Seth snuck into Ryan's room a few hours later. He was shocked to see Ryan asleep again. Ryan was right, taking the percocet must really be a drag. Even though it was obvious that Ryan was asleep, Seth still wanted to warn him.

"Hey, Ry," Seth whispered, "You awake?"

But when he didn't get a response, he said louder, "Ryan! You awake!"

Ryan just mumbled from under the covers, "What, Seth?"

"It's time." Seth said. "Mom and Dad are home, and they're getting lunch ready. This is it. You may want to wake up now. Shake off the percocet and get your brain working."

"Yeah, ok," Ryan said as he sat up, "Give me a minute and then I'll be right down."

"No, don't come down," Seth warned, "They don't want you to come down."

"I thought you said we were eating lunch together?" Ryan asked, "How can we have lunch together if I can't come down?"

"Apparently we're having lunch in here. We're all eating in your room." Seth told him.

Ryan just shot him a look and said, "You're kidding, right?' He figured Seth had to be joking.

But Seth just shook his head, "Although that would usually be a good guess, sadly, this time, no, I am not kidding. Mom doesn't feel you're 'ready' to walk down stairs yet. Not today, anyway. She said you have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and she wanted to wait to see what the doctor said. So she decided we can have some kind of weird family picnic in your room."

Ryan could only mumble "great" as he walked to the bathroom. When he came out a few minutes later, not only was Seth still in his room, but so were Sandy and Kirsten. And only Seth had lunch. Ryan's tray once again sat on his bed. Sandy and Kirsten didn't have any thing to eat. This was not going to be a fun family picnic at all.

"Hey." Ryan said as he moved back to his bed.

"How you doing today?" Sandy asked as he automatically reached out to help Ryan get back into bed, and Kirsten helped rearrange his blankets and give him his lunch.

"I'm good. Thanks." he finally said, "Aren't you guys eating?"

Kirsten shook her head as Sandy told them, "No, you guys eat. We ate earlier with the lawyer."

Seth and Ryan looked at each other. They both knew. Keep up the small talk during lunch. Postpone the big talk.

"Yeah, how'd that go?" Ryan asked.

and Seth added, "Yeah, what's up?"

Sandy filled them in, "Apparently this new company really is legit. And your mother is actually the President and CEO of the Newport Residential Group."

"Wow," Seth said, "Grandpa actually did something honest. Who would of thought!"

"There is still some stuff that needs to be worked out." Kirsten told them.

"But still," Ryan said, "That's great."

"Yeah congrats, Mom." Seth added.

And then Seth and Ryan looked at each other. They weren't sure what else to say, and Kirsten and Sandy weren't willingly adding to the small talk. They both seemed to be patiently waiting for both boys to finish eating.

"So, how about the car? Did you drop it off?" Seth finally asked.

Sandy nodded and told them, both, "Yes. We dropped it off. They said it's in excellent shape."

"Yeah," Ryan told them, "Arturo was a great mechanic."

Seth then asked, "So, how long do you think the car will take until it's ready?"

"Two weeks." Kirsten told them.

"Two weeks?" Seth asked, "To paint a car?" That sounded a little long just for a paint job, especially since the car didn't need any other work, and then he got his answer,

"Probably not." Sandy told them, "But it will be at least two weeks before either one of you drives it."

And with that, Seth and Ryan knew the small talk was done.

Sandy looked from Seth to Ryan and then asked,

"So, which one of you wants to go first?"

When Ryan and Seth just stared at Sandy and then at each other, Sandy continued,

"You," he said, pointing to Seth, "For taking off to Tahiti and leaving us just a note."

"A note!" Ryan exclaimed, "You left a note? Man, that's a pretty harsh way to find out someone has taken off."

But before Seth could answer, Sandy turned to Ryan and said,

"Or you? For lying about the father of Teresa's baby and taking off to Chino."

"What?" Seth said, "You mean you knew it wasn't your baby, but you left anyway? I can't believe you!"

Sandy put up his hand and told them both, "Ok, you know what, it's my turn to talk, and your turn to just listen. You will both have plenty of time to talk and get reacquainted and get reacquainted with the rules of this house."

"Seth," Sandy said, turning to him first, "We've already been through most of this when the Coast Guard brought you home. But we're going through it again, since we were all still really upset back then. Yes, you were upset about Ryan leaving, but trying to sail that boat some four thousand miles to Tahiti was down right stupid and dangerous and immature. Running away never solved anything. I thought you would know that. It only creates more problems. And leaving your mother and I a note after already losing Ryan was selfish and childish."

