'After' - Chapter One - Homecoming
Jun. 1st, 2008 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13Maybe if I post, I'll manage to get the inspiration to finish it... I have such good plans, but everytime I sit to write, I go blank... I'll post the rest of what I have so far tomorrow...
This story features characters from: The OC, One Tree Hill, Heroes, and Supernatural, as well as mentions of characters from the Stargate Universe. But there are no superpowers, demons, or aliens in this universe.
Chapter One - Homecoming
Ryan Atwood grimaced as he started seeing the familiar outlying farms that surrounded Tree Hill. It had been seven years since he'd set foot in his hometown, seven years of not keeping in touch with anyone except for the occasional postcard to his buddy Luke Ward, and yearly birthday cards for his adoptive mother, Kirsten Cohen. But here he was, driving back into a town that hated him, because despite everything that had happened Kirsten wanted to see him for her birthday.
As he drove past the 'Welcome To Tree Hill, California' sign, there was a flash of lights behind him and her glanced in the rearview mirror to see one of the Tree Hill Sheriff's Department cars flashing it's lights so he'd pull over. As he did, sighing because he knew this probably wouldn't be pretty, he hoped it wasn't the sheriff or one of the deputies that completely hated him. He didn't bother to look in the mirror as he got his license and registration out, though. He preferred the surprise over the dread.
"Ryan Atwood?" came a surprised voice, and Ryan let some of the tension flood out of him as he looked over to see it was Matt Parkman, one of the few who hadn't turned completely against Ryan.
"Long time no see, huh Deputy Parkman?" Ryan said with a tight smile.
"In town for Kirsten's birthday?"
"She got ahold of my e-mail and asked me to come," Ryan said, shrugging. "And I just can't say no to a pretty woman," he continued, holding out his license and registration.
"Don't worry about that, I know who you are, and I trust that this is your jeep," Matt said.
"Unlike most of this town would," Ryan said, trying not to sound bitter and failing miserably.
"Just... stay out of trouble, would you? No fights, no drag racing, no graffiti on the side of Mrs. Cooper's house..."
"That was once, and it was Luke's idea," Ryan said, even as he nodded. "I'm not staying long, just going by the house to see Kirsten, hanging out a little while, then I'm out of here. I'm due back at work tomorrow, and I've got a long drive ahead of me."
"Where's home nowadays?"
"Unfortunately, Tree Hill will always be home," Ryan said with a sigh. "But I live in LA most of the time."
"What have you been doing all these years anyway?"
"Flying," Ryan said, smiling as Matt laughed. It was a well known secret that Ryan was flat out terrified of heights, and he got sick even on short plane rides. "I'll see you, Matt."
"Stay out of trouble," Matt repeated as he headed back to his car.
Ryan tried to ignore the urge to scream about it being assumed, even by those who didn't automatically hate him, that he'd cause trouble. Instead, he put his jeep into gear and started towards the house again. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could leave and not come back for another seven years. Maybe by then people would have forgotten his teenage mistakes.
Brooke Davis ran her hands through her hair to try to calm herself and keep from screaming as the kids began another round of 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Smichdt' at the top of their lungs. She remembered the song from her own days in the second grade, and she'd hated it then, too. Now it was almost enough to make her hijack the bus and drive off into the sunset, leaving the kids in the park. Except the bus had a flat tire that they were waiting on a replacement for. "Guys, let's sing something else, okay?" she said hopefully.
"This is the song that never ends!" one boy belted out, quickly followed by the others.
Brooke whimpered and turned her face up to the sky mouthing the words 'why me?' as though she expected an answer.
"Miss Davis?"
"Jamie, you're my godson, you can call me Brooke," she told him as she crouched down. "But what's up?"
"I wish they'd stop singing," Jamie Scott replied.
"Me, too, buddy," Brooke admitted, smiling sympathetically at him. "Me, too." She put her hands on his shoulders and nodded seriously. "What do you say that when the bus is fixed, you and me take it and leave them here to sing for their dinner?" she joked.
"We gotta take Lily, too," Jamie said.
"Of course we'll take Lily," Brooke said. "Otherwise her mom would never make us that apple pie we love so much ever again."
Jamie nodded seriously, then grinned.
