To everyone who follows my other story, Can't Always Get What You Want, sorry I haven't updated because I've been super busy but later on tonight I will post a new chapter.

This story has been plaguing me for a while and I just had to get it out. It is, of course, a Rymmer because that is how it is all intended to go, in my humble opinion. I would love to hear your feedback and response because that is what keeps me motivated.

Adieu!

LIVE AND TIMES OF AN ILLEGITIMATE HEIR

"Come on, Kirsten. His foster parents just died. Where is he supposed to go to? Plus, Gavin was my best friend and he asked me to take care of Ryan if something happened to him and I'm not about to renege on a promise to my best friend on his death bed…" Sandy Cohen was pleading with his wife to allow the adopted son of his departed best friend to stay with them. Gavin Andrews and his wife were involved in a fatal car accident and the last thing Gavin did before he blew out his last breath was beg Sandy to take care of his son.

Ryan Atwood's mother passed away at birth and his biological father denied any relation. After his mother's death Ryan was sent to social service to become another victim of a system fraught with corruption, overworked staff and a society with a lack of ethics. He was bounced from one foster family to the next. Often he was used as a meal ticket and just as often used as a punching bag. By age nine he already had three broken arms, two broken legs and more cigarette burns than he could count. Ryan Atwood had to learn early on in his life that if you weren't going to stand up for yourself, no one else will. So he grew tough. By age thirteen he had already put two guys older than himself into the hospital and fended off two attempted stabbings. At that stage the staged the writing was pretty much on the wall: he wasn't going to get adopted. When Gavin Andrews and his wife Nancy showed interest in taking him home for a weekend, a trail for adoption, he thought it was some sort of elaborate joke but he decided to enjoy a weekend away from the group home. At the Andrews' house he saw a glimpse of what life could be like and the last night he was there he prayed for the first time in his life. He told God that he would change, he would become a model son if the Andrews' would adopt him and his prayers were answered and he was finally given a home. He became a part of the Andrews family and the next four years were idyllic – he held up his part of the bargain he made with God, he kept his nose clean. He stayed out of trouble, got good grades and even joined the baseball team. For the next four years he was just another teenager in a living a suburban middleclass life. And then his life was torn apart, again.

Sandy Cohen came from the same background and Gavin Andrews and both of them wanted to be better than their surroundings. Fate brought them together in college where they were roommates. They were both studying law and both went into the public defenders office and over the years they kept their friendship alive. Gavin was the best friend Sandy had and Sandy would honor his best friend's dying wish if it was the last thing he ever did.

Kirsten looked at Sandy as he pleaded with her and she could see the desperation in his eyes. Even though she grew up in Newport she wasn't the typical Newpsie. She knew that Sandy loved Gavin Andrews like a brother and that Gavin begged Sandy to take care of her adoptive son and as much as she loved Sandy and trusted his judgement she was still apprehensive to allow a juvenile delinquent who was bounced from foster family to foster family into he home. After all, she still had her own son's well-being to think of.

Sandy kept staring at her and the desperation in his eyes was very clear. Kirsten sighed. She was at an en passé: If she allowed the boy to stay she was introducing a criminal element into her home and if she chose to prevent the boy from staying, she was risking her marriage; such was the severity of Sandy's loyalty to his best friend. So Kirsten opted for the lesser of two evils – she would let the boy stay.

When Ryan heard the news of his adoptive parents' death his life was once again torn apart. He could feel the strands with which he held his life together slipping. He didn't cry – he had learned a long time ago that tears showed weakness and he would never again be weak. Instead he retreated into himself, locking away all emotions inside the vault deep inside his heart. He didn't react when Sandy Cohen informed him that it was Gavin's dying wish that he should stay with Sandy in Newport. Even though he hated the arrogance, pretentiousness and vanity of a society such as Newport, he would do it for Gavin's sake. He would do it because Gavin showed him what it was like to be loved. He would do it because Gavin risked everything when he took him in. He would do it because he had no other choice – he had nowhere else to go.

"Well Ryan, this is your room. We thought you would like your privacy so that's why we put you in the poolhouse. If you need anything, just give us a shout…" Kirsten was still uneasy about Ryan staying there but something about him attracted her to him. Maybe it was the fact that he looked vulnerable and scared. Or maybe it was that he even though he looked vulnerable and scared, he couldn't hide the fire burning in his eyes, as sure sign of intelligence and a zest for life. As she turned to leave Ryan alone in his new surrounding's he put his hand of her elbow and said: "Look Kirsten, I know this must be hard for you. I'm not exactly what one would call a model citizen and for you to take me in like this, it's just… Thanks." Once again she could see the longing and helplessness in his eyes. She saw that he tried his utmost best to hide his emotions but sometimes when he let his guard down, it shone through. She felt herself growing more and more interested in the damaged and lonely young man who was denied a childhood and forced to grow up too soon.

