Disclaimer: The lyrics belong to Lyle Lovett. And unfortunately The OC still doesn't belong to me.

Thank you to itsallOC, ally, Jen, Jo, Sheryl, Sunny, Cynthia, Lauren, Michelle, Pumpkin Muffin, Panz and Natalie for your reviews. They are very much appreciated.

There's a lot of Kandy angst out there at the moment (yeah, I'm looking at you!) so you're just going to have to put up with an overdose of fluff from me! I hope you like it, it's another long one.

The Power of Love

And I can't remember
How I met her
Seems like she's always just been hanging here off my right arm

Twenty years. Twenty years he had been married to her. He felt like she had been in his life forever.

And I can't remember
How I ever
Thought that I just couldn't live without a woman's charm

He couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been there; he didn't want to imagine a time when she might not be.

She loves to lie beside me
Almost every night
She's no lady she's my wife

Her eyes burned him as she watched him up on the stage. Their eyes connected and he couldn't see anyone else but her.

She's no lady she's my wife

The song ended and Sandy graciously took his bow as his audience clapped. Seth, Ryan and the rest of the crowd cheered in appreciation, as Kirsten stood quietly in their shadows. Waiting. She wasn't one for public displays – like Sandy was – but she was restraining herself from jumping onto the stage to be with her husband.

She didn't have to wait very long, as Sandy leapt of the stage towards her. He fought through the handshakes and the claps on his back to reach his wife. He grinned and held out his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her close.

"Happy Anniversary."

Sandy bent down and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against his body. Kirsten could feel Seth's disgust from behind them but for once she didn't care. Wolf whistles blew out towards them and it was a cry of "get a room!" that eventually broke them apart.

The band started to play again and Sandy pulled Kirsten onto the dance floor. She laughed and fell into his arms as the music played. Their eyes remained firmly fixed on each other for a moment. Sandy kissed her forehead and Kirsten closed her eyes at his touch.

"I love you, Mrs Cohen," Sandy whispered.

Kirsten smiled up at him. "I love you too," she replied.

Sandy kissed her nose and then her lips, before pulling her close. Kirsten nuzzled her head into his neck and they swayed gently to the music. Sandy's hand was firmly pressed against the small of her back; the other was holding hers against his heart.

Kirsten closed her eyes, blocking out everything around her except Sandy. This was where she belonged: in his arms. She had always said so. Growing up in Newport, she had never felt like she belonged, even with the millionaire father, the McMansion on top of the hill, the private education. It had never felt real to Kirsten Nichol. And then she had become Mrs Kirsten Cohen and she had found her place in the world. It was the place that brought her joy and happiness; the place that shared her laughter and tears; the only place that could ease her fears and comfort her.

They moved together to the music in perfect sync. Sandy's chest rumbled as he hummed along to the music and Kirsten smiled into his shirt, wishing she could freeze time for a while.

"Are you ok?" Sandy broke the silence.

"Uh-huh."

"Enjoying the party?" Sandy asked, his voice hopeful.

Kirsten smirked. What he really meant was "Am I forgiven yet?" She toyed with the idea of making him suffer for a while, but any irritation she had previously felt had passed.

"Yeah, it's a good party," she conceded.

She didn't have to see his face to know that Sandy was pleased with himself. She paused, before continuing, "You still owe me a weekend at the Montage, you know that right?"

Sandy laughed. "I know."

The sound of glass smashing sounded from the bar and a cheer followed. Kirsten lifted her head to look towards where the noise came from and Sandy's eyes followed. They saw Alex reprimanding the barman, who stood sheepishly under her glare.

"Seth's new girlfriend is…" Kirsten trailed off, unsure of the words to use.

"…quite a character?" Sandy offered.

"Yeah. She seems nice, though," Kirsten appeased.

"We couldn't have done this without her," Sandy said, gesturing to the party.

"Oh, so she's one of your partners in crime, huh?" Kirsten teased.

Sandy shrugged playfully and his eyes wandered over to Ryan and Lindsey, who were stood closely together at the bar.

"You spoke to Ryan?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kirsten sighed.

Sandy looked down at her questioningly.

"It still feels weird," Kirsten answered his unspoken question. "I mean, Ryan is my son? And Lindsey is my sister? Only Ryan's not really my son and Lindsey really is my sister; but Ryan feels like family and Lindsey doesn't."

