Walk On - Part Two
Aug. 22nd, 2007 06:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Title: Walk On
Author: Mara
Fandom: The OC
Pairings: Ryan/Anna, Seth/Summer, past Ryan/Taylor.
Rating: R
Warnings: Some language, possible sex in later chapters.
Summary: "I didn't think it was possible for you to look any better than when we were teenagers, but the dad thing suits you."
Notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
supreme_empress for the 'Pay it Forward Meme'. She wanted Ryan/Anna, so her wish is my command. This will most likely be another long one... ::sigh:: as if I don't have enough long ones already... lol...
Walk On ~ Part Two
When Ryan pulled up in front of Kirsten's, he wasn't surprised to see Julie's car there. The woman tended to insert herself into family dinners, not that Ryan minded since it meant he got to see more of his little brother. "Looks like Aunt Julie is here," he told Lily as he climbed out and opened the backdoor to get her out of her child seat.
"And Jake?" Lily asked excitedly. "Can we play soccer?"
"If he came and if his mom says it's okay," Ryan replied, turning and crouching down so she could climb on his back for a piggy back ride. He reached one arm around to support her weight better, and used the other one to carry the food he'd brought.
The door opened before they reached it, revealing both Sophie Rose and Jake in their soccer cleats. "Can Lily play?" Jake asked. "Soph's cheating again."
"Am not!" Sophie Rose replied, smacking Jake's shoulder.
"How come the sibling that's not blood related takes after you in the hitting?" Jake complained.
"Too much early influence," Ryan replied, crouching down to let Lily slip off his back, then straightening part way to place a kiss on Sophie Rose's forehead and ruffle Jake's hair. "Go play, but not too rough, okay?"
"You got it, Bro," Jake said, grabbing Lily's hand and leading her quickly back into the house and through tot he backyard, still arguing with Sophie Rose about her alleged cheating.
Ryan chuckled and headed into the kitchen, greeting Julie and Kirsten each with a kiss on the cheek. "You and Jake joining us tonight?" Ryan asked Julie as he started unpacking the grocery bag.
"As long as I'm welcome," Julie replied.
Ryan smiled. "So if we told you to go away and never come back it would work?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, just like if we told you to forgive that whore ex of yours you would," Julie replied.
"Don't start you two," Kirsten said warningly, even though a small smile played at her lips.
"You know I always like seeing you and Jake," Ryan said honestly. Julie had literally been a life saver during that year when everything happened at once and their lives imploded on them, and he'd never really be able to repay her for that.
"You seem different today," Kirsten said, eyeing him.
"You won't believe who I ran into at the store," Ryan replied. "Anna Stern."
"Isn't that the girl Seth took to senior prom?" Julie asked.
"And Cotillion, and she of the infamous messed up Summer/Seth/Anna triangle from the first year I was in Newport," Ryan said. "She got a job in San Francisco and... and thanks to Lily apparently liking her, she's coming to Lily's soccer game on Saturday, then to the post-game lunch."
"That's nice," Kirsten said. "You need to stop hanging out with two old women like us."
"Speak for yourself, Kiki," Julie replied, hands on her hips.
Ryan turned away to keep Kirsten from seeing the grimace on his face at her comment. She'd aged ten years in the last five, looking so much older than she should, and he knew it was partially his fault. She'd already been going through too much when he'd had his problems, and then he'd been so lost with having Lily dropped in his lap. But at the same time, he knew that Kirsten wouldn't have had it any other way than him leaning on her when he needed her.
"Are you okay, honey?" Kirsten asked, a gentle hand on his back.
Ryan forced a smile and turned to her. "I'm fine, Kirsten. Just a little tired, like every single time I go shopping with Lily."
Kirsten smiled. "She is a handful."
"Anna recognized the problem immediately," Ryan said. "Way too much time spent with Seth."
"She always did strike me as a smart girl," Kirsten agreed with a smile.
~~~
"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Lily complained as she and the other two kids came back in a little while later.
"Me, too, mom!" Jake said, going to lean against his mom.
Sophie Rose, however, just rolled her eyes and pulled herself up onto a stool to grab a roll. "I've learned to have a snack beforehand when Ryan's cooking," she said.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Ryan asked, turning away from the pasta he was draining.
"Because you take forever," Sophie Rose said.
"Would you rather wait for good food or have bad food immediately?" Ryan countered.
"Wait for good," Sophie Rose admitted. "But that's why I snack."
"You are your father's daughter, always with the logical argument" Kirsten said, pausing in her chopping for the salad.
