It was shortly after Ryan woke up that both Sandy and Kirsten noticed the change in him. When he fell asleep, he was very upset at them. Well, not exactly upset, more like down right angry with Kirsten for pushing him to talk to Seth. That changed once he woke up, but the change wasn't necessarily for the better. He was just so calm. Too calm and even more quiet.

The Ryan that woke up was what Kirsten quickly recognized as 'First Year Ryan' – the very reserved, extremely withdrawn, way too quiet kid who had first come to live with them. Kirsten also realized something else – she did not like the return of 'First Year Ryan' very much, but she knew better than to say something this time. She knew Ryan was acting this way because of her, because she rushed to try to make everything right too soon after the accident, and because once again Ryan doubted how much he meant to their family.

'First Year Ryan' stayed around for the remainder of Friday, even after Seth came, and all through the Hanukkah celebration that ended with an extremely quiet game of dreidel. Kirsten sighed as she packed up to leave, remembering how much fun they'd had the year before, but still didn't saying anything. She noticed that Sandy was not treating 'First Year Ryan' any differently than he usually did, so she decided to follow suit. She bent down and gave him a kiss goodbye and tried not to react when he pulled away. All she could do was smile sadly at Sandy as she and Seth left, and hope that Saturday would be a better day.

Of course, Saturday came and went as 'First Year Ryan' continued his extremely quiet, overly calm, very stubborn, tremendously annoying one-word answers and grunts, while still refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Kirsten sighed as she again attempted to kiss him goodbye, and he again turned his head away. Sandy could only nod his head at her, trying to silently reassure her that everything was going to be okay. She sighed again as she shook her head at both of them, and left to pack clothes for both boys – for Ryan to wear home, and for Seth to wear at the Haunted Mansion.

By the time Kirsten got to the hospital early Sunday morning, she was already aggravated. It was bad enough dropping off Seth at her dad's, but she had to do it alone. Sandy was stuck arguing with the rental company since they still hadn't delivered Ryan's hospital bed, only his wheelchair. By the time Kirsten left, Sandy was in full attorney mode, and she almost felt sorry for the guy on the other end of the phone. Almost, but not really since it meant that she alone had to deal with Seth leaving and Ryan not being himself, since she didn't agree with letting Seth leave and letting Ryan be so distant. Nope, she definitely was not a very happy person by the time she got to Ryan's room. She had hoped that the fact he was coming home would lighten his mood just a little, but one look at his face as she entered his room and she knew – he was still 'First Year Ryan', with even more attitude. Lovely, she thought as she pulled his clothes out of the bag and laid them on the bed.

She put on her best fake smile when she noticed that he hadn't even so much as looked in her direction. "I hope you slept well. I bet you're anxious to get out of here. Just think, you'll finally be able to sleep in your own…um, sleep at home tonight."

"Mmm." Ryan still hadn't looked up at her as he picked at the blanket on his bed.

"Look, I know it's not your own bed, but at least you'll be home. And it's only for a little while. You'll be back in your own bed before you know it."

"Uh huh."

"Ryan…" Kirsten exhaled loudly but stopped herself from reciting the lecture that had been rolling around in her head. Instead she pointed to the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. "I brought you a change of clothes to wear home."

Ryan only nodded as he looked at the clothes and then back at his blanket. Kirsten glanced at her watch before looking at the door. "They should be here soon to take you home."

"They?"

"The ambulance company."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Do you want help getting changed?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I can get the nurse, if you'd like."

Ryan only glared as he slowly made his way off the bed, taking the clothes with him. Kirsten could feel her blood pressure rising as she watched Ryan limp to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Kirsten watched as Ryan hobbled out and sat on the edge of the bed, still not making eye contact nor attempting to talk. Kirsten took the dirty clothes from him and began to pack up the remainder of his stuff, waiting and hoping Ryan would say something on his own.

Finally, she stopped and looked at him. "Sandy wanted to be here, too, but he's at home making sure they deliver everything you'll need." She hesitated a moment before adding, "But Seth won't be there."

That finally got Ryan to look at her, obviously unsure as to what Kirsten was talking about but equally unsure what to say. He opened his mouth once but then closed it.

Deciding that maybe casual was the way to go, Kirsten just continued with the packing. "He's staying at the Haunted Mansion until you get settled."

