The Power of Speech, chapter 5

[philippa_]

Title: The Power of Speech
Rating: This chapter's a T but previous chapters are Ms.
Summary: An AU where Ryan's father wasn't arrested and continued to beat Dawn and the boys. Ryan meets the Cohens through a different way.

Chapter 5

Comments

[beachtree]

I was hoping we'd get more of this since you had left Ryan, courtesy of Trey, completely lost and alone. Although you didn't say as much here, I'm guessing that Ryan didn't get simply guess the right direction, but that Mark had been out looking for him, either after he'd been gone too long or immediately upon receiving the phone call. It's reassuring to know that both Mark and Lucy aren't only paid caregivers who view their jobs as a way to make money, but genuinely seem to be concerned about the kids, at least as much as time and circumstances allow

[philippa_]

As I said to Anne35, I really wanted Mark and Lucy to be nice characters because so often social workers are made out to be mean in stories. I'm glad people seem to like having nice social workers.

Well, you're close in how I bring Sandy in, but not quite :)

It might be a tad difficult to get him talking as well, since Ryan hasn't spoken at all since he was "rescued." This is where I bring in my non existant knowlege of these such matters!

Thanks for commenting :)

[beachtree]

Not all social workers have to be demonized. There have to be well-meaning ones, as well as those who even overcome the constraints of too little time, money, or support from within- at least on occasion. It's a very imperfect system and they'd be evidence of that. However, there have to be exceptions occasionally, right?

Sandy was badly written so often, especially during S2 and S3, but early in S1 he had his moments when he didn't preach at Ryan and actually watched- and "listened" to what Ryan didn't say verbally, but with body language, so there's always that!

[philippa_]

Exactly my point. Which is why I made Mark and Lucy nice.

Oh God, I absolutely hated Sandy in season 3 and during the Rebecca or Rebekkah parts of season 2. However, he was so wonderful in season 1 that my love has stayed with him now that the worst bits are over. His speech in the "Man of the year" made me love him again. Although I was sad that Ryan missed it.

[beachtree]

I hear you on all counts. And, of course Ryan missed the speech. He was such an outsider/interloper by that point that I was really scared they were going to kill him after graduation. The Cohens barely acknowledged him and were polarized as a family with Ryan sort of like a boarder who had been living with them while attending Harbor, but whom they were shutting out even more since high school would be ending. And Ryan never was present when people, especially the Cohens, said the sorts of thing he needed to hear. When they rarely hinted at the sort of remark he needed to be told directly and consistently- as in with reinforcing- they did so to someone else. Awful!