Ok, this note is going to make any sense until you read the story. So I was toying with what I should call them. Big Ryan and Little Ryan was the obvious but I wanted to be a little different. Say if you like it or don't. Oh and don't think I'm just resolving things in one chapter and not making anything out of it...like the Dawn thing and what happens in this one. They all come in later.

Please check out my 2 other fics, :D

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Marissa.

Chapter 24

I almost skipped down the pier to meet the others. Life had been great...no amazing the past 2 months. Things with Ryan really were going fantastically well, we hadn't argued about anything major for the entire time. He was an amazing guy, what made me feel best was that he was MY amazing guy. All mine.

"Hey," I said, pecking Ryan on the lips as I slid into the booth.

"Hey," He replied.

"Hi Coop," Summer said.

"Hi Coop," Seth said.

"Cohen you can't call Coop Coop!"

"Why?"

"It's wrong on all levels of wrong!"

"Well you call Ryan Chino."

"You've never called Ryan Chino in your life! I'm the only one who calls him that!"

"I suppose, but I can call him Atwood!"

"Seth, stick with first names," Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"Atwood, you're meant to be on my side!" Seth whined.

"I'm not gunna reply if you call me that,"

"Fine. So how are things, Ryan?" Seth said, emphasising Ryan's name.

"By things you mean..."

"General things, like work?"

"Work is good...Seth what are you up to?"

"Can't a brother ask how you're doing? Sheesh!" Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Ok, so there's this graphic novel convention and..."

"Seth I'm not going, I'm 26."

"Yes my brother, but love for comics never dies."

"Yes it does if you don't want to look like someone who still lives with their Mom," We laughed.

"Well Ryan I don't live with my Mom and I still love comics,"

"Seth it's your job,"

"Whatever, bail on a brother, very good,"

"Are you excessively using the word brother to try and make me feel guilty?"

"That is possible. So now we've got that cleared up, what have you been up to? It seems like we haven't talked in ages."

"Seth we talked yesterday."

"Oooookkk, but I still think we need to arrange some morning Seth and Ryan time,"

"Really, cause I was thinking the same," Seth's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"No Seth."

"You really are rather mean Ryan Atwood,"

"Seth, I'm open to Seth and Ryan time...just not in the morning,"

"But that is our time, our time of day, we can't swap it, we were given it and we should use it wisely."

"Seth, you are not coming into my house at 7 in the morning,"

"Possibly earlier, do you know what time Josh gets up!?" Ryan just rolled his eyes and looked at Summer.

"Anything new?" He asked.

"Well, me and Coop are helping plan the Casino night," Summer answered.

"Really?"

"Yep, we've already got you boys your suits,"

"I'm not going,"

"Ryan come on, don't be a spoil sport," Summer pleaded.

"Ryan look it's a Newport party, I hate it, you hate it, let's hate it together." Seth said, trying the more upbeat approach to persuading Ryan to come along.

"Guys, I haven't been to Casino night since...Dawn came. I really don't feel like going." He looked down, fiddling with his straw.

"Oh, well...yeah, but you have to come." Seth continued.

"Look I'll think about it, ok?"

"We'll take that as yes," Then I noticed somebody had come over to our table.

"Ryan?" Ryan looked up at the lady. She was a tall brunette. She looked stunning, but in a natural way, she looked like a normal woman, not some stick thin model. I saw Ryan's expression instantly turn to one of annoyance.

"What do you want?"

"We have to talk,"

"Tamsin we have nothing to talk about," So this lady was Tamsin, his ex-fiancé.

"Please," We scooted up to let her sit on the booth. "In private?"

"I'll end up telling them all anyways,"

"Ok," She looked around, Seth and Summer wore expressions of anger. She looked at me, seeing the confusion in my eyes. "You must be Marissa, I'm Tamsin."

"I know. How do you know I'm...?" She cut me off.

"Ryan talked about you a lot. He had a couple of photos."

"Are you gunna talk or what?" Ryan snapped

"Ryan, I'm sorry, I want you to forgive me,"

"Why? We're not getting back together, I've moved on, just like you did...but I waited until after we'd split up."

