"You sure you're okay with this?" Julie asked again as she crawled into the drivers seat of her white BMW.

"Yeah," Marissa mumbled as she strapped in Aiden and shut the back door before opening up the passenger door and climbing in herself. "I mean it'll be good to see Sandy and Kirstin again. I wasn't that close to them but I think I even missed them when I was gone.." she trailed off with a soft smile as Julie started up the car.

"Well that's good because Seth and Ryan are going to be there too," Julie blurted out quickly as she threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway, "So I guess we better get going.."

"What?" Marissa interrupted, her eyes widening as Julie nodded.

"Rin gonna be there?" Aiden suddenly spoke up curiously from the backseat.

"Ry-an," Marissa explained, accentuating the syllibols as she turned around in her seat to look at her son. Suddenly her face scrunched up in confusion as she looked at him, "Wait. How do you know Ryan?"

"We ran into him at the grocery store the other day," Julie explained softly, making sure to keep her eyes locked on the road, mostly so she didn't get a glare from her daughter.

"Grandma say you goed to school with him."

"Yeah.." Marissa breathed out as turned back around in her seat and started to knot her hands nervously in her lap. Looking out the window, she saw the passing scenery and recognized the familiar streets that led to the Cohen mansion. "Are you sure I should go to this? I mean, I haven't seen him in forever and.."

"Marissa you have nothing to worry about," Julie cut her off, trying to reassure her. "It was his idea that you and Aiden come anyways. I just didn't tell you so you didn't spend the last few days worrying about it."

"Really?" Marissa asked slightly taken back as Julie just nodded as she turned onto the street where the Cohens lived. This whole week she'd been worried about running into him and having to try and explain why she was there- but he'd know all along. And if it'd been his idea for her to come, maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe they'd actually go good. Shaking her head slightly, as they pulled into the driveway. She really didn't need to get her hopes up. Ryan had been here the whole time and probably had a whole new life than what he had before. She just hoped they could find a way to be friends.

&&&&&

"So where's the girlfriend at?" Seth asked curiously as he turned on the grill, remembering that up until a couple days ago, Katie was meant to come to this small birthday gathering. But this morning, Ryan had turned up alone with no bimbo on his arm.

"She, uh, had a job today," he lied unconvincingly as he leaned against the counter next to the grill. Seth shot him a look, not believing Ryan at all, but he wasn't about to come out and say he told Katie it was just going to be family once he found out Marissa was coming. "It was a last minute thing. She found out about it last night.."

"Ryan, buddy, no matter how long you try to pass off line of bullshit, I'm never going to buy it," Seth laughed out as he adjusted the head on the grill before heading towards the house. Ryan followed behind while Seth continued as they entered the kitchen, "But its okay man, I wouldnt want Katie around either when the love of your life is going to be stopping by with her kid."

"Seth.." Ryan whined out, annoyed as he shot a glare in the direction of his brother as they entered the kitchen.

Immediately Seth put his hands up in defense, trying to look innocent as he walked over to the fridge, pulling out a water bottle. He unscrewed it and took a big swig as he watched Ryan flop into a stool at the counter. "So you excited to see her?" he asked as he closed his bottle back up.

"Yeah," Ryan breathed out weakly as he started fidgeting with his hands nervously, "Its been so long... I mean five years? The last time I even really spent time with her was at graduation."

"Yep its been awhile. But you don't have to be so damn nervous," Seth laughed out as he watched his brother fidget. Ryan nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the counter. Seth eyed him for a long minute before continuing, "You know she's going to be here for good I think. Maybe we could all be friends again? Hang out.."

"I don't know," Ryan interrupted uneasily. "I mean she didn't exactly want to keep in touch while she was gone."

"Yeah but she was going through stuff," Seth reasoned with a shrug. "I bet that it'll be completely different now that she's back." Ryan nodded absently, pondering over Seth's words when the doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Immediately his eyes widened as he felt his heart pound in his chest, his body seemingly frozen in place.

"I'll get it!" both boys heard Kirstin's voice call out as she came down the stairs, followed by Sandy. Seth flashed Ryan a smile before exiting the room to go towards the foyer, leaving Ryan all alone. He heard the front door click open and the excited greetings exchanged between Kirstin and Julie before he heard Kirstin screech out Marissa's name. Slowly, Ryan's body regained its ability to move, and when he walked out he saw Sandy and Marissa in the middle of a hug.

"Happy Birthday Sandy," he heard Marissa coo out in that same sweet voice he remembered. He was mesmerized as he stood back and watched her smiling face as she pulled away from Sandy and moved to hug Seth. She was still the most beautiful girl in the world, and she still made his breath catch in his throat. Her hair was darker then he last remembered it, but was just as long and came down gracefully over her shoulder. She was wearing a simple sun dress that was blue with white flowers on it that made her bright eyes seem to pop out. He hadn't even seen her for more then a minute and he could sense that she was different. She just carried herself differently then she had in high school. It was obvious that motherhood had really changed her. As she and Seth pulled apart, Ryan took a few bold steps forward and finally caught the eye of Marissa.

Right when their eyes met Ryan broke into a huge grin. All his nervousness was out the window and his whole being wast just so happy and relieved to see her. "Hey." he stated simply. Her face smiled back at his, her eyes achieving the same sparkle he remembered. "Hey," she replied simply. He stepped forward and embraced her tightly, in turn, she wrapped her arms around him as tight as she possibly could. As their bodies came in contact, they feel the same old spark. They felt how much they missed each other, how much they were missed. Ryan swore that in that moment, he felt whole again.