Ryan paused before getting out of his jeep once he pulled up in front of the Cohen home, the first place he'd ever felt happy and safe in, until he'd messed it up with one stupid choice. He shook his head to clear it as he grabbed the bag that held Kirsten's gift and walked up to the door, hesitating for a moment with his hand raised to knock, but suddenly scared to. Finally, he closed his eyes and rapped sharply with his knuckles.
"In the kitchen!" came Kirsten's voice.
Ryan couldn't help smiling as he remembered the, literally, open door policy the Cohens had, and he headed inside and back towards the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to watch Kirsten cooking. "I hope it's not me you're planning to give food poisoning," he teased.
Kirsten dropped the pan as she spun around, surprised. Almost immediately, her startled expression was replaced with a joyous one as she hurried to hug him tightly. "I didn't think you'd come," she said as she held on.
"Like I could ever say no to you," Ryan replied, enjoying the moment that he knew wouldn't last for long.
"And for your information, I've gotten much better at cooking," Kirsten scolded as she pulled back. "Try a cookie."
"I don't know..." Ryan said, pretending to be worried.
"I followed the recipe exactly!"
"Handwritten?" Ryan countered with a small smile. "Because I remember you trying to make one of Karen Roe's recipes, and I remember being up all night sick because you misread something..."
"The recipe on the back of the box, in nice big letters and numbers," Kirsten countered, showing him the box. "Try one."
"Alright, I do have god health insurance..." he said, laughing as she smacked his shoulder with the box. He grabbed a cookie and took a tentative bite, then nodded and took a bigger bite. "Not bad."
"I told you!"
"We'll see if I feel the same in an hour," Ryan said, smiling. "So... how's... everybody?" he asked, turning serious.
"He's at work for another hour or so," Kirsten said, knowing who Ryan really wanted to know about. "You know he didn't mean what he said before..."
"Yeah, he did," Ryan said, shrugging. "And he was right. I messed up."
"Sandy loves you," Kirsten said.
"He loved Seth more," Ryan said. "So did you..."
"You're our son, too."
"And I... because of me..."
"I never blamed you," Kirsten said softly. "I'm just glad I still have one son left. Even if he never calls."
Ryan smiled again and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, well... I've been busy."
"What have you been doing?" Kirsten asked. "You never talk about it in the cards..."
"It's just boring computer stuff," Ryan said. "Checking for and fixing errors in other people's programming. Nothing all that exciting. Definitely nothing anyone with any kind of life cares about."
"Okay, then how about this question that I do care about. How long are you staying?"
"Just for the day," Ryan said. "I have to get back to LA for work."
"You came all this way just to stay a few hours?" Kirsten asked, clearly upset.
"It's worth it," Ryan replied. "Come on, fill me in on all the dirt you've been dying to tell me. I'll even pretend to be interested," he said, changing the subject.
Kirsten sighed, but finally took a seat at the table, waiting for Ryan to join her before she started.
"On the road again, just can't wait to get ont he road again..."
Brooke glared at the bus driver, Tim, who was singing the song, extremely out of tune, as he watched the mechanics get the new wheel on. "Justifiable homicide," she said to him under her breath, accompanied by a tight smile.
"Stopping," Tim agreed quickly.
"Good boy," Brooke replied, turning back to the kids, who'd finally stopped singing and shifted to sulking and whining about being bored. "Okay, I've got an idea, guys!" she said. "Let's all think of how we'll tell your parents about this being all Bus Driver Tim's fault!"
Several kids laughed, and Lily Roe skipped over to Brooke. "Daddy said this morning that the tire looked kinda flat," she said. "But Bus Driver Tim said it was fine."
"Aha!" Brooke said, turning to point at Tim. "We have proof of who's fault it is!"
"You're gonna take a 6 year-olds word over mine?" Tim asked. "I'm you best friend's husband's best friend!"
"The only thing Nathan has good taste in his his wife," Brooke countered. "Thank god Jamie takes after Haley."
"Don't make fun of Uncle Tim! Dad says he took one too many basketballs to the head!" Jamie protested, making the other kids laugh again.
"You're right Jamie," Brooke said. "We shouldn't make fun of people who are challenged in anyway, kids. I was doing something I shouldn't have been, and I am sorry, Tim."
"I forgive you," Tim said, moving for a hug only to have Brooke side step him and turn away.
