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Chapter 2

Thank you so much to my two beta readers Famous99 and Misty for beta reading. You guys rock! Also thank you to all of you that have answered with feedback on this story and other stories and thank you to all of you that wrote me and wanted to beta read for me.Hugs to all of you :) swenglish

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to OC. This is purely fiction and not intended to hurt anyone.

Ryan let out a low moan.

The minute he'd open his yes he wished he'd closed them again. Every part of his body ached and all he wanted to do was to go to sleep; yet he had obligations he had to go to school. He needed to talk with Lindsay and convince her into staying instead of leaving for Chicago.

When he moved he felt like every limb on his poor body was giving him a hard time and his throat felt so sore that he feared every time he swallowed. As if things weren't bad enough his stomach churned violently and he felt like he would be ill any second.

He felt like hell.

Pulling the sheets up to his neck, he did his best to comfort himself from the chills which seemed to have his body in a tight grip. It was a futile attempt since it felt like he had a block of ice in his stomach. Groaning Ryan decided that he had to get up to see if he could find any pain killers. IF, he could get his legs to work.

When he could stand it no longer, he rolled out of bed only to walk on shaky legs towards the small kitchenette. There he pulled out several drawers, cussing at the mess before him and the absence of any painkillers. He'd given the last to Seth a couple of weeks ago when his brother had woken up with a hangover. It had been an act kindness, one which he now regretted since he was left with nothing to sooth his own pain.

This left him with only one option. He had to go into the house to ask for something for his headache, he didn't think he could stand feeling this bad. Wrapping a blanket around his shoulders he walked towards the door where he was met by Sandy Cohen in the doorway.

"Ryan?" Sandy said with surprise in his voice. "Where you going? Why aren't you dressed?"

"I…I...wanted to...to ask if you had a Tylenol or something." Ryan winced. "I've got a headache," He was doing his best to find his bearings when he felt Sandy's firm hand on his shoulder. p "You don't look well at all, son. Let's get you back into bed."

Before he had a chance to object he felt the older man guide him towards bed and even though his head felt like it would explode any second it actually felt good to crawl back under the covers. Chills wracked his body and Sandy's rough hand was instantly on his forehead.

"Yup, you got a fever," Sandy mumbled as he stroked away Ryan's sweaty bangs. "What is up with you boys today?"

" Huh?" Ryan frowned in surprise.

"Seth said he felt sick too."

"Oh. Okay." Ryan's mouth felt so dry and he had a hard time talking, his brain mushy with fever.

"He's staying home today," Sandy explained. "Although, I have my doubts that he's sick at all. It's more a case of wanting to stay home to avoid a history test."

"That and Summer being back with him again," Ryan mumbled as he pressed his palms to his forehead. Last night he had trouble sleeping and had trudged back to the main house to get soda. That was when he'd heard Seth and Summer talking and by the sound of it they were getting real cuddly together too. From their conversation he'd worked out that they were back with each other again.

"Aha. That explains the phoney smile and the phone call," Sandy mumbled more to himself than to Ryan.

This comment had Ryan frowning. Something told him that he'd betrayed his brother and if it wasn't for the fact that he felt like his stomach would be the one betraying HIM he would have warned Seth. Now all he could do was to lay there hoping that he wouldn't loose it on the Cohen's carpet. That would not be a pretty sight at all.

"You seem rather warm," Sandy said as he stood up to leave the room. "I'll get Kirsten to come in and take your temperature."

Normally, Ryan would have objected to this, but he felt so physically and mentally spent that there was no limit to his pain. Swallowing hard he did his best to quell the sudden bout of nausea that flared up, and not wanting to risk anything, he flung his covers off and made a run for the bathroom. He managed just in time to see everything he'd eaten during the last year go down the drain.

"Kid, you all right?" Sandy asked as he followed him into the bathroom.

Ryan groaned inwardly. The last thing he needed right now was the Cohen's hovering over him. "Yeah…yeah," he mumbled as he spat into the bowl again. It was nothing but a lie, yet he didn't think he had the strength or the time to explain how bad he really felt. His stomach decided to show whose the boss and once again it convulsed.

