Josh Schwartz and all the nice and not so nice people at FOX kick ass.

"Oh, my, god. BS. You suck at this, Cohen."

Seth groaned again and pulled in the stack of cards in the middle of the table. Summer reclined in her chair and grinned to herself.

"Two sevens." Seth leaned back in his chair and stared at Summer. She stared back. "What? No comment from the peanut gallery? Aren't you going to BS it?"

"No." She smirked back and leaned in closer to the table.

"Do it. I must be lying, right? Do it. I dare you."

"No. One eight." Summer placed down a card. Seth grinned farther.

"Ha, ha, ha! Popcorn, popcorn, popcorn. Who sucks at this game now, Roberts?"

"That would still be you. Go, Jenn."

"Four nines." Jenn lay down her cards and rested her head on the arm of her chair. "This is getting boring."

Ryan nodded. "Two tens." He pulled his hands back behind his head and smiled. "Oh, wait. I have no more cards. Will you look at that? Now I think we really know who sucks at this game. And it's not me." His smile extended to a grin and Jenn shook her head.

"No. I said I wanted to quit. That didn't count."

"Come on, yes it did. You didn't actually quit. And I never win."

"Sorry, Dad. Maybe next time."

"Maybe next time? I won. I never win. Come on."

"Accept it. You didn't actually win."

"But I-I never...I never win."

"Who would want to break such a beautiful streak?"

Ryan's mouth opened in disbelief and shook his head. "I never knew I raised such a mean little girl."

"I'm not mean and I'm not little. So don't worry, you didn't." Jenn smiled contentedly and winked. Ryan sighed.

"Whatever. I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

"You're always tired, Uncle Ryan. Stay." Chris whined, squinting at his own cards.

"Chri-is, come on." Ryan whined back.

"I knew it. You don't love me at all." Chris crossed his arm and stuck out his bottom lip.

Ryan nodded in affirmation. "Yep. Not at all. Can't stand you. I'm glad it's out there now, because I don't think I could've taken much more of keeping that in."

Chris stuck out his tongue and Ryan stuck out his back. Summer smiled in amusement at how good Ryan could put up a front. That morning, he had been depressed, but as soon as Chris and Jenn woke up, he was grinning.

"Good night, you guys." Ryan offered a weak wave and walked off to his room.

Jenn and Chris sat silently in their chairs, looking from Seth to Summer.

Jenn sighed and propped her feet onto the table. "So, what stimulating card game is next?"

"No more card games." Chris mimicked her and crossed his arms.

"Okay." Jenn's head sunk lower in her arms, her eyelids falling. Summer reached over and started rubbing circles into her back.

"You tired, baby?"

Jenn shrugged and curled up closer to Summer. Summer kissed the top of her head and rested her cheek against it. She bent her face down and whispered into her hair.

"Something wrong?"

Jenn shrugged again. Summer wrapped her arm around the girl, and kissed her hair again. Seth nodded and tapped Chris on the shoulder.

"Hey, little man, you want to walk?"

"No."

"Too bad. Let's walk."

"But I..."

Seth wrapped his arms around the little boy's waist and threw him over his shoulder.

"Let's walk."

He walked Chris out of the house and down to the porch. Summer kissed Jenn's head again.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"It's nothing."

"No."

"Nothing important."

"No."

"Fine. But you're going to laugh at me."

"Never."

"There's this boy, okay?"

"Okay. What's his name?"

"Darren."

"Okay."

"And...he's really cute, right?"

Summer nodded.

"And my friend said she'd tell him that I liked him. Because I really, really liked him."

Another nod.

"But now I think he likes her. And she says she doesn't but I think she likes him too."

"Yeah."

"Yeah. And he wouldn't ever like me. I mean, this girl is just like me. But better, you know?"

"Did you tell her you thought that?"

Jenn nodded without looking up at Summer.

"What did she say?"

"She said she pretty much sucked at being a person so it wasn't true."

"What do you think?"

"I think that's not true. She's really nice."

"And what about Darren?"

