Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing.

A/N: I wrote this out of pure boredom this afternoon. Sorry for any grammar error's, for no one corrected it. It takes place after the season finale. Enjoy.

Ryan sat on the front porch of Theresa's house waiting for Sandy to come and pick him and Theresa up. The summer was ending and Ryan had promised the Cohen's that he would come and visit them. Throughout the whole summer he felt guilty for leaving, especially when he found out that Seth had ran away to Tahiti. The other day he got a post card from him. At least he knew that Seth was all right and was planning to come home this week.

"Hey." Theresa interrupted his thoughts and sat down next to him. She was five months pregnant now.

"Hey." Ryan replied, shielding the hot California sun with his hand. "You still coming?"

"If I don't, Kirsten is going to flip out." Theresa laughed.

Kirsten called at least two times a week to check up on her. She kept on begging for her and Ryan to come back to Newport to have the baby there, but Theresa wanted to be in Chino with her mother. Every since her mother had found out about her being pregnant, she despised Ryan. All the years of her mother liking the youngest Atwood drained away in one tearful conversation the night Theresa told her she was pregnant. Theresa knew that Ryan didn't want to be with her, in a relationship, but he insisted on helping her with the baby. They weren't even sure if it was his or Eddie's.

"So, when is Seth coming home?" Theresa questioned, as she ignored his soft glare.

"Soon. He didn't really say when. All he said was that he would be back in time to pick his courses for senior year, which is this week." Ryan replied. Sandy's car pulled up to the side of the road and he left the front porch. Theresa followed him and climbed into the backseat of Sandy's BMW.

"Theresa, you look good. How's the baby?" Sandy asked, eyeing her in the rearview mirror.

"Oh the baby's fine, Mr. Cohen." Theresa smiled at him and continued looking out the window.

Sandy wasn't sure what else to say to the two teenagers sitting in his car. Over the summer he had begged Ryan to rethink his decision and come back home, but Ryan had ignored him, simply telling him that he had to take care of Theresa and the baby.

"So, Ryan…" Sandy spoke up. "How's the job going?" He asked.

Ryan shrugged. He was exhausted from working ten-hour shifts, six days a week, at the construction site. He looked down at his rough hands and sighed. "Keeps me busy." Ryan gave a half smile to Sandy. Ryan decided to quickly change the subject. "Have you heard from Seth?"

Sandy shook his head. "Nothing but a post card he sent us a while back ago. When he gets home, I'm going to wring his head in." Sandy sighed and gripped the steering wheel. "I remember telling him that since the minute he was born, I knew I would never take another easy breath without knowing that he was all right. And now, here I am, Kirsten and I…We have no clue where he is or if he's all right."

"But we do know." Ryan whispered.

"Do we really?"

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Marissa locked herself in her bedroom all day with a bottle of vodka next to her. She knew Ryan was coming back today, but only for a visit, not for good. She knew he would be with Theresa and they would be happy.

Marissa grabbed the bottle of vodka next to her, unscrewed the cap off, and took a mouthful in. Over the summer she had done nothing but sulk over the loss of Ryan. She tried calling him at Theresa's but he was never home. He was always out working. She thought Ryan loved her, heck, she still loved him and she knew she had to tell him that.

There was a knock at her bedroom door and Marissa stood up to answer it. "What?" She opened the door to her stepfather.

"Marissa, dear, your mother wants you downstairs and ready to go in five minutes." Caleb informed her.

"Why? Where are we going?"

"I've invited myself over to Kiki's house for dinner. I hear that boy should be there." Caleb shook his head. He never understood how his daughter and her pot- smoking husband took in a delinquent.

"Ryan?"

Caleb nodded. "Yes, and that girlfriend of his is coming too."

"Girlfriend?" Marissa repeated. She wasn't sure if he was talking about Theresa or maybe it was just some random girl from Chino. Maybe another girl next door. "Theresa?" Marissa asked.

"How should I know?" Caleb replied. He heard Julie calling his name from downstairs. "I suggest you get cleaned up." Caleb said and then left.

Marissa closed her bedroom door and went straight to the bottle. She finished the vodka off and changed her clothes. Tonight she was going to tell Ryan how she really felt.

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"Ryan!" Kirsten embraced him. She pulled back from him and looked him over. "You have a tan!"

"Yeah, well, that's what working in the sun does." Ryan mumbled to her. He rushed over to Theresa and helped her sit down on the couch. As of lately she was having pain in her lower back.

"So, which take-out are we having tonight, Kirsten?" Sandy asked, sitting down next to Theresa.

"No take-out tonight." Kirsten smiled cautiously.

"What? Is that a first?" Theresa joked.

"The gruesome twosome are coming over?" Sandy moaned.

"I couldn't say no." Kirsten quickly said. "Promise me you won't do anything." Kirsten begged Sandy.

