24 Gifts Of 2016 - Day Fourteen - Beginnings 2 (Ryan Bullit!Verse)
So, this continues the 'Beginnings' of the Ryan Bullit!Verse, how he came to be a full fledged Bullit. It introduces two of the Bullit Boys (Hanoi and Lubbock), who since we know nothing about them I got to invent their personalities! lol
Beginnings 2
Ryan had been too tired to pay much attention to his surroundings when they got back to the Bullit Ranch, but in the morning he took the time to look around, realizing that Bullit had been telling the truth about having a room waiting for him, not just a guest room he could stay in, but his room. When he was little and had sometimes stayed the night in the main house if Frank and Dawn had been partying all night, this had been the room he stayed in, with it's view of the pastures out behind the sprawling mansion, and far in the distance the just barely visible Southfork mansion, home of two of his closest friends as a child.
Ryan took a deep breath and let it out, surprised to find himself already feeling at home, safe and secure, hundreds of miles from just about everyone he knew or cared about. But Bullit was here, and his boys, and across the wide expanse of open land were his childhood friends, so maybe he could have a home here.
"Welcome home, son," came from Bullit, who was standing in the doorway.
"You don't even know why..."
"Doesn't matter one lick. You said you had nowhere else to go, and you came here, so this is your home now. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Ryan smiled slightly. "Okay," he said.
"Come on, breakfast's waiting, and Spencer's chomping at the bit to see you."
"Probably to demand answers," Ryan muttered.
"Well you aren't required to give him any," Bullit said. "Eventually, I'll need some, but not Spencer or any of the boys."
"Thanks, Uncle Gordon," Ryan replied.
Bullit put an arm around Ryan's shoulders again, holding tight for a moment as Ryan leaned against him, soaking in the show of affection. "You don't have to tell any of the boys anything unless you want to, and I can wait for you to settle in," he said. "And no matter what you say, you're still home now. You know that, right?"
Ryan nodded, not used Bullit being quiet and calm, realizing for the first time just how worn out he must look. "Yeah, I know," he said with a weary sigh.
"You're favoring the right, you hurt?" Bullit asked.
Ryan nodded. "Just a little sore," he lied.
"We'll get my private doctor to head on out after breakfast," Bullit said as they started down the stairs. "She takes care of all my boys."
Ryan nodded again, then spotted the first of the Bullit boys, nineteen year-old Hanoi, who smiled widely at him. "Hey," Ryan greeted.
"You look like shit, runt," Hanoi said as he walked over and clasped Ryans shoulder, only to jerk away when the younger boy gasped and nearly doubled over in pain. "What the..." he began, horrified.
"Sit down," Bullit ordered, gently pushing Ryan to sit on the bottom step then easing down beside him. "Hanoi, call the doc, now," he said. "You said you were just a little sore," he scolded Ryan.
"I'm sorry," Ryan said taking a shuddering breath as he tried to fight the pain.
"Now you tell me the truth. How bad is it?"
Ryan hesitated, looking up at him, then down at the floor. "I got shot," he admitted.
"Shot?! Who the hell shot a fifteen year-old boy? I'm gonna shoot them!" Bullit exploded.
"Dad, calm down," Hanoi said as he returned with a glass of water. "Yelling isn't going to help anything," he said calmly. "Take deep breaths, and a couple small sips," he advised Ryan. "Never been shot, but all the times I fell off a horse it helped a bit until the doc arrived with the good drugs."
Ryan smiled shakily, then took the glass with his good hand and took a sip. "Thanks," he whispered.
"He was a little loud about it, but Dad's right. Who...?"
"He...I had a girlfriend, and he liked her, and he... it just spiraled, and suddenly Sandy didn't want me anymore, and he let me go in the room with the gun, and..." Ryan began, the words pouring out.
"Ry, kid, slow down," Lubbock said as he sat on Ryan's other side. "Who's Sandy? What..."
"He was my PD... Public Defender. Trey took me with him to steal a car, and Sandy got me out with probation, but then Ma kicked me out, and no one would let me stay with them..."
"Why didn't you call me?" Bullit asked. "I would flown right out to get you, and then gotten us a damn limo back here so you wouldn't have to fly."
Ryan shook his head. "You'd been so mad at Frank, and Ma said you hated all of us, and... I don't know. I was stupid. But no one else would let me crash with them, so I called Sandy. He took me to his house and it was just for the weekend, but then Ma showed up, and she left again, and Kirsten... Sandy's wife... she said I could stay. I thought... I thought it was gonna be okay. I thought I'd have a real family. Then Marissa overdosed in Tijuana, and she went into therapy, and she met Oliver, and he... they had so much in common, so they became friends, but..."
