A/N: Title of this chapter goes out to Waltzy, with whom I had a good talk about being pressured to 'fix' stories. Not the same meaning, but keep 'em coming just the way they are!


"Luke, could you bring that box over here?"

"Sure Mr. Cooper. The big one?"

"Yeah. Get Ryan to help you with it. It's pretty heavy."

Luke and Ryan walk over to the large box in the foyer, each taking a side, and effortlessly carry it out the door to the waiting moving van. Walking back through the door, they almost clothesline an exiting Seth, who is carrying a box filled with Jimmy Cooper's office supplies.

"Dude, I don't know if I can carry much more. My back feels like it's about ready to give out," Seth complains.

"Come on, Corona. That's the first box that you've actually carried outside. You've been packing the entire time while Cohen and I do all of the heavy lifting."

"Well, it's good to know that you muscle monkeys are good for something," he says, dropping off the box and running back into the house to hide.

Ryan turns to the driveway as a small, white Miata pulls into the driveway of the Coopers' house. Veronica and Taylor Townsend exit the vehicle, the younger greeting her boyfriend with a wave. "Hey," Taylor says, kissing her boyfriend as she approaches. "How's the packing going?"

"About as good as you can expect." Ryan waves at Veronica as she walks up. "Even though it's consensual, Julie and Jimmy are still arguing over who gets what. Julie took a break about an hour ago."

"Drat. I was hoping to get a second to talk to her about the first school board meeting that's coming up and the Children's Hospital Benefit the week after next," Veronica says. "I didn't know Jimmy had a place already. Is he inside?"

"I think he's in the kitchen, Mrs. Townsend." Luke points into the house. "I'll walk you in. I'm sure Marissa probably needs some help." He leads Veronica into the house.

"So your spa trip went good," Ryan asks his girlfriend. "Mom told me most of what happened, but she said that you got a chance to clear the air with your mom. Seems like everything is pretty good with you guys."

"Mom and I had a good, long talk at the spa. Something we should have done a long time ago. She admitted that she hasn't been the greatest mother ever, but she promised that we'd be a family again."

"I'm happy for you. So does this mean I'll be seeing her more then?"

Taylor giggles and pulls him close to her. "She said she'd stop being so severe and I told her that it wasn't all her fault. You are Kirsten Cohen's son, so you're not used to a mother that isn't as loving. Trust me when I say that she likes you. We'll try and do dinner one of these nights coming up."

Inside

"Jimmy, how are you," Veronica asks, walking up to him and kissing him on both cheeks. "So sorry to hear about you and Julie. She told us at Catalina that you were going to be getting a divorce. How's Marissa taking it?"

Jimmy throws more papers from his desk into an empty box. "Not too terribly, I guess. Julie said that she handled the explanation that she gave her at the spa pretty well. She understands that it's what best for the family."

"I didn't know that you had a place picked out already. Where is it at?"

"Well, that's the problem. We were a little farther along in the decision process than Julie admitted to Marissa. I had a place lined up but it kind of fell through at the last moment. For right now, I'm going to be staying at a hotel and my stuff is going into storage. Julie is filing the papers tomorrow and it wouldn't really look right if I'm still here then."

"Why didn't you come and talk to me, Jimmy? I'm the biggest real estate agent in Newport Beach."

"I didn't want to make it weird for you with Julie by helping me find a place. Plus, it's kind of embarrassing. I mean, I'm getting a divorce and I can't find a place to live. I'm having my daughter's friends move me out of my house and into storage. How much more embarrassing can it get?" Jimmy sits down on the couch and huffs out a breath.

"It's not embarrassing, Jimmy." Veronica joins him on the couch. "If anything, it's commendable that you and Julie realized that you didn't love each other anymore and that this was the best thing to do to make sure your family is taken care of. And it won't do anything to my relationship with Julie. What did she have to say when you told her you didn't have a place to say?"

"Nothing, seeing as how I didn't tell her."

"James! You've got to start asking for assistance if you need it. There's no shame in asking for help every once in awhile. And you're going to start right now. With me."

Jimmy rubs his face in a sign of suffering. "Veronica, would you please help me find an apartment?"

"Of course, Jimmy. Leave the boys here to finish up with the packing and we'll go look at some places that I know are available right now." She grabs him by the arm and pulls him off the couch and into the hallway, where they see his daughter.

"Hey, kiddo. Veronica is going to take me to look at some apartments. We'll be back in a few hours. Do you think you could keep the boys in line and finish up the packing for me?"

"Sure, daddy," Marissa says and gives her father a hug. "What else is left to pack?"

"There are still some things in my office left to box up, but most of it's already done. Just make sure that the boys don't break anything. Thanks sweetie."

"We'll be back soon Taylor," Veronica is telling her daughter as Jimmy walks up to her car. "Call me if you need anything and keep these boys in line." Jimmy hops in the small car and they drive off.