"We allowed you to go to Catalina," Sandy continued, "in the hopes that it would help you clear your head, come to terms with losing Ryan and realize that even if Ryan wasn't here, that being at home with us was still better then being out on your own, alone."

At first Seth just nodded. They had already gone through a lot of this before. And they were still right. Being alone in Catalina, working as a bus boy trying to support himself was no fun. It was lonely and it was boring. And he really was glad to be home, even more glad since Ryan was also home.

"Dad, Mom," Seth finally said, "I'm sorry. Again. I know I didn't handle Ryan leaving well. And I'm so sorry. For everything."

"We know, Seth," Kirsten told him, "You said that already. And we believe you. But your father is right. You didn't think about us at all. Didn't think about what it would do to us to find a note telling us that you were sailing the Summer Breeze to Tahiti, and you'd be back by the end of the summer. We were already dealing with losing Ryan."

"I know, Mom," Seth said, "I know. I was wrong. I was selfish. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. I don't know what else you want me to say."

"We don't want you to say anything else, Seth." Sandy told him, "We know you're sorry, and we do believe you. Now we want you to listen. We're upset with both of you, and we want you both to understand what your actions did to us, to this family. Do you understand?"

Seth and Ryan both only nodded. Ryan had been very quietly listening to them all talk, and he was bothered by the fact they kept talking about losing Ryan. Ryan never thought of himself as lost. They knew where he was. They knew he was in Chino, and yet they still considered him lost. Ryan was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice that Sandy was no longer looking at Seth. He was now looking at Ryan.

"Ryan," Sandy said, trying to choose his words carefully, "It's not so much that you left, or that you lied about your reasons for leaving. We understand that you thought you were doing the right thing. We just don't agree with your reasoning. You sacrificed your home, your future and most of all, your family by leaving. And then you didn't call. You never returned one of our calls. Never tried to find out how we were. You just turned your back on us. It's like you just abandoned us for your life in Chino. And that's what we're having such a hard time with."

Abandoned them. That's when it hit Ryan. They felt like he abandoned them. He abandoned the people who loved him. The people who had become his family. Just like his mother did to him the year before. He was no better then Dawn. No, he was worse, because he knew how it felt to be abandoned, and yet he still did the same exact thing to them.

"Look," Sandy continued, "We know you've only been with us for a year. But we thought in that year you knew, you understood how much you mean to us, how much we love you. We thought you felt the same way. We hoped you did anyway."

"I did. I do." Ryan said softly. It was all he could manage to get out. He couldn't look at them, and yet he could tell that they were all looking at him. And he didn't know what he should say or what he should do, so he just sat there staring at a spot on the floor.

Suddenly, Ryan felt sick and ashamed. He turned his head away and continued to stare at the floor. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat and blink away the tears in his eyes before he could even think to answer them.

After giving Ryan a minute to compose himself, Sandy finally said, "Look at me, Ryan."

And when Ryan was finally able to look at him, Sandy continued,

"You can't turn your back on your family. That's not how it works. Maybe you don't understand that, but Ryan, we are your family. That's who we've become. We will always be here for you, and you can't just walk away from us. Ever. Do you understand?"

Ryan could only nod. He was still afraid to speak. Afraid that his emotions would give him away. That's not what he meant to do. He didn't know that they would be so hurt by his leaving, and he never meant to hurt them. He'd never intentionally hurt them.

"I'm sorry." Ryan was finally able to whisper.

"We know you are." Kirsten told him, "Just like Seth. And just like Seth, we believe you. But again, you never thought about what your leaving was going to do to us. Nor did you think what not calling us was doing to us. Neither one of you thought about us at all."

"And believe it or not," Sandy continued, "Parents have feelings, too."

It was a lame joke, but the message was clear. Sandy and Kirsten could tell by the solumn guilt ridden looks on both faces that both boys understood.

"So this is what we're going to do," Sandy continued, "You both have spent most of this summer out of the house, and we figured it was time that you both spent some of it in the house. Ryan, you have to stay here, so that's easy. Depending on what the doctor says tomorrow, we'll know exactly how long you'll need bed rest, and how long it will be until you can get around. You will listen to whatever the doctor says, and whatever we say, since we are all only looking out for your best interests. Is that understood?"

Again, Ryan could only nod. He still didn't want to look at any of them, and he definitely wasn't ready to talk to them yet.

"And Seth," Sandy said, "since your mother and I both are going to need to get back to work soon, you'll be here to help Ryan with whatever he needs until he is better able to care for himself. There is no going out with Summer. She can stop by, but she can't stay long. And there is no driving the car."

Seth just nodded but also asked, "For how long?"

