"So is this everything?" asked Griffin as he picked up his brother's duffle bag, along with a box.

"Yeah. That's it."

"Okay. ….So you coming?" Though Sky had packed everything up and the room was pretty much empty, except for the sheets on the bed and a few books on the shelf, he was getting the feeling that his brother wasn't ready to leave the place that had been his home for the last ten years.

"Yeah. There's just something I need to take care of before I go. I'll meet you guys out front."

Griffin nodded understanding as he headed out of the room, nearly bumping into Luc. "For a guy that's supposed to sense when other people are coming, you came pretty close to bumping into me," joked Luc.

"I'll miss you too, Wilder," smirked Griffin as he went on his way down the hall, leaving both Luc and Sky to stare at each other in what felt like an awkward silence.

Luc wasn't sure what had caused him to come here; he hadn't planned on coming to see Sky off. They weren't exactly friends and had never been the friendly type with each other. In fact the last time the two had seen each other was when they had gotten into a fist match with each other. "No fear, I'm not here for another fist fight," he joked. Maybe this was just unfinished business for him, and though he still wasn't fond of the man before him, he saw him in a new light. Over the past few days the story of what had happened all those years ago had fallen into place, and maybe now he understood him better, not that it was an excuse for everything that had happened, but a better understanding.

"Well, I kind of deserved the last one you gave me." Though Sky had known he was hitting rock bottom even before Luc's fist made contact with his face, that had been the moment of truth when he really had to accept the man he had become, though he didn't handle it well afterwards. "In fact it kind opened my eyes to some things."

"Well, if you ever need another punch in the face, you know where to find me." Luc smiled.

Sky returned the smile with a slight chuckle, knowing that this was probably the first time the two had ever been friendly with each other. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." But that still didn't explain why Luc had shown up, because he knew if the young cadet didn't come here to bash him out that there had to be another reason, one that for the life of him he couldn't figure out. "So what are you doing here, Luc? Because I'm pretty sure it wasn't to say goodbye to me."

That was for sure, his intentions really weren't to say goodbye or to get all chummy. And since he wasn't the type to draw things out, he just got straight to the point of why he had dropped by. "I ….I heard about what happened to your team …the whole story." He couldn't even imagine what that must have done to Sky, only that it probably ate at him from the inside out. If anything like that ever happened to his team, he knew he would never forgive himself. "It must have been horrible."

"It was," Sky answered softly. It was still a subject he did not like to talk openly about, but he was slowly starting to open up about that day. He sighed heavily, looking Luc right in the eyes as he picked up the small shoe like box. "I really do hope that you never have to experience something like that." It was something that he didn't want any one ever to witness, because he knew no matter how much time passed by, no matter the years, it would be something that he would never forget. It was just something he had no choice but to live with, but he wouldn't wish anyone to live with this pain, not even his worst enemy. "Be good to your team, Cadet Wilder, don't ever take them for granted." And with those words he left his old room, leaving Luc behind. They might not be friends, they might not be anything to each other, but maybe now there was an understanding between the two.

Luc never answered, he didn't need to, because he would take Sky's last words to heart, because he knew that one day his team might not be there. Anything could happen in their line of work. One moment you could be having a few laughs and the next you could attending your teammate's funeral, with the memory of holding their dying body in your arms as they took their final breath. It was something he never wanted to happen, but knew that it was a possibility.

They would be faces he would never forget, names he would always carry with him. Not a day had gone by that he didn't think about the friends he had once taken for granted, and he would have done anything to get them back …even for just a day, a moment. He would have gone to the ends of the Earth to get them back if fate would allow it, but life wasn't some fantasy where everything that you wanted to have happen would. His friends were gone and he wouldn't be able to get them back, not in the way he would like, not in a way that would make things better. He couldn't change what happened, no matter how much he wanted to. There were no do-over's, no second chances, not for something like this. The only thing he did have a second chance at was honoring his friends, his teammate's memory and the friendship they had shared. He would live, he would live for them, as hard as it would be, as hard as it was to let go, he would do it, because deep down he knew that's what they would want. They would want him to carry on with his life and be the best he could be. "No matter where my life takes me, I will think of you always. You're the best friends I could ever have, my only regret is you, and it took losing you to have to figure that out."

