AN: Finally got a good enough signal on my internet to be able to post this. You have no idea how frustrating it has been. -_-x but anyways, enjoy!
Ryan groaned as he felt something cold and wet being pressed against his forehead. He barely began to register beads of water rolling down his skin as his eyes fluttered open and he was met by a bright light. He wanted to move and wipe the water away, but his body wasn't responding right away and soon enough a tiny hand reached out to do it for him. He turned ever so slightly and forced his eyes open, barely making out pair of curious big blue eyes behind round wire rimmed glasses and dark blonde hair tucked into a knit cap. He sighed as the eyes came closer and the tiny hand came to rest on his cheek. Then suddenly, SLAP, "Hey!" a tiny voice called out, "Wake up now! You've made everyone nervous!"
His eyes shot open as he sat straight up, only to have the wind knocked out of him as a small body landed in his lap, the wet cloth on his head slipping off and landing right on the face of the little girl in his arms. He barely registered an eruption of giggles as he took in his surroundings. He was still in the parlour, though it seemed to have been deserted, save for the tiny girl in his lap, and his forehead was slick and wet. Suddenly remembering that there had been a wetcloth there he looked down to see it still covering Riley's face, though she seemed to be giggling behind it.
He laughed nervously himself and peeled the cloth from her face, "Sorry," he sighed shifting so that she sat in front of him instead of on him and watching as she pulled off her glasses to clean then on her shirt. "That's okay, maybe I shouldn't have slapped you."
Ryan chuckled and tilted his head to the side, "Maybe," he looked around the room once more before turning back, "where is everyone?"
Riley slid her glasses back onto her face and looked up, "I think they are outside still eating. You missed lunch. Mommy just went to the bathroom. I was supposed to go straight to the kitchen to help Zeke with something, but you were moving so I came here instead.
"Huh," Ryan said, wiping the water from his forehead, "How long was I out?"
Riley shrugged, "I dunno, like a little over an hour. Are you alright? I've never seen someone faint before. It was pretty cool."
Ryan snorted and shook his head, "I'm fine. And I didn't 'faint', I 'passed out'."
Riley giggled, "What's the difference?"
"Girls faint. Boys pass out."
Again Riley giggled and Ryan felt the corners of his mouth upturn as well at the sound, "If you say so. As long as you're okay."
Ryan nodded, "I am, thank you." There was a beat of silence as the Ryan's gaze fell to the washcloth and fingered the corners. The reality that he was speaking to his daughter slowly settling in on him. He felt lightheaded again.
"I'm Riley Melody Nielsen," she said, holding out her hand. Ryan smiled and took it in his own, marveling at how small her hand was in his, despite her age.
"Ryan Evans," he sighed, smiling down at her as well, "Nice to meet you."
She shook his hand with a wide smile and then jumped up, "So, do you know any songs?"
Ryan's gaze shot up and his eyebrows shot up on his head, "Uh, what?"
Riley laughed again and stood from the couch, "Do you know any songs?" She pointed towards a guitar sitting beside the piano and moved to pick it up. "Sharpay said that you play guitar. I've only learned a few basic songs, but can you play me something?"
Ryan watched as she carefully handled his Baby Taylor guitar and reached out to take it from her. He swallowed hard and looked at it in his hands as she placed herself beside him once again. He felt uncertain in his movements, almsot like being on a first date, he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands or how to sit naturally. But the way she smiled at him, encouragingly and patiently gave him enough resolve to find the familiar chords of the only song that came to mind.
"I'm dreamin' of sleeping next to you
I'm feeling like a lost little boy in a brand new town.
I'm counting my sheep and each one that passes
is another dream to ashes and they all fall down.
As I lay me down tonight
I close my eyes, what a beautiful sight
Ryan fixed his gaze on Riley as he sang, her eyes trained on his fingers and the way he was plucking the strings. He noticed that her gaze had sank into something he couldn't read, not the same awe and wonder as she had when she was looking at Sharpay, but a different kind of amazement. He watched as her expression changed as he continued to sing.
Sleeping to dream about you
and I'm so dang tired
of having to live without you
But I, I don't mind
I'm sleeping to dream about you
and I'm so tired...
Oh oh oh oh oh yes, I am...
I found myself in the riches
Your eyes, your lips, your hair,
well you were everywhere, out there.
But I woke up in the ditches
I hit the light and I thought you might be here
but you were nowhere
Oh love, but you were nowhere at home
She began to hum the harmony underneath her breath, her mouth forming the words that he was singing, but he didn't know if he was just imagining it while desperately hoping that she could possibly know one of his songs. Like somehow, if she did, it would link them.
And as I lay me back to sleep
this love I pray that I can keep
Sleeping to dream about you
and I'm so dang tired
of having to live without you
But I, I don't mind
I'm sleeping to dream about you
and I'm so tired...
I'm so tired...
His voice trailed off as he watched her eyes flit from the guitar to him, something registering behind her expression that made him stop. Without a thought he stopped playing and reached a hand out to her, cupping her cheek, "Riley? What's wrong sweetheart? Are you alright?"
She looked at him with searching eyes and leaned into his touch, "I know your voice...or...I think I do..."
He didn't know how to respond, he didn't know what to say. She could very well know his voice, after all he was a singer. His songs were everywhere, but the confusion in her baby blues told him there was something deeper to it. Slowly she reached out for the guitar and he let her take it without question, watching as she adjusted it to her body. Despite it being a Baby Taylor and made much smaller than a regular, it still looked entirely too big for her. But her piano fingers were long enough to comfortably find their place on the strings.
Resting a cheek on the body of the guitar she began to play.
