missmara13 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
missmara13) wrote2006-10-26 07:36 pm
missmara13) wrote2006-10-26 07:36 pm
Entry tags:
100_Situations - We All Fall Down (027 - Drop)
Title: We All Fall Down
Fandom: The OC
Characters: Ryan Atwood, Oliver Trask,
Prompt: 027 - Drop
Word Count: 986
Rating: R (For some violence and major character death)
Summary: Everything falls.
Author's Notes: AU from 'The Truth'. This isn't exactly what I originally planned when I looked at the prompt, but... it's what ended up coming out once I started typing...
We All Fall Down
Ryan thought it was over when Oliver began to lower the gun. He let out a tense breath and let his eyes slide closed. Then everything seemed to blow up around him. Sandy was yelling, the hotel security guards were yelling, Marissa was screaming. Ryan opened his eyes again to see the gun pointed right at him, and he only had time to take one breath before Oliver pulled the trigger.
Ryan stumbled back for a second as he felt a burning pain in his chest, and he raised a hand to touch it, pulling it back to see red covering his fingers.
"Ryan?" Sandy asked, his voice seeming far away as Ryan continued to stare down at his hand. At his blood. Then he dropped, hitting the floor with a dull thud as Marissa kept screaming and Sandy was yelling, and someone yelled for an ambulance. Then it all went dark.
~~~~
He came to as he was rolled into the ER, Sandy running behind the gurney while the paramedics called out his vitals and the doctors began to hurry around him. He didn't understand most of what they were saying, but he understood when they said he was loosing blood, and he understood the rest was just as bad when he caught a glimpse of Sandy standing outside the door, blood all over his clothes, pale and shaking.
He saw a nurse try to put a clipboard in Sandy's hand, forms that needed to be filled out, but the board and the pen simply fell from Sandy's hands as he kept his gaze locked on his foster son. Ryan looked over at a doctor, who caught his eye for a moment and seemed to convey a silent apology before dropping their gaze.
The last thing he understood in that trauma room, was the nurse reporting that his blood pressure was dropping.
~~~~
He had to go to rehab for months afterwards, trying to regain use of his left side, something he had lost thanks to suffering a stroke on the operating table. He tried to hold a ball steady in his left hand, but it always dropped from his numb fingers. He took his first steps 3 months later, and his left leg gave out after a few steps, making him hot the floor.
But 6 months later, he could hold a glass in his left hand and take a sip before his hand started to shake. 8 months after the shooting, he could walk across a room if he had a cane to steady himself. He stopped dropping things as often, and he stopped falling, but it didn't change the fact that the bottom had dropped out of his world. The tough boy from Chino was no more.
~~~~
It went to court over two years after the shooting, and the judge dropped the case against Oliver. The boy was clearly unbalanced, the judge said, he had felt threatened, and he had lashed out without understanding the consequences.
So Oliver Trask walked out of the Courthouse, flanked by his parents, and on his way to a 'hospital' in Europe that everyone knew was more of a resort than anything. Marissa came up behind Ryan and took his hand, but he dropped hers like he'd been burned. She wasn't willing to believe him when he needed her to, and he wasn't willing to forgive her for that.
~~~~
Marissa wrote him letters from college daily for the first year, but Ryan dropped every single one into the trash without reading them. When she called he dropped the phone back into it's cradle or turned off his cell and dropped it down onto a table.
Seth still seemed to think the old gang could be whole again, but everytime Ryan looked in the mirror at his chest and saw the scar from his surgery, he knew he couldn't forgive Marissa for what she had done by pushing him aside, then pulling him back. It was Summer who got Seth to drop the topic, and Summer who introduced Ryan to a girl in her med school class.
~~~~
Ryan pretended to drop the ring when he was the best man at Seth and Summer's wedding, and later he got a smack on the back of the head from Isabella for the prank. He made it up to her when he took her hand and placed a small ruby ring, her favorite stone, into the palm. "I don't drop the important stuff," he whispered with a smile.
~~~~
Ten years after the shooting, Ryan held his newborn daughter Lily for the first time, scared he would drop her thanks to his still shaky arm. But he didn't drop her, he held her close and smiled as she waved a fist in the air. He slowly dipped his head down to drop a gently kiss on her forehead.