Ryan glanced over at her helplessly, then towards Julie, who was already moving. "Keeks, how about you show me that bedspread you were telling me about? In the catalog? I'm sure Ryan can finish the salad."
"No problem," Ryan said, nodding. As soon as Julie had led Kirsten out of the room, Ryan leaned against the counter, head bowed, and took a deep breath.
"Daddy?" Lily asked, her voice trembling.
Ryan turned, pasting a smile on his face. "Yeah, baby girl?"
"Is grandma Kirsten okay?"
"She'll be okay," Sophie Rose replead for him. "She just gets sad when she thinks about my daddy."
"Why?"
"I've explained this before, Lily," Ryan said. "Grandpa Sandy was the love of Grandma Kirsten's life, and when he died... it made her really sad. She still gets sad about it sometimes, but it's okay, she just needs a few minutes." His smile wavered slightly and he turned away to finish the salad. "Jake, Soph, can you guys set the table for me? And Lily, can you get the extra napkins?"
~~~
Dinner was same as usual after one of Kirsten's mini meltdowns: subdued but trying not to be. Before he and Lily left, Ryan pulled Julie aside and asked if she and Jake could possibly stay over the night, just in case, and Julie had assured him that she planned on it and was a master at faking too tired to drive. So, with a kiss on the cheeks of each woman, a kiss on the top of Sophie Rose's blonde head, and a ruffle of Jake's reddish blonde hair, Ryan loaded Lily into her childseat and they left, heading home.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"Did I ever meet Grandpa Sandy?"
"No, sweetie, he died a couple months before you were born," Ryan replied.
"Would he have liked me?"
"He would have loved you with all his heart," Ryan said. "And he would have spoiled you rotten, just like Grandma Kirsten and Aunt Julie do."
"Why'd he die?"
Ryan sighed. "Do you remember when Jake's father showed up last year, falling all over?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, someone was like that and they decided to go for a drive," Ryan explained. "They couldn't drive straight, and they hit Grandpa Sandy's car. He was hurt really bad, and there was nothing anyone could do. But I know he was glad that Grandma Kirsten and Aunt Sophie Rose weren't with him," he said, leaving out the part that Sandy had been driving to pick him up because his car had broken down.
"Is someone gonna do that to you?" Lily asked, sniffling slightly.
"I'm always carefully to watch other drivers, baby girl, no worries," Ryan replied, taking one hand off the wheel to reach back and squeeze her foot.
"What would happen to me if something happened to you?"
"Uncle Seth and Auntie Sum would take care of you," Ryan said.
"And I'd help them with Maddie in return," Lily said, nodding seriously.
Ryan sighed again, returning his hand to the steering wheel. She was definitely his daughter, with her natural desire to make sure she did for others in return for what they did for her. Even after all these years, it hurt to think about Sandy, though he was past the mental breakdown phase he'd gone into right afterwards. He'd still be in the middle of it when Lily had shown up in his life, and he'd pulled himself back together because of her, his saving grace and beautiful angel girl. "So, what was with the asking Anna to your soccer game thing, Miss Lily?"
"Miss Stern was nice!" Lily said. "And you were smiling, but it wasn't one of your 'I'm just being polite so she'll go away soon' smiles like you always give Aaron's mommy."
Ryan fought his smile, seeing the truth in that. Aaron's mother, Sasha, was always trying to make sure Ryan got a good view of her cleavage whenever they were at a game. It was ridiculous, since Aaron was always trying to bully the other kids and Lily hated him, plus Ryan had made it clear over and over that he was too busy with work and Lily to date anyone, but especially not someone as high maintenance as Sasha. "When we get home, it's time for bed," Ryan told his daughter.
"Okay," Lily said, yawning. "Gotta rest up for my game."
"Are you almost five or almost fifty?" Ryan teased. "So mature and grown up. Jake and Sophie Rose both still whine about their bedtimes!"
"Well, that's because I know if I'm good I'll get an ice cream float after my game," Lily replied, and when Ryan looked up in the rearview mirror, he could see she was smiling brightly.
"Ah, so you're sucking up!"
"Yup, Uncle Seth says I'm a natural!"
"He would know," Ryan replied, laughing, as he pulled into their driveway.
It was a nice two story house, three bedrooms upstairs, living room, kitchen, and office downstairs, a bathroom on each floor. The only problem was that he'd designed it himself to be the house for he and Taylor, back before he'd graduated and she'd dumped him. Ryan had decided to still build it, on Kirsten recommendation, as a model home to show what their new company, A&C Architecture, was capable of, but after Sandy's death 6 months later, and Taylor returning to hand him Lily and leave again, Ryan had ended up moving into the house with his baby daughter instead.
