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!
-------------
Ryan transferred across the street two days later to St. Francis Acute Rehabilitation Hospital in Venice where he would stay for two weeks before returning home to America. After saying a tearful goodbye to all the staff at the main hospital, Sandy, Seth, and Kirsten helped move Ryan. Seth pushed Ryan in a wheelchair out of the main hospital and through the doors of the rehab facility. Sandy and Kirsten followed with a duffel bag of Ryan's things and were ready to settle him into his new room. The nurses had called ahead to expect a translator and sure enough, one was waiting for them at the entrance.
"Are you the Cohens?" the translator Marcus asked.
"Yes, hi. I'm Sandy and this is my wife Kirsten and our sons Seth and Ryan," Sandy spoke, pointing to each family member as he introduced them.
"I am Marcus. Nice to meet you all. Welcome to St. Francis." Marcus led them to the front desk where he conversed with the nurses.
Soon the family made it down the hall to room 113. Two nurses got Ryan settled and said that Ryan's roommate would be back later in the afternoon. Sure enough, by 2pm, Ryan's roommate wheeled in, waking the teen.
The man was around fifty years old and was the most stereotypical Italian the Cohens had ever seen. He had a gold necklace on and had multiple chunky, gold rings adorning his fingers on both hands. Clearly Ryan wasn't in the pediatric ward. Right away the man spoke rapid Italian, scared of the strange people in front of him. One nurse came running in to calm him down.
"He scared," the nurse explained. "This is Antonio. He had stroke two weeks ago. I will tell more later." Everyone nodded and looked at a stunned Ryan.
"Ryan, it's ok, honey," Kirsten began as she sat next to her son. "This is your roommate. He was just surprised to see us. Everything is fine, sweetie." Kirsten finished, running her fingers down Ryan's cheek. He nodded and fell back asleep.
-------------
When Ryan woke up next, a speech therapist and Marcus the translator were standing over him ready to work.
"Can't you let him sleep a bit more?" Kirsten asked, looking longingly at her son. "He's so tired from moving."
Both Italians smiled.
"We need to get him speaking as soon as we can. I know he is tired, but we will let him rest soon," Marcus spoke for the therapist. Kirsten nodded.
Ryan made another soft noise in a way that made Kirsten laugh. It was almost as if he was saying, 'You want me to work? Yah, right.'
"Ryan can you repeat what I am doing?" the therapist made a low humming noise and looked at Ryan expectantly. "Ryan can you hum for us?" he prompted again. Ryan stared at the translator then looked at Kirsten.
"It's ok, honey. Listen to the translator. They are here to help you. Here, I'll hum, too," Kirsten comforted and repeated the same tone. She felt so bad for Ryan every time a translator spoke. Ryan was confused already let alone distinguishing between Italian and English.
Ryan nodded and made the humming noise. He smiled.
"Good job!" both the therapist and Kirsten said, again producing a smile from Ryan.
The group continued with humming at different pitches. The last exercise they did was humming 'Happy Birthday,' a pretty much universal tune. The therapist started the first couple of seconds and looked at Ryan to repeat, which he did. However to everyone's surprise, Ryan continued the rest of the song alone. He let out a laugh at the end of the song and beamed as everyone clapped for him. Signs of congratulations were the same in every language.
His accomplishments, however, wore him out and he soon fell back asleep.
"Mrs. Cohen," the translator began. "Ryan is doing exceptionally well. The fact that he could repeat me and then recall the song is great. The brain in the area of the skull that was fractured is responsible for language interpretation and expression. Clearly his understanding is intact which makes his recovery incredibly smoother. We will get him talking soon. His intense therapies will start tomorrow. I have read Ryan's case thoroughly and I expect aphasia based on the CT scans and physician's reports, but Ryan is doing so well right now already. You should be proud."
-------------
A few hours later, Kirsten had to say goodnight to Ryan. At the rehab center, a minor was considered to be 16 years old, and anyone else couldn't have anyone stay overnight. It broke Kirsten's heart to say goodbye.
"Ryan," Kirsten sat down next to him. "Ryan listen to me. I can't sleep over with you tonight like I did at the other hospital. I have to go back to the hotel with Sandy and Seth. But I promise we will all be back tomorrow as soon as we can, ok?" she searched her son for a sign of understanding. "I need to leave now, alright? I promise I will be back as soon as I can. They will take great care of you here. You just relax and sleep." She looked Ryan up and down. He looked like he wanted to say something.
Instead, he put his arm in the air and Kirsten recognized the gesture immediately. She began to tear as she put her arm around Ryan and hugged him.
As Kirsten got up to leave, she almost ran into the night nurse. "Oh, I'm sorry. I know I need to leave. I was just saying goodnight to my son."
"Your foster son," the nurse corrected speaking very good English.
"Well, yes, we wrote that on the paper, but in all other respects, he is our son," Kirsten stated firmly, eyeing the nurse.
"I see. You speak well to him. You must have been together for a while."
"Actually it's only been a few months…" Kirsten trailed off, looking at Ryan.
"He is seventeen, yes?"
"Yes, he is. Well my husband is a lawyer and he…met…Ryan through that. Ryan came to live with us after his parents left him. It's a long story, actually."
"You obviously have loved him from the start."
Kirsten laughed. "At first I was actually a bit apprehensive of the situation to be honest. But this vacation, this trip, I don't know. I feel like I can really be a mother to him, show him that I care. His real mother never took care of him. He's so innocent and lost now and I have no doubt in my mind now that I can help him. I don't know what I was…afraid of. It seems so natural now, having him around."
"Mrs. Cohen," the nurse put her hand on Kirsten's shoulder. "I have worked here many years and I can tell. This boy's going to make it. You and your family take good care of him, even in the brief moments I've noticed. He trusts you and now he shows it. He feels safe with you. You keep your love and you will see. Yes. This boy's going to make it. And you will make it, too." The nurse smiled again and entered the room to look at Ryan's chart, leaving a shocked Kirsten in the doorway.