Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C. I think we've established that by now.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter five, I really appreciate the feedback! Although some people think that I rushed into the baby storyline. The whole point of bringing Theresa back into the action is because I want to incorporate the loss of Ryan's brother with the birth of a brand new child.
Ryan stared at her in shock. He blinked a few times and shook his head. "Wha-what do you mean, it's yours?" Ryan stammered.
"Exactly what I said…it's mine," she repeated herself.
He gulped, a feeling of dread encompassing him. "That's not possible. You went to the doctor, you miscarried, you called me and told me that you lost the baby!" Ryan said, his voice raising an octave.
Theresa lowered her head in shame. She waited a few moments before meeting his cold gaze. She was crying freely, tears streaming down her cheeks and rolling down her chin, leaving wet droplets on her shirt. "I lied. I am so sorry Ryan. I-I was just so scared,-"
He cut her off mid-sentence, his voice harsh. "Scared of what? You got what you wanted! I left Newport to take care of you and the baby. You had me…I wasn't going anywhere, so why did you lie?"
"Ryan, you were miserable. The only reason you moved back here is because you felt obligated. I was going to lose you one way or another. We hardly ever spoke; you just stayed at work all day and worked long hours-"
Again he didn't let her finish what she was saying. "I worked so that we'd have money for the baby."
"Maybe that was one reason, but you also didn't want to be around me all day. Ryan, I could tell that you didn't want to be back here in Chino. You missed your family. So-I let you go," Theresa stated somberly.
"For the past year I thought that the baby was dead! Theresa, I grieved over it. How could you do this to me? You led me to believe that a child-that could possibly be mine was no longer alive!" Ryan practically screamed, causing Theresa to flinch and take a step back from him.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," Theresa cried. "I'm sorry; you weren't supposed to find out this way."
"Oh, so you were planning on telling me? When exactly were you going to let me know, was I supposed to get subpoenaed into court to pay child support?" Ryan asked bitterly.
"I was going to tell you when I felt the time was right," Theresa replied.
Their conversation was causing quite a commotion, heads turned to see what was going on. Rosa rushed over to the two, in hopes to settle the dispute.
"What is going on? You're creating such a scene. Can't you take this somewhere else?" Rosa hissed.
"Mama, please just leave us be," Theresa pleaded.
Noticing her daughter's distraught expression, she placed her hand on Theresa's shoulder. "Querida what's wrong?"
"He knows…" she whispered.
Rosa gasped, and looked at Ryan. His eyes were squinted and glazed over.
"Ryan, don't be angry with her. It was my idea, my fault. Please don't blame this on her," Rosa began to beg.
"Mama, this is between Ryan and I. Please, just leave us alone," Theresa insisted, shifting the baby in her arms.
"Very well," Rosa nodded her head and walked away. She attempted to usher as many guests as she could into the house, so that the two could speak in private.
"Do you, um, do you know who the father is?" Ryan asked, clearing his throat.
"No, I'm not sure. I haven't spoken with Eddie since last summer," Theresa answered.
"Did he know that you were pregnant?" Ryan probed.
"No, he has no idea. He didn't even know that I was living in Atlanta. I was too afraid to tell him. I can't even imagine how he would react if he knew that there's a chance that Matthew could be yours," Theresa shuddered.
"Matthew...is that his name?" Ryan asked. He had so many questions that he wanted answered.
"Yeah, I wanted it to be biblical," Theresa responded. "Do you—do you want to hold him?"
Ryan was overcome with emotions. He was furious that Theresa hadn't been honest with him, yet at the same time he was extremely relieved that the baby was alive. His thoughts drifted to Marissa—oh God, with everything that she was going through, she would definitely not take the news well. He looked at Matthew, and decided that he was the most beautiful baby that Ryan had ever seen. Was he ready to be a father? Was the child even his? Should he hold him? What was he going to tell the Cohen's, Seth, Marissa? Most importantly, would Theresa allow him to spend time with the boy, if he was indeed Ryan's son?
He nodded his head in conformation.
Theresa carefully placed Matthew in Ryan's arms. "Watch his head," she advised.
Ryan cradled the baby in his arms and gazed down at him. The little boy smiled at him and grabbed at his face. Ryan slowly sat down in the chair Theresa had been occupying when he arrived. He reached out and cautiously stroked the baby's cheek with his finger. Matthew wrapped his small hand around one of Ryan's fingers and began to make gurgling sounds.
"Hey, there Matt," Ryan said softly.
Theresa smiled. "He likes you."
"He's got a really strong grip," Ryan commented. He couldn't help but grin when Matthew grasped for Ryan's hair.
