DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own anything!
Thank you all so much for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. Marissa is even mentioned a bit in this chapter and if you know me you know how I feel about Marissa but I think since she was a part of the show for so long she should have had a bit more mention sometimes than she did. Well, let me know what you think.
"Seth, I can't believe we had to go to the mall for one thing! We had to go through that mob just because you wanted to get Sophie a stocking?" Ryan asked slightly annoyed as he turned onto their street.
"Hey dude, her first Christmas she had that little pink 'Baby's First Christmas' stocking, then last year Mom bought her that Cinderella stocking. Now this year she needs an actual Cohen family stocking. And we didn't just get one thing, you got Taylor a stocking and I got Summer one!" Seth said as he held up the three stockings.
"Well they are family too!" Ryan said as he pulled into the driveway.
"Hey, what's Julie doin' here?" Seth asked upon seeing Julie's car.
"Your Mom probably invited her for Chrismukkah. Now Taylor can give Blake his Chrismukkah present she bought. It took her three months to find him the perfect gift!" Ryan rolled his eyes as he remembered the many trips to the mall and toy stores she had drug him on. Seth nodded and followed Ryan up the front steps of the house. "Hey, we're home!" Ryan called through the house, shocked at how quiet the house was.
"Where is everyone?" Seth asked, also surprised to see the house so calm on the first night of Chrismukkah.
"Hey!" Summer smiled as she came through the house and wrapped her arms around Seth's neck. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Um, why don't you help me finish wrapping Chrismukkah gifts?" Summer asked smiling.
"Ok but I thought you'd finished doing that before we left Rhode Island?" Seth questioned, sensing something was wrong.
"I found a few more I'd forgotten about. C'mon!" Summer said as she drug Seth down the hall. Seth looked back at Ryan and shrugged. Ryan shook his head and walked into the living room where he was quickly greeted by Taylor.
"Hey honey! How was shopping?" Taylor asked wrapping her arms around Ryan and pulling him into a hug.
"Good! Taylor, what's goin' on?" Ryan asked, knowing something was up with his wife.
"Um, Ryan, um…." Taylor trailed off, unsure of what to say next.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ryan asked, growing more concerned.
"Come with me!" Taylor said as she led him into the kitchen.
"Ok!" Ryan agreed.
Even though Taylor was sometimes, well most of the time, a very odd, highly neurotic person, Ryan trusted her completely and would follow her anywhere. With Taylor he had a connection that he had never experienced with anyone and he knew it was a connection that he would never experience with anyone ever again. Taylor was his soul mate, the true love of his life. It might have been the connection that was so unexplainable that caused Ryan to begin to worry when he had saw her face and the worry etched across it. He realized his worry was very well founded when they entered the kitchen to find a solemn looking Sandy and Kirsten sitting at the island.
"Hey, what's goin' on?" Ryan asked.
"Sweetie, sit down!" Kirsten said, giving him a concerned smile. Ryan looked at Taylor with a questioning look then took a seat when she gave him a nod. Taylor stood beside him and waited for Sandy and Kirsten to start speaking.
"Ryan, did you see Julie's car when you and Seth came home?" Sandy asked, the tone in his voice reaffirming Ryan's worry.
"Yeah! Is she ok? Did something happen to Blake or Kaitlin?" Ryan was immediately panicked. Eversince Julie and Frank had gotten back together he had considered her family, and since the night the earthquake hit Newport he had considered Kaitlin his sister. Blake was his brother by blood and he felt just as protective over him as he did Sophie.
"Nothing's happened to Kaitlin and Blake, they're fine!" Kirsten said, placing her hand reassuring on Ryan's.
"They're in our room asleep!" Taylor added.
"Well what about Julie?" Ryan asked. The woman had never been his favorite person but over the past few years, and especially after Marissa's death they had come to care for each other. A familial sense growing between the two.
"Ryan, she's here and she'll be fine but before we discuss this any further, I want you to promise that you aren't gonna go old school Ryan on us. Ok?" Sandy asked, knowing that his adopted son had changed a lot in the past few years but that when someone he cared for was in trouble there was a very good chance he would turn into the fist happy kid he had been when Sandy had first brought him home.
"Sandy, what's goin' on?" Ryan asked, immediately on guard, knowing something horrible had happened for Sandy to ask him that.
"Ryan!?" Sandy asked firmly.
"Ok fine, I won't! Now what's going on?" Ryan asked, more adamantly. Sandy took a deep breathe and glanced at Kirsten. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeezed his leg gently.
"Sandy, you don't have to tell him. That's my place!" Julie startled all of them. They all turned to the doorway where she was standing and Taylor could see Ryan's body tense. Taylor gently placed her hand on Ryan's shoulder, offering him support and to try and hold him in place.
