Better Next Year (4/4)
2006
Title: Better Next Year
Fandom: The O.C.
Characters:, Ryan, Cohens+1
Spoilers: up through 4.7 The Chrismukk-huh?
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C.. No profit taken.
Description: Four scenes with Ryan, one for each of the four Chrismukkahs he has spent with the Cohens.
Beta: fredsmith518
(Click on the "better next year" tag to see all chapters.)
2006: The Chrismukk-huh?
Ryan’s fourth Chrismukkah was really good. Well, aside from falling off the roof with Taylor, and the two of them landing in the hospital in a coma (however briefly). They had to do Christmas at the hospital, since the doctor insisted upon keeping them overnight for observation, even if it was Christmas Eve. But it worked out fine, good even. Sandy and Seth had brought in all the Chrismukkah stuff, and everyone was there. Other than the ham dinner that Kirsten had planned, everything else was pretty much the same as it would have been at home.
But still, Ryan was really glad to get home Christmas evening after he and Taylor were finally released from the hospital. When he stepped into the pool house, though, something seemed different. He stopped just inside the doors and looked around, confused, trying to figure it out. Sandy and Kirsten, who were both behind him, escorting him home, also stopped.
After a moment, Kirsten spoke up. “Ryan, is something wrong?”
“Is there something different in here? It looks different.”
Kirsten gestured in the direction of the kitchenette. “Well, I put that present in here.” Ryan looked over and saw Taylor’s present sitting on the kitchen island. “The tag said it was to you from Taylor. I found it next to where you two had fallen outside the living room doors.”
“What? I thought I put it -“ Ryan was even more confused now. He could have sworn that he put Taylor’s present in the pool house himself, and not in the kitchen, either. He looked around some more. No, it wasn’t just the present that was different, so he asked, “Nothing else?”
This time Sandy answered. “No, everything else is just the way you left it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sandy and Kirsten exchange a worried look. He could guess what they were thinking. That he was confused because of his concussion. But that wasn’t it. He was sure of it. There was something different, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
Sandy put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you to bed. You’ve had a busy day.”
Once Ryan was finished changing into his pajamas and brushing his teeth, he headed out of the bathroom, planning on going right over and climbing into bed, but he was stopped short at the doorway. He broke out in a grin, not believing what he was seeing. As he stood there watching in amusement, Sandy and Kirsten ran around for several minutes, fixing up the pool house for him: putting out a glass of water, plumping his pillows, putting an extra blanket at the foot of his bed, moving some of his books out of the way. What did they think he was? Eight years old?
But it was cute. And actually he really enjoyed watching them work together. He guessed he enjoyed it because they’d had some ups and downs in their relationship (although not lately), and he liked seeing them happy together again. Just as he’d enjoyed seeing Seth and Summer happy together all day, he guessed because of the troubles that they’d had with the long-distance thing while Summer was at Brown.
Once she and Sandy finally got Ryan all tucked into bed, Kirsten leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Get a good night’s sleep, Sweetie. We’ll be just inside if you need anything.”
Sandy followed that up with, “Remember, you have to take it easy for the next few days, but after that you’ll be just fine. You should be good to go for New Year’s Eve.”
Ryan smiled at them. “Thanks, you guys. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, really. This isn’t the first Christmas I’ve spent in the hospital.”
As soon as he said it, Sandy and Kirsten froze, the way they always did when he talked about the past. Ryan immediately wished he could take it back. He didn’t know why he said it. He hadn’t even been thinking about the past. It just kind of came out.
He tried to backtrack. “That is - I mean -”
Sandy recovered first and put on an awkward smile. “Well, even so, we’re sorry that you had to spend this year in the hospital. We’ll make everything that much better next year, to make up for it, you’ll see.”
Ryan gave him an hesitant smile back.
After another awkward moment, Kirsten took a deep breath and told him, “Well, we should go, let you get some sleep.”
After that, they left quickly, shutting off the lights on their way out. Although Sandy paused in the doorway before he completely shut the door. “Good night, kid. Happy Chrismukkah.”
“Good night, Sandy. Happy Chrismukkah to you, too.”
After Sandy left, Ryan snuggled down into the covers and stared up at the dark ceiling. It’ll be better next year. That’s what they always said. There was always something, some kind of drama, every year which apparently ruined Chrismukkah. But honestly, any year in Newport was way better than any year in Chino. Ryan shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to dwell on the past any more. What was past was past. He needed to look towards the future.
And the future was Taylor. He finally felt ready to call her his girlfriend. He didn’t know why, but he was finally able to move on, to get on with his life. He felt better than he had since the accident, maybe even before that. He didn’t know exactly how it happened, though. Maybe that letter he got from Marissa, telling him that she was leaving Newport so they could get on with their lives. That she loved him but had to say good-bye. He guessed he felt the same way. Even though he still loved her, he had to tell her good-bye.
Ryan smiled to himself, then snuggled further under the covers, pulling them up to his chin, and closed his eyes. He was finally looking forward to the future, and it felt great.
