Nurse Karen was walking along the corridor of the ICU unit when she heard high pitched beeping coming from Ryan Atwood's room. Rushing in she discovered a woman lying motionless on the floor, and Ryan Atwood's body in cardiac arrest. Frantically she pushed his alarm and yelled for help down the corridor.

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"Hey sweetie" Julie cooed as her daughter wearily opened her eyes. Pain surged through her head at the brightness of the room and she quickly shut them again.

"What…where..?" Marissa's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"You passed out when you went to visit Ryan. He went into cardiac arrest which alerted one of the nurses, and they came in and found you as well."

At this Marissa's eyes shot open in utter fear. "Is Ryan still…is he ok?"

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"Mr Cohen?"

Sandy's head leapt from his chest as he answered the doctor. "Yes, that's me."

"We have some news on Ryan." Kirsten's hand tightened its grip on Sandy's. "Ryan seems to have got through this blip; his condition is stabilised again. He's not giving up just yet." The Cohen's breathed a sigh of relief; once again Ryan had refused to leave them.

"Do you – know what caused him to go into cardiac arrest?" Sandy questioned.

The doctor frowned slightly as he responded. "I have to tell you it was somewhat unusual – though of course nothing about Ryan's case is normal – but it appears Ryan's body was suddenly under immense strain; his body was incredibly stressed. It seems like he tried, subconsciously, to physically exert himself, to the point that it caused too much strain on his heart."

"Marissa." Kirsten uttered under her breathe. Sandy nodded. "Is it feasible this could've been caused by Marissa Cooper passing out?"

The doctor sighed heavily. "Medically speaking, it is highly unlikely that Ryan would be aware of or be able to respond to her losing conciousness. On the other hand, speaking as an old romantic, I guess you could say he sensed she was in danger."

Kirsten smiled weakly. "That's our Ryan."

"Ultimately, I would take encouragement from the fact Ryan has got through this stage of the ordeal; having survived this gives is hope that he may take further steps towards recovery."

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"Hello Ryan," a voice said stiffly.

Julie Cooper sat tentatively in his bedside chair. Her usually perfect visage had slipped; bags lined her eyes and her make up free face had a red, puffy tint to it.

Clearly her throat softly, she began talking – quietly, timidly. "Umm…ok, so we've never talked a lot – and that's particularly due to me. I know we've rarely seen eye to eye on…life, particularly when it comes to Marissa. But recently, I've had to do a lot of growing up, made changes to my life, and now I can see – and can admit – that the way I treated you was wrong. When you came into our lives, my community, you were like a blast from the past; you remembered me exactly of where I came from and what I so easily could've become. And that scared me. And I was scared for Marissa as well; I knew what guys from Riverside were like, and I wanted to protect her from that. Recently I've realised and come to accept that that view isn't necessarily accurate and was naïve.

Out of all the guys – well, people – Marissa's been with, you're the only one who's really been there for her through thick and thin. And she's undoubtedly been happiest when she's with you.

I guess what I'm trying to say, Ryan, is…thank you. Thank you for always being there for her; thank you for not giving up and abandoning her when I made things difficult for you. Thank you for saving her life, for saving my baby. You're just about the only person that would've been able to save her from that car, and you did it, even when you could've taken the selfish – albeit sensible – route and just given up when you were out of the car.

So many people want, no NEED, you to wake up. And if – no, WHEN, you wake up, I, erm, I want you to know that if things progress romantically with Marissa, then you have my blessing." Julie's cheeks flushed as she allowed a wry smile to cross her face. Bet you never thought you'd have rattled off that speech to Ryan Atwood a few years ago.