Disclaimer - I don't own any characters!

"I mean can you imagine having those powers. I'd definitely use them for evil. Or I'd have to be like Iron Man and make sure people know it's me saving them. It's all about the publicity my man" he turned to see Ryan just staring at the road "what would you do it you had powers?" he knew he was babbling more than normal. But Ryan had been in a bad mood ever since Marissa showed up drunk again and Seth couldn't exactly ask how Ryan was feeling because that would just be responded by a glare. So he had to nervously talk to fill in the tense silence. "You know-" he started but suddenly everything went black.

Ryan silently drove the car. He wasn't in the mood to play along with Seth's constant babbling right now. Marissa showing up drunk to their double date ruined it. They had been doing so well. After everything.

What is it with me and getting trapped with dysfunctional people. Do I have a sign on my forehead that I'm not aware off. He thought.

He could hear Seth going on about powers and he felt guilty for ignoring him. He knew Seth was only trying to help, in his own way. I mean he did leave Summer to come home with him. Seth leaving Summer for him is more of a statement than anything. Suddenly flashing lights in front of his blinded his vision and just as he heard the screeching sounds from the metals colliding he passed out.

Ryan struggled to pull himself back to consciousness. He looked to the side and saw Seth his eyes closed and his head leaning on the broken window. His eyes felt heavier 'no Seth' he thought "Seth" he said clenching his teeth as his own voice worsened his headache.

He pulled his hand up and nudged him. Nothing. Panic erupted in him. He put two shaky fingers on Seth's neck waiting patiently for a pulse. "Okay. Okay" he nodded to himself when he felt the pulse.

He sighed loudly "Seth?". He sat up straight and undid his seatbelt. He hissed as it brushed over his side. Looking down he saw a gash on his left side that obviously needed stitches. I should pressure on it. He thought as he groaned and leant his head back on his seat. "Just closing my eyes. Only for a second" he whispered to himself.

Just as the blackness started pulling him further down he smelt something. He opened his eyes slightly and took a deeper breath "oh my god" he nudged Seth again "you have to wake up. There's gas leaking. Seth!" he said loudly. Seth made no sign of waking up which only tightened the knot in Ryan's stomach more. "I'll get you out buddy. Don't worry" he said letting the adrenaline kick in. He got out the car, only having to steady himself once before reaching over to Seth's side.

He pulled at the door. "Of course its jammed. Why wouldn't it be" he spat. He saw thick smoke now rising from the back of the car. "oh god" hw whispered. He closed his eyes and concentrated bringing all the strength he could "argghhhhh" he shouted and pulled the door opened. The door flung backward pushing him in the process but he held onto the handle and regained control quickly, catching Seth's head in his arms before he fell.

He caught his breath and rested Seth's head on his shoulder as he unbuckled the seatbelt. "you so owe me for this" he muttered. Seth groaned and he laughed in relief. This was the first sign Seth had given him that he was okay.

"Come on" Ryan said grabbing him as carefully as he could to avoid any further damage. Seth was taller than Ryan which made carrying him harder, especially with his own injuries. He draped Seth's arm over his neck and held it in place with one arm while the other held onto Seth's waist and carried most of his weight.

Once Seth was out of the car, Ryan felt like there was less of a weight on his shoulders. He began walking, half dragging himself and Seth as far away from the car as he could. Each step got harder but he breathed through the pain burning in his side and the blurry vision. He could now feel the heat on the back of his neck and he turned to see the back of the car almost completely engulfed in flames.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and flinched backwards almost dropping Seth. "It's okay. It's okay. I've called help. But we should get further back before the fire gets worse" the voice said.

Ryan saw the man take Seth's other side and lighten the load on him and he nodded and moved away. A part of him didn't want this stranger anywhere near Seth but he was too weak to do this himself. Once they were further away they placed Seth down on the floor and Ryan lifted his head on his lap.

