Disclaimer: I don't own any O.C.-related - only the characters I may invent during the writing of the story - they're all FOX's property.. thanxx 2U, guys

Autor's note: OK, sorry again for the long wait, I've warned you. Here we go..

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The first response she got was a wrinkling of his nose. Then his eyes slowly opened and a light smile spread across his face.

"Hey.." "Morning.. how 'bout breakfast?" He propped himself up on his elbow and accepted the coffee she passed to him. "How long are you already awake?" With a shrug she said: "Just some time. Don't worry." "And how do you feel?" "Fine." This earned her a scolding glance, so she added: "Gettin' there, okay?", as she'd told Sandy earlier. Ryan nodded and took a swig of his coffee, then disentangled himself from the blanket and glanced at the clock. "Quarter past ten already!" "Yeah. You missed the morning surf." "You've already met Sandy?", he asked surprised. "U-hum.. he's nice. He dressed the breakfast table outside and suggested we now wake the rest of his family. He.. uhm.. asked if I'd heard his son come home last night. Said I didn't", she grinned. "Seth will be thrilled to hear you covered for him." He paused. "Sandy and you.. how long've you two been talking?" "Dunno exactly. 'Bout an hour or so." "And.." "About what?", she chuckled, "Well.. family stuff. About how my parents got together and Patrick and me finally moved here, about him ending up here.. but I guess you two will spend some time exchanging stories later. We didn't talk about you, don't worry." "I don't. Wow. Sandy gets everybody to talk."

Cat shrugged her shoulders again. "I told him what I owed him so he knows a little of my past. So he has no longer the feeling of having a total stranger allowed to stay over night." "As you did with me? Telling what you considered necessary for us to feel more comfortable with our decision?"

He stood up and stretched his arms over his head, then pulled on a pair of sweat pants. She briefly wondered if he maybe could take out Gavin with the strength he must have in those unexpected muscular arms the wifebeater exposed. She shook off this thought and contemplated his question. How answer it without offending him? Finally, she nodded. "Yes. Kind of. Listen, Ryan, don't get me wrong, but despite those stories I told you and Mr. Cohen, although they're true.. it's not like you now "know" me, or somethin'. And it's not like we have that much in common. I.. I still remember what you said about overcoming a past. And I know that was supposed to be encouraging. Well, I don't have to overcome my past. I enjoy memories of my family. And now I'm focused on my present and future which means I first gotta find a place to stay and a job to pay for it." Ryan furrowed his brow. "So you wanna leave. Like.. here and now." "Not at once. And not without saying good-bye. I'm way too thankful to be this disrespectful. Maybe this afternoon." "Hey, no need to hurry", he interjected, "You first have to recover, and I'm sure the Cohens wouldn't mind.." "Save it, Ryan! Honestly. I thank you. It's not that I don't like you or your family. They're amazing, and so are you. And I don't know why you let me be your guest. That's what I am: Only a guest of this house, no more, and that's more than I could ever hope for. I'm not.. part of this. It's only YOU they let in permanently, despite your past." She squinted her eyes and scrutinized him for a second, then silently uttered: "Maybe because unconsciously Mr. Cohen felt the similarity between you and himself. And even how akin you are to his wife.. I haven't met your brother yet, but you really are part of them. Like a real son. ..You DO belong here. Never doubt about it!", she added in a suddenly determined voice, causing him to sit back down heavily, looking at her in disbelief.

Confused by her words he watched her walk to the CD-player, taking her CDs and stuffing them in her bag that stood beside the bed, already packed as he only now noticed. She turned around and motioned to the patio invitingly.

"How come you tell me I didn't know you and you.. you just say all these.. things..", he whispered barely audible and gave her a look that seemed so confused and, yes, vulnerable that it almost hurt her.

Hesitating she sat down by his side and carefully took his hand, looking at his fingers as she quietly said: "It's not that I think I know you. I only know that you don't like to be read easily. But some things are really hard to hide, and.. I notice when people try to do that. I've done it myself sometimes and I've known too many people who wore.. masks. And you.. you don't have to wear one around here, so you let it down a little. Which is a good thing", she smiled and finally looked at him directly. Despite himself, he just had to smile back. "So? Why's that a good thing?" She shrugged and her smile widened. "Because it's beautiful that you don't have to wear one. And because it's beautiful what's beneath it.." They sat silent for a minute.

