Famous99, this is for you because you wanted more...I hope it answers some of your questions.....

Thanks for all the reviews everyone....

Epilogue

Kirsten was pacing. It was past midnight and there was no sign of either Ryan or Dawn. Sandy raised his eyebrows at her as he struggled to hang a piece of surfing memorabilia onto the wall in the unfinished Family Room.

"Pacing isn't going to help honey,"

She turned on him.

"Where the hell is he Sandy? It's past midnight. We should never have let him go with her. Supposing she's kidnapped him?"

Sandy chuckled at the thought.

"He's almost a grown man Kirsten. For goodness sake, calm down. He'll be home soon, I'm sure of it. Now sit down and try to relax."

He moved over to her back and took her shoulders in his hands, massaging gently.

She moved away abruptly, irritated.

"I can't relax Sandy. Not until I know what's going on. We should have insisted that he took a cell phone with him."

Sandy knew she was more worried about the situation they found themselves in than cross with Ryan's lateness. He wanted to reassure her that everything would be OK but he wasn't so sure himself. When Ryan got it into his head that someone needed his help, there was no way he could be diverted from his mission, especially when the person was his own mother. Sandy knew Ryan had been in this situation countless times when he was younger and it would be a hard habit for him to break. Still, Sandy was hopeful that this time would be different.

Seth sat in front of the PS2 trying to annialate ninjas. He was faring badly. He wouldn't be able to focus until he knew exactly what was happening with Ryan. He threw the controller down in frustration as he lost yet another battle.

"Should I go out and look for them Dad?"

"No, I don't want you disappearing too. Ryan will be back when he's good and ready."

He spoke with more conviction than he felt.

Ryan walked nervously through the hallway. He was home much later than he had intended and he knew the Cohens would be worried. But after seeing Dawn off to the airport in a taxi, he had felt too wound up to return immediately. He'd needed time alone, to pull himself together and prepare to face them. He knew once he got back, he'd be swamped with questions and he wanted his head to be clear. He was glad Dawn had begun to stand on her own two feet. She'd been right when she'd said she'd been a hopeless mother but Ryan was past being angry with her. He wanted to move on and continue his life here in Newport. He was grateful he could do that without feeling guilty about abandoning her. He remembered Frank and Lily well and knew he could trust them to keep an eye on her.

He took a deep breath before he entered the kitchen. He hoped they'd be as relieved as he was. Deep down, he knew they would be. This summer, he'd finally been able to accept his place in this family. He finally understood that they wanted him because they loved him and not out of any misguided sense of loyalty. He walked through to the den, his hands thrust deep into his pockets.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Kirsten rushed over to him.

"Thank God you're back Ryan. I was getting so worried."

"I'm sorry, I kind of lost track of time…"

"Where's Dawn?" Sandy questioned, his face perplexed.

"She….left already," replied Ryan, his eyes cast downwards.

"Where'd she go?"

"Um…North Carolina actually…" replied Ryan, his face unreadable.

"North Carolina?" the Cohens responded in unison, their faces screwed up in confusion.

"Yeah….it's a long story" Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh sweetie I'm sorry…." Kirsten began, bringing him into a hug. Damn that woman. She'd abandoned her son yet again.

"No, it's OK, really," Ryan sought to reassure her. "We had a really good talk. Best we've ever had actually."

"Really?" Kirsten still looked anxious and disbelieving.

He fell silent. If the Cohens had hoped for more explanation they knew better than to force him.

"So if your Mom's gone to North Carolina, buddy, does that mean you're staying?" Seth stood there grinning sheepishly, hardly daring to hope that Ryan was really back for good this time.

"Is that gonna be a problem?" Ryan answered stonily, giving him the Ryan Atwood look.

Seth's face dropped. Had he misread the situation? Was Ryan more upset than he'd appeared? Ryan looked back, his eyes twinkling.

Seth's face was grinning from ear to ear.

"No problem at all buddy, no problem at on, the ninjas are calling." They smacked their hands together, the closest they ever came to a hug, and disappeared into the Family room.

Sandy and Kirsten looked on, smiling, as they reached out to embrace each other.

Sandy took Kirsten's face in his hands

"Happy now?"

She nodded.

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Six months later….

Sandy, Kirsten and Seth stood at the Arrivals Hall at Orange County airport. They were getting used to this routine now. Ryan had visited his mother every couple of months since she left. Somehow, after each visit, she would have scraped together enough money to buy him another plane ticket for his next visit. Sandy and Kirsten would happily have paid for him but they understood her need to do this one small thing for her son. So far, she hadn't let him down. She'd been sober eight months and fifteen days and was not only still living with Frank and Lily, but also holding down a part time job in the small town near the Ranch. Each time he returned from visiting her, he appeared a little more secure, a little more relaxed. Sometimes it seemed to Sandy and Kirsten that he was getting younger, not older, as if he was finally able to live life as a normal teenager.

He emerged from the Arrivals lounge, backpack swung over his shoulders, scanning the waiting crowd. His face broke into a huge grin when he saw them.

"Hey stranger, welcome back" Kirsten hugged him tightly.

"How was it kid?" Sandy asked.

"Really, really good" he replied, smiling.

Sandy was satisfied. He nodded his head towards the entrance.

"Come on, you can tell us more in the car…"

They walked companionably to the BMW and Ryan stowed his backpack in the trunk.

"So Dude, you won't believe what's been happening between me and Summer since you've been gone…" Seth began babbling.

Ryan looked across at him, eyebrows raised wearily.

"Seth, I've been away two weeks. You've emailed me twice a day; we've spoken on the phone every evening. What could I possibly have missed?"

Kirsten and Sandy looked across at each other, their eyes laughing silently as their sons continued the banter they'd grown to love…