Disclaimer: If I owned OZ, Cyril wouldn't be dead, and Ryan wouldn't be in jail. But then we wouldn't have much of a story, now would we?
A/N: All right, same deal as last time - I haven't actually seen the series, but read a lot of stuff about it, and I think I have a decent handle on most of it. However, this fic takes place before Ryan landed himself in OZ, and therein lies the issue. I don't know if Ryan and Shannon were still together at the point when he was convicted. This story is going on the assumption that they were, but please feel free to correct me.
Oh, and I apologize if either seem a bit out of character. Like I said, I've only read about it, and I really don't like swearing as much as the both of them do.
One Last Time
July 11, 1997
Shannon O'Reily lay in bed, wide awake close to one AM. She and Ryan had had yet another fight shortly before. The "D" word had even been thrown around. Shannon sighted. Nothing was going right for them these days. Every hour brought a new argument, and frankly, she was tired of it. On the plus side, it would all be over soon, one way or another.
Shannon remembered every word as if the argument had taken place only minutes before, when in reality, it had been more than five hours since Ryan had stormed out. They had been mad, as usual, about something as stupid as taking the garbage out. Really, it had been about how Ryan could never be bothered to actually wash his dishes after using them. This had never annoyed Shannon before - well, really, yeah, it had, but not nearly enough to bitch over it - but lately everything the Irishman had done just pissed her off to no end.
They had argued, loudly, rambunctiously, breaking each other's possessions, like they always did. Frankly, it was a miracle they hadn't been kicked out of their apartment yet. Not that it would matter really, since the small housing development was, well, to put it nicely, shit. The only problem with getting kicked to the curb was that that's where they would stay. Neither had much money, with Ryan being unemployed and all. Even Shannon's crappy job at the laundromat didn't provide much. Money had always been tight around the O'Reily house, but they made do with what they had. But now it just seemed to be another straw threatening to break the camel's back.
Shannon rolled over onto her back, staring up at the water-stained, discolored ceiling. The scene played itself over in her mind for the tenth time that night. Her yelling, Ryan yelling back, things breaking...
"You stupid bitch!" Ryan had screamed, throwing a dirty plate at Shannon's head. "You never fucking cared before, so why the hell would you fucking care now?"
Shannon dodged the plate easily, as Ryan didn't have very good aim, even when he wasn't blinded by rage. It shattered on the floor behind her, showering plastic around the room.
"Why do I fucking care! Because I fucking do, that's why! If you have a problem with that, then get the fuck out of my house!"
Ryan paused momentarily before responding.
"Your house? Your house? Who the fuck do you think got you this place in the first place? That's right, me! Without me, you're nothing, you know that?"
"And why are you able to still live here, huh? Ever think of that? I'll tell you, since you're too fucking slow to figure it out for yourself. It's because I fucking pay all the fucking rent all the fucking time. You never contribute a fucking thing and you expect me to get down on my knees and bow down to Ryan O'Reily the Almighty? I don't fucking think so." She strode over to the irate other and sent a swift palm into his cheek. Red marks appeared in the shape of a hand almost instantly. Ryan looked taken aback that someone would dare hit him. Anyone who had tried in the past ended up incapacitated. Or worse.
Ryan curled his fingers into a fist and launched it at Shannon's face. She managed to move in time so that the blow only grazed her cheek. It still hurt enough, though.
Shannon touched her cheek gingerly. The stinging had subsided a long time ago, but thinking about it made it worse.
Shannon was outraged that her stupid cocksucker of a husband would do such a thing. She was only filled with more rage at the look of smug content on his face.
"GET OUT!" she screamed, causing the pictures in their frames on the wall to rattle. "GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU OR YOUR FUCKING FACE EVER AGAIN!"
And he did. Within seconds, he was gone.
But this was nothing new. Ryan left the house on practically a daily basis. That's just the way it was now. He always came back. Sometimes it took a while, days, even, but he always came back.
Shannon rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Images of Ryan's face filled her vision, and she quickly pushed them away. Before long, she was asleep.
Almost a full hour later, Ryan O'Reily slipped quietly through the door to the small apartment. He silently crept over to the bed where Shannon lay, and just stood there. Watching. Observing. Thinking.
After a while, he slid under the covers next to her and wrapped his arms around her body. Shannon awoke with a start and jumped slightly to see her estranged husband in bed like nothing had happened. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but he placed a finger against her lips, signaling for her to be silent.
"Let's just have one last night of happiness, all right?"
That was all he said. He refused to answer any of Shannon's questions, instead opting to just lay there and remain quiet. Eventually, Shannon conceded and allowed herself to be pulled closer to Ryan. As she closed her eyes, she wondered if things were finally going their way.
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July 12, 1997
Ryan was an official OZ prisoner the next day. Before Shannon knew it, her husband was convicted of multiple crimes, ranging from vehicular manslaughter to reckless endangerment to possession of controlled substances to criminal possession of a weapon. Shannon almost couldn't believe it. Almost. She always knew, in her heart of hearts, that this would happen someday. At least the bastard had the graciousness to make their last night together a decent one.
All right, I'm not a big fan of the ending, but then again, when am I ever? Oh, and I realize that it takes more than one night to be convicted (helLO Law and Order), but it just seemed to work better than way. Loved it? Hated it? Just let me know!