#ransom drysdane fanfiction

[freakrenaissance]

I love this whole fic! The way their relationship develops? Omg, so sweet & heartbreaking... gotta reread every chapter again 💓

softie | 1. prologue.

[disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here.]

series masterlist | next part →

.・。.・゜ ✫ ・.・✫・゜・。.

summary | ransom drysdale is the last person anyone would suspect to be a doting father. but when a paternity test reveals his relation to four year old georgia pine, the man finds himself turning into quite the softie for the peculiar little girl who’s been in such desperate need of his love and care.

characters | soft!dad!ransom drysdale, georgia pine (original character)

warnings | mature themes related to child abuse/neglect, ptsd/trauma symptoms in a child (developmental discrepancies, de-humanized behavior, detachment, extreme fears). loss(mother) and gain(father) of custody. unknown/secret child trope. soft!ransom, soft!dad!ransom. lots of hurt/comfort.

.・。.・゜ ✫ ・.・✫・゜・。.

Thump thump thump. Georgia’s little legs bounce softly against the padded plastic of her car seat as she sits in the back of her social worker’s crossover, gazing out the window as the beautiful Massachusetts countryside flies by. “You excited, honey?” the kind young lady, known to Georgia and all her clients as ‘Ms. Julie’ asks.

The little girl gives no response, not surprising the young woman in the least. “I’m sure he’s a very nice man, sweetheart. He sounded like it when I talked with him on the phone earlier,” Julie continues, figuring the reassuring words can’t do any harm at this point.

Deep down, though, the woman is full of concern. Georgia Pine’s been the most serious victim of child abuse and neglect the state has seen in years, and her new guardian, Mr. Hugh Drysdale, hasn’t exactly been the ideal candidate for taking over her case. Julie was shocked to learn that he had any interest in gaining custody of the child. After all, he had no idea the small girl even existed until she was removed from her mother and step-father’s care, following the most disturbing and heartbreaking rescue the young social worker has ever witnessed. And it wasn’t just her; many of the intervention team ended up testifying that they had never seen such terrible treatment of a child in their lives. And if it wasn’t clear from crime scene she was torn out of, it’s now clearly written all throughout the poor thing. After four years of brutalization, the child’s nothing like the carefree little girl she should be.

“How’re you feeling, Georgia?” Julie asks as she continues down the road, glancing back at the little girl through the rear-view mirror. The child’s brow is raised in worry, and her bottom lip is trembling with fright. Even though everything’s been explained to her multiple times, she’s still unsure what’s about to happen; all she knows is that she’s being brought to live with a strange man she’s never met before.

“It’s okay to be anxious, sweetheart,” Julie soothes, sensing the girl’s uneasiness despite her silence. Georgia’s not one to talk unless she must, and her social worker knows this. Over the past few weeks as they’ve worked together, the young lady has become very skilled at picking up on the little one’s shifting moods, even when she’s not willing to say a single word. “It’s just for a few days, remember? Then I’ll come back and check in to see how things are going. Nothing’s permanent yet,” the woman promises.

The arrangement was suggested by Julie and agreed to by Mr. Drysdale: Georgia will stay at the Drysdale household for three and a half days, three nights. Then, the social worker will return to evaluate the fit and make further custodial decisions. This way, either side has a chance to back out. And if Julie’s being honest, she’s all but assuming the man will surely want out by the time the fourth day rolls around. From everything she’s gathered on him, there’s no way he’s the fatherly type.

“Oh, looks like this is the one,” Julie comments, trying to keep her voice light and cheerful as she pulls into the driveway of the strange-looking house. Georgia’s eyes widen as her eyes land on the peculiar building, the boxy shape and modern design features making her question if it’s actually a house at all. “It’s not like any house I’ve ever seen before, how neat,” Julie comments as she sees the little girl’s confusion through the mirror, shifting the car into park and undoing her seatbelt. Barely visible from the car, a tall man stands in the open doorway, the most noticeable thing to Georgia about his appearance being the thick fluffy sweater he’s wearing.

“I’m going to go say hello, and then we’ll come back to the car for you to meet him. That okay with you, honey?” Julie asks. Not sure how to respond, Georgia gives a small nod, earning a smile from the social worker. “Okay, sweetie. I’ll be right back,” the woman promises, exiting the car and shutting the door behind her.

“Mr. Drysdale,” she greets as she makes her way further up the driveway.

“Call me ‘Ransom,’” the man responds, a dislikeable hint of uninterest evident in his voice.