Julie grabs her bag out of her car and walks into Newport General Hospital. She didn't have anything personal against her soon to be ex-husband but, after arguing with Jimmy about splitting their possessions, she just needed to get out of the house and focus on something else. The upcoming Children's Hospital Benefit was the perfect distraction. She was currently still looking for a place that would volunteer their space to host the event and one of her last options was currently in the hospital, working.

"Neil, thank you for meeting me." She greets the older man with a kiss to the cheek. "I know you're terribly busy and I don't want to bother you."

"Nonsense. What can I do for you, Julie," Neil asks, and leads the woman in the direction of his office. Opening his door and ushers her in, gesturing towards a chair facing his desk. "Is it something with your divorce? Are you and Marissa okay?"

Julie sits in the offered chair. "Surprisingly enough, that's not the problem, Neil. Jimmy cashed in his 401K which will pay for our mortgage for the next few months, along with Jimmy's rent. Who knows what we'll do after that, but that's not your problem. Right now, I'm here about the Children's Hospital Benefit. I can't find anywhere that will let me use their place for free and I'm about at my wit's end. I was wondering if you might have any ideas for a place that would be willing to help. I thought, with your connections, you might know of someone or somebody."

"I can think of someone that would be dying to help out, Julie."

"Really? That would be such a big help. You would have my eternal gratitude. Who is it?"

"Me. I'd be more than happy to help you out with throwing the Benefit party. I can invite a lot of donors from the hospital that I'm sure you don't already have on your list. I've known most of them for a long time."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose…"

"You won't be, Julie. I'd be glad to help. Let's plan something with the girls for Thursday and talk about it."

Julie stands, followed by Neil. "Thank you so much, Neil. I appreciate everything you're doing to help and with what I've got going on in my life right now, thank you for making something a little easier."

"You're quite welcome. You know if there's anything I can do for you and Marissa…"

"You're very sweet, Neil, and a very busy man."

"I'm never to busy for you, Julie. We'll have dinner, figure something out." Neil holds out his hand, which Julie takes in her own.

"I'd like that. Good bye, Neil." She kisses him softly on the cheek and departs, leaving a startled Neil holding his cheek.


Kirsten walks into her office at The Newport Group to see her father sitting in the chair facing her desk. He turns at her approach, holding a cup of coffee, and plasters a big smile on his face. "Kiki, I-"

"Don't start with me, Dad. After everything you've done to The Coopers, especially my oldest friend Jimmy, you think that showing up at my office with coffee is going to make everything okay? It won't!" Kirsten sits down at her desk and begins to look through files, feigning work.

"Kiki, I'm sorry about what happened. Lindsey asked me to do something for her idiot of a boyfriend and I accepted. You know how I can't say no to her." Caleb's face changes into one of stone. "However, she's been disciplined and I promise that she feels sorry for what she did."

Kirsten doesn't look up from her paperwork. "You disciplined her, Dad? Like you disciplined me or like you discipline Hailey? Because, I have to say, neither one really worked out in your favor." She glares at him.

"I think you turned out a little better than Hailey. Your mother made me coddle her too much for my liking."

"So does that mean since Mom isn't around, that you're free to use the belt on Lindsey too?"

"Of course not, Kiki," Caleb says, looking offended. "I'd never use something so crude again."

"You'd better not, Dad." She finally looks up at her father. "If I find out that you laid a hand on that girl, you'll be looking for a new CFO."

"You don't have to worry about it, sweetheart." Caleb leans back in his chair, his face returning to normal. "Now, about why I came here in the first place…"

"I knew it! You didn't even come here to just apologize. You wanted to talk work!"

"It's important Kiki. You remember when we purchased the Balboa Heights a few months back?"

Jimmy's (possibly) new apartment

"This place looks great, Veronica," Jimmy says, walking down the stairs. Veronica looks up from where she was inspecting the floor ducts. "Two bedrooms, one for me and one in case Marissa wants to stay. I've got an office slash study slash spare bedroom. I've even got a fireplace!" He gestures towards the living room where a fireplace occupies the middle of the wall.

Veronica laughs. "Yeah because we both know how many cold nights there are here in Orange County. I was thinking more along the lines of the low rent and utilities included."

"I was talking about things besides those," Jimmy clarifies. "Seriously though, I've really got to thank you. I could never have afforded a hotel for as long as I needed and rent at all the places I looked at was outrageous."

"It's no problem, Jimmy. I'm glad to help a friend."

"No way. You're not getting off that easy. We'll do, uh, dinner. I'll m-make something," Jimmy stutters. "Or-or we can go out. Your choice."

Veronica appears to consider the offer for a second. "Sure, why not? Why don't we do something the night of the Kick-off Carnival. The girls will be out and we'll have all night to ourselves." She winks at Jimmy, who swallows nervously. "Why don't we do The Yacht Club, eight o' clock?"

