Okay so I'm back from Comic Con... I had so much freaking fun!! I went surfing and got to be a
huge Comic/sci fi geek. It was great. I also got to go to New Port Beach and New Port Harbour. I
so love Orange County! We were close to Chino at one point but we never did drive through it.
(We got a little lost we weren't suppose to be anywhere near chino lol) if your interested in the
holiday/road trip report I have the story posted at my regular website. If your interested drop me a
line and I'll send you a link.
A big huge hug to Eljay for being my Beta
Anyways thanks for all the wonderful comments...now on with the story...
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Ryan was dreaming again. He had watched a surfing show on the sports channel last week. It was all about surfing and sharks. The sharks would circle the board or attack from below thinking the board was a seal or something. Ryan had never been surfing. Sandy said he'd only seen a shark once or twice and it was at a distance.
Right now Ryan felt as if there were sharks all around him. Nipping at him, pulling at him. His chest ached; he wasn't sure why. He tried to raise his arms to defend himself. Visions of a great white grabbing his arm and shaking it filled his head. He tried to scream but he couldn't.
Ryan gasped.
The world came rushing back. It still felt like the sharks were there. It was cold and wet and he hurt. There was noise all around him. Circling him like the sharks.
"Come on kid, give us another one. Big deep breath," pleaded some disembodied voice.
Ryan couldn't focus. This time, he managed to move his arm a bit but at that very moment his stomach decided to revolt. He coughed and strong hands rolled him on his side.
He was sick. Salt Water and vomit poured from his mouth. His nose and throat burned from the salt. He tried to move. Tried to brace himself but the arms on him wouldn't let him go. His body convulsed with pain. It felt like every drop of fluid was draining from his body.
The hands rolled him again so he lay on his back.
"Breath sounds shallow but present," the voice said to no-one Ryan could see. Then someone put their hand on his face. He tried to pull away but the hand was steady and firm. The hand pulled his eyelid back. Pain shot through his head like a knife; cold, hard and exact. Ryan hissed despite himself. He tried to twist away. A groan ripped from his throat.
"Ryan?" Someone poked his shoulder roughly. "Ryan? Do you know where you are?"
Ryan blinked upwards he could see shaped but everything was blurry. He hurt to much, he just wanted to sleep a little, then maybe he would feel better.
That persistent annoying voice would not leave him alone. "Ryan, answer me." This time whoever that was pinched him in the ribs.
"Ow; go away," he managed to croak. His voice sounded raw and he blinked surprised.
A man leaned over him. He was blurry on the edges but Ryan was able to focus on him. There were others, but Ryan couldn't quite see them. Everything was strangely out of focus.
"Do you know your name?"
This was all so weird. "Ryan, Ryan A-Atwood." He started to cough again and he couldn't stop shivering.
"Ryan do you know where you are?" asked the voice again.
He wasn't sure and that thought filled him with dread. Where was he? Why did everything hurt? Then an even worse thought surged in to his brain. Where's Seth? Seth should be here! Seth was here before. Where did he go? "S-Seth?" his words were coming out stuttered as he shivered. When Seth didn't arrive Ryan began to panic. "Seth!?" What little vision Ryan had turned red then black on edges as he gasped for air.
"He's here son, he's here--we're just getting him warmed up. It's okay. Big, deep breaths okay!?"
Ryan didn't believe him. He needed to see Seth. "Seth," he moaned again before sinking into darkness.
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When Ryan woke again there were bright lights and lots of people. Ryan didn't like lots of people, why wouldn't they leave him alone. The lights hurt and seemed to burn the back of his skull.
A women in a white coat leaned over him. "You with us son?"
Ryan didn't answer but instead blinked his eyes trying to force them to focus. His eyes darted around the room. A hospital--it looked like a hospital.
The woman, probably a doctor, was checking something at his side before she turned back to him. "Do you know where you are Ryan?"
Ryan's eye flickered around the room.
"Ryan?"
He looked up at the doctor again. "H-Hospital. S-Seth?"
"Seth's your brother?"
