Our Past Is A Reminder of the Future

Summary- Caitlin explains why she's here...sort of

Disclaimer- Back off Schwartz! It's miiiiine! No, i'd get sued for saying that, and i'm penninless so forget me.

A/N- Yep, Caitlin, the bad seed is back. Why you ask? To...read and find out

pinkbubblegum123- lol, i'm not in the force field yet. I need filler characters, and this story started a long time ago so I needed a plot for them, that's what I thought up of at the time, but as you can tell, i'm more of a R/M gal. Obviously. I just can't help my little self. Anyways, yes, no, R/M isn't too bad is it?

Now let's get on with the show...er, story...

"So...Cati, what are you doing back?" Marissa asked, pouring some orange juice into a glass. "Nothing, just I thought I'd come back for a quick visit, see how everyone was doing." Caitlin looked up from the scrambled eggs she was making.

Her and Marissa were making breakfast for the rest of the family before they woke up.

"Is that it? Just a little visit?" Marissa continued to question. Caitlin nodded, her back to Marissa. "So where's Jake? All night partying?" she teased. Marissa shrugged.

"Nice parenting sis," Caitlin teased again. "No, I mean, he could be. He's in Virginia. College."

"College?" asked Caitlin.

Marissa nodded. "He just went earlier than registration, see all the sights," she explained. Caitlin nodded, "Another one on the way?" A goofy grin appeared on Marissa's face as she nodded slyly. "How do you do it?" Caitlin asked.

"Do what?"

"All of this," she motioned to the house with a spatula in her hand. Marissa shrugged. "I don't know. I have Ryan to help me all the time. Kids are helpful too."

Caitlin smiled. "Perfect huh?"

Marissa shook her head. "No where near that. But I love my life."

She nodded understandingly. "Me too."

"Well of course you do, you don't have any responsibilties."

"I have responsibilities," she retorted. "Deciding what you're going to wear the the next day does not count as a responsibility. Emily and Connor have that responsibility."

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Like you would know," she snapped.

"Maybe if you came back more often, you would tell me what it's like. And not just mooch off of Caleb."

"Speaking of dear ol' Dad. Where is he?"

"Your father is Jimmy, not Caleb."

"Does "Jimmy" give me money?" she asked with a glare in her eye. Marissa sighed, frustrated and continued to set the table. "So, how are the kids doing? School?"

"School's out. Riley is going to camp with the twins in about a week." This comment recieved a laugh from Caitlin. Marissa stared her down. "The twins are in the junior program and Riley has been a conselour there since she was 13."

"What about Connor?"

Marissa seemed confused. "What about Connor?"

"Well, is he going to the poo poo by himself, finally?" she asked in a child like voice.

Marissa rolled her eyes again but answered. "Sometimes, he goes by himself. Other times either me or Ryan have to take him."

"And what about when he's at school?" Caitlin asked. Marissa didn't answer. "Look sis, you should really consider taking him to a specialist. I know this great doctor in Japan I met--"

"Look, thanks for your help, but his doctor said he's just devoloping...just not as early as Emily."

"Oh for god sakes. The kid's 6 years old and he can't even shit in the toilet. He's slow." Caitlin tried to backtrack, but too late, Marissa had already wiped her hands on the dish towel and thrown it on the countertop. "I think you can finish breakfast, I"m sure you can "specialize" something up." And she walked out of the kitchen.

Caitlin rolled her eyes, tending back to the eggs. "Specialize? Is that even a word?" she mumbled to herself.

--

"And when the dragon tried to--"

"Mommy! Mommy!" Connor caught her off, slamming the book shut. Marissa looked up from her sitting position on his bed and stared at her youngest child. "What sweetie?"

"Pee pee," he said silently. He let go of Marissa's hand and flew to the the bathroom. Marissa followed as quickly as she could with her belly in the way and heard squeals coming out of Connor. "Are you okay sweetie?" she knocked lightly on the door as Connor came out, a huge grin on his face. "I did it!" he squealed, hugging her belly. "Did what?" she put her hands on his blonde tufts, running her hands through them. "Pee!"

