I'll leave more for you at the end note. For now, enjoy!

The young, blonde boy exhaled loudly as he leaned his head back against the cinderblock wall. He knew that he had fucked up big this time. Ryan had been in trouble before, the fight with Luke at the fashion show after party and getting suspended from school for punching him being two glaring examples, but he'd never felt like a situation was this…hopeless. He let out a bitter laugh as he thought to himself that there was a distinct possibility that that damned Atwood luck would finally catch up to him and he'd be spending the better part of his life in an eight foot by eight foot cell.

With nothing better to do until someone arrived to bail him out of jail, he thought back to the phone call that may have just changed his life forever.

"Hello?"

"Ryan? It's me!"

Ryan sits up, hearing the urgent tone in Marissa's voice. "What's going on? Where are you," he asks worriedly.

"I'm at the hotel. I can't really talk right now, but its Oliver. He's," she pauses, thinking. "You were right and now he won't let me leave."

Ryan is stunned. He knew Oliver was lying, but he hadn't expected Marissa to figure it out so fast. Suddenly, he hears another voice in the background. "Hang up the phone, please!" He hears heavy breathing into the mouthpiece, presumably coming from Marissa. "Give me the phone," he hears the voice say. He finally recognizes it as belonging to Oliver Trask.

"What's going on Marissa," he asks her, only to hear Oliver answer.

"Bye, Ryan."

The phone disconnects with a click and Ryan stares at it in shock. He quickly overcomes the shock and almost runs out of the pool house and into the kitchen, where Seth and Anna are arguing and Sandy seems to be observing. He couldn't care less about what the Cohens were up to at that particular moment; his only concern was for Marissa's safety. He grabs the keys to the Land Rover from the counter and is stopped by Sandy.

"Hey, food's here." The older man pauses and sees his foster son holding the keys in his hand. "Where you going?"

"I think Marissa's in trouble," he explains quickly, trying to make it out of the house while giving out as little information as possible. "I'm just going to make sure she's okay."

Ryan goes to move around Sandy, but is stopped when the older man moves to the side to block him. "Give me the keys," he says, the command coming out a little more stern than he had intended.

"No," Ryan says, equally forceful. "I have to go, okay?"

"Give me the keys!"

"You said if I needed help I could come to you," Ryan yells. "Now you're telling me that I can't go check and see if my girlfriend is in trouble?!"

"GIVE ME THE KEYS!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay and wait to find out if she's okay." Ryan pushes past Sandy, who watches his foster son go with a dropped shoulders and sad eyes.

"Sandy," his wife admonishes, "you're just going to let him go?! I thought he was grounded?"

"He's got to make his own decisions. He knows the consequences for doing this," is all he says before leaving the kitchen, looking dejected.

Ryan kicks his feet up on the other bench, reflecting on how things might have changed if he had given Sandy the keys to the Rover. Would Sandy have been able to change anything that happened? Would he have been able to get them up to the penthouse without having to sneak up there? Would he have been able to reason with that psycho?

"MARISSA," Ryan yells at the top of his lungs, banging on the penthouse door with his fist. No reply comes from inside so he bangs on the door again, bellowing out his girlfriend's name. This time, a voice comes from inside, although it's not one that he wants to hear.

"Marissa doesn't want to see you, Ryan. I told you that before, but you obviously didn't listen. I'm going to give you one more chance to leave before I call hotel security and have you arrested."

Ryan knew that he hadn't imagined that pleading phone call from Marissa. Something was definitely going on in there and nobody, not even this little spoiled druggie, was going to keep him from finding out what it was. "MARISSA," he yells again.

His girlfriend's voice finally greets him. With it comes a message that he doesn't want to hear. "Ryan," she yells, crying. "He's got a gun!"

Upon receiving this news, Ryan backs up from the door and, lowering his shoulder, bursts through the wooden door. The sight that greets him is not a friendly one. Oliver is wildly waving a large handgun around in the air, occasionally pointing it at Marissa, occasionally pointing it at himself.

"You stupid bitch," Oliver yells. "Why did you do that? Why?!"

