Family (Chapter One)
Mar. 12th, 2007 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Title: Family (Chapter One)
Author:Mara
Fandom: The OC/OTH (Ryan Atwood/Brooke Davis)
Rating: R
Warnings: Crossover. Language.
Summary: Nothing's more complicated than family.
Chapter One
Ryan didn't respond to Daniel immediately, instead he just kept staring, part of him shocked and the other part not that surprised. He'd always wondered and suspected, doubting that Theresa and Eddie could have had a son together who was blonde haired, blue eyed, and looked just like Ryan. But he'd let Theresa lie to him, knowing that he wasn't ready to be a father, and now... now his son had come to find him. And was waiting for him to respond. "How'd you know where to find me?"
"My stepdad asked my mom why they couldn't send me to live with you, and mom said it would look bad if she sent her son all the way to Berkeley to live with a stranger. All I had to do then was search the 'net for your name, and I got your firm's homepage. It talked about this building, and how you spend a lot of time on site, so..."
"Smart kid," Ryan said, unable to help sounding proud.
"Mom used to say it was the one good thing I got from you," Daniel said. "Now she mutters that I'm just like you."
"Does she know you're here?"
"Not exactly..." Daniel said.
"What's her number?" Ryan asked. When Daniel didn't respond, Ryan gave him the 'dad' look he had to use on Lily sometimes, and it worked.
Daniel gave Ryan the number, and watched while he dialed. "They don't even want me since mom got pregnant with Mark's kid," he said. "I guess you don't either."
"That is not why I'm calling her," Ryan said as he listened to the phone ring. "I have kids... other kids. And if one of them just disappeared, my wife and I would be terrified, it'd be killing us until we knew." He shook his head. "Is that your bike?"
"For twenty bucks from a guy who was leaving town at the bus station," Daniel said.
Ryan grabbed it and pulled it around to the back of the rover, unlocking the hatch and struggling to get it open as the phone still rang. "She's not answering," he began, only to have it finally pick up.
"Hello? Daniel?" came Theresa's panicked voice.
"Not exactly," Ryan said, slamming the hatch closed. "So you'll tell our kid that he's mine, but you won't tell me?"
"Ryan?" Theresa asked. "He's with you? Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Ryan said. "He's getting in my rover right now before I call the cops to come pick up a runaway to send home," he added, more for Daniel's benefit than Theresa's. Once the boy was sitting inside, Ryan turned and leaned again the front bumper. "What the hell, Theresa? I walk out of work and see him sitting there, and... he said you don't want him so he came to me."
"It's not that I don't..." Theresa began.
"Theresa!" Ryan snapped. "You think I don't know that exact tone of voice? My ma used that whenever she was about to say Trey was too much trouble."
"Daniel's been getting into trouble ever since I got married," Theresa tried to explain. "He's out of control!"
Ryan glanced over his shoulder at Daniel, who still had that same lost and lonely look on his face, and sighed. "You don't want him there, he's too much trouble for you? Fine. I'll take him. My son, who you told me wasn't mine, can live with me, my wife, and his siblings here in Berkeley. I'll call you tomorrow to make arrangements for you to send his stuff." With that, Ryan ended the call and slammed one fist again the hood before dialing another, far more familiar, number.
Brooke answered on the first ring, cheerful and relaxed. "Hey, babe," she said. "I was just about to order dinner..."
"Do you remember when I told you about my ex, Theresa and her son Daniel?" Ryan said.
"Yeah..." Brooke said slowly.
"Theresa's a royal bitch and Daniel's here. He showed up at the site to find me because Theresa told him the truth about me being his dad even though she lied to me. I... I just talked to Theresa and... and I can't believe she'd actually... she sounded a lot like my mother, my birth mother, used to. I told her that if she didn't want him there, fine, he could..."
"I'll make sure there's clean sheets on the guest room bed, and fresh towels in the bathroom," Brooke said, not needing to hear anything more. "We've got plenty of food, and we can get her to ship his things."
"Have I told you lately how much I love it when you know just what to say and do?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Does he know yet?"
