I know I'm a terrible updater and I'm sorry!! Anyway the drama continues in this chapter.

Thanks so much to those who read and those who reviewed! It is much appreciated! I also want to make one thing clear which is that unlike what forgottenletters said I have not plagiarised this story from anywhere. There would be no fun in copying someone else. Well I hope that you enjoy this chapter and once again I love to hear what you have to say.


Chapter 4: The Last Straw?

"Excuse me?" Julie lifted her head up to look at a nurse. "Are you Julie Cooper?"

"Yeah I am. Is Marissa ok?" she asked urgently.

"Would you like to follow me."

Julie looked at Neil and they both stood up.

"But is she ok?"

"I think I have information on your daughter."

"What does that mean? You either do or you don't!"

"Please just follow me."

"No I…"

"Julie come on," Neil coaxed her gently. He put his arm around her shoulder letting her know that he was there. She reluctantly followed the nurse but slowed when she noticed the Intensive Care Unit sign above the door that they were walking through. It swung shut behind Julie and it was like a different world. The white corridor was still brightly lit but there was almost a dimness about it, a cloud hanging over those lying helplessly behind each grey door. They stopped and the nurse pushed open a door.

"Could you just confirm that this is your daughter?"

Julie looked into the white washed room. A lamp in the corner was giving off a light that didn't seem to quite fill the room. There was a lone picture hanging on the wall, a pathetic attempt to make life seem better than it was. Then Julie's eyes landed on the bed.

"Oh my god! My baby!" Julie rushed over and held onto Marissa's limp hand.

Neil looked to the nurse. "That's her daughter," he confirmed.

Julie looked at this pale girl lying in the hospital bed. This wasn't the Marissa she knew. Her head was limply leaning to one side, her face looking towards Julie. Except instead of her beautiful eyes there were dark eyelids. There was a bandage across her head, and two small tubes protruded from her nose, spanning across her pale cheeks. There was an even beep filling the room that was calming yet at the same time made Julie feel like she was going crazy. She didn't want some machine to tell her that Marissa was ok, she wanted Marissa to tell her.

"A doctor will be right with you," the nurse said more to Neil than Julie.

"Ok thanks," he said. The nurse nodded sympathetically and left Neil with Julie. He carefully walked across the room and placed a cautious hand on her back. Seconds later the door reopened and the doctor walked in.

"Julie Cooper?" she nodded. "I'm Dr Naismith. Could you tell me some details about your daughter."

Neil found himself switching off as the doctor asked Julie some simple questions. He looked at Marissa lying helplessly in the bed. He felt almost sick thinking that it could have been Summer. But it was Marissa. It was always Marissa.

"Please Dr is she going to be ok?" Julie sobbed out.

"Well she has suffered a severe blow to the head but she is stable just now."

"What do you mean just now? She's going to wake up isn't she?"

"With such a severe blow brain damage is possible. She currently shows no sign of this but the next few hours are crucial. If she doesn't wake up in the next few hours she could slip into a coma and I'm afraid by then brain damage would be almost inevitable. We've done all we can. It's up to Marissa now."

"There must be something you can do!" Julie cried out. "You're a doctor for christ's sake!"

"I'm sorry Mrs Cooper. There's nothing more we can do."

"Like hell there's nothing more you can do!" Julie shouted angrily though truthfully she was more scared than angry.

"Hey, hey," Neil rested his hand on her shoulder and Julie buried her face into his chest.

"She has a good chance of waking up. Stay with her, talk to her. It may not feel like it but she'll know you're there. I'll be back soon to check up."

"Thanks doctor," Neil nodded his head and the doctor retreated.

Julie walked over to the bed, the clicking of her heels out of time with the incessant beeping. She lowered herself onto the seat beside the bed and held onto Marissa's hand.

"Umm could I be alone with her for a bit?" she asked quietly.

"Of course I'll go and see how Summer is," Neil turned and opened the door.

"Neil?" he looked back to Julie. "Thank you."

Neil gave her a small nod, a simple gesture that showed so much.

Neil was walking along the corridor when he almost walked straight into Kirsten.

"Oh Neil sorry."

"Sorry Kirsten I wasn't watching."

"I've been sent on a coffee round," she said with a smile. Neil attempted a smile but failed miserably. "Are you ok? Where's Julie?" Kirsten asked glancing behind Neil.

"Uh Julie's with Marissa."

"So she's going to be ok, thank god." Kirsten frowned at Neil's grave face. "She's going to be ok right?"

"Well she has a good chance."

"What do you mean a chance? What's wrong?"

"Well she has a severe blow to her head and she's still unconscious. The doctor said that the next few hours are crucial. If she doesn't wake she will slip into a coma and well… she'll most likely then suffer brain damage."

"Oh god."

"There's no sign of it just now but they've done all they can. It's up to Marissa now."

"But she has a good chance?"

"Let's hope so."

"How is Julie? I should go along."

"She said she wanted to be alone for a bit. I came to speak to Summer."

