The road back to you

Quick catch-up: This story takes place mid-final montage about four or five years after Summer leaves for GEORGE; Seth, Ryan and Taylor are off to school; Sophie's birth; and the Cohen's move.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or their televised backgrounds. Goes for all subsequent chapters.

All that's happened since the last episode should be found in some form of exposition in the story, but feel free to let me know if things get a little confusing. Feedback is always welcome, and while I know where I want to go with this story, that doesn't mean I can't be persuaded to change something if it doesn't seem to be working.

Thanks for reading and any reviews!

On to the story… (Don't worry, this won't be included in any of the following chapters)

Chapter 1: And so it begins

And he thought his classes were long. Seth let out another sigh as he snuck a quick glance at the digital clock next to Ryan's bed. He'd been in his brother's dorm room for a little over an hour according to the little contraption, but Seth was sure that was a lie. It had been much longer than that. He'd been there forever waiting for Ryan to show up so he could unload the latest barrage of thoughts that were clouding his mind. The walls of the tiny dorm room—which he doubted was legally big enough to house two people—were slowly starting to close in on him.

If Ryan had any idea that he was in town, Seth would have started to wonder if his brother was simply delaying his return in order to make him suffer. Ryan didn't know Seth was in town, however, and he certainly had no reason to think that Seth was waiting for him in his room. Perhaps if he had, there would have been a few comic books or something the least bit interesting waiting there to keep him occupied.

Instead, Seth had read the newspaper in his hand from the first page to the last, pausing to read the article about GEORGE's latest exploits five times, fixing his eyes on Summer's name as she was quoted at least a dozen, and giving up on the crossword puzzle three. He was done with the paper.

He was about to let out another sigh, when he heard the doorknob turn. He winced for a moment, hoping it would be Ryan and not his roommate.

"Hey," Seth nodded when his brother entered the room.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"We have to talk."

"How did you get in?" Ryan asked, throwing his books onto his bed as he moved to turn on his laptop. That was about all there was to the room. Two beds, two desks with laptops and one dresser.

"I have a key." Seth shrugged.

"Where did you get a key?"

Seth's eyes wandered around the room for a moment. "That's not what I'm here to talk about."

"This is about Summer, isn't it?" Ryan asked with a quick glance at Seth before he returned his scowling attention to something on his computer screen.

"What makes you say that?"

"You have your Summer face on."

"My Summer face?" Seth scrunched his nose as he asked, trying to feel his Summer face since there was no mirror in the room to help him see.

"Yeah. The face you make when you want to talk about something you have to fix between you and Summer. The face that is both happy because you're thinking about Summer, and terrified because you're still convinced there's a chance the girl might kick you to the curb despite the fact that you've been going out long enough that you should have realised by now that she's completely in love with you and that you guys are never going to break up."

Seth shook his head. "Remember when you didn't really used to talk, and you'd just listen? I'm kind of looking for that Ryan right now."

Ryan shrugged.

"See, that's what I'm talking about. Besides, I'm not in trouble with Summer."

"Then you think you're about to be."

"I'm not. I'm… I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Ryan finally turned to give Seth his full attention. He looked his friend up and down for a minute and let a wide grin spread across his face. "Good for you, man. That's great."

"I'm afraid she's going to say no."

Ryan's smile fell. "Are you nuts? Besides, you've already proposed once. What's the big deal?"

"She refused once."

"You were nineteen."

"Your point being?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and took a deep breath as he moved to sit next to Seth on the bed. He moved his arm toward his friend, then changed his mind realising how uncomfortable he would be sitting on the bed with his arm around Seth no matter what they were talking about.

"Look, you're going to propose to Summer, she's going to say yes, and you two are going to have the most beautiful and environmentally friendly wedding ever."

"Right. Exactly. Because she is going to say yes."

"She is going to say yes."

"Great." Seth nodded, his eyes drifting off in the distance.

"Fantastic."

"I'm going to propose."

"That's what we just said," Ryan agreed, getting up off the bed and moving to gather the books he would need for his next class.

"So how exactly do I do that?"

Ryan looked over at Seth. Seth nodded slowly, his lower lip curled in his mouth.

"I see you still have your scowl."

"Hi."

"Hey." Summer smiled up at the girl hovering over the desk she'd taken over as soon as they had arrived at the hotel. If there was one thing Summer Roberts had quickly learned in the past few years, it was how to make herself at home anywhere, including the lobby of a cheap hotel where people gave her and her stacks of papers weird looks.

"I don't want to bother you but… Actually, you know what. I can just—"

"What do you need, Jessica?" Summer asked before the girl could retreat too far away.

"It's a really stupid question."

