Skeletons in the Closet installment
Mar. 27th, 2006 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quillscribeIt's been a long time since I posted any of my O.C. fic. Lots of people have been asking if I'm still writing it, and in answer I figured it might be nice just to post what I've got, even though it isn't what I envisioned the whole chapter to be.
So, here is at least part of chapter 4, and might end up being all of it for now, even though it's a little short. I hope you enjoy! Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
helen_c and beachtree (who's been asking since January - that's how slow I am! *g* ) for reminding me you're still waiting, and thanks brandywine421 for the table info and the help! Cheers!
Skeletons in the Closet - Chapter 4
“Hello? Dad? I’m still with him,” were the first things Seth said when he finally called in about an hour later.
“Why didn’t you call sooner?” Sandy asked after heaving a sigh of relief. The fact that Ryan had allowed Seth to stick with him said a lot, especially considering the state he’d left the house in.
Sandy had finally gotten rid of the F.B.I. agents after extracting as much information out of them as he could – not that they’d given him a lot to go on. The moment they left, he’d also called the private investigator he’d hired with a whole new list of priorities and a scheduled meeting for the next day to bring him up to speed.
“How is he?” Sandy asked his son as he ran a hand through his hair anxiously, scrubbing at his scalp absently in distracted frustration. He’d been trying Seth’s phone every ten minutes for the last hour, all the while thumbing restlessly through the folders he’d pulled from his safe. Included were all the reports from Child Services and all Sandy had received on Ryan when he still worked in the public defender’s offices. He kept trying to find clues that he must have missed when he’d first looked through them.
“I… I don’t know. He puked a lot at first, but he seems to be better now. Don’t tell mom, but he bought a couple of packs of cigarettes and seems content to try to smoke them all in one night.”
“Where are they?” Kirsten asked from the doorway. Of course she’d overheard him talking to Seth.
“Where are you?” Sandy asked into the phone.
“We’re down at the pier right now,” Seth answered, and Sandy repeated for his wife.
“It’s raining, Sandy, and it’s been cold all day. They shouldn’t be out in this,” Kirsten said. When Sandy began to repeat her words, Seth interrupted.
“I heard. Trust me, I’m trying.” His conversation was stilted, and Sandy realized Seth was being careful not to say too much because Ryan was still within earshot.
“Should we come down?” Sandy asked then frowned when he realized Kirsten was already putting on a raincoat and pulling the cinch tight at her waist.
“I don’t know, dad, he’s…” Seth began softly, but was cut off when Kirsten took the phone out of Sandy’s hand.
“We’re on our way. Don’t move,” Kirsten said, staring into Sandy’s eyes. He nodded and grabbed a jacket of his own. The Kirsten was making executive decisions again, and he was grateful for it, as he had no idea how to approach Ryan at the moment.
“Mom, he’s really jumpy, and…” Sandy could hear Seth begin to try to warn, but his mother broke in.
“It’s okay, honey. You’re doing great, and I know he’s probably smoking. We’ll be there to get you both in just a few minutes,” she said and hung the phone up.
Sandy had already grabbed the car keys and Kirsten’s purse by the time she handed the phone back to him. As they both headed towards the garage, she paused to pull a couple of beach towels from the dryer. She’d even thought to warm the towels. He was impressed.
“While you were talking to those men, I was making some calls of my own,” Kirsten announced as she slid into the passenger seat with the towels folded and sitting on her lap. Sandy started the engine up and backed out quickly. The sound of the wipers against the windshield oddly reminded him of New York.
“And?” Sandy prompted as he shifted into gear and drove to the pier. Even though it was just a few blocks away, it was miserable outside and poor Seth was undoubtedly hating every minute of it.
“We start interviewing therapists for Ryan tomorrow,” she said. He cringed at the thought.
Too many things were hitting Ryan at once, and he feared there’d come a point where Ryan stopped being a willing participant and shut everyone out completely. He’d done it before, to a lesser degree, with Oliver. He’d stopped trying to talk, stopped trying to explain, and just let all their words roll over him. Sandy refused to let that happen again.