"We better tell Ryan too."

"But how do we tell them?" Neil asked and Kirsten looked up at him.

"Let's go back to Seth's room. I'll get Sandy."

"Hey honey. Where's the coffee?" Sandy asked when Kirsten opened the door.

"Uh Sandy could I have a word?"

"Is everything alright?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she lied with a fake smile.

Sandy stood up and followed Kirsten out the door.

"That was weird," Summer commented.

"She probably just couldn't remember the coffee order," Seth said casually. "Anyway back to me and my out of body experience."

Summer rolled her eyes.

"Seth you didn't have an out of body experience!"

"There was a bright white light Summer! Need I say anymore?"

"I thought you said the bright light was a torch?" Ryan asked sceptically.

"No my inexperienced friend. The bright light turned into the torch as my soul re-entered by body! What don't you get?!"

"Nothing it all makes perfect sense!" Ryan said sarcastically.

"Cohen did you leave your sanity behind on your trip?"

"No I've always been insane."

"Well then maybe you should have picked some up!"

"I had no power. It was all up to the big guy."

"Yeah and who is that?" Ryan scoffed.

"It can be anyone you want. Who would you want it to be Ryan?"

"You know I hate it when you do that, turn anything I ask you into a question back at me. Why do you do it?"

"I don't know. Why do you think I do it?" Seth asked to wind Ryan up.

"Maybe because you're socially insecure and insane?" Ryan took a guess.

They all looked over to the door when Kirsten walked back in.

"Ok, how hard is it to get 5 coffees?!" Seth exclaimed at Kirsten's empty hands.

"Ryan, Summer can I talk to you both for a minute?" she said ignoring Seth.

"Uh sure," Summer replied looking at Ryan's equally confused face.

"Hey what about me? Mom?" Seth called as they all left the room. "I could sue! This is discrimination against the disabled! I have connections with the big guy now!"

"What's going on?" Ryan asked the three adults.

"It's about Marissa," Neil said.

"What about her? Where is she? She's going to be ok right?" Summer asked.

"We hope so," Kirsten said gently.

"I was with her, I know how bad it is but is she going to be ok?" Ryan asked firmly.

"She's in a stable but critical condition," Neil explained. "She has a bad head injury and if she doesn't wake in the next few hours she could slip into a coma and…and she will probably get brain damage."

"This is a joke right?" Summer asked with a laugh as tears fill up her eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetie," Neil said gently.

"No. You don't understand. For once she was happy. Like actually happy. This can't be happening, this can't be happening," Summer whimpered as a tear rolled down her cheek and Neil wrapped his arms around her.

"I need to get some air," they all turned and looked at Ryan's stony face before he turned and walked to the exit.

"Ryan wait!" Kirsten called after him. Sandy put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get it."

Sandy walked out into the rain towards Ryan.

"That didn't take you long," Ryan commented, his back to Sandy.

"I thought you'd have learnt by now that us Cohen's never leave a man down."

"Yeah well it takes a while to adjust after 16 years of being left alone."

"Things are different now," Sandy reassured, walking up beside him.

"Not everything is different."

"How do you mean?"

"Think about it. Everything was going too well. It's always just a matter of time before something like this happens."

"Ryan there's no point talking like that."

"It's true though. But why Marissa? After everything she has just been through with Trey she was finally back on her feet. I just don't get why it's always her. She deserves a break."

"The fact that she has managed to get through everything says something. She's a fighter, she'll be fine."

"But what if this is the last straw?" Ryan eventually looked at Sandy. "What if she has eventually become too tired of fighting it. She can't go on like this forever."

"If I remember correctly she never had to do it on her own. But you're not going to be of much use out here. As hard as it will be to see her I bet it would be a lot better than looking back and thinking if only."

"But what do I do?"

"Just stay there with her. She'll know you're there. Remind her of what she has to live for."

Ryan nodded and looked up into the rain. He just hoped "the big guy" was listening. He looked to Sandy.

"Thanks."

"Come on let's get inside. I don't want my signature smudging on your cast!"

Ryan knocked on the door and looked through the window. Summer nodded her head so he gently pushed it open. He thought he was prepared for what he was going to see because he had been with her but he was wrong. Nothing could have prepared him for how helpless she looked.

He slowly walked over and took a seat at the bed opposite Summer. They both sat in silence.

"Uh my dad took Julie for a walk. I guess it was too much."

Ryan nodded though he wasn't really paying much attention to what she was saying, his eyes fixed on the slow bus steady rise and fall of Marissa's chest.

"I'm getting a serious déjà vu right now."

This time Ryan looked at her vividly remembering that night in Tijuana. She almost hadn't made it then but what if this time there was no almost.

"I know what you're thinking," Summer said to him. "And I can't deny that I have the same thoughts running through my mind but if I've learned anything from the step monster it's that even when you're on the very edge there always seems to be something to live for. I mean it's not exactly the same situation but Marissa knows that so she'll pull through."

But both Ryan and Summer noticed the hesitation in her voice…