She was sleeping. He was sure of it. She wasn't doing that thing where she pretended to sleep so he could leave to do what he wanted. He could tell the difference. For the most part.

Ryan slid his arm from underneath Jenn's back and kissed her forehead. She always seemed to take his breath away. When Theresa was pregnant, he was sure he was going to get one of the assholes. Some kids are perfect, some kids are assholes, and then there's Jenn. She was sweet and kind and careful, while still being mischievous enough to not be one of those Barbie doll Newport creations. As soon as she had been born, she had been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and she kept getting better. He didn't understand how some people said their kids were the end of their lives. Jenn was the beginning of everything.

Ryan walked back down the stairs and leaned back in the chair next to Kirsten. She smiled at him and he smiled back. On her other side, Summer was gradually falling asleep on Seth's lap. Marissa sat on their other side, almost falling asleep herself, but with no Seth to lean her head against, she used her own hand. Sandy still wasn't home yet.

Seth was whispering something in Summer's hair, getting constant responses. She looked like she was thirteen, giggling at every single word he said. She looked happy. Ryan had forgotten what it was like to do that. Laugh for no reason. Jenn did it all the time. And she could make him laugh, but she was his daughter. He had to love her. Summer didn't have to laugh like that.

Ryan pushed his hands a little farther down in his sweatshirt pocket. Kirsten smiled at him again and rubbed his hand. Marissa exhaled.

"My feet hurt. They're too cold."

Kirsten shrugged and tugged the sleeves of her own sweatshirt down. She nudged Ryan. "How's life going, honey?"

He laughed and shrugged back. "Could be worse."

"Yeah?"

"I guess."

Summer had that look in her eye that she always got when Chris said he wasn't good enough to do something. Ryan looked the other way.

"You guys seriously should not worry about me as much as you do."

"But it's only cause we love our little Ryan." Summer grinned at him until he turned back around. Marissa nodded.

"You're awesome, dude."

"Well that's all right, then." He laughed and leaned farther back down in the lawn chair.

Marissa grinned again and shivered. "Have to go. Brandon should be home...in like ten minutes. See you guys."

Everyone smiled and said their goodbyes, Kirsten pulling away.

"Was that the car?" She stood up and ran around the house to the front lawn to scope the driveway for Sandy's car. Ryan looked back to Seth and Summer.

His arm was around her back; her entire body curled up against his side. Her eyes were partially closed; his lips so close against her ear he could make her giggle just by breathing harshly. She had light goosebumps on her arm from the cool air, but every so often, his arm slid up and down her arm until the bumps disappeared and her arm warmed up. She smiled against the pressure of his hand and snuggled in closer against his sweatshirt. And it wasn't just that she looked so beautiful and comfortable and peaceful and small next to him; it was that it , or something.

Summer giggled again as Seth's breath tickled her ear. She bit her lip as her eyes lay on Ryan. She did that thing she had learned to do when she became a mother; that smile that showed she knew what was best for the poor boy who doesn't know what he's doing had surfaced.

"Ryan, you know, there's this girl named...what was her name? Um...Kathleen? Maybe. Well, she's really pretty and I think she's single, because..."

"Summer. Stop. It's okay. Don't go all pimp on me."

"No, I mean, I wasn't trying to...pimp you out or whatever. I was just saying..."

"I know." Ryan nodded and traced the soft cushion covering the arm of his chair with his pointer finger.

Seth shuffled in his seat, bringing Summer in even closer against him, if that was possible. He nodded slightly to Ryan, causing his chin to bump against Summer's head.

"Things are changing, man. It could get good." Seth lay his cheek down against her head. Ryan nodded back.

"Yeah. Things are changing." Ryan turned his head to the house barely making any sounds behind him. "So, um, I'm going to just...go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Are you okay?" Summer looked away from her fingers intertwined with Seth's.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Ryan nodded. "Good night."

"Night, man." Seth watched Ryan make his way into the big house. "He's not going to be depressed forever, right? I mean, like, he's going to get over it." He turned to look at Summer behind his shoulder. She just shrugged.

"I don't know. It's like he's forgotten to care about himself too."

Seth nodded, threading Summer's hair through his fingers absently. Her shoulder slumped down against the fold in his neck, and she slithered her arm out from behind his back, inspecting the creases imprinted into it from the chair. He kissed the top of her head and pulled his sweatshirt around her as well.

"Seth!"

He pulled his face out of her hair and smiled lightly when he saw Chris.

"Hey, kid, what's up?"

"I can't sleep. And Uncle Ryan said you and Mom were still up."

"Yeah."

"So what do you guys want to do?"

Chris sat down in the lawn chair across from the two of them; Summer curled out of Seth's sweatshirt.

"What do you want to do, babe?" She grinned at Chris, but he just shrugged.

"I don't know. But I'm not tired."

"Okay. Whatever you want, kid." Seth slipped his hand farther around Summer's waist.

Chris cocked his head slightly to one side and nodded slowly. "That's what my dad calls me."

Seth looked quickly to Summer's face, but she wasn't looking at him. He fumbled with his words, but managed to push away the red creeping over his entire face, and smiled.

"You know what your dad used to call me?"

Chris shook his head.

"Death Breath Seth."

Chris giggled and shook his head again. "Why?"

"We didn't get along."

"Do you still don't get along?"

"No. When Uncle Ryan came, your dad got nicer. And then we were friends."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Because whenever Uncle Ryan used to talk about you, my daddy said to change the topic."

