fic - generations (a miniseries)
title - generations (a miniseries)
fandom - the oc
pairings - where's your curiosity, folks?
warnings - language, sexitimes, familial confusion
disclaimer - never owned it, still broke.
words - 2.5K-ish
author's note: And now, the fun part - jumping the shark. Let's do this!
MONDAY.
TUESDAY. DAYTIME.
TUESDAY. NIGHTTIME.
"Now all that's out of the way, can we talk about my problems?" Seth asked, clinking beers with Ryan and Luke while Summer pointed out dresses she wanted Kaitlyn to make into maternity clothes.
"Is a baby a problem? I thought you wanted kids," Luke said.
"I do. But Summer, she doesn't. I resigned myself to playing with Ryan's kids instead of having my own because she's been so against it. If she's willing to tell my parents then she's serious," Seth said. "But I don't know where it's coming from."
"You guys have got to start talking to your wives," Ryan said.
"Hey, you've been married, what, twenty minutes? You don't get to judge us," Seth said.
"Yeah, and how long have you been boinking Kaitlyn anyway?" Luke asked.
"Four years, give or take," Ryan admitted.
"And you never said anything?" Seth boggled.
"Neither one of them ever talked about dating, or getting laid, so they had to be getting some from somebody," Luke shrugged. "But I agree with Atwood, you need to be talking to Summer about this."
"Before you tell our parents," Ryan added. "They're not going to let it go if you decide after the announcement to back out."
"We're moving back. She got a job and I can work anywhere. We need a house," Seth said. "And everything to go in it."
Ryan waved it off. "I'll find you a house, I'll get you a good deal," he said.
"House, check," Seth nodded.
"You can stay with us until we figure out a plan," Ryan added. "You can have Kaitlyn's room. You guys can distract Jacks and Sophie while we honeymoon."
***************
"Mom, you should make extra lasagna," Sophie announced, joining her mother in the kitchen.
"Is there a reason? Do you have someone coming to dinner?" Kirsten asked, pausing where she was rolling out the pasta.
"Just Jacks. But Seth tweeted from his California cell phone so I'm pretty sure he's in town," Sophie answered.
She reached for her phone but Sophie swatted at her hand. "I think it's a surprise, Mom."
"Ryan knows better than to sneak Seth into town without coming here first, we have a verbal contract," Kirsten said.
Sophie rolled her eyes and settled on the stool at the kitchen island. "You guys are so weird. Um. Can we talk about something else, though?"
"You have my full attention," Kirsten replied, sliding over a plate of fresh spices.
Sophie started chopping without instruction as she spoke. "There's this boy I like. And he likes me, too. But there's history."
"You are fifteen, there can't be too much history or we would be having a different talk," Kirsten replied.
Sophie shrugged. "I really like him. I'd really like to go out with him. But he says it'll be too weird and that I have to be sure. I am sure, Mom."
"Have you told him that?" Kirsten questioned. She was getting the feeling that she knew where this was going. She hoped she was wrong.
"Every day," she muttered. "He likes me and he's really hot and if I don't go for it now, I'm going to lose my chance."
She sighed and reached over, pausing her daughter's chopping. "Honey, you have to talk to him about it. Jacks has a pretty good head on his shoulders, but so do you. A relationship is two-sided. Why do you have to be the one chasing him?"
"Because. He kissed me. He said girls ask him out all the time but he likes hanging out with me more." Sophie narrowed her eyes. "I didn't tell you it was Jacks."
"It's always been a matter of time," Kirsten replied. "I think there was a betting pool at one point."
"Mom!"
"Sorry, not helping," Kirsten replied.
"Totally not helping," Sophie pouted.
Kirsten was glad that Sophie came to her, she had never been the go-to parent when her boys needed advice.
"I'm going to go for it," Sophie said. "I should go for it, right?"
"I can't make that decision for you. I think you're great as friends, I can't predict how the two of you will be as more than that."