"Not if you were the last man on earth, Dim," she said through clenched teeth, using the nickname she'd given him after seeing one too many of his acts of stupidity. "And there were no more batteries, and my hands had been cut off," she added even quieter before turning to the kids. "So... who can tell me something they learned today on our field trip?"
"Porcupines are squishy!" one little boy called out, making the girls squeal in disgust and Brooke groan.
Kirsten was just starting to tell Ryan about a few recent marriages when they heard the front door open and Sandy appeared in the doorway, stopping when he saw Ryan.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, tense.
"I asked him to come," Kirsten said firmly, making it clear that Sandy better not ruin the visit. "Ryan's just home for a few hours before he has to leave so he can get back to work, and I think we can all have a nice, civil, dinner together during that time."
"Kirsten..." Sandy began.
"Don't worry, after I leave I'll stay away for another seven years," Ryan said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "I think even someone as horrible as me is tolerable for a couple hours ever five years, don't you?"
"Don't cop an attitude with me," Sandy snapped.
"Enough, both of you," Kirsten said, sending a pleading look Sandy's way and putting a hand on Ryan's forearm in hopes of calming him down. "Please."
"Call me when he's gone," Sandy said, turning to leave.
"Sandy! I want my family to have dinner together!" Kirsten said, getting up.
"And that's not possible anymore, is it?" Sandy replied, looking at Ryan then immediately looking away again.
"This was a mistake," Ryan said, getting up. "Kirsten, your gift's in the bag, I hope you like it..."
"Ryan, stay," Kirsten said, grasping his wrist. "Please. I want my family together..."
"He's right, you can't really have that, and it's my fault. So I'm gonna go before I mess things up anymore than I already have," Ryan said, kissing her cheek again. "I promise, next e-mail, I'll actually respond," he added with a tense smile before glncing at Sandy. "I..."
"Don't," Sandy said warningly.
Ryan nodded in understanding. "Happy birthday, Kirsten," he said before heading out the back door to go around the side of the house, preferring that to having to walk past Sandy.
"How could you do that, Sandy?" Kirsten said. "We're not the only ones that lost Seth."
"But we didn't get him killed," Sandy said.
"So you're going to push away the only son we have left? The one who loves you so much that one of the first things he said to me was asking about you? He was just a kid, Sandy, and he made some bad choices, and you knw him! He will never forgive himself, so it's up to us, as his parents, to forgive him."
"Seth died because of his bad choices."
"No one made Seth get in that car."
"No one made Ryan sneak out of the house and take Seth with him."
"I'm amazed, you actually used his name," Kirsten said coldly before pointedly turning away from her husband.
Sandy watched Kirsten as she began to furiously flip through her cookbook, then left the kitchen, heading out the front door and stopping when he saw Ryan leaning against the black jeep parked out front. "Why did you even come here?" Sandy asked as he walked over.
"She asked me to," Ryan said. "Wanted to see me and said it was all she wanted for her birthday. So I got in my jeep and drove up from LA to stay a couple hours, then drive home and go to work tomorrow night. Because she wanted me here."
"You got our son killed."
"You think I don't know that?" Ryan said. "I was there, Sandy. I was there, and I tried to help him... and I'm sorry that me being here upsets you, but Kirsten asked. How could I say no to her after what I did?"
"You should have been the one who died," Sandy said.
"You think I don't know that, too?" Ryan said. "I wish I had, Sandy. I really do." With that, he walked around to climb into the jeep, only pausing again after he was belted in. "I'm sorry," he added, looking up again. "I know it doesn't change what I did, and I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, I'm not asking you to, I jsut... I want you to know that I never would have let him come with me if I'd known..."
"You're right," Sandy said. "It doesn't change a damn thing. You still got my son killed. And I wish it had been you that died in that ditch."
Ryan nodded to himself and started the engine, pulling away and trying not to let Sandy's words affect him. It was almost impossible, though.
"Thank god," Brooke muttered as she followed the last of the kids onto the bus and sat down up front to make sure Tim didn't get lost on the way back to town. "Let's get this show on the road, Tim, I think we're gonna have enough anxious parents waiting for us as it is."
"Nate's gonna kill me," Tim complained with a sigh. "He said if I screwed up one more time he'd have to stop convincing the school board to keep me on the payroll."
"Tim, you ran over a potted plant and tore open a tire. It's not the end of the world," Brooke said. "We'll say it was in the middle of the parking lot."
