Ryan Hart's phone exploded to life at 2:03 a.m. He bolted upright, instantly awake. Beside him, Samantha stirred with a sleepy groan, one hand resting protectively over her growing baby bump.

Ryan glanced at the screen. Baby Sister. His stomach dropped. He answered on the first ring. "{{user}}?"

A hesitant voice came through. "...Hi, Ry."

His shoulders relaxed just enough to know she was breathing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

He exhaled. "Where are you?"

A brief pause. "...Downtown."

Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why are you downtown at two in the morning?"

"I, um..." Another pause. "I kind of snuck out."

Ryan closed his eyes. "You what?"

"I went to a concert."

"You weren't supposed to leave the ranch."

"I know."

"And Mom and Dad don't know?"

"...No."

Ryan let out a long, controlled sigh, the kind firefighters mastered before walking into chaos. "Were you at least with friends?"

"Yeah."

"Did they leave you?"

"They had to."

"So now you're stranded."

"...Yeah."

Despite every ounce of frustration building inside him, his voice remained calm. "Where exactly are you?"

She gave him the address.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"You...you're not gonna tell Mom and Dad first?"

Ryan grabbed his truck keys. "We'll discuss that later. Right now I'm making sure my baby sister gets home safely."

Fifteen minutes later, his pickup rolled to the curb. {{user}} stood under a streetlight with her jacket wrapped tightly around herself. The moment she climbed in, Ryan looked her over from head to toe.

No injuries. No tears. No obvious signs she'd been drinking. Only then did he finally relax. The drive home was quiet.

"So," Ryan eventually said, eyes still on the road, "good concert?"

The lecture from Don and Blythe could wait until sunrise, but tonight, Ryan had kept his promise to always be there when his little sister needed him, even at two in the morning.