Ben and Ciara were sitting on the couch watching Bo play with his toys when Ciara's phone rang.
" It's Belle."
" Hey Belle, What's up?"
Ben watched as Ciara talked to Belle.
Bo walked over to Ben with the ball in his hand.
"Ba."
" Ball, good job, buddy."
Ciara looked at Ben.
" Really okay, thanks for calling; I'll talk to him, bye."
Ciara hung up the phone.
" Everything okay?"
" Belle said Shawn got suspended for drinking on the job."
" What?"
" Belle said Shawn has been drinking and short-tempered; he's still blaming himself for what happened with Dad."
" And now he's been suspended?"
" Yeah, I'm going to go, talk to him; I'll be back in a bit."
" Ciara, do you really think you should go over there while he's like this?"
" He's my brother. I have to talk to him."
" Let me talk to him. Okay?"
" Okay, I will stay here, and you can talk to him."
" Thank you. I'm just worried about Shawn's drinking and short temper. I want you and the baby to be safe."
" We would be fine, but I'll give you a chance to talk to him first."
" I'll be back in a bit. I love you."
" Love you too."
Ben kissed Ciara and left the house.
Shawn and Belle's House
Ben knocked on the door, and there was no answer. He turned the knob and opened the door.
" Shawn. Belle you guys home?"
When no one answered, Ben walked through the kitchen to the living room.
Ben found Shawn passed out on the couch, empty bottles on the table, and a half-full bottle in Shawn's hand.
Ben walked over, took the bottle from his hand, and put it on the table.
Shawn stirred when he felt the bottle leave his hand.
" What are you doing here?"
" Belle called Ciara. What's going on, Shawn?"
" Nothing, just having a few drinks."
" Belle says you've been drinking a lot lately."
" Why can't she just leave me alone," Shawn said as he stood up and started pacing.
" Because she is your wife, she loves you."
" Shawn, you need some help. Or you will lose your wife and family."
" I can't believe a serial killer is giving me advice."
" Let's go get some coffee and sober you up."
" I don't need any coffee. I'm fine."
" You're not fine. Let's go."
Ben grabbed Shawn by the arm. Shawn pulled his arm back, shoved Ben against the wall, and punched him.
" I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP."
Ben held his face as Belle walked in.
" What's going on?"
" I don't need his help or yours; just leave me alone."
" Ben, are you okay?"
" Yeah, I'm going to go."
" Can I come with you? I would love to spend some time with Bo."
" Of course."
Ben walked through the door with Belle.
Ciara heard Ben come through the door.
" Hey, babe, how did it go?"
When Ben came into the living room, Ciara stood up.
" Oh my god, what happened to your face?"
" It's nothing."
" Ben, your lip is bleeding, and your eye is red."
" I'll stay with Bo, go and put some ice on your eye. Ben, I'm sorry."
" It's not your fault, Belle."
Ben and Ciara went to the kitchen; Ciara cleaned up Ben's lip while he held ice to his eye.
" Are you going to tell me what happened?"
" I got there; he was passed out empty bottles on the table; he woke up; I told him we should get coffee and said he didn't need my help. He said he didn't need advice from a serial killer and shoved me against the wall and punched me.
" Baby, I am so sorry Shawn is not like this."
Ben winced when Ciara hit a certain spot on his lip.
" Sorry."
" It's okay."
Ciara kissed Ben's forehead, and Ben looked up at her.
" You had your chance. I'm going to talk to him."
" Not a chance, Ciara."
" He's my brother. I have to do this."
" I can't let you do this alone."
" Who said I was going alone."
Ciara gave Ben a wink and left the house.
Shawn and Belle's
" Shawn Douglas Brady, get up right now."
" What do you want, Ciara?"
" I want you to get up."
" I have nothing to say to you or anyone else."
" After you hit my husband. I have plenty to say to you."
" I don't want to hear it, okay? Just leave me alone."
" I'm pregnant, so I can't drag you off the couch, but I brought someone who can."
" Who? Your serial killer husband?"
" Don't call him that. No, he is keeping Belle company."
" Who's your backup then?"
Brady walked into the living room and stood next to Ciara.
" Get up, Shawn. We're going to an AA meeting."
" I don't need a meeting."
" You got suspended for drinking on the job."
" Belle says that you start drinking at 9 in the morning."
