NOTE: I do not own any of 'The O.C' characters… you can thank FOX. If you have any questions or comment you can e-mail me at liverbrain22@hotmail.com

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Chapter Nine

After leaving Ben's room and then checking up on Marissa, Seth went into the Atwood's kitchen and called his dad. He didn't know how to deal with Ryan and Ben. He knew his Dad would have some solutions and maybe someone else.

"Hello?" Sandy answered the phone. He had just taken an afternoon jog and was out of breath.

"Hey Dad, uh, I'm at Ryan's house and I - Something just happened." Seth explained. "Ryan freaked out on Ben and hit him…. I just got him to go pick up Conner, so he's out right now. But can you do me a favor?" He asked.

"Anything, Seth. What do you want?" Sandy asked, he could tell Seth was worried. "Is everything okay, what happened?"

Seth ignored his question and asked, "Do you still have some of my old stuff from my room?"

"It's in a box somewhere, why?"

"Remember Captain Oats? I need him." Seth questioned. He knew Captain Oats could fix everything. He had a plan.

Sandy laughed. "Yes, I remember. I'll go look for 'him'." Sandy paused. "What happened, Seth?"

"I'll explain everything when you get here…Just make sure you bring Captain Oats with you, okay?"

"Sure will, bye." Sandy said and then hung up the phone. He went downstairs into their basement and searched through a bunch of boxes that were labeled 'Seth.' He came across Captain Oats in one of the boxes and drove down to Ryan's house.

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"Dad, are you sure I can't have a cat?" Conner questioned one last time as they were walking into the house.

"Conner, I told you, no more animals. You never took care of your hamster, remember. The poor thing starved to death."

"No he didn't, he died from…" Conner stopped talking. He remembered that neither his mom nor dad knew that Hammy had died from a brain transplant. Ben and Aden had told him that Alien's had taken Hammy away for a brain transplant on their space ship. Poor Hammy, Conner thought to himself. "So no cat?" He asked again.

"Conner." Ryan let out a sigh and then grabbed his backpack from the ground and hung it up on a hook. "Why don't you go watch t.v." Ryan suggested.

Conner ran off to the living room and turned on the family channel.

Ryan sighed again and made his way into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. He sat down at the kitchen table and put his head in his hands. He knew he should go see Ben and try to talk to him. He had to make sure he was okay, but he didn't want to upset him again. He was afraid. Afraid that he would hurt his family again.

The coffee maker buzzed, signaling fresh coffee. Seth walked in before Ryan could get up to pour himself a cup.

"Hey, how are you?" Seth asked, pouring two cups of coffee. He placed a cup in front of Ryan and sat down at the table with him.

"How is he?" Ryan asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

Seth shrugged. "I don't know, Ryan. He's…upset I guess. Dad's coming over in a few minutes."

"What?" Ryan questioned. His voice was cold. "Why did you call him?"

"Ryan, man, I didn't know what to do! But, I have a plan."

"A plan?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, don't worry…I think I can get Ben to open up a little more. All he need is a horse." Seth explained. Ryan was confused and looked at him as if he was talking in another language. "Not a real horse, Ryan. Captain Oats."

"Captain Oats." Ryan repeated. "You still have him?"

"Of course. My Dad should be here any minute with him."

Ryan stood up with his coffee in his hand. "Okay, well, I'm just going to go work on some stuff. I need to call a few people. Get me if you need anything." Ryan said and then walked off to his study on the main floor.

As Ryan left, the doorbell rang. Seth jumped up from his seat and raced Conner to the door. Conner got to it first and opened the door.

"Grandpa!" Conner said, and then wrapped his arms around Sandy's leg. "What's that?" he asked, looking up with his blue eyes.

Sandy handed Captain Oats over to Seth. "No one special, Conner." Sandy laughed and picked up Conner. "Whoa, you're getting heavy."

"I grew." Conner told him.

"I can tell." Sandy said, putting Conner down and turning to Seth. "What happened?"

"Uh, Conner, why don't you go watch T.V." Seth told him.

Conner looked back and forth between the two adults. All he ever did was watch T.V. He wanted to play with his uncle and his grandpa. "Can't we play?" He asked.

"Later Conner, I promise." Seth said. "Grandpa and I just need to talk, okay? Just go watch T.V."

Conner rolled his eyes and ran off.

Seth went back into the kitchen and poured Sandy a cup of coffee. They sat down at the table with Captain Oats, and Seth explained what had happened.

"So, when I got to the school he had zoned out. No one could get through to him at the school. So, when I arrived there he finally understood what was going on around him and then I took him home. Ryan tried to talk to him, but that didn't go to well. Ben kept on telling him that Aden was sleeping. Ryan got mad and started shaking him and then he hit him. He was devastated, Dad. I didn't know what to do or tell him."

"Well, it's a good thing you're here, Seth. Ryan and Marissa really need you. Where is Marissa anyway?"

"She's in bed sleeping. Her and Ryan had gone out for lunch and she came home throwing it all up." Seth replied, looking at Captain Oats. "Well, I'm going to go talk to Ben."

Sandy laughed at him. "Whatever you have planned with Captain Oats, I don't want to know. Where is Ryan? I think I'll go talk to him." He asked, standing up.

