Title: The Consequences
Author: In Fair Verona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Seth and Summer engender a 'rumor' which travels around Newport and learn the consequences of their actions when the unexpected happens.
Shipper: Seth x Summer
Disclaimer: It is all property of FOX, every last bit of it. I don't own anything in this story or related to it.
A/N: This chapter is a crazy chapter. CRAZY. But I had so much fun reading it. We get to take a little trip away from most of the angst, and just have fun in The O.C. with many memorable characters. Now, a lot of it won't make sense, but forget it. Forget the questions. Oh, but do remember that Anna never left in my story. Whoo. Crazy chapter, I hope you guys like it. There are a few (very few) sentimental moments, the rest is just... crazy. With many notable guest appearances.
-
"Coop! Look at how cute this is!" Summer held up a baby catalogue, thrusting it into her best friend's face. Marissa stared at the page for a moment and then took the catalogue from Summer, laying it on their cafeteria table.
"Summer, did you get into my stash of Prozac or something?" Marissa asked, furrowing her brow. She'd never seen Summer act so... happy-go-lucky. It was kind of freaking her out. Marissa wasn't used to things changing in her life. She couldn't deal with drastic changes, and a day when Summer wasn't being snarky, sarcastic, or bitchy was just a primal call for Marissa to OD.
"What? It's cute, and tasteful. It's saying, 'My baby is already adorable, so it's clothes don't have to be uber frilly and pink'." Summer smiled, taking the catalogue back and flipping through it. "Seth and I are going shopping today. We're going to buy a crib, and put it together."
"Do you think you can do that?" Marissa asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Cribs are complicated."
"I have Seth." Summer replied. "What, Coop, do you not think I'm maternal enough to put together a crib?"
"Of course not, Sum. It's just that... last semester, I was the one pointing out adorable baby clothes, and getting all excited... and you hated it. You just rolled your eyes, and scoffed, and said you wanted an abortion. Now you're like... excited." Marissa shrugged. "It's a little confusing, and strange."
"Is it a crime for me to be excited?" Summer asked, staring at Marissa pecilularly.
"Well, you've never been like this before. Then again, I haven't seen much of you lately. You're usually with Seth, or at your new house..." Marissa picked at the spaghetti on the styrofoam tray in front of her with a plastic spork. She didn't dare eat it, she simply found herself content with swirling her food around with a plastic utensil.
"Back up, Coop. Are you saying I don't spend enough time with you or something? Because, it's not like you've been there all the time, either. First it was Luke, then Ryan, then Oliver. You stay single for like, a split second. Then it changes, constantly, and you're always with that person. Attached at the hip!"
"I didn't date Oliver!" Marissa replied defensively, dropping her spork into her spaghetti. "I just... wish you could be yourself around me."
"What are you talking about? You are the only person other than Seth who I fully trust, who gets me. Coop, we've been best friends forever. You know things about me that nobody else does. You're my confidante."
"But you're never like this with me. When I see you like this, it makes me wonder if you were putting on act with me too."
"Coop..." Summer sighed, tilting her head to the side. "It's not like that. This isn't a side of me that I've kept hidden. It's a side that I just discovered, and this whole pregnancy and Seth is what made it come out." She shrugged, then flicked her gaze back towards her best friend. "We're both going to have to get used to Peppy!Summer."
"Just... don't go Stepford Wife or Soccer Mom on me, okay?" Marissa asked with a relieved smile.
"Please, Coop. Mini-Vans are so passé." Summer responded. She glanced down at the page she had flipped to, and pointed a perfectly manicured nail at an angora sweater- little tikes sized. "What do you think about this?"
"Uh-oh." Came Marissa's immediate response, causing Summer to stare up at her friend in confusion. Marissa just couldn't not be negative, could she? Marissa didn't say anything, she just nudged her head in the direction to the left of Summer's shoulder. Summer turned slightly in her seat, and then let out a soft groan, closing her eyes.
"Summer."
"Father." Summer responded dully, glancing up at him. Robert Roberts seated himself at the lunch table beside his daughter, with a look of concern etched on his face.
"You're still attending school?" He asked, dis-satisfaction evident in his tone. Robert sighed, shaking his head. "How far along are you? Didn't the Cohens, or that ingrate boyfriend of yours think that for your own vestige, you should be home-schooled?"
"Why? The whole school knew I was pregnant before I even started showing. I'm 6 1/2 months along, and Seth is not an ingrate, and it is not up to the Cohens to take care of me, okay? That's what you should be doing, Daddy." Summer told him in a quick breath, slamming the baby catalogue shut and then inhaling deeply.
"That's why I'm here now, Summer."
"After blowing up in my face and then avoiding me for a month?" Summer asked, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, you truly care... you're so ignorant." She turned away, reaching over and stabbing her plastic fork into Marissa's spaghetti, and then eating it. It wasn't as if Marissa was going to.
"Don't call me ignorant, Summer." Her father said in a condescending tone. "I wasn't avoiding you, I just needed time to calm down and get used to this." He said, obviously straining to keep his voice steady and calm.
"Are you used to it now?" Summer asked curiously.
"Well, no, you can't expect me to-"
"Then I don't want to hear it." Summer responded stubbornly.
"But I am going to try to get used to it, Summer!" Mr. Roberts interjected, placing his hands firmly on his daughter's shoulders. "I am willing to give this... this situation a chance." He said, trying to sound as earnest as possible. "I think that we should all have a family dinner together. You, me, your step-mother, and Steven."
"Seth." Summer corrected. "And the Cohens, Marissa, and Dr. Janney can come too." Summer said it as more of a demand than a suggestion.
"... They can come too." Robert sighed. "And it will be at your house." He added quickly, planting a kiss on Summer's forehead and then turning around and briskly walking away, leaving Summer sitting there with her mouth open slightly.
"How did he just dump that on you like that?" Marissa asked, giving her friend a sympathetic glance.
"Manipulation. I learned from the best." Summer said, a hint of somberness in her voice.
-
"Summer! Let me help you with that!" Seth yelled, running up the stairs and trying to reach around his pregnant girlfriend and grab hold onto the large cardboard box with a crib inside of it that she was attempting to push up the stairs. Summer elbowed him in the stomach, which caused Seth to let go and grab onto the stair-railing instead so that he did not fall and crack open his skull. Seth wondered if Summer would even care if he did.
"Let go!" Summer yelled over her shoulder, pushing the box a step up. "I can do it myself!"
"Summer, I don't doubt that, but you're 6 1/2 months pregnant, and your doctor said that you should not be lifting heavy objects!" Seth told her in a chastising tone, rubbing his sore stomache.
"How would you know? You've never talked to my doctor!" Summer shot back, grunting as she pushed the heavy box up another step. Just five more to go.
"That's not my fault!" Seth countered, trying another go at racing up the stairs to support her.
"Dr. Janney thinks Chino's the freaking father... Ew!" Summer cringed and continued pushing, until she felt Seth's arms around her, helping her. Summer turned around, the huge cardboard box was now against her back. "What. Did. I. Tell. You?" She asked in a tight tone.
"Summer, you don't have to prove anything to me. I know you're capable of doing this, I just don't want you to. Not alone, allright?" Seth told her, trying for the nice approach. Summer looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, tilting her head to the side.
"Hmm..." She paused, staring intently at Seth, and then gave in. "Allright. Fine. You help me get this thing upstairs, but you have to do something for me." She demanded.
"I thought I was." Seth said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Something else." Summer replied, rolling her eyes. "Come on, put your back into it, Cohen." Summer stepped away from the box, causing it to come sliding down into Seth's hands. He grasped it painfully as Summer stepped around him, waiting for him to push it up. "You can do it, right, Cohen?" Summer asked, a slight teasing tone in her voice.
"Y-yeah." Seth let out in a desperate breath. He gave the box a firm shove with all his might and it went up a step. Pushing it up two more steps already had him breaking into a sweat. How he wished Ryan was here right now. "It's... a... p-p-piece of cake!" Seth said over his shoulder, struggling to give the box another push. "Just one more step to go." Seth felt pumped, "SuperSeth saves the day yet again." He muttered, shoving the box onto the second floor completely. He turned around, dusting off his hands and then blowing on his fingers. "So, what was that other thing you wanted me to do? How can I service you?" Seth asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"We have to have a family dinner with my father." Summer said simply. Seth let go of the box and fell sideways onto the floor with a defining thud.
"Come again?" Seth asked, blinking in disbelief.
"We have to host a family dinner, for my father... and your parents, Marissa and Chino can come too, Dr. Janney, uh, and just as many people as possible. The more the merrier." Summer said, struggling to sound optimistic.
