I'll Know When I Get There

Summary: One phone call was all it took to rip Ryan Sloane's life apart and build up the idea in her head that things in Beacon Hills aren't quite right. When a certain deputy shows up in her small town and makes an impression on her, will she let him in or will she keep him just out of reach for fear that history will repeat itself. (Parrish/OFC)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf, Ryan however is all mine.

Chapter 50:

"I got everything worked out so that I'm off the day after tomorrow but I'm working tomorrow night." Ryan announced later on during her shift.

Melissa was standing at the front desk getting ready to take the next patient file on the pile. She threw a smile at Ryan and reached out, setting her palm on her forearm in a gesture of comfort as Ryan came to stand next to her. The two of them had managed to talk to the doctor that Ryan would be seeing during her day off and even though it hadn't been all that hard to talk to the other nurses on shift to see if anyone could swap with Ryan, it didn't mean she didn't appreciate the effort.

"And Doctor Hathcock said she'd be able to see you then?" Melissa questioned in response. She knew how busy the female obstetrician could be, but working at the hospital did tend to have a few perks and Ryan was definitely one of the more likeable nurses around, which meant other people were more likely to do her favours, plus the girl was hard working, Melissa wasn't aware of a single instance when Ryan had ever said no to one of the doctors on staff.

"She did, even said she'd try to squeeze me into the ultrasound order that day if I needed." Ryan answered and let out a small sigh of relief. So far her shift had been relatively calm and she wasn't anticipating it getting much busier, but that didn't mean that something wouldn't come up.

It was a hospital emergency department after all, it didn't take much to throw everyone for a loop.

Ryan moved forward, closing the gap between her and Melissa, before letting the older nurse take her into another embrace. She was growing rather fond of Melissa's hugs and she just hoped that there would never come a day when Melissa McCall wasn't there for her.

"Maybe I'll see if I can't switch with someone too, that way we'll both be working tomorrow night." Melissa teased and Ryan smiled in response. She peeled herself away and glanced around the hallway, looking out to make sure there weren't any prying ears, or eyes, around.

"You joke about that but that sounds like a great idea to me." Ryan chuckled and Melissa shook her head in amusement. "Seriously though, thanks for your help."

"I didn't really do anything." Melissa waved Ryan off but continued to smile at her.

"Still." Ryan quipped and nabbed the file off the top of the pile. She flipped the cover open and read over the first page, looking for what she was getting in to. Melissa grabbed the next file and did the same thing as Ryan, only she closed her file up after a few seconds, hugged it against her chest and grinned at Ryan.

Ryan caught the woman's look, which made her slightly uneasy, and scrunched her nose up at her friend. Melissa lifted her one hand up in surrender and pushed herself away from the desk. Before she could get away though, Ryan reached out and gently grabbed the woman's wrist, keeping her in her place in front of her.

"We should do dinner or something sometime." Ryan offered, Melissa nodding her agreement. "Maybe you can come over some night, I can make something, you can even bring Scott?"

"That doesn't sound so bad." Melissa joked. "Will the fine young deputy be there?"

Ryan snorted at her friend and let her hand fall away, dangling at her side instead. She looked her friend up and down and shrugged her shoulders, "maybe, he might be too busy helping out Lydia."

"I'm sure that's not true." Melissa gasped but quickly smirked at Ryan.

"Maybe, maybe not. I could see if he'd maybe invite the sheriff too, if that's-"

"I see what you're doing here." Melissa cut her off with an accusatory look. "I don't need your help finding a man."

"Well obviously, you've already found him, you just need a shove in the right direction." Ryan laughed and Melissa couldn't help but laugh along with her. "Seriously though, what is going on between you two?"

"What do you- you don't just get to change the subject, especially when you're the one who's pregnant." Melissa whisper hissed and Ryan gaped at her. "I mean, it wasn't like I imagined you being abstinent but this just confirms that you and Deputy McSexy are getting it on."

Ryan just continued to stare at Melissa, not entirely sure as to how to respond. When Melissa broke out into a wicked grin though, Ryan couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was nice to laugh a little with Melissa, especially when she knew things weren't going to be as easy as they were at that very minute.