" Shawn, we went over this. You were protecting Mom; she does not blame you for what happened to Dad."
" Well, I blame me, okay? Can't everyone understand that?"
" You are pushing everyone away."
" We are worried about you."
" Don't be, I'm fine."
" This is not fine. Now get up."
Brady turned to Ciara and said, "Why don't you go home? I will stay with Shawn."
" Are you sure?"
" Yep, go home, I've got this."
Ciara looked at Shawn and said, " You need to figure this out because if you don't, you will lose your wife and family."
" I love you, Shawn."
Ciara thanked Brady and left the house.
When Ciara got home, she watched Belle play with Bo. Ben noticed Ciara standing there and went to hug her.
" How did it go?"
" Not good. Brady is there with him."
" That's who you brought with you."
" Yep."
" Good choice."
" Ben, he is so lost I have no idea how to help him."
" I guess right now. All we can do is be there for your brother."
They smiled when they saw Bo trying to kiss Belle.
Belle pulled Bo into her lap and put kisses all over his face, which made Bo giggle and say, "No."
" Auntie Belle can't kiss you Belle said."
" Me Bo said."
He grabbed her face and put his lips against her cheek.
Belle placed Bo next to her so he could play with his toys; she stood up and walked over to Ben and Ciara.
"Thank you for letting me spend time with Bo."
" Anytime."
" You guys should go for a walk in the square. I'll watch Bo."
" You don't have to do that."
" I insist."
" Thanks, we won't be long."
" Bo, you be good for Auntie Belle, okay?"
Bo waved and said, " Bye-bye."
They said goodbye to Bo and Belle and left the house.
Horton Town Square
Ben and Ciara held hands and walked through the square. They found an empty table and sat down.
" How about some ice cream?"
" That would be great."
" Wait right here. I'll be back."
" Okay."
Ben returned 5 minutes later with two cups of ice cream.
" Here you go."
" Thank you, Baby."
Ben started eating right away and noticed Ciara wasn't.
" Everything okay? Did I get the wrong flavor we can trade?"
" No. Baby, the ice cream is fine. I'm just thinking about Shawn."
" I've been thinking about him too."
" I wish there was something I could do for him."
" Me too, but until he asks for help. There is nothing we can do."
" Maybe I should call my Mom."
" I don't know, she's worried about your Dad; do you really want to tell her about Shawn?"
" Maybe you're right? We have to wait for him to ask for help."
" Don't stress over this, okay? We'll figure it out."
" Okay, let's finish and go home to our amazing little boy."
Ciara leaned over and kissed Ben; they finished their ice cream and went home to see their son.
When they got home, Belle and Bo had fallen asleep on the couch.
" Aww, Ben; look how cute they are."
" Should we wake Belle up?"
" No, let her sleep."
Ciara placed a blanket over them and went with Ben to the kitchen.
Ben grabbed two bottles of water and sat at the kitchen table.
Ciara's phone went off; it was a text from Brady.
Tell Belle to stay with our parents. Shawn is not in a good place right now for her safety. I think she should stay away tonight. I will be here with Shawn tonight.
Ciara texted back Okay, thanks for all of your help, Brady.
" Everything okay?"
" Brady said Belle should stay with their parents tonight. He is going to stay with Shawn."
" At least he won't be alone."
Ciara was about to respond when Belle walked into the kitchen.
" I'm so sorry I fell asleep."
" It's fine. How was Bo?"
" Bo was great. We played with blocks, read some books, and played with the stuffed animals."
" Sounds like you guys had fun."
" We did, I needed this."
Ben went to check on Bo while Belle and Ciara talked.
" I got a text from Brady; he said you should stay with your parents tonight."
" What about Shawn?"
" Brady said he would stay with him."
" Okay. I should get going."
Ciara hugged Belle and walked her to the door.
" Thanks for everything today. I really needed this."
" Anytime."
" I'm sorry again for what Shawn did to Ben."
" It's fine."
" Bye."
" Bye, Belle."
Ciara went to the living room and saw Ben and Bo cuddled together on the couch. Ciara joined them and rested her head on Ben's shoulder.
Ciara grabbed her phone and sent a text to Shawn. I love you, and we'll figure this out, I promise.
Shawn didn't respond.
Ciara put her phone down and continued to cuddle with her boys. That's how she spent the rest of her night until she went to bed.