"Baby" by Bonnie D
Thanks to all who gave feedback on my Trey fic, "Brother's Keeper." Here's a much lighter fic.
I think Ryan's losing his 'bad boy from Chino' cred after spending so much time in the Newport world. I think it's time for a blast from his past to rock him out of complacency. Although the subject matter is serious, I've treated it lightly 'cause that's what I do. Love the comedy, that's what draws me to the show. Also, this was started pre-Thanksgiving visit to the old neighborhood so forget what we learned there. I still like to think of the Atwoods as drifters from one rental to another, not long-term neighbors as they were depicted.
**********
"You Ryan Atwood?" A scruffy girl dressed in knockoffs from Christina Aguilera's superslut wardrobe accosted Ryan as he and Seth walked down the boardwalk toward the Crab Shack where they were going to meet Marissa and Summer.
"Y-yeah," he answered doubtfully, looking at the squirming bundle in her arms. It looked like a bagful of kittens or something.
"She said to give this to you. Said it's yours. She can't take care of it no more," the girl explained, thrusting the bundle at him. "Take it," she commanded.
Automatic response kicked in and stupidly Ryan reached for it. "What...?" Before he got to the "who" part, the girl had released the weight into his arms, turned and was sprinting rapidly away.
"It's yours," she called back over her shoulder as she ran, weaving between people on the crowded boardwalk.
"Wait!" Ryan called. He glanced down at the wiggling bundle and an angry, squinchy face regarded him before bursting into an angry roar. Ryan blinked once in astonishment then looked back up to see the girl's retreating back.
"Hey!" he cried helplessly.
"What's going on?" an equally perplexed Seth asked.
Ryan shoved the baby at him and tore off after the girl. He pelted down the boardwalk, pushing people aside when necessary, but the girl was slippery as a slip 'n' slide and managed to merge into the crowd and disappear from sight between one breath and the next. He was left, turning in circles, scanning faces, with no clue which way to run. Finally he was forced to admit defeat and head back toward Seth and the surprise package.
"This ... this is a baby, Ryan. A baby!" Seth stammered frantically, as he awkwardly held the squalling infant. "Who was that girl?"
"I have no idea," Ryan muttered, taking a last look around, hoping to catch sight of her gaudy skankwear in the crowd. "I've never seen her before."
"Okay," Seth tried to slow his breathing before he hyperventilated, continuing to jiggle the screaming child. "But Ryan...." he said in a calm, reasonable voice. "THIS IS A BABY! Here! You take it!" He pushed the baby back toward Ryan.
Reluctantly Ryan took it and looked at it doubtfully as the little one continued to wail and wave its tiny fists, which had clawed their way from the blanket.
For a moment neither of the boys said anything and they were too shell- shocked to even move. Then Seth shook himself and started thinking aloud.
"Okay," he said again. "Obviously we're in a situation here, but let's not panic. The first thing we need to do is GET THIS KID TO SHUT UP!" His raised voice only promoted the baby's decibel level. Ryan began the jiggling routine with as poor results as Seth.
"And we need to find a cop," Seth continued frantically. "How come there are only cops around when you don't want them, like when you're doing 50 in a 35 zone or accidentally burning down houses?"
"No cops," Ryan interrupted. "I mean, what are we going to say, 'Some girl ditched her baby with us and says it's mine'?"
Seth stared at him. "Yes, Ryan. Yes, that's exactly what we're going to say. That's what one does when someone abandons a baby - goes to the police."
"But..." Ryan began. "What if it is? Mine?"
Seth gave him another stare, openmouthed this time. "Could it be?" he asked.
"NO! I don't know ... I don't think so," Ryan hedged. "It's.... I always used protection ... or almost always ... but ... accidents happen."
Seth nodded sagely. "I'm one myself from what I understand," he agreed. "All right then, how old do you think it is? That should give you some clue who the mother might be. I mean, obviously the girl wouldn't just foist it off on you if you didn't have some connection, right?"