Ryan stood in the poolhouse, and took in the place he would now call home. He felt out of place. This was the type of place one only saw in the movies. It wasn't the type of place were you put the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. He started unpacking what little belongings he had. He thought about how Kirsten looked at him. He didn't like people feeling bad for him but something in the way she looked at him remind Ryan of how Josie Andrews used to look at him and it unnerved him. He wouldn't allow himself to be vulnerable again because to him it was a sad truth about life that if you let yourself love someone, they would get taken away.

He was startled when someone suddenly appeared in the door. "Hey dude, my name's Seth Cohen. The 'rents ordered me to come and introduce myself because apparently I don't have mind of my own. So… Wanna play some Ninja?" When Ryan didn't answer immediately Seth continued "I mean it's cool if you're not into play station. Personally I think it's kind of lame but the 'rents keep buying me all of these new games and I sorta feel bad for them so I just play them to make them happy…" Seth was uneasy because he had yet to cajole a reply from Ryan and he wasn't used to people not talking. Ryan eyed Seth skeptically. The lank boy with the curly hair talk a lot more than what Ryan was used to and Ryan could sense he babbled a lot. Yet, Ryan's mind argued, if he was to live here, he would have to be civil to Seth and if playing Ninja was what Seth wanted, he would do that. "Yeah sure, let's play Ninja" Ryan said and as an afterthought added "I don't know why you bother though, I'm going to kick your ass in any case…" Seth laughed and Ryan smiled in spite of himself. "Ooooh… Burn! Trash talk, I like it. I have to tell you though Ryan, I am the king of Cohenisms so you better think twice before going head-to-head with me!" Seth said as the two of them headed inside.

"Dude! You are so kicking my ass! You're going all Chewbacca on me and that is so not cool! I am Obi Wan! The force is with me, you can't beat, it's not right!" Seth wasn't happy by the way things were turning out with regards to the game of Ninja he and Ryan were participating in but strangely enough he and Ryan got on like a house of fire. It was as if they balanced each other out – he was the outspoken one and Ryan the silent type. He was tall and gangly while Ryan was more brawny and muscular. He had brown hair and Ryan had blonde. He recognized in Ryan a kindred spirit because it was a truth universally known that Seth Cohen didn't have friends (Seth blamed it all on his eccentricity) and he recognized that because Ryan didn't speak a lot, or at all, people didn't generally flock to Ryan. If there was one thing that Seth had wanted since he was old enough to remember, it was a brother, or maybe just a friend and with Ryan moving in with them he finally had the chance.

Sandy came into the living room and silently stood looking at his son and Ryan while they played. He was awestruck with how they got. He could see that his best friend was right, Ryan wasn't a bad person, he just had too much to deal with at too young an age. He looked at Ryan and Seth interact and he could feel all his fears about how Ryan was going to fit in with his family melt away. He was sure he could bring his wife over to the other side in due time. He spoke up because he didn't want to be caught eavesdropping and he still had a lot to do "Guys, Marissa invited us to the annual Newport charity fashion show. Apparently she heard about the new addition to the family and is quite curious so buck up Ryan." As Sandy turned to leave a thought struck him, the kid didn't have anything to wear. "Oh and Ryan, I'm sure one of my old suits would fit you so just come and get one when you start getting ready…"

Ryan looked between Sandy and Seth and saw the anticipation in their eyes. He didn't want to disappoint them but he was also not in the mood for an uptight Newport charity function. "I don't know Sandy, charity events isn't really my scene… Maybe I could just skip it?" Before Sandy could respond Seth jumped in with "Come on Ry, you have to come! I've lived next to Marissa since, well since forever and never before has she invited me personally, well ok, not me personally but inviting you personally means that by extension she invited me personally and if she invited me personally that means I got nonchalantly go up to her and greet her and maybe, just maybe, Summer will be by her side and before you know it we're expecting little baby Seth and Summers. Don't you see? This is perfect!" Ryan had to smile at Seth's giddiness. He appreciated how Seth begged him and it made him feel wanted – even if it was only so that Seth could maybe possibly get in a word with the girl he has been in love with since the second grade. He had sensed early on that he and Seth could maybe be friends and by doing Seth this favor he could finally see what it would be like to have one uncomplicated relationship and if he had to sit through an uptight, hoity toity fashion show to do so, he would. "Okay, I'll do so. But I have to tell you Seth, I don't think you have one nonchalant bone in your body!" Seth looked at him incredulously. "Oh, SNAP! Ryan you are on fire with the Cohenisms!"