"Uhm, sounds good. I'll see you there?"

Veronica eyes Jimmy. "You mean I'll pick you up?"

"Right, exactly. That's what I meant." Veronica makes a come-hither gesture and Jimmy follows her out of the apartment, to her car.


"So this is your school? It looks like a college campus!" A stunned Seth looks at Ryan, who predictably shrugs, and Luke. "It's not that big, bro. Pacific is just as big and they have one more swimming pool and gymnasium than we do."

"You have a pool? I've never even seen a school that had a swimming pool of their own!"

"Actually, we have two," Ryan clarifies. Seth squawks in response. "What? One is Olympic-sized and the other is for water polo."

"We also have a theater, and auditorium, two gymnasiums, four tennis courts, two soccer fields, a football field, a baseball field, a soccer field, and a lacrosse field," Taylor says as she, Marissa, and Summer join the three boys by the stairs leading up to the main building. She kisses Ryan, says 'hello', and loops her arm through his. Marissa does the same to Luke, only substituting a make-out session in place of Ryan and Taylor's kiss. They finally break it off and see the other four looking at them.

"What," they both ask. Summer rolls her eyes and they walk up the stairs.

"So do you boys want to meet us in the lounge during break," Taylor asks.

"We can't. Coach wants Luke and I to meet him in his office during break. Something about a new policy. I don't know."

"Well, we'll be there in case you get done early," she says and the girls break away to attend the first Social Committee meeting of the year.

"So what am I supposed to do," Seth asks the other two boys as he watches Summer walk with the girls. "I mean, Summer and the girls have their Social Committee, you guys have soccer; What am I going to do, hang out at home with Sandy and Kirsten? No thanks."

"I hear the Bait Shop is hiring," Luke volunteers. "I know that manual labor doesn't really seem like your cup of tea, but it would keep you busy and you could make some extra change."

"Sorry man, but I don't do raw, live fish. What," he asks at Luke's laughing.

"The Bait Shop isn't actually a bait shop," Ryan clarifies. "It's like a bar for teens that has bands there every once in a while. Some band called Death Cab for Cutie is playing there next week." Seth stops in his tracks, almost causing Luke to run him over. "What?"

"I'm sorry; I thought you just said Death Cab was playing at that place next week."

"I did, why? Who is 'Death Cab'?"

"Only the greatest band ever my friend! Luke, you may have just come up with the best idea ever. I'm getting a job!"

Coach's office, Later

"Coach?" Ryan knocks on the door jamb and sees the older man sitting at his desk. Ryan and Luke walk in a take a seat in the offered chairs.

"Ward, Cohen, you two are my captains this year so I thought I'd let you know first. The Athletic Director wrote up a new policy this summer regarding student athletes and drug use. He's determined that drugs are a serious threat to you young people and he wants to make sure that everyone understands that. Therefore, starting tomorrow, there will be mandatory drug testing for all athletes in all sports."

"Why are they doing this," Ryan asks. "Have they had problems with drug use in the past?"

"No, but this new guy they brought in comes from a more troublesome area of the country. He is making this his personal crusade and, more importantly, he has the blessings of the school board. There's no way around this, gentlemen, so you may want to let your teammates know today at the team meeting."

Ryan and Luke stand up and leave the office. Ryan notices Luke wearing a shell shocked expression on the way out. "What's up man," he asks once they are out of earshot.

"Dude, I'm not going to pass that drug test."

"What do you mean? It's been forever since we smoked. Like, before Seth got here. It was never a regular thing so it should be out of our systems by now."

"I just smoked a bowl with this dude I know the other day."

"Who? You didn't get it off the pier, did you? You know those guys are narcs right?"

"Of course I didn't. This surfer from down on the beach named Kevin. He's got some good stuff and he's pretty chill."

Ryan slugs him. "You moron."

"Dude, I'm totally done, aren't I? I'm off the team!"

"Calm down. You'll probably be okay. You might be suspended for a couple weeks, but that'll be it. And that's if you get caught. Don't forget that Seth used to be a massive stoner before he moved here. I'm sure he's got some ideas on how to beat it. We'll ask him after school."

The Cohens'

"Hello my love," Sandy says as he walks in to the kitchen, sets his briefcase down, and gives his scowling wife a kiss. "Uh oh, what's wrong?"

"Sandy, were you going to tell me that your law firm was suing my father's company?" She grabs a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and pours herself a glass.

"Not if I could help it. I'm sorry," he says at Kirsten's glare, "I just thought that you wouldn't be involved in it since you were so upset at him. I don't even know if I'm going to take the case."

"Dad has proposed to protect three hundred and fifty acres of wildlife refuge and add a natural park."