"He'll always be family, too, right? I won't lose him as a friend even if we don't work out," Sophie said, convincing herself.
"You can't predict things like that, Soph, but you're right, he's always going to be family. Our family's not traditional in our titles because you shouldn't date your nephew..." Kirsten said.
"Biological nephew, and he's never been my nephew," Sophie replied. "Why would you even bring that up?"
"The point is, you can date someone without getting married to them. You're fifteen, it's not supposed to last forever."
"Seth and Summer did. I don't want to end up like Ryan, 'forever alone' and all that," Sophie said.
"Wait - Sophie, isn't Jacks upstairs?" Kirsten realized.
"He's napping, he didn't sleep last night because Ryan and Kaity were fighting."
"They're fighting?" Kirsten asked.
"Not anymore," she shrugged.
Taylor walked in with several bags of groceries. "Hi. I bring supplies as an apology for spazzing out and wrecking your dinner. Also, your sister is arguing with your brother in law in the driveway."
Kirsten sighed. They need to buy a fence.
***************
Sandy didn't bother taking the surfboard off the rack when he pulled into the garage. Hailey and Carter were arguing on the lawn and he was getting old, but not too old to spot a slumped teenager in the backseat of their car.
He ignored the adults, if Hailey could ever be considered an adult, and tapped on the window. "You want to come in? It's hot out here."
The girl had streaked blond hair and sized him up with sharp brown eyes. "I don't even know you."
"Do you know them?" Sandy nodded his chin at Hailey and Carter.
"My mom told me Mr. Buckley was my real dad. She's dead now and I decided to check it out. Didn't expect a domestic dispute to come out of it, she said he was a beach bum," the girl said slowly.
"Ah. You should come inside," Sandy said, pulling open the door. Oh boy.
"I probably shouldn't. He says it's not him. He's shooting blanks, or at least that what he's been yelling. His wife wouldn't let me leave," the girl said.
"Come on, let them wind down and then we'll discuss like normal, sane people," Sandy said. "I'm a lawyer, retired mostly, but I know a lot about custody and the rights of minors. In lieu of a surprise father, how about a confidential consult on your situation instead? Come on."
The girl reluctantly followed him inside the house and he led her into the kitchen.
Taylor gave them a distracted wave, stirring a pot on the stove and chattering into her headset in a language he didn't recognize.
"This is Taylor, she's, self-appointed family. This is Sophie, my daughter, and my lovely, patient, long-suffering wife," Sandy said, kissing Kirsten on the cheek.
"Hi, who are you?" Sophie asked before Kirsten could start her questions.
"Um. Nobody," the girl said.
Sophie gave her a suspicious eyebrow.
"My mom told me Carter Buckley was my dad. She's dead and she was always a liar, but I thought she was telling me the truth this time," the girl said.
"Oh dear," Kirsten said.
"Illegitimate kids are like a normal thing in Newport, rich people are slutty," Taylor said from the stove.
"Why are you letting her cook?" Sandy asked.
"She's boiling water," Kirsten whispered.
"I didn't think Uncle Carter could have kids," Sophie said thoughtfully.
"How do you know that?" Sandy asked.
Sophie hesitated. "That's private."
"What's that mean?" Kirsten asked after a beat.
Sophie sighed, slumping her shoulders. "I overheard him on the phone, okay? He had some kind of cancer treatment when he was college and can't make babies. I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop but it happens sometimes, you know? I mean, there are always tons of people in our house, it's impossible not to overhear stuff."
"You shouldn't talk about that," Sandy said.
"I told you it was private," Sophie said. She turned her attention back to the girl. "You're in the house within the window of dinner time so you have to stay. Dad's good at fixing stuff, I'm sure he'll be able to help you. Do you want to wash up? Your makeup is totally smeared."
"Not yet," Kirsten said holding up her hand. "What's your name, honey?"
"Um. Jane."
