Okay - so you guys are definitely getting the hang of this reviewing quickly thing. I'm guessing that you want more story so here it is. Enjoy!

Julie's regrets

Julie sat in the pool house. She wished she had closed the doors because then she wouldn't have been able to hear Marissa yelling at Ryan. As it was, she had heard everything that Marissa had said. And what was worse was ... that she couldn't disagree with any of it. Marissa was right. Julie had lied to break them up and every time that Marissa had tried to talk to her about Ryan she had just dismissed it and told her that she was better off without him. She shook her head. Who would have thought that after everything she had said about and done to him, that it would have been Ryan trying to get her daughter to give her a second chance.

She had wanted to go to Marissa once she had heard her arrive but when she had peaked out of the door of the pool house she had seen the three couples all together in the kitchen, hugging, and laughing. Julie knew she would not have been welcome in there. She was not included. She had never really been a part of this family, of this community. She had always been the outsider, that had to try hard to fit in and she had tried everything…But she had always felt like she was just a visitor that they were tolerating. She knew if she slipped up then she would be out on her ear in no time. Just like what happened when Caleb died and Jimmy left….. But they had accepted Ryan. So why not her? She didn't want to consider that maybe the reason she hadn't been accepted fully in to the community was really about what sort of person she was and not about where she came from. That was just too hard to contemplate.

She sat back down on the bed realising that she was now being jealous of Ryan as well as Marissa. She knew she had to get over it but she didn't know how to do it. Especially since it looked like she would have to do it without Marissa's help. She leant over and picked up a photo of Marissa that was on the bedside table. Marissa's last words replayed over and over again in her mind. "As far as I'm concerned my mother is dead." She could feel the tears welling in her eyes but she knew she couldn't let them start or she might never stop. As she remembered all that Marissa had said she felt herself begin to lose control and she rolled over and dropped onto the bed sobbing… knowing she has lost her daughter forever.

Kirsten made her way out to the pool house. Julie was lying on the bed almost hysterically sobbing in to the pillow; a photo of Marissa discarded on the bed beside her. Kirsten was worried whether Julie could even breathe she was holding the pillow so tightly obviously not wanting anyone to know what a mess she was.

Kirsten stood there silently and waited until Julie's sobs started to subside. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Julie nodded her head but kept it hidden in the pillow.

"I guess you must know she's gone?"

Julie nodded again. New sobs wracking her body. She felt like her world had ended.

Even though Kirsten was still angry at Julie she started to feel sorry for her. She could see that in Julie's own warped way she obviously loved Marissa. She could only imagine what it would be like to hear your child say those things about you. Not that Julie didn't deserve it. Kirsten understood the fact that Marissa had been hurt more than they could possibly imagine and she respected Marissa's choice to not talk to her mother. She didn't know what she would have done if she had been in the same situation. Kirsten had never gotten on very well with Caleb but she didn't think even he would have let Kirsten go through such a tough time if he'd had the power to fix it. At least that's what she would like to think.

Kirsten sat down on the bed beside Julie and touched her lightly on the back. "Can I get you anything?"

"Tis…sues." she muttered in between her sobs.

Kirsten went and got a box from the bathroom and placed them beside Julie. "Anything else?"

"No" she shook her head. "I just want… to be left alone."

"Okay. I'll be in the kitchen if you want anything." Kirsten turned and left Julie to her misery.

When Kirsten walked back in to the kitchen she was greeted by Seth. "Well since there are now two less for lunch I guess that means there is more for me."

"Seth...You know I could always get rid of another one?" Summer asked "Or two?" she added looking outside.

"What ever are you talking about my little pumpkin?" Seth asked as he went to take Summer in his arms.

She pushed him away. "If you keep that up then you could move to the top of my elimination list, a position, which at the moment, is being held by Julie." She glared out at the pool house. "I'd really like to go a give her a piece of my mind."

"I don't think I'd worry right now Summer. I'm guessing that nothing you could say could make her feel worse than she does at the moment. She's a mess. She obviously had the doors open and heard every word."

"Oh… well way to go Coop. It's about time Julie realised just what she did." Summer added finding it impossible to feel sorry for Julie.

"I think maybe that she finally does." Kirsten added.

"She's evil. I hope she hops on her broom and flies away." Summer stated.

"Enough of all this. On to the important things like, when's lunch mother? Or did you get us here under false pretences. I only came because I thought you were going to feed me." Seth said.

"Cohen if you don't shut it. I'll feed you…to the wolves." Summer glared at him. "Can't you see there are more important things to worry about right now than your stomach."

Sandy walked back into the kitchen having seen Ryan and Marissa off. He looked at Kirsten. "How is she?" he asked looking out at the pool house.

Kirsten shrugged. "She'll live."

"Does she know?" Sandy asked.

"Oh yeah…The doors were wide open. I guess she must have left them like that and from the state she's in, I'd say she heard just about everything." Kirsten added. "But more importantly, how's Marissa?"

Sandy raised his eyebrows. "I'm not sure. I think Ryan might have his work cut out for him. I don't think any of us had realised just what it must have been like for Marissa. She's right. Even though Ryan was heart broken he did know we cared about him and what he was going through and that we were here to support him…. She obviously had no one."

"Yeah. But she's got Ryan now. And he'll get her through this." Kirsten said believing her son had super powers and knowing he might need to use all of them, to make this better.

"Yeah. Kid Chino to the rescue." Seth added.

"I just hope your right." Summer said. "But she's got me as well…and Cohen." Summer rolled her eyes. "Although I'm not sure just how much help he is."

"Ouch. Don't say that. It's just that I'm hungry. I do my best work on a full stomach." Seth replied.

"Okay then. Set the table and we'll have some lunch." Kirsten said to Seth. "If only, to keep you quiet."

Seth moved over to the table and went to close the paper to clear it off the table. He looked down at the photos on the page. "They look so happy together here. It's hard to imagine what they went through when they were apart."

Sandy joined him at the table and looked down at the photo. "Let's just hope it's not too long until we see them back like that again."