She was pregnant, she was going to have a baby, and she still hadn't told Jordan, the very father of said baby. She also wasn't sure that Kylie was all that aware of her current situation. Sure Kylie had been in the room when she had made the connection, and Ken knew, which meant that if Kylie asked, he wasn't going to lie to her, but how much of the conversation had Kylie understood.

"Hey, Ry?" Melissa lifted her hand up further and waved it in front of Ryan's eyes. Ryan had a blank look on her face and when she finally spotted the movement in front of her face, she jerked slightly and brought her attention back to Melissa. "You went off to space there, what's wrong?"

Sucking in a nervous breath, Ryan leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling. She focused her energy on breathing, take air in, let air out, and when she felt that she wasn't quite as shaken up as she had been seconds before, she tipped her head forward and locked her eyes on Melissa.

"I have to tell Kylie." Ryan breathed the words out and Melissa narrowed her eyes in on Ryan. "I have to tell my little girl that she's going to have a baby brother or sister."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad." Melissa remarked. "I always thought Kylie would make a decent big sister."

"Well that makes one of us." Ryan muttered and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Ry, what's wrong, really? You can tell me." Melissa urged, sensing Ryan's discomfort on the matter.

"I don't know, I guess, I just- part of me figured that it'd just be me and her, you know?"

"For like the rest of your life?" Melissa asked in a hushed voice. "Is that what you mean?"

"I…it sounds stupid when I say it out loud." Ryan groaned and set the file in her hands back on the desk. Melissa set her hand on top of it, forcing it against the surface and making Ryan know for sure that this conversation wasn't going to end with her just walking away. Whatever was bothering her was going to be talked about, Melissa was going to make sure of that.

"I don't think it sounds stupid." Melissa whispered and looked down at her own feet. "For a while I think I felt the same way, I just pictured it being me and Scott and no one else."

"Yeah?" Ryan perked up slightly.

"Yes. It's a nice mental picture, I'll give you that, but I don't think it's very realistic. Sure you'd be fine on your own, just the two of you, but you're an amazing woman, Kylie's a great kid, I think Jordan's good for you." Melissa explained.

Ryan took her words to heart and stayed silent for a few seconds. It was definitely a nice thought and while there was nothing Ryan would've liked more than to spend all the time in the world with just Kylie, she knew that Melissa had a point. Jordan was good for her, he was good for Kylie; he had helped Ryan get back into her bedroom when she had thought that she'd be spending the rest of her nights sleeping on the couch. He had put Cole back into Kylie's life when she had tried her hardest to get rid of him completely and there was no doubt in her mind that Jordan was a good parental figure for her little girl.

The idea of having another baby still scared her, it always would, but she knew that with Jordan in her life, things wouldn't be so bad. Hell, they'd make cute kids and Kylie would be a great big sister, maybe this whole pregnancy was a good thing and whether or not it was planned didn't change anything.

They'd be a cute family, a strong family, and the four of them: Jordan, Ryan, Kylie and the baby, they'd be there for each other.

"You should learn to start accepting that you're not going to spend the rest of your life mourning Cole alone." Melissa pointed out, bringing Ryan's attention back to her. "I think Cole would approve, of everything."

Ryan bowed her head and tried not to cry at the thought of Cole. Everything Melissa had said was right and if Cole had still been alive, who was to say that they wouldn't have already had another kid. Cole had always been great with Kylie, he had adored her, fawned over her, loved her until his last breath like any father should, and maybe in a different life they would've been able to grow old together and have more kids together but they weren't in a different life, Cole was gone and Ryan had managed to find herself in love with Jordan Parrish.

"Yeah." Ryan let out an anxious breath and took her bottom lip in between her teeth. "You're absolutely right."

"You deserve to be happy and anyone can see how you light up around that deputy." Melissa teased, Ryan felt her cheeks growing hot in embarrassment.

She knew that Jordan always seemed to make her smile, for the most part anyways, and up until recently, when he had begun hanging out with Lydia Martin alone, she had felt like maybe her life was on the track that it was meant to be on. Sure she was jealous of Lydia and the time that she got to spend with Jordan, but she was also grateful.

Ryan knew what kinds of guys were out there, she had dealt with Haigh and his creepy, unwanted advances first hand, and while she was currently a little upset with the choices that Jordan had made, she wasn't going to let him get away. She was going to fight for him, she was going to keep him and this baby, their baby, would be a good thing.

