"Are you sure? I mean…Kirsten really doesn't seem like the type…" Marissa asked gently, after Ryan had finally explained what was going on to the girls.

Ryan shrugged. "Do you really think that anyone's actually the type for something like that?"

"No I guess not…"

Ryan looked at Summer, who hadn't said anything since Ryan had been talking.

"Seth's going to be fine Sum."

"I hope so…." She paused, wondering if she should say what was going through her head.

"What is it Summer?" Marissa asked, knowing her friend was pondering something else.

"Well, Seth told me about his mom. He mentioned it a couple of days ago, but he wasn't sure. He was just guessing. Then this morning, he came to my house and told me he walked in on her doing it. He was so devastated." Summer explained.

"You knew?" Ryan shouted.

"Hey, I thought Seth naturally would have mentioned it to you ok?"

"I can't believe this…" Ryan said angrily, pacing up and down in the living room. "Was I like the only person in Newport that didn't know about this?"

"I wanted to tell you man. But I was trying to fix her first. I thought I could do it." Seth said from behind them, emerging from his room.

The three spun quickly to look at Seth. Summer jumped up, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her closely.

"I'm so glad you're ok" she whispered.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"Why would I be mad?"

"Everyone else is mad. Dad's mad, the doctor was mad, Mom's really mad. I just thought you would be too."

"They're not mad at you Seth" Ryan said. "They love you, and they're just really, really worried. I think you're Mom and Dad just got a shock."

"I'm sorry for snapping at you before Ryan…I was just…" Seth stuttered.

"It's ok. Don't worry about it" Ryan said with a smile.

Seth and Summer sat on the couch, while Ryan sat on the coffee table, and Marissa sat on one of the arm rests. They sat in silence for a little while, the boys just happy to have some company.

"Where's Mom now?" Seth asked, breaking the silence.

"She took off a while ago. The girls saw her down at the beach. She was just crying and stuff. Sandy's gone to look for her." Ryan answered.

Seth nodded, biting his lip. Although he still felt a little floaty form the alcohol, he was sobering up…quickly. All of a sudden things were coming back to him. Flashes of what had happened hours before.

"Oh God" he said aloud.

"What?" Summer asked quietly, holding his hand.

"I think I punched Dad"

Ryan chuckled slightly, and so did the girls. Seth's sudden out-of-the-blue memory made them all giggle, and soon they were all in fits of laughter.

"You know what…that could explain why your dad had a swollen jaw" Marissa said when they had finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah and his bloody lip!" Ryan added.

They grinned at each other, and knew that as long as they stuck together, they'd get through this. The guys were going to be going through some really hard stuff at home, and the girls knew that they had to be there…every step of the way, whether Seth and Ryan wanted them there or not.

Sandy hopped out of his car after parking it next to Kirsten's. He looked down towards the beach, searching the sand. He breathed a sigh of relief when he finally caught sight of her. She was sitting on the ground, her legs pulled up to her chest. She had her jacket pulled tightly around her, and as Sandy got closer, he could see her shaking. As he stood behind her, he could just hear her soft crying.

"Kirsten…" he said softly, sitting on the ground beside her.

"I told you to leave me alone for a while" she said, knowing who it was.

"I want you to come home"

"Why…has something happened?" she asked, quickly looking at him.

"No, everything's fine. The doctor came by before to check on Seth."

"Is he ok?"

"He thinks so. He recommends that we still go get him checked out tomorrow, but he said he'll be right to just sleep it off."

Kirsten nodded, relief washing over her body.

"He does however; think that he needs some other help. A therapists help" Sandy added.

Kirsten said nothing, just looked out at the ocean. She did this to him. She had caused him so much pain. She'd stuffed up his life, just like her parents stuffed up hers. She had always vowed that she would never, ever follow in her parent's footsteps. And yet, at the moment, she was doing the exact same things.

"Honey…did you hear me?" Sandy asked when she didn't answer. She was frowning, and he could tell she was thinking.

"Yeah, I heard you"

"I know today's been…confronting, but are you ok?" he asked, leaning over a bit so he could actually see her face.

Kirsten shrugged, unsure of what to say. She took one look at her husband, and realized exactly why she needed him so much. His eyes were full of concern and his soft, soothing voice made her body tingle. It always had. As she looked into his eyes, it was as though they found each other.

"I'm so sorry Sandy. I love you. I love the boys. I'm just so sorry" she said, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's ok" he said reassuringly, wiping at her tears with his thumb. "It's ok. I love you Kirsten. I'd die if anything ever happened to you."

He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. As she cried softly, he held her close, hugging her with everything he had. He wished they could stay like this forever.