Summary: After the Oliver incident. Child services finds out about Ryan's trouble at school and takes him away. Sandy and Kirsten do everything they can to get him back with an unlikely source to help them.
AN: Another update for all of you. It's a little long, but I couldn't find a good place to leave off. Hope you like it. PLZ R&R!
Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.
Chapter 16: A New Ally
The next morning, everyone was very subdued. They barely got any sleep. Ryan stayed holed up in his room for the rest of the night; that didn't stop either Sandy or Kirsten from checking on him periodically throughout the night. Seth slowly padded into the kitchen to find both his parents sitting at the counter as Rosa was making some breakfast on the stove.
"Hey." Seth greeted them as he sat on one of the stools.
"Have you heard anything from Ryan's room?" Kirsten asked him.
"Not since-" he stopped mid-sentence and glanced at them both.
"Since when?" Sandy looked at him. "What aren't you telling us?"
"It's nothing." Seth mumbled.
"He had a nightmare, didn't he?"
"Seth," Kirsten gave him a look.
"You guys," he sighed. "All right. I hear every time he has them. He has them at least once a night."
"Seth I know you probably think you're helping him, but you're not."
"You need to tell us these things." Sandy told him. "It's especially important now with the recent revelations that have come to light."
"I know, and I get it." Seth sighed as Rosa placed their breakfast plates before them. "Should I go get Ryan?"
"I'll go." Kirsten got up from her seat and made her way upstairs.
She stopped just outside the door to Ryan's bedroom listening for any kind of movement. She slowly opened the door and walked in to see Ryan lying across the bed with his back facing her and his head partially covered by one of his pillows.
"Ryan," she sat on the edge of his bed and started to shake his shoulder.
"I'm sleeping," he mumbled as he burrowed deeper under the covers. "That is what you wanted me to do today, isn't it? Since I didn't get very much sleep last night, thanks to you."
"What are you talking about?"
"For someone who tells me that I need to get some rest, why would you take turns with Sandy coming into my room every five minutes last night? I woke up every time I heard the door creak open."
"I'm very sorry about that. We were just worried about you."
"I'm fine, now leave me alone so I can sleep."
"Fifteen minutes," Kirsten told him as she got off the bed.
"What?" Ryan finally sat up and looked at her.
"That's how long until the rest of us have to leave. If you are not down in the kitchen eating the breakfast that Rosa made especially for you by the time we all leave, then I will send Sandy up here to get you out of bed. And I know you don't want that."
"Fine!" Ryan spat at her as she left his room.
"How'd it go?" Sandy asked her as she came back into the kitchen.
"Apparently we kept waking him up last night whenever we went to go check on him."
"Oops." Sandy sighed. "Is he on his way down?"
"Possibly." She sighed.
Ten minutes later, Sandy and Kirsten were pouring themselves some coffee into thermos' to take with them as Seth was waiting for Summer to arrive. They all looked up as they heard a noise and watched Ryan pad into the room and take a seat at the table.
"Morning," Sandy greeted him as Rosa brought a plate over to him and placed a glass of orange juice in front of him.
"Whatever." Ryan mumbled as he slowly ate the ham and cheese omelet that Rosa had made for him.
"We're leaving now," Kirsten informed him. "But we will be checking in today. So you are to rest as much as you can."
"Fine." Ryan sighed impatiently. "Good bye."
As soon as the three Cohen's left, Rosa started jabbering away in Spanish to Ryan. He responded back to her in the same native tongue she was using.
"¿Por qué están siendo infantil?" (Translation: Why are you being so childish?)
"Porque tengo ganas." (Translation: Because I feel like it.) Ryan mumbled under his breath thinking that Rosa wouldn't be able to hear him, but she did anyway.
"Sólo está tratando de ayudarle." (Translation: They're only trying to help you.)
"No quiero su ayuda." (Translation: I don't want their help.)
"Lo necesita." (Translation: You need it.)
"No necesito su ayuda." (Translation: I don't need their help.)
"Dejar de discutir conmigo y comer su desayuno." (Translation: Quit arguing with me and eat your breakfast.)
"No tengo hambre." (Translation: I'm not hungry.)
"De todos modos lo come. Y escuchar tus mayores." (Translation: Eat it anyway. And listen to your elders.)
"Fino!" (Translation: Fine!)
"No quieres llegar a mi lado malo. Ahora comer así puedo dar a Senora Cohen un buen informe cuando ella llama a comprobar en usted más tarde." (Translation: You don't want to get on my bad side. Now eat so I can give Senora Cohen a good report when she calls to check up on you later.) Rosa was trying to be understanding of what Ryan was going through, but he was making it very difficult for her to do so.
Rosa walked to the laundry room to start a load as Ryan went back to his breakfast. He managed to eat more than half and gulped down his orange juice before he took the dishes to the sink and went back up to his room. He tried to get some more sleep, but Rosa was worse than Sandy and Kirsten when it came to checking up on him.
