AN: Here's the first chapter for you guys. Hope you like it. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: I own no one. They belong to Josh Schwartz and Fox.

Chapter 1-Introduction

Kirsten Cohen bustled into the kitchen holding plans for a housing development. They were approaching the deadline and they were far from finished. She saw her son at the counter slowly eating a bowl of Captain Crunch. She wished that he would talk to them more. She glanced at the table where her husband was eating a bagel and sipping his mug of coffee as he read through a thick file before him.

"Hey, sweetie." Kirsten greeted Seth.

"Mom," he glanced at her before returning to his cereal.

"Hey, honey." She went to her husband. "What are you working on?"

"A case that your mom recommended me for." He told her. "A kid from chino was found living in his home after his mother died. He was sent to a foster care group home, which is how your mother met him. He's been sent to 'the farm'."

"She told me about that place. A lot of 'accidents' have happened there. Why hasn't it been shut down yet?"

"There's never any proof. None of the kids who have gotten hurt are willing to make a statement."

"Sounds like you have your hands full." She stood up. "I have to get to work. Meet you for lunch?"

"Sorry. I'm going to meet Ryan."

"Well then, I'll see you tonight." she kissed Seth's cheek as he took his bowl to the sink. "Be good."

"See you, son." Sandy clapped him on the shoulders. "Don't just play video games all day."

"What else is there to do around here?" he mumbled as he went into the den and Sandy left the house.

Sandy pulled up the long dirt drive after the hour-long drive from Newport. He spotted Rose's car parked near the front door and parked beside it. He started out of the car and saw Rose approaching him.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"They won't let us see Ryan." She informed him.

"Why not?"

"He's doing his chores."

"They're going to let us see him." Sandy marched up the porch steps and pounded on the door.

"We told your associate that he's doing his chores now." An older man came to the door.

"This is the designated time that we set up with the agency. So either you're going to let us see him now, or I will call the appropriate officials-"

"Fine, we'll call him to the house."

"If you don't mind, I think we'll talk with him outside. We don't need anyone eavesdropping after all." Sandy went with Rose to wait for Ryan to come find them.

A few minutes later, they saw a teenage boy approaching them. He was coming from the direction of the barn and had dirt smudged all over him. He slowly sat at the picnic table across from them and eyed them both wearily through guarded eyes.

"Hello, Ryan. It's good to see you again." Rose smiled at him. "This is my son-in-law, Sandy Cohen."

"Hey." Ryan mumbled. "You guys are wasting your time. No one can help me."

"What makes you say that, Ryan?" Sandy looked at him.

"I'm troubled." Ryan stated.

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone,"

"Why do they think you're troubled?" Rose asked him.

"Because I was living on my own for months without telling anyone, and no one will want to take me in because of it."

"Whoever said that is wrong," Rose told him. "I'm making it my personal mission to find a permanent placement for you."

"Good luck with that." Ryan mumbled as Sandy took out a folder.

Sandy returned to the house later that night with Ryan's file along with some more paperwork in his hands. He set it all on the counter as Seth came in. He silently got a drink of water and started out of the room again.

"Seth, what are you up to?" he asked him.

"Nothing." He mumbled.

"Son,"

"I'm busy." He stated as he walked into the den.

Sandy sighed deeply as he started in the direction of his bedroom in search of Kirsten. He found her sitting at the vanity and smiled at her as she looked up at him.

"Hey," she smiled at him. "How was it today?"

"I can't believe that this kid has such a negative life view." He sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. "He's convinced himself that he's a bad catch just because everyone has told him so."

"Why would they tell him that?"

"He was living on his own for almost a year without letting anyone know." He stated.

"How did he get away with it?"

"He worked two jobs to pay the bills so that he could stay where he was. With his mom gone and both his dad and brother in jail for the long-term, he knew that he would get put into foster care."

"He has no other family?"

"None have come forward." He sighed. "Your mother has made it her mission to find him a permanent home."

"Sounds like mom," she sat next to him. "Let's take your mind off all of this. Let's order Pad Thai and all eat together tonight."

"Do you have to go into the office tomorrow?" he looked at her.

"No, I have the weekend off. Why do you ask?"

"What do you say that the three of us do something together tomorrow? We should get back to being a family."

"Sounds great." She smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out." They both walked out and Kirsten placed their order for dinner.

"So how old is this kid?" Kirsten asked as she hung up the phone.

"Seth's age." He told her. "He doesn't have the greatest school records, but I don't think he had anyone telling him to get up in the morning. His mom was a train wreck."

"How did she die?"

"Alcohol poisoning mixed with drug overdose." He stated and she gasped. "I know. A kid shouldn't have to witness all that."

"Who are you talking about?" Seth came in to them.

"One of my clients."

"Oh right, that Ryan kid. Grandma told me about him."

"Yeah." Sandy got out some plates as the doorbell rang and Kirsten came back with their supper. "Maybe one of these days, I can take you to meet him. He's staying at 'the farm' right now, but if your grandmother can work her magic and get him out of there-"

"Is it bad there?"

"We think they only take in kids so they have workers to do chores."

They all sat down at the table and started to eat as Sandy continued to tell both Kirsten and Seth about Ryan. He saw that they both were really interested in what he told them about the kid that he was trying to help.

The next morning, Seth stumbled into the kitchen and saw his dad making up sandwiches and his mom was loading up a cooler that sat open on the counter.

"What's going on?" Seth asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"We're all going to spend the day together." Kirsten informed him.