"And when the kids tell their parents I ran over a porcupine, too?"
"It had it coming," Brooke said, smiling and leaning forward to patt his shoulder. "I've got your back, Dim," she assured him. "But still, let's get home before I kill these little monsters," she added as they started singing again.
As he got out to the edge of town, Ryan pulled over at a gas station to fill his tank for the long drive back. He was walking back to the jeep after paying when he heard a familiar voice and turned, forcing a smirk onto his face when he saw Luke trying ineffectually to flirt with a woman who was sitting on the hood of a pick up. "Still never gonna get any, huh?" he asked his friend.
Luke turned, looking ready to pick a fight, then grinned and crossed the asphalt to pull Ryan into a hug that lifted him up off the ground. "Damn, Atwood! It's been forever!"
"It's about to be forever again," Ryan said, laughing as Luke put him down and he patted his friend on the back. "I'm on my way out of town again."
"When'd you get into town?"
"Like an hour ago?" Ryan admitted. "Kirsten asked me to come, Sandy didn't want me there. So I'm leaving. I've got work tomorrow night, anyway, so it's better if I get on the road early. I wanna get to Sacramento before nightfall."
"You weren't even gonna stop in to say hi?" Luke asked.
"I... I just don't belong here anymore, Luke. I think you and Kirsten are the only people in this town who don't hate me."
"Deputy Parkman asks sometimes if I've heard from you," Luke said. "So not just us..."
"Okay, so three people don't think I'm a monster, still doesn't mean I feel welcome here," Ryan said. "It's not that big of a deal, Luke."
"Yeah, but..." Luke began, then stopped and shrugged. "What have you been doing, anyway? You've taken vague to an art form in those postcards."
"Air Force," Ryan said.
"Fine, don't tell me," Luke said, grinning.
"Luke! I need help with my gas!"
Both men turned and Ryan grimaced when he recognized Marissa Cooper standing by a jag. "Still spending money the way msot people drink water, huh?" Ryan asked.
"Except now it's her new stepfather's money she's spending," Luke replied.
"Ryan?" Marissa asked as she walked over, rage on her face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Leaving," Ryan said. "Luke, I'll call you, alright?"
"Be careful on the road, man," Luke cautioned him. Then he turned to Marissa. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch?"
"Have you met our mother?" Kaitlin, Marissa's sister, said as she walked over. "It's no big surprise."
"Look who's talking about being a bitch," Marissa said to her sister, sniffing in annoyance. "Have you harassed a geek yet today?"
Kaitlin flipped the older girl off. "Was that Ryan?"
"Yeah, but he's leaving again," Luke said.
"Too bad, this town's been boring since he left."
As the kids momentarily quieted down, Brooke pulled out her cellphone and switched it on to check for messages, making a face as she saw one from he rmother. Nonetheless, she accessed it to listen.
"Brooke, I know you think you're punishing me by running away to hicksville, but you're only hurting yourself. Now I'm telling you to get your ass back to New York so we can get things back on track between you and Lucas. He's a good man, Brooke..."
"He's a good man, Brooke," she mocked as she closed the phone without hearing the rest of the message. "God I hate that woman," she muttered as she glanced out the window in time to see a black jeep pass them by, a sad looking blonde haired man behind the wheel.
Ryan had the radio going as he drove out of town, trying to find something halfway good to listen to and knowing it was a losing battle this far from any town of a decent size. He saw a brief flash on the horizon and automatically turned to look, realizing what it had been as the glowing mushroom cloud blossomed up towards the sky. He started to brake and turned back to the road a moment too late, the jeep going off the road and crashing into a ditch.
Brooke heard several of the kids yell and turned to look at them, then twisted further to see what they were staring at. Off to the west, a blood red mushroom cloud was expanding further and further. "Oh my god..." she began to whisper just before Tim swerved to try and avoid crashing into an oncoming car, the other driver distracted by the sight, and the bus careened off the road and into the brush.
To Be Continued...
Like I said, I'll post the rest of what I have so far tomorrow sometime... right now I'm too sleepy...
This story features characters from: The OC, One Tree Hill, Heroes, and Supernatural, as well as mentions of characters from the Stargate Universe. But there are no superpowers, demons, or aliens in this universe.