"Where is he?" Ryan asked in a tone that Taylor had never heard before and only a tone Sandy, Kirsten, and Julie had only heard a few times. The last of those times being when he went after Volchuk.
"Ryan," Taylor began but was cut off.
"Julie, where is he?" Ryan asked again. Julie stood in the doorway, trying to fight back tears.
"I don't know. He left after….after we argued!" Julie answered, a tear slipping down her cheek. Ryan continued to remain seated, his hand clenched tightly on the counter.
"Ryan, are you all right?" Taylor asked, saddened by the hurt and anger in Ryan's eyes.
"I'll be fine Taylor. Julie, can I talk to you?" Ryan asked, slowly standing up.
"Yeah!" Julie nodded in agreement.
"Do you feel like going on a walk?" Ryan asked.
"Sure!" Julie nodded once again. Ryan forced a smile then turned to Taylor.
"I'll be back soon, ok?"
"Sure, just promise me you aren't going to do anything!" Taylor's big brown eyes were filled with a pleading look.
"I'm just goin' on a walk with Julie, we're just going to talk. I promise I won't do anything! I love you and I'll be back soon." Ryan gently kissed Taylor on the cheek and turned to face Julie.
"I love you too!" Taylor smiled weakly at Ryan and watched as Julie and he walked out of the kitchen.
The wind was a bit chilly as it blew Julie's hair in her face, momentarily concealing the marks Frank had left on her face from Ryan. Julie pulled her sweater tighter as she shivered a bit.
"Ryan, I'm sorry about all of this. I shouldn't have came here, I didn't realize what this meant for you!" Julie stated plainly as they passed a yard decorated for Christmas.
"Julie, it's not your fault, I'm just glad that Kaitlin and Blake are ok. I'm just sorry that he did this to you!"
"You told me this would happen, I should have listened. I just really care about him and I wanted Blake to have a Dad in his life!"
"Julie, you thought my Dad had changed, I really thought he had too. And there isn't anything wrong with you wanting Blake to have a father figure!" Ryan sat down on a bench that was beside a mailbox. Julie joined him and both were quiet for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened over the past few years.
"Ryan, I don't think I've ever apologized to you for how I acted when you first came here. I am truly sorry!" Julie said as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Julie, it's all right. You were trying to protect Marissa, you thought I was a bad kid and I was."
"You were, and still are, a caring, compassionate person. I on the other hand was a Grade A Newpsie bitch. I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I'm sorry for blaming you for Tijuana, I'm sorry for threatening to have you arrested when she ran away to Chino after she found out about me and Luke, I'm sorry for trying to frame you for shooting Trey, and I'm sorry for getting you involved in the whole Volchuk thing. I took advantage of how much you wanted him to pay. I nearly got you arrested for killing the person that killed my daughter. I just….Ryan, I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I'm sorry that you had to go through everything that I put you through and the stuff that Marissa put you through. I'm just so sorry, and I'm sorry that now you are going to be at odds with your father because of me!" Tears streamed down Julie's cheeks as she finished. Ryan looked at Julie for a moment, shocked by everything this woman had just said. He knew that she regretted everything she had done but hearing her say it almost rendered him speechless. He guessed though that after years of living with the Cohen's and then Taylor that he would never be able to rendered speechless again.
"Julie, it's ok, you don't have to apologize. We've all done stuff we wish we could take back and when it comes to all the stuff you did to keep me from Marissa, I think it made me love her that much more. Even though I love Taylor and am married, and I think she is the true love of my life…"
"You mean your Sandy Cohen?!" Julie laughed lightly, remembering how Summer had talked about Seth being her Sandy Cohen.
"Yeah, my Sandy Cohen!" Ryan smiled. "Even though we are together and I do love her, I will always love Marissa. She will always be my first love and she'll always be part of me but not just because she was my first love. She's Kaitlin and Blake's sister, and she's your daughter. You guys are my family too and she will always be part of my family. And when it comes to Volchuk you didn't make me do anything I didn't want to. I wanted to kill him but he's paying for what he's done. He has to live with knowing that he killed her. And don't apologize again for my Dad, he did this and this is his fault. Besides, we've been at odds since I was a little kid, you have nothing to do with that!"
"Wow, I never knew you could talk so much!" Julie laughed.
"Yeah, well I'm a Cohen and Taylor's my wife!" Ryan joked.
"That'll make you more talkative!" Julie smiled. "Thank you Ryan!" Julie said in a serious, softer tone. Ryan gave her a smile and pulled her into a hug. Julie was a bit shocked but welcomed it. She was after all the mother to his little brother.
"C'mon, Chrismukkah dinner is only a couple of hours away and if everything doesn't go like Seth and Kirsten has planned it to they'll kill us!" Ryan smiled as he stood up. Julie returned the smile and they began walking back to the house.
