Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the OC

"Hello?" Seth answered the phone in the kitchen on the third ring.

"Hey Seth…" the voice on the other end was shaking with emotion.

"Marissa. What's up?"

"I just want to… you know…. I wanted to know how Ryan was doing. Maybe see if he wanted some company…." Her voice rose with hope that Ryan would be up to seeing her. She wasn't sure if he was mad or not. She thought that he should be since she was the reason Volchok beat him up. If she hadn't danced with Ryan then Volchok wouldn't have seen them. She should have waited to break things off with him first. But Ryan had said he loved her a few days ago. He wouldn't say that if he didn't mean it. That just wasn't Ryan. She felt horrible. She hadn't even gone to visit him in the hospital. He had only been there for a night and a bit but she still felt guilty for not going to see him.

"Hold on Marissa. I'll go check. He still hasn't been out of the pool house today. But just let me warn you….. even if he's up to the company I think you may want to reconsider."

Marissa just raised her eyebrows in confusion but didn't say anything, waiting for Seth to continue on his own as she knew he would.

"He's gone all all-temper-tantrum-mopey-broody-sulky-teenager. I guess you could say he's finally acting like a normal teenager but if you only like the sweet polite Ryan we all know and love then you will most definitely be in for a shock."

"Thanks Seth," Marissa smiled on the other end. "But I think I'll take that chance. Could you just tell him it's me, see if he wants to do something today?"

"I highly doubt my mom will let him out. Not for a looong time. But you could probably come over here and maybe play nurse with him. I'm sure he'd love that."

"Uh, yeah. Just… go ask him Seth."

"I'm on it."

Marissa waited on the other end for Seth to come back. She could only hear muffled voices on Seth's side of the phone and she couldn't tell if it was Ryan or not.

"Marissa?" A deep voice answered this time.

"Ryan…. how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay. My ribs are a little bit sore but that's it."

"That's good…." There was an awkward silence. Marissa couldn't stand awkward silences. Especially with Ryan. Just as she was about to talk he broke in.

"Do you wanna do something today?"

"Yeah. That sounds great. What do you feel up to doing? I don't want to make you do anything that will just hurt you more."

"Well, Kirsten's basically put me on house arrest until I'm completely recovered so I don't think I'll be able to do anything outside of the house for a pretty long time. So how about you come over?"

" Sure. I'll be there in 10 minutes."

"K. I love you." Marissa loved it when he said those words first. It was so unlike him to show his emotions. She was almost positive that she was the only person who he could say "I love you" to so easily.

"I love you to," she said with a smile on her face.

Ryan smiled on the other end. Nobody had been able to convince him to get out of bed and into the main house but when Seth had come barging in and told him Marissa was on the phone he had gotten up straight away. Even though it had been barely two days since they had seen each other it always felt like more.

Seth came into the kitchen to see Ryan still standing at the corner with a wide grin spread across his face.

"Well. I'm very glad to see someone had been able to chase that horrible cookie monster out of you."

Ryan looked at him and raised his eyebrows. "Cookie monster?"

"Yeah, that mean, grumpy guy on Sesame Street. He's green. Lives in a garbage can."

"That's Oscar. The cookie monster is the purple one."

"Oscar. Right. Well, whatever. You got what I was going for. But by the way, how do you know your Sesame Street puppets so well? I watched that show when I was little but I don't remember the names of all of them. I find it a little weird that you do." Seth looked suspiciously at Ryan who just rolled his eyes.

"I have a good memory. And it's also not that hard to remember that the cookie monster is purple and not green."

"Whatever. That's beside the point."

"There was a point to this?"

"Um…" Seth thought for a minute. "I've forgotten it. But hold on, it'll come back to me."

Ryan once again rolled his eyes waiting for Seth to remember. Even thought he sometimes acted like Seth's ramblings and pointless talks annoyed him he actually found them very amusing.

