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Chapter Seventeen

An Old Friend

Hours had passed since Marissa's operation had come to an end and night had once again claimed New Port Beach. The waiting room was nearly empty now, with only Hailey, Seth and Summer sitting in the hard plastic chairs, waiting to hear if the operation was really a success. Marissa's family and Ryan had been in her hospital room ever since Dr. Browning had come to tell them that he believed the operation to be successful. Sandy and Kirsten had gone back to the Cohen house to see what food they could throw together to make another dinner to be eaten in the hospital waiting room.

Hailey sighed as she threw her legs over the metal arm rests of the chairs, stretching out as best she could with her head resting on Jimmy's jacket and her hair tangled around her face. "I'm hungry." She mumbled, more to herself then to the teenagers around her. "I hope Kirsten brings dinner soon, because I am really not looking forward to another meal out of the vending machines."

Seth nodded off-handedly, but his mind was far from what his aunt was saying; he was worried for Marissa, but most of his thoughts belonged to the quiet girl sitting beside him. He still hadn't gotten used to how quiet Summer was now, how she sat nearly motionless with a blank expression on her face and images behind her round eyes. Images that were causing her to act this way, images he couldn't even begin to understand. Seth looked over at Summer, and took her hand, squeezing gently; Summer returned his gaze, looking as though she wanted to smile but couldn't.

Hailey mumbled something more about being hungry and then remained silent, realizing now wasn't the time to be complaining, even half-heartedly. She'd been through worse and never opened her mouth, it wouldn't be hard to be quiet now.

And so, the waiting room was silent, with the three people inside left to their own thoughts, waiting for news about Marissa.

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When Marissa awoke, she felt like her entire head was stuffed full of cotton; cotton in her ears, her eyes, her nose, her throat. But mostly her head, which felt heavy and groggy and she wondered if she could even lift it off the pillows behind her. Thoughts swarmed in her head uncontrollably and it was hard for Marissa to get a handle on anything. Finally, her thoughts began to dissolve and a dizziness filled her head, her throat and mouth dry and she had to force her stomach not to flip.

Marissa opened one eye cautiously, fearing an assault by the lights in the room, but the lights were dim and she could see that it was night outside. Her other eye opened and his gaze instantly feel upon Ryan, who was holding her hand and looking half asleep, his hair falling across his face at messy angles. The sight of him would have made her smile if not for the heaviness of her head and the dull pain in her back; seeing him also made her remember everything that had happened hours ago: the operation.

"Ryan." Marissa mumbled, her voice scratchy and dull because of her dry tongue. Her words were little more then a whisper but they were enough to cause Ryan to lift his head and fully open his eyes.

At the sound of their daughter's voice, Julie and Jimmy also looked in her direction; Jimmy felt a smile begin to curl up the corners of his lips. She was finally awake, they were finally going to know if the operation had been successful or not.

Ryan smiled as well, sitting up straighter. "Hey baby." He said, his voice barely above a whisper either, a sign that he hadn't spoken in a few hours. "How are you feeling?"

Marissa thought for a moment. "Like I'm going to throw up." She admitted, her voice cracking slightly. The pain in her back was getting worse and she attempted to remain as still as possible, unwilling to bring further pain upon herself.

Julie knelt by her daughter's beside and gently touched her cheek. "How else do you feel?" She questioned and Marissa looked at her with a slightly confused look on her face. "I mean, do you feel anything else?" It was the question they all wanted an answer too but dreaded asking, for fear of getting the answer they weren't prepared for.

Marissa remembered now: the reason for the operation; she looked down at her feet, laying motionless beneath the thin hospital sheets. It was the first time she realized that she could faintly feel the fabric brushing against the tops of her toes, something she hadn't felt before. Slowly, she attempted to move her big toe; the motion caused the ache in her back to return but she didn't notice, the fact that her toe responded taking up all her attention.

Ryan watched her closely, silently, as she curled her toes; he couldn't think of anything to say, his mind completely overwhelmed. The operation had been a success! Marissa would be able to walk again, she was going to be all right, everything was going to be all right. He squeezed her hand tightly and she looked over at him, her eyes wide with unshed tears.

"It worked." She whispered, her voice hoarse, so low that she could barely hear herself.

Jimmy was standing beside Julie, about to ask his daughter to speak up, when Dr. Browning and another surgeon they had never seen before entered the room. "Good to see you're awake Marissa." Browning said, standing near the bottom of Marissa's bed. "How to you feel?"