He knew he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep, so he just gave up on it. He was getting restless just sitting in his room with nothing to do all day, so he decided that he needed to get out of the house. He knew that Rosa liked to watch her 'stories' at two o'clock, so he knew that she wouldn't disturb him in that time period. That would provide him with enough time and opportunity to plan his escape. He just needed to plan it well enough.
Kirsten walked back into her office after the investor's meeting and went to the phone on her desk. She looked up as she saw Sandy coming down the hall and waved him in.
"Hi, Rosa." She spoke into the phone. "How's Ryan doing? How much has he eaten? Has he eaten any lunch yet? Where is he now? Well, put him on so I can talk to him."
"How is he?" Sandy asked as he pulled their lunches from the paper bag and placed them on the desk.
"He ate more than half of his breakfast, but he's been in his room ever since."
"Maybe he's getting rest like we asked him to."
"Rosa, what's wrong?" Kirsten spoke into the phone again. "What? Ok. Just search the house and we'll be there soon."
"What's going on?" Sandy asked her as she hung up the phone.
"Ryan's not in his room. Rosa hasn't seen him since she took his lunch up to him. The tray hasn't been touched."
"Let's go." Sandy discarded their lunches and followed her out of the office.
Ryan couldn't believe that it was so easy for him to get out of the house. He waited until Rosa had gone back into the laundry room to switch the loads and hurried out the back door. He ducked into the garage and grabbed his bike and pedaled away from the gated community. He had no idea where he was heading; but he suddenly realized that he was coasting up a driveway and knocking on a door.
"Ryan?" the person that opened the door was shocked to see him standing on their doorstep in front of them.
"Mr. Nichol," Ryan greeted softly. "I didn't know where I was going. I just needed to get out of the house. It was just too suffocating there."
"Come on in." Caleb opened the door farther and Ryan preceded him into the house.
Sandy and Kirsten were frantic with worry when they got back to the house and were met with Rosa coming back inside after checking out in the pool house for Ryan. Kirsten discovered Ryan's cell phone still sitting on his bedside table, so there was no way for them to get a hold of him. Seth arrived home from school and helped them as he called Summer, Luke, and Taylor to see if they had seen them.
"His bike is gone from the garage." Sandy came back inside.
"So he could be anywhere." Kirsten sighed as the phone on the counter started to ring and she picked it up. "Dad, I can't talk right now. Ryan took off and we can't find him."
"He's here." Caleb told her.
"He's over there?" she glanced at Sandy and Seth and they looked at her in shock.
"He showed up a couple hours ago. Said he needed to get out of the house."
"So are you bringing him back now?"
"He's eating right now. The maid made him something when she overheard him say that he missed lunch."
"Dad, he has an appointment with his therapist in an hour. It's very important that we get him there for it."
"I'll make sure he's there. I promise."
"Can I at least talk to him? Make sure he's ok?"
"He's shaking his head at that. Just give him a little space, Kiki. I'll make sure he's at his appointment."
"All right. Thank you, dad." Kirsten hung up the phone and sighed.
"Let me get this straight." Seth spoke up. "Ryan runs away from here, and goes to grandpa's?"
"Apparently." Kirsten looked at them. "Dad said he needed some space."
"That's probably true." Seth said. "No offense, but you were a little aggressive with him this morning. I imagine he wants some room to breathe after he found out that you know what happened to him."
"You're probably right, son." Sandy looked at him. "But it's not like there's a parent handbook to help us deal with something like this."
"Look, my dad said he'd have him at Dr. Freedman's in time for his appointment." Kirsten told them. "Let's just cool it until then."
Ryan sat on a barstool at the counter in Caleb's kitchen as his maid fussed over him non-stop. She had made him some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. He kept telling her that he wasn't that hungry, but she insisted that he eat it all.
"Were they mad?" Ryan looked at Caleb as he hung up his phone.
"I think they were more worried than mad." He told him. "So tell me why you decided to come here when you left."
"I didn't know where I was going when I left. I was just riding around on my bike. Then I suddenly found myself in your driveway."
"I don't mind you being here, but why did you leave?"
"It's too suffocating in that house. Every time I turn around, one of them is there asking me if I want to talk. Or they're watching me like a hawk for signs that I may need anti-depressants. I like my space, but I don't have it anymore."
"Understandable, but why come here? After that last supper at your place, I know how you feel about me."
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I figured I had to act that way considering…"
"Considering what?"
"Considering you knew what happened to me."
"You thought I would tell Kirsten what happened to you?"
"She is your daughter."
"I don't tell my daughter everything, and she probably doesn't tell me everything."
"So why did you keep my secret?"
"I'm not really sure. I guess a part of me wanted to make up for how I treated you all those months."
"You had reason to sometimes. I mean, I did burn down one of your model homes."
"From what I hear, that wasn't all on you. Seth and Marissa shouldn't have taken you there, and that Ward kid shouldn't have fought with you and almost left you for dead."
