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Seth walked into the house and dropped his backpack by the counter. The phone was ringing and he answered it absently. "Hello?"
"Seth?"
"Yeah, who's this?"
"It's Marissa…"
He could tell she was crying. He hadn't seen her since before Ryan was hospitalized. Seth wasn't sure what to say to her. He knew that she knew Ryan was in the hospital because Jimmy had called a couple of times to see how he was doing. But Marissa hadn't called at all. He'd mentioned it to Summer but she said that Marissa had been hanging out with some guy. He hadn't mentioned it to Ryan. Ryan hadn't asked about Marissa either. But Ryan was the king of avoidance by simply ignoring problems.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Can I speak to Ryan?"
"He's in the hospital, Marissa…" Seth replied.
"He's still in the hospital? Oh god…"
"What do you want? You haven't called, Marissa, what do you want?"
"I need him…"
"Why?"
"I'm in trouble…I need him to come and get me…"
"Marissa, he's in the hospital. He can't come and get you."
"I…I don't know what to do…he always comes…"
"Marissa…"
"I wrecked my car, I must've had too much to drink and the police want to take me to the station…"
"Have you called your parents?"
"No…"
"Call your parents, Marissa. He can't help you anymore." Seth slammed the phone down without listening to her anymore. The phone rang immediately. He didn't pick it up. After it rang a few times, it stopped. His cell phone started to buzz.
He answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey, man."
"Ryan? I was just on my way to see you…"
"I figured. I need to talk to you. It's important."
"Okay, talk away." Seth said, opening the fridge and searching for a soda.
"You're not going to understand and I'm sorry that I can't explain it right now, but…you can't come to see me for a few days."
"What?"
"I need you to promise me that you won't come to the hospital until I tell you. Promise me…"
"What is going on? Ryan, Tony's dead, you're not…"
"Listen to me. Trust me. Please. I need you to stay away. You and Luke and Hailey…you can't come by. It's really important."
Seth shook his head despite the fact that he was on the phone. "You have to give me a reason. I mean…"
"I can't. It's too important. Too many people are involved already. Please. It's really important."
"Ryan…"
"I need you to do this for me. I'll explain everything later…"
"I've heard that before and it never ends well…we're a team…"
"I know, that's why I need you to do this. I need you to be here when I need you. You can't help me with this and when it's all over…I'm really going to need you, okay?"
"Ryan…" Seth sighed, frustrated.
"Seriously. You're my best friend, you know that, right? I need you. I need you to do this for me."
"Okay. Okay, Ryan," Seth agreed finally.
"Really? You promise?"
"I promise," He whispered.
"Thank you. I'll tell you all about it after…when I can," Ryan replied.
"I'll keep Hailey and Luke away. Can I ask…are you okay?"
"I…I'll let you know. I'll call you later, okay? You still have to keep me apprised of the Newport news, right?"
Seth relaxed slightly. "Yeah, of course. So you can talk to me but I can't see you and you don't know if you're okay…got it."
"Seth…"
"No, I get it, it's all about your mystery, right?"
"Seth…"
"It's cool. But you better call me."
"I will," Ryan promised.
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Caleb was waiting outside of Ryan's room when Sandy arrived.
"Caleb. What's wrong, is Ryan…" Sandy started but Caleb raised a hand.
"Calm down. He was calling Seth and he asked for some privacy."
"You went to see him?" Sandy was surprised, Caleb had been keeping his distance from Ryan since the shooting.
"Yes. We had some things to discuss."
"What things?" Sandy asked suspiciously.
"I think it'll be better if we talk about it with the boy."
"Caleb, he's in no shape…"
"You're underestimating him, Sandford. He seems very capable of making his own decisions," Caleb said immediately.
Sandy stared at him.
"Let's go inside." Caleb walked ahead of Sandy into the room. Ryan wasn't on the phone anymore, he was lying silently in the bed.
"Hey, Sandy," Ryan smiled slightly as his foster father sat down beside him.
"How're you feeling, kid?"
"Okay," Ryan sighed. "Did Mr. Nichol tell you…"
"I didn't tell him anything. I thought we'd talk to him together," Caleb interrupted.
"You should probably tell him your story first," Ryan replied.
Caleb nodded. "I got a call from an old acquaintance earlier today. Steve Sexton…"
"Oh my god," Sandy whispered.
"I knew his father and I knew Stevie when he was a child. Stevie thinks that Ryan is his son. He doesn't believe the tests that Ryan's mother gave him before she skipped town. Now, Stevie doesn't know that Ryan is my grandson, he only has your name and Ryan's address. I came here today to talk to Ryan, to see what he knew and he told me about the feds being involved," Caleb said.
"He called you?" Sandy asked.
"He knows I know Newport," Caleb replied.
"Ryan…"
"It's okay, Sandy. I'm over it," Ryan said. "But we have to do something."
"You don't have to do anything except get better, Caleb and I…" Sandy started.
"We have a plan," Ryan said quietly.
"Who?" Sandy asked.
"The boy and I have a plan. We need you to get in touch with the agents that came to see him," Caleb said.
