missmara13

Another in my new Ryan/Blair universe, this one taking place after the Tackiest Birthday Ever that Ryan threw for Blair, but before the get together as a couple.

Where Do You Go?

Blair noticed Ryan leaving the Palace in jeans and a grey hoodie, which normally she'd mock him for, but then she saw the tense expression on his face. She knew she should just continue on to dinner with Chuck and his family, but following Ryan seemed far more interesting and entertaining than dinner sitting across from Serena all night. The thing that made her decide once and for all, though, was when she saw Nate going into the Palace. She was not going to sit across from both of them pretending not to despise them both.

~~~

The neighborhood was one Blair never would have willingly entered, making the Humphrey's neighborhood look down right posh, but that just made Blair more determined to follow Ryan and make sure he wasn't in any trouble and didn't get into any. Not that she liked him or anything, but he had been sweet to her, even when she'd been horrible and insulting, and she didn't want to see him get hurt. Clutching her purse to her chest, with her phone in hand ready to dial 911 the moment anyone came too close to her, Blair positioned herself around the corner of a building from where Ryan had stopped outside a door.

She watched as he knocked sharply then turned away, shoving his hands in his pocket while he waited for it to open. Finally the door swung open, and Blair frowned at the rough looking man behind it. She was half a block away, and couldn't quite make out half of the words, but Ryan was yelling at the man, telling him to leave someone alone or else, and the man was yelling back and grabbing Ryan by the arm to slam him against the wall. Despite herself, Blair sprinted forward. "Let him go or I'm calling the police!" she yelled.

The man froze, then shoved Ryan away and stalked back towards the door.

"Stay away from him, Frank!" Ryan yelled one last time. "Leave Trey alone. Just stay away from him, let him serve his time and then don't get him involved in something that'll send him right back to Rikers!"

"Whatever," the man, Frank, replied before slamming the door.

Ryan turned sharply and closed the remaining difference between her and Blair. "What the hell are you doing here, Blair?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Blair protested. "You're bleeding," she added.

Ryan lifted a hand to swipe at his face. "That's beside the point..."

"Do Sandy and Kirsten know you're here?"

"No, and you're not gonna tell them."

"Ryan!"

"Blair, they'll just get upset and worried."

"You're bleeding," Blair reminded him.

"Blair... please, don't... don't tell them."

"Only if you tell me why you're here and who the man is," Blair said.

"Okay, but... not here," Ryan said. "Come on, we'll... we'll go to the Nana's..."

"The... 'Nana'?" Blair asked.

"Sandy's mom," Ryan said. "She's working tonight, I can clean up my face, and tell you... what that was about."

"Okay," Blair agreed.

~~~

"You do have a key, right?" Blair asked as she and Ryan walked from the subway station so Sophie Cohen's small brownstone.

"Of course I do," Ryan replied.

"I can't believe you made me ride the subway."

"You could have just gone home," Ryan replied, turning up the walk and pulling out his keys.

"And told Sandy and Kirsten what I saw."

"You're like a dog with a bone," Ryan said, glaring.

"Yes, but a well pedigreed one."

Ryan turned to look at her, then turned away to hide his smile. "Just... get in here."

Blair was prepared from something dingy and maybe dirty, but the interior of the brownstone was tastefully decorated. Some of the furniture was a little worn and threadbare, but otherwise in good shape. And when Blair wandered into the living room while Ryan got the first aid kit, she saw the fireplace mantel was lined with framed photos of the Cohens. There were even a couple that were obviously Ryan, though he was far younger than he had been when the Cohens adopted him.

"The Nana was my social worker from the time I was six," Ryan said as he returned. "She kept telling her bosses not to give me back to my parents, but they kept overruling her until my mother died, and since my father was in jail and ma's boyfriend was in jail for shooting ma... That's when she convinced Sandy and Kirsten to become foster parents and take me in."

"She took pictures of you?"

"She always says I was one of her favorite charges, but I'm not suppose to tell anyone that," Ryan said with a smile. "How bad's the cut?" he asked.

Blair turned and stepped closer, gently touching his cheek. "Not too bad." She waited until Ryan sat down, then sat beside him. "So? Who was that guy?"