"Why? More people for your father to humiliate me infront of?" Seth asked, reaching down to pick up the box. Summer finished climbing the stairs and reached down to help him.
"No. Daddy doesn't like to make himself look bad infront of people. Especially important people, like your parents. Oh! We are so inviting your grandfather! Anyway, he'll have to be on his best behavior." Summer smirked. Her father may have dumped the dinner on her, but that just gave her the advantage to invite whoever she wanted.
"Allright. Dinner party. Here. We can do that." Seth nodded. "We can do that. When is it?"
"Next Saturday, and who said anything about us doing it? The agreement was that you'd do something for me." Summer pointed out. "I'll just make a guest list."
"Reminder to self: never agree to do anything again before knowing exactly what it is." Seth murmured. The two of them pushed the cardboard box into their bedroom, past the drawing of SuperSeth, and then pushed it over onto the floor in the space infront of the bed.
"Let's build a crib, Cohen!" Summer said excitedly, slowly getting on her knees and using a manicured nail to break the tape, and opening the box. Seth held it up as several pieces fell out, and an instructional manual. He had already brought a toolbox upstairs and quickly pulled it out from under the bed. "Allright, where do we start?" Summer asked.
"Well, we need to figure out which pieces are which. The two end thingies, those are both labeled A." Seth told her, "And all the sticks that are like 2 feet long, those are pieces C. The four really long ones are pieces B."
"Stop! I'm confused." Summer rubbed her temple. "Allright, piece A connects with...?"
"Pieces B, C, D, and E." Seth answered.
"What the hell are D and E?"
"I don't know. D might be this one... but it could be this one too..." Seth held up two pieces quizzically. Summer stared at him, shaking her head.
"Cohen..."
"Um, maybe it's this one?" Seth offered, grabbing a random piece. "Yes, I think it's this one. Let's use this one."
"Seth..."
"And if this is piece D, then this must be piece E!" Seth replied excitedly, grabbing another piece at random and trying to fit them together, like some sort of puzzle. "Well, maybe we should find piece F. I think that connects D and E."
"Then we go out of alphabetical order!" Summer exploded. She stood up, walking over and grabbing the phone, punching in a number. An hour and a half later, Seth and Summer were sitting on top of their bed, sipping lemonade just as two blonde-haired boys finished putting in the last screw and finishing the crib.
"You know, this really was a much better idea." Seth said to Summer, taking a sip of his drink.
"I know, Luke and Chino have nice bodies." Summer replied, nuding her head towards the shirtless, sweaty, sculpted boys.
"I have a nice body too..." Seth trailed off, feeling slightly envious.
"Really? I mean, we haven't... you know... in so long, I can't really remember." Summer said, furrowing her brow. She reached over to the top button of his shirt, un-buttoning it with one hand. "Maybe you need to remind me." Summer winked.
"Time and place." Ryan muttered walking past them and grabbing his wife beater, putting it on and then finishing his usual ensemble by throwing a dark blue un-buttoned shirt over it. Luke on the other hand, reached for his polo shirt.
"I didn't know building a crib was that exausting." Luke said to Ryan, running a hand through his blonde hair.
"Well, now you guys are experts." Seth chimed in. "So you'll be ready when there are little Marissa's and little..." Seth paused, looking at Luke. "I'll stop speaking now."
"Wise decision." Luke responded. He walked past the framed drawing on the wall and stopped for a moment, turning to face it and inspecting it with careful scrutiny. "Is that you, Seth?" He asked.
"Um... yes..." Seth trailed off, twiddling his thumbs together.
"Who's the other guy?" Luke squinted his eyes, trying to read the squiggly hand-writing.
"It- it's Oliver!" Seth said quickly, nodding his head.
"Since when did Oliver have blonde hair?" Luke asked, "Stick to skateboarding, Cohen." Luke added before grabbing his things and following Ryan down the stairs.
"Thanks for building our crib!" Summer called after them. Luke shouted back a "no problem", speaking for both himself and Ryan, since Ryan never really said anything, and then the two of them left through the front door. "Well, now they're gone, and we have a crib." Summer grinned. "You know what it's time for now..."
"Time to celebrate?" Seth asked excitedly, moving to further unbutton his shirt.
"Time to plan our dinner party!" Summer told him, and Seth dropped his hand from his shirt, flopping back onto the bed with a sigh.
-
A week had passed, and with that week, came the day of Summer and Seth's dinner party. Their guest list was massive, as Summer attempted to invite as many people that they knew as possible. What started as an intimate family dinner was now a social extravaganza to the extreme of one of Holly's parties. In fact, said whore was even invited, much to Marissa's chagrin.
"Coop, it's not like you're still distraught over Luke." Summer put in, walking around the dining room and making sure that all the candles she had selected herself were in place.
"But, Sum, Holly hates you. Did you forget about how she and Anna tried to make your life a living hell?" Marissa asked.
"Whatev, they completely sucked at it. My dad is going to do a lot worse if I let him have the chance. Which, I am not. Who knows, maybe he'll even bond with her and leave my comatose step-mother for the tramp!" Summer laughed.
"Is your step-mother coming?" Marissa asked, following Summer around like a poodle.
"Hah, no, she's drugged up, Coop! She's the only person in The O.C. who isn't coming. Her and Oliver. Ew, creepy."
"The O.C.?" Marissa looked at Summer strangely.
"Orange County, Coop, get with it." Summer told her, walking back into the kitchen, where Seth and Ryan were slaving away over the meals.
"You know, feminism has really turned this country upside down. Now the men are in the kitchen, what is up with that?" Seth asked Ryan.
"I don't see any men here." Summer retorted, brushing past Ryan.
"Summer, you look nice." Seth complimented her. Summer whacked Seth in the stomach with her arm. "That would be the second time you've injured that area of my body within a week. I blame you if my pancreas starts leaking. You know, the pancreas is the most pointless yet one of the most vital organs, at the same time. I could die if it gets injured-"
"Don't care. Just no wise-cracks about how I look. Maternity-wear doesn't offer a wide selection." Summer said with narrowed eyes. Tonight, Summer was clad in a short-sleeved velvet red dress which stretched over stomache and draped down to about her knees. "I feel like Carol Brady in this thing." She muttered.
"Don't insult the Bradys." Seth told her over his shoulder, then went back to stirring his soup. Before Summer could muster out a confused reply, the doorbell rang and she turned around in horror.
"Oh my God! The first guest is here!" Summer exclaimed. She grabbed Marissa by the arm and shoved her towards the door. "Coop, go invite them in. Cohen, get that Minestrone finished pronto, Ryan keep working on the steak." Summer instructed. Marissa whisked herself away to the door, adjusting locks of wavy hair before answering it.
"Dad! Haley..." Marissa looked back and forth at them with a smile. "Are you two here together?" She asked.
"What?" Jimmy looked at Haley for a moment and then turned back to his daughter. "Uh, no, honey. We just got here at the same time." He replied. Marissa didn't think anymore of it and held open the door for them.
"Is something burning?" Haley asked, sniffing the air as she handed her coat to Marissa.
"Burning?" Summer repeated, stepping out of the living room and looking into the kitchen in alarm. "Chino!"
Ryan walked out of the kitchen, waving his hand infront of his face to get rid of the smoke. "I think the steak got a little too well-done..." He trailed off.
"I said medium-rare! Chino! My dad only eats medium-rare!" Summer scolded. A rage blackout was definetly not too far away.
"Well, we have extra steak..." Ryan trailed off, hoping that would calm the impregnated bomb to calm down.
"But who is going to cook it?" Summer asked. "Clearly, you can't." She said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Um... I can." Haley offered, waving her hand. Summer turned and looked at Haley.
"Allright. Never send a man to do a woman's job." She looked at Ryan accusingly. "Why don't you show Ms. Nichol where the steak is, Chino? Pronto." With that, Summer turned around and stomped away just as the doorbell rang again. "Coop, that's your cue!" She shouted.
Marissa scurried over to the door, opening it to reveal her mother... and Luke. "Mom, Luke..." She looked back and forth at them. "Did you two come here together?" Marissa asked, glancing at both of them suspiciously.
Julie and Luke exchanged quick, secretive looks and then turned back to Marissa. "Uh, no, we just arrived here at the same time." Luke told her, as if it was obvious.
"Oh. Okay." Marissa shrugged and waited for them to enter. After Marissa's parents, Caleb Nichol, Anna and the comic-store clek, Danny, Holly, Grady and April, Dr. Janney, Dawn, Trey, Theresa and Eddie had arrived.
