Thanks to Sister Rose for going through a fine tooth comb. This chapter needed it. And thanks for all the positive reviews. I'm glad you're keeping with it.
Oh. I don't own it. Better go edit my LJ...
Summer and Seth came into the room, holding hands, arguing loudly about where they were going to live when school started again next week. Marriage hadn't really changed their dynamic. Ryan ignored them, rushing around the house, strategically placing toys where J.T. could find them, trying not to make it obvious that it was all new and for him.
In the hours between his shopping spree with Kirsten and coming back home, he had managed to finalize the necessary details that allowed him to move back home for the semester. He had jumped into it, not wanting to give it too much thought, afraid he would change his mind if he dwelled too long on his decisions. He was looking forward to moving back in with the Cohens full-time again so that he could make his home feel like a home for his son.
Seth and Summer's arguing wasn't easing up and for a brief moment, he wished they would just knock it off. He sent another silent prayer heavenward, wondering when he had become so religious, but realized if Seth and Summer stopped bickering then J.T. wouldn't have a real sense of who his aunt and uncle were.
Ryan dumped the Spider-Man figure on the couch next to Seth, when he heard the doorbell sound. He glanced at his watch, looking around to see if anyone realized the significance of that bell. It signaled his son's first arrival to his house.
Ryan froze. This was it. It was real. J.T., his son, had arrived. He didn't hear Kirsten's heels clicking against the parquet floors or the door opening or Theresa's soft, nervous babble, at the entranceway. It was Seth who snapped him out of it. First by waving his hands in front of Ryan's eyes and then by gently shaking Ryan's shoulders.
"Are you okay?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"It's just dinner. And mom didn't cook," Seth quipped.
"Seth, he looks green." Summer was peering into his face, invading Ryan's personal space.
Ryan shook his head, as if were trying to shake out the stuffiness he felt from a head cold. He had the same under-water sensation as when he had a cold. "You'll be green too when you're holding your child and realize 'this is it.'"
Neither Summer or Seth had a chance to respond, because at that moment Kirsten entered the family room, followed by Theresa and J.T., who was hanging on tightly to Theresa's hand.
"Hey, J.T." A large smile immediately spread on Ryan's face. He squatted down so he was eye level with the little boy. "Remember me?"
J.T. nodded. His eyes were large and round like saucers. "Daddy."
Ryan's smile widened, making Seth think that it would break his brother's face.
"Yeah." He reached out and offered a fist to J.T. so that they could knock knuckles. He was a true child of Chino, Ryan thought, when the boy immediately responded.
"I've got some stuff to show you in the other room." Ryan took his hand, hoping to gently pry him from Theresa.
It had been difficult deciding how to plan J.T.'s first visit to the Cohen house. Ryan wanted to jump right into it, but Theresa had said it would be too traumatizing for their son. Finally, Ryan had conceded to Kirsten's plan. The first visit would be a short one, for dinner, and Theresa would be present. The next visit would be a little longer and Theresa would leave halfway through, giving Ryan and J.T. some time alone together. They have two more visits like that, where Theresa would only stay a half hour and then ten minutes and hopefully after that J.T. would be accustomed to spending some time at the Cohens' house. Ryan also hoped to visit J.T. in Chino, perhaps having some "guy time" with Arturo and Trey, men J.T. was comfortable with to make the Newport visits easier.
Even so, the plans weren't set in stone. No visitation or custody agreement was in place. Ryan was entirely dependent on Theresa's good will and that frustrated him. He hoped it didn't show. The last thing he wanted was for it to show with J.T.
"Where are we going?" J.T. had reluctantly let go of Theresa's hand. It was only his child-like curiosity that had enticed him to switch from Theresa's cool firm grasp and switch his hand to Ryan's sweaty one.
"This," Ryan said as they entered the little unused room near Sandy's office, "is the playroom." It was near the family room and hadn't been used for much over the years. He had helped Kirsten and Rosa clean it out and they had piled the newly purchased toys in the room, converting it into a playroom by simply adding some toys and pushing the furniture to the side. He had some ideas for finishing touches, but it would wait for when he had some time.
"For me?"
Ryan grinned. J.T.'s eyes were wide with wonder, like a child in a sweet shop who had just been told he could have as much as he wanted.
"For you and your friends and later on your cousins."
J.T. cautiously stepped forward, throwing a glance over his shoulder, as if expecting someone to stop him. He studied the contents of the room, not rushing to play with anything, but looking over his choices very carefully, before deciding which toy he would play with.
"Oh my!" Ryan sensed the displeasure in Theresa's voice right away as she came up behind him.
"Look Mommy," He climbed into a motorized car, "It can drive by itself."
"That's awesome, mi hijo. But that looks like an outside toy. Why don't you play with something else, while I talk to your Daddy. Then we can go into the backyard."