"My father," Ryan said. "He's... Frank's been in and out of jail since I was like eight, but he got out a couple years back. He... he traded me for help getting his last sentence reduced. Sandy helped him get out a couple years early in exchange for Frank signing away his parental rights. I... I have a brother, Trey. He's at Rikers for armed robbery, gonna be in another year, even if he gets time off for good behavior... I went to see Trey this morning, and... he told me Frank had gone to see him and talked about them going into business together when Trey gets out. Frank does not know how to do anything legal, and if he ropes Trey into something... I am never gonna get my brother back. And yeah, Trey's not perfect, but he's my brother, he's the only member of my flesh and blood family that's worth knowing. So... I went to tell Frank to leave Trey alone."

"Did you really expect that to go well?" Blair asked.

"Not really," Ryan admitted. "But... what was I suppose to do? Just... let Frank pull Trey down all over again?"

"Let your brother make his own decision and be there for him when he gets out," Blair corrected.

Ryan shook his head. "Why am I even acting like you could possibly understand this?" he said, getting up. "You're Blair Cornelia Waldorf, Miss Perfect, the Princess of the Upper East Side..."

"I know I don't want you to get hurt because of your stupid protective streak!" Blair snapped, jumping up and moving to stand in front of him. "You are too good of a person for your own good, Ryan. You take care of everyone else and don't even care if that means putting yourself in danger!"

"He's my brother," Ryan repeated.

"And he's a grown man," Blair replied firmly. "You're my friend, Ryan, that's why I followed you, because I saw the look on your face and I... I was worried."

"Since when are we friends, Blair? You barely tolerate me."

"And you threw me a wonderful, if extremely tacky, birthday party because you thought I deserved to smile," Blair said. "So... maybe you've grown in my estimation."

"Oh, wow, I feel the love," Ryan said.

When I feel bad, I pull out the tiara," Blair admitted. "And I remember the day I was a princess."

Ryan chuckled slightly, ducking his head. "Now I have blackmail material," he said.

"Like anyone would believe a peasant over me," Blair mocked, though she was smiling. "All I know is that if I needed help, I could go to Serena, who'd find a way to make it worse without even trying, or I could go to you, who'd do everything in your power to make it better. And if I can help you... I want to."

"You can help my not telling anyone what you saw tonight," Ryan said. "Please, Blair, it'll just upset them... and they might not let me go see Trey again, and he's... I love the Cohens, but... they aren't the same. I grew up with Trey, he protected me as much as he could, I can't just abandon him."

"Okay, I'll keep it quiet, if you promise me that you won't go see that... supposed man alone again. You'll take someone. Or you'll at least tell someone, so that... if anything happens... at least we'll know where to start looking."

"Deal," Ryan said. "And... thanks. For stepping in. It was stupid and dangerous, but... thank you. He would have... I would have ended up with just a broken arm if I was lucky."

"Well, I guess it was your turn to be rescued."

"Don't even think of calling me a damsel in distress," Ryan warned.

Blair laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it," she said.

"Uh-huh, sure," Ryan said. "How did you even know to follow me? I mean..."

"I was suppose to have dinner with Chuck and the others at the Palace," Blair said. "I wasn't looking forward to it anyway because... sitting across from Serena all night is not my idea of fun. Then I saw you come out looking so tense, and then I saw Nate going in, and the idea of sitting across from both of them... that disgusting alley I hid in was more pleasant."

"You should go, while you can still claim traffic delayed you," Ryan said.

Before Blair could respond, her phone rang and she glanced at it. "Speak of the devil," she told Ryan before answering. "Hello, Chuck," she said. "I saw Nate going in and I did not want to sit across from both of them. And I see how worried you were, it took you over an hour to realize I was late. Enjoy dinner with your friends, Chuck, I'll enjoy my evening without them." She hung up and shoved the phone back into her purse. "I guess I'm free."

"Good, cause I'm always happy to meet my grandson's friends, even when they drop in unannounced," Sophie said from the doorway.

"Hey, Nana," Ryan said. "This is Blair, my... friend. Blair, this is Sophie Cohen, the Nana."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cohen," Blair said.

"Staying for dinner?" Sophie asked.

"If I'm invited, I'd love to," Blair said.

"There's no caviar," Ryan teased.

"You are just so funny," Blair replied.

"Let's see if we can find something everyone can agree on," Sophie suggested with a slight smile.

"We could always order Chinese," Ryan suggested. "The universe food of everyone everywhere."

The End

heh... I think that, if Kirsten had 'stolen' Sandy away from Sophie by keeping him in California, Sophie might have been a little less hostile towards the wealthy... plus Sophie overheard enough of their conversion to know that Ryan was in trouble, and Blair helped him, so Blair's on her good side... for now at least... lol