Obvious FYI: I don't own anything that even remotely has to do with The O.C.!

Thank you for reviewing! Please keep them coming!

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I made a mistake. The bones around Ryan's left eye socket were damaged, pressing on an optical nerve and causing the decrease in his left eye's vision. I said his right eye one time. Thanks for catching it!

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The good news was the sedation was lifted New Years Day in the late morning and Ryan was moved out of surgical intensive care. The head of the bed was now raised a little. The bad news was that Ryan was becoming even more restless and kept trying to pull out his IV's, succeeding once. He would make quiet, frustrated noises and move his legs which although it was unnerving to the Cohens, it actually showed progress on Ryan's behalf.

"Ryan, you've got to calm down." Kirsten took Ryan's hand and rubbed it gently. The doctors kept telling the Cohens to talk to Ryan as often as possible and try to get him to relax. They didn't want his blood pressure rising. "You're doing great, I promise you'll feel better soon."

"Yah, Ry. It's gonna be ok," Seth added looking at his brother's face, trying to avoid staring at the stitches on Ryan's shaved head from the first surgery. "Just take it easy."

Ryan's eyes began to flutter again. He had been doing that often since early on in his hospital stay, yet somehow the pattern seemed different today. Both Kirsten and Seth noticed.

"Ryan? Ryan, honey can you open your eyes?" Kirsten was immediately hovering over her injured son.

"Lets go, Ry. There's some pretty hot nurses around here and they all keep coming in unnecessarily. I'm jealous, man," Seth coaxed.

Sure enough, Ryan's eyes began to slowly open. At first they looked unfocused. He stared past Kirsten, seldom blinking, as if something of great interest was just beyond her. Seth looked at the door just to make sure.

"Ryan, honey? Can you hear me? Can you look over to me?" Kirsten was on his right side where he could see her better. She cried tears of joy when his vision slowly tracked towards her. Seth pushed the nurses' call button. Isabella came running in.

"Mrs. Cohen?" She questioned quickly. "Oh, Ryan!" Isabella's voice changed from concern to delight when she noticed her patient's eyes locked on his mother's.

"He just opened them. His eyes were fluttering again but it was slower and we kinda talked him into opening them," Kirsten responded without taking her eyes off her son, afraid that he would close his eyes and never look at her again.

Isabella stepped over to the computer and paged one of the neurologists and a translator, both of whom arrived shortly. Sandy was outside in the hall making a phone call to his office when he saw the commotion in Ryan's room and naturally ran inside to see what was wrong.

"Ryan, can you look at me?" the translator spoke for the neurologist. "Look over here." With no reaction, the doctor/translator continued. "Ryan I am going to raise the head of the bed, ok? You're head's going to be moving up, you ready?" the doctor motioned to Isabella to control the bed.

That got a reaction out of Ryan. Another quiet noise escaped Ryan's mouth. Kirsten wished she knew what he meant every time he 'spoke.' Everyone watched as Ryan finally looked around the room, clearly happy to now be upright. He stopped gazing around when he saw Seth. Ryan locked eyes with his brother and showed signs of recognition. Ryan's face relaxed and he opened his eyes a little more. When he saw Sandy, it became clear that Ryan knew who he was with. The doctor motioned to Kirsten to start talking to Ryan.

"Ryan, sweetie. It's Kirsten, can you look over here?" Kirsten looked at the doctor who nodded in encouragement. Ryan turned his head much to everyone's excitement. "Ryan, do you remember how our family was taking a trip to Italy?" She saw no signs of understanding but continued. "Well, honey you had an accident and you are in the hospital, but everyone is taking good care of you and you're going to be ok."

The doctor picked up Ryan's left hand since his right was still hypertonic. Ryan jumped a little at the touch and turned his head to compensate for his limited vision and looked at his hand.

"It's ok, Ryan," Isabella spoke. "I know you are having trouble seeing on your left side. That happened in the accident. Can you squeeze the doctor's hand?" Isabella finished, translating for the doctor.

Ryan looked confused. He saw one person yet heard the voice of another. He decided to listen to the person talking after seeing Kirsten give an encouraging nod. Ryan squeezed the doctor's hand like the nurse asked and he actually smiled slightly as a natural reaction to the positive comments he received.

"Ryan you, you smiled!" Seth exclaimed. Everyone clapped for Ryan which made him smile again.

Ryan's eyes were now fixed on Isabella. "Ryan, are you ok?" she asked, slightly concerned at the stare.

He raised his left hand and clenched and released his fist as if he was trying to grab air. Isabella glanced sideways at the doctor who slowly shook his head as if to say, 'I don't know what he's doing.' Ryan kept grabbing the air and smiled when Isabella moved closer. The nurse got very close to him and to everyone's surprise, Ryan made a move to grab her stethoscope from her neck. Isabella took the instrument off and handed it to him. Ryan smiled as he jiggled it up and down. Everyone laughed and clapped for Ryan at the sight.