"He'll still add thirty percent more traffic and ten tons of air pollution daily, not to mention what it'll do to the water supply. We're talking about destroying one of the most biologically productive ecosystems in the world. It's like selling off the rain forest to profit a few wealthy individuals and asking generations and generations of others to pay for it."

"Please, Sandy. I don't know how I'll be able to deal with my husband and my father going at it in the courtroom."

"Kirsten, your dad is extremely stubborn. He's not going to want to give up the Heights. Developers have been going after that area for years." Sandy walks over to his wife and begins to massage her shoulders.

"If I try to convince my dad to settle, will you promise to at least consider it?"

Sandy kisses his wife on the neck. "I promise that I will at least consider it." He turns his wife around and begins to passionately kiss her. They are interrupted in their impromptu make-out session by their sons.

"Keep it in your pants, Dad."

"Yeah, or we may have to sit you and The Kirsten down for a little talk." Seth wags a finger at them.

"Seth, believe me when I say that we're way beyond that talk. The proof is standing right next to you, about to eat an apple." Seth looks over and sees Ryan with his mouth frozen open over an apple. He sets it back down in the bowl.

"If you're trying to get me to quit eating, you're going about it the right way."

"So how was your first day of school, boys? Learn anything new," Kirsten asks her boys.

"I learned that the new Athletic Director is making all student athletes submit to drug testing," Ryan says.

"I learned that it is possible for me to enjoy manual labor, as long as it is at a club that has bands that I love performing on the weekends," Seth says.

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you sweetie," Kirsten says, apologetically, "but I already knew about the drug testing. Veronica told me about it after the school board meeting where it was approved."

"You'll be fine anyway, kiddo. Now if it was Seth…" Sandy puts up his hands and laughs.

"Funny, as always. Now do you want to hear what I learned?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"No, Sandman. I'm getting a job. At this place called The Bait Shop. It's a club that has bands playing on the weekends and I can get free tickets by working there. It's probably the best job ever," he says with a smile.

"Wow, manual labor?" Sandy looks at Kirsten, who is just as confused as he is. "Doesn't really seem like your idea of a good time, Seth."

"That's what I said," Ryan adds. He whispers into Seth's ear, "Dude, I really need to talk to you for a second about something."

"So, parental units, Ryan and I have things we must discuss pertaining to women and sexual positions, therefore we will excuse ourselves to the pool house."

"That's not ominous at all," Sandy says as the boys leave the kitchen and walk out to the pool house, where Luke is already playing video games.

"What's up Corona? Down for a little ass whuppin in Madden?" Luke offers him a controller.

"I've told you before man, I don't do sports games. You have anything with ninjas?" At Ryan and Luke's confused looks, "Never mind. So what's up? Why the strange 'I need to talk to you alone' in the kitchen?"

"Well, you know how I said something about drug testing in the kitchen? Seems Luke here had himself a little ganja the other day and now he might fail the drug test tomorrow. You have any ideas on how he might be able to pass it?"

Seth thinks for a minute. "Nope."

"No? Nothing?"

"Nope. All the remedies that I know of usually take a couple days to get into your system. Anything else is usually just a lie. Niacin sometimes works but you have to start taking it a few weeks beforehand. You won't be able to swap pee either. That's usually pretty supervised. They'll have someone checking your ID when you take your bottle, they'll have someone in the bathroom watching you pee, they'll have someone walk with you while you walk the pee back to the test supervisor, and they'll have someone there to take your test. There's no way you're passing this test."

Luke throws the controller and bows his head in frustration. "It's hopeless. I'm totally screwed!"

"I didn't say that amigo. Listen up. The way places usually do this kind of thing is they'll have everybody take their little bottles of pee and place it in a random spot in a five by five box. When all the places in the box are filled, the box is closed up and taped closed. The place doing the testing will pick one bottle, at random, out of each of the boxes. If that bottle tests positive, they test it again. If it still tests positive, then that person fails and they test every other bottle in that box. So you're not necessarily going to fail, you're just not going to pass. If that makes any sense. Touchdown!" Seth throws his hands up in the air and Ryan and Luke look over at the TV to see that Seth had been playing Luke the entire time he was talking and had scored a touchdown on the other boy.

Stevens residence

"Dude, what the hell are you doing," Chip asks as he walks into Zach's room.

"Getting totally blazed, man!" Doug holds his hand up for a high five, which Chip ignores. He turns instead to Zach.

"We've got urinalysis for water polo tomorrow! You're going to get suspended from the team for a couple games if you pop positive on your test."

"I know that, you moron. I finally figured out how to punish those two idiots, Cohen and Ward, for backing that nerd over the summer. I'm going to get totally blazed tonight and swap my test out with Ward's test tomorrow when they piss test us. It's the best idea ever," he crows and takes another hit out of the bong he's holding. Doug begins to laugh as if it's the funniest thing he's ever seen, then proceeds to shovel handfuls of chips into his mouth.