Marissa could only nod, not trusting herself to speak at the moment, only able to think of one thing. It had worked, she was going to be able to walk again. That was the only thought repeating through her head.

"Marissa," Began the other doctor, one that she vaguely recognized from the moments before she was administered the anesthetic. "I like you to move your toes, one by one, on your left foot. Can you do that?"

Marissa did as he asked, ignoring the dull ache in her back, looking down at her feet as though she had never seen anything quite like them. She had tried moving her toes in the long nights when she was awake alone, feeling broken and defeated when they didn't even twitch. But now, now her toes were moving just as they always had, and if it hadn't been for the pain in her back, Marissa would have been happy to pretend nothing had ever happened.

"Very good." Said the other doctor, nodding once. "Though we can't be sure of anything until Marissa begins physical therapy and actually stands up, I believe the operation was a complete success."

Ryan squeezed Marissa's hand tightly, a smile on his face; he didn't think he'd ever heard better news before. "That's great." He said, giving Marissa a quick kiss on he lips as he stood. "That's so great." He gave her another kiss.

"Where are you going?" Marissa questioned, watching him stand with a slightly confused expression on her face. She had never seen Ryan so absolutely happy, and it made her feel even more relieved then she already was. Everything really was going to be all right after all.

Ryan gave her another quick kiss. "I'll be right back." He assured her, hurrying out of the room, ignoring the raised eyebrow looks the doctors were giving him. He headed down the hallway toward the waiting room, feeling as though a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders, a great weight taken off his heart.

In the waiting room, Hailey looked like she was asleep, stretched out across the uncomfortable chairs with her arm thrown over her eyes, blocking out the light. Summer and Seth were playing Charades, with Seth acting out something and Summer staring at him like he had gone crazy. As soon as Ryan rushing into the room, everyone looked in his direction, including Hailey, who nearly rolled off her chairs.

"Marissa can walk again." Ryan declared, the grin still on his face, growing wider with every second. "She can walk again."

Before anyone could say even a single word, Ryan had turned around and was tearing out of the room once again, heading down the hallway toward the cafeteria and the gift shop. Seth raised an eyebrow and called out, "Where are you going?" Ryan was too far ahead to answer.

Summer smiled slightly. "Coop's all right." She said, sounding more like her old self then she had in the past few days. She quickly got to her feet. "I have to go see her." She grabbed Seth's wrist and tugged him toward the hallway; Seth followed dutifully, happy to see Summer happy.

Hailey was alone in the room before she even realized that she was. "That's great." She said to no one, since she hadn't had the chance to even open her mouth before Ryan had sped off again. "That's the best news I've heard in a long time." She got to her feet, yawned, and headed off in the direction of Marissa's hospital room.

The gift shop wasn't far from the waiting room and Ryan reached it within seconds, eager to buy Marissa's bouquet as quickly as possible in order to get back to her. He hurried past the clerk on duty so fast that he didn't even glance in her direction and headed toward the back of the store, where the wall was lined with refrigerators filled with bouquets of all shapes and varieties.

Ryan stared into the glass case, his own faint reflection staring back at him and he saw just how big the smile was on his face; he felt like telling everyone he came across that Marissa was all right, that the girl he loved was going to be okay.

Figuring he only had about ten dollars in his pocket, Ryan decided to go with a medium bouquet of tiger lilies and some other flower he couldn't identify, since lilies were Marissa's favorite flower. He carefully retrieved the bouquet, wrapped in cellophane paper, and headed back toward the checkout desk. He paused for a moment, studying a tiny stuffed bear holding a large stuffed heart.

"Ryan?" He looked up, trying to figure out who had spoken his name. "Ryan Atwood." He recognized the voice even before his eyes found the speaker.

Teresa Ramirez was standing beside the counter with a smile upon her face, eyes sparkling with recognition, her dark hair falling across her powder-pink uniform which bore the hospital logo and a nametag. "Ryan Atwood." She repeated with a nod, her grin growing wider.

Ryan was surprised that his mouth didn't drop open, he was so surprised to see Teresa standing in front of him; the last time he saw her had been in Chino, when he and Marissa had gone down for Thanksgiving. She looked a little different, but her face was still that of the girl he had grown up with, the one he had down musicals with and spent long, boring hours with. "Teresa." He said, a smile appearing on his face as well. "What are you doing here?"

