~Brothers~
A harsh voice rose over the music and indistinct conversation in the ballroom.... "That's my money, my retirement! My kids tuition!!" then "smack". She turned to see Jimmy hit the ballroom floor, with Greg following him down, continuing the beating. Kirsten watched in horror as Sandy pulled Greg off of Jimmy and promptly got a fist to his face. Sandy fell, surprised by the punch, and as Greg went to hit him again, suddenly Ryan was there, coming in low to the ground, effectively taking the enraged man down long enough for two other men to grab him and throw him out.
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He came to the table as Sandy was icing his jaw. As he hesitantly approached, Kirsten saw Ryan's thoughts clearly in his eyes, his fear that he had messed up and they no longer wanted him in their family. As he started to apologize for fighting, Sandy quickly let him know that he was not in trouble, and she smiled fondly at him as relief flooded his face. He gave them a half-smile.
It broke her heart to think that Ryan's grasp on happiness was so fragile. She knew it would take a long time for him to really feel comfortable with them, for him to stop worrying every day that he would somehow mess things up. She could not imagine what his previous 16 years had been like, but after spending a little "quality" time with his mother she knew his memories were full of images no kid should see. He'd had no one that he could trust or count on, and she was sure there were scars that no one would ever know about. Every once in a great while, he would really smile, the kind that you saw in his eyes, and the unfamiliarity of it instantly reminded you of how rarely it happened.
Kirsten watched as Ryan made his way over to Seth. Seth - her smart, hilarious, quirky kid that no one seemed to understand, until Ryan. They had bonded quickly. It hurt her that Seth had always been alone before, no friends ever coming over, him never going out. She suspected that the reason for this had to do with the supposedly "cool" kids making his life miserable, but he'd always reassured her he was just a loner, and that things were fine. She thought back to how furious she'd been at Ryan when she'd found her son in the pool house the morning after the fashion show, still drunk with a black eye. She had worried all night, sure that "that criminal" Sandy had brought home was getting Seth into the kinds of trouble she didn't want to think about.
Tonight, after Ryan had instinctively jumped into the fight to protect Sandy, she realized how wrong she'd been. He hadn't been getting Seth in trouble that night - he'd been protecting him, and had taken a beating for his efforts. Kirsten smiled as she watched Seth playfully punching Ryan in the gut; Ryan pulling in his stomach and making a face like it hurt. She could only imagine their conversation. She wouldn't worry as much about either of them anymore. They each had a brother now.
A harsh voice rose over the music and indistinct conversation in the ballroom.... "That's my money, my retirement! My kids tuition!!" then "smack". She turned to see Jimmy hit the ballroom floor, with Greg following him down, continuing the beating. Kirsten watched in horror as Sandy pulled Greg off of Jimmy and promptly got a fist to his face. Sandy fell, surprised by the punch, and as Greg went to hit him again, suddenly Ryan was there, coming in low to the ground, effectively taking the enraged man down long enough for two other men to grab him and throw him out.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
He came to the table as Sandy was icing his jaw. As he hesitantly approached, Kirsten saw Ryan's thoughts clearly in his eyes, his fear that he had messed up and they no longer wanted him in their family. As he started to apologize for fighting, Sandy quickly let him know that he was not in trouble, and she smiled fondly at him as relief flooded his face. He gave them a half-smile.
It broke her heart to think that Ryan's grasp on happiness was so fragile. She knew it would take a long time for him to really feel comfortable with them, for him to stop worrying every day that he would somehow mess things up. She could not imagine what his previous 16 years had been like, but after spending a little "quality" time with his mother she knew his memories were full of images no kid should see. He'd had no one that he could trust or count on, and she was sure there were scars that no one would ever know about. Every once in a great while, he would really smile, the kind that you saw in his eyes, and the unfamiliarity of it instantly reminded you of how rarely it happened.
Kirsten watched as Ryan made his way over to Seth. Seth - her smart, hilarious, quirky kid that no one seemed to understand, until Ryan. They had bonded quickly. It hurt her that Seth had always been alone before, no friends ever coming over, him never going out. She suspected that the reason for this had to do with the supposedly "cool" kids making his life miserable, but he'd always reassured her he was just a loner, and that things were fine. She thought back to how furious she'd been at Ryan when she'd found her son in the pool house the morning after the fashion show, still drunk with a black eye. She had worried all night, sure that "that criminal" Sandy had brought home was getting Seth into the kinds of trouble she didn't want to think about.
Tonight, after Ryan had instinctively jumped into the fight to protect Sandy, she realized how wrong she'd been. He hadn't been getting Seth in trouble that night - he'd been protecting him, and had taken a beating for his efforts. Kirsten smiled as she watched Seth playfully punching Ryan in the gut; Ryan pulling in his stomach and making a face like it hurt. She could only imagine their conversation. She wouldn't worry as much about either of them anymore. They each had a brother now.