"Wow. It is so good to see you guys again!" Summer said to Theresa and Eddie, shaking both of their hands. "You guys make such a cute couple. Then again, brunettes always do." She smiled, and then walked away to socialize with the next guests. Eddie turned and looked at Theresa in confusion.
"Who was that?" Eddie asked, arching his eyebrow. Surely he had never seen her before. He would've remembered. He would've remembered running far, far away.
"That was Summer, Marissa's best friend." Theresa smiled, watching Summer leave. Then her smile faltered. "Oh no..." Eddie looked at Theresa questioningly. "Eddie... Summer found Trey."
"So you're Chino's brother, huh?" Summer said, extending her hand to Trey. He had a police officer standing next to him, watching his every move, and was clad in the issued orange drab. "I was so happy to hear that you got to come out of prison to be with us, as long as you had an escort." Summer smiled. "But since I called Ryan Chino, I don't know what to call you. Chino Dos? But you're older, right? That would make Ryan "Chino Dos, and I just couldn't get used to calling him that..." Summer trailed off, shaking her head. "Ah, well." She turned and walked away, over to Marissa.
"Coop, being nice and socializing with prison convicts is really hard." She told her friend. "Maybe you should go talk to Ryan's family and friends." Summer gave Marissa a push in Dawn's direction and then walked over to Grady and April, both of whom were chatting it up with Anna and that comic-store guy.
"You've never seen The Valley?" Grady asked Anna, and he and April exchanged shocked faces.
"I don't usually watch conventional drama shows." Anna told them.
"Then what do you watch?" April asked, wondering if there was anything else on t.v. aside from The Valley.
"I watch Anime." Anna told them, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, they seem to be getting along." Summer muttered to herself. She was going to go look for Danny, or Holly and socialize with them (and avoid getting either humped or bitch-slapped), but she found them together in a dark corner and decided to pass that up. So Summer wandered along until she came across Dr. Janney talking to Caleb Nichol.
"So, doctor, is having discolored urine a sign of cancer, or is that just a myth?" Caleb Nichol asked. Dr. Janney gave Mr. Nichol an odd and somewhat frightened look.
"It's not a sign of cancer..." He trailed off.
"Well, that's a relief." Caleb chuckled.
"I think I need to use the restroom." Dr. Janney stood up and walked away quickly, and Summer couldn't blame him. For being the most rich and powerful man in all of Newport, he was pretty creepy. Then again, weren't all the rich and powerful ones? Take a look at Oliver.
"Oliver!" Summer gasped, coming face to face with the guy. "What are you doing here?" She asked in a hushed whisper.
"They said I could come if I had a guard with me, like the other guy." Oliver nudged his head at Trey.
"But, you weren't invited." Summer told him, putting her hands on his hips. "How did you find out about this party?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Well... I... I have my ways..." He trailed off. "Please! Please let me stay, Summer! If you don't, I'll kill myself! I'm not kidding! I'll do it, I'll really do it!"
"Fine. But I'll kill you myself if you even go near Coop." Just as Summer finished her sentance, the doorbell rang.
"It's my parents!" Seth said, scurrying out of the kitchen wearing an apron over his suit. He walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Mom, Dad- NANA!?"
"Hello Sethela." The Nana pulled Seth into a strong hug. "I paid your parents a surprised visit," Seth glanced up at Kirsten who nodded to emphasize the "surprise", "And they told we were going to dinner, and on the car-ride over here, they explained everything. Now, where's my great-grandchild?"
"Uh..." Seth turned around and ushered The Nana over to Summer. "Nana, this is Summer, my girlfriend." Seth explained, still in a slight state of shock that his grandmother was here.
"It's so nice to meet you, Summer." The Nana shook her hand and then placed a hand comfortingly on Summer's stomache. "It's going to be a healthy baby. I can tell. All Cohen babies are." The Nana said with a wink. Summer smiled genuinely, after all, Summer liked flattery.
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you too, Nana. Can I call you Nana?" Summer asked.
"Call me anything you like, dear. Sethela, we have so much to catch up on!" The Nana took Seth's hand, dragging him away. Summer was about to yell at him about not forgetting to tend to the Minestrone, but then decided not to and instead took Sandy and Kirsten's coats for them.
The Nana sat down in the living room and patted the seat next to her. Seth sat down, trying to ignore the strange noises coming from the dark corner behind him.
"Sethela. When I first heard about this, I was so surprised. In a thousands years, I never would've assumed that you... that you would get into something like this." The Nana told him.
"I know, Nana." Seth sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I never would've either, but I am so glad that this happened. I don't regret anything." He told her honestly. The Nana reached out and took her grandson's hand in her own, squeezing it gently.
"I wouldn't either." She told him with a smile. Seth stared at her surprise.
"You... you're not disappointed?" He asked.
"No, of course not. What reason do I have to be? I am so proud of you, Sethela. I would've been disappointed if you walked away, but your parents told me everything. They told me about how you fought to keep the baby, how you promised to take care of Summer and the baby and how you have upheld that promise to this very day. That is a lot of responsibility for a 17 year old. It is amazing that you are so genuine and caring. I am very proud of you. Your parents are so proud of you." She told Seth. "And this girl... she should be proud of you too."
"She is. In her own special way, she shows it." Seth said with a smile.
"You really love her, don't you?"
"For the past six years." Seth said with a chuckle. "If I didn't really love her, none of this would've happened. So, I'm glad. I'm glad that I love her and that I have since I first saw her." Seth told his grandmother, feeling more at ease to be so open and honest and completely mushy with her.
"You know, Sethela, a situation like yours is very rare. Pre-marital child-birth is condemned now a days, frowned down upon. In most situations, it's frowned down upon for a good reason. But because of that, the act of child-birth itself has been frowned down upon as well. Now we have the pill, the path, the gel insert-" Seth gave the Nana a strange glance, "And we're trying to stop something so natural. Child-birth is a part of life, it's supposed to be a happy occassion. I am glad that for you, it is. A lot of people overlook what a miracle it is, and consider it a pain and a dilemma. I am glad that it is not like that for you, and I am glad that you were able to make Summer change her mind too." The Nana pulled Seth into a bear-hug, which he returned, feeling a strange sense of childhood innocense return to him, like when he was younger and he used to run to his nana and hug her this way and be enveloped in her warmth. Soon, he wouldn't be a child anymore, and this would be the last time he could hug her like this. Seth closed his eyes and hugged his grandmother tighter, wanting to cherish the moment for as long as he could have it.
"Shit." Summer rounded a corner, weaving amongst a crowd of several people, and towards the door. The doorbell had rung, once, twice. Summer had barely heard it over the noise of her guests, and now she was rushing to the door urgently. Because she knew who it was. The last person on her guest list. She had arranged for him to come later than the others because she did not want her and Seth to be alone with him. Well, that part of the dinner had worked according to plan. Summer straightened her dress and her hair and then placed her hand on the brass knob. She could feel her nerves working their way up from her legs to the pit of her stomache where they danced and knotted themselves. As Summer turned the knob and pulled the door open, her guests seemed to silence themselves, as if they knew what was coming. The infamous Robert Roberts. "Daddy." Summer stated, greeting her father with a pleasant smile. How Summer loathed be pleasant, she was getting tired of it already and now that her father was here she would have to be extra peppy. If she let a rage blackout come on even once during this night, who knows how mad he'd get.
"Summer." Her father stepped inside and shut the door behind him, taking off his coat and handing it to Marissa before enveloping his daughter in an awkward hug. "There are a lot of people here." He muttered into her ear.
"You want to know what's been going on in my life when you've been gone, don't you? All these people have been a part of it." Summer responded, pulling away from the hug. She took her father's hand and led him over to the wide dining table, which actually belonged to Sandy and Kirsten. However, for this large dinner tonight, the Cohens had brought it over early during the week. Summer extended a chair at the head of the table for her father and then took a seat in the one right next to it. Seth's seat was reserved beside her, and directly across from them sat the Cohens. "Seth and Ryan, Marissa's boyfriend will be serving us tonight." Summer told her father.
"Don't forget Haley." Jimmy said, from his seat across from Marissa.
"And Haley, Seth and Ryan's aunt." Summer added.
"So, Seth and Ryan share the same aunt, and he's Marissa's boyfriend, and Seth is yours?" Robert asked his daughter, trying to keep an open mind and peice the facts together.
"They're brothers." Summer told him.
"They don't look alike." Robert answered, catching a glimpse of Ryan and Seth in the kitchen.
