Summary: Following the abandonment of Ryan and Summer, Seth and Marissa seek comfort from whom neither had ever anticipated: each other.

Disclaimer: I own nothing..

Rating: Clean.

Pairing: Seth/Marissa.

Feedback:

Caitlin- I'm glad ya liked it. Yeah, Summer always makes things interesting.. :)

Lennie1984- Thanks for reading! I'm happy that you are enjoying it so far. Yeah, you will see about the marriage thing soon, because, as you can probably already see, things move very quickly in this story. :)

moon,gates,slaying- Everyone loves Seth! haha. Yes, well there is quite a bit of him in this chapter, and a lot of him in the next.. So you will probably be happy with that. Glad ya liked it:)

goingtoazbaby1804- I have a funny story about fanforum.. Actually, not really all that funny, but I will tell it anyway. I signed up for it in, like, August, but never really went on. I just now have went onto the roadie thread. So I'm on the list:) I'm glad it's getting better, though. I like to get people hooked. :)

A/N: Sorry for the wait!

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Marissa's white pheasant skirt swayed back and forth with each step she took. The baggy sweatshirt she was wearing covered up most of it's design, but she didn't seem to care. Seth was no more than a few inches away, sticking to his signature outfit: jeans and a polo. The hand that wasn't holding a balboa bar was attached to Marissa's. Their shoes had been abandoned quite some time ago as they were walking along the beach. The sky was bleeding red just as the sun sank below the horizon. When you lived in Newport Beach, you got used to sunsets such as these.

"What about Thor?" Seth had insisted on playing the 'name game', just as he had with Ryan. For some reason, he remembered suggesting this name before. It seemed odd that two years had already flew by. So much has changed.

Marissa scrunched up her nose and shook her head vigorously. "Have you ruled out the possibility that it could be a girl?" she asked, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Because you've only been suggesting boy names.."

"I'm kind of hoping for a boy." he admitted. "That way I can pass on all my manly qualities."

"And what manly qualities would those be?" she managed to ask through her laughter.

"Comic books, video games, jenga.. Who knows, maybe even my chest hair?" Somehow, Seth managed to remain nonchalant, despite Marissa's constant giggling.

"Those aren't qualities, those are interests.. And girls can have them, too." she informed him, appreciating the light breeze that rarely occurred on summer nights in Orange County. "Have you forgotten the female clone of Seth Cohen?"

"Anna has chest hair!" After receiving a "look" from Marissa, on account of the unappropriateness of his comment, Seth toned it down a bit. "Sorry.. Anna, right.. I haven't spoken to her in ages."

"Well you will," Marissa replied. "Because she's coming to the wedding."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "Just who else is coming? I don't believe I've seen the guest list.."

"People you know.. or my mother's friends?" She asked, with the knowledge that her mother drew up the guest list and sent the invitations.

"People I know."

"Well, there's Anna, Luke, you're partner in crime: Zack," she watched as he nodded approvingly to each name she listed off. "Summer," she said under her breath before quickly moving on. "You're Aunt Hailey, despite my mother's hatred for her.."

"What?" Seth nearly chocked on his ice cream treat.

"You're Aunt Hailey.." Marissa replied, hoping to avoid the awkward situation.

"No, no.." He stopped, planting his feet firmly on the sand. "Before her."

"Zack.." she said, making yet another attempt to avoid what would undoubtedly be torture for her.

"After Zack." he was becoming impatient. "You said Summer, didn't you?"

She looked to the ground, refusing to respond. She was dreading the day that, for most girls, was the happiest day of their lives.. Or was suppose to be, anyway. "She's my maid of honor." she finally said. Her words were barely audible they were spoken so softly. She feared that she may question, on the day of their wedding, who he really wanted to marry: Her, or the woman standing beside her.

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Kirsten watched as her son inhaled his cereal, not taking the time to chew. The box of Captain Crunch layed in front of him on the table. He switched his attention back and forth from that to the comic strip lying on his lap.

"Seth." she said as more of a statement than anything else.

He glanced up at her, milk dribbling down his chin. "Yes mother?" he said, his mouth filled with the sugary substance.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." she finally replied, unable to tell him what she had been yearning to eversince the engagement: He was not ready to become a husband or a father..