Kirsten sighed again, frustrated. Sandy ran his hand soothingly over her back.

"I think it's ok to find it strange; but I don't think it's ok to take it out on Ryan and Lindsey when it's your father's mess," Sandy spoke slowly, careful not to upset her.

Kirsten groaned. "I practically made Lindsey choose between me and Ryan."

She dropped her head against Sandy's shoulder.

"It's ok, she'll forgive you," he comforted.

"Will she?"

"She will if you apologise," Sandy said. Kirsten nodded, understanding his point.

Sandy brought his hands up to her face. "Are you tired? You look tired."

Kirsten frowned and shook her head. "No."

"Really? Are you sure?" Sandy probed.

"I'm sure," Kirsten answered, confused.

"Are you really sure? Because, you know, if you were tired…we could go home."

Kirsten's lip curled upwards as she finally understood what he was implying.

"Oh. You know what, actually I do feel tired. My feet ache, and I think I can feel a headache coming on," Kirsten lied.

Sandy nodded, feigning concern. "We should get you home."

Kirsten laughed and nodded. They walked over to the bar, where Ryan and Seth were now stood talking. Kirsten paused on the way to talk to Lindsey.

"Hey," Lindsey greeted her shyly.

Kirsten smiled. "I'm glad you came," she said.

"Me too. And I am sorry," Lindsey said.

"I'm sorry too, about what I said this afternoon. I didn't mean it the way it came out," Kirsten apologised. "I guess I'm not doing very well at this. But I meant what I said – I'm glad you're my sister."

Kirsten reached out and pulled Lindsey into a hug.

"Are we still on for the big swap meet?" Kirsten asked.

Lindsey smiled. "Yeah, definitely."

"Good. I'll see you soon?" Kirsten said.

Lindsey nodded in response.

Kirsten left went to find her husband and sons. Sandy held out his arm as she approached them, wrapping it around her shoulders.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

Kirsten nodded happily.

"Ok, boys, we're going home," Sandy announced.

"So soon?" Ryan asked, surprised.

Sandy and Kirsten glanced at each other, amused.

"Yeah, I'm really tired," Kirsten lied again.

"It's been a crazy couple of days," Sandy said, hiding a smile when Seth and Ryan both looked guilty.

Kirsten took a step forwards and cupped her hands around Seth's face and kissed his cheek loudly. She heard him groan and smiled to herself.

"That's for sneaking out of the house."

She turned to Ryan, whose face dropped when he realised she was about to do the same to him. Kirsten was too quick for him and grabbed him, planting a wet kiss on his cheek too.

"That's for not telling me about Lindsey."

She laughed as they both stood with horrified faces at her public display of affection.

"Come on, let's go," Sandy said, pulling her away.

"I want you guys home by one," Kirsten ordered, waving her finger at them.

Sandy turned as they walked away and held out 50 dollars. "But not before twelve-thirty," he said.

Seth and Ryan grimaced again as they understood what he meant.

Hand-in-hand, Sandy and Kirsten walked towards the steps to take them out of the club. Kirsten paused as they passed Caleb and Julie standing to one side.

"Give me a second?" Kirsten said quietly to Sandy, never letting go of his hand.

He nodded.

Caleb looked surprised when Kirsten approached them.

"Kiki, Sandy. Congratulations," Caleb said nervously.

Julie and Sandy watched Kirsten with interest, waiting for her to speak.

"Thank you for coming," Kirsten eventually said. There was no warmth to her voice, but there was no bitterness either. She stared at his tie.

Caleb simply nodded.

"I'll see you at work on Monday?" Kirsten finally lifted her eyes to look at her father.

Caleb nodded again. "Yes."

Kirsten stared at her father, realising she was finally ready to hear the answers to the questions that had been filling her mind for so long. But not tonight. She refused to let anything ruin tonight. She smiled at Julie before turning back towards Sandy, who led her up the steps and outside.

"Let's take a walk down the beach before we go home," Sandy suggested, pulling Kirsten towards the sand.

She followed him, stopping at the top to take off her shoes. She rested her head against his shoulder as they walked, his arm wrapped around her. They walked in silence, both reminded of their first date. They had met at a party – the aftershow party of Sandy's last night in Berkeley's production of Grease. Kirsten's flatmate had been involved in the set design, and had persuaded an unenthusiastic Kirsten to come to the party with her. She had stood in the corner of the room, watching as people with fifties-style haircuts had buzzed around her.