By the time Ryan got out and opened the backdoor of the car to get Lily, she'd fallen asleep. He smiled and gently unbuckled her before picking her up and carrying her inside, careful to lock the door behind him. He lived for the little moments like this, as he got to tuck Lily into bed with her favorite teddy bear, a little white one she'd named 'Snowball', despite Seth's cries of it being unoriginal, who had somehow lost both his nose and eyes over the years.
He kissed her forehead before heading back downstairs to his office to try and get a little work done before he went to bed himself. His house had no pictures of Sandy displayed, they were all closed up in photo albums that Ryan only opened in Lily wanted to see, but that didn't mean he didn't remember and miss the man even now. Hanging on the wall across from Ryan's desk was a painting Sandy'd had in his office at Berkeley, one that Sandy had always claimed helped him think.
Ryan sighed as he sat down and looked over at the painting, wishing it could help him now. He was 29 and considered one of Berkeley's most eligible bachelors despite the single dad thing, and yet he hadn't gone on a single date that wasn't a set up by a well meaning Seth or an annoying Kaitlin since his break up with Taylor.
Maybe Lily had the right idea. Maybe it was time for him to try dating. Not that Anna would have been his first thought, but... she was a friend, she wouldn't humiliate him if he screwed it up somehow. Just tease him maybe a third... make that a tenth... as Seth would when he found out.
To Be Continued...
Author: Mara
Fandom: The OC
Pairings: Ryan/Anna, Seth/Summer, past Ryan/Taylor.
Rating: R
Warnings: Some language, possible sex in later chapters.
Summary: "I didn't think it was possible for you to look any better than when we were teenagers, but the dad thing suits you."
Notes: For
supreme_empress for the 'Pay it Forward Meme'. She wanted Ryan/Anna, so her wish is my command. This will most likely be another long one... ::sigh:: as if I don't have enough long ones already... lol...Walk On ~ Part Two
When Ryan pulled up in front of Kirsten's, he wasn't surprised to see Julie's car there. The woman tended to insert herself into family dinners, not that Ryan minded since it meant he got to see more of his little brother. "Looks like Aunt Julie is here," he told Lily as he climbed out and opened the backdoor to get her out of her child seat.
"And Jake?" Lily asked excitedly. "Can we play soccer?"
"If he came and if his mom says it's okay," Ryan replied, turning and crouching down so she could climb on his back for a piggy back ride. He reached one arm around to support her weight better, and used the other one to carry the food he'd brought.
The door opened before they reached it, revealing both Sophie Rose and Jake in their soccer cleats. "Can Lily play?" Jake asked. "Soph's cheating again."
"Am not!" Sophie Rose replied, smacking Jake's shoulder.
"How come the sibling that's not blood related takes after you in the hitting?" Jake complained.
"Too much early influence," Ryan replied, crouching down to let Lily slip off his back, then straightening part way to place a kiss on Sophie Rose's forehead and ruffle Jake's hair. "Go play, but not too rough, okay?"
"You got it, Bro," Jake said, grabbing Lily's hand and leading her quickly back into the house and through tot he backyard, still arguing with Sophie Rose about her alleged cheating.
Ryan chuckled and headed into the kitchen, greeting Julie and Kirsten each with a kiss on the cheek. "You and Jake joining us tonight?" Ryan asked Julie as he started unpacking the grocery bag.
"As long as I'm welcome," Julie replied.
Ryan smiled. "So if we told you to go away and never come back it would work?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, just like if we told you to forgive that whore ex of yours you would," Julie replied.
"Don't start you two," Kirsten said warningly, even though a small smile played at her lips.
"You know I always like seeing you and Jake," Ryan said honestly. Julie had literally been a life saver during that year when everything happened at once and their lives imploded on them, and he'd never really be able to repay her for that.
"You seem different today," Kirsten said, eyeing him.
"You won't believe who I ran into at the store," Ryan replied. "Anna Stern."
"Isn't that the girl Seth took to senior prom?" Julie asked.
"And Cotillion, and she of the infamous messed up Summer/Seth/Anna triangle from the first year I was in Newport," Ryan said. "She got a job in San Francisco and... and thanks to Lily apparently liking her, she's coming to Lily's soccer game on Saturday, then to the post-game lunch."
