AN: I promise I'm still working on my other stories but I have to write what comes to me. Hope this chapter lives up to expectation. Thanks for all the patient readers.

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Grace and Kirsten were in the living room the next morning and Graham was with Sandy in the kitchen.

"We saw her yesterday. She was messed up," Graham said quietly. "But she said that she was glad to see us, that she'd see us again today…"

"Dawn…I think she was sick…"

"So, she called the kid and…" Graham started.

"And she was dead when we got there," Sandy finished.

"Has he said anything?"

"Seth hasn't come in yet. It's taken all my self control not to burst in there but…Ryan's trust is so tenuous and I have to trust him back. He's a strong kid."

Graham glanced at him. "You don't think he's dangerously introverted?"

"No. You haven't seen him with Seth, my son. They balance each other out," Sandy replied. "Here they come now."

Seth and Ryan stepped into the kitchen. Seth was yawning as he went to the coffeepot and prepared two steaming mugs.

"Morning, guys," Sandy said. Seth sat down beside Ryan at the counter and they each took a swallow of coffee before acknowledging him with a nod.

"You guys get any sleep?" Sandy asked.

"He snores," They both said in unison.

"That was totally not me…" Seth muttered.

"Then there's a monster in the poolhouse," Ryan remarked quietly. He registered Graham's presence and nodded to him.

"How're you doing, kid?" Graham asked.

"Okay," He murmured, shaking his hand.

"Seth, this is Graham Thompson," Sandy introduced.

"Ah, the uncle. Nice to meet you," Seth said, shaking his hand as well.

Ryan smiled slightly.

"Hungry?" Sandy asked.

"Coffee first," Seth said with a yawn. He was pouring sugar into his cup.

"Ryan, you didn't eat any dinner…" Sandy continued, looking at him with concern.

He waved his hand noncommittally and muttered something that only Seth could hear.

"He's not hungry," Seth said after Ryan didn't repeat it.

"You have to eat something," Sandy directed at Ryan.

"He says if you make him eat, he'll throw up," Seth added after getting a slight glance from Ryan.

"You always let him do the talking for you?" Graham asked, amused.

"He's better at it," Ryan muttered.

"Grace is in the living room. Maybe you should go say hello," Sandy suggested.

Ryan nodded and got up immediately.

"God, Dad, you didn't let him finish his coffee."

"How is he doing, Seth?" Sandy asked quietly. Seth glanced at Graham who politely followed Ryan into the living room.

"He's okay," Seth started immediately. "He didn't sleep, like, at all, but he's much better today than he was last night. I mean…I've never seen him cry but he was fucking sobbing last night…"

"Why didn't you come and get me?"

"I didn't know what to do…I just helped him to the bathroom and when he came out he was okay. He didn't want you guys to see him like that…" Seth replied. "Are you sure it's a good idea to throw his grandma and uncle at him today?"

"I don't know. I called them this morning and told them what happened and they asked if they could come over…we couldn't exactly turn them away…"

"It's cool. Ryan…he's pretty cold today. He hasn't really said much since he woke up…" Seth replied quietly. "I think he's going to just shut down until all the hard stuff is over. He gets this look in his eye like he's not really listening, like he's just filing everything away for later."

In the living room, Ryan sat down beside Kirsten on the loveseat across from Grace.

Grace's makeup was smeared from where she'd been crying. "Ryan, I'm so sorry about your mother…"

"Yeah, me, too," Ryan said quietly. "But…but at least now she has a chance to be at peace."

Grace looked at him silently, startled by his calm voice.

"Mom…she always had a rough time. That's why she used the drugs so much…they were the only thing that made her happy. She needed them…more than she needed me or you or anyone," He continued quietly. "At least now, she can get the peace she deserves."

"Ryan…I hope that you and I can still have a relationship…even though Dawn's gone…if I hadn't run into you, I wouldn't have gotten to see her for…for the last time." Graham entered and sat down beside his mother.

Ryan glanced at Kirsten and she put a hand on his arm.

"Sure," He replied quietly.

"You okay, honey?" Kirsten whispered.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. Last night…it was really hard. But it's over and now we just have to put her to rest. I'm going to go finish my coffee." He stood up and walked out of the room.

"Is he okay?" Grace asked. They could all sense the strangeness of Ryan's speech.

"He'll be okay," Kirsten said. She got up and followed him into the kitchen.

"Sandy, can I go see Trey?" Ryan asked quietly.

Sandy accepted Kirsten's arm around him. "You sure that you're ready for that?"

"I need to see him," Ryan replied.

"You don't look like you got any sleep…" Kirsten started.

"I just need to do this so it's done. I'll sleep after it's done. Please. Can I go see my brother?" Ryan didn't meet their worried gazes.

"You're not going alone. One of us will go with you, okay?"

