Home and a Way

[Perry]

Story Title: Home and a Way

Type of story: Long Fic

Main Characters: Ryan Baker, Paul Roberts, Leah Patterson-Baker, Irene Roberts with VJ Patterson and Amanda Vale

BTTB rating: T

Genre: Drama

Does story include spoilers: No.

Any warnings: Sexual content, violence/death.

Summary: After a fight with his mother a now fifteen year old Ryan Baker moves in with Leah and makes an impact on the bay and on Irene's grandson Paul. Amanda and Leah rival over Ryan. This fic contains some creative licencing and retconning including a SORAS or two.

Home and a Way

"How long are you going to be ignoring me for?"

Amanda Vale was driving a now fifteen year old Ryan back to Summer Bay though she really wished she wasn't. Now she's not the glamarous Amanda we all know and love (to hate). Amanda is now approaching forty and her crows feet next to her eyes now make her look her age.

"Why couldn't you just stay with your uncle and your sister?" She took her eyes off the road to look at Ryan who was either ignoring her or the earphones connected into his phone was too loud for him to hear. Either way Amanda knew he didn't want to talk to her, it still wasn't going to stop her from trying.

They drove past a sign telling them Summer Bay was only five kilometres away.

"Almost there?" Amanda again looked at Ryan. "Can you take those out?" She used her left hand which was now empty of jewellery, even where her wedding ring belonged, to take out Ryan's earphones.

"Excuse me?" Ryan pushed his mother's hands away.

"Oh so you can talk?" Amanda laughed.

"Not to you I can't."

"Why are you making a big deal about this?" Amanda raised her voice.

"Uh I don't know mum why do you think?

Amanda laughed. "He was way too old for you and you weren't his type."

"Well he was way too young for you, he was nineteen mum, four years older then me over twenty years younger then you."

Amanda coughed."He wasn't complaining."

"Well he only got with you to get at me and to prove how 'straight' he is."

"Well he proved it." Amanda smiled but Ryan looked at her with disgust. "I'm sorry Ryan, it's the last time I'll sleep with any of your crushes no matter how unrealistic it may be for you to get with them."

"Well it's taken fifteen years but you finally have done it..."

"Done what?"

"Done what you have done to everybody else, pushed them away." Ryan adjusted himself. "Pull over I need to Pee."

Amanda stopped the car on the side of the road and Ryan headed as far away from her as well he wanted anyway. He stood behind a tree and undid a fly when heard something close by. He redid his fly and followed the noises until he came across a car that had veered off the side of the road and into a tree.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he saw a man at the door helping someone on the front passenger side. "I'll call an ambulance."

The tall scruffy man looked over at Ryan before running away and disapearing into the bushes.

"Wait up?" Ryan began to follow him but then noticed someone needing assistance.

The young man was not much older then Ryan and was out cold. Ryan rushed to help him.

"Can you hear me?" Ryan asked with volume. "Can you wake up?" Ryan gently shook him. "Mum?" He yelled out. "I need your help. Grab my phone." He then checked the boy for a heartbeat which was beating rapidly fast.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked before seeing the crashed car and rushing to assist her son.

Ryan took the phone off his mother and dialed the emergency number. "Damn it!" He threw the phone. "Out of service." He then grabbed the boys hand. "If you can hear me squeeze my hand!"

Amanda grabbed Ryan's phone and held it up in different places trying to get reception.

"Mum, I'm going to need your help carrying him to the car."

"But?" Amanda hesitated. "What if I drive and get help?"

"I'm not sure how long it's going to take." Ryan climbed over him and started searching his pockets.

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing if he has a wallet or a phone, something that tells us who he is."

"Vinnie!" The boy mumbled.

Ryan grabbed his hand. "Vinnie? Is that your name?" He then grabbed him by the arm. "Vinnie? Can you get up? We need to get you to hospital."

"Be careful Ryan..." Amanda warned her son. "You'll get his blood on you."

'Vinnie' pushed Ryan off him and stepped out of the car, he walked one or two steps before falling back down.

"Vinnie!" Ryan helped him back up. "I'm going to walk you to our car." Ryan wrapped his arm around the boy and they hobbled back towards Amanda's car. "Who was that guy with you?"

