Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with The O.C. I do own a few individual characters as well as the plot, but there's really no point in suing me because I don't own anything of value.

Chapter Seven

"I what?"

"The night before you left, I fell pregnant."

Summer swallowed hard, her eyes boring into Seth's. He just stared back, his mouth open slightly in shock.

"Wait? You feel pregnant? With my baby?"

Summer nodded.

"And you left?"

"I didn't know. I left two days later; there was no way I could have possibly known then. I didn't find out until two months later, just before I was due to come home."

"But you didn't?"

Summer shook her head. At the time, she had been deeply conflicted, confused as to whether she should return home to Newport or make her new home in New York.

"Why didn't you?"

Summer didn't answer straight away. It was a question she'd asked herself for years, scared of answering it, even to herself.

"I wasn't sure I had anything to come back to."

"Gee, thanks Summer," Seth spat, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Glad I meant so much to you."

"Seth!" Summer practically yelled, her anger surfacing. "You left me. How many times do you need to hear it? You left me. You made that choice, not me. I left in response to you, you can't blame it on me."

"Okay, so I left. I told you I was coming back. Why didn't you come back as well?"

"I didn't know what would happen- if we would get back together or what. I didn't want to have a baby in that kind of uncertain environment."

"Uncertain? Summer, of course we would have been together. Do you really think I would have let you have a child by yourself?"

"I didn't want you to be with me because of obligation, Seth. I wanted you to be with me…" Summer trailed off, afraid to continue.

"Because I loved you? Well guess what Summer, I did! With all my heart. But you didn't come back- I've moved on. And this… not telling me I have a child, this is unforgivable."

Without another word, Seth rose and stormed down the beach, back toward the Atwood home. Summer however remained, the tears falling freely.

She wasn't stupid, she wasn't naive, she knew perfectly well that Seth would not take the news well. However, she had expected him to be slightly less angry and a little more excited. She was hurt, on her son's behalf, that Seth hadn't asked anything about Noah. This was what she had most feared, that she would tell Seth and he would want no part in Noah's life.

Summer glanced up when she heard footsteps approaching. She found herself oddly relieved when she spotted Ryan approaching her instead of Marissa. Without a word, he sat down next to her, draping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest.

As Ryan rubbed her back, Summer silently wept. After a few minutes, she sniffed and sat up, wiping her eyes.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I knew he'd be angry, I did," Summer replied through sniffs, "but not this mad."

"What happened? What did you do? Or say?"

Summer knew that, now Seth was in the know, it would only be a matter of time before the extended Cohen family learnt about Noah. She didn't think there was any harm in being the one to tell Ryan.

"Before Seth left for Tahiti, he got me pregnant. I found out just before I was due to come back to Newport and so, decided to stay in New York and have the baby."

"Wait? What? You have a kid?"

"Yeah, a little boy. Noah. He's almost ten. He's a mini-me of Seth and I brought him out to California to meet his father. But now Seth is mad and has no interest in meeting Noah, and I don't know what to do."

Summer had begun to cry again, not bothering to hold it in.

"Hey, come on. He's probably in shock- I know I am. He'll want to meet Noah; he'll want to be a part of his life. It's just a lot to take in."

Summer nodded. Oddly, Ryan had made her feel better. After a few more minutes they slowly made their way back to the Atwood house. Seth had left without a word so Summer explained everything to Natalie, as Marissa was already well aware.

After further chatting, Summer decided it was time to go home and see her baby. Saying thank you and goodbye to the Atwoods, Marissa guided a still upset Summer out to the car.