Marissa laughed and kissed the top of his head. "We'll tell Dad when he gets home all right?"

He giggled and nodded, scurrying away chanting nonesense. Marissa laughed to herself and started to head towards her and Ryan's bedroom, hoping to get a quick, good nap before Ryan got home. She opened the door, only to find Caitlin raiding her closet. Caitlin noticed her presence. "Hmm." She said thoughtfully, holding up a blue and white maternity dress shirt. "Do you think that this will go well on me?" she joked. Marissa snatched it out of her hands. "It's all I can wear," she mumbled, throwing it on a chair somewhere and snuggling up on the warmth of the covers. Caitlin continued rifling through the heaps of clothes in Marissa's closet. "Do you think this looks good?" she asked, holding up a dark blue dress with an A line skirt that flared to the calf and a bunch of of little glitter in certain spots. Marissa opened her eyes and shook her head quickly. "Draws too much attention."

"That's what I'm going for. Bold!" Caitlin announced proudly. "Really? No more hemp bikinis?" Marissa asked sarcastically.

"Oh please," she waved her off. "I still have mine. It's amazingly beautiful. And you have one too!" She squealed after a moment, giggling her way over to the closet once again. "Has Ryan seen you in it?!" she asked loudly from the closet. Marissa replied, shocked, "NO!"

"Why not?" she questioned.

"Caitlin! That thing is so skimpy! It's like walking around naked."

Caitlin poked her head from the closet door frame breifly. "So? It's not like he hasn't before. And besides, why pay for a $300 bathing suit when you get one for free?" She paused after a beat. "You can use the money to buy condoms instead. Put the money to good use."

Marissa blushed and sat up, picking up a nearby hanger and throwing it at Caitlin's knees. Caitlin laughed but clutched her knee, yelling an 'ow' at the same time. Letting another giggle escape her throat, she picked up a dark purple Lacoste shirt, examining it aganst her small frame. "Does it make me look fat?" she turned around to face Marissa, who's hands were on top of her belly. Marissa gave her a playful glare. "You hate me don't you?" she asked; referring to her size.

Caitlin thought for a moment. "Yeah, I kinda do," she returned the humor, going over to Marissa's side of the bed as she motioned for her to move over. She snuggled up under Marissa's sisterly warmth as Marissa wrapped her arms lightly around her back. "How do I get as lucky as you?" she asked after a moment, backing out of Marissa's embrace. Marissa pat her head, "You believe Tinkerbell," she teased.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Thanks 'Riss, big help." Marissa laughed and motioned for Caitlin to come back. Caitlin did so and sat next to her older sister. "I'm serious. Caleb's coming over tonight, with Mom, and I gotta make up same lame excuse that I actually have a life."

"How about the truth? You need to get out, get a job."

"You know I get bored easily," she started to get up from the bed, taking her t-shirt off and putting the dark purple Lacoste shirt over her shoulders. She started to tug at it, still speaking. "Except I don't feel like it."

"Doesn't matter what you feel like it. It's about what you're going to do with your future. You need to grow up--"

"Look, I'm gonna hear all this BS tonight, I don't need it again."

Marissa sighed and went into the joint bathroom. Moments later, she came out, a look of surprise on her face. "What did you say about Caleb and Mom coming here?"

Caitlin let out a small cackle. "Yep, tonight. I invited everyone!" she laughed again.

"What? Why?! When!"

"This morning after your little tantrum. Besides, get the family together, it's a good idea, don't you think?" she asked, taking another of Marissa's shirts and examining it against herself. Marissa started to near Caitlin, scaring her almost. "You expect me to cook for these people?"

"Dad and Hailey, and Kirsten and Sandy too," she whispered in a low voice. "And no, you don't have to cook for them, you could order take out," she added weakly. "Caitlin, I..." she took a deep breath. "Ohmygod, you midget!" she tried to catch Caitlin before she could get away, but Caitlin was too quick. Marissa towered over her and continued grabbing the air. Caitlin let out one last evil laugh before running around the room, and than finally out the doors. Marissa let out a frustrated sigh. "I knew she was here for a reason," she murmured to herself, now going into her closet.