Ryan tried to nod but pain shot through his head again. He closed his eyes. "Yeah." He managed to rasp.
"He's next door, Dr. Raimer is with him. He's doing fine. We're all just worried about you. I'm Dr. Casper, like the ghost." She smiled brightly as Ryan opened his eyes again. She was still blurry but slowly things were becoming clearer. "Ryan," Dr. Casper continued. "We are going to have to take you for some x-rays soon. Before we do that though I think we have a couple of worried parents out in the hall; would you like to see them?"
"God, yes," groaned Ryan instantly.
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Sandy paced the corridor and Kirsten sat on a near-by bench wringing her hands with worry.
Six months ago, Sandy felt as if he didn't know his son any more and that his relationship with his was wife was slowly fading away. Then they took in Ryan. Ryan, despite all his efforts to be a loner, was like the missing piece to the Cohen puzzle. He fit ... he made their family complete. Now he actually had a relationship with Seth and he and Kirsten had become a formidable team. 6 months ago, he couldn't imagine having two sons. Now he couldn't imagine life without them both. A chill ran up his back. Tonight he had nearly lost them both.
Finally, a doctor stepped out in to the corridor. Kirsten stood, taking Sandy's hand for support as the doctor stepped up to them. She reached out and Sandy shook her hand. "I'm Doctor Casper. You are the Cohens?"
"Hello," replied Sandy politely but hurriedly. "How are my boys?"
"Seth is being treated by Dr. Raimer, but he reports to me that Seth has only some minor contusions and some broken ribs, but the fractures did not result in any internal injuries. He also suffered hypothermia, but his temperature is back up to normal now. We would like to observe him overnight, just to be certain, but if all goes well, he can be released in the morning."
Sandy let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"And, Ryan?" questioned Kirsten shakily.
"I've been treating Ryan." Replied Dr. Casper steadily. "He is stable now, but he was a bit more banged up then Seth. We are going to send him down for x-rays soon. We believe he has a concussion, plus there has been some extensive damage to his right arm and left knee. I think the knee may just require a brace for a while, but we may need to put a pin in the arm. X-rays will help us to determine the extent of the damage."
Kristen gasped and Sandy squeezed her hand tightly.
The doctor continued. "What worries us a bit is that off and on Ryan seems to be having problems breathing and seems disorientated. We are monitoring him. When he was pulled from the water he wasn't breathing and he was unconscious. It could be linked to the hypothermia or the concussion. It's really to soon to tell. We are going to need to run some tests. I was wondering, does he have a history of respiratory problems? Also he seems to be running a slight fever; was he sick before the accident. Has he picked up any viruses lately?"
"It's my fault!" moaned Kirsten. "Seth said he was sick but he wouldn't admit it. It looked like he was getting a cold. I knew I shouldn't have let them go sailing. What have I done?"
Sandy pulled Kirsten close. "Shh, it's not your fault. There is no way you could have known this would happen." Sandy turned his head towards the doctor. "My wife told me just after lunch that Ryan seemed to be coming down with something. I don't think he has a history of Asthma or anything." Sandy paused to kiss his wife on the forehead as she continued to fret beside him. "Doctor, can we see them?"
Doctor Casper nodded. "Sure, you may want to visit Ryan briefly first because we really need to get him upstairs for those X-rays."
Sandy gave a small nod and he and Kristen followed the doctor towards where their sons were. Sandy couldn't help but frown. This day had started out so normal... why was this happening to them? But like all the big questions in life, there was no definite answer.
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"Hey kid, are you awake?" It was a whispered question. A soft hand followed, brushing the hair off his brow.
"Mmm, Kirsten?"
Ryan tried to shake the rocks off his eyelids. It was a few seconds more before he succeeded. Sandy was standing on his left and Kirsten on his right. They both looked so sad. Suddenly, a horrible thought sparked in his mind. They were sad, and why weren't they with Seth? Ryan's breath started to come fast and irregular. "Sandy? Kirsten?" he managed to gasp.
Sandy stepped forward and gripped his good arm. "Shh, Ryan; it's all right."