"All of us out in public?" he looked at them.

"Yes, and it's obligatory." Sandy informed him as the phone rang. "It's your mother, honey."

"This is family day." Kirsten looked at him.

"I'll let her know." He clicked it on. "Hey, Rose. No, I can't get together today. We planned a family day. Why are you there? What happened? Is he all right? Ok. I'll meet you there. Bye."

"It's family day," Kirsten repeated.

"It's an emergency. Ryan was taken to the hospital early this morning. There's been another 'accident' at 'the farm'."

"All right," Kirsten closed the cooler. "But we're coming with you."

"No, you don't want to come. Chino is a little rough."

"We're going." Seth told him as he grabbed the sandwiches that Sandy had just made. "Ryan needs actual food. Hospital food sucks."

"You're outnumbered," Kirsten told her husband. "Let's go."

Seth looked out his car window as they drove through Chino. It was a lot different from any other town that he had seen; it was definitely nothing like Newport. His dad pulled into a drive and parked near the emergency room entrance at the Chino Valley Medical Center. They all got out of the car as Sandy locked up the car and they all headed into the hospital.

"Mom," Kirsten spotted her talking to some official-looking people.

"What are you all doing here? I just needed Sandy." Rose hugged her.

"I told you it was family day," Sandy told her. "They refused to be left behind."

"It might actually be good that they're here. Ryan might talk to one of them."

"He's not talking?"

"Not at all."

"Where are the foster parents? What are they saying?"

"The foster parents are with social services. They claim that Ryan fell off a horse, but the doctor said that there was a blunt force to the back of his head."

"They intentionally hurt him?" Seth asked.

"That's what the evidence is pointing to." Rose told her grandson.

"May I ask who you are?" Sandy looked at the people with Rose.

"I'm Agent Wells," the man introduced himself and turned to the woman standing next to him. "This is Agent Monroe. We're with CPS."

"Are you taking Ryan away from his current family?"

"We're still investigating." Agent Monroe told him.

"But you should know that we want to get 'the farm' shut down as much as you do." Agent Wells told them.

"Anyone here for Ryan Atwood?" A doctor approached them.

"We all are," Rose stated. "How is he?"

"We did a CT scan and he has a slight concussion. We'd like him to stay here for a couple days to make sure that he's going to be ok."

"We'd like to take him home now," the man that Sandy had met the day before came out to them, followed by an older woman.

"You're not taking him anywhere until we find out what really happened to him." Two more officials came out to them.

"Sandy, this is Helen and Kathy." Rose introduced the women from social services.

"Nice to meet you." He shook their hands. "I hope it's all right if I go in and talk to Ryan when we get clearance."

"At this point, we'll try anything to get this kid to talk." Helen told him.

"We don't want you to worry," Kathy spoke up as she pointed to the foster parents. "The Miller's won't be allowed near Ryan."

"Thank you." Sandy told them.

"He fell off a horse," Mrs. Miller spoke up. "It was an accident."

"There seem to be a lot of accidents that happen at your residence."

"There were signs that his head hit something hard." Rose added.

"Mr. Atwood is sleeping now," the doctor spoke up. "I can come get you when he wakes up."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to sit with him." Sandy looked at the officials from social services and CPS. "I don't want any unwanted visitors near him."

"That will be fine, Mr. Cohen."

Ryan slowly surfaced through the thick fog surrounding him. He blinked his eyes open and looked around the brilliantly white room that he was in. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head sharply. He started moaning in pain as someone approached his bed.

"You shouldn't make any sudden movements with you having a concussion." He heard a familiar voice.

"Good to know," he mumbled as he finally focused on the visitor.

"You're going to be ok Ryan." Sandy Cohen told him. "But we need to know what happened to you."

"I already told them what happened."

"Your injuries don't back up your story."

"I don't know what to tell you. I can't help it if you don't believe me."

Sandy attempted to get Ryan to talk some more, but he remained stoic with his arms crossed in front of him. Sandy finally gave up and left the room. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief until the door opened and he saw Rose enter with a younger woman.

"Hello Ryan," Rose approached the bed. "This is my daughter Kirsten."

"It's nice to finally meet you Ryan," Kirsten smiled at him. "I feel like you're a part of the family with the way my mom and Sandy talk about you all the time."

"I have no family." Ryan stated as he watched them wearily. "One of them died, and the other two are locked up so they can't help me."

"Ryan, I told you that I'm working on getting you a permanent placement." Rose told him.

"And how is that going?" Ryan grumbled.

"Well-"

"I'm tired," Ryan turned his head away. "You can leave now."

Kirsten followed her mother out of the room in defeat. She spotted Sandy talking to the agents.

"Any luck?" he turned to them as they walked out of Ryan's room.

"None." Rose shook her head.

"Where's Seth?" Kirsten scanned the waiting room.

"He asked for the credit card and took off in the direction of the gift shop." Sandy told her.

"Why?"

"For reinforcements," Seth came back to them with his arms full of bags. "I knew you guys wouldn't get through to him."

"So what do you have there?" Rose asked him.

"Comic books, magazines, word search, crosswords, snacks…"

"I think it might work," Kirsten told them all. "Seth is the same age as Ryan. If anyone could get through to him, he could."

"Go for it son." Sandy told him and Seth grabbed a couple sandwiches and drinks from the cooler and started into Ryan's room.

AN: So what'd you all think of this? It will be a slightly slow start, but it will get better. So PLZ R&R!