He didn't drop things anymore. At least not the important things.
~~~~
Twenty five years after the shooting, Ryan dropped a glass while walking through he and Isabella's house, and he heard her voice, still as beautiful as ever, teasingly calling him a clutz. He tried to call back a response, but nothing came out as his legs gave out and he dropped to the floor, dropping the other glass he'd been holding. He heard Isabella jump up, her book falling to hit the floor in her hurry to get to him.
~~~~
In the ambulance, a paramedic called out that his blood pressure was dropping.
~~~~
In the hospital the doctors said his heart rate was dropping.
~~~~
Isabella held one of his hands, Lily held the other, and they held on tight while telling him to hang on for them. When the alarm went off, they didn't want to let go, and held on until the doctors and nurse's forced them away. Forced them to drop his hands.
They never had the chance to pick them up again.
THE END
Fandom: The OC
Characters: Ryan Atwood, Oliver Trask,
Prompt: 027 - Drop
Word Count: 986
Rating: R (For some violence and major character death)
Summary: Everything falls.
Author's Notes: AU from 'The Truth'. This isn't exactly what I originally planned when I looked at the prompt, but... it's what ended up coming out once I started typing...
We All Fall Down
Ryan thought it was over when Oliver began to lower the gun. He let out a tense breath and let his eyes slide closed. Then everything seemed to blow up around him. Sandy was yelling, the hotel security guards were yelling, Marissa was screaming. Ryan opened his eyes again to see the gun pointed right at him, and he only had time to take one breath before Oliver pulled the trigger.
Ryan stumbled back for a second as he felt a burning pain in his chest, and he raised a hand to touch it, pulling it back to see red covering his fingers.
"Ryan?" Sandy asked, his voice seeming far away as Ryan continued to stare down at his hand. At his blood. Then he dropped, hitting the floor with a dull thud as Marissa kept screaming and Sandy was yelling, and someone yelled for an ambulance. Then it all went dark.
~~~~
He came to as he was rolled into the ER, Sandy running behind the gurney while the paramedics called out his vitals and the doctors began to hurry around him. He didn't understand most of what they were saying, but he understood when they said he was loosing blood, and he understood the rest was just as bad when he caught a glimpse of Sandy standing outside the door, blood all over his clothes, pale and shaking.
He saw a nurse try to put a clipboard in Sandy's hand, forms that needed to be filled out, but the board and the pen simply fell from Sandy's hands as he kept his gaze locked on his foster son. Ryan looked over at a doctor, who caught his eye for a moment and seemed to convey a silent apology before dropping their gaze.
The last thing he understood in that trauma room, was the nurse reporting that his blood pressure was dropping.
~~~~
He had to go to rehab for months afterwards, trying to regain use of his left side, something he had lost thanks to suffering a stroke on the operating table. He tried to hold a ball steady in his left hand, but it always dropped from his numb fingers. He took his first steps 3 months later, and his left leg gave out after a few steps, making him hot the floor.
But 6 months later, he could hold a glass in his left hand and take a sip before his hand started to shake. 8 months after the shooting, he could walk across a room if he had a cane to steady himself. He stopped dropping things as often, and he stopped falling, but it didn't change the fact that the bottom had dropped out of his world. The tough boy from Chino was no more.
~~~~
It went to court over two years after the shooting, and the judge dropped the case against Oliver. The boy was clearly unbalanced, the judge said, he had felt threatened, and he had lashed out without understanding the consequences.
So Oliver Trask walked out of the Courthouse, flanked by his parents, and on his way to a 'hospital' in Europe that everyone knew was more of a resort than anything. Marissa came up behind Ryan and took his hand, but he dropped hers like he'd been burned. She wasn't willing to believe him when he needed her to, and he wasn't willing to forgive her for that.
~~~~
Marissa wrote him letters from college daily for the first year, but Ryan dropped every single one into the trash without reading them. When she called he dropped the phone back into it's cradle or turned off his cell and dropped it down onto a table.
Seth still seemed to think the old gang could be whole again, but everytime Ryan looked in the mirror at his chest and saw the scar from his surgery, he knew he couldn't forgive Marissa for what she had done by pushing him aside, then pulling him back. It was Summer who got Seth to drop the topic, and Summer who introduced Ryan to a girl in her med school class.
