Wow so it's been a long time since I updated. But I've had a lot of changes happen in the past couple months. I moved and am now finally settling in my new job and house. I kinda lost interest in my story for a little while but I'm back. Thank you to everybody who reviewed and who is still reading this story. I love Ryan and Taylor together so you know how it's going to end. I just hope you like the journey that gets them there.

Please Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan paced back and forth in the waiting room. Another hour had passed with Summer frequently muttering about the wait, Sandy and Kirsten offering to get them something to eat and drink every ten minutes and nobody knew where Kaitlyn had gone. He couldn't help but think that it was a bad omen that nobody had come and told them what was wrong. They wouldn't even talk to Sandy. They'd only talk to family and Julie and Seth were still trying to locate Veronica.

"Maybe I should try talking to them again," Sandy offered standing up.

"It won't matter," Summer said pouting. "We're not her family." She slouched down in her seat and glared at the TV where some horrible lifetime movie was playing. "If we're not her family, I don't know who is. We're the ones who have provided her with a place to live. We spent the holidays with her and we through her a birthday party, not Veronica Townsend. I am her family dammit!"

"Hold that thought," Seth said walking into the waiting room followed by Julie and lastly Veronica Townsend.

"What in the hell happened to my daughter tonight?" Veronica asked the Sandy and Kirsten.

Sandy looked at Kirsten before standing up. "I don't know, we weren't there with her but Summer and Ryan told us-"

"Excuse me if I don't care what the hoodlum has to say," Veronica said interrupting him. "Now my daughter had 18 years without ever once having to go to the hospital and in the past year she's had two visits. That doesn't look too good now does it?"

"Ms. Townsend," Ryan said standing up also but she didn't even get him a chance.

"I think I said quite clearly that I don't care what you have to say," Veronica said glaring at him. "Isn't it bad enough you killed one of Newport's train wrecks now you have to try again."

"Ryan wasn't even there!" Kaitlyn said standing up to defend her almost brother.

"And Taylor isn't a train wreck," Summer said shooting daggers at her.

"Excuse me," the doctor said from the doorway. "Taylor Townsend's next of kin?"

"I'm her Mother," Veronica said stepping forward.

"I'm Doctor Hansen," he said introducing himself. "Your daughter has suffered a severe head trauma. She also broke her ankle in two places but they were clean breaks, we set them and she'll have to wear a cast for at least six weeks. From the bruising we know she wasn't wearing a seat belt."

"Stupid girl," Veronica muttered crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's going to be okay though…right?" Summer asked softly.

"The concussion worries us," he admitted. "There is lots of swelling and we won't know more until it goes down."

"She's going to be okay though right?" Summer asked louder.

"We'll know more in 48 hours," he said smiling sympathetically. He wished he could give them better news but he'd learned very early on in his career that you don't give false hope. He didn't know if Taylor would be alright, at least right now he didn't know. "Now we are only allowing two visitors in at a time at five minute intervals."

"Only family," Veronica stated quickly before the doctor could add anything else.

"Only if the family enforces it," Doctor Hansen said. "Honestly Ms. Townsend, surrounding Taylor with familiar people could work in your best interest."

"Somehow I don't think so," Veronica said before walking towards the doorway. "Now what room is my daughter in?"

"She's in room 4," Dr. Hansen said taking the lead as he lead the way into ICU. He stopped outside a closed door and turned to Veronica. "Ms. Townsend I highly recommend you reconsider shutting Taylor's friends out. I've witnessed lots of cases where someone with the same injury wakes up faster with visitors than somebody without."

"They are the reason she's in here in the first place," Veronica said glaring at the doctor. "Now can I please have a moment alone with my daughter."

Dr. Hansen tried to stare her down but eventually shook his head and walked away. He was just another guy to bow down to Veronica Townsend. Nobody ever stood up to her and won. That's why she was the number one sports agent in California.

Veronica took a deep breath before she walked into Taylor's room. She didn't know what to expect but what she saw made her freeze in place. Her daughter was surrounded by machines. Veronica wasn't a doctor so she couldn't even begin to understand what each one was monitoring but as she stepped closer to the bed she wished she'd had Doctor Hansen stay and explain them to her. It didn't look like Taylor was going to be okay.

"What did you do?" Veronica mumbled when she finally stood beside her daughter. She knew she would never win the Mother of the Year award but she never wanted to see Taylor in pain…or unconscious. She was still her daughter after all.

"Oh I'm sorry," somebody said from behind her. "I didn't know anybody was in here."

"And you are?" Veronica asked turning to face the young woman who was in scrubs.

"I'm one of your daughter's nurses," she said walking farther into the room. "My name is Melissa."

"Can you tell me what all these machines are doing?" Veronica asked looking back towards her daughter.

