Title: Confronting Julie

Summary: Ryan and Marissa, and Sandy and Kirsten, plan the confrontation with Julie in episode 1.8 The Rescue. (A missing scene story.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The O.C. No profit is taken from this story.

Author's Notes:

Yet another missing scene fic from me :-). I'm watching my way through the first season again, so there may be other what-if and missing-scene stories on the horizon, if other ideas come to me as I continue to watch the episodes.

This one is a missing scene for The Rescue, set near the end of the episode. It is after Ryan calls Sandy for advice on what to do for Marissa with regard to her mother wanting to send her to a mental institution, and before Julie arrives at Casa de Cohen and the actual confrontation occurs.

Kirsten watched Sandy answer the phone.

"Hello ... Hey, what's going on? ... Uh-huh ... Well, if I've learned anything today, you don't wanna go to court with this, you're gonna wanna settle."

After Sandy hung up the phone, he told Kirsten, "That was Ryan. Apparently he's trying to help Marissa with a problem she's having with her mother, and wanted some advice. He and the other kids are on their way here, so we can help them figure something out."

Kirsten raised her eyebrows. "Yeah? Ryan really called you for advice? Wow."

Sandy smiled. "I know. I guess he's getting more comfortable here, more comfortable with us."

"Oh... Ryan... that reminds me. Dr. Kim called, about Ryan's placement exam. Unfortunately, it wasn't what we wanted to hear."

"Oh, no. Did he fail?"

Kirsten frowned. "Not exactly. He walked out before he finished."

"What?" Sandy couldn't believe it. That didn't sound like Ryan, unless... "Did she say why?"

Kirsten shrugged. "I guess Seth and Summer showed up, claiming something about an emergency. Dr. Kim didn't believe it, and ushered them out. She said that Ryan left immediately afterwards to go with them. Apparently she told Ryan that if he didn't finish the exam, he lost his chance to go to Harbor, but he left anyway. After all our hard work..." Kirsten sighed.

Sandy thought for a moment. "You know what... I'll bet it has something to do with this problem Marissa's having with her mother. You know Ryan can't resist a damsel in distress, especially Marissa."

Kirsten nodded, thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I'll talk to him tonight after we get all this stuff with Marissa and Julie straightened out. Maybe I can go to Dr. Kim tomorrow and convince her to give Ryan another chance." Kirsten nodded. Sandy continued, "By the way, did you get a chance to talk to Seth about their trip to Tijuana yet?"

Kirsten shook her head. "No, not yet."

"How about later tonight I deal with Ryan while you deal with Seth?"

Kirsten smiled. "Sound like a plan." She laughed a little. "Aren't you glad we don't have three kids to deal with? We'd be outnumbered!"

Sandy laughed with her. He was glad that the tension between them – because of Kirsten's jealousy towards Rachel – had dissipated since the focus of their conversation had turned from that to the kids. Thank god for the kids, and their ever-present problems.

Ryan, Seth, Marissa, and Summer arrived back at the Cohens' from the pier in Summer's car, which they'd been using to drive around town all day, ever since Summer used it to drive to the Cohens' to try and recruit Ryan to help Marissa, but got Seth instead. When they finally caught up to Ryan at Harbor, they put his bike into the back, since he had it with him to be able to go from home, to the hospital to see Marissa, and then to Harbor to take his exam.

Or at least to start taking it, Ryan thought as he took his bike out of the back of Summer's car and put it in the garage. Sandy and Kirsten were not going to be happy that he blew his chance to go to Harbor. Well, he couldn't worry about that now, he'd deal with it later. Right now, he had Marissa to save from her mother.

Ryan followed the others into the house. Sandy and Kirsten were waiting for them in the living room. Sandy greeted them.

"Hey, guys, why don't you all have a seat and explain to us what's going on."

Sandy gestured at the couches and chairs, and encouraged them to sit down as he sat down next to Kirsten. Ryan followed the others down the steps into the living room and sat. Ryan looked around at everyone. They all seemed to be looking to him to begin the explanations. So Ryan took a deep breath and looked at Sandy and Kirsten and began.

"OK... Marissa's mom wants to take her to San Diego to a mental institution there." Ryan glanced at Marissa. "In fact, she was just about to take her today, if we hadn't gotten there when we did..." Ryan could see Marissa starting to tear up.

Kirsten leaned forward and addressed Marissa, gently. "What about your dad, sweetie? What does he say?"

"He doesn't want me to go, but he says he can't do anything to stop her, because of, you know..."

