Sandy and Kirsten wait nervously in the kitchen wringing their hands as the minutes tick by. The social worker delivering their new foster son Ryan was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago and they are beginning to get anxious. The doorbell rings loudly causing Kirsten to spill her wine and Sandy to stop mid-shmear. Quickly, they exchange apprehensive looks before running to the door.

A social worker, looking tired and overworked, gives them a wan smile before extending her hand.

"Hi I'm Melanie White with Child Services." Kirsten wipes her clammy, nervous hands on her pant leg before firmly shaking Melanie's hand. "And this is Ryan." Melanie has a firm grip on the boy's shoulder as if she is trying to keep him from running away. He is small for a 5 year old, skinny with dirty hair and clothing. Kirsten kneels down slowly so she is eye level with the little boy.

"Hi Ryan I'm Kirsten." Reluctantly, the boy raises his head to meet her eyes. A large black eye takes up most of his face and finger-shaped bruises surround his neck , his blue eyes are calculating, shy and fearful.

Sandy kneels down beside Kirsten looking grimly over the boy's bruised flesh. One of his contacts at social services said they had to pull this kid out of a locked cupboard. His mother was a drunk and a drug addict who had an endless string of mean, abusive boyfriends. This one had been by far the worse hospitalizing Trey and Ryan one time to many. His older brother Trey had gone to live with his biological father in Fresno but the man had refused to take Ryan. Ryan's own father was in prison for armed robbery.

"Hey kiddo I'm Sandy." Ryan regards him fearfully before trying to shrink further behind his social worker. Sandy knew before he even met Ryan that the poor kid was probably going to be scared shitless of him but it was still shocking to see the boy visibly shut down in front of him. The reaction is so different from Seth's constant affection and trust that Sandy still feels like he's been punched in the gut.

Ryan sits patiently on the couch as the adults work out the paper work and other technicalities. Kirsten watches him out of the corner of her eye nervously. He doesn't fidget and complain about the wait like Seth does. He doesn't ask questions or cry he just sits there, his face emotionless and somehow Kirsten knows that is the worst of all. The two other foster homes he was in were almost as bad as life with Dawn.

The first house was a young couple named Dave and Marie. They screamed at each other all the time and never talked to Ryan sometimes he didn't even know if they knew he was there. He had to get his food out of the garbage can most nights and once when he was four he tried to make soup and ended up burning the soup and spilling it on himself. They sent him back after that and he had a scar on his foot from where the scalding hot pot hit him.

The second house tried to home school Ryan but they got angry when Ryan didn't understand things and every time he got an answer wrong they wiped him with a leather belt and told him how stupid he was. Ryan was sure he was never ever going to go to school after that, he was too dumb anyways. When he went to church with a black eye the pastor's wife had called child services and his foster parents had gotten so mad they locked him up in a cupboard. Child Services came three days later.

"Ryan?" Ryan snaps his head up to see Kirsten looking at him like she's said his name twice already.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles, Marie hated it when he didn't listen.

"It's ok sweetheart it's been a long day." Ryan nods tensely. This is the worst part. When the social worker is there and everyone is acting nice and caring. The nicer they are now the worst it's going to be later Ryan thinks with a grimace. "I was just wondering if you want to see your room." Ryan nods in agreement briefly wondering how many kids he has to share it with.

The room is nothing like he imagined it would be. It's big with a real bed and a desk. The walls are a simple blue and bare and the fluffy duvet has superman on it.

"We left it bare so you could choose what you want to put in it." Kirsten explains nervously. "It's right beside our son Seth's room and look." Kirsten points to a tiny door connecting the two. You guy can have a secret passage to each other's room." Ryan gives the first hesitant smile he's given since he got dropped off here because that is pretty cool. His face goes impassive again.

"Do you like it kid?" Sandy asks gently.

"Yes." Ryan whispers causing Sandy to strain to hear.

"What was that?"

"I-I mean yes sir." Ryan quickly corrects taking a step back from Sandy. Sandy slowly walks over to Ryan and kneels down in front of him.

"No need to call me sir honey it's too formal for this house ok?" Ryan nods hesitantly, holding his breath. "How about some dinner kid?" Ryan gives another hesitant nod and waits for Sandy to leave before following Kirsten down to the kitchen.

"Mommy, mommy guess what!" Ryan's head snaps up as a brunette boy comes charging around the corner right in to Kirsten's legs. He watches with awe as Kirsten smiles adoringly and picks him up.

"What sweetheart?"

"Grandpa took me on a sailboat and says that he's going to take Grandma to Tahiti because that's her favorite place in the whole world and then we got Balboa bars and…" Seth stops mid-rambling to stare down at Ryan who as regarding his casual intimacy with Kirsten with a look of surprise and confusion. Seth squirms in Kirsten's arms and she obligingly releases him.

"Hi you must be Ryan. I'm Seth and I'm five. Mom and Dad say you're five too which is cool because then you can play with me and Captain Oats. Where are you from? Do you like it here? Did you like your room? Is superman really.."

"SETH!" Sandy says with a wry smile causing Ryan to flinch and Seth to look up expectantly. This was exactly the reason they had Caleb and Rose take Seth sailing while they got Ryan settled. "Let's eat dinner and you can ask Ryan your questions on at a time ok?" Seth shrugs in agreement and Kirsten and Sandy watch with amusement as he immediately starts peppering Ryan with questions. To their relief Ryan slowly becomes more comfortable with Seth's childlike questions.

