Ricky quietly walked into his mother's bedroom. From the light in the hall, all he could see was her curled up on the right side of the bed. He went around the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. He stood for a moment, holding his breath as he looked at her. She was lying on top of the bedding, wearing what looked like one of Andy's dress shirts. Her legs were bare and he could see healing scrapes and bruises. One foot was wrapped in a bandage and even though her hands were tucked into the sleeves of the shirt, he could make out a brace on one hand and bandages on the other. He watched her for a few more moments. He understood immediately why Andy didn't have the heart to wake her. She looked so peaceful. Ricky kneeled down beside the bed and quietly whispered her name.

"Mom, wake up. Mom?"

She hummed, slowly stirring, her eyes still closed.

"Mom."

"Ricky," she whispered as she slowly opened her eyes. Her smile was bright and reached her eyes despite being clouded with sleep. "Hey honey."

"Hey yourself," he answered, still kneeling across the bed.

She patted the bed and he quickly crawled in beside her, still careful not to touch her. They lay there starring at each other for a few moments. She reached out and caught the tear on the side of his cheek that he didn't even realize was about to fall. As her hand caressed his cheek, he reached up and took her hand in his. "Don't cry honey. I'm fine. I promise."

"I was so scared."

"I know. I know…but it's all over and I'm just fine."

"But, Dad…"

"Shh," she replied, bringing her finger to his lips. "Ricky, let's not talk about your father right now. There's plenty of time for that." Carefully pushing herself up into a sitting position, "Now come here."

Ricky quickly sat up as his mother pulled him tightly to her. Not wanting to hurt her, he was extra careful not to hold her too tight. He couldn't remember a time in his life when she had ever felt so small.

They were still holding each other when Andy came in to check on them. As they moved apart, Andy settled in behind Sharon and pulled her to him. "Gavin called. He's bringing lunch before you have to go downtown this afternoon."

"About that, I'm going with you Mom."

"Ricky, No…I don't think…"

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Either we both go or Gavin goes alone, end of discussion."

Andy hugged Sharon tighter, "I think I know where he gets his stubbornness from." He says winking to Ricky.

"Okay, okay…you both win. I don't like it," she frowned, "but I see that I don't have a choice."

Ricky reached over and took her hand in his, "Love you."

"Love you too."

SASASASASASA

Rusty sat on the balcony deep in thought. He was so glad Ricky came home. It felt so weird to think of him as his older brother, but that is truly how he felt. He pondered how everything could go so right and yet so wrong in just a matter of weeks.

Rusty was so lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't hear Ricky step out onto the balcony. "What ya thinking about little brother?"

"What? Oh, sorry I kind of zoned out. You okay?"

Taking the seat across from Rusty, "Yeah, I guess. It kinda doesn't feel real, you know."

"Do you think she's really okay?"

"I…hmmm…yeah maybe…I mean I think she's trying really hard to be okay for all of us and I wouldn't expect anything different. I'm just so glad she has Andy. It's so weird seeing her with a man. I mean, I don't have any good memories of her and Jack, so to see her trusting another man is strange, but in a very good way. I can't wait for Emily to see them together. She's just gonna die," Ricky laughed.

"Yeah, I really hate you two missed the whole non-date, dating thing. That was a fun time," Rusty smiled, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, though they are really good for each other. It's been nice to watch them find their way. She deserves more than anyone to be happy."