PART 6
Dawn Atwood looked up when the heavy metal door opened. She watched anxiously as her son's lawyer came into the room and sat down in the chair across from her. Sandy Cohen was a handsome man in Dawn's opinion. He'd be perfect if not for those heavy eyebrows, but they somehow gave his face more character. She watched as he turned his compassionate blue eyes on her and had to look away in shame.
"What happened Dawn?" Sandy asked softly.
Dawn ran a finger over the table in front of her and avoided the lawyer's eyes. "I ran out of money." She stated softly.
"So you knew that you were writing bad checks?" Sandy clarified.
Dawn just nodded in reply.
Sandy sighed and shook his head. He still couldn't figure out where Ryan got his integrity.
"How's Ryan?" Dawn asked, cutting into Sandy's thoughts.
Sandy took a deep calming breath and let it out slowly. "He gets out of the hospital tomorrow."
Dawn's eyes jerked up at that announcement. "What happened? I left him with you so he'd be safe!" She growled.
"Ryan had a heart attack two days ago. Kirsten performed CPR until the paramedics arrived." Sandy informed her calmly.
Dawn looked confused. "But Ryan doesn't do drugs."
"No, he doesn't." Sandy agreed. "The doctors found a heart condition called HCM. It's hereditary, and Ryan informed us that he couldn't have gotten it from you. I'm not going to even mention how he knows that information, but I will be contacting Frank to get tested."
Dawn winced a bit and stared down at the table in front of her. "Frank isn't Ryan's father."
Sandy leaned back in his chair as he fought to absorb that statement. "Then who is?"
Dawn shrugged without raising her eyes. "I don't know his name. We were in Fresno and needed money. Trey was about three, and Frank had lost his job. We had a friend who offered me some work at his club. I found out I could make more when things were really tight in the alley behind the club with some of the drunk customers."
Sandy sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming on. "So you have no idea who Ryan's father is?"
"Actually, that was a pretty slow month." Dawn confessed. "There was a group of guys in expensive clothes there one night. One of them got pretty drunk and was telling everyone that he thought his wife was going to leave him as soon as their baby was born. He was frustrated because he had bought her a mansion in Newport and anything else she wanted. I thought I might score some extra cash so I stuck close to him. Sure enough, it worked. Nine months later I had Ryan."
Sandy was beginning to fear that he was about to have a heart attack! "So how do you know that Frank isn't still Ryan's father?"
Dawn shrugged. "We got a paternity test after Frank got a new job. Ryan isn't his. Frank was really angry about that. He thought I had just been dancing."
"Damn." Sandy grumbled. This was going to get messy, he just knew it. How was he going to tell Ryan that Frank wasn't his father?
Shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind, Sandy focused back on the job at hand. "Dawn, I came to find you for a reason."
Dawn looked up in confusion. "I thought you were here to tell me about Ryan's heart."
"Actually, I came to ask you to sign adoption papers." Sandy dropped the bomb shell.
He watched as Dawn paled drastically. "You want to take my baby?"
"No, we want to give Ryan a stable home and family." Sandy disagreed.
"He had that anyway without you adopting him." Dawn argued half-heartedly.
"No, he had a place to stay. I know you want what's best for him Dawn. This way he'll never worry about how long this will last. He can finally relax and just live without wondering if social services will find some reason to take him away. If for no other reason Dawn, sign these so that your son won't be putting extra strain on his heart." Sandy urged. He knew that he was being a little underhanded, but he would do anything to help his son.
Dawn wiped at the tear trailing down her cheek. "Will you help me get out of here?"
Sandy felt his breath catch and nodded. It was just further proof that Ryan belonged with them. He would never bargain his son away for a get-out-of-jail-free card. He watched with bated breath as Dawn's shaky scrawl spelled out her name on the adoption papers. He tried to hide his relief when Dawn passed the signed paperwork back to him.
"I'll see what I can do." Sandy stated, placing the papers carefully back into his briefcase.
"Take good care of him." Dawn whispered.
"I love him too much to do otherwise." Sandy declared softly before turning and leaving the room.
Two hours and several phone calls later, Dawn walked out of the prison and Sandy hoped to never see her again.
Kirsten walked slowly down the hall. It was everything she could do to keep from reaching out and supporting her son as he worked his way carefully down the hall of the hospital. It was part of his physical therapy to do these laps and regain his strength. She had no idea how hard it would be to see her normally athletic son who could run circles around the rest of them, shuffling weakly down a hallway on shaking legs.
"Good work Ryan, I think that's enough for today." The therapist, Sienna, declared as she watched another bead of sweat streak down her patient's temple. "You don't want to overdue it."
"Just a little farther," Ryan panted heavily.
"No way mister, you've already been on your feet longer than I would like. About face before I go get a wheelchair and make a big scene in front of all the hot nurses." Sienna threatened. She hid a smile when the teen blushed a bit and reluctantly agreed. It was times like this when she was grateful for male pride. She shared a playful wink with the kid's mom and they made their way back to the room.
A few minutes later, Ryan was once again settled in his bed, and Kirsten was tucking him in. Even though he knew that he should protest, it felt really good for Kirsten to fuss over him like this so he just let her.
"Okay handsome, I'll be back this evening for another stroll. Meanwhile, get some rest and have a good dinner." Sienna ordered playfully before leaving them alone.
Ryan sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Kirsten ran a hand through his hair. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.
"Yeah, just tired. I hate feeling like this." Ryan confessed.
"I know, but you'll get better and before you know it, you'll be jogging on the beach again." Kirsten reassured him.
"Not like I used to." Ryan muttered lowly, but Kirsten heard him anyway.