"But they're brothers." Summer repeated firmly. "And that down there is Ryan's mother, his brother, and his brother's prison escort." Summer said. "It all started with them. Because of them, Ryan came into our lives. Well, mostly Marissa's. You remember Luke, right, Daddy?" Summer asked. From down the table near Julie and Caleb, Luke gave Mr. Roberts a slight wave.
"Ah, Luke. He's a fine young man. Very capable." Mr. Roberts nodded. "Wasn't he dating Marissa?" He asked Summer under his breath.
"And 10 other girls." Summer said discreetly. "He and Marissa ended their relationship, and Marissa started a new one with Ryan. But Luke's a lot nicer now. Then again, we all are." Summer said, thinking of herself. "You might've heard about Luke's father."
"Yeah. Pity, I feel bad for Luke. Now he has no fatherly figure." Robert muttered, shaking his head
"Yeah, he does. He still has his dad." Summer retorted. "He's just attracted to other daddies." Summer said somewhat defensively. She did not like her father coming in and saying things like that about her friends. The people who were really taking care of her when he was gone.
"Better tell your boyfriend to watch out, then." Mr. Roberts replied cheekily. As he said that, Seth wobbled out of the kitchen with a steaming pot in his hands. He still had an apron on, and odd-sight for Mr. Roberts to see, but Seth grinned and bore it. He placed the pot of Minestrone soup in the center and then Haley came out with several little bowls, placing them before everyone. While the people down at one end of the table began to serve the soup to themselves, Summer continued to point out specific people to her father.
"Now, down there are Danny and Holly. Danny is one of my ex-boyfriends. You wouldn't like him, that we can both agree him. He thinks he's funny, but he's really too... big." Summer nodded. "But he's a nice guy. Holly, er, not so nice. Sneaky little skank actually. She was um, one of Luke's other girls. She also seriously tried to screw me over, but I can put the past behind me and give people a second chance." Summer explained, meeting her father in the eyes.
"Then there's Anna. We're friends, now. She's Seth's ex-girlfriend. But like I said, it's all in the past. Now she's with the comic-store clerk. I can't remember his name, he's kind of weird, yet nice. Then again, isn't everybody?" Summer asked rhetorically. "Ah, moving onto Oliver Trask. He's a suicidal manic depressive guy with freaky hair. He and Marissa became friends through therapy, and then he became obsessed with her. Ryan didn't trust him, and Marissa and Ryan got into a fight, but then when Oliver held Marissa hostage in his hotel room and had a gun, she realized Ryan was right, you know, and went back to actually spending time with me." Summer smiled.
"So, you have a mental patient and a prisoner here?" Mr. Roberts asked, gaving shiftily from Oliver to Trey.
"Looks like it. Although Oliver wasn't invited. He just showed up." Summer shrugged.
"Isn't that kind of... dangerous?"
"More dangerous than a Roberts rage-blackout?" Summer asked, holding up her fork.
"You've got a point." Her father agreed. Summer smiled and carried on with the introductions.
"Then we go to Theresa and Eddie. Theresa is Ryan's on-and-off ex-girlfriend from Chino. She came to Newport not too long ago, when Marissa and Ryan weren't together. Something may have happened between them, something may have not. I don't know, but I know that now, she and Eddie are engaged and she seems happy." Summer explained. "Eddie, I don't know him that well. But I wish he'd shave the goatee. It just does not work for him." She shook her head.
"Ah, and then there's Grady Bridge and his girlfriend April, they're on The Valley." Summer said excitedly.
"I love the Valley." Robert muttered.
"What was that, Daddy?" Summer asked.
"I said that's interesting." Robert told his daughter.
"Well, they were filming in Newport, and then Marissa and I just stumbled upon them. We got invited to Grady's birthday party, and he tried to put the moves on me, which was kind of scary."
"But if you could have a t.v. guy or just a guy," Mr. Roberts glanced at Seth, "Wouldn't you take the t.v. guy?"
"But the t.v. guy isn't real, Daddy. Nor as genuine." Summer lowered her voice. "And Grady has really bad hair. Worse than Oliver's. Anyway, it was at Grady's birthday party that we found out that Haley was a stripper." At this comment, Mr. Roberts nearly choked on his minestrone, the soup had finally made it's way down to their end of the table. "But Mr. Coop totally saved her. I think he's got a thing for her. Which reminds me, in case you didn't it figure it out, Ms. Coop and Mr. Coop are divorced. Mr. Coop like lost a bunch of people's money. For a little while, Ms. Coop dated Caleb Nichol, you know, Seth's grand-father. I don't know what to think about that. It seems like she was just chasing an older man for his money. Now who in their right mind would do that?" Summer asked, completey forgetting about events at Caleb Nichol's birthday party. "Anyway, you already know Dr. Janney, my doctor who takes care of me medically. Now we come to the Cohens. Kirsten, Sandy, and the Nana. Kirsten and Sandy let me live with them and they've been like parents to me. Except, not really, because then I'd be related to Seth, and, Ew, incest." Summer shuddered. "And well, that's that." Summer finished, just as Ryan and Haley came out with the kitchen with a delicious looking medium-rare steak, and Seth followed. He ripped off his apron and took a seat next to Summer, offering her father a warm smile and praying that he liked the steak.
An hour later, everybody had just finished their dessert and the dining room grew quiet. Taking this oppurtunity, Seth stood up, clearing his throat. All of the guests glanced up at him in anticipation, except for Robert Roberts, who had his face leaning against his hand and his elbow on the table, starring off into space distractedly.
"Ackhmm. I just wanted to make an announcement. I wanted to thank everybody who came here tonight to support Summer and I, and our future child. We both really appreciate it, even if you weren't invited," Seth glanced at Oliver, "Thank you for coming." Seth turned to face Mr. Roberts, who dropped his hand and returned Seth's gaze with alert. "Many of you know that the purpose of this dinner was to gain Mr. Robert's approval of myself, and my relationship with Summer, and our situation. Well, Mr. Roberts, now you've seen our home, you've tasted the cooking, and you've met the people. What do you say?" Seth asked, his large eyes grew even bigger if possible. If Mr. Roberts had been a Miss, he probably would've given in right now from the intensive and earnest gaze that came from the boy.
"I... am not-" Mr. Roberts began to speak, however he was cut off by an uproar from various people across the dining room table. In fact, they were all began to jeer at him. "I am not-" Mr. Roberts tried to speak again, but the guests were too rowdy at the use of a negative word. The Nana stood up in her seat and shot him such a venomous look that Mr. Roberts feared for his life from it alone.
"If you were a real father who really loved his daughter, you would want the best for her! Seth Cohen is the best that any girl can have." The Nana said defensively, pointing a finger accusingly at Mr. Roberts. Shouts of agreement in response to The Nana followed and Mr. Roberts felt himself shrinking in his seat.
"Don't you want Summer to be happy?" Theresa asked, "Lighten up, Robert!" Jimmy threw in, "Have a heart!" said Dr. Janney, "If I can be happy for them, so can you!" Anna shouted, and Oliver showed his support by saying, "If you don't approve of them, I'll kill myself!"
"I WAS GOING TO SAY," Mr. Roberts raised his voice, pushing himself out of his seat and standing up. "What I was going to say before I was attacked was that... I am not... going to fight it anymore." He told Summer and Seth, looking at both of them. "I accept that this is what is happening, and I realize that you will take care of my daughter." He stated. "However, next week, I expect us to have another dinner. Just the three of us." He added, sitting back down. Seth couldn't help but break out into a grin and pulled Summer into a hug. The rest of the dinner guests cheered and clapped, hugging and kissing with happiness. Summer could not help but smile herself, and she pulled away from Seth to embrace her father, feeling as if years of him missing out on her youth were finally being filled again. As the guests celebrated, the doorbell rang yet again and the room fell silent. Summer quickly walked over to the door, opening it to reveal several guys with brown shaggy hair.
"I thought you guys couldn't make it!" Summer exclaimed. She turned back to the guests. "It's just Roony, you guys." She assured them.
"Well if the pyscho kid could come, surely we could." One of them replied, and the band stepped inside and into the living room, setting up their stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to sing you out of the evening, with a little song called "She Has Love..."
I don't know a lot about her
But she, she knew a lot about me
Her family seemed to love her
If wha they say is true
Her friends all share the good times man
That girl has love
That girl has I, I didn't have a clue then
That a kiss would change my whole life again
She walked into my room
When I was all alone
She told me I would date her from September till Decemer
She doesn't know things will never be the same again
She'll always be seventeen
That girl has love
She kept all the pain inside
Now she has got nothing to hide
At such a young age she took her own life
Now she's seeing things that come in our dreams at night
She's a dreamer
That was too real to ever be fake
That was too srong to ever be forgotten
That girl has love
Author: In Fair Verona
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Seth and Summer engender a 'rumor' which travels around Newport and learn the consequences of their actions when the unexpected happens.