He knew immediately what song she was playing from the chord progression, though she played the song with full strums than the complicated fingering he usually did himself. But he still recognized it as one of his songs.
His lips parted just as she began to sing, her eyes shut and her voice with a slight quiver.
"Well ah you done, done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
and now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's gonna stop me
but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn
To win some or learn some
I, won't, hes-i-tate
no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours..."
Ryan could feel tears fighting to fall as her eyes opening and finding his. She looked right at him as she sang the last words of the chorus, "I'm yours..." She continued to play, staring at him with wide, curious eyes and he offered her a gentle smile, beginning to sing the next verse of the song.
"Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and dang your free
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love
Listen to the music of the moment
Maybe sing with me
A la peaceful melody
It's your God-forsake right to be loved,
loved, loved, loved, loved
So, I, won't, hes-i-tate
no more, no more
it cannot wait, I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours"
Her smile slowly grew bigger and bigger until it nearly blinded him with it's brilliance. It was contagious. He felt his own slowly grow on his face as he began the chorus again, her falling in behind him with a pure harmony to his melody; an extension of him.
"So, I, won't, hes-i-tate
no more, no more
it cannot wait, I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours..."
In an instant Ryan took the guitar from Riley setting it aside and scooping her up into his own arms, hugging her to him with all that he had. In return she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck, her breathing uneven as she hugged him fiercely back. "I knew it was your voice. I just knew it. You're him! You're really him!" His tears were falling freely now, his lips finding her cheek as he pulled back and placed a kiss on both of her cheeks and her forehead.
"It's me. It's really me."
Riley smiled brightly once again and giggled, rubbing at her own eyes as she peered up at him through her bangs. "Mommy plays your songs for me before bed because I can't sleep unless I hear your voice. That's how I recognized it. I would know your singing voice anywhere."
He smiled brightly and hugged her again, burying his face in her hair as he rocked the two of them back and forth. He had no words to describe what he was feeling, but having her in his arms made it alright. She knew him. His daughter knew him and all the anxiety of how Riley would feel or what she would say was squashed by her open arms.
She shifted in his arms and then pulled away quickly to cry out, "Mommy! Look the man from the airplane is my daddy!"
He tensed for a moment before slowly turning around to see Kelsi standing in the entryway, her eyes glassy, evidence of tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and nodded, taking a tentative step toward the two of them. "Yes, I know." She stopped short of them, suddenly looking like the shy, uncomfortable girl he had first met so many years ago, the girl he had fallen in love with, and his pain faded into something else.
Shifting Riley onto one hip, he moved down the couch and patted the seat next to him, his eyes finding Kelsi's as she looked unsure. He offered her a solitary nod and she sighed, stepping forward to sit beside him. She was careful not to touch him, her body facing him so that she was situated as far as she could be, but he reacted before he could think too much about it. Reaching out his arm found it's way around her waist and pulled her to him, settling her into his side just as Riley was on the other.
Riley in turn, stretched out her legs so that they splayed across Kelsi's lap and leaned further into Ryan. They stayed silent for a while, just enough time for Riley to yawn and slowly fall asleep, snuggling into her father's side. Kelsi couldn't help the smile before turning her attention to Ryan, "How are you feeling?"
He shifted his gaze from Riley to Kelsi and nodded, giving her a weary smile, "I'm alright. How long were you standing there?" He knew Kelsi well enough to remember how easy it was for her to tiptoe into a room. When they were dating he had learned to feel her enter the room, but that had been years ago, he shouldn't he surprised if he was out of practice. Though it bothered him more than he woudl care to admit that he wasn't as attune to her as he once was.
Kelsi sighed and leaned onto his shoulder, "I heard you both singing," she shook her head and brushed back some of Riley's curls that had fallen in front of her face. "I...I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she could recognize your voice."
Ryan nodded and rubbed circles against Riley's back, "It surprised me. You play her my songs before bed?"
Kelsi nodded, "Ever since she was a baby. She's always had a good ear, so I guess it was only a matter of time something like this would happen..."
Ryan swelled with pride and traced his thumb back and forth across Riley's shoulder. "She is your daughter," he sighed, enjoying the rhythm of her breathing against his chest.
Kelsi looked up at him, "And yours."
He met her gaze and held it, his own arm curling her closer to him as he rested his forehead against hers. He watched her eyes flutter to a close and followed suit, matching his breathing with hers as hugged her closer. "I should be angry at you," he whispered, "I am angry at you. There is...a lot to discuss..." Kelsi nodded, her hand snaking up to cluch the buttons on his shirt. "But," he sighed, "I meant what I said yesterday about how I feel about you. No amount of anger or hurt could change that."
"Ry-"
"Shh," he silenced her by gripping her tigher, his eyes staying closed, though he knew that she had opened hers. "We're going to figure this out. We're going to fix this and I'm not going to give either of you up. Not this time."
Kelsi let out a deep sigh, her hand cupping his cheek as he opened his own eyes to meet her teary ones, "I am so sorry..."
He nodded, "I know." He brushed away a tear as it rolled down her cheek and bit back the impulse to kiss her. Instead he brushed her cheek with his thumb and breathed in deep, "Me too."
AN: Whew. To be honest, this was not where I thought this was going to do. I actually originally planned for their meeting to get drawn out longer, but...I don't. It's in these moments that the story writes itself. Even on paper Ryan and Kelsi always find each other. They just can't seem to get away. But, I am really happy with how this is shaping up. There is a huge array of possibilities, except...don't be fooled. Not everything can be sunshine and daisies. There are a few...bumps coming. There has to be, or else this would be boring. Review please! =]
-scribbling_wordsmith