Ryan stared at Theresa's house. He was in the Cohens' Range Rover getting up the nerve to go knock on the door. He was nervous, having not seen Theresa for well over a month. But it was now or never. Ryan got out of the car and headed to the door. He didn't knock at first, afraid to. But, much to Ryan's surprise, the door opened and Theresa had already enveloped him in a hug.

"Oh Ryan, thank God you're okay." She said as she continued to hug him. He didn't hug back, still in amazement. Finally, she let go and Ryan could look at her. He could tell she was pregnant. Definitely.

"How did you know I was at the door?" Ryan asked, perplexed.

"I saw you come out of your car from in my room." She confessed. "But how are you? Did you get hurt? I got the newspaper yesterday and the shooting was all over the front page. I've been waiting for today's issue to see if you got hurt. I wanted to call, but I didn't feel it was right." She said urgently.

"Well, I'm okay. But Seth got hurt." Ryan tried to calm her down.

"Is he all right?" Theresa was very concerned.

"He should be coming home today. After he wakes up." Ryan again tried to put her mind at ease.

"He hasn't woken up?" She inquired.

"No."

"Here, come in. I'll put some coffee on." Theresa disappeared inside the house and Ryan followed. He took a seat on the couch as she went to the kitchen to start coffee. A few minutes later she came back out, with two cups. Theresa handed him a cup and sat on the couch next to him. "So..." She didn't know what to say.

"I wanted to see how you were doing." Ryan told her of his true intentions of coming.

"Well, I'm good. Still pregnant." she joked.

"How far are you?" He asked, looking to her stomach.

"Seven months. I'm due in January." Theresa smiled at Ryan.

"Do you know the gender?" Ryan wondered.

"I want it to be a surprise." Ryan didn't say anything after that, deep in thought. As hard as he tried to think of something else, he couldn't. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just.......thinking." Ryan didn't look over, staring at the wall.

"About?" But Theresa already knew the answer.

"About...what happened. I mean, Seth almost died, and plenty of others did. And, it's like we have to go back to that school. It's just...weird, I guess." Ryan answered. He was so confused. But then again, when wasn't he nowadays?

"I know I wasn't there or anything, but I know you'll get through this." Theresa tried to cheer Ryan up. Ryan was about to say something, but his cell phone rang.

"It's Sandy." He said as he checked the phone. He pressed answer and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Ryan. It's Sandy. Where are you?" Sandy asked.

"I'm at Theresa's. Why? What's up?" Ryan wondered why Sandy was calling.

"We just got a call from the hospital saying they wanted to talk to us. Can you get over there?" Sandy sounded as though he was driving.

"I guess. Sure." Ryan answered.

"All right. I'll see you then. Bye." Sandy hung up.

"Bye." Now Ryan was really confused. What was up at the hospital? Was Seth okay?

"What was up with that?" Theresa asked after Ryan hung up.

"I have to go. Sandy wants me at the hospital, I don't know what's up. I guess I'll talk to you later." Ryan began to leave.

"Ryan, wait." Ryan turned around. "Can I come? I kinda wanna see Seth."

"Sure. Come on." Ryan led the way out and to the car. He pulled out, and they drove in silence. Ryan's mind was too preoccupied to talk. He wondered what was up with Seth. Sandy hadn't sounded like Seth was getting released. It sounded as though something was wrong.

The road to the hospital was long and silent. A few times, Theresa looked as though she wanted to say something, but she shut her mouth as the last minute. Ryan kept his eyes on the road, waiting for his turn. He amazed himself by knowing the way to the hospital from Theresa's. He never reached the hospital from Chino. But nevertheless, they reached the hospital and hurried to Seth's floor. Ryan looked around and found Sandy and Kirsten sitting on chairs outside Seth's room.

"How is he?"Ryan asked when he and Theresa reached them.

"We don't know. The doctor said he'd be out in a couple of minutes." Kirsten answered without looking up. When she did, she noticed Theresa right away. "Theresa. What are you doing here?"