Ryan looked at the baby, who had quieted into snorts and hiccoughing sobs, trying to gauge its age. "Um.... I don't know. It just ... looks like a baby." They both stared hypnotized at the living creature twitching spasmodically in Ryan's grasp.
"There you are!" Marissa's voice came from behind Ryan and she wrapped both arms around his waist. "We got tired of waiting for you and.... What's that?" She peered over his shoulder. "You're babysitting now?" she asked, trying to make all the pieces fit.
"Not exactly," Ryan answered.
"It's not ours. We're just holding it for a friend," Seth quickly replied.
The baby chimed in by ramping back up into full bawling mode.
"I think you're holding it wrong," Marissa smiled, not questioning further. "Here. Let me try." Ryan gratefully surrendered the infant to her and the sobs turned into screams of rage. "Come on, sweetheart. Calm down," Marissa soothed, rocking the child in the cradle of her arms. "No, really, whose is it," she asked over its shrieks.
Summer had been standing back, watching the scene play out, but her natural impatience got the better of her. "Coop, you're not helping. Give it to me," she seized the baby away from Marissa and held it upright, its enraged face peeking over her shoulder. Instantly the crying stopped. "See," she said smugly. "For someone with a little sister, you don't know much about babies. They hate being held on their backs."
The other three watched in amazement the inconceivable sight of Summer mothering a baby. "What?" she asked, returning their looks. "Hey, watch the hair, rugrat," she added to the baby, who had grabbed a fistful of her long dark locks. She gently disentangled its hand.
"So, who are you watching it for? Is it a boy or girl?" Marissa queried.
"An ... old friend ... of Ryan's," Seth quickly invented. "It's a ... boy."
"Girl," Ryan said simultaneously.
"You don't know?" Summer asked unbelievingly.
"No. I mean yes, I thought you said ... yes, it is ... a boy," Ryan stammered.
"Girl," Seth said at the same time.
"All right. What the hell is going on?" Summer cut through their bullshit.
Marissa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"It's...it's.... We don't know whose it is," Ryan struggled.
"Abandoned," Seth chimed in. "We found it in the ... thing ... on the beach."
"Ryan," Marissa's voice rose warningly.
He squirmed and shifted from foot to foot. His eyes slid away from Marissa's wide-open gaze. "It ... might be mine," he mumbled.
"WHAT?!"
"This girl ... I've never seen her before ... she came up to me, asked if I was Ryan Atwood and handed it," he nodded toward the baby, "to me. Said it was...."
"This all just happened. We don't know anything really," Seth intervened. "Just 'cause some chick said it doesn't make it so."
Marissa looked back and forth between Ryan and the baby, trying to make a connection. "Well ... could it be?" she asked.
"I don't kn....think so," he answered.
"But you're not sure?"
"He's 99.5% sure," Seth helped. "That it isn't," he clarified.
Summer shook her head, pulling a why-am-I-not-surprised face, and swatted the baby's hand away from her carefully made up face when it tried to grab her nose. "And that's how they do it in Chino," she muttered.
Ryan shot her a dark-eyed glare then resumed entreating Marissa. "Look. I don't know what the hell is going on. I'm as confused as you are. I can't begin to think who...." He fell silent as he realized that not knowing who it might be out of numerous sexual partners was, perhaps, not a good thing in Marissa's eyes.
"Whatever," Summer interrupted. "Let's figure out paternity later, all right? Right now we have to take care of the kid because, ew!" She waved a hand in front of her face.
"Diapers. We need diapers," Seth correctly interpreted. "Did you guys drive down here?"
"Do we ever walk?" Summer asked. "Of course we have a car! Come on." She led the way toward the parking lot farther up the beach.
*********
Ryan stared at the multitude of formula choices before him; Isomil, Similac, Prosoybee, Enfamil, with iron, without, added vitamins, lactose- free. His head was beginning to ache when Summer shook his shoulder and thrust the baby back in his arms.
"Take your kid. I think it's starting to leak. If it ruined my new blouse, I'm going to kill you."