"Jane. Do you have any food allergies?" Kirsten asked.
"Um. No?"
"Okay, you can go," she said.
Sandy loved his wife.
***************
"Either way - you lied to me!" Hailey said, losing her voice but not her anger.
She couldn't believe Carter had a kid. And couldn't have any more. He had a kid and it wasn't hers.
"I didn't lie! She's not my kid, Hailey, I already called for the paperwork to prove it to you - " Carter replied.
"Medical records that catch you in the alternate lie about being sterile," Hailey snapped.
"I never lied about that - you said you didn't want kids and it didn't seem like something you needed to know!" Carter replied.
"Time out. Seriously. I don't know what's going on, but you're totally arguing in the driveway and Mrs. Cohen really hates that."
She glared at Luke Ward and was vaguely aware of Ryan and Kaitlyn holding hands and Seth and Summer standing close behind them. Wait, they were holding hands?
"I'm tired of always having to prove myself to you," Carter said suddenly.
"Yeah, we're definitely going inside," Ryan said, moving past Hailey with a serious look and taking Carter's arm and leading him into the house.
"What the hell, Hailey?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Welcome home," Hailey said, avoiding the question to greet Seth and Summer. "Sorry for the drama."
"Wouldn't be home without it," Seth muttered into her hug.
"There's a kid in the house that says she's Carter's. She's fourteen and she hitchhiked from Oregon," she told Kaitlyn.
"Shit. But if she's fourteen, that was forever before he met you," Kaitlyn said after a beat.
"But he never told me. Then he comes out with the news that he's sterile," Hailey added. "Which he also never told me."
"If we started a marriage counseling clinic, we could be Bill Gates' rich," Luke said.
"The only psychology credentials in the family are Taylor's," Summer pointed out.
"Never mind," Luke muttered. "I smell lasagna. Tonight's going to be fun, I call dibs on the fistfight."
"Hey. You love Carter and he loves you. I know you're mad, but he could probably really use your support right now. You can be mad later," Kaitlyn said, putting her hand on her arm.
Hailey frowned when she looked at her hand. "Is that a wedding ring?"
"We've had a busy afternoon," Seth said. "Ryan got married, Summer's pregnant and you're a stepmother. I think I missed Newport more than I realized."
***************
"We're going to take turns," Jacks announced when the whispering on the patio had reached critical level. Ryan was proud of his brother for taking charge of the chaos that was dinner time at the Cohens.
"I second that motion," Sophie said, raising her hand. Jane, Carter's alleged kid, glanced between them, panicked.
"Fine. Motion granted," Sandy replied finally.
"You really talk about all your problems as a group? Is this like rehab?" Jane asked quietly.
"Our family's weird. It's so dysfunctional that it balances into functional," Jacks whispered. Ryan coughed to hide his laugh.
"Um. I have something to say," Carter said.
"Take one for the team, go for it," Luke said, raising his beer. Taylor clinked her wine glass with his bottle and then elbowed him to keep him quiet.
"Jane, I am so sorry about your mother," he said directly to the startled girl. "And I'm sorry that I'm not your father, but there's no chance you're mine. I still plan to help you however I can, but I'm sterile. I had Hodgkins Disease when I was in college, years before I met any of you, and medicine wasn't as advanced as it is now. I've known since I was twenty-two that I could never father a child."
"Carter," Hailey whispered.
"You said children weren't a priority for you when we got married. You never asked me and I always thought we'd adopt if it came up again," Carter said. "But that discussion isn't meant for a group setting. Sandy, I'm hoping you can help Jane and I work out something that doesn't include hitchhiking or truancy."
"Or foster care," Ryan said under his breath, earning a warning from Kirsten and Seth.
"Of course, Carter. Let's move on to the next order of business," Sandy said, smiling at Jane so she could relax out of the spotlight.
"You go," Kaitlyn told Summer.
"No - they have to go last so they get the attention off us," Ryan hissed at her.
