Title: Dance from the Heart (3/?)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Angst, Drama
Characters: Mostly Sharpay and Ryan, the others show up on occasion.
Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or these characters. I'm just playing around.
Summary: An accident, a struggle and redemption.

0o0o0o

When Ryan returned to East High that Monday, nervously clutching his schoolbag, he was shocked at the reception he received. A huge hand-painted banner reading "WELCOME BACK, RYAN" was draped over the auditorium entrance in the first floor hallway and below it were waiting what looked like the entire school cheering as he walked in, leaving him speechless.

Hard as it was not to cry, it was even harder to know that Sharpay wasn't there with him and Ryan had to swallow back the tears for them both.

Chad was the first to run up and hug him, a little too hard, correcting himself with a quick apology, before waving his teammates back who looked ready to tackle Ryan to the ground out of exuberant good will. "Hold up, guys, he's still banged up."

"It's so good to see you," a few of the girls gushed at once, as they rubbed his shoulders and back affectionately. "We missed you. What about Sharpay? She's coming back isn't she?"

Such a barrage of questions and well-wishes and Ryan could only nod and shrug in turn, his tongue and brain refusing to work correctly. Finally, sensing his distress, Troy Bolton waved everyone away. "Okay, guys, let's give him some room. We don't want to put him back in the hospital, do we?"

Everyone fell back and eventually the bell rang, immediately bringing natural order to the school day. "Thanks," Ryan mumbled to Troy, who put an arm around his shoulder and steered him away from the crowd. "I'm a little overwhelmed."

"I believe it." Troy said kindly. He paused. "How is Sharpay? We've all heard different things but I didn't want to speculate. They said she was hurt really bad."

"Yeah, kinda bad," Ryan breathed. He clutched his messenger bag closer. "But she's alive and she's going to be okay once they fix her up a little more. It's ... hard ... losing a limb. It's hard on everyone, especially because there are so many things I ... we ... can't help her with. She has to do so much on her own."

Troy's face fell. "That sucks. I'm so sorry."

"Sharpay's strong," Ryan protested, waving at a few more well-wishers who were hanging over the stairs, calling his name. "If anyone can come out of this on top, she can."

"That I believe," Troy agreed, smiling as Gabriella bounced up and embraced Ryan. "And here's your biggest cheerleader. She still has poster paint on her fingers."

"Oh, hush," Gabriella said, giving Troy a gentle smack on the arm. She smiled brightly at Ryan. "How are you?"

"Better, thanks."

"And Sharpay?"

Ryan sighed. He saw he was going to be asked this a lot today. Might as well get used to it, even if answering that question accurately was nearly impossible. "She's going to get better, probably sooner than later. It's going to take a little while, that's all."

"You have no idea how much we miss her," Gabriella exclaimed. "The school is so not the same without her. It's like we've turned from a color movie into black and white. We're so ... " She paused as if searching for the right word. "Boring," she whispered finally with a wink.

Ryan laughed. "I'll have to tell her that. I'm sure she'll agree."

The bell signaling the start of classes rang and the three friends ran to their respective homerooms. The teacher greeted Ryan affectionately, then got straight to business, handing him three weeks worth of assignments and a list of make-up tests he'd have to take. Grimacing, he almost wished he were back in his hospital bed, but he simply stuffed the pile into his bag and began his day, already bored and wishing he could call Sharpay, impossible, as cel phones were banned in the hospital.

For the rest of the day he occupied himself on his laptop, sneaking off to the various hotspots on campus and surfing the auction and sales sites for things to buy for Sharpay, as well as sending her a stream of silly emails. It kept his mind off of other things and the thought of cheering her up made his day almost bearable. Around midday he looked at his watch and counted off the hours left until the limo would come to get him and bring him back to the hospital, where he'd try to arrange an overnight stay, as much as that would annoy his parents. He'd already packed an extra shirt, clean underwear and fashion be damned, it was good enough.

The day dragged on, until the final bell rang and Ryan practically ran to the parking area where, thank God, the limo was already waiting. This was his favorite driver, Jack, and Ryan knew he could rely on him for speed and discretion, especially where his parents were concerned. He'd already tried to tip him in advance, but was waved off, which made Ryan vow to give the man a Christmas bonus he'd never forget even if he had to hand-deliver it to his house.

"The GPS is all charged up," Jack yelled to the back of the car. "I've got one traffic-free nifty shortcut coming your way."