Ryan only shrugged as he looked back down at his feet. A few quiet minutes later, he finally mumbled, "Could always go back to Chino."

"I'm not paying for an ambulance to take you down to Chino."

"Then I pay for it."

"You're not going to Chino. You're going home."

"Home…pfft." It was only a whisper, but Kirsten clearly heard him.

"Yes, home." Kirsten raised her voice as she stood directly in front of him. "And for your information, I never said you couldn't be mad at Seth. You just can't let your anger destroy your relationship with this family."

"Your family," Kirsten emphasized.

When Ryan didn't answer and continued to stare down at his feet, Kirsten threw up her hands. "I'm going to see what's keeping the ambulance attendants."

A relatively short and yet extremely quiet time later, Kirsten watched as the attendants loaded Ryan into the ambulance. He hadn't uttered a word the rest of the time they waited for him to be discharged or when the attendants finally got there. The closest form of communication from him was a little wave at the nurses who wished him luck and said goodbye. It was frustrating to say the least, but Kirsten knew Sandy was at home. Once Ryan was also home, Sandy would be able to do something about it. There was no way they could continue like this.

As the attendants went to shut the ambulance doors, Kirsten noticed Ryan finally looking at her. With his sunglasses on, she couldn't really read his expression, but at least he was looking at her so she smiled. "I'll be in the car right behind you. I'll see you at home."

It was when Ryan only nodded and looked away that it dawned on Kirsten – he looked scared. Even through his sunglasses, she could see, Ryan was afraid of something.

As she followed behind the ambulance, Kirsten tried to figure out what in the world it could be. Was it because she yelled at him yet again? Was it because Sandy didn't go to the hospital, or that they let Seth leave? Was he afraid of being home alone with them? Kirsten had no idea, and unfortunately neither did Sandy when she called him. But at least he reassured her that it would all be okay once they were all home. He could promise, but all Kirsten could do was hope.

Kirsten pulled into the driveway behind the ambulance and was glad to see Sandy already standing on the front step. At first she thought Ryan was happy to see him, too since he was looking at the front steps. It wasn't until Ryan ignored Sandy's very jovial "hey kid, welcome home" that Kirsten noticed, Ryan wasn't looking at Sandy at all. He was looking over Sandy's head, at the wreath above the door. She then saw him shutter as he looked down at the stairs, at the spot Kirsten realized was where Ryan must have remembered falling to.

"The scene of the crime," Kirsten mumbled as she moved next to the stretcher, and watched as Ryan clutched onto his blanket so hard his knuckles were turning white. As she pried his hand free from his blanket, she whispered, "I think we should get you into the house. The bright sun can't be helping your eyes."

The death grip Ryan had on her hand told Kirsten that she was right about what he was afraid of. But that didn't help her ever-increasing guilt. She should have known that Ryan would have problems with being near the accident scene. Hell, Seth no longer went out through the front door. He kept going through the garage. It would make sense that Ryan would also have a problem. He had every right to have the biggest trouble, and yet Kirsten didn't even stop to think about that in her haste to get him home. Another Mother of the Year moment, Kirsten thought as she gently squeezed Ryan's hand. "It'll be okay. I promise."

Ryan didn't look at her or acknowledge her, but he also didn't let go of her hand. Kirsten at least took that as a small sign that despite it all, he still needed her. In some way, she believed Ryan knew he still needed her.

He held onto her hand until they were safely in the house, and the door was closed. Kirsten was at least able to give his hand one last reassuring squeeze before Ryan pulled it away.

"Well, I have some good news, and I have some bad news," Sandy said as patted Ryan on his shoulder.

"Good news?" Ryan only looked at Sandy with a sideways glance.

"The good news is – you're home!" Sandy joked, but without Seth there with some snappy come back, the joke fell flat as Ryan just stared at him.

Kirsten waited a second to see if Ryan would say anything. When he didn't, she did. "Yes, thank you for that, Captain Obvious."

She smiled when she saw Ryan look down at his blanket. She knew he was trying hard not to smile; she could see the sides of his lips twitching as he pulled harder at the blanket to suppress the smile.

He didn't look up when he asked, "Bad news?"

"Um, bad news. Yeah." Sandy rubbed his hands together as he glanced at Kirsten before continuing. "The bad news is, well, the rental company can't bring your bed for a few days so…"

"So?"

"You'll have to sleep in our room until then."

"That's not so bad…" Kirsten started before Ryan simply said, "No."