“Ransom,” Julie corrects herself as she approaches the tall set of sliding doors where the young man stands. “My name is Julie Sullivan; I’m with Child and Family Services from the state of-”

“Ah yes, Ms. Sullivan, we spoke on the phone,” the brunette butts in, flustering the woman slightly as she nods.

“We did, indeed. As outlined in our arrangement, I’ve brought my client Georgia with me; she’s prepared to stay with you through Friday morning until I return to perform an evaluation.”

“Great,” Ransom replies flatly. “Where’s the kid?”

“Still in the car,” Julie tells him, trying to hold onto her patience. “She’s brought an overnight bag with all of her belongings; I have a car seat issued by the state as well for you to use.”

“A car seat? I thought she was four,” the clueless man asks incredulously, “what, does she need diapers, too?”

“Mr. Dry- Ransom,” Julie states, a sense of near pleading creeping up into her voice. “The child is four… I thought you said you-”

“Yeah, yeah, I read over the paperwork you sent,” he waves her off, his nose scrunching slightly at the thought of all the parent-training material he had to skim through. “Don’t worry, I was mostly kidding about the diapers. We’ll be just fine,” he says, though his words do little to reassure the woman in front of him.

“You have my contact information, so please feel free to reach out at any time if you have questions or concerns. The line for the department is on my card as well, in case I don’t pick up,” Julie reminds him. “Ransom, please. Please remember everything we talked about in regards to Georgia; you need to take extreme care in your interactions with her. She’s-”

“I know, I know. ‘Not a normal kid,’ I remember,” Ransom quotes their earlier conversation. Sighing, Julie nods, knowing she has little power to do anything more than hand the poor girl over and wait to see what happens.

“That’s right. So please, please do your best to be gentle with her.”

“Alright, lady. I’ll do my best. But I gotta tell ya, I’m no softie,” he admits as the two begin making their way back down the driveway together.

Through the backseat window, Georgia watches with wide doe eyes as the pair approach the vehicle, a hoarse whimper rising in her throat at the sight of the unknown man. Opening up the car door, Julie offers the wary child a bright smile as she introduces, “Okay, sweetheart. This is Mr. Drysdale-”

“Ransom,” the man cuts her off, his deep voice causing the little girl to flinch. He almost doesn’t notice it, though; he’s too caught up thin line of tears he can see beginning to build up in her bambi eyes.

.・。.・゜ ✫ ・.・✫・゜・。.

series masterlist | next part →

.・。.・゜ ✫ ・.・✫・゜・。.

[babyjakes]

softie | 1. prologue.

〈 disclaimer: this blog posts content not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. minors are strictly prohibited from viewing, sharing, or interacting with this blog. for more information on this blog's commitment to protecting minors, read our full statement here. 〉

series masterlist | next part →

summary | ransom drysdale is the last person anyone would suspect to be a doting father. but when a paternity test reveals his relation to four year old georgia pine, the man finds himself turning into quite the softie for the peculiar little girl who’s been in such desperate need of his love and care.

characters | soft!dad!ransom drysdale, georgia pine (original character)

warnings | mature themes related to child abuse/neglect, ptsd/trauma symptoms in a child (developmental discrepancies, de-humanized behavior, detachment, extreme fears). loss(mother) and gain(father) of custody. unknown/secret child trope. soft!ransom, soft!dad!ransom. lots of hurt/comfort.

Thump thump thump. Georgia’s little legs bounce softly against the padded plastic of her car seat as she sits in the back of her social worker’s crossover, gazing out the window as the beautiful Massachusetts countryside flies by. “You excited, honey?” the kind young lady, known to Georgia and all her clients as ‘Ms. Julie’ asks.

The little girl gives no response, not surprising the young woman in the least. “I’m sure he’s a very nice man, sweetheart. He sounded like it when I talked with him on the phone earlier,” Julie continues, figuring the reassuring words can’t do any harm at this point.

Deep down, though, the woman is full of concern. Georgia Pine’s been the most serious victim of child abuse and neglect the state has seen in years, and her new guardian, Mr. Hugh Drysdale, hasn’t exactly been the ideal candidate for taking over her case. Julie was shocked to learn that he had any interest in gaining custody of the child. After all, he had no idea the small girl even existed until she was removed from her mother and step-father’s care, following the most disturbing and heartbreaking rescue the young social worker has ever witnessed. And it wasn’t just her; many of the intervention team ended up testifying that they had never seen such terrible treatment of a child in their lives. And if it wasn’t clear from crime scene she was torn out of, it’s now clearly written all throughout the poor thing. After four years of brutalization, the child’s nothing like the carefree little girl she should be.

