Thanks to Tif S and a guest for reviewing.

I granted Ryan's wishes of getting privacy after going out into the pool house, but at last, when two hours had passed since I, Kirsten and Seth had had lunch I took some bagels and a soda and went out to give it to him.

"Ryan?" I knocked on the door. "Are you in here? Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

I felt the door handle and finding it open opened the door just slightly to find Ryan lying flat on his back with his phone in hand and looking back at me quite callously despite everything his dad had told me and myself only a few hours ago.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Ryan sat up. "I didn't cry or anything else that I wanted to hide from you. I just needed some time to think." He threw the phone on the bed next to him. "I and Clark exchanged numbers and I just chatted to him and forgot about time."

"No worries." I felt a bit more relieved now having at last checked on him and knowing he was somewhat okay at least- even though only himself could know what he hid or not. "But I'd still think you need something and the fridge and cupboards out here are still empty." I held up the plate and glass I'd taken here. "I'll just put it here… What?" Ryan had suddenly started smirking towards the phone after it buzzed. "A girl?"

The mention, teasing had slipped my lips before I had time to stop myself, at the same time as it passed my mind like a flash.

"No." Ryan smiled slightly. And that was the first time I ever saw a smile that reached up from his lips and up to his blue eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you. But it's just Clark."

I couldn't help but to give a short laugh- well, at least it was something that it obviously hadn't hurt Ryan that I was just an awkward dad.

"Invite him over someday." I said, having put the plate and glass on the bedside table. "And yes, you can stay in bed and eat. But don't tell Kirsten I said you could," I blinked. "No problem… I wonder where Kirsten is by the way…" I kept mumbling to myself when leaving the pool house. "She seemed tired and unwell in the morning and barely touched her lunch…" I went into the kitchen and found it empty. "Seth? Have you seen your mum?"

"She had to go to work. Grandpa's an asshole."

I didn't even care to give Seth a lecture about calling someone an asshole. Caleb seemed to have only cared for Kirsten when we came back to the airport from Thailand, after the time all of our families didn't even know we were lost, hurt or even worse…

He had for sure gone back to his old ways even though Kirsten had been acting tiredly and unwell from the trauma we had all gone through. Even then she wanted to keep it secret and stay strong and obviously Caleb Nichol couldn't see that.

On his own daughter!

I couldn't help but wish that Kirsten's mum was here. She had always had a way with her daughter of knowing what she wanted and needed- whenever and whatever she needed or wanted.

In the middle of my thoughts and wondering I opened the dishwasher, took out a plates and tried to see whether they were clean or dirty. Kirsten and her way with always wanting the cutlery washed before put in the dishwasher.

Only from finding something to do with my hands I was so far away with my back to the rest of the house I jumped when I heard someone talking to me.

"Dad?"

I could tell from the sound of Seth's voice in that one, short word when he wanted something.

"Yes?"

I had dropped a plate and felt my heart beating, then leaned down to pick the pieces of the plate up while Seth continued.

"You see… there's a new comic book that came out only yesterday. I know you and mum are busy so I was wondering if I could just walk down to the kiosk and get it…" Three, two, one. "And maybe have some money?"

"Sure." I pulled up my wallet from my pocket and put a bill in his open hand. "What?"

"It's kind of expensive. It's some sort of special."

I couldn't understand why I always had all of this cash in my wallet but I did and I pulled up another bill and put in his hand. Seth only looked down on it and bit his lip in a way I knew exactly what it meant.

"Don't you have your own money?"

"Well… yeah… in Thailand."

I couldn't help but give a short laugh and pulled up a few coins.

"Will this be enough?"

"Yeah."

"Hey… do you know what?" I pulled up the rest of the money I had in cash. "Ask Ryan if he wants to come with you, get him the rest of the Harry Potter books. And for the rest if there is any money left. Go and get pancakes or whatever you want."

Something changed in the way Seth's eyes looked when I mentioned Ryan. But it was gone the next time I turned there and looked into his eyes. And putting the money in his pocket he went outside and across the front yard to the pool house and soon came out with the other boy on crutches.

It was weirdly nothing to do after we had came back home, I paced the house for half an hour, then slumped down half lying on the couch and zapped in between the tv channels, stopping at pictures from Thailand.

