Look at me! Updating again. I'm surprising myself! Some more notes:

TeacherTam- You should go over to www.televisionwithoutpity.com, they have the recaps for the show. You can know what happened without watching the episode! And there is a supposed rerun on May 31st of "The Ties that Bind" and "The Heartbreak" on Fox if you're interested.

To all Theresa haters, I sort of feel you. This is not a Theresa-Ryan shipper. Things just... happen.

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"Where the hell have you been?!"

Wow. Kirsten had waited a whole three seconds before blowing up in front of her husband. She didn't mean to be angry, but right now she didn't know what else to feel.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just went to go get Ryan..."

Kirsten glared at him, trying to look behind him.

"Where is he, then? I don't see him."

Sandy's widened and he flinched, taken aback by her tone of voice. He noticed that she bit her bottom lip tightly, as though guilt would seep from her mouth.

"I-- He wasn't there." said Sandy, still looking at her.

Kirsten focused her gaze on something other than her husband, who she just noticed was soaking wet. Her hand found its way to her face, and she cried, looking for a chair to sit in. All previous anger between the two disappeared, and he hugged her as tightly as he could. They both knew why.

She was the only thing he had left, and he was the only thing she had left.

Seth, Ryan, and Kirsten were the three most important things in the world to Sandy. Seth was on his tiny boat in a not so tiny ocean while Ryan was in Chino, where it apparently rained all the time. Kirsten was his princess, and he was her peasant boy. He smiled at how dirty that sounded.

Suddenly, Kirsten's manicured hand smacked him on the arm.

"What?!" he asked, letting go of her.

"Don't you ever run off like that again, you hear me? I almost called the cops."

Sandy grinned from ear to ear, and for the first time that day, it was a genuine smile.

Kirsten scoffed at him. "God, who would've thought that my husband would be more immature than my son?" Sandy shrugged in response.

For what must have been the hundredth time that day, the phone rung.

Both Cohens ran for it, and Kirsten almost laughed when Sandy tripped on a cord and fell. She reached for the phone, grabbed it, and sighed.

"Hello?"

Sandy looked up at her from the ground. Nothing today had been solved by 'Hello'. If anything, 'Hello' had made everything worse.

"Hey mom, it's me." Kirsten sighed in relief, and Sandy got up.

"Seth, thank god." The moment his name was uttered, Sandy tried to grab the phone. Kirsten spun around in a circle so that he couldn't get it.

"Yeah. Um, I'm sorry about running off like I did."

Kirsten shook her head, ignoring Sandy's hands as they maneuvered over and under her arms in an attempt to grab the phone.

"We'll talk about it when you get back. Which is when exactly, Seth?"

There was a pause.

"Uh..." Sandy grabbed the phone from Kirsten's hands, and noticed that she immediately tried to get it back.

"Seth, it's your father. I'm gonna ask you some questions, and you're gonna answer them or you'll be in a lot more trouble when we get you back, which, believe me, will be eventually. Ready?"

Seth laughed, causing Sandy to frown. "Yeah dad, I'm ready."

"Ok. When are you coming back?"

"Uh, tomorrow." Sandy raised his eyebrows, causing Kirsten to jump up and down and ask him what he said.

"Tomorrow." repeated Sandy, and Kirsten clapped her hands together. "You're absolutely sure?"

"Yeah, dad. Ten o'clock sharp. Be there or be square. Anything else?"

"Yeah, Seth. Where do we pick you up?"

"At the dock! Where else would you pick me up? Geez. Have you heard from Ryan?"

Sandy turned away, looking outside at the dark sky and the bright stars.

"Yeah. I talked to him, and either he really doesn't want to hear from us or we have incredibly bad timing. I even went to go see him. He wasn't there."

Sandy could hear Seth sigh as though his father was the silliest person in the whole world.

"Ok, when I get there, we're gonna figure it out and get Ryan back. Don't worry dad, everything will be ok."

Sandy felt himself loose control of his parental skills, and suddenly he was a child.

"How do you know that?" he asked quietly, and Kirsten listened in with him.

"Because I do. I'm just that spectacular."

Sandy laughed.

"I love you son."

"I love you too, dad. Now don't forget about your curfew. See you tomorrow."

Sandy hung up the phone and put it back in its cradle.

"We have some great boys, don't we?" asked Kirsten, hugging him.

"That we do." said Sandy, gently kissing the top of her head. Everything was going to be ok. He knew because Seth said so, and Seth was rarely wrong.

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"I'm so stupid." whispered Ryan to no one in particular.

