Sandy and Kirsten continued to quietly stare at Ryan as he slept.
Unfortunately, he wasn't asleep for very long before they heard him moan.
"You okay?" Sandy asked, not really sure if Ryan was awake or just moaning in his sleep, so he was actually a little surprised when Ryan answered, "No."
Kirsten reached down and touched him before asking, "Is it your arm or your stomach?"
"Both." Ryan moaned.
He didn't immediately open his eyes, not until he heard Kirsten ask, "Do you think you're going to be sick again?"
"No!" Ryan snapped. "It's just. I'm still nauseous, that's all. Nothing like before." Ryan tried to explain. He hadn't met to snap at Kirsten, but he couldn't stand to look at her holding the same bowl. Its just not going to happen again, he thought, never again would Kirsten be forced to catch puke.
"What about your arm?" Sandy asked.
"It hurts." Ryan mumbled, figuring that was as close to the truth as he wanted to tell Sandy. He really wasn't in the mood to listen to any more apologies. It was a relief to see a nurse approach his bed. It wasn't the same young nurse as before; it was an older one. Ryan figured Sandy and Kirsten would both be able to talk to her, and he'd be done with the questions.
She just smiled at Ryan as she said, "It's good to see you're awake again. How are you feeling?"
"Great, more questions." Ryan muttered under his breath, but told the nurse, "Fine."
After catching the look he was getting from Kirsten, he quickly turned his head. He knew that look too well, and he knew he didn't like it.
"He says his stomach is still upset, that he's still nauseous. And that his arm hurts." Kirsten informed the nurse, still giving Ryan her look.
"It's not uncommon for the nausea to last about twenty-four hours. Ryan may still experience more vomiting as well during that time." The nurse informed them and then asked Ryan, "what does the pain in your arm feel like?"
Ryan could only stare at this new nurse for a second before snidely telling her, "Like I broke it," and then quickly regretted the comment as both Sandy and Kirsten said, "Ryan!"
"It hurts." Ryan added, "It's achy and sore, and it burns."
"That's completely normal." The nurse told him, and as much as Ryan wanted to say, "then why ask?" he decided it would be better to not say anything, so he just rolled his eyes.
"But since you haven't vomited again, I can give you something for the pain before we transfer you upstairs." The nurse continued as she moved to the side of Ryan's bed and began to pull his blankets back.
"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, as he tried to pull the covers back up with his left hand, and it was then the nurse's turn to stare at Ryan for a second before telling him, "your pain medication, Ryan. I'm giving you pain medication."
Ryan held up his left hand, showing her the IV and said, "It goes in here."
The nurse shook her head and began to pull the blankets back again as she told him, "Nope. Sorry, honey. Your doctor ordered pain meds as needed, IM." And when Ryan only stared at her blankly she said, "Intramuscular." And when that didn't get a response from Ryan, she said, "A shot, Ryan. He ordered a shot."
With his only remaining hand, Ryan held onto the blankets as he demanded to know, "Then what's the purpose of an IV if you're going to keep sticking things in my thigh?"
"To keep you from getting dehydrated, to have an easy access in case of an emergency so we can administer medication quickly and because we feel like being mean." The nurse told him. Ryan wasn't sure if she was trying to joke or not since he couldn't tell by her tone. Either way, he knew he didn't like her, and he definitely didn't like the idea of another needle in his thigh.
He liked it even less when she told him, "But don't worry. I won't stick this one in your thigh. Come on, roll onto your side."
Ryan only shook his head no and glared at the nurse. He definitely liked the younger nurse better, the one Kirsten scared away. This older one didn't seem to notice or even care that he was glaring at her.
"Ryan," Kirsten finally said, "Do as the nurse says."
"Come on, Ryan." The nurse tried to sound sweet, "I promise, it will only sting for a second. I'm sure you can hold your mom's hand, and it'll be over one, two, three. Then you'll feel much better."
Ryan continued to glare at her as he told her, "Don't patronize me. I'm not a child."
It was Sandy who finally pulled back the covers and told Ryan, "Then stop acting like one. The nurse is only following the doctor's orders, so you need to do as she says."
Ryan shifted his glare from the nurse to Sandy and just as quickly stopped as Ryan's glare was met with a glare from Sandy. Not exactly the face of a man filled with Jewish guilt, Ryan thought as he looked down at his bed, weighing his options. He realized there were no options when Sandy simply said, "Now, Ryan!" in that tone that Ryan knew meant not to argue.
He didn't argue, but Ryan did try to explain, "It's just. They've already stuck me twice in my thigh, and now she wants to stick that one in my... not in my thigh. I have an IV. I know you can stick medication in an IV." But no one said anything to Ryan; they all just stared at him until he finally said, "fine," and rolled onto his side.
