Ok, so remember what I said about the next chapter being posted soon? Disregard that, haha! Here is chapter 26, reviews are cool.

Going Home

Recap

"It's ok, Ry," David said quietly, still holding Ryan close and rubbing his back. "Just rest now, I'll be right here." He held onto him until he could tell he was sleeping. He gently set him back down on the bed and sighed. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, realizing it was Gianna.

"He'll be ok, David," Gianna said. "When we can take him home, we will take god care of him. He knows you're there."

David smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. He sat back and watched over Ryan, fearing the upcoming trial and the idea of facing his father once again.

The ride home from the hospital was rather quiet. David looked over at Ryan, noticing him staring out the window. The last couple of weeks had been difficult on him and Ryan. He stayed at the hospital most nights to watch over his little brother, waking up to him screaming due to a loud sound or nightmare. It took everything it had to calm him down, and he often found himself rocking the crying Ryan back to sleep. He was relieved when the doctors told him he could take Ryan home, even though he would have to keep a close eye on him.

He was also worried about the second part of the trial that was coming up. Sure enough, his father had heard that Ryan was no longer in a coma, and insisted that he be at the next trial. He just wants to hurt Ryan; he is going to do everything he can to bring him down. I can't let him. The second part of the trial was in four days, and he was afraid Ryan was not going to be ready. He didn't want to imagine Ryan falling to pieces in the courtroom.

He once again peeked over at Ryan, noticing how tired and sick he looked. He realized he probably didn't look much better himself. "Ry, when we get home, I want you to rest for a while, ok? You don't have to get up until it is time for dinner if you don't want to."

Ryan finally looked over at David. "Ok," he said quietly. He was so tired; he didn't get much sleep in the hospital because of all the noise and stuff. He was so happy to be staying with David, especially since Calleigh was right next door. He finally got over his fear of David getting mad at him again, and he was glad he was there to comfort him during the night.

David smiled a little as they pulled into the driveway. He still felt horribly guilty about putting Ryan in the position where he nearly got himself killed. He still lost sleep over it some nights. He had nightmares, some too horrible for him to forget.

David sat on the ground crying, holding Ryan in his arms. He knew he was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His blood stained his shirt as he cradled his little brother closer to him. "I'm going to protect you, Ryan, I won't let you die."

Ryan coughed, blood trickling down his cheek. He looked up at David. "I didn't mean to…so sorry…you should be happy that…I'm dying…all my fault."

David sobbed and shook his head. "NO! You can't die, please! Don't leave me here alone, Ryan!"

"Dave?" Ryan asked, looking over at David in concern. They had parked and shut off the car, but David had a distant look in his eyes and was gripping the steering wheel for dear life. It was starting to scare him a little. "David, are you ok?"

David finally looked up at Ryan and frowned. "I'm sorry, I…was thinking about something."

Ryan nodded slowly. "You looked terrified, what's wrong?" He noticed David's hands were shaking a little now. "You're shaking, what happened?"

David swallowed and attempted to control his shaking. "I've been having…nightmares. About you and…I can't explain it. It hurts." He looked at Ryan sadly, and then looked away quickly. "Come one, let's get your stuff inside." He quickly got out of the car before Ryan could respond.

Ryan frowned and got out of the car as well. He walked back to David and put his hand on his shoulder. "Dave,"

David looked sadly at Ryan as he pulled bags out of the trunk. "What is it?"

Ryan smiled a little. "You don't have to have any nightmares, we're ok now. We are going to win at the trial. We're safe."

David smiled lightly and pulled Ryan into a hug. "I know." He eventually let Ryan go so he could grab his bags. Once they were in the house, he took Ryan's bags into the guest room.

"Uncle Ryan!" Carly squealed, rushing over to Ryan.

"Hey, sweetie," Ryan said, kneeling down and giving Carly a hug. "I missed you kiddo."

David smiled and walked into the kitchen where Gianna and Calleigh were sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey."

Gianna smiled, standing to hug him. "Hey…how is he?"

David peeked in at Ryan momentarily. "He seems ok for now, but I'm worried about him. He looks so sick."

Calleigh frowned as she looked in at Ryan. He did still look rather pale, and he had lost weight as well. He still looked very frail. "I'm going to go help him set up in the guest room so he can rest," she said, standing and moving into the living room.

Once Calleigh entered the room, Ryan looked up and smiled. "Cal, I missed you."

Calleigh couldn't help but smile widely when he said that. "I've missed you too, so much." She quickly wrapped him in a hug and held him tightly, smiling once more when he held her tighter to him. "Let's go get you set up I the guest room, ok?"

Ryan nodded and held her hand as he followed her to the guest room. He looked over her, noticing she looked happy yet distressed at the same time. "Cal, are you ok?"

Calleigh's smile faltered for a moment before she looked back up at Ryan she cleared her throat and grabbed at the sheets as she spoke. "I've um…I've been kind of a train wreck since you were gone." She frowned and looked away as tears formed in her eyes. "I thought I lost you."

Ryan quickly dropped he bag he was holding and wrapped his arms tightly around her, wiping away her tears. "Cal, I'm here now, you haven't lost me and you never will. "I love you."

Calleigh swallowed and looked up at him. "I love you too." She reached up and kissed him passionately, tightening her hold on him to deepen the kiss. She didn't want to let go of him ever, and it seemed like he didn't want to let her go either. She went willingly when he backed her against the wall. She was just about to go for his shirt when she heard David out in the hallway.

"You guys ok in there?" David asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, fine, Dave," Ryan called back, trying to control his laughter. He kissed Calleigh once more, smiling when she tried to muffle a laugh as well.

David figured he was hearing something private and his eyes got wide. "Uh, well…um, ok then, see you at dinner time," he stammered before rushing off down the hall.

Calleigh and Ryan laughed and hugged each other. Calleigh finally pulled back and looked at Ryan, a smile still on her face. "I'm so glad you're home, Ryan."

"Me too," Ryan said, kissing her once more. He tried to hide a yawn but failed.

Calleigh smiled. "You need to rest for a while." She led him over to the bed and watched him sit down.

"Will you stay here with me?" Ryan asked as he crawled under the covers.

Calleigh smiled and sat down next to him. "Only if you promise to actually sleep."

Ryan grinned and nodded. "I will." He reached for her hand as she stretched out next to him. "I love you, Cal," he mumbled.

Calleigh realized he had actually fallen asleep really fast. He must be exhausted. She smiled and kissed his forehead. "I love you too."

TBC

Ok, sorry for the somewhat shortness of this chapter. I should have time over Thanksgiving Break to update more, so the ext chapter should not take that long. Don't forget to review! :