"He knew she didn't want him there, and he knows I ordered him to sit in the rover while I called Theresa and got pissed off at her," Ryan siad. "I'll tell him as soon as I hang up."
"And I'll see you both soon, right?" Brooke asked, and Ryan could hear her opening a cupboard.
"Right," Ryan agreed. "Love you."
"Love you, too," Brooke said, ending the call.
Ryan sighed and walked around to climb behind the wheel. "You're gonna stay with me and my family... your family."
"I am?" Daniel said.
Ryan sighed again and looked over at him. "Your mom... we decided it might be a good idea. Give you and me a chance to get to know eachother, and you... you've got a 4 and a half year-old sister, Lily, and an 18 month old brother, Robbie. They're gonna be..."
"Confused?" Daniel asked.
"They know family is weird and complicated," Ryan said as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. "Most of my family, hell most of my wife's family, too, aren't related to us by blood. They're the people we chose to call family.
"Is your wife gonna be okay with me being here?" Daniel asked. "I mean the teenage son you only kinda knew about?"
Ryan snorted. "That was the second call I made," he admitted. "Not to ask her, but to let her know. I didn't even finish explaining before she said she'd make sure one of the guest rooms had fresh sheets on the bed and clean towels in the bathroom." He paused as they stopped for a red light. "We've got two guest rooms, so you can pick which one you want to be your bedroom, and we'll redecorate it... okay, honestly Brooke will probably help you with that because me? I design buildings, not rooms."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Okay."
"There was never a time I didn't think about you and wonder... worry," Ryan said after a moment. "I always suspected Theresa lied to me when she said you weren't mine. But I... I wasn't ready to be a dad back then, so I didn't argue with her or fight her on it. I thought I was doing what was best for you. Now... now I'm glad you're here."
~~~
Once she finished changing the sheets and towels in the guest room and guest bathroom, Brooke pulled an extra plate and extra utensils from the cabinets to set the table with. She was completely terrified of meeting Ryan's long lost son, but not because of anything he represented, she was secure in Ryan's feelings for her and had known about Theresa and Daniel for a long time. No, she was more scared that she would accidentally do something to make Daniel see her as a wicked stepmother.
Brooke knew that Ryan loved Daniel and wondered about him. She'd seen the old, somewhat worn photo of Ryan and a toddler aged Daniel tucked into his wallet, right beside the pictures of Lily and Robbie, seen the love in the eyes of the photo, and the sadness in Ryan's eyes as he looked at it. She wanted to do things right, she wanted Daniel to like her, but she didn't want to over do it and act like she was trying to be his mom, because that would just be... weird.
She glanced up as she heard the door open, and smoothed her shirt over her jeans as she walked into the living room to greet Ryan and Daniel. "Hi," she said.
"Brooke, this is Daniel Diaz. Daniel, this is my wife, Brooke Davis."
Brooke and Daniel shook hands, then Brooke took a deep breathe. "Welcome," she said. "The food should be here any minute, I hope you like Chinese..."
"Yeah," Daniel said, nodding.
"Umm... I got one of the rooms set up for you, and... and..." Brooke said, faltering a little. "Okay, I'm totally out of my element having my long lost stepson show up. You have every right to be here, but I don't really know how to act. So cut me a little slack before you decide I'm a wicked stepmother, okay?"
"Sure," Daniel agreed. "If you won't automatically believe my mom and stepdad when they say I'm a trouble maker."
"Trust me, I had a rep as the ultimate bad girl when I was your age and a little older, so I'm all about the not judging," Brooke said, relaxing.
"Who're you?" Lily said from where she stood in the doorway, watching with wide eyes.
"Come here," Ryan told his daughter scooping her up so she was on eye level with him and Daniel. "This is Daniel. He's your big brother." When Lily frowned and tilted her head, Ryan tried to explain. "A very long time ago, I cared about a lot about Daniel's mom, the way I care about your mom, and Daniel is my son. He lived with his mom until today, and now he's going to live here with us."
"Okay," Lily said, eyeing Daniel. "Are you nice?"