Shipper: Seth x Summer
Disclaimer: It is all property of FOX, every last bit of it. I don't own anything in this story or related to it.
A/N: This chapter is a crazy chapter. CRAZY. But I had so much fun reading it. We get to take a little trip away from most of the angst, and just have fun in The O.C. with many memorable characters. Now, a lot of it won't make sense, but forget it. Forget the questions. Oh, but do remember that Anna never left in my story. Whoo. Crazy chapter, I hope you guys like it. There are a few (very few) sentimental moments, the rest is just... crazy. With many notable guest appearances.
-
"Coop! Look at how cute this is!" Summer held up a baby catalogue, thrusting it into her best friend's face. Marissa stared at the page for a moment and then took the catalogue from Summer, laying it on their cafeteria table.
"Summer, did you get into my stash of Prozac or something?" Marissa asked, furrowing her brow. She'd never seen Summer act so... happy-go-lucky. It was kind of freaking her out. Marissa wasn't used to things changing in her life. She couldn't deal with drastic changes, and a day when Summer wasn't being snarky, sarcastic, or bitchy was just a primal call for Marissa to OD.
"What? It's cute, and tasteful. It's saying, 'My baby is already adorable, so it's clothes don't have to be uber frilly and pink'." Summer smiled, taking the catalogue back and flipping through it. "Seth and I are going shopping today. We're going to buy a crib, and put it together."
"Do you think you can do that?" Marissa asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Cribs are complicated."
"I have Seth." Summer replied. "What, Coop, do you not think I'm maternal enough to put together a crib?"
"Of course not, Sum. It's just that... last semester, I was the one pointing out adorable baby clothes, and getting all excited... and you hated it. You just rolled your eyes, and scoffed, and said you wanted an abortion. Now you're like... excited." Marissa shrugged. "It's a little confusing, and strange."
"Is it a crime for me to be excited?" Summer asked, staring at Marissa pecilularly.
"Well, you've never been like this before. Then again, I haven't seen much of you lately. You're usually with Seth, or at your new house..." Marissa picked at the spaghetti on the styrofoam tray in front of her with a plastic spork. She didn't dare eat it, she simply found herself content with swirling her food around with a plastic utensil.
"Back up, Coop. Are you saying I don't spend enough time with you or something? Because, it's not like you've been there all the time, either. First it was Luke, then Ryan, then Oliver. You stay single for like, a split second. Then it changes, constantly, and you're always with that person. Attached at the hip!"
"I didn't date Oliver!" Marissa replied defensively, dropping her spork into her spaghetti. "I just... wish you could be yourself around me."
"What are you talking about? You are the only person other than Seth who I fully trust, who gets me. Coop, we've been best friends forever. You know things about me that nobody else does. You're my confidante."
"But you're never like this with me. When I see you like this, it makes me wonder if you were putting on act with me too."
"Coop..." Summer sighed, tilting her head to the side. "It's not like that. This isn't a side of me that I've kept hidden. It's a side that I just discovered, and this whole pregnancy and Seth is what made it come out." She shrugged, then flicked her gaze back towards her best friend. "We're both going to have to get used to Peppy!Summer."
"Just... don't go Stepford Wife or Soccer Mom on me, okay?" Marissa asked with a relieved smile.
"Please, Coop. Mini-Vans are so passé." Summer responded. She glanced down at the page she had flipped to, and pointed a perfectly manicured nail at an angora sweater- little tikes sized. "What do you think about this?"
"Uh-oh." Came Marissa's immediate response, causing Summer to stare up at her friend in confusion. Marissa just couldn't not be negative, could she? Marissa didn't say anything, she just nudged her head in the direction to the left of Summer's shoulder. Summer turned slightly in her seat, and then let out a soft groan, closing her eyes.
"Summer."
"Father." Summer responded dully, glancing up at him. Robert Roberts seated himself at the lunch table beside his daughter, with a look of concern etched on his face.
"You're still attending school?" He asked, dis-satisfaction evident in his tone. Robert sighed, shaking his head. "How far along are you? Didn't the Cohens, or that ingrate boyfriend of yours think that for your own vestige, you should be home-schooled?"
"Why? The whole school knew I was pregnant before I even started showing. I'm 6 1/2 months along, and Seth is not an ingrate, and it is not up to the Cohens to take care of me, okay? That's what you should be doing, Daddy." Summer told him in a quick breath, slamming the baby catalogue shut and then inhaling deeply.
"That's why I'm here now, Summer."
"After blowing up in my face and then avoiding me for a month?" Summer asked, arching an eyebrow. "Yes, you truly care... you're so ignorant." She turned away, reaching over and stabbing her plastic fork into Marissa's spaghetti, and then eating it. It wasn't as if Marissa was going to.
"Don't call me ignorant, Summer." Her father said in a condescending tone. "I wasn't avoiding you, I just needed time to calm down and get used to this." He said, obviously straining to keep his voice steady and calm.
"Are you used to it now?" Summer asked curiously.
"Well, no, you can't expect me to-"
"Then I don't want to hear it." Summer responded stubbornly.
"But I am going to try to get used to it, Summer!" Mr. Roberts interjected, placing his hands firmly on his daughter's shoulders. "I am willing to give this... this situation a chance." He said, trying to sound as earnest as possible. "I think that we should all have a family dinner together. You, me, your step-mother, and Steven."
"Seth." Summer corrected. "And the Cohens, Marissa, and Dr. Janney can come too." Summer said it as more of a demand than a suggestion.
"... They can come too." Robert sighed. "And it will be at your house." He added quickly, planting a kiss on Summer's forehead and then turning around and briskly walking away, leaving Summer sitting there with her mouth open slightly.
"How did he just dump that on you like that?" Marissa asked, giving her friend a sympathetic glance.
"Manipulation. I learned from the best." Summer said, a hint of somberness in her voice.
-
"Summer! Let me help you with that!" Seth yelled, running up the stairs and trying to reach around his pregnant girlfriend and grab hold onto the large cardboard box with a crib inside of it that she was attempting to push up the stairs. Summer elbowed him in the stomach, which caused Seth to let go and grab onto the stair-railing instead so that he did not fall and crack open his skull. Seth wondered if Summer would even care if he did.
"Let go!" Summer yelled over her shoulder, pushing the box a step up. "I can do it myself!"
"Summer, I don't doubt that, but you're 6 1/2 months pregnant, and your doctor said that you should not be lifting heavy objects!" Seth told her in a chastising tone, rubbing his sore stomache.
"How would you know? You've never talked to my doctor!" Summer shot back, grunting as she pushed the heavy box up another step. Just five more to go.
"That's not my fault!" Seth countered, trying another go at racing up the stairs to support her.
"Dr. Janney thinks Chino's the freaking father... Ew!" Summer cringed and continued pushing, until she felt Seth's arms around her, helping her. Summer turned around, the huge cardboard box was now against her back. "What. Did. I. Tell. You?" She asked in a tight tone.
"Summer, you don't have to prove anything to me. I know you're capable of doing this, I just don't want you to. Not alone, allright?" Seth told her, trying for the nice approach. Summer looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, tilting her head to the side.
"Hmm..." She paused, staring intently at Seth, and then gave in. "Allright. Fine. You help me get this thing upstairs, but you have to do something for me." She demanded.
"I thought I was." Seth said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Something else." Summer replied, rolling her eyes. "Come on, put your back into it, Cohen." Summer stepped away from the box, causing it to come sliding down into Seth's hands. He grasped it painfully as Summer stepped around him, waiting for him to push it up. "You can do it, right, Cohen?" Summer asked, a slight teasing tone in her voice.
"Y-yeah." Seth let out in a desperate breath. He gave the box a firm shove with all his might and it went up a step. Pushing it up two more steps already had him breaking into a sweat. How he wished Ryan was here right now. "It's... a... p-p-piece of cake!" Seth said over his shoulder, struggling to give the box another push. "Just one more step to go." Seth felt pumped, "SuperSeth saves the day yet again." He muttered, shoving the box onto the second floor completely. He turned around, dusting off his hands and then blowing on his fingers. "So, what was that other thing you wanted me to do? How can I service you?" Seth asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
"We have to have a family dinner with my father." Summer said simply. Seth let go of the box and fell sideways onto the floor with a defining thud.
"Come again?" Seth asked, blinking in disbelief.
"We have to host a family dinner, for my father... and your parents, Marissa and Chino can come too, Dr. Janney, uh, and just as many people as possible. The more the merrier." Summer said, struggling to sound optimistic.
