Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the OC.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Summer and Seth are definitely going to play a major part of the story but it will mostly be about the Atwood family.
The twilight cast an eerie shadowed light around the cottage by the sea. The pulsing sound of the sea still filled the quiet air while fireflies sprinkled merrily across the lawn. Summer slowly drove her car up the long driveway in the dark while muttering about Saturday night traffic and idiot drivers. The ride had been a long and tiring one. All she wanted to do was change into her pajamas and sleep. Speaking of sleep, she turned and glanced at her slumbering companion that was supposed to be keeping her company for the last four hours. That was a joke. Instead, the young girl had succumbed to sleep after a pit stop at 7-eleven after nonstop talking the first hour and hadn't stirred once. Summer wished she was that age again when everything was simple and fresh. Signing, she gently turned off the headlights and turned the key. Once again she turned to the passenger and poked her none too gently in the shoulder. Of course, the girl never stirred. Just like her mother, thought Summer grumpily. Marissa had always been dead to the world when she slept, and once Summer even dumped water on her to get her up. Let's just say Marissa didn't speak to Summer for a couple of days. Summer recalled that they were about six when that occurred. Smiling, she reached over and shook the girl while trying to find some hint that she was waking from dreamland. When she didn't respond, Summer decided to resort to the last thing she could think of. Grinning wickedly, she leaned on the horn as loud as she could making a continuous BBBEEEEEEPPPPPPPP throughout the once quiet night. The girl gave a start and jumped in her seat banging her head on the glass window with her fist shooting out. Summer just avoided getting smacked right in the face. Of course that, she thought, she got from her father.
"What the…Aunt Summer!" she cried. "That was really cruel of you. I was in the middle of the perfect dream when…"
"Well, maybe if you had been a little bit of a better companion and didn't fall asleep for most of the trip I would have been a little bit more lenient. However, it was your decision to fall asleep. Sorry, you just have to face the consequences, dear Nealy," she smirked.
"You're hilarious Aunt Sum," Nealy replied sarcastically. "I don't know what you…hey," she realized, "we're home!"
"Yep, we finally made it despite the three bathroom stops in the first hour," she deadpanned.
"Yeah, about that…sorry, I had a lot of water before we left camp."
"No problem dear niece, let's just not let that happen again. Now how about we go see how Uncle Seth managed with the two little monsters."
"I'll bet you five bucks that the house is destroyed or partly on fire. Ella loves to make booby traps."
"I'm willing to bet you are right Nealy, but due to the fact that your Uncle Seth is my husband I'm going to have to come to his defense."
Nealy gave a snort and jumped out of the car running up the winding drive on long legs. Summer signed again and stood up more slowly. Boy, did she feel old and she was only 29! Either that or she needed to hit the gym a little more. Climbing the steps, she thought that it was entirely certain that the house would be a mess and who knew about the status of the two little girls inside. Pushing the door open, she stopped and stared in horror at the mess. Ryan and Marissa were going to kill them. Who knew where they might bury the bodies. Feeling a full fledged rage blackout coming on, she stomped up the steps keeping an eye out for her husband. She spotted Ella sitting on the living room floor enthusiastically dipping into the container of ice cream while paying unusually close attention to the TV.
"Hey, El."
"Hi, Aunt Summer," she replied distracted.
"Where is Uncle Seth?" she asked sweetly.
"Ah, I think he is in Grace's room. She wouldn't go to sleep." Deciding that the conversation boring, she turned her attention back to the TV.
Summer walked slowly to Grace's room and peered around the door ready for a full out screaming fest regardless to the fact that there were three little girls somewhere in the house. "Seth Ezekiel Cohen…" she stopped and starred. Seth sat slumped in the rocking chair by the window with Grace drooling on his shoulder both fast asleep. She actually wasn't sure if the drool was from Grace or her husband; both had a compulsive habit of the drool. Smiling slightly, she took a blanket and gently covered them up and closed the door. Turning back to the living room, she found Ella exactly where she left her but with Nealy sitting on the couch.
"Hey, you two. How about you get ready for bed?"
"Nnnooo, Aunt Sum," Ella whined, "I'm not sleepy."
"You know Aunt Summer, Ella just ate about all that ice cream, within a couple of minuets she is going to be bouncing off the walls. You know how she is."
Summer turned and glared at Nealy while Ella smiled a toothy grin in their direction and started humming the song that was playing on the TV. "Fine, we won't go to bed now." Summer knew from experience and many stories about how hard it was to get Ella to bed after lots of sweets. She didn't want to add to the horror stories.
"I have an idea," Nealy said while smiling slightly at her aunt. "Let's play poker."
"Nealy, I don't that is an appropriate game to play with you or your sister. Besides, it is complicated."
"Oh, come on. You can teach us the fine parts and it can be all innocent and everything."
Summer signed and looked at the clock. It was only 7:45. "Okay, go get the cards…" Wincing at both girls' shrieks, she knew that Marissa was going to kill her when she discovered that she was corrupting her babies. Summer dealt out the cards and explained the rules to the girls. After many questions and about an hour of misplay, she started to notice that she was losing royally and that the two girls had quite a few dollars between them. Becoming suspicious, Summer watched the two girls carefully and finally saw Ella wink at Nealy out of the corner of her eye as Nealy tapped her finger on the table.
"What on earth is going on here you two?" Summer demanded.
Nealy looked up with innocent and surprised blue eyes. Ella let out a little giggle and Nealy kicked her under the table.
"Ella Leigh Atwood, you tell me right now!"
The two girls broke into giggles that almost made Summer laugh. Almost, being the operable word.
"Didn't you know Aunt Summer, Mommy taught us this game to help with our math skills!" The two girls broke into hysterical giggles as Summer groaned knowing she had been taken advantage of once again by her nieces. Please, please, she thought, let Coop and Chino get home soon.