Disclaimer: I don't own The OC or its characters, etc.

Thanks to Kylie for helping me name the fic. Given all the angst going on in the Kandy marriage at the moment, I thought the title was appropriate – I'm going to try and write as much fluff for this season as I can!

Kirsten and Sandy ate in a tense silence. In fact, Kirsten had hardly spoken since Sandy had come home from Portland without Seth; she simply glared when he spoke to her, her anger at him very apparent.

"I kinda like eating amongst the furniture, it's cosy," Sandy said, breaking the silence and attempting to lighten the mood.

It didn't work. Kirsten gave him another look – one that Sandy was convinced she had learnt from Ryan – and went back to eating her dinner.

Neither of them heard the front door or the low murmur of voices, until Seth's voice rang out from the other side of the kitchen.

"So we leave for, like, three months and you tear the whole place apart?" he teased.

Sandy's head jerked up and Kirsten spun around in her seat.

"You're back!" she cried. With a squeal of delight, she jumped up from her chair and ran towards her two sons, throwing her arms around them.

"There was a two-for-one special on brooding young men," Seth joked, wrapping his arm around his mother. Ryan did the same, happily accepting her embrace.

Sandy watched from a distance. He hadn't seen his wife this happy in months – three months, to be exact, since the gruesome twosome's wedding day. As Kirsten let go, he wandered over to his boys.

"Are you coming back too?" he asked Ryan.

"Uh, yeah. It's a long story but I figured this is where I belong, so…" Ryan trailed off.

Sandy smiled before stretching out his arms to embrace Seth.

"Yeah, uh, what he said," Seth laughed.

"Good. 'Cause nobody leaves this family twice," Sandy said, reaching out his hand to Ryan, who took it. "Welcome home."

"Thanks," Ryan said. It felt good to be home.

"And Theresa and the baby?" Sandy asked cautiously, wondering what had happened to bring Ryan back to Newport. Had Theresa kicked him out? Had Eddie reappeared?

Seth glanced over at Ryan, who had lowered his head. His eyes flickered and he stared at the floor, searching for the right words. Seth, for once, waited patiently for Ryan to speak.

"There is no baby," Ryan said eventually. "Theresa…she, uh, she miscarried."

Kirsten gasped quietly. Sandy stared at Ryan for a moment, his mind processing the news. The smiles they had all been wearing instantly disappeared. Ryan stood quietly and Sandy tried desperately to guess what he was thinking.

"Ah, son, I'm sorry," Sandy offered eventually. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok," Ryan shrugged. "I don't think I've really got my head around it yet."

"Well, we're here, if you need to talk," Sandy offered, placing a firm hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"Thanks," Ryan said gratefully. "I think I just wanna go crash out for a while, is that ok?"

"Of course it is," Sandy answered. "We've been saving the poolhouse for your return."

With a half-hearted smile, Ryan left the kitchen.

"How's he doing really?" Sandy asked Seth once he knew Ryan was out of earshot.

"I don't know, he hasn't really said much," Seth replied. "He seems pretty bummed, but at the same time I can tell he's happy to be back here."

Sandy nodded slowly. He looked over at Kirsten, who had been silent since Ryan's revelation.

"Hey, Seth, why don't you go and settle back into your room, then check on Ryan, see if he's hungry," Sandy suggested.

Seth nodded and made his way back out the kitchen. Kirsten grabbed his arm as he passed, reaching up to kiss his cheek. She touched his face lightly.

"Welcome home, honey," she said. Sandy could hear her voice quaver.

Seth smiled. "Thanks mom."

Sandy walked over to his wife as her eyes followed Seth for as long as she could see him. She wasn't aware of Sandy's close presence until she felt his warm hand on her back.

"Hey," he said, bringing her back into his world. "Are you ok?"

Kirsten looked up at him, her eyes tinged with sadness. "Poor Theresa…" was all she could manage. He body was shaking.

"Yeah, I know," Sandy said softly.

"Do you think Ryan's ok?"

Sandy shook his head. "I don't know."

Sandy sighed heavily and Kirsten looked at him. "What?"

"Is it wrong that I should feel so…" his voice trailed off and he looked away, ashamed.

"Relieved? Glad that he's home? Glad that he's not stuck in Chino bringing up a child that may or may not be his?" Kirsten finished for him.

Sandy nodded.

"Me too," Kirsten said.

Sandy looked up, surprised. "I thought you wanted Theresa to have this baby?"

"Oh, Sandy, it wasn't about wanting Theresa to have the baby. It was about wanting her to do what she wanted to do, not what she thought she should do," Kirsten sighed. "God, if I'd known this was going to happen…"

"You couldn't have known this would happen," Sandy interrupting her.

He knew that part of her bad mood all summer had been partly guilt; she blamed herself for Ryan leaving, which had caused Seth to run away. She had supported Theresa's decision to keep the baby, not realising that it would cause her to lose her sons. Now there was no baby and they had their family back.

"Maybe we should do something. For Theresa, I mean. Send flowers maybe, or call," Sandy suggested. He felt useless and wanted to make up for feeling so glad about the situation.

"I think she probably needs some time on her own," Kirsten said gently, touched by his concern for the girl. "I can't imagine how she's feeling…losing a child. I don't want to."

Losing a child wasn't the same as aborting a child – and that was something Kirsten did have experience of. The abortion had been her decision; it had been on her terms. For Theresa, some greater being had intervened and decided for her.

She thought of Seth and a chill ran down her spine. She knew that Sandy was thinking the same. She wanted to reach out to him, hide in his arms for a while; but the summer had strained their marriage, they both knew it.

"I'm gonna go check on the boys, make sure they're settled," Kirsten said.

She reached out and squeezed Sandy's arm gently. He pulled her in slightly and kissed her temple. Physical contact between them had been lacking the past few months and Kirsten had forgotten how much comfort his touch could bring her.

"I love you, Sandy," Kirsten said suddenly. She reached up and ran her fingers over his rough cheek.

Sandy smiled. "I love you too."

He watched as Kirsten walked outside towards to the poolhouse.

The summer had been hard, but now their family was back together, they both hoped that things would get back to the way they should be.