"Ah-ha!" Seth yelled startling Ryan out of his thoughts. " I said that I was glad that Marissa was able to chase that cookie monster out of you but then you corrected me and told me that it was actually Oscar who was the mean grouchy one and the cookie monster that was the purple one and I'm guessing he liked cookies since his name has the word cookie in it so it would only make sense and so the point I was trying to get across to you before we sort of got off topic was that I'm very happy that Marissa was able to drag you out of that pool house and make you do something. Did I ever tell you the story about my great aunt who broke her leg and just stayed cooped up in her house all the time?" Seth didn't wait for an answer before continuing his rant. " Well, once she got out she died. She died Ryan because she was so unused to the outdoors it was suddenly like a new concept to her," Seth finished dramatically.

Ryan stared at him like he was some sort of alien. He would never understand how Seth could fit so many words into one sentence without even taking a breath. "Uh okay. Wait did you say she died because she had been inside for so long?"

Seth vigorously nodded his head.

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Ryan! I am telling you the truth! Would I lie to you? No I would not."

Ryan just looked at Seth with a smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"Okay so she didn't die. But when she walked outside it was really bright and I'm pretty sure she hurt her eyes. You know not permanently or anything. But you know when you can't get rid of those dots if you step into a bright room after spending lots of time in the dark? Well, that's what happened to her."

The doorbell rang saving Ryan from trying to wrap his mind out of what had just come spilling out of Seth's mouth.

"I'll get it." With that Ryan was making his way to the front door. He still had a bit of a limp but he was used to walking on damaged bones so he could barely feel the pain. Sandy and Kirsten didn't like him walking on it but he assured them it was fine. And they weren't able to watch him 24/7.

When he opened the door he found Marissa looking stunning as usual. He took a minute to take her all in. She was wearing a short denim skirt with a brown belt tied loosely around the waist of it. She had on dark brown flats and a red tank top. With her hair pulled back out of her face Ryan thought she looked absolutely perfect.

"Hey Ryan." she enveloped him in a hug before he could even respond. He noticed that she was holding him loosely so as not to hurt him.

"Hey." He wrapped his arms around her as well squeezing a little tighter.

Marissa broke away from the hug. "I'm sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital. I should have. I felt awful about it. I didn't want you to thi…."

"Hey, its okay. I wasn't allowed visitors anyway. Other then the Cohen's I mean. And besides I was only in there for a day." He smiled reassuringly at her.

She smiled back at him happy that he wasn't upset.

"How about we go back to the pool house?" Ryan asked wrapping an arm around her hips and gently leading her over to the patio.

"That sounds great." Marissa smiled leaning into his shoulder. Together they walked out towards the pool house. They had waited so long to be together and Marissa didn't want to rush things but she couldn't wait to feel his lips pressed against hers again. She loved that feeling. Every time it always sent a chill up her spine and an overwhelming sense of security.

They made there way into the pool house and laid down on Ryan's bed. For a minute they just lay there and stared at the ceiling just savoring the moment. When Marissa could no longer resist the temptation of being in a bed with Ryan she snuggled up closer and tentatively pushed her lips against his. When she felt him respond by gently kissing her back she pressed into it more, making the kiss more passionate. She knew she couldn't go too far for two reasons. 1- Ryan was still hurt. He had only been back for a night and 2- the Cohen's were due home at any minute and she was not up to another embarrassing moment of being walked in on.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently laid her body on his making sure to support the majority of her weight. She could feel his hands sliding up the back of her shirt and rubbing small circles on her back. This drove her crazy every time he did it to her. She loved it. As she got lost in the kiss she leaned down on him forgetting about his ribs. She immediately pulled back when she felt his breath hitch in pain.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry Ryan. I completely forgot." She covered her mouth with her hand embarrassed that she had gotten so into it that she had forgotten he was hurt.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I just have to be more careful."