It was a sad regret, but it was one he couldn't let go and forgot, but it was one he would have to live with, as a reminder to himself, to never take anything for granted. Whether he liked it or not there were people in his life who did give a damn about him. "I just want you guys to know that I'm going to be okay, maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday …so please forgive me if I don't come around for a while." A part of him did feel guilty that he was leaving the academy, a place he had sworn he would never leave, but he needed to do get his life and priorities back in order and figure out where he was supposed to go from here.

"Saying goodbye?"

Sky sighed heavily as he turned around to face Kat, someone who had always been there reaching out to him from the beginning, but had always been shoved away. "For now."

"You're doing the right thing, Sky, going home is the best thing for you now. You may not think that right now."

"I'm sorry that I acted like a jerk to you."

"It's okay." She smiled faintly. "You had been through a lot, more than one person should ever have to go through. What's important now is that you get yourself the help you need."

"Yeah." He had been through a lot over the past five years, a lot of which he had brought upon himself due to his pride and stubbornness by not allowing the ones who were reaching out to him to help him through his pain. "I just wanted to say thanks." Kat had never given up; even when he had given up on himself she had never given up on him. She kept fighting for him and perhaps in some way he did owe his life to her.

"No need. You're not the first solider that I've encountered that went through a terrible ordeal that needed a hand to get back up."

Sky smiled, as he waved goodbye to Kat. "I'll see you around, Kat."

"Here we are," announced Griffin, as he switched on the light and set down Sky's things, as Sky walked around the old bedroom.

It seemed so unreal to be back in his room. He hadn't been in it since he was a teenager and it looked just as he had left it, nothing had changed, it almost as if he had stepped into a time warp, going back in time. "It's just the way I left it," he said as he sat down on his old bed.

"Yeah. I think she wanted to keep it that way." He himself hadn't been in this room in a number of years, in fact since just about six months after Sky had left for the academy. The room had been locked so it would go undisturbed just in case Sky ever did decide to come home. "So I'll let you get settled."

But before Griffin even made it out the door, "Griffin." Sky bit his lip. "I do remember that day."

"I know." Griffin turned back around and leaned against the wall. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"No. It's probably good I talk about it and you should know," he answered, as he looked his little brother in the eyes. "He was your dad too." He took a few moments to gather himself, after all it was a little over twenty years ago, but he did remember that day. "They had been arguing. I don't remember about what." That didn't really matter anymore. "….And that's when he got the call."

"Dad, where you going!" exclaimed Sky as he ran out the door after his father.

"I have to go to Newtech City; your Uncle Eric needs some help." Wes bent down and kissed his son on the forehead, then ran his hand through his son's hair. "I'll be back soon."

Sky then watched as his father morphed before him, calling for the special flyer that SPD had created for him so he could travel between Silver Hills and Newtech faster.

He still could remember watching as his father disappeared, not knowing that would be the last time he would see him alive, but he remembered a feeling he had in his gut that something bad was going to happen. He knew it probably had a lot to do with the way his parents had been arguing, but he had only been five. "He probably meant it, you know," he heard his brother say. "It's not like he knew that was going to be the day he was going to die."

"I know." His father had always come back all the other times, just not the last. "…About a half hour later, Mom grabbed me and we got in the car and drove to Newtech." He could only assume that it was because his mother hadn't liked the way things had been left with his father and she wanted to make up before he had gotten home that night or the next morning. "Said that we would have dinner with him after he was done working." They never did have dinner.

By the time they had gotten to Newtech sirens were going off all over the place, some roads had been blocked. And once they got to the academy, no one would really tell them anything, so he and his mother sat in the lounge and waited. He didn't know how much time had passed by, no words were ever said between him and his mother, just complete silence.

"And you know the rest; they told us what had happened and gave me Dad's helmet."

Griffin knew that it was hard for his brother to tell him, especially now, given everything that he had been through. "Thank you for telling me."

A couple of months later…..

"I'll get it!" announced Sky as he rushed down the stairs. He had been lifting weights in his room when he heard a knock, and opened the front door just as his mom came up from behind him. There standing in front of him was Ally and standing at her side was her little boy. "Ally. ….Ah, hey." It really was a surprise to see her at his front door; they hadn't talked since he left Newtech City, he hadn't really talked to anyone from Newtech City other than Sam a couple of times.

"Hey yourself." She smiled.

"Hi Sky. Remember me from the park?"

"Yeah." Sky smiled as he looked at Ryan. "With the ball." His eyes looked back at Ally, he wasn't sure what to expect from this visit.

Sensing that her son and Ally had a lot to talk about, Jen stepped in and held out her hand to Ryan. "Hi Ryan. I'm Sky's mom, why don't you come with me and have some cookies while your mom talks with Sky."