"Ryan, do you want to be a nurse?" Isabella asked, still smiling. "Nod your head if you hear me." Ryan obliged.

"Good job, Ryan," the translator spoke for the doctor. He noticed Ryan's eyes drooping. "Are you getting tired, Ryan? Nod if you are tired." Ryan nodded and closed his eyes falling asleep.

After making sure Ryan was comfortable, the doctor spoke through the translator. "Ryan is doing great! He did well sitting up. And it seems like he can understand what we are saying to him." The doctor noticed Kirsten's dejected look. "Mrs. Cohen, I know it seems so elementary, but this is excellent progress. His injury is very serious, but I will now bet that he will exceed our expectations. This is great potential. He's not going to be 'stuck' like this. Do you have any questions?"

"You said he would be transferred to a rehab facility soon?" Sandy spoke up.

"Yes, our hope still is that on Monday Ryan will be ready to move to our rehab facility just across the street like we discussed," the doctor explained with the translator. "They are expecting him then. We also decided that he will go back to America in a few weeks, once he is ready to travel. Have your thoughts changed on this?"

"No. We want him back as soon as possible. My husband and Seth will go back to California on Wednesday and I plan to stay in the hotel until it is time to bring Ryan home," Kirsten said right away to the translator. In response to the doctor's raised eyebrows Kirsten replied, "We're not leaving him here alone. He's scared and confused and I am not going to abandon my son, no matter how short a time it will be."

"That a girl, mom," Seth joked as he looked at Kirsten.

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Kirsten and Seth had returned to the hotel for a nap and then were going to look at St. Mark's square. Within the last couple of days, after Ryan's condition was upgraded to 'stable,' one parent and Seth had gone to see some sights of Venice while the other parent stayed with Ryan. They of course shared the pictures with Ryan and talked him to sleep with the events of the day.

Ryan woke up later that day and this time he was much less happy. He was irritated again at the IV's. Conchetta and another physical therapist came in to have him sit up, something that Ryan was none too pleased about. The therapists were confident that their patient understood what he was being asked, he just was too exhausted to try.

"Ryan," Sandy began. "Ryan you've got to let them help you. You'll feel better. I know you're tired now but you just need to be strong, ok?" Sandy patted his son's leg. "Come on, kid. You're tough." Sandy swore he saw a faint nod from Ryan's head.

"Ok, Ryan. We're going to try and sit up. We're going to help you but you need to help us, too, alright? I am going to put my hand on your back now." Conchetta put one hand behind Ryan's right shoulder blade and with her other, she held Ryan's curled hand, pressing it to the bed. The other therapist put one hand under Ryan's left armpit and his other at the base of Ryan's neck supporting it.

"Ok, Ryan, up you go," the other therapist Lorenzo who spoke English decently said. Just as expected, Ryan's head lolled backwards but Lorenzo's hand caught it. It was relatively easy to sit Ryan up. The bed was already half up and all Ryan had to do was pull the rest of the way.

"That's it, kid!" Sandy congratulated.

The therapists laid Ryan back down gently after staying vertical for a few minutes. Conchetta kept her hand in Ryan's curled right one trying to open up some space between his palm and fingers. The team sat up in similar fashion two more times and were about to have another go but the therapists noticed Ryan had pretty much fallen asleep. The PT's offered their kind words to Sandy before they left.

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Kirsten and Seth returned for dinner at the hospital and with them, of course, came pictures of their afternoon out. Kirsten was going through her camera with Ryan one by one, taking her time to make sure he understood what he was seeing. When she finished showing Ryan, he looked up at Seth with an unusual expression on his face.

"Ryan, are you ok?" Kirsten asked, skeptical.

"Mom, he's fine," Seth stood up and moved towards Ryan's right side. "You're wondering why on Earth I'd ever go see a place like that, aren't you?"

"Seth I don't think he—" Kirsten started but stopped immediately when she saw Ryan nod slightly and smile.

"Well not to worry, bro. There was this guy selling newspapers and magazines outside the square and guess what? I totally picked up this Italian comic," Seth said laughing as he pulled out his famed purchase. "I bought it for a few reasons. One, I look like a world traveler with a souvenir of this kind. Two, I kinda understand the plot based on the pictures. And three, and the most important reason, it gives me another excuse to talk to Angelina. She can do some translation," Seth finished with a proud smile.

Ryan shook his head and rolled his eyes then nodded off to sleep, and for the first time that vacation, the Cohens saw a true glimpse of the old Ryan. It would be a while, but everyone was certain on one thing: Ryan would be back.