"Then I might actually know the answer." Summer smiled, nodding her head toward a nearby chair so Jessica would pull it over. "Come on."

Jessica smiled shyly before finally taking a seat. She pulled her long auburn hair away from her freckled face and tied it back. Then she reached for a stack of papers in her backpack and laid them out in front of them. "I don't think I understand the catering part."

"Catering?"

"Food."

"I know what catering means." Summer smiled again. "What don't you understand about it?"

"Well, I'm supposed to be organising the rally for next Friday, right?" Jessica waited until Summer nodded before she continued. "Well, I've got most of the stuff down, and I did it just like you told me to, but I don't understand how we're going to feed this many people. How do we get food for them all?"

"Most likely we don't."

"What?"

"We probably won't have any food for them."

Jessica shook her head as she leafed through the papers again. "But, we're asking hundreds of people to come out and protest with us all day. How can we ask them to stay with us all that time if we aren't going to feed them?"

"It's a protest," Summer shrugged. "They'll have to bring their own food. We may be able to get some local deli or something to donate some stuff for the protest so they can get some advertisement out of it, but most likely we won't have any food to offer."

"Oh," Jessica sighed.

Summer felt her smile widen, remembering a few years back when a very similar realisation had washed over her during her first few days with GEORGE. She shrugged.

"People are used to it. You'll see when you get there. No one should be surprised that you aren't feeding a crowd of hundreds at an event that isn't going to rake in any money whatsoever."

"Right." Jessica sighed. "Because everyone's been doing this for so long and I'm just the newbie."

"We like to call you freshmen," a male voice sounded above them. "Don't worry though. You'll get used to it."

Both girls looked up to find Matthew smiling down at them. Summer grinned back as Jessica cowered shyly away.

"We'll throw you in the fire quickly enough for you to learn to swim, though," Matthew finished.

Jessica's eyes narrowed as she thought about it for a moment, then she smiled shyly, thanked Summer under her breath, and snuck away before anything more could be said.

"You really shouldn't be scaring the freshmen, you know," Summer chided as Matthew spread himself out on the chair Jessica had vacated. "You're going to be counting on them to get everything done soon enough."

"I'm hoping that if I can prove they're all incompetent, you'll decide not to leave." He stretched his legs out, apologizing with a wink when he made contact with Summer's foot.

Summer rolled her eyes as she scooted away from him. Matthew was huge. He was tall and broad and about the size of two Cohens, as Summer liked to measure men. He was a bit of an ass, but most people didn't seem to mind. Matthew was charming enough to convince them not to put him on any black lists despite his underhanded schemes.

"It's not going to happen, Matthew."

"But we're your family, Summer." He smiled at her and leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder.

"You were like my family, sure, but it's time to move on."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is." She moved her arm so her shoulder bumped against his head and he moved away from her. "I don't even know half the people we work with anymore. Besides, they all make me feel old. They're all eighteen and eager to change the world. I'm twenty-five and ready to live somewhere that doesn't have wheels under it."

"You're twenty-four and still eager to change the world."

"I am," Summer agreed as she shuffled the papers Jessica had disturbed when avoiding her gaze. "But I'm ready to do it from one spot, using the PR degree I managed to earn while doing this crazy tour. I need a break from waving signs and yelling at people. It can be a weekend thing for me, but I'm not going to be doing it every day."

"You're going to miss us so much, Summer. And what are you going to do when you realise that you can't live without our bus and all the chaos we bring to the people? How are you going to live in a house rather than random hotel rooms and with people who might like you rather than those money grubbing bastards that are ready to kill us every time we step into their towns?" He tugged at a strand of her hair as he asked, getting his hand swatted away by Summer.

She had contemplated more than once getting her hair cut just so he wouldn't be able to do that to her anymore, but then she would remember that she loved her hair, and she could always swat him away from her much more quickly than she could grow back her long mane. Summer took a deep breath to keep from exploding.

"I'll remember what it was like to have to wear flip flops every time I wanted to take a shower, and how many times I had to go for more than two days without washing my hair. I'll remember all the bad stuff, and it will make me happy that I can visit without actually having to live this life anymore."

"You'll never be happy going back to where you came from."

"I will, Matthew." Summer shrugged as she gathered her papers, all too aware that she wasn't going to get anything more done with Matthew hanging around her. "I'm not happy here anymore. I miss my dad, and my home, and Seth. I miss Seth so much. I miss Ryan and Taylor. God, I even miss Julie. Who misses Julie?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Summer rose from her chair and tried to balance all her things in her small arms. "I know. But you should just try to understand that this is really what I have to do. It's time that I went back to the life I left behind."

"You mean teen dramas and parties where people drink their troubles away?"