Kirsten did try to hold his hand, but he balled it into a fist as he felt the nurse move his hospital gown out of the way. He then closed his eyes as he felt the cold alcohol wipe, and then he clenched his jaw when he felt the stinging pinch of the needle.
"There you go. All done. See, that wasn't so bad." The mean old nurse told him as she tugged his gown down and recovered him with the blankets. Ryan didn't move or saying anything at first. He really wanted to tell the nurse what he thought of her and her shot, but knew it wouldn't matter. Nothing he had said or wanted had matter, so he figured this wouldn't be any different. It came as a shock to Ryan when he felt a tear in his eye, and he wiped it away quickly, hoping that Kirsten and Sandy didn't see him. Ryan let out a sigh as he rolled back onto his back. He relaxed his fist and unclenched his jaw slightly, but kept his eyes closed. He decided it would be best if he just lay back and waited for the Morphine to kick in. He didn't want to look at Kirsten or Sandy, and he certainly didn't want to talk to them.
He wanted to open his eyes even less after he felt Kirsten run her hand over his head and whisper, "It's okay. You'll feel better soon. I promise." Then he felt a strong squeeze on his left shoulder and knew it was from Sandy. Great, Ryan thought, they did see me crying over the damn shot. It was a relief to Ryan when he began to feel the effects of the Morphine take hold. He knew it would take the edge off his pain so he relaxed and waited to embrace the same happy feeling he had after the last shot.
His happy feeling was short lived when he heard the mean old nurse talking. He assumed she was talking to Kirsten and Sandy, but then heard two vaguely familiar voices so he opened his eyes to see two orderlies standing by his bed.
"Hey, Ryan, my man!" the one orderly said and when Ryan looked at him strangely he added, "It's us. Your old pals Roger and Dion, here to take you on another short ride just as soon as you're ready to go."
This guy's a little too cheerful Ryan thought but as long as they were there to get him out of Recovery, he was more then willing to go with them. "Yeah, home, James." Ryan tried to joke, but the orderly just told him, "Actually, it's Roger. And home for right now is third floor, Peds."
"Peds? Peds!" Ryan exclaimed, "As in Pediatrics? Why am I going to Pediatrics?"
"Because you're a minor." The nurse told him, holding up his chart and pointing to a bright red sticker. "All minors go to the Pediatric wing after Recovery."
"It's only for a little while." Sandy reassured him, "Just a couple of hours until you're strong enough to go home."
"I'm strong enough to go home now." Ryan insisted, and when they all just stared at him again, he mumbled "fine" again. Then added, "Just don't tell Seth where we're going."
"Ryan," Kirsten told him, "I don't think Seth cares where you're moved to. I think he's just going to be glad to finally be able to see you."
"Besides," Sandy added, "He promised, no more jokes about your arm."
"Yeah, what's he going to do, stop breathing?" Ryan mumbled.
Kirsten tried to reassure him by telling him, "You'll see. He's just going to be happy to see for himself that you're okay."
Ryan just shook his head slightly instead of arguing with Kirsten. He still wasn't feeling well, despite the Morphine shot, so when the orderlies began to move his bed, he closed his eyes and tried not to think of the queasy feeling in his stomach. No one said anything else as the orderlies continued to move Ryan, with Kirsten and Sandy following behind, but they were all greeted by Seth the second they got through the double doors that led Ryan out of Recovery.
"Well, it's about time!" Seth said, "I was beginning to think you decided to slip out the back way or something. Did you guys forget you had another kid here? One who may be just a little curious as to what was going on?"
"Seth," Kirsten reminded him, "You knew Ryan had to stay in Recovery for a while."
"That was a long while." Seth told her before turning to Ryan, "I'm glad to see you return! So, how you doing Gimpy?"
"Gimpy?" Ryan asked. Must be the Morphine, he thought.
"Yeah," Seth told him, pointing to his right side. "Gimpy."
"Seth," Ryan explained, "Gimpy is what you call someone who hurt his leg, not his arm."
Seth just shrugged and then said, "Oh, okay. Then how about Lefty?"
"Seth....." Ryan warned.
"Don't like Lefty?" Seth told him, "How about Bandit?"
"Bandit?" Ryan asked, and then realized, he shouldn't have asked.
"Yeah, you know," Seth joked, "Like the one armed bandit. Vegas."
"Seth, knock it off." Kirsten told him as Sandy said, "No more jokes."
"I just figured you'd like a catchy nickname, like Lefty or Bandit, or how about The Claw?" Seth joked.
"Ya know, Death Breath Seth," Ryan told him, "You really need to stop breathing right now."
Seth looked at his parents first and then down at Ryan's glare before mumbling, "Fine then, Grumpy it is. Grumpy Ryan."
Ryan only hissed, "Seth!" as they entered the elevator and one of the orderlies began to laugh. He then decided to just keep his eyes closed and hoped he would fall back asleep before they reached the third floor and Seth realized where they were.