~~~~
Ryan pretended to drop the ring when he was the best man at Seth and Summer's wedding, and later he got a smack on the back of the head from Isabella for the prank. He made it up to her when he took her hand and placed a small ruby ring, her favorite stone, into the palm. "I don't drop the important stuff," he whispered with a smile.
~~~~
Ten years after the shooting, Ryan held his newborn daughter Lily for the first time, scared he would drop her thanks to his still shaky arm. But he didn't drop her, he held her close and smiled as she waved a fist in the air. He slowly dipped his head down to drop a gently kiss on her forehead.
He didn't drop things anymore. At least not the important things.
~~~~
Twenty five years after the shooting, Ryan dropped a glass while walking through he and Isabella's house, and he heard her voice, still as beautiful as ever, teasingly calling him a clutz. He tried to call back a response, but nothing came out as his legs gave out and he dropped to the floor, dropping the other glass he'd been holding. He heard Isabella jump up, her book falling to hit the floor in her hurry to get to him.
~~~~
In the ambulance, a paramedic called out that his blood pressure was dropping.
~~~~
In the hospital the doctors said his heart rate was dropping.
~~~~
Isabella held one of his hands, Lily held the other, and they held on tight while telling him to hang on for them. When the alarm went off, they didn't want to let go, and held on until the doctors and nurse's forced them away. Forced them to drop his hands.
They never had the chance to pick them up again.
THE END
no subject
That Sandy would allow a 15-year-old kid in his care to even be put in that situation? Never with Seth- not even on the table for discussion. Just how valued should Ryan feel to know that he is still expendable? What if he knew that Sandy had just asked Kirsten if he had made a mistake by bringing Ryan into their home? He'd be devastated (even more) that the man he sees as his savior, mentor and hero thinks so little of him- although he has proven it. I wanted to shoot Sandy and there should have been emotional consequences that we saw played out. If that meant there had to be physical repercussions to necessitate it, then there were ways to handle it without being extreme, but to make the possible outcomes very, frighteningly real.
Ryan would have been in shock, but he's been in so many precarious situations that I think he would still have that sensation of time slowing down, as it often seems to in those cases, and any images he did hone in on would have been painstakingly vivid with connectivity and detail.
Ryan definitely lives in the moment as the survivor he is and as the kid who has never had the luxury of worrying about the next day. His plate is full enough and he knows too well how quickly everything can be transformed so unpredictably. It's not that he expects not to live, but he knows that family, a roof over his head, and so many basics that people take for granted are fleeting in his world. He can't count on anything or anyone from one day to the next. After what's happened to him, anything is possible. My take on his comment to Kirsten was that he chose the age that should have been the ideal. At 17, kids can drive and are at the pinnacle of their freedom without the responsibilities and tranisitions that follow at 18- typically. At 17, most are carefree, reasonably, enjoying the end of high school and still don't have the worries that come with the next phase of life. That wouldn't have been the case for Ryan, since no year fit that bill, but I think he pegged Kirsten as someone who had that idyllic sort of growing up and probably was the homecoming queen, prom queen and still treasured that year when she looked back. For him to have said 16 would have been too pessimistic. If he had said 15, then he would have been trying to just act his age- which he knew wasn't possible.
I do hope you go back and just don't go ALL the way to the bitter end. I would really like to read how you would expand each one into a much more developed story with multiple perspectives- meaning the Cohens as well to really flesh out their role, their awareness of their grave, costly errors and how this changed them.
Blame me!
no subject
I think I am gonna go back... lol... I wanna explore how it went down as far as others saw... I wanna see if Sandy acknowledged vocally how many mistakes he made, most critically lettign Ryan into that room... as you said, Seth never would have been allowed to step foot anywhere near that door once they knew Oliver had a gun, Sandy would have pulled Seth down the hall away from the situation. But no, Ryan he lets walk right into it... Ryan he lets step front and center, seperated from everyone who could protect him... Ryan he lets be the one who talks to this dangerous kid who's waving around a gun... I don't think Sandy has ever really acknowledged his true mistakes when it comes to Ryan... and bringing Ryan home most certianly wasn't one of them...
And yeah, I'm totally blaming you... gonna put it in the author's notes: 'Blame Beachtree for me writing another multi part fic...' lol
no subject
More later...