The rest of the evening was a blur. The images kept flitting through Marissa's head. All the blood, Ryan's face, covered in more pain than a person could fathom, the ambulance finally coming, the look on the paramedic's faces- of panic and horror. And the sounds, of Heater's panicked voice on the phone with 911, Ryan's choked breathing, the sirens, the muffled voices, Heather talking to the Cohens on the phone. The only comforting thing she had heard was the first, After she had yelled for Heather and she was on the phone, Marissa had held her arms around Ryan, trying to keep him from bleeding even more. He had looked up at her, his face pale and bruised and his eyes dark, but what he said was what mattered. "I love you Marissa, and I always have," he breathed gruffly, "and I always will."

She had cried and said, "Just stop talking okay? You're going to be okay, we will be okay. And I love you, more than anyone, okay?"

He breathed heavily and responded, almost too quietly to hear, "okay."

All night they waited. People had told her numerous times to go home and change, but she just sat there. Sandy, Kirsten and Seth had come instantly and soon after Summer arrived. She brought clothes and had to drag Marissa into the bathroom and peel her shirt off of her, It was soaked in blood and so were her pants. All night they sat waiting, Julie brought some food, but nobody ate. Every once in a while a doctor would come out and say something like, "It looks like the blade punctured…" or "He lost a lot of blood, but he should make it," All the words were meaningless to them though.

Marissa was overwhelmed with guilt. Everything with Volchok was my fault. Why did I date him? Super possessive is obviously something I'm drawn to, but that only worked when it was Ryan. She thought, and that was all she could do, think and worry.

Finally at 5 am a doctor came out and said that the surgery was over and he would be okay. Everyone gave a huge sigh of relief and cried. They hugged each other. Soon after that a doctor said that they could go in and see him, but only 4, so Sandy, Kirsten, Seth and Marissa went.

When she first saw him her heart skipped a beat. He was really alive, he was going to be okay and he loved her. She flew to his side and held his hand. He was bruised all over, his face, arms, torso, and that was all that she could see, who knew where else.

Seth walked over slowly, "Dude, you're not looking so good. You just had to get in a fight with a guy who wanted you dead huh? Well, maybe we'll get some more Seth-Ryan time in now that you're going to be bed ridden a lot this summer."

Kirsten cried silently into Sandy's shoulder and looked at her two boys.

A nurse came in and told them that he wouldn't be waking up for another 7 or 8 hours. Kirsten walked over to Marissa and held her hand. "He knows you're here sweet heart, but now you need to go home and sleep and wash up, we all need to."

"Okay" was all she could mutter. As they walked out of the room Seth said "See you later man."

Around 10 o'clock Seth returned to see that Julie and Summer had both brought large bouquets of flowers to Ryan's room. "I brought some comic books for you" Seth muttered. Then he sat in the chair next to Ryan and started reading.

At 11:30 Marissa walked in to a zonked out Seth next to an equally deeply sleeping Ryan. She sat at the end of Ryan's bed and started talking. She told him about everything, what she was scared of and how proud she was of him. For a whole hour she just talked quietly and watched him breathe . His face was black and blue, one eye was swollen and his lip was puffed up and bloody.

Marissa grabbed a wash cloth and got it wet in the sink outside and started wiping the blood from his forehead, nose and lip. Meanwhile she told him, "You know, when Volchok drove away I wanted to go Ryan Atwood on him and beat the hell out of him," she chuckled humorlessly, "But then I saw you, on the ground and I just couldn't stand it. That helpless feeling I had, that nothing I did would help, that you were going to die right there. You mean everything to me, you know that right? I don't know what I've been thinking, Volchok, really? I hope you'll forgive me for dating him, for almost killing you. I love you, and I'll keep telling you that every day until forever." She finished cleaning of his face and turned around. Then she heard something.

"Marissa," Ryan mumbled almost inaudibly, his lips barely moving at all.

Marissa spun around and grabbed his hand kneeling next to him she squeezed his hand as he woke up.

"I love you." He said softly.

"Ryan, I love you too." She said, tears coming to her eyes. She threw a comic book at Seth, "Earth to Seth, Ryan's waking up!"

"Huh, what?" Seth said, confused. "oh, hey buddy. How you feeling?

At that moment Ryan's eyes flitted open. For a second a look of care and love covered his face as he looked at Marissa then it contorted to a look of pure pain.

"Ryan, are you okay?" Marissa worried.

"Ugh. My stomach, arms, chest, legs, eye, face hurts." He said between deep coarse breaths.

"It'll be okay" Marissa said, worried. "I'll go get a nurse, okay? Here, talk to Seth, keep your mind off it." And she hurried out of the room.

"Well, there is nothing like almost dying to get your girlfriend back." Seth commented. Ryan gave a feeble laugh.

"So, how are you?" Ryan asked quietly, knowing that Seth would always have something to say about himself.

"Oh, well you know. Slept for a couple hours this morning. Everyone was really worried about you. Dad picked up your car from the side of the road this morning. It has a few scratches, but nothing that can't be painted and polished. Marissa was scary looking last night dude, hardly got the story out and was covered in your blood. Summer said her shirt was like plastered to her. Can't be easy for her to watch you almost be murdered again. Heather, that chick that's friends with Volchok was here. She was totally freaked by him. The cops haven't found him yet, but Heather thinks he went down to Mexico. I don't know what he'll be charged with, attempted murder, DUI, what else? What do you get for that anyway? I'll ask dad." Seth was rambling, but it was good, keeping Ryan's mind off the pain in his side, his face and every bruised and beaten part of his body.

Marissa walked in then with a nurse. "He said that the best thing would be to put you under for a couple more hours." Marissa said softly to Ryan. "Are you okay with that?"

"Ya, sure. But just a second okay?" He looked at the nurse, who nodded. Then he tried to sit up a little, even though the pain was excruciating.

"Stop, stop." Marissa rushed over to him.

"Just," Ryan started.

"What?" Marissa looked confused.

"Kiss me?" Ryan whispered.

She chuckled and leaned over and kissed him. "I love you, you know that?" she said when she pulled away.

"I had the feeling." He whispered back.

"Goodnight then." She smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Ryan said, reaching out to hold her hand.

The nurse then gave him the drugs and he went back to sleep. Marissa and Seth walked back out of the room and down the hall.