"I do love him." Ryan offered up with a small smile.

"He's easy on the eyes too, so that's a plus." Melissa pointed out.

"You should see what he's got going on under his clothes." Ryan chuckled.

"I think I would pay money for that." Melissa snickered in response. "You're a good person, a wonderful mother and I'm sure that no matter what happens, Jordan will be there. He'd make a great dad."

"Yeah." Ryan nodded. "He already does make a great dad."

"I know."

Ryan shook her head with a smile and tried to get her head back into her work. As much as she would've loved to stand around and chat with Melissa about her life, she knew that she did have work to do and the sooner she got to it, the faster time would pass, which meant that she'd be able to go home, after picking up her daughter of course.

"So that was a no on me inviting the sheriff to dinner then?" Ryan joked and Melissa rolled her eyes at Ryan.

"Maybe you should just worry about your own love life and don't bother concerning yourself with my nonexistent one."

Ryan let out another laugh at Melissa's words and before either of them could say anything else, she nabbed her patient file and turned her back to Melissa. Melissa reached out and gave Ryan a gentle shove forward, sending her off down the hallway to her awaiting patient.

Maybe things weren't looking so bad after all.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

It had worked out rather well that Jordan was heading back into work in order to help out the sheriff with a transport, he had gotten to head home a little early from his day shift in order to have a shower and get some dinner in him, but it had also given him the opportunity to play the parental role.

As soon as he had found out that he'd be getting off before Ryan, he had called her up at work and asked her if it'd be okay if he picked up Kylie that day, when she had told him that he'd be doing her a huge favour, he hadn't been able to hold back the smile, which was so big and full of excitement that a few of the other deputies around him had given him funny looks. He didn't care though, this was definitely something he was looking forward to and when he finally pulled into the driveway belonging to Kylie's babysitter, it had taken most of his will power not to run to the front door.

When Kylie had seen that it was him who was picking her up, and not her mother as expected, she had squealed with such delight that Jordan couldn't contain his own excitement. Kylie absolutely adored him, and aside from the night before when she had kicked him in the shin, the two of them had done rather well together. So when she ran right for him and leapt into his arms, he couldn't help but feel that things were maybe going back to normal, well, as normal as they could be considering he was some sort of supernatural creature.

By the time he had gotten the little girl back to the house, she had settled down a little bit and part of him wanted to talk to her about the shin kicking incident from the night before, but another part of him wondered if maybe he deserved it.

Ryan had scolded her, but that wasn't what he wanted to do, no, he was more interested in finding out the real reason behind her motives. Had Kylie picked up on Ryan's uneasiness, was she more aware of the tension between them than he had originally believed? Asking her would be the easiest solution but then again, Kylie wasn't his child, she was Ryan's and maybe he wasn't going to cross the line into that type of parental territory.

Jordan had relaxed into the couch, Kylie climbing up beside him and curling into his side, once he was inside the house. She looked up at him with wide eyes and a small smile on her face and Jordan knew at that very second that he wasn't going to bring up the kick, he wasn't going to hold it against the girl, after all, she had already lost her father and Jordan couldn't begin to imagine the sort of toll that would take on a toddler.

"When's mommy going to be home?" Kylie asked in a hushed tone and let out a bored sounding sigh. Jordan lifted his arm out to the side and slipped it around her shoulders, feeling her curl even closer to him as he did so. He glanced down at her and forced a smile, hoping that he could entertain her while they waited for Ryan to arrive home.

"Soon, you know she might have been really busy at work today though, so she might've had to stay late." Jordan explained and Kylie furrowed her eyebrows.

"Like you do?" She asked and stared at him.

"I uh-"

"With Lydia?" Kylie cut him off. "Is she a deputy too?"

He sucked in a breath and tried to figure out the situation in his head before he spoke out loud. Apparently Kylie was way more observant than he had realized and if she could see that he was spending all this time with Lydia, then maybe Ryan had every right to be a little jealous. But what other choice did he have, it wasn't like the other deputies could handle the supernatural, they didn't even know that things like him, or werewolves, really existed and if they did, they didn't say anything about it.