Unfortunately, Ryan suddenly heard the elevator doors open and felt the bed begin to move, but decided to pretend to be asleep as they exited the elevator and entered Pediatrics, especially when he heard Seth say, "Um, what? Where are?" before Sandy warned, "Not a word, Seth. Not one word."
As his bed stopped again, Ryan opened his eyes and looked around. They had stopped by the front desk as one of the orderlies handed his chart over to the nurse, and Ryan got to take in what the Pediatrics wing of a Newport hospital looked like. And he hated it. The walls were painted the most annoying shade of bright yellow and decorated with balloons and cartoon characters. Ryan only closed his eyes again as he moaned, "Oh, man."
He felt a pat on his shoulder as Seth told him, "My thoughts exactly," and Kirsten reminded him, "It's only for a little while."
Ryan just sighed as he told Seth, "Just say it and get it over with."
"No way, dude," Seth told him, "You got my full sympathies here."
"It's only for a little while." Kirsten said again, this time a little louder as if it really mattered.
As Ryan was moved to his room, he had hoped it wouldn't be as annoying as the front desk. He was wrong. His room was also the bright nasty shade of yellow, but at least it didn't have any cartoon characters. It did, however, have a small little table and some small chairs. Ryan also hoped for a little bit of privacy as the orderlies moved him to his bed and the nurse began to take his pulse, temperature and blood pressure. Wrong again, because standing in the corner of his room were Seth, Kirsten and Sandy watching him intently again.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked Ryan when she was done, and he only mumbled, "Fine." The nurse looked at Ryan and then over at the Cohens, and Ryan noticed as all three Cohens just shook their heads.
"How is the arm? Is it still sore and burning?" The nurse asked, hoping for more specific answers, but Ryan only said, "Not really."
"And the nausea? How is that?" the nurse asked, and Ryan just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay."
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how is the pain in your arm?" the nurse asked, figuring he'd have to give some sort of an answer to that.
"I don't know." Ryan said, "4, maybe 5."
The nurse nodded and then said, "And the nausea? On a scale of 1 to 10, how nauseous are you?"
Ryan looked away, then down at his bed and finally mumbled, "Real nauseous." And then instantly regretted his decision to be honest as he saw Kirsten take a step towards his bed.
"Okay," the nurse told him, "I think it might be a good idea if you attempt to relax and get some sleep. It may help with the nausea."
Ryan held up his left hand and said, "When does this come out? And when can I go home?"
"Ryan..." Sandy started to say, but the nurse very nicely explained, "I know it's been a long day for you, Ryan, but we need to take it slowly for a reason. You did just have major surgery, and we want to be pretty sure that everything is all right before we send you home. I think if you get some rest, you'll feel better and then we'll see about getting you something to eat. As long as you can handle some food in your stomach and then you're able to urinate, we'll see about removing the IV and sending you home."
At first Ryan just nodded at the nurse since she seemed sincere enough, but then as what she said registered with him, he asked, "Wait. I had surgery on my arm. What does eating and peeing have to do with a broken arm?"
"Hospital policy, Ryan." The nurse explained, "I told you, we want to make sure everything is okay before we send you home. Get some rest now."
"So I can't leave until I sleep, eat and pee." Ryan snidely said.
This time it was Kirsten who said, "Ryan....", and he realized exactly what she was going to say.
"Don't say it. Okay? I'm sorry I said it. Just. Don't say it." Ryan told her, causing the nurse to look at him and then at Kirsten. "Say what?" she finally asked, but Ryan just looked away as Kirsten looked at him.
Seth finally said, "Don't say pee." The nurse then turned to Seth and asked, "Excuse me?"
"Mom doesn't like it when we say pee. Ryan said pee twice so Mom was going to tell him not to say pee, but Ryan told her not to tell him not to say pee." Seth explained to a now very confused nurse who only said, "Um, okay. Get some rest Ryan. If you need anything, my name is Barbara."
Ryan waited for the nurse to leave before sinking lower in the bed. If he was going to be honest, he was pretty tired and still sore and very nauseous and taking a nap actually sounded like a good idea. Well, it would be a good idea if there weren't three pairs of eyes staring at him.
"You know, I'm sure someone will call you after I've slept and eaten and other stuff." Ryan said, looking at Kirsten as he said "other stuff."
And the same three pair of eyes continued to stare at him, no one even acknowledging that he said anything until Ryan just sighed, closed his eyes and eventually fell back asleep.
Ryan had no idea how long he slept for, but he slowly became aware of the noises around him. He also realized that sleeping did nothing for the ache in his arm or the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What's going on?" he mumbled as he tried to focus his eyes.
Kirsten pulled a tray closer to him as she told him, "They brought you something to eat."
Ryan just groaned, "Not hungry," as he tried to turn his head away from the food tray.
"You might feel better if you try to eat something." Kirsten told him, and when Ryan only shook his head, she added, "Do you think you could at least try? They won't let you go home until you've had something to eat."
