Oh my goodness, you guys outdo yourselves every time! It has been a very long, but good, weekend, and now I have to go read for my Shakespeare class, which I have to tell you, I am not looking forward to. Anyone want to read "Henry V" for me? Please? I'll give you five dollars...that's really all I have right now. But please? No takers huh? Fine. Read and review please! Oh, but first, some shoutouts to some particularly awesome people:

HateToSayIToldYouSo: Thanks for the get well wishes! And one of my professors just told me that sneezing is what your body enjoys second to sex, so you are not alone in your enjoyment of sneezing. And you could totally send me a basket of flowers, I wouldn't think it was creepy...actually no, I would. But if there was a 16 page card attached extolling me and all my wonderfulness, I might rethink my position on the whole creepy thing.

Phaze: Sorry, sorry for making you cry, but I could send you a box of tissues and that would make up for it right? And don't worry, everything will work out, I promise!

Melissa1987: Liking Caleb for that doesn't make you weird. I swear.

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. Poop.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sandy, for the first time ever since Ryan had met him, looked like he had no idea what to do.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sandy said softly.

"I want to go," Ryan said. He looked determined, and Sandy knew that there was no arguing with him like this. This was the same look that Kirsten got on her face when she was about to defend something, or someone, that she felt strongly about. It was the look that she had gotten when she had first brought Sandy home and her father had told her in no uncertain words that he hated him.

"Ryan," Sandy tried one more time.

"No, Sandy, I want to go." And Sandy knew that he had to let him come, even though it could not turn out good.

"Fine, kid, stay here while I tell Kirsten, okay?" Ryan nodded and Sandy hurried back to Kirsten's room. He paused for a minute to watch through the window. She had fallen back asleep, a good thing actually, because she was still in massive amounts of pain and she was exhausted, and Seth was watching her sleep while holding her hand. Sandy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What a long day and now night they all had had, and it was just continuing to get longer and more complicated.

He opened the door, and she stirred and Seth looked up.

"Hey Dad, do I have to go? Did you want to sit wit her for awhile?" Seth asked hinting that he really didn't want to go anywhere. Sandy shook his head and almost smiled of the look of relief that passed over Seth's face.

"I just needed to run somewhere and wanted to tell her that I would be back soon," he said.

"I can tell her," Seth assured him. "If she wakes up." Sandy just nodded and crossed over to his wife and leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Had Caleb really gotten Dave killed? A part of Sandy was stunned that Caleb would have gone to such an extreme level, and a part of him was jealous, that he hadn't been able to do it.

"Sandy?" Kirsten's eyes blinked open and he gave her a gentle smile.

"Hi babe, listen, I have to go with Ryan somewhere, but we'll be back in a little bit okay?"

"Where?" She asked. Sandy should have guessed that she would ask. He was being quite vague about where he was heading off to. But he certainly didn't want to get her worked up, not in the state that she was in.

"Honey, I'll tell you all about it when I get back okay?"

"Sandy..."

"Please, just rest, okay?" He gave her a kiss on the lips and before she could ask him any more questions, he disappeared out the door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryan and Sandy followed the officer into a small room. Ryan was trying very hard to keep himself under control. What if that was his father in there? He had no idea what he would do, what he would feel. Dave was still his father, but....the way he had so merciless kicked Kirsten, the way that he had tossed her to the ground. Who did that? Every time Ryan closed his eyes, he could see her lying on the ground, bleeding. She had just been trying to help him, she was just trying to get him out of that house so that he could come home with her and Sandy and Seth. Home to people who loved him. She had put herself in danger for him, and she had ended up lying on the floor bleeding.

And his father had done that.

Ryan was shaking when they opened the door to step into the room to identify the body. Sandy had told him the entire way down there that he didn't have to do this.

"I can do this myself kid," Sandy said again and again.

"No," Ryan shook his head. "I have to do this. I have to." And Sandy had reluctantly agreed.

"If at any time, you want to leave, you just tell me, okay?" Sandy said before they stepped inside. Ryan had nodded. He couldn't leave though. He had to go in there. He had to see for himself if that was his father or not. He had to.

"Okay," Ryan had said and Sandy had reached out spontaneously and wrapped his arms around Ryan and pulled him in for a hug. Ryan was never good at affection, but was learning to deal with it with the Cohens, who were extremely affectionate people. Sandy especially. He was always trying to hug Seth, or ruffle his hair, and everyone knew that he couldn't keep his hands off of Kirsten. At first, he hadn't known his boundaries with Ryan, and so he wouldn't pull him for hugs or try to touch him too much, but that initial awkwardness had melted away and Ryan had to duck out the way of Sandy's hugs just like Seth did. But he didn't sometimes, and this was one of those times.