"I try to be..." Daniel said slowly. "But I've never had a little sister before, so can you help me get the big brother thing right?"
"Okay," Lily agreed happily.
The doorbell rang, and Brooke answered it, revealing the delivery boy. "Ryan, put her down so she can wash her hands, and then can you go get Robbie?" she said as she paid.
"Come on," Lily said to Daniel the moment her feet were back on the floor. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bathroom. "We're suppose to wash our hands."
"Always a good idea," Daniel agreed, letting her lead him away.
Ryan watched them go, then headed to Robbie's room, finding the 18 month old was awake and sitting in his crib, a curious look on his face. "Hey big guy," he said as he picked his younger son up. "We've got some excitement tonight. You and Lily have a big brother named Daniel and he's gonna stay with us now, how's that sound?" he asked, not getting or expecting any sort of answer. Robbie didn't talk. At all. Brooke always tried to joke that he was just taking after Ryan, being the 'strong silent' type, but they knew it was more than that, another effect of the abuse the little boy had suffered. Ryan sighed and kissed the top of Robbie's head before carrying him out to the dining room, arriving just before Daniel and Lily returned.
"Robbie!" Lily said excitably. "We got big brother! And he made sure I didn't fall off my steps, so he's nice!"
"She slipped," Daniel said a little awkwardly.
"You splashed water all over again, didn't you?" Brooke asked her daughter. "She does it all the time," she added to Daniel.
"Be careful you don't sip if you go into that bathroom," Ryan added.
"There's a bathroom attached to the room I made up for you," Brooke said. "It connects with the guest room, too, so when there's company you'll have to share it."
"That's fine," Daniel said, looking a little overwhelmed with everything.
Brooke smiled at him. "You better get used to the vibrant family that's happy you're here," she said. "You haven't even met Sandy and Kirsten yet."
"Grandma and Grandpa are cool!" Lily said, nodding eagerly.
To Be Continued...
This chapter seems kinda awkward to me... but I think, because of the situation in the story, it's the only way it could be... lol... hopefully the next chapter will be a little more natural...
Author:Mara
Fandom: The OC/OTH (Ryan Atwood/Brooke Davis)
Rating: R
Warnings: Crossover. Language.
Summary: Nothing's more complicated than family.
Chapter One
Ryan didn't respond to Daniel immediately, instead he just kept staring, part of him shocked and the other part not that surprised. He'd always wondered and suspected, doubting that Theresa and Eddie could have had a son together who was blonde haired, blue eyed, and looked just like Ryan. But he'd let Theresa lie to him, knowing that he wasn't ready to be a father, and now... now his son had come to find him. And was waiting for him to respond. "How'd you know where to find me?"
"My stepdad asked my mom why they couldn't send me to live with you, and mom said it would look bad if she sent her son all the way to Berkeley to live with a stranger. All I had to do then was search the 'net for your name, and I got your firm's homepage. It talked about this building, and how you spend a lot of time on site, so..."
"Smart kid," Ryan said, unable to help sounding proud.
"Mom used to say it was the one good thing I got from you," Daniel said. "Now she mutters that I'm just like you."
"Does she know you're here?"
"Not exactly..." Daniel said.
"What's her number?" Ryan asked. When Daniel didn't respond, Ryan gave him the 'dad' look he had to use on Lily sometimes, and it worked.
Daniel gave Ryan the number, and watched while he dialed. "They don't even want me since mom got pregnant with Mark's kid," he said. "I guess you don't either."
"That is not why I'm calling her," Ryan said as he listened to the phone ring. "I have kids... other kids. And if one of them just disappeared, my wife and I would be terrified, it'd be killing us until we knew." He shook his head. "Is that your bike?"
"For twenty bucks from a guy who was leaving town at the bus station," Daniel said.
Ryan grabbed it and pulled it around to the back of the rover, unlocking the hatch and struggling to get it open as the phone still rang. "She's not answering," he began, only to have it finally pick up.
"Hello? Daniel?" came Theresa's panicked voice.
"Not exactly," Ryan said, slamming the hatch closed. "So you'll tell our kid that he's mine, but you won't tell me?"
