The time had come that Sharon had been dreading. She had to get the boys ready to leave for Atlantic City. She knew that they weren't going to want to, and she'd need to give them some time to get used to the idea, so she came to the hospital and called them all together for a meeting in the conference room, with permission of the ICU staff. Ryan's Ipod was left as his music source for the meeting.
"You boys have done an amazing job here," she said. "I knew how close you all were, but this surprised all of us. I've heard so much from the staff here, from Ryan's family, and from other families about how fantastic you've all been. But it's time to start thinking about leaving for Atlantic City. We're due there to start rehearsals in 4 days." She had expected protests, and she got them.
"Sharon, we can't leave now!" "How can you even think about making us leave!" "Ryan and his family need us!"
"I'm not leaving until Ryan's awake," came a flat, determined statement from Neil. "I won't." The others, minus George who was sitting and listening quietly, joined in. "We won't either!"
"We don't have a choice on this," Sharon said, "and you know it. We've a contract we have to fulfill, and fans waiting for us."
Keith said hotly, "If you'd let us tell the fans what's wrong with Ryan, they wouldn't mind. They'd want us to stay here with him!"
Sharon fired back just as hotly. "You know that's not my decision to make. Ryan's parents have requested that, and I won't change it without their agreement. And you WILL NOT mention it to them, understood?" She glared at all of them. "This doesn't just affect us. It affects the hotel and many other businesses in Atlantic City. If we cancel, then the fans who've planned vacations there cancel, and they all lose money. Not to mention that Colm's turned his life upside down in a matter of weeks to help people he's never met!"
"I can't believe you're putting money ahead of Ryan!" Emmet yelled. "I know the fans accuse you of that, but I never thought it was true!"
"Tha's ENOUGH!" George thundered. They all looked at him, shocked into silence.
"You lot are behaving like spoiled kids," he said. "I'm ashamed of you, yelling like that and accusing Sharon of not caring. You know better. You know perfectly well that if she had her choice, she'd cancel everything and keep us all with Ryan until he was completely better. Having to make us leave is tearing her apart, and you just made it worse! Act like the professionals you are, will you?" He looked completely disgusted with them, and that, more than anything, turned them around.
"I'm sorry," Keith said, hanging his head.
"Me, too," echoed Emmet. "We know you better than that, Sharon."
Even Neil gave in. "I'll go," he said. "It's just...he's finally started getting better. What if us leaving changes that? What if he gets worse again?" It was the real reason behind their resistance to leaving, and Sharon knew that. They were scared.
"I know you're all scared that things will go wrong and we won't be here to help," she said gently. "I am, too, and as George said, if there was ANY way I could do it, I wouldn't LET you leave. I'd move heaven and earth to keep you here. But we don't have that choice. What we need to do is work out how best to keep supporting Ryan and his family. Get as much music recorded and downloaded into Ryan's Ipod as you can. Figure out when you can each take some time to go home and pack and see your families before you leave. Figure out the best ways to keep in touch while we're gone. And I have some medical and other news that will help."
This was a surprise to all of them. "What is it?" they chorused.
Sharon smiled. "First, Damian will be here in 2 days, and he'll be able to stay for a few days after we have to leave. You'll all be able to see him, and he'll be here to help." That brought some sighs of relief, that they would have another brother to take over for them. "Unfortunately, Paul's not going to be able to get here at all, but he sent me some digital recordings to add to Ryan's playlist." That brought some nods and grins. "And," she said, "Mr. Kelly told me when I arrived that Ryan has recovered enough that Dr. Reilly has ordered the staff to begin reducing the medication that is keeping him in coma, to allow him to wake up." "There were some cheers at this, and she cautioned them quickly. "It doesn't mean he'll wake up immediately, and it doesn't mean that he'll be perfectly back to normal when he does wake up. It will be a slow process, over a week until the medications are completely stopped, and it could be longer before he actually wakes up. Even if he doesn't have any permanent brain damage, it will be a while before his brain is working normally again. He'll need to be in the hospital for weeks, probably months, longer. I've asked Dr. Reilly to meet with all of us before we leave to tell us what is likely to happen while we're away, so we won't be completely in the dark."