Hey everybody! I'm updating again, yeah me! I am so proud of myself. I have been working so hard at cranking out chapters for all my stories. I have three going but all three are for different TV shows. It's not easy but I'm doing my best. I hope you like this chapter. I teared up at a couple spots but I'm a sentimental fool. :) I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.

Ryan stood outside Taylor's room just staring at the door. He'd already tried counting to ten, taking deep breaths and reciting the words, 'she's going to be okay'. Nothing worked when it came to calming him down. His heart was still beating really fast and he couldn't quit picturing Taylor laying unconscious in the woods.

"Are you lost?" one of the nurses asked after noticing the young man still standing in front of the door. She'd been watching him since he'd walked down her hallway and she couldn't help but be suspicious of him. He was just standing there and sometimes it looked like he was talking to himself.

"No," Ryan said quickly. The last thing he needed was some concerned nurse throwing him out of the hospital. He gave her a nervous smile before grasping the door knob in his hand. He turned it and stepped in the private room before he could change his mind.

He swore out loud when he saw all the machines they had her hooked up to. For some reason it didn't make him feel to optimistic for Taylor's outcome. After watching her doctor hem and haw over her condition and prognosis and then seeing her…he couldn't help but feel it was Marissa all over again.

He stalked towards the bed and looked around until he spotted the universal chair all hospitals provided. The uncomfortable one that only adds to the uncomfortable vibe he already felt about the situation. He pulled it along with him until he was sitting to the right of the bed away from all the machines.

For a moment he just stared at the machines. Taking notice that they were all somehow connected to Taylor in some way. He knew one was measuring her brain waves and another was monitoring her heart but what about the other two?

He turned to look at the room and knew Taylor would have hated it. She was all about decorating to show your true self. She'd already gotten after him after seeing how impersonal the pool house was. He took out his wallet and pulled out the only picture he had in it. It was one Kirsten had taken after they'd gotten home from the hospital during Chrismakkuh. It was one of the only pictures he had of the both of them. When she woke up he wanted one of the first things she saw to be that picture.

Finally he leaned forward gently lifting one of Taylor's hands from the bed so he could clasp it gently between his own. He rubbed the top of her hand, softly tracing the few scratches she must have received either from pulling herself out of the car or crawling on her belly through the woods. He had to smile when he pictured her doing just that.

"You really are a tough one aren't you Taylor," he said shaking his head. "You told me you could take care of yourself and that you didn't need a hero but I never listened did I?" When she obviously didn't answer he sighed. "Taylor, you need to wake up so I can tell you just how right you are.

"I never meant to hurt you tonight. If you can hear me you have to know that Taylor. I honestly wasn't even thinking of you when I gave you the…dictionary," Ryan said stumbling over the word. He still couldn't believe out of all the things he could have given her he gave her a dictionary. He just hoped that years from now they'd be able to laugh about it. "I was thinking about myself." He squeezed her hand when he said that. "I've been doing a lot of that lately. I never thought about Sandy or Kirsten when I went tearing off after Volchok. They've been so good to me, taking me in, providing me with shelter…security. Both of which I never had much of." He placed her hand back on the bed as he stood up so he could pace. He couldn't sit still while he poured his heart out for her.

"You said that I say things I don't mean," Ryan went on after he gathered his thoughts. "I meant it when I said I love you. Because I do. But that terrifies me. I didn't want to be in love Taylor. The last girl I was in love with…well that kind of leads into the other thing you said.

"I never used you to get over Marissa," Ryan insisted turning to face her. "I don't know if I'll ever get over Marissa…she was a big part of my life. But that doesn't change the fact that I love you.

"Do you know the moment I fell in love with you?" he asked smiling softly. "I keep trying to pin point the exact moment. Was it when you pretended to be my sleep therapist? You are so crazy sometimes but I love that about you. Was it when you 'stalked' me dressed as a groundhog? You're the only girl I know that can turn me on by stalking me. Or when you tried to get me drunk." He smiled down at her as he remembered all those times. "I don't know when I fell in love with you but I know that I want you to wake up so I can say all that to your face…when I know you can hear me."

"I'm sorry sir but your five minutes are up," the same nurse said opening the door.

"Can I have just one more minute please?" Ryan asked softly.

The nurse stared at him before nodding. "One more minute but that's it. This girl needs her rest."

Ryan waited until she closed the door behind her before finishing what he had to say. "Taylor you need to wake up so I can start making up for all the stupid things I've done in the past. I know our relationship hasn't always been everything you hoped for but I promise you…we are going to have one hell of a future."