"Fine. Whatever. I'm going to go get dressed." He hurried out of the house.

"Who's going to go?" Seth asked. "Can I go?"

"I think it might be better if one of us went with him…considering what happened last time…" Kirsten replied.

"Wait. He told you what happened?" Sandy asked immediately.

"Uh oh. You didn't tell Dad?" Seth asked his mother.

"There hasn't really been any time," Kirsten replied.

"There's time now."

"I'm staying out of this. I'm going to go help Ryan," Seth said, following his friend out.

"Kirsten…"

"Trey owed people money. He asked Ryan to do something illegal to pay the debt. He said they were going to kill him, Trey, I mean. So he did it. Then they mutually agreed to not see each other anymore. That's it," Kirsten said quickly.

"That's it? What did he do?"

"I didn't press him. But it seems like Seth squeezed it out of him, too. He probably knows more than I did. He didn't know when he went, Sandy…but could you imagine how guilty he would feel if he hadn't helped his brother?"

"Probably as guilty as he does for not saving his mother. I'll take him," Sandy said quietly.

"Are you angry at him, Sandy?"

"No. I'm not angry. I'm worried. I'm worried that he's never going to be able to shake what his family did to him. I'm worried that he's going to let Dawn's death eat him alive. I'm worried as hell, Kirsten. I'm not angry, I'm concerned," Sandy replied.

"Don't be too hard on him. Maybe Seth should go with you…"

"We'll leave it up to Ryan," Sandy sighed.

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Sandy parked the Range Rover outside the jail and turned to look at his son. Seth was sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. Ryan glanced up at him from the backseat.

"I'm not letting you go in to see him alone, Ryan. I know you want your privacy but Kirsten…she told me what happened last time and I'm not going to let you talk to him alone," Sandy said quietly.

Ryan had barely spoken on the drive to Chino except when prompted by Seth. He nodded in response to Sandy.

"Are you mad at me or something? Have I done something to you?"

"No, Sandy. I just…I don't feel like talking. I…I'm not mad," He replied quietly.

Sandy regretted his question, seeing the hurt expression on his foster son's face. Ryan stepped out before he could apologize. Sandy gently woke Seth.

Seth yawned. "We're here already?"

"Mind waiting in the car?" Sandy asked.

Seth glanced through the window to see if Ryan approved but his friend was looking at the sidewalk. "I guess. Can I run the air conditioner?"

"Sure. No joyriding. We'll be back, Seth." Sandy was relieved that his son didn't argue. He closed the door and watched as Seth immediately climbed into the driver's seat so he could have easy access to the locks and stereo.

Ryan didn't speak again but he didn't pull away when Sandy put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, kid. You can talk to me, you know."

"I know. Let's do this," Ryan muttered. He led the way into the visitors' entrance.

Several minutes later, Ryan and Sandy were seated in the visitor's area in the prison. The guard had notified them that Trey would see him and they were waiting for him to be escorted in.

"Ryan…"

"God, Sandy, can't you just let me be quiet for a while? Does every second of silence have to be filled by stupid conversation?" Ryan snapped.

"No. I was going to say that I'll be right here if you need me," Sandy said quietly.

"Sorry," He sighed, covering his face.

"It's okay."

"There's Trey," Ryan nodded. He stood up to greet his brother. Trey gave him a loose hug before obeying the guard and sitting down across from him.

"Trey, this is Sandy Cohen."

"The lawyer. You give my baby brother that black eye?" Trey was staring down Sandy.

"Sandy's not like that. I got into a fight with a friend."

"Some friend," Trey muttered. "I thought you were making better friends out in Newport."

"How're you doing?"

"Okay. What's up? I thought we had finished things," Trey said. Sandy was studying him. He recognized Ryan's familiar coldness but he could see in Trey's eyes that he was desperate to be close to Ryan. Trey clearly loved his little brother.

"I have some news," Ryan said.

"What's up? You look like somebody died," Trey muttered. When Ryan didn't respond, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and shook out two, letting one of them roll across the table to Ryan.

Ryan glanced at Sandy and lit it with one of Trey's matches. He inhaled deeply.

"Now. What happened?" Trey asked quietly.

Sandy was studying Trey's quiet manipulation of Ryan in order to get him to talk. He seemed patient and willing to wait for his younger brother to speak.

"Mom's dead."

Trey recoiled. "What?"

"She o.d.'d last night."

"What? Are you fucking serious? Are you sure?"

"I found her…"

"What the hell were you doing there?" Trey turned his attention to Sandy. "You let him go see her?"

"She called me. She wanted me to go see her. Sandy took me."

Trey's gaze flickered between Ryan and Sandy. "Okay. So, what happened? You said she called you?"

"She called me. Asked me to come see her. I told her I was coming, she knew I was coming…but she was dead when we got there."