"You're the best," Ryan said, leaning back and putting his iPod earplugs in. He set the player on "shuffle" and right away one of Sharpay's "secret" favorites came up, a song so old as to be petrified, but it was pretty and besides, the Bee Gees were the masters of making modern dance music back in the day. This one was softer and Ryan closed his eyes, singing along softly with the chorus. "Run to me, whenever you're lonely, run to me when you need a shoulder ..."

The car rolled along at a hard clip along somewhat bumpy side roads and Ryan was thankful for every passing mile, thinking of Sharpay.

"So darling, you run to me."

0o0o0o

It took some effort but Ryan eventually found his sister outside of the nursing home gym, in one of the therapy rooms, sitting on an exam table, her face twisted with anger and pain. A jolt of fear ran through him, but he merely put down his schoolbag and touched Sharpay's shoulder.

With a tearful gesture of annoyance, she shrugged him off. "It's horrible, Ryan. It's so horrible I can't even ... I can't ..." She burst into tears, the first real ones he'd seen since the accident.

"What happened?"

"It hurts. My missing leg hurts," she cried. "There's nothing there and it hurts so badly I can't stand it. The thing they made as a leg for me is stupid and it doesn't fit right and I can't even stand on it. It's terrible, it's nothing like they said it would be. The the doctor thinks I might have to get another operation if the pain doesn't go away." She covered her face with her hands and leaned into his shoulder, shaking with agony.

A therapist peeked in and Ryan twisted around to glare at him, still holding onto Sharpay. "What's wrong with her? Why is she hurting so badly?"

"Phantom limb pain," the therapist explained calmly. He picked up Sharpay's thick chart and flipped through it toward the end. "Very common, unfortunately. We're going to try some pain management therapies on it, to see if we can get it to subside. It depends on the person which ones are the most effective. Sometimes a simple massage will do the trick, other times we have to do some visualization therapy, to mentally decrease the pain."

Visualization. Ryan and Sharpay had been doing that for years as part of their preparation for performing. "Shar, listen to me," Ryan whispered in her ear. "Let's try to think it away. Like we do before a show."

"Don't be stupid, Ryan," Sharpay sobbed. "This isn't a show. This hurts."

"I know. But it can't hurt to try, can it? Come on, breathe with me," he cajoled, gently encouraging her to sit up straight and look him in the eye. "Inhale ..."

She made a face at him, but finally acquiesced, taking one shaky breath, then another. "It's not working," she complained, but already, she was sounding a bit calmer.

"Slowly exhale," he instructed, undeterred. He took her hands and held them loosely, massaging her fingers. "You know the drill, five, three, five. Close your eyes and we'll do it together. Think about all the pain leaving your body with every breath. Relax and listen."

The therapist watched approvingly as Ryan continued to instruct Sharpay through the breathing, telling her to imagine they were on their lounges at Lava Springs. They were floating in the huge pool, side by side, the sun shining in a perfectly clear blue sky. There was an iced tea waiting for her on the deck, served by her handsome cabana boy and later on, they'd sit in the outdoor lounge and sing some karaoke together, under the stars. It's an amazing song, with lots of high notes and the crowd is wowed, straight to the very end where they receive a loud standing ovation.

Slowly, a smile broke out over Sharpay's face. "I can hear it. Everyone's clapping," she breathed, her eyes blissfully closed.

"Everyone's clapping," Ryan agreed, reaching up and stroking the side of her face. "And it's all for you."

One eye cracked open. "I thought it was a duet."

Ryan shrugged. "You're the star, Shar."

"As usual," she preened, before taking a deep, cleansing breath. "God, I think that worked."

"Good," Ryan said, trying not to let his anxiety show. This episode had nearly scared him to death. "I'm glad."

The therapist grinned at Ryan from the doorway. "Want a job?" he asked, half-kiddingly. "I got lots of other patients out there."

"No, thanks," replied Ryan, his entire body still trembling slightly. "I'm not built for the medical field."

"He's too modest," Sharpay answered, with a welcome haughtiness. She gingerly stretched out both legs with a pleased noise. "Definitely better."

She threw her arms around Ryan in thanks and he hugged back, hard, wondering what else might be in store for them.

It was as if a secure rug had been pulled out from beneath him and he made a mental vow to be more prepared for what might happen next. He had to be strong for Sharpay; it wasn't fair that she'd be facing this without a partner, just as he faced audiences with her, armed with nothing more than practice and a prayer, he'd go through this with her, standing by her until the end.

He just wondered when that end would come.

0o0o0o

tbc ...

Thanks to everyone for the reviews so far. I appreciate them and am always glad to hear from you!