Author's notes:

Some timeline stuff-

This takes place when Sandy is twenty-two and Kirsten is eighteen. I've tried to stick to the show's timeline as much as possible, but that contradicts itself in a number of places, so I might take a few liberties with it. Sandy's in his final year of law school, while Kirsten is a freshman at Berkeley.

OTHlover04-Glad you liked it!

Famous99-I realized after I posted that the timeline was a little screwy. Last year, Sandy and Kirsten had supposedly been married for seventeen years, and then this year they've been married for twenty, but Seth and Ryan are still the same ages they were last year. But I've read a number of fics that suggested that Seth was already on the way when Sandy and Kirsten got married, so hopefully this isn't too unbelievable.

Brenda Osler-Thanks for your comments! I love Kandy too, even with all the horrible plotlines Josh has been giving us lately, so writing this is therapeutic for me. I'm glad you like it!

Cheekymice-I've always wondered why on earth Sandy and Kirsten allowed Ryan to go back to Chino last summer-that was one of the inspirations for this story (along with some alcohol, I admit).

Pumpkin Muffin-I'm glad you liked this! I hope the next chapter doesn't disappoint!

Ldee-This chapter should answer your question, hopefully you'll like it…

OClover01-Thanks for reading! Kirsten's having a rough time right now, but she'll have Sandy to help her get through it!

Pink-angel-dreams-Thanks for your review. I've been wanting to write this for a number of months, but waited until I finished my other story. I'm glad you like it!

JeeSun-Glad you liked! Thanks for reviewing!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

Sandy thought he saw her on Tuesday after his three o'clock class, but there had been a number of students exiting the building at the time, and by the time they cleared out the girl was gone. She was there again on Wednesday, but ran off as he approached her. She was definitely the same girl, Sandy decided. True, he had knocked back the better part of a six-pack that night, as well as a few cups of a cocktail he knew only as jungle juice. He had been buzzed, if not completely drunk, and there were portions of the evening that were a bit hazy. But he remembered that the girl he went home with had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. That was what he remembered most about her, those beautiful eyes and the sadness he'd sensed from her.

The gilr was waiting for him again on Thursday. This time, she stayed where she was, leaning against a brick wall as Sandy slowly approached her.

He smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease. "Hi."

"Hi." She looked down, seeming a little embarrassed. "I'm not stalking you, I swear."

"I know," Sandy tried to assure her. "I just didn't expect to see you again, that's all."

She looked different than he remembered her, Sandy thought to himself. The night he met her, her hair and makeup had been flawlessly done, and she'd been wearing a stylish black dress that likely cost more than a semester at Berkeley Law. She obviously came from money-something that Sandy Cohen didn't have a lot of. Today her face was devoid of makeup and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a Berkeley sweatshirt and looked a lot more like the girls he'd grown up with back in New York.

"You're Sandy, right?" the girl asked.

He nodded and held out his hand. "Sandy Cohen."

She smiled and Sandy got a funny feeling in his stomach as she slipped her hand into his and shook hit firmly. "Kirsten Nichol."

He let go of her hand reluctantly. "It's nice to meet you. Officially, that is. I know we've met before, but things were a bit crazy that night, and I normally don't drink that much. Not that I think drinking is bad, I just-"

Kirsten laughed. "Do you always talk this much?"

Sandy grinned. "I'm afraid so. Don't be shy about telling me to be quiet or interrupting me if there's something you want to say."

Kirsten smiled. "I'll have to remember that." She took a breath and continued. "I'm sorry about the waiting around the law school, but I didn't know any other way to get ahold of you."

"I would have called you," Sandy offered. "I wanted to call you, but I didn't know your last name and I didn't think you wanted to hear from me."

"I'm sorry," Kirsten apologized again. "I'd been having a really bad couple of weeks when I met you, and I was pretty messed up. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I thought you seemed like a really nice guy."

"But the last thing you needed in your life was a relationship," Sandy continued. "You weren't dating anyone then, were you? You're not coming to tell me that your boyfriend is a linebacker on the football team and is after my blood, are you?"

Kirsten shook her head. "No, I wasn't seeing anyone then. My boyfriend had just broken up with me, actually."

It didn't make Sandy feel much better to hear that sleeping with him had been a means of rebounding for her. Although that was the most realistic explanation. After all, girls like Kirsten didn't date skinny, Jewish law students with New York accents and wild eyebrows.

He swallowed his disappointment. "Well, I appreciate your talking to me, Kirsten."

"Sandy, wait." She put a hand on his arm, then looked uncomfortable with the gesture. "There's something I need to tell you."

"As long as it doesn't involve football players or hired thugs coming after me," Sandy tried to joke.

