ryan and Marissa made sure they were by the end of her stay. They've been together ever since.
Seth's pale face, and wide eyes scared Ryan, he couldn't remember the last time he saw Seth like that. Ryan quickly walked over to his friend and did something he had never done, he hugged Seth. Seth returned the gesture with a reflex like movement. Ryan remembered the day he left, the first time. Seth gave him that little map, then hugged him. He had never really been hugged before, but he knew then Seth would be his friend for the rest of his life.
After the long embrace, Seth broke into tears...Seth was crying. As fragile, and childish as Seth seemed, it really hurt Ryan to see him cry, maybe because he never saw him cry before. Summer immediately ran to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. Ryan stood in the corner of the room, trying to fight back tears, he needed to be strong for Seth, he needed to be strong for his brother.
Summer tried to calm Seth down, but to no success. He managed to look up at her from what seemed like the black hole in the cold, lifeless floor. "Seth...Seth, you ok sweety?"
"No...no I'm not." With that, he bolted out of the door and left Ryan to let his head hit the hard table. A choice he would regret. His head hit with a great thud on the table, Summer couldn't help but laugh, but soon silenced herself, the severity of the situation sank in to her.
"Stay here Ry, I'm gonna go find Seth." Summer ran after Seth, she knew where he was, it would just be hard to get him to come back.
Summer raced down to the park where seth had proposed to her nine years ago. Somehow, that park reminded him of home, it reminded him of Newport, and it reminded him of his father. She found Seth sitting on a bench, motionless and pale. She hadn't seen him that way since Ryan went back to chino, over a decade earlier. "Found you!" Summer said with her endearing smile. Her beauty always amazed him. Even through the toughest times, she would always put on a smile for him. "Hey" he said trying to cover up his already evident stream of tears. With a slight frown, she wiped away the tears. It reminded her of the time at the theaters when they saw that chick flick, and Seth complained of the pollen while his lip quivered in sadness.
"It's gonna be ok Seth, I promise." She whispered to her distraught husband
" I know...I just can't believe he's gone.
" Me too... but we'll get through this, we always do"
Before he could reply, a voice from behind them howled " DADDY!"
Seth's face lit up at the sight of Sarah, and Ryan. He saw a small object in her hands and smiled at what he saw
"Daddy, don't cry. Captain oats is here to make you happy again!'
Seth in a shaky voice replied " Aww, honey thank you, thank you so much." Ryan couldn't help but smile at the fact that Seth Cohen was a father, a good one at that. Ten years ago, Seth couldn't take care of himself, now he had a family.
"Hey, can I talk to Seth for a minute...alone?" he asked as politely as possible.
"Sure Ryan...hey Sarah, you want to go get some ice cream?" Summer said in a welcoming tone.
" ICE CREAM!" the small girl replied, giggling as her mother held her hand and walked away. Ryan slowly walked up to the bench and sat next to Seth.
" Seth Cohen: father" Ryan said teasingly
" Yeah well...nothing makes me happier. What about you man, any women in your life right now?"
"No man...I've been alone for a few years now, ever since marissa left, I've been alone." Ryan tried to cover up the sadness in his voice, he knew Seth didn't need it at the moment. Seth caught on to the tone, and looked sad.
"Wow...I'm married with a kid...and you have no one." Seth joked, but Ryan was more hurt than humored. "Hey man...I'm sorry, that came out wrong" Seth quickly corrected, but Ryan didn't change the expression on his face.
"Well, I'm gonna catch a plane to LAX tonight, I'm going back for the funeral, so I hope I'll see you there man..." Ryan walked away from Seth hurt, and confused.
"Damnit" Seth muttered to himself as Ryan left him. One miscalculated sentence pulled them apart again. Just as they were coming together...Seth opened up the divide.
That was a kinda sad chapter, but there's a long way to go yet. I hope everyone is enjoying it. Please R&R, I would love to read your feedback.
