A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews, I am trying to keep up with the writing as you guys are reading and reviewing and if you guys keep enjoying the stories and reviewing than I will keep writing. This story is a passion of mine and I am going to keep up with it, along with my other short one shots. I hope you guys read those too. Enjoy and please send suggestions if you want to see something in the story. Thanks- Tay

Love Links to Life: Chapter 3- RISD Parent's Weekend

Disclaimer: If I owned it the show would never have ended.

The Cohen clan was now one hour away from landing in Providence and Sophie was bouncing around on Sandy's in the window seat as Ryan and Kirsten had a conversation over their second bag of pretzels and third cup of coffee. Kirsten had tried everything to keep Ryan calm as they flew the last four hours, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was sitting in the isle seat and kept his hands in his in pockets to not show his nervousness of being in the air.

Kirsten decided to try a new approach to conversation to try and calm Ryan's nervously bouncing leg by asking questions to try and make conversation, "So are you excited about seeing Seth?"

Ryan looking at her quizzically, "Uhuh, yeah, real excited. Been missing him, really excited." His conversation had been this way the whole flight and Kirsten was surprised he hadn't passed out from lack of oxygen entering his brain.

Laughing, Kirsten tried another topic, "So I talked to Taylor and she said fell in love with this really nice guy, but she was worried about him."

Suddenly Ryan's knee stopped bouncing and he was his normal self as he responded to Kirsten in a confused hurry, "What new guy, where, huh? She just text me last night about…" but stopped when he saw Kirsten trying to hold back her laugh.

Kirsten no longer being able to stifle her giggle as she spoke, "I am sorry Ryan, I just needed you to relax, she did call me though worried about a certain blonde haired son of mine who she was worried about flying."

Ryan looked at her cautiously asking, "Really? She didn't say she was worried about me, she just wished me a safe trip, and oh she said she missed you and Sandy, and to tell Seth to stop emailing about missing summer, and how much she loved me, and that she was getting ready for her classes, but really it was like 6 in the morning for her so she really shouldn't have been up but I bet she was just trying to be in the same time zone as me but then again she does only sleep like 4 hours a night and…" watching Kirsten's amused face he concluded he was pulling a Taylor and rambling in replacement of his nervousness, "I am rambling aren't I, dang it Taylor."

Running her hand over his head in a soothing mother kind of way, she couldn't hold back her laughs as she tried to calm him, "I am sorry for laughing sweetie, but seeing you like this, it's kind of nice to see you vulnerable for once, let's me be your mom. Ryan don't worry, look only 45 minutes to go, see, time flies when you are rambling", laughing again at Ryan's expense, "I am sorry sweetie, but why don't you get up and go into my bag in the overhead, there is a purple book in there, pull that out would you?" She patted him on the shoulder softly.

Ryan got up and opened the overhead and dug through Kirsten's bag to quickly find the purple book she was talking about. Taking it out and closing the overhead, he sat down in his chair buckling up again as handed it to her. Sandy then spoke up when he saw what Ryan had handed Kirsten, "Oh is that the…" but was cut off by Kirsten's nod.

Ryan looked curiously at Kirsten and Sandy as he spoke, "What is it?"

Sandy turned back to Kirsten not wanting any part in this mother son moment as Kirsten placed it on the armrest between Ryan and herself, "You know how Taylor sends us all of those pictures of herself and those trinkets and things from Paris?" Getting a nod from Ryan to continue, "Well I know how she loved to scrapbook and leave behind memories, hence your dorm room, so I have put together a scrapbook for her of things here so she gets piece of home and knows that some people here miss her and love her."

"Okay… so what is in this book?" Ryan asked curiously, not sure if he wanted to find out.

"Well why don't you open it and I will explain." Kirsten said with a reassuring smile.

With that Ryan opened to the first page which was a picture of Seth, Summer, Marissa, Taylor, Anna, Seth and himself at the Cohen house before prom. The title at the bottom of the page said: A Whole New Group Was Forming with the Very Last Prom. Ryan saw more explanation at the bottom of the page but decided to hear Kirsten out, "This is what I saw as a new start to the future of Newport's finest, my two boys with new friends and opening themselves to a new world. The first real involvement of Taylor in your world."

