Assumptions part 4
Title: Assumptions
Author: fredsmith518
Beta: none!
Rating:tame
Disclaimer: Nothing owned.
Summary: So, as you do, I was wandering through http://community.livejournal.com/oc_plotbunnies/profile looking for a post, which I found btw, and happened across this comment by dogsbody01 one thing lead to another and as I was doing serious cleaning yesterday, is what occurred to me… and then grew and grew and grew...
Prompt Caleb says something really hurtful about Ryan, in front of both Kristen and him. Her response is to treat it as a joke, and Ryan wonders if he should start packing.
I set this in early, very early season 1, there’s a shock. Assume Caleb and Ryan have met earlier than canon might suggest.
Part 4
In the end, having done untold damage with their crass comments, the Newpsies didn’t stay long. Even the thick-skinned women couldn’t remain oblivious to Kirsten’s displeasure. Rather than offering them another round of drinks, she pointedly offered water or fruit teas. Clearly they were unimpressed and declined. Megan ventured to ask if Kirsten hadn’t got any Merlot on ice? And any more young men dotted about the place?
“He’s sixteen,” Kirsten said, “The same age as Seth.”
“Oh, darling, don’t get so uptight. We were only teasing, right girls?” Nods all around. “I can see you’re not in the mood for entertaining, though, Kirsten. Tell you what, ladies, let’s go to my place. I’ll show you my new pool and you can all give me advice as to which pool cleaning service to use. You know my requirements!”
As they left, I hope they all fall in, Kirsten thought sourly to herself. However, she really couldn’t blame them for the mess she had gotten herself into with Ryan, misunderstanding had been piling on misunderstanding over the past few days before they’d entered upon the scene. They had been the icing on the cake, though. Fleetingly, she thought about laying it all the blame at her father’s door. After all his oh so helpful comment to Ryan, ‘my daughter has the sense to have you working. I suppose the food you consume can be offset against the cost of a ‘pool boy’ ’ had been the start of the problem. She winced again as she mentally replayed his words. But hard on their tails came her own reply to haunt her ‘Of course, Dad. You saw right through my plan and with Rosa needing time off, well, what can I say? It’s a good job we have Ryan.’ She’d been being sarcastic. She hadn’t thought there was any possibility of him taking her seriously. Seth would have come back with a cutting rejoinder. But, of course, Ryan wasn’t Seth and she was stupid to even think he would be secure enough of his place in the family after barely two months to withstand two such comments without taking them on board.
Kirsten bit at her bottom lip. She walked slowly through her home, as if seeing it with new eyes. When was all the housework getting done? She’d been barely lifting a finger these last few weeks, so caught up had she been with work. She seriously doubted Sandy had done it all and was absolutely certain that Seth hadn’t lifted a finger. He never did unless forced into it by threat or blackmail. Which was why she’d been praising Ryan to the hilt, dammit, when she’d caught him at the chores. She’d wanted him to know how much she appreciated what he was doing, not make him think he had to do more.
She sighed - heavily. Okay, so she needed to fix this. Her first impulse was to call Sandy and talk things over and she might well still do that. But, if she was ever going to get to understand Ryan, get to know what made him tick, running to Sandy to sort things out wouldn’t cut it.
Kirsten took time to fix herself a coffee and then carried it out onto the patio and contemplated the view and, more importantly, what she should do next. Slowly, a plan evolved. She just hoped it would be good enough.
Sandy came home early, and the three Cohens sat around the dinner table. Ryan was working the late shift at the Crab Shack. It was strange how laying three places instead of four already felt wrong. Dinner was quiet. Kirsten herself was so preoccupied with her own concerns that it didn't strike her as unusual that Seth contributed very little by way of conversation. Kirsten made sure that she’d cleaned up scrupulously after the dinner, and the kitchen looked like an advert for a good housekeeping magazine. Seth was ensconced in his room - he still didn’t go out at night without Ryan. Sandy was catching up with his paper work, but came out of the study just as she was casting a critical eye over the already spotless surfaces.