"Why? More people for your father to humiliate me infront of?" Seth asked, reaching down to pick up the box. Summer finished climbing the stairs and reached down to help him.
"No. Daddy doesn't like to make himself look bad infront of people. Especially important people, like your parents. Oh! We are so inviting your grandfather! Anyway, he'll have to be on his best behavior." Summer smirked. Her father may have dumped the dinner on her, but that just gave her the advantage to invite whoever she wanted.
"Allright. Dinner party. Here. We can do that." Seth nodded. "We can do that. When is it?"
"Next Saturday, and who said anything about us doing it? The agreement was that you'd do something for me." Summer pointed out. "I'll just make a guest list."
"Reminder to self: never agree to do anything again before knowing exactly what it is." Seth murmured. The two of them pushed the cardboard box into their bedroom, past the drawing of SuperSeth, and then pushed it over onto the floor in the space infront of the bed.
"Let's build a crib, Cohen!" Summer said excitedly, slowly getting on her knees and using a manicured nail to break the tape, and opening the box. Seth held it up as several pieces fell out, and an instructional manual. He had already brought a toolbox upstairs and quickly pulled it out from under the bed. "Allright, where do we start?" Summer asked.
"Well, we need to figure out which pieces are which. The two end thingies, those are both labeled A." Seth told her, "And all the sticks that are like 2 feet long, those are pieces C. The four really long ones are pieces B."
"Stop! I'm confused." Summer rubbed her temple. "Allright, piece A connects with...?"
"Pieces B, C, D, and E." Seth answered.
"What the hell are D and E?"
"I don't know. D might be this one... but it could be this one too..." Seth held up two pieces quizzically. Summer stared at him, shaking her head.
"Cohen..."
"Um, maybe it's this one?" Seth offered, grabbing a random piece. "Yes, I think it's this one. Let's use this one."
"Seth..."
"And if this is piece D, then this must be piece E!" Seth replied excitedly, grabbing another piece at random and trying to fit them together, like some sort of puzzle. "Well, maybe we should find piece F. I think that connects D and E."
"Then we go out of alphabetical order!" Summer exploded. She stood up, walking over and grabbing the phone, punching in a number. An hour and a half later, Seth and Summer were sitting on top of their bed, sipping lemonade just as two blonde-haired boys finished putting in the last screw and finishing the crib.
"You know, this really was a much better idea." Seth said to Summer, taking a sip of his drink.
"I know, Luke and Chino have nice bodies." Summer replied, nuding her head towards the shirtless, sweaty, sculpted boys.
"I have a nice body too..." Seth trailed off, feeling slightly envious.
"Really? I mean, we haven't... you know... in so long, I can't really remember." Summer said, furrowing her brow. She reached over to the top button of his shirt, un-buttoning it with one hand. "Maybe you need to remind me." Summer winked.
"Time and place." Ryan muttered walking past them and grabbing his wife beater, putting it on and then finishing his usual ensemble by throwing a dark blue un-buttoned shirt over it. Luke on the other hand, reached for his polo shirt.
"I didn't know building a crib was that exausting." Luke said to Ryan, running a hand through his blonde hair.
"Well, now you guys are experts." Seth chimed in. "So you'll be ready when there are little Marissa's and little..." Seth paused, looking at Luke. "I'll stop speaking now."
"Wise decision." Luke responded. He walked past the framed drawing on the wall and stopped for a moment, turning to face it and inspecting it with careful scrutiny. "Is that you, Seth?" He asked.
"Um... yes..." Seth trailed off, twiddling his thumbs together.
"Who's the other guy?" Luke squinted his eyes, trying to read the squiggly hand-writing.
"It- it's Oliver!" Seth said quickly, nodding his head.
"Since when did Oliver have blonde hair?" Luke asked, "Stick to skateboarding, Cohen." Luke added before grabbing his things and following Ryan down the stairs.
"Thanks for building our crib!" Summer called after them. Luke shouted back a "no problem", speaking for both himself and Ryan, since Ryan never really said anything, and then the two of them left through the front door. "Well, now they're gone, and we have a crib." Summer grinned. "You know what it's time for now..."
"Time to celebrate?" Seth asked excitedly, moving to further unbutton his shirt.
"Time to plan our dinner party!" Summer told him, and Seth dropped his hand from his shirt, flopping back onto the bed with a sigh.
-
A week had passed, and with that week, came the day of Summer and Seth's dinner party. Their guest list was massive, as Summer attempted to invite as many people that they knew as possible. What started as an intimate family dinner was now a social extravaganza to the extreme of one of Holly's parties. In fact, said whore was even invited, much to Marissa's chagrin.
"Coop, it's not like you're still distraught over Luke." Summer put in, walking around the dining room and making sure that all the candles she had selected herself were in place.
"But, Sum, Holly hates you. Did you forget about how she and Anna tried to make your life a living hell?" Marissa asked.
"Whatev, they completely sucked at it. My dad is going to do a lot worse if I let him have the chance. Which, I am not. Who knows, maybe he'll even bond with her and leave my comatose step-mother for the tramp!" Summer laughed.
"Is your step-mother coming?" Marissa asked, following Summer around like a poodle.
"Hah, no, she's drugged up, Coop! She's the only person in The O.C. who isn't coming. Her and Oliver. Ew, creepy."
"The O.C.?" Marissa looked at Summer strangely.
"Orange County, Coop, get with it." Summer told her, walking back into the kitchen, where Seth and Ryan were slaving away over the meals.
"You know, feminism has really turned this country upside down. Now the men are in the kitchen, what is up with that?" Seth asked Ryan.
"I don't see any men here." Summer retorted, brushing past Ryan.
"Summer, you look nice." Seth complimented her. Summer whacked Seth in the stomach with her arm. "That would be the second time you've injured that area of my body within a week. I blame you if my pancreas starts leaking. You know, the pancreas is the most pointless yet one of the most vital organs, at the same time. I could die if it gets injured-"
"Don't care. Just no wise-cracks about how I look. Maternity-wear doesn't offer a wide selection." Summer said with narrowed eyes. Tonight, Summer was clad in a short-sleeved velvet red dress which stretched over stomache and draped down to about her knees. "I feel like Carol Brady in this thing." She muttered.
"Don't insult the Bradys." Seth told her over his shoulder, then went back to stirring his soup. Before Summer could muster out a confused reply, the doorbell rang and she turned around in horror.
"Oh my God! The first guest is here!" Summer exclaimed. She grabbed Marissa by the arm and shoved her towards the door. "Coop, go invite them in. Cohen, get that Minestrone finished pronto, Ryan keep working on the steak." Summer instructed. Marissa whisked herself away to the door, adjusting locks of wavy hair before answering it.
"Dad! Haley..." Marissa looked back and forth at them with a smile. "Are you two here together?" She asked.
"What?" Jimmy looked at Haley for a moment and then turned back to his daughter. "Uh, no, honey. We just got here at the same time." He replied. Marissa didn't think anymore of it and held open the door for them.
"Is something burning?" Haley asked, sniffing the air as she handed her coat to Marissa.
"Burning?" Summer repeated, stepping out of the living room and looking into the kitchen in alarm. "Chino!"
Ryan walked out of the kitchen, waving his hand infront of his face to get rid of the smoke. "I think the steak got a little too well-done..." He trailed off.
"I said medium-rare! Chino! My dad only eats medium-rare!" Summer scolded. A rage blackout was definetly not too far away.
"Well, we have extra steak..." Ryan trailed off, hoping that would calm the impregnated bomb to calm down.
"But who is going to cook it?" Summer asked. "Clearly, you can't." She said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Um... I can." Haley offered, waving her hand. Summer turned and looked at Haley.
"Allright. Never send a man to do a woman's job." She looked at Ryan accusingly. "Why don't you show Ms. Nichol where the steak is, Chino? Pronto." With that, Summer turned around and stomped away just as the doorbell rang again. "Coop, that's your cue!" She shouted.
Marissa scurried over to the door, opening it to reveal her mother... and Luke. "Mom, Luke..." She looked back and forth at them. "Did you two come here together?" Marissa asked, glancing at both of them suspiciously.
Julie and Luke exchanged quick, secretive looks and then turned back to Marissa. "Uh, no, we just arrived here at the same time." Luke told her, as if it was obvious.
"Oh. Okay." Marissa shrugged and waited for them to enter. After Marissa's parents, Caleb Nichol, Anna and the comic-store clek, Danny, Holly, Grady and April, Dr. Janney, Dawn, Trey, Theresa and Eddie had arrived.