Title: Better Next Year
Fandom: The O.C.
Characters:, Ryan, Cohens+1
Spoilers: up through 4.7 The Chrismukk-huh?
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C.. No profit taken.
Description: Four scenes with Ryan, one for each of the four Chrismukkahs he has spent with the Cohens.
Beta: fredsmith518
(Click on the "better next year" tag to see all chapters.)
2006: The Chrismukk-huh?
Ryan’s fourth Chrismukkah was really good. Well, aside from falling off the roof with Taylor, and the two of them landing in the hospital in a coma (however briefly). They had to do Christmas at the hospital, since the doctor insisted upon keeping them overnight for observation, even if it was Christmas Eve. But it worked out fine, good even. Sandy and Seth had brought in all the Chrismukkah stuff, and everyone was there. Other than the ham dinner that Kirsten had planned, everything else was pretty much the same as it would have been at home.
But still, Ryan was really glad to get home Christmas evening after he and Taylor were finally released from the hospital. When he stepped into the pool house, though, something seemed different. He stopped just inside the doors and looked around, confused, trying to figure it out. Sandy and Kirsten, who were both behind him, escorting him home, also stopped.
After a moment, Kirsten spoke up. “Ryan, is something wrong?”
“Is there something different in here? It looks different.”
Kirsten gestured in the direction of the kitchenette. “Well, I put that present in here.” Ryan looked over and saw Taylor’s present sitting on the kitchen island. “The tag said it was to you from Taylor. I found it next to where you two had fallen outside the living room doors.”
“What? I thought I put it -“ Ryan was even more confused now. He could have sworn that he put Taylor’s present in the pool house himself, and not in the kitchen, either. He looked around some more. No, it wasn’t just the present that was different, so he asked, “Nothing else?”
This time Sandy answered. “No, everything else is just the way you left it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sandy and Kirsten exchange a worried look. He could guess what they were thinking. That he was confused because of his concussion. But that wasn’t it. He was sure of it. There was something different, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
Sandy put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you to bed. You’ve had a busy day.”
Once Ryan was finished changing into his pajamas and brushing his teeth, he headed out of the bathroom, planning on going right over and climbing into bed, but he was stopped short at the doorway. He broke out in a grin, not believing what he was seeing. As he stood there watching in amusement, Sandy and Kirsten ran around for several minutes, fixing up the pool house for him: putting out a glass of water, plumping his pillows, putting an extra blanket at the foot of his bed, moving some of his books out of the way. What did they think he was? Eight years old?
But it was cute. And actually he really enjoyed watching them work together. He guessed he enjoyed it because they’d had some ups and downs in their relationship (although not lately), and he liked seeing them happy together again. Just as he’d enjoyed seeing Seth and Summer happy together all day, he guessed because of the troubles that they’d had with the long-distance thing while Summer was at Brown.
Once she and Sandy finally got Ryan all tucked into bed, Kirsten leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Get a good night’s sleep, Sweetie. We’ll be just inside if you need anything.”
Sandy followed that up with, “Remember, you have to take it easy for the next few days, but after that you’ll be just fine. You should be good to go for New Year’s Eve.”
Ryan smiled at them. “Thanks, you guys. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, really. This isn’t the first Christmas I’ve spent in the hospital.”
As soon as he said it, Sandy and Kirsten froze, the way they always did when he talked about the past. Ryan immediately wished he could take it back. He didn’t know why he said it. He hadn’t even been thinking about the past. It just kind of came out.
He tried to backtrack. “That is - I mean -”
Sandy recovered first and put on an awkward smile. “Well, even so, we’re sorry that you had to spend this year in the hospital. We’ll make everything that much better next year, to make up for it, you’ll see.”
Ryan gave him an hesitant smile back.
After another awkward moment, Kirsten took a deep breath and told him, “Well, we should go, let you get some sleep.”
After that, they left quickly, shutting off the lights on their way out. Although Sandy paused in the doorway before he completely shut the door. “Good night, kid. Happy Chrismukkah.”
“Good night, Sandy. Happy Chrismukkah to you, too.”
After Sandy left, Ryan snuggled down into the covers and stared up at the dark ceiling. It’ll be better next year. That’s what they always said. There was always something, some kind of drama, every year which apparently ruined Chrismukkah. But honestly, any year in Newport was way better than any year in Chino. Ryan shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to dwell on the past any more. What was past was past. He needed to look towards the future.
And the future was Taylor. He finally felt ready to call her his girlfriend. He didn’t know why, but he was finally able to move on, to get on with his life. He felt better than he had since the accident, maybe even before that. He didn’t know exactly how it happened, though. Maybe that letter he got from Marissa, telling him that she was leaving Newport so they could get on with their lives. That she loved him but had to say good-bye. He guessed he felt the same way. Even though he still loved her, he had to tell her good-bye.
Ryan smiled to himself, then snuggled further under the covers, pulling them up to his chin, and closed his eyes. He was finally looking forward to the future, and it felt great.