"Well, your dad always thought he knew best. And maybe he did. But we got along."

"Okay. It's okay, though, because sometimes, my daddy can be an idiot."

"Chris!" Summer was laughing, though.

"What? It's true. Sometimes, he thinks he's a lot funnier than he is." Chris shrugged and leaned back in his chair, rocking the back legs off the ground.

Seth nodded. "But he's a good guy."

Chris nodded too. "I know. I talked to him yesterday. He says he got a new girlfriend."

Summer's head tilted faintly up. "When did he call?"

"When you guys were at the beach. He talked to me and then he talked to Uncle Ryan a bit."

She nodded. "What else did he say?"

"Umm...he said there's this new car that he...oh. Never mind."

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Chris was pushing a grin down from his lips.

"Chris..."

"I can't tell you, Mommy. It's a secret."

"You can tell me everything, Chris."

"You can't tell him I told you."

"Cross my heart."

"He's giving it to you for Christmas."

"Your dad's getting me a car?"

Chris nodded and laughed. "He says it's really cool. Oh yeah, and he said he wanted to see me again. He wants me to come down to Cancun. Can I go?"

"Luke wants you to go to Cancun?"

"Yeah. He said you could come too."

"I don't know, honey. Maybe you should let me discuss it with him first."

"Does that mean no? Because I want to go."

"I'll talk to him."

"Please?"

"I'll talk to him."

"Fine. That would be so super cool, though."

"Super cool?"

"Yes."

Seth's fingers danced up Summer's arm; his eyes were in a blank stare. He snapped his face up to look at Chris and seemed to get a revelation.

"You know what we should do; we should take your mom to see how good you are on the water."

Chris shrugged. "I'm not that good."

"But you're getting better. That would be fun, right?" Seth bobbed his head gently, but Chris just shrugged again.

"Yeah, I guess."

Seth nodded and straightened his back a little. On the floor, next to his foot, Seth's cell rang. He put up one finger to Summer and Chris and picked it up. Chris stood up and walked along the edge of the pool, one side of the other, as Seth talked into the phone. Seth nodded his head toward the pool house, and Summer nodded. He kissed her cheek and walked into it. Summer followed Chris around the pool.

"Do you really think I can't go to Cancun with Dad?"

Summer sighed. "I don't know, baby. You still have school. And Cancun can get pretty wild."

"But I'd be with Dad. And you can come too. And I can miss some school."

"I know. But still, Chris, you're a little young."

"I'm almost eight."

"But Cancun is..."

"With Dad. It wouldn't be so bad."

"I still have to talk to him. But maybe. Maybe."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

"Yeah." She placed her hands on his shoulders and hugged him into her waist.

Seth walked, looking rather confused, out to them, and sat behind Summer's legs, dangling his own in the pool.

"Something wrong?" Summer asked.

"No. Nothing."

"Who was that?"

"No one."

"Okay..."

He shook his head, telling her to silently drop it. She nodded and turned her head back to Chris.

"Hey Chris? Are you cold?"

He didn't turn around and kept walking, one foot in front of the other, as he shook his head. "Why?"

"Because it's not good to be wet when you're cold."

"What?"

Summer giggled and picked him up around the waist and threw him, screaming, into the pool. As he came up for air, brown hair turning black plastered to his forehead, he nodded quickly to Seth as his jaw shivered. Summer turned quickly around, but Seth had already lifted her off her feet and thrown her in next to her son. She had, however, grabbed onto his shirt too, so he fell in on top of her. He came up after her; she slapped his head, making him fall back down.

"Hey." He sputtered water out of his mouth and gasped.

"Why'd you do that?"

"It was his fault." Seth pointed at Chris, and Summer shot him a glare as she swam to the side. She pushed herself out of the pool and squeezed out her hair. Chris followed her, his teeth chattering.

"If I were you, little man, I would be being very nice to me if you ever want to even plan on going to Cancun."

"Sorry, Mom. It was kind of funny though, right?"

She glared harder. Chris nodded.

"Okay. Bed. Going. Night. Love. You." He grinned and dodged the specks of water she flicked at him.

Summer turned her head back around and crossed her arms around her soaking tee shirt. Seth bit back a grin and she shook her head.

"If you laugh right now, I seriously have nothing in me to promise I won't completely kick your ass."

"I wouldn't laugh at you, beautiful."

She shot him a look and he laughed. "See, I'm laughing with you."

"You're such an asshole."

"I know. I'm sorry. Habit." He kissed her bowed temple and smoothed down the water drops in her hair. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure, but..."

He pushed up on his palms and kissed her lips, pushing harder every now and then, getting himself closer to her. After a while, his hands got sore and he released himself back down into the water.

"I'm sorry." He was whispering in that coarse voice that broke so easily. Summer just laughed.

"You're such a suck up."

"I try, baby."

She giggled and let him pull her soaking wet tee shirt back into the pool with him.

I know, I know; I make you wait close to forever and give you a short mostly bit of filler. I am sorry. I promise to do better next time, in length and in content. But this one does set up things the way I want them, so it should be easier to get the next chapters out. Take this as a peace offering, and I promise to ignore my schoolbooks more often for you guys. Josh Schwartz is my god (how awesome was that premiere, but see? See? He's a fan of the filler as well) and nothing belongs to me except season 1 on DVD. Muhahahaha...loser. Peace and love...