“Surely, you can’t be tired of your vacation already? It’s only been two days? I can think of lots more fun ways to spend your time.” He came and circled his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. She instinctively relaxed into his embrace. No matter how bad things were, his touch could always make her feel better.
“I’ve messed things up with Ryan.”
“You have? He seemed okay last time I saw him. What happened?”
“It wasn’t one thing. More a series of unfortunate misunderstandings.”
“Is this a sitting confession? Or a standing one?”
“Could take a while.”
He smoothed the hair back from behind her ear and dropped a brief kiss there, then moved to sit at the table. “Okay, so start at the beginning.”
Kirsten rehashed the events and finished, “So you see? I think he’s been doing all the housework. I know when Rosa left, we said we’d all do more, but it hasn’t been happening has it?”
Sandy leaned back thoughtfully. “I hate to say you’re right, but it sure sounds like it.”
“And beyond that he thinks I want that, that’s the reason he’s here! He thinks I want him as a servant!” Despite her desire to remain calm, Kirsten could feel her stress level rising, and a few tears beginning to gather. Saying the words out loud made them sound so much more real, so much worse.
“Honey,” Sandy said as he reached across to grab her hand and give it a supportive squeeze, “Ryan will understand. Missteps happen. We’re all new to this. He wants this family to work out just as much as we do. Do you want me to talk to him, or do this together? You are fixing things already, you know? You realized you were getting stressed and took some time off work. I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. Your father is impossible. If you hadn’t gotten away from him and stayed home, we might never have caught a clue.”
“Don’t be nice to me, Sandy. I figured out there was a problem I’d caused!”
“Okay, but moving forward now. What next?”
“Well, I do have an idea.” Sandy listened carefully to what she had planned.
“I think that’s worth a try. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Just give me enough rope to hang myself?”
“Never, babe, never. I’m always gonna be there for you.” He sealed his words with another lingering kiss.
tbc
Author: fredsmith518
Beta: none!
Rating:tame
Disclaimer: Nothing owned.
Summary: So, as you do, I was wandering through http://community.livejournal.com/oc_plotbunnies/profile looking for a post, which I found btw, and happened across this comment by dogsbody01 one thing lead to another and as I was doing serious cleaning yesterday, is what occurred to me… and then grew and grew and grew...
Prompt Caleb says something really hurtful about Ryan, in front of both Kristen and him. Her response is to treat it as a joke, and Ryan wonders if he should start packing.
I set this in early, very early season 1, there’s a shock. Assume Caleb and Ryan have met earlier than canon might suggest.
Part 4
In the end, having done untold damage with their crass comments, the Newpsies didn’t stay long. Even the thick-skinned women couldn’t remain oblivious to Kirsten’s displeasure. Rather than offering them another round of drinks, she pointedly offered water or fruit teas. Clearly they were unimpressed and declined. Megan ventured to ask if Kirsten hadn’t got any Merlot on ice? And any more young men dotted about the place?
“He’s sixteen,” Kirsten said, “The same age as Seth.”
“Oh, darling, don’t get so uptight. We were only teasing, right girls?” Nods all around. “I can see you’re not in the mood for entertaining, though, Kirsten. Tell you what, ladies, let’s go to my place. I’ll show you my new pool and you can all give me advice as to which pool cleaning service to use. You know my requirements!”
As they left, I hope they all fall in, Kirsten thought sourly to herself. However, she really couldn’t blame them for the mess she had gotten herself into with Ryan, misunderstanding had been piling on misunderstanding over the past few days before they’d entered upon the scene. They had been the icing on the cake, though. Fleetingly, she thought about laying it all the blame at her father’s door. After all his oh so helpful comment to Ryan, ‘my daughter has the sense to have you working. I suppose the food you consume can be offset against the cost of a ‘pool boy’ ’ had been the start of the problem. She winced again as she mentally replayed his words. But hard on their tails came her own reply to haunt her ‘Of course, Dad. You saw right through my plan and with Rosa needing time off, well, what can I say? It’s a good job we have Ryan.’ She’d been being sarcastic. She hadn’t thought there was any possibility of him taking her seriously. Seth would have come back with a cutting rejoinder. But, of course, Ryan wasn’t Seth and she was stupid to even think he would be secure enough of his place in the family after barely two months to withstand two such comments without taking them on board.