"I'm sorry," Marissa cries. "Please just put the gun away."

Oliver doesn't answer her, instead turning to Ryan. "What are you doing here Ryan? She doesn't want to be with you! She came to me when you two were having problems. To me! Now, because of one stupid lie, everything has come crashing down. I guess," he says, cocking the pistol, "if you're going to go, you might as well go down in style."

Ryan hears this and, thinking he means he's going to shoot Marissa, charges Oliver. Being the stronger, Ryan quickly forces the gun hand away from Marissa and himself, and points it toward the wall. Oliver inadvertently squeezes off a couple rounds that harmlessly hit the wall. Ryan sees that Marissa has used the distraction to make her way over to the phone and call for the hotel security team's assistance. He is distracted enough that Oliver is able to surprise him and roll him over, regaining control of the weapon. Trying to force the weapon from the lunatic's grip, Ryan is surprised and momentarily deafened when the firearm goes off. Neither boy reacts and Ryan is unsure if he was wounded, if Oliver took the bullet, or if neither boy was hit and the bullet harmlessly hit another wall. Too afraid to look in the direction of his midsection, Ryan receives his answer as he feels the warm river of blood running down his arm. He finally looks down and sees that the barrel of the weapon is pointed directly at Oliver's abdomen and blood is pouring out of the open wound and down Ryan's arm, which is braced against the pistol and Oliver's stomach.

Ryan looks back up and sees the shocked look on Oliver's face. The realization that the boy has been shot finally hits Ryan and knocks him out of the trance that he has been in. Pushing the boy off of him, Ryan stands up and backs away, a shocked look much like the look Oliver sports etched on his face. Marissa sees the damage done to Oliver's midsection and begins to scream. Security runs through the door and Ryan is knocked to the ground, tackled by a large, burly man. He barely registers his change of location, his thoughts still on the boy that was shot. The boy he shot.

Ryan stares down at his hands, looking for the blood that was there just a few hours ago. It has long since been washed off, but looking at them now, he thinks that he might see the blood there until the end of his days. He leans back against the wall, trying to think what would have made Oliver give up the gun. Would Sandy have helped if he were there? The man was very convincing, that much he could attest to. Maybe if he hadn't been so anxious to make Oliver pay for taking Marissa away, he might have been able to talk him out of trying to hurt himself. Regardless of what might have kept the psychotic boy alive, he was dead now and there was no fixing that. Ryan looked back down at his hands, imagining the blood there for all time.

He looked down at his hands, currently handcuffed in front of him, and saw the blood. Oliver's blood. When the police had brought him into the station, he had overheard them saying that the boy hadn't made it, that he had died on the way to the hospital from severe blood loss. The detective "interviewing" him made sure to pass on that information. Maybe he was trying to rattle his cage, make him admit that he had gone there to kill Oliver. It didn't matter. He always managed to hurt people, gun or not. He had hurt Marissa, and he hadn't even touched her. She was so shattered by seeing her former friend get shot, that she done nothing but scream until she passed out. She was now sitting in an interview room at the station, an officer trying to ask her questions. All she was doing was rocking back in forth, murmuring something. Ryan didn't have to be in the same room as Marissa to know what she was saying; he could read her lips.

"Shot dead." Marissa kept repeating the same line, over and over.

The officer finally gave up, allowing a crying Julie Cooper and a stone-face Jimmy Cooper into the room, along with a group of paramedics. He could see Julie arguing with the EMT's and finally giving way. The paramedics administered what Ryan imagined was a tranquilizer, and Marissa slowly began to stop rocking, eventually ceasing all movement. The paramedics placed her on a stretcher and wheeled her out of the precinct, closely followed by Julie and Jimmy Cooper. As the stretcher and then the Coopers passed in front of Ryan, Julie stopped, a look of pure hatred radiating from her bloodshot eyes. She spit in Ryan's face and then continued to follow her sedated daughter out of the station.