The thing was, he’d seen Ryan in a variety of circumstances, but he’d never seen him this… Devastated. This vulnerable. And unfortunately, while the F.B.I. may have had a lot of information about bodies in a basement and the kids that had lived in that house in Fresno, virtually no light was being shed on what had happened there, and just what Ryan might know about it.
“There they are,” Kirsten said, patting Sandy’s arm and then pointing directly ahead. He didn’t even bother trying to find a parking spot; just left the car running with the heater turned up in the fire lane out front. He angled the Lexus so that the headlights illuminated the two boys clearly. He wanted nothing Ryan might reveal in his expressions hidden away by shadows. They needed all the help they could get trying to read him at this point.
Seth stood, bouncing on the balls of his feet a short distance behind Ryan, who was perched on the pier railings with his legs dangling off the edge. Kirsten’s breath hitched, and Sandy immediately reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as they approached them.
“Seth didn’t sound concerned, honey. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” he said.
“Ryan?” Kirsten called out as they drew closer.
Sandy watched Ryan quickly flick his cigarette over the side; as if she couldn’t see it. He couldn’t help but give a small smile at that. Kirsten missed nothing. Seth waved at them, and Sandy smiled wider as he took a good look at his son – soaking wet and utterly relieved to see his parents. It wasn’t something Seth revealed often, but made his heart swell each time he saw it.
“Hey,” Ryan said with a raspy voice, making Sandy cringe as it brought back too many memories of the first few days after he’d been released from the hospital, after Trey.
“Come on, sweetie,” she said, and reached out a hand as she approached Ryan.
Her steps weren’t hesitant, but Sandy could still see the anxiety in her movements as she tried to connect with her foster son. Sandy took off his coat and draped it around Seth’s shoulders. His son was visibly shivering in a drenched long sleeve shirt that hung heavily off of his frame. Seth took the coat gratefully from his dad and even allowed Sandy to hug him briefly as they both turned to watch Kirsten in action.
“Man, I’m glad to see you guys,” Seth whispered.
“We figured you could use the assist,” Sandy said quietly back. Seth shook his head wearily.
“Yeah, I’m completely out of my element with this. I mean, what the hell is going on?” he asked.
“A lot of this you’re going to need to get from Ryan, but trust me when I say that knowing what’s going on won’t help with this,” Sandy said and nodded towards his wife.
“Can you at least tell me what those guys want with Ryan?” Seth asked in a hushed voice.
“They think he may know something that could help them solve a crime,” Sandy replied then gripped Seth’s arm briefly in warning. “Let’s not talk about this right now, okay?”
“Right-o,” Seth said, then turned to face his dad directly. “Dad?”
“Yes?” Sandy asked, focusing his full attention on Seth. He looked like they’d just fished him out of the sea - his lips were trembling slightly, and Sandy realized it was because his teeth were chattering. He began to rub his hands up and down Seth’s arms to try to warm him up. This weather was bizarre. It was still summer, so where did the cold snap come from? He missed the days of El Nino. At least it was warm then.
“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
“And it doesn’t have anything to do with Trey?” Seth pushed. Sandy shook his head and shot a glance at Ryan. Seth nodded reluctantly and turned to watch his mother. Ryan had taken Kirsten’s hand and was currently standing in front of her, head hung low and shifting from foot to foot, as if he didn’t quite know what to do next.
“Let’s go home, sweetie. It’s freezing out here. You don’t even have to talk,” she promised. Ryan’s head shot up at that, and Kirsten laughed softly as she started to pull him towards the car, walking backwards to continue to face him.
“Whoah, there, I’m not saying you won’t have to talk *ever*, but definitely not tonight,” she clarified. Sandy saw the glimmer of a smile on his lips as he looked up and made brief eye contact with Seth and Sandy over her shoulder.