"Yeah, he's a big boy," Theresa agreed.
"How old is he?" Ryan asked, immediately falling in love with the bundle in his arms.
"Six months," she informed him.
Six months…she had been keeping this a secret from him for six months. Ryan couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. He never thought that Theresa would lie to him. She had been his best friend long before she had been his girlfriend, and they didn't keep things from each other. Ryan tried his best to keep his cool; he refused to lose his temper in front of Matthew. The feelings which evoked from simply holding the child amazed him.
He hadn't felt such a surge of happiness in a long time. Of course, deep down he was still worried about what was to come, and how everyone would respond when they found out. Suddenly Theresa interrupted his thoughts.
"You're so good with him Ryan," she said.
"I want a paternity test done," he announced, ignoring her compliment.
"I understand," she retorted. "I'll call the hospital first thing tomorrow morning and set up an appointment."
"Good, that's good," Ryan replied shortly. Just then his cell phone rang. He used one hand to dig through his jean pocket for his cellular, while keeping his free arm wrapped tightly around Matthew.
"Hello," he said.
"Ry, man it's me," Seth announced.
"Oh hey, what's up?" Ryan asked nonchalantly, hoping that Seth wouldn't catch on and realize that something was going on.
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing. Why aren't you home yet? Dad keeps hounding me about where you are…so not to sound redundant but, where are you dude?" Seth said.
"Uh, I'm stuck in traffic. I should be home in an hour or so, though. Tell Sandy not to worry, okay?"
"All right," Seth nodded his head, not realizing that Ryan couldn't see him. "Hey man, you don't sound to swift, is something wrong?"
"Seth, I'm fine," Ryan insisted. "See you at home," and with that he hung up.
Theresa stared at him questioningly as he stood up from his seat. "You've got to go?"
"Yeah, but I'll call you tomorrow," he told her. Ryan smiled at Matthew and stroked his cheek one final time before apprehensively handing him back to Theresa.
"Bye," Theresa whispered.
"See ya," he murmured, heading over to the Range Rover which was parked around the corner from her house.
As he walked towards the car, he could hear Matthew crying and Theresa trying to calm him down. He couldn't believe how things had turned out. Ryan had visited Chino looking for solace, for some friendly faces, to help him receive some closure after the passing of his brother. Instead he ended up with a son…if Matthew really was his?
Summer climbed the long and winding staircase of the Nichol Mansion. She had been greeted by Julie and Jimmy who were having dinner on the patio, on her way inside. They had informed her that Marissa was upstairs in her bedroom. When she finally made it up the never ending flight of stairs, she went right to Marissa's room. Summer knocked on the door, just to be polite. Ordinarily she would have just walked right in. However under the circumstances she decided that Marissa most likely wanted some privacy. After a few knocks, no one answered.
"Coop?" she called out, banging on the door. "Coop, sweetie are you in there? Marissa?"
A nervous feeling washed through Summer as she pushed open the heavy wooden door. She immediately noticed Marissa lying on the floor, a vodka bottle a few feet away from her. Summer rushed over to her friend and began to shake her.
"Coop, wake up! Oh my God, Marissa what have you done?" she cried, continuing to shake her.
Marissa's eyes flickered open and she looked around the room, her eyes finally resting on Summer.
"Sum-" Marisa began to speak.
"My God, Marissa! Do you know how scared I was? I thought you were like dead or something. How much did you have to drink?" Summer questioned.
"I don't know…a little more than usual," she replied, attempting to sit up. She grabbed the sides of her head and moaned in agony. "Oh man, I feel like I'm going to throw up."
Summer grabbed the garbage pail that sat beside Marissa's bed and placed it in front of her, gently rubbing her friend's back.
"Coop, you've got to stop this. It isn't healthy…you shouldn't drink so much that you black out!" Summer said, somewhat angrily.
"It-it helps me forget. It's the only way I can get any sleep. Otherwise, I'll just lie awake staring at the ceiling all night long. Sum, I just can't stop thinking about it, I keep having these horrible nightmares. I just want things to go back to the way they were," Marissa admitted, her eyes filling with water.
Summer pulled her best friend into her arms and hugged her tightly. The two girls sat there on the floor holding each other. The sobs coming from Marissa, brought tears to Summer's eyes. She wanted more than anything to take away everyone's pain.
A/N: I'm sorry that it took me such a long time to update. I got so many mixed reviews and I wasn't sure if I should continue this story or not. Anyway, chapter seven should be up soon but I must warn you, it's going to be very emotional. Please review, the more reviews I get…the faster I update:0)