"That's nice," Kirsten said. "You need to stop hanging out with two old women like us."
"Speak for yourself, Kiki," Julie replied, hands on her hips.
Ryan turned away to keep Kirsten from seeing the grimace on his face at her comment. She'd aged ten years in the last five, looking so much older than she should, and he knew it was partially his fault. She'd already been going through too much when he'd had his problems, and then he'd been so lost with having Lily dropped in his lap. But at the same time, he knew that Kirsten wouldn't have had it any other way than him leaning on her when he needed her.
"Are you okay, honey?" Kirsten asked, a gentle hand on his back.
Ryan forced a smile and turned to her. "I'm fine, Kirsten. Just a little tired, like every single time I go shopping with Lily."
Kirsten smiled. "She is a handful."
"Anna recognized the problem immediately," Ryan said. "Way too much time spent with Seth."
"She always did strike me as a smart girl," Kirsten agreed with a smile.
~~~
"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Lily complained as she and the other two kids came back in a little while later.
"Me, too, mom!" Jake said, going to lean against his mom.
Sophie Rose, however, just rolled her eyes and pulled herself up onto a stool to grab a roll. "I've learned to have a snack beforehand when Ryan's cooking," she said.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Ryan asked, turning away from the pasta he was draining.
"Because you take forever," Sophie Rose said.
"Would you rather wait for good food or have bad food immediately?" Ryan countered.
"Wait for good," Sophie Rose admitted. "But that's why I snack."
"You are your father's daughter, always with the logical argument" Kirsten said, pausing in her chopping for the salad.
Ryan glanced over at her helplessly, then towards Julie, who was already moving. "Keeks, how about you show me that bedspread you were telling me about? In the catalog? I'm sure Ryan can finish the salad."
"No problem," Ryan said, nodding. As soon as Julie had led Kirsten out of the room, Ryan leaned against the counter, head bowed, and took a deep breath.
"Daddy?" Lily asked, her voice trembling.
Ryan turned, pasting a smile on his face. "Yeah, baby girl?"
"Is grandma Kirsten okay?"
"She'll be okay," Sophie Rose replead for him. "She just gets sad when she thinks about my daddy."
"Why?"
"I've explained this before, Lily," Ryan said. "Grandpa Sandy was the love of Grandma Kirsten's life, and when he died... it made her really sad. She still gets sad about it sometimes, but it's okay, she just needs a few minutes." His smile wavered slightly and he turned away to finish the salad. "Jake, Soph, can you guys set the table for me? And Lily, can you get the extra napkins?"
~~~
Dinner was same as usual after one of Kirsten's mini meltdowns: subdued but trying not to be. Before he and Lily left, Ryan pulled Julie aside and asked if she and Jake could possibly stay over the night, just in case, and Julie had assured him that she planned on it and was a master at faking too tired to drive. So, with a kiss on the cheeks of each woman, a kiss on the top of Sophie Rose's blonde head, and a ruffle of Jake's reddish blonde hair, Ryan loaded Lily into her childseat and they left, heading home.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"Did I ever meet Grandpa Sandy?"
"No, sweetie, he died a couple months before you were born," Ryan replied.
"Would he have liked me?"
"He would have loved you with all his heart," Ryan said. "And he would have spoiled you rotten, just like Grandma Kirsten and Aunt Julie do."
"Why'd he die?"
Ryan sighed. "Do you remember when Jake's father showed up last year, falling all over?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, someone was like that and they decided to go for a drive," Ryan explained. "They couldn't drive straight, and they hit Grandpa Sandy's car. He was hurt really bad, and there was nothing anyone could do. But I know he was glad that Grandma Kirsten and Aunt Sophie Rose weren't with him," he said, leaving out the part that Sandy had been driving to pick him up because his car had broken down.
"Is someone gonna do that to you?" Lily asked, sniffling slightly.
"I'm always carefully to watch other drivers, baby girl, no worries," Ryan replied, taking one hand off the wheel to reach back and squeeze her foot.
"What would happen to me if something happened to you?"
"Uncle Seth and Auntie Sum would take care of you," Ryan said.
"And I'd help them with Maddie in return," Lily said, nodding seriously.
Ryan sighed again, returning his hand to the steering wheel. She was definitely his daughter, with her natural desire to make sure she did for others in return for what they did for her. Even after all these years, it hurt to think about Sandy, though he was past the mental breakdown phase he'd gone into right afterwards. He'd still be in the middle of it when Lily had shown up in his life, and he'd pulled himself back together because of her, his saving grace and beautiful angel girl. "So, what was with the asking Anna to your soccer game thing, Miss Lily?"
