Julie and Caleb were having breakfast when Marissa came breezing down the stairs.
"Marissa? I need to talk to you." Julie spoke up, halting her daughter in her tracks.
Marissa rolled her eyes. "What?"
"Let's go into the living room." Julie instructed.
Marissa was surprised when Caleb stood up to go with them. Once all of them were seated, Marissa looked at her mother and stepfather slightly fearfully. Had they found out about her and Alex?
"Marissa, honey, something happened last night while Caleb was having dinner at the Cohen's." Julie began.
Marissa was relieved to know that she wasn't in trouble. Then her curiosity was peaked. "What happened?"
"Ryan had a heart attack." Caleb stated.
Marissa was confused. "But he doesn't do drugs."
Julie sighed. "No, he wasn't doing drugs."
"Then how did he have a heart attack? This is some kind of trick isn't it? You found out about me and Alex and now you're trying to get me back with Ryan." Marissa declared, convinced that they were ganging up on her.
"What the hell are you talking about? Who's Alex? Never mind, just sit down and listen for a minute. Ryan has a heart condition called HCM. He's going to have a procedure today that will put a device into his heart to regulate it. Your mother and I are going to the hospital and we can give you a ride if you want." Caleb declared.
"I want to know who Alex is." Julie demanded.
"Not now Julie. It's probably another gardener or pool boy or janitor or something." Caleb dismissed. He turned back to his stepdaughter. "Are you coming with us?"
"I can't. I already have to be somewhere. I'll check on Ryan later." Marissa replied, standing back up.
"That's fine." Caleb told her, relieved. He really didn't want Ryan and Marissa getting back together. She was too stressful, and his grandson didn't need to take any chances. Marissa, with all her drama, would likely get Ryan killed. As much as that would allow life to go back to normal, Kirsten would be devastated. He didn't need that headache. Besides, Ryan was his chance for the athletic, successful businessman grandson he'd always dreamed about. "Have a good day!" He told her, getting up.
Julie looked at her husband in shock. She couldn't believe that Caleb was letting her blow off Ryan like that. She thought that Caleb cared about him now. As soon as Marissa was out of the room, she confronted him about it.
"What was that all about? I thought you would want Marissa there?" Julie demanded.
"Not a chance." Caleb replied with a shake of his head as he started towards the front door with Julie trailing behind him.
"Why not? They're still friends." Julie asked getting into the car as Caleb started the engine.
"Because Ryan doesn't need any stress right now, and even you have to admit Marissa adds a lot of drama to whatever she's involved with." Caleb answered, pulling out of the driveway.
Julie couldn't argue with that. She'd had to increase the number of her hair color appointments since Marissa came to live with them. "Fine but if that's the case why did you invite Marissa to come with us?"
Caleb glanced at her. "How much of a scene would she have made if we hadn't told her and she had found out by herself?"
Julie cringed at the thought. "Kirsten would have killed us."
Caleb nodded. "I know. But it all worked out, she didn't come and she knows about Ryan."
Julie nodded. That was all well and good, but who is Alex? Damn! He'd better NOT be a janitor!
Kirsten sat in the waiting room with her foot patting impatiently. Sandy was looking through some files and Seth was talking to Summer, who had shown up only a few minutes before.
"Kirsten, Honey he's going to be OK." Sandy told her softly as he looked up from his paperwork.
"I can't help it Sandy." Kirsten told him. She sighed and turned to face him. "Have you heard anything about what we talked about yesterday?"
Sandy raised his eyebrows. "Um, Kirsten when would I have made those calls? I've been with you every waking moment."
"Sorry. It's just that Ryan said something right before they took him back for the procedure." Kirsten explained.
"What did he say?" Sandy asked with concern.
Kirsten allowed her eyes to fill with tears and she smiled happily. "He called me 'Mom'."
Sandy's face split into a grin. "Really?"
Kirsten nodded. "It felt just as good as when Seth said it the first time – maybe even better since Ryan chose me to be his mother."
Sandy hugged her close. "I'm happy for you Sweetheart."
"Thanks." Kirsten replied. "I really want to do this Sandy."
"I promise I'll take care of it as soon as we know Ryan is alright. But you do realize this will be his choice." Sandy warned her.
"I know I just want to have everything ready when we ask him." Kirsten replied.
"We will." Sandy assured her.