Summer's eyes hardened as she stared down at him. They'd been having this conversation much too often recently, and she didn't see why it was that she had to defend moving forward with her life once again. "Matthew…"

"I know, I know, I just don't get it, and I should stop trying to convince you that anything but what you've been taught is the right way to live your life even if it might mean the end of all that is organized within GEORGE forever."

Summer rolled her eyes. "I promise that I will have the new recruits so well briefed by the time I leave, you'll wonder how it was that you thought I was doing such a good job when I was here."

"I seriously doubt that, Summer."

"I just promised."

"I think we should really discuss this over—"

Summer thanked God her phone chose that moment to ring. She somehow picked it out of the papers, pencils and other miscellaneous objects in her arms, to flip it open. Her brow scrunched at the name on the caller ID, but she was quick to change her expression to a smile as she returned her attention to Matthew.

"I really have to take this. Sorry." Summer quickly moved away, bringing the phone to her ear. "Taylor, you are my new favourite person."

"Hello to you too, Summer."

"You just got me out of a conversation that… let's just say I was ready for it to end, and it's preferable that your call, rather than my fist be the catalyst to end it."

"Catalyst?"

"My boyfriend makes a living playing with words. If I'm going to live with him, I have to have some kind of vocabulary to keep up. I'm not going to let Seth sound smarter than me. Well, smarter in whatever people can make out of his mumbling."

"Wow." Taylor's voice wavered, distractedly. "So, you guys are really going to be moving in together soon, huh? That's big. Knowing you two, you must be freaking."

"Actually, we're both taking it really well, and there's really no point trying to put doubts in my mind."

"Doubts?" Taylor's voice rose at the word. "I would never."

Summer laughed on her end of the line as she pushed open the door to the room that would be hers for the night. Or the half a room, she decided as she sent a nod in the direction of the girl with whom she'd be sharing her space for the next few days.

"I was just calling to catch up and see how you were doing, my dear Summer."

"I'm great, Taylor."

"Great. That's good. So, where are you?"

"Physically?" Summer asked as she plopped down on the bed. She looked around to find something that would tell her where she was. Finally, she turned on the television and found the local weather network where she read the screen. "Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh. And for a few days as well. I get to go three whole days without getting on that bus again."

"Pittsburgh. Home of the… something exciting I'm sure."

"Home of Anna Stern," Summer confirmed with a determined nod.

"Who?"

"Doesn't matter. So, where are you, Taylor? Paris? Venice? London?"

"I'm actually late. Um… well it's been nice talking to you, Summer. But I really have to go now. We should do this again."

"But Tay—"

She hung up before Summer could finish her sentence.

"So much for catching up," Summer mumbled to herself as she switched to a channel with a local news anchor who was in desperate need of a new tie. "That girl just gets weirder."

She was about to raise the volume as a teaser for a news item regarding tomorrow's protest came on when her phone rang again. Summer reached for it, once again taking a quick peek at the caller ID before answer. She sighed and tightened her face in confusion.

"Hello?"

"Summer is only getting here on the 21st," Kirsten said as she walked into the kitchen and hung up the telephone.

"What?" Sandy asked, barely taking his eyes off the Candyland board in front of him.

"I called Summer to ask her when she would get here for the party, and she said she would only get here on the 21st."

"The party's on the 23rd. She'll be here in plenty of time. I know you ladies like to take your time getting ready, but I think she can manage to do it in two days."

"But I wanted to throw Summer a party," Kirsten told him as she leaned her elbows on top of the kitchen counter. She blew at her hair and brought up an impatient hand to tuck away her long bangs when they wouldn't stay out of her eyes.

"What?" Sandy asked.

"I want to throw Summer a party," Sophie piped up from her seat across from her father.

"You do?" Sandy asked. "But we're already throwing a party for Julie, and then a party for Ryan, and I'm sure by the time we get done with those two we'll have found someone else who needs a party. Don't you worry, your mother's good at that."

"Sandy…" Kirsten chided as she moved to sit beside them.

"But why do we have to throw Aunt Julie a party? I want to throw Summer a party. And Ryan." She moved her marker on the board and then passed the dice along to her father. "Can we throw Seth a party too?"

"What have you done to my daughter?" Sandy asked Kirsten as he let the play pieces fall from his hand.

"Summer is coming home for good, Sandy. She's starting a whole new part of her life. We should celebrate that. I mean, we didn't do anything for her graduation, and that's a big moment."

"Summer didn't even go to her graduation, and Seth and Neil flew out to be with her and celebrate when she finished her courses. Besides, she's not moving here. We can't throw her a homecoming party somewhere that isn't her home."