"Ryan…"

"No. Pool house fine."

Sandy looked at Kirsten before taking a step closer to the stretcher. "The pool house isn't fine. Not right now. You need to stay close in case you need anything, and you need to avoid stairs. And you need to avoid walking that much, and you're going to want to avoid the direct sunlight for a little while. Our bedroom is the only answer for right now. We can draw the shades. There are only three steps to get in and no stairs to the bathroom. Plus you'll be close in case you need us."

The ambulance attendants started to push the stretcher behind Sandy as he began to lead them to the bedroom. It took Ryan a second before he again said, "No!"

"Ryan…" Kirsten again started before Sandy took over. "No what? I said the pool house was out of the question. So is the spare room. Our room is the only answer for now."

Ryan nodded his head towards the living room. "The couch," only to have Kirsten say, "too much sun." He then pointed towards the den. "Den couch," only to have Kirsten say, "You can't rest on a couch. You need to sleep in a bed."

"No. I… It's…" Ryan frantically looked around as one of the attendants finally spoke up. "Mr. Cohen? Where are we bringing your son?" It was obvious they didn't want to continue standing around, listening to the bickering.

Sandy didn't bother to answer Ryan. He simply told the attendants, "this way," as he led them to the bedroom. The wheelchair was already at the bottom of the three steps, the shades were already drawn and the covers were already turned back. It was obvious that Sandy had already decided Ryan was staying in their room, and nothing Ryan said was going to change that.

Kirsten stood back and watched as Ryan tried to shrug off Sandy's help getting off the stretcher and into the bed. She then watched as Sandy held onto his arm just a little tighter as he continued to help Ryan into the bed. She also noticed that when they both set their jaws, they almost kind of looked alike, and they both most definitely had their jaws very firmly clenched. She left to walk the attendants out, hoping the talk between the two would finally start.

Sandy fixed the covers around Ryan and was mildly surprised at the "thank you" he barely heard Ryan mutter. "Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat?"

"No."

"Are you in pain? The ambulance ride home couldn't have been comfortable. Need something for the pain?"

"No. Gave me something at hospital before I left."

"You sure there isn't anything you need?"

Ryan's only answer was to turn his head in the direction of the pool house, causing Sandy to sigh. "Besides that. Ryan, putting you in our room isn't meant to torture you. It really is…"

"only answer. I know. Where you sleep?"

"Pool house."

Ryan could only glare, causing Sandy to smile a little more. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. Guest room, I guess. One of us could always stay down here in case you need something during the night."

"Can't sleep on couch. Need bed." Ryan knew he was just mimicking Kirsten, but it didn't make sense to him that one of them could sleep on the couch and he couldn't.

"You forget – Kirsten and I lived in the back of a mail truck. We can sleep anywhere. Besides, we're not injured. You are. You need your rest and plenty of quiet. You need to be in a bed."

First Ryan groaned and then he sighed. Finally, he fixed his eyes on the ceiling and didn't say anything else.

"Okay, I'll take that as my sign to go. Get some sleep. We'll let you know when lunch is ready. If you need anything, make sure you shout. Night."

"Night." Ryan waited until he heard the door close before looking around the room. Sandy definitely made sure it was dark enough for him, leaving just the bathroom light on. He tried to relax and not think about the fact he was lying in their bed. Where they slept… and other stuff. No, definitely not the other stuff. That was wrong. It was all wrong. He shouldn't be in their bed, in their house, and Seth was out. Living in the Haunted Mansion. Ryan couldn't believe they just let Seth run away again. Figures he'd leave when Ryan got home. Well, at least he would get the quiet Sandy was talking about with Seth gone. No constant babbling about being sorry, about it being just an accident, about any of it.

Not that Ryan knew he wouldn't have to talk about it eventually. He knew with all of Kirsten's pushing, it was definitely going to come up sooner or later. Sandy may not have said anything yet, but Ryan wasn't stupid. He knew it was coming, especially with Kirsten's constant attempts. It was only a matter of time before there was some sort of Cohen Intervention.

Ryan just hoped he had time. He hoped the talk was later, not sooner. He just wanted time to figure out how he felt. Well, he knew how he felt. He just needed to figure out how to put it into words that they would understand.

Seth should never have left him. Never. Seth was never supposed to leave him. But he did, and Ryan got hurt. In more ways than one.