After dinner Sandy watches the two kids play with plastic army men and action figures. Ryan is intensely careful with everything he touches not daring to bend the moveable limbs of the action figures and always placing everything gingerly back where he got it. Seth plays hard throwing the toys around jumping on the couches. Every time Seth's superman "dive bombs" from the top of the couch to the floor Ryan looks nervously back at Sandy who just smiles encouragingly.

"He's so scared" Kirsten whispers in his ear wrapping her arms around his midsection.

"It's going to take time honey."

Things go well for the first few days. Ryan is tentative with Sandy and Kirsten but is open with Seth. The night light in Ryan's room is more of a lamp considering his time locked in closets has taken the normal childhood fear of the dark to the next level. Toys, games and clothing have slowly begin to filter in but Ryan tended to leave his toys in the box and was so careful in his new clothes that he wouldn't play in them.

Kirsten sighs knowing the changes wouldn't occur overnight and being grateful that he had taken the small steps he already had. With a smile she finishes the write-up on the new development and sends the information to her father before looking at the clock. 1:30 AM, time for bed. She peeked quietly into Seth's room, listening for a moment to the reassuring sound of his breathing. Gently, she pulls the covers over his shoulders and brushes a kiss over his forehead. Instinctively, his five-year old self curls in towards his mother's touch.

"Night baby I love you." She whispers before exiting the room. Checking on Ryan was much more difficult. He woke, wide-eyed and fearful, at the slightest touch. As quietly as possible Kirsten eases the door open stopping dead when she sees Ryan's empty bed. She hadn't realized how attached she had gotten to the little, frightened boy until her blood turned cold at the sight of him missing.

Quickly she checks the closet and behind the door. It isn't until she checks under the bed that she notices a large, wet spot on the mattress. Ryan wet the bed. He's five it's not like she didn't think it wasn't going to happen, they even had a special kid's mattress that didn't let the moisture soak through because they expected it. Did he get scared and run away?

"SANDY" She yells frantically checking the linen cupboard as she rushes to his bedroom. "Sandy wake up Ryan's gone." Sandy blinks groggily a few times before sitting up to attention.

"What do you mean gone?" He asks urgently before jumping out of the bed.

"He wet the bed and I think he got scared." Sandy swears under his breath and the two search the entire house. Being unable to find him Kirsten grabs the car keys and Sandy carries a semi-conscious Seth out to his own car.

It's one of the three nights it's rained all summer and Kirsten hopes to god he's still in the house somewhere. Two minutes down the road Kirsten spots a tiny figure shivering under a tree.

"RYAN!" She quickly pages Sandy that she found him and runs out to the little boy. He's wearing the same PJs he went to bed in and they sport a large wet spot. The tree hasn't done much to shelter him from the rain and his eyes are wide and frightened.

"Oh thank god." Kirsten exclaims picking him up and cradling him close to her chest not caring about his boundary issues at the moment. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He shakes his head negatively but that doesn't stop her from quickly checking him over.

"Let's go home ok?" She asks forcing herself to be calm as she carries his trembling body to the car. He has barely looked at her since she found him and doesn't make eye contact as she quickly straps him in to his car seat and speeds up to the house.

Sandy is waiting with a large blanket the moment they enter. Without hesitation he swoops Ryan up to and caries him to the kitchen quickly changing him out of the cold, wet PJs and wrapping him up in the duvet.

"You gave us quite the scare there little man." He says softly setting Ryan down on his lap. Ryan doesn't go to crawl off but holds himself stiffly. "Everybody has accidents kid you don't need to be afraid when that happens." Sandy continues softly. "But you can't run away ok? No matter what. Can you promise me that kid?" Ryan thinks for a moment before nodding his acquiescence. Kirsten approaches and gently plants a kiss on Ryan's forehead.

"I'm glad you're ok baby." Ryan nods then hops off Sandy's lap and runs to his room. Kirsten and Sandy share a look of confusion before Ryan returns holding one of his new leather belts. He offers it timidly to Sandy before turning around and lifting his shirt.

Sandy stares in dumb shock for a moment at what this child is offering before Kirsten's gasp takes him out of his trance.

"Ryan, sweetheart, come here." Fear only evident in his eyes Ryan walks slowly over to Sandy. Sandy gently cups Ryan's neck and then places him on his lap.

"Kid I will never, ever hit you." Ryan looks shocked but relaxes marginally. "Sometimes you'll make me mad, or worried, or sad but I will never ever in a million years hit you with my hands or with a belt ok."

"Ok." Ryan whispers the confusion still etched on his face.

"When the other men hit you like that they were wrong ok? That's not how people should act and it's certainly not how Kirsten and I act." Ryan glances at Kirsten for confirmation and she nods encouragingly.

"It's been a long day sweetie let's get you to bed." Ryan nods and runs up to his room with Kirsten on his heels. His bed is fitted with fresh sheets and he smiles uncertainly at Kirsten.

"Next time you have an accident you tell Sandy or I ok?"

"What if you're asleep?" Kirsten thinks of Seth who wakes them up constantly for a glass of water or to ask a random question.

"That's ok you can wake us up." She reassures him pulling the covers up to Ryan's chin. "Goodnight sweetheart."