"Rings," Hailey interrupted. "You both have rings."
"I knew it! I knew you two were doing it, you both totally have sex blankets across your backseats and Ryan loves car sex," Taylor said.
"Oh my God. We use those blankets at the beach, Ry," Jacks said, betrayed.
"That's where the sand keeps coming from," Kaitlyn realized.
"You got MARRIED? You weren't even dating!" Kirsten gasped, her voice shrill.
"Order in the court?" Jane said softly.
Sandy cleared his throat. "Thank you. Now, Ryan, when did this happen?"
"Um. She wanted to date. I didn't want to. So we compromised," Ryan said.
Kaitlyn nodded. "Solidarity."
"When?" Kirsten whispered.
"Today. I mean, we decided this morning and then we did it a couple of hours ago," Ryan said, quieter. Kirsten only got quiet when she was mad. And she was mad.
"At first, I thought he did it to distract Seth and Summer from their epic freakouts, but the more I thought about it, it seemed like a neat idea," Kaitlyn said.
"A neat idea?" Ryan asked.
She shrugged, studying the wedding band and attached bling. "Yeah. You get your quiet little service, no fuss, and I have as much time as I need to design a wedding line that I can roll out at a real wedding later."
"Oh. You tricked me," Ryan realized.
"I hate dating, too," Kaitlyn smirked.
"I can't even," Kirsten said, covering her face with her hand.
"Congratulations," Sophie said. Kaitlyn beamed.
"You are totally buying me my own car for my birthday. And I'm never riding in the backseat of your car again," Jacks said.
"You can do it in the front seat, too...okay. Next gossip," Sophie interrupted herself.
"I'm pregnant," Summer said.
Taylor squealed, clapping her hands. "Yay, Summer! Babies make everything better!"
"And we're moving back to Newport because we have no idea what we're doing," Seth said.
"With a family like this, I wonder why?" Jane muttered. She caught Ryan looking at her and stuffed a forkful of pasta into her mouth.
fandom - the oc
pairings - where's your curiosity, folks?
warnings - language, sexitimes, familial confusion
disclaimer - never owned it, still broke.
words - 2.5K-ish
author's note: And now, the fun part - jumping the shark. Let's do this!
MONDAY.
TUESDAY. DAYTIME.
TUESDAY. NIGHTTIME.
"Now all that's out of the way, can we talk about my problems?" Seth asked, clinking beers with Ryan and Luke while Summer pointed out dresses she wanted Kaitlyn to make into maternity clothes.
"Is a baby a problem? I thought you wanted kids," Luke said.
"I do. But Summer, she doesn't. I resigned myself to playing with Ryan's kids instead of having my own because she's been so against it. If she's willing to tell my parents then she's serious," Seth said. "But I don't know where it's coming from."
"You guys have got to start talking to your wives," Ryan said.
"Hey, you've been married, what, twenty minutes? You don't get to judge us," Seth said.
"Yeah, and how long have you been boinking Kaitlyn anyway?" Luke asked.
"Four years, give or take," Ryan admitted.
"And you never said anything?" Seth boggled.
"Neither one of them ever talked about dating, or getting laid, so they had to be getting some from somebody," Luke shrugged. "But I agree with Atwood, you need to be talking to Summer about this."
"Before you tell our parents," Ryan added. "They're not going to let it go if you decide after the announcement to back out."
"We're moving back. She got a job and I can work anywhere. We need a house," Seth said. "And everything to go in it."
Ryan waved it off. "I'll find you a house, I'll get you a good deal," he said.
"House, check," Seth nodded.
"You can stay with us until we figure out a plan," Ryan added. "You can have Kaitlyn's room. You guys can distract Jacks and Sophie while we honeymoon."
***************
"Mom, you should make extra lasagna," Sophie announced, joining her mother in the kitchen.
"Is there a reason? Do you have someone coming to dinner?" Kirsten asked, pausing where she was rolling out the pasta.