Kirsten told him, "Until the doctor tells us Ryan is healed, which based on what they said at the hospital should be about another two weeks. We'll know more tomorrow. Understood?"

At first Seth only nodded, but then added,

"I don't mean to point out the obvious, but basically I'm grounded for the next two weeks. I have no problems helping out Ryan, but Ryan's punishment is to rest and get well. Not really fair. He'd have to rest and get well even if we weren't in trouble. So he isn't really in trouble at all, and he started this whole mess."

"Seth," Sandy said, "It isn't Ryan's fault that you choose to run away. He didn't make you do it. So you can't blame him for that."

"I'm not blaming him," Seth was quick to tell Sandy, "I ran away. I was wrong. I admit that, but Ryan ran away, too."

He then turned to Ryan and said, "Sorry, man. But you did."

Ryan just looked at Seth. He couldn't expect Seth to have his back. Seth had every right to point out what they all knew; it was all Ryan's fault.

"I agree that Ryan concentrating on getting well isn't the same punishment as Seth," Kirsten told them all, "So I suggest that Ryan begins his two weeks after the doctor clears him. Otherwise, Seth is right. Ryan has to stay in bed until the doctor says otherwise. He may be bored, but technically, he isn't grounded. Yet."

Sandy just nodded his head and added, "Fine. Seth, effective immediately, you're grounded. Ryan, you're grounded as soon as the doctor tells us you're well enough to be grounded. Fair enough?"

Seth said, "yes," but Ryan again only nodded his head.

"Oh, and Ryan?" Sandy continued, "I'm going to assume you were just holding those cigarettes in your pocket for someone else. After all, I remember what you went through last summer trying to quit, and we all know what the Nana is up against because of years of smoking, so I know those cigarettes weren't your's. Am I making myself clear?"

Ryan finally looked at Sandy as he said, "yes."

Sandy nodded at both of them and told them, "Ok, well. I think Ryan could use some rest, and Seth, I'm sure you have something to do in your room. Your mother and I will be out on the patio going over some paperwork for the Newport Residential Group. We'll see you both later."

Ryan could only nod again and look away as Kirsten kissed his forehead, and Sandy gave him a squeeze on his shoulder before they left.

Seth hesitated a minute after his parents left, and finally said,

"Yeah. That was about as bad as I thought it would be. You ok?"

Ryan just grunted, "yeah," as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.

"Yeah, ok," Seth said, "I guess I'll talk to you later."

But Ryan didn't answer. He didn't want to talk. Not now. Not to Seth. Not to any of them. He was miserable, and he just wanted to be alone. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt so guilty about something he had done. This time he really messed up. He hurt the only people who ever gave a damn about him, and he didn't even realize he had done it. They actually had to tell him that he hurt them. He couldn't believe he could be so stupid, and he had no idea how he could ever possibly make it up to them. Despite having his eyes closed, Ryan could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, and this time, he didn't stop them from coming.

After Ryan refused to answer him, Seth went into his room and closed the door. He felt bad for everything that had happened, and everything that his parents had said. He agreed with them that he and Ryan both messed up, but Seth knew eventually his parents would get over the hurt and move on. They would put the whole nightmare behind them, and so would Seth. But he knew Ryan wouldn't, not as easily as the rest of them. Seth understood what it meant to be part of a family, but it was pretty obvious that Ryan still didn't get it. But Seth also realized that he and Ryan had at least two straight weeks of Seth/Ryan time. Seth knew he would spend that time not only helping Ryan physically, but mentally as well. Seth would help Ryan move past what happened, because Seth was ready to move past it.

Kirsten waited until she and Sandy were out on the patio before talking to him about what had happened in Ryan's room.

"Are you sure we did the right thing?" she asked.

"What? Grounding them for being stupid? Yes, I 'm sure we did the right thing." Sandy answered.

But Kirsten just shook her head, "No, I mean, did you see Ryan's face? He looked devastated at what you said, at what we said. He wouldn't even look at us. I had hoped they would both understand how upset we were, but Ryan looked down right crushed. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to treat him the same as Seth. Maybe we should have been a little easier on him."

"Kirsten," Sandy said, "We can't be easier on him. It's not fair to Seth and frankly, it's not fair to Ryan. Yes, he's upset. He should be upset. But hopefully, we gave him a lot to think about. He needs to realize that he is an important part of this family. Just give him some time. I think he'll be okay. I promise, if he still seems really upset tomorrow, I'll talk to him again."

Kirsten just looked towards the house and quietly said, "I hope you're right."

Sandy smiled and told her, "I am. You'll see. Come on, Mrs. President, we have some paperwork we need to review."