"Can I, Mom?" asked Ryan, looking up at his mother.

"Sure, go ahead." She smiled as she watched her son take Jen's hand as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Once they were out of sight she turned her attention back to Sky.

"We can go talk out back if you like."

"Yeah. I'd like that." There was so much they still needed to talk about. It only took a few moments until Sky led her to the back of the house. "It's really beautiful out here," exclaimed Ally, as she took in the well built outlook of the pool landscape and garden entrance. It just felt so relaxing and colorful, a place you could go to and unwind, not to have to worry about a thing.

"Yeah it is," answered Sky, as he led her over to one of the benches near the garden entrance. It had been something he had forgotten until he came back home; he could recall spending hours swimming in the pool when he was a kid.

"You look good." He did appear healthier, no longer had that coldness in his eyes and his arm was no longer in a cast. "You feeling better?"

"I've been okay, just been getting back in the swing of things." He wasn't a hundred percent, but he was getting to the point where he was starting to feel alive again.

"Do you still get nightmares?" She didn't want to ask, but it seemed like one of those questions that needed to be answered. A part of her knew that in some way they would always be a part of his life; as a child she could recall her own father having nightmares from when he had been in the war.

"I still have them, but not like it was before." That was one thing he was grateful for, because it had been a long time since he had had a good night's sleep and now he was able to sleep and not have to worry about the darkness of that terrible day lurking in the back of his mind. He knew it would always be a part of him, but he was learning to live with it and go on.

"That's good." She was glad, because she had seen with her own eyes how that nightmare tore him apart inside, and no one should have that sort of thing continually repeat itself in their dreams. "…You think you'll ever go back?"

Finally the question that he himself had played a hundred times over in his head. Would he go back to Space Patrol Delta and regain his position as standing Red Ranger, head Lieutenant? There was no doubt in his mind that he loved being a Ranger, that rush he felt every time he morphed, every time he brought a criminal to justice, but was that enough? Did he remember what it really means to be a Ranger, the most important part that over the years he had forgotten? Before he had left Cruger had told him he would always have a place at SPD and he could take as much time off as he needed, there was no rush. "Honestly," he licked his lips, "I don't know." He turned to meet her eyes. "For as long as I could remember all I ever wanted to be was a Ranger, like my dad. But after everything that's happened, I don't know if I could ever really go back."

"Well, if it helps any, Jack told me once that he was honored to fight by your side and that you were best of the best of Rangers." Though she knew Jack and Sky had their differences and there had been times when all Jack wanted to do was throw Sky through the nearest wall, she remembered the look in Jack's eyes and the sound of his voice when he talked about what kind of Ranger Sky was. "He said he hoped to be half the Ranger you were."

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day he hoped to be that man, that Ranger Jack had been honored to fight side by side with. "I do hope to get back there someday, I just don't know if it will happen."

"If it's meant to be, it'll happen."

"Well, until then, the academy's in good hands."

Ally smiled, she really was grateful that Sky and Luc had set aside their differences; it made coming here a little easier. "Things are going good with your mom and brother?"

Sky nodded his head. "Yeah. Things have been going great, better than I thought." He bowed his head down, sighing, as a faint smile came across his face. "You know, Syd was going to make it her golden mission in life to fix my relationship with my mother." Sometime after he had told both Syd and Bridge that he and his mother didn't talk, she had come up to him a couple of days later vowing that one day he and his mother would be back on good terms.

"You know I'm going to make it my mission to see to it that you and your mother will speak to each other again."

"Whatever you say, Syd," muttered Sky as he rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the SPD Academy handbook. "But don't get your hopes up."

"Oh, I don't need to, it's a promise."

He hadn't thought about that in years.

"She always did like to stick her nose into things," she grinned. "Especially where it didn't belong."

"Yeah." He smiled faintly as he stared off into the distance, not really looking at anything, as if his eyes were searching for something that wasn't there. "Sometimes I really miss that." He turned to glance at Ally. "Kind of dumb, since I've had just about everyone for the last five years sticking their noses into my business."

"Maybe, but it was different with Sydney." She stopped and searched Sky's eyes, not really looking for an answer, because it had always been there. "You loved her."

He didn't answer at first, as if he was afraid of the answer, because it was something he didn't like to admit but he knew he couldn't hide it, as hard and painful as it was he just couldn't deny it any longer. "Sam asked me that once, right after he told me that he had overheard Sydney telling Z that she loved me."