"Just Jacks. But Seth tweeted from his California cell phone so I'm pretty sure he's in town," Sophie answered.
She reached for her phone but Sophie swatted at her hand. "I think it's a surprise, Mom."
"Ryan knows better than to sneak Seth into town without coming here first, we have a verbal contract," Kirsten said.
Sophie rolled her eyes and settled on the stool at the kitchen island. "You guys are so weird. Um. Can we talk about something else, though?"
"You have my full attention," Kirsten replied, sliding over a plate of fresh spices.
Sophie started chopping without instruction as she spoke. "There's this boy I like. And he likes me, too. But there's history."
"You are fifteen, there can't be too much history or we would be having a different talk," Kirsten replied.
Sophie shrugged. "I really like him. I'd really like to go out with him. But he says it'll be too weird and that I have to be sure. I am sure, Mom."
"Have you told him that?" Kirsten questioned. She was getting the feeling that she knew where this was going. She hoped she was wrong.
"Every day," she muttered. "He likes me and he's really hot and if I don't go for it now, I'm going to lose my chance."
She sighed and reached over, pausing her daughter's chopping. "Honey, you have to talk to him about it. Jacks has a pretty good head on his shoulders, but so do you. A relationship is two-sided. Why do you have to be the one chasing him?"
"Because. He kissed me. He said girls ask him out all the time but he likes hanging out with me more." Sophie narrowed her eyes. "I didn't tell you it was Jacks."
"It's always been a matter of time," Kirsten replied. "I think there was a betting pool at one point."
"Mom!"
"Sorry, not helping," Kirsten replied.
"Totally not helping," Sophie pouted.
Kirsten was glad that Sophie came to her, she had never been the go-to parent when her boys needed advice.
"I'm going to go for it," Sophie said. "I should go for it, right?"
"I can't make that decision for you. I think you're great as friends, I can't predict how the two of you will be as more than that."
"He'll always be family, too, right? I won't lose him as a friend even if we don't work out," Sophie said, convincing herself.
"You can't predict things like that, Soph, but you're right, he's always going to be family. Our family's not traditional in our titles because you shouldn't date your nephew..." Kirsten said.
"Biological nephew, and he's never been my nephew," Sophie replied. "Why would you even bring that up?"
"The point is, you can date someone without getting married to them. You're fifteen, it's not supposed to last forever."
"Seth and Summer did. I don't want to end up like Ryan, 'forever alone' and all that," Sophie said.
"Wait - Sophie, isn't Jacks upstairs?" Kirsten realized.
"He's napping, he didn't sleep last night because Ryan and Kaity were fighting."
"They're fighting?" Kirsten asked.
"Not anymore," she shrugged.
Taylor walked in with several bags of groceries. "Hi. I bring supplies as an apology for spazzing out and wrecking your dinner. Also, your sister is arguing with your brother in law in the driveway."
Kirsten sighed. They need to buy a fence.
***************
Sandy didn't bother taking the surfboard off the rack when he pulled into the garage. Hailey and Carter were arguing on the lawn and he was getting old, but not too old to spot a slumped teenager in the backseat of their car.
He ignored the adults, if Hailey could ever be considered an adult, and tapped on the window. "You want to come in? It's hot out here."
The girl had streaked blond hair and sized him up with sharp brown eyes. "I don't even know you."
"Do you know them?" Sandy nodded his chin at Hailey and Carter.
"My mom told me Mr. Buckley was my real dad. She's dead now and I decided to check it out. Didn't expect a domestic dispute to come out of it, she said he was a beach bum," the girl said slowly.
"Ah. You should come inside," Sandy said, pulling open the door. Oh boy.
"I probably shouldn't. He says it's not him. He's shooting blanks, or at least that what he's been yelling. His wife wouldn't let me leave," the girl said.
