A/N - The review of the last chapter were overwhelming. Thanks, everyone.

Kirsten and Ryan walked up to the front desk. "Hi, we have a room reserved under Cohen."

The desk clerk started typing in his computer. "Yes, here it is." He looked at Kirsten and Ryan. "Would you like a king sized or two queens?"

Ryan smirked and Kirsten was shocked. "He's my son!"

The clerk look embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Of course he is. You'll want two queens then?"

Ryan and Kirsten walked into their room. In terms of hotel rooms, it was quite spacious. The two beds were just past the bathroom. By the large windows was a sitting area with a couch and two chairs.

Ryan set the bags down and Kirsten went exploring the room. When she came out of the bathroom, she noticed Ryan sitting in a chair, looking out the window. She had planned on suggesting they go look for a restaurant for supper, but she thought that he might need some space. It was a long ride in the car, and Ryan was a person who needed time to himself.

"You know what? I thought I might go for a swim before supper. Cool off, get refreshed. Did you want to come?"

Ryan gave a sigh of relief to himself. "No, that's OK. I think I'll just stay here, unwind. Is that all right?"

Kirsten smiled. "Not a problem at all. I'll just get changed."

After Kirsten left, Ryan sat looking out the window, at the view of the Golden Gate Bridge. He got out his sketchpad. He started taking art classes at Harbor High when he realized he needed it to be an architect, and discovered that he really enjoyed it. He found drawing to be a great way to relax; a chance to think about things. He reflected on the car ride – he actually had fun with Kirsten. He didn't know what made him ask her about Caleb, or tell her about Fresno, but he realized that it wasn't a terrible thing to talk to Kirsten about things. She didn't pry, or ask too many questions; she just listened.

He was so caught up in his thoughts and his sketching that he didn't hear Kirsten come back until she said, "Wow, that looks amazing."

Ryan turned red and quickly closed his book. "Yeah, I was just…"

Kirsten hadn't meant to startle him. "I'm sorry. I thought you heard me come in. I wouldn't have looked if you didn't want me to."

"That's OK. I just have a hard time letting people see my stuff"

"Well, what I saw looked good." Kirsten looked hopeful. "Maybe you'll show me the rest of it sometime?"

Ryan nodded slightly and gave her a half smile. "Maybe."

"All right, let's go explore the city. We'll find somewhere to eat. Maybe we can ride a cable car."

Ryan laughed at Kirsten's enthusiasm. "Maybe."

Kirsten was thrilled when the concierge told them they could catch a cable car outside their hotel and ride it down the hill to find a seafood restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf.

Ryan was leery. "Cable car, Kirsten?" he asked. "Why don't we just walk down? It's a nice night and it's not that far."

Kirsten was exasperated by Ryan's lack of enthusiasm for anything fun. "Ryan, we're in San Francisco. They have cable cars. We're going to ride them. When we get back, people are going to ask 'Did you ride cable cars in San Francisco?' and what are you going to tell them?"

Ryan laughed. "I'll tell them no, I didn't."

Kirsten frowned. "Don't make me beg. I want to ride a cable car."

Ryan relented, like he knew he would. He wasn't going to say no to Kirsten. For one thing, she was financing the trip. If Kirsten wanted to do something, they were pretty much going to do it.

So they rode the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. Ryan didn't quite get what the big deal was about cable cars, but Kirsten seemed to think it was exciting. They wandered around looking at the sights, and then found a little seafood restaurant. Kirsten ordered the Seafood Risotto and Ryan got the Stuffed Calamari. While they were waiting for their food, Kirsten asked Ryan, "So what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"I'm supposed to meet with the advisor around 10 tomorrow morning. I think there'll be a tour of the campus. I'm not sure what else. We should be done by lunch. So we could think about heading back…" Ryan noticed that Kirsten looked disappointed at that suggestion, "…or we could do some touristy stuff in the afternoon."

Kirsten grinned. "It'll be fun, Ryan."

Ryan just shook his head. "You keep saying that," he said, but he didn't protest either.

The next morning, Kirsten and Ryan arrived at the college campus. They found the office where they were supposed to meet with Dr Amyotte. He was looking at slides with his assistant Leann when they found him, and they introduced themselves.

Leann picked up the slides as Dr Amyotte motioned for Ryan to take a seat. Kirsten followed Leann out of the office and sat down to wait.

Leann sat at her desk and kept looking at the slides. "This is Ryan's portfolio," she said to Kirsten. "He's got a different perspective than a lot of the other portfolios we see."

"Really?" Kirsten asked.

"You don't find it different?" Leann asked.

