Disclaimer: The characters all belong to other people.
A.N. Many thanks go to Lisa for her assistance in getting this in final shape. If there is anything wrong it's my fault and it would have turned out better if I'd only listened to Lisa.
A Bad Monday
6:00 AM
Ryan woke to the music of his clock radio and the clanging bell of his alarm clock competing with each other to announce the start of another Monday. Seth had pronounced himself appalled that Ryan actually paid money for a windup clock. He claimed to see it as evidence that Ryan was still living in the twentieth century.
On a morning like this, Ryan knew he'd been right to buy a clock with the loudest alarm he could find and was glad he had set his backup alarm last night. The music coming from the clock radio, even tuned to Seth's favorite radio station, wasn't annoying enough this morning to get him going and he could handle it without leaving bed. The alarm clock required him to get out of bed.
The sleeping pill had done its job. He'd enjoyed eight hours of uninterrupted and dreamless sleep. In the last two days he had managed only a couple of short fitful naps. Never had his body hurt so badly, in so many places, not even after the worst fight. He could find no comfortable sleeping position. Just the pain of turning in bed still jolted him awake.
On the few occasions when he managed to fall asleep, the dream would start. The dream always played out the same: he was watching the emergency personnel work on the Range Rover and he was yelling at them to help Seth first. The men working on the truck never heard him; and Seth, covered in blood, always emerged last. Seth's question to his rescuers 'Is Ryan okay?' a;.
The pain and stiffness that made every movement an effort seemed little improved from yesterday. Well, he'd known this moment would come so he raised himself onto his elbows and slowly inched his way toward the edge of the bed. He might not want to move but he did want to silence that alarm clock. Its incessant clanging was giving him a headache.
Ryan reached the edge of the bed and threw back the covers. Slowly he swung his legs over the side and let their momentum bring his body up so that he was now sitting up on the edge of his bed. Pushing up and off from the side of the bed, he crossed the room like an old man, hunched over in pain, to shut off the alarm. The sudden quiet in the pool house, was only broken by the cracking of the vertebrate in his back as he slowly stretched and studied his next challenge. The steps up from the sleeping area to the upper level of the pool house had to be overcome to reach the bathroom and a hot shower.
Before this weekend, he had never thought of two steps up as a climb. But now it was only the desire for hot water on his aching body that got him to the top and into his bathroom. Going for a water temperature as hot as he could stand, he reached into the shower stall and adjusted the faucets. He slipped off his sleeping shorts and let them drop where he stood. Staring at them for a moment, he hoped that the shower would loosen his joints enough for him to be able to pick them up after the shower. With that cheery thought, he opened the shower door and stepped into the steamy stall.
The heat of the water was a shock against his skin. Ryan leaned into the force of the stream and pressed his palms against the wall of the shower stall. The water struck his neck and cascaded down his back. He relaxed his back, working as many of his aching muscles as possible under the pulsing jets of the showerhead. As the water soothed the tension in his muscles, his thoughts returned to the night of the accident when he had made such a fool of himself at the hospital.
*****
Ryan was slumped down in one of the chairs in the waiting room asleep. His exhaustion and the pain medication had finally overcome his concern for Seth. He didn't see the surgeon come out of the door leading back to the surgical suites nor did he notice when Sandy and Kirsten left him to go over to talk with the doctor. When Kirsten touched his arm he roused with a start and stared at her in confusion. For a moment, he didn't recognize the woman with the tired, puffy eyes kneeling by his chair. Everything reconnected when she spoke.
"Ryan, Seth's surgeon was just here. He told us that he felt the surgery was a success and that Seth's doing well. He'll be going to Recovery in a few minutes, where he'll spend the rest of the night. Tomorrow they'll transfer him to the surgical floor." The words sounded like good news, but Ryan wondered why Kirsten still looked so worried.
"When can I see Seth?" At her lack of response to his question, suspicion clouded his face. "What's wrong, Kirsten? What aren't you telling me?"
Kirsten looked up at Sandy standing beside her. She was too tired to deal with this. She needed help.
Sandy put his hand on her shoulder to steady her and tried to reassure the boy. "Ryan, Kirsten told you everything we know. We're not keeping anything from you. We're all tired. And you, especially, need to go home and get some rest. As soon as Seth gets to Recovery, I'm taking you home."
Ryan shook off Kirsten's hand and stood up. "NO, I WON'T LEAVE! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! I WON'T GO!" He yelled, backing away from them. He crossed his arms over his stomach as though to ward off a blow and turned his back on them.