After what felt like hours he finally heard the sirens and looked up to see the lights flashing brightly; doubling the throbbing pain in his head. He groaned and reflexively put his free hand up to cover his eyes. Two paramedics ran over to him "How long as he been unconscious?" They had moved Seth off of him and he stood up staggering slightly

"The whole time. He… he hasn't woken up. Is he okay?"

The paramedic ignored his question "What's his name" she asked in return

"Seth. Seth Cohen" Ryan's mind was getting fuzzier by the second. The noises of the fire brigade and the ambulance, the talking, it was all getting merged together. What happened? Why was he standing here in the middle of nowhere he asked himself. He looked down and saw Seth being strapped to a gurney "Seth" he whispered confused.

The paramedic brought him out of his daze "Sir. Sir, are you injured"

"No… no I'm fine. Where are you taking him?" Ryan asked as he saw Seth being loaded up into the ambulance.

"HOAG" she said jumping in the back and closing the door.

"I need to go. I have to go"

"Hey kid. I can drive you if you want?" the voice sounded familiar. He's the same guy who helped pull Seth away. Ryan remembered.

Ryan turned and saw him eyeing him slightly suspicious. He didn't care he needed to get to the hospital and check on Seth "yeah thanks" was all he said as he followed this stranger. As he reached the car the guy handed him his phone "I'm sure you have someone to call"

"Oh god sandy and Kirsten" he whispered grabbing the phone and instantly began dialling. Oh god they're going to kill me. I wrecked the car, I hurt Seth. What do I to tell them.

His time was up as he heard Sandy pick up "Sandy Cohen"

"Sandy, its Ryan" he started

"Ryan thank god. Its way past curfew. Where are you and Seth? Who's phone is this?"

After a moment of silence Sandy spoke up again "Ryan? You okay kid?"

"I – um"

"What is it? Are you in trouble?"

Just rip the band aid off he thought "Something happened-" Ryan was currently fuzzy on the details himself so he tried to be as vague as possible "I… it's… Seth. He's on his way to HOAG"

"Where are you?"

"I erm I got a ride to HOAG. I'm on my way there. You should come down here" and before he let sandy speak he cut the phone. His head was spinning he only remembered pieces which was odd because he was almost certain he didn't lose consciousness. He couldn't deal with the questions right now. He sighed and passed the phone back to the stranger "thanks" he whispered. "That's okay. My name's Sam by the way"

Ryan nodded "Ryan" he answered back.

"The other kid with you. Your brother?" he asked.

Ryan hesitated but then nodded "yeah" he whispered. Seth was his brother. In all the ways that counted.

"He'll be fine kid, don't worry. We're almost there okay" Ryan nodded and leant his head on the cold window. His body ached, but right now he had to worry about Seth.

The rest of the car ride was complete silence. "Thank you. For everything" Ryan said getting out the car. He held onto the door for a second steadying himself.

"Least I could do. Hope your brother's okay" he said driving off

"Me too" Ryan whispered to no one.

He walked inside and saw no sign of Seth. He ran up to the reception desk "Seth. Seth Cohen" the receptionist looked up at him blankly "Where is he. Is he okay?"

"Son-" she started but was interrupted

"RYAN!" Kirsten shouted running over to him. He turned around and was instantly in her arms. He lightly hugged her back knowing it wouldn't last if they knew that he hurt Seth somehow.

"What happened?" Sandy asked placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder. He eyed the dried blood on the corner of Ryan's head "God kid your hurt" he basically shouted seeing the blood stain on Ryan's left side. Ryan looked down instinctively putting a hand on the injury he then looked back at Sandy "Okay let's sit you down" Sandy said realising that Ryan looked just as surprised that he was injured. He tried grabbing his arm before Ryan completely passed out. "can we get some help over here!" Kirsten shouted as she heard Ryan whisper "Seth" before his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Ryan looked up at Sandy and the world around him was now in slow motion. He could hear Kirsten and Sandy speaking something about hurt but had no idea what they were saying as their words were stretched out. He followed Sandy's gaze down to his side Oh yeah I guess I did get hurt he thought; only just remembering him seeing the gash in the car. He felt his knees get weaker and instantly felt two strong hands grip on to him "Seth" why weren't they finding out where he was? He thought before the corners of his visions blurred and he let blackness finally take over.

