Disclaimer: I don't own The O.C.

Author's note: I always appreciate any reviews, I hope you enjoy chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Ryan? Ryan, honey, I know you're tired, but I need to talk to you," Kirsten tried to gently wake Ryan…her little brother. She wanted to pick him up and hug him close to her…the little brother she had never known.

"Kirsten?" Ryan asked groggily, he opened his eyes and looked up at Kirsten, worry settled over him when he saw Kirsten's eyes, they were still slightly red from her earlier tears.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked. "Why are you sad?"

Kirsten brushed Ryan's bangs soothingly, "honey, there's someone here who wants to see you."

Ryan's eyebrows raised in confusion. Kirsten moved away from Ryan and someone else took her place.

"Dad!" Ryan jumped up in shock, eyes wide. He stared at Caleb in awe and disbelief. He stretched his arm out and touched Caleb's face, as if he were trying to check to see if he was really there. "Daddy!" Ryan's crying now and Caleb carefully pulls Ryan to him, careful of his injuries.

"I love you," Caleb whispered to Ryan as he held the little boy close.

"She…she said you were dead," Ryan sobbed as he buried his face in Caleb's shoulder.

"No…no I'm right here. I…I looked for you. I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never let anyone take you from me again. Okay?"

Ryan nodded in response, clutching tightly to Caleb.

"How did you find me?" he asked as tears continued to roll down his face.

"Do you remember when I told you about you're sisters?" Caleb asked Ryan.

Ryan nodded, now looking up at his dad with his confusion evident in his eyes.

"Kirsten is you're big sister," Ryan's mouth dropped open as he looked from Caleb to Kirsten and then back again.

"But…but she said she was my foster mom," Ryan stated his confusion rising.

"Yes, Ryan I'm so sorry. Kirsten…she didn't know. I made a mistake…I thought she'd be mad at me and I never told her or her sister."

"Why would she be mad? Did I do something bad?" he asked, thinking maybe Kirsten would be mad because of something he'd done. His mom was always mad at him.

"No, she's not mad at you and you did nothing wrong. I thought she'd be mad because…because I was with your mom just after Kirsten's mom died. I thought she'd be angry."

"Oh," Ryan replied, still obviously confused, but trying to pretend he understood. "Kirsten and Sandy said I live with them and Seth now," he informed his dad. Then he looked down at his hands before asking, "can't I live with you though Daddy? I…I like Sandy and Kirsten and Seth, but…but I wanna live with you," he looked near tears again.

"Oh buddy, I…I don't know."

"You…you don't want me anymore?" Ryan asked as tears began to run down his face once more.

"Hey…" Caleb cupped Ryan's face in his hands and tilted it up so Ryan had to meet his eyes, "of course I want you… I will always want you, but Ryan…I live alone and I work all the time. I…I love you and I thought… I thought maybe it'd be for the best if you live with Kirsten and Sanford."

"But…" Ryan's lip trembled, "but I want to live with you, you're my dad."

Caleb thought his heart might burst. He looked over at Kirsten, who was sitting beside him, "okay, buddy. I love you. How about you stay with me and when I'm on business you can come here and stay with Sandy and Kirsten."

Ryan nodded as he hugged his dad tightly with his good arm.

It took a few minutes for both Ryan and Caleb to regain their composure. When they did Caleb forced himself to relax his grip on Ryan, though he still held his son close.

"What's going on?" came a voice from voice from the door, standing in the doorway of Ryan's room, Seth took in the scene before him, with Sandy standing with his hand resting on a crying Kirsten's shoulders and Caleb holding tightly to Ryan, Seth's new brother.

Sandy and Kirsten, looking back at their son unsure of what to tell him. Seth seemed to have a knack for arriving at the most inconvenient times and his babbling wasn't always a helpful component to add to a stressful situation.

"Grandpa," he stared at his grandfather in shock. Though he loved his grandfather, Seth had always seen his grandfather as well…cold. Yet there his grandfather sat, actually hugging Ryan?

"Seth, why don't you sit down?" Sandy asked his son pulling out a chair from the corner of the room.

"O-kay…" Seth trotted over to the chair, plopped down, and once again staring over at his mother and father. "I'm sitting," he pointed out when nobody spoke. He looked over at Ryan hoping Ryan would enlighten him, but was stunned as he took in Ryan's blood shot eyes; Ryan had been crying… it fact he still had tear tracks streaking down his face. From the first time Seth had met Ryan, even though Ryan had been in a hospital and injured, Seth had seen him as strong and brave.

"Seth," when Caleb addressed Seth, he looked up into his grandpa's ice blue eyes, "Ryan's my son."

For a moment, Seth just stared at his grandfather, mouth open, "What?!" Seth asked. "Like…are you serious? But, Ryan…he's like my age and no offense grandpa, but you know, you're old," Caleb glared at Seth. "Okay, not old, but like…does that mean Ryan's like my uncle?"

That caught Ryan's attention, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, "yeah," he replied, "that means I'm the boss of you."

A look of irritation crept onto Seth's face at that, "no…that's not…mom, he's not the boss of me right?" he asked now unsure.

"No, Ryan's not the boss of you," Sandy replied for his wife with a small smile.

"Hah," Seth smiled smugly, "anyway, I'm older…by like a year. Even if we're in the same grade… this is kinda cool. I mean, Ryan's like really family now. That means no one can take him away, right dad?" Now both Seth and Ryan looked up at Sandy with worry on both of their faces.

"Nobodies taking Ryan," Caleb stated firmly.

"That's totally cool. Can Ryan go to Harbor than? Cause we're family we have to be like best friends and we can each others backs and we can take on Luke and the other Newpies together when you're feeling better and we can read comics and play video games and I can teach you how to sail…" as Seth's rambling continued the atmosphere in the room began to lighten. Ryan curled up in his dad's arms and fell asleep to the sound of Seth's babbling, content for the first time in years… he had his dad back now and he was happy.