Ryan found himself staring into a pair of dark, chocolate drop eyes, much like his own, that regarded him solemnly. He remembered Summer's childcare lesson and held the baby upright. Even so, the bottom lip began to tremble and the tiny eyebrows drew into a scowl.
"I don't think it likes me. You'd better take it back," Ryan said, holding the now smelly little body away from him.
"Yeah, looks like it's gonna blow," Seth agreed. "You've got the touch, Summer. Looks like you're stuck with it. Must be something about the quality of your voice. Maybe its mommy's a whiner too."
"Ooh, look at the tiny little shoes!" Marissa was enraptured by baby booties farther down the aisle. "We've got to pick up new clothes, too, in case it throws up."
"Or leaks," Summer said, examining the front of her pink and black striped tank. "Cohen, hurry up and pick some diapers. It's not rocket science."
Seth returned to studying the relative merits of Luvs versus Pampers. "How do we know what size?" He looked to the baby as if mentally measuring him. "How many pounds do you think, man?" he asked Ryan.
Ryan hefted the grumbling infant, who appeared to have subsided for the moment. "I don't know. Maybe twenty?"
"Sixteen to twenty-four pounds," Seth read. "We have a winner. Size 3."
"Ryan, you have to find out if it's a boy or girl," Marissa complained. "I want to pick out some clothes. Besides we can't keep calling it 'it'."
Ryan obliged, peeling up the stained Tshirt and inserting a finger in the top of the diaper. He pulled it away from the baby's tummy and peeked inside. "Boy," he announced.
The baby watched this procedure with interest for a moment, then must have decided Ryan's finger was too cold or getting too familiar and let out a fresh wave of tears.
"Chrissakes, Ryan," Summer bitched, taking the baby back again. "Pick some formula and bottles. And you," she turned to Seth, "grab some diapers - any diapers." She walked down the aisle to join Marissa in choosing precious little pajamas, undershirts, socks, hats and outfits.
After making their purchases, the gang went to the restrooms to change the baby. Summer insisted that since it was Ryan's problem he could do the changing.
"But aren't girls used to babysitting and...." Seth began.
"I never babysat in my life!" Summer exclaimed.
"I got it," Ryan interrupted the argument. "I used to watch kids for a lady in my old apartment building." He shouldered the now suddenly complacent baby and one of the bags of merchandise and went into the rest room.
"We have to go to the police. You girls know that, right?" Seth started. "Whether the kid is really Ryan's or not, people just can't go around abandoning babies with other people."
"I think," Marissa said, "we should go to your parents first. Your dad will know what to do."
"They may be kind of hard to reach today. We're on break, but they have appointments and meetings and stuff all day."
"Well, we should go back to your house, anyway."
Seth nodded agreement. He looked up at the men's room door and muttered to himself, "Poor Ryan."
"What about 'poor girl who got deserted'," Summer put in, hands on hips.
"Ryan didn't know," Marissa interceded. "We can't blame him. And it might not even be, you know ... his." But her pale face and worried eyes revealed that for the first time she was beginning to realize the possibility.
Ryan emerged in another minute with a freshly changed and newly dressed baby riding high in one arm. If the whole situation hadn't been so horrifying, Marissa would have appreciated how adorable he looked carrying the baby. It was decked out in blue corduroy overalls and a shirt with trains on it - Summer's pick - and was staring at them all with wide, black- olive eyes. When he saw Summer, a toothless smile spread over his face and he reached out for her.
"All right. That kid must be possessed or something," Seth said. "What is the attraction, Summer? I mean, I know what the attraction is for me, but...."
"Shut up, Cohen. We all have talents and I happen to be a baby person," Summer said, airily, accepting the little one. "They always like me. I don't know why because I don't particularly like them."
"Amazing!" Seth shook his head, as the baby began to chortle - yes, actually chortle - with glee in Summer's arms.
"It's a gift." She shrugged then said, "Come on!" and turning, led the way to the car.
To be continued....
Why does Summer have power over babies you ask? Is it because she has secret reserves of tenderness under her brittle exterior and they recognize that? Or is it because I thought it would be a funny quirk?