"Don't you think you're taking this obsession with screwing with Ward and Cohen a bit far? I mean, they are stupid for bailing on you, but maybe you need to drop it man."

"Fuck off Chip," Zach responds as he exhales. "Get the hell out of here before you get a contact high, you fag."

Cooper household

"Hey sweetie. How was your day? Is Social Committee going well?"

"Not too bad, Mom. Taylor and I have been able to get a lot of work done on the Kick-off Carnival, despite Lindsey being there."

"Lindsey is in Social Committee? Since when?"

"Mom, Lindsey has been on Social Committee since last year, the same year I got on Social Committee. It's not too bad actually. She's not really acting the same. She just basically sits there the entire time, never says anything, and then goes home at the end. There's either something wrong with her or she's planning something. I'm thinking she's planning something."

"Be careful with that girl, Marissa," Julie warns. "She's really sneaky."

"I know. What's up with you?" Marissa sits down with her mom on the couch.

"Well, I'm glad you asked sweetie, because there are a couple things I wanted to talk to you about. First thing is that, I've been talking with your father since the whole divorce thing, and we both think it would be good for you to talk to a therapist. We don't think there's anything wrong with you Marissa, we just want you to have somebody that you can talk to about things that you can't bring up with us."

"Okay, I guess I can do that."

Julie looks surprised. "Just an okay? No throwing a fit or yelling or screaming?"

"No, I think it's probably a good idea. Taylor said it really helped her out when she was younger that she had someone that she could talk to about things. I figure that it could probably help me a little too. Are we going to be able to afford it?"

"Yeah, we'll be able to afford it. Marissa, I'm so proud of you. You're growing up so fast." Julie starts to cry as she draws her daughter into a hug.

"Don't get all emotional, Mom. It's not a big deal. Now what's the second thing?"

"Oh, right. Well I went to talk to Neil Roberts at the hospital the other day. We needed a place to host the Children's Hospital Benefit and I didn't have anyone that was willing to help out. Neil generously donated his home for the benefit and invited you and me over for dinner with him and Summer on Thursday."

"That sounds like fun but I don't think Summer or I will be able to go. We'll be having a last minute meeting that night to set up for Kick-off Carnival."

"Well what if we moved it to a day earlier in the week?"

"Sorry Mom, but I'm the co-chair. Taylor and I are going to be busy all week. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it. Why don't you just have dinner with Dr. Roberts by yourself," she asks as she goes up to her room.

Why not, indeed, Julie asks herself as she retrieves the phone off of the stand. She dials the number for the Roberts' house that Marissa so conveniently posted next to the phone so many years ago.

Aloha, Roberts residence. Summer speaking.

"Hello Summer. This is Julie Cooper. Is your father around?"

He's here somewhere. Let me try and find him. Sorry about not being able to do dinner by the way.

"How did you know about dinner? Did your father ask you already?"

He asked me earlier and I just got a text from Marissa. We really are going to be busy with Social Committee; we're not just blowing you off.

"Thank you, Summer. I appreciate that."

Oh, here's my dad. Later! Slight pause and the sound of shuffling Julie, how are you?

"I'm doing fine, Neil, thank you for asking."

I suppose that Summer already told you that she wouldn't be making it to dinner Thursday?

"Yes, and I just had the same conversation with Marissa."

Well, I'm sorry to hear that we won't be having dinner this week like I'd hoped.

"Actually, I was thinking that, just because the girls aren't going to be joining us, doesn't mean that we can't enjoy a night out on our own. Why don't we do it on Friday when they're all at the carnival?"

That's a great idea Julie. I'm actually on call for the first part of the day and then I have rounds, but why don't we make it a late dinner? How does eight o' clock at The Yacht Club sound?

"I think that sounds like a date, Neil. See you then."


"So you ready to do this, man," Ryan asks Luke, who is standing next to him in line.

"I don't think I've ever had to piss so much in my life, Cohen. I've been holding it for, like two hours. I think my dick is going to burst from the pressure."

"Take it easy, you're going to be okay. Just look for the guys that are least likely to smoke pot and put your cup in their box." Ryan grabs a small cup, shows the attendant his student ID, and receives his label, which he places on his cup. Luke follows the same procedure, places his label on the cup, turns to go into the bathroom, and almost runs into Zach.

"Watch it, Ward," Zach growls and picks up his cup.

"Jesus, Zach. You look like crap." Zach does indeed look like crap, hair unkempt, face unshaven, and eyes bloodshot. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, asshole. Watch where you're going next time." Zach leaves for the bathroom.

Luke scowls at Zach as he picks up his own cup, not noticing that Zach has swapped the two cups, and he is now carrying the cup with Zach's name on it.

