Putting the phone back into his pocket, Jay found himself slightly worried. He was more than a little surprised that the conversation hadn't caused the slumbering teen to stir. Sure, he had been quiet, but not that quiet. Bradin was definitely out of it.

Concern wasn't the emotion driving his response to the kid at the moment, though. Leaning down, he abruptly grabbed the boy by the arms and hauled him to his feet.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He demanded.

Startled awake in a less than pleasant fashion, Bradin found himself desperately trying to figure out what was happening to him.

Jay wasn't exactly interested in waiting for the teen's disorientation to pass. Quite the contrary, in fact. He intended to take full advantage at Bradin's inability to comprehend what was happening to him. Throwing the teen's bag/makeshift pillow over his arm, the surfer gruffly went about dragging the bewildered teen out of the cove and onto the beach.

About 15 feet from the entrance, Bradin finally realized what was going on. And he wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

"Get off me, man!" The teen demanded, jerking out of Jay's firm grip on his arm.

Jay wasn't having it though. Grabbing onto the teen once more, he propelled him in the general direction of the house. "Did you hit your head or are you just plain stupid?"

"I don't have to take your crap, Jay." Bradin told him hotly, unsuccessfully attempting to pull away once more.

Jay continued to manhandle the teen down the beach as he responded. "Oh, I think you do, mate. Do you have any idea what you've put us through? We've been searching for you all night!"

"What?" The teen replied, completely thrown by the statement. "Why?"

"Why? Why!" The man practically screamed at him, pulling him along the beach at an increasingly frantic pace. "You can't be serious. You take off, no plan, no destination and no one has a clue where you're at. And you have the gall to ask me why we're looking for you?"

"But you guys kicked me out." Bradin replied quietly, struggling less as the man continued to pull him towards the now visible beach house.

Picking up on the hint of vulnerability in the teen's tone, the man loosened his grip on the boy slightly as he continued to lead him across the beach. "Don't be stupid, Bradin."

Looking over at the man, Bradin found himself not nearly as offended by the insult as he had originally been when the man first called him stupid. Especially when Jay shifted his grip from the boy's arm to the back of his neck.

"Even if Ava temporary took leave of her senses and thought she wanted you out, you've gotta know none of us would ever allow it." Jay told him slowly, looking over at the teen as they neared the house.

Bradin looked over at him skeptically. "You mean it?"

"Do I mean it?" Jay repeated before seizing the kid in an affectionate headlock and pulling him onto the back patio. "Get in there."

Accepting Jay's gentle shove towards the screen door, the boy momentarily paused as he took in the idea of walking back through that door.

Making her way across the beach in a beeline towards the house, Ava found her mind racing as she attempted to figure out what on earth she was going to say to her nephew.

As Johnny attempted to keep up with the woman on a mission, he was at a loss of what to say to the distraught aunt. As they rapidly crossed the long stretch of beach that lay in the path to the house, he finally decided to just go with whatever came to mind. "Thank God."

"I already have." Ava looked briefly over her shoulder at him, trepidation evident in her face. "Unfortunately, He didn't tell me what to say to Bradin now that he's back."

"What's there to say?" The man questioned, shrugging at the look the woman leveled at him. "Ava, relax. We'll figure it out. We'll talk to him. Hug him. Tell him he belongs. We'll figure it out."

"I really hope so." Ava replied, making her way across the beach.

Briefly allowing a short distance between himself and Ava, he mumbled his reply quietly. "Me, too."