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Ryan joked, and Sandy frowned for a moment as he saw something slide in place behind Ryan’s eyes. Was it a façade? He didn’t think so, but… It was almost like an additional layer of protection had suddenly come into play, as if he’d finally regrouped enough not to be so vulnerable in front of his foster family.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” Sandy said as it became clear Kirsten had everything under control and led Seth back to the car.
“Praise Moses!” Seth said loudly and sprinted towards the Lexus.
“There are towels on the passenger seat,” Kirsten called out, finally confident enough to turn forward as she drew Ryan towards them.
“Dude, check out this blessed nirvana,” Seth said as he reappeared from reaching into the car and threw a towel towards Ryan, who caught it easily. He closed his eyes gratefully for a moment as he pressed the warm cloth against his face, then began to briskly dry off.
“Thanks,” Ryan said gratefully, trying in vain to wring out some of the water from his shirt. Seth, on the other hand, had piled into the car without bothering to try to towel off, soaking wet and with the beach towel hugged to his body to try to warm up.
“Don’t worry about drying off, just get in where it’s warm,” Kirsten instructed Ryan and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat.
“Besides, Seth’s getting enough water on the seats for all of us,” Sandy teased, pointing just in time for Ryan to watch Seth shake his head like a dog.
“Seth Ezekiel!” Kirsten cried out indignantly, and Sandy smiled widely at the chuckle he heard as Ryan piled in as well.
“What? I had to dry off. You don’t want me to catch pneumonia, do you?” Seth asked dramatically as Sandy slid in and directed all the heater vents toward the back seat. He felt his heart swell with gratitude as Kirsten’s hand found his discretely once he put the car in gear and headed home. They weren’t out of the woods yet.
So, here is at least part of chapter 4, and might end up being all of it for now, even though it's a little short. I hope you enjoy! Thanks to
helen_c and beachtree (who's been asking since January - that's how slow I am! *g* ) for reminding me you're still waiting, and thanks brandywine421 for the table info and the help! Cheers!Skeletons in the Closet - Chapter 4
“Hello? Dad? I’m still with him,” were the first things Seth said when he finally called in about an hour later.
“Why didn’t you call sooner?” Sandy asked after heaving a sigh of relief. The fact that Ryan had allowed Seth to stick with him said a lot, especially considering the state he’d left the house in.
Sandy had finally gotten rid of the F.B.I. agents after extracting as much information out of them as he could – not that they’d given him a lot to go on. The moment they left, he’d also called the private investigator he’d hired with a whole new list of priorities and a scheduled meeting for the next day to bring him up to speed.
“How is he?” Sandy asked his son as he ran a hand through his hair anxiously, scrubbing at his scalp absently in distracted frustration. He’d been trying Seth’s phone every ten minutes for the last hour, all the while thumbing restlessly through the folders he’d pulled from his safe. Included were all the reports from Child Services and all Sandy had received on Ryan when he still worked in the public defender’s offices. He kept trying to find clues that he must have missed when he’d first looked through them.
“I… I don’t know. He puked a lot at first, but he seems to be better now. Don’t tell mom, but he bought a couple of packs of cigarettes and seems content to try to smoke them all in one night.”
“Where are they?” Kirsten asked from the doorway. Of course she’d overheard him talking to Seth.
“Where are you?” Sandy asked into the phone.
“We’re down at the pier right now,” Seth answered, and Sandy repeated for his wife.
“It’s raining, Sandy, and it’s been cold all day. They shouldn’t be out in this,” Kirsten said. When Sandy began to repeat her words, Seth interrupted.
“I heard. Trust me, I’m trying.” His conversation was stilted, and Sandy realized Seth was being careful not to say too much because Ryan was still within earshot.
“Should we come down?” Sandy asked then frowned when he realized Kirsten was already putting on a raincoat and pulling the cinch tight at her waist.
“I don’t know, dad, he’s…” Seth began softly, but was cut off when Kirsten took the phone out of Sandy’s hand.
