"We're home, guys," Sandy said, glancing in his rear view mirror at his boys.
"What?" Seth jolted awake but Ryan didn't stir. He'd fallen asleep as soon as Sandy had pulled out of the parking lot, his head leaning on his hand against the window.
"I'll get him. You guys go ahead," he said. Kirsten yawned, patting his leg before getting out.
Sandy turned around in his seat once Seth vacated the vehicle. "Ryan. Ryan, wake up."
After a moment, Ryan opened his eyes.
"We're home."
Ryan hesitated but his eyes cleared finally and he nodded solemnly. "Home."
Sandy stepped out as Ryan slowly got to his feet beside the car.
"I feel like shit," Ryan admitted, accepting his steadying hand on his arm.
"Well, that's normal, I think, you took a big fall," Sandy replied. He wanted to put Ryan safely to bed. They had him home safely and now he just had to take care of him.
"Sandy." Ryan's strangled voice caught his attention immediately. Sandy looked at the boy.
"Will I get better if I talk about it?"
Sandy didn't know what to tell him. Ryan needed guidance and he didn't want to lie to him. "I don't know. I've never…it's never happened to me, Ryan."
Ryan nodded, his eyes dark with thought.
"But I know it won't hurt. It might help," Sandy whispered.
Ryan was still except for the grinding of his jaw.
"Let's go inside," Sandy urged.
"Okay. But…" Ryan stopped him with a glance. "Will you tell Kirsten? I don't know if I could…I can't tell her."
"Don't worry. Right now, you should rest. Everything will be okay," Sandy said. "I promise, okay?"
Ryan's nod was enough to calm his soul. He could still heal. Sandy would help him.
Ryan opened the door and slowly ambled to the couch, sitting down. Seth appeared and sat down beside him on the couch. Sandy watched them curiously.
"So, dude, I'm going to take the first shift but I'm pretty tired so…" Seth started, pausing as he reached over and dropped a red cord around his neck. A large gold bell was on the end and it jingled loudly. "So this is my solution."
"A bell?" Ryan snorted.
"Well, you're so damned quiet, we've always warned that we were going to hang a bell on you," Seth teased.
Ryan glared at him, picking up the bell, annoyed. "A bell…"
Sandy couldn't stop the smile at Ryan's pissed off expression.
"So? You ready to go back to bed and stay there?" Seth asked, his eyes bright with amusement.
"Yeah. But this…is not going to work," Ryan said, getting to his feet. He jingled as he walked.
"Ah, come on, man…" Seth said, winking at his father as he followed him from the room.
FIN