"Oh, I won't." Sandy laughed.

"Also, Marissa is coming too." Kirsten announced, walking into the kitchen.

Ryan and Theresa exchanged looks.

"Have you guys talked to Marissa lately?" Sandy asked. He could see that Ryan was taken back by Kirsten's announcement.

"No. I haven't talked to her since the wedding." Ryan admitted. "How is she?" He asked.

Sandy stood up. "I wouldn't know. With you not here, and with Seth gone…We never see her here anymore."

"Oh." Ryan nodded. He had been ignoring Marissa all summer long.

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Ryan sat quietly next to Marissa, as he ate his dinner with the Cohen's and the Nichol's. He still couldn't believe that Julie Cooper had married Caleb Nichol.

Theresa grabbed a second helping of mash potatoes and ate them quickly.

Caleb noticed the young girl's appetite and commented on it. "What's the matter? Ryan doesn't make enough money to feed you and the baby?" He asked Theresa, grunting.

"Dad." Kirsten warned him. "She's eating for two, you know."

"I know that, Kiki." Caleb replied. "But none of this would have happened in the first place if the Sandman, over there, hadn't brought him into the house in the first place." He pointed his index finger across the table to Sandy. Ryan looked back and forth between Caleb and Sandy, who were sitting at opposite ends of the table.

Sandy stood up. "This is my house, Caleb and if you don't like the way I've been running things, then you're not welcomed here." He sat back down in his chair and continued eating.

"All I'm saying, is that if it weren't for you bringing the boy home in the first place, Seth would be here…Eating dinner with his family…Where he belongs. Not on some boat by himself."

Ryan clanked his silverware onto his plate and back away from the table. He glared at Caleb, as he walked out of the house and into the poolhouse. He knew he was right. Seth would be here with his family, where he belongs, if Ryan had never shown up in the first place.

Sandy knocked on the poolhouse door and walked in. "Don't listen to him." Sandy said, sitting down in a chair.

Ryan sat on the edge of his old bed and stared down at his feet. "He's right. Seth would be here."

"Maybe." Sandy replied. "But you wouldn't be here, Ryan. If you had never called me then…Well, who knows, you could be in juvy or living with your mother." Sandy sighed. "We can't play the 'what if' game. We just need to except what has happened and move on."

Ryan nodded and looked up at Sandy. "It's just been a really hard summer…And with the baby coming and all…It's getting a little hectic. I just wish Seth were here. He'd know what to do."

"Well, for now, I can try and to be the comical relief." Sandy patted him on the knee.

Ryan smiled. "I doubt that. But, you can try."

"Good." Sandy stood up. "So, shall we go back and face the gruesome twosome?"

Ryan shook his head. "I'd rather not, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Sandy turned around and headed out of the door when he bumped into Marissa. "I'll leave you two alone." He whispered to her.

"Hey." Marissa smiled at Ryan and then sat down next to him. "I'm sorry about what happened in there."

"It's not your fault." Ryan replied. He knew Marissa would start playing with the guilt trip. "So, how are things?" He asked, changing the subject.

Marissa shrugged. "Summer still won't talk to me because of what happened with Seth. She thinks it's my fault. Besides that I'm fine. How's Theresa? Are you two…"

"Together?" Ryan asked. Marissa nodded. "No. I told you before, when I left, that I'm just helping her out. I may be the father."

"Yeah, you also told me that you wanted us to work out too." Marissa mumbled.

"I've been busy." Ryan replied, looking down at his hands. He started to scrap the dirt out beneath his fingernails.

"With what, Ryan? How can you possibly be busy 24/7 throughout the whole summer? Why didn't you call me? I called you."

Ryan shifted on the bed. "I've been working and - "

"You've been ignoring me." Marissa interrupted. "Do you love her?"

"Theresa? No, she's my friend." Ryan defended himself.

"Who you got pregnant." Marissa yelled.

"We're not even sure if the baby's mine or not. For all I know, it could be Eddie's. And if it is…I still can't leave her alone with him. We all know what damage he can do to Theresa." Ryan replied. He stood up from the bed and started pacing the floor. "I'm sorry I never called you and I'm sorry that you're mad at me. It's just now with the baby coming…" Ryan trailed off. "Look." He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of her. "I know that you wanted for us to be together. I wanted that too, before everything happened…but I just don't think that that's possible right now."

Marissa forced herself to hold back the tears. She knew he didn't lover her anymore. It was obvious now that he wanted to stay in Chino and raise Theresa's baby.

"It just wouldn't have worked out between us." Ryan explained. "We're from two different worlds."

Marissa stood up and faced him. "Ryan, I love you and I probably always will too…I'm sorry that you just don't realize that." She turned away from him and headed out of the poolhouse.