Thanks to all who gave feedback on my Trey fic, "Brother's Keeper." Here's a much lighter fic.
I think Ryan's losing his 'bad boy from Chino' cred after spending so much time in the Newport world. I think it's time for a blast from his past to rock him out of complacency. Although the subject matter is serious, I've treated it lightly 'cause that's what I do. Love the comedy, that's what draws me to the show. Also, this was started pre-Thanksgiving visit to the old neighborhood so forget what we learned there. I still like to think of the Atwoods as drifters from one rental to another, not long-term neighbors as they were depicted.
**********
"You Ryan Atwood?" A scruffy girl dressed in knockoffs from Christina Aguilera's superslut wardrobe accosted Ryan as he and Seth walked down the boardwalk toward the Crab Shack where they were going to meet Marissa and Summer.
"Y-yeah," he answered doubtfully, looking at the squirming bundle in her arms. It looked like a bagful of kittens or something.
"She said to give this to you. Said it's yours. She can't take care of it no more," the girl explained, thrusting the bundle at him. "Take it," she commanded.
Automatic response kicked in and stupidly Ryan reached for it. "What...?" Before he got to the "who" part, the girl had released the weight into his arms, turned and was sprinting rapidly away.
"It's yours," she called back over her shoulder as she ran, weaving between people on the crowded boardwalk.
"Wait!" Ryan called. He glanced down at the wiggling bundle and an angry, squinchy face regarded him before bursting into an angry roar. Ryan blinked once in astonishment then looked back up to see the girl's retreating back.
"Hey!" he cried helplessly.
"What's going on?" an equally perplexed Seth asked.
Ryan shoved the baby at him and tore off after the girl. He pelted down the boardwalk, pushing people aside when necessary, but the girl was slippery as a slip 'n' slide and managed to merge into the crowd and disappear from sight between one breath and the next. He was left, turning in circles, scanning faces, with no clue which way to run. Finally he was forced to admit defeat and head back toward Seth and the surprise package.
"This ... this is a baby, Ryan. A baby!" Seth stammered frantically, as he awkwardly held the squalling infant. "Who was that girl?"
"I have no idea," Ryan muttered, taking a last look around, hoping to catch sight of her gaudy skankwear in the crowd. "I've never seen her before."
"Okay," Seth tried to slow his breathing before he hyperventilated, continuing to jiggle the screaming child. "But Ryan...." he said in a calm, reasonable voice. "THIS IS A BABY! Here! You take it!" He pushed the baby back toward Ryan.
Reluctantly Ryan took it and looked at it doubtfully as the little one continued to wail and wave its tiny fists, which had clawed their way from the blanket.
For a moment neither of the boys said anything and they were too shell- shocked to even move. Then Seth shook himself and started thinking aloud.
"Okay," he said again. "Obviously we're in a situation here, but let's not panic. The first thing we need to do is GET THIS KID TO SHUT UP!" His raised voice only promoted the baby's decibel level. Ryan began the jiggling routine with as poor results as Seth.
"And we need to find a cop," Seth continued frantically. "How come there are only cops around when you don't want them, like when you're doing 50 in a 35 zone or accidentally burning down houses?"
"No cops," Ryan interrupted. "I mean, what are we going to say, 'Some girl ditched her baby with us and says it's mine'?"
Seth stared at him. "Yes, Ryan. Yes, that's exactly what we're going to say. That's what one does when someone abandons a baby - goes to the police."
"But..." Ryan began. "What if it is? Mine?"
Seth gave him another stare, openmouthed this time. "Could it be?" he asked.
"NO! I don't know ... I don't think so," Ryan hedged. "It's.... I always used protection ... or almost always ... but ... accidents happen."
Seth nodded sagely. "I'm one myself from what I understand," he agreed. "All right then, how old do you think it is? That should give you some clue who the mother might be. I mean, obviously the girl wouldn't just foist it off on you if you didn't have some connection, right?"