5 Minutes Later

"Dude what took you so long," Luke asks as Ryan finally sets his cup down on the table and walks away.

"I'm sorry that my bladder wasn't full to its bursting point."

"So…now the waiting game." Luke looks over and sees Zach set his cup down. "Maybe he'll fail his test. He looks like he just smoked a whole bag of pot."

"Zach wouldn't do something that stupid. He knows better. Now let's focus on the upcoming Kick-off carnival. There's nothing to do about the testing until Friday, so we might as well let it go until then."


Friday, Coach's office

"Ward, Cohen, what are you two doing here? We didn't have a meeting scheduled for today, did we?" The man turns to his calendar to check the date.

"No, Coach, we didn't have a meeting. Cohen and I know you got the results from the drug testing back today and we were wondering if-"

"-if anybody on the team failed," Ryan finishes for a nervous Luke. "As captains, we figured it would be best if we could tell the person themselves."

"I like that you men are willing to take responsibility on this, but I can't really disclose that information to you. It's also a moot point since nobody on the team failed."

Luke lets out a sigh of relief. "That's great! I mean…that's great because we don't want to be shorthanded for out game next week."

"Sure, Ward. Listen, I don't care what you're up to, as long as it doesn't screw you up and you don't get caught. Now, tell me you don't know what I'm talking about and get out of here."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Coach," the boys chant and leave the office. Around the corner, Luke leans against the wall and takes a breath. He lets it out slowly.

"I think I dodged a bullet there, Cohen. I'm done with weed, man. No more for me."

"Smartest thing I've heard you say all week," Ryan says with a smile. He claps his friend on the back and they begin to walk down the hall, only to be stopped by Zach pushing Luke. "What the hell, Zach? I thought we were done with all of this?"

"Shut up Cohen," Zach says with a snarl. "I want to know how Luke here got out of trouble and I get a two match suspension!"

"They must not have tested my sample," Luke says. "How did you pop positive though? You don't really seem like the drug using type."

"I don't get it! You were supposed to be the one suspended, not me. I spent all night Monday smoking pot with Doug so I would pop positive on that test. When I took your cup, I figured that the plan was fool proof. How did you not test positive," he yells, grabbing Luke by the collar. Luke looks at Ryan and begins to laugh. "What's so funny jerk-off? I asked you a question!"

Luke pushes Zach off of him, still laughing. "You idiot. It takes a little more than a day for the weed to get in your system. The stuff you smoked the night before wasn't going to make you pop. Maybe if you'd smoked it a few days earlier, like I did." Luke nods at Zach's wide eyed look. "Yeah, I was already going to pop positive on that test. You totally saved me a suspension. That's why I was laughing." He starts laughing again and soon, Ryan joins him. They both walk off, leaving behind a stunned (and soon-to-be-suspended) Zach.


The doorbell rings at Jimmy's new apartment and he walks down the stairs to answer the door. Behind it stands Veronica Townsend, dressed to, in Jimmy's eyes, perfection. "Veronica, you look…wow."

"Well thank you, Jimmy." She walks into his apartment, looking around with an appraising eye, as she is prone to do. "The place looks great. You got all of your stuff moved in pretty quick."

"It helps to have three teenage boys that are friends with my daughter," he says with a laugh. "Between Luke and Ryan doing the heavy lifting, Seth helping me with my office, and the girls putting together the bedrooms, we were all done with everything by Wednesday."

"So are you ready to go," Veronica asks. "Our reservations are for fifteen minutes from now."

"I'm ready. Let's go." Jimmy follows Veronica out to her car and locks the door to his new apartment.

The Cooper household

"Neil, how are you? Come in, come in." Julie holds the door open for Neil Roberts, who enters the Cooper household.

"I don't think I've been here for awhile, Julie. The last time had to have been…probably two years ago, for Marissa's birthday party. The day before Gloria left," he muses.

"So much has changed since then. Who would have thought that we'd both be going to dinner, not with our significant others, but with each other?"

"No matter how improbably, I'm glad to be spending the evening with you, Julie. You look smashing," he says, smiling.

"Thank you, Neil. You're looking very dapper tonight, as well. Was work busy?"

"Actually, it was a pretty slow day at the hospital. No major emergencies, so I was able to leave a little early and clean myself up."

"Would you like a drink before we leave? I think Jimmy left a bottle of scotch when he moved out."

Neil looks at his watch. "I think we'd better get moving if we're going to make our reservations. I'll be happy to take you up on that scotch when we get there."

The Kick-off Carnival

"So I take it we'll be skipping the Ferris Wheel again this year?"

"Yup. You won't be seeing me that high off of the ground."

Taylor rolls her eyes at her boyfriend's refusal to get on that particular ride. "Don't you think you're a little old to be afraid of heights? Ryan glares at her. "Right. Sorry."

