Thanks for the reviews everyone!! I appreciate your feedback, and I am an R/M writer, so don't worry. I just have a lot of obstacles that I thought were missed in the real show before I get to the reunion. But, there will be one….eventually!

Chapter II: The Simple Moments

Part 1: Disheveled Boxing

Meanwhile, at the Cohen house, Summer and Seth were just re-adjusting their clothes so that they didn't look too disheveled and obvious. They were giggling to themselves as they continued to pack for Brown.

"Cohen….are you sure that you don't want to move up to Rhode Island with me for the fall? I mean, maybe you could get a job and an apartment or something?" Summer asked, trying not to show her insecurity at having to spend a whole semester apart from him.

"Aawwhh…," Seth commented, grabbing her cheeks and pinching them, "Is someone afwaid they might get two wonwi without a cuddly buddy?" He smiled from ear to ear, knowing that they woman of his dreams was just as enamored with him as he was with her.

Summer playfully slapped him across his chest, but her eyes betrayed her, as she glanced at him lovingly.

"COHEN!!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, my little love leopard," he obliged, knowing that she was not going to let him win this one. There was a moment of silence while he thought about how to explain to Summer his reasons for not wanting to move up there. "You know that I would love to spend as much time with my mischievous minx as I can….."

"But?" she replied, knowing that there was something else holding her back.

He sighed, hoping that his penchant for not thinking before speaking didn't rear its' ugly head at this important moment.

"But….I just feel like…maybe I need to be here for a little while longer. You know, help Ryan get over his post-Coop brooding, and,"

"Cohen….how many times have I told you? You CANNOT call her Coop. It's…just…weird," she said as she smacked him across the chest again.

"Damn…woman!! There is such a thing as spousal abuse, you know that right?" Summer gave him a death glare that foreshadowed a rage blackout. That was all Seth needed to back off that topic. "Okay…okay….as I was saying, I just think that maybe I should be around for a while longer….you saw how my mom gets when I just go away for the weekend….I just wouldn't…want…"

Summer understood at that moment that even though Seth had constantly talked about wanting to get out of California since she had known him, that he might be having a harder time following through with it than he wanted to admit to her. She understood, thinking about how hard it had been to say goodbye to Marissa earlier that day. She hoped that Marissa would not be gone for too long. Summer glanced back over at Seth, who seemed to be looking at her for approval to continue.

"It's okay, Seth. I get it. I'll just have to rake up the frequent flyer miles until January."

Seth sighed in relief that she had understood his apprehension and not called him out on it. He had thought Newport was Hell when he was growing up, but when Ryan came into his life, everything changed. He wasn't sure that he was quite ready to move on from that. Suddenly he remembered that Summer was still there and probably expecting him to say something.

"You know, maybe I could fly over to Brown…and we could come back together…you know, join the mile-high club?" he asked, secretly hoping she would say yes, but knowing that his chances were slim to none.

"EWH…Cohen….do you know how cramped and germ-infested those planes are? Not to mention the fact that…," she continued, oblivious to the amused look on Seth's face. Seth just smiled, content in knowing that everything he had wanted in the past few years was finally seeming to fall into place.

"Cohen?? COHEN??? SETH???" Summer increased as she realized her boyfriend was not listening to her rant. He finally snapped back into reality, and her curiosity piqued wondering what he had been thinking about. "Where were you just now? You looked like you were brooding Chino-style."

Seth faintly smiled over at his girlfriend as he thought about the brother he had always wished for. What was life going to be like without Ryan around? Would they still be able to be close even though they were so far away from each other? Would Ryan find someone else to be his new best friend?

"Oh, it's nothing….," he said as he searched to find something to divert the conversation. "I think maybe we need to go get some more packing supplies," he commented as he looked around the room.

Summer decided not to pursue her earlier line of questioning and just let the subject drop for the time being. She nodded her head in agreement, and they began to turn to walk out of the room. She could still sense that there was something weighing heavily on Seth's mind, and she could only hope that once he got to Rhode Island that it would be gone.