Ryan reaches up to where Julie Cooper's spittle had impacted his face and feels the area for a moment. Much like his bloodstained hands, he imagines that he will feel the saliva there for a long time, marking him in much the way a cow was branded as property or an adulterer was marked with the scarlet letter. He deserved it, he imagines. He has caused nothing but sorrow since he had arrived to stay with the Cohens. The Cohens. They will be here to collect him soon, he thinks. He doesn't know how much longer he might stay with them. After being convicted of manslaughter, at the least, he didn't think Child Services would allow him much more time living with them.

*********************

"We're here for Ryan Atwood?"

The Police Desk Lieutenant looks up, regards Sandy and Kirsten Cohen with an extremely disinterested look, and goes back to his crossword puzzle. Sandy looks over at his wife, who shrugs her shoulders, and he turns back to the desk. "I said," he states, more forcefully this time, "I'm here for Ryan Atwood. We're posting bail." The officer doesn't look up, instead pointing over his shoulder to an area in the back marked 'Bail'. "Thanks, you've been a real help." Sandy and Kirsten head in the direction of the desk where they would be able to post bail, but are stopped by a severe-looking woman.

"Excuse me," the woman says, stopping Sandy with a hand to the chest. Sandy looks incredulously at his wife, surprised with the woman's forwardness. "Are you," she looks down at the clipboard she is carrying, "Sanford and Kirsten Cohen?"

"Yes, I'm Sandy Cohen, this is my wife Kirsten. Excuse me, but we're here to collect our kid. Now if you'll excuse us?" He tries to maneuver around the woman, but is stopped again.

"I'm actually here about Ryan. I'm Joan Haygood, from Child Services. We were notified about Ryan when the police brought him in from the hotel." She motions the two toward some empty seats near a desk, where she sits. "I have to say that we're concerned about Ryan's adjustment to his new…situation."

"Ryan is adjusting just fine, thanks," Sandy spits out.

"I'm sure he is," Joan says, sounding unconvinced. "Regardless, he's been involved in a number of incidents since he began to live with you. I see here that he was involved in an altercation at school with a student. In fact it just so happens that it was the teen that was shot tonight, an Oliver Trask." She makes a tsk tsk noise. "Just terrible. Also I see that he was involved with some kind of fire?" The woman looks up at Sandy and Kirsten, an answer expected from them in her look.

"That was accidental," Kirsten says, speaking up. "My father's company owns the development and we decided not to press charges on either of the boys involved, as it was accidental."

"Yes, well, the detective in charge has informed us that they are not going to charge Ryan. Surveillance footage of the penthouse has shown that Mr. Trask was carrying the pistol and that Mr. Atwood attempted to remove it in order to save a Ms. Cooper's life. The director has informed myself and the Chief of Police that Ryan is to be released into the custody of Child Services once he has been cleared to leave."

"What," both Cohens exclaim, simultaneously. Sandy responds first. "You can't take him away! I know Ryan has been involved in a few incidents, but that happens when you're a kid. He's just working out the kinks of being in a new family. You can't take him when he's so close to being a part of our family."

"Please," Kirsten pleads, "don't take him now. Our son, Seth, is very good friends with Ryan. It would destroy him to have his friend taken away."

"I'm sorry," Joan says, not seeming sorry at all, "but there's nothing I can do. The decision has been made and is final."

Sandy sits in shock while Kirsten begins to softly cry. Still sobbing, she pulls her cell phone out of her purse and begins to dial.

*******************

Dad?

"Kiki. How are you sweetheart?"

Dad, they're going to take Ryan!

"Slow down, Sweetie. What happened?"

Kirsten slowly begins to explain to her father what happened, starting with how Oliver came into the picture, and finally finishing with what happened in the hotel.

Now Child Services is here and they said they're going to take Ryan away from us. Dad, you've got to help!

"I hate to say it Kiki, but I told you this would happen when you brought that kid into your house. You shouldn't have expected so much from a little crook like that."

I don't want to hear it right now, Dad. Can you help?

"I don't know. Is he being charged with anything?"

No, they said they have video surveillance that shows that the shooting was accidental and that the other kid was planning on using the gun against Marissa.