"No Ryan, you're not. You're not stupid." Theresa touched his knee, sitting down next to him.

"I'm stupid and an asshole. Didn't you hear him in there?"

Theresa frowned, but nodded. "I heard him. It's not your fault, it's mine."

Ryan looked up and laughed. "It's not me it's you?" he asked, still laughing.

"If you ask me--" Theresa began, but Ryan quickly cut her off.

"I didn't ask you." he yelled, looking straight ahead instead of at Theresa.

"If you ask me, I think I made a big mistake in asking you to come here. I think you should go back to Newport."

This warranted a look from Ryan, who frowned and stared at her. "What about you?" he asked.

"What about me? If you want me to, I'll come with you, but I think you need to go back."

"Well I think I need to stay here."

Theresa started to stand up, sweeping the dust off of her skirt. Ryan watched the little beige specks flutter off into the night, and he suddenly wished he was one of them, so he could float around without a care in the world.

"Ok. If that's what you want. Are you coming to the market tomorrow?"

"The what?" asked Ryan, looking at her again.

"The market! You know, the weekly thing we always used to go to? Remember?"

Ryan nodded weakly. Of course he remembered. Those were some of the best days of his life. He'd run away from his pain riddled life to escape into a world where you didn't have to make money to be happy. Where everyone knew your name and helped you out in any way possible. Ryan remembered people telling him the names of counselors who dealt with abuse, but in a way that made it seem like they weren't talking about him.

"So you're coming?" she asked, tapping him on the knee.

"Of course I am." he said, squinting his blue eyes at her.

"Well, if you're sad or anything... you know where to find me." She winked at him and flounced off, her skirt swaying in the wind. When she left, Ryan realized that the rain had stopped. He looked up at the sky, finally seeing the perfectly bright stars. He wondered if he should make a wish, but discarded the thought as quickly as it had come. He got up and dragged himself to his bed.

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"Tomorrow we'll have one back." said Kirsten excitedly to Sandy, who turned around on the bed to face her.

"I know." he said, a smile forming on his lips.

"Isn't that great?!" she squealed, touching his face.

"It is, sweetie, but what about Ryan?" He reached for the delicate fingers that were caressing his face, and stroked them subconsciously.

"Seth will help us get Ryan back." stated Kirsten.

Sandy found it amazing how confident she sounded.

Then again, she hadn't heard the phone call between Sandy and Ryan. Nor had she seen his breakdown in Theresa's house. He found himself wanting another cup of cinnamon tea.

"Ryan's gonna come back to us. Don't worry."

Sandy looked at her, noting that her eyes were closed as she said the words. God, could he love her more? He didn't think he could if he tried. She was so beautiful, smart, naive and wise at the same time. She hadn't lived the hard life like Sandy and Ryan had. She hadn't needed to worry about food, or had cops raid her house.

Not that Sandy had dealt with that. He just picked up clues and hints from Ryan's nightmares. When he heard the strangled cries from his bedroom, he'd go outside and step quietly into Ryan's room. The boy, who would usually wake up at the slightest motion, would keep on struggling with his subconscious, fighting whoever it was he was fighting. Sometimes the dreams weren't so violent. Sometimes Sandy could barely hear them.

That was why Sandy always kept his window open.

He did it so he could hear the screams. He would go down there and calm Ryan down, comforting him with his voice, and bring him water to drink for when he woke up. He always woke up with a scratchy throat. Sandy suddenly got a lump in his throat.

Who was going to take care of him when he had nightmares in Chino?

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"Ryan? It's me." Theresa tapped lightly on the door and opened it. Ryan stirred and sat up. Theresa looked at his shirtless form. He had been working out. Her eyes drew away from his torso and moved to his face.

Theresa noticed that he was blushing. He put on a shirt and stood up, stretching as he did so.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Theresa smiled. He always jumped to the conclusion that everything was the worst case scenario.

"Nothing's wrong. I just came to check up on you. How are you?" She stepped closer to him.

"I'm fine." said Ryan skeptically. Suddenly, Ryan felt her lips touch his. He closed his eyes and took a moment to relish the moment.

Theresa smelled like a hundred summer days spent lounging in the sun. She tasted like ocean spray, a comforting mix of saltiness and sweetness. He suddenly remembered his first kiss with her, on the rocks near the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shore rung in his ears, and he saw himself running along the edge of the beach with her, beckoning her to follow him, as she jumped on his back, asking for a piggy-back.

He pulled away, smiling slightly, his eyes narrowed. He knew what was coming.

"Is this a pity fuck?" he asked, moderately amused.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, innocently staring back at him.