"Hey, Kirsten, where's my Mom?" Kaitlin asked as she entered the kitchen a few minutes after Julie and Ryan had left on their walk.
"Ryan and she went on a walk for a talk! They'll be back soon, sweetie!" Kirsten smiled as she put the plates down that she had just taken out of the cabinet. Kirsten walked over to Kaitlin and pulled her into a hug. "If you need to talk I'm here, and so is Sandy."
"Thanks Kirsten. Speaking of Sandy, where is he and everyone else? Blake wasn't in the bedroom, that's why I thought my Mom might have him or something!"
"Oh, Sandy, Seth and Summer have them in the backyard playing. We were having a hard time keeping Sophie and he away from the presents that are under the tree!"
"Ok, well I'll go see if they need any help. Blake's really wild!" Kaitlin smiled at the thought of her little brother.
"Ok sweetie. Dinner will be ready soon!" Kirsten gave Kaitlin another smile and returned to getting the dishes ready to set the table.
"Hey Kirsten, thanks for letting us stay here!" Kaitlin said when she had reached the doors to go outside.
"Anytime!" Kirsten replied. Kaitlin smiled at her then went outside, leaving Kirsten to find enough dishes for everyone.
Kirsten loved living in the house that Sandy and she had first started a family in over twenty years earlier but the one thing she missed most about their old house was the space. Meaning that they did not have half as many dishes as they had at their old house and that they didn't have as much room to entertain guests. However the one thing that they did have was a happier home that made them feel closer as a family. Kirsten's thoughts were interrupted as Taylor entered the kitchen.
"Hey Kiki!" Taylor smiled as she walked over to her.
"Hey Taylor, where have you been?" Kirsten asked as she searched for the rest of her dishes.
"I had to change the bedding, Blake's diaper leaked. I didn't put it on him right, I'm so stupid!" Taylor rolled her eyes at her own stupidity.
"Taylor, you aren't stupid; no one is good at changing diapers the first time they do it. I couldn't diaper Seth properly for like a month after he was born, and when I had Sophie it took some practice to get back into it. It just takes practice!" Kirsten smiled as she moved around the kitchen, still in search of her dishes.
"Thanks Kiki, I know that you are really busy and I hate to bother you but I can I talk to you?" Taylor asked, twisting her wedding ring as she spoke. Kirsten stood up straight and looked at Taylor, glad that she was finally going to talk about what was obviously going on with her. Kirsten could not help but smile as she saw her twisting her rings, reminding her of her own bad habit.
"Sure Taylor, do you want to go to the living room and talk?" Kirsten asked as she began heading for the living room.
"Oh, no, we've got to get ready for Chrismukkah dinner. I'll help you while we talk!" Taylor said as she walked over to the oven and began stirring. Kirsten glanced at Taylor, the nervousness obvious.
"Taylor, you're stirring an empty pan!" Kirsten said as she gently placed her hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"Oh, crazy me. Um, anyway Kiki, let me help you do what you were doing. What were you doing? Ooh, I see you have the nice china out. Where did you get this? Was this your Mo…." Taylor began rambling as she walked around the kitchen.
"Taylor, I thought we were going to talk about something. I don't think the China was what you wanted to discuss!" Kirsten said as she took the plate from Taylor and placed it on the counter. Taylor looked down at the ground and once again began twisting her rings. She didn't know why this was so hard to talk about or why she hadn't told Ryan yet but as she was faced with telling Kirsten it felt as though her throat was closing up.
"I didn't really wanna talk about anything big. I was, I was just going to ask if you had any Pepto, my stomach has been messed up all day. I think it must have been something I ate at the airport when we were waiting for Seth and Summer. We stopped at one of those little vendor places they have and I ate a hotdog. I don't think it was such a good choice. I mean it's in an airport. Seriously, think about how disgusting that is. I can't believe the health department even allows v….."
"Taylor!" Kirsten interrupted, not sure if she could handle many more of these rants. "Taylor, there is some Pepto in the bathroom, you are welcomed to it!" Kirsten said, realizing that Taylor was obviously not ready to tell her about the pregnancy.
"Thank you Kiki! But before I do that let me help you find dishes for dinner. Chrismukkah starts in just a little over an hour!" Taylor said taking a quick glance at her watch. She then quickly went over to the cabinet and began getting glasses down. Kirsten continued her search for dishes when she decided that if Taylor did not want to talk about what was going on she would get her to talk about it. Granted, Sandy was the one that was better at getting people to open up but she had been his wife for over twenty years so that should count for something.
"Taylor, you know that Pepto should only be taken for upset stomach caused by a bug or food, not pregnancy!" Kirsten said as she looked in a cabinet. Taylor quickly turned to face Kirsten, shocked at what Kirsten had just said and knocking a glass over in the process.