"Stupid hospital policy." Ryan muttered to himself as he sat up and looked at the tray in front of him.
As Kirsten uncovered the tray for him, she pointed out what Ryan already knew as the obvious, "You have some toast, some soup, Jell-O and apple juice. I think you can handle that, right?"
At first, Ryan didn't answer her, nor did he begin to eat. He could only stare at the tray. And then as Kirsten opened the top of his soup and put the straw in his apple juice and then began to cut up his Jell-O into bite size pieces, Ryan could only stare at her.
He waited for the snickering and then the jokes, but when none came, he finally looked around and realized Seth wasn't there to witness the humiliation, only Sandy sat in a chair across the room, and Ryan was thankful he was kind enough not to say anything.
"Come on, Ryan." Kirsten encouraged, "Try to eat some of this. Do you need any help?"
"No." Ryan told her flatly, "You've done enough. Thanks. Where's Seth?"
"Calling Marissa and Summer again." Sandy told him as he stood up and approached the bed, "Yeah, I think you can handle that by yourself, easy enough to pick up with one hand, I guess."
Ryan glanced from Sandy to Kirsten as they stood over him watching and waiting for him to eat. He really didn't like the way his stomach was feeling, but figured maybe they were right. Maybe if he just eat something he would feel better. At the very least, eating took him one step closer to going home. Ryan picked up the apple juice and drank that, and then picked up the toast and began to eat that. He decided to skip the bit size pieces of Jell-o and picked up the small bowl of soup and began to sip that. It didn't take Ryan long to pick at enough of the toast and drink the soup and apple juice. One step closer to going home Ryan again thought as he pushed the tray away and lay back on the bed.
Ryan turned his head quickly as he heard Seth coming back into the room, and suddenly realized that everyone wasn't right, eating had not made him feel better. It made him feel worse and as he frantically began to look around the room, he realized he was about to feel a whole lot worse real soon.
"Oh, God." He moaned as he quickly sat up and finally noticed the bowl he was looking for sitting on the table to his right. Kirsten recognized what was happening and grabbed the bowl Ryan was frantically trying to reach with his left hand.
"Gimme." Ryan groaned as he tried to pull the bowl from Kirsten's hand, but didn't get the chance as his stomach turned one final time, and Ryan began to get violently ill. Once again, Kirsten held the bowl in front of Ryan with one hand and began to rub his back with her other. Making the whole situation worse was the fact Sandy came up on the other side of Ryan and also held onto the bowl with one hand and rubbed Ryan's back with his other hand. And there was nothing Ryan could do about it as he continued to vomit up the soup and the apple juice and the toast.
He barely heard Sandy tell Seth, "Get the nurse." And he never saw Seth leave, or see him return shortly with the nurse. He didn't notice anything until he saw the nurse standing next to Kirsten holding another needle in her hand.
"No, don't." Ryan managed in between the heaving. But the nurse didn't listen as she pulled back the blankets and pulled up Ryan's hospital gown.
"I said Don't!" Ryan managed to grunt out as he slowly stopped throwing up food and began to again throw up bile. And still the nurse didn't listen as she quickly swabbed Ryan's upper thigh with the alcohol wipe and before Ryan could try to stop her, she stuck the needle in.
It took several minutes before Ryan's stomach settled down, before the vomiting and heaving subsided, and before he could lie back in the bed and try to catch his breath. As he closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, he felt someone once again wipe his face with a washcloth. As he opened his eyes, he saw Kirsten leaning over him. He then saw that Sandy was still standing next to his bed, and noticed Seth standing at the foot of his bed. They were all staring at him, and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He then heard the toilet flush in the bathroom and watched as the nurse walked back into the room.
"Feeling better?" she asked as she put the now empty throw up back on the table next to his bed.
"Don't you people listen?" Ryan finally snapped, "I said not to stick me! I said to give me the damn throw up bowl! I said I didn't want to eat!"
"Ryan, it's okay." Kirsten tried to softly tell him as she gently began to rub his shoulders.
But Ryan only shrugged her off. "No, it's not okay! How the hell is any of this okay?" and when he noticed that Seth was still staring at him, he snapped, "What, Seth? Just say it."
Seth held up in hands and told Ryan, "Dude, I just want to make sure you're all right!"
"Do I look all right?" Ryan snapped again.
"Ryan, you need to calm down." Sandy told him, and when Ryan turned to meet Sandy's stare with a glare, Sandy continued, "It will be okay, just as soon as you settle down."
Ryan had an answer for Sandy, for all of them, but choose not to say it. Instead he let out a deep breath, clenched his left fist, slammed his head back against his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He was still tired, still sore and still nauseous, and he just wanted to go home, crawl into his own bed and forget this whole day ever happened. Except he knew he couldn't, not with his right arm as a constant reminder of this day, that started out not so bad but just kept going from bad to worse.