"Come on, let them wind down and then we'll discuss like normal, sane people," Sandy said. "I'm a lawyer, retired mostly, but I know a lot about custody and the rights of minors. In lieu of a surprise father, how about a confidential consult on your situation instead? Come on."
The girl reluctantly followed him inside the house and he led her into the kitchen.
Taylor gave them a distracted wave, stirring a pot on the stove and chattering into her headset in a language he didn't recognize.
"This is Taylor, she's, self-appointed family. This is Sophie, my daughter, and my lovely, patient, long-suffering wife," Sandy said, kissing Kirsten on the cheek.
"Hi, who are you?" Sophie asked before Kirsten could start her questions.
"Um. Nobody," the girl said.
Sophie gave her a suspicious eyebrow.
"My mom told me Carter Buckley was my dad. She's dead and she was always a liar, but I thought she was telling me the truth this time," the girl said.
"Oh dear," Kirsten said.
"Illegitimate kids are like a normal thing in Newport, rich people are slutty," Taylor said from the stove.
"Why are you letting her cook?" Sandy asked.
"She's boiling water," Kirsten whispered.
"I didn't think Uncle Carter could have kids," Sophie said thoughtfully.
"How do you know that?" Sandy asked.
Sophie hesitated. "That's private."
"What's that mean?" Kirsten asked after a beat.
Sophie sighed, slumping her shoulders. "I overheard him on the phone, okay? He had some kind of cancer treatment when he was college and can't make babies. I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop but it happens sometimes, you know? I mean, there are always tons of people in our house, it's impossible not to overhear stuff."
"You shouldn't talk about that," Sandy said.
"I told you it was private," Sophie said. She turned her attention back to the girl. "You're in the house within the window of dinner time so you have to stay. Dad's good at fixing stuff, I'm sure he'll be able to help you. Do you want to wash up? Your makeup is totally smeared."
"Not yet," Kirsten said holding up her hand. "What's your name, honey?"
"Um. Jane."
"Jane. Do you have any food allergies?" Kirsten asked.
"Um. No?"
"Okay, you can go," she said.
Sandy loved his wife.
***************
"Either way - you lied to me!" Hailey said, losing her voice but not her anger.
She couldn't believe Carter had a kid. And couldn't have any more. He had a kid and it wasn't hers.
"I didn't lie! She's not my kid, Hailey, I already called for the paperwork to prove it to you - " Carter replied.
"Medical records that catch you in the alternate lie about being sterile," Hailey snapped.
"I never lied about that - you said you didn't want kids and it didn't seem like something you needed to know!" Carter replied.
"Time out. Seriously. I don't know what's going on, but you're totally arguing in the driveway and Mrs. Cohen really hates that."
She glared at Luke Ward and was vaguely aware of Ryan and Kaitlyn holding hands and Seth and Summer standing close behind them. Wait, they were holding hands?
"I'm tired of always having to prove myself to you," Carter said suddenly.
"Yeah, we're definitely going inside," Ryan said, moving past Hailey with a serious look and taking Carter's arm and leading him into the house.
"What the hell, Hailey?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Welcome home," Hailey said, avoiding the question to greet Seth and Summer. "Sorry for the drama."
"Wouldn't be home without it," Seth muttered into her hug.
"There's a kid in the house that says she's Carter's. She's fourteen and she hitchhiked from Oregon," she told Kaitlyn.
"Shit. But if she's fourteen, that was forever before he met you," Kaitlyn said after a beat.
"But he never told me. Then he comes out with the news that he's sterile," Hailey added. "Which he also never told me."
"If we started a marriage counseling clinic, we could be Bill Gates' rich," Luke said.
"The only psychology credentials in the family are Taylor's," Summer pointed out.
"Never mind," Luke muttered. "I smell lasagna. Tonight's going to be fun, I call dibs on the fistfight."
"Hey. You love Carter and he loves you. I know you're mad, but he could probably really use your support right now. You can be mad later," Kaitlyn said, putting her hand on her arm.