"He thinks she's nicer than I think she's nice."

"And what do you think about it?"

"I think he's a stupid boy and should get over himself."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"No. He's perfect."

"But..."

"But why would he like me? I'm not even that pretty."

"Jenn. Jenn." Summer tilted her head up to look straight into her eyes. "You are beautiful. You're gorgeous and you never know who can see the truth."

Jenn looked up again and smiled. Summer smiled back to her and hugged her tighter.

"So, little man, how was first grade?"

Chris shrugged and cast wary eyes at the waves coming in closer. He walked around Seth to his other side so that Seth was in between him and the ocean. Seth followed him around with his eyes and laughed.

"Are you okay?" Seth's eyes were rebounding the moon onto Chris's face. Chris shrugged again.

"I miss Grandmom and Grandpa."

Seth nodded. "Me too."

"I don't like it here so much."

"Why not?"

Chris stayed silent for a little, but turned his face up to look at Seth's and stated firmly, "Because it's not home. But it's like home."

Seth nodded again and hugged Chris against his leg. "Yeah."

Chris took Seth's hand from around his shoulder and gripped his fingers. "I'm tired."

"Okay. Let's go."

"Could you sleep in my room?"

"Why?"

Chris shrugged. "I want you to."

"Um, yeah, okay. We should just ask your mom."

"She'll say yes."

Summer knelt down beside Ryan and Jenn's bed, running her fingers slowly through Jenn's hair almost unconsciously. Jenn was almost sleeping, her eyes open but not moving anymore. Beside her, Ryan was barely snoring; his hand had found hers somehow when she first got in.

After a few more minutes, when Summer was finally certain that Jenn was in fact asleep, she kissed the girl's forehead and slipped out of the room. She walked into the room next door and changed into a large tee shirt with a logo and some obscure company name across the front. She fell into the couch in the living room and curled up underneath the wool blanket, turning the t.v. onto some forty year old interviewing a rock band through slitted eyes.

Seth and Chris walked in through the back door. Chris curled up in between Summer and the couch and stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Chris, take it out." Seth said as he fell into one of the chairs.

Chris sighed as loudly as he could, but brought his hand down to Summer's stomach.

Summer slipped down the couch, so her face was level with Chris's. "What's with the thumb, Chris? You're seven."

"I know."

"So?"

"I don't know."

"It's going to ruin your teeth."

"I know."

"You should really teach yourself to stop."

"I know."

"Okay."

The three of them were all on the brink of falling asleep; the interviewer on the t.v. even seemed to be falling asleep.

"Mommy?" Chris's eyes were even closed. "Can Seth sleep with us tonight?"

"Yeah, sure, honey."

"I told you." Chris murmured to Seth.

"Mm-hmm." Seth brought his elbow up to the arm of the chair and leaned his head against it. "So" yawn. "I'll get my pillow."

Summer waved her hand. "You can sleep with Chris."

"No, I'll kick him. He should sleep with you." Chris opened his eyes and sat up. Summer creased her forehead, but shrugged.

"Whatever. He does kick."

Seth raised his eyebrows and slowly nodded. "Okay?"

Summer nodded too. "Well, I'm so tired it's not funny. So you guys can stay out here a little longer, but I'm going to sleep. Night."

She got up and disappeared into her room. Seth looked over at Chris.

"So what's up?"

"What do you mean?" Chris closed his eyes again.

"Why do you want me to sleep with your mom?"

"I don't. I want you to sleep in my room."

"But I can't sleep on the floor because..."

"Because you'll hurt yourself."

"And that's it?"

"Yeah. I'm going to bed. Good night."

Chris slumped into the room, leaving Seth shaking his head. After a few more minutes he realized he was as tired as they were, so got up and after a moment's hesitation opened the door to Summer and Chris's room. Chris was wrapped up tightly in his comforter, his eyes shut and his face to the wall. Summer had her face turned to Seth, her eyes closed, and one arm underneath her pillow. Seth looked back at Chris and shook his head. He kicked off his shoes and looked back at Summer's face, wisps of hair moving with her breathing. With one last glance at Chris, he carefully slipped under Summer's blanket, trying to give her as much room as possible.