.
"You okay?" Sandy asked, not really sure if Ryan was awake or just moaning in his sleep, so he was actually a little surprised when Ryan answered, "No."
Kirsten reached down and touched him before asking, "Is it your arm or your stomach?"
"Both." Ryan moaned.
He didn't immediately open his eyes, not until he heard Kirsten ask, "Do you think you're going to be sick again?"
"No!" Ryan snapped. "It's just. I'm still nauseous, that's all. Nothing like before." Ryan tried to explain. He hadn't met to snap at Kirsten, but he couldn't stand to look at her holding the same bowl. Its just not going to happen again, he thought, never again would Kirsten be forced to catch puke.
"What about your arm?" Sandy asked.
"It hurts." Ryan mumbled, figuring that was as close to the truth as he wanted to tell Sandy. He really wasn't in the mood to listen to any more apologies. It was a relief to see a nurse approach his bed. It wasn't the same young nurse as before; it was an older one. Ryan figured Sandy and Kirsten would both be able to talk to her, and he'd be done with the questions.
She just smiled at Ryan as she said, "It's good to see you're awake again. How are you feeling?"
"Great, more questions." Ryan muttered under his breath, but told the nurse, "Fine."
After catching the look he was getting from Kirsten, he quickly turned his head. He knew that look too well, and he knew he didn't like it.
"He says his stomach is still upset, that he's still nauseous. And that his arm hurts." Kirsten informed the nurse, still giving Ryan her look.
"It's not uncommon for the nausea to last about twenty-four hours. Ryan may still experience more vomiting as well during that time." The nurse informed them and then asked Ryan, "what does the pain in your arm feel like?"
Ryan could only stare at this new nurse for a second before snidely telling her, "Like I broke it," and then quickly regretted the comment as both Sandy and Kirsten said, "Ryan!"
"It hurts." Ryan added, "It's achy and sore, and it burns."
"That's completely normal." The nurse told him, and as much as Ryan wanted to say, "then why ask?" he decided it would be better to not say anything, so he just rolled his eyes.
"But since you haven't vomited again, I can give you something for the pain before we transfer you upstairs." The nurse continued as she moved to the side of Ryan's bed and began to pull his blankets back.
"What are you doing?" Ryan asked, as he tried to pull the covers back up with his left hand, and it was then the nurse's turn to stare at Ryan for a second before telling him, "your pain medication, Ryan. I'm giving you pain medication."
Ryan held up his left hand, showing her the IV and said, "It goes in here."
The nurse shook her head and began to pull the blankets back again as she told him, "Nope. Sorry, honey. Your doctor ordered pain meds as needed, IM." And when Ryan only stared at her blankly she said, "Intramuscular." And when that didn't get a response from Ryan, she said, "A shot, Ryan. He ordered a shot."
With his only remaining hand, Ryan held onto the blankets as he demanded to know, "Then what's the purpose of an IV if you're going to keep sticking things in my thigh?"
"To keep you from getting dehydrated, to have an easy access in case of an emergency so we can administer medication quickly and because we feel like being mean." The nurse told him. Ryan wasn't sure if she was trying to joke or not since he couldn't tell by her tone. Either way, he knew he didn't like her, and he definitely didn't like the idea of another needle in his thigh.
He liked it even less when she told him, "But don't worry. I won't stick this one in your thigh. Come on, roll onto your side."
Ryan only shook his head no and glared at the nurse. He definitely liked the younger nurse better, the one Kirsten scared away. This older one didn't seem to notice or even care that he was glaring at her.
"Ryan," Kirsten finally said, "Do as the nurse says."
"Come on, Ryan." The nurse tried to sound sweet, "I promise, it will only sting for a second. I'm sure you can hold your mom's hand, and it'll be over one, two, three. Then you'll feel much better."
Ryan continued to glare at her as he told her, "Don't patronize me. I'm not a child."
It was Sandy who finally pulled back the covers and told Ryan, "Then stop acting like one. The nurse is only following the doctor's orders, so you need to do as she says."
Ryan shifted his glare from the nurse to Sandy and just as quickly stopped as Ryan's glare was met with a glare from Sandy. Not exactly the face of a man filled with Jewish guilt, Ryan thought as he looked down at his bed, weighing his options. He realized there were no options when Sandy simply said, "Now, Ryan!" in that tone that Ryan knew meant not to argue.
He didn't argue, but Ryan did try to explain, "It's just. They've already stuck me twice in my thigh, and now she wants to stick that one in my... not in my thigh. I have an IV. I know you can stick medication in an IV." But no one said anything to Ryan; they all just stared at him until he finally said, "fine," and rolled onto his side.
Kirsten did try to hold his hand, but he balled it into a fist as he felt the nurse move his hospital gown out of the way. He then closed his eyes as he felt the cold alcohol wipe, and then he clenched his jaw when he felt the stinging pinch of the needle.