"I have no idea how you're going to react to this," Kirsten sighed. "I can't even believe it myself, and if you don't believe me or don't want to have anything to do with it, I'll understand. This is my problem, not yours. I just think you should know." She drew a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Sandy stared at her. "You're what?"

"I know we used protection," she blushed, "but I hadn't slept with Jimmy for almost two months before I met you, and there hasn't been anyone else."

"You're pregnant," Sandy repeated, the words refusing to sink into his head. "You're pregnant and it's mine."

Kirsten nodded miserably. "You don't have to do anything, though. This isn't going to affect you. It's my problem, Sandy."

"If it's my kid, then I'd say it's my problem too!" Sandy snapped. "God, how could this have happened?"

"I think we know how it happened," Kirsten replied simply. "I'm sure we're not the first people to find themselves in this situation."

Sandy sighed. "I'm going to need some time to think about this."

"Of course," Kirsten agreed. "Take all the time you need."

"I'll call you tonight," Sandy told her. "I can't be here right now." He started to walk away, then turned back to Kirsten. "I suppose I'll need your phone number."

"Sure ,"she agreed, taking a pen out of her back pocket. "Do you have some paper?" Sandy unzipped his backpack and tore off a scrap before handing it to Kirsten, who scribbled a number on it. Sandy's eyes met hers as she handed him the paper. They didn't know each others phone numbers and they were going to have a baby?

"I'll call you tonight," he repeated. He tucked the paper into his wallet, said goodbye to Kirsten, and headed back to his apartment. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

He called Kirsten at nine o'clock that night, and they agreed to meet at a coffee shop by the law school. He knew his mother was going to think he was crazy for the decision he was about to make. She would say that girls like Kirsten went through life feeling entitled to everything because their families had money, and that Sandy was being a naïve fool if he thought the baby was actually his. Couldn't he see? Her rich-boy boyfriend had knocked her up and then refused to marry her, and she was trying to avoid scandal and disgrace by tricking Sandy into marrying her and saving her reputation. He was a nice guy-that was his problem. Girls like Kirsten would walk all over him.

But then there was the other side of it, the one that remembered growing up without his own father. Sandy had been the youngest of the three Cohen children, and his father had walked out on his mother two months before Sandy was born. He knew what it was like to grow up without a dad, and he wasn't about to let the same thing happen to his child. Maybe it wasn't his baby, but then again, there was every possibility that it was, and despite his mother's comments about girls like Kirsten, he felt that she was telling the truth.

She was already waiting for him when he arrived a little after nine thirty. She looked even more nervous than she had earlier that day, and he felt bad for keeping her waiting. "Hi."

"Hi," Kirsten whispered.

"Thanks for giving me some time," Sandy continued. "I've been thinking a lot, about how things are right now, and the impact that having a child would have on them. I know that this is a very serious situation for both of us, and it's important to analyze the impacts of any decisions we might make-"

"Sandy," Kirsten interrupted. "What did you come here to tell me?"

"Very good," he grinned. "I would have rambled for another twenty minutes if you hadn't stopped me there."

Kirsten sighed. "Sandy."

He reached across the table for her hand. "I know that we don't know very much-anything-about each other. But I want to help you through this. I want to be here for you and our baby."

Kirsten's eyes filled with tears. "You do?"

Damn, he hadn't meant to make her cry. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones. He'd heard that women got pretty emotional when they were expecting a baby. "I do," he replied. "In fact, I think we should get married."

Kirsten looked away and seemed to shrink back from him. "Oh, Sandy, that's so sweet of you, but…"

"I realize you don't know me very well, but I'm a nice guy," he tried to assure her. "I'd be a good husband to you."

"Sandy, we don't know each other at all," Kirsten told him gently. "I'm very flattered, but I'm afraid that if we rush into something, we might ruin it before it has a chance to develop."

He sensed there was more that she wasn't telling him. "And you're not over your ex-boyfriend, are you?"

Kirsten stared down at the table and gave the tiniest shake of her head. "We were together for three years, Sandy. It's not something you get over right away."

He was disappointed, but he supposed that she had a point. "I still want to be part of our child's life," he continued. "And if you don't want me for a husband, maybe you'd still want me as your friend?"

Kirsten looked back at him, her eyes filled with tears. "I'd really like that, Sandy," she whispered.

"My other offer still stands, though," Sandy told her. "In case you change your mind."

Kirsten looked like she was about to protest, but instead gave in with a simple "thank you." He felt a little relieved-he had suggested marriage because he wanted to do that right thing, but he also felt a little disappointed.

"I suppose we're having a baby, then," he continued.

Kirsten looked a little frightened, but agreed. "I suppose we are."