"Fuck…what a bitch…"

Ryan lowered his gaze.

"Sorry, Ry…" Trey apologized immediately. Ryan inhaled deeply off his cigarette.

"There's this lady, Grace Thompson, who showed up a few nights ago. Says she's Dawn's mother. She's got pictures and…and her story checks out."

"Dawn's got a mother? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Boston, apparently," Ryan muttered.

"You believe her?" Trey asked, pushing his brother for more information.

"Yeah. I do. She says that Dawn ran away when she was fifteen."

"How'd she find you?"

"She was at one of Kirsten's Newport things. She recognized me. She wants to see you, if you want."

"Why?"

Ryan glanced at Sandy for assistance. Sandy cleared his throat. "She doesn't appear to want anything except a relationship with her grandchildren. She has money, she has family, two sons, but she would like to get to know you."

"He making you see her?" Trey asked Ryan.

"Sandy doesn't make me do anything. He asked me what I wanted to do and I thought about it. It's not her fault that Dawn ditched her, too," Ryan replied.

Trey nodded.

"So…that's the news," Ryan sighed.

"Can you give me a few minutes with my little brother, man?" Trey asked. Sandy glanced at Ryan and waited for his slight nod before getting up and moving to stand beside the guard at the door.

"What's up?" Ryan asked.

"How're you really doing? I know how you felt about Mom shooting up," Trey whispered.

"I haven't seen her since…since the last time she left me at the Cohens. She was sick, Trey, and I didn't even go to her…"

"Mom's always been sick, she's always had problems, you couldn't help her…"

"She's been calling me. When the Cohens found out, they freaked. I don't know how she got the number…"

"Shit," Trey muttered, leaning back.

"Trey…you gave her my number?"

"I…I wasn't thinking. I've only talked to her once since Thanksgiving and she asked…she asked for your number. I gave it to her. You always loved Mom, I thought…I thought maybe it'd be good for you to talk to her. I'm so sorry, man."

"It's okay. At least now I know where she got the number."

Trey sighed. "I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry I'm stuck in here and can't…"

"If you want to come to the funeral, Sandy says that he can arrange it."

"I'd like that, Ry. You sure you want my jumpsuit-ass standing beside you?" Trey asked.

"Shit, Trey, you're, like, my only family now. Besides Dad and this random Grace lady."

"That lawyer's sure watching you close," Trey cast a glance towards Sandy.

"Sandy…his family's really good to me, Trey."

"Good. I'm glad. Despite the black eye, you look good, man."

"Thanks. You getting along okay in here? Honestly?"

"Gattas' guys have been leaving me alone. Hey, I even got my GED certificate."

"Really? That's awesome, man."

"I barely passed. You got all the smarts, kid. I just got the shit…"

"Stop it, Trey."

"You're going to be okay, Ryan. Mom…she's better off. At least now, she's out of your life, you know?"

"I know. But it still sucks."

"She…she wasn't a good mom. But she was the only one we had. Hell, you turned out okay, not for lack of trying, though," Trey teased.

"Fuck you," Ryan laughed, relaxing for the first time.

"So, you brought a chaperone this time?"

"Shit, Trey, last time I came to see you I came home with a black eye and bruised ribs. You're not exactly high on their trust list," Ryan replied.

Trey nodded. "So, who gave you this black eye again?"

"I get stressed out, I punch people. This is one of my friends that has the same issue. Name's Luke. We used to hate each other's guts but now we're cool. Long story."

"I'd like to hear it sometime. Maybe…if your warden approves, you can come see me again? Like, with better news?"

"We'll see," Ryan said, his mood darkening again.

"What?"

"You think I should call Dad? I mean, technically, they're still married."

Trey was pensive. "What about AJ?"

"He's still around. But…I mean, Dad might get pissed if we don't tell him."

"Yeah. You want me to call him?"

"I'll do it…"

"I don't think that's such a good idea. You and Dad didn't exactly part on good terms," Trey said, waving Sandy back to the table.

Sandy was clearly relieved to be recalled to the table.

"Mr. Cohen, I appreciate you bringing Ryan to see me," Trey said quietly. He had lowered his voice and was keeping his gaze submissive. Sandy was startled to see the respect in the man's eyes. "I also appreciate that you're taking good care of the little punk."

"Well, we're working on the 'punk' part," Sandy smiled.

"Don't let him call Dad. I'll call him, or you can call him. But he's got enough on his plate already without dragging good old Dad into the mix. I don't care what he says, don't let him talk to Dad."

"Trey…"

Trey raised his hand and Ryan immediately stopped speaking, relenting with a sigh. "I'd ask you to promise not to call him but I know that you'd lie to me and call him anyway. So I'll go to the man with the reins."

"Whatever," Ryan muttered.

"I'll contact your father, Trey," Sandy nodded, startled that he hadn't thought about contacting the man earlier.