"Ryan?" Sandy walked into the pool house not bothering to knock. Marisa quickly got off Ryan's bed and straightened her shirt trying her hardest not to make it obvious to Sandy what they had just been doing. Ryan was doing the same on his bed, adjusting his shirt and smoothing out the sheets.

Sandy looked around and slightly raised an eyebrow in question before brushing it off. "Dinner's ready Ryan. Marissa, you're more then welcome to stay."

"Thanks Sandy, but my mom wanted me home soon."

"Oh okay. Well, Ryan I want you inside in 5 minutes."

Ryan just nodded. He knew he had been acting like a brat towards Sandy, Kirsten and Seth but Marissa had significantly cheered him up. That and the fact that just before she had gotten here he had taken some of his painkillers.

"I'll call you tomorrow Ryan," Marissa said after Sandy had walked out.

"Okay," Ryan got up and warped his arms against her waist pushing is body into hers and giving her a long sweet kiss before she was on her way.

She pulled back smiling. "I actually have to go now. Bye." She gave a little wave before walking through the door.

"What's for dinner?" Ryan asked cheerfully as he opened the doors to the main house. All three Cohen's looked up at him in surprise. He had barely spoken to them since he got home and when he had, he had only spoken in monosyllables. With the exception of Seth from time to time.

"Uh," Kirsten was the first to recover from this slight shock and continued setting the table. "I tried making a pot roast."

"Sounds good." Ryan walked over to the cabinet and took out four glasses before walking over to the table and placing them each on their respective spots. Once again the other family members stared at him. It had only been for a short amount of time but a grumpy Ryan could get very grumpy.

"I'll be right back," Ryan said before walking back out to the pool house.

"Um, he seemed different," Seth broke the silence that had descended upon them since Ryan left.

"He seems happy again. I'm glad. I know it's hard to be cooped up in one place for a long time. I was only praying to God that he want going to be like what he was like yesterday for the rest of his recovery time," Kirsten answered.

"I can guarantee you that this is only temporary. Marissa must have cheered him up. I'm sure he'll be back to his sullen bed ridden self before long." Sandy said as he carried over the forks and knives.

"You would never guess Ryan to be a grumpy sick person. I always thought he'd be incredibly independent. But instead it's like he's this completely different person. He's like Clark Kent and Superman. Bitchy Summer and sweet Summer. Newport and Chino. I could go on and on."

"I agree with you son," Sandy said as he sat down at the table. Kirsten and Seth joined him. "But don't give him too much grief. He took a pretty bad beating."

"I know dad."

At that moment Ryan came storming in to the kitchen. "Where are my painkillers?"

"And he's back…" Seth murmured trying to hide a smile at Ryan's outburst.

"What's that supposed to mean! My ribs are killing me and I go into the pool house to try to find some painkillers and all of a sudden they're not there! Who moved them! Don't move my stuff!"

"Ryan, did you check the floor?" Kirsten asked trying to calm Ryan down. She didn't like this version of him but she would just have to deal with it until he was feeling better.

"No. I didn't check the floor." Ryan said sarcastically.

"Seth why don't you go help Ryan look for them. We'll wait for you guys to come back," Sandy spoke up. Ryan stormed out of the kitchen back to the pool house.

"Thanks a lot dad," Seth said sarcastically. "Condemn me to be alone with that monster? Ugh, if I'm not back in 10 minutes come to make sure he hasn't killed me."

When Seth entered the pool house he saw Ryan tearing through his belongings. Ryan was usually so neat and orderly it was scary but this version of Ryan gave no regard for where things went and what was being thrown around.

"Ry, where haven't you looked yet?"

"I've checked everywhere!" Ryan threw the pillow he had been holding down on the bed with a primal grunt.

"Why don't you just use some Aspirin? Or some Advil? I'm sure mom has some in the medicine cabinet."

"It's not strong enough. These were meant for stronger pain. And right now my ribs are killing me."

