Title: Ryan and Joan

Summary: Ryan meets Joan from Joan of Arcadia.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C. or Joan of Arcadia.

Author's Notes: On Joan of Arcadia, Joan doesn't get her driver's license until an episode in December. We're going to pretend here that she has her license in October.

Chapter 10 - "Joan in Newport, part 1"

The rest of the week that Ryan was grounded went by slowly. Ryan didn't get a chance to call Joan again, but every day they exchanged an e-mail or two, relayed through Seth. Ryan was self-conscious about what he put into the e-mails because he knew that Seth was reading them all. Judging by the content of Joan's e-mails, she was doing the same thing. He'd be really glad when he could talk to her directly again.

On the Sunday after his week of being grounded was over, Ryan really wanted to get together with Joan, but a couple of things prevented that. The first thing was, when he called her on Sunday morning to try and arrange something, she told him that she had to do this garage sale at her house, and she couldn't get out of it. She suggested that he could come to Arcadia, help out with the garage sale, and then afterwards they could maybe go out.

Ryan couldn't do that because of the second thing. Sandy and Kirsten told him that they wanted Joan to come down to Newport and see him instead of him going to Arcadia. They argued that Ryan had already been to Arcadia and gone to her house and met her parents, and now it was Joan's turn. That all sounded so reasonable, but Ryan was sure there was another motive -- what Sandy said about that he'd have to earn their trust back since he'd lied to them.

He figured that they were going to want to keep him close to home for a while and keep closer tabs on him than they used to. Ryan decided he'd better not rock the boat so soon and ask to go to Arcadia the first day after he was done being grounded.

As a result, he and Joan didn't get to see each other that Sunday. Instead, they made arrangements for Joan to come to Newport the following Saturday. And in the meantime, they talked to each other on the phone every day, which was no mean feat because Ryan didn't usually talk so much.

Joan borrowed her Mom's car and drove down to Newport Beach that next Saturday. The Cohens had a barbecue planned. Apparently Mr. Cohen was the chef of the family. Ryan also told her that Seth's friend Anna was coming, you know, to pair everybody off.

Joan found the house without any problem and pulled into the driveway. She had barely parked and gotten out of the car when Ryan opened the front door and came out to meet her. He came right over to her and gave her a kiss. Joan was a little embarrassed because there was another guy, who she assumed was Seth, who had come out right behind Ryan and was currently standing by the front door.

Joan noticed that neither Ryan nor Seth seemed bothered by the semi-public display of affection. She guess she'd have to get used to this, if she and Ryan were going to be a couple. He appeared to be the touchy-feely type who would want to be holding hands and stuff. Not that she minded, but she'd never had a boyfriend before, so she'd have to get used to it.

After Ryan kissed her, he said, "Hi."

"Hi."

Ryan took Joan's hand and they turned towards the front door. As they approached Seth, Joan smiled at him and said, "You must be Seth."

"Seth Cohen, at your service."

"I wanted to thank you for your help the other week."

"Anything for the cause of true like."

Joan was confused. She had no idea what that meant. She looked over at Ryan, who was shaking his head at Seth. Joan guessed it was an inside joke between the two of them.

"Um... Where are your parents?" She had noticed that there were no cars in the driveway.

"There was an emergency thing with this lawsuit that my father's law firm is handling against my grandfather's company. My Mom works for my Grandpa. So both my Mom and Dad had to go handle it. They'll be back in time for the barbecue, though, not to worry."

"Ah."

After a moment, Ryan turned to Joan and said, "Let me give you a tour of the house."

The three of them entered the house. Ryan led Joan all around the first floor, pointing out each room. Seth tagged along, ignoring the looks that Ryan was trying to give him to tell him to take off. They all went upstairs, and Seth very gladly showed Joan his room, including introducing her to Captain Oats.

They all went downstairs and out to the back yard. Ryan showed Joan the infinity pool, something which she never heard of before, and the hot tub. They entered the pool house, and Ryan explained that this is where he stayed. Joan thought it was pretty cool. Ryan was right - it was like a studio apartment.

After he finished showing her around, Ryan gave Seth a pointed stare, and said in a not very subtle way, "Don't you have to get back to that thing you were doing?"

Seth looked from Ryan to Joan and back. He grinned, and said, "Yeah. I do. See you later. For the barbecue."

Seth headed back to the house.

After Seth left, Ryan and Joan stood around awkwardly for a moment. Then Ryan cleared his throat and said, "The view of the pool this time of day is beautiful, with the sun reflecting off of it. You can see it best from the bed."

Ryan got onto his bed, sitting up against the pillows. He moved over from the edge to give Joan room. He put his left arm out, miming putting it around her shoulders, inviting her to join him. She hesitated a little bit, not sure how far Ryan would be expecting her to go if she joined him on his bed. Ryan could see her hesitate and could guess what she was thinking.

Ryan smiled at her, trying to ease her concerns, and said, "Sit with me? Just sit. We don't have to do anything."

Joan smiled hesitantly back and cautiously joined him on the bed. Ryan put his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head back against his arm. They both looked out of the pool house doors at the sunlight glinting off the surface of the pool.

Ryan said, "See, now, isn't this nice?"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. At least Ryan thought it was comfortable. It was for him. Joan on the other hand had been wrestling with whether to talk to Ryan now or put it off. She finally decided to do it now.

"Ryan?"

"Mmm... Hmmm?"

Joan hesitantly started to say, "You know, um, that I haven't... that is... I'm not..."

Ryan knew what she was talking about. He had been waiting for her to bring it up because he didn't want to bring it up himself and make her uncomfortable. So he finished her thought for her.

"You're not experienced? I know."

"And you..."

"Are. Does that bother you?"

Joan thought about it for a second. She had figured that he was, but now that he confirmed it, she had to sort out her feelings. After a moment she spoke.

"No, I guess not. Does it bother you?"

"Not at all." Ryan looked down at Joan and saw that she was nervous. He rubbed her arm with his hand. "Hey. We'll go slow, OK? I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. And if I ever do, make you uncomfortable, I want you to tell me right away. And if you ever want me to stop, just say so, and I'll stop, no questions asked. OK?"

Joan was relieved. "OK."

Joan had one more thing that she was dying to know, but she didn't know if she dared ask. She got up the courage.

"Ryan, are you... um..." Her courage failed her.

"You can ask me anything, Joan. I mean it. Ask."

"Um... I know how guys are, or at least I know what I've heard. Are you... Are you going to be able to, you know, wait?"

Ryan smiled. He'd wondered that himself. Then he got serious so she wouldn't think he was making fun of her or anything.

"I won't lie, it's going to be hard." Ryan smiled to himself. No pun intended. "But what did I say before? You're worth it."

Joan smiled and turned her head to look up at him. Ryan smiled back and leaned down to give her a kiss. Then he leaned back against the pillows, and she leaned back against him, and they fell into a comfortable silence. For real, this time.

To Be Continued