"Oh, Ryan I'm so glad you're all right." Dawn said as she sat in the chair by his bedside. Ryan could smell the alcohol on her breath. Had she really been drinking while he was in the hospital "Ryan, did you see who shot you?" Dawn asked. Ryan's anger was building; did she really have to ask? "Who the hell do you think? Your bastard of a boyfriend did!" Ryan yelled a little louder then he had intended to. Trey was angry now, he could have dealt with it if it was some gang or if Ryan was just an innocent bystander and the bullet had found him instead of its intended target, but when it was AJ that was just too much. "Do you know where he went?" Trey asked ready to find him and settle the mess on his own terms before the cops even got on AJ's trail. "No, after he shot me I just kind of collapsed. I saw him drive off, but I couldn't tell you where for the life of me." Ryan answered honestly. Trey just nodded. Dawn sat in shock, sure AJ had hit Ryan once or twice, but she never thought he would shoot Ryan. Just then Ryan's doctor walked in. "Hello, Mrs. Atwood, may I speak with you outside?" The doctor asked politely. "Yes, yes of course." Dawn said as she stood up.

Outside Ryan's Room

"Mrs. Atwood, your son, as you know, was shot in the leg. He will be fine, but Ryan will need to regain the strength in his leg and until that occurs he will need a cane to assist his walking, which the hospital is providing for him. The police department also asked me to tell you that an officer and a lawyer will be coming up, probably sometime tomorrow, to question Ryan and build up a case against their suspect. Your son should be able to leave the hospital in a couple days. So, how does that sound?" Ryan's doctor said.

"That sounds wonderful, I can't thank you enough." Dawn said as she shook his hand and walked into Ryan's room.

Meanwhile Inside Ryan's Room

"How are you feeling little brother?" Trey asked as he sat in the chair Dawn had left empty. "She was drinking today, wasn't she?" Ryan questioned while he continued to stare at the bed sheets. Trey knew better than to lie to his brother "Yeah, but Ryan you know how she is. This is just what she does." Ryan continued to stare at the fascinating plain white sheets "She promised me she would stop four days ago. Four days Trey, she couldn't even manage to last four days without it." Trey opened his mouth to speak when Dawn walked back into the room.

"Ryan, your doctor told me that you're going to be just fine." Dawn said. "Like you even care." Ryan mumbled under his breath. Ryan might have thought she couldn't hear him, but Dawn heard him clear as day. She knew she wasn't the best mother, but she thought Ryan at least knew she cared about him. "He also said that a police officer and a lawyer are going to visit you tomorrow just to ask some questions and that you should be able to leave here in a couple days." Ryan just huffed at this. Wonderful, I get to leave this awful place just to go back home, that's just great.

"Well, we should probably get back home." Dawn said wanting desperately to escape the awkward silence that was quickly enveloping them. "Yeah, I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing, plus you should probably rest a bit." Trey said as he gave Ryan a brotherly hug and left with Dawn.

Down in the Hospital Cafeteria

Theresa, Jake, and Tim had decided to stay at the hospital so that they could check in on Ryan after his family had left. "Do you think they left yet? I mean its been like an hour, Dawn wouldn't stay much longer than that, right?" Theresa said as she looked at Jake and Tim for answers. "How about we go to his room, look through the window and see if they're there? If they are we can come back down here, if they're not we can go in." Jake responded. "Alright, that sounds like a good plan to me." Theresa said in agreement. "I just hope he didn't try to jump out the window or anything like that." Tim said jokingly as the three friends headed towards Ryan's room.

Jake peered through the window to find a bored Ryan flicking through channels on the TV and no sign of Dawn or Trey. "Alright, the coast is clear." Jake informed his friends and they entered the room.

"We're back! We just couldn't get enough of this place, what with the wonderful décor and you can't beat that view." Tim said as he walked in and threw the curtains open to reveal an old abandoned warehouse and a set of train tracks. Theresa and Jake stifled their laughter at Tim's attempt to lighten the mood and cheer Ryan up.

"Ha-ha glad to know you guys came back for the room because here I thought it had something to do with me." Ryan said sarcastically. Ryan was different around his friends. He could joke and relax with them; he didn't have to worry around them. His family didn't get to see that side of him though. They only knew him as the angry closed off teen that couldn't seem to keep himself out of trouble.

"Nope, it was just this awesome room that brought us back." Tim replied with a straight face. Theresa slapped Tim's arm "So, do you know when they're letting you out of this place?" she asked changing the subject. "Well, apparently the doctor told my mom I'd be out of here in a couple days." Ryan replied. "That's good then-" Jake said as he was cut off by a nurse walking down the hall who had poked her head into the room "Visiting hours are over kids, you should wrap things up." The nurse said as she moved on to the next room. "I guess we're not wanted here anymore." Tim said in his usual tone.

"Bye Ryan, we'll probably stop by again tomorrow." Theresa said. Tim and Jake said their good byes and the three were off.

AN: So that's a little longer, not much, but a little. Reviews are appreciated as always and ideas are welcome.