"I haven't really seen it," Kirsten admitted. "What do you mean by different?"

"It seems to focus on aspects that most people don't notice. Not all of it, mind you. But it is interesting. Do you want to see?" She held up the slides toward Kirsten.

Kirsten glanced at the closed office door. She was tempted to look but she figured if Ryan wanted her to see them, he'd have shown them to her. "No, I better not…" She reconsidered but then thought better. "No, I won't. He'll show me if he wants me to see."

"Wow, you show great restraint. Most parents jump at the chance to see their kids' work."

"Well, Ryan's different. I don't like to invade his privacy."

Ryan and Dr Amyotte came out of the office. "We're going on a tour of the campus," Dr Amyotte said. "Do you want to come with us?"

Kirsten stood up. "Sure."

Dr Amyotte gestured to the slides on Leann's desk. "That's a great portfolio. You must be proud of his work."

"I like what I've seen," Kirsten agreed. She smiled at Ryan. "He just hasn't shown us much of it."

"So you don't like to share your work?" he said to Ryan. "You're good, if a little raw. Have you been drawing long?"

Ryan looked embarrassed. "I've only been taking classes for two years, since I've been at Harbor High. Chino Hills didn't really have an art program."

"Chino Hills? I thought you were from Newport Beach."

Even after two years, Ryan had never figured out an easy way to explain his situation with the Cohens. It wasn't really anyone's business why he lived with them, but people always had questions.

Kirsten jumped in. "Ryan lived with his family in Chino before he came to live with us." She said it matter-of-factly, indicating that there was no need for more questions.

Dr Amyotte opened a door and stepped inside. "Here's the first year studio. We have space for 20 freshmen and we usually matriculate about 12."

The studio was a spacious room. Each station had a drafting table and a worktable. Next to each worktable was a cabinet where supplies could be stored. Along one wall were large windows, so there was lots of natural light. "Wow, this is nice," thought Ryan.

Dr Amyotte showed them the rest of the campus. When they got back to his office, he shook Ryan's hand and said, "I look forward to seeing you in the fall."

"Yeah, I'm still thinking about it. I mean, I haven't decided what I'm doing yet."

"Oh. Well, if you're unsure, why don't you go over to the Oakland campus this afternoon and look around? There's a shuttle that takes students back and forth between the campuses during the school year. That's where the residence is, and you'll have some classes over there too." He smiled. "It might help you decide."

Ryan looked at Kirsten. "Well, we had plans for this afternoon…"

Kirsten shook her head. "Checking out CCA is why we came – that's our priority. Besides," she grinned at Ryan, "it'll be fun."

"So you keep saying."

"Good. I'll call over and make sure there's someone who can let you in at the residence," said Dr Amyotte.

After lunch, Ryan and Kirsten headed over to the Oakland campus. It was bigger than the San Francisco campus, and had a lot more green space. They had a chance to tour the residence and some the other buildings.

After they were done looking around, Kirsten and Ryan sat down on a bench in the quad. "The residence was nice," Kirsten said optimistically.

"The rooms were kind of small," Ryan replied.

"If you'd rather, we can always get you an apartment instead."

"I can't ask you guys to do that. I can't ask you guys to do this. I have a full scholarship to USC; I can live with Seth. This," he gestured around the campus, "is too much."

"Ryan, money shouldn't be a factor in your decision. You have to be where it's best for you."

"And you want me to be here, in San Francisco?" Ryan asked.

"I think it would be good for you. It's a really good college and a great opportunity."

"What about Seth? Won't he be disappointed if I come here instead of living with him?"

"Seth will get along fine without you. He'll adjust and make new friends at USC. He doesn't need you to live with him." Kirsten was trying to convince Ryan to make his decision based on his own needs, not anyone else's.

"No, I guess he doesn't." Ryan realized Kirsten could counter every one of Ryan's reasons for staying in LA. She really did want him in San Francisco. "I suppose CCA is the right choice then."

"I think that's a good decision," Kirsten smiled. "And, I was talking to one of our suppliers and got some great seats for the Giants game tonight. Are you up for some baseball?"

"I am, but are you? I didn't know you liked baseball."

"It's the whole experience, Ryan. It's the beer and hotdogs, the peanuts and popcorn, the roar of the crowd, the giant scoreboard. The actual game is but a small part."

Ryan thought Kirsten was just way too enthusiastic about everything on this trip. "Sounds fun," he said cautiously. "But if you start singing 'Take Me out to the Ballgame'? I'm pretending I don't know you."

Kirsten put her arm around him. "Oh, Ryan. You act more and more like my actual teenage son every day."

TBC