"But—"

"We're throwing Julie a party to celebrate her graduation," Sandy told her, as he reached over to place his hand over hers. "Then, we're throwing Ryan a party to celebrate his graduation. Let Summer move in with Seth. Knowing them, she'll have a lot of stuff she'll want him to get rid of, and he's going to cave faster than she can finish asking him. Then, we'll let her write out a nice, precise list of what they—and by they I mean she—want to decorate their home, and then we'll have a homecoming party at their place with tons of stuff that I won't have to buy with money from my wallet. How does that sound?"

Kirsten sighed. "Can we at least have a nice family dinner when she gets here? And cake."

"And a tea party?" Sophie added.

"Yes, yes, and yes, to all those requests. A dinner, a cake, and tea. But I draw the line at another party even if I do love Summer like a daughter. Now," Sandy said as he turned his attention back to his game, "am I losing here?"

Sophie let out a giggle as Kirsten patted her husband's back, and left the room, the telephone still in her hand.

"Your mother's losing it, baby," Sandy told his daughter as he rolled the dice again.

"No, you're losing."

Sandy laughed despite himself. "Well, yes, but I meant—"

He furrowed his eyebrows when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID before picking it up, making an even graver face at the number he found there.

"Hello?" He smiled over at Sophie as he listened. "Wait, say that again? No, don't hang—"

He sighed as the line went dead.

"Listen, Sophie. Daddy's got some work he has to do. Is it okay if we finish this later?"

"Can you lose later?"

"I'm sure I can lose later. Thank you, sweetie." He dropped a kiss on top of her head before he hurried out of the room.

Sophie watched him go. She shrugged at his retreating figure, and rolled the dice again.

"Are you still on that thing?" Julie asked as she struggled across the kitchen, grocery bags in one arm, and the hand of the other holding on to Kevin's. She looked over quickly at her son and bit back a groan when the oranges in the bag he was holding fell to the ground.

Kaitlin barely looked up from her laptop to see her mother. She bit her lip as she watched the screen. "I'm reading Taylor's blog. She's just… Drama does not begin to describe this girl."

"I've read Taylor's blog. I'm not sure I like you reading it. To say that's she's descriptive when it comes to her personal life is an understatement."

"You read Taylor's old blog," Kaitlin sighed as she moved to grab the bag from Kevin. "She hasn't had any exploits to describe since she and Ryan broke up. There's really nothing even slightly R rated to read on there."

"I still don't understand why those two broke up."

"Who knows?" Kaitlin shrugged as she grabbed an apple and took a large bite. "They did the long distance thing for longer than anyone could expect before they finally called it off. It doesn't make any sense if you ask me. They were so in love. I thought they were really in it for the long haul."

"And Lord knows the spiral of depression that girl fell into when they did break up."

"Yeah, but, she was depressed way before they broke up. It's like she knew it was coming or something. But, I don't see why. I mean, neither of them have been the same since the break up."

Julie tugged at her hair as she moved around the kitchen to put away their food. "It is a mystery. I mean, even Frank admitted that Ryan has not been the same since the break up. He hasn't even been brooding apparently. He's just depressed."

"But it's almost been a year."

"I don't know." Julie shrugged. "Maybe he has no one to punch in this situation and doesn't know how to deal with his feelings."

"You know what," Kaitlin said as she moved back to her laptop on the kitchen counter. "I've got nothing to do until finals. I've got a study week to prepare for exams I'm already ready for, and it's been a while since I've stirred up any trouble. I'm going to fix these two."

"Kaitlin… you shouldn't meddle."

"I'm helping."

Julie rolled her eyes as she closed the refrigerator. "Why don't you help around the house instead?"

"Because that's boring. Besides, as much as I love all of you, Newport is boring with no one but Seth around. There are only so many times I can watch animé with him."

"He still watches animé?"

"Apparently," Kaitlin shrugged. "Nope. I have a week off, and this is what I'm doing with it. I'll have all summer afterward to be bored in this town."

"And your enthusiasm is nothing but welcome," a new voice offered, entering the kitchen.

"Hey, Frank," Kaitlin answered as she watched him walk into the kitchen and peck her mother on the cheek. "Nice shirt. It's the same as all your others, right?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Always a pleasure, Kaitlin. So what's your latest project? I only heard the tail end."

"Getting Ryan and Taylor back together."

"I told her it was a bad idea," Julie offered as she moved around him. "I'm going to get the rest of the groceries. Come help, Kevin."

Frank turned his head to watch them leave the room, and quickly turned back to face Kaitlin. "So, you're in the mood to play Cupid are you?"

"You want to help your son get back together with Taylor, there Frank?"

He smiled as he leaned his elbow on the counter and move toward her. "That, and more."

Kaitlin raised her eyebrows in intrigue as she too let a smile spread across her face. "Well, do tell."