"You gotta tell me how can someone so vindictive have no criminal record. How can I find out?" Dylan said, on a payphone.
"I don't know man, the only way I can explain a 'no record' is if the girl's a minor. But you said she's in her early 20s right?" Brandon Walsh spoke on the other line.
"Right... Thanks a lot, Bran. I'll talk to you later." Dylan hung up the phone.
1 week later
McKay house
"I gotta get to class. Will you be alright?" Dylan asked, attempting to kiss Kelly's forehead but she moved away.
"I'll be fine."
"Bye Jackie. I'll miss you. Be good for your mummy." Dylan kissed his son, then turned to Kelly
"Kelly, how long are we gonna do this?"
"Do what Dylan?"
"Not talk to each other."
"You've already been quiet. This should be right up your alley."
"Kel, stop it."
"Dylan, just leave me alone."
"Kelly! I said I'm sorry, alright? I really thought I could handle it. I didn't want to disturb you."
"If you believed she was so damn dangerous then how could you keep it from me!"
"Kelly, are we gonna repeat the same conversation?"
"Why do you make it so damn hard to trust you, Dylan?"
"Are you kidding me? Kel... don't make this about trust alright? We're way passed that. For crying out loud we are married with a five year old and I have never done anything to make you unsure of my intentions. Don't even go there."
"I almost lost my son, Dylan!"
"Our son."
"I almost lost OUR son, because of your foolishness." Kelly snapped, Dylan sat down beside her and held her in his arms as she cried
"I know... and it scares the hell out of me. I'm so sorry babe, I pray to god nothing like that ever happens again, but we gotta be a team on this, alright? I promise I will never let anything like that happen again."
UCLA
"Alright kids... have a great weekend. Don't forget your assigments are due on Monday." Dylan yelled over the class as they left the room
"What's that Mr M?" Jason asked, watching Dylan fluffing about with a bunch of paperwork
"Just trying to work out something." Dylan mumbled
"You okay?" Jason asked
"Not really."
"Can I help?"
"You?" Dylan smirked
"Yeah... come on, I owe you one for that whole, drink with supervision thing."
"It's alright, Jason... Anyway, did you go back to AA?"
"Yeah."
"Good, glad to hear it."
"It's kinda hard. Back when I was in Juvy we had our own AA centre, now it's this new place and I don't know anyone. Kinda hard to trust people you don't know."
"Yeah, I understand... You know you can always call me, right, Jason?"
"You mean, like... as my sponsor?"
"I already act like it."
"True... Thanks D."
The next day
Jason Healy's house
"Sorry to bother you so late, but I had to call."
"It's fine, Jason... I'm here now."
"My absentee mother left that on the table before she left." He pointed to a liquor bottle
"I've been trying to bring myself to pour it down the sink but..."
"I got it." Dylan headed over to the kitchen to do it himself. "Good you called."
"Yeah... like I said, as helpful as AA has been, I just can't call any of them... Back in Juvy, there were a number of people I'd call. Especially Estelle."
"She was your old sponsor?"
"Yeah, she was about 18 when I was 13. She had been clean for a couple years, the best. She was kinda like you, she didn't tell us what to do, she'd... help us take it one day at a time."
"Why don't you call her now?"
"She left Beverly... Her last kid was a real piece of work, so she couldn't do it anymore. Apparently that kid made Estelle wanna drink again, so she left to maintain her own progress."
"Getting out of LA is definitely the best thing you can do"
"A lot of temptation here." Jason chuckled
"More like a lot of trouble." Dylan sighed
"Oh look, here's a picture of us at Juvy. The day I was released."
"How did they ever release you?" Dylan joked
"Compared to those trainwrecks, I was fantastic. There's Alli, the kid that made Estelle quit."
"Alli?" Dylan asked, eyebrows raised
"Yeah, Alli Paige. What a brat."
"She was in Juvy?"
"She still is, man. She'll never get out. She had to see shrinks like every week. Messed up childhood, her father abandoned her and her mother for the nanny. Her mother ended up killing herself and Alli ended up in Juvy."
"How old is she?"
"She was about a year younger than me."
Mckay house
"What do you want?" Kelly hissed as she opened the door to Allison
"Thank you for agreeing to see me."
"Make it quick, Jack's asleep and the last thing I want is for him to wake up and see your face."
"Okay... I deserve that." Allison sighed, "Look Kelly, I just wanted to apologise again."
"I don't wanna hear it."
"Kelly please... I swear there was absolutely no malicious intent whatsoever. You gave me a spare key, I assumed it was fine. I just wanted to take Jack out to the park, I thought you'd want that. I know I should have called but again, I thought it was okay. You knew I'd be back, otherwise you wouldn't have given me the key in the first place."
"Look Allison, I'm sure this was all a big misunderstanding, but it has also been hell for me. I almost lost my baby and then I find my son missing, of course I am not going to have a pleasant reaction."
"I completely understand. I'm not asking for my job back, I'm just asking you to rationalise it. I would never hurt you or Jack. Ever. Please believe me."
"Alright, Allison. I've got to get some sleep."
"Kelly, wait."
"What?"
"I have to ask, why did you react that way? Did you really believe I'd ever kidnap your son, I mean, seriously? We were such a good team."
"... I don't know, there's just been a lot on my mind."
"We used to be able to talk about that kind of stuff, Kelly... You said yourself I was always helpful. I'd hate to lose what I believe has become a great friendship."
"I know, Allison... It was all just too much, you really worried Dylan and I."
"Well, I'm not surprised Dylan would jump to conclusions about me."
"Why would you say that?"
"I'm sorry, I don't want to cause you anymore trouble."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been contemplating about whether to tell you this. Especially since you just got out of the hospital, and I didn't want to upset you. You've treated me like family and I didn't want to say anything that would end that."
"What do you mean?"
"I guess I just want to know if I can always be honest with you."
"Of course you can."
"Well... there's something you should know about Dylan..."