"This is a pity fuck." he said to himself, nodding up and down. She gently touched his face and kissed him.

"Who cares?" she whispered, climbing on top of him.

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"Te amo..." she whispered in his ear.

The one lone ray of sunlight shone in Ryan's eyes, and they fluttered open. He turned over to his side and looked at her. She put her hands in his hair and kissed him on the cheek tenderly.

"You know, I understand Spanish, Theresa. I know what you're saying."

"De verdad?" she asked mockingly, tickling the side of his face with her fingers.

"Si. Todo." he lied back, kissing her on the lips. Of course he didn't understand everything she said in Spanish. He only knew a few sentences.

"I know you don't love me, and I don't care." she said, getting up.

"Ok. As long as we're good with that." he said, stretching on the bed. He cracked his knuckles.

"Don't do that. I hate it when you do that." she said, her eyes narrowed. Ryan cracked another knuckle.

"Do what?" he asked innocently, his eyes wide.

"That!" she said, turning around.

Crack.

"You do that one more time, and I swear--" she smiled at him, inching her way closer.

Crack.

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The wind had messed up Seth's hair. He fixed it absentmindedly, looking ahead of him. The docks were nearer now, and he gave a sad sigh.

"Time to go back." he said to himself quietly. The boat got closer to the wooden dock, and he started to tie it back up.

He looked at his watch. Kirsten and Sandy were late. That was odd. He thought for sure they'd be four hours early. As he got on dry land, he looked around. Nope. His parents were no where to be seen. He saw the ice cream store and shrugged. They probably would be here very soon, and he wanted a fudgesicle. He bolted towards the store and got out his wallet.

"D'ya got any fudgesicles?" he asked eagerly.

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Kirsten yawned and looked at the alarm clock.

10:00 a.m.

"Holy shit. Sandy, wake up!" She shook him as hard as he could and jumped out of bed.

"Do I have to go to school today?" croaked Sandy, opening his eyes.

"Sandy, shut up and get up. We're late to go pick up Seth."

Sandy immediately sat up and gathered up his clothes from the previous day.

It took them a total of three minutes to get dressed.

"Come on, get in the car, get in the car!" screamed Kirsten, already busy buckling her seatbelt. Sandy ran out after her, jumping into the car and starting it in one swift motion.

They were on the road in a matter of seconds.

"Oh god, Sandy. What if he doesn't see us there and runs off again? What if he's suicidal this time?!"

Sandy took a second to look at her and pat her thigh.

"Don't worry. He's not as melodramatic as you."

"Sandy, don't you joke with me. I'm one joke away from being suicidal myself."

Sandy nodded in understanding, putting his attention on the driving at hand.

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"Yumm... fudgesicle."

Seth walked out of the Ice Cream parlor five dollars poorer and three fudgesicles richer.

He looked over and heard the screeching of tires, followed by the sound of a car going over a bump.

Seth recognized the Range Rover and walked steadfastly towards it. A rather disheveled looking Sandy and Kirsten stumbled out of it, instantaneously running towards their son. They pulled him into a tight hug, and didn't pull away until he pushed them lightly.

"Holy crap, have you guys been drinking?" he asked, a smirk playing on his face as he raised an eyebrow.

"Dad, your shirt is inside out... And your pants are falling down."

Sandy looked down, suddenly realizing his appearance, and raised both large eyebrows in shock, turning around to fix himself and his belt.

"You guys look like hobos." stated Seth in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You don't look much better." Kirsten shot back, shoving Seth gently.

Seth waved his hands around and twirled his hair.

"Really? You don't think I look refreshed? Like I just got botox or something?"

Kirsten laughed. Maybe Sandy was right. Maybe Seth was going to make everything alright. After all, who could say no to a face like his?

"Fudgesicle?" asked Seth, waving the little plastic wrapped desert in front of his parents' face. They both reached to get it, but Seth opened it for them.

"Aw. Aw, look what you did! You crushed it when you hugged me! Oh no, this is definitely not fit for you guys to eat. No-- no really, I'll eat it. It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Both parents laughed once more. Yup. Seth would definitely make everything alright.

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"Ok. The little dog leashes are two dollars, the treats are a quarter each, and the beds vary depending on the size. You should figure it out soon enough." said Theresa, spinning around.

"Any questions?" she added, twirling her hair around one finger.

"Uh, yeah. Why am I stuck selling dog stuff while you sell baby clothes?"

Theresa scoffed at him. "Because I'm the one having the baby." She said, shaking her head and smiling.