They looked up as Dr. Taylor came out to the waiting room. He was still in his scrubs. He smiled at the Cohen family and met them in the middle of the room. "Ryan is fine. The procedure went perfectly. The ICD is already working and we've seen much better rhythm in just this short time. He is now coming out of recovery and should be in a room within the next fifteen minutes. He's going to have some discomfort from the procedure as well as getting used to the ICD itself. We'll keep him here for three days just to make sure that there are no complications. Then he can go home. The nurse will go over how to care for the incision and the do's and don'ts of the ICD. The most important thing for now is to keep him calm. We don't want any accelerated heart rates while Ryan is still adjusting to the ICD. Do you have any questions that I haven't answered?"
"Will Ryan need any medications, or does the ICD do all the work?" Kirsten asked.
"I am prescribing him beta-blockers & an ACE Inhibitor to help the ICD. He'll need to take them daily. Anything else?" Dr. Taylor replied. When no one had anymore questions, he smiled. "OK then, a nurse will come get you when Ryan is settled. I'll be in to check on him this afternoon before I leave. Dr. Harris will take over then."
"Thank you Doctor." Sandy said, shaking the man's hand.
"My pleasure." Dr. Taylor replied before leaving the waiting room.
"There you go Cohen; Chino's going to be fine." Summer declared, rubbing her shoulder against him.
"Sure, except for the machine keeping his heart beating." Seth replied morosely.
Summer punched Seth in the arm. "Cohen! Don't you dare go in there and say anything like that!"
Seth grabbed his arm. "OW! Summer! Of course I wouldn't say that in front of Ryan. But it totally sucks that he has to live like this. Me? I could do it no prob! I'm all about avoiding manual labor, but Ryan is really into the exercise and heavy lifting. What's he going to do now?"
Summer sighed. "Cohen he'll be fine."
"Ryan just never gets a break." Seth said sadly.
"He doesn't get a lot of them, but when he does they are major – or don't you consider him becoming part of your family a major break?"
Seth nodded. "You're right. I was just throwing a pity party for Ryan."
Summer grinned. "You should have invited Chino."
Seth put his arm around Summer's shoulders. "It was a surprise party. He was supposed to show up later."
Summer rolled her eyes and chuckled. She had missed this closeness with her ex-boyfriend. Zach had been throwing them together quite a bit lately. What kind of boyfriend wanted you to hang out with your ex? Summer glanced over at Seth. He was looking serious again. Concern for his best friend filled his eyes. Maybe he deserved another chance. Besides, she wasn't exactly comfortable with someone as perfect as Zach. He made her feel like she had to be perfect too – all the time. With Cohen she could veg out in pajamas and not feel self-conscious. In fact he once told her she was even more beautiful that way.
Summer was so caught up in her musings that before she knew it, they were standing in front of Chino's room. She still couldn't believe that he had almost died the night before. Summer shuddered at the thought of what Newport had been like without Ryan last summer. Everything had seemed to fall apart. The Cohen's had seemed like they were lost without him. Seth had even run away on his boat, knowing he could have been killed trying to reach Tahiti. Summer gave Seth a quick hug just to reassure herself that he was still there.
Unaware of his ex's thoughts, Seth steeled himself to see the person that he considered to be his brother. It still scared the hell out of him that he could have lost Ryan. He had woken up this morning and gone out to the pool house before his father was up. He sat on Ryan's bed and tried to remind himself that his brother was in the hospital, not the morgue. What really scared him was that except for the baskets with Ryan's clothes and Ryan's school bag, there was nothing that pointed out that anyone even lived here.
Seth had decided right then to talk to his mom and dad about letting Ryan decorate the pool house to make it his own. Or even better, he could just move into the main house altogether. He didn't want to take any chances of Ryan not knowing how much he meant to them – to him.
Sandy and Kirsten led the way into the small private room. Ryan was lying in a slightly reclined position. He still had the wires attached to his chest. Only this time there was a bandage near his collarbone. His eyes were closed and he seemed peaceful.
Kirsten left Sandy's side to hurry over to Ryan. She brushed his hair away from his forehead in a motion that had become natural to them both. The mother leaned over and tenderly kissed his forehead. She was happy to see Ryan open his eyes and smile that special smile of his. Almost as if he was unsure if he should be this happy. It was precious as well as heart-breaking to see.
"Hey." Ryan greeted her, already sounding better than he had the night before.
"Hello Sweetheart. How are you feeling?" Kirsten smiled back.
"Tired and sore," Ryan replied, remembering her lecture about being truthful about his health.
"Thank you for being honest." She told him.
"Someone told me that I couldn't take chances with my health." Ryan smiled sheepishly.