"I could," Melissa said walking up so she was standing beside her. "But it would just be a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo that wouldn't mean anything."

"Why don't we let me be the judge of that?" Veronica asked glaring at the young nurse.

Melissa stared at Ms. Townsend and knew that she should leave. That dealing with the Newport Parents wasn't her forte but looking into her eyes, she was still just a worried Mother deep down.

"It helps if you talk to her," she said softly. "Talk to her about her favorite books…movies. Talk about her favorite TV shows and the music she listens too." Melissa smiled when she looked down at Taylor. "She's going to make it. Look how much she survived so far."

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked confused.

"Nobody told you," Melissa said surprised. "She survived a car accident, the taxi she was in went through a guard rail and crashed about 20 feet below. She somehow pulled herself from the car and crawled a good distance away before passing out." When Veronica just continued to stare at her she shook her head. "I can't believe nobody told you."

"They tried," Veronica muttered before looking away. She looked down at her daughter and for the first time since she could ever remember she wanted to make a wish. She hadn't wished for anything since her eighth birthday when she wished her Mom hadn't left…that wish hadn't come true. But right now she wanted to wish that her daughter was going to be okay. That she would wake up and they could…start over.

"Just talk to her," Melissa said again.

Veronica held up a hand before turning and walking out of the room. She couldn't stand in there and talk to her daughter. She couldn't talk about her favorite book or TV show…her favorite anything. She didn't know any of those things. Veronica Townsend had never failed at anything but she was just beginning to realize that she had failed getting to know her daughter and it didn't sit well with her.

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"Ryan," Seth said for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"I'm not leaving Seth," Ryan said again. "You and I both know that if it was me in that room and Taylor waiting out here, she wouldn't leave. You couldn't pry her out of this waiting room."

"But your parent's wouldn't tell her to get lost like her Mom basically told you," Seth explained.

"I don't care," Ryan said shaking his head. "I can't leave until I know she's going to be okay."

"Maybe I should-" Summer said but Seth covered her mouth with his hand.

"Summer and I will be at home waiting for your phone call to tell us if anything's changed," he said turning to leave the room. He pulled his hand away quickly and glared down at his girlfriend. "Did you just lick me?"

"Did you just cover up my mouth to shut me up?" Summer asked glaring at him right back.

Ryan watched them walk away and shook his head at their antics. The two of them were made for each other. He stood up and paced back and forth trying to formulate a plan that would enable him in seeing Summer. He needed to check on her himself. Getting around Veronica was going to be a major issue but she had to leave sometime-

"What are you doing here?" Veronica asked from behind him.

Ryan froze and took a deep breath before turning around. He saw her standing stiffly in the doorway of the waiting room with her arms crossed over her chest. She was just standing there, tapping one of her feet and glaring at him. "I know you think your reach extends far but I know for a fact you can't kick me out of the public waiting room."

Veronica stared at him and all she could see was a young man who was obviously worried about something and couldn't hide it. She normally saw the hoodlum that Sandy Cohen had drug up here from Chino but she didn't see that anymore. She saw the kid who knew more about her daughter than she did.

"Do you know Taylor's favorite book?" she asked surprising Ryan.

"Uh…it's a book of French poems," Ryan said confused. "She reads one before bed every night."

"Her favorite movie," she asked walking towards him.

"An Anime movie that-well any Anime movie pretty much," Ryan said smiling when he remembered their first…well messed up date. It had been the first moment when Ryan had realized that he could honestly fall for her and that had terrified him. But in the end, running away from something that felt so right was even more terrifying.

"Her favorite song?" Veronica asked sitting down in a chair beside him.

"She would say anything from Coldplay," Ryan said softly sitting down too. "But I know it's really Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun. Whenever that song comes on she goes nuts. She dances and she knows all the words."

"Her favorite TV show?" Veronica said wiping away a stray tear that had fallen.

"That one's easy," Ryan said staring off into space. "It's Desperate Housewives. We've never missed an episode and even though I tell her every week that I don't like the show and I don't care that Carlos and Gabby are no longer together, she still makes me watch it." Ryan looked over at Veronica and he froze when he saw the tears falling down her face. "Ms. Townsend I don't know-"

"Do you know how much it hurts to sit here and know that I've learned more about my daughter in the last 5 minutes than in the last 19 years?" Veronica said softly. "I know what you guys see when you look about me, what you say behind my back. I ridicule her and tear her down again and again. But I know how hard the real world is and…no it doesn't matter."

"Ms. Townsend," Ryan said again.

"The nurse told me to talk to her about her favorite things," Veronica went on. "She says it will help. But I don't know any of Taylor's favorite things." She stood up and walked towards the doorway. "You go in there Ryan. You talk to her about her favorite things and make her wake up. It's you she'd want in there anyways."

Ryan watched her leave before mumbling, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."