"Oh My God, Kirsten I'm so sorry. I broke this glass, I didn't mean to. It's just you shocked me. I mean, well that was kinda out of the blue and what would make you think that I'm…. And I'm sorry I broke the glass and that was really stupid of me and I just….I….I'm sorry and I…." Taylor ranted as she began picking up pieces of glass.
"Taylor, stop! Calm down and talk to me!" Kirsten said, pulling Taylor's hands away from the glass.
"Oh God Kiki, what am I gonna do?" Taylor sobbed. Kirsten was a little surprised by this reaction but pulled Taylor into a hug as the two women stood up.
"Taylor, it's all right. I'm sure Ryan will be so happy to hear about this! I'm guessing you haven't told him yet!" Kirsten said as Taylor cried into her shoulder.
"I haven't I'm just too scared about what he's going to say. I mean we're still in college. We still have two years to go and I don't have a job. Ryan just works at that restaurant part time and we live in a one bedroom apartment. We are ready for a kid!" Taylor was hysterical.
"Taylor, I'm sure Ryan will be happy about this. Besides, you both have families with money, and I know you have a trust fund. Besides, we'll always be here to help you guys out. You jut need to tell Ryan. Unless you don't want the baby!" Kirsten said, realizing for the first time that Taylor might decide to terminate the pregnancy.
"No, I want the baby, I'm just so scared. We're so young!" Taylor continued to cry into Kirsten's shoulder. Kirsten was a little unsure of how to help Taylor cope but stood there holding her crying daughter-in-law closely. Both women were a bit startled as Sandy entered the house, carrying Blake in his arms.
"Hey, what's goin' on here?" Sandy asked a bit confused by the scene in the kitchen.
"Taylor's just a little upset over something. Everything's fine. Why do you have Blake? Is he all right?" Kirsten asked, noticing as the little boy twirled a piece of grass between his tiny fingers.
"He's fine, he just needs a diaper. I volunteered, since Sophie got potty trained I kinda miss havin' diapers to change!" Sandy shrugged, knowing how odd that sounded.
"She is growing up too fast!" Kirsten shared a bitter sweet smile with her husband for a moment.
"Well, I gotta get him changed. Sophie isn't gonna be happy if he isn't back in a couple of minutes to finish playin' school with her. Taylor, I hate that you got so upset over a glass!" Sandy joked as he began walking out of the kitchen. Kirsten glared at him but Taylor looked up at Sandy and gave him a slight smile that he returned. That was one thing he really liked about Taylor and Summer both, they would joke with him and were never offended. Once Sandy had left the kitchen and was out of ear shot Kirsten looked at Taylor.
"Are you ok now?"
"Yeah, thanks Kiki. I'm sorry about having such a melt down. Let me help you get ready for dinner!" Taylor said as she wiped her eyes.
"I would appreciate that. Thank you!" Kirsten smiled and continued her search for dishes while Taylor swept up the glass.
"Hey, we're back!" Ryan said as he entered the kitchen.
"Hey honey!" Taylor said as she went over to Ryan and kissed him. Ryan smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, glad to have such a loving wife.
"Hey Kirsten, where's everyone at?" Julie asked, noticing the empty house.
"Seth and Summer are in the backyard with Sophie and Sandy went to change Blake's diaper!" Kirsten answered smiling.
"I've gotta start potty training Blake. He'll be two soon!" Julie said with dread in her voice.
"Oh, I hate potty training, it is never good. All the books say that girls are easier to potty train but I think Sophie was just as hard to train as Seth was!" Kirsten laughed slightly.
"That's because they're Cohen's and they don't take well to change!" Ryan smirked.
"That's true!" Kirsten agreed.
"What's true?" Sandy asked as he entered the room with a freshly changed Blake in his arms.
"MOMMY!" Blake shouted reaching out for Julie.
"Hey baby!" Julie smiled as she reached for him. "Thanks Sandy!" Julie smiled at Sandy and hugged Blake closely.
"Mommy got boo-boo!" Blake said, gently touching her black eye and busted lip. Everyone stood there a moment unsure of what to say.
"Mommy's fine baby! These are the last boo-boos I'll have like these!" Julie said rubbing her son's back.
"Good!" Blake said and leaned over and kissed his mother's cut lip and black eye. "All betta!" Blake exclaimed clapping his hands together.
"Yes Blake, all better!" Julie nodded, trying to keep tears from springing from her eyes. Kirsten put her hand on Julie's shoulder and gave a slight squeeze, letting Julie know that she was there for her. Julie smiled at Kirsten, thankful for having such a great friend.
"Well since dinner isn't quite done yet how about we join Seth, Summer, and Sophie in the backyard?" Kirsten suggested. Julie smiled and they all headed to the backyard.