"Wow. It is so good to see you guys again!" Summer said to Theresa and Eddie, shaking both of their hands. "You guys make such a cute couple. Then again, brunettes always do." She smiled, and then walked away to socialize with the next guests. Eddie turned and looked at Theresa in confusion.
"Who was that?" Eddie asked, arching his eyebrow. Surely he had never seen her before. He would've remembered. He would've remembered running far, far away.
"That was Summer, Marissa's best friend." Theresa smiled, watching Summer leave. Then her smile faltered. "Oh no..." Eddie looked at Theresa questioningly. "Eddie... Summer found Trey."
"So you're Chino's brother, huh?" Summer said, extending her hand to Trey. He had a police officer standing next to him, watching his every move, and was clad in the issued orange drab. "I was so happy to hear that you got to come out of prison to be with us, as long as you had an escort." Summer smiled. "But since I called Ryan Chino, I don't know what to call you. Chino Dos? But you're older, right? That would make Ryan "Chino Dos, and I just couldn't get used to calling him that..." Summer trailed off, shaking her head. "Ah, well." She turned and walked away, over to Marissa.
"Coop, being nice and socializing with prison convicts is really hard." She told her friend. "Maybe you should go talk to Ryan's family and friends." Summer gave Marissa a push in Dawn's direction and then walked over to Grady and April, both of whom were chatting it up with Anna and that comic-store guy.
"You've never seen The Valley?" Grady asked Anna, and he and April exchanged shocked faces.
"I don't usually watch conventional drama shows." Anna told them.
"Then what do you watch?" April asked, wondering if there was anything else on t.v. aside from The Valley.
"I watch Anime." Anna told them, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, they seem to be getting along." Summer muttered to herself. She was going to go look for Danny, or Holly and socialize with them (and avoid getting either humped or bitch-slapped), but she found them together in a dark corner and decided to pass that up. So Summer wandered along until she came across Dr. Janney talking to Caleb Nichol.
"So, doctor, is having discolored urine a sign of cancer, or is that just a myth?" Caleb Nichol asked. Dr. Janney gave Mr. Nichol an odd and somewhat frightened look.
"It's not a sign of cancer..." He trailed off.
"Well, that's a relief." Caleb chuckled.
"I think I need to use the restroom." Dr. Janney stood up and walked away quickly, and Summer couldn't blame him. For being the most rich and powerful man in all of Newport, he was pretty creepy. Then again, weren't all the rich and powerful ones? Take a look at Oliver.
"Oliver!" Summer gasped, coming face to face with the guy. "What are you doing here?" She asked in a hushed whisper.
"They said I could come if I had a guard with me, like the other guy." Oliver nudged his head at Trey.
"But, you weren't invited." Summer told him, putting her hands on his hips. "How did you find out about this party?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Well... I... I have my ways..." He trailed off. "Please! Please let me stay, Summer! If you don't, I'll kill myself! I'm not kidding! I'll do it, I'll really do it!"
"Fine. But I'll kill you myself if you even go near Coop." Just as Summer finished her sentance, the doorbell rang.
"It's my parents!" Seth said, scurrying out of the kitchen wearing an apron over his suit. He walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Mom, Dad- NANA!?"
"Hello Sethela." The Nana pulled Seth into a strong hug. "I paid your parents a surprised visit," Seth glanced up at Kirsten who nodded to emphasize the "surprise", "And they told we were going to dinner, and on the car-ride over here, they explained everything. Now, where's my great-grandchild?"
"Uh..." Seth turned around and ushered The Nana over to Summer. "Nana, this is Summer, my girlfriend." Seth explained, still in a slight state of shock that his grandmother was here.
"It's so nice to meet you, Summer." The Nana shook her hand and then placed a hand comfortingly on Summer's stomache. "It's going to be a healthy baby. I can tell. All Cohen babies are." The Nana said with a wink. Summer smiled genuinely, after all, Summer liked flattery.
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you too, Nana. Can I call you Nana?" Summer asked.
"Call me anything you like, dear. Sethela, we have so much to catch up on!" The Nana took Seth's hand, dragging him away. Summer was about to yell at him about not forgetting to tend to the Minestrone, but then decided not to and instead took Sandy and Kirsten's coats for them.
The Nana sat down in the living room and patted the seat next to her. Seth sat down, trying to ignore the strange noises coming from the dark corner behind him.
"Sethela. When I first heard about this, I was so surprised. In a thousands years, I never would've assumed that you... that you would get into something like this." The Nana told him.
"I know, Nana." Seth sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I never would've either, but I am so glad that this happened. I don't regret anything." He told her honestly. The Nana reached out and took her grandson's hand in her own, squeezing it gently.
"I wouldn't either." She told him with a smile. Seth stared at her surprise.
"You... you're not disappointed?" He asked.
"No, of course not. What reason do I have to be? I am so proud of you, Sethela. I would've been disappointed if you walked away, but your parents told me everything. They told me about how you fought to keep the baby, how you promised to take care of Summer and the baby and how you have upheld that promise to this very day. That is a lot of responsibility for a 17 year old. It is amazing that you are so genuine and caring. I am very proud of you. Your parents are so proud of you." She told Seth. "And this girl... she should be proud of you too."
"She is. In her own special way, she shows it." Seth said with a smile.
"You really love her, don't you?"
"For the past six years." Seth said with a chuckle. "If I didn't really love her, none of this would've happened. So, I'm glad. I'm glad that I love her and that I have since I first saw her." Seth told his grandmother, feeling more at ease to be so open and honest and completely mushy with her.
"You know, Sethela, a situation like yours is very rare. Pre-marital child-birth is condemned now a days, frowned down upon. In most situations, it's frowned down upon for a good reason. But because of that, the act of child-birth itself has been frowned down upon as well. Now we have the pill, the path, the gel insert-" Seth gave the Nana a strange glance, "And we're trying to stop something so natural. Child-birth is a part of life, it's supposed to be a happy occassion. I am glad that for you, it is. A lot of people overlook what a miracle it is, and consider it a pain and a dilemma. I am glad that it is not like that for you, and I am glad that you were able to make Summer change her mind too." The Nana pulled Seth into a bear-hug, which he returned, feeling a strange sense of childhood innocense return to him, like when he was younger and he used to run to his nana and hug her this way and be enveloped in her warmth. Soon, he wouldn't be a child anymore, and this would be the last time he could hug her like this. Seth closed his eyes and hugged his grandmother tighter, wanting to cherish the moment for as long as he could have it.
"Shit." Summer rounded a corner, weaving amongst a crowd of several people, and towards the door. The doorbell had rung, once, twice. Summer had barely heard it over the noise of her guests, and now she was rushing to the door urgently. Because she knew who it was. The last person on her guest list. She had arranged for him to come later than the others because she did not want her and Seth to be alone with him. Well, that part of the dinner had worked according to plan. Summer straightened her dress and her hair and then placed her hand on the brass knob. She could feel her nerves working their way up from her legs to the pit of her stomache where they danced and knotted themselves. As Summer turned the knob and pulled the door open, her guests seemed to silence themselves, as if they knew what was coming. The infamous Robert Roberts. "Daddy." Summer stated, greeting her father with a pleasant smile. How Summer loathed be pleasant, she was getting tired of it already and now that her father was here she would have to be extra peppy. If she let a rage blackout come on even once during this night, who knows how mad he'd get.
"Summer." Her father stepped inside and shut the door behind him, taking off his coat and handing it to Marissa before enveloping his daughter in an awkward hug. "There are a lot of people here." He muttered into her ear.
"You want to know what's been going on in my life when you've been gone, don't you? All these people have been a part of it." Summer responded, pulling away from the hug. She took her father's hand and led him over to the wide dining table, which actually belonged to Sandy and Kirsten. However, for this large dinner tonight, the Cohens had brought it over early during the week. Summer extended a chair at the head of the table for her father and then took a seat in the one right next to it. Seth's seat was reserved beside her, and directly across from them sat the Cohens. "Seth and Ryan, Marissa's boyfriend will be serving us tonight." Summer told her father.
"Don't forget Haley." Jimmy said, from his seat across from Marissa.
"And Haley, Seth and Ryan's aunt." Summer added.
"So, Seth and Ryan share the same aunt, and he's Marissa's boyfriend, and Seth is yours?" Robert asked his daughter, trying to keep an open mind and peice the facts together.
"They're brothers." Summer told him.
"They don't look alike." Robert answered, catching a glimpse of Ryan and Seth in the kitchen.