Chapter One - Homecoming
Ryan Atwood grimaced as he started seeing the familiar outlying farms that surrounded Tree Hill. It had been seven years since he'd set foot in his hometown, seven years of not keeping in touch with anyone except for the occasional postcard to his buddy Luke Ward, and yearly birthday cards for his adoptive mother, Kirsten Cohen. But here he was, driving back into a town that hated him, because despite everything that had happened Kirsten wanted to see him for her birthday.
As he drove past the 'Welcome To Tree Hill, California' sign, there was a flash of lights behind him and her glanced in the rearview mirror to see one of the Tree Hill Sheriff's Department cars flashing it's lights so he'd pull over. As he did, sighing because he knew this probably wouldn't be pretty, he hoped it wasn't the sheriff or one of the deputies that completely hated him. He didn't bother to look in the mirror as he got his license and registration out, though. He preferred the surprise over the dread.
"Ryan Atwood?" came a surprised voice, and Ryan let some of the tension flood out of him as he looked over to see it was Matt Parkman, one of the few who hadn't turned completely against Ryan.
"Long time no see, huh Deputy Parkman?" Ryan said with a tight smile.
"In town for Kirsten's birthday?"
"She got ahold of my e-mail and asked me to come," Ryan said, shrugging. "And I just can't say no to a pretty woman," he continued, holding out his license and registration.
"Don't worry about that, I know who you are, and I trust that this is your jeep," Matt said.
"Unlike most of this town would," Ryan said, trying not to sound bitter and failing miserably.
"Just... stay out of trouble, would you? No fights, no drag racing, no graffiti on the side of Mrs. Cooper's house..."
"That was once, and it was Luke's idea," Ryan said, even as he nodded. "I'm not staying long, just going by the house to see Kirsten, hanging out a little while, then I'm out of here. I'm due back at work tomorrow, and I've got a long drive ahead of me."
"Where's home nowadays?"
"Unfortunately, Tree Hill will always be home," Ryan said with a sigh. "But I live in LA most of the time."
"What have you been doing all these years anyway?"
"Flying," Ryan said, smiling as Matt laughed. It was a well known secret that Ryan was flat out terrified of heights, and he got sick even on short plane rides. "I'll see you, Matt."
"Stay out of trouble," Matt repeated as he headed back to his car.
Ryan tried to ignore the urge to scream about it being assumed, even by those who didn't automatically hate him, that he'd cause trouble. Instead, he put his jeep into gear and started towards the house again. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could leave and not come back for another seven years. Maybe by then people would have forgotten his teenage mistakes.
Brooke Davis ran her hands through her hair to try to calm herself and keep from screaming as the kids began another round of 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Smichdt' at the top of their lungs. She remembered the song from her own days in the second grade, and she'd hated it then, too. Now it was almost enough to make her hijack the bus and drive off into the sunset, leaving the kids in the park. Except the bus had a flat tire that they were waiting on a replacement for. "Guys, let's sing something else, okay?" she said hopefully.
"This is the song that never ends!" one boy belted out, quickly followed by the others.
Brooke whimpered and turned her face up to the sky mouthing the words 'why me?' as though she expected an answer.
"Miss Davis?"
"Jamie, you're my godson, you can call me Brooke," she told him as she crouched down. "But what's up?"
"I wish they'd stop singing," Jamie Scott replied.
"Me, too, buddy," Brooke admitted, smiling sympathetically at him. "Me, too." She put her hands on his shoulders and nodded seriously. "What do you say that when the bus is fixed, you and me take it and leave them here to sing for their dinner?" she joked.
"We gotta take Lily, too," Jamie said.
"Of course we'll take Lily," Brooke said. "Otherwise her mom would never make us that apple pie we love so much ever again."
Jamie nodded seriously, then grinned.
Ryan paused before getting out of his jeep once he pulled up in front of the Cohen home, the first place he'd ever felt happy and safe in, until he'd messed it up with one stupid choice. He shook his head to clear it as he grabbed the bag that held Kirsten's gift and walked up to the door, hesitating for a moment with his hand raised to knock, but suddenly scared to. Finally, he closed his eyes and rapped sharply with his knuckles.
"In the kitchen!" came Kirsten's voice.
Ryan couldn't help smiling as he remembered the, literally, open door policy the Cohens had, and he headed inside and back towards the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to watch Kirsten cooking. "I hope it's not me you're planning to give food poisoning," he teased.