--

"Do my boobs look okay?" Marissa questioned, fixing her light pink top over her belly. Ryan stopped shaving the slight stubble he had and went up behind her, resting his hands around her waist and kissing her collarbone. "Your boobs look perfect," he answered, running his hands higher up her body. Marissa slapped them away playfully. She turned around, kissing his lips, getting shaving cream on her nose and lips. She giggled and pulled back, spitting the shaving cream out of her mouth. She took the razor out of his hands and started to inspect his face and put the razor to his skin slightly as he put his hand over her's, guiding her hand through the the white foam.

His hands went immediately to her belly as he pushed her back slightly, her back against the counter. She gasped as his hands traveled from the side of her breasts to her rear end, tickling her sides. By now, half of the shaving cream was off as Ryan kissed her hands, going up up to her arms, leaving a trail of foam. With another deep breath, Marissa got the courage to push him off. "We have people coming soon," she said with a weak smile. He nodded sadly, giving her shoulder a kiss as she started to clean it up the foam and Ryan gave his chin a few quick strokes as he cleaned his face off and joined Marissa on the vanity bench they shared.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, leaning in and whispering in her ear. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, applying her light red lipstick to her lips. She didn't know what it was about him today, but he looked incredibly hot. She kissed his cheek softly, feeling the silky texture. "Thank you for agreeing to do this."

"It's not like I have any choice," he continued, "it's my house."

She let out a small laugh and kissed his cheek again. "Let's go." His voice was still husky and low as he ushered her out of the room.

Caleb, Julie, Sandy and Kirsten were already seated in the living room, Caitlin sucking up to Caleb. All the adults let out a sigh of a relief as Ryan and Marissa made their way downstairs. All exchanging hugs, both awkward and not; Marissa was proud to lead them into the kitchen, showing off the dinner she had prepared in a matter of hours. Not like she was complaining, at least she had something to do during the day.

As Emily, Connor, and Riley piled into the kitchen, Seth and Summer showed up at the back door, scaring Marissa. They were quickly let in as they all, once again, hugged each other and exchanged hello's. "Where have you been?!" Kirsten demanded.

"We were out, god Mom, take it easy."

"Seth, your tone is not appreciated."

"Yes mother, well, your smothering attitude is not appreciated."

"Seth!" Sandy stepped in, "Are you drunk? Don't talk to your mother like that!"

"Da--"

"Sandy, Seth's having issues,"Summer said with a stare at Seth and than continued, "things like this happen when he gets too overly excited,"she explained.

"Well, what's got him so excited?"

Summer quickly averted her eyes from everybody, focusing them on Seth. Now she felt bad. All the people she loved, and they weren't there to witness one of the happiest moments in her life. "Nothing, we'll talk about this later." She looked hungrily at all the food that was placed on the table and slipped into a seat, Seth following. Ryan held back, watching all the exchanges happen. The bickering began again as Marissa held her head, waiting for the migrane to pop in at anytime.

Riley was more upbeat than usual, back to her cheery old self as Connor continued to share his story of how he went to the bathroom all by himself to Emily, who looked quite interested.

Ryan appeared behind Marissa, handing her a small bowl filled with corn. He gave her a cheesy smile. "Here you go." She grinned at him, taking the corn and placing it on the table.

A/N- Oh yes, a little flashback, anyone remember? The talk, well, Seth/Summer one will be next chapter. It's long, and I updated quickly so please pretend to be surprised! lol. And yep, I try to add a lot of similarity to Caitlin/Hailey, since they're both "bad seeds". I mean, Caitlin had to have done something bad to go to boarding school, so yep, there we go. Oh, and it might be unrealistic for kids not go poo poo by themselves...but trust me, there are some, it just makes Connor a bit more loveable, at least to me. Hope you enjoyed! :)