"What did you tell him?"

"I lied. I guess it was just easier that way, but the only one I was really lying to was myself."

Ally gripped his shoulder. "Do you ever wonder what it would have been like, if you two had been honest with each other?" She had always known since the first day she had met Sydney that the pink princess had feelings that went beyond friendship towards Sky, and she along with the other Rangers sensed that connection wasn't one-sided, as she recalled every so often catching Sky glancing over at Syd when she wasn't looking.

"I used to, but speaking from experience I can't live in the past or what might have been. I'll always love her and wish that I would have told her, but…"

"But what?"

He wasn't even sure himself, he never thought of himself as the type to settle down, but a part of him did feel like he wanted to have that someday and he couldn't have that if he was still hung up on Syd, but then what girl would be crazy enough to stick it out with him? "…I don't know."

"Did your mom ever try to meet someone new after your dad died?"

"She tried. Only a couple of guys, it was a few years after he died, but nothing serious." He was around eight or nine when his mother started dating again. He even liked a couple of them, they were nice enough. None of them would ever be able to replace his father; no one ever would, and none of them lasted for more than a handful of dates. The guys coming and going was harder on Griffin then it was on him, sometimes he wondered if that was part of the reason his mom stopped dating. "I guess she just couldn't love anyone more than my dad, so instead of trying to find someone else she'd rather just miss him." Though at times he could see his mom did look lonely, she never seemed to regret that decision. To this very day she was still very much in love with his father and always would be.

"It must be something to have a love like that, to withstand time, even after death. I hope that someday I can come close to having something like that."

"If it means anything, I hope you do have that someday." He really meant it, after everything he had put her through, everything she had gone through, she deserved to be happy.

Ally smiled, it was very rare to see the softer side of Sky, the side of him that he always locked away. "Thanks. I hope you are able to find that too."

Sky laughed softly. "I don't know if I'll ever be that lucky. I haven't exactly had the greatest track record." He grinned. "Besides, Griffin is the one with the charming personality that all the girls like."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to get you drunk," she joked.

"Here you go, sweetie." Jen smiled as she placed a plate full of cookies and a glass of milk in front of Ryan.

"These are all for me?" he asked excitedly, his eyes seeming to glow as he stared at the scrumptious cookies, as if he were in cookie heaven.

"Of course, you're a growing boy."

"Wow. Thank you…." He stopped, realizing he didn't know what to call her…

"Jen," she answered.

"Jen. That's a really pretty name." Ryan took one of the cookies and dipped it into his milk before taking a big bite. "Yummy!"

"Hey, Mom-" Griffin came to a dead stop as he entered into the kitchen after just returning home from a lunch date with Kris. His eyes glared at the young boy sitting up at the counter eating cookies. He had wondered whose car that was in the driveway when he pulled in, but he wasn't expecting this. He had only found out shortly after he and his mother brought Sky back home.

"Hi, I'm Ryan," announced the young boy as he continued to eat his cookie. "Who are you?"

Seeing that Griffin couldn't quite get the words out, Jen stepped in, wrapping one arm around her youngest son's shoulders. "He's my son Wesley, but everyone calls him Griffin."

"That would make you Sky's brother, right?"

"…Yes, it would." Griffin nodded his head as he shook the boy's hand. He squinted a little. "Quite a grip you got there, kid-o."

"Sorry…" Ryan quickly let go and went back to eating his cookies, avoiding eye contact with both Jen and Griffin.

Griffin walked around the counter and pulled his mother to the side. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, he is," his mother answered firmly, as she took a quick glance at Ryan to make sure he was all right. "Ally and Sky are out back talking."

"Are they going to…."

"I don't know. It's their decision." It was a delicate situation, one that she knew needed to be worked out between Ally and her son.

Sky turned to her, looking her right in the eyes as if he was trying to reach out to her very soul. He had hated how he had treated the other girls he had been with, but there was one that stood out against the rest, that he regretted the most. "I shouldn't have left you, Ally," he said almost out of nowhere.

The look in her eyes said she wasn't expecting for him to say anything like that. It seemed to surprise both of them. "I shouldn't have left you like that." He hated himself for it, because that wasn't the type of guy that he wanted to be, it wasn't who he was raised to be. "I know it hurt you. And I'm sorry, because there was no excuse for it."