Turning the page, Ryan smiled as he saw the picture of Taylor at the end of the long dinner table at thanksgiving the year before. He laughed as he saw all the homeless fellows they had befriended because of that night. Kirsten continued with a smile following Ryan's laugh, "I remember catching her eating the stuffing from the kitchen, which was a surprise for me."

Turning the pages, Ryan found moments of them together at Sandy's benefit, the night he felt something for Taylor for the first time; at a New- Match party on the groundhog day, there were moments filled throughout the book that he had never seen, them kissing by the pool, eating at Julie's wedding, playing with Sophie or just feeding her together. They were all happy moments of the whole Cohen crew with Summer and Taylor, Julie and Kaitlin. For the first time, Ryan felt a flutter in his heart as he heard Kirsten tell him about each picture. As he ended the book he saw a few pictures of himself and Sophie and Sandy holding Sophie's hand waving, then there were some that Seth had sent over through email from RISD and some of Summer on her tour. The very last page surprised him the most though, for it wasn't a picture at all but a drawing that must have been done by Seth, it was The Ironist, Little Miss Vixen, Kid Chino, and a new character in the arms of Kid Chino, her name was Miss Paris Rambler. And she closely resembled a certain rambling girlfriend of Ryan's with a cape that resembled a sweater. Ryan started laughing as he saw the new character is Seth's comic, "is that Taylor? Seth made Taylor a character? Why didn't he tell me?"

Kirsten smiled as she saw the enjoyment on Ryan's face, "He wanted it to be a surprise, what do you think? Capture her well?"

Ryan shaking his head, smiles in reply, "yeah, he did, he really did".

Kirsten than pointed out the top of the page where Cosmo Girl sat on a cloud overlooking the new four superheroes. "He didn't want to replace her, but he wanted them to move on."

Ryan smiled lightly as Kirsten wrapped her arm around him, "Thanks Kirsten, for showing me this."

"No problem sweetie", and with that she hugged him to the best of her ability in their seats and Ryan shut the album, forgetting he was even nervous as they conversed throughout the rest of the flight.

Sandy, Kirsten, Ryan and Sophie landed at the Providence Airport three hours previously, and after picking up their luggage, getting their rental car, checking into the hotel and a quick diaper change, they were now in front of RISD waiting for Seth to come and give them a tour.

Seth ran out of his dorm room after he hung up on Ryan, and headed straight for the front of campus where he knew his family would be standing under a big banner that read, Welcome RISD Parents and Alumni. Turning the corner, there they were, his loving and excited family.

"Hey Mom, Dad", Seth spoke slightly out of breath as he was embraced in a hug by Kirsten who was more than excited to see him, "mom, air, please, need to breath".

Kirsten finally loosened her grip on Seth as she wiped the tear from her eye, "Sorry Seth, it's just, you are so grown up now, sweetie, and I've missed you so much." With that, Kirsten wrapped him in another death grip hug before releasing him into Sandy's grasps.

Sandy wrapped him in a hug, trying to not squish Sophie in the process that was a smiling bundle in his arms, "How is school son? I've missed you".

"Good, and I've missed you too dad. Hey Sophie, remember me? I'm your other big brother Seth, you know, the cool one." Seth said as he smiled at Sophie and took her from Sandy's arms for a hug before returning her. He then returned to what he believed to be the most important part of his life, his best friend and brother, "Ryan, man, how's life, punch any faces at Berkeley?" embracing Ryan in a manly hug unlike the ones he received from his parents.

Hugging back Ryan replied, "Hey Seth, nah, just catching more sleep now that you are gone".

"Thanks for love man", Seth replied as he turned and introduced his school, "Welcome to Rhode Island Institute of Design, the new casa de Seth. Breathe in the smell of brilliance. Cause this is what you are paying for."

"Thanks for the reminder Seth, now why don't you show us your dorm." Sandy said as he shook his head, Seth was still Seth.

"Dad, look at it this way, you pay for my education and Ryan get's one for free now that you teach at Berkeley. Give and take, give and take", Seth said smugly.

"Okay Seth, dorm?" Kirsten butted in as she was strapping Sophie to her carrier in the stroller.