"Why are you afraid of heights," Seth asks the other boy.

"I'm not afraid," he clarifies, "I just don't understand why anybody would want to be that high up off of the ground."

"It's not Ryan's fault," Marissa adds. "I think Luke is probably the one to blame."

"I sense a story coming up," Seth says, making a come-on gesture. "Go ahead, baste me."

"It's not really a story, Corona. Cohen and I went to the amusement park when we were younger and rode the roller coaster. I pretended like I was going to fall off the entire time and I think it freaked him out a little."

"And ever since, poor little Cohen has been afraid of heights," Summer finishes.

"I'm not afraid," Ryan says again, however, nobody seems to be listening.

"Well, Summer dearest, I'm not afraid of heights. Would you like to take a ride with me," he says winking, taking a smack upside the head for his innuendo. "I meant on the Ferris Wheel woman! Those rides are not to be discussed in public, as per your stipulation." Summer turns red and drags Seth, who is wearing a big, shit-eating grin, to the Ferris Wheel.

"So how does Seth like his new job," Taylor asks.

"Well, he hates the work, but he loves the benefits. They have him cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and cleaning glasses. He's not really much for manual labor, as I'm sure you know, but he seems pretty psyched up for these concerts coming up. Somebody called 'Death Cab' is coming next week and a few weeks later is Rooney."

"Rooney is coming," Marissa asks, looking excited.

"Not you too," Ryan groans. "I'm sure Seth will be getting us all tickets so you don't have to worry about being able to go."

"I love Rooney! Come on, Luke, win me some prizes and I'll tell you all about them." She pulls a protesting Luke away from the other two.

"Later, Cohen."

"Later, man." Ryan puts his arm around Taylor's shoulders and holds her closer. "And then there were two. What do you want to do? I was thinking something manly, like I can knock down some bottles with a ball or shoot up some paper target with a fake gun and win you a cheap stuffed animal."

"Or we can skip the carnival and go down to the beach and watch the tide change. We haven't had much alone time lately and I don't really care about being here right now." She takes his hand with hers. "I just want to spend some time with you."

"We could ride the Ferris Wheel," Ryan suggests.

"Oh shut up," she says as they walk in the direction of the beach.

The Yacht Club

"I'll have a scotch on the rocks and the lady will have a…" Jimmy looks at Veronica.

"I'll take a glass of Merlot." The waiter disappears with their drink orders and leaves them each a menu.

"So, I know that I've probably worn this out over the past couple days, but I can't thank you enough for setting me up with that apartment. It keeps me in the area and gives me somewhere that I can stay for cheap while I try to get back on my feet."

"As I've said before, you're more than welcome Jimmy. Although, I can't say it was for entirely altruistic reasons. That commission boosted me into the next bonus bracket with my firm." The waiter returns with their drinks. "I'm just kidding Jimmy. It was my pleasure. I couldn't very well leave you out in the cold, could I? I know what a tough time you're going through and I'm glad to help out."

"I think a toast is in order, then." He holds his glass out over the table and Veronica's joins it. "To me and a new start in my apartment, and to you, for helping me get my foot in the door, literally. Cheers."

"Cheers." Veronica clinks her glass against Jimmy's. They share a steamy look across the table, until it is interrupted by a startled exclamation from the door.

"James?"

Jimmy looks over to the door and sees his soon-to-be ex-wife walking into The Yacht Club with Neil Roberts. "Jules? What are you doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same thing, but it appears pretty obvious." Julie turns to Veronica, her demeanor icy. "Good to see you too, Veronica."

"It's not what you think, Jules. Veronica set me up with my apartment. I took her out to dinner to say thank you."

"Oh my God! I'm sorry, you two. I didn't mean to…well, I guess I did, but I'm sorry. Actually, I'm here with Neil for the same reason." Neil reaches over and shakes Jimmy's hand. "He volunteered his house for the Children's Hospital Benefit next week."

"Well, I couldn't very well leave Julie without a place to host the event. I figured it was the only natural thing to do, since I'm with the hospital as an advisor." Neil looks over and sees the host standing near what must be their table. "I think the host is getting impatient so I think we'll be off. You two enjoy your dinner."

"Whoa, wait a second Neil. Why don't you and Jules join Veronica and I?" He looks at Veronica, who nods her assent. "We're all friends here and Julie and I separated on good terms. We'll make an evening of it."

"That is an excellent idea, James," Julie says, and sits down at the seat between Veronica and her ex. She motions for Neil to take the seat opposite her on the table. "Waiter! Two more menus, please."

The Nichol Mansion

Kirsten knocks on the door of her father's house, holding a file of papers that he asked her to bring to the office tomorrow. She had planned on taking a day to be alone with her husband so, instead of making him wait until Monday, she was bringing them over now.