Kirsten bit at her bottom lip. She walked slowly through her home, as if seeing it with new eyes. When was all the housework getting done? She’d been barely lifting a finger these last few weeks, so caught up had she been with work. She seriously doubted Sandy had done it all and was absolutely certain that Seth hadn’t lifted a finger. He never did unless forced into it by threat or blackmail. Which was why she’d been praising Ryan to the hilt, dammit, when she’d caught him at the chores. She’d wanted him to know how much she appreciated what he was doing, not make him think he had to do more.
She sighed - heavily. Okay, so she needed to fix this. Her first impulse was to call Sandy and talk things over and she might well still do that. But, if she was ever going to get to understand Ryan, get to know what made him tick, running to Sandy to sort things out wouldn’t cut it.
Kirsten took time to fix herself a coffee and then carried it out onto the patio and contemplated the view and, more importantly, what she should do next. Slowly, a plan evolved. She just hoped it would be good enough.
Sandy came home early, and the three Cohens sat around the dinner table. Ryan was working the late shift at the Crab Shack. It was strange how laying three places instead of four already felt wrong. Dinner was quiet. Kirsten herself was so preoccupied with her own concerns that it didn't strike her as unusual that Seth contributed very little by way of conversation. Kirsten made sure that she’d cleaned up scrupulously after the dinner, and the kitchen looked like an advert for a good housekeeping magazine. Seth was ensconced in his room - he still didn’t go out at night without Ryan. Sandy was catching up with his paper work, but came out of the study just as she was casting a critical eye over the already spotless surfaces.
“Surely, you can’t be tired of your vacation already? It’s only been two days? I can think of lots more fun ways to spend your time.” He came and circled his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him. She instinctively relaxed into his embrace. No matter how bad things were, his touch could always make her feel better.
“I’ve messed things up with Ryan.”
“You have? He seemed okay last time I saw him. What happened?”
“It wasn’t one thing. More a series of unfortunate misunderstandings.”
“Is this a sitting confession? Or a standing one?”
“Could take a while.”
He smoothed the hair back from behind her ear and dropped a brief kiss there, then moved to sit at the table. “Okay, so start at the beginning.”
Kirsten rehashed the events and finished, “So you see? I think he’s been doing all the housework. I know when Rosa left, we said we’d all do more, but it hasn’t been happening has it?”
Sandy leaned back thoughtfully. “I hate to say you’re right, but it sure sounds like it.”
“And beyond that he thinks I want that, that’s the reason he’s here! He thinks I want him as a servant!” Despite her desire to remain calm, Kirsten could feel her stress level rising, and a few tears beginning to gather. Saying the words out loud made them sound so much more real, so much worse.
“Honey,” Sandy said as he reached across to grab her hand and give it a supportive squeeze, “Ryan will understand. Missteps happen. We’re all new to this. He wants this family to work out just as much as we do. Do you want me to talk to him, or do this together? You are fixing things already, you know? You realized you were getting stressed and took some time off work. I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. Your father is impossible. If you hadn’t gotten away from him and stayed home, we might never have caught a clue.”
“Don’t be nice to me, Sandy. I figured out there was a problem I’d caused!”
“Okay, but moving forward now. What next?”
“Well, I do have an idea.” Sandy listened carefully to what she had planned.
“I think that’s worth a try. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Just give me enough rope to hang myself?”
“Never, babe, never. I’m always gonna be there for you.” He sealed his words with another lingering kiss.
tbc