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

Ryan pulled his blue Mercedes into the driveway and checked the address on the piece of paper before getting out, grabbing the flowers he had bought just moments ago. He shut the door and locked it before walking up the cement steps and knocked on the door. After a few moments, Keltie answered the door, "Hi!" She greeted.

"Hey! Um, I brought you these." Ryan smiled and held out the yellow daisies to her. She smiled.

"They're beautiful! Thank you, I'll go put them in water," She smiled, "Come in." Ryan followed her inside to the kitchen and watched her put the daisies in a vase. She wore a buttoned down dark blue shirt with silver necklaces and dark skinny jeans. Ryan thank God that he had chosen to dress casual that night. He almost walked out of the house wearing a suit and tie.

"Um, Ready?" He asked. She smiled and nodded and they both walked out to his car, "You know, I'm really happy you agreed to this. I know most people wouldn't even speak to a co-worker or client outside of work." He said, moving over one lane. She smiled.

"I'm happy I agreed, too. I would really like to get to know you."

"I never asked, but how old are you?" Ryan asked. Keltie smiled.

"Twenty-Seven." She replied.

"Really? Me too." He smiled.

"How are your kids?" Keltie asked.

"They're doing good. They're at Pete's right now. I'm taking Ariana to the hospital tomorrow so she can get some testing done." Ryan answered.

___

After laughing and having wonderful intelligent conversations, Ryan had his Mercedes pulled into Keltie's driveway, "Thank you. I had a great time." She smiled.

"Your welcome. We should do this again sometime." He grinned before leaning over and pecking her cheek. She blushed lightly before sliding out of the car and walking to her front door. Ryan waited to make sure she got inside okay before pulling out of the driveway and making his way to the airport to catch his flight to L.A. to pick up his kids.

___

"We've found a surgery that could repair her vocal chords. You would have to sign some papers first, since we don't do these kinds of procedures often." The doctor told Ryan.

"Okay. But what if something worse happens?" He asked.

"Do not worry Mr. Ross, we will take care of Ariana and make sure everything works out as it should." Ryan sighed and signed his signature on a few papers before shaking hands with the doctor.

The Doctor walked out of the room and had his assistants put Ariana on a gurney and taking her to the surgery ward of the hospital.

Ariana gulped and took one last look at her dad before she was pushed onto a hospital bed and drugged with the finest medicines money could buy. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep and oblivious of the sharp silver knife that would soon cut her open.

___

Ariana yawned and sat up in the bed. She realized she was in a white room with machines next to her. She stretched and looked to her left. Adam and Ryan were sitting on chairs, fast asleep. There we no windows, so she couldn't tell if it was nighttime, or early morning. She leaned over and gently tapped Adam awake. His eyes shot open and he sat up and grinned, "Ariana! You're awake, finally!" He said cheerfully. She nodded, "Well, try to say something...go on." He encouraged.

Ariana opened her mouth. Her neck felt scratchy from not being used for so long. She made pathetic squeaks and cries before she stuttered out a sound, "H-H-Hi." She managed. Adam got up and dove into his sister's arms.

"Dad! Dad, wake up!" Adam yelled, shaking Ryan awake violently.

"Huh? What? What happened?" He asked.

"D-D-Daddy!" Ariana said happily. His eyes widened and he pulled his small daughter into his arms.

"Oh, thank God!" He cried and held Ariana tight before pulling Adam into the hug.

It was finally done. Ariana had her voice back. There would be no more crying fits in the middle of the night...no more bursts of anger or whimpers of frustration. It was all over. In time, Ariana's voice would be perfect again, and not so scratchy.

"Mr. Ross, she'll have to come back every few weeks for examinations. Once in a while, she will lose her voice for a few days, but it will come back. Sort of like a sore throat. She'll need to take her medication so her vocal chords can become stronger." The doctor explained.

"Yes, thank you!" Ryan smiled and shook the doctor's hand. He hugged Ariana and Adam before they walked out to the car. Ryan grinned at the thought of seeing everyone's faces when they hear Ariana speak. He hadn't told them that she was getting the surgery, they thought it was just a regular check-up.

"Hey, Ry. How did it go?" Spencer asked.

"It was okay." Ryan replied, winking at Ariana.

"Did you know the first foot-ball player on a Wheaties box was a guy from Columbia?" Ariana asked casually.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Spencer and Jon screamed, Brendon just sat there with his mouth wide and Pete was on the verge of having a heart-attack. Ariana laughed.

"We had an emergency surgery done." Ryan said softly before pulling Ariana into his arms.

"Oh my god!" Brendon smiled and hugged her along with Spencer, Jon, Pete, Patrick, Joe, Andy, and Keltie.

"You have a very nice voice." Keltie complimented. Ariana fake-smiled.

"Thanks." Ariana replied before turning away to face Adam.

"C'mon! We have to go tell everyone!" Adam grinned.

"Whoa, no one leaves unless you two go with somebody. I would, but me and Keltie are headed to a move right now and Pete and the guys have a plane to catch." Ryan informed them.

"Why do we need someone to go with us?" Adam asked.

"Yeah?" Ariana questioned.

"Because, I don't want you two walking the streets of Vegas at night. Spence, will you take them?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, c'mon kids, let's go." He smiled, getting off the couch and grabbing his keys.

"Thanks Uncle Spencer." The two kids smiled. Spencer rolled his eyes and the they followed him out to his car.

"It's a two seater. Ariana, you'll have to sit on Adam's lap." Spencer told them.

Once everyone was buckled they drove off towards the park, where everyone was.

~~~

After the whole was was dark and Ryan had tucked the kids in, he and Keltie went downstairs to talk and watch Moulin Rouge. Adam snuck out of his room and crept into Ariana's, "I can't believe him. How can he do that to mom?" He asked.

"Prick. And I was starting to like him, too." Ariana muttered.

"It's not fair. I don't like her. She's probably just another stupid blond..."

Keltie excused herself to go to the bathroom. She walked up the stairs and down the hall, but stopped at the sound of voices softly speaking. She noticed Adam wasn't in his room so she put her ear to Ariana's door, "I mean, mom is dead and it hasn't been a year yet. She's probably going to take advantage of him and steal all of his money and make him miserable." Adam said.

"Yeah. That's not fair! He only thinks about himself and I bet Keltie is the same way. How much money do you think he's spent already on the past two dates?" Adam scoffed at Ariana's question.

"Probably thousands. By next month she could be rolling around in Gucci or Prada. This sucks. Just when things started getting better."

"I know! Our family is finally normal and now it's going to get ripped apart again because of her." Ariana spat.

"I know." Adam agreed.

Keltie put a hand over her heart, knowing it was shattered. She truly cared about them, she really did, and she truly cared about Ryan. She cared. But she knew that she couldn't have a relationship like this. She knew the kids were more important than her.

She wiped her tears and any evidence of crying and walked back down the stairs. She smiled and cuddled into Ryan's side as he put a strong arm around her. She held him tight, knowing this would be the last night her and Ryan would be truly together.