"Someone that loves you very much and wants to make sure that you remain her son for a very, very long time." Kirsten replied.
"How long is very, very long?" Ryan asked tentatively.
"Oh indefinitely – even forever sounds about right." Kirsten replied. "But I'll settle for at least another fifty years or so."
Ryan's eyes widened. "But I'll be eighteen in a year."
"So?" Kirsten shrugged.
"I thought…" Ryan began, unable to continue.
"Ryan when we took you into our family, you were no longer a guest. You became our son. There's no return policy. I wasn't kidding this morning when I said that you were mine. You may have been born an Atwood, but you are a Cohen now. I realized it when you left last summer, but last night sealed the deal. You are Sandy and my son, and you have a brother named Seth. Never doubt that you're here for the long haul. Did you think we would let you go after you graduated?" Kirsten asked.
Ryan nodded. "That's how foster care works."
Kirsten shook her head. "Well WE don't work that way. You ARE going to college, and I AM going to sit there and cheer loudest of all. I expect to meet the girl you're going to marry and I expect to be escorted down the isle as the mother of the groom. I will be contacted immediately when you find out you are having your first child and I had better be there when you become a father. Do you understand me young man?"
Ryan glanced down at the blanket and then back up at the blond woman standing before him with a stern look on her face. His eyes filled with tears and he nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Good." Kirsten stated before grinning.
"You'd better listen to your mother. She isn't one to be trifled with." Sandy chuckled. "You're lookin' good kid." He said, placing his hand on Ryan's leg.
"Yeah Dude, new rule: no more heart attacks allowed." Seth declared.
"Good rule." Ryan agreed as he tapped fists with his brother.
"Hey there Chino," Summer greeted as she moved to give him a quick hug, avoiding the wires. "You are so getting a beat down when you get better. What the hell were you thinking scaring us like that? You've already proven that we all care about you after you took off last summer. You didn't have to remind us like this."
Ryan, understanding that this was Summer's way of telling him that she was worried about him, nodded and smiled. "I think that you could probably take me right now."
"Pfft! I could take you anytime I wanted. You are no match for the rage blackouts. Underestimate them at your own demise." Summer declared haughtily.
Ryan chuckled and then grabbed his chest as the pain reminded him that he just got out of surgery. "Don't make me laugh." He begged.
"What's so funny?" A voice asked from the doorway.
Everyone turned to Caleb and Julie standing in the doorway.
Ryan looked at them warily. The beeping picked up speed slightly on the monitors Kirsten came to stand next to Ryan again and rubbed his arm. "Calm down Honey. It's OK they aren't here to make trouble. I think Dad realized how wrong he was about you last night."
Ryan glanced over at the woman. "Because I had a heart attack?" He asked, trying to figure out how long this would last.
"More like it was pointed out that you had the same lawyer." Seth informed him without taking his eyes off his grandfather. He knew that this new leaf Caleb was currently turning over would most likely shrivel up and die quickly. He wasn't about to let Ryan get hurt when it did.
"Seth is right." Caleb stated, coming farther into the room and stopping at the foot of the teen's bed. "I owe you a rather large apology. I have never given you a chance. Instead of feeling grateful for having another grandson, I did everything I could to push you away. I'm very sorry Ryan."
Ryan stared at him for a moment trying to figure out his angle. He had never seen Caleb Nichol go out of his way for anything that wasn't going to benefit him at some point. This man always had an angle. Glancing at Kirsten, he saw her proud look that she was shooting both him and Caleb. She really wanted this. Sandy's expression was mild and blank. The lack of open approval showed that he was wary of Caleb's sincerity as well. Seth looked like he was ready to defend his brother at a moment's notice. Summer was looking at Caleb and Julie uncertainly.
Sighing, Ryan wondered how he always got into these situations. "I accept your apology." He said softly. He was rewarded when Kirsten smiled brilliantly at him like he was the most wonderful person in the world. It made him feel almost overwhelmed. No one had ever looked at him like that before in his life.
Caleb smiled with satisfaction so far so good. The boy would do anything his daughter asked, that much was obvious. With her support this might just work out. Ryan would live the life that Caleb envisioned for a Nichol. He may have failed with his daughters and Seth, but this kid had potential.
Julie stood back and watched Caleb manipulate Kirsten and Ryan. She knew that Caleb thought that he had won when Ryan accepted his apology, but she had been watching Seth and Sandy. Whatever game Caleb was playing, he was going to have some pretty stiff opposition.