"As you can see. The damage done has been unbelievable." The news reporter told. "And almost a month later by now, there's just so much to do people don't know where to start…"

Pictures were shown, corpses, broken down buildings, people trying to leave and also searching one hospital after the other trying to find their family members.

I was left sitting there for the ten minutes the pictures were shown. Of course I wouldn't know what they looked like, but what if I saw a woman or a teenage boy that just looked a tiny bit like the young blonde under my roof.

I left the news on, shaking by all of what I had seen and had to find something else to do. I then went into my office where I hadn't been for Lord knows how long. Turning the computer on and checked my e-mail there was about two hundred unopened mails. Most of them from work and there the most of them from Jason Spitz.

From the beginning I just read through the titles of all the emails so I could see what could be deleted without having to read through them all.

We don't know where you are

Were you affected by the wave?

We don't know if you could get on a computer.

If you do please answer to this.

Get the next newest phone for only…

The commercial felt as a bit of a break from all the worried mails from Jason.

I'm sorry.

If you get the chance, can you please answer?

I'm sorry for all of these emails.

Worried

Waiting

Waiting for an answer.

Do you want to help the victims who have been affected by the monster waves in big parts of Asia.

With a quick gasp I deleted the last email of commercial, sure I wanted to but it wasn't actually that simple as just giving money to the red cross or whatever company who was working there.

It was nice of you to show up.

After another seventy messages the point at last came when I had showed up at work only last week and let the others know I was as much as alive.

If there's something I can do

At last I opened the latest email Jason had sent and gave a quick answer, trying to say everything in only a few lines.

Hello, and sorry for not replying to any of your emails until now.

To answer your questions I and my family are shaken, but okay. I should be back to work by next week.

Golf and a cup of coffee you mentioned at some point, it would be nice to get away from this and just have a bit of fun. Thanks for that, I'll get back to you when I have the chance.

Tell everyone hi from me and I'll see you soon

Sincerely

Sandy Cohen

I sent the email and started deleting ones without opening them. After only the ones that had been sent after I came and saw them I leaned back, Gosh. Exactly how dramatic and nagging could this man be?

I almost felt asleep right there in my office chair and only flinched awake from a half conscious state and got up when I heard the front door open and close and rubbed my eyes hurrying into the hallway where Kirsten started talking without as much as greeting me.

"I thought I saw Seth and Ryan from the car when I was driving through town."

Well, they should be quite easy to notice and recognize with Ryan with one leg and crutches…

"It might very well have been them. Seth wanted to get a comic book and I didn't have time to come with him. I told him to take Ryan with him and get the rest of the Harry Potter books. Then I told him they could go to a café or restaurant for dinner. I gave them the money."

Kirsten silent and didn't say anything for at least a couple of minutes. I needed something to do with my hands, my eyes gazed over the old pizza carton that still stood at the counter, and the thought passing by that maybe we would want less than ever to order food for every single meal.

I kept the works in trying to get all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and work out where we actually had the different things—that could be a good start if I was going to learn how to cook.

"Was that a very good idea then?"

"What idea?"

"To send them off with their own money?"

"I don't see why it shouldn't." I tried to keep away from what I knew Kirsten actually meant. "They have phones to call us if they need and they're only around the corner."

Kirsten sighed and silent one more time, and half of the stuff in this kitchen I didn't know what on earth they were for.

"If it was just Seth I wouldn't mind. But… Ryan's only been with us a few days. Even you haven't even known him for a month. It's him I don't trust."

I stopped working holding onto a spoon that I moved in between my hands when I tried to think of what to say. How on earth was I going to explain this to Kirsten? She was a person who didn't easily trust people and I could barely imagine what she must feel with a stranger suddenly coming into our very home.

"What am I supposed to do? I saw his dad earlier today, and if he is going to care for a child he needs to change. Ryan's mum or brother we haven't heard a sound about since the wave… He's eleven. I won't throw him out on the street if that's what you want."

"Of course it's not what I want… but I don't think you should send them out on town on their own… And I'm feeling a whole lot better when Ryan isn't in the house…"

"I guess I'll just stay in the pool house then."

Random fact

The discussion towards the end of the chapter was really hard to write. Kirsten ended up more harsh than what she actually is and she almost sounds really mean… I hope you liked it still and I hope you'll stay around for the rest of the story. Things will change a whole lot only in the next few chapters already. Then more and more before the epilogue..

You have to be around here to see it, right?