Discl. O.C. and all the characters belong to Josh...

As usual, thank you, thank you, thank you to all my loyal readers for the reviews! Leentje, pandog91, uscrocks, PrincessOats42, I-Believe-in-the-Butterflies (J), kursk, Kym, Rainygal, Maddysparkles, the-OC-roxmysox, you guys rock!

Maddy, I couldn't really follow your plan, as the next chapter is already written, but thanks for the suggestion!

A/N: the reason Ryan doesn't recognise himself in Colin, is, that in my opinion, you can only recognise something that you know exists. Don't get what I mean? Ryan has NO idea, that he has a son, so he would never see the similarities and conclude that Colin's family. Also I guess that Alyssa looks completely different, as she has a different mother, so no recognition there as well. In the end, I think it's always way harder to see yourself in a kid than for others to see it, as they just know your look better, unless you spend all your days in front of a mirror...

Chapter 10

Pushing the door to their hotel room open, Seth nearly stumbled over his own feet, before he fully entered the room, placing his suitcase on the floor and letting himself plop onto the bed.

Ryan followed closely behind, only carrying a rucksack, smiling slightly at the sight of his foster brother.

"Seth, again, what the hell did you pack for this weekend!" he asked, picking up the suitcase to estimate the weight, slightly shaking his head in disbelieve, before sitting down on a chair.

"Ryan buddy, I see you have never been to a men-weekend before" Seth started, but was interrupted by Ryan.

"Have you?"

"Actually… no! But I've read books and I brought everything we could possibly need!"

"What's that?"

"Well…" Seth picked up his heavy suitcase and placed it on the bed, giving his face the best effort to show that it was indeed heavy, before he opened it with a drum roll.

"We've got a play station, with a few games we haven't played since… since you moved out of the pool house, let's say for old times sake. Then….. we've got tons of comics, mostly written by myself, as I know that you didn't have the time to read them when you were busy with the Newport Group and your family, so I thought it was time to do some catching up… " he turned around, grinned at Ryan and reached for some hidden magazines below his boxer shorts.

"We've also got some journals for men, just in case" he continued, winking at his brother.

"Seth, we know each other for 16 years now, but you still manage to freak me out" Ryan replied smirking, getting up and walking over to the bar.

"Well, that's a talent I'm utterly proud of" Seth answered laughing.

While he mixed himself a Malibu, Ryan told Seth:

"Listen, I've got this meeting tomorrow at noon at the pier and I'd like you to join me."

"WHAT! I thought we agreed to the 'no work' term! I don't believe it man, this is our weekend and I certainly don't wanna spend it with some business guys who bore the death out of me!"

"Seth, don't wack out…."

"Don't wack out? You know that I'm not good in these business things, that's why I have a partner who manages the boring stuff for me, and why the sudden shall I be at a meeting concerning the Newport Group, that's totally your –"

"SETH!" Ryan interrupted, rising his voice just a little to drown Seth's rambling.

"I'm meeting a kid" he continued, when Seth stopped, angrily looking at him.

"A – what now?"

"A kid… I met him at the pier the other day and…. Well, I have the feeling he needs someone to talk to and I couldn't just leave him hanging, it looks as if there is no father around, something every teenager should have. I told him to call me whenever he needed to talk and - he did. So would you please calm down and join me tomorrow?"

Seth remained silent for a few seconds before he answered:

"I don't know man, he probably wants to talk to you privately and you know me, I'm not very good with teenagers, they freaked me out when I was one and not much has changed…"

"Seth, you've got one at home!"

"That's not the same, she's a girl!" Seth replied, trying very hard to hide his disappointment over the fact that Ryan would abandon him and his carefully arranged weekend for some boy he had just met.

"Seth, he adores you. He knows all your comics and it's his biggest wish to meet you" Ryan answered, well aware of the fact that his brother was pissed at him, but playing out his trump.

"He does?" the adult with the black, curly hair replied, surprised and obviously flattered, though still trying to express anger, but knowing very well that Ryan could see right through him.

"Well…then of course it's different… I'll always have time to meet a fan…"

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one… So, let's get this play station running, I haven't beaten you in a while."

They had been playing all night long, talking about the past, their wives and kids, but not touching the "hot" topic. Seth tried everything to make Ryan at ease, get his mind off the problems at home and obviously it was working out.

