Adopted by Dear Evan Hansen: Could we go on For Forever?

A Sort of Secret Method Known to Very Few

**Laura's POV**

"He had it coming, he had it coming! He only had himself to blame! If' you'd have been there, if you'd have heard it - I betcha you would have done the same ..."

I leaned against the wall, watching Ryder dance around the kitchen to Cell Block Tango. She noticed me shortly after and said, "Some guys just can't hold their arsenic" directly at me with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Morning," she lowered the volume when the chorus restarted, "Try this," she handed me a plate with what looked like a blue pancake.

"Why is it blue?"

"Just try it!"

I cut a piece from the pancake and ate it. "Ryder, this is great. What's in it?"

"Yes! Thank you," Ryder pumped her fist, "Great! Pancakes are the only thing I can make, but uhm, what's in it - well, pancake batter and it's blue because I put blueberries in it."

"How long have you been up?" I set the plate on the counter, "You certainly sounded awake."

Ryder blushed, "I woke up maybe three-ish hours ago and couldn't fall back asleep, so I came in here and started grief-baking."

"'Grief-baking'?" I tipped my head and stepped closer to Ryder, "What happened?"

"Nightmare," Ryder admitted, "Of the crash and juvie and everything else that was wrong in my life."

I clicked my tongue sympathetically and pulled Ryder into a hug, "You should've woken me up. We could've grief-baked together. I'm all for a good pity-party." Ryder smiled slightly and I rubbed her back, "There's that smile."

Ryder laughed and I dotted her nose with the batter fork. The mood quickly deteriorated when there was a clatter in the hall, followed by the doorbell ringing. She went rigid and she broke out of the hug, tearing out of the kitchen and to her bedroom. I went to the door and looked through the peep-hole. No one was there, so I ran to Ryder's bedroom and opened the door gently. I found her curled on the floor in a ball with her security blanket and stuffed bear clutched to her chest. I knelt down beside her and tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"I- I couldn't stop it. I'm so sorry..." she managed to say through her tears.

My heart broke in two as I pulled her into my lap, cradling her shaking body in my arms, "It's okay. It's okay. Just breathe. You don't have to be sorry for anything. I've got you." I leaned against the wall and held Ryder close, alternating between kissing and stroking her head. "Shh, shh, Ryder. You're okay. You're safe." A spasm ran through Ryder's body as a new wave of sobs came out. "Hey, hey, hey, shh, shh," I tightened my grip around her, "You're okay, just breathe. Rye, listen to my heartbeat, okay? Just, just focus on that. You're okay, you're okay."

The sobs subsided enough for Ryder to whisper, "Please, don't leave me alone."

I took Ryder's hand and met her gaze, "Never," I promised, kissing her forehead.

We sat on the floor for the next hour or so before I lifted Ryder up onto the bed and wiped her cheeks clean of tear tracks. We watched a Hamilton bootleg that Ryder had found on YouTube, then Ryder sat up suddenly.

"Mint mocha," she said, eyes wide.

"What?"

"Come on," she climbed over the back of the couch and ran into the kitchen.

"Careful!" I called after her, "Your ribs..."

In the kitchen, Ryder was digging through the fridge and cabinets.

"Think fast!"

I held up my hands just in time to catch the bundle of mint thrown at me, followed quickly by a bag of chocolate chips.

"Ryder, what is going on?"

"I'm not a good cook, but for a while when I was, you know, still in the system, I had a job at Starbucks to earn a little extra cash," Ryder ran around the kitchen pulling things down and tossing them into a blender, "I got to work after-hours sometimes in the back and they would let me play around with whatever I could as long as it was all ready by the next day for the morning shift. It was fun and it kept me away from wherever I was living at the time, so it was a win-win, plus some of my drinks ended up on the menu and that got me a bonus. Because of all of the time I spent around different kinds of drinks, I'm able to recognize... 'cravings', for lack of a better term, and," she paused to turn on the blender and I could almost see her relax at the sound. She pulled two glasses down and poured the drink into them, handing one to me, "I know how to make what I want."

"You are full of surprises, Ryder," I laughed, draining my glass.

"I want to change my last name," Ryder put her glass down and I nearly choked.

"What?"

"I mean, I'm your adopted daughter now and, well, I think it would make sense," her eyes flashed, "Unless you don't want that because if that's the case, just forget it, it's fine."

"No, no, no," I shook my head quickly, "That's not it at all, Ryder, I was just surprised. It's only been a few days, are you sure this is what you want?"

She met my gaze evenly, "I'm sure. I want a name that fits who I am now. I want to keep my parents with me, but I have 'Ryder' and 'Elliana' for that, as well as my entertainment choices and Jiggles and Foxie," she gestured to the hall to her bedroom, "I want something for this new chapter in my life, also."

"That's really grown-up of you, Ryder," I rested my hand on the back of her head, "And I think it's a great idea. Do you have any ideas as to what name you want?"

Ryder's mouth curled in a sly grin, "Hansen."

Due to popular opinion, an Adopted by Newsies story has been published. I hope you all check it out and let me know what you think. I got requests for other musicals and those might show up sometime in the future.

Stay safe and stay healthy,

                     -Spaceheater1