Thanks to Justice237 and CharlieSmarts12 for reviewing.

One, two, three…

I counted to thirty while pushing Ryan's chest in heart compressions and tries to wake him up. By number thirty I could have felt at least a couple of ribs breaking under my hands but there just wasn't time to worry about that now.

"Come on Ryan." I sat up and then laid a hand on his forehead and pushed it backwards before I leaned down towards his head. "Come on. It can't end like this, not now."

I put my lips around his, then counted again.

One, two, three, fo…

By the forth blow into his mouth and lungs Ryan suddenly shot upwards and started coughing. Spitting right into my mouth I flew backwards with a relieved sigh.

"That's okay kid." Ryan kept coughing, but weakly and I laid a hand on one of his shoulders and gently pushed him down into laying position on his side. "You're okay now."

"Ah…" he panted weakly. "Alex?"

"He's alright thanks to you." I looked up and when ambulance sirens started sounding louder and coming closer. "You're okay kid. Everybody's okay. Thanks to you. And thanks to Hero."

Ryan coughed weakly, as if it took his all to move at all. Then looked up, and when I turned I saw two ambulances pulling over by the beach and the two paramedics from one came crossing the beach and over to us, the male of them kneeled just by the teenage boy lying on the bridge.

"Hello Ryan. My name is Cameron and I will be coming with you in the back of the ambulance. This…" Cameron pointed with his thumb towards a woman paramedic. "…is Noelle. And she will drive us. Now. Should we carry the stretcher over here or can you walk?"

"I can walk." Ryan mumbled. "Don't need ambulance. Fine now."

"Let's just…" I tried, but lost my words after half the sentence and had to think for a moment to find the rest. "…I think you… we should go with them. You've probably breathed in a whole lot of water and they just need to check…" I thought back and remembered how I'd felt his ribs cracking under my hands. "…check so you're okay? Just to make sure?"

Ryan moaned, but heavily sat up and with one arm around my shoulders and one arm around Cameron's we slowly made our way onto the beach and up to the ambulance where Noelle was waiting with the stretcher and a blanket.

"There you go." Noelle tucked the yellow blanket around Ryan when he sat. "Is that good?" Ryan leaned his head backwards and seemed half asleep- I couldn't blame him. And sent a quick glance to Alex who was getting up on the stretcher in the other ambulance with Charlie and Finn standing right by them.

"What did I tell you about that helmet?" Richard came trotting on Betsy and holding Hero's lead just before Ryan was pushed into the back of the ambulance. "You do never take it off when horse riding. Not ever. And still you keep doing it and now look what happened."

"I was just so sweaty..."

"NEVER."

"Richard." I turned to the owner of the stables and the horses. "I think that's enough. Why don't I take Ryan back to the stable once… once things have calmed down. Okay?"

Richard was so red in the face and looked as angry as devil himself. But he took both Betsy and Hero by their reins and stomped away while I looked around on the two ambulances. And the one care worker who was here except for me.

"Charlie?" I shouted quickly. "Can you go with Alex? I'll go with Ryan."

"NO." Chloe shouted, and I guess it wasn't strange by any means. "NO. I WANT TO STAY WITH HIM." I saw May- Li walk over to her and try to calm her down. "HE'S MY BROTHER AND HE ALMOST DIED. I WANT TO STAY WITH HIM. HE WANTS ME TO STAY WITH HIM."

I would feel bad for it for the rest of my life. But there just wasn't time right now to fold the pieces of the wheelchair and lift Chloe into the seat that it would take before the ambulance could start driving up the hill once again and to the hospital.

"You can't right now." I heard May- Li's voice, with a weird, shaky tone I had never heard before. "Mike? You'll keep us updated right?"

"Yes of course." I climbed up in the shotgun seat of the ambulance, and when Noelle started driving next to me I leaned one arm against the door and looked out the window on our way towards the hospital, and through the mirror kept an eye on the ambulance driving behind us with Alex and Charlie in it.

I couldn't help but feel bad- it had been my idea to even go to the beach today. One cold winter day, and I should at least have made sure to keep everyone away from the water.

"Are you okay there Alex?" Alex was out of his ambulance first when we came to the garage. He seemed okay, even though Charlie worriedly looked at him and then followed. Ryan sure did look a whole lot worse when he, shivering and hacking turns hugging the blanket tightly to his sides in cold.

"The adrenaline is starting to wear out." Cameron told me while he started pushing the stretcher towards the A&E. "And believe me, he's going to be worse than this. But whatever you need tell anyone of staff you can see- they're there to help you."