"No 'how are you' or 'what's new?'" Teresa questioned with a smile. "Same old Ryan."

Ryan stepped closer to her. "How are you?" He questioned, unable to help himself. "What's new? What are you doing here?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Work's hard to find in Chino." She answered. "Not much has changed since you left."

Ryan nodded, he knew exactly how difficult it was to find a decent paying job, or any paying job, in Chino; times were always hard, money was always tight. "You look good." He told her, laying Marissa's bouquet on the counter, the flower's momentarily forgotten. "A little different but good."

Teresa said the same about him and added, "It's hard to keep your figure when you're four months pregnant."

This time, Ryan's mouth did drop open. "Pregnant?" He repeated, as though he hadn't heard correctly. Teresa nodded, confirming his words. "When? Who?" His best friend was pregnant at seventeen.

"You remember Eddie Jones, right?" Teresa questioned and Ryan nodded. Eddie Jones and Ryan's brother, Trey, had been best friend's growing up. "Well, he proposed a couple of months ago and we got married. And now I'm pregnant."

Ryan let her words sink in for a moment. "You and Eddie." He mused slowly. "I never would have guessed, you two never got along."

Teresa nodded, smiling at his words. "Yeah, who knew all those years when he was pushing me in the mud and braiding worms into my hair that he really liked me." She sighed, almost wistfully. "I'm happy, Ryan, for once I'm actually happy." She looked him directly in the eye as she spoke, as though trying to read his thoughts. She wondered how life in New Port had been treating him, if he was happy after having escaping Chino.

"That's great, Teresa." Ryan said and his words were genuine and so was his smile. "Things sure have changed since I left."

Teresa nodded. "Yeah, they have." She agreed, her voice taking on a wistful tone again. "But I think they're finally changing for the better." Ryan smiled. "So, how's New Port life going?"

Ryan sighed, unsure of where to begin. "You remember my girlfriend, Marissa?" Teresa nodded. "She's in the hospital."

Teresa's eyes went wide. "My God, why?" She questioned, sounding honestly worried about the girl she had only met once. She had liked Marissa when they had met during Thanksgiving, she was such a sweet girl and it tugged at her heart to think of something bad happening to her.

Another sigh escaped Ryan's lips. "I don't really know where to begin." He mumbled. "There was this kid, Oliver, who was obsessed with Marissa and he locked her in his penthouse apartment. When I came to get her, he shot her and then shot himself." Teresa's eyes remained wide throughout his short explanation. "She was paralyzed but the doctors preformed this operation and now she can walk again." He couldn't keep from smiling at those words.

Teresa gestured toward the flowers. "So I'm guessing these are for her." She said, punching a few numbers into the cash register and ringing up the bouquet. "I'm glad she's all right, Ryan."

Ryan nodded in agreement, pulling out his wallet and handing Teresa a crumpled ten dollar bill. Teresa put the bill in the register and Ryan retrieved the bouquet. She smiled at him. "I'm glad I got to see you Ryan, it was nice catching up."

"Well, we still have a lot of catching up to do." Ryan pointed out. "I want to hear all about everything I've been missing."

Teresa nodded. "Okay, we'll have lunch one day." She agreed with a smile. "You'd better be in touch, Ryan Atwood."

Ryan smiled. "It's a promise." They bid each other goodbye and Ryan walked out of the gift shop, Marissa's bouquet nestled in his hands. He thought about seeing Teresa, about how she was married and had a baby on the way; things sure had changed, Chino wasn't the same anymore. He couldn't help but think, for a fleeting moment, if Teresa would still be married to Eddie if he had stuck around; there had always been something between them, despite the unspoken agreement that they would never be anything more then friends.

Whether or not Teresa would still be a married woman was beside the point; Ryan was just happy to have seen her.

Marissa's hospital room was crowded with people by the time Ryan returned; Summer had taken his seat beside her bed, the two friends looking almost happy again. Jimmy and Julie were crowded beside their daughter's bed and Hailey was nearby, not looking out of place but not appearing exactly comfortable either.

Marissa looked away from Summer when Ryan entered and smiled when her eyes settled upon the bouquet in his hands. "Ryan, they're beautiful." She told him, smiling the cluster of flowers when he handed the bouquet to her. She smiled again. "Thank you."

Hailey took one of the old vases and headed into the bathroom to fill it with water, seeming pleased to be able to make herself useful. Marissa unwrapped the flowers from their cellophane and neatly arranged them in the water filled vase Hailey provided.