It wasn't like he could just recruit a partner to help him either, he had a hard enough time believing the weird things that were happening, and then when Ryan was introduced to the reality of the supernatural existing in Beacon Hills, well, it could've gone a lot smoother. He couldn't even begin to imagine how other people might react if they ever found out, things that people didn't understand had a tendency to make them act irrationally.

"Lydia's just a friend, I'm helping her out and she's helping me out."

"Helping you out with what?" Kylie pressed and Jordan glanced towards the front hallway, prying that Ryan would wander through the door at that very moment. This wasn't how he wanted things to be with Kylie, he wanted to be the fun guy, the guy who knew how to handle her and make her smile, but this, the questions, it wasn't what he was expecting.

"Why don't we talk about you?" Jordan tried to change the subject and Kylie shook her head. "You can tell me all about your day, who did you get to play with?"

"I played blocks with Mikey." Kylie answered with a nonchalant shrug. She shifted against the couch and made her way into a standing position on the cushion next to him before leaning against his shoulder. He turned his head to the side and came face to face with her, their noses only a couple of inches apart. "Are you going to leave tonight too?"

"I'm not…I have to go back to work in a little while." Jordan replied and moved his arm down to around her waist, holding her steady on the couch cushions so that she didn't tumble to the floor.

"To see Lydia?" Kylie leaned in slightly, the tip of her nose pressing against his.

"Kylie-"

"Mommy misses you." Kylie cut him off yet again and Jordan let out a sigh while leaning his head back, putting a bit of space between their faces. "She gets sad when you leave."

"How can you tell?" Jordan questioned and she let out a huff before dropping her butt down onto his lap. Kylie lifted her hands up and roughly drummed her fists against his chest, her tiny little index finger running over the nametag on his deputy's shirt.

"She doesn't smile as much." Kylie murmured, Jordan's arms circling around her and hugging her against his chest. "Like when daddy was stolen."

"Stolen?" Jordan cocked his head to the side. "You think your dad was stolen?"

"I miss him sometimes." She ignored his question and let out a sigh, resting her head against his shoulder. "You're a good dad too though."

Jordan sucked in a breath and simply held her, hoping that the words would come to him so that he didn't have to sit in silence with Kylie. For the moment though, he had no idea how to respond to her. He was elated that she thought that he was a good dad but he was also saddened by the thought that she would even have to recognize that her real father was gone.

Cole had never been spoken ill of in all of the time that he had known Ryan and he knew that he had tough shoes to fill but having Kylie state that he was a good dad, well that just made him feel like maybe he was doing something right with her and Ryan after all. He never wanted them to feel like he was replacing Cole but it always seemed like they were a perfect fit. Him and Ryan were a good couple, when they weren't arguing over Lydia Martin, and Kylie had adored him from day one.

He was thankful that he had them in his life and no matter what, he was going to look out for them, he was going to protect them and keep them safe, even if that meant that he'd have to keep them safe from him.

Which brought back all of the fear and the worry over why he was really meeting up with Lydia here and there: she had knowledge, she was more aware of supernatural creatures than he was and every time he saw her, he hoped and prayed that she had some sort of lead as to what he was. The idea of not being completely human had him on edge sometimes and until he knew for sure what sort of supernatural being he was, he wasn't going to be able to rest easy.

Jordan made a move to open his mouth but before he could say anything, the front door opened, the sound of it swinging open and hitting the doorstop echoed in the quiet house. Kylie froze on his lap and twisted her body before quickly climbing to the floor. As soon as her feet were on solid ground, she took off running and Jordan could only try to keep up with her as she headed right for the doorway.

When he rounded the corner, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of Kylie with her arms wrapped around Ryan's knees, the little girl's face was buried in Ryan's thighs and her mother's hand was running over the top of Kylie's head. Ryan met Jordan's eyes and forced a smile in his direction, he gave her a nod in response and took a few steps closer to them.

"I have to go back into the station later to cover a prisoner transport." Jordan stated bluntly and Ryan looked down at her little girl before looking right back at Jordan.

"Okay." She said softly and Jordan could tell that something was bothering her. There was something on her mind and maybe this was the minute that she told him they still needed to talk, maybe she'd suggest letting Kylie go play in her room for a little while so that they could have a conversation, maybe this was where Ryan gave him the ultimatum of her or Lydia. "When do you have to leave?"

