Title: Alternate Pilot Ending
Summary: Alternate route leading up to Sandy taking Ryan home in the pilot. (AU for episode 1.1.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C. No profit is taken from this story.
Author's Notes:
In the pilot, Sandy taking Ryan back to his mother didn't make sense to me, since she threw him out. While you could argue that she was "pissed off and drunk" at the time and it was reasonable for Sandy to think that she might regret her actions later and agree to take Ryan back, they never said anything to that effect in the show itself, which I wish they would have.
Plus, Kirsten's line, "He has a family, Sandy. It's not up to you to decide whether or not they're good enough", made no sense whatsoever, and totally contradicted what actually happened which made Sandy bring Ryan home. So I'm taking that line out.
So this is my alternate version of the scenes leading up to Ryan leaving near the end of the pilot, which I think makes more sense.
Ryan lay on the couch-like thingy to one side of the Cohens' pool house and watched as Seth's mother grabbed him by the wrist, and with a pissed-off "Let's go. House. Now." and one last death glare at Ryan, they were gone.
Ryan started to get up. He knew that he was gone, too. Mrs. Cohen obviously blamed him for Seth getting drunk last night, and getting into a fight, and spending the night in the pool house instead of his own bed. Ryan sighed as he headed for the bathroom.
To tell the truth, Ryan blamed himself, too. Seth didn't want to go to that fashion show and only went when Ryan mentioned Summer, that bitch of a girl he was obsessed with. And he didn't want to go to that beach party, either, until Ryan talked him into it. Ryan knew that a dorky kid like Seth didn't fit in with that cocaine-sniffing water-polo-playing crowd, and he would have never gone to that party and never gotten into trouble with his mother if Ryan wasn't there.
Honestly, Ryan couldn't blame Seth's mom for being pissed at him. He knew from the start that she didn't want someone like him in her house, even for the weekend, and he just proved her point. Ryan was willing to bet that she wouldn't allow him to stay around her son for even one more day before Mr. Cohen could take him to Child Services tomorrow.
So Ryan changed out of his borrowed suit, which he had slept in – although he couldn't remember why he ever thought that was a good idea – and put his own clothes back on. He shoved the rest of his stuff into his backpack and put it near the door with his leather jacket and grey hoodie. He stopped and looked around, straightened up a few things that were out of place, and made the bed. Then he took one last look before heading for the main house. He was willing to bet that he'd never see any place as ritzy as this house for a long time, if ever.
Ryan entered the house through the kitchen. He stopped and briefly entertained the idea of cooking the Cohens breakfast, you know, to say thank you for giving him a place to stay as long as they did. He still couldn't believe that Mr. Cohen had actually brought him home, or that he was so rich. That was a surprise. A rich public defender. Ryan would never have guessed that.
While in the kitchen, Ryan heard voices near the front of the house. It sounded like Mr. and Mrs. Cohen. Ryan took a deep breath, braced himself, and headed in that direction. Might as well get this over with as soon as possible. No sense trying to postpone the inevitable. As Ryan left the kitchen and headed through the living room, he could see that the front door was open and the Cohens were talking, or really more like arguing, right outside. Ryan stopped just inside the doorway, where they couldn't see him, and listened to their conversation. No surprise, it was about him.
Mr. Cohen was saying, "And you were fun. And rebellious... and... and... you married me."
After a short pause, Ryan heard Mrs. Cohen say what he was expecting to hear. "I can't. I'm sorry. I don't want this kid in my house any more."
Ryan sighed. Well, that was that. Hey, his own mother didn't want him in her house, why should Seth's mother be any different?
Through the frosted glass in the door, Ryan could see Mrs. Cohen start walking up the steps in his direction.
She stopped and turned back when her husband asked her, "Where's he supposed to go?"
Ryan figured this was as good an opportunity as any to let his presence be known. So he stepped over into the open doorway before Mrs. Cohen could answer. Both Cohens looked over at him. They looked surprised to see him standing there, Ryan guessed, holding his backpack and jacket, ready to leave.
"I'll... I'll just go back to my mom's."
Mr. Cohen shook his head sadly. "But Ryan, she kicked you out, right? What makes you think she'll take you back?"
Ryan blinked rapidly a few times. He didn't, not for sure, but there was a chance. "My mom... she kicked my brother out once, a few years ago, when she was pi– mad at him. A couple days later when she cooled down," and when she was sober, "she took him back."
Mr. Cohen was nodding, thoughtfully. It looked like he was trying to think up reasons why not to take Ryan home, but he didn't get a chance to voice any because Mrs. Cohen spoke up first.
"See, Sandy, there. Just take him home. Everything will be fine."
Ryan watched as Mr. Cohen looked at him and took a deep breath. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. Maybe he just didn't have an argument for that.
Ryan ducked his head and turned back towards the inside of the house. He gestured towards the upstairs. "I'm just gonna..."
Ryan left his backpack by the front door and started putting on his jacket as he headed towards the stairs. He was heading up to Seth's bedroom, where he assumed Seth was, still sleeping off his hangover. Ryan knew where Seth's room was because he'd been up there yesterday when he went to borrow a suit for the fashion show.
Before he got to the stairs, however, Mrs. Cohen caught up with him. "Ryan..."
Ryan stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm just going to tell Seth goodbye."
Mrs. Cohen was standing there, stiffly, with her arms crossed. She looked very tense, uncomfortable, maybe even a little afraid. And she was standing maybe a little bit further away from him than was strictly necessary.
"I'm sorry. You seem like a really nice kid – "
Ryan interrupted her. He didn't want to hear her platitudes. "It's OK. I get it." Ryan took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. "You have a really nice family."
With that, Ryan turned and jogged up the stairs. Yeah, the Cohens were a nice family. Unlike his own family, who were about as far from nice as you could get. And he did "get it", why she was asking him to leave. He didn't belong in a place like this. She knew it. He knew it. And, anyway, he was used to being treated like this – people looking down on him for who he was, where he came from.
Ryan took a deep breath and walked down the hallway to say goodbye to Seth, and goodbye to his weekend with the rich folks. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
The End