"I was at her house when Sandy called." Ryan said.

"I wanted to see how Seth was. I saw the newspaper yesterday and I was worried." Theresa answered after seeing Kirsten's confused face.

"Oh. Theresa, how far are you in your pregnancy?" Kirsten wanted to know.

"Seven months." Theresa answered.

"You know, you're more than welcome to stay with us. At least, until the baby is due. When does you maternity leave start?" Kirsten offered.

"Maternity leave? I hadn't really though of it." Theresa told Kirsten. Sandy nudged Kirsten in the back and Kirsten turned around. The doctor was there. The doctor smiled and nodded. Sandy followed the doctor as he walked away.

"Ryan, come on. You're family." Kirsten urged Ryan to follow.

"Be right back Theresa." He said goodbye and she took a seat in front of Seth's room. Kirsten and Ryan followed, but it wasn't far. The doctor stopped walking.

"Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Cohen. Are you Seth's brother?" The doctor started and looked to Ryan, who nodded. "Anyways, last night as nurse, uh, found something of possible importance. She informed the night shift doctor who began running tests on him, and I concluded them. What we discovered was that...." The doctor didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"What?" Sandy questioned.

"I'm terribly sorry, but Seth...has....fallen into a coma." Everything seemed to be silent. Tears formed in Kirsten's eyes, and she fell into Sandy for support. She couldn't believe this. Her baby. Her son. A coma. He was a vegetable. This wasn't what Kirsten wanted to hear. She wanted to take him home. She wanted him to be okay, responsive.

Ryan leaned on the wall. He didn't know what to say. Everything was going wrong. As soon as something was good, things had to fall apart again. There was no happiness. It was only temporary. Ryan worried about Seth. He was stuck inside himself, not able to move, to talk. He was paralyzed.

"How long is he gonna be in it?" Sandy asked, somehow finding strength. But inside, he was extremely upset. He couldn't let Kirsten know he was weak. She needed him.

"It could be a day, a week, a month, or even a year. There is no approximate amount of time for a person to stay in a coma. It differs every time. Some people never even wake up." The doctor didn't provide much help.

"He'll wake up, won't he?" Kirsten asked, sadly.

"We're very certain that he will. We just don't know when." Some comfort came from the answer. Eventually, he would wake up.

"You can go see him now. You just have to be careful on what you talk about in the room. Hopefully, people in comas do hear everything that we say. And again, I'm terribly sorry." The doctor made his quick exit and left the Cohens and Ryan. Ryan made his way back to Theresa. She'd want to know, and he'd have to tell her. Every step was torture. It was one step closer to Theresa. One step closer to the comatose Seth. Right then, he'd give anything to hear one of Seth's wisecracks. Anything to lighten up the darkness he was shrouded in.

"What? What's up with Seth?" Theresa asked right when Ryan got near. She got up and looked into his blue eyes and saw pain and sadness. He looked at her and could see the concern on her face. Ryan didn't want to tell her, or anyone for that matter. He wanted to run and be as far as he could be from the hospital. "Ryan? What's wrong?" Theresa asked again when he didn't answer.

"He's, he's in a coma." Ryan finally answered as he collapsed into a chair. He couldn't stand up anymore, it hurt him too much. He looked inside Seth's room. Ryan could see him. Sleeping. No, not sleeping. He was paralyzed. Dead to the world. No escape.

"Oh God. How long?" Theresa asked, sitting down next to Ryan, staring at him.

"Nobody knows. Could be a day, could be a month, could be a fucking year." Ryan was pissed. It wasn't fair. What had Seth done to deserve this? Nothing.

"Ryan, it'll be okay. Just, calm down. You guys will get through it." Theresa attempted to reassure him.

"Some people never wake up. What if that's Seth? What if he never wakes up? What if he's gonna be living on that bed for the rest of his life? It's like he's alive. But he's dead. Can't move. Can't talk. Can't even open his freaking eyes." Ryan let his fear become heard. He usually never did this, but he was afraid. What would happen next?