Kirsten dropped the pan as she spun around, surprised. Almost immediately, her startled expression was replaced with a joyous one as she hurried to hug him tightly. "I didn't think you'd come," she said as she held on.
"Like I could ever say no to you," Ryan replied, enjoying the moment that he knew wouldn't last for long.
"And for your information, I've gotten much better at cooking," Kirsten scolded as she pulled back. "Try a cookie."
"I don't know..." Ryan said, pretending to be worried.
"I followed the recipe exactly!"
"Handwritten?" Ryan countered with a small smile. "Because I remember you trying to make one of Karen Roe's recipes, and I remember being up all night sick because you misread something..."
"The recipe on the back of the box, in nice big letters and numbers," Kirsten countered, showing him the box. "Try one."
"Alright, I do have god health insurance..." he said, laughing as she smacked his shoulder with the box. He grabbed a cookie and took a tentative bite, then nodded and took a bigger bite. "Not bad."
"I told you!"
"We'll see if I feel the same in an hour," Ryan said, smiling. "So... how's... everybody?" he asked, turning serious.
"He's at work for another hour or so," Kirsten said, knowing who Ryan really wanted to know about. "You know he didn't mean what he said before..."
"Yeah, he did," Ryan said, shrugging. "And he was right. I messed up."
"Sandy loves you," Kirsten said.
"He loved Seth more," Ryan said. "So did you..."
"You're our son, too."
"And I... because of me..."
"I never blamed you," Kirsten said softly. "I'm just glad I still have one son left. Even if he never calls."
Ryan smiled again and kissed her cheek. "Yeah, well... I've been busy."
"What have you been doing?" Kirsten asked. "You never talk about it in the cards..."
"It's just boring computer stuff," Ryan said. "Checking for and fixing errors in other people's programming. Nothing all that exciting. Definitely nothing anyone with any kind of life cares about."
"Okay, then how about this question that I do care about. How long are you staying?"
"Just for the day," Ryan said. "I have to get back to LA for work."
"You came all this way just to stay a few hours?" Kirsten asked, clearly upset.
"It's worth it," Ryan replied. "Come on, fill me in on all the dirt you've been dying to tell me. I'll even pretend to be interested," he said, changing the subject.
Kirsten sighed, but finally took a seat at the table, waiting for Ryan to join her before she started.
"On the road again, just can't wait to get ont he road again..."
Brooke glared at the bus driver, Tim, who was singing the song, extremely out of tune, as he watched the mechanics get the new wheel on. "Justifiable homicide," she said to him under her breath, accompanied by a tight smile.
"Stopping," Tim agreed quickly.
"Good boy," Brooke replied, turning back to the kids, who'd finally stopped singing and shifted to sulking and whining about being bored. "Okay, I've got an idea, guys!" she said. "Let's all think of how we'll tell your parents about this being all Bus Driver Tim's fault!"
Several kids laughed, and Lily Roe skipped over to Brooke. "Daddy said this morning that the tire looked kinda flat," she said. "But Bus Driver Tim said it was fine."
"Aha!" Brooke said, turning to point at Tim. "We have proof of who's fault it is!"
"You're gonna take a 6 year-olds word over mine?" Tim asked. "I'm you best friend's husband's best friend!"
"The only thing Nathan has good taste in his his wife," Brooke countered. "Thank god Jamie takes after Haley."
"Don't make fun of Uncle Tim! Dad says he took one too many basketballs to the head!" Jamie protested, making the other kids laugh again.
"You're right Jamie," Brooke said. "We shouldn't make fun of people who are challenged in anyway, kids. I was doing something I shouldn't have been, and I am sorry, Tim."
"I forgive you," Tim said, moving for a hug only to have Brooke side step him and turn away.
"Not if you were the last man on earth, Dim," she said through clenched teeth, using the nickname she'd given him after seeing one too many of his acts of stupidity. "And there were no more batteries, and my hands had been cut off," she added even quieter before turning to the kids. "So... who can tell me something they learned today on our field trip?"
"Porcupines are squishy!" one little boy called out, making the girls squeal in disgust and Brooke groan.
Kirsten was just starting to tell Ryan about a few recent marriages when they heard the front door open and Sandy appeared in the doorway, stopping when he saw Ryan.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, tense.