"Sip," Lubbock said, wrapping his hand over Ryan's to urge the boy to drink some water.
"Something was off about him, and he told all these stories that didn't match up, and... then at school he said he was gonna destroy my life, take everything, and literally all I had was a foster family that had me living in the pool house, and a girlfriend who prefered the company of her mentally ill friend to me... so I panicked and I... I was stupid. I attacked him, I beat the shit out of him until teachers pulled me away, and I was expelled..."
"Oh, kid," Bullit said softly, but there was a current of anger underneath.
"Sandy told Kirsten that he thought he made a mistake bringing me home... and then... then Marissa called. She said Oliver was acting weird, and asked me to come get her. I was grounded, so... Sandy drove me over to the hotel Oliver lived in. We got up to the penthouse floor, and no one answered the door, but as security was about to make us leave, we heard Marissa yell that Oliver had a gun. Security opened the door, and... Sandy didn't even try to keep me away."
"Son of a..." Bullit muttered.
"Oliver pointed the gun at his head, and... I thought I talked him down. He was putting the gun down. Then he lifted it, and he pulled the trigger, and my shoulder hurt so bad, and Marissa was crying, and Sandy was comforting her, and I... I was calling his name. I was scared, Uncle Gordon, and I wanted him to comfort me, and tell me it would be okay, but he... he didn't even notice. And when the hotel doctor got there, he noticed, and god damn Sandy tried to call him over to check on Marissa, but he said bleeding gunshot wounds are more important and Sandy... he still stayed comforting Marissa."
"Dad..." Hanoi said, his voice pleading softly as he looked at Bullit.
"Don't worry, I made that call last night," Bullit replied. "What else?" he added to Ryan.
"It went through and through, they released me in the morning. And I got about an hour to rest in the pool house before Sandy called me in, sat me down on the 'lecture stool', and started in about how if I had used my words I could have prevented it. Except I tried. I told them, I told their son Seth, I told plenty of people and no one believed me, they all just thought I was jealous. I snapped, I told him off for it, and I told him that I'm fifteen, I'm suppose to screw up, but he let me in that hotel room and he's a grown up, he should know better. Than he said not to use that tone, and I... I left. I went to the pool house, I checked what cash I had, I packed my backpack, and I left. I bought a bus ticket, and I came here, and I called your office... I was so scared you wouldn't come get me," he admitted.
Bullit gently pulled him close, arm around him tightly, but avoiding the injured shoulder, where they could all see the beginnings of a blood stain. "The second she told me you called I told her to cancel my meetings for the next week," he said. "And those people are idiots."
"On the plus side, it makes it easier for you to come home to us," Hanoi said. "And for us to keep you, because we are, right Dad? He's staying, permanently?"
"If me, my money, and my lawyers got anything to say about it," Bullit swore.
"Doctor Dupres is on her way," Lubbock added, gently rubbing Ryan's back. "She's really nice, kid, she'll get you all patched up, and for an older lady the view ain't too bad," he added with a teasing smile.
~~~
Dr. Allison DuPres turned out to be a woman in her late fifties, with a soft smile and a gentle touch. She had clucked her tongue at the torn stitches in Ryan's shoulder, but quickly sprayed a numbing agent on the area and began removing the old stitches before putting in new ones. "Did the person who shot you get caught?"
"Yeah, he was caught."
"Too bad, means The Bullit can't hunt him down," Dr. DuPres said with a smile. "I've been the doctor for him and all the boys for close ten ten years now, and I know that man. You're his as much as any of his flesh and blood sons."
"He's my godfather. My parents... they were friends of his, until they started stealing from him, and I was stupid and believed my ma that Uncle Gordon hated me, too. I shoulda come months ago, then..."
"Well, you're here now, and I don't think there's a better place for anyone than with people who love them," Dr. DuPres said. "And son, I can tell you're loved by all of those Bullits out there."
Ryan didn't really answer, just gave a tiny nod, and Dr. Dupres let it rest. "Well, the original stitches weren't done well, that's why they tore so easily. Because I doubt Hanoi tossed you around."
"No, he didn't," Ryan agreed.
"There may be some scarring, unfortunately, but... it shouldn't be too bad, assuming you rest this shoulder and don't pull the stitches out again."
"To be fair, Hanoi did that," Ryan joked.