"Ryan, just calm down. It's gonna be okay. He's gonna wake up." Theresa still tried to reassure him.

"Nobody knows that for sure." Ryan never looked to Theresa. He continued staring forward, into Seth's room. Theresa didn't know what else to say. All her attempts at helping Ryan, were, well, not helping. Ryan seemed lost, alone, confused. Like he was just unhelpable. He didn't listen to a thing Theresa said, and Theresa was worried. She knew he was upset, but he had to think positive.

"Ryan, listen to me. That would mean looking at me." Ryan finally tore his gaze from Seth's room, and looked at Theresa. "Ryan, it's gonna be okay. You need to think positive. He's gonna wake up. I don't know when, but he will. You can't lose all hope right away. If everyone lost all hope when something went bad, where would we be today? He's gonna wake up." Theresa tried one last time.

"I'm just worried," was all Ryan could say.

"I know you are, and I am too. But, it's gonna be okay." Theresa smiled at Ryan.

"Do you wanna see him?" Ryan asked.

"Are we allowed?"

"Sure. We just have to be careful on what we say. Supposedly, he can hear everything." Ryan was back.

"Okay." Theresa said and they got up. They tiptoed into the room, afraid to make any noise. And on the bed, the comatose Seth lie, not able to do anything. Theresa hoped he could at least hear them. At least he would know he was loved. She had never seen someone in a coma, except for actors on television. Though it wasn't different from watching someone sleep, but, in a coma, you can't respond to anything.

Ryan stared at his brother. It was strange to know that he was in a coma. What was it like to be in a coma? Another question for Ryan to ask when Seth came to.

"Hey Seth. It's Ryan. I'm here with Theresa. She came to see you." Ryan sat down next to Seth. "We've been pretty worried about you." Ryan realized he shouldn't have said that. "But we shouldn't be, because you're gonna be okay. Summer and Marissa were over yesterday, along with Hailey and Jimmy. I don't know if they're coming today. It's still pretty early, so maybe they will." It was strange talking to someone you knew wouldn't talk back. A one way conversation. Ryan looked to Theresa for help, but she didn't provide any. Theresa didn't say anything; she had taken to looking out the window. So Ryan was left talking to Seth. Ryan felt awkward. He could pretend Seth was just sleeping, about to wake up, but he couldn't. It was a lie. The truth was that Seth was alone while they watched on. Ryan felt bad for this, knowing that maybe Seth could hear them, but couldn't do a thing. Ryan didn't say anymore. He couldn't handle it. He walked out of the room, with Theresa tailing him.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Theresa asked. She looked at him with concern, as he stared at the wall in front of him.

"I can't do it." before Theresa could ask, he continued. "I mean, I can't talk to him like everything's all right when it isn't. I can't talk to him normally when I know he could be like that forever."

"I know it's hard, but you'll get through this. Just stay positive." Ryan didn't say anything to this; he didn't feel like arguing. Ryan just took a seat, and watched the storm begin.

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Many hours later, the storm still raged on. It had stopped for a few hours, only a breather between storms. It was dark, a few hours until it became light again. Her eyes hadn't closed, for she wasn't tired. Sadness had taken over her ever since the day before. She had called, hoping for good news, but there was none. She had retreated to her room, her only place of solitude. She had yet to leave, not wanting to see anyone. All she did was stare out the window, letting her tears fall with the rain.

The thought of him made her feel worse. She thought he would be okay, never to land like he was. He her everything, even if she didn't know it. Seeing him lie there motionless had been hard. She didn't want to see him like that.

Summer took a deep breath. Her pain was overwhelming. Not knowing when Seth would wake up was killing her. It had been, but not knowing he might not wake up for months made it ultimately worse. It was strange to thing there was a time when Summer didn't know Seth. She had grown to love him so much. They were meant to be together, Summer believed that.