"Truth is, I forgave you a long time ago. Yes, I was hurt to wake up alone after what happened between us and not have you there, but I had to move on." She had been hurt, more hurt than she had ever been, but she had also come to realize that night had not been one hundred percent Sky's fault. She had let him in; she had chosen to drink along with him. "It takes two to tango. I know you didn't show up that night at my door expecting for that to happen."

"We both weren't expecting for that to happen." He had never had intentions of hooking up with Ally that night; in fact that was the furthest thing from his mind. It was just where he had ended up; he couldn't go back to the academy, not in the condition he had been in, there was nowhere else for him to go. "It just did."

They had both been pretty messed up and just maybe they had each latched onto the other, wanting to just hold onto something as if their life depended upon it. The look in the other's eyes said they both knew that is what had happened. The aftermath was just where everything got messed up between them. Mistakes had been made, things had been said and feelings had been hurt. There was no going back, the only way they could go was forward.

After a couple minutes of long silence, Ally finally broke it with a heavy and heartwrenching sigh. Now for why she had come here, why she had made the three hour drive from Newtech to Silver Hills. "I want you in his life." She stopped for a moment as she looked him in the eyes, waiting for his reaction. "He needs a father, he needs his father."

Sky didn't know what to say or even think at the moment, those had been words he has been wanting to hear for a long time, but he had long believed he had blown any chance at ever being Ryan's father. "But what about-"

"I always wanted you in his life." Tears were streaming down her cheeks, because she had been the one who had told Ryan his father was dead, she had been the one to keep him from his father. "…I know that I told him you were dead, but you have to understand I was-"

"You don't have to explain yourself." He knew it couldn't have been an easy decision for her, his own actions and behavior were what led to the choice she had to make. "You did what you had to do to protect him. Had you stayed, had I been in the picture then ….I probably would have dragged you both down with me." He reached out to wipe away a falling tear. "You're not the bad guy here." He recalled a time that he wasn't sure if Ally was aware of, but there had been a moment when he could have done the right thing, when he could have straightened up and gotten the help he needed.

He had been in Newtech General Hospital after he had lost control of his bike during a high speed chase. He had wound up with a concussion and cracked ribs and had been admitted for a few days, which just so happened to be the day when Ryan had been born. He still could remember being in his room and overhearing the nursing staff talking about a newly born beautiful baby boy, calling him the Samuels baby.

He had managed to get the nurses to take him up to the nursery, saying that he had been partners with Ally Samuels' boyfriend who had died in action. He could still remember the feeling and the moment…

In his wheelchair he looked through the window, staring at the little sleeping boy. It was both a great and sad feeling at the same time. A moment later a man stepped up behind him. "I know what you're going through, I too lost my team when I was in the war …but when I got back my wife was pregnant and she needed me to be there for her."

Sky didn't have to turn around to know who the man was; it could only be one man, Ally's father. He never said anything to him; he didn't know what to say.

"You've put my daughter through at lot," he announced firmly. "He doesn't need that." He pointed to the baby boy through the window. "If you continue down this path, I promise you that she and the baby will leave and it may be a long time before you see either one of them." It wasn't a threat, but more of a father protecting his daughter and grandchild. He gripped Sky's shoulder. "You do what you have to do."

After that Ethan Samuels motioned for the nurse to bring out the baby boy and then he walked down the hall. It was then he held his son for the very first time, it was an unbelievable feeling, one he knew he would always treasure. He would have liked to believe that holding this wonderful miracle in his arms would make all his problems, all the darkness, vanish, but the nightmare was still there. He couldn't expect the baby boy he held, so young, so innocent, so helpless, to take it all away.

"Neither are you."

He laughed under his breath. "I don't know about that. There are a lot of things I've done that I'm not proud of." He bowed his head down, sighing. Though things were better for him, there was still one thing he couldn't shake off. "Maybe Wootox was right about me."

"No! He wasn't right!" she exclaimed, as she got up and stood in front of him looking him right in the eyes. "You want to know the difference between you and Wootox?" She waited until their eyes were locked, because if there was one thing he needed to hear from this whole conversation it was this. "The difference is, you care that you go to that bad place. Wootox had stopped caring a long time ago." It was then when she wondered if this could be part of the reason why Sky felt compelled about whether or not he could go back to being a Ranger, because a part of him felt like he was no better than some of the guys he brought in. "You're not a monster, you're our son's father and so much more."

Sky didn't know what to say, he was both scared and happy at the same time. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed happily. "He needs you, just like you need him. He needs someone who understands what he's going through, someone that's been there before." She watched as Sky's eyes widened, as he realized what she was talking about. "He has an ability, he doesn't know I know, but I've seen it."