"You're really not feeling well are you?" Ryan could hear him run water behind his back. He made no move to answer, thinking it was kind of obvious; instead he concentrated on fending off the nausea that was hiding in the back of his throat.

"Here buddy, take this." Sandy handed him a wet towel before instructing, "Put it against your neck. It will make you feel better."

Not daring to open his mouth, he nodded shortly before accepting the gift. The wet towel made him feel marginally better and closing his eyes he hovered by the bowl, waiting for the next attack to sneak up on him.

"You think it is something that you ate?" Sandy asked while hunching down beside Ryan on the floor.

Feeling a bit embarrassed over the commotion he caused, Ryan shook his head slowly. "No. I don't think so."

"Maybe it's the flu then," Sandy muttered while hunching down beside Ryan on the floor.

"Maybe." Ryan felt too dazed to answer. To be honest he didn't know what to think since his thoughts were so messed up and he didn't think it was all because of the fever either. Yesterday was nothing but a blur and the memory of Lindsay telling him that she was leaving for Chicago made his stomach ache so bad that he just wanted to crawl into a ball. Even though lots of people didn't think they were a real couple, he loved Lindsay like he'd loved no one else. Thinking of her decision to leave him made him feel physically ill and he reached for the bowl again as his stomach sent another round of bile up his throat.

Bending over the bowl Ryan vomited violently and it wasn't until the worst bout was over he took notice that Sandy was rubbing his back.

"You think you're done for now?" His foster dad asked carefully.

"I think so." Ryan reached out to flush with a shaky hand, when Sandy beat him to it.

"I'll do that kid."

He opened his mouth to object when Sandy said, "Come on then. I'll help you back to bed," and he could feel Sandy's strong arms lifting him up and soon he was being guided towards his bed. Once Ryan lay his aching head down on the pillow he closed his eyes. It felt so good and for now his stomach had calmed down.

"I need to go in and tell Kirsten that you're sick and staying at home from school."

"'kay." Ryan didn't have the strength to talk, let alone open his eyes. He could feel Sandy stroking his cheek roughly. It was comforting and made him relax.

"I have to get to work but Kirsten will come and see how you're doing and then…" Sandy didn't even get to end his sentence before Ryan could feel the edges around his view dim away and soon he was sound asleep again.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Where's Ryan? Did he oversleep?" Kirsten asked in surprise when Sandy came into the kitchen alone.

"No." Sandy shook his head as he ran his hand through his thick hair. "Ryan's sick."

"Sick?" Kirsten put down her coffee cup on the table. "What do you mean?"

"He's throwing up." Sandy said with a sigh. At once he looked tired. "I think it might be the flu."

"Oh no!" Kirsten called out. "Not him too. Seth seems to have caught that bug too and I wouldn't be surprised if he has infected him."

"I doubt that," Sandy said with a light headshake. Kirsten interrupted him, at once getting into the over protective mothers mood. "What do you mean by that? Seth is sick too."

"Eh…nothing." Sandy quickly changed the subject and instead walked over to the cupboard to pick out the Tylenol bottle. "I told Ryan that you were going to see him."

Kirsten frowned. "He's got a headache?"

"Yeah."

"A fever?" She had turned on her comforting mood.

"I think so, I didn't take his temperature, but he felt rather warm."

"Poor boy." Kirsten had something compassionate in her tone.

"Yeah, he looked rather miserable." Sandy sighed heavily. "So what should we do then? Should one of us stay at home now that both of our kids are sick?"

"I wish I could…but I have an important meeting that I can't miss. I can't stay at home today." She felt really bad, but there was not much she could do about the situation. The meeting couldn't be cancelled at such a short notice. "We've hired a new public relations consultant for this new project that I've been telling you about."

"You mean for that new advertising campaign?" Sandy asked.

"Yes…yes that's the one." Kirsten nodded. "I can't cancel the meeting, though I'll probably be too worried to concentrate on work."

"Yeah, I know that feeling." Sandy took a sip from his coffee. "I feel the same but unfortunately I've got an important court meeting that I can't reschedule."

