Sara was shocked when she saw Dusty practically carrying Brad through the door, and ran over quickly.

"Oh my god! Brad!" She reached up to bring his head lower so that she could examine his injuries, but he yelled out in pain. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Don't worry, he just got a little roughed up!" Dusty told her, leading Brad to the couch as Sara went and got a wet wash cloth and an ice pack, Dusty getting him a blanket and the tv remote to get him comfortable. 

"A little roughed up?" She demanded, using the washcloth to clean him up, and gasping when she saw the now fading M indention in his forehead. "Oh my god, this was Massey, wasn't it?" Brad nodded, wincing and grabbing his head.

"Yeah, she wasn't real happy with me, but I'm okay!" But Sara was more than upset now.

"Why would she do this?" She was practically in tears. "I knew bringing her here was a bad idea! I just knew it! As soon as the idea was suggested!"

"Hold on, hold on, you thought bringing Massey back here was a bad idea?" Now Dusty was really upset. 

"Yes!" Sara stood up, finally revealing how she truly felt. "I knew it would be a bad idea! She hates me! She hates me, and therefore I knew she'd hate Brad! She's always been your little badass princess and now she's going around town beating people up!" She got back down on her knees, holding the washcloth to Brad's nose to stop the bleeding and the ice pack to his head.

"Look, Massey doesn't beat people for no good reason!" Dusty shouted, now angry. He knew Massey better than anyone in this room. "Brad, what the hell did you do to my kid?"

"I-I didn't do anything to her!" Brad choked out through his stuffy nose. "I swear, I'd never hurt Massey!"

"Brad is the sweetest guy in the world!" Sara told Dusty. "He wouldn't hurt a fly, and especially wouldn't hurt someone who he considers his child!"

"Then why the hell would she get so pissed?" Dusty demanded. "The last time Massey beat the crap out of someone, it was a guy at the bar who felt her up!"

"What?" both Brad and Sara got upset at that one, but were quickly distracted by Brad wincing in pain.

"Brad, honey, tell us what happened." Sara pleaded. She had to know that he didn't do anything to Massey. Brad had never hurt Megan or Dylan, he surely wouldn't hurt Massey, would he?

"She... She..." he pulled the washcloth away and took a deep breath. "She was mad, because she thought Dusty came back to you and the kids because of me." Both Sara and Dusty's faces fell at that. "She told me, that if I weren't around, Dusty wouldn't have come back for you guys. She wanted me to take you guys and leave." 

"Aw man, you know that isn't the case, right?" Dusty told him, sitting on the edge of the couch, his arms crossed. "Yes, I came back because my kids have a new man in their life, but that's because I want to make sure they're in good hands. I want to give them a chance to see their dad and sister again, and give Massey a chance to see her mom."

"That's what I wanted to say." Brad told him, feeling better that Dusty laid it all out for him. "But she never gave me the chance. And then you saved me, and she ran away."

"You rescued him?" Even Sara was in disbelief at that one, and Dusty nodded as Sara looked at her lap. "I knew it'd be a bad idea if Massey came here. The last time you guys were here, I tried to convince her to stay, and we got in a huge fight. She thought I was trying to prevent her from seeing you. I know she's always hated me, and I was scared someone would get hurt." She looked up at Brad, her eyes brimming with tears. "I didn't expect this though!" Brad took her hand, smiling at her.

"Sara, I'll be okay. And I promise, I don't blame Massey for this. She's still young, and she's probably in a weird mental state right now. There's a lot going on in her life, and I expect this is how she handles things."

"She does have a punching spot in every place we've stopped in." Dusty agreed, thinking about the knuckle marks that get left behind every time.

"So what are we supposed to do then, Dusty?" Sara asked, both her and Brad looking to him for help. "You know her best, how do you get her to calm down?" Dusty held out his hands, almost laughing at them.

"Look, Massey and I do fight. I mean, I've never gotten the crap beaten out of me, but we do fight. Usually she takes a few days to cool off."

"What does that mean?" Brad asked, not liking the idea of a few days of not being able to talk to her and and try to get her to like him.

"Usually, she'll find a friend's place to stay in and stay there until she's cooled down, and comes home. We sit down, figure it out, and then we hug it out and move on."

"A few days of her being away?" Sara's face went pale.

"Dusty, I don't think we can accept that." Brad tried to tell him. "It might be different for you two, but for us, we work things out together as a family." Dusty shrugged, not seeing this as a big deal.

"Well, until she's ready to come back, it's not like we have much of a choice, do we? If Massey doesn't want to be found, she won't be found." Brad felt his heart drop further than before. How was he supposed to be a good stepfather to her now?