This time Ryan allowed Sandy to hold him. He knew what an absolutely awful night it had been for Sandy, and it didn't look to be getting any better any time soon. Except that now Kirsten was awake. He could see the weight that lifted off of Sandy's shoulders. He could see the relief still written on Sandy's face. But now it was etched with worry again, but not for Kirsten this time, for Ryan.

"Whatever happens in there, kid," Sandy said rocking his foster son slightly back and forth. "We're here for you. Kirsten and Seth and me, we're all here for you. We love you and we're going to get through this. All of this, as a family." Family. It was a funny word, Ryan thought. Because it was family that had gotten them all into this mess to begin with. It was family obligation and loyalty that had brought Ryan back to his parents. It was that second chance for a family that had motivated him to leave the Cohens in the first place.

But it was family that had brought Kirsten down to Chino to bring him home. Because she thought of him like that. She thought of him as family. It was family that had gathered in that hospital waiting room for hours waiting for Kirsten to wake up. It was the Cohen family that took him in and showed him that he was able to love without regrets, and was able to be loved back.

Ryan didn't know what to think about the word family. But he didn't say that to Sandy, to Sandy he nodded, and whispered.

"Thanks." And then he stepped into the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Caleb was being awfully quiet, Julie determined. They had left to get something to eat, and he hadn't been talkative. Not that Caleb was usually very talkative, but he usually answered using more than one syllable. She knew that he had a lot on his mind, with Kirsten and everything, and she just chalked up his silence to that.

"I'm going to go back and see Kiki," Caleb said when they returned to the hospital waiting room. "Why don't you take the kids home so that they can shower and get some sleep?" Caleb knew better than to include Sandy in that. He knew that there was no way that Sandy was leaving Kirsten's side. The waiting room was as far as Sandy would go away from her. He was then terribly surprised to find that both Sandy and Ryan had gone somewhere. But that was fine with him, that meant less people to contend with to go back and visit with Kirsten. Caleb told Seth that Julie would take him and the girls home to change.

"I don't want to," Seth said shaking his head.

"Seth," his grandfather said. "You have to. She's going to be in here for awhile and you need to get some sleep and take a shower. There's no need for all of us to sit around her waiting. We'll come and get you in the morning and you can spend more time with her then." Caleb left little room for Seth to argue with him. Seth huffed and then finally agreed leaving Caleb alone.

Kirsten was sleeping when he stepped into her room. It was the first time that he had gotten to spend some time with her since she woke up. She opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening and smiled up at him.

"Hey Dad," she said. Caleb took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth and gave it a kiss.

"Hi Kiki," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh," Kirsten answered honestly. Her side was killing her, and because of the broken ribs, it was very hard to take a breath.

"Well, you better get well soon so that we can see you back at work. You know, those Japanese business men won't listen to me," Caleb told her. Kirsten nearly rolled her eyes. Some things, she thought, never change. But then her father got very quiet.

"Kirsten," he said. "I just want you to know, that I love you. And I should say it more. I'm so proud of you, and all that you've done. And whatever happens, I just want you to remember that. Remember that I did everything for you and your sister and your mother. Everything I did was for you." With that, Caleb wrapped his arms around his daughter, being very careful not to hurt her, and hugged her as tightly as he could. And Kirsten just sat there, in complete and utter shock. This was not like her father. Not her cold, calculating father. This was completely out of character for him.

But she just returned the hug and wondered what the words, whatever happens, meant.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They led Ryan and Sandy into the room where the body was lying on the table covered with a sheet. Sandy reached out and took Ryan's hand, and wondered if he would let him, or automatically yank his hand out Sandy's grip. Sandy was most pleased when he saw that Ryan didn't take his hand away.

It made Sandy wonder though, how feeble of a grip Ryan had on control right now, if he was letting someone hold his hand.

"Are you ready?" The coroner asked. Ryan managed half a nod, and Sandy spoke up.

"Yes," he said. The coroner pulled back the sheet and Ryan felt like he was going to throw up.

"Yes," Ryan said. "That's him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Uh-oh! Was it really Caleb who killed him? Or is he completely innocent and we're all reading just too much into this? I know, and you will too, only if you review though! Thanks!