Ryan stood next to Summer's chair, taking Marissa's hand and kissing her knuckles gently; Marissa smiled at him, reminded again of just how much she loved him. "Marissa, you remember Teresa, don't you? My friend from Chino?" Ryan said suddenly. Marissa nodded, though she wasn't sure what Teresa had to do with anything. "She works at the gift shop now, I just ran into her."

Seth looked over at him. "That is so weird." He said, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Ryan. In the weeks following Ryan's arrival at the Cohen house, he had told Seth about Teresa and how he once thought that they might get together, despite the fact that they were just friends. Seth's words and look were a not so subtle reminder to Ryan about their conversation.

Ryan chose to ignore both of these reminders. "Yeah, she's married to this guy, Eddie, now and she's pregnant with his kid." He added. "It's weird how things change."

Marissa studied him carefully, noticing the way his eyes seemed to light up when he mentioned Teresa; she knew that he and Teresa had been friends since they were little but sometimes friends turned into something more. Don't be stupid, she told herself, rolling her eyes Ryan loves you, you know that. It's obvious. But she couldn't help but wonder... "Are you going to see her again?" Marissa had asked the question before she even realized it.

Ryan looked at her and nodded. "I want to catch up on what been going on." He told her and Marissa didn't know how she felt by his answer.

They're just friends, Marissa reminded herself firmly and forced herself to smile. Ryan was allowed to have friends, after all. And they were friends...right? Of course, that was all they were: friends.

Hailey yawned again and Jimmy looked over at her. "I think I'll head back to Kirsten's house, tell her the good news." She suggested.

"I'll go with you." Jimmy suggested and Hailey smiled. She had misjudged him earlier, thinking that he wouldn't like her anymore after he learned the truth about her recent lifestyle.

Jimmy kissed Marissa on the forehead before promising to be back soon and he and Hailey headed out of the hospital room and toward the elevator. On the ride down, Jimmy reached out and took her hand, and Hailey looked over at him and smiled.

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The porch lights were on when Jimmy pulled into the Cohen's driveway. He stepped out of his car and hurried around to her side to open the door for her; Hailey smiled as she stepped out as well. No one had ever opened the door for her before. He took her hand again as they walked up the driveway, stopping on the porch; Jimmy studied her for a moment, seeing how she was still beautiful in spite of her black eye and split lip.

Jimmy cleared his throat. "I'm glad you came back, Hailey." He told her and Hailey couldn't help but smile.

"I think I might stick around for a while now." She told him. "What reason do I have to leave?"

Jimmy smiled as well, leaning forward and kissing her gently; she returned his kiss, wrapping her arms loosely around his waist. When the kiss was finally broken, a smile was still on her face. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jimmy." She said.

"Night, Hailey." Jimmy gave her another quick kiss on the cheek before Hailey opened the front door and stepped inside the house that belonged to her sister. Jimmy remained standing on the front stoop for a moment, a smile on his face. He wished Hailey hadn't left so quickly but they had plenty of time to be together. Jimmy turned and headed back to his car, thinking only of Hailey.

Hailey shut the door quietly behind her, wondering if Kirsten and Sandy were still awake and turned around, leaning against the door, a soft smile on her face. She was startled to see Kirsten peeking her head out from the kitchen, her eye brow raised. Hailey sighed. "Don't you think I'm a little old to be spied on?"

Kirsten didn't say anything at first. "Look, Hailey, you're my sister and I love you but Jimmy's one of my oldest friend's and I love him too and I don't want to see you hurt him." She said and the smile disappeared from her sister's face. "If you're planning on leaving in a few days, please tell him, but it breaks my heart to see him so upset every time you blow out of town."

"I don't plan on hurting him." Hailey answered, no malice in her voice because there was nothing but honest concern in Kirsten's. "I think," She paused, trying to figure out what she was about to say, "I think that I really might be in love with him."

Hailey's words caught Kirsten off guard but she smiled nonetheless. "At least you've finally met a decent guy this time."

Hailey nodded; Kirsten was more right then she could ever realize. She walked away from the door and joined Kirsten, the two sisters embracing quickly. Hailey smiled at her older sister. "I think so too."

Kirsten smiled. "I hope you stick around, Hailey." She said. "I miss you when you're gone."

Hailey's smile grew wider; she really did love her sister. "I miss you too." A moment of silence passed between them before she spoke again. "So, what's for dinner? I'm starving."