Author's Note - Thankyou so much for the reviews everyone. Grace, that wasn't really constructive criticism, and I'm not ashamed of what I have written, because I don't think it is in any way degrading Orange County or the show. I am my biggest critic and if I thought it was that bad I wouldn't have put it on the site.

Chapter 3

Q an A's

Ryan put the phone back in its place and went back into the pool house to process all the changes happening in his life.

"On one side, I'll be getting to see Chelsea again. But on the other, maybe she won't stay. Maybe Kirsten and Sandy will make her leave and go to some foster home on the other side of the country where I'd hardly ever be able to see her."

All these thoughts buzzed through his head. He must have sat there for about 2 hours thinking it all over. How could his mother have done this to her? Chelsea doesn't deserve this. None of us deserve this.

He slammed his hand onto the side of his bed in rage when Marissa came into the room to announce that dinner was ready and that Sandy had come home.

"What's wrong?" she asked genuinely concerned. She crawled onto his bed and placed her arms around him in a comforting way.

"You'll find out at dinner, I guess."

"Are you sure you're fine." She gently kissed him on his cheek and held him closer to her. Ryan remained stationary.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure that it will work itself out soon enough. Come let's go eat, they're all waiting."

Ryan willingly obliged. "Yeah, I hope so." He muttered under his breath on the way to the dining room.

Sandy, Kirsten, Seth, Anna, Summer and their other friend Clayton were all waiting for Marissa and him to arrive so they could start eating.

They were all meant to be going out later on that night, to some club that Clayton knew of, so they decided to eat dinner at the Cohen's first before they went out.

Ryan, being too busy thinking about his latest predicament totally forgot about it.

"Uh, sorry guys" he announced, "I don't think I'll be going out tonight."

"Aww! Come on, you have to go Ryan; it won't be anything without you. Cohen, make him go!" Anna said

"Yeah, Ryan, what's up?" Clayton added as he just finished chewing his pasta.

"Just, something happened, and I don't think I should go out tonight."

"What's wrong?" Sandy asked.

"Has it got to do with that girl, Chelsea?" Kirsten said.

Marissa glared at Ryan.

"What girl Chelsea?" she asked warily.

"I guess I should just tell you all now." Ryan took a deep breath and began. "Chelsea... Chelsea's my younger sister. She's only a year younger, so she is fifteen. But anyways, I haven't really talked about her much because well Mom looked after her. She still lives in Chino, but Mom doesn't."

He paused to look around the table at everybody's sincere and concerned faces.

"What do you mean your mom doesn't live in Chino?" Seth said

"About a week ago. Mom left. She left Chelsea by herself, with just a letter explaining that she wanted to start anew again. It's like she isn't proud of her. She doesn't want to be associated with us anymore. But I mean, I can understand why she would leave my brother and I, because he's in jail and I should be there, but Chelsea. No, Chelsea, is smart, she didn't get caught up in drugs and prostitution and crime when it was right in her front yard. She's her own person and so intelligent. So, basically, she has been by herself for the past week but now things are getting worse because she's running out of food and money and the power and electricity is going to be shut off and I'm all she's got you know?"

Ryan quickly got up from his seat and went back into the pool house. He just felt like being by himself now. Things were bad when he was only thinking about the problem, but once he had voiced it, it became real and made the pain and anxiety worse.

Marissa walked in a few minutes later.

"Hey."

"Hey" He beckoned for Marissa to come over and they held each other.

"Are you going to be alright alone? Do you want me to stay?"

"It's fine, go ahead, the other's need you. I just feel like being alone tonight. Have fun, ok."

"I can't have fun if I know you're not happy."

"Just try to have fun." She looked at him and he added "For me?"

"Ok, but only for you. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, bye." And he gave her a kiss goodbye and she left, blowing a kiss in his direction on the way out.

"Sandy."

"Mmhmmm..." Sandy was doing some paperwork while Kirsten was watching TV.

"We should take her in."

"Who?" Sandy finally looked up from the sheets of paper sprawled messily on the table in front of him.

"Chelsea, Ryan's sister. I've been thinking about it, ever since, and I just think that it would be the right thing to do. I've always wanted a daughter Sandy, and well, Ryan's family, so she's already family too. She sounds wonderful by the way Ryan describes her, and I'm sure both of them would rather it here than for her to be sent to a foster home."

She stared at Sandy for a few moments and continued.

"Please Sandy, I don't ask you for much but I just really want you to agree on this with me. If she doesn't like it, or if it doesn't work out, we don't have to adopt her."

Sandy kissed his wife and replied confidently

"Sure, I think this will be a good experience for us all, and it wouldn't hurt Ran to have some blood-family around."

"Thankyou, thankyou." Kirsten attacked Sandy with kisses and hugs and then ran off to tell Ryan.

"I have to go let Ryan know!"

"Let me know what?" Ryan said, he had just walked into the room.

"Well... Ryan, we were just talking and we think that it would be a good idea for Chelsea to come and stay here, in Newport."

Ryan looked at them in shock.

"Are you serious!?" he questioned in amazement.

"Yes, we are certain. When can she come?"

Ryan had to process all these wonderful thoughts. "She's coming to Newport, she's going to be with me, we can go to school together..."

"I have to go tell her." He turned to rush out of the living room but then stopped and turned around again.

"Thankyou. Thankyou so much. You don't know how much this means to me or to her. Thankyou."