Author's Note: Oooo Ryan, I just want to hug him. *sigh* I'm so incredibly mean.
Chapter Twenty
It was some time before Horatio, Eric and Calleigh were able to calm Ryan down to the point where they could talk to him and actually get through. Horatio didn't let go of him the whole time. They finally got Ryan off the ground, but he was too weak to even hold himself up. Horatio wrapped Ryan's right arm around his neck, half carrying him slowly toward the ambulance. Calleigh supported him from the other side.
Ryan had grown deathly quiet. His eyes were only half open, barely awake. His feet barely moved, shuffling along the dock as if he no longer had the strength to lift them, allowing Calleigh and Horatio to support most of his weight. The way he winced every time he moved made Horatio suspect he had a few torn muscles.
When they got to the end of the dock, the paramedics approached cautiously, wheeling a gurney along. Ryan cringed when he saw it.
"No…" he moaned quietly, trying weakly to recoil. The pitiful sound broke Calleigh's heart.
"It's okay, Ryan," Horatio coaxed. "We're gonna take you to the hospital. You'll be okay."
Ryan was shaking his head, trembling, but he was too weak to resist being gently laid on the gurney. He squeezed his eyes shut when they started to fit the safety belts around him, strapping him down.
Horatio gripped his hand tightly. "It's okay, Ryan," he repeated softly, over and over.
"I'll go with him," Eric said quietly. "You guys need to take the Hummers anyway."
Horatio and Calleigh nodded as the paramedics gingerly loaded Ryan into the back of the ambulance. They'd been made aware of his fragile mental state. Everyone was giving them plenty of space so as not to set him off again.
"I'll call Natalia, tell her you're on the way," Calleigh said quietly.
Eric nodded and climbed into the back of the ambulance after them. He looked out the window in the door at Horatio and Calleigh. They both had the same steely look of concern on their faces as the ambulance pulled away from the dock.
Eric thanked God this ordeal was finally over.
-|x|-
The ambulance was about five minutes away from the hospital. Eric sat in silence next to his friend, who was also making no noise. The paramedic in the back with them was busying herself with taking Ryan's vitals. A small twinge of concern clicked in the back of Eric's mind when he realized Ryan wasn't fighting her at all.
He leaned forward to get a closer look at his friend. Ryan was staring up at the ceiling blankly through half-open eyes. As if he was completely oblivious to what was happening around him.
"Ryan?"
No response whatsoever.
"I tell you what, Wolfe," Eric said quietly. "When you get out of the hospital, I'll treat you to a steak dinner at Morton's. What do you think about that?"
Ryan didn't even blink.
Eric swallowed and placed a hand on Ryan's arm. "Ryan, can you hear me?"
At first there was no response. Then Ryan's blank eyes slowly rolled over to look at Eric. His face was completely passive.
"You're gonna be okay, man. You understand?"
At first Ryan said nothing, just stared at Eric as if he wasn't even really seeing him. Then he whispered so softly, Eric barely heard him.
"They want me to die."
Eric's blood ran cold at those words. The way Ryan had said them… It wasn't fearful, or angry. It was… mildly matter-of-fact. As if it were a simple, off-handed remark of truth.
Eric looked at Ryan forcefully. "Don't listen to them, Wolfe, you got me? You fight them, you're stronger than they are, all right?"
Eric grabbed Ryan's hand and held on tight, though Ryan didn't grip his back.
"Just hold on to my hand, okay?" Eric said quietly. "We're gonna get through this. You're gonna get through this."
Ryan just continued to stare at him blankly.
And then his eyes closed.
"Ryan?"
No response.
"Hey! Wolfe, open your eyes!"
The paramedic frowned and placed her stethoscope against Ryan's chest. Her face suddenly blanched.
"He's not breathing!" she cried. She fumbled to open a breathing mask as Eric looked at her in utter bewilderment.
"What do you mean, he's not breathing?" he demanded. She handed him the mask and motioned for him to start rescue breathing. "He was fine ten seconds ago!"
"I don't know!" she said, feeling for a heartbeat. If possible, her face only grew more confused. "But his pulse is strong and steady."
Eric fitted the mask around Ryan's mouth and nose and, using the rubber bag-pump, immediately began forcing air down his friend's throat.
"Could he be having a heart attack?" he asked fearfully.
"If he is, it's not like any heart attack I've ever seen," she said, busying herself with rechecking all of his vitals. "His heart seems perfectly fine."
"He was having chest pains before…"
"Which is also common with your run-of-the-mill panic attack," she told him. "No, this isn't a heart attack… It's like he just… decided to stop breathing."
Eric looked at her, dumbstruck, then looked back down at Ryan. He continued pumping air into his friend's still frame, watching his chest rise and fall with every squeeze of the bag.
"Damn it, Wolfe, don't give up!" Eric growled. "You hear me? Don't give in!"
Ryan's eyes opened ever so slightly, two thin slits of hazel barely visible. He looked at Eric meaningfully, seeming to put every last ounce of strength he had into that one look.
The cruel words emanating from within those tortured hazel eyes were plain as day.
Just let me die.
Eric shook his head flatly, meeting Ryan's gaze straight on.
"No, I'm not stopping," he stated quietly, still pumping air down Ryan's throat. "If you can't fight anymore, then I'll just have to fight for you."
Ryan closed his eyes again.
A single tear leaked out of the corner of his eye, trickled down the side of his face and was lost in his hair.
Author's Note: I revel in your fury at me right now! :P Come on, you didn't think I would let them get away that easy, did you? Lol Our boy's not out of the woods yet, oh what shall I inflict upon him next? :P