Hailey frowned when she looked at her hand. "Is that a wedding ring?"
"We've had a busy afternoon," Seth said. "Ryan got married, Summer's pregnant and you're a stepmother. I think I missed Newport more than I realized."
***************
"We're going to take turns," Jacks announced when the whispering on the patio had reached critical level. Ryan was proud of his brother for taking charge of the chaos that was dinner time at the Cohens.
"I second that motion," Sophie said, raising her hand. Jane, Carter's alleged kid, glanced between them, panicked.
"Fine. Motion granted," Sandy replied finally.
"You really talk about all your problems as a group? Is this like rehab?" Jane asked quietly.
"Our family's weird. It's so dysfunctional that it balances into functional," Jacks whispered. Ryan coughed to hide his laugh.
"Um. I have something to say," Carter said.
"Take one for the team, go for it," Luke said, raising his beer. Taylor clinked her wine glass with his bottle and then elbowed him to keep him quiet.
"Jane, I am so sorry about your mother," he said directly to the startled girl. "And I'm sorry that I'm not your father, but there's no chance you're mine. I still plan to help you however I can, but I'm sterile. I had Hodgkins Disease when I was in college, years before I met any of you, and medicine wasn't as advanced as it is now. I've known since I was twenty-two that I could never father a child."
"Carter," Hailey whispered.
"You said children weren't a priority for you when we got married. You never asked me and I always thought we'd adopt if it came up again," Carter said. "But that discussion isn't meant for a group setting. Sandy, I'm hoping you can help Jane and I work out something that doesn't include hitchhiking or truancy."
"Or foster care," Ryan said under his breath, earning a warning from Kirsten and Seth.
"Of course, Carter. Let's move on to the next order of business," Sandy said, smiling at Jane so she could relax out of the spotlight.
"You go," Kaitlyn told Summer.
"No - they have to go last so they get the attention off us," Ryan hissed at her.
"Rings," Hailey interrupted. "You both have rings."
"I knew it! I knew you two were doing it, you both totally have sex blankets across your backseats and Ryan loves car sex," Taylor said.
"Oh my God. We use those blankets at the beach, Ry," Jacks said, betrayed.
"That's where the sand keeps coming from," Kaitlyn realized.
"You got MARRIED? You weren't even dating!" Kirsten gasped, her voice shrill.
"Order in the court?" Jane said softly.
Sandy cleared his throat. "Thank you. Now, Ryan, when did this happen?"
"Um. She wanted to date. I didn't want to. So we compromised," Ryan said.
Kaitlyn nodded. "Solidarity."
"When?" Kirsten whispered.
"Today. I mean, we decided this morning and then we did it a couple of hours ago," Ryan said, quieter. Kirsten only got quiet when she was mad. And she was mad.
"At first, I thought he did it to distract Seth and Summer from their epic freakouts, but the more I thought about it, it seemed like a neat idea," Kaitlyn said.
"A neat idea?" Ryan asked.
She shrugged, studying the wedding band and attached bling. "Yeah. You get your quiet little service, no fuss, and I have as much time as I need to design a wedding line that I can roll out at a real wedding later."
"Oh. You tricked me," Ryan realized.
"I hate dating, too," Kaitlyn smirked.
"I can't even," Kirsten said, covering her face with her hand.
"Congratulations," Sophie said. Kaitlyn beamed.
"You are totally buying me my own car for my birthday. And I'm never riding in the backseat of your car again," Jacks said.
"You can do it in the front seat, too...okay. Next gossip," Sophie interrupted herself.
"I'm pregnant," Summer said.
Taylor squealed, clapping her hands. "Yay, Summer! Babies make everything better!"
"And we're moving back to Newport because we have no idea what we're doing," Seth said.
"With a family like this, I wonder why?" Jane muttered. She caught Ryan looking at her and stuffed a forkful of pasta into her mouth.