“We’re on our way. Don’t move,” Kirsten said, staring into Sandy’s eyes. He nodded and grabbed a jacket of his own. The Kirsten was making executive decisions again, and he was grateful for it, as he had no idea how to approach Ryan at the moment.
“Mom, he’s really jumpy, and…” Sandy could hear Seth begin to try to warn, but his mother broke in.
“It’s okay, honey. You’re doing great, and I know he’s probably smoking. We’ll be there to get you both in just a few minutes,” she said and hung the phone up.
Sandy had already grabbed the car keys and Kirsten’s purse by the time she handed the phone back to him. As they both headed towards the garage, she paused to pull a couple of beach towels from the dryer. She’d even thought to warm the towels. He was impressed.
“While you were talking to those men, I was making some calls of my own,” Kirsten announced as she slid into the passenger seat with the towels folded and sitting on her lap. Sandy started the engine up and backed out quickly. The sound of the wipers against the windshield oddly reminded him of New York.
“And?” Sandy prompted as he shifted into gear and drove to the pier. Even though it was just a few blocks away, it was miserable outside and poor Seth was undoubtedly hating every minute of it.
“We start interviewing therapists for Ryan tomorrow,” she said. He cringed at the thought.
Too many things were hitting Ryan at once, and he feared there’d come a point where Ryan stopped being a willing participant and shut everyone out completely. He’d done it before, to a lesser degree, with Oliver. He’d stopped trying to talk, stopped trying to explain, and just let all their words roll over him. Sandy refused to let that happen again.
The thing was, he’d seen Ryan in a variety of circumstances, but he’d never seen him this… Devastated. This vulnerable. And unfortunately, while the F.B.I. may have had a lot of information about bodies in a basement and the kids that had lived in that house in Fresno, virtually no light was being shed on what had happened there, and just what Ryan might know about it.
“There they are,” Kirsten said, patting Sandy’s arm and then pointing directly ahead. He didn’t even bother trying to find a parking spot; just left the car running with the heater turned up in the fire lane out front. He angled the Lexus so that the headlights illuminated the two boys clearly. He wanted nothing Ryan might reveal in his expressions hidden away by shadows. They needed all the help they could get trying to read him at this point.
Seth stood, bouncing on the balls of his feet a short distance behind Ryan, who was perched on the pier railings with his legs dangling off the edge. Kirsten’s breath hitched, and Sandy immediately reached out and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as they approached them.
“Seth didn’t sound concerned, honey. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” he said.
“Ryan?” Kirsten called out as they drew closer.
Sandy watched Ryan quickly flick his cigarette over the side; as if she couldn’t see it. He couldn’t help but give a small smile at that. Kirsten missed nothing. Seth waved at them, and Sandy smiled wider as he took a good look at his son – soaking wet and utterly relieved to see his parents. It wasn’t something Seth revealed often, but made his heart swell each time he saw it.
“Hey,” Ryan said with a raspy voice, making Sandy cringe as it brought back too many memories of the first few days after he’d been released from the hospital, after Trey.
“Come on, sweetie,” she said, and reached out a hand as she approached Ryan.
Her steps weren’t hesitant, but Sandy could still see the anxiety in her movements as she tried to connect with her foster son. Sandy took off his coat and draped it around Seth’s shoulders. His son was visibly shivering in a drenched long sleeve shirt that hung heavily off of his frame. Seth took the coat gratefully from his dad and even allowed Sandy to hug him briefly as they both turned to watch Kirsten in action.
“Man, I’m glad to see you guys,” Seth whispered.
“We figured you could use the assist,” Sandy said quietly back. Seth shook his head wearily.
“Yeah, I’m completely out of my element with this. I mean, what the hell is going on?” he asked.
“A lot of this you’re going to need to get from Ryan, but trust me when I say that knowing what’s going on won’t help with this,” Sandy said and nodded towards his wife.
“Can you at least tell me what those guys want with Ryan?” Seth asked in a hushed voice.