"Why should I bring him back to you, Kiki? You know he's just going to disappoint you again, maybe hurt somebody else. Who's to say that it's not you next time? That it's not Seth?"

Right now, I'm more concerned with my son losing the only friend he has ever had. Will you help, if only to help out your grandson?

"I'll be there soon."

**********************

"You have no right to take him!" Sandy is yelling at the woman from Child Services when Caleb walks in to the police station. The woman holds her ground, much to Caleb's surprise.

"I have every right! You were given custody of Ryan with the assumption that he would stay out of trouble and perform acceptably in school. He has succeeded admirably with the latter, up until he was suspended indefinitely earlier this week. However, he has failed spectacularly with the former. The director of Child Services has made the decision to remove Ryan Atwood from your care as foster parents and move him to a group home. "Officer," she says, directing her attention at a uniformed officer leading Ryan by the arm, "would you please escort Mr. Atwood to my vehicle?"

Caleb clears his throat, finally making his presence known. Kirsten is the first to see him. "Daddy," she exclaims, running over and throwing her arms around his neck. Sandy greets the man with a nod and a shake of the hand.

"Cal."

"Sanford." He turns to the Child Services worker. "Excuse me. I'm Caleb Nichol. I'm here on behalf of the boy." He gestures with his head toward Ryan, who is standing with his head hung.

"I'm sorry, is that supposed to mean something to me," the spectacled woman asks Caleb, her voice challenging.

Ballsy, he thinks to himself. Time to take her down a peg. "Yes, it is. It means that I, along with your boss, Leon Struckman, serve on the board of the Office of Family Assistance. Does that sound familiar?" He looks at the woman, who has a clueless look on her face. He lets out a sigh that says that he doesn't like dealing with people with meager intelligence. "The Office of Family Assistance provides California's Child Services department with over half of its operating budget for the fiscal year." He sees that he is finally getting through to the woman as her eyes open wide and her jaw drops. "I see you finally understand. Now, I don't have to tell you what kind of repercussions you would face from my good friend Leon if you refuse to hand the boy over to me, do I?" He smiles as the woman slowly shakes her head. "Good. I'll be taking Ryan with me," he says to the room in general. He motions to Ryan, who walks over to him, head still hung.

Sandy walks over to Cal. "Thanks, Cal. So we'll be seeing you at the house then?"

"No Sanford, you won't. I'll be taking Ryan to my house and then I'll be retiring for the evening." Caleb motions Ryan to the door and goes to follow him until Sandy stops him by grabbing his arm.

"You can't do that, Cal. He's supposed to be coming home with us!"

"Actually, I believe I just negotiated Ryan's release into my custody, not yours." He moves a stunned Sandy out of the way and makes it to the door.

Ryan follows his new guardian, stopping in front of his old ones. He finally looks up and sees Sandy, tears in his eyes, his arm around an openly crying Kirsten. "I'm sorry. Thanks for everything. It's for the best." He lowers his head again and follows a waiting Caleb out the door. Just before he crosses the threshold, Seth runs in, closely followed by Summer.

"Dude," Seth says, looking from his foster brother to his grandfather, "where are you going? I thought you were being released. You coming home?"

Ryan looks at his foster brother, no his friend, then looks back at Caleb. The older man is wearing an impatient look on his face. He looks back at Seth, shakes his head, and follows the most powerful man in Newport out the door of the police station.

A/N: So I know you all were probably expecting a new chapter of aOCu, but I've been working on this for awhile and I figured it was about time that it saw the light of day. This started off as an idea for a new story wayyyy back when I was thinking of what to do after I finished 'Pieces of a Broken Heart'. I came up with this idea but, for some reason, I chose aOCu to do instead. It ended up just sitting around until I started looking through my notes one day. I found this story and started thinking more about it. I brought up the story idea to xWaltzforVenusx (Waltzy) and she suggested I do it. I suggested an alternative: that we do it together. We made it through a couple chapters before she took her hiatus. There it languished in idea purgatory. Again. I picked it back up a little while ago and started working on it again. So here you go. I hope you guys enjoy and please let me know what you think. Reviews are love, people!

AZ