Ryan looked at the baby, who had quieted into snorts and hiccoughing sobs, trying to gauge its age. "Um.... I don't know. It just ... looks like a baby." They both stared hypnotized at the living creature twitching spasmodically in Ryan's grasp.
"There you are!" Marissa's voice came from behind Ryan and she wrapped both arms around his waist. "We got tired of waiting for you and.... What's that?" She peered over his shoulder. "You're babysitting now?" she asked, trying to make all the pieces fit.
"Not exactly," Ryan answered.
"It's not ours. We're just holding it for a friend," Seth quickly replied.
The baby chimed in by ramping back up into full bawling mode.
"I think you're holding it wrong," Marissa smiled, not questioning further. "Here. Let me try." Ryan gratefully surrendered the infant to her and the sobs turned into screams of rage. "Come on, sweetheart. Calm down," Marissa soothed, rocking the child in the cradle of her arms. "No, really, whose is it," she asked over its shrieks.
Summer had been standing back, watching the scene play out, but her natural impatience got the better of her. "Coop, you're not helping. Give it to me," she seized the baby away from Marissa and held it upright, its enraged face peeking over her shoulder. Instantly the crying stopped. "See," she said smugly. "For someone with a little sister, you don't know much about babies. They hate being held on their backs."
The other three watched in amazement the inconceivable sight of Summer mothering a baby. "What?" she asked, returning their looks. "Hey, watch the hair, rugrat," she added to the baby, who had grabbed a fistful of her long dark locks. She gently disentangled its hand.
"So, who are you watching it for? Is it a boy or girl?" Marissa queried.
"An ... old friend ... of Ryan's," Seth quickly invented. "It's a ... boy."
"Girl," Ryan said simultaneously.
"You don't know?" Summer asked unbelievingly.
"No. I mean yes, I thought you said ... yes, it is ... a boy," Ryan stammered.
"Girl," Seth said at the same time.
"All right. What the hell is going on?" Summer cut through their bullshit.
Marissa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"It's...it's.... We don't know whose it is," Ryan struggled.
"Abandoned," Seth chimed in. "We found it in the ... thing ... on the beach."
"Ryan," Marissa's voice rose warningly.
He squirmed and shifted from foot to foot. His eyes slid away from Marissa's wide-open gaze. "It ... might be mine," he mumbled.
"WHAT?!"
"This girl ... I've never seen her before ... she came up to me, asked if I was Ryan Atwood and handed it," he nodded toward the baby, "to me. Said it was...."
"This all just happened. We don't know anything really," Seth intervened. "Just 'cause some chick said it doesn't make it so."
Marissa looked back and forth between Ryan and the baby, trying to make a connection. "Well ... could it be?" she asked.
"I don't kn....think so," he answered.
"But you're not sure?"
"He's 99.5% sure," Seth helped. "That it isn't," he clarified.
Summer shook her head, pulling a why-am-I-not-surprised face, and swatted the baby's hand away from her carefully made up face when it tried to grab her nose. "And that's how they do it in Chino," she muttered.
Ryan shot her a dark-eyed glare then resumed entreating Marissa. "Look. I don't know what the hell is going on. I'm as confused as you are. I can't begin to think who...." He fell silent as he realized that not knowing who it might be out of numerous sexual partners was, perhaps, not a good thing in Marissa's eyes.
"Whatever," Summer interrupted. "Let's figure out paternity later, all right? Right now we have to take care of the kid because, ew!" She waved a hand in front of her face.
"Diapers. We need diapers," Seth correctly interpreted. "Did you guys drive down here?"
"Do we ever walk?" Summer asked. "Of course we have a car! Come on." She led the way toward the parking lot farther up the beach.
*********
Ryan stared at the multitude of formula choices before him; Isomil, Similac, Prosoybee, Enfamil, with iron, without, added vitamins, lactose- free. His head was beginning to ache when Summer shook his shoulder and thrust the baby back in his arms.
"Take your kid. I think it's starting to leak. If it ruined my new blouse, I'm going to kill you."