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Julie drove up the driveway and parked the car in front of the house. She winced when she saw the damage the earthquake had done to the front lawn. She really loved this house. She only hoped the front yard had the most damage and that the inside was still livable. Julie snuck a peek at Kaitlyn who was climbing out of the SUV making her way towards the front door. They honestly had no where else to go.

"Mom look," Kaitlyn said bending over so she could pick up a present laying on the front steps. "It must have been for Taylor?"

"Maybe she dropped it when she left," Julie said as she passed her daughter opening the front door. She peered inside and relaxed when she saw the walls still standing. There was some damage, of course, but mainly to their possessions. To the naked eye the structure seemed sound.

"Oh my God Mom," Kaitlyn said stepping through the doorway. She covered her mouth with her hand when she saw the broken glass everywhere and the ruined furniture.

"It could be worse honey," Julie said quickly.

"Our stuff," Kaitlyn said quietly. She bent down picking up a picture of the two of them at one of Bullit's parties.

"They're just things," Julie said pulling her into her arms for a hug. "Just remember that we can replace almost everything."

"I know," Kaitlyn finally said after a moment of silence had passed. She looked around the room and then froze turning to look up the stairs. "My room!"

Julie watched as her daughter took off running up the stairs. She had to smile only because it was a rare occurrence for Kaitlyn to act like the teenager she really was. Usually she acted more mature than most adults. She headed towards the kitchen wondering about the damage there.

"Julie!" Summer's voice rang out from the front door minutes later.

"In here!" Julie called back. She was cleaning up the kitchen, throwing away all the broken glass and sorting through the salvageable items.

"You don't have to do that," Summer said after she realized she wasn't imagining Julie cleaning up the kitchen. "My Dad will have a company come in and fix the place right up."

"I know," Julie admitted putting her hands on her hips. "But I just…he's already done so much by letting me stay here. I wanted to try and do something for him."

"Um…Julie," Summer said smiling at her. "I don't think cleaning up after a natural disaster is the best way to pay him back." She walked towards her smiling. She took the garbage bag out of her hand and set it on the ground. "Besides, my Dad wasn't want you to pay him back. He just wants you to be happy." Summer watched as Julie looked down at her hands and smiled. "He still asks about you…you know."

"He does," Julie said surprised. After everything she'd put him through she would have thought he'd still be running in the opposite direction. She still cringed when she thought of how crazy she had been after Marissa had first died. She didn't regret feeling the pain and anger but she did regret the way she chose to deal with it…which was not dealing with it at all.

"Call him," Summer said before turning to leave the kitchen. She walked back towards the entry way in time to see Seth opening the door for his parents.

"Hey Summer," Kirsten said as she walked in one hand cradling her belly. She pulled Summer in for a hug with her other arm.

"Hey Mrs. Cohen," Summer said looking at Seth. "I thought you were headed home to get that rest the doctor told you to get."

"We did," Sandy said stepping forward. He wrapped one of his arms around his wife as he continued. "It seems that the earthquake did more damage then we thought at first." He went on to explain that there was no house.

"It's just gone!" Seth exclaimed. "I have no home."

"It's going to be okay Seth," Kirsten said smiling sympathetically at him. She'd already cried her tears when she'd walked through what was left of their house…their beautiful house. She turned when she heard somebody else walking into the room. She smiled as Julie shut her cell phone and hurried towards them.

"Sandy…Kirsten, what are you doing here?" Julie asked. She listened as Sandy told the story one more time. "Well of course you are staying here. Summer can show you to a guest room…an open guest room."

"Uh Seth," Kirsten said before she headed up the stairs. "Where's Ryan?"

"He stayed at the hospital Mom," Seth explained. "I couldn't get him to leave. He's too worried about Taylor. I tried to tell him that Veronica Townsend wasn't going to change her mind but he isn't leaving until he sees her for himself."

"I'll call," Sandy said already pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed Ryan's cell phone but hung up when he reached his voice mail. "He isn't answering."

"I don't want him staying at the hospital all night," Kirsten said concerned for her adopted son. She knew he could take care of himself, he'd been able to do that from the moment she'd met him. But she was his Mother now, in every sense of the word and she worried about him, sometimes more than she worried about Seth.

"I'll go back," Seth said sighing. He was exhausted and wanted to go to bed but he couldn't have his pregnant Mother go back to sit in a hospital waiting room for the rest of the night.

"No," Sandy said shaking his head. "Lets let him be tonight." When Kirsten looked like she was going to object he explained. "If it was you in the hospital honey, you couldn't pry me out of that waiting room. Lets let him have tonight but tomorrow we'll get him out of there." He took Kirsten's arm and lead her up the stairs into the guest room Summer was preparing for them. He knew Ryan would be okay. It was Taylor they had to worry about.