Chapter Fifty-Four: Waiting in the Wings

Jake shuffled slowly into the main room, only half awake. He stopped abruptly when he saw Ryan, stretching in the main room as she so often did. It amazed him, how beautiful she was sometimes. He'd seen her at it before, at ballet rehearsals when she'd taken her classes through college-her arms and legs at perfect angles, every muscle of her body tense and reacting perfectly to all the others.

His eyes dropped further, to the small bump on her abdomen. Now she was even more beautiful.

He wandered over to her and put his hands on her waist. She immediately straightened up and smiled at him.

"Don't, I'm all sweaty and gross," she complained. He kissed her hard on the mouth.

"You've never been more beautiful to me."

Ryan stared up at him, eyes glowing.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

"You. I'm glad it took you so long. I love how new all of this is, but how we know each other so well anyways. I love... I love how much you love me," she admitted.

"It's going to stop being new. It's never going to get old," he promised. He let his hand rest on her stomach as they both felt a sharp kick against it.

"That's the little guy. Definitely."

"How do you tell?" he asked.

"Look." Ryan grabbed Jake's hand and moved it slightly. "This is the girl. She moved more often, and she's smaller. She gets bored more easily. And this," she said, moving his hand, "Is the guy. He's bigger. He's pretty much still all the time, except when she kicks him, and when she does, he always kicks back. Doesn't put up with any crap, that one."

"That's amazing," he said, his voice full of complete disbelief.

"Yeah. Yeah, it really is," she said, moving in to him to rest her head on his shoulder. Jake looked up and frowned slightly when the doorbell rang.

"Who is it?" he asked into the intercom.

"Haley. Can you let me in?" she asked.

"No can do, Hales. I'm about to get it on with my wife," he explained, dodging Ryan's arm when she attempted to whack him.

"Get over it. I have the brucaselettes, they can't exactly look over themselves," she explained. Jake hastily pressed the button and cast a guilty look at his wife. Them, Haley and Nathan had been alternately caring for Brooke and Lucas' children while Brooke was in the hospital, healing in mourning.

Ryan ran to the door when Haley knocked impatiently and opened it to find her sister-in-law, looking midly irritated. Ryan frowned slightly, searching her face as Haley returned her smile with one of her own, one honest and not remotley cynical like her most recent smiles.

"Sorry. Hey guys, come in," she said, opening her door wider. She picked Bailey out of Haley's arms, and taking an unsteadily walking Zoë by the hand as Hayden and Devon ran in and made for the sofa, followed closely by Connor. Ryan sighed, hoping they would keep Jamie busy.

"Go rest, you must be exhausted," said Ryan.

"Nice. Have fun," said Haley. Ryan leaned forward and they exchanged kisses quickly before Haley departed, leaving Ryan and Jake with the extra roomful of Scotts.

Ryan watched as Devon and Hayden began to fight over the remote, as Zoë tripped over the carpet and began to cry, as Connor ran to Jamie's room and promptly awoke her. Her hand fell and found Jake's.

"Jesus, we are so stopping at three," she murmured in disbelief.


Ryan frowned as she watched her two eldest nephews, noting the obvious symptoms of their boredom. It wasn't fair, she realized, to treat them as they did their younger siblings.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" she asked. They looked at her, and Ryan was struck by their vast differences: Devon's blonde hair and blue eyes, Hayden's spiked hair, his green eyes, the dimples in his round cheeks. She pictured instantly what they'd be in high school, the jock and the rebel. She wondered if it would be easier for them than it had been for her. Not necessarily in high school, but in life.

"We're fine," said Devon, answering from them both.

"Sorry this place is so ill equipped," she said apoligetically. Devon looked up and managed a dimpled smile: a specialty of his mother.

"That's fine, Aunt Ryan," he said.

"Must suck, being shuffled around like this all the time. Your mom will be better soon," she said. As she said it, she felt ridiculous, knowing that Brooke Scott would never be fine again.

"Daddy says she just needs quiet," said Devon.

"She sure does. We're better for loud right now," she explained.

"Auntie Haley doesn't like loud. She's really tired, she says. She's been staying up real late," said Hayden. Ryan nodded, attempting to keep her face neutral, her mind already piecing together the truth.


Many hours later, after they'd managed to find accomodations for all the children (Jamie between them in the bed, Devon and Hayden sharing Jamie's, Connor on the couch, Zoë in Jamie's crib, temporarily out of storage and Bailey in the basinette that Haley had brought) Ryan and Jake collapsed on the sofa.

"Poor Brooke. Poor Lucas. My poor feet," said Ryan, tucking her legs onto the couch and leaning against Jake.

"I know what you mean. And here I though we actually knew something about the subject," he said in amazement. He shook his head.

"Nope. We know absolutely nothing," he agreed.

"You're telling me."

Ryan smiled up at him, glad that so little could be said between them without any discomfort, with perfect clarity.

"I'm glad you fessed up, Jake Jagielski. I couldn't handle much more on my own," said Ryan suddenly, resting her head on his shoulder, relishing the simple comfort of it.

"What do you mean?"

"I needed you. And I needed you to need me back."

Jake smiled.

"Then where does that leave us?"

Ryan looked up and smiled slightly.

"Somewhere in the realm of always."