A series of short conversations, set immediately after The Cold Turkey
Three Knocks at the Door 2/3

Beta: loracj2
Word Count: 800 words approx
Spoilers: Through to the end of The Cold Turkey

Three Knocks at the Door – Part Two.

"Seth?"

"Come in, Dad." If Seth is disappointed that it's his father's voice outside the door and not Ryan's, he doesn't show it.

"Your mom and I are just about to watch a movie. Want to join us?"

Seth shakes his head.

"Not even a Japanese anime special?"

There's no response.

His father ambles over to his son's bed and sits beside him. Seth heaves himself up from his position of choice, arms behind head, resting against his pillow. His legs fall awkwardly over the edge of the bed frame.

"Your mother said you were still worrying over this issue with Ryan."

Seth shrugs and Sandy hesitates a moment. A non-rambling Seth is always a cause for immediate concern.

"You know, he will speak to you again. What do you think he'll do? Hole up in the pool house till you leave for RISD?"

"Would that be a bad thing?"

"Seth!"

Troubled brown eyes are all Sandy has seen for the last five months but it doesn't get any easier to look into them. For once, a Sandy Cohen lecture does not trip off his tongue. For once, Sandy Cohen is at a loss for words.

"What happened tonight?" The words threaten to choke Seth as he forces them out.

It's his father's turn to shrug.

"Volchok walked out in one piece. And so did Ryan. That's pretty much all I need to know."

"So he didn't beat him to a pulp then?"

Sandy is bewildered.

"Did you really think he would?"

"Didn't you?" Seth challenges. And Sandy can't deny that moment of hesitation he felt as he watched Ryan emerge from the hotel room. He can't forget that heart in the mouth feeling as he waited to see if Volchok would come out on his feet or on a gurney.

"I had to trust him to do the right thing."

Seth's smirk is bitter.

"And there's the difference, Dad. I didn't trust him. I didn't know for sure that he wouldn't kill him."

Sandy interrupts.

"And you couldn't risk him ruining his life. I'm not sure which of us was right here. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer to all this. What if I'd called it wrong? He could be in prison right now."

"But you didn't call it wrong, did you?"

"That doesn't mean you did, Seth. Don't underestimate what you did for him. Don't underestimate what it must have felt like for him to see me and your mother turn up in Mexico."

"I know how he felt, Dad. That's why the pool house has been out of bounds to me for three days."

Sandy shakes his head dismissively.

"He may still be angry with you now. But, like I said in the car, he'll look back at this, and he'll understand why you did what you did."

Seth picks at the hem of his shirt. He has a question.

"Were you really sure he wouldn't hurt Volchok?"

Sandy knows he won't lie to Seth.

"I can't stand here and say I knew for sure. I think if he'd gotten to Volchok in Mexico he probably would have hurt him. Badly. Killed him even, much as I hate to think so. But I think he finally got it after he saw the three of us, all racing after him.

"Got it?"

"That we're never going to let him go, whatever he does."

"He scared me."

"I know. And it's not the first time. I know that too. And you've stuck with him. That says a lot."

"Like I'm that desperate for a friend?"

Sandy smiles now but his eyes don't hide his pride.

"It tells me how much you love him. It also tells me what a great friend you are to have."

Sandy slaps his son's thigh affectionately.

"Hang in there, Seth. I think Ryan's got as close to the edge as he can, and he doesn't like how it looks. If ever he needed you, now's the time. Be there for him as he works his way back. Don't be the sort of person Ryan's had to deal with his whole life."

Sandy gets up to leave because he knows his son, and he knows Seth will be there for Ryan, even if Seth himself isn't as confident.

tbc