Disclaimer: The characters in The OC belong to other people, not me. Here's hoping they make lots of money and The OC stays on the air for a long time.

TEN MINUTES

Ryan watches as a nurse injects a drug into the IV attached to Seth's arm.

"You'll feel better soon. Don't try to be such a tough guy next time. Ask for your pain shot when you first think you might need it. Remember, there's always going to be a delay between the asking and the getting." As she gathers up her supplies she sees Ryan waiting at the door. "Look's like your brother is here again." She smiles at Ryan as she leaves. "Remember, only 10 minutes."

"Hey." Ryan calls softly as he enters Seth's room. His eyes take in the room, its occupant, and the monitoring equipment hooked up to him. A look of relief brightens his face as Seth's eyes focus on him. Ryan crosses the room and maneuvers the bedside chair around so he is facing his friend. "You're finally awake, sleepy head."

Ryan sits forward in the deep chair and searches Seth's eyes. "You really are hurting aren't you?" He rests his hand on Seth's leg. "You should listen to the nurse. You probably get faster service here than the public hospitals I've been in; but I don't want to have to peel you off the wall if you wait too long for your shot."

Seth smiles. "OK, doc." Then asks. "Why were you in a hospital?

"I haven't been a patient in a hospital that often. Mostly I went to the ER for dumb things that happened around the house."

Seth regards him skeptically.

"It's true. I was a real klutz as a kid. Always breaking things or needing stitches. I learned to be more careful as I got older." Ryan stares off into space as he remembers.

"I've only been a patient in a hospital three times: once for my tonsils when I was really young; once when I was burned by a hot iron; and once when I fell on an escalator at the mall. But I've visited Trey in the hospital when he was on the wrong end of a drive by and mom a couple of times."

Seth waits to see if Ryan will continue. "A hot iron, an escalator? That's it?" Seth studies Ryan's face. The matter of fact way in which he relates his "accidents" and his indifference to what he's saying unnerves Seth and leaves him at a loss for words.

"OK. Moving on. You were here earlier, Ryan? I don't remember that."

"Yeah. Numerous times. They let me in for a couple of minutes after you came down from surgery. You were totally out of it. I got in a couple of times yesterday. You were never awake more than a few minutes at a time so I read during my time with you. And then this afternoon I saw you after Sandy and I got here to relieve your mom. Your eyes were open but you weren't saying much. So I guess it's an open question as to whether you were awake or not. I had to do most of the talking."

Seth rolls his eyes. "So you're saying we sat here in silence?"

"Yeah, pretty much, but it was a good silence." Ryan leans forward and squeezes Seth's leg. " You scared the hell out of me. Don't do that again. I would have come to see you more but the visiting rules suck. I wanted you to know that I was here for you."

"Don't have to prove anything to me, dude." Seth gives Ryan a mischievous look and says, "I hear it wasn't just the hospital's rules that pissed you off. How about giving me your version."

Ryan has developed an interest in Seth's bedding. He straightens the sheet and smoothes out the wrinkles in his bedspread. Ignoring Seth's comment, Ryan continues to fuss with the bedding. "You know, I've done this before."

Confused by the change of subject, Seth asks, "Done what before?"

"Tucked you in. The night of the fashion show you passed out on the pool house couch and I put you to bed. I've had lots of practice doing that." A frown crosses his face but he shakes his head and finishes what he's doing. Satisfied with his efforts, Ryan sits back down in the chair. Only this time he lets it recline partially so he's no longer looking directly at Seth but at a spot on the wall above his head.

"Uh. Thanks. That was my first time. Getting drunk, I mean. But I did make it to my own bed, right? That's where I woke up the next morning. The day dad took you back to Chino. I didn't embarrass you, or myself, did I?

Ryan smiles. "No, you were just a funny, talkative drunk. Who would have guessed?"

He remembers Seth's excited ramblings in the pool house about taking on the jocks from school (They had so totally gotten their asses kicked.) and the two of them guarding each other's back. Ryan reckons it was the best fight he ever lost. "No you didn't embarrass me or yourself."

"Hey man, let's get back on topic here. Mom told me all about it. I wanted to know why I hadn't seen you and that's when she outted you. Come on, give. This is Seth. Did you really shout at them? You never raise your voice to anyone, if you don't count Julie Cooper."

Ryan continues staring at the wall and says in a flat voice, "No."

Grinning, Seth says, "No, you didn't shout at them or what? Mom said you shouted at them when they told you had to go home with Dad last night." Seth's eyes widen. "Ryan Atwood, are you blushing?"

Ryan brings his chair upright again and meets Seth's eyes. Gathering his dignity he says softly, "Yelled."

"What, Ryan, I didn't hear you? The smile on his face gives the lie to his question..

"I SAID I YELLED AT THEM! Sort of like that." Ryan says trailing off. "But it was the pain pills. That stuff messes up my head. Anyway, I apologized to your dad that night and to your mom the next afternoon when we got to the hospital. I just wanted them to know I was sorry." Ryan, anxiety creasing his face, says, "I can't believe I did it."

"Ryan, no teenager apologizes twice in less than twelve hours to his parents for the same thing. You've got to ditch the guilt and move on. Besides, Mom was smiling when she told the story this morning. I don't think you've burned any bridges as far as they're concerned."

"You think, Seth?" The flush slowly fading from his face.