"Off to the dorm, this way ma familia." Seth said as he lead the way to his dorm.

Arriving at Seth's dorm after Seth pointed out every landmark on the way to his dorm, the door was opened to a simple yet Summer- esc dormitory.

On one side of the room sat very colorful array of fabrics and patterns. The other side was had a simpler color scheme and a mural to Summer along with a cluttered mess of papers and water bottles on Seth's desk burying his laptop and printer. "This is my room, as you can see I have been keeping track of Summer's adventures and this is pretty much it, the mini fridge is over there with the microwave, and this is my bed, pretty much it."

Ryan finally spoke to fill the silence that came from Sandy and Kirsten's gaping mouths, "Nice Seth, think you could organize your desk a little more?"

Finally another voice spoke from the corner of the room where nobody had noticed, a skinny boy with long blonde hair in a ponytail was standing in a bright orange- yellow shirt smiled, "Hey Seth, is this your family?" Walking over to them to shake their hands, he introduced himself in a rather high pitched voice, "Hi, I am Phillip, Seth's roommate, I'm a fashion design major, you must be so proud of him, his comics are amazing."

Sandy and Kirsten finally snapped out of their Seth's messy room horror daze and shook Phillips hand with a smile, Sandy being the first to speak, "Hi Phillip, I'm Sandy, Seth's father, this is Kirsten, his mom, his brother Ryan, and Sophie down here is his little sister." Pointing at the smiling baby in the stroller.

"Oh My Gosh, she is so adorable, Seth, you sister is so cute, and your brothers, wow, are you Seth's twin?" Phillip asked as he shook Ryan's hand.

Ryan shook Phillips hand back with a smile, as he looked at Seth for help, "No, we are…" but was cut off by Phillip.

"I saw your graduation picture on Seth's desk and I just assumed, those are some pretty girls in those pictures too, oh and Seth talks about you all the time, and that Taylor girl, tell her that she can dress, Seth shows me her pictures in emails all the time…"

Seth finally butted in trying to save his family from the ongoing one way conversation that Phillip and him had everyday, "Hey Phillip, it was great having you here, but the parents need to go to their orientation before we go to dinner, I'll catch you later okay?"

"Okay Seth, come back soon everyone…" and with that, the Cohen clan was out the door.

Ryan spoke as soon as the door was shut, "Man Seth, he talks faster than Taylor, and I thought that was impossible."

Seth laughed, "Dude, that was nothing, wait till he's drunk, he will sew a dress and tell you his whole life story I an hour."

Kirsten finally joined the conversation, "Seth, I hope you aren't getting drunk, we aren't paying for you to party, and either way you are underage."

Sandy butted in while pushing a slowly drifting Sophie in the stroller, "Don't worry honey, I am sure Seth knows better, right Seth?"

"Yeah, yeah, no drinking, heard the speech, plus, if I were ever drunk then Ryan could probably tell you, all of my spare time is on the phone with him, thank god for mobile to mobile." Seth responded.

Ryan saving grace for his brother, "True, we are on the phone all the time."

And with that the Cohen's left the dormitories and went on their way to the Parent's Orientation/ Welcome.

While Sandy and Kirsten spent the next three hours at the Parent's Welcome Orientation, Seth and Ryan strolled around the campus with Sophie, each pushing the stroller in turn, trying to act manly at the same. They finally stopped for coffee at a café on campus that Seth went to regularly. Sitting there with their coffee's Ryan started to feed a fussy Sophie while Seth rambled on about Summer and school.

"She is now in Texas, enjoying the debates and trying to put a cap on all the oil drilling. Apparently though, Bullit owns most of the oil refineries and she feels kind of bad protesting against a friend of the family. He did however offer to put her up in one of his mansions though, but she had to turn it down no matter how tempting it was." Seth went on.

Ryan looked down at a happily feeding Sophie as he butted into Seth's conversation, "Yeah, that's great Seth. Hey, what is up with your roommate and the colors and why the heck are you showing him pictures of my girlfriend?"

