A/N: I have not decided if Ray Pruitt is going to exist in this universe. I think if he does, he will have already become successful because I am using the lyrics Jamie Walter's song Hold On through out this fiction.

Jim and Brandon had given up a few hours later and were back at the hotel when Brenda arrived, Dylan in tow. He merely nodded at the both of them before Brenda sent him in the bathroom to take a shower. Her eyes stayed on the closed door before turning to talk to her father and brother.

" Where'd you finally find him, " Jim asked.

" On the beach, near a cantina. " Brenda's eyes kept straying to the bathroom door.

" He looks like hell, " Brandon commented and Brenda merely nodded.

" He told me he had nowhere else to go," she said.

" I'm sorry, Bren. I've just been so wrapped up in-, " Brandon was cut off.

" It wasn't your fault, Brandon. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. I should have told him I was coming home. Maybe he would have been able to hold out a little longer. If he would have told me, I would have come home. I think that's why he didn't, " Brenda sounded frustrated.

" Honey, this isn't your fault either. No one is to blame here. Except those two pariahs that took off with his sister, " Jim reassured her, and Brenda heard a dangerous tone in her father's voice. He really was angry. She was just glad that it wasn't directed at Dylan.

They hit the roads after they had all showered and eaten. Brandon and Jim in his car and Brenda and Dylan in hers. Dylan slept for a while, but when he woke up, he didn't say much. He just stared out the window. The radio was playing softly and Brenda listened to the lyrics of the song. For once she could completely relate to the song.

I don't wanna see you ever sad
And everything that i've got you can have
When it's all too much
You need some human touch
To see that it's really not so bad

Did you call on every saint you know
But still you feel like you're on your own

Can you see through your tears
I will always be here
And you're not out there all alone

She blinked back the tears forming and focused on the road. How was she supposed to get him through this when she had no clue what to say to him? Her dad had so far been the only one to break through to him. Her dad sometimes made her want to pull her hair out, but he was a good man. He promised Dylan that they would find his money, but more importantly, they would find Erica.

Erica. God knows what that little girl was going through. She had loved Dylan's sister from the moment she met her. It was like having her own little sister. She recalled the last time they had actually spent time together had been at the Carnival. They had a blast together, riding all the rides and acting silly. Now, who knows where she was.

However, Brenda knew her dad and he was determined. As soon as they got back to Beverly Hills he was getting to work on tracking down Dylan's money. He was going for the money first mainly because it was the best way for Dylan to get Erica back. It gave them a bargaining chip. Kevin and Suzanne were a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Although Jim Walsh had some tricks up his sleeve and Brenda knew it. She could see it by the hard glint that came into his eye when they were discussing it.

He wasn't sure how long they had been driving. Everything just seemed to pass by in a blur. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at Brenda. She was like some sort of divine intervention for him. He had been ready to drink himself into oblivion until she showed up on that beach to find him. It's funny how she always managed to find him. He wasn't sure when their connection had grown so deep. He just knew he had felt closer to her than he had ever felt to anybody. She read him like a book and she was the first one to call him on his bullshit. She and Brandon were alike in so many ways it was scary.

Her father had been a surprise though. The last person he would have expected to help look for him was Jim Walsh. It was no secret that they didn't get along. In fact after their last meeting he was surprised the man was barely civil to him. Hell, the entire Walsh family surprised him sometimes. They were the closest he had ever been to a normal family and he envied Brenda and Brandon for it. It had been in this past year he had really felt close to them though. He loved going over their for family dinners. It made him feel like he was a part of something special. Like he was a part of their family.

" I'm sorry, Bren, " Dylan's voice was thick with emotion.

Brenda's head whipped towards him and he looked up at her.

"What in the world do you have to be sorry for, " Brenda asked.

"For not being stronger, " Dylan's reply was barely audible.

" Dylan, you didn't do anything wrong. Those people did. You don't have to be strong all the time, "

" I should have known better. Jim was right. I never should have trusted that woman, "

"Dylan, she came to you with your sister. She played on your weakness but it wasn't your fault, " Brenda's tone was firm and left no room for argument.

Dylan was silent again for a while before he spoke again.

"I love you., Bren, " he said quietly.

He was rewarded with a Brenda Walsh smile and a secretive

"I know."