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 Nine

"So, what did you think of Seth?"

After Seth had left, Summer had fixed herself and Noah a snack before settling themselves on Marissa's balcony.

"He's so cool, mom! He reads comic books too! I've never met an adult who reads comics before."

"Hey," Summer objected, "I read comic books with you."

"Okay, well I've never met an adult who likes reading comics."

Noah gave her a cheeky grin before taking a sip of his juice. It was true, despite Seth and Noah's best efforts, Summer had never taken a huge liking to comic books. She would, of course, sit down and read them with her son, but rarely enjoyed it.

"What else do you two have in common?"

"Well… he likes my Chuck Taylors."

Summer laughed. She had screamed for joy when she had found a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors for three-year-old Noah. It was one of many things she had bought him over the years as a reminder of Seth, including band t-shirts and baggy jeans.

"He has a boat, mom. A yacht. He wants to take me on it. Can I go? Can I go?"

"We'll see, sweetie. We're having dinner with him tonight, so we'll discuss it then. Speaking of which, you better have a shower."

Just after six o'clock that evening, there was a knock at Marissa's door. As Noah was on the phone to Summer's mother, the job of answering the door fell on Summer.

"Hey Cohen, come on in."

Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a blazer Seth looked exactly as he had at the age of sixteen. Summer smiled, feeling slightly overdressed in her strappy dress and heels.

"You look great Summer, but you might want to rethink the heels, just a suggestion."

"Why? Where are we going?" Summer asked, trying to suppress her blush at Seth's compliment.

"It's a surprise."

Before Summer could answer, Noah came running into the room.

"Hey Seth!"

"Hey… mini me."

Summer chuckled. Noah, like his father, was dressed in his favourite pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt. He was wearing a pair of black Chuck Taylors and his curls were strewn messily across his forehead.

"We look the same!" Noah said, a large grin on his face.

"We sure do, buddy," Seth replied, returning the smile. "Let's go shall we, I have a surprise for you!"

The car ride was fairly silent; Summer doing her best not to continuously sneak glances at Seth. Noah was reasonably content in the backseat, having spotted an old Spiderman comic on the floor of the car. After a short drive, they pulled into a small condo overlooking the ocean. Summer assumed this was Seth's house and smiled inwardly at the idea of him cooking for her and Noah.

"Is this where you live, Seth?" Noah asked.

"Sure is, buddy. But we're having dinner somewhere else tonight."

Summer looked quizzically at Seth as she and Noah exited the car. They followed Seth into the front yard and down the side of the house. As they entered the backyard, Summer spotted a small pier with a medium sized, sleek yacht moored against it.

"Oh my God, Cohen. Is that yours?"

"Summer, Noah, I'd like to introduce you to my yacht, Sophia."

"This is so cool!" Noah cried, running onto the pier.

"Sweetie, be careful!" Summer called, before turning to Seth, her brow slightly raised. "Sophia? Named for an old girlfriend perhaps, Cohen?"

"Ah, no. The Nana actually. I bought this just after she passed away."

"Oh Seth, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Hey, no problem," Seth replied, smiling. "It was a long time ago. Anyways, we don't want to keep the boy waiting, shall we?"

Summer was taken aback when Seth offered her his arm. Smiling shyly, she took it, allowing him to lead her onto the yacht. She now realised why Seth had suggested she change footwear and, after struggling for a moment, removed her shoes immediately.

Seth led her out to the back of the yacht where a small table was set up for three. There were candles on the table and a small griller behind it.

"What's on the menu?"

"Fish, of course. Noah?" Seth yelled. "Dinner time."

Noah came bounding toward his parents, taking a seat at the table, smiling widely. Summer felt like jumping for joy that Noah was enjoying Seth's company so much, but instead, she chose to sigh with relief and join him at the table.

After dishing up their meals, Seth settled down and, for a couple of minutes, the table was engulfed in silence as they ate enthusiastically.

"Cohen, this is so good," Summer said, between bites.

"Mom, why do you call him Cohen?"

"You're mom started calling me that when we first met," Seth explained, "and I guess it stuck."

"I guess it's kinda cool," Noah replied, "but I would hate it if someone called me 'Roberts' all the time."

Seth chuckled and smiled at Summer. Summer felt her belly do a flip-flop and returned the smile before blushing into her meal.

"So, Noah, what's your favourite subject at school?"

"Art!"

"Art, huh? You like to paint?"

"I guess," Noah replied. "It's okay but I really like drawing. I used to copy from comic books to get better, now I just usually draw my own stuff."

"He's really good," Summer said, beaming with pride.

"Well, it must be a gift you get from your father. I used to have my own comic book, you know?"

"What?" Noah and Summer both cried at the same time.

"Yeah. Me and a buddy of mine from high school, we started our own comic book. We got it published and it lasted for about five years, it was great."

"Oh my God! My dad had his own comic book, that is so cool!"

Summer caught the smile on Seth's face when Noah referred to him as 'dad' but decided not to mention it.

"I didn't know about this, Cohen. Which friend? Not Ryan?"

"No, you never met him, he came after you left. His name is Zach, we're still good friends, we catch up whenever he's in town. But yeah, the comic was called Atomic County and it was sort of semi-autobiographical."

"Do you still have copies?" asked Noah.

"I sure do, I'll dig some up for you tonight and you can have a read tomorrow."

"Cool!"

The remainder of the dinner went well. After sitting and talking for a little while longer, Seth lead them into the house for a movie and some popcorn. Noah's eyes went wide when he spotted Seth's enormous DVD selection. He sat himself down in front of it to pick up a movie.

Seth excused himself to make popcorn and Summer decided to give herself a tour of the house.