J.T. obediently alighted from the car and settled in front of the toy garage and moved the little Matchbox™ cars up and down the yellow ramps.
Theresa pulled on Ryan's sleeve, so they were out of J.T.'s earshot. "How dare you," she hissed. "You know I can't compete with the Cohens' money. I can't do this for J.T. How am I supposed to bring him home after this?"
"What are you talking about?" Ryan felt like he had been punched in the stomach and the air had been pushed out of him. "I was just making this as comfortable for J.T. as possible."
"It's bad enough I have to compete with a pool and a mansion and the perfect family, but don't throw around the Cohens' money and spoil my son."
"Our son," Ryan retorted through clenched teeth. "That was something you obviously forgot these last four years." His eyes were smoldering as he glared at Theresa. It hadn't been his intention to make things more difficult for Theresa, and how dare she insinuate that was what he was doing.
"This was a bad idea. We should have just waited to finish all of this lawyer stuff."
Ryan felt someone tugging at the end of his shirt before he could answer. He looked down and saw J.T. standing next to him.
"Are you mad at Mommy?"
"No!" Oh G-d, thought Ryan, He had started screwing things up already. "Of course not. Mommy and I are good friends. Right?"
Theresa smiled, but Ryan could see it was forced. He hoped J.T. wasn't as instinctive as he was at that age. "How about we go check out that backyard now? Grandpa Sandy is probably at the grill with Uncle Seth. We could meet them in your new car."
J.T. happily followed, driving his toy Jeep with lots of starts and bumps.
"We'll figure this out," Ryan quietly told Theresa. "We'll make it work."
He saw Theresa relax immediately; her shoulders slumped as if a weight had been lifted. He wasn't going to apologize for using the Cohens' money, because he knew he'd be dependent on that to ensure he could make child-support payments. As soon as Theresa realized that, he knew she would mind the Cohens' money less.
"J.T. seemed to really warm up," Kirsten said later that evening. She was wearing a loosely tied robe over her striped pajama pants and matching t-shirt. Her feet were propped up on another kitchen chair and she was caressing a mug of tea between her hands.
"He did." Ryan leaned against the counter and smiled brightly. "Theresa on the other hand…" His voice trailed off.
"She'll come around. This will be an adjustment for everyone."
"He's crazy about you and Sandy."
Ryan noticed Kirsten's dopey grin. J.T. had glommed onto Kirsten as soon as they had sat down to dinner around the patio table. He had let her prepare his burger to his liking, adding ketchup, pickles and fried onions. He had insisted that she give him a separate small plate for the ketchup to dip his fries and made sure that the different foods didn't touch each other. Ryan had been at a loss, but Kirsten had instinctively understood the child's way and had surrendered to his quirks.
"We're crazy about him."
Ryan sighed heavily. "What next?" In one long stride he reached the fridge and yanked it open. He peered inside for a moment, studying the leftovers, but passed it over for a bottle of apple juice. "Is this what it's always going to be like? Dinners? Sunday outings? When Theresa was pregnant I nearly gave all of this up," he waved a hand around the room, "and you," he pointed to Kirsten, "so that I could be a real dad. I don't think I can be real dad if I'm only around part time."
Kirsten stood from her chair and moved to stand next to Ryan. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're jumping ahead of yourself. This is all new to you and to J.T. and to Theresa. You'll all settle into a routine. Sandy will work out a custody arrangement that will ensure you get to spend lots of time together. I know you Ryan Atwood and you will be there for your son. I just wish I was confident that Summer and Seth could pull themselves together in time for this baby. I worry about them."
Ryan squeezed Kirsten's shoulder in return. "They'll be fine."
"Seth, this is ridiculous. We go back to school in two days and we don't know where we're going to live?"
Ryan heard Summer before he saw her. J.T.'s hand was securely in his and they had entered the kitchen, hoping to find a snack before Theresa returned to take J.T. home. He glanced down at J.T. and put his fingers to his lips. He tiptoed to the freezer, over-dramatizing the action to draw a smile from the normally serious and contemplative boy.
"I don't know what to do Sum" Seth said oblivious to Ryan and J.T. "We looked at two dozen places and either they're dumps or we can't afford them. My paycheck isn't going to grow overnight." He slumped down in his seat. "Maybe we should just go back to the dorm."
"That's just wrong," she retorted, not noticing Ryan or J.T. either. "We've been married for two weeks and we're both living in our parents' home – not together."
Ryan couldn't help but snicker out loud. He was in front of the open freezer, digging for the ice cream he was certain Kirsten had bought the other day.
"How long have you been there?" Summer demanded, finally spotting them.
Ryan laughed louder.
"What's so funny, Daddy?"
