"Mama?"

"Yeah, baby," Lily replied, glancing in the rear-view mirror in time to catch the perplexed expression on her son's face, and smiling softly in response, "What is it, bud?"

"What if Grandpa doesn't like me?"

Frowning at the obvious worry that had made its way into her son's voice, Lily bit down on her lower lip for a moment, her fingers flexing around the steering wheel as she navigated the path that would lead them towards the driveway heading directly to their destination. She hadn't been back here since her boy had been born, though that was more so out of a lack of any real means of returning, than out of a desire to avoid the journey altogether. And as that reality had also meant her own family had never been able to meet her child, she could understand the nervousness inherent in the question, whether or not she truly believed any one of them would reject him first-hand.

"Honey, he's going to love you," She assured, easing back on the gas pedal as she turned the small curve in the drive, and her eyes landed on the familiar entrance to the family ranch not long after, "What on earth has you so worried about this, huh?"

"I don't know."

"Aiden-"

"I really don't!" The boy insists, getting a peek at his mother's doubtful expression in the rear-view mirror, and squirming around a bit in the backseat as a result, "Honest!"

"Uh-huh."

"It's true!"

"I'm sure it is," Lily smiled, keeping her eyes on the path ahead of them for the most part, despite the fact that she could not seem to resist the instinctive pull to look at her surroundings, instead. It would have been a lie to pretend she hadn't missed this. The sprawling land - the trees, and everything about the place that had remained relatively untouched, save for the comforts allowed for not only the bunkhouse, but the main home as well. And in spite of the circumstances that had brought her back, for the first time, Lily allowed herself to feel some manner of relief over being back home, a soft sigh escaping as she diverts her attention to her son's reflection in the rear-view mirror once again.

"You know I can tell when you're lying, right?"

"Maybe," Aiden mumbled, averting his gaze to where his hands are fiddling in his lap, a soft pink flush adorning his cheeks that warms his mother's heart in seconds, flat, "I miss home."

"I know you do, baby. I do. But we're gonna make a home here, now, remember?"

"Yeah."

"And you're forgetting one, teeny tiny, but very important detail about all this," Lily added, unable to resist the laugh that broke free in response to the wrinkle in her son's brow, "You get to meet your cousin, now."

"Tate?"

"That would be the one."

"Do you think he's gonna like me?" Aiden asked, the slight waver in his voice causing his mother to chew idly at her lower lip for a moment before she replied.

"What's not to like?"

"I dunno."

Frowning as she drew near the house, and pulled the car off to the side before throwing it in park, Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to face her son directly, one hand reaching back to grab for his own and give it a squeeze. He hadn't always been this apprehensive. In fact, prior to the circumstances that brought them back to her family's ranch, Lily might even go so far as to say Aiden might just be too bold at times, whether or not she knew she wouldn't have him any other way. And although she knew the precise reason why he had suddenly become so uncertain, without ever having to ask, that did not mean it broke her heart any less…

She could only hope that in bringing him back to Montana - in bringing her son to her family - the only family they both had left - that she had done the right thing.

"Hey - Aiden, listen to me," She began, squeezing her son's hand again, and managing a faint smile as his wide brown eyes met her own in seconds, flat, "You and I are gonna be just fine. We have to be. But I'm gonna need you to help make sure we can do that, okay? I'm gonna need my boy to be with me on this."

"I'm with you, Mama," Aiden promised, his voice still wavering just a bit, though Lily could see that he was already trying to square his shoulders, and offer her the most determined expression he could muster, as well, "Always?"

"Always," Lily repeated, turning back to the front of the car, and squeezing her eyes shut for a moment while she tried to take a steadying breath in preparation for getting out of the car, and heading to the home she had lived in for over half of her life. She wasn't entirely certain whether her sudden nerves came as a result of being home, in general, or from something else altogether. But before she can fully make any sort of attempt at finding an answer to that question, Lily noticed a sudden flicker of movement out of the corner of her recently re-opened eyes, her breath catching in her throat as she realizes Aiden had already stepped out of the car, prompting her to do the same. For a moment, Lily simply stood motionless, one hand resting on Aiden's shoulder as she watched a figure approaching from the sizable porch of her childhood home. But as soon as her eyes met the familiar, cool grey-blue of her father's, it was as though something inside of her fractured completely, her hand grabbing for her son's while John Dutton simultaneously closed the distance between them, and pulled her into one hell of a strong embrace.

"It's alright, Lily-pad. You're home…"

As she allowed herself a fraction of a second to lean against her father's chest, a few silent tears staining his jacket as they slid down her cheeks, Lily knew without question that she would never be more grateful for anything than she was to hear those words.

As difficult as her family could be to some, she knew without a doubt that being with them beat the hell out of being on her own.

…

Hello there, everyone! And welcome to the introductory chapter of my attempt at a story for Yellowstone! I know it's a bit short, and I promise that future chapters will have more content. But I just wanted to set the stage for my OC Lily, and her return to her family at the start of season one. So hopefully no one minds the sparse details here. For any of you familiar with my other stories, I generally start out this way, and then fill things in as far as plot and character backstories as things roll on, so the intent is to continue that pattern here.

As always, I thank each and every one of you that decided to give this story a chance thus far, and I appreciate your time and support so much more than you know! I've only just gotten to season two of Yellowstone, but I just adore the complexity of the Dutton family, and the rest of the crew on the ranch so much already, so I couldn't help but start to write! Thanks to a recent obsession with Teen Wolf, and consequently Ian Bohen, this is going to end up being a Ryan/OC, but with plenty of Dutton family fluff (and drama) thrown in, between. So I really hope you enjoy what you found here so far, and if you are so willing, I welcome any and all feedback you are willing to give! I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!

Until next time, dear ones…

MOMM