"No, not like before, but at least you can still have workouts." Kirsten pointed out.
"Yeah," Ryan whispered dejectedly.
Kirsten's heart broke for him. She knew that her blond son used physical activity to relieve stress. Maybe she could come up with another pastime to help him relax. Meanwhile, she would be there for him as much as he allowed.
Kirsten was startled when the door slammed open and her older son came strolling in with his girlfriend. Seth was balancing a tray of coffees and a large bag that Kirsten was sure was full of the latest comic books. Summer came walking behind him carrying only her coffee and a small purse.
Seth dropped the bag and set the coffee on a small night stand before collapsing into a free chair. Summer rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's dramatics and then walked over to the bed.
"How are you Chino?" Summer asked with a soft smile.
"Just a little tired." Ryan shrugged.
"Ryan just finished his physical therapy a few minutes ago." Kirsten informed them.
"Gotta stay buff huh Chino?" Summer grinned.
Ryan rolled his eyes, but he couldn't keep the slight grin off his face.
"Hey, what are you doing checking out my brother?" Seth protested. "You don't talk about my muscles."
"That's because you don't have any Cohen." Summer cut playfully.
"Ouch." Seth muttered before smiling over at a chuckling Ryan – score one for team Seth and Summer.
Before he could say anything, the door opened again and Sandy came into the room. He smiled to see his family together, but it was an effort. He was not looking forward to what he was going to tell them. He was particularly concerned about telling Ryan. Before coming to the room, Sandy had tracked down Dr. Taylor and asked him if Ryan was well enough to talk to about this. Dr. Taylor agreed that it would be best to tell Ryan about his father while Ryan was still in the hospital in case there was a problem. Currently there was a nurse waiting outside with a sedative if it was needed.
"Sandy?" Kirsten asked, realizing that something was wrong.
Summer glanced around before standing back up. "Um, maybe I should give you guys some privacy." She declared before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. She was startled to see a nurse standing right outside with a syringe. Glancing back at the door with trepidation, Summer walked down the hall and headed towards her father's office.
"What's going on?" Seth asked.
"I went to see Dawn today so that she could sign the adoption papers." Sandy began.
Ryan sighed heavily. "She didn't sign." He muttered; his heart dropping as he watched his dream of a real family fall apart.
"No! No Ryan, she signed the papers." Sandy assured him.
Ryan wasn't sure if that was better or worse. As much as he wanted to be a member of the Cohen family, it still hurt that his mother was willing to just give him up like that.
"Ryan, it's about your father." Sandy said slowly.
"Frank?" Ryan asked.
"Actually, that's the problem." Sandy declared soberly. "Dawn said that Frank isn't your father."
Kirsten gasped and reached over to take Ryan's hand. Seth watched his brother with concern, and Ryan just stared at Sandy in shock.
"What?" Ryan whispered.
"Dawn said that she was working at a club right before you were born. Frank had lost his job and they needed the money. She would make extra money from time to time by sleeping with some of the customers. One night a group of wealthy men came into the club. One of them got really drunk and was telling everyone that his wife was going to leave him after she had her baby. Dawn was with him later that night. You were born nine months later." Sandy explained carefully.
Ryan closed his eyes as if in pain.
"Ryan? Are you okay?" Kirsten asked gently.
A tear leaked out from under the teen's eye lid and trailed down his cheek. "My father was my mom's john." Ryan whispered brokenly. "I'm a bastard."
"Oh no you don't young man! You are an amazing kid who we love so much that we want you to be part of our family. So I will not have you putting yourself down." Kirsten declared angrily.
Ryan opened his blue eyes and stared at the blonde woman next to him. He squeezed her hand to acknowledge her statement.
"So she has no idea who this guy was?" Ryan asked after he regained his composure.
"She heard him say that he had bought a mansion here in Newport for his pregnant wife but that she was going to leave him as soon as the baby was born. She didn't even get his name." Sandy informed him.
"So what happens now?" Ryan asked softly.
"Now we find this guy and get him to sign custody over to us." Sandy stated. When he noticed Ryan's apprehensive expression, he paused. "Are you okay with that?"
Ryan looked down at the blanket covering his legs and sighed. "I'm not sure that I want to know who my father is. What if he's some asshole?"
"Well the chances are good for that considering this is Newport." Sandy admitted before flinching back after Kirsten slapped his arm.
Ryan couldn't help but chuckle at the moment of levity.
"No matter who your father is, that doesn't change how much we love you." Sandy reassured him. "You're our son now Ryan, everything else is just biology."
Ryan looked up into the older man's eyes. He saw the sincerity and love there. "Okay." He agreed softly.
Sandy nodded at him before pulling the teen into his arms and hugging him close while being careful of the bandage. "I'll take care of everything Kid. You just concentrate on getting better. I love you." Sandy declared as he pulled back and stared down into his son's eyes.
"I love you guys too." Ryan stated, barely keeping his voice from trembling.
"How are you doing? Are you feeling okay?" Sandy asked, sitting back in the chair next to Ryan's bed. Despite the fact that Ryan hadn't panicked, he was still concerned how this news had affected the teen.
"I'm fine, just tired." Ryan admitted as he leaned back into his pillows.
"Then why don't you rest and we'll be here when you wake up." Kirsten suggested gently as she stood up, brushed his hair back and kissed his forehead.
Ryan smiled and then closed his eyes and a few minutes later he was asleep.
Seth sat in the chair in the corner. He hadn't said a word during his father's explanation of Ryan's conception. He couldn't begin to wrap his brain around the fact that Ryan's dad was a Newpsie. That was bizarre on so many levels. He needed to talk to Summer.
TBC...