When Will You Realize That I'm Your Child Too?

Ryan and the guys laughed at a random joke as they walked into the recording studio. The laughing stopped at the sight of a girl sitting at the mixer, "Hello! I'm Keltie, and I'll be your new producer and I'll be recording you." She smiled. Everyone looked at her in shock.

"You're our new producer?" Brendon asked. Keltie laughed.

"Yeah, I know, it's shocking. I get it all the time. Why don't you all set up and I can get everything up and running?" She asked. They nodded and went off to tune their instruments and warm up.

Ryan was busy changing his strings on his guitar, but had a very hard time concentrating. He couldn't help but glance at Keltie. She had light skin and blond hair. Her eyes were brown and she had a petite figure. She wore dark blue skinny jeans and black ballerina flats with a black Beatles shirt.

Spencer, standing next to Ryan and tuning a snare, turned to him, "You shouldn't be thinking about dating right now. You need to focus on a treatment for Ariana and making sure Adam is okay." Spencer said. Ryan quickly took his eyes off Keltie and looked back down to his guitar.

"I know." He whispered. Spencer shook his head and sighed.

"It would be okay as long as you have the kids' approval. You can't forget that they barely lost their mom last year and barely met you." Spencer explained. Ryan nodded before adjusting the strap on his guitar and getting up and walking into the studio.

Keltie smiled at him as he sat down on the chair with the microphone in front of him, "Okay, we'll go through tracks one and two, then you can come out and listen." She said in her usual cheery voice. He nodded. She held up her hand and counted down to one and pressed the recording button and moved a few other switches around.

Ryan played through his songs, though he could hardly concentrate. His mind was on Keltie, and wondering idiotic questions about her. Does she have someone in her life? Does she have kids? How old is she? Where is she from? How did she get into producing? Is she familiar with my music? Does she think I'm weird?

Before he knew it, he had messed up the whole chorus and Keltie's voice was pulling him out of his trance, "Why don't you take a breather and we can get Brendon in here to do his vocal parts." She suggested from the other side of the window. He nodded and looked down before she could notice his blush. He walked out, his guitar in hand, and Brendon walked in past him.

He sat on the couch and practiced his songs while Brendon did his set. He thought Keltie looked so beautiful as she concentrated on the mixer. He loved how she concentrated on the music, listening to every note, "You ready to go back in?" She asked once Brendon walked out of the booth. He nodded and walked back in and sat down.

He played the songs with ease and before he knew it, everyone was done and Keltie was discussing the album with them, "I love the sound, really. Everything was done well, but I think on track for you should add in some strings. For track three, maybe some keyboards to back up that second verse. Um...on two, everything is good, but for the chord change from the first line of the chorus to the second, you should wait two more counts...That's all for today." She smiled. Ryan smiled at her, but stopped when he felt Spencer's elbow in his side.

"Great! So around three tomorrow?" Brendon confirmed. She nodded.

"Yes. Three in the afternoon." She smiled, grabbing her purse and walking towards the door. She opened it and held it open and the boys walked out and she locked it.

They stood in the elevator together, talking about bands and musicians they admired, "Yes, I love classical music. I grew up with it." She grinned.

"Really? Your parents played it a lot?" Ryan asked. Spencer gave him a look, but he ignored it.

"Not really. I started dancing when I was around three, so I would practice to that music about two hours a day." Keltie explained. Ryan smiled.

"You're a dancer! My daughter is a dancer. She wants to be a Rockette." Ryan told her. Keltie beamed.

"I used to be a Rockette! Before going into the music business!" She exclaimed.

"Wow! I'm sure she would love to meet you. Maybe she's seen you in a performance." Spencer stood in back of Keltie, giving Ryan the don't-you-dare-do-it look.

"Maybe. You never know." She flashed her straight white smile.

"Maybe I'll bring her and my son here tomorrow. They're twins." Ryan explained.

"You have a boy and a girl? Twins? How old are they? If you don't mind me asking." Keltie said.

"I don't mind...They're fourteen."

"That's good. Well, here's our floor. I'll see you all tomorrow!" She called as she walked out and towards the parking garage.

Once she was out of sight Spencer turned to him, "What did I tell you!? Put your kids before your live life!" Spencer exclaimed. Ryan sighed.

"I'm sorry! It's not like I was asking her hand in marriage! God! I just thought Ariana might want to meet her!" Ryan protested. Spencer and Brendon glared.

"Calm down, guys. Just because Ryan has kids doesn't mean he can't be interested in someone. If the kids are okay with it, then he should be welcomed to date. You think he should just be alone all his life because he has fourteen year old twins?" Brendon questioned. Jon sighed.

"Spencer doesn't mean it that way...I think he should wait. The kids are still getting over the loss of their mom and they might not want to welcome another woman in their life." Jon explained. Ryan sighed.

"Will you stop talking as if I'm not here!" Ryan yelled.

"C'mon, let's drop it. Besides, Ariana and Adam might want to meet Keltie tomorrow, it's up to them." Brendon said as they headed for the car.

~~~

Ryan, Adam, Ariana, and the band sat at the dinner table, "Hey kids, do you want to come to the studio with me tomorrow?" Ryan asked, Spencer and Jon shot him a warning glance.

"Sure!" Adam exclaimed. Ariana just grinned and nodded her head furiously. Ryan laughed.

"You know, our producer is a girl and is also recording us...You might like her Ariana, she used to be a Rockette," Ryan informed her. Her eyes lit up and Ryan grinned, "It's settled then. We go into the studio around three tomorrow." Ryan smiled.

"So she's a dancer and a producer? Wow! I like this girl already! I've never heard of a girl producer." Adam said. Ryan laughed.

After a few more jokes and stories at the table, Adam and Ariana did the dishes and were off to bed. Ryan said his goodnights and walked down the hall to his room and slipped on his pajamas. He crawled into his bed with his lyric book and scribbled down some notes before turning off the light, "Hey, Ry." A voice greeted. Ryan sat up and rubbed his eyes, coming face to face with Adalae.

"Adalae, please don't be mad." Ryan said. She smiled.

"I'm glad you met someone, Ryan. As long as she's good to the kids, I'm happy." Adalae informed him. He nodded.

"I mean...I still love you...I really do. Bu-"

"Ryan, don't worry. I'm gone. You can't hold onto me forever." Adalae said.

"I know...But still." She laughed lightly.

"Well, I'm off. I have to go kiss the kids goodnight then I'm going to bed." She giggled. He laughed.

"Okay...Do you know anything about Ariana's treatment? Have you , you know, seen into the future?" Ryan asked, a bit embarrassed. She sighed.

"You'll find something soon, Ryan. I'm sure."

Adalae turned her back to him and disappeared...before he could see her tears.