NEWPORT AGAIN
Ryan and Marissa arrived safely at 11 pm. They got their stuff and knocked on the Cohen's door.
"Ryan! Marissa! It's good to see you. I'm kind of shocked. Kirsten and I weren't expecting you until next Thanksgiving." Sandy yawned.
"Sorry to bother you at 11 in the evening. I don't know if you heard but Caitlin's been in an accident. We were wondering if we could just stay here for a couple days?" Ryan didn't bother calling Kirsten or Sandy ahead of time.
"Of course! You know you both are welcome here anytime. And yes, Julie did call. We dropped by the hospital earlier this evening."
"Is she doing okay? What exactly happened?" Marissa worriedly ask.
"She got into a car accident driving home. Don't worry, she's related to Julie Cooper, making her a fighter. A few stitches and bruises but nothing fatal. She'll be just fine." Sandy informed her.
"Well, that's good to hear" Ryan added, trying to bring comfort to Marissa.
"Yeah." She shivered.
"Where are my manners, come inside. I'll go get Kirsten and get the guest room ready, Ryan you know where your room is."
Marissa called out to Sandy, "No, it's okay. I've stayed here a couple times in the past, I know my way around. You don't have to wake anyone up. Just go back to bed, I'll be fine. Thank you for everything. And besides, I think I'm just gonna drop my stuff off and head to the hospital."
"I'll drive." Ryan offered.
Sandy didn't put up a fight, just nodded in agreement, yawned, and headed straight to bed.
/
Ryan yawned in the car, on the way to the hospital.
"You should have just stayed. You drove all the way here, you need to sleep. Plus, Sandy said Caitlin's fine. I'm just going to check up on my mom and her."
"Sleep or no sleep. I'm here for you and I don't plan on leaving." They both blushed after his comment.
"So...I've been meaning to ask you something." Marissa stated. For the longest time, Summer has been nagging her to talk to Ryan and clear things up with him, about Lily and where they stand. Ryan looked at her, anticipating what she was going to say next. "...ever since the welcome back dinner, things between us have been kind of..."
"Weird." He finished for her. "Sorry, continue."
"No, yeah. You're right, weird. And Awkward. And before I left in a hurry from JJ's we briefly touched on it as well. And..." Marissa then remembered Ryan trying to tell her something. 'I was just wondering...' he started to say. "Wait, you were about to tell me something as well. I totally forgot when I left. What were you going to say?"
Damn it. Here we go, he thought. Maybe she can start. Make things easier. "Oh no you don't. You can't just start something and leave it off, switching the spotlight to me. You go first, then I'll go."
"What I have to say can wait, you go. I rudely left while you were talking. Please finish."
"Nice try. But ladies first."
"Ryan Atwood, since when were you polite?" She joked.
"Since always. Chino's a very sophisticated place, you know." He sarcastically said.
"Look at you and your sarcastic remarks...Stop hanging out with Seth so much." They both laughed.
"Well, hopefully it rubs off. But stop changing the subject. Things between us have been weird. Comfortable one second then...awkward. So you were saying..?" He pressed on, pulling into the hospital parking lot.
"We're here. I have a worried mother and an injured sister to attend you, we'll talk later." She rushed out of the car.
/
Marissa walked to the front desk at the hospital, with Ryan not so far behind following her.
"Hi, I was just wondering what room Caitlin Cooper is checked in? I'm her sister, Marissa."
"Hold on a second, Marissa, I'll go look it up right now." And the nurse began typing frantically. "Ah ah! Here we go. She's on the 2nd floor, room 211."
"Thank you." She motioned Ryan over and they both went to the elevator going to the 2nd floor.
As they awkwardly stood in the elevator in silence, Ryan spoke up.
"We have maybe 15 seconds in here, tell me." He said, half jokingly-half serious.
She looked over at Ryan and smiled at him. "I need more than 15 seconds."
As Marissa ran over to room 211, she saw Caitlin asleep and her mom sitting on a chair beside the bead, trying her best not to fall asleep.
"Mom," Marissa went over to hug her mother.
"Marissa! Oh thank you so much for coming." Julie replied, squeezing the air out of Marissa with her hug. "I know school just started and..."
"Mom, it's okay. I wanted to be here. Is Caitlin okay?"
"Yeah, she just got into a minor car accident. How many times do I have to tell your sister, no texting while driving? Anyways, just a few stitches and bruises, but she'll be fine." Julie then noticed Ryan at the door. "Ryan! You came as well?"
"Yeah, I couldn't let Marissa walk to Newport. And plus, no matter how badly Caitlin treats me sometimes, I had to check up on her myself." Both Julie and Marissa smiled. Over the years, those occasions the Fab Four and Caitlin all hung out together, Ryan and Caitlin have developed a brother-sister-love-hate relationship.
"Where are you two staying? I mean, Marissa, Summer is gone back to school–" Julie asked in concern.
"Don't worry, Sandy and Kirsten let us in for the next couple of days." Ryan interjected.
"Mom?" Caitlin woke up.
"Hey sweetie. Look who came to see you." Caitlin looked over to see her sister standing there
"Hey Caitlin" Marissa came over to hug her sister. "How're you feeling."
"Good. The painkillers help." Caitlin sees Ryan standing at the end of her bed. "And what are you doing here?" she teased.
"Good to see you too" they both laughed.
The next few hours Caitlin, Julie, Marissa, and Ryan sat there, catching up with their lives; mainly Caitlin, Marissa, and Julie, talking about their lives and Ryan adding into the conversation here and there.
Caitlin noticed Ryan yawn. "Sorry for boring you, Ry."
"Sorry," Ryan slightly embarrassed.
"You should go sleep. I'll stay here with my mom and Caitlin. Just drop by tomorrow morning."
"You want me to bring you some spare clothes or something?" He offered.
"Sure, and breakfast please." Marissa pleaded with puppy dog eyes.
He noticed her lower lip pout and laughed, "Well how could I say no to that. Goodnight, I'll see you all tomorrow." Ryan hugged Marissa and left.
"Wow, sis, when will you two just make it official? It's been like this since...I think forever." Caitlin teased.
"Your sister's right. I think everyone is getting impatient. Just make this thing official already." Julie added.
Marissa looked at her mom and sister and blushed, "I don't know. I just..." she paused and turned to Julie, "Since when were you a Marissa/Ryan fan?
Julie laughed. She and Caitlin continued to nag Marissa while Marissa would deny it, even though deep down, she wished the same thing. When will she and Ryan just be together again?
