Ryan was puzzled when the guys dragged him back up to the front for another song. He said to them quietly, "Look, I'd only worked on those 4, I can't manage a lot of songs in a row yet. I'm not ready for anything else."
Neil grinned. "I promise you this one won't be a problem."
Keith piped in, "Anyway, you can't say you're back singing with us because you haven't yet - you stopped when we came in. It's not official until you sing WITH us." He was grinning, so Ryan knew he wasn't seriously saying he wasn't part of them - he was just being Keith.
"Oh, all right," Ryan said. He looked out at the audience, who seemed politely puzzled. "If you hadn't figured it out yet, these are the other lads from Celtic Thunder, and I have NO idea what they're up to. They weren't supposed to be here. I didn't plan this."
Sharon and David both stuck their heads in the door from the hallway. "No, we did!" they chorused. Ryan ducked his head into his hand, shaking it wildly.
"I should have known," he groaned. To the audience, he explained, "That's our musical director and producer, and I should have known they'd be mixed up in this somehow. All right, so what are you putting me on the spot for?"
"No worries, brother, " George said. "Just chime in when it's your turn!" They all scrambled to stand side by side, and George started singing, "Side by side, we stand like brothers..." Ryan's face split into a huge grin, and he joined in with more gusto than they'd yet heard from him, hitting his notes and timing perfectly. Sharon and David looked at each other and nodded, grinning. Not only had they successfully pulled their first wind-up on Ryan since his accident, he'd risen to it perfectly - something they knew he'd need to do at some point once he was back performing, as on-stage wind-ups and even just sudden changes were inevitable. It had been a calculated risk - if he'd flubbed it, they might have had a job getting his confidence back up - but now that he hadn't, they knew he'd be ready for anything they could throw at him.
After that song, everyone started mingling. Shivaun had already noticed the patience and compassion that Ryan had for the more severely injured patients, and she found that the other boys were just the same. Even Keith's manic energy disappeared as he slowed down and became very gentle, taking as much time as needed for each person. Finally, though, Sharon saw that Ryan was getting tired and collected her boys to take him back to his room.
However, just as they were about to leave, a badly-slurred voice came from behind them. "Eye-in." They all turned and saw a young man, his right arm and leg both braced, doggedly moving his wheelchair towards them using his left hand and left foot. Ryan immediately went to him and knelt by his chair. Shivaun and the other staff were watching in amazed silence.
"Michael, did you call me?" he asked quietly, surprise in his voice.
The man nodded. "Esh," he said.
"What is it?" Ryan asked.
"Tank-goo," the man said, smiling lopsidely.
Ryan's face split into an enormous grin. "No, thank you," he said shakily, and grabbed the man into a hug. As he leaned back, he said, "I knew you could do it. I knew it. Don't give up, ever. Don't you dare give up. Do that for me?"
The man nodded again. "I 'ill." The staff and other patients surged around him then, huge grins on their faces and loud praise rising. Ryan stepped back, suddenly stumbling over his feet, but George grabbed him quickly and, gathering the others with a look, got them all out of the auditorium and back to Ryan's room, where they quietly let Ryan settle into a chair until he was ready to talk.
Ryan rubbed a hand over his face. "I knew it," he said to himself. "But for him to do it for me..." Tears were running down his face.
"Can you tell us, Ryan?" Sharon said gently. She knew that the encounter with the man had shaken Ryan to the core, but none of them understood why.
"Michael's in the next room," he started. "He's been here for months - I'm not sure how long. In all that time, as I understand it, he's never spoken a word or even tried to speak - he refused to try to talk or make any sound or even to use any of the computers that could talk for him. When I got my guitar back and started playing again, he started coming over to my room whenever he heard me. You saw how hard it is for him to move himself, but he did it, every time. The nurses tried to make him leave me alone but he wouldn't go, so I told them he was welcome to stay. He just stayed here with me, watching me get my fingers working again - and it wasn't easy, let me tell you. I would get very frustrated and want to just give up, but with him watching me, I couldn't. I'd take a deep breath and count to 10 and try again, and every time I did, he'd grin and nod at me. He saw things going better for me all the time. He was here when David was here with me, too, and I think maybe he realized then that I was a professional trying to get back to my job. I guess seeing me not giving up gave him the courage to try. As far as I know, my name is the first thing he's said since his accident." His voice broke. "For him to do that for me - in front of everyone - that took unbelievable courage." He dropped his face into his hands and began to cry quietly.
The others understood now. They knew that fans credited them and their music with bringing them through difficult times, but this was the closest any of them had ever come to seeing it in action.