After 30 minutes of pacing Sandy was officially tired of waiting. The most they were told was that a doctor would be out with an update soon. "Sandy just calm down. I'm sure the doctor will be out as soon as they can" Kirsten said reassuringly.

Normally it was Sandy being laid back and calm but seeing Ryan collapse like that and having heard nothing about Seth threw all his rationality and calm out the window. "If I don't find out how my sons are doing in the next 5 minutes I'm going to bury this hospital in so much legal-"

"I see my timing is perfect then" a voice interrupted. Sandy looked up to see a woman in a white coat with a stethoscope draped around her neck. Her light brown hair tied in a high ponytail while her glasses rested like a headband keeping any stray hairs off her face. She put forward her hand "I'm Dr. Keller. I treated your sons Ryan and Seth tonight."

Sandy stood up and shook her hand slightly embarrassed at his outburst "I'm Sandy and this is my wife Kirsten" He said letting Kirsten shake the woman's hand too.

Dr Keller pulled down her glasses and opened the chart she had resting in her other arm. "Your sons are both okay" she began knowing exactly what they wanted to know first "Seth suffered a nasty concussion, some bruised ribs and some stitches for a cut above his eyebrows. We'd like to keep him overnight for observation just as a precaution." Kirsten nodded along and Sandy just stared blankly "Ryan's concussion was slightly more serious. We're waiting for his CT Scan results right now. He had quite the gash on his left side that needed stitches along with one on his forehead. We're going to keep him overnight as well because of his concussion. Due to the adrenaline Ryan's blood pressure is quite elevated. I'm hoping to see it lower or normal before I discharge him." She looked up at them waiting for the thousands of questions she always got from worried parents but all she got was a whispered "can we see them?" from Kirsten. She smiled "They're being set up in a shared room right now. I figured you'd prefer to have them together." Kirsten nodded in agreement "I'll have a nurse bring you to the room once they're ready" Sandy pulled out his hand again "thank you so much" he said. She smiled and nodded walking away.

"Sandy?" a deep voice called from behind

Sandy turned to see one of his old friends from the police station "Hey Tim. Everything okay?" Sandy asked shaking his hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard about your boys accident. I took the call figured I'd arrest the guy myself and check in. How are they?"

"Arrest the guy. Didn't the person in the other car die?" Kirsten asked reiterating what she heard a previous police officer say.

"There was two people in the car. The passenger died on impact. The driver's alcohol levels were through the roof." He said shaking his head in disappointment.

"Mr and Mrs Cohen, I'll show you to their room" a young nurse said, her eyes slightly wide as she interrupted their conversation.

"Let me know how they're doing. Good seeing you again Sandy" Tim said patting Sandy on the back before leaving.

"They're both asleep right now. The call buttons right next to them if you need anything"

"Thank you" Kirsten said opening the door. She saw both her boys lying on hospital beds, blankets pulled up and their faces peaceful yet injured. She sighed as her and sandy sat down on the couch in the corner of the room holding each other's hand in an attempt to comfort one another.

Seth woke up to hear a constant beeping beside him. He groaned mentally telling it to shut up. Couldn't it see he was sleeping.

"Seth? Seth are you awake"

"Mum?" he rasped.

"Oh honey. I was so worried" he felt her warm hand on his cheek as she placed a kiss on his forehead.

"What happened" slightly confused on why he was in a hospital

"You got in a car accident"

He remembered the double date and then the car that came out of nowhere and then nothing. "Oh god. Ryan. He was driving. Is he okay?" Seth said urgently starting to sit up.

Kirsten gently pushed him back down. "He's fine honey" she said looking over at the bed beside Seth's. Seth followed her gaze and saw Ryan asleep in the bed next to him.

