Disclaimer: did I mention I don't own the O.C. or Ryan or Sandy or… well you get the point

Author's note: Hey, I know some of you enjoyed the lack of Seth in this fan fiction so far, but seriously, what is the O.C. without Seth. Also a quick shout out to Ghostwriter, thanks for reading and the reviews are really appreciated, you rock

Chapter 10

The next time Ryan woke up, he was shocked to find that everything that had happened to him was real. Though it looked like he might be in a different room now, it seemed bigger than the other one; everything still seemed to be the same. He was still in the hospital, his entire family was still in jail, and he probably still had Cancer, no way to really check to make sure the last part was true. Ryan was surprised to find that Kirsten was still next to him, lying in a chair, sleeping in what looked like a pretty uncomfortable position. He thought about getting up and giving her the bed. After all if she was letting him stay at her house she had least deserved to be comfortable, but he was pretty sure he would be in too much pain if he tried to sit in the chair. His ribs were still killing him, and his arm and leg didn't feel much better.

He couldn't understand why these people were taking so much interest in him. Maybe it was because they didn't really know him. Yeah, that was it, Ryan was sure the second they realized what kind of person he really was they would leave him, leave him all alone. His mother was always telling him he was no good and that he would end up just like his brother, in and out of Juvie.

The thought made him sad. Despite everything that had happened to him in his life, he had never been completely alone before. He had always had Trey, and even though his mom was neglectful and kind of a bad mom in general she had always been there too. He felt sick at the thought of no longer having a family or a home to call his own, and suddenly, he wanted Kirsten and Sandy to just leave him to his fate already. He didn't want to start to care about them, maybe start to love them, and then be forced to endure the loss. Ryan decided he would just have to tell them to leave…

Just then Ryan noticed that Kirsten had opened her eyes and she was looking at him with that look, the same look that made Ryan feel warm and loved. No…he couldn't think that way, these people would be leaving soon, they didn't love him, they couldn't he was no good.

"Hi, honey," Kirsten, said smiling.

"Hi," Ryan replied in a monotone. Ryan guessed he better get it over with. Ryan took a deep breath and looked at his hands, "Why are you doing this?"

Kirsten blinked, surprised, and unsure of how exactly she was supposed to respond to that question. "Ryan… I thought you understood what Sandy said to you earlier. We care about you, you're a good kid…"

Before Kirsten could go on, Ryan looked up with a blank look on his face, trying to mask all of the sadness he felt, "no…" he whispered. Shocked, Kirsten just stared at him, "I'm a bad kid, you don't know me. I'm bad, my mom says so all the time… you should go. I…I don't deserve this. I'm…I'm damaged goods; mom told me so, just like my dad and brother. I'll…never be anything. I…I'm gonna end up in jail anyway, so you…you shouldn't waste you're time with me." He was trying really hard now not to cry, he would be tough, he had to even tougher now that he was gonna be on his own.

Kirsten couldn't help herself, careful to avoid Ryan's injuries, she got up and flung her arms around him, wrapping him up in a tight hug and after several moments Ryan's rigid posture melted away, as he sobbed in Kirsten's arms. In Kirsten's arms, Ryan let some of the walls around his emotions come down and let Kirsten in. He couldn't understand this woman; he had told her… told her he was bad, but she didn't seem to care. Kirsten still seemed to care about him.

After what seemed like forever, Kirsten released her hold on Ryan and cupped his face in her hands, "look at me Ryan," Ryan found it almost impossible to meet her eyes, but Kirsten persisted, "Ryan look at me," finally Ryan met her gaze. "You…" she tapped his chest gently, "are a good boy. You're not you're brother or you're father, and you're definitely not you're mother. You are your own person and even though I've only just met you I can tell that you're a sweet boy. You're a boy, whose had a hard life and some really bad luck, but that's going to change. We… Sandy and I…are going to get you through this. You won't go through this alone, and after you beat this cancer, because you will beat it, you're going to live with us, and live the life you deserve to live." Looking deep into Ryan's eyes, Kirsten asked, "do you understand? YOU ARE A GOOD BOY," she stated. Then once more she took Ryan into her arms, allowing him to fall asleep as she rocked him gently back and forth.

Several hours later, Sandy entered Ryan's room with Seth in toe. A few hours ago, Ryan had finally been allowed to leave the ICU and go to a step-down unit, which meant that younger family members where now allowed to visit and there were also less restricted visiting hours. While Sandy knew that Seth was a bit squeamish, he thought that it was about time Seth and Ryan met. Sandy smiled broadly as he saw a sleeping Kirsten holding tightly to Ryan, who for the first time looked relaxed.

However, the scene before Sandy quickly changed, as Seth entered the room, still babbling about…about, well, something; god that boy could talk. Startled awake by Seth's banter, Kirsten almost fell of Ryan's bed, and Ryan's eyes fluttered open lazily, taking in the new additions to his room.

Sandy was surprised by the bemused smile on Ryan's face, as the boy took in Seth in all of his babbling glory. "Hey," Ryan said, still smiling. While Ryan might have been amused by Seth, Kirsten wasn't quite so amused by the manner of his arrival.

"Sandy, why didn't you call and tell me you were coming?"

Sandy's smirked, "Kirsten, I did call…three times, actually."

"Ohh," Kirsten blushed, but then brushed it off, and walked up to her son, giving him a quick hug. She wasn't usually so affectionate, but she hadn't really seen her son for the past couple of days. She hadn't even been aware of just how much she missed his upbeat personality and non-stop chatter. Turning back to Ryan, Kirsten made quick introductions, "Ryan, this is Seth, our son. Seth, this is Ryan…you're new brother."

Seth and Ryan smiled shyly at each other, before Seth walked over, sitting at the end of Ryan's bed. "Hey, Ryan, nice to meet you. Mom and Dad wouldn't let me come to see you, which I think is totally unfair, cause you're like, my brother now, and I should totally be allowed to see my brother, right?" before Ryan could so much as nod, Seth jabbered on. "I have so many questions. I mean, you're my bro so you and me have to tell each other everything. Well not everything, but like most things, like do you like comic books? I love them so if you don't then…well you will. And what about video games? You have to like video games…"

"Well there goes my quiet evening," whispered Sandy, as he and Kirsten watch Seth talk to, more like at, Ryan. They both smiled at each other for a minute, "this," Kirsten whispered in Sandy's ear, "this is what our family was missing."