He finally fond the ice-cream buried in the back. "Uncle Seth and Aunt Summer always make me laugh. They don't even have to say anything." He hoisted J.T. onto one of the tall kitchen stools and put down the ice cream while he foraged for bowls, spoons, a scooper and the ever essential ice cream toppings.
"They don't look funny. Uncle Seth kind of looks sad."
"I'm not exactly sad, J.T." Seth explained. "I'm just sort of trying to figure things out with Summer." He turned to Ryan. "What would you do?"
"Have you thought about asking Sandy and Kirsten if you can move in here?" He finally had everything he needed for a proper ice cream Sunday and held up the colored sprinkles triumphantly. He was rewarded with a huge grin.
"Ew. Ryan, are you mad? I mean, your parents are very cool, but —"
Ryan cut her off. "You can move into the pool house. It has a little kitchenette, so you can cook some of your own meals. You could even offer to pay a token rent, just a few dollars to make it official. They'd also realize they need to keep their distance."
He could sense Seth was warming to the idea, though Summer wasn't convinced. "The extra help might be nice when the baby comes. It's not going to be easy."
Ryan crossed his eyes at J.T., drawing a giggle from him. He was sure he had Seth hooked to the idea, but wasn't sure about Summer. "Besides, the company would be nice. Our schedules aren't terribly different. There are days we could even carpool to school"
"It's a thought Summer." Seth lifted his brows. "Otherwise, we go back to school and live in separate dorms until we find something."
Summer twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. Her eyes flitted around the room and landed on the bowl of ice cream Ryan was pushing towards J.T. She stood up and walked towards the counter. "Can I have some of that?"
J.T. hugged the bowl closely to himself. "Daddy made it for me."
"Hey, J.T.," Ryan admonished gently. "What about sharing?"
Summer watched J.T. stick out his lower lip and his eyes began to water.
"That's okay, J.T. I was asking for my own bowl. I don't like sharing much either." She saw him visibly relax. "Is it good?"
J.T. nodded. "If you want, you can taste it so that you know if you want the same toppings." He held out a spoonful of his ice-cream.
Summer beamed. "That would be great." She bent down to take the spoon he was offering and rubbed her stomach in an exaggerated motion. Ryan couldn't help but notice the tiny bulge forming in her belly. "Perfect!" she exclaimed. "I'll have one exactly like that." She slid in the stool next to J.T. and raised her brows at Ryan. "Get to it, please."
"Yes, ma'am." He picked up the scooper and prepared another bowl, carefully eyeing J.T. while working. He hadn't expected him to get so emotional at such a gentle rebuke. He was grateful to Summer for alleviating the otherwise tense moment. He took out two more bowls when Summer had her ice cream and scooped out ice cream for Seth and himself.
They were all sitting or standing around the counter, heads bent over their bowls when Summer exclaimed, "It's not a bad idea, Ryan. I think we should ask Sandy and Kirsten if they agree to let us live in the pool house."
"Agree to what?" Kirsten strolled in the room, from the patio, with Sandy at her heels. Their hair was wet and their clothing damp and sticking close to their bodies.
Summer and Seth looked at each other, trying to communicate silently like they had watched Sandy and Kirsten do all too often. Before they could say anything J.T. jumped in.
"They want to move into the poll house and live with you."
"J.T.!" Ryan didn't know whether to laugh or scold. His eyes darted around the room and landed on them on Summer and Seth. He saw Summer's shoulders shake, as she covered her mouth with her hand. Seth was holding onto her; his shoulders were shaking too. Ryan smiled while Sandy and Kirsten still looked perplexed.
"What J.T. said," Seth finally spat out. "But I'd prefer the pool house." He explained Ryan's idea to his parents and waited for an answer.
"I don't know, son. Are you sure?" Sandy asked.
"I can't say I'm thrilled with the idea of moving back to Newport as a newlywed, but it's our best option and it is temporary. Mom?"
"It's a thought. If it's okay with your dad and you and Summer are comfortable with the idea… if you're sure…"
Kirsten was still having a hard time with the fact that her baby was a married man and that she was going to be a grandmother again. But she wasn't upset anymore and she was happy that Seth was so calm (for Seth) and content. She had always thought Summer was a good fit for him, and her opinion had never changed. As she watched them interact more and more she was more confident that all would work out, if only she and Sandy would show them love and support in what was going to be a very tumultuous start to a marriage.
"We'd share in the cooking and groceries," Summer insisted. "We'd want to make it our own place as much as possible. I don't mean redecorating," she added hastily.
"Fine," said Sandy. "We can iron out the details later."
"Does that mean we can all eat ice-cream together when I visit?" J.T. piped in.
"Yes it does." Summer tousled his hair. "And pizza too. I would really go for some pizza with my ice cream."