Ryan sighed and fell back onto the bed. He closed his eyes shut, forcing himself not to get mad at himself. It wasn't his fault that she loved him, was it? Ryan thought about it through his head and didn't realize the lonesome figure standing above him.

"Dude, are you contemplating world domination without me?"

Ryan's eyes flew opened to the sound of Seth's voice. Seth was standing next to his bed, holding onto his bag. "W-what –"

"You've always had a way with your words." Seth laughed.

Ryan stood up from the bed and embraced his best friend. "Where the hell have you been! Do your parents know you're home?" Ryan asked.

"Tahiti. And no, Mom and Dad don't know I'm home yet." Seth grinned. "Thought I'd check up on the poolhouse soap opera before I headed into the locked dungeons."

"How did you know I'd be here?" Ryan asked.

"I didn't. Pure Cohen luck, I suppose." Seth replied, dropping his bag to the ground. "So, did you get my post card?"

"Yeah. Very descriptive." Ryan laughed, remembering what Seth had written.

"Well, someone has to be." Seth looked around the poolhouse. "So, I saw Marissa leaving. What's up with that?"

"Long story." Ryan mumbled.

"I see. How's Theresa? Are you home now, for good?"

Ryan shrugged. "I just came to visit, Seth. I really don't know what's happening right now with my life, to tell you the truth. Theresa's fine and so is the baby."

"So, I'm going to be an Uncle now, for sure?" Seth questioned.

Ryan nodded. "If it's mine. Once the baby's born we're going to do a DNA test."

"That's cool. So, if it's not yours you're coming back here, right?"

"Maybe." Ryan replied. He really didn't know what he was going to do after the baby was born.

Seth dropped it. He wasn't going to push his best friend any further.

"So, how was Tahiti. Was it everything you thought it would be?" Ryan asked.

"Everything and more." Seth replied and then slouched down in a chair. "Actually, it kind of sucked." He admitted. "I had always dreamt of going there with Summer…So, it was kind of a lonesome trip without her there, if you know what I mean." Seth said and then asked, "Have you seen or talked to Summer at all?"

Ryan shook his head. "I've been in Chino the whole time. I wouldn't know. This is actually my first time back."

"Oh." Seth bobbed his head up and down. "So, how long are you staying?"

"Well, Sandy said I could spend the night. I was going to bunk up in your bed tonight and let Theresa have the poolhouse, but now that you're home…"

"Sleepover! Awesome!" Seth exaggerated.

"Hey, Ryan…I – " Theresa stopped at the door. "Oh, hey…Seth."

Seth waved at Theresa. "Yo, how goes it with the baby?" He asked, pointing to his stomach.

Theresa rubbed her belly. "The baby's good. He's been kicking a lot."

"He?" Seth's face lit up. "So it's a boy."

Both Ryan and Theresa nodded.

"Thought of any names yet? Maybe Thor…or Seth." Seth questioned them. "Like I said before, Ryan, Thor's a strong name and, well, Seth…Seth's just an insanely awesome name. If I weren't a Seth, I would want to be one." He pointed out.

Theresa laughed. "We'll take it into consideration."

"Glad to hear someone is a little more open to my perspectives." Seth stood up. "Well, I think it's time for me to face Mom and Dad now." He announced. "Wish me luck." Seth walked out of the poolhouse.

"You okay?" Ryan asked Theresa.

"I'm fine. I just came to check up on you. Are you okay? Don't listen to what Mr. Nichols has to say about you." She replied.

"It's okay, Theresa. I'm fine. Come on, let's go back into the house." Ryan said and then walked pass her and into the Cohen's house.

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"Mom…Mom…Mom." Seth moaned. "You're choking me. Can you loosen up on the death grip?" Seth mumbled into her shoulder.

"That's what you get for running off on us for two months." Sandy scowled him. He was sitting in between Theresa and Ryan on the couch. Caleb, Julie and Marissa had left already and now Kirsten wouldn't let go of Seth.

"Okay, okay. Mom, I'm sorry." Seth pleaded with her.

Kirsten let him go. "A note, Seth! You left me a note!"

Ryan laughed to himself, remembering that just a year ago he was caught in the same situation. His mother had left him a note, but at least Seth had returned home – at his own will.

"Sorry." Seth said again. "Is young and stupid a good excuse to give you guys?" Seth asked.

"No, but for now it will do." Kirsten hugged him again. "I'm just so happy you're home." She let him go again.

"Promise me you won't ever leave again, son." Sandy asked.

"I promise, I won't." Seth replied. "So, who's up for some Playstation?" Seth bounced over to the PS2. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" He rubbed the controller up to his face.

"Aw, would you look at that." Sandy laughed jokingly. "He's like child discovering fire."

"Mock all you want, dad, but I'm so going to beat you at the Ninja game."

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