His son had an ability, an ability he had gotten from him. It had always been something he had wondered about: if it was possible that his change in DNA might have caused him to pass a special trait on to his son. "What is it?"

"Super-strength."

He knew it couldn't have been easy for her having to deal with something like that, it hadn't been easy for his parents when his ability first started coming out."….I'm sorry. I should have been there from the beginning, in the way that you needed me to be."

"What's important is you're here now."

About ten minutes later Ally and Sky walked into the kitchen to find Griffin sitting next to Ryan along with Jen. Ally stepped forward a few feet, reaching out her hand. "Ryan, could you come here for a minute?" Sky hung back a few feet, his heart was pounding against his chest, never had one moment scared and excited him at the same time. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Griffin, we should-"

"No." Sky interrupted his mother, locking eyes with her. "You two should be here for this." It did in a way concern them, as it would end up affecting their family, but in a good way if all things went as he hoped they would.

"What is it, Mommy?" asked Ryan, almost a little cautiously as he walked up to her, taking her hand, not sure if he was going to like what his mother had to tell him. "What do you need to tell me?"

This wasn't going to be easy, though he was a pretty bright kid he was still very young and might not understand the choices and events that took place before and even after he had been born. She knelt down to eye level with him. "It's about your daddy…" She already had tears in her eyes. "He-he isn't gone."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Ally struggled to get the words out as she stared into his confused blue eyes. She had lied to him about his father; her intentions at the time had been good. Back then Sky wasn't someone she could count on, she wanted to count on him and in the back of her mind had always hoped that he would come around. But when Ryan started asking questions, questions that she couldn't answer, she was left with little choice. As hard and painful as it was she had told him his father had died.

Sky took a deep breath, knowing it was on him. It always had been; if he hadn't dug himself in so deep Ally never would have had to tell the lie. She never would have needed to protect their little boy from him. "Because he's right here," announced Sky, knowing he needed to be the one to explain. He needed to explain to an almost five year old boy why he had not been around all these years. He stepped up to Ryan, looking him right in the eyes as he knelt down in front of him, as Ally stood up and stepped back. "I'm your father."

Ryan didn't know what to think at that moment, because all he had known about his father was that he had died before he was born. "But my mom said you were dead," he exclaimed softly, as he looked from his mother and now to the man claiming to be his father. It made him angry that his mother had told him such a thing. Sure he had Luc and his grandfather, but they weren't the same as having a dad.

"Don't be mad at her." Sky cleared his throat as he briefly glanced a look at Ally before turning back to his son. "If you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Your mom was only trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" In his young mind he couldn't understand why he would need protection from his own father.

How could he explain? There was no easy way and there shouldn't be. The only thing he could do was try. "Before you were born, something really bad happened." Jen could see this was hard for Sky, but she couldn't step in and help him, as much as she wanted to this was something he needed to do on his own. "My team, my friends, they were hurt really bad."

"You mean they died?" He might be just a kid, but he knew enough to know what it meant when someone said that someone was hurt really bad.

"Yes." Sky nodded his head softly. "I was the only one that made it out alive, and for a very long time I blamed myself, a part of me still does. And until recently I was in a real bad place where I kept hurting myself, people tried to help me, especially your mom, but at the time I didn't want help." It wasn't the whole story, but it was all he could really explain to the young boy. He didn't need to know every grim detail of the events that had taken place; maybe someday when he was older, old enough to handle it.

"Are you okay now?"

"I'm working towards it, but I want you to know how sorry I am for not being around and I hope that one day you can forgive me, Ryan." He didn't know what else to say, it was all up to his son now. He would have thought it would have taken time for the young boy to decide what was to come next, days, weeks, maybe even months, but that didn't happen. Something unexpected happened to Sky, when for the first time he felt the arms of his little boy wrap tightly around his neck.

"I love you, Daddy."

Sky put his arms around his son, lifting him up from the ground and holding him close as their cheeks brushed against each other. "I love you too." It was a joyous union; this had been the moment, the moment that he had fought to live for, this was what he had fought for.

Sky glanced at his mom and brother, smiling, and then turned to Ally to thank her, knowing that it took a lot for her to give him a second chance. It was then when he saw something in her eye, maybe it had always been there, maybe he just hadn't noticed or just didn't want to, until now. He couldn't be sure what it meant, only time would tell and as far as he was concerned he had all the time in the world.