Seth rolls his eyes. " OK, tell me how come I'm tied down with all these tubes and wires like Gulliver in Lilliput and with enough electronics hooked up to me to send the original Sputnik into orbit. And you, you're walking around more or less normal." Seth inspects Ryan's face. "Your rugged good looks seem to have survived. Marissa shouldn't have any complaints once the swelling goes down and you lose the Technicolor bruising that makes you look like your auditioning for clown school."

Ryan can actually see the question forming before Seth asks it. "If you look like that, how bad am I?"

"Well, compared with what?" Ryan asks innocently.

"Compared with before. Hell, compared with you now." Seth sighs. "Never mind, forget it. I'm always going to play Starsky to your Hutch. You can tell me when I feel better."

"Sorry, Seth. You are no worse off than I am; but I think you're talking too much. You should give your shot time to work. Anyway, do you remember the tractor trailer hitting us?" At Seth's nod he continues. "We're both alive because you made me wear my seatbelt that day and our airbags deployed. You're in here because two other jerks that were going too fast hit us, both on your side of the truck, after the trailer. There might have been more than two but I lost track of things after the third impact."

"We are so lucky, Ryan, another one of Seth Cohen's grand plans gone awry. But I have a memory of you covered in blood. That can't be right; you look too good."

Ryan leans back in the chair. "That's pretty much a true memory. I was covered in blood but most of it wasn't mine." Seth gulps and looks paler if possible. "But things are better now." Ryan smiles wickedly. "Instead of having the coloring of one of Drusilla's discarded boy toys, your color has improved to that of a recently fed vamp."

"Morbid humor at my expense, delivered in my own hospital room, with an appropriate metaphor drawn from a cult TV show, Ryan Atwood, you will be my greatest creation. I am truly the Master." Seth chuckles and winces in pain as the movement stretches his incisions.

Ryan hands him a pillow. "Hold that to your stomach when you laugh, Master. It will help. They told mom to do that when she had her hysterectomy."

Catching his breath, Seth fixes his eyes on Ryan. "Do you know how I'm doing? Mom says not to worry. But if my doctor has been by to see me, I don't remember the visit. So, what do you know?"

"Seth, they haven't told me any more than they have you. They said that your surgery went well and that you should be as good as new. Whatever that means in your case." Ryan smiles. "But I do know from first hand observation that your Mom and Dad both look happier and less anxious than they did yesterday. So, probably your parents aren't feeding you a line. I'd try to be awake for the next visit from your doctor though, if you want a true picture."

Ryan notices that the shot is starting to take effect. Seth's eyelids are starting to flutter but he rallies and asks the really important question. "Did anyone else come to the hospital to see me?

"Anyone or Summer, Seth?"

Seth considers the question unworthy of an answer.

"No, no one else came to the hospital." But at Seth's doleful expression Ryan hurries to explain. "No one came because I told them that the hospital wouldn't let non-family members in to see you. Your mom and dad had to lie and say I was your brother to get me in. But between all the calls from Marissa and Summer that first night they killed the battery on Sandy's cell phone before we ever got home. It was the same yesterday. I am probably in big trouble though. I forgot to call Anna." Seth gives him a sheepish look. "Yeah, Seth and his harem. I'll do it as soon as I get out of here. It will be on my head; you were unconscious."

"So, do you need anything before I leave?"

"Water."

Ryan shakes his head. "I think you'll have to settle for a swab. You haven't even gotten to the ice chip stage. So, lemon or lime, Seth?"

"Lemon." Ryan checks the table beside Seth's bed and comes up with a lemon swab. He tears open the foil and places the swab in Seth's mouth for him to suck on. "Thanks. These things are the next things to being useless." Seth makes a disgusted face. "I think it's done already."

Ryan retrieves the swab and tosses it into the wastebasket. He clasps Seth's hand and squeezes. "You get better fast! It's back to school for me tomorrow and it will be my first day there without you. I need you to guard my back. You don't want the pod people to assimilate me."

Seth's eyes are closed as he answers. "You're too tough a nut for the pod people to have a chance with you." His voice grows softer as he drifts off to sleep. "Ryan, thanks for coming. I knew you would." Ryan stands beside the bed still holding Seth's hand, listening to his breath grow more regular as he drifts off to sleep. He has finished tucking Seth's arm under the sheet and is adjusting the spread over him when Seth mutters. "Love you, Ryan."

Ryan looks at Seth for a moment and then leans down to whisper in his ear. "Love you too, bro." He turns away from Seth's bed and walks slowly to the door. At the door he pauses and looks back at his sleeping friend. With a thoughtful expression on his face, he continues on to the waiting room.

AN: Since Ryan is only allowed a ten minute visit with Seth, I thought it would be interesting to see how much you could squeeze into a "real time" story. By my watch, reading the dialogue in this story gives a real time of about 10 minutes. Of course, I don't read Adam's lines as fast or Ben's lines as slowly as the guys would deliver them. I'm assuming it all averages out.

AN: I tend to fall into the Platonic damnit Platonic camp; however, if there ever was to be some kind of declaration by either of the boys I think it would only happen if one of them was drunk, delirious, high on something, or some combination of the above. The meaning of Seth's statement is ambiguous, as is Ryan's response. Real life is messy.

The author doesn't know what it means either. So don't ask. Maybe I can work it out in a future story.