“They think he may know something that could help them solve a crime,” Sandy replied then gripped Seth’s arm briefly in warning. “Let’s not talk about this right now, okay?”
“Right-o,” Seth said, then turned to face his dad directly. “Dad?”
“Yes?” Sandy asked, focusing his full attention on Seth. He looked like they’d just fished him out of the sea - his lips were trembling slightly, and Sandy realized it was because his teeth were chattering. He began to rub his hands up and down Seth’s arms to try to warm him up. This weather was bizarre. It was still summer, so where did the cold snap come from? He missed the days of El Nino. At least it was warm then.
“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”
“I’m pretty sure it is.”
“And it doesn’t have anything to do with Trey?” Seth pushed. Sandy shook his head and shot a glance at Ryan. Seth nodded reluctantly and turned to watch his mother. Ryan had taken Kirsten’s hand and was currently standing in front of her, head hung low and shifting from foot to foot, as if he didn’t quite know what to do next.
“Let’s go home, sweetie. It’s freezing out here. You don’t even have to talk,” she promised. Ryan’s head shot up at that, and Kirsten laughed softly as she started to pull him towards the car, walking backwards to continue to face him.
“Whoah, there, I’m not saying you won’t have to talk *ever*, but definitely not tonight,” she clarified. Sandy saw the glimmer of a smile on his lips as he looked up and made brief eye contact with Seth and Sandy over her shoulder.
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Ryan joked, and Sandy frowned for a moment as he saw something slide in place behind Ryan’s eyes. Was it a façade? He didn’t think so, but… It was almost like an additional layer of protection had suddenly come into play, as if he’d finally regrouped enough not to be so vulnerable in front of his foster family.
“Let’s get you warmed up,” Sandy said as it became clear Kirsten had everything under control and led Seth back to the car.
“Praise Moses!” Seth said loudly and sprinted towards the Lexus.
“There are towels on the passenger seat,” Kirsten called out, finally confident enough to turn forward as she drew Ryan towards them.
“Dude, check out this blessed nirvana,” Seth said as he reappeared from reaching into the car and threw a towel towards Ryan, who caught it easily. He closed his eyes gratefully for a moment as he pressed the warm cloth against his face, then began to briskly dry off.
“Thanks,” Ryan said gratefully, trying in vain to wring out some of the water from his shirt. Seth, on the other hand, had piled into the car without bothering to try to towel off, soaking wet and with the beach towel hugged to his body to try to warm up.
“Don’t worry about drying off, just get in where it’s warm,” Kirsten instructed Ryan and walked around the car to get into the passenger seat.
“Besides, Seth’s getting enough water on the seats for all of us,” Sandy teased, pointing just in time for Ryan to watch Seth shake his head like a dog.
“Seth Ezekiel!” Kirsten cried out indignantly, and Sandy smiled widely at the chuckle he heard as Ryan piled in as well.
“What? I had to dry off. You don’t want me to catch pneumonia, do you?” Seth asked dramatically as Sandy slid in and directed all the heater vents toward the back seat. He felt his heart swell with gratitude as Kirsten’s hand found his discretely once he put the car in gear and headed home. They weren’t out of the woods yet.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-13 03:15 am (UTC)Lord yes does that boy need therapy! He's needed it since the beginning! ;-)
I will definitely not let as much time pass between updates. I am *so* glad you think the character's voices ring true. It's the thing that makes it vintage OC - if I failed with how I presented the characters, then it could be anyone, and I enjoy the Cohens+1 dynamic entirely too much to want that to happen!
You are preaching to the choir! What on earth does anyone see in that girl?!
Seth is, I think, the hardest to capture, so it means a lot that you like him.
You've definitely got what I liked best about Sandy and Kirsten, too. I love that they were a team. They didn't need conflict. Their unity was a novelty in prime time, and all the more precious for how well it played on-screen.
As for h/c Ryan? Is there anything better? *g* Thanks for the feedback! :-D