"So, as long as we're here wanna see a real doctor?" Luke joked as they sat in the ER and waited for Oliver and Marissa to appear. Well, really he wasn't joking. Ryan clearly needed medical attention. The just the walk from the car into the ER had clearly been a strain on him, so much so that when Ryan managed to limp through the doors a nurse actually went up to him and asked if she could help them get signed in.

"I just wanna find Marissa, and get out of here." Ryan said gruffly. Although a shot of morphine would be nice. It had been a long drive, and even though he could tell Luke was driving carefully for his sake, every bump in the road had jostled his knee and made it cry out in pain, he had had to work hard to keep himself from crying out as well, although he had grunted a few times, earning himself anxious looks from Luke. He stared down at the ground, willing himself not to start crying. God, it really f'ing hurt.

It was a relief to get to the waiting room and sink into the cushioned chair that looked a lot more comfortable than it actually was. Still, it wasn't moving, that was a small relief. He sank into it, and let the waves of pain wash over him gradually subsiding slightly, and tried to keep his leg as still as possible.

A few moments went by when Luke tapped him on the shoulder. Ryan glanced up and first looked at Luke and when Luke gave Ryan a nod, he looked around the room expectantly. Then he saw her. As if by magic, she had appeared from out behind the double doors that led back into the rest of the hospital from the waiting room. Ryan wanted to jump up and run to her, unable to do so, he settled for getting up from his chair and limp- walking as quickly to her as possible. He tried to hide limp, but knew he was unsuccessful, its hard to hide a limp when your knee won't even cooperate with the simplest of commands like "bend"- and he couldn't really put weight on it. Oh well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she noticed that he was injured…

"Thank god you're here," She hugged him hard. "Oliver's pretty banged up, but I think he'll feel better when he knows you came all the way out here for him." Ryan almost fell over.

"I didn't come here for Oliver, I came here for you." He said, to clear up the matter.

"Why? I'm fine. It's Oliver who needs us. He was so worried you'd be mad at him, but your being here proves that you have nothing against him."

"Why would I be mad at him?" The question was supposed to be rhetorical.

"Well, because I've been spending so much time with him today. He was worried you'd get jealous."

"I can't imagine why…" Ryan muttered. "So can we get him and get going? It's pretty late…" And Ryan wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to remain standing.

"Well, he's pretty doped up but I'll go and see." Marissa said, then turned and disappeared behind the swinging doors.

"So? What's the deal?" Luke came up behind Ryan.

Ryan sighed, "I dunno… She rushed off to see if Oliver can leave…" Suddenly, without warning, his knee buckled and he would fallen except Luke caught him.

"Woah… Easy there…" He helped Ryan regain his balance. "Maybe you'd better sit down,"

"Yeah…" Ryan didn't bother to protest as Luke kept Ryan's arm firmly over his shoulders and helped him to the nearest chair, then slid him down into it, like they were teammates on a soccer field. The nurse who had tried to assist them when they first came in was on them like a hawk.

"Are you sure you don't need medical attention?" Ryan noticed that she was young and actually rather pretty. Although her words were professional, from the way she was looking at him and Luke, Ryan decided she was probably having slightly less-than-professional thoughts.

"Yes, my friend here absolutely needs medical attention." As her gaze focused on Ryan, Ryan saw Luke peering over her shoulder to look at her butt. He couldn't help chuckling slightly. Alright, for Luke's sake, he could put up with a quick examination, as long as he didn't end up actually being admitted. He felt like he owed Luke that much.

"Let me guess, skiing accident?"

"Yeah…" Ryan admitted.

"We get a lot of those in here. What's injured? Hip, knee, ankle?"

"Knee… But I already went to a clinic, they said it was fine and that it just needed rest."

"The one right next to the mountain?" The nurse asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah… Why?"

"Because that doesn't count as medical attention. Trust me." She said, and having experienced the clinic for himself, Ryan believed her.

"Does this hurt?" She asked, gingerly probing his knee.

"Nope, not at all." Ryan smiled, relieved to have gotten off so easily.

"It's the other knee," Luke clued her in. Ryan glared at him.

"This one?" She gave the same gentle squeeze, and Ryan gasped out loud and his eyes went wide at the sudden explosion of pain.

"Yeah," Luke smiled smugly, glad to have proved that Ryan really did need a real doctor.

"It's bandaged… It's hard to tell how swollen it is…" The nurse stood back and looked back and forth between the two legs, "But I'd say it's probably experiencing significant swelling."

"It's fine, really."

"You shouldn't be walking around on it." Well, that Ryan already knew.

"I know, I just… My friends are here, we came to get them in such a rush that I forgot my crutches. I'm going home tomorrow, I promise my parents will take me to an orthopedist."

Luke didn't believe for a second that he had any plans to visit an orthopedist, but the pretty nurse seemed to buy the story. "Alright, but be gentle with it. Who are your friends by the way?" Ryan gave their names.

"Ah yes," she glanced at her chart, the frowned.

"What?"

"Ah… nothing. Have a good night," She turned and hurried away from them.

"I'm going to find out what that was about…" Luke said, and before Ryan could respond he had hurried after the nurse. He returned a few moments later, looking somewhere between highly amused and seriously pissed off. "You have got to be kidding me." He sank down in a chair next to Ryan, "I heard her talking to the other nurses."

"And?"

"And, nothing is wrong with the guy."

"Huh?"

"Oliver, there's nothing wrong with him. He came in complaining and crying, absolutely hysterical, so they did a complete examination, and found absolutely nothing wrong with him."

"Are you serious?" Ryan stared at him with disbelief, not sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. "So why are we still here?"

"I don't know," Luke sank into the chair and sighed. "You know, it's messed up."

"Huh?"

"You're hurt… Marissa should be with you at the lodge right now taking care of you, and instead she's in there," he gestured towards the doors, "with that faker. It's messed up."

Ryan didn't want to hear what Luke was saying. It was true, of course, but acknowledging it was just too painful.