Wait For Me, And I'll Come Running Back to You

A/N: Minor spoilers for season 3. Just about how Ryan and Marissa leave Harbor. Enjoy.

Marissa wasn't exactly sure of when she stopped counting the days that Ryan left. Maybe it was after his 18th birthday, which he had been gone exactly 227 days. Or maybe it was shortly after Christmas, when she came home from UC Santa Barbara to visit her family. She walked into the Cohen house for dinner, expecting to see Ryan's baby blue eyes, and his lips curved up into a smile, but only to hear Sandy saying, "Not this year, kiddo."

So she went back to school, and tried to live her life. Went to a few parties, even had a few opportunities with some of the frat boys, but she turned them down every time. She stopped communicating with the people from her past, even Summer Roberts, her best friend since 3rd grade, and at the end of her freshman year, she refused to come back to Newport.

I guess I should tell you where Ryan was throughout all of this mess. Marissa still remembers it like it was yesterday.


"Hey babe," Marissa said, sitting down on a bench next to Ryan, giving him a peck on the cheek. Their relationship had gotten stronger since they had left Harbor.

He met her eyes, but didn't say anything. She instantly knew something was up.

"What's going on, Ryan?" She sweetly asked, nuzzling her head into his neck.

With one finger, he scooped her chin up so their eyes were met. He kissed her deeply, never wanting to let go, and when he finally did, he looked away. There was a long period of silence, Marissa knew Ryan needed his time to say the words he was about to say.

"I have to go away for a while," he finally said, and Marissa paused.

"What?"

"I have to leave. Get out of town. Give things a chance to go back to normal."

"Ryan, no. Things are fine."

He sighed. "Marissa, how can you say that? We just got expelled from one of the top private schools in the country, and all because they didn't want two kids like us there with our 'criminal record'."

"Ryan," she began.

"Riss, you never had to deal with this before I was here. There was never any question as to how your life was going to turn out, and now, well, you and I both know it might not be the same."

"I love you, though. I know that."

He put her face in his hands.

"Never doubt for a second that I don't love you. But, I have to leave."

"Where are you gonna go?" She asked, her face now streaming with tears.

He reached around into his back pocket and pulled out a pamphlet.

She looked at it, and instantly her eyes widened. "The military, Ryan? Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, I know it's dangerous, but I'm gonna have something out there that's always gonna bring me back. And that's you. I'll be back. I promise."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow night."

"No. Ryan, please tell me this is a dream. You can't."

"I love you. So much," he said, kissing her, but she pushed away. She wasn't about to let him do this. If he left her, she would have no one. Sure, she had Summer and Seth, but they didn't even go to the same school anymore, let alone see each other except on weekends.

"Do you want to come home with me and help me pack?" He asked her, playing with a golden lock of her hair. She nodded, emotionless, and while he drove them to the Cohen residence, she didn't say a word. They walked into the house, him holding her hand, to find a depressed Seth and Summer playing video games half-heartedly, and a hysterical Kirsten who had obviously just learned the news. Sandy was trying to calm her down, while watching Ryan walk through the door. Kirsten politely excused herself while Sandy followed her, making eye contact with Seth.

Ryan sat down next to Seth, giving him a small smile.

"Dude, I'm not gonna lie to you, this sucks."

"I know," Ryan whispered, "but it's my last night in town, we should have a little fun."

Summer jumped up. "I'm down with that, what do you guys wanna do?"

Ryan shrugged. "Movies in the pool house?"

"That's really going out with a bang, Ryan."

"I don't feel much like going out tonight."

"Movies in the pool house, it is, then," Seth said, and the four of them made their way out there.

"I just want to be in your arms tonight," Marissa whispered to him, while they entered the pool house.

"I think I can handle that," he said, winking at her, and squeezing her hand.

They ended up falling asleep after their first movie, and when Seth and Summer woke up to leave, so did Ryan. He rolled over, and his breathing stopped. Marissa lied there, looking absolutely breathtaking. He sat there and stared at her for he didn't know how long, but when he decided that he should turn over and go to sleep, he felt a hand on his arm. He turned, startled, and looked at Marissa with her eyes wide open.

"Hey, beautiful," he said.

"Ryan?" she asked, scooting closer to him and rubbing her body against his.

"Yeah?" he responded, feeling a little turned on at this sudden closeness.

"There's one more thing I need out of you tonight," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He met her eyes again, and looked at her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, and their lips met. His hands met with her slender hips, hiking her skirt up as they traveled up her body. "Want me to take it off?" She whispered.

"In a minute," he groaned, kissing her collarbone. His hand slipped underneath her skirt, and Marissa moaned. Ryan was greeted with no other type of clothing. He now knew Marissa wasn't wearing any underwear. He was even more turned on. "Since when do you not wear underwear?" He asked, giving her a small smile. She didn't respond. She just took his hand and led it to her most private place. Ryan was no idiot, he knew what to do from this point. He took two fingers and thrusted them inside of her. She moaned and gasped, she didn't even know how to handle it. He told her to keep it down, he didn't want any embarrassing episodes happening tonight. She stopped him after a few minutes, and he took the opportunity to take her shirt off. He grabbed one of her breasts in that lacy black bra that always drove him crazy and kissed it ever so lightly. He eventually took the bra off and kissed the valley in between her breasts. He slowly kissed Marissa down to her stomach, and stopped right where her skirt began. He unbuttoned the skirt, and slid it down her legs.