"Ryan I have a son, I want to be a mother, I don't feel I can do that properly if there's someone in the world who hates me. He's not yours," She added the last bit after seeing Ryan's look of horror.

"Whose is he?"

"Simon's, it's why he left me. He didn't want kids."

"How much money do you want?"

"I don't want money Ryan, I just..."

"You do, you want money so you can look after your kid," Ryan began forcefully but by the end of his sentence he almost seemed to have sympathy for her.

"I don't, I just want to be able to be a good Mom. Sometimes I wonder if he could ever have a Dad."

"I can't be that,"

"I know. I don't expect that of you. I just want to know you can call me a friend, or at least not speak about me with disgust."

"Tammy...I don't understand what you're asking..."

"I'm asking if there is any chance you could put the past behind us...be friends, nothing more." She glanced at me. "You already had a soul mate even before I came along." Just then a little boy came running into the diner.

"Mommy you said you were getting waffles!!!" The little boy said indignantly as he stopped at our table, staring at Tamsin.

"I know honey, I will do," She replied, kissing his forehead and getting out of the booth.

"Mommy can you ask your friends if they'll play with me?" The little boy looked around at us.

"Ryan, I think they're a little too big for that."

"Hold on, you called him Ryan?" Ryan said.

"It seemed to fit; it was the best name I could think off."

"Is it bad I'm called Ryan?" The little boy asked.

"No sweetie it's not," Tamsin replied.

"Well can you ask them?"

"Why don't you ask them?"

"Can you play with me?" We all looked at each other. Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

"I've never played with anyone your age, I'm not sure I'd be very good," Ryan said softly.

"It's ok I'll teach you," Little Ryan jumped up on to the booth where his Mom had been sat before. "We'll play stories,"

"Stories?" Seth asked, looking puzzled.

"We have to each tell a story, didn't you ever play it?"

"No, I didn't but I'm sure it's fun," Seth said.

"It is! What are you called?"

"I'm Seth,"

"I'm Summer,"

"I'm Marissa,"

"I'm...Ryan,"

"You have my name,"

"I guess I do,"

"That's so cool; I don't know anyone called Ryan."

"Cool,"

"Seth you start,"

Seth began telling a story, it was one of the Atomic County episodes, I recognised it. He used the same characters, Kid Chino, The Ironist, Little Miss Vixen, Cosmo Girl, they all played their part. When he had finished Little Ryan looked at My Ryan.

"Ryan," The little boy said.

"Is it my turn?" Ryan replied.

"No, I want to ask you a question."

"Ok..."

"Are you someone's Daddy?"

"No...I'm not,"

"Do you want to be a Daddy? My Daddy didn't, so I don't have one."

"Um...being a Dad is...you have to really think about it. You have to make sure that the lady and the man want to be a Mommy and a Daddy. I don't think I'd make a very good Daddy."

"You would, you're nice. Where is baby's Mommy and Daddy?" He pointed at Josh.

"That's me and Summer," Seth said. Tamsin came over then.

"Come on big boy," She said, ruffling her son's hair.

"Ok, bye, bye, thank you for the story Seth," The little boy waved us goodbye.

"So that was..." Seth began.

"Very strange," Ryan ended his sentence for him.

"So that was Tamsin?" I said.

"Yeah,"

"That's cute, calling him Ryan," Summer said.

"It is?" Cause I found it a little bit creepy," Seth said. "I mean finding out your ex has, like, something for you still, so much so that she called her kid after you, that is rather strange. You think she wanted to get back together, cause where I'm sitting it kinda looked that way,"

"Seth, I don't know ok. I don't know why she called her kid Ryan, I don't know what the whole forgiveness thing was about and I don't know why she came here. She's Tammy, you never know the why."

"I guess that's true,"

"It really doesn't matter. She's part of my past, not my future."

"So what shall we do? We have a whole day of free."

"No we don't,"

"What?"

"I've got to do the garden,"

"Ok...Ryan there is a thing called a gardener, I believe you have one."

"He's on holiday, come on lazy,"

"But I don't do..."

"Heavy duty work, its ok I'll let you do the pruning," We all laughed as we got out of our seats.

I remembered what Ryan said, part of my past, not my future. I couldn't help smiling at the thought that I was part of his future.