Ryan was lying in his bed, still thinking. Sandy had been in earlier, telling him that Trey had been moved from the Emergency Ward. "A little worse for wear, but he'll pull through."

In some ways Ryan was relieved, after all, he is his brother. But after all that Trey had done, his anger had not diminished. The stealing, the drugs he could handle, but hurting Marissa? Even his near-death wasn't enough to drain out his hatred.

He thought solely about Marissa, hoping she was alright.

Marissa stood outside Ryan's room not making a sound. She had been standing there for nearly half an hour, trying to build up the strength to see his face. She sat there, frozen and terrified. She had seen Sandy at the hospital's entrance. He had been full of nothing but sympathy and he too encouraged her move to talk to Ryan.

Still though, she could not bear to face him. She looked through her bag for her watch, it was right down the bottom. She looked deeper, but at that moment, the bag slipped from her grasp. The bag dropped to the ground, making a loud thump and causing everything to fall out. "Damn!" Marissa groaned

Ryan heard. And looked up, his spirits lifting. "Marissa?"

Marissa stopped immediately. Her heart began to pound.

"Is that you?"

Marissa sighed. No point in hiding anymore. She gathered her bag back together and walked into the room. She stopped at the doorway. A fresh lump arose in her throat.

They both looked at each other for a long time, neither of them saying a word. By now the tears were falling again from her eyes. Finally, Marissa walked gingerly towards Ryan and sat on a chair in front of him. She looked down sadly, her hands in her lap. Suddenly Marissa felt Ryan's hand in her own. He squeezed hard.

Marissa's heart skipped a beat and she looked at him again. "I'm sorry. Sorry for everything!" she sobbed, "If only I'd told you earlier, none of this would ever have happened."

"I know," Ryan said softly.

"I didn't want you to get hurt, or Trey! But when I saw him choking you like that… I thought he was going to kill you. It was either you or him.

"I know," he stroked her hair as Marissa cried into his chest. He let her cry for nearly five minutes.

"I love you," Ryan said when she looked up again. "Nothing will change that."

Marissa still cried, "But Trey, he-"

"Trey is my past. I love him, and I always will. But you're the one I will stand by. Together."

She kissed his hand, "I feared you would never look at my face again."

Ryan smiled weakly, "Together."