Author's Note: First, an apology. I didn't mean to let this go so long without an update. Unfortunately, real life got in the way. And extra unfortunately, real life will continue to be in the way for the foreseeable future. I can't promise when I'll update again, I can only say that I haven't forgotten this story or those who enjoy it. The constant support I've received has been awesome and I can't thank you all enough. Secondly, this chapter is a little longer than the last one, but not as long as it should be considering the wait. I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter, whenever that'll be, should have some Summer stuff, some Anna stuff, and more Cohen family hijinks.

Enjoy the new chapter!

It was the third time Seth knocked on the door without anyone answering. He bounced on the balls of his feet. He was excited, damn excited. And anxious, but mostly excited. His mind was whirring with possibilities. He couldn't sleep, he could barely even sit down, he was so full of energy and plans and ideas. He knocked on the door to Ryan's bedroom again.

Finally, he heard what sounded like movement on the other side. Then the door opened and Ryan stuck his bed mussed head through the crack. "What the hell do you want?" He was groggy and his voice was deep, but also clearly pissed off.

It was such a trip down memory lane for Seth that he clamped up. He remembered all the other times he had annoyed Ryan with his incessant need to talk, even at the most inappropriate times. God he missed his brother. A faint smile came across his own face as he ignored the angry and impatient look on Ryan's. Snapping himself from his nostalgia, he finally had an outlet for everything he'd been thinking of for the last several hours, and just started rambling. "Dude, Ryan, I did it. I found out what I want to do with my life. It's so awesome I don't know why I never thought of it before. It makes perfect sense and seems so obvious. That's probably why I never thought of it till now. But I did and have I mentioned yet how perfect it is? And it's all thanks to you for putting the idea in my head."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan moved a little farther out into the hallway, but his body was still halfway inside his bedroom. "Calm down, you're gonna wake Marissa."

Seth didn't care about waking Marissa. In fact, she should be awake to hear what he had to say. He had great news! He was still bouncing up and down, his eyes wide, his whole body seemingly moving in different directions. He felt like he was 16 again. He felt like he had downed a gallon of coffee. He felt like he had a purpose and he wanted to share that purpose with the person who had helped and been there for him the most. "Ryyyyaaan, I took your advice and thought about what I wanted to do." Ryan should be happy for him. He had a purpose now. He was just so overcome with excitement and the need to tell somebody, that he didn't really stop and think about the timing of the whole thing. His mind just couldn't understand why Ryan was having such a problem with anything. It had been his idea to consider possible career paths and he had been the one to tell Seth he could ask for his help at any time. Was it is fault he never specified that any time really meant the hours between 9 am and 10 pm?

"Seth, it's past three in the morning."

"So?"

Ryan was completely outside his bedroom now, holding the door open a fraction of an inch behind him. "This could have waited till morning."

"Oh no, my friend, not at all! I just had to tell you about it now. I need your input, some of your sage wisdom, just a bit of advice about my future business endeavors."

Ryan boggled at him, his face a picture of disbelief. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He covered his face with a hand. "It's three in the morning, Seth." There was just the hint of pleading in Ryan's voice.

Time for Seth was simply irrelevant. Time was for those people who had nothing better to do than sleep. He used to be one of those people, but no longer. He rubbed his hands together eagerly and grabbed hold of Ryan's shoulder, pulling him down the hallway. Things would go smoother if they were in a more conducive location for discussion. And where they could have easy access to coffee and food; they were going to be a while and might need some artificial assistance in keeping awake. "We need to discuss our business plans."

"What business plans?"

"Our business plans."

"You want to go into business?"

"No, we are going to go into business."

Ryan leaned against a kitchen counter. "What the hell do you mean we're going into business?"

Seth rolled his eyes and looked at Ryan exasperatedly. Why could his brother not keep up? "You." Seth pointed to Ryan. "And me." Seth pointed to himself. "In – business – together." Seth enunciated each word carefully, so that his slow brother would not mistake his intentions.

"You're crazy."

"No, I'm brilliant."

"You dragged me out of bed to tell me this?"

"You answered the door!" Seth didn't see what the problem was.

"Like you would have gone away if I didn't!" The incredulous look on Ryan's face almost made Seth break down and laugh hysterically, but he stopped himself. Ryan probably wouldn't have appreciated it.