"I asked him to come," Kirsten said firmly, making it clear that Sandy better not ruin the visit. "Ryan's just home for a few hours before he has to leave so he can get back to work, and I think we can all have a nice, civil, dinner together during that time."
"Kirsten..." Sandy began.
"Don't worry, after I leave I'll stay away for another seven years," Ryan said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "I think even someone as horrible as me is tolerable for a couple hours ever five years, don't you?"
"Don't cop an attitude with me," Sandy snapped.
"Enough, both of you," Kirsten said, sending a pleading look Sandy's way and putting a hand on Ryan's forearm in hopes of calming him down. "Please."
"Call me when he's gone," Sandy said, turning to leave.
"Sandy! I want my family to have dinner together!" Kirsten said, getting up.
"And that's not possible anymore, is it?" Sandy replied, looking at Ryan then immediately looking away again.
"This was a mistake," Ryan said, getting up. "Kirsten, your gift's in the bag, I hope you like it..."
"Ryan, stay," Kirsten said, grasping his wrist. "Please. I want my family together..."
"He's right, you can't really have that, and it's my fault. So I'm gonna go before I mess things up anymore than I already have," Ryan said, kissing her cheek again. "I promise, next e-mail, I'll actually respond," he added with a tense smile before glncing at Sandy. "I..."
"Don't," Sandy said warningly.
Ryan nodded in understanding. "Happy birthday, Kirsten," he said before heading out the back door to go around the side of the house, preferring that to having to walk past Sandy.
"How could you do that, Sandy?" Kirsten said. "We're not the only ones that lost Seth."
"But we didn't get him killed," Sandy said.
"So you're going to push away the only son we have left? The one who loves you so much that one of the first things he said to me was asking about you? He was just a kid, Sandy, and he made some bad choices, and you knw him! He will never forgive himself, so it's up to us, as his parents, to forgive him."
"Seth died because of his bad choices."
"No one made Seth get in that car."
"No one made Ryan sneak out of the house and take Seth with him."
"I'm amazed, you actually used his name," Kirsten said coldly before pointedly turning away from her husband.
Sandy watched Kirsten as she began to furiously flip through her cookbook, then left the kitchen, heading out the front door and stopping when he saw Ryan leaning against the black jeep parked out front. "Why did you even come here?" Sandy asked as he walked over.
"She asked me to," Ryan said. "Wanted to see me and said it was all she wanted for her birthday. So I got in my jeep and drove up from LA to stay a couple hours, then drive home and go to work tomorrow night. Because she wanted me here."
"You got our son killed."
"You think I don't know that?" Ryan said. "I was there, Sandy. I was there, and I tried to help him... and I'm sorry that me being here upsets you, but Kirsten asked. How could I say no to her after what I did?"
"You should have been the one who died," Sandy said.
"You think I don't know that, too?" Ryan said. "I wish I had, Sandy. I really do." With that, he walked around to climb into the jeep, only pausing again after he was belted in. "I'm sorry," he added, looking up again. "I know it doesn't change what I did, and I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, I'm not asking you to, I jsut... I want you to know that I never would have let him come with me if I'd known..."
"You're right," Sandy said. "It doesn't change a damn thing. You still got my son killed. And I wish it had been you that died in that ditch."
Ryan nodded to himself and started the engine, pulling away and trying not to let Sandy's words affect him. It was almost impossible, though.
"Thank god," Brooke muttered as she followed the last of the kids onto the bus and sat down up front to make sure Tim didn't get lost on the way back to town. "Let's get this show on the road, Tim, I think we're gonna have enough anxious parents waiting for us as it is."
"Nate's gonna kill me," Tim complained with a sigh. "He said if I screwed up one more time he'd have to stop convincing the school board to keep me on the payroll."
"Tim, you ran over a potted plant and tore open a tire. It's not the end of the world," Brooke said. "We'll say it was in the middle of the parking lot."
"And when the kids tell their parents I ran over a porcupine, too?"
"It had it coming," Brooke said, smiling and leaning forward to patt his shoulder. "I've got your back, Dim," she assured him. "But still, let's get home before I kill these little monsters," she added as they started singing again.
As he got out to the edge of town, Ryan pulled over at a gas station to fill his tank for the long drive back. He was walking back to the jeep after paying when he heard a familiar voice and turned, forcing a smirk onto his face when he saw Luke trying ineffectually to flirt with a woman who was sitting on the hood of a pick up. "Still never gonna get any, huh?" he asked his friend.