"Um, a couple hours." Jordan answered and looked Ryan up and down.

"I still want to talk to you but I guess it can wait." She murmured and gently drummed her fingers against the top of Kylie's head, drawing the little girl's attention upwards. "Did you behave for Jordan?"

"I did." Kylie beamed up at her mother.

"You didn't kick him again?" Ryan asked in a teasing tone and Kylie immediately shied away from her gaze, looking over at Jordan with an almost embarrassed look on her face.

"No kicking." Jordan smiled and Kylie seemed to visibly relax.

"How did last night go anyways?" Ryan pressed and Kylie peeled herself away from Ryan's legs, she grabbed her hand instead and Ryan led them all into the kitchen, Jordan following behind her closely.

"Uneventful." Jordan answered vaguely, wanting nothing more than to keep things civil. The last thing he wanted was another argument, especially when things between him and Ryan seemed to be going so well so far. "Nothing happened."

"With the girl's house, or with Lydia?" Ryan narrowed her gaze in on him and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Neither, Lydia just showed up with coffee, that's all."

"Cross your heart?" Ryan whispered and stole a glance down at Kylie, who was staring intently at Jordan, waiting for his answer just like her mother.

"Cross my heart." Jordan echoed the words and smiled at Ryan, who reluctantly smiled back at him. "I love you, and Kylie."

She gave him a nod but didn't move. Kylie still had a hold of her hand and when Jordan took a few steps closer, eliminating the space between their bodies, Ryan stiffened. When he gently set his palms on either side of her neck, she blew out a low breath but held his gaze, not daring to look away as he leaned in, gingerly pressing his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

When he pulled away, Kylie let out a snort at their actions, and Ryan simply looked at him, waiting for him to speak again.

"Kissing is gross." Kylie grumbled and slipped her arms around Ryan's one leg, hugging it tight.

"Okay Ky-pie," Ryan shook her head in amusement and caught the grin on Jordan's face, "what do you say we get a start on dinner, how does steak and potatoes sound?"

Kylie tipped her head back and looked up at Ryan, then she shifted her gaze over to Jordan, who gave her an encouraging look, waiting for her to agree to the dinner suggestion. She unwrapped her arms from around Ryan's leg and waved them in the air, silently asking to be picked up, which Ryan did without the verbal cue. Once Kylie was settled against her hip, she relaxed and rested her head on Ryan's shoulder.

"Can we have chicken fingers and fries instead?" Kylie whined.

"I guess that sounds okay." Ryan faked a sigh but broke out into a grin. "What do you say Jordan, can you grab the stuff out of the freezer and watch Ky-pie here for just a few more minutes so I can go get changed?"

Jordan's lips turned upwards into a genuine smile, "I'd love to."

Ryan set her daughter down on the floor, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and then headed for the stairway, pausing only to give Jordan a quick kiss on the lips as she passed. Once she was out of sight, Kylie looked up at Jordan with a mischievous grin and waved her hands into the air, yet again silently requesting to be picked up.

Jordan complied and lifted her up, setting her against his hip and looking right into her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he wandered across the kitchen to the freezer.

"You make mommy smile." Kylie remarked and held on a little bit tighter as Jordan grabbed the handle and pulled the freezer open. "And me too."

"Well that's something I always like to hear. I like making you two smile." Jordan felt her relax in his hold and she let out a contented sigh. "I love you too Kylie, you know that, right?"

"Mm hmm." She hummed and lifted her little hand up, running her fingers along his cheek. "I love you too."

Jordan could only smile in response.

XxxxxxXxxxxxXxxxxxX

Do you guys like the way that Kylie and Jordan get along? And how about Ryan trying to play matchmaker for Melissa?

anime7lover78861: Yes! Nothing better than a little baby ball of fire! Your review gave me the most adorable mental picture of a little baby hellhound, thanks!

poorxbrokexcollegexkid: No spontaneous bursts of flame for Ryan's baby haha. Thanks so much!

Tiffany: Aw! Your reaction made me smile :) thanks so much for the review and I hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Guest: Oh for sure, Jordan definitely needs to get his head out of his ass. I think he might come to his senses soon enough. Thanks for the wonderful review