"There you go. All done. See, that wasn't so bad." The mean old nurse told him as she tugged his gown down and recovered him with the blankets. Ryan didn't move or saying anything at first. He really wanted to tell the nurse what he thought of her and her shot, but knew it wouldn't matter. Nothing he had said or wanted had matter, so he figured this wouldn't be any different. It came as a shock to Ryan when he felt a tear in his eye, and he wiped it away quickly, hoping that Kirsten and Sandy didn't see him. Ryan let out a sigh as he rolled back onto his back. He relaxed his fist and unclenched his jaw slightly, but kept his eyes closed. He decided it would be best if he just lay back and waited for the Morphine to kick in. He didn't want to look at Kirsten or Sandy, and he certainly didn't want to talk to them.
He wanted to open his eyes even less after he felt Kirsten run her hand over his head and whisper, "It's okay. You'll feel better soon. I promise." Then he felt a strong squeeze on his left shoulder and knew it was from Sandy. Great, Ryan thought, they did see me crying over the damn shot. It was a relief to Ryan when he began to feel the effects of the Morphine take hold. He knew it would take the edge off his pain so he relaxed and waited to embrace the same happy feeling he had after the last shot.
His happy feeling was short lived when he heard the mean old nurse talking. He assumed she was talking to Kirsten and Sandy, but then heard two vaguely familiar voices so he opened his eyes to see two orderlies standing by his bed.
"Hey, Ryan, my man!" the one orderly said and when Ryan looked at him strangely he added, "It's us. Your old pals Roger and Dion, here to take you on another short ride just as soon as you're ready to go."
This guy's a little too cheerful Ryan thought but as long as they were there to get him out of Recovery, he was more then willing to go with them. "Yeah, home, James." Ryan tried to joke, but the orderly just told him, "Actually, it's Roger. And home for right now is third floor, Peds."
"Peds? Peds!" Ryan exclaimed, "As in Pediatrics? Why am I going to Pediatrics?"
"Because you're a minor." The nurse told him, holding up his chart and pointing to a bright red sticker. "All minors go to the Pediatric wing after Recovery."
"It's only for a little while." Sandy reassured him, "Just a couple of hours until you're strong enough to go home."
"I'm strong enough to go home now." Ryan insisted, and when they all just stared at him again, he mumbled "fine" again. Then added, "Just don't tell Seth where we're going."
"Ryan," Kirsten told him, "I don't think Seth cares where you're moved to. I think he's just going to be glad to finally be able to see you."
"Besides," Sandy added, "He promised, no more jokes about your arm."
"Yeah, what's he going to do, stop breathing?" Ryan mumbled.
Kirsten tried to reassure him by telling him, "You'll see. He's just going to be happy to see for himself that you're okay."
Ryan just shook his head slightly instead of arguing with Kirsten. He still wasn't feeling well, despite the Morphine shot, so when the orderlies began to move his bed, he closed his eyes and tried not to think of the queasy feeling in his stomach. No one said anything else as the orderlies continued to move Ryan, with Kirsten and Sandy following behind, but they were all greeted by Seth the second they got through the double doors that led Ryan out of Recovery.
"Well, it's about time!" Seth said, "I was beginning to think you decided to slip out the back way or something. Did you guys forget you had another kid here? One who may be just a little curious as to what was going on?"
"Seth," Kirsten reminded him, "You knew Ryan had to stay in Recovery for a while."
"That was a long while." Seth told her before turning to Ryan, "I'm glad to see you return! So, how you doing Gimpy?"
"Gimpy?" Ryan asked. Must be the Morphine, he thought.
"Yeah," Seth told him, pointing to his right side. "Gimpy."
"Seth," Ryan explained, "Gimpy is what you call someone who hurt his leg, not his arm."
Seth just shrugged and then said, "Oh, okay. Then how about Lefty?"
"Seth....." Ryan warned.
"Don't like Lefty?" Seth told him, "How about Bandit?"
"Bandit?" Ryan asked, and then realized, he shouldn't have asked.
"Yeah, you know," Seth joked, "Like the one armed bandit. Vegas."
"Seth, knock it off." Kirsten told him as Sandy said, "No more jokes."
"I just figured you'd like a catchy nickname, like Lefty or Bandit, or how about The Claw?" Seth joked.
"Ya know, Death Breath Seth," Ryan told him, "You really need to stop breathing right now."
Seth looked at his parents first and then down at Ryan's glare before mumbling, "Fine then, Grumpy it is. Grumpy Ryan."
Ryan only hissed, "Seth!" as they entered the elevator and one of the orderlies began to laugh. He then decided to just keep his eyes closed and hoped he would fall back asleep before they reached the third floor and Seth realized where they were.