"Oh. Right. My job is done, right?"

"Not even close." said Theresa, pulling him in for a kiss.

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Theresa counted the money in the small plastic box meticulously.

"So people still care more about dogs than kids." she said, still counting.

"Well I don't think it's about the dogs so much as it is about me." said Ryan, looking at the ground sheepishly.

"Oh, you cocky little bastard." said Theresa, pushing him playfully.

"Ryan Atwood. Holy shit." Ryan looked up to see Jayne waving at him.

"J--Jayne? What are you doing here?" he pulled her into a hug. Theresa smiled at the teenager and got up to hug her.

"I haven't seen you in so long! What are you doing here?" Jayne shrugged at Ryan's question.

"I live here now. Yeah, just moved in."

Ryan stared at her. Her green eyes penetrated his, and he looked down, for fear of having her see through him.

"Well, here's my phone number. You guys call me, alright?"

Ryan smiled shyly at her and took the piece of paper she handed him.

"Bye Theresa. Bye Ryan."

"Bye Jayne." whispered Ryan.

---------------------Flashback------------------------------

"You guys are slow." screamed Ryan, watching as the two girls trailed behind him.

"Ryan, be careful. Don't forget about your arm!" shouted Jayne from behind Theresa.

"You just got it out of the cast, you wouldn't want to put it back in there again!" added Theresa, looking at the blonde boy, who was already all the way at the top of the tree.

He was wearing a shirt that was much too big for him, and baggy blue jeans. His sneakers were ripped and completely torn apart.

The girls arrived a few seconds after he did, and they all sat down on the tree branch.

"Look! I can see my mom's stall from here!" squealed Theresa.

Ryan squinted his eyes in the sunlight. He couldn't see what Theresa saw.

"Where?" he asked.

"Over there!" Theresa pointed out her mother's small stall, but Ryan still couldn't see it. He leaned forward as far as he could, and looked down. He hadn't realized how high he was. He disregarded the thought and leaned out further. He felt his legs slip, and heard the two girls scream before he hit the ground.

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"Where are your parents?"

The voice seemed far away, as though it were coming to him through the school speaker phone.

"They're just outside. Can we please stay here? He's our best friend." That was Theresa's voice. He knew it.

"I don't know. I think your parents should be in here. Actually, I think his parents should be here." The voice sounded clearer now.

Ryan heard Jayne break into tears. He tried to sit up to make her stop crying, but he couldn't move. That was never good. Jayne was his best friend, as was Theresa. He met Jayne at the market one day, as she walked around, trying to find someone to play with. Ryan and Theresa had agreed, and they had never been separated after that.

"Please." asked Theresa. Ryan could almost feel her eyes welling up with tears.

"Alright. But could you have to promise you'll leave if his mother gets here."

If. His mother wasn't here, but his friends were. And his friends' parents. God, was he the only one with parents who didn't care?

"Ryan? It's Jayne."

"And Theresa."

Ryan pried his eyes open so he could see the two girls. Jayne's blonde hair tumbled over her face, while Theresa's brown hair stayed held back by a ponytail. They were looking straight at him, and it made him dizzy.

"Ah! You're awake!" said the doctor happily.

"Ye-ah." Ryan's voice cracked.

"You took quite a fall there, Ryan."

Ryan looked at the man. He knew him from somewhere. Ah. He was the doctor that helped him when Steve had beaten him unconscious. His name was Dr. Monroe. No. Dr. Murray.

"I'm never climbing another tree again... or going any higher than a ladder." said Ryan, a small smile on his face.

"What about our plan to fly to Mexico?" asked Theresa seriously as Jayne giggled.

"No. Definitely not happening."

"Ryan!"

His mother shoved the doors open, her face a portrait of rage.

"This is the second time this month I've had to come get you at the hospital, you little--" Dawn spotted the doctor, who scowled at her, daring her to finish her sentence.

"Angel..." she ended, not taking her eyes off the doctor. She found her way to Ryan's side and took his hand in hers.

"Are you alright?" she asked, glaring at him.

"I'm fine." he said, returning the glare.

"Rob and I were so worried." she lied, squeezing his hand tighter. He didn't make a sound.

"When is he allowed to leave?" she asked, digging her nails into Ryan's flesh, watching as he gave the smallest of flinches.

"Tomorrow. You're lucky he didn't have any more serious injuries." said the doctor, his eyes still narrowed at the woman with too much make-up on and product filled hair.

"Yeah. Real lucky." she answered.

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To Be Continued...

A slightly less brutal flashback. Hope you like it!