Jim Walsh was not a happy camper. He had hoped Brenda being gone for the summer would have made her realize what was out in the world and that better men were out their than Dylan McKay. He apparently was wrong. It seemed as Brenda still wanted to see that idiot. He hadn't forgotten his last argument with Dylan. They had been getting along so well up until the past few weeks and then he was reminded of all the reasons he was glad Brenda and Dylan had called it quits.

He didn't think Dylan was a bad guy, he just thought Brenda could do better. Now given the choice between Dylan McKay and Stuart Carson, he'd choose Dylan any day. Iris was a lot easier to deal with than the Carsons. They simply drove him nuts. Besides, he adored Erica. Now that he thought about it, he found it odd that Dylan hadn't stopped by to see Brandon or sit with Cindy. His wife had a soft spot for Dylan. She always had.

However, he was still less than pleased that Brenda's new car had been paid for by him. Dylan blowing his money was something they had never seen eye to eye on and Jim was even more surprised that Brenda allowed him to do so. She never had been one for extravagant gifts. He just prayed she was careful with her new vehicle. Lord knows he was praying for the people of Beverly Hills with Brenda loose on the roads.

Feeling guilty, he remembered Valerie, who he had barely given a moment's thought since her arrival. She had been witness to the blowout between he and Brenda. Great way to start her new life here. With him and his daughter at each other's throats. Brandon had quietly snuck out of the house, having no input on the situation. Cindy had ushered Valerie into the kitchen and tried to keep her mind off the war raging in the living room.

Brenda had always been feisty but when defending Dylan, she got downright hostile. His little girl looked like she wanted to take his head off his shoulders when he began to rip into her about Dylan. He recalled the words she had hissed at him and he immediately felt a pang of regret.

" You know all Dylan has ever wanted is to be accepted by this family and yet time and time again, you slam the door in his face. So what gives you the right to pass judgment on him when he finally gets what he wants the most? A family that he can love and take care of, " Brenda's eyes were flashing with anger as she yelled at her father.

" Because I've seen what loving that boy can do to people! He's a drunk, Brenda. He just had a father who stole money from people and left it to him! He's never had to work a day in his life, " Jim retorted, the argument sounding ridiculous even to him.

" You know, you really have no clue when it comes to Dylan. He'd trade all that money if he just had a family like ours! All he actually wants is love and acceptance, and every time he gets close and thinks he has a chance, you have to go and ruin his hopes, so tell me Dad, what kind of person does that make you, " Brenda glared at her father before snatching up her purse and running out of the house, the door slamming behind her.

Brenda had left hours ago and Jim's heart hurt. He had no idea where his little girl was and that bothered him. She hadn't called to let anyone know she'd found a place to stay so they wouldn't worry. Brenda was his baby and he had convinced himself long ago that he was only trying to do what was best for his little girl. There was a little nagging doubt in the back of his head that she had a point. Dylan had never intentionally tried to hurt anyone of his family. He just automatically disliked him because his father was a criminal. It was in that moment that he realized that if he wanted to keep Brenda in his life, he was going to have to give Dylan a chance.

Brenda was worried when she pulled into Dylan's driveway and his car was missing. Something wasn't sitting right with her and her fears started to grow even more when she opened the door to the house. It was completely filthy and looked like it hadn't been lived in for weeks. She almost tripped when she stepped onto the stack of mail that was on the floor. It looked almost...abandoned. She set her bags down on the floor and carefully walked through the mess, mouth hanging open. Dylan wasn't neat, but he certainly wasn't this messy.

She did a walk through of the house before returning to the living room. The answering machine mocked her with it's blinking light. Unable to resist temptation, she pressed the play button.

"You have thirty-five new messages, " the machine broke the silence in the room.

Brenda gaped at the machine. Where the hell was Dylan? Suddenly, she was afraid. What if he had hurt himself surfing again? No. That couldn't be it. She was his emergency contact. Someone would have gotten in touch with her somehow. Suddenly weary, she flopped down on the couch. It was then she noticed the small piece of paper on the coffee table. She recognized Erica's sloppy scrawl. Erica used to write her notes when she was in school, even though she and Dylan had both discouraged it.

She picked up the note and read through it, everything clicking into place. Suzanne and Kevin had taken Erica...and they'd taken Dylan's money. When she got done reading, she was shaking. Part from fury and from fear. What on earth had Dylan done? More importantly what was he doing right now? Brenda bolted to the desk and yanked the drawers open, almost crying with relief when she saw his passport in there. He hadn't gone after them, thank god. That only left one option and Brenda didn't think she liked it very much.

Dylan McKay was drunk. Actually, he was pretty sure he was completely and totally smashed. He wasn't even sure how long he had been sitting on this beach, but he knew with certainty that he was broke. Everything was gone. Brenda was gone. Erica was gone...and so was all of his money. He really didn't care about the money part, he could live without that. It was Brenda and Erica he had the problem with. They were the closest to family he had. Brenda had decided to stay in London and just thinking about that made his heart clench in pain. When she said she might stay, his world had been broken. She was the only hope he had of surviving this whole fiasco and he couldn't make his mouth form the words to ask her to come home. He wouldn't. Brenda deserved this opportunity and he wasn't going to drag her down into his misery.

Dylan picked up a rock and threw it into the ocean. He had no clue where to go from here. He guessed the only place he had left to go was home. He wasn't really sure where that was anymore. He had a house sure, but it was empty. Erica wasn't running around anymore. Brenda's smiling face wasn't there to greet him in the morning. Dylan scowled at the setting sun. Fuck this. He needed another drink.

Brenda slammed the door to Casa Walsh and hurried up the steps. Brandon's car was still in the driveway. That was good because she needed to talk to him. She flung open the door to his room and took a minute to catch her breath. Brandon was on the phone, but he quickly told whoever he was talking too he would call them back.

"What's the matter, Bren? You look upset," Brandon hurried over to Brenda and pulled her into his room and shut the door.

" When was the last time you saw Dylan? It looks like he hasn't been home in weeks, "

Brandon thought about it and realized that he couldn't remember the last time he saw his friend. He'd been so busy with Kelly, he really hadn't noticed Dylan's absence.

" Man, Bren, now that I think about it, I think it's been at least a month, " Brandon sounded sheepish for not thinking about it until now.

" Brandon, I think he's in trouble.. ," Brenda sounded on the verge of hysteria.

" Whoa, slow down. Take a deep breath and tell me what's going on, " Brandon guided Brenda to his bed and made her sit down.

She told him about what Suzanne and Kevin had done. He sat in stunned silence. God knows what this had done to Dylan. Erica had been one of the brightest spots in Dylan's life. Not only had they robbed him of his money, they had robbed him of what little family he had left.

"It's gonna be alright, Brenda. We'll find him. Chances are Dylan's down in Baja, " Brandon tried to calm his sister.

" That's not what I'm worried about, Brandon. I'm worried about what he's doing there, "

Brandon understood what she was saying. Dylan was a recovering alcoholic. Something like this probably sent him running straight back to the bottle. Add in the fact that Dylan didn't know Brenda was coming home and it was a recipe for disaster. Brandon cursed himself for not being a better friend and trying to keep in touch with Dylan over the summer.

" Well, what do you wanna do? Wait it out and see what happens or do you want to head down there, " Brandon asked quietly.

"You even had to ask? I'm going down there and I'm not leaving until I find him. I just got him back Brandon. I'm not going to lose him again, " Brenda looked him dead in the eye and he realized that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of this. That meant one thing.

They were going to Baja.