Unfortunately, Ryan suddenly heard the elevator doors open and felt the bed begin to move, but decided to pretend to be asleep as they exited the elevator and entered Pediatrics, especially when he heard Seth say, "Um, what? Where are?" before Sandy warned, "Not a word, Seth. Not one word."
As his bed stopped again, Ryan opened his eyes and looked around. They had stopped by the front desk as one of the orderlies handed his chart over to the nurse, and Ryan got to take in what the Pediatrics wing of a Newport hospital looked like. And he hated it. The walls were painted the most annoying shade of bright yellow and decorated with balloons and cartoon characters. Ryan only closed his eyes again as he moaned, "Oh, man."
He felt a pat on his shoulder as Seth told him, "My thoughts exactly," and Kirsten reminded him, "It's only for a little while."
Ryan just sighed as he told Seth, "Just say it and get it over with."
"No way, dude," Seth told him, "You got my full sympathies here."
"It's only for a little while." Kirsten said again, this time a little louder as if it really mattered.
As Ryan was moved to his room, he had hoped it wouldn't be as annoying as the front desk. He was wrong. His room was also the bright nasty shade of yellow, but at least it didn't have any cartoon characters. It did, however, have a small little table and some small chairs. Ryan also hoped for a little bit of privacy as the orderlies moved him to his bed and the nurse began to take his pulse, temperature and blood pressure. Wrong again, because standing in the corner of his room were Seth, Kirsten and Sandy watching him intently again.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked Ryan when she was done, and he only mumbled, "Fine." The nurse looked at Ryan and then over at the Cohens, and Ryan noticed as all three Cohens just shook their heads.
"How is the arm? Is it still sore and burning?" The nurse asked, hoping for more specific answers, but Ryan only said, "Not really."
"And the nausea? How is that?" the nurse asked, and Ryan just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay."
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how is the pain in your arm?" the nurse asked, figuring he'd have to give some sort of an answer to that.
"I don't know." Ryan said, "4, maybe 5."
The nurse nodded and then said, "And the nausea? On a scale of 1 to 10, how nauseous are you?"
Ryan looked away, then down at his bed and finally mumbled, "Real nauseous." And then instantly regretted his decision to be honest as he saw Kirsten take a step towards his bed.
"Okay," the nurse told him, "I think it might be a good idea if you attempt to relax and get some sleep. It may help with the nausea."
Ryan held up his left hand and said, "When does this come out? And when can I go home?"
"Ryan..." Sandy started to say, but the nurse very nicely explained, "I know it's been a long day for you, Ryan, but we need to take it slowly for a reason. You did just have major surgery, and we want to be pretty sure that everything is all right before we send you home. I think if you get some rest, you'll feel better and then we'll see about getting you something to eat. As long as you can handle some food in your stomach and then you're able to urinate, we'll see about removing the IV and sending you home."
At first Ryan just nodded at the nurse since she seemed sincere enough, but then as what she said registered with him, he asked, "Wait. I had surgery on my arm. What does eating and peeing have to do with a broken arm?"
"Hospital policy, Ryan." The nurse explained, "I told you, we want to make sure everything is okay before we send you home. Get some rest now."
"So I can't leave until I sleep, eat and pee." Ryan snidely said.
This time it was Kirsten who said, "Ryan....", and he realized exactly what she was going to say.
"Don't say it. Okay? I'm sorry I said it. Just. Don't say it." Ryan told her, causing the nurse to look at him and then at Kirsten. "Say what?" she finally asked, but Ryan just looked away as Kirsten looked at him.
Seth finally said, "Don't say pee." The nurse then turned to Seth and asked, "Excuse me?"
"Mom doesn't like it when we say pee. Ryan said pee twice so Mom was going to tell him not to say pee, but Ryan told her not to tell him not to say pee." Seth explained to a now very confused nurse who only said, "Um, okay. Get some rest Ryan. If you need anything, my name is Barbara."
Ryan waited for the nurse to leave before sinking lower in the bed. If he was going to be honest, he was pretty tired and still sore and very nauseous and taking a nap actually sounded like a good idea. Well, it would be a good idea if there weren't three pairs of eyes staring at him.
"You know, I'm sure someone will call you after I've slept and eaten and other stuff." Ryan said, looking at Kirsten as he said "other stuff."
And the same three pair of eyes continued to stare at him, no one even acknowledging that he said anything until Ryan just sighed, closed his eyes and eventually fell back asleep.
Ryan had no idea how long he slept for, but he slowly became aware of the noises around him. He also realized that sleeping did nothing for the ache in his arm or the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"What's going on?" he mumbled as he tried to focus his eyes.
Kirsten pulled a tray closer to him as she told him, "They brought you something to eat."
Ryan just groaned, "Not hungry," as he tried to turn his head away from the food tray.
"You might feel better if you try to eat something." Kirsten told him, and when Ryan only shook his head, she added, "Do you think you could at least try? They won't let you go home until you've had something to eat."