Flashback

Kirsten watched from the door frame as a ten year old version of Seth Cohen pressed buttons furiously, his eyes fixed on the television set.

"Seth?"

She turned around to see her husband enter the room and approach their son.

"Today is your lucky day," Sandy began, a look of excitement growing on his face. "I'm going to teach you how to surf."

Seth's face remained expressionless as his chocolate colored eyes scanned his father's face, searching for a sign of sarcasm. "Are you serious?" he finally asked.

"Well, yeah." Sandy replied, a sense of hurt audible in his voice. "I thought you'd be excited about it."

"Who wants lunch?" Kirsten spoke up, hoping to avoid what would undoubtedly be an awkward situation. "I can make sandwhiches."

Seth looked over to his mother, her shoulder-length blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt.. something that Julie Cooper would never be caught dead in. He admired his mother.. despite the fact that she still had yet to master the art of sandwhiches. Her intentions were always good, and that was what mattered.

He then turned to his father, who's attire was the opposite of casual. Evidently, he had just come from work. Seth figured that he must've taken the afternoon off in hopes of teaching him how to surf. There were very few father's in Orange County who made as much time for their children as Sandy Cohen did.

Lastly, Seth turned toward the television set to which his videogames were hooked up to. As much as he would love to sit in front of the tv all day, his afternoon was booked. "Of coarse I'm excited about it." he finally said, his dark, curly hair bouncing up and down as he nodded his head eagerly. "I just thought we could have lunch first.." he turned toward his mom, who was standing in the doorway, smiling at him. "I'm craving sandwhiches."

In a way, Seth was rewarded for his selfless behavior. Later that day, he broke his foot attempting to stand on the surfboard. Needless to say, that was the last time he ever went surfing.. and he was free to sit in front of the tv and play videogames for the remainder of that summer.

End of Flashback

"Mo-om?" Seth sang, waving a hand in front of her face. "Earth to mom."

The sight of Seth's hand frightened her as she jumped back into reality.

"You seemed to be in somewhat of a daze." he explained. "Bagel?"

Lying in his extended hand was half of a bagel, topped with oodles or cream cheese.

"I know sesame's your favorite.." he went on, waving it in front of her face, trying his best to make it seem as appealing as possible.

She smiled, recalling the daydream she had had just moments ago. She knew that Seth would make a great father. He may not always act his age.. but his heart was in the right place.

At that moment, much to Kirsten's disliking, the phone rang, interrupting their time together. "You go ahead and eat that," she said with a sigh. "I'll answer the phone."

Seth nodded and walked toward the doorway, all the while devouring the remainder of his bagel.

"Hello?" Kirsten said into the phone. She received static in reply. "Hello?" she repeated, gradually becoming aggravated.

"Kirsten?" the static cleared enough for her to hear and understand the caller. "It's me.. Ryan."

"Ryan." she whispered, overwhelmed with both excitement and disbelief. He hadn't called once since the day he left. His reasoning? That it would be easier that way. He was right. Kirsten has just been reminded of what she had lost just over a year ago. "How are you?"

"I'm good.." he replied, exhaustion evident in his voice. "I really like it down here. What about you? Is everything okay with you and Sandy? And I'm assuming Seth and Summer are still together?"

Kirsten took a deep breath, overwhelmed with the excessive amount of questions. "Sandy and I are doing great.. and Seth-" she paused, unsure of how to explain the situation that no one had seen coming. Seth had gotten Marissa pregnant. Marissa. Ryan's Marissa. And now they were getting married. That was something that you just couldn't say over the phone. "Seth's doing fine. Summer moved to New York of all places, so he's been enjoying some alone time with Captain Oats."

"Oh, well I can't wait to see him.. any of you."

"What?" Kirsten asked, panic rising in her voice.

"I'm coming to visit. I got some time off of work and I couldn't think of any place that I'd rather spend it."

"W-when are you coming?" she was almost to afraid to ask. Knowing their lives and the drama that went along with it..

"The first week of August."

'Great..' she thought. Just the time of Seth and Marissa's wedding.. This should be a fun reunion.

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