fic : Better Days
title
Better Days
fandom
The OC
summary
A presumed dead Ryan returns home after a few months
timeline
AU (season 1)
beta
If it counts, MS Word 03
disclaimer
Sadly "The OC" isn't mine, but belongs to others (Josh Schwarz, FOX, ...)
previous
0 : The Worst Day |
1 : Realization |
2 : Home |
3 : Dreams |
4 : A New Day
5 : Reality
“Kirsten”
“Kirsten do you hear me?” she recognized Rosa’s voice.
“Is she alright?” another voice asked.
“Don’t worry Ryan. I think you suddenly standing in front of her was just too much for her.” she heard Rosa reply.
Was it possible that she hadn’t only imagined Ryan, but that he was really there? Apparently Rosa was talking to him. So either she is stuck in the twilight zone too or it should be true, right?
When Kirsten finally opened her eyes she found herself lying on the couch in the living room, Rosa kneeling next to her and Ryan standing slightly back, his face showing a mixture of worry and uncertainty.
“Is it really you?” Kirsten asked him nervous.
“Yeah, it’s me, Ryan, your son, Seth’s brother” he said while he walked over to her.
“But they said you were dead. There was evidence. And all the time you were alive, alone.” she said bursting into tears.
He kneeled down next to her and pulled her into a hug.
“It’s ok. I’m here now. I’m never leaving again, at least not without visiting you regularly.”
Once Kirsten had more or less calmed down he released her and sat himself next to her on the couch.
Taking his hands into hers - needing to feel him, to be able to believe that he’s really there - she ask him “What happened to you? Where have you been so long?”
“When I was on my way to the car to drive back from LA … I got mugged. I fell in a coma. I didn’t wake up until four weeks later.” Ryan started to explain after a short pause, trying to stick to the basic facts, omitting how he almost died, how he struggled during his recovery, not wanting to worry her with the whole story at the moment.
“You were already awake in July? What kept you from getting to us till now?”
“I couldn’t remember anything at first; didn’t even know who I was. It took nearly two months until I had most of my memories back.” he answered quietly, looking down, not wanting to see her reaction once she processed that he could’ve been home three months earlier.
“But when you remembered us, why didn’t you call us, come home to us. Didn’t you think that we’d miss you?” Kirsten asked, not knowing how right she was.
“I know now that it was stupid; that I shouldn’t have doubted you; that I should have contacted you, but back then I thought that you simply hadn’t wanted me anymore. I didn’t know that you thought I was dead. All I knew was that you had had almost two months to find me. I thought that the time you’d had should have been enough to find me. … Especially since you knew that I’d been in LA. … I had no idea that you simply had no reason to look for me. … All I could think of was that I’d been abandoned again. … If I hadn’t accidentally ran into Luke yesterday on the cemetery I still wouldn’t know what had really happened. … I would’ve lost all of this, all of you, just because of my damn insecurities.” he explained, not able to look at Kirsten while he spoke, but with tears running down his face when he finished.
“Oh honey.” she said and this time it was her turn to pull her son into a hug.
He leaned his head on her shoulder.
“I felt so alone in the months I had to spend in the hospital. I had been angry that you apparently hadn’t wanted me anymore, but at the same time I’d missed you so much.” Ryan continued quietly, letting all the emotions out that he’d bottled up for such a long time.
next
6 : Denial