"Ryan?" Theresa asked. "He's with you? Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Ryan said. "He's getting in my rover right now before I call the cops to come pick up a runaway to send home," he added, more for Daniel's benefit than Theresa's. Once the boy was sitting inside, Ryan turned and leaned again the front bumper. "What the hell, Theresa? I walk out of work and see him sitting there, and... he said you don't want him so he came to me."
"It's not that I don't..." Theresa began.
"Theresa!" Ryan snapped. "You think I don't know that exact tone of voice? My ma used that whenever she was about to say Trey was too much trouble."
"Daniel's been getting into trouble ever since I got married," Theresa tried to explain. "He's out of control!"
Ryan glanced over his shoulder at Daniel, who still had that same lost and lonely look on his face, and sighed. "You don't want him there, he's too much trouble for you? Fine. I'll take him. My son, who you told me wasn't mine, can live with me, my wife, and his siblings here in Berkeley. I'll call you tomorrow to make arrangements for you to send his stuff." With that, Ryan ended the call and slammed one fist again the hood before dialing another, far more familiar, number.
Brooke answered on the first ring, cheerful and relaxed. "Hey, babe," she said. "I was just about to order dinner..."
"Do you remember when I told you about my ex, Theresa and her son Daniel?" Ryan said.
"Yeah..." Brooke said slowly.
"Theresa's a royal bitch and Daniel's here. He showed up at the site to find me because Theresa told him the truth about me being his dad even though she lied to me. I... I just talked to Theresa and... and I can't believe she'd actually... she sounded a lot like my mother, my birth mother, used to. I told her that if she didn't want him there, fine, he could..."
"I'll make sure there's clean sheets on the guest room bed, and fresh towels in the bathroom," Brooke said, not needing to hear anything more. "We've got plenty of food, and we can get her to ship his things."
"Have I told you lately how much I love it when you know just what to say and do?" Ryan asked quietly.
"Does he know yet?"
"He knew she didn't want him there, and he knows I ordered him to sit in the rover while I called Theresa and got pissed off at her," Ryan siad. "I'll tell him as soon as I hang up."
"And I'll see you both soon, right?" Brooke asked, and Ryan could hear her opening a cupboard.
"Right," Ryan agreed. "Love you."
"Love you, too," Brooke said, ending the call.
Ryan sighed and walked around to climb behind the wheel. "You're gonna stay with me and my family... your family."
"I am?" Daniel said.
Ryan sighed again and looked over at him. "Your mom... we decided it might be a good idea. Give you and me a chance to get to know eachother, and you... you've got a 4 and a half year-old sister, Lily, and an 18 month old brother, Robbie. They're gonna be..."
"Confused?" Daniel asked.
"They know family is weird and complicated," Ryan said as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. "Most of my family, hell most of my wife's family, too, aren't related to us by blood. They're the people we chose to call family.
"Is your wife gonna be okay with me being here?" Daniel asked. "I mean the teenage son you only kinda knew about?"
Ryan snorted. "That was the second call I made," he admitted. "Not to ask her, but to let her know. I didn't even finish explaining before she said she'd make sure one of the guest rooms had fresh sheets on the bed and clean towels in the bathroom." He paused as they stopped for a red light. "We've got two guest rooms, so you can pick which one you want to be your bedroom, and we'll redecorate it... okay, honestly Brooke will probably help you with that because me? I design buildings, not rooms."
Daniel smiled slightly. "Okay."
"There was never a time I didn't think about you and wonder... worry," Ryan said after a moment. "I always suspected Theresa lied to me when she said you weren't mine. But I... I wasn't ready to be a dad back then, so I didn't argue with her or fight her on it. I thought I was doing what was best for you. Now... now I'm glad you're here."
~~~
Once she finished changing the sheets and towels in the guest room and guest bathroom, Brooke pulled an extra plate and extra utensils from the cabinets to set the table with. She was completely terrified of meeting Ryan's long lost son, but not because of anything he represented, she was secure in Ryan's feelings for her and had known about Theresa and Daniel for a long time. No, she was more scared that she would accidentally do something to make Daniel see her as a wicked stepmother.
