Disclaimer: Once again I don't own anything OC related.

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When Ryan wakes the next morning he immediately notices two things – there is a bowl of cereal on his nightstand and Kirsten is not so secretively watching the pool house from the kitchen window.

He hadn't wanted her to know about Dawn. He'd hoped that they'd forget she ever existed if he didn't mention her. Realizing that Kirsten and Sandy may have been smarter than he'd given them credit for, he guesses that the two grilled Seth the minute he came into the house last night. Ryan really doesn't blame him for telling. It's hard to lie to people who love you… well he supposes it would be.

Sandy is already at work and Seth is most likely with Summer at the pier. This leaves Ryan with the one person who hadn't wanted him here to begin with. Sighing, he takes his cereal bowl and heads to the kitchen. When she sees Ryan exit the pool house, Kirsten tries to look busy and unaware. Smirking, Ryan thinks that she should have thought of a better cover than cooking food. Not even a stranger would believe she was fixing breakfast with her mumbling to herself about no having French toast when the bread is on the counter directly behind her.

"Oh hi Ryan, I was just going to cook…"

"How about I make some bacon and eggs?" he suggests, taking pity on the Newport woman. She nods and gets out of his way, glad to get out of a lie she couldn't possibly have gone on with. While Ryan starts the burners, she absorbs herself with making coffee.

"Yes, that would be… good. Ryan… did you want to talk about…"

"No, not really Mrs. Cohen."

"Kirsten," she corrects. "Well if you ever do…"

"I'll come to you or Sandy."

"Well, if only Seth were this easy to talk to," but Ryan can tell that she's worried. They just breezed through a half an hour speech in about five minutes.

"This is ridiculous!" she huffs after the tense silence. "When you're mother comes back I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. Imagine leaving her child again! What kind of mother…" she cuts herself short and looks worriedly at Ryan, afraid she's spoken too much.

"She's not coming back. I'm surprised she came this last time. My mother doesn't like doings things that don't work out over and over again Mrs. Cohen."

"Kirsten," she again corrects. "She did it because she loves you Ryan and…" She can't continue after she notices the way his back tensed with the word 'loves.'

"She did because she needs someone. My mother has always needed someone to take care of her. She can't do anything on her own."

"Ryan, I'm sure…"

"I'm sure she loves me too," he adds quickly, but Kirsten can tell that he doesn't really believe it. "If it was only because she loved me, though, she wouldn't have come. She'd have left me alone here, because I'm happy. She knew that the first time around. I fit in okay here."

His last sentence is punctuated by a plate dropping on her left full of bacon. He also sets two plates of eggs down, one that suspiciously looks like two eggs over easy. She doesn't know when he learned that was how she likes them.  It makes her smile.

"You do fit in here, Ryan. We love you very much as well."

The boy from Chino nods, but he wishes she hadn't said the second part. In his experience, 'I love you' is always followed by pain.

"I thought we could spend the day together," Kirsten continues, oblivious to, or ignoring, his obvious distress.

"Sure, Mrs. Cohen," he's hesitant but grateful to be fit into her busy schedule.

"Kirsten, and what would you like to do then?"

"Anything. We can do whatever you need to."

Kirsten doesn't like the way he always does things just to please them. She struggles to think of something that he would like to do and finds herself embarrassed not to be able to think of one thing. Seth is easy. He likes comic books, skateboarding, sailing, music, and play station. She's seen Ryan do most of those things with Seth, but she's pretty sure he does them just to please her son. He's gone to parties with Marissa, but she's sure that too is something he wouldn't chose to do on his own. Soccer is pretty much the only thing he's shown an interest in yet, and even that was prompted by Sandy and Seth.

"What did you do in Chino?"

Ryan couldn't have been more surprised. Kirsten spoke the least of his life before Newport. "I went with Trey to parties… and things."

Kirsten isn't surprised to hear that Trey ruled Ryan's life before the car theft. Ryan, it seemed, never got a chance to decide anything for himself.

"What do you want to do Ryan?"

"We could go to the Newport Group."

Kirsten nearly strangles him with that suggestion. She thinks that he feels bad about taking time away from her work and that is why he suggested they go there. It takes a few minutes for her to remember that Ryan had seemed interested in what she did when she first explained it. In fact, hadn't he said something about working construction?

"We could go, if you want Ryan." She watches the slow smile creep across his face.

They spend the day walking around the building with Kirsten explaining what each department does. Kirsten also spent her time trying to avoid running into her father, knowing that for some reason Caleb and the boy she thinks of as a son don't get along.

Dinner that night is calmer and happier than the one that preceded it. Ryan even comments shortly about the day he had and that he might like to do something like that once he is out of school. Kirsten and Sandy are proud to notice that Ryan doesn't falter when he talks about life after he turns eighteen as he once did. He used to believe that they would cut him off once he could survive on his own.

Kirsten walks out to the pool house later that night, wanting to ask Ryan about a suggestion he'd made about a model they'd seen that day. The lights are all on but she can see Ryan asleep under the covers when she enters. Quietly, she sneaks over to his bed and brushes some hair from his face. He stirs slightly but doesn't open his eyes.

"I love you," Kirsten whispers as she kisses Ryan's forehead.

She then leaves, turning out the light in the process. At the audible click of the door, Ryan smiles and whispers, "I know you do… Kirsten."