When Ryan woke up the next morning, it was already 11pm and Seth was still snoring in his bed, his abandoned blanket laying on the floor. The architect smiled to himself, silently getting up, dressing into a casual jeans and a shirt, before pushing open the door and heading for the dining room.

It didn't take long until Seth joined his foster brother, yawning loudly.

"Slept well?" he asked, while placing himself on the opposite of Ryan.

"Yes, surprisingly well!" the man with the sandy hair answered, folding the paper he was reading.

"What about you?"

"I was cold all night, guess I missed Summer next to me" Seth explained, grabbing himself a bagel and waving the waitress to serve him some coffee.

"I guess you rather missed your blanket that you kept tossing to the floor" Ryan grinned, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You're probably right there 'bro" Seth smirked, inspecting Ryan's eyes to find out how his brother was feeling today.

"So..." he finally said, lowering his glance when he realised that he had been staring at Ryan for some time. "You're gonna meet this kid - what's his name by the way? - at what, noon? Do you want me to join you right away or to step in later as the big, unexpected, eagerly awaited surprise?"

"His name is Colin, and yes, I'd like you to join us later, in case he wants to talk first."

"Cool, I'm gonna hang at the beach then, haven't hit the waves for ages" Seth replied, his mind wandering back to the time, when his Dad had finally managed to get him into surfing.

Taking a look at his watch, Ryan got up, saying:

"Ok, I'm off to the pier then, it'd be great if you could turn up around 1.30 pm."

"Sure buddy, see ya then"

Ryan nodded and left, heading to their room to grab his wallet, sunglasses and one of Seth's comics before jumping into the waiting taxi.

Sitting on a bench, overlooking the ocean, Ryan couldn't stop himself from thinking about what was to happen when this weekend was over. He knew that soon they'd have to tell Alyssa about her mum's condition, a moment he already dreaded, the thought of it making him physically sick. Ryan loved his daughter more than himself. He knew what it meant to be left unloved and abandoned by his parents. The day Bernadette told him that she was pregnant, he swore to himself, to never leave or disappoint his kids, never let them experience what he had gone through. But now with Bernadette dying, Ryan felt lost. How could he ever possibly replace their mum? A single tear ran down his cheek when he realised what Bernadette would be missing out. She would never see her daughter graduate, falling in love, getting married or have children of her own. Alyssa would not have her mother's support during the next few years of teenage drama and growing up, how should he deal with that?

"Are you ok?" suddenly a quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ryan flinched, instantly wiping away his tear and turning around to see who was standing behind him.

"Oh, hi Colin, I'm ok, don't worry" he told the boy, taking a deep breath, trying to regain some control over himself.

Colin walked around the bench and placed himself next to the architect, his eyes meeting Ryan's eyes, saying:

"Please don't lie to me..."

"That was not a lie Colin... Well, technically yes, but... I don't wanna depress you" the adult answered honestly, trying very hard to get a grip. He didn't wanna bother the kid with his problems.

"My mum always says, a problem shared is a problem halved."

"I think I heard that one before" Ryan answered, trying to smile. "But it's personal, I don't want to burden you."

"I have seen you drinking, don't you think that bothers me more than knowing the reason for it?"

Ryan raised his hands in defeat, shaking his head at the boy's wit.

"You're probably right...Well...I was trying to decide how I should tell my daughter that her mum has cancer and will die" he finally revealed.

"... I'm sorry..." Colin answered, his voice expressing shock and sympathy. Nobody spoke for a few moments until the boy continued: "Show her, that you are here for her..."

"But how? How can I possibly replace her mother?" Ryan asked broken-hearted, again feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

"You can't... Like my mum has never tried to replace my Dad. She just showed and told me, that she will always be here for me, no matter what."

Nodding, Ryan was again amazed at how grown up this boy already was. He felt like Colin could see right through his eyes into his soul, feeling what he was feeling.

"How come you're so smart?" the adult tried to joke, unconsciously rubbing his eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

"Mum says that's something I inherited from my Dad, her side of the family is selfish and at odds with each other" Colin smiled, softly squeezing Ryan's arm.

"And family is all that matters in the end..." the boy added, his gaze wandering over the ocean, a sad undertone in his voice.