Summer watched as a lone car sped by in the dark. The sun was soon to come up, still hiding in behind the clouds. She was waiting for the sun to rise, for it to be a new day. The day that maybe Seth would wake up. It was just as likely as unlikely, so Summer had to at least wish. But what if Seth didn't wake up for a while? A month, maybe two. Or even a year. Summer didn't know how long she would last. She already felt bad, how much more could she feel?

Her room showed a different person than who Summer really was. There was not a single photo of Seth seen, since she never put them up. Not like she had a whole lot. He wasn't the most photogenic person. Summer had photos of her and Marissa, some even with Holly when they were friends. There was nothing drastically different in her room than what it looked like a year and a half ago. Sure, Summer had more clothes, and some more purses, but was that a big difference? Her room was frozen in a simpler time. Where, as Marissa put it, "monotony was major." No one new ever came to Newport, nothing exciting ever happened. But then the catalyst appeared, spinning everything out of control.

Summer got up and went to her closet. As she looked through outfit after outfit, she yearned for something different. She remembered Marissa going through something like this. She threw most of her wardrobe out, used her dad's new money, and changed her style. Summer's style was already pretty exciting, flashy(as in colors) even. So what did Summer want? The only thing she definitely knew she wanted was Seth to wake up. But she had no control over that. Summer was left confused. She stared at her wardrobe frowning. She couldn't change it a lot. She didn't want to be one of those punk, scary, goth people. Now a sporty, boyish, sneaker-wearing person. And what could she really do? It was four in the morning and stormy. But then again, Summer had nothing else to do. Except worry about Seth. And that wasn't super-fun.

Summer fell back on her bed and thought. She hadn't left her room since the night after she visited Seth, and the last human contact she had was the stepmonster bringing the phone sixteen hours ago. She hadn't eaten for quite a while, denying it every time someone offered it to her from the other side of the door. Her stomach grumbled, but she ignored it. Locking yourself in a room means not leaving the room, even for food. Summer tried to find something to preoccupy her mind so she wouldn't think of Seth or food. Staring out the window had amused her for a very long time. But that whole time she thought of Seth. So she couldn't do that. Maybe she could clean up or organize. Summer had heard that calms people. But her room was already clean. She couldn't clean anymore.

Summer's eyes fell upon a stack of books on the floor of her closet. She got up and went over to get a closer look. There were some magazines, an actual book or two, and some yearbooks. She picked up a random yearbook and glanced at the cover before opening it. It happened to be the book for the year before Ryan came. When monotony ruled. When Seth didn't exist.

There were millions of signatures in it. Summer remembered the last time she looked at this yearbook. Her and Seth had been decorating Marissa's room. It had been fun, until Summer found out how much Seth hadn't been liked.

Summer read some of the notes people wrote to her. Since most of the school envied her, they wrote their phone numbers and such, hoping to hang out with her. She never did call them. Summer started looking through the pictures. There were a lot of her and Marissa. They were very popular, after all. She looked for Seth in every picture, but didn't find him. Then she got to the small, individual photos. She scanned for Seth. No luck. Summer did find Marissa's. She looked over to the name list, since Marissa and Seth's last names were quite close to each other. Finally, something caught her eye. Seth Cohen. She looked down the row and there she found him. Right next to Marissa. She couldn't believe it. How many times had she looked at Marissa's picture and never once did she see Seth's. His picture was okay, he wasn't really smiling. But it still brought tears to her eyes.

On and on she continued to stare at all the pictures. She remembered every one of the photos she was in. A couple of times she did find Seth, but he was usually in the background of the picture. Every photo of him made Summer more and more upset. It was sad to think about the way they used to be. How mean, selfish, bitchy her and Marissa were. Summer, Marissa, and Holly hadn't had a real care in the world. If they were upset, right away a hundred or three would land into their hands. It was a good life. A fake life.