"He's in his study. He said he had do to some work and make a few phone calls." Seth told him and then left to go see Ben.

Seth knocked softly on Ben's door. He wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep or not. He opened the door and found Ben still lying down in Aden's bed. With Captain Oats in his hands, Seth walked over to the bed and sat down.

Ben didn't move when Seth sat down on the bed. His eyes were open and he was starring at the wall ahead of him.

"I have something for you, Ben." Seth gave him Captain Oats.

Ben took it and looked at it.

"This is Captain Oats. I've had him ever since I was about your age. Your grandmother's mom gave this to me." Seth wasn't sure if Ben was listening to him. "Do you like him?"

Ben shrugged.

"You can have him. It's about time Captain Oats has someone to talk to. I used to talk to him all the time and tell him my problems."

Ben handed the horse back to his uncle. "I don't want it." He whispered.

"Are you sure? It's a real ladies magnet too." Seth joked. Ben shook his head. Ben's face had swelled a bit from Ryan's slap. "Are you okay, Ben?" He asked.

Ben shook his head at Seth and tears started rolling down his cheeks. "Everyone hates me." He said, choking down on his sobs.

"Ben, no one hates you." Seth said, bringing him into a hug. He was glad to see Ben opening to someone. He just wished it were Ryan, not him. Ben needed his Dad more than anyone right now. "Why would you think that?" He asked.

"Everyone at school hates me and…Dad hit me." He started crying even more. "I hate him." He said, pulling away from Seth. "Aden's here…He's with me and Dad doesn't believe me."

"Ben…" Seth tried to sooth him. "Where do you think Aden is right now?" He asked.

"He's – He's here with me." Ben tried to explain it to his uncle Seth, but he couldn't. He knew no one would understand him or believe him. "Nevermind…" He said, wiping away his tears.

Seth picked up Captain Oats. "Well, I have no use for him anymore, Ben. Are you sure you don't want him? He's a great listener." Seth pretended to gallop with the horse. Ben didn't say anything. "Okay, well…I'll just leave him here with you." He said, and then stood up and walked over to the door. "You okay, buddy?"

Ben nodded his head and Seth left.

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Ryan sat at his desk in his study and stared at the picture that was hanging above his shelf. He took it down and shoved it in his desk drawer. He couldn't stand looking at Aden any longer. "He's dead." Ryan whispered to himself. "Why can't things just go back to the way they were before." He knew they wouldn't, yet he tried to believe they would. Aden was dead and now they were expecting another child. It was too soon. Ryan collapsed his head in his hands and started crying softly. He knew he shouldn't be crying, he was supposed to be tough, but he couldn't help it.

Sandy knocked at Ryan's study and then walked in.

Ryan raised his head up and looked at Sandy. He quickly wiped away his tears and stood up. Sandy waved him back down and he took a seat on the other side of Ryan's desk. "I heard what happened." Sandy said.

Ryan shook his head. His hands were shaking. "I lost it, Sandy." He choked. "I hit him – God…I'm like…I'm like my mother and her boyfriends."

"No, you're not, Ryan. Yes, you lost it. But that's it. You've never hit them before this, Ryan. Considering everything that has happened…" Sandy explained. "It's understandable for you to be reacting this way."

Ryan nodded his head, even though he didn't believe Sandy. "I, uh, I called Dr. Zion." Ryan told him. Sandy knew Ryan had seen Dr. Zion after college. After his mother came back into his life, he had needed to talk to someone. "She thinks I should bring the family in to talk about…About what happened."

"You're taking the right steps. Just take it one step at a time." Sandy assured him.

"Yeah, I just don't want to take two steps back." Ryan mumbled, looking down at his shaky hands.

"Ryan, look at me." Sandy said. Ryan looked at him and met his eyes. "You're going to get through this. Kirsten and I are here with you, okay? And you know Seth is here too. If you need anything ask, okay? I want you to come to me if you need my help. I'm here for you."

Ryan nodded his head. "Thanks, Sandy."

Sandy stood up. "So, how did the doctor appointment go with Marissa?" He asked, opening the door.

"Good. Four months pregnant." Ryan replied, following Sandy into the living room. Conner was watching T.V. with Seth.

"Hey guys." Sandy said, sitting down next to Conner. Ryan went and sat beside Seth.

"Hey…So, uh…I talked to Ben." Seth informed Ryan.

"Is he okay?" Ryan asked. Sandy and Conner both left the living room.

"I'm not sure. But, I did give him Captain Oats and I think he might actually talk to him."

"I doubt he'll talk to a horse, Seth. He's not even talking to me, or anyone else." Ryan shot back. He knew it was a foolish idea.

"You'd be surprised, Ryan. Captain Oats helped me out a lot when I was younger. Remember how Anna and Summer both liked me at the same time?" Seth asked. Ryan rolled his eyes at Seth. "Well, Captain Oats helped me choose who to be with."

"That explains everything." Ryan joked. "Well, I'll go check on Marissa and then Ben." He said, standing up.

"Good idea."

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+++So, do you guys like how I'm going with this story or not? Feel free to tell me. +++