Kirsten and Sandy both nodded.

Sandy asked, "Have you told your mother that you don't want to go?"

Marissa was softly crying now, so Ryan answered for her. "Her mother never listens to her. Marissa's tried talking to her, but she just hears what she wants to hear, and won't listen to anything else." Ryan looked at Sandy for a moment. "She doesn't want to live with her mom, either. She wants to live with her dad."

Marissa was able to talk, now, so she continued. "And my dad wants me to live with him, too. If only I could get my mom to listen..."

Sandy nodded and shared a look with Kirsten, then looked back at Marissa. "What if we help you get your mother to listen?"

"How?"

"We could call Julie and get her to come over here, and Kirsten and I can back you up as you tell her what you need to..." Sandy stopped because Marissa was shaking her head.

"That won't work. I've tried to talk to her. It doesn't work. She doesn't listen to me."

Ryan jumped in. "I can talk to her for you. I'm not afraid of your mother."

Ryan remembered what Marissa told him earlier, in the hospital room, how she was afraid of her mother. Ryan wasn't lying when he told her that he wasn't.

Kirsten looked skeptical. "Maybe it would be better if I did it. You know, mother to mother?"

Marissa was shaking her head again. She looked over at Ryan with complete trust on her face. "I'd rather have Ryan do it. He knows what's going on, how I feel, what I want..." She looked back at Kirsten. "If that's OK?"

Kirsten looked at Ryan then back to Marissa. "Yeah, I guess we could do that, if that's what you really want."

Marissa sighed with relief. "It is. Thanks."

Sandy and Kirsten nodded.

Sandy proposed, "OK, how about this then, we get Julie over here and then, Ryan, you can talk to Julie, and we'll back you up. And Marissa, how about if you hang out nearby, where your mother can't see you, but you can hear what's going on. Then when you feel comfortable, you can enter into the discussion. How does that sound?"

Marissa looked a little scared. "Hang out by myself?"

Kirsten jumped in. "How about if I stay with you?" Kirsten turned to Sandy. "And Sandy, you can help Ryan with Julie."

Sandy, Ryan, and Marissa all looked at her and each other, with nodding all around. Everyone was in agreement.

Seth, who amazingly had been silent through all this strategizing, finally spoke up. "What about me and Summer? What can we do to help?"

They all looked at each other, nobody seeming to know what to say. They all looked at Sandy when he cleared his throat.

"Um... Maybe it would be best if you guys just stayed out of this. Maybe hang out in the back yard until it's over?"

Seth and Summer looked at each other. They looked a little unhappy, but finally agreed.

Sandy made the phone call to Julie.

"Julie, it's Sandy, listen can you come over our house right away? It's urgent. It's about Marissa –" Sandy looked at Marissa, who was sitting on the couch with Ryan. "Yes, Julie, I know. ... I don't want to go into it on the phone. ... Great. ... See you then."

After the call, Sandy and Kirsten withdrew into the kitchen to discuss something in private, which left Ryan alone with Marissa in the living room, since Seth and Summer had already retreated to the back yard. Ryan looked over at Marissa. She looked scared, so he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry. I'll get her to listen."

Marissa gave Ryan a sad smile. "You're really not afraid of my mother? After she like threatened you and everything?"

Ryan remembered the threat she made to send him back to juvie. But Ryan shook his head. "I can handle her."

Marissa sighed and leaned into Ryan. Ryan rubbed the side of her arm with his hand that was around her. He looked out the French doors into the back yard and thought about what he was going to say.

Ryan learned some time ago that Julie was from Riverside, a working class town similar to Chino. He wasn't afraid of Julie because he understood her. He knew where she was coming from – both in terms of geography, and in terms of mindset. He understood about having to go without, and he knew so many people, especially girls, who just wanted the stuff that they couldn't have in Chino. And who swore that if they ever got out of Chino, if they ever got what they wanted, that they would do anything to keep it.

Julie struck him as that type. With all the problems with her husband – the embezzling and everything – she probably saw everything that Newport gave her going up in smoke. She was probably trying to hang on with everything she had. She probably assumed that Marissa felt the same way.

But Marissa was a Newport girl. She'd always had everything handed to her. She didn't feel the need to hang on to it with both hands.

Maybe Ryan could use that. Ryan tightened his arm around Marissa and smiled to himself. Yeah, that might just do the trick. Now they just had to wait for Julie to arrive, and this nightmare would all be over...

The End