Luke turned, looking ready to pick a fight, then grinned and crossed the asphalt to pull Ryan into a hug that lifted him up off the ground. "Damn, Atwood! It's been forever!"
"It's about to be forever again," Ryan said, laughing as Luke put him down and he patted his friend on the back. "I'm on my way out of town again."
"When'd you get into town?"
"Like an hour ago?" Ryan admitted. "Kirsten asked me to come, Sandy didn't want me there. So I'm leaving. I've got work tomorrow night, anyway, so it's better if I get on the road early. I wanna get to Sacramento before nightfall."
"You weren't even gonna stop in to say hi?" Luke asked.
"I... I just don't belong here anymore, Luke. I think you and Kirsten are the only people in this town who don't hate me."
"Deputy Parkman asks sometimes if I've heard from you," Luke said. "So not just us..."
"Okay, so three people don't think I'm a monster, still doesn't mean I feel welcome here," Ryan said. "It's not that big of a deal, Luke."
"Yeah, but..." Luke began, then stopped and shrugged. "What have you been doing, anyway? You've taken vague to an art form in those postcards."
"Air Force," Ryan said.
"Fine, don't tell me," Luke said, grinning.
"Luke! I need help with my gas!"
Both men turned and Ryan grimaced when he recognized Marissa Cooper standing by a jag. "Still spending money the way msot people drink water, huh?" Ryan asked.
"Except now it's her new stepfather's money she's spending," Luke replied.
"Ryan?" Marissa asked as she walked over, rage on her face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Leaving," Ryan said. "Luke, I'll call you, alright?"
"Be careful on the road, man," Luke cautioned him. Then he turned to Marissa. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch?"
"Have you met our mother?" Kaitlin, Marissa's sister, said as she walked over. "It's no big surprise."
"Look who's talking about being a bitch," Marissa said to her sister, sniffing in annoyance. "Have you harassed a geek yet today?"
Kaitlin flipped the older girl off. "Was that Ryan?"
"Yeah, but he's leaving again," Luke said.
"Too bad, this town's been boring since he left."
As the kids momentarily quieted down, Brooke pulled out her cellphone and switched it on to check for messages, making a face as she saw one from he rmother. Nonetheless, she accessed it to listen.
"Brooke, I know you think you're punishing me by running away to hicksville, but you're only hurting yourself. Now I'm telling you to get your ass back to New York so we can get things back on track between you and Lucas. He's a good man, Brooke..."
"He's a good man, Brooke," she mocked as she closed the phone without hearing the rest of the message. "God I hate that woman," she muttered as she glanced out the window in time to see a black jeep pass them by, a sad looking blonde haired man behind the wheel.
Ryan had the radio going as he drove out of town, trying to find something halfway good to listen to and knowing it was a losing battle this far from any town of a decent size. He saw a brief flash on the horizon and automatically turned to look, realizing what it had been as the glowing mushroom cloud blossomed up towards the sky. He started to brake and turned back to the road a moment too late, the jeep going off the road and crashing into a ditch.
Brooke heard several of the kids yell and turned to look at them, then twisted further to see what they were staring at. Off to the west, a blood red mushroom cloud was expanding further and further. "Oh my god..." she began to whisper just before Tim swerved to try and avoid crashing into an oncoming car, the other driver distracted by the sight, and the bus careened off the road and into the brush.
To Be Continued...
Like I said, I'll post the rest of what I have so far tomorrow sometime... right now I'm too sleepy...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 07:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 08:48 am (UTC)Maybe Seth did something wrong, and not Ryan? And I'm glad that Kirsten still wants him around, like Luke.
I've recognized so far : The OC, Jericho, One Tree Hill and Heroes.
I guess the others will come later?
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 02:47 pm (UTC)I have to admit that Brooke prolly isnt my favourite OTH character, but I do adore the way you write her. And Ryan, poor poor Ryan (and I prolly shouldn't admit that I'm sorta happy Seth's not in this...) And yay for kirsten being adorable, but boo for Sandy...and I'm now gonna obsessively check your LJ for an update (sorry if that creeps you out) xx
no subject
Date: 2008-06-01 04:16 pm (UTC)