Sandy shook his head. "I don't know what the hell you guys are thinking about but…"
"It is only a matter of time before he comes for me. Don't you think it should be on my own terms? And not his? At least we can try to control this situation as much as possible, I mean…he killed my father, Sandy," Ryan said, getting agitated.
"You..."
"It's a good plan, Sandford. It'll work," Caleb said quietly.
"What's this plan, Caleb?" Sandy asked after a long pause. He gently placed the mask over Ryan's face as his breathing became erratic. Ryan blinked his thanks.
"We need to get the feds to wire this room. Or a different room, whatever. I'm going to talk to Stevie, tell him that I've found Ryan and get him in touch with a doctor that can confirm paternity, a doctor that he'll approve of that's in cahoots with us. I'll bring Stevie in…"
"Absolutely not," Sandy said immediately. "He shouldn't be near Ryan…"
"Just listen, Sandy. Please," Ryan whispered.
"Okay. Okay, go on," Sandy sighed.
"The doctor will take some blood and leave to start on the test. We'll be in control of the results but…"
"I want to know if it's true," Ryan said, pulling the mask off. "I need to know if he's my father. But while he's here, I'm hoping Caleb can get him to incriminate himself. That way, the feds can fucking take him now instead of twiddling their thumbs and waiting for him to fuck up."
"Ryan…you're in no shape…"
"Sandy. This is getting out of control." Ryan said evenly. "This guy is not going to stop until he finds me. Think about it…"
"I'm thinking about you. You can't even hold a conversation without it altering your breathing and now you want to go through with this…" Sandy whispered urgently.
"I have to do something, Sandy! What if he hadn't called Mr. Nichol? What if he'd just shown up here, what then? You're right, I'm in no fucking shape to deal with this but I don't have a choice! I have to do something before he comes after me, after your family…please…you know I'm right…"
"Ryan…" Sandy started.
"Both of you need to calm down," Caleb said quietly. "You need to put your mask back on," He said to Ryan. "And you need to listen to what the kid is saying. Stevie…he's not a good guy. He believes that Ryan is his son and he won't give up until he gets him by his side. Stevie doesn't care about anything except his money. And his business. Both of those are meant for Ryan after his death. Ryan is his heir, his only heir and nothing you or I do is going to change that. The boy's right. Action has to be taken."
Ryan had his face turned away from the two older men when they glanced back at him. He'd replaced the mask over his face but they couldn't see his reaction.
"Ryan."
"Please, Sandy. Don't let him come after me. I don't want to hide, I don't want to have to leave to protect your family…let me do this…I have to do something…" Ryan whispered.
"I need to talk to you outside," Sandy said to Caleb. He took the older man's arm and pulled him from the room, slamming the door behind them. They barely noticed when a nurse walked past them into the room.
"Sandy…"
"There is no way that we're doing this."
"I know you're worried about him, we all are, but he's right. If we don't do something, Stevie's going to come for him…" Caleb said seriously.
"We'll get him out of town, we'll…" Sandy started.
"Did you listen to him, Sandy? He doesn't want to run. He loves your family and he doesn't want to have to leave. What will Seth do without him? Hailey and Kirsten will be beside themselves…this isn't just going to go away…" Caleb whispered.
"So you want me to invite this mobster into Ryan's life? Just give him an invitation into Ryan's room when the kid can't even get up? He can't even protect himself?"
"I'll be right beside him…"
"A few weeks ago, you were the one trying to get Ryan out of this family, why the hell should I trust you now?" Sandy snapped.
"Because he does. Because I made a mistake. But I'm trying to fix it. I don't make many mistakes, Sandy but I made one with this kid. He doesn't belong to Stevie. He belongs to us now," Caleb said urgently. "And we have to take care of him. If you can think of a better plan, I'm listening. Otherwise, we need to call the feds and get the ball rolling on this."
"What about Kirsten?"
"He doesn't want her or Hailey to find out anything until after the meeting happens. I agree with him. We need to keep this between the three of us. That way, less people will be in danger when it goes down. We won't have to worry about Kirsten walking in while…while Stevie's here."
"Are you going to tell him that Ryan's living at your daughter's house?"
"I don't know. If I lie, he's going to find out. I want to talk to the feds first. I'm planning on calling him after I talk to the agents."
Sandy sighed heavily as he turned and opened the door. The nurse was talking quietly to Ryan by the bed. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. Your son just rang for me, he's in a little pain but I took care of it for him. He'll be resting again in no time," The nurse smiled.
Sandy immediately felt guilty and went to his side. "Ryan…"
"I'm sorry, Sandy…" Ryan sighed, his face pale and drawn with regret. "I just…I don't know what to do…"
"I didn't mean to upset you…"
"I've been upset for days," Ryan muttered.
"Caleb and I are going to take care of the details," Sandy said quietly. He brushed Ryan's hair out of his face and smiled as the blue eyes trained on his face. "I just want you to rest."
"You'll…you'll take care of it?"
"Yes. Just relax and when you wake up again, hopefully we'll have some news for you."
Ryan nodded and slowly closed his eyes.
"Just rest, kid. You've got a long couple of days ahead of you."