"Its good to see you," Ryan told her honestly as they pulled out of their embrace, "Really good."

Marissa smiled and nodded, swearing she felt her eyes watering out of happiness. Blinking back her forming tears, she turned away from Ryan and back towards the door only to see her son hiding behind his grandma's legs. "Aiden, come here," she called out sweetly as she kneeled down to his level, "there's some people I want you to meet." Shyly, Aiden poked his head out from behind Julie and looked over at his mom before eying the others in the room. Quickly, he crossed the space to his mother, causing everyone to giggle slightly at the cute little boy as Marissa scooped him into her arms and rested her on his hips. Quickly she told Aiden everyone's names and tried to explain how they were all related and everyone said hi to Aiden.

"Wow, Aiden you look so much like your Mom," Kirstin cooed out affectionately as she looked wide eyed at the little boy. Aiden didn't even respond as he buried his head into his mom. It was obvious to Marissa that he was completely uncomfortable with all of these new people, but she knew he needed to get along with them since right now they were the only people Marissa really knew in Newport at all.

"Aww, Aid, baby," Marissa giggled out as she ran her fingers through his little head of blond locks as she looked at Kirstin. Ryan watched, completely mesmerized by how perfect she looked as a mother. "Sorry, he's just really shy."

"Oh, don't be sorry," Sandy cut in with a chuckle. "Seth was exactly the same way. You couldn't pay him to talk to strangers until he was like a teenager."

"Thanks for that, Dad," Seth said sarcastically as everyone shared a laugh at his expense.

"Well why don't we go and sit down," Kirstin offered up as she motioned for everyone to follow her into the living room that was connected to the dining room, "I'm sure Marissa has tons to tell us about being Rhode Island."

"Well I hate to disappoint, but there's really not much to say," she offered up weakly as everyone made their way through the house, Marissa walking right next to Ryan as they went. He looked so handsome. Even more handsome then she remembered. His hair was somewhat shaggy and fell across his forehead, framing those dark blue eyes that she remembered so well. He was wearing a simple white polo shirt and a plain pair of blue jeans, looking more clean cut then ever. But there was something different. He doesn't smile like he used to. As soon as she had the thought, she shrugged it off. Ryan was probably the picture of happy with his bachelor lifestyle.

Everyone took their seats on the white, over stuffed furniture as Marissa set Aiden down on the floor and pulled his handy little back pack off of him and gave it to him. "You can stay over here and play with your toys if you want. We're just going to talk awhile and then we'll eat later, okay?" Aiden nodded quietly before kneeling on the floor and opening his bag as Marissa joined the adults.

"So what was Rhode Island like?" Kirstin asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing and forget about the fact that this could get really awkward, especially since Ryan and Marissa were sitting next to each other on the couch.

"Well it's a lot different then Newport," Marissa explain quickly, somewhat nervous as all eyes fell on her. "It was actually snowing the day before we left."

"Wow."

"Yeah, you know snow is really nice to look at and play in," she explained, smiling slightly, "but I'm really glad I wont have to live in it anymore."

"Ah, definitely always a California girl at heart," Sandy commented with a smile.

"Yep, that's me."

"Does that mean you're staying for awhile?" Ryan spoke up hesitantly, watching her face with hopeful eyes. She nodded and bit her lip.

"Yeah actually," she explained seriously. "If everything works out right this might be permanent." Ryan's face broke into a helpless grin at her words. "I just have to find an apartment and a job and everything like that..."

"Minor details?" Ryan joked sarcastically, making Marissa giggle.

"You know I have some connections still, I could have my real estate guy help you out," Kirstin offered up with a shrug. A proud smile crossed her lips as she motioned towards her son, "Or Ryan's a big architect now, I bet he could help you find some where to live."

"Oooo, big architect?" Marissa asked excitedly, genuinely happy for Ryan's success as he blushed slightly. Ryan went to reply but was interrupted by a gentle tug on his pant leg. He turned to his left to see Aiden standing next to him holding a baseball and glove.

"Could you throw baseball with me?" he asked in a voice so soft Ryan almost didnt hear him as he looked up at him with wide, shy eyes. It looked like it took all the courage in the world for him to ask. Ryan bit his lip and looked back at the occupants of the room before landing on Seth, who was raising his eyebrows skeptically at him. Marissa noticed his hesitance and finally felt the awkwardness she had been afraid of starting to creep into the room.

"Ryan, you don't have to if you don't want to," she explained quickly and quietly to Ryan before looking to her son. "Maybe another time.."

"No, no," Ryan interrupted her gently. "Its fine. Really." He turned back to Aiden, giving him a hesitant smile. "Lets go out back," he suggested gently as he stood up, immediately evoking a smile from Aiden. Ryan smiled back at the boy and led the way to the doors. "C'mon Seth," Ryan commanded him to come with as they walked out. He couldn't take being alone with this kid yet, especially if he started talking about his mom.

"What? You know I cant play baseball," Seth explained incredulously.

"I know, but you can watch," Ryan called back as he and Aiden walked outside, leaving the door wide open.

"Fine, I'm coming," Seth muttered to himself as he went outside to accompany his brother and his brother's ex-girlfriend's child, leaving the Cohens and Coopers alone to catch up on more personal topics.