Sandy had spotted her from across the room. There was something unassuming about her, as she stood away from the crowds. He had wondered where she had come from, not remembering her being part of the production. He watched her with interest as she constantly played with the straw that was in her drink. He watched her watching people, her face twitching every now and again as she tried to hide a smile. Her eyes had caught his and she looked away, embarrassed. He wandered over to her, motivated by the urge to find out more about her.

Kirsten saw him coming. The first thing she noticed were his bushy eyebrows; it was hard not to. They drew her to his eyes, which she found to be the biggest, bluest, most honest eyes she had ever seen. She found it easy to fall into conversation with him – he was smart and funny. Time had flown by and she had been disappointed when the party ended. She wanted to see him again, but couldn't find the words to ask him. She didn't have to; his thoughts were the same. They arranged a date, both nervous, both excited.

Sandy had been late picking her up and had apologised profusely. He had taken her to the fanciest restaurant he could find – he knew she came from Newport Beach and expected her to have high standards, even for a first date. His nervousness had been apparent though, as he sent a glass of water over the table within minutes of sitting down. His face had dropped as he had read the menu. He didn't recognise any of the ingredients in the meals and the prices were more than he had guessed.

Kirsten had watched him with amusement. She didn't know much about this boy, but she knew that this wasn't him. This was for her benefit, to impress her. She had ordered the cheque before they had even finished their appetisers, after watching Sandy push his food around his plate because he didn't know what he had ordered. Sandy had been embarrassed and rambled apology after apology as they walked down the street. Kirsten had laughed and told him to shut up, taking his hand and leading him towards the beach. They bought ice-creams and wandered down the beach. Kirsten found herself opening up to him, practically a stranger; but there was something about the way he looked at her, the way he saw through the perfectly applied makeup, the perfect hair and he saw her.

Sandy had been captivated by her. She was warm and friendly; a little uptight maybe, but as the evening passed by, she had relaxed. He listened to her laugh at his stories and he had known that night that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this girl, making her laugh.

They had shared their first kiss on that beach. Kirsten still described it as the most romantic kiss she had ever experienced – the moonlight shining on them, the sound of the ocean waves crashing behind them, the soft sand under their feet. He had been a gentleman, not like most of the guys she had met in college. His hands had held her firmly against him and she had run her hands through his messy hair, a habit that had stayed with them for the next twenty years.

Kirsten glanced over at her husband now and found him staring at her. She smiled as he stopped and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are you thinking about?" Sandy asked her softly.

"You," Kirsten answered. "What are you thinking about?"

Sandy grinned. "You."

He leant in and kissed her, his hands firm on her back, her hands running through his hair.

"I love you," Sandy said again.

"I love you," Kirsten replied.

Sandy's eyes twinkled with mischief. "How much?"

"What?"

"How much do you love me?" Sandy asked playfully.

"A lot!" Kirsten giggled.

"Yeah? Enough to take a midnight dip in the ocean with me?"

Sandy started to pull her towards the ocean. He saw her face glaze over in terror as she tried to pull back.

"Sandy!"

Sandy laughed and kept his tight grasp on her arm.

"Sandy, I mean it, stop! Sandy!"

"Come on, it'll be fun," Sandy teased.

Kirsten squealed as they got closer and closer to the water.

"Sandy!"

As the waves threatened to reach them, Sandy wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted Kirsten up off the sand, laughing as the waves hit his own feet. He ran up the beach, away from the water, and dropped her back onto land. Kirsten pummelled his arm, trying to suppress a giggle as she glared at him.

Sandy smiled and pulled Kirsten into an embrace. He rested his forehead against hers, before finding her lips. He kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth. Kirsten's hands ran up his arms and across his shoulders. She moaned softly, knowing how carried away she could become right now. Their lips parted and Sandy buried his head into her shoulder, tracing a line of kisses down her neck.

"I love you so much," Kirsten murmured as Sandy's lips continued to press against her skin. "I'm so glad I found you. I can't imagine not being married to you."

She ran her fingers though his hair and pulled his head up.

"You'll never find out," Sandy whispered.

Kirsten's eyes glistened as she felt herself starting to feel sentimental. Her lips attacked his and Kirsten lost herself in him. Sandy pulled her into a hug.

"Take me home," Kirsten purred into his ear.

Sandy grinned. "Whatever you say, Mrs Cohen."