Summer flipped to the prom photos. These were from their freshmen year, but still, Marissa, Luke, Summer, and Holly made their way in. All thanks to Summer and Holly. They were dating two seniors, and were invited to the prom, and obviously, Marissa hadn't. She was dating Luke. So they developed a plan. Summer's boyfriend had a friend who actually agreed. This friend invited Marissa and the friend's girlfriend invited Luke. So all six, or eight if you count the friend and his girlfriend, had a great time. The photographer was always by them, ready to shoot at anytime. Summer remembered that night so well. One of the greatest nights in her life, she had to admit.

Summer finally made it to the sports team and clubs, the part her and Seth had looked at. All the clubs first listed Summer happened to be in, for they were the most popular clubs. Staring back at her were Summer, Marissa and Holly, having the greatest time of their life. Then she saw Seth's clubs. He was the only one in them, looking like he was bored out of his mind. Summer hadn't even known those clubs existed. Of course then, she didn't really know Seth had existed.

She finished paging through and she began to fan through them all. Her finger stopped on a page she missed. It was of a dance, the only non-formal one. You didn't have to have a date, you didn't need to dress up, and it was mostly dance songs. Even though you didn't need a date, most people had one. Those dances were by far the most fun and most exciting of them all. Summer smiled as she stared at the photos. There was a great one of Marissa and Luke slow-dancing. They were holding each other close and tight, while sharing a tiny kiss. Another photo showed Summer, Marissa, and Holly breaking into a pose for the camera. They were all smiling and giggling, having a great time. A lot of the photos had Summer and Marissa in them, along with Holly. There was a photo of Summer and a guy named Paul, whom she had been dating for about two weeks, slow-dancing. The picture was perfect, except for the tiniest black blur in the bottom corner.

The last photo was the largest one of them all. It was a shot of most of the dance floor, with everyone slow-dancing. Summer quickly found Marissa and Luke, who were still kissing. Next she found Holly not all that far away from Marissa, kissing and dancing with a random guy. Summer searched for herself. She checked back to the previous photo to figure out what she was around. And then she found it. She was kissing Paul, ignoring everything around her. Then Summer found out that the blur in the previous photo wasn't a blur at all. It was Seth Cohen.

In the larger photo, you could see Seth Cohen by the wall all alone, clearly. Some people were looking, but Photo Summer paid no attention at all. Seth was staring up at her longingly. But from what Summer remembered of that night, she didn't remember there being any person sitting by the wall. But back then, Seth had been invisible to her.

Tears poured from her eyes as she thought of how cruel she had been. Summer thought of all the people she made fun of and hated herself more. Then she thought about Seth and how, after all those years of ridicule and rejection, he still liked her. And with Seth in a coma, that made Summer feel worse. All the sadness she felt an hour ago had quadrupled. She hated herself, and the stupid yearbook. Summer tore out the page. She didn't care, she couldn't get much more eviler. But the yearbook was just a reminder of what she used to be. It made her think back to the time when Seth Cohen didn't exist, and she was the uber-bitch.

So Summer threw the book out the window. She screamed through her tears as the book broke the glass into a million pieces. Thunder cracked overhead as the book fell to the ground. Rain began to fall into her perfect little room, and glass covered the window seat that she had been sitting on for hours. Summer stood there, staring at the broken window. Tears cascaded down her face as she breathed deeply. She felt weak, ready to sleep. But she didn't want to shut her eyes. Summer walked over to the window and felt the rain fall on her. The wind attempted to dry her, whipping her hair around, but there was too much water. Rain was already soaking the seat, and her legs couldn't keep her up anymore. She fell to the floor. There luckily was no glass there, and Summer just lie there, staring at her ceiling, hating herself and what she used to be more and more every second. But she couldn't change it. It already happened.

Summer curled into a ball. She leaned on the wall, rocking herself. She missed Seth, and wanted to apologize for all the pain she caused him over all the years. But he was stuck inside himself, paralyzed. Summer couldn't stay awake anymore. So she gave up, closing her eyes tight, ultimately then letting her waves of nightmares come crashing in.