The last chapter before tragedy… please review!

The Small Things Make The Difference

Seth was so proud of himself. He stood in the guest room of his and Summer's apartment that was about to become a room for their new baby. There was still time until the baby would come, Summer was just five months pregnant now, but Seth knew that when the little Cohen would be there, everything should be just perfect.

And today that Summer had been shopping for baby clothes and toys and all of the stuff he wasn't a specialist for, Seth had decided to start with the renovations of the guest room. He hadn't quite understood why Marissa had agreed to go shopping with Summer, given the fact that her she was due any day now.
But that was probably what women did – shopping until the very end.

Seth focused his mind back on the room. The coloring of the walls had been finished pretty quickly – painting was where Seth's talents kept hiding – and since Seth didn't allow Summer to do any heavy work during her pregnancy, he hadn't had much choice but to built together the furniture, the crib, the changing table and all the other things himself.

Heavy lifting and building up and all that stuff really wasn't Seth's specialty, but today, thanks to some handyman miracle, he had managed to completely renovate the new room.
Without any help.

If he had been able to, Seth would have patted his own shoulder right now.
He looked around and everything seemed to be just perfect.
He imagined their little baby lying in the beautiful crib, sleeping peacefully, he imagined it crawling around on the floor, playing with its toys and just being happy to be alive.

The baby's first sonogram picture was hung over the small crib, to remind them how everything had begun.
Seth touched the picture carefully. He couldn't wait to see his first child and to hold it in his arms. Raising a child would be the greatest adventure ever. And doing it with the love of his life would make it even better.

Just when Seth had been really into his daydreaming, he heard the front door fling open. He ran out of the room and closed the door behind him. He couldn't wait to show Summer that he had done all of the renovation alone.
From Summer's gaze, Seth could tell that she was really excited. She grinned broadly and came running over towards him.

Summer gave Seth a quick kiss and clapped her hands.
"Cohen, I have like the best news ever!" she chimed.
Seth raised one eyebrow. "Again?" he just asked. "Who's pregnant now?"
Summer laughed and shook her head. "Actually, there's so many best news, I don't know with which one to start."

Seth smiled. Whatever it was that made Summer so happy, he liked it.
"Actually, I have some great news, too." he replied, grinning from one ear to the other.
Summer crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Really? I bet mine are better than yours."
Seth shook his head and smiled. He stroked Summer's arms with his hands. "OK, so you go first."

Summer took Seth's hand and pulled him over to the couch.
"Let's sit down, my feet are killing me." she announced, leaning back into the soft couch pillows.
She faced her husband and smiled. "Marissa's gone into labor last night!"

Seth's eyes widened. "Already? And who've you been shopping with?"
Summer shook her head. "No one! I stopped by at her and Ryan's place and didn't find anyone there. So I called her cell and there was Ryan who answered me and told me they were at the hospital."

"Well then we have to go there, right?" Seth asked.
Summer nodded. "I've already been there for like four hours or something and I told your mother I'd go home and bring you with me."

Seth frowned. "Four hours? How long has Marissa been in labor yet?"
Summer sighed. "Since last night, poor girl. I hope she'll have the baby soon." She patted Seth's thigh. "So come on, what you're waiting for? Time to go to the hospital!"

Seth pointed towards the guest room. "But my surprise…"
Summer waved with her hand. "That can wait. You're becoming an uncle, that's what's important here!"
Seth shrugged and got up without resisting. Summer was right.
His surprise could wait.

A few hours later, a very exhausted Seth and Summer entered their apartment again, Summer wearing a dreamy smile on her face.
She slumped down on the couch again, motioning for Seth to join her.
Seth leant back into the pillows and Summer leant against him, her head resting on his shoulder as she did so.

Seth's hands went down to her belly and stroked it. Summer smiled happily.
"Now we'll need to wait until this one comes out." Seth said and kissed Summer's head.

Summer kept on smiling. She thought about the day she had. After hours of waiting at the hospital, she had been finally able to see the most beautiful baby girl in the whole world, lying in Marissa's arms who had given birth to her.

Summer had known Marissa for a long time now, but she had never seen her best friend so happy before. The longer she had been to the hospital, the less she could await the arriving of her own baby.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked, looking down on his wife. Summer hadn't said a word since they had arrived home, and that was worrying him a little.
Summer nodded. "Yeah." she answered and stroked Seth's hands that were still resting on her belly.

"Do you wanna see my surprise?" Seth asked, breaking the silence.
Summer faced him. "Sure, I do. Where is it?"
Seth took one of Summer's hands and guided her towards the former guest room. He covered her eyes with his hands.
Summer giggled as he did so. "What's that about?" she asked.

Seth grinned broadly. "You'll see." He opened the door.
Summer could smell fresh colors. When Seth removed his hands silently, she looked around and saw the most beautiful baby room ever. Seth had taken care of everything. Toys, decorations, furniture, coloring, lights… happy tears came to her face and her hands went to her chest.

"God Cohen, it's beautiful!" she said, breathtaken. "Did you do all this by yourself?"
Seth grinned proudly and stuck out his chest. "Of course I did. Everything you see here is 100 Cohen classic."
Summer laughed and turned around to kiss him. "It's perfect." she whispered.

"Now… do you wanna see my surprise?"
Seth smiled. "Sure. I love surprises."
Summer smiled back and sat down on the floor, Seth joining her.
Out of her dress pocket, Summer pulled a little envelope. She laid it in front of her. "I haven't opened it yet, and maybe we won't open it at all, but yeah…"
Seth frowned. "What is in there?" he asked.

Summer sighed. "It's the baby's gender. Dr Miller wrote it down for me since I wasn't sure if we wanted to know…" she looked at Seth expectingly.

Seth wore a mischievous grin. "And you thought that now Marissa had a girl, you need to know what you're having."
Summer shifted back and forth. "Kind of." she shyly replied.

Seth grinned. "Well, I would want to know…" he said.
Summer smiled back. "Me too… so… we'll open it?"
Seth nodded. He crawled over to Summer and hugged her from behind. "Let's open it together."
Summer sighed, excited, and ripped the envelope open.

Seth and Summer spotted the gender at the same time.
Simultaneously, both of them smiled at each other and shared a long, passionate kiss of pure happiness.

After exchanging their I love you's, they watched the three words that told them the gender of their first child. Just a tiny little thing and those three words made the difference between daughter and son.
And at that moment, those three words were the best words in the whole world.

It's a boy.

Get prepared for tragedy in the next chapter: Baby Cohen