"Well, remind them to give you a couple weeks before they go tossing you around a room again," Dr. DuPres replied with a small smile. "I'll come back tomorrow to check on them," she added. "But right now I think food's probably the best medicine for you."
The End
Beginnings 2
Ryan had been too tired to pay much attention to his surroundings when they got back to the Bullit Ranch, but in the morning he took the time to look around, realizing that Bullit had been telling the truth about having a room waiting for him, not just a guest room he could stay in, but his room. When he was little and had sometimes stayed the night in the main house if Frank and Dawn had been partying all night, this had been the room he stayed in, with it's view of the pastures out behind the sprawling mansion, and far in the distance the just barely visible Southfork mansion, home of two of his closest friends as a child.
Ryan took a deep breath and let it out, surprised to find himself already feeling at home, safe and secure, hundreds of miles from just about everyone he knew or cared about. But Bullit was here, and his boys, and across the wide expanse of open land were his childhood friends, so maybe he could have a home here.
"Welcome home, son," came from Bullit, who was standing in the doorway.
"You don't even know why..."
"Doesn't matter one lick. You said you had nowhere else to go, and you came here, so this is your home now. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Ryan smiled slightly. "Okay," he said.
"Come on, breakfast's waiting, and Spencer's chomping at the bit to see you."
"Probably to demand answers," Ryan muttered.
"Well you aren't required to give him any," Bullit said. "Eventually, I'll need some, but not Spencer or any of the boys."
"Thanks, Uncle Gordon," Ryan replied.
Bullit put an arm around Ryan's shoulders again, holding tight for a moment as Ryan leaned against him, soaking in the show of affection. "You don't have to tell any of the boys anything unless you want to, and I can wait for you to settle in," he said. "And no matter what you say, you're still home now. You know that, right?"
Ryan nodded, not used Bullit being quiet and calm, realizing for the first time just how worn out he must look. "Yeah, I know," he said with a weary sigh.
"You're favoring the right, you hurt?" Bullit asked.
Ryan nodded. "Just a little sore," he lied.
"We'll get my private doctor to head on out after breakfast," Bullit said as they started down the stairs. "She takes care of all my boys."
Ryan nodded again, then spotted the first of the Bullit boys, nineteen year-old Hanoi, who smiled widely at him. "Hey," Ryan greeted.
"You look like shit, runt," Hanoi said as he walked over and clasped Ryans shoulder, only to jerk away when the younger boy gasped and nearly doubled over in pain. "What the..." he began, horrified.
"Sit down," Bullit ordered, gently pushing Ryan to sit on the bottom step then easing down beside him. "Hanoi, call the doc, now," he said. "You said you were just a little sore," he scolded Ryan.
"I'm sorry," Ryan said taking a shuddering breath as he tried to fight the pain.
"Now you tell me the truth. How bad is it?"
Ryan hesitated, looking up at him, then down at the floor. "I got shot," he admitted.
"Shot?! Who the hell shot a fifteen year-old boy? I'm gonna shoot them!" Bullit exploded.
"Dad, calm down," Hanoi said as he returned with a glass of water. "Yelling isn't going to help anything," he said calmly. "Take deep breaths, and a couple small sips," he advised Ryan. "Never been shot, but all the times I fell off a horse it helped a bit until the doc arrived with the good drugs."
Ryan smiled shakily, then took the glass with his good hand and took a sip. "Thanks," he whispered.
"He was a little loud about it, but Dad's right. Who...?"
"He...I had a girlfriend, and he liked her, and he... it just spiraled, and suddenly Sandy didn't want me anymore, and he let me go in the room with the gun, and..." Ryan began, the words pouring out.
"Ry, kid, slow down," Lubbock said as he sat on Ryan's other side. "Who's Sandy? What..."
"He was my PD... Public Defender. Trey took me with him to steal a car, and Sandy got me out with probation, but then Ma kicked me out, and no one would let me stay with them..."
"Why didn't you call me?" Bullit asked. "I would flown right out to get you, and then gotten us a damn limo back here so you wouldn't have to fly."
Ryan shook his head. "You'd been so mad at Frank, and Ma said you hated all of us, and... I don't know. I was stupid. But no one else would let me crash with them, so I called Sandy. He took me to his house and it was just for the weekend, but then Ma showed up, and she left again, and Kirsten... Sandy's wife... she said I could stay. I thought... I thought it was gonna be okay. I thought I'd have a real family. Then Marissa overdosed in Tijuana, and she went into therapy, and she met Oliver, and he... they had so much in common, so they became friends, but..."
