I have to dedicate this chapter to Connell. She may never speak to me again, so this is the least I could do for her.

All mistakes are to be blamed on ctoan, since she was pushing so hard for a timely update. I had this ready to post last night, but computer difficulties left me unable to do so until this morning. That's her fault as well. She harassed me so much yesterday that my poor Samsung froze up….

Here we go,

Chapter Six

Saturday, 12:19 AM

Sandy absently swirled the amber coloured, 15 year old Laphroig in his glass. Despite the Tivo'd Daily show, he was unable to stop himself from replaying yesterday. His hands were still shaky, the tips of his fingers still numb from holding so tightly to Ryan, refusing to surrender him. His arms were sore. A heavy corduroy jacket and black boots acted as anchors, weighing the boy down.

How close they all came to losing Ryan.

One of their own.

"You okay…?"

Sandy looked up.

"No…"

Seth sat down beside his dad.

"Wanna talk?"

A grim look. The burning as the scotch hit the back of his throat. A quick shake of his head.

"C'mon… I thought lawyers loved to talk…"

Fingers tracing the rim of the glass.

Seth tilted his head and ducked down, trying to maintain eye contact.

"Thoughts percolating… words forming…"

"Seth I can't… Not yet…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

2:47 AM

Ryan listened to Kirsten's soft breathing. He wished she would have left with Seth and Sandy. She shouldn't be here babysitting him. He wanted to be alone.

The harsh choking sound that ripped through Ryan jolted Kirsten out of her sleep. She leaned forward and rubbed his back, feeling his body spasm as he struggled to catch his breath. Whispering soft words of encouragement, she continued to run her hand up and down his back, waiting for the painful episode to end.

Dr. Connell had warned them that Ryan would experience violent coughing for several days as his lungs tried to rid themselves of sediment. Kirsten went to the other side of the bed and readjusted the oxygen mask that had been pushed aside and placed it back over Ryan's nose and mouth. She crouched down, looking at the boy who had refused to make eye contact with them after asking about Trey, instead, rolling onto his side and staring at the wall, heartbroken and withdrawn.. She kissed his bruised cheek, looking into his eyes before he closed them again.

"Get some sleep, sweetie, I won't leave you…"

" 'Kay," he whispered, his voice muffled by the mask. Drifting off, he was grateful Kirsten stayed with him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

8:16 AM

Sandy threw down the newspaper.

Front page news.

Details of yesterday, displayed for all.

Less about the possible death of a young man.

More about sensationalism, crafted to sell the maximum amount of papers.

Death for profit.

All incoming calls sent to voicemail.

The gated community kept reporters out, but the gauntlet would still have to be run.

A mother still needed to be found and informed . A father.

A son to be brought home.

Protected.

"Sandford…"

Shit. The gauntlet came to him. Caleb's timing left a lot to be desired.

"Caleb… What can I do for you?"

Caleb Nichol tossed the Orange County Register at his son in law.

"I told you that boy was nothing but trouble."

"C'mon Cal. Seth stealing your car? He actually just borrowed it… Trying to impress a girl…"

"Don't be glib Sandy, you know I'm talking about that criminal…"

Sandy cut him off.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're talking about Ryan. I'm going to say this one time. Back the hell off. You've made it clear how you feel about him and guess what? I don't give a damn. Ryan's not going anywhere. He is a member of this family. What happened with Trey is none of your business…"

"Kirsten and Seth are my business…

"Maybe that's the problem… Try treating them as your daughter and grandson…"

Sandy ushered his father in law to the door, holding it open for him.

"Always a pleasure seeing you Cal… Thanks for coming out. I'll give Ryan your love." He snarked, closing the door.

Caleb stared at the mahogany door. Why couldn't they see that boy would ruin them. Everything he'd worked for. Ryan wasn't a part of the family. He'd put up with Sandy, but he'd be damned if he'd allow a felon to take advantage of his daughters.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

8:41AM

Ryan lay listlessly as Dr. Connell ran her stethoscope over his chest and back.

"Can you cough for me?"

He gave her a "what the fuck" glare. He had been hacking all night and now the doctor wanted him to do it voluntarily? But as the Atwood luck dictated, yet another round of violent coughing started. Kirsten pushed him upright as Dr. Connell held an emesis basin under his mouth, catching the pink froth expelled from his mouth. Kirsten fought her own panic at seeing the blood tinged sputum. As soon as Ryan was able to stop coughing, the doctor quickly removed the kidney shaped bowl from his sight and handed him a towel. Kirsten gently wiped his mouth, folding the soiled linen and placing it on the small basin before she let him lean back against the pillows.