Seth bent over trying to find the bottle of pain killers. The sooner they were found the sooner he'd be safely back with his parents. He spotted something under the bedside table and stuck is hand underneath it fishing around for something shaped like a cylinder. When his hands found something that could be a pill bottle he pulled it out and to his immense happiness, realized that it was Ryan's prescription pain relievers.

"There ya go, man. Now let's go eat. I'm famished." Seth handed Ryan the bottle of painkillers. Ryan took them and shook out three before popping them into his mouth.

"Aren't you only supposed to take one?"

"It's just two extra. And they make me tired so now I'll be able to go to sleep sooner."

Seth just nodded his head before leading the way out to the main house. He turned around and saw that Ryan was right behind him.

"We found them," Seth announced as he walked into the kitchen.

"I knew you would," Kirsten answered with a smile.

"Great, let's eat now." Sandy started digging into the food.

After about 10 minutes of discussion without Ryan saying a word Seth looked over. To his surprise he noticed that Ryan seemed to be having a very hard time keeping his eyes open. His head kept drooping over only to have him snap his head back a few seconds later. His eyes started to glaze over as he stared at a spot on the table. Seth wondered if it was possible to fall asleep with your eyes open. Because the way Ryan was acting Seth wouldn't have been surprised. He figured the painkillers must have been starting to really kick in.

"Ryan?"

Ryan head jerked up and his eyes snapped open. He began shoveling food into his mouth and blinking frequently as if trying to focus.

"Ryan, honey. Are you feeling okay? You kind of look out of it," Kirsten asked with worry in her voice. Her eyebrows were knitted together with worry and confusion.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Can I go back to the pool house? I'm not very hungry."

"Of course, sweetie." Kirsten answered.

Ryan slowly got up from the table and picked up his plate. He took a moment to gain his balance before making his way over to the counter to drop off his plate. Once he set his plate down he began walking towards the door only to crash into the corner of the counter.

"Fuck," he murmured.

All three Cohen's were looking at him with worry in the eyes. Well, only two. Seth was very amused by all this. He knew it was only the painkillers so he wasn't worried.

Ryan continued to struggle his way to the doors. They watched him make his way across the patio. He stumbled into two lawn chairs. The second one he fell right over it. Seth snorted at this and Sandy and Kirsten glared at him. He lowered his gaze. Hs parents continued to watch Ryan make his way over and Seth lifted his eyes to. He wasn't about to miss this. He was trying so hard to keep his laughter in check. Once Ryan got to the door he seemed to forget there was one. He walked right into it before stepping back and pushing the door open. Once he got into the pool house Seth burst out laughing.

"Seth. What's so funny about this?" Sandy asked.

"Did you not just see that?" Seth asked his eyes were brimmed with tears he was laughing so hard.

"Whats wrong with him? If I didn't know any better I would have sworn he had been drinking," Kirsten spoke up.

"Don't worry. I guess his painkillers just kicked in kind of early. He took a couple before dinner." Seth explained.

"So that explains his basically falling asleep at the table. Was I the only one who noticed his head drooping down almost every 2 minutes?" Sandy asked. He now had a wide grin on his face now that he knew his foster son was fine.

"His eyes were closing the entire meal! He could barely keep them open! The painkillers shouldn't have that much of an affect on him." Kirsten still sounded worried.

"Mom, relax. The painkillers are supposed to make him drowsy."

"Exactly. Drowsy. Not so tired that he falls asleep in a plate of food."

"He didn't fall asleep in a plate of food. Dad, back me up here."

"He's right, honey. Yeah, he looked pretty close to it but at least he didn't."

"Seth, did you see how many he took?"

"Um, three I think. But mom, it's like one or two extra. It wouldn't do anything."

"I know. But I don't want him to take more then the recommended dose. I'm going to keep them in our bathroom. I'll give them to him whenever he needs them but just in case I'm going to keep them."