"How come you don't know your father?" Ryan asked, now fully concentrating on the boy next to him.

"Mum says it's complicated..." Colin answered sardonically.

"Well, sometimes life really is complicated. Maybe she tries to protect you?"

"I get the feeling that she rather wants to protect herself " the boy with the blue eyes pointed out, sighing deeply.

"Hey come on, she can't be that bad! And believe me, sometimes you don't need a biological dad" Ryan continued, placing his arm around the boy, comfortingly stroking his back.

"Do you consider Mr. Cohen your dad?" Colin asked interested, curiosity in his eyes.

"Definitely…. I have never told him, but I hardly ever think of my biological parents anymore…" the adult explained, his eyes narrowing at the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Atwood.

"I wish…. I wish I was adopted by a really cool dad…." the boy told Ryan, adding "like you" under his breath, but the architect still heard it.

"Maybe your Dad is not so bad at all, I wouldn't judge before you meet him" Ryan said, trying to avoid the topic he felt coming up.

"If I will ever meet him…." Colin replied sadly.

"I could do some research, you know? Only if you want to of course... I have a few connections… What can you tell me about your family?"

"Well... first of all, my full name is…."

"Surprise!"

The two figures on the bench jumped at the sound of a voice behind them. They turned around simultaneously, looking at Seth who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Seth... you're early" Ryan smiled, getting up and pulling his brother into an embrace, glad to have him around after the recent emotional roller coaster ride.

Seth blinked surprised, but sensed that Ryan was agitated, a very uncommon state for his foster brother, who usually was capable of fully hiding his emotions. So he just comfortingly patted Ryan's shoulder, showing him that back-up was here.

Colin, in the meantime, had jumped off the bench and was standing in front of the two brothers, his mouth wide open, his eyes expressing shock.

"You... you're... Seth Cohen!" he finally gasped, hardly keeping himself from pointing at the graphic artist.

Ryan let go of Seth and turned around, smiling at the shocked expression in Colin's face.

"Yeah, Colin, that's my surprise for you. Please meet the one and only - Seth Cohen."

The adult with the black, curly hair grinned, stepped up to the boy, inspecting his biggest fan from head to toe and was just about to say something when the recognition hit him. He inhaled deeply, his eyes widening in shock.

"Seth, that's Colin... Uhm, what's your family name again? Why don't you introduce yourself?" Ryan said, trying to break the tension that was suddenly filling the air.

"Hi Mr. Cohen, I'm Colin - "

"COLIN, what a cool name!" Seth yelled, drowning Colin's voice, pulling the boy closer to him, patting his shoulders. He then turned around to face his foster brother, nervously babbling: "Ryan buddy, could you please get us something to drink? You know, margaritas or something - no, bad idea, underage and stuff... maybe ice tea or a coke? Just something bubbly? 'Cos I feel so excited and I really need to sit down with... Colin and talk a bit about - me, you know?"

"What's up with you?" Ryan asked suspiciously, suspecting that Seth had finally gone completely mental.

"I'm ok, we're ok, everything's fine, isn't it!" Seth exclaimed, shifting from one foot to another, nervously trying to find a good excuse for his strange behaviour. "I'm just guessing that you two have been talking for ages and that you must be thirsty! And I always get thirsty when I talk a lot and - who knows better than you - I can talk hours about myself!"

With narrowed eyes Ryan nodded, completely confused at the sudden outbreak of his best friend, but still he obeyed and left to find something to drink.

Seth took a deep breath and turned around to the boy who was standing behind him, his blue eyes expressing confusion and irritation.

"So Colin, let me guess... your full name is Colin Cooper, right?" the adult then said, while placing himself on the bench with a sigh.

"Yes... that's actually right..." Colin answered, possibly looking even more confused.

"How do you know?"

"Colin, I'm a genius... and I'm totally screwed" Seth replied vacantly, more talking to himself than the boy.

Openair weekend here I come! Snoop Dogg! He he he! I will be away the entire weekend, so next update either Monday or Tuesday, expect some drama, guys!

(Btw... don't know what open air means? It's an event which starts Friday and ends on Sunday evening. It's camping with a weekend full of Music, usually around 30 bands... And of course lots of things only adult people should do, he he he)