"What guy?" Amanda asked as she followed them back, thinking she should help but didn't want blood on her dress.

"There was a guy at the car but when he saw me he took off."

"Well they're probably criminals... Can we leave him here and get help? I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ryan helped Vinnie get closer to the car. "Mum open the back door!"

"He'll bleed all over the car."

"Mum!"

Amanda opened the back door and Ryan tried to help Vinnie get into the back but Vinnie fell back down. Amanda went to help Ryan get him up but suddenly a bit of a Dejavu went through her mind and she remembered, this is the very spot that she killed a man, Leo Simms.

[Phoebe]

Great start Perry!

[Guest]

Great start Perry please update soon

[Perry]

Sorry for not updating my bf is gaming 24/7 and I can't write fix on the iPhone.

[Inactive User]

Great start More soon please xx

[Perry]

*Ryan's POV*

My mother... Ex mother drives rediculously slow considering the urgency of this situation. I should be on the back seat with him, should be holding him, making sure he's not still bleeding, he isn't much older then me, two or three years at the most.

Why did that other guy just leave like that? My ex-mother is probably right, they're probably criminals. Why else would that man with the shaggy blond beard just take off?

"**** Amanda, could you go any slower?" I couldn't help myself but Vinnie, if that is his name, doesn't look well at all...

"Do you have to talk to me like that?" Amanda asks me, of course she's more upset by my tone then the fact for the first time in my life, I haven't called her mum.

"Did you have to **** my boyfriend?" Stupid question, of course she did, she couldn't let me have something she didn't have. She is a lonely old woman so use to getting anything she wanted by manipulation. And she knew I was in love with Liam. She knew without me telling her, she always knows. She knew I was gay before I did, she told me when I was eleven that I couldn't get married and have children because I was different... Different...? Maybe she manipulated me into being gay? If she could manipulate Liam into being straight for seven minutes. There's no telling what this witch is capable of.

I then try to get my thoughts away from there, even if this ex-mother was more than capable of manipulating her son to feel something he didn't it couldn't be true as it would mean my feelings for Liam wouldn't have been true. Wouldn't still be true.

"Maybe you should call the hospital?" Amanda asks but it comes out more of a demand but I.still do what she manipulates. I mean asks.

I tell the hospital the situation but because we're so close they tell me not to adminster anymore first aid on him. No matter how much I want him to be more comfortable I listen to them and only a few minutes go by and we arrive at the hospital.

As the rediculously handsome Doctor with the sexy arse british accent examines Vinnie, I do my best to tell him everything we know. My mum cuts in any chance she gets to do that flirty laugh she does whenever she finds someone attractive. Even Dr. Nate Cooper is too young for her and I see it in his eyes he is annoyed with it too.

Vinnie is now moving, conscious I guess.

"If you can hear me squeeze my hand!" The blue eyed hunk asks. He sighs in relief when Vinnie does just that. "Do you know where we are?"

"Hospital...." Vinnie answers and Dr. Nate smiles, I like that he cares, I like this Doctor and it isn't just his looks that I like, he kind of reminds me of my Uncle Pete.

"I'm just going to go call Leah." Mum excuses herself.

"Leah Patterson?" Dr. Nate asks me when mun us away from earshot. Patterson-Baker, I correct him in my mind. I nod. "She's my housemate."

"She's my stepmum."

"Ryan? I've seen your photo but you were younger. I didn't recognise you."

"April?" Vinnie yells trying to get himself up off the bed.

"You are okay..." Dr. Nate assures him. "You're in the hospital." He knows, just get him better. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Paul Roberts."

*Amanda's POV*

I hang up on Leah, how many times do I have to tell that idiot that we are in the hospital because we saved someone from a fatal car crash? It's not like this stuff doesn't happen all the time in this curse of a town. The amount of times I've stood in this very spot because somebody I cared about was dying, dead or undead. Go away Gray.

"What are you doing Amanda?" The ghost of my Graham Walters, my late husband stands in front of me, questioning me, well not really, he's just my guilty subconscious.

What am I doing? I'm trying to save my relationship with my son... What are you doing you old spook?