Seth snickered, "Oh Phil, he's a fashion design major, way gay. He designs all of these outfits and his bedspreads and stuff. It's kind of nice though, like we have half naked models in our rooms all the time begin fitted for a fashion show or something. He's a little crazy though, and every weekend after a show, he like gets wasted. It's almost funny, until he doesn't stop talking and I need to sleep. And well blame Taylor for being hot in the those pictures, I just show him what new emails I get and stuff and if she sends them than I show them, no big deal man, not like she knows anyways, she only thinks of you. Summer keeps complaining about her whining about how much she misses you."

Ryan sighed, "Yeah I know, I miss her too, oh and by the way, stop emailing her about how much you miss summer. She says she knows, and that you should just stop wasting your time emailing her and call Summer and tell her you miss her."

"Whatever Ryan, your girl does the same thing to Summer. She can bite me. Oh and did mom show you the comic cover I made with the new Miss Paris Ramble?"

Looking up from a feeding Sophie, "Yeah that was cool man, but why did you kill off Cosmogirl?"

"I didn't kill her off, she is just now a saint that guides the heroes from another world. I figured now that Marissa is gone, you know…"

Sighing as he stared at Sophie, "Yeah I know… I still miss her though, don't get me wrong, I love Taylor with all my heart, but Marissa and I, we never got to say goodbye, and I never got to get mad at her, with Taylor I can."

"Dude, I would be pissed at Taylor all the time if I were you, she never shuts up."

Throwing Sophie's burp cloth at Seth, "Seth!" giving him the look, "I miss Marissa in the first love kind of way, but I think I might actually love Taylor more than I ever did Marissa. Do you get it? And I kind of feel bad almost, cause she's dead."

Seth sighed and handed the cloth back to Ryan, "Yeah man I kind of get it."

They continued drinking their coffee in an almost silence as Sophie finished her bottle and Seth was forced to burp her, only to have her spit up on him. They headed back to Seth's dorm so that he could change his, "baby barf covered shirt", and then headed to the art studio where most of Seth's designs were.

Ryan walking in carrying a sleeping Sophie in her carrier was amazed by what he saw, the walls were covered in drawing and images of comics and characters in full color. Ryan followed Seth to his desk where there were images scattered everywhere and pictures were hung up all over the way. Seth dug through the pile of papers until he found a slender book. Ryan placed Sophie's carrier on the floor as he took the book from Seth's outstretched hands.

"Seth is this, what I think it is?" viewing the cover that was a finished full cover color version of the image he saw in Kirsten's album earlier.

Seth nodded as he spoke with pride, "Yep, it's the first official issue of The New World Adventures of Atomic County, introducing Miss Paris Rambler".

Ryan nodded as he flipped through the comic book, "wow Seth, this is amazing, you have really done a lot since you have been here."

"Yeah, I have to do something while Summer is away, can't sit and wallow all day long."

The small talk was interrupted by the shriek of a cell phone going off. Ryan put the comic book down as he pulled out his phone before the shrill woke Sophie, "Hello… Yeah we are in the art studio… you want to meet in front of Seth's dorm… okay, we will see you soon." Hanging up Ryan turned to Seth, "hey, sandy and Kirsten want us to meet them at your dorm, they are done and ready for dinner.

"Okay, let's head out because I am hungry."

With that, the two boys and Sophie headed out of the art studio and over the Seth's dorm where they met with Sandy and Kirsten and proceeded to dinner at an Italian restaurant near the campus. They spent the whole night talking and catching up before Seth went back to his dorm and Kirsten, Sandy, Ryan and Sophie headed to the hotel. The next day they went out for brunch together as a family and Seth continued to show them the school and all of his classrooms. They went to an early dinner and then to a student film presentation followed by late night dessert and coffee. They all finally said their farewells, Kirsten's with tears as they left Seth at his dorm and headed back to the hotel to sleep and get ready to fly home the next morning. The weekend turned out to be a success and Seth was excited to be doing it in Ryan's shoes the following week in Berkeley. The Cohen's minus Seth flew home Monday morning and returned to their everyday lives anticipating the following weekend at Berkeley.

Thanks for reading, please review, tell me what you want to see. I hope this chapter is long enough, I wont be able to update again until the 25th of march at least because I will be in Disneyland, but have fun reading this chapter and I will try and update two next time. Bye.