"Sip," Lubbock said, wrapping his hand over Ryan's to urge the boy to drink some water.
"Something was off about him, and he told all these stories that didn't match up, and... then at school he said he was gonna destroy my life, take everything, and literally all I had was a foster family that had me living in the pool house, and a girlfriend who prefered the company of her mentally ill friend to me... so I panicked and I... I was stupid. I attacked him, I beat the shit out of him until teachers pulled me away, and I was expelled..."
"Oh, kid," Bullit said softly, but there was a current of anger underneath.
"Sandy told Kirsten that he thought he made a mistake bringing me home... and then... then Marissa called. She said Oliver was acting weird, and asked me to come get her. I was grounded, so... Sandy drove me over to the hotel Oliver lived in. We got up to the penthouse floor, and no one answered the door, but as security was about to make us leave, we heard Marissa yell that Oliver had a gun. Security opened the door, and... Sandy didn't even try to keep me away."
"Son of a..." Bullit muttered.
"Oliver pointed the gun at his head, and... I thought I talked him down. He was putting the gun down. Then he lifted it, and he pulled the trigger, and my shoulder hurt so bad, and Marissa was crying, and Sandy was comforting her, and I... I was calling his name. I was scared, Uncle Gordon, and I wanted him to comfort me, and tell me it would be okay, but he... he didn't even notice. And when the hotel doctor got there, he noticed, and god damn Sandy tried to call him over to check on Marissa, but he said bleeding gunshot wounds are more important and Sandy... he still stayed comforting Marissa."
"Dad..." Hanoi said, his voice pleading softly as he looked at Bullit.
"Don't worry, I made that call last night," Bullit replied. "What else?" he added to Ryan.
"It went through and through, they released me in the morning. And I got about an hour to rest in the pool house before Sandy called me in, sat me down on the 'lecture stool', and started in about how if I had used my words I could have prevented it. Except I tried. I told them, I told their son Seth, I told plenty of people and no one believed me, they all just thought I was jealous. I snapped, I told him off for it, and I told him that I'm fifteen, I'm suppose to screw up, but he let me in that hotel room and he's a grown up, he should know better. Than he said not to use that tone, and I... I left. I went to the pool house, I checked what cash I had, I packed my backpack, and I left. I bought a bus ticket, and I came here, and I called your office... I was so scared you wouldn't come get me," he admitted.
Bullit gently pulled him close, arm around him tightly, but avoiding the injured shoulder, where they could all see the beginnings of a blood stain. "The second she told me you called I told her to cancel my meetings for the next week," he said. "And those people are idiots."
"On the plus side, it makes it easier for you to come home to us," Hanoi said. "And for us to keep you, because we are, right Dad? He's staying, permanently?"
"If me, my money, and my lawyers got anything to say about it," Bullit swore.
"Doctor Dupres is on her way," Lubbock added, gently rubbing Ryan's back. "She's really nice, kid, she'll get you all patched up, and for an older lady the view ain't too bad," he added with a teasing smile.
~~~
Dr. Allison DuPres turned out to be a woman in her late fifties, with a soft smile and a gentle touch. She had clucked her tongue at the torn stitches in Ryan's shoulder, but quickly sprayed a numbing agent on the area and began removing the old stitches before putting in new ones. "Did the person who shot you get caught?"
"Yeah, he was caught."
"Too bad, means The Bullit can't hunt him down," Dr. DuPres said with a smile. "I've been the doctor for him and all the boys for close ten ten years now, and I know that man. You're his as much as any of his flesh and blood sons."
"He's my godfather. My parents... they were friends of his, until they started stealing from him, and I was stupid and believed my ma that Uncle Gordon hated me, too. I shoulda come months ago, then..."
"Well, you're here now, and I don't think there's a better place for anyone than with people who love them," Dr. DuPres said. "And son, I can tell you're loved by all of those Bullits out there."
Ryan didn't really answer, just gave a tiny nod, and Dr. Dupres let it rest. "Well, the original stitches weren't done well, that's why they tore so easily. Because I doubt Hanoi tossed you around."
"No, he didn't," Ryan agreed.
"There may be some scarring, unfortunately, but... it shouldn't be too bad, assuming you rest this shoulder and don't pull the stitches out again."
"To be fair, Hanoi did that," Ryan joked.
"Well, remind them to give you a couple weeks before they go tossing you around a room again," Dr. DuPres replied with a small smile. "I'll come back tomorrow to check on them," she added. "But right now I think food's probably the best medicine for you."
The End