"But they're brothers." Summer repeated firmly. "And that down there is Ryan's mother, his brother, and his brother's prison escort." Summer said. "It all started with them. Because of them, Ryan came into our lives. Well, mostly Marissa's. You remember Luke, right, Daddy?" Summer asked. From down the table near Julie and Caleb, Luke gave Mr. Roberts a slight wave.
"Ah, Luke. He's a fine young man. Very capable." Mr. Roberts nodded. "Wasn't he dating Marissa?" He asked Summer under his breath.
"And 10 other girls." Summer said discreetly. "He and Marissa ended their relationship, and Marissa started a new one with Ryan. But Luke's a lot nicer now. Then again, we all are." Summer said, thinking of herself. "You might've heard about Luke's father."
"Yeah. Pity, I feel bad for Luke. Now he has no fatherly figure." Robert muttered, shaking his head
"Yeah, he does. He still has his dad." Summer retorted. "He's just attracted to other daddies." Summer said somewhat defensively. She did not like her father coming in and saying things like that about her friends. The people who were really taking care of her when he was gone.
"Better tell your boyfriend to watch out, then." Mr. Roberts replied cheekily. As he said that, Seth wobbled out of the kitchen with a steaming pot in his hands. He still had an apron on, and odd-sight for Mr. Roberts to see, but Seth grinned and bore it. He placed the pot of Minestrone soup in the center and then Haley came out with several little bowls, placing them before everyone. While the people down at one end of the table began to serve the soup to themselves, Summer continued to point out specific people to her father.
"Now, down there are Danny and Holly. Danny is one of my ex-boyfriends. You wouldn't like him, that we can both agree him. He thinks he's funny, but he's really too... big." Summer nodded. "But he's a nice guy. Holly, er, not so nice. Sneaky little skank actually. She was um, one of Luke's other girls. She also seriously tried to screw me over, but I can put the past behind me and give people a second chance." Summer explained, meeting her father in the eyes.
"Then there's Anna. We're friends, now. She's Seth's ex-girlfriend. But like I said, it's all in the past. Now she's with the comic-store clerk. I can't remember his name, he's kind of weird, yet nice. Then again, isn't everybody?" Summer asked rhetorically. "Ah, moving onto Oliver Trask. He's a suicidal manic depressive guy with freaky hair. He and Marissa became friends through therapy, and then he became obsessed with her. Ryan didn't trust him, and Marissa and Ryan got into a fight, but then when Oliver held Marissa hostage in his hotel room and had a gun, she realized Ryan was right, you know, and went back to actually spending time with me." Summer smiled.
"So, you have a mental patient and a prisoner here?" Mr. Roberts asked, gaving shiftily from Oliver to Trey.
"Looks like it. Although Oliver wasn't invited. He just showed up." Summer shrugged.
"Isn't that kind of... dangerous?"
"More dangerous than a Roberts rage-blackout?" Summer asked, holding up her fork.
"You've got a point." Her father agreed. Summer smiled and carried on with the introductions.
"Then we go to Theresa and Eddie. Theresa is Ryan's on-and-off ex-girlfriend from Chino. She came to Newport not too long ago, when Marissa and Ryan weren't together. Something may have happened between them, something may have not. I don't know, but I know that now, she and Eddie are engaged and she seems happy." Summer explained. "Eddie, I don't know him that well. But I wish he'd shave the goatee. It just does not work for him." She shook her head.
"Ah, and then there's Grady Bridge and his girlfriend April, they're on The Valley." Summer said excitedly.
"I love the Valley." Robert muttered.
"What was that, Daddy?" Summer asked.
"I said that's interesting." Robert told his daughter.
"Well, they were filming in Newport, and then Marissa and I just stumbled upon them. We got invited to Grady's birthday party, and he tried to put the moves on me, which was kind of scary."
"But if you could have a t.v. guy or just a guy," Mr. Roberts glanced at Seth, "Wouldn't you take the t.v. guy?"
"But the t.v. guy isn't real, Daddy. Nor as genuine." Summer lowered her voice. "And Grady has really bad hair. Worse than Oliver's. Anyway, it was at Grady's birthday party that we found out that Haley was a stripper." At this comment, Mr. Roberts nearly choked on his minestrone, the soup had finally made it's way down to their end of the table. "But Mr. Coop totally saved her. I think he's got a thing for her. Which reminds me, in case you didn't it figure it out, Ms. Coop and Mr. Coop are divorced. Mr. Coop like lost a bunch of people's money. For a little while, Ms. Coop dated Caleb Nichol, you know, Seth's grand-father. I don't know what to think about that. It seems like she was just chasing an older man for his money. Now who in their right mind would do that?" Summer asked, completey forgetting about events at Caleb Nichol's birthday party. "Anyway, you already know Dr. Janney, my doctor who takes care of me medically. Now we come to the Cohens. Kirsten, Sandy, and the Nana. Kirsten and Sandy let me live with them and they've been like parents to me. Except, not really, because then I'd be related to Seth, and, Ew, incest." Summer shuddered. "And well, that's that." Summer finished, just as Ryan and Haley came out with the kitchen with a delicious looking medium-rare steak, and Seth followed. He ripped off his apron and took a seat next to Summer, offering her father a warm smile and praying that he liked the steak.
An hour later, everybody had just finished their dessert and the dining room grew quiet. Taking this oppurtunity, Seth stood up, clearing his throat. All of the guests glanced up at him in anticipation, except for Robert Roberts, who had his face leaning against his hand and his elbow on the table, starring off into space distractedly.
"Ackhmm. I just wanted to make an announcement. I wanted to thank everybody who came here tonight to support Summer and I, and our future child. We both really appreciate it, even if you weren't invited," Seth glanced at Oliver, "Thank you for coming." Seth turned to face Mr. Roberts, who dropped his hand and returned Seth's gaze with alert. "Many of you know that the purpose of this dinner was to gain Mr. Robert's approval of myself, and my relationship with Summer, and our situation. Well, Mr. Roberts, now you've seen our home, you've tasted the cooking, and you've met the people. What do you say?" Seth asked, his large eyes grew even bigger if possible. If Mr. Roberts had been a Miss, he probably would've given in right now from the intensive and earnest gaze that came from the boy.
"I... am not-" Mr. Roberts began to speak, however he was cut off by an uproar from various people across the dining room table. In fact, they were all began to jeer at him. "I am not-" Mr. Roberts tried to speak again, but the guests were too rowdy at the use of a negative word. The Nana stood up in her seat and shot him such a venomous look that Mr. Roberts feared for his life from it alone.
"If you were a real father who really loved his daughter, you would want the best for her! Seth Cohen is the best that any girl can have." The Nana said defensively, pointing a finger accusingly at Mr. Roberts. Shouts of agreement in response to The Nana followed and Mr. Roberts felt himself shrinking in his seat.
"Don't you want Summer to be happy?" Theresa asked, "Lighten up, Robert!" Jimmy threw in, "Have a heart!" said Dr. Janney, "If I can be happy for them, so can you!" Anna shouted, and Oliver showed his support by saying, "If you don't approve of them, I'll kill myself!"
"I WAS GOING TO SAY," Mr. Roberts raised his voice, pushing himself out of his seat and standing up. "What I was going to say before I was attacked was that... I am not... going to fight it anymore." He told Summer and Seth, looking at both of them. "I accept that this is what is happening, and I realize that you will take care of my daughter." He stated. "However, next week, I expect us to have another dinner. Just the three of us." He added, sitting back down. Seth couldn't help but break out into a grin and pulled Summer into a hug. The rest of the dinner guests cheered and clapped, hugging and kissing with happiness. Summer could not help but smile herself, and she pulled away from Seth to embrace her father, feeling as if years of him missing out on her youth were finally being filled again. As the guests celebrated, the doorbell rang yet again and the room fell silent. Summer quickly walked over to the door, opening it to reveal several guys with brown shaggy hair.
"I thought you guys couldn't make it!" Summer exclaimed. She turned back to the guests. "It's just Roony, you guys." She assured them.
"Well if the pyscho kid could come, surely we could." One of them replied, and the band stepped inside and into the living room, setting up their stage. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to sing you out of the evening, with a little song called "She Has Love..."
I don't know a lot about her
But she, she knew a lot about me
Her family seemed to love her
If wha they say is true
Her friends all share the good times man
That girl has love
That girl has I, I didn't have a clue then
That a kiss would change my whole life again
She walked into my room
When I was all alone
She told me I would date her from September till Decemer
She doesn't know things will never be the same again
She'll always be seventeen
That girl has love
She kept all the pain inside
Now she has got nothing to hide
At such a young age she took her own life
Now she's seeing things that come in our dreams at night
She's a dreamer
That was too real to ever be fake
That was too srong to ever be forgotten
That girl has love