"Not quite what I had in mind, but I won't ask you to do it again…" Dr. Connell smiled at Ryan, hoping to put him at ease. Pouring a glass of water and holding it out to her patient, she waited for him to give it back to her before she tried to reassure them.

"I know it's a little scary when you cough like that, but really, it's just your body working to clear out your lungs…"

"But what about…" Kirsten added softly, nodding to the blue bowl.

"That's to be expected. Ryan's throat is irritated. It's nothing to worry about. Some Chloraseptic should help with the pain. No lozenges though, you could end up aspirating one into your lungs. It's not a whole lot of fun when that happens."

Ryan closed his eyes and stopped listening. The constant coughing and struggle to breathe afterwards exhausted him.

At least when it happened it gave him respite from the dreams.

A reprieve from seeing Trey fall, disappearing into the water.

A timeout from the guilt of letting his brother drown.

He felt Kirsten wipe away the single tear that escaped from underneath tightly closed eyelids. Once the oxygen mask was slipped over his mouth and nose again, Ryan curled over to his side, shutting himself off form the outside world.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seth tried to stay under his dad's radar. He overheard the verbal exchange between his dad and grandfather. After Caleb left, he unfolded the newspaper and read the article. He picked up both copies of The Register and dumped them in the recycling bin.

Sighing, he meandered out to the pool house, ostensibly to pick out some clothes for Ryan to wear home from HOAG.

The room was a mess.

At least by Ryan's standards.

Comfortably lived in by his own.

Seth started cleaning up, straightening the disarray. He rummaged through the obsessively neat closet, pulling out sweats and a grey hoodie to take to the hospital and another pile of clothes to take to the guest room where Ryan would undoubtedly be spending the next few weeks.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sandy rubbed his forehead as he waited on the phone.

"Torres…"

"Agent Torres? Sandy Cohen…"

"Mr. Cohen… How is your son?" This time, there was no sarcasm used on the words "your son.".

"Ryan's doing as well as can be expected, all things considering. I'll be bringing him home later today. I'd like to ask that you wait until tomorrow to question him. Come by the house later in the morning?"

"That will be fine. We'll be there at 11 am. At this point, it's just a formality…"

"The search for Trey?" Sandy hesitated.

"It's been called off." Torres answered. "We'll close the case once we speak with Ryan."

Sandy understood the implication of the search ending. Trey was now considered dead. The fed's would notify Roger Atwood. He mumbled his thanks and replaced the handset.

Within seconds, the phone rang.

Call display.

Unknown name. Unknown number.

Straight to voicemail.

He turned off the ringer.

The silence in the house was unnerving.

Sandy left his office, nearly running over Seth.

"What's all this?"

Seth peered over the pile of clothing.

"Um, a pre-emptive strike? I figured you and Mom are going to keep Ryan captive in the guest room for a while and since Ryan likes to study naked because it's a Chino thing, I thought clothing should be mandatory at all other times…"

Sandy shook his head as he opened the door to the guestroom. Seth put the clothes on the bed.

"Thanks dad. This whole physical labour thing is highly over-rated. I'm shvitzing already… I think I need a shower and some sustenance. Perhaps waffles at the Country Club?"

"You hate the Club… I hate the Club…"

Seth grinned. His father could be so clueless.

"This is true, oh parental one. But what is it about the Club we despise so much? It's elitist? True. It's private? Even more true. Buuuuuuut, if it's private and elitist, guess who can't join us for breakfast? We could refuel without the vultures circling overhead…"

Sandy thought for a moment.

Yeah, but, we'd still be the topic of conversation, or rather, Ryan would and I don't know if I could sit there without punching someone…"

Seth crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow. Shit, that hurt, he'd have to practice that a little more.

"I hate to tell you this, but we've been the topic of conversation ever since you and Mom got together. That whole "you married mom for money thing. Putting the community in danger by bringing a kid from the 909 into the family. Grandpa marrying Julie Cooper. Grandpa getting arrested. Julie still married to Grandpa. Aunt Lindsay. Julie still, still married to Grandpa, not to mention the party you and Mom threw for Jimmy Cooper pretty much sucked…" This just gives them something else to talk about."

Seth could see his father digesting what he had just said.

"Okay, you've talked me into it."

"Well, Alex has told me I'm a cunning linguist… Oops, my bad… A little slip of the tongue…"

He patted his dad on the shoulder as he walked past him, counting the seconds….

"SETH EZEKIAL!"