"Such great parents we are," Kirsten let out a sigh. "What should we do? We can't leave the boys home alone when they're sick. Can we?"

Sandy thought for a while. "Yes we can honey," he decided. "They're big boys. They are seventeen and I'm sure that they can handle being home alone for one day."

"Yes, I'm sure they can, but it's not fair for Ryan. Nor for Seth. They need their parents at home with them and it isn't fun being sick. Especially when you are throwing up."

"No it isn't," Sandy agreed. "But like I said, I'm sure that they can take care of themselves, besides Seth can look after Ryan."

"What?" Kirsten almost choked on her coffee. "Sandy, do you mean that Seth should be the one responsible for taking care of Ryan." There was distrust in her tone. "Seth is sick too if you haven't forgotten."

"I know honey." Sandy laid his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "But I'm also sure that part of Seth's illness is not having studied enough for his test…" He didn't have a chance to end his sentence before Kirsten cut him off.

"Are you calling Seth a liar? I took his temperature and it was a bit elevated and…" She stopped herself like a thought crossed her mind. "God Sandy, I hope you're not right about that, although I suspect that you are."

"It's probably not like that at all." It was clear that Sandy was starting to regret his comments. "I'm sure that both boys got the flu, it's just that Ryan told me that Seth's back with Summer again and that she was here with him last night."

"Summer?" Kirsten dropped her chin with surprise. "I thought she was on her way to Rome with Zach."

"I thought so too…but I guess there must have been a change of plans."

"So do you think that parts of our sons "sickness" is because of Summer?"

"To be honest. Yes. This time I think he really caught the "Summer flu." There was a brief chuckle. "In any case, I say that we let him stay at home and then he can keep an eye on Ryan."

Kirsten looked displeased at her husband's suggestion. "I'm not sure I like this. But I'll guess that we don't have much choice. I'll try to come home early at least."

"I'm sure that it'll work out just fine," Sandy said, downing the last of his coffee and then stood up to pick up his briefcase. "I've got to get going now. I'll be back before dinner."

"Okay, it's Rosas day off so we'll picking up Thai tonight."

"Sounds great, honey." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. And with those words he was out off the room, leaving Kirsten by the kitchen counter, deep in her own thoughts. Bringing with her the Tylenol bottle as well as the thermometer she made her way to the pool house. She needed to see how her foster son was doing and if he needed any help. There was a feeling deep inside like she was torn between two wills. One was to go to work and the other was to stay at home and look after her sick sons.

When she opened the door to the pool house she noticed that Ryan was nowhere to be seen, his sheets tangled all over the floor. There was a sound from the bathroom that caught her attention and she walked over, knocking softly on the door. "Ryan? You in there?" The sound of someone getting sick cut through the door and she knocked a little harder. "Honey, are you all right? You want me to come in?" She knew that her words were stupid. Of course he wasn't feeling ok; he was throwing up for crying out loud. Yet she felt it strangely comforting to ask those kinds of questions.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a sec." Ryan's voice was weak and she could tell that he was far from fine. There was loud coughing and then she heard more gagging. It made her own stomach ache and she felt bad for him. He sounded so miserable.

She waited for a few minutes, and contemplated opening the door, when Ryan suddenly burst out. He was pale as a sheet and he swayed dangerously. Instantly she reached out her arm to support him or he would have fallen flat on his face.

"Whoa, hold on there. You think you can manage?"

Ryan nodded and then nodded towards the bed. "I need to lie down."

"Okay." With that she helped him and when she was sure that he was comfortable she sat down beside him on the bed. "Sandy told me that you felt sick. Was that the first time you've thrown up today?"

He shook his head.

"Does your stomach hurt?"

He nodded and then blushed. "Cramps."

"Oh…Sandy said you might have the flu and I think he could be right." She brushed a strand of hair away from his sweaty forehead. God he was so hot. Noticing how he winced against the light in the room she walked over to the window and closed the blinds. "That better for your eyes?"

"Yeah," Ryan croaked as he swallowed convulsively. "I've got a headache."

Remembering that she brought the Tylenol with her she asked, "You want to take something for that?"