The door opens to reveal her younger sister, Lindsey, without make-up and dressed down for the evening. "Lindsey? I was looking for Dad." She notices her youngest sister's state of dress. "You're not going to the Carnival?"

"No, I don't feel so good. Dad's in his study." She steps back to let her sister pass.

Kirsten walks into the house, but stops as she sees the mark on Lindsey's face, partially obscured with concealer. "What happened?! That looks terrible!"

"It's nothing," she says trying to hide her face. "I ran into the door upstairs." Lindsey tries to run away but it stopped by Kirsten's hand on her shoulder. "Let me go, Kiki."

"Did Dad do this? You can tell me sweetie."

"Why? So you can go tell those three little brats that you love more than me? So they can look at me with pity? No thanks. Why don't you go do what you have to do with Dad and go away?" She shakes off her sister's hand and runs upstairs, to her room.

Kirsten storms into her father's study, where he is currently on the phone. She yanks the instrument out of his hand and hangs it up.

"What are you doing, Kirsten? That was a very important call!"

"What did I tell you Dad? What did I tell you would happen if I found out that you were laying a hand on Lindsey?"

"I don't know what that little brat told you-"

Kirsten stares at him. "Oh, she didn't tell me anything, Dad. You've already got her under your thumb. That doesn't mean that I don't know what's going on, though. I remember what you were like when I was young, but I thought maybe you'd changed after all these years. It turns out I was wrong."

"You and I both know that you won't quit, Kiki."

"I'm not quitting Dad. I love my job, and I'm not going to give it up so that you can feel better. But, outside our office, I have nothing more to say to you. You're on your own with The Balboa Wetlands case. Good luck. You'll need it." She throws the stack of papers down on the desk and walks out of his study.

The Yacht Club, Later

"I remember that day," Veronica says, laughing. "Taylor came home, covered in make-up, asking me if she looked pretty. I had the hardest time telling her to wash it off with a straight face. How did those three even get into your make-up kit anyway, Julie?"

"I must have left it out on the counter that morning. They probably went through about four hundred dollars worth of make-up!" Julie joins her friend in laughing.

"It's hard to believe they're growing up so fast. Just think that in three more years, they'll be off to college. It's hard to believe we'll all be alone again." Neil sips his scotch.

"Well, not all of us, I hope," Veronica says, looking at Jimmy with a hungry look in her eyes. Jimmy jumps as he feels her stocking clad feet stroking his inner thigh, something Julie and Neil seem to miss. "I mean, all four of us are single again. You'd think that at least one or two of us may end up moving on."

"Or all four of us," Julie adds, looking at Neil. Neil clears his throat and checks his wrist.

"It seems to be getting rather late. We might want to be home before the kids get back from the carnival."

"Good call, Neil. So, I will schedule that tee time for next Saturday," Jimmy asks, shaking his hand.

"Of course, James. I'll clear my schedule." Neil stands, followed closely by Julie.

"And we'll meet up tomorrow at the country club for yogalates, right Veronica?" Veronica nods.

"I'll see you there, Julie." Julie and Neil take their leave.

"I think it's probably time for us to go, too," Veronica says. "I don't want Taylor thinking all of our bonding at Catalina was for naught and that I'm ditching her for a new man." She winks at Jimmy, who blushes. He follows her out to the car and she drives him back to his new apartment, pulling up to the drive.

"I had an amazing evening, Jimmy. Thank you for dinner."

"I should be thanking you. Again. For everything."

"I can think of a way you can thank me, James."

Am I really going to do this? Am I going to kiss my ex-wife's friend? Screw it, she's hot, Jimmy thinks to himself and capture's Veronica's lips with his own. An extended make-out session follows, until Jimmy breaks it off.

"I'm sorry, I don't know if I can do this right now. With everything going on and my divorce not even finalized, I think-"

"It's okay, Jimmy." Veronica chuckles. "I'm not asking you to marry me or anything. I think you're a great guy and you're going through something hard right now. I thought that this would be something I could do for you. A little no strings attached, stress relief, if you get my drift."

Jimmy stares straight ahead for a second. He finally turns back to face Veronica. "Can I have a few days?"

"Of course, Jimmy. Any time that you want to continue this, let me know." Jimmy steps out her vehicle. "You're a good man, James. Don't let anyone tell you different." He stares at her as she backs out of the drive, waves, and drives off.

"What a kick in the pants," he mumbles to himself and walks into his apartment.


A/N: Real short one here. I enjoyed this chapter a lot more than the last one I typed up, so I hope it shows. Unless I get absurd amounts of extra time this week, this chapter will be the only update. I've got packing to do! Yay for going home! Random fact of the chapter: International laws require any whisky bearing the label "Scotch" to be distilled in Scotland and matured for a minimum of three years and one day in oak casks, among other, more specific criteria. Please review and I hope you enjoy!

AZ