"Miss Stern was nice!" Lily said. "And you were smiling, but it wasn't one of your 'I'm just being polite so she'll go away soon' smiles like you always give Aaron's mommy."
Ryan fought his smile, seeing the truth in that. Aaron's mother, Sasha, was always trying to make sure Ryan got a good view of her cleavage whenever they were at a game. It was ridiculous, since Aaron was always trying to bully the other kids and Lily hated him, plus Ryan had made it clear over and over that he was too busy with work and Lily to date anyone, but especially not someone as high maintenance as Sasha. "When we get home, it's time for bed," Ryan told his daughter.
"Okay," Lily said, yawning. "Gotta rest up for my game."
"Are you almost five or almost fifty?" Ryan teased. "So mature and grown up. Jake and Sophie Rose both still whine about their bedtimes!"
"Well, that's because I know if I'm good I'll get an ice cream float after my game," Lily replied, and when Ryan looked up in the rearview mirror, he could see she was smiling brightly.
"Ah, so you're sucking up!"
"Yup, Uncle Seth says I'm a natural!"
"He would know," Ryan replied, laughing, as he pulled into their driveway.
It was a nice two story house, three bedrooms upstairs, living room, kitchen, and office downstairs, a bathroom on each floor. The only problem was that he'd designed it himself to be the house for he and Taylor, back before he'd graduated and she'd dumped him. Ryan had decided to still build it, on Kirsten recommendation, as a model home to show what their new company, A&C Architecture, was capable of, but after Sandy's death 6 months later, and Taylor returning to hand him Lily and leave again, Ryan had ended up moving into the house with his baby daughter instead.
By the time Ryan got out and opened the backdoor of the car to get Lily, she'd fallen asleep. He smiled and gently unbuckled her before picking her up and carrying her inside, careful to lock the door behind him. He lived for the little moments like this, as he got to tuck Lily into bed with her favorite teddy bear, a little white one she'd named 'Snowball', despite Seth's cries of it being unoriginal, who had somehow lost both his nose and eyes over the years.
He kissed her forehead before heading back downstairs to his office to try and get a little work done before he went to bed himself. His house had no pictures of Sandy displayed, they were all closed up in photo albums that Ryan only opened in Lily wanted to see, but that didn't mean he didn't remember and miss the man even now. Hanging on the wall across from Ryan's desk was a painting Sandy'd had in his office at Berkeley, one that Sandy had always claimed helped him think.
Ryan sighed as he sat down and looked over at the painting, wishing it could help him now. He was 29 and considered one of Berkeley's most eligible bachelors despite the single dad thing, and yet he hadn't gone on a single date that wasn't a set up by a well meaning Seth or an annoying Kaitlin since his break up with Taylor.
Maybe Lily had the right idea. Maybe it was time for him to try dating. Not that Anna would have been his first thought, but... she was a friend, she wouldn't humiliate him if he screwed it up somehow. Just tease him maybe a third... make that a tenth... as Seth would when he found out.
To Be Continued...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
That was a great post !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: 2007-08-23 01:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-23 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-23 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-23 08:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-23 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-03 05:32 pm (UTC)I was initially groaning at Julie insinuating herself where she might not be wanted, and doing so with all the tact and grace of a rampaging bull. It does seem that, in this world, she has learned how to be a friend and has moved on from the user and master manipulator role that had defined her.
If T.T. is the ex, then I'm glad that Lily not only looks like Ryan, but seems to be her father's daughter in every way. Thank God for that! Not only is she not whiny, needy, self-centered, dishonest and high-maintenance, but she's more polite, mature and better behaved than her sort-of-related aunt and her uncle. Only Ryan's child...
I wasn't expecting the twist with Sandy. Add the fact that the tragic accident occured while he was on his way to help Ryan and the sense of loss becomes one of responsibility as well as guilt for even asking for assistance and not ever being able to repay so much Ryan believes he owes. Now, he has to feel he was instrumental in Sandy's death on some level too.
I'm still loving the dynamic between Ryan and Lily and enjoying her observations and reactions. I'll be looking forward to where you take this.
Thanks again!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 03:39 am (UTC)But....DeadSandy fics always make me sad. :(
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 03:49 am (UTC)I forgot to post to theoc_fiction about this update until tonight... like seconds after I hit the post button I got the notification that you'd responded to this chapter... lol...
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Date: 2007-09-05 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-11 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-10 12:33 am (UTC)