"Okay." Ryan wasn't very talkative, which was pretty much understandable.

After shaking out a couple of pills she handed them to Ryan together with a fresh glass of water. "Here you go." She could feel the heat radiating from him as he accepted the pill from her palm.

"Thanks." Ryan swallowed them dry before taking a large gulp of water.

"Take it easy. If you drink too fast you could get sick again." It felt strange reminding him to take it easy, since Ryan was rarely a person that crossed his limits. At least not since he moved to Newport. When he was done with the water Kirsten picked up the thermometer. "Open your mouth," she directed. Ryan looked strangely at her.

"Why?"

"Your warm and I want to see how much of a fever you have." Picking up the device she saw him flinch away.

"That's not necessary."

Kirsten frowned. Why was Ryan afraid of having his temperature? "Ryan it's nothing to be afraid of." She felt like she was talking to a five year old.

"I'm not afraid." His voice was hoarse from exhaustion. "I just don't think it's that important."

She was startled by his answer. "Ryan, it is important. Trust me. If your temperature is too high I might need to call a doctor and…" Kirsten was interrupted by a tired voice.

"Mom never took my temperature."

This time it was Kirsten who flinched. Ryan rarely talked about his mother and if he did it was never anything bad. The sentence he'd uttered was more of a statement then a complaint. She did her best to come up with something since she thought he was too old to start arguing with over such a matter. Truth was also that time was running out and she had to get to work, and before she left she needed to have a word or two with Seth. There was also a bit of hesitation in telling him that she couldn't stay but yet that was something that needed to be done.

"I'll tell you what…" She placed the device on the bed table. "We'll leave it here for now but if you start feeling worse I want you to take your temperature." Kirsten set her eyes at Ryan who looked clearly displeased. "Okay?"

There was a brief pause before Ryan shrugged his shoulders and said with a sigh. "' I don't know what good it'll do, but okay then."

She smiled at him, knowing that it took a lot for Ryan to change his mind. "Good." When she had made sure that she had his attention she went on, "Honey, I know that you don't feel very good today but I have to get to work for a while. Seth is at home too and I asked him to help you out in case you start feeling sick again." What kind of mother was she? Ryan was sick and needed her and she was going to work.

"I'm fine. Seth doesn't need to do that. I can manage" Ryan's voice was a whisper.

"I know you do, but that is not the point. This is no hassle since Seth is at home already and will be more than willing to help you out." She knew it was nothing but a lie. Seth Cohen had the worst beside manner in history and even if Sandy had told her that Seth would be just ok with taking care of Ryan, Kirsten had her doubts.

She rose from the bed. "I'm going to leave the Tylenol here by the bed, but I don't want you to take too many." Ryan looked up at her and she could tell that he thought she was overprotective. Ignoring this she went on, "I'm also going to put a pail on the floor in case you get sick again and don't make it to the bathroom." She walked resolutely to the bathroom and picked up a bucket from the closet. Then she filled up the glass of water again and then set down both items beside the sick teen. "There you go." Ryan had closed his eyes again and she could tell that he wasn't feeling all that good. Bending over she kissed him lightly on his cheek. He flinched but made no movement to shy away.

"I'll tell Seth to call me in case there is anything you need. And Ryan, I will try to come home as soon as I can."

"I'm sorry," Ryan mumbled weakly, eyes still closed.

"For what?" Kirsten frowned.

"For causing so much trouble." She watched as he swallowed hard several times and felt that she had to do her best to comfort him.

"Oh sweetie," she smiled gently towards him. ""It's no trouble. You're sick and you can't help it." She stroked his cheek again, which was still much too warm for her liking. Standing up to leave Ryan called out for her.

"Kirsten?"

"Yes?" She stopped in the doorway.

"Thanks."

"Oh…It's nothing. It's something a mom does." She smiled softly at him. That little "Thanks" left her with a warm feeling. "Now try to sleep and you see that you feel better when you wake up again."

"Okay."

Ryan had closed his eyes again and with that she shut the door gently behind her, not wanting to disturb him more than she'd already done.