"Okay, okay, GP."

Ryan stood up straighter and glared at Seth. "Oh no, we are not getting into that again. It's way too early for that."

Seth frowned at Ryan and made himself approach his proposal from a different angle. "Okay, maybe my timing was not so good."

Ryan walked to the refrigerator and stuck his head inside. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and gave Seth the Look. Seth tried to look as innocent as possible, but while that might have worked many years ago, it was entirely ineffectual now. "I'm happy that you seem to be excited over whatever the hell it is you're talking about, but I do have to actually work tomorrow."

"Sorry."

Ryan didn't bother getting a glass for his juice, he was way too tired for that. "It's all right. Just get this over with."

Like always, Ryan eventually caved. Seth knew he would. "Great. I knew you'd see it my way."

Ryan muttered into the juice carton. "Like I had a choice."

Seth sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for Ryan to do the same. With a heavy sigh, Ryan sat down across from him, head cradled in the palm of his right hand. Seth sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, so remember this afternoon when you said that I should take a break and try to find out what I want to do with my life?" Ryan nodded his head slowly, frowning. "Well, I thought about it. I think I know what I want."

"Seth, the whole point was so you didn't have to do anything." Ryan looked pointedly at Seth. "So you could relax."

Seth looked down at the table, unable to look his brother in the eyes. The last thing he needed was to dwell on his life. Self-reflection might be good for some people, but for him, it had never been one of his strong suits. He preferred to jump head-first into a situation, without much over-thinking (not that he didn't over-think incessantly), and never mind the potential consequences. Seth knew that if he sat around in Ryan's house, playing video games and pretending at being a responsible au pair, he'd go insane. It wasn't him. He couldn't be that lazy, that undriven, not anymore. He needed a point, a focus. It was the only way he knew how to live now. When you had to struggle day by day just to survive, it tended to bring your mind into sharp focus.

"I could relax, I could." Seth shook his head and tapped his fingers along the tabletop. "But I can't. That's not me. I've got to do something."

"You can watch Mikayla."

"Don't get me wrong, Mikayla is great and all, I love the little snitch, but sitting around waiting for my life to catch up to me is not who I am. It's not how I do things."

Ryan brought a hand up to his head and tried to maneuver his hair into a more presentable mess. It was short enough that he didn't really have to do much. "So then what's your plan?"

Seth's whole face morphed from the contemplative and serious look to the more excited and anxious look he'd had when he woke Ryan up. Finally he was going to get to share his master plan. He took a deep breath, held it, wanting to keep Ryan in suspense just a little bit longer so that his reveal would be even more dramatic. Let it never be said that Seth Cohen didn't have a flair for drama. When it looked like Ryan was getting impatient again, Seth spoke one word, "Movies."

Ryan blinked and his mouth opened just slightly. "You're joking." When Seth only continued to stare at Ryan in expectation, Ryan blinked again. "You are joking, right?"

"No! Why would you think I'm joking?"

"Movies, Seth? Movies!" Ryan pushed away from the table and stood up, clearly upset. "You woke me up to tell me this?"

Seth stood up as well, distressed. Okay, so his big reveal wasn't going as well as he might have hoped. "We could be like the Coen brothers, except, you know, spelled differently."

"My name is Atwood."

"It might as well be Cohen."

Ryan's anger and frustration softened a bit and he sat back down with a heavy sigh. He rested his chin on the palm of his hand and shut his eyes. "I have a job already, Seth. A good one that I've worked hard for and really love."

"See, that's why you gotta let me finish. I know that." Seth sat back down too. He really did know about Ryan's job. He had the scrapbook to prove it, but he would never show Ryan that. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, although he was, it was that he didn't want yet another reminder between them of the mistakes that he had made. He'd kept a scrapbook of all of Ryan's clippings because he couldn't be there to see Ryan do them himself. It was the only connection he'd had to his brother while he was out traipsing across the country. He was so proud of what Ryan had done, so happy to see that Ryan had accomplished so many of his dreams. He had no intention of taking that away from him. He'd sacrificed too much for that. "I'm not saying you should quit your job. I don't want you to do that."

Ryan opened his eyes. "Then what? What is the whole point of this?"