The door opened and Sandy walked in with two coffees in hand. "Hey kid you're awake!" he whispered loudly. He placed the coffees down and walked up to Seth putting a hand on his leg "how you feeling?"

"My head hurts and I'm sore. Like everywhere"

"Oh honey" Kirsten said. She hated seeing her kids in pain

"How's Ryan?" he asked looking at Sandy

"Same as you concussion and some stitches. He hasn't woken up yet, but his CT came back normal"

Seth nodded and took the glass of water his mum passed him. "What happened exactly? I mean I just remember being in the car and then its blank"

"You were unconscious the whole time. Ryan got you out" Kirsten said. She took the empty glass back from Seth and watched him get comfy.

"Why don't you rest Seth. We'll be right here okay" Sandy said as Seth's eyes grew heavier.

"Used his powers for good" Seth mumbled before falling back asleep

"I think we deserve a vacation" Kirsten said bringing her legs up on Sandy's lap as she stretched out on the couch

"Yeah where?"

"Hawaii or Tahiti"

"Next family vacation?"

"No just us. Me, you and a hotel suite all to ourselves"

"I like the way you think honey" Sandy said leaning over and kissing her

"You guys should get a room" came a voice

"Ryan!" Kirsten said jumping up and going straight to him

"Hey!" he smiled as best he could

"How you feeling kid" Sandy said moving near Kristen

Ryan ignored his question and bobbed his towards Seth sleeping "is he okay?"

Kirsten nodded "He's fine honey. A concussion and some bruised ribs"

Ryan grimaced as he tried to move and his body throbbed in pain "What's wrong Ryan. Should I call a nurse?" Sandy asked already at the call button

"No. Just sore I guess."

"Do you remember what happened" Kirsten asked taking his hand in hers

He looked up at both of them horrified as he remembered the state of the car "The car. Its ruined"

"We don't care about the car son. Just as long as you boys are okay" Sandy instantly replied reassuringly. Ryan pondered over Sandy calling him son. Maybe they did consider him a son. I mean they sure treat him better than his real parents. He just ruined their car and they didn't freak out. If this was Dawn she'd have had a fit which would have caused AJ to get upset and that was never a good thing.

"Honey?" Kirsten asked

"Everything's a bit fuzzy" Ryan admitted after a moment. "I… I saw Seth and he wouldn't wake up and then I smelt gas. So I panicked and I think I got him out. And there was this other guy…"

"Sam" sandy said filling in the blank

Ryan looked up his confusion evident "he had to fill out a witness report. He's the one who called the ambulances" Ryan nodded at the explanation

"and then thats about it. I kind of remember calling you. It feels a bit like a dream. A really bad one"

"With the concussion and the adrenaline the doctor said there would be gaps in your memory" Kirsten said playing with Ryan's hair

"Sorry about all this. I didn't see the other car" he sat up slightly "what happened to them? Are they okay too?" Ryan asked realising that him and Seth weren't the only people that night to get in a car accident.

Sandy wasn't surprised at how concerned Ryan was about strangers. He clearly had a hero complex. "it wasn't your fault. Drunk driver. He came into your lane. The passenger didn't make it. He's most likely going to be charged with vehicular manslaughter." Sandy said disappointed that kids were so wreckless that they'd endanger the lives of not only themselves but everyone else too. Ryan just nodded. It was incidents like this that forced him to be the parent to his mother and now here he was in a relationship with someone who could do this too.

"What're you thinking kid?" Sandy asked seeing Ryan in deep thought.

"I think he's thinking we both deserve our own car now"

"I knew you'd use this to try and convince us" Kirsten laughed

"You okay man?" Ryan asked eyeing Seth

"Yeah thanks to you apparently" Seth said sitting up slightly "you?"

"Yeah" Ryan sat up too "so what car we thinking"

"Ryan!"

"Ah Ryan I knew I taught you well"