"It's okay Ryan." I pulled a hand through his hair, almost expected it to be warm in a fever but it was just as cold as the water that had frozen to clumps in his light- colored hair and was cooling him down so to the point he was left shaking cold while we made our way from the ambulance garage and into the A&E

"Excuse me." I hurried over to the nurse pushing Alex's stretcher. "Would it be possible to put these two next to each other or in the same room? It's… Well, it's a long story really but I'd like to be able to care for both of them at the same time. If that can be sorted."

"Of course it can. Here… Lou. Let's put them here in the hallway, number twelve and thirteen." The nurse pushed Ryan's bed into a space with a sign that said "12" over it and the other ones pushed Alex into the one that said 13. And "Lou" pulled the curtains so they were covered from the hallway and the other beds, while it was opened in between them. "There, is that good."

"That's great… Charlie? Would you like to go home? I can call for a taxi."

"Please. Just let me stay. Just in case…"

"Of course." I patted her shoulder. "You're old enough to decide. But tell me if you cha… Ryan? What's wrong?"

The nurse Lou came over when Ryan suddenly shot up and started coughing and heaving. Cold, dirty water mixed with bile and whatever Ryan had eaten scattered onto the floor next to him when I, first frozen for two seconds and then hurried over and stroke Ryan's back while one heavy after the other wrenched his body painfully.

"It's okay Ryan. It's okay. Just try and relax."

Lou had taken a sick bag from a hanger on a wall, then looked at it and at all the dirty water and bile still scattering onto the floor. He shook his head without a sound and only handed it to Alex.

"Here you go."

Alex didn't hold it up, but seemed out of breath- almost as if he was on his way of needing it too when Ryan suddenly collapsed onto the bed, panting- obviously in pain while Lou stepped around the pool of water and vomit to get over to him.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, but with a disgusted look towards the floor. "And please let us know if there's anything more of that and we can get a basin or a vomit bag in time… I'll go get a cleaner."

"Ow…" Ryan didn't answer, but was stroking up and down towards his chest and seemed in a lot of pain. And when another nurse came past the curtain and, with a frown on her face came over to Ryan.

"Can you tell me where it hurts dear? Is it your stomach?"

I had a pretty good idea what it might be…

"My chest…"

"I think I might have broken quite a few ribs when… you know…"

"Heart compressions? Don't worry about that. It happens to us too and a broken rib is a cheap price to pay if his heart is beating again. Now… We'll take you up to the x-ray to check out which ones have broken and if there's anything we can do about it. But most likely we can just give you some painkillers and then wait for it to heal by itself."

"Ow."

Ryan gave a whimper again. I hadn't once seen him like this and it squeezed my heart. That strong boy!

"Can I go with him?" The nurse nodded, but glanced towards Alex who seemed to have a hard time breathing as he was pulling his wet, cold shirt off with the help of Lou. "Are you okay there Alex?"

"Yeah." Alex panted. "You can go with Ryan."

I would have wanted to thank him, but in the moment I was more concentrated on Ryan and helped him get his shirt off to see the big, black bruises that was forming towards his ribs.

I would have wanted to comment of the bruises I had made. But figured quickly that that wouldn't make anything better, grabbed the shirt Ryan was pulling off and pulled it over his arms.

"There you go." The nurse said and laid a hospital gown over his chest. "We'll get you another blanket soon. But we just need to get those pants and shoes off first."

Ryan seemed to not be able to move himself when I untied his shoes and pulled them off. It wasn't any strange, and as the nurse got a blanket and he wrapped himself in it before she and a nurse from the x-ray started pushing his bed down the hallway. I glanced to Alex one more time before I ran after them.

And I wished more than I ever knew I could I wouldn't ever have come up with that stupid idea of going to the beach.

I thought there was nothing that could make me wish for it more. But waiting for the x-ray I laid my hands around the teenage boy's to warm his fingers up and then felt the unusual ice- like temperature radiating into my palms I wished for it more.

Then there was the color of both them and his lips. It was blue! Everything was blue!

I hadn't ever wished I could take my children's pain myself as much as in that moment.

Random fact

What should I put here? Anyway, I studied to a nurse. And one of my old classmates had been working as a paramedic. And she wrote about it on Facebook and described that feeling of ribs cracking underneath her hands during heart compressions.

I have no idea how that ended.

That is everything I could come up with.

See you next time!