Sandy helped Kirsten to her feet. Holding hands they stared at Ryan's back. Again Kirsten went to him, laying her fingers lightly on his shoulder. The flinch she felt at her touch made her shiver. "Ryan, honey, please turn around. Please look at me. Sandy's telling the truth. We're not keeping anything from you. We think you should go home because you're exhausted and because we're worried about you."
Embarrassed by his outburst and the hurt he heard in Kirsten's voice, but unwilling to back down, Ryan didn't turn. "If that's true, I want to see Seth before I go home."
"Ryan, that's not possible. They don't allow anyone under 18 into Recovery and only one visitor can be in with him at a time. Sandy isn't just going to take you home; he's going home to stay, to get some sleep himself." Kirsten gave Sandy a sharp look daring him to contradict her. She felt the tension leave Ryan's shoulder. He rubbed his hand across his face and slowly turned to face them.
"It's just that people don't always get well in hospitals, I know that. They also die here. And, sometimes people lie to you when they don't want you around, or because they think they're protecting you, or maybe a lie is just more convenient for them." Ryan's voice was choked with emotion. "If Seth died, the last thing I heard him say was, 'Is Ryan okay?' I have to be here for him."
Kirsten drew Ryan to her in a fierce hug. "Ryan, we're not doing any of those things. If I seem worried, it's just that this place brings back memories of my mother's death. We just want you to get some rest. I promise if anything happens during the night that you will be here. Do you believe me?" She studied his face intently. His shy smile reassured her.
"Yeah, I believe you. But, can I at least see Seth before I leave? I wouldn't have to go into his room, or anything. I need to see for myself that he's okay." Ryan directed his plea to both of them.
Kirsten looked at Sandy helplessly. Sandy nodded and, with the attitude of a man thinking out loud, asked. "Kirsten, do you think this hospital would like a pediatric trauma unit? I'll ask when I present Ryan's request to the powers that be." Kirsten gave him a surprised look and then smiled as she watched him walk away to find someone in charge.
"Can you guys forgive me for being so…?" Ryan hesitated.
Kirsten laughed and brushed the hair out of Ryan's eyes. "…Concerned about Seth?" She offered. "Yes, always. Now if Sandy can swing this we have a deal, right? You will go home with Sandy and get some sleep." Kirsten tucked her arm through Ryan's and together they strolled toward Recovery to see what Sandy had worked out.
The persuasive power of Sandy's charm and Kirsten's checkbook proved that no rule was absolute. An hour later Ryan found himself standing alongside Sandy outside the curtains surrounding Seth's bed. Kirsten pulled back the curtains for them. They could see Seth lying still and pale, attached to monitors and IV stands by wires and tubes which formed a misshapen spider web with him, the fly, at its center.
Kirsten gave Sandy and Ryan, in turn, quick hugs. It pained her to see the anguish in Ryan's face. "I want the two of you out of here. The sooner you leave; the sooner you can relieve me tomorrow. Now, go!"
She handed Ryan off to Sandy and then settled herself into the chair next to Seth's bed. As they turned to leave, Sandy saw her open the new J. D. Robb novel he'd bought for her in the gift shop two days ago. He smiled to himself as he noted that she still seemed to be reading the first chapter.
Sandy turned to Ryan as they walked quietly through Recovery. "You know, Ryan, Seth's not big into hugs or any demonstrations of affection from the parental units." Ryan looked at him quizzically until Sandy held out a fist. Ryan smiled and touched knuckles with him.
Passing through the doors of the Recovery ward seemed to be the signal for the last of the Ryan's energy to fade away. He found himself thinking fuzzily about what Sandy had said about Seth and his parents, affection, and hugs.
"Sometimes Seth's an idiot." Ryan glanced hastily at Sandy. Had he said that aloud? He hoped not but then what did Sandy find so funny?
*****
Ryan stretched, rolled his shoulders, and then turned, slowly letting the streaming water rinse away the last of the soapsuds. He still marveled at the good fortune that had brought him to this family. He told himself that it was only some stray shampoo that caused his eyes to water. Reluctantly, he turned off the water. He couldn't stay there all day, no matter how much better it made him feel.
The feel of the thick, soft towel against his skin was one more reminder that he wasn't in Chino anymore. These towels didn't come from the shelves at WalMart. The water had worked its magic; he could pick up his shorts from the floor where he had dropped them.