Sandy's going gray. He thought that he'd be bald first, pulling his hair out because of his wife's anger, pulling it out by the handful because of his spoiled son, pulling it out painfully for losing the boy that he'd tried so desperately to help.

All summer, he'd dealt with Seth's tantrum, Kirsten's anger at him for not keeping Seth in town and Ryan's placating insistences that everything was fine. He'd had enough. Kirsten keeps saying that he's being too hard on Seth, being too hard on all of them, but dammit, they're being hard on him, too.

He needs his family back. All of them.

Yeah, he grounded Seth, took away his spending account, but it's for his own good.

And he thought that Seth was coming around, he's been spending time with Kirsten, trying to help out around the house, he even took out the trash yesterday.

Then, tonight, Sandy sees Summer. She asks how Seth's doing. Says she hasn't talked to him in weeks.

The boy is lying to him again.

Sandy can't take this right now. He's dealing with Caleb's mess and Teresa's breakdown and Ryan's vanishing from the face of the earth. He can't take more lies.

So he calls him, pulls out his phone on the front steps of the Newport Hilton and dials his son in his tuxedo. Kirsten's going to have his head for walking out before the Newpsie's raffle, but he has to put an end to this.

"What?" Seth answers. It's like he's inconvenienced to talk to his own father.

"Seth? Where the hell are you?" And he better have a good explanation. He isn't sure what explanation will quench his anger, but it'll have to be a damned good one.

"Dad, I told you when I left…" Sandy can't believe that he's going to continue to lie to him…who is this boy that used to be his son?

"You lied to me. I just saw Summer at the Newport social, so again, I'm asking you, where the hell are you?"

Sandy really needs Seth not to do this. He really needs Seth to step up and take responsibility for himself, he needs Seth to accept that Ryan leaving was not their fault, to accept that Seth can survive in Newport without Ryan.

"Seth, I mean it, if you don't come home right now or at least try being honest with me for once in your life, I swear that you'll be grounded until you graduate from college, no car privileges, no phone privileges, no computer privileges…Seth?"

And it's almost like no one's on the other end, there's just silence. Seth hasn't hung up, but he isn't talking either.

"Seth, goddammit, say something!" Sandy can't take this. He needs his son back...he's not in Portland anymore, but he's not fully back…anger's the only way he can even get a reaction out of him.

And all of a sudden, there's breathing on the phone. And it's not Seth's breathing…it's someone else.

"Seth?" Sandy doesn't know what's happening but he senses that it's important. He shouldn't have yelled. Seth wouldn't pull something like this if it wasn't important.

"Sandy…" the voice comes out as a whisper but he recognizes it. He hears it in his dreams and his nightmares.

"Oh, god, Ryan? Ryan, is it you? Where are you, are you all right? Son, just tell me that you're all right…"

"Seth's here," he says flatly.

"Ryan…please, Ryan…come home. Please…we know what happened to Teresa, we know that it wasn't your fault…" Sandy has to get everything he's wanted to say to Ryan out in the open right now in case the boy bolts again. He doesn't know how the hell Seth found him when the top five best PI's in the state haven't had any luck, all he knows is that he's found him. "Please, just tell me you're okay and that you'll come home…we'll fix everything…"

"Fix everything? Both of you…you're insane…" he whispers.

"Ryan. Are you listening?" Sandy doesn't know Ryan's state of mind, he can only tell from the few words that the boy's uttered, but he knows that he has to get through to him now or he'll lose his chance. Ryan will listen to him, Ryan respects him, Ryan knows that he won't hurt him or make him do anything that isn't for the best.

After a long pause, he answers. "Yes."

"Will you come home?"

"I don't think I can…"

Sandy hears his son talking suddenly in a spurt of words that he can't interpret. Seth needs him to come home, too. They all need Ryan. Their family doesn't work anymore without Ryan. He needs to be there, to put his arms around the boy, to bring him back.

"Ryan. Please…we don't care about what happened, we only care about you. Please…"

"Sandy? Who are you talking to?" Kirsten's voice startles him from behind. She sees his face and immediately knows that it's serious. "Who is it? Is Seth all right? Is it Dad?"

"Seth's found Ryan…" he whispers, covering the mouthpiece clumsily as he hears Seth speaking more urgently in the distance.

"Ryan?" She reaches out and takes the phone from him in a flash, her face flushing with emotion. "Ryan? Is it you?"

Sandy puts his arm around her and leans close to listen to the response, if any.

Kirsten glances at him, her free hand winding its way into his and squeezing tightly. "Ryan, I know you're hurting, I know this is hard, but you can come home…your home is here, with us…let us help you…please, whatever's happened, whatever you're feeling, let us help you…please…"

And there's nothing from the other end. Not breathing, not a whisper, nothing.

"Ryan…please. Just let us see you…we just want to see you…"

The dial tone startled them both.