"Thank you."

"You said that you could help get Trey out for the funeral?"

"I can make some calls. I'll do my best," Sandy nodded. He offered Trey his card. "Call me if you don't hear anything by tomorrow."

"You want me to talk to this Grace lady?" Trey asked Ryan.

"It's up to you, man. But she'd like to meet you. She's not so bad," Ryan shrugged.

"All right. I'll think about it," Trey acknowledged.

"Well, we better get out of here before Seth melts in the car," Ryan said quietly.

"I'll call you as soon as I talk to your warden, okay?" Sandy shook Trey's hand.

"Thanks." Trey gives Ryan a hearty hug. "Take care, man. Don't let this keep you down, okay?"

Ryan gave him a tense nod as he went to the door.

Trey stopped Sandy. "Keep an eye on him, Mr. Cohen. He…he really loved his mom. He's…he's not really himself today, you know?"

"We're keeping an eye on him. Thanks, Trey. I think it helped for him to talk to you." Sandy shook his hand again and then followed Ryan out of the visitor's room.

Ryan had paused immediately outside of the prison.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Okay," Ryan nodded. He made no attempt to continue walking.

"Let's get out of here, kid," Sandy said finally, putting his hand on Ryan's back and urging him toward the car.

Ryan followed him silently. They could hear the music pulsing from inside the Range Rover as soon as it came into sight.

"If I have to replace those speakers again, Kirsten's going to kill me," Sandy muttered.

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"So, dude, are you going to be silent all the way back home? I get no juicy tidbits of your visit with your brother?" Seth said when they were about twenty minutes from home. He couldn't take the silence of the SUV any longer without talking. He'd tried it but he was dying from the silence.

"He's good."

"He didn't ask you for any illegal debt-consolidations or anything?" Seth probed.

"No."

Sandy glanced at Seth.

"Okay, so, care to fill in any more details?"

"He got his GED. That's good. He wants to come to the funeral."

"Oh. Can he do that?"

"Guards can escort him to the funeral, if his warden approves," Sandy answered quietly.

The SUV lapsed back into silence.

"So. Sandy probably wants to know why Trey doesn't want me to call my dad. Since there are no secrets at your house, I probably need to give him an explanation," Ryan stated slowly.

Seth opened his mouth to speak but stopped once he saw his father's warning glare.

"It's up to you, Ryan. I don't want to press you to talk about anything you aren't comfortable talking about," Sandy replied evenly.

"Dad, sort of, hates me. The night he got busted, I was supposed to go with him to the store. We got into an argument on the way and I wouldn't go. He put me out of the car on the way to the store and I walked home. He never got to come home again," Ryan said quietly.

"Oh. What did he want you to go with him for?" Seth asked.

"He needed me to drive," Ryan murmured.

"You…you couldn't have even had a license then…" Seth stammered.

"Doesn't mean I couldn't drive," He replied.

"Your father's arrest has nothing to do with you. He chose to rob that store. It wouldn't have made a difference if you went with him or not…" Sandy attempted.

"Usually Trey went with him but Trey…he couldn't that night," Ryan said.

"Why?"

"He had a broken arm. Dad didn't trust him to drive. It was my turn. Dad never really got over it. Trey's right. I shouldn't be the one to call him."

"Why do you have to call him?" Seth asked.

"Because. He might care," Ryan sighed.

"I'll get the message to him. Is he still…was he still married to Dawn?"

"I don't know. She kept filing the papers, but I don't think she ever got totally divorced," Ryan replied. "He could already know. I doubt AJ would've called him, though."

Seth watched his father tense up at Ryan's mention of A.J's name. "This AJ guy…he's your mom's boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

Seth swiveled in his seat again. "Where was he when your mom…"

"Seth. Drop it," Sandy said suddenly.

"Oh. Okay," Seth responded.

"Its okay, Sandy. AJ showed up right as we were leaving, Seth."

"So…so you saw him?"

Ryan nodded.

Seth turned his attention to his father. "You met him?"

"We didn't meet. We just saw each other."

"He won't be at the funeral," Ryan said quietly.

"How do you know?" Sandy asked immediately.

"Because. AJ doesn't believe in stuff like that. His wife and brother were both killed while he was living with us and he didn't go. He won't come to Dawn's funeral, either," Ryan replied.

"I'm going to make sure of that," Sandy muttered.

"Dad…"

Sandy glared at Seth again who immediately shut up.

"If…if Dad is still married to Dawn…he can come to the funeral, too, right?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Possibly. Do you think he'll want to?" Sandy glanced in the rear view mirror to gauge Ryan's reaction.

"I don't know. But if he comes…can you just let me know what happens when you talk to him?"

"Of course, Ryan," Sandy agreed.

They all seemed to welcome the silence when it descended again.

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