Even in the dark, Seth could see Summer's shape underneath her blanket. He rolled over onto his side so he could watch her. The tee shirt that came halfway to her knees was bunched up around her stomach, so it moved with her chest. There were still traces of eyeliner beneath her eyelashes, the crisp lines changed into soft circles. Her lips were slightly chapped, her tongue every now and then coming out to lick them. Her eyes open. She smiled.

"What are you doing?" Summer whispered.

"Sorry." He whispered back.

"You were just, like, watching me?"

"You're so beautiful."

She grinned farther and crawled closer to him. Her face buried into his shoulder, her arm creeping around his waist. His eyes fluttered shut for a second, but opened again to scan down her back. Half of it was bare, the tee shirt rolling up even farther. Seth's breathing starting hitching, his chest moving faster.

"What's wrong?" Summer lifted her head off of his shoulder and searched his eyes.

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"It's just...I don't know, maybe I just...don't deserve this."

"What?"

"You." The truth was, she was so small, covering herself with him. She trusted him. He could do what he wanted, because he had her. He really had her.

"Yeah. I mean no. You deserve me. Really." She was desperately trying to keep her voice quiet but express sincerity at the same time.

"Why? What have I done?"

"You loved me. Right? I mean, you did, right?"

"Well, yeah. That year was, it was the best year I can ever remember. Everything about it. I mean, I wouldn't change anything about it. Well, except the end."

"Me too."

He looked at her for a second longer, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"For everything. That I left, that I didn't come back. I wanted to. So much."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because. I shouldn't have left in the first place. It was stupid and then if I just came back I'd have to say why I did it. And I didn't know why. And then it was too long. So I couldn't just come back unnoticed."

"But you never could have come back unnoticed. You could have left for a week and I mean, I would have noticed. And I know your mom would have. And your dad. And Ryan. And everyone."

"Yeah. Well, I didn't. And I can't change it and it sucks because I want to so badly."

"I know."

Seth thought about it for another second. "Did you cry?"

"What?"

"Did you?"

"You mean, since then?"

"Because of that."

"Oh. Um...yeah. Once."

"Why?"

"You had been gone for, like, a month. And suddenly I realized I missed you. And then I was disgusted with myself because I hadn't cried. And Marissa was over, crying about Ryan, and I was mad because I couldn't cry about you. But then Marissa got a phone call, and it was Ryan and she talked to him for, like, ever. And she started crying more and I could hear him across the room trying to comfort her. He told her he loved her and that he was coming back that weekend just to see everyone again because Theresa told him to. And so she said she loved him too and hung up the phone and just curled into a ball, and started crying into her knees. And I realized that I had never told you I loved you. I never said that you changed my life. You know, for the better. And I started screaming at Marissa and yelling because I couldn't cry and she just said I was crying like right then. And I was. But after that, I don't know, I had nothing left to cry."

"Why didn't they get back together when he came back?"

"Ryan and Marissa?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. She got settled one day and when he came back she wasn't the same person. And she had college and he had Jenn. And then, like, the next year she met Brendan and they got married a few months later. And that was it."

"Oh. Okay."

"Yeah."

He watched her watch him another second, and leaned forward to kiss her as lightly as he could. She kissed him back a little harder, but he still stayed slow.

"I never want you to cry again." He whispered against her lips, her breathing now as hard as his.

She didn't have an answer for that, so she just nodded and he hugged her. She crawled even closer and lay her head down on his chest, her body on top of his arm. He took her arm that had curled around him and held her fingers next to her cheek. Summer fell asleep after him, comfortable finally when his breathing slowed down and his eyelashes brushed down on his cheeks.

Okay, so I had such a horrible block at the beginning of this chapter, but I think overall it came out okay. So yay. This chapter's completely covered with foreshadowing, so read every paragraph. I hope the next chapter can come out quicker. Peace and love...