"He's going to be pissed off." Seth said.

"I'd rather have him pissed off then overdosing on painkillers."

"Kirsten, you're over reacting. Like Seth said, it was one or two extra. No big deal."

"Fine. But I still don't like him taking extra. I'm going to go check on him then I'm going to go to bed."

"I'll go with you mom. I've never seen Ryan like this before. It's like he's drunk!" Seth said with a delighted grin on his face.

"I have some work to catch up on so I'll see you all in the morning," Sandy said as he picked up his plate and carried it to the kitchen before making his way to his office.

"Ryan?" Kirsten whispered making her way into the pool house closely followed by Seth.

"Ryyyyaaaannnnn. Hey man?" Seth asked right behind his mom.

On the bed fast asleep was Ryan. He looked as if he had tried getting ready for bed but passed out before he could finish. His shirt was halfway over his head and his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. One of his arms was inside his shirt and the other was hanging loosely over the side of the bed. He was on his stomach with his feet hanging over the bottom of the bed.

Seth laughed at his appearance. "He seriously looks like he's drunk. We need the camera or something."

"Seth, don't."

"I'm just joking mom."

Seth walked over and began poking at Ryan's foot. All that came from the sleeping form was a low groan and something murmured that sounded very much like "get the fuck out". Seth laughed at this while Kirsten scowled.

"Well, lets let him sleep. Come on mom."

"He won't be able to sleep comfortably like that. He's half undressed. He must be uncomfortable."

"Mom, you're not saying your going to undress him are you? Because that would be weird and quite honestly a little creepy."

"Why don't you do it? He's your best friend."

"He's also a guy." Seth emphasized the word guy. "I'm not going to undress my male best friend just so he can sleep more comfortably. That's incredibly minty."

"Well, at least take off his shoes."

"Ugh. Do it yourself."

"Seth Ezekiel. It's just shoes. I'm going to go clean up the kitchen. When I come back I want his shoes off okay? Its just shoes. I'm not forcing you to do anything minty."

As Kirsten walked out of the pool house Seth tried prodding Ryan awake. He didn't want to undress Ryan. Even if it was just shoes he wasn't in the mood to undress a guy in the least. But he knew that if he didn't his mom would have his ass handed to him in a sesame seed hot dog bun so he sat down and started untying Ryan's shoes.

Ryan groaned from the bed. Seth pulled off one shoe quickly and then got the other one off as fast as he could to. Ryan moaned once again and this time Seth was able to distinguish a name from the other gibberish that Ryan was saying. Seth distinctly heard the name "Marissa" in between Ryan's murmurings. Seth grinned. Looked like Ryan was getting it on in his little dreamworld. He couldn't wait to bring this up in the morning. But then he thought about it and thought it would be extremely weird of him to mention to Ryan that he had stood and watched him as he was having dreams which included the moaning of his girlfriend's name. Maybe he'd keep it to himself.

Seth walked out of the pool house and into the kitchen.

"K, mom. Shoes are off. I'm sure he's comfortable enough to sleep now. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetie." Kirsten said looking up from the newspaper she had been reading when he walked in.

As Seth walked upstairs he couldn't help but feel happy for his brother. He knew that Ryan loved Marissa and she obviously loved him to. It made him happy to see Ryan so happy and for once in his life he looked forward to Marisa coming over. She was going to be desperately needed for the next little while. She seemed to be the only thing that cheered Ryan up. Marissa was going to need to become a regular fixture at the Cohen house if they were expected to survive bed ridden Ryan's wrath. But if it was going to be anything like it had been tonight Seth couldn't wait. Because to him, tonight had been pretty funny.

Wow that was long for me. There will be a lot more Ryan and Marissa in the next few chapters, I promise. If any of you have any suggestions let me know and I'll try to work it into the story. I also want to get some more Ryan and Seth conversations into these stories because I absolutely adore those two.

Read and review! Thanks