"I was sitting in the pool house, thinking about what you said. I needed to find something that I was interested in, that I found fun and that I wanted to spend my life working on. And all I could think about was: Did I still like comic books? Did I still like video games? Movies? So I decided to find out." Seth had spent hours, locked in the pool house trying to find anything that would spark the latent passion inside of him. He wasn't even sure that he still possessed any passion. After so many years of ignoring his past life, after Summer's rejection and the fear that he was never going to amount to anything, was there really anything that mattered to him anymore? Yeah, Summer, but at the moment, she just didn't count.

Thankfully, Ryan had never gotten rid of his crap. He'd grabbed a large stack of comic books from his room, and spent a couple of hours re-reading them in his new home. It had been so long since he'd even read a comic book, since he had even thought of a comic book, that it was like he was reading them again for the first time. With a relief that he didn't even know he felt until he finished the last comic in the pile, he fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He almost cried, but he was done with crying.

He had felt something. He couldn't describe it, couldn't name it, but it had been there. It was the same feeling he'd felt as he kicked Ryan's ass on the Playstation. Maybe there was more of his old self still embedded inside of him. So he came up with his plan, his plan to wake himself up.

"I read my comic books. I watched movies. I played more video games. When I was done, I had made a decision. I want to make those things. I want to create." Seth looked away, out the large windows and to the darkened ocean in the distance. "I took and destroyed so much, it's time I make up for it."

"And movies are your way of doing that?"

Seth turned back to face his brother. "Not just movies, but everything."

The skepticism that was on Ryan's face changed into confusion. It was, as far as Seth was concerned, an improvement. "I'm not sure I understand, Seth."

"I want to form a production company. I want to do everything. Movies, TV, comic books, video games, everything."

"You're serious about this, aren't you?" Seth nodded vigorously. "Do you even know anything about that kind of business?"

Seth made a dismissive gesture with his hands. "Not a clue."

"Don't you think that maybe you should?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm talking about starting tomorrow. I mean months from now, after I've gotten used to things here and maybe got my GED."

Ryan visibly relaxed at his words. He placed both hands on the table and fiddled with the carton of juice. "That's good, that's smart."

"I'm not that same kid anymore, Ryan. I don't – yeah, I'm different."

"All right. But what do you need me for? I know even less than you do about this stuff." He shrugged his shoulders and stared at Seth. "I design buildings."

"You run a business. You have business experience. You have contacts with the Newport Group."

"So you mean money."

"Yeah."

"Seth, look, you know I want to help you. But what you're asking for – " Ryan trailed off into nothing. He looked extremely conflicted and Seth decided to take pity on him.

"I'm going to be 25 soon. That means I'll be getting a million dollars from my trust fund. I'll have my own start up capital; I just need some help using it wisely."

"I'm not promising anything, but I'll think about it."

"Wake up!"

Seth felt something hit his chest. He turned away from the something onto his back, groaning. The something hit his back.

"Wake up!"

Seth groaned a little louder and pulled the covers over his head. He had no idea what time it was but he knew it was way too early to wake up regardless.

"Uncle Seth, wake up!"

That got his attention. Gradually peeking his head out from under his covers, he opened his eyes to little slits. Mikayla was kneeling on his bed, her face just above his. There was a very expectant and impatient look on her face. "Mikayla?"

"I want to watch a movie."

Seth hunkered back down under the covers. From inside his warm and dark cocoon, he said, "So go watch one."

He felt little hands start pulling at his sheets. "I want to watch one with you." There was a definite whine in her voice and Seth finally gave up on getting anymore sleep.

"How did you even get in here?"

"Daddy let me in."

Of course. Seth slowly let his eyes adjust to the sunlight pouring in through the large windows of the pool house. This must have been Ryan's idea of revenge. He had to hand it to his brother, he knew how to fight dirty. "And I suppose daddy said I'd watch a movie with you?"

"Uh-huh. I asked grandpa but daddy said you really wanted to do it."

What he really wanted to do was go back to sleep, but the open and excited look on his niece's face squashed any hope of that. "All right, all right." He pushed the covers all the way off him. "Uncle Seth has got to take a shower first, but then I'll watch a movie with you, okay?"

"Okay!" And just like that, she was already running out the door.

He had never been so envious of a five year old before. He wished he could tap into some of her energy reserves.