Brooke knew that Ryan loved Daniel and wondered about him. She'd seen the old, somewhat worn photo of Ryan and a toddler aged Daniel tucked into his wallet, right beside the pictures of Lily and Robbie, seen the love in the eyes of the photo, and the sadness in Ryan's eyes as he looked at it. She wanted to do things right, she wanted Daniel to like her, but she didn't want to over do it and act like she was trying to be his mom, because that would just be... weird.
She glanced up as she heard the door open, and smoothed her shirt over her jeans as she walked into the living room to greet Ryan and Daniel. "Hi," she said.
"Brooke, this is Daniel Diaz. Daniel, this is my wife, Brooke Davis."
Brooke and Daniel shook hands, then Brooke took a deep breathe. "Welcome," she said. "The food should be here any minute, I hope you like Chinese..."
"Yeah," Daniel said, nodding.
"Umm... I got one of the rooms set up for you, and... and..." Brooke said, faltering a little. "Okay, I'm totally out of my element having my long lost stepson show up. You have every right to be here, but I don't really know how to act. So cut me a little slack before you decide I'm a wicked stepmother, okay?"
"Sure," Daniel agreed. "If you won't automatically believe my mom and stepdad when they say I'm a trouble maker."
"Trust me, I had a rep as the ultimate bad girl when I was your age and a little older, so I'm all about the not judging," Brooke said, relaxing.
"Who're you?" Lily said from where she stood in the doorway, watching with wide eyes.
"Come here," Ryan told his daughter scooping her up so she was on eye level with him and Daniel. "This is Daniel. He's your big brother." When Lily frowned and tilted her head, Ryan tried to explain. "A very long time ago, I cared about a lot about Daniel's mom, the way I care about your mom, and Daniel is my son. He lived with his mom until today, and now he's going to live here with us."
"Okay," Lily said, eyeing Daniel. "Are you nice?"
"I try to be..." Daniel said slowly. "But I've never had a little sister before, so can you help me get the big brother thing right?"
"Okay," Lily agreed happily.
The doorbell rang, and Brooke answered it, revealing the delivery boy. "Ryan, put her down so she can wash her hands, and then can you go get Robbie?" she said as she paid.
"Come on," Lily said to Daniel the moment her feet were back on the floor. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bathroom. "We're suppose to wash our hands."
"Always a good idea," Daniel agreed, letting her lead him away.
Ryan watched them go, then headed to Robbie's room, finding the 18 month old was awake and sitting in his crib, a curious look on his face. "Hey big guy," he said as he picked his younger son up. "We've got some excitement tonight. You and Lily have a big brother named Daniel and he's gonna stay with us now, how's that sound?" he asked, not getting or expecting any sort of answer. Robbie didn't talk. At all. Brooke always tried to joke that he was just taking after Ryan, being the 'strong silent' type, but they knew it was more than that, another effect of the abuse the little boy had suffered. Ryan sighed and kissed the top of Robbie's head before carrying him out to the dining room, arriving just before Daniel and Lily returned.
"Robbie!" Lily said excitably. "We got big brother! And he made sure I didn't fall off my steps, so he's nice!"
"She slipped," Daniel said a little awkwardly.
"You splashed water all over again, didn't you?" Brooke asked her daughter. "She does it all the time," she added to Daniel.
"Be careful you don't sip if you go into that bathroom," Ryan added.
"There's a bathroom attached to the room I made up for you," Brooke said. "It connects with the guest room, too, so when there's company you'll have to share it."
"That's fine," Daniel said, looking a little overwhelmed with everything.
Brooke smiled at him. "You better get used to the vibrant family that's happy you're here," she said. "You haven't even met Sandy and Kirsten yet."
"Grandma and Grandpa are cool!" Lily said, nodding eagerly.
To Be Continued...
This chapter seems kinda awkward to me... but I think, because of the situation in the story, it's the only way it could be... lol... hopefully the next chapter will be a little more natural...
