Alex noticed her husband's strange behavior when he woke up. Not strange as in something having happened to him, or him being sick, but strange in a way that he has something on his heart but he doesn't know how to say what is weighing him down.

"You okay? Is Asher okay? What's going on?" Alex bombarded him with questions but he shook his head and walked towards the kitchen counter indulging in the pizza that stands on the table not bothering to warm it, handing the smiling baby over to his wife, clear that there was nothing wrong with little Asher. From the laughter coming from outside he assumed that Phoebe was playing there with Nadia and Luca, also a lot of questions he has about the two of them. Not like the relationship kind of questions but the kind that he needs to know about like whether his sister and wife had made peace, and where things are standing with Alex and Luca.

"Well if nothing's wrong then why do you look like you are carrying the world on your shoulders?" Alex asked following him back to the couch but Ryan just told her that he didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Okay. Well your birthday is coming up, so is there anything in particular you'd want to do?" She asked excited, Asher chiming in about his own excitement as Alex turned him towards his father and Ryan couldn't help but extend his arms to receive his daughter once again.

"Nothing in particular. As long as I get to spend it with you guys I'm sure it'll be the same as always."

Alex stifled a laugh remembering his birthday the previous year, when she had forgotten it due to her mother's accident. "Well I wanna make up this year for the shitty birthday you had last year. And the fact that I almost forgot about it, until two hours before it was over." She said hoping she could make this year special even though she had no idea where to start right now.

Ryan smiled as she said those words remembering how out of touch she was with reality during that time, and he couldn't blame her. "You can always buy me another Rolex. Another new suit wouldn't be too bad either." He pushed his luck knowing she bought him a suit a few months earlier.

"Dream on, I am still paying for that watch mind you." Alex said and their attention was brought back to the laughter from outside as the three additional members of their family came into the house.

"Dada! You waking up. You sleep so loud." Phoebe commented and he looked at his daughter with a questioning face because he had no idea what she meant, until his wife mouthed to him that Phoebe meant he was snoring.

"Oh, I am so sorry Pheebs, I was really tired." Ryan apologized to his daughter who had a problem with his snoring although his wife didn't seem to mind it. "Are you okay?" He asked as she climbed onto the couch on her mother's side.

"Is Ashie okay?" She asked leaning over to kiss her brother who sat on Ryan's lap, his blue eyes scanning the faces in front of him while he fidgets with his little hands.

"He is fine." Alex said kissing Phoebe's curls, wondering when her daughter became so caring and protective of her brother, because when she was pregnant she couldn't stand the thought of having to be an older sibling. Ryan offered to give Phoebe a bath and Luca decided to wash the cars to give Nadia and Alex time to talk.

Nadia seemed uncomfortable at first because she had no idea where to start or what to say to her sister in law, but decided to just say the words. "I am sorry for my behavior and what I did. I know this apology seems for fetched but I want you to know that I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I was wrong, and I'm embarrassed about it."

Simone ran a hand over her face and blew out a long steady breath. " I felt like Ryan was busy building his whole life around you and the kids and in the process he forgot about the rest of us. Or his sisters because everything he was worried about was you. And I know it sounds selfish but he was the one person all of us could turn to once my dad left and now all of a sudden he pushed us back to accommodate you, Phoebe and Asher."

Alex didn't say anything the whole time Nadia was talking and she waited for her to stop before she started talking. "Do you still feel like he doesn't care about you as much as he used to?" Alex asked but before Nadia could answer she continued talking. "He is constantly worrying about you guys. He has a very weird way of showing it by coming across as the strict brother, but I promise you he is not neglecting any of you or choosing us over his family."

"Ryan is an irritation to me sometimes, but he is the most selfless person I know. He'll go to the ends of this earth to ensure that his family has everything they need. And I don't ever want you to feel like he doesn't love or appreciate you guys anymore just because the kids and I are in the picture." Alex concluded making sure Nadia understood that she is coming from a good place and that she doesn't want anything to jeopardize their relationship. "And I need my sister in law back to help me assassinate her brother when he makes me mad." Alex joked and was relieved when she saw Nadia smile.

Alex went upstairs to see how far her husband and daughter was with their bathing routine. But even with Phoebe blowing bubbles there was still something about her husband's behavior that made her question what was going on. "We're going out for dinner when you guys are done." Alex said leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. "Ryan is everything okay? And don't lie to me."

He just looked at her and dressed Phoebe without saying a word. He took Phoebe downstairs and told Luca and Nadia they can go out for dinner and take Phoebe with them he needed to talk to Alex. Alex checked on Asher who was sleeping on the couch and walked over to the kitchen counter where Ryan was sitting, to hear what was on his mind. Judging from his facial expression an his behavior since he woke up from their nap she imagined it will be a heavy conversation but nothing prepared her for what he was about to say.

"We are in a lot of financial trouble." He simply said looking at her trying to judge her facial expression, her eyes full of questions. They seemed to be doing fine, they weren't rich, but they had everything they needed. "There's this company I've been investing money in since I started out at the FBI and they have been legit for years, until recently. They went bankrupt and I lost most of our savings."

Alex's mind worked over time right now. Why didn't he say something to her earlier? Why is it the first time she is hearing about this? "How much?"

"$20 000." Ryan said, we're two months behind on the house payments.

"Ryan what the hell! Why didn't you tell me about this!?"

"It happened during the time you were in hospital, and I wasn't even sure if you or Asher will make it. Do you honestly think I will tell you something like this while the two of you were fighting for your lives?" He asked, and there was no other time he could think of that he could tell his wife about this than now.

"So what now?" Alex looked at him suddenly she was drained and tired. "Don't even answer that question. I need to be alone." She said without looking at him and walked out of the front door, taking a seat on the front porch breathing in the early evening air with her hands in her hair – literally.