"Seth and Marissa thought they were helping."
"Well, I would like to know that you're getting help now. You have an appointment with you therapist in a while."
"I should've expected that. Sandy and Kirsten think that's the answer to everything. I don't like talking to strangers about my problems."
"Maybe you need this. This guy is a professional. He knows how to help people in your situation."
"I don't know how to talk to him about this."
"One advantage is that he's still a relative stranger to you."
"I guess." He shrugged.
Kirsten was pacing the waiting area of Dr. Freedman's office waiting for her dad to arrive with Ryan. Seth and Sandy were sitting in a couple chairs looking through some magazines as they kept glancing at her and the entrance to the office.
"Kirsten, calm down." Sandy told her. "You dad said he'd bring him in time, and he will."
"There they are." Seth looked up as he saw his grandpa coming into the office followed by Ryan.
"Thank goodness." Kirsten went to Ryan and hugged him tightly.
"You knew where I was." He mumbled. "Is he ready for me yet?"
"You have a few minutes." Sandy told him.
"Why are you all here? Usually it's just Sandy that stays."
"Your session is going to be a little longer today." Sandy informed him.
"Why?"
"After your normal session, we're all going to join you for a family session."
"What?"
"Dr. Freedman is not going to reveal anything you don't want him to. We're just going to start working on things as a family." Ryan nodded as the door opened and the receptionist called him back.
They all watched Ryan slowly make his way back and walk into the doctor's office. They were all silent for a while, until Caleb finally spoke up.
"Well, I did what I said I would." He told them. "I guess I should go."
"Dad, actually we would like you to stay." Kirsten told him. "The doctor agrees that you should sit in on the family session."
"You want me to sit in with you guys?" he looked at them astonished.
"Ryan, for some reason, is closer to you than us right now. I think it would be beneficial to the both of you if you're going to continue to hang out."
"All right." He sat down beside Seth and glanced around.
"So he looked better than he did this morning." Sandy observed. "Do you mind telling us what you talked to him about?"
"Just that he feels suffocated in that house." He told them. "He said that every time he enters a room, one of you is always there; looking for signs that he's depressed or asking him if he wants to talk. He likes his space."
"I told you so." Seth looked at them over the top of the magazine.
"I guess we do need to scale back on our helpfulness." Sandy sighed. "But we have no idea how to help him with this."
"Just leave him be for now. Give him a chance to come to you. I think he will eventually." Caleb assured them.
"Did he at least eat while he was at your place?" Kirsten asked.
"Actually he did. He even had seconds and thirds."
"What did he have?"
"The maid made him up some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. She took an instant liking to him. She yelled at me for treating him so badly when he first came to town."
"At least he ate." Kirsten sighed.
Ryan sat silently in Dr. Freedman's office. Instead of sitting in his normal spot on the couch, he was sitting in the chair near the couch with it turned so the doctor could only see the back of his head.
"Come on, Ryan. You need to start talking." Dr. Freedman urged him.
"I'm not talking about what happened, and you can't make me." He stated, still not looking at the doctor.
"I'm not asking you to describe it. I just want to know what you're feeling right now."
"Fine." Ryan sighed. "I feel like this whole thing is all my fault."
"Now why would you think that?"
"If I hadn't gotten into all that trouble at school, I wouldn't have been sent to that place, and that never would've happened to me."
"So it's not the guards' fault at all? Were they not the ones to do this act to you?"
"Yes. But if I hadn't been so obsessed with proving that Oliver was so unstable-"
"But he was unstable, wasn't he?"
"Yes, but-"
"But your actions were founded, right?"
"I guess."
"There's no guessing about it. Oliver was dangerous, right? He proved that by trying to kill himself in that hotel room."
"Yes, he was dangerous!" Ryan burst out.
"So whose fault was it that this happened to you?"
"Fine. It was the guards' fault, not mine! Ok?"
"Good. We're finally getting somewhere." Dr. Freedman scribbled on his notepad.
Everyone else was sitting restlessly in the waiting area; they either kept getting up to pace, or they started to flip through all the magazines. The door to the back offices finally opened and the receptionist called them back.
"They're ready for you now." She told them and they all stood up and followed her down that hall and into the room where Ryan was waiting with Dr. Freedman.
AN: So what'd you all think? About Ryan talking to Rosa in Spanish: I figured that Ryan would know a little bit of Spanish before he came to live with the Cohen's. Since Theresa was his friend and back neighbor, I think he would have to know at least a little bit because of her. And when he started attending Harbor, he would have to take a foreign language and I think it would have to be Spanish. And he would have to know some to be able to converse with Rosa as much as he does. Anyway, PLZ R&R!
Preview Of Next Chapter: Ryan's first family therapy session with the Cohen's and Caleb. What do you think will be revealed? Who will get upset? Will anyone walk out? Stay tuned to find out!