"You look so beautiful tonight, Marissa," he said.

She caught her breath and smiled at him with adoring eyes. He began kissing her inner thighs, and she gasped. "Ryan," she breathed, but he didn't stop. He wasn't going to stop. As he worked her with his tongue, Marissa spread her legs wider and wider. Her moans were getting louder, and Ryan knew she was going to climax. As she screamed and breathed heavily through her orgasm, Ryan came up from underneath the sheets, and rested with her. Her eyes were closed, but when she opened them, she could see the huge tent in Ryan's boxers from his growing erection. She giggled softly, and put a hand on his face.

"You think it's funny, don't you?" Ryan teased as he rolled on top of her. She nodded. She unbuttoned his shirt, and he gasped as her hand touched him. She lightly caressed him, and kissed him softly, then began to work him faster. Ryan was groaning from the intense pleasure of her touching him and it turned her on even more to hear it.

"I'm ready, Ryan," she whispered, and he acknowledged her with a kiss.

"Okay," he said as he rolled back on top of her and entered her. She groaned with pain, and he stopped. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Keep going."

Their bodies started moving in perfect sync, and Marissa was clawing at Ryan's back. Ryan flipped her over as their lips met, and began rocking back and forth, faster and faster. Marissa prepared for Ryan's impending orgasm, and as he came, it triggered her own release. The both of them were moaning loudly as Marissa shook with pleasure, and Ryan was out of breath as he laid down beside her. She looked over at him and smiled. "I can't believe we waited this long to do that."

He laughed and kissed her. "Wanna do it again?" He asked, and gave her a little wink. Marissa slowly moved her hands down underneath the sheets as she smiled at her lover.


The next day, Ryan left to do his duty as a soldier, and hadn't come back since.

After Ryan left, Seth, well, Seth went to New York to pursue in his career of being a director. He tried not to think about anyone in Newport that often, including his parents, but he still thought about them all the time.

Summer and Seth had ended things badly when she chose to stay in California and attend college in San Francisco. She had told him she wasn't going to give up her dream just so he could pursue his, and they ended things. Summer worked for a modeling agency, and since she wasn't 5'10" and as skinny as a rail, she designed the clothes for the models to show off. She resided in Newport with her boyfriend, Bryan Mitchell, planned parties in her spare time, and lived a somewhat happy life.


"I'd really like it if you were there, Seth," Kirsten Cohen's voice said, as Seth sighed on the other line.

"Mom, I just don't know if I can take the time off work."

"Seth, I'm not stupid. You're the boss of all of those people. If you told them to jump off a bridge, they would do it. Now, you're coming. Your father and I would really appreciate it if you were at our 25th wedding anniversary party."

"Is Ryan going?"

He could hear Kirsten sigh. "I don't know. I haven't gotten a hold of him."

"Of course you haven't, Mom. If Ryan goes, I'll go, otherwise, no deal."

She heard the soft click of her phone as her son hung up. Sandy stood beside her and rubbed her shoulders lovingly.

"Since when did our son become such a jerk, Sandy?"

"Since everything he ever cared about got ripped away and money was his only shelter."

"Oh, Sandy," she sighed, as tears filled her eyes.

"I'll get Ryan to come home. I promise, Sweetheart."


Sandy Cohen had been waiting for the day when he would hear from his foster son. He hated seeing his whole family torn apart, and completely on opposite sides of the world. He hadn't seen Ryan in 3 years, nor had he seen Seth in about 2. Kirsten had managed to stay sober through out all of this, but he didn't know how much more she could handle. The only person Sandy and Kirsten saw out of the four teenagers was Summer, and that was because her boyfriend, Bryan, worked for Sandy's firm, and because Summer still remained in Newport.

Sandy was sitting in his office with his head in his hands when the phone rang. Not recognizing the number, he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Sandy."

"Who is this?"

"Uh-it's Ryan."

"Ryan! Wow, kiddo, I was just thinking about hiring a private investigator to try and find you! Where have you been, son?"

Ryan chuckled politely. "You know, around."

"Where ya at right now?"

"I got based in New Jersey, so I just decided to stay here. It's a pretty state."

"I bet, but there's still nothing like California."

"Yeah, I'll admit to that one."

"It's so good to hear from you, Ryan. Things just aren't the same without you here anymore."

"Thanks, Sandy. How is everyone?"

"Um, okay, I guess. Seth is living in New York, so it's just Kirsten and me in the house. Marissa is off in Santa Barbara, she comes back every so often, and Summer still lives here."

"Seth and Summer, are they…?"

"Nope, afraid not. She's dating a guy named Bryan who works at my firm."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yeah, she's happy though."

There was a long pause.

"Listen, Ryan, I know that there must be something keeping you from not coming back to Newport, but Kirsten and I are having our 25th wedding anniversary party next week, and we'd really love it if you were there. Summer is planning the whole thing, and of course there's always a pool house that has your name on it."

Ryan smiled. "I'd love to."

"Really?" Sandy sounded amazed.

"If you want me there, of course I'll come."

Sandy smiled, and began giving Ryan the details. When he hung up the phone, he called Seth to tell him the good news.


Sandy went home that night, tired, but happy. He told his wife the good news, and she was overjoyed. They were both pondering as they went to sleep that night, what it would be like when the four teenagers reunited.


A/N: First chap done. Review, please!

-emily