"Seth!?" He croaked.
Kirsten smiled softly. "The doctor said he's gong to be fine. He just next door--we're going to see him next."
Ryan closed his eyes. His emotions were getting away from him. Seth was fine. He needed to get a grip. It was just so hard to focus. He tried to slow his racing heart. "I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Kid." Sandy smiled softly.
"You look sad," replied Ryan but then he quietly cursed him self for being an idiot. Of course they're sad--Seth's hurt... but he's okay, he had to remind himself. He was having a hard time thinking straight.
"We were just worried." Kirsten brushed his hair off his forehead again.
"I'm sorry," Ryan whispered again. He was sorry they were sad. He felt his eyelids getting heavy again. He wanted to stay awake. He tried to shake his head to wake himself up but it hurt.
"Just rest Ryan." It was Sandy's voice, but Ryan's eyes were already shut.
"I want to stay awake," he replied bluntly.
Sandy laughed lightly. "You're on some good meds. Enjoy it while you can."
"Sandy!" Ryan heard Kirsten admonish. "Ryan, Honey we're going to see Seth now but one of us will be here when you get back from x-rays okay?"
"Mmm, All right." He managed to mumble before losing his fight to stay awake.
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Seth wanted to pace. He could walk but he felt like an old man. Everything ached. No-one was telling him anything. He asked about Ryan. They only answer he got was that he was fine. He asked about his folks. The only answer he got was that they would be in soon. No-one in the place seemed to believe in details.
He flipped through a really old copy of people magazine. It had the stupid Olsen twins in it. They looked to be about eight or nine. Considering that they were older then he was it meant that this magazine must have been printed at the dawn of time.
"Gahh!" Frustrated, he threw the magazine across the room--nearly hitting his two worried parents as they entered.
"Seth!" exclaimed his mother only semi-angrily.
"Mom! Dad! Thank God!"
His mother rushed over and squeezed him tightly. Seth ribs whined in protest. "Ow, Mom!"
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry... I forgot; it's just that I was so worried!"
Seth smiled. It just felt so good to see them. His dad mussed his hair roughly and couldn't seem to wipe the grin off his face.
Seth's grin quickly faded though. "Dad, did they tell you anything about Ryan?"
Seth couldn't help but notice his parents also sobered.
His dad rubbed his chin as if he was trying to think of an appropriate answer. "He's going to be okay. He's got a broken arm and he hurt his knee. The doc seems worried though because of the concussion and the water..."
"Dad, spill it."
His mom interjected. " He's going to be fine, he just isn't himself right now."
Sandy frowned. "Seth what happened out there?"
Seth retold his story. He told his dad all about the drunks in the speedboat. How they destroyed the Summer's Breeze then simply ditched Ryan and Seth. When he got to the part where Ryan disappeared under the water he was crying. His mom was holding him close and his patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," He sniffled. "I told the Harbor Patrol, what I could but they said they would need to ask more later on... Ryan wasn't breathing and..." Seth let his voice trail off. He didn't want to tell his folks that he had thought Ryan was dead.
"It's okay Honey, it's okay now; you're both safe. It's going to be okay," his mother soothed. Seth felt like an idiot crying on his mother shoulder but he couldn't help it. He knew know why he liked to read comics. They were heroes and he wasn't. Seth had panicked when Ryan disappeared under the water. The image of that empty space where Ryan had been only moments before would be burned in to his brain forever. He had let his brother down and at the worst possible moment.
A loud scream broke Seth out of his moment of self-pity and doubt.
"NO! Get away from me!!!" There was no mistaking the voice. It was Ryan. "NO!" He screamed again. Seth's parents were on their feet in a second. He had never seen them move so fast. But, before they even got the door there was a loud crash and medical people started to run.
Seth started to get out of bed too but his father turned on him. His Dad pointed his finger directly as Seth. Seth knew that the pointy finger was never to be argued with.
"You sit! Don't move."
Seth gave a terse nod before his parents disappeared out the door. Seth was alone again, left wondering what the hell was going on.
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TBC
Muhahahahahaha!