“How’re you feeling, Georgia?” Julie asks as she continues down the road, glancing back at the little girl through the rear-view mirror. The child’s brow is raised in worry, and her bottom lip is trembling with fright. Even though everything’s been explained to her multiple times, she’s still unsure what’s about to happen; all she knows is that she’s being brought to live with a strange man she’s never met before.

“It’s okay to be anxious, sweetheart,” Julie soothes, sensing the girl’s uneasiness despite her silence. Georgia’s not one to talk unless she must, and her social worker knows this. Over the past few weeks as they’ve worked together, the young lady has become very skilled at picking up on the little one’s shifting moods, even when she’s not willing to say a single word. “It’s just for a few days, remember? Then I’ll come back and check in to see how things are going. Nothing’s permanent yet,” the woman promises.

The arrangement was suggested by Julie and agreed to by Mr. Drysdale: Georgia will stay at the Drysdale household for three and a half days, three nights. Then, the social worker will return to evaluate the fit and make further custodial decisions. This way, either side has a chance to back out. And if Julie’s being honest, she’s all but assuming the man will surely want out by the time the fourth day rolls around. From everything she’s gathered on him, there’s no way he’s the fatherly type.

“Oh, looks like this is the one,” Julie comments, trying to keep her voice light and cheerful as she pulls into the driveway of the strange-looking house. Georgia’s eyes widen as her eyes land on the peculiar building, the boxy shape and modern design features making her question if it’s actually a house at all. “It’s not like any house I’ve ever seen before, how neat,” Julie comments as she sees the little girl’s confusion through the mirror, shifting the car into park and undoing her seatbelt. Barely visible from the car, a tall man stands in the open doorway, the most noticeable thing to Georgia about his appearance being the thick fluffy sweater he’s wearing.

“I’m going to go say hello, and then we’ll come back to the car for you to meet him. That okay with you, honey?” Julie asks. Not sure how to respond, Georgia gives a small nod, earning a smile from the social worker. “Okay, sweetie. I’ll be right back,” the woman promises, exiting the car and shutting the door behind her.

“Mr. Drysdale,” she greets as she makes her way further up the driveway.

“Call me ‘Ransom,’” the man responds, a dislikeable hint of uninterest evident in his voice.

“Ransom,” Julie corrects herself as she approaches the tall set of sliding doors where the young man stands. “My name is Julie Sullivan; I’m with Child and Family Services from the state of-”

“Ah yes, Ms. Sullivan, we spoke on the phone,” the brunette butts in, flustering the woman slightly as she nods.

“We did, indeed. As outlined in our arrangement, I’ve brought my client Georgia with me; she’s prepared to stay with you through Friday morning until I return to perform an evaluation.”

“Great,” Ransom replies flatly. “Where’s the kid?”

“Still in the car,” Julie tells him, trying to hold onto her patience. “She’s brought an overnight bag with all of her belongings; I have a car seat issued by the state as well for you to use.”

“A car seat? I thought she was four,” the clueless man asks incredulously, “what, does she need diapers, too?”

“Mr. Dry- Ransom,” Julie states, a sense of near pleading creeping up into her voice. “The child is four… I thought you said you-”

“Yeah, yeah, I read over the paperwork you sent,” he waves her off, his nose scrunching slightly at the thought of all the parent-training material he had to skim through. “Don’t worry, I was mostly kidding about the diapers. We’ll be just fine,” he says, though his words do little to reassure the woman in front of him.

“You have my contact information, so please feel free to reach out at any time if you have questions or concerns. The line for the department is on my card as well, in case I don’t pick up,” Julie reminds him. “Ransom, please. Please remember everything we talked about in regards to Georgia; you need to take extreme care in your interactions with her. She’s-”

“I know, I know. ‘Not a normal kid,’ I remember,” Ransom quotes their earlier conversation. Sighing, Julie nods, knowing she has little power to do anything more than hand the poor girl over and wait to see what happens.

“That’s right. So please, please do your best to be gentle with her.”

“Alright, lady. I’ll do my best. But I gotta tell ya, I’m no softie,” he admits as the two begin making their way back down the driveway together.

Through the backseat window, Georgia watches with wide doe eyes as the pair approach the vehicle, a hoarse whimper rising in her throat at the sight of the unknown man. Opening up the car door, Julie offers the wary child a bright smile as she introduces, “Okay, sweetheart. This is Mr. Drysdale-”

“Ransom,” the man cuts her off, his deep voice causing the little girl to flinch. He almost doesn’t notice it, though; he’s too caught up thin line of tears he can see beginning to build up in her bambi eyes.

series masterlist | next part →