"Watching you destroy your life and the life of those you care about most." The hideous old man has a smirk from ear to ear. He's happy I'm miserable after all I did for that old geezer. "Geezer?" Stop reading my thoughts! Well how can he not? He is my thoughts.

"How could you do that to your son?" How? Because I don't deserve to have people care about me. I'm a monster, now leave me alone. And the old man does what he is told.

[Inactive User]

Great chapter Update soon please xx

[Perry]

*Amanda's POV*

I wash my face again in the basin and then look up at my reflection.. I look a mess, not at all how a young lady should. "Young?" 'Really, Belle? Now?'

I watch my daughter as she appears behind me in the mirror. I don't dare turn around as I know she'll disapear.

"Amanda? What are you doing?" I would almost prefer Graham to judge me, seeing the hurt in her eyes. I can't look. 'Go away!' I shut my eyes and count to five in the hope that when I open them she'll be gone, nope. 'I'm trying to make it right, okay?' clearly not as she doesn't seem to be going.

"You've hurt him, more than you would know." I don't need my dead daughter lecturing me about my son. Where is she? 'I know, I don't need to be told...' this is so frustrating. 'I messed up. I knew he liked him but I didn't realise how much it was going to hurt him.' I start to tear up. "But you still knew it was going to hurt him." I know. "I know."

I shut off the tap and as I grab the faucet I notice my hand shaking. I try to stop it using my other hand. I look in my daughters eyes. 'How do I make it right?'

"Maybe you can't." But I have to, I must. Ryan and Nelly mean the world to me but Pete has custody of Nelly and Ryan is the only one that is just mine. My Ryan. "He isn't your Ryan anymore." She's wrong.

Instead of waiting for her to leave I leave the bathroom myself and as I walk towards the hospital room where I left my son Leah stops me.

"Amanda? Where's Ryan?" She looks at me with concern. It's not like we were in the accident ourselves, I did tell her that ten times over the phone. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine..." I step closer to the room and as I do that hot as Doctor approaches me.

"Leah?" He blocks the entrance to the room, blocking my way to my Ryan. "Do you know if Irene has a grandson named Paul?"

Leah nods, I didn't even know Irene had any grandchildren of her own or children for that matter, I always thought she just took all her kids.

"I have a kid on here claiming that he is him." He then gestures for her to follow him in.

*Paul's POV*

The Doctor that looks about twenty-two enters the room with two women, neither of who I recognise, the blonde looks like the skinny kid that is in here that keeps staring at me an must be his mum. Bloody hell, my head hurts.

"Paul?" The Doc approaches carefully like I might pounce at him any second, I might if he doesn't give me anything for this pain. "This is Leah, she's a friend of your grandmothers." Leah? I vaguely remember her named being mentioned. "She works with her." I don't care just get rid of this flippin' pain. It feels like I got hit by a truck. What the bleeding heck am I doing in Summer Bay anyway?

"Where's Nan?" For that matter where's mum? Or Mark?

"She's in America visiting her daughter." Leah answers, mum's in America? "...Her foster daughter, Tasha." She corrects herself after reading my thoughts.

"My head hurts." I tell them hoping someone would do something. "Can someone call my mum?"

Leah looks at me strangely, like she knows something I don't. "You don't get on with your mum. You moved out and live with friends." Why the bleeding hell does this stranger know this stuff about me? Bloody Nan! Wait, why don't I know this?

"What is the last thing you remember?" The Doc asks me.

Let's see the last thing I remember... Think Paul.... Um playing footy at the park... Maybe? Hang on that seemed like a while ago. I had a test in maths... Expand (x+5) (x+2) (x-2) lets see so you have a minus b... Not important Paul you suck at maths anyway... I don't remember when that test was. I'm not sure of much. I'm Paul Roberts of thirty-five Anderson Avenue St Leonards... I am sixteen years old... I have a brother named Mark who is three months younger then me. Nan calls us Irish twins. My dad is named Barry Michaels and he lives in Perth with his girlfriend... Damn... I can't remember her name. "What is wrong with me?"

"You nay have concussion we're going to need to give your brain a scan." The Doc says but I think its his brain needs a scan, I"m still waiting on pain relief.