After a rather lengthy and refreshing shower, he walked into the kitchen in search of a very large cup of coffee. Sitting at the table was his father, a folded newspaper resting beside him. Sandy was staring at something Seth couldn't see. "Morning, dad."

"Afternoon." His father had spoken without any movement at all. He hadn't changed position since Seth had seen as him as he walked into the kitchen. Seth was starting to get a little worried that something had happened to him.

"Huh?"

"It's the afternoon."

Seth looked at the microwave and saw that it was almost three in the afternoon. He hadn't realized that Ryan and he had stayed up that late. "Mom around?"

That seemed to knock his father from his daze as he looked up and gave Seth a faint smile. "Went into the Newport Group for a while."

Seth finally found his coffee and poured himself a large helping. "I don't suppose my traitorous brother is anywhere around here?"

Sandy shook his head, right hand moving to toy with the newspaper at his side. "Just missed him. He wanted to get a few good hours in before the end of the day."

Seth sat down across from his father and made a few obnoxiously loud moans of pleasure as he took two large gulps of coffee. Sandy rolled his eyes but smiled. "He's a workaholic, I tell you."

Sandy only grunted in acknowledgment.

Seth frowned and placed his coffee mug down on the table. "Okay, what's up, dad?"

Sandy didn't say anything for a while. Seth sat quietly, occasionally sipping from his mug. He could wait for his dad to talk. Not forever, because Mikayla would eventually wonder where he was, but he had the time now.

Sandy picked up the newspaper and unfolded it, smoothing it flat. He slid it over across the table until it came to a stop directly in front of Seth. With a long finger, he tapped the side and Seth looked obediently down. What he saw made his face drain of color and infuse him with anger at the same time.

"What the hell is this?"

Sandy took a deep breath, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It's not a big deal, son."

Not a big deal? He was in the newspaper! That seemed like a big deal to him. This was the last thing he needed. He didn't need the whole freaking world knowing about his return. He wanted to stay hidden away, spending time with his family and what few friends he had. He didn't want people to know about him, to wonder what might have prompted the grandson of the richest man in Newport to run away for so long. He didn't want to answer questions about his life. He just wanted another chance. "How did they even find out?"

Sandy averted his eyes, and he fidgeted slightly in his seat. "It's my fault."

"Your fault? You told them?" He couldn't believe it. That seemed so nonsensical. What reason would his father have for informing the press that he was home?

"Not them, technically."

"What does that mean?"

Sandy sighed and refocused on his son. "I – your mother and I – we had to tell the Board of Directors of the Newport Group that you were back. Somehow, it must have gotten to the press from there."

Seth took a drink of coffee to calm himself. He wasn't going to panic. He wasn't going to bolt. He was different now and he could handle this. His father was right; it wasn't a big deal, just unfortunate. "You're losing me here, dad."

"You're our son."

Seth raised an eyebrow and contemplated passing over to his father his cup of coffee. He looked like he needed it more if he was stating the painfully obvious. "Thanks for noticing."

Sandy frowned. "Don't be a smartass, Seth." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and repeated himself. "You're our son. As such, it means, that if something were to ever happen to your mother or I, all your mother's shares and interest in the Newport Group would pass onto you. You'd become the primary shareholder, and essentially the owner, of the Newport Group if that happened. The Board had to be notified of your reappearance."

"Are you serious?"

Sandy broke out into a grin that reminded Seth of so many scenes from his past. He responded in kind, all his worry vanishing. Just seeing the confident, genuine amusement in his father's face was enough to banish his fears. If his father said it was going to be okay, then he believed him. "Don't worry, son, I'm not going anywhere for a very long time. Us Cohens are very hard to get rid of."

"I think I'm living proof of that."

Sandy sobered, memories of his absence flashing in his eyes. Seth winced just slightly. He didn't mean to remind his father of his time away. It would be a long time, if ever, before the people in his life started to forget. "I'll take care of this newspaper thing. Nobody will bother you."

"Thanks, dad."

Sandy brightened again, and turned his face to look at the rest of the house. "I think there is a little girl somewhere around here waiting for her uncle to watch a movie with her."

Seth let out a mock sigh, and pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not sure how I let myself get talked into being a babysitter."

Sandy only laughed and Seth dragged himself into the house, in search of Mikayla. If she made him watch the Carebear movie again, he swore he could not be held responsible for his actions.