Ryan found himself staring into a pair of dark, chocolate drop eyes, much like his own, that regarded him solemnly. He remembered Summer's childcare lesson and held the baby upright. Even so, the bottom lip began to tremble and the tiny eyebrows drew into a scowl.
"I don't think it likes me. You'd better take it back," Ryan said, holding the now smelly little body away from him.
"Yeah, looks like it's gonna blow," Seth agreed. "You've got the touch, Summer. Looks like you're stuck with it. Must be something about the quality of your voice. Maybe its mommy's a whiner too."
"Ooh, look at the tiny little shoes!" Marissa was enraptured by baby booties farther down the aisle. "We've got to pick up new clothes, too, in case it throws up."
"Or leaks," Summer said, examining the front of her pink and black striped tank. "Cohen, hurry up and pick some diapers. It's not rocket science."
Seth returned to studying the relative merits of Luvs versus Pampers. "How do we know what size?" He looked to the baby as if mentally measuring him. "How many pounds do you think, man?" he asked Ryan.
Ryan hefted the grumbling infant, who appeared to have subsided for the moment. "I don't know. Maybe twenty?"
"Sixteen to twenty-four pounds," Seth read. "We have a winner. Size 3."
"Ryan, you have to find out if it's a boy or girl," Marissa complained. "I want to pick out some clothes. Besides we can't keep calling it 'it'."
Ryan obliged, peeling up the stained Tshirt and inserting a finger in the top of the diaper. He pulled it away from the baby's tummy and peeked inside. "Boy," he announced.
The baby watched this procedure with interest for a moment, then must have decided Ryan's finger was too cold or getting too familiar and let out a fresh wave of tears.
"Chrissakes, Ryan," Summer bitched, taking the baby back again. "Pick some formula and bottles. And you," she turned to Seth, "grab some diapers - any diapers." She walked down the aisle to join Marissa in choosing precious little pajamas, undershirts, socks, hats and outfits.
After making their purchases, the gang went to the restrooms to change the baby. Summer insisted that since it was Ryan's problem he could do the changing.
"But aren't girls used to babysitting and...." Seth began.
"I never babysat in my life!" Summer exclaimed.
"I got it," Ryan interrupted the argument. "I used to watch kids for a lady in my old apartment building." He shouldered the now suddenly complacent baby and one of the bags of merchandise and went into the rest room.
"We have to go to the police. You girls know that, right?" Seth started. "Whether the kid is really Ryan's or not, people just can't go around abandoning babies with other people."
"I think," Marissa said, "we should go to your parents first. Your dad will know what to do."
"They may be kind of hard to reach today. We're on break, but they have appointments and meetings and stuff all day."
"Well, we should go back to your house, anyway."
Seth nodded agreement. He looked up at the men's room door and muttered to himself, "Poor Ryan."
"What about 'poor girl who got deserted'," Summer put in, hands on hips.
"Ryan didn't know," Marissa interceded. "We can't blame him. And it might not even be, you know ... his." But her pale face and worried eyes revealed that for the first time she was beginning to realize the possibility.
Ryan emerged in another minute with a freshly changed and newly dressed baby riding high in one arm. If the whole situation hadn't been so horrifying, Marissa would have appreciated how adorable he looked carrying the baby. It was decked out in blue corduroy overalls and a shirt with trains on it - Summer's pick - and was staring at them all with wide, black- olive eyes. When he saw Summer, a toothless smile spread over his face and he reached out for her.
"All right. That kid must be possessed or something," Seth said. "What is the attraction, Summer? I mean, I know what the attraction is for me, but...."
"Shut up, Cohen. We all have talents and I happen to be a baby person," Summer said, airily, accepting the little one. "They always like me. I don't know why because I don't particularly like them."
"Amazing!" Seth shook his head, as the baby began to chortle - yes, actually chortle - with glee in Summer's arms.
"It's a gift." She shrugged then said, "Come on!" and turning, led the way to the car.
To be continued....
Why does Summer have power over babies you ask? Is it because she has secret reserves of tenderness under her brittle exterior and they recognize that? Or is it because I thought it would be a funny quirk?