Thanks everyone once again for the great comments! Like always, very much appreciated! Ok, well I've had one or two people wondering whether I have forgotten about that little thing called the Ring! Never fear!

This chapter is full-on Ryan and Marissa! I just hope I do them justice! As always, please keep up the wonderful feedback!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything of the OC.

Marissa woke and it was dark. She'd been out of it all day and well into the night so it took her a while to realise where she was. She glimpsed at her watch. It read a minute passed midnight.

She rubbed her eyes before remembering how much her bruises still hurt. She winced with pain and quickly desisted. The sound of silence was agonising in her ears and she soon concluded it was useless trying to rest until morning.

For a moment, all Marissa did was lie there, looking up at the ceiling, reflecting on the recent events. The memory of the crash was still so crisp in her mind. She'd never felt such terror in her life.

She sat up and through the darkness felt around for the switch of the lamp. When the light came on, Marissa noticed immediately the note that was lying on the beside-table. She picked it up and as soon as she read the simple, yet powerful words, the wash of feeling surged through her stomach. She read Summer's hand writing.

Coop! Ryan 4.26!

Get well soon sweetie!

Love S.

Marissa's breathing jagged, emotion reviving in her throat. An immediate film of haze glazed her eyes. Timidly she rose from the bed and pulled on her slippers and her warm, oversized Harbor sweater that her mother had left. She stood at her door, contemplating the thoughts that chased in her mind. She felt the pounding beat of her heart against her chest. The glassiness of her eyes could be distinguished in the dark, deserted corridors.

She took a deep, determined breath and began the two-level walk up to his room.

The walk was one of the longest she'd ever taken. Every step brought her closer, and with every movement her insides ached. She wasn't sure whether this was the feeling of excitement or of nervousness, but whatever it was, it strangled her.

The memories kept revolving around her head, so many sights and sounds! The screaming horn of the truck, the splintering glass, the scraping roof below her, the eerie silence that hung as she struggled to break free… the sight of him there, not moving… it was almost too much for Marissa to bear. Would her head explode? She thought it would.

Finally, Marissa found herself standing outside the room… his room. He was in there…

She checked the room number, just making sure she was in the right place, though she knew she was. There, like a ghost seeping through the cracks in the wall, she lingered, grasping the handle of the closed door. She cursed at herself. Just open the door! But she couldn't do it. It's not hard!

She remained, caressing the metal grip, and all of a sudden, cherished recollections of her visits to the poolhouse came floating back into her mind. For a suspended moment all she could do was dwell on that day, that fresh summer morning, when her life turned upside down…

Marissa opened her blurry eyes and scraped out a heavy layer of fairy dust. Her head hammered and her vision was blotched. Where the hell am I! She looked around, totally bewildered. Even with a blistering hangover she had the sense to know that she had never been here before.

She was lying in a large double bed; there was a glass door with blinds and she was surrounded by handsome cream walls. Nervously, she sat up and surveyed herself. She was still in her blue jeans and red-striped top. Her loosely hanging hair was dry and tangled. Must have gone out hard, she thought, but still! Where was she?

She looked around still, and then suddenly caught her eye on the sleeping figure in the corner of this alien place. He bore a purple bruise on his cheek, and his wife-beater was dirty and discoloured. His sandy-blonde hair was impossibly messy and his muscular arms lay limply under his head. And those eyes! Even behind his closed eyelids, she could recall them so clearly. She'd memorised them, those passionate, soft eyes with their honest gaze. They held so many secrets, stories, histories…

Quickly, not wanting to wake him, she made a silent escape. She slid off the bed, gingerly slipped out of the door and then ran hard out next door to her own room, before she got sprung by her parents. He would never know it then, but from that moment on, Marissa Cooper loved Ryan Atwood.

A loving, absentminded smile formed on her face. Even four years on, that chapter in her life still felt so real, so tender. She would always cherish that moment, for the rest of her life.

Now with inner strength, and a sense of tranquillity fulfilling her heart, Marissa finally opened the door. The click of the latch echoed throughout the entire floor in the constant silence. Marissa stepped inside.

And there he was.

When she saw him, the knots in her veins re-looped. He was there. Just sleeping. As she stepped closer the damage on his face became clearer. Where his head had impacted with the steering wheel there was a white square bandage. Where the hurdling glass had pierced his skin, bruises and scratches dappled his face. He looked so broken against the steady sounding of his pulse. He was no longer invincible, the way Marissa had always known him as. Tears filled her eyes.

There was a chair facing into the bed. Silently, with her eyes fixed on Ryan, she took a seat. As tears began to slide down her cheeks, Marissa slipped her hand into his and embraced it firmly. She took a moment to look at him, the love as strong as it had been that yesterday summer's morning. She leant in and lightly kissed his still hand and then rubbed it along her cheek. She closed her eyes, taking in the feeling, causing a strong flow of wetness to escape from them.

"Oh, Ryan!" she wept, "I'm so sorry! Everything was all my fault! I… I'm so sorry I put you through this. I don't know how I would've live with myself if…"

She forced herself to take a long breath.

"Please wake up, Ryan. Please!" She whispered into his ear, stroking his sandy blades of hair with her gentle fingers. "Let me see your eyes."

Those beautiful, subtle eyes she loved so. Please… Please…

Marissa wrapped her arms lightly around him, and laid her head gently against his neck. Her chin rested on his strong shoulder, and she closed her eyes again, taking in the steady motion of his breathing.

She stayed like that for hours. Even in his oblivion, Marissa found his mere presence soothing. Lost in the memories, their story-book past, Marissa felt herself falling asleep, her blinking becoming frequent, and the heaviness of her eyelids growing in weight with each flutter.

Falling…

Falling…

But suddenly, Marissa felt Ryan's hand flinch in hers. Everything froze. Marissa's heart skipped. Was it just a dream? But it felt so real! She rose from her position, her eyes large and wide, looking down on him. She squeezed her hand back at him, desperate for a response.

"Ryan?" she gasped. Her heartbeat danced.

Then, his whole body began to move. Indescribable sensations soared through her body, and again tears flooded her eyes.

"Ryan!"

Oh please! Come on! Marissa prayed.

And at last, after all this time, Ryan's eyelids trembled and they opened, revealing those same tranquil blue eyes Marissa knew so well and loved so much.

He blinked, and saw her face and smiled.

"Hey," he whispered in a weak, hoarse voice. He spoke.

And at that, Marissa broke down, the agony washing away with every falling tear.

Ryan looked into her beautiful face, "You're crying!"

She didn't reply. She just dug her head into his neck and kept weeping, thanking all the goodness in the world for giving Ryan back to her.