"I was never really sure I belonged here", Ryan finally voiced and shook his head. "An Atwood", he added chuckling. "Well, maybe you're still no Newpsie, but you're definitely a member of this family. And that's what counts." He nodded. "And I can't make you stay." "Right. Come on, this isn't about you or me, this is about your family. I know they would let me stay longer 'cause they're kind and they'd do you a favor, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that. And hey: It's not like I'm ill or seriously injured or something. And we can still meet, I mean if you even want to."

He acknowledged the little joke and nodded but replied: "Okay, you're not ill, but you can't tell me you're fully healthy already." This made her roll her eyes. "So what, I'm not a hundred percent yet, but I don't need to be supervised 24 hours anymore. I only received a few punches and.. and..", to her own surprise she wasn't able to spell it out, so he completed: "..And lost your child." "That I never would've had!", she snapped, immediately feeling sorry.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to.." "It's okay", he soothed, "I understand. All of it. But please don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it, promised?"

She nodded. "Promised. You too, okay?" As he nodded she quickly leaned over and placed a softest kiss on his unbruised cheek, then stood up, took his cup of coffee and held out the other hand to pull him to his feet. "Let's go outside. They're probably waiting."

Just like Cassandra, Sandy was holding a cup of coffee in his hand when he stepped into Seth's bedroom. His cheerful "Good morning, son.." ended abruptly when Summer's head emerged from under the covers, an embarrassed and startled expression on her face.

Sandy stopped dead in his tracks and mumbled: "Oh.. sorry.. Seth, you've changed.. dramatically." "Dad!" Seth's dead popped up beside the other side of the bed. Summer pulled the blanket up to her chin and stammered: "Eww.. Mr. Cohen, sorry, uhm.. good morning.. I mean.. I'll be gone, like.. at once, sorry, I.." "No, no, calm down", he waved his hand, confused and absent-mindedly passed her the coffee. "No need to hurry. I guess.. there's an explanation for this.. I hope so, at least. ..Well, actually we're having breakfast on the patio and.. since you're already here.. feel welcome. I just.. can I borrow Seth for a second?" She nodded, secretly wishing for a hole she could disappear in.

Seth jumped to his feet, almost tripped twice over the comforter his feet were still entangled in, and followed his father outside. As soon as they were out of sight, Summer rushed to the bathroom, her purse in one hand, one of Seth's Comic-shirts in the other one.

In the kitchen Sandy turned to his son, both hands raised in a questioning, yet funny gesture. Seth immediately began to explain. "I know, it was a violation of the rules but it's not like it seems. Nothing happened, I swear! I even slept in my sleeping-bag and a comforter on the floor! Summer brought me home, like she'd promised, and we wanted to watch a movie but we fell asleep. When she woke up she was so tired and everything.. I couldn't let her drive anymore in good conscience! I couldn't! We even let the door open a little to show you there's nothing going on, honestly! It was just.. an accident. An exception, ya know? Please, dad!" he looked at him with pleading puppy eyes, his hair standing up to all corners.

Still confused, Sandy shook his head when Kirsten stepped into the kitchen, stopping to stare at her men skeptically. "Uhm.. good morning? What's going on?" Getting no answer she grabbed the newspaper to take it outside with her when she perceived Ryan sitting at the table outside, alone.

"Sandy? Where's Cassandra? Have you already seen her? She doing better?" "Yes, yes, she is. She was awake before all of you." Before Kirsten could say something, the phone rang and she went to answer it.

Now Seth was eyeing his father suspiciously. "Cassandra? Huh?" Sandy sighed. "Well.. seems to be the night of exceptions. She's a friend of Ryan's who was.. in trouble and needed a place to sleep." Seth snapped his fingers. "So he brought a girl home, too? Thank God for equality!" "Whoa, hey! That's a little not so equal. Ryan asked us before he took her home. And it's not somebody he's dating. Just a friend in need. Got that? So. I know it's hard to fight a war on multiple fronts, therefore you won't be punished for your.. "accident". This time. Which won't happen again. And now I need you to NOT drill those two with thousands of questions, you hear me? Maybe we'll tell you everything later. Just try and act.. well, as normal as you're able to. Okay?" "Yes, sir", Seth agreed, questions already forming in his mind while remembering Ryan's promise the night before. The one about explaining everything to him in the morning.

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Papermonsters: So, I'm starting to bring it all together. Please prepare for another round of waiting (soooo sorry), I'm already writing the next part, but I've just started another job (which also involves writing). Well, hope you enjoyed it so far and pleeeeease let me know what you think, ok? C U soon..