"Stupid hospital policy." Ryan muttered to himself as he sat up and looked at the tray in front of him.
As Kirsten uncovered the tray for him, she pointed out what Ryan already knew as the obvious, "You have some toast, some soup, Jell-O and apple juice. I think you can handle that, right?"
At first, Ryan didn't answer her, nor did he begin to eat. He could only stare at the tray. And then as Kirsten opened the top of his soup and put the straw in his apple juice and then began to cut up his Jell-O into bite size pieces, Ryan could only stare at her.
He waited for the snickering and then the jokes, but when none came, he finally looked around and realized Seth wasn't there to witness the humiliation, only Sandy sat in a chair across the room, and Ryan was thankful he was kind enough not to say anything.
"Come on, Ryan." Kirsten encouraged, "Try to eat some of this. Do you need any help?"
"No." Ryan told her flatly, "You've done enough. Thanks. Where's Seth?"
"Calling Marissa and Summer again." Sandy told him as he stood up and approached the bed, "Yeah, I think you can handle that by yourself, easy enough to pick up with one hand, I guess."
Ryan glanced from Sandy to Kirsten as they stood over him watching and waiting for him to eat. He really didn't like the way his stomach was feeling, but figured maybe they were right. Maybe if he just eat something he would feel better. At the very least, eating took him one step closer to going home. Ryan picked up the apple juice and drank that, and then picked up the toast and began to eat that. He decided to skip the bit size pieces of Jell-o and picked up the small bowl of soup and began to sip that. It didn't take Ryan long to pick at enough of the toast and drink the soup and apple juice. One step closer to going home Ryan again thought as he pushed the tray away and lay back on the bed.
Ryan turned his head quickly as he heard Seth coming back into the room, and suddenly realized that everyone wasn't right, eating had not made him feel better. It made him feel worse and as he frantically began to look around the room, he realized he was about to feel a whole lot worse real soon.
"Oh, God." He moaned as he quickly sat up and finally noticed the bowl he was looking for sitting on the table to his right. Kirsten recognized what was happening and grabbed the bowl Ryan was frantically trying to reach with his left hand.
"Gimme." Ryan groaned as he tried to pull the bowl from Kirsten's hand, but didn't get the chance as his stomach turned one final time, and Ryan began to get violently ill. Once again, Kirsten held the bowl in front of Ryan with one hand and began to rub his back with her other. Making the whole situation worse was the fact Sandy came up on the other side of Ryan and also held onto the bowl with one hand and rubbed Ryan's back with his other hand. And there was nothing Ryan could do about it as he continued to vomit up the soup and the apple juice and the toast.
He barely heard Sandy tell Seth, "Get the nurse." And he never saw Seth leave, or see him return shortly with the nurse. He didn't notice anything until he saw the nurse standing next to Kirsten holding another needle in her hand.
"No, don't." Ryan managed in between the heaving. But the nurse didn't listen as she pulled back the blankets and pulled up Ryan's hospital gown.
"I said Don't!" Ryan managed to grunt out as he slowly stopped throwing up food and began to again throw up bile. And still the nurse didn't listen as she quickly swabbed Ryan's upper thigh with the alcohol wipe and before Ryan could try to stop her, she stuck the needle in.
It took several minutes before Ryan's stomach settled down, before the vomiting and heaving subsided, and before he could lie back in the bed and try to catch his breath. As he closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, he felt someone once again wipe his face with a washcloth. As he opened his eyes, he saw Kirsten leaning over him. He then saw that Sandy was still standing next to his bed, and noticed Seth standing at the foot of his bed. They were all staring at him, and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He then heard the toilet flush in the bathroom and watched as the nurse walked back into the room.
"Feeling better?" she asked as she put the now empty throw up back on the table next to his bed.
"Don't you people listen?" Ryan finally snapped, "I said not to stick me! I said to give me the damn throw up bowl! I said I didn't want to eat!"
"Ryan, it's okay." Kirsten tried to softly tell him as she gently began to rub his shoulders.
But Ryan only shrugged her off. "No, it's not okay! How the hell is any of this okay?" and when he noticed that Seth was still staring at him, he snapped, "What, Seth? Just say it."
Seth held up in hands and told Ryan, "Dude, I just want to make sure you're all right!"
"Do I look all right?" Ryan snapped again.
"Ryan, you need to calm down." Sandy told him, and when Ryan turned to meet Sandy's stare with a glare, Sandy continued, "It will be okay, just as soon as you settle down."
Ryan had an answer for Sandy, for all of them, but choose not to say it. Instead he let out a deep breath, clenched his left fist, slammed his head back against his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He was still tired, still sore and still nauseous, and he just wanted to go home, crawl into his own bed and forget this whole day ever happened. Except he knew he couldn't, not with his right arm as a constant reminder of this day, that started out not so bad but just kept going from bad to worse.
.