The Colours of Pain caused by a Comic Book
Title: The Colours of Pain caused by a Comic book, chapter 4
Word Count: 1,997
Rating: PG-13
Beta: erynnbeth Thank you :)
Summary: Well, I felt like writing some hurt/comfort and it involves Ryan, Seth, worried Sandy and Kirsten, the rover and a cliff
Previous chapters are here
Sandy watched Ryan’s chest rising and falling with each mechanical breath. He knew that Kirsten would be coming soon and he’d have to leave to be with Seth. He’d been sitting there for a couple of hours now and Ryan was still not making any effort to wake up.
He rubbed Ryan’s arm lightly with his hand. “Come on, Ryan. Please open your eyes, kid.”
The nurses came in every so often, but Ryan just lay there, oblivious to everything around him.
The doctors all said he was doing “as well as can be expected” but Sandy was sure that they should be seeing a little more life from Ryan by now. The kid had been through so much in his life and he’d always battled his way through. To see him so weak and fragile was heart breaking.
His face was so pale and the sight scared Sandy. He’d never seen anyone like this before. It felt like they’d all been caught up in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” or something.
The nurse had told him that Seth was doing very well and was being moved to a regular ward. He would most definitely be going home the next day. She had seemed surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in his reaction. It was great that Seth was fine, really it was, but Ryan was just so ill. He wasn’t able to feel enthusiastic about anything.
A knock on the door made him look up, and Kirsten stood in the doorway. Her blue eyes fixed on Ryan’s broken body and he could see her breath catch in her throat.
She came further into the room, and Sandy watched as she leaned down to kiss Ryan gently on the forehead.
“The doctors are all saying he’s doing well,” Sandy offered, needing to try and reassure her, and she nodded vaguely in his direction.
“Ryan…” she whispered, taking his hand gently and raising it slightly towards her. Sandy watched on sadly as he watched Kirsten try to keep a hold on her emotions. They were both so close to falling apart.
He stood up suddenly. “I should go and see Seth,” he said quietly, and she looked around at him, dazed, before nodding.
“I’ll see you later, kid.” He leaned over and gave Ryan’s hair a last ruffle before standing up and leaving the room.
He wandered down the corridors wondering where on earth Seth’s new room was. He pondered about asking someone but he couldn’t bear the verbal contact with them. He made his way instead to the men’s bathroom.
He pushed open the bathroom door and leaned against the sinks, holding himself up with his hands. He was the father of the family. It was up to him to be the strong one and hold everyone together. He had to be there for both of his sons and wife. How could this be happening to his family?
He knew he had to get back to Seth. Seth still didn’t know just how sick Ryan was. The door swung open as a short man walked in, and Sandy knew it was time.
He left the bathroom, and made his way to the nurse’s station.
xxx
Kirsten spoke softly to Ryan, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. If Ryan could hear her, she didn’t want him to know how scared she was. She didn’t want him to know how serious his condition was, in case it scared him as much as it was scaring her.
She followed the trail of tubes around Ryan’s body with her eyes and grimaced slightly. She couldn’t think about how much pain Ryan would be in when he finally did wake up.
Seth was so worried about Ryan. Every time he woke up he asked if there was any news. She hoped that Sandy would be able to give him some straight answers. She just couldn’t bear to speak out loud what was happening to Ryan and knowing Seth, he’d have a lot of questions.
The door opened and a nurse entered. She gave Kirsten a reassuring smile.
“Good Morning Mrs Cohen. I’ve just come to take Ryan’s vitals.”
She made her way up to Ryan’s bedside, pushing a little cart in front of her.
Kirsten watched as she took his temperature and checked his blood pressure.
“Is he alright?” She asked worriedly, and the nurse turned to her.
“He’s doing as well as we can expect from him right now, Mrs Cohen.” She’d heard that one before.
“The doctors are all expecting him to wake up either later today or tomorrow.” The nurse’s voice remained calm and Kirsten tried to believe what the woman was telling her.
The nurse checked Ryan pupils, and Kirsten frowned when Ryan didn’t even let out a little moan or flinch. Ryan always flinched whenever she or Sandy so much as patted him lightly on the back. For him to just lie there, while the nurse shone a light in his eyes, scared her more than she would admit.
The nurse obviously sensed her unease. “Don’t worry, he’s just tired and wants his rest.” She told her. “The doctor will be in soon to check on him as well. If you need anything, my name is Sam.”
She left the room, pushing her trolley before her, and Kirsten was once again left alone to her thoughts.
xxx
The next day, Sandy returned to Ryan’s room after dropping Seth off at the house. As had been predicted, Seth had been discharged that morning. He had insisted that he was alright and that his dad should go and be with Ryan rather than them both staying at home worrying.
He gave Kirsten a wane smile and she gave a faint nod back. “Have you eaten?” he asked her.
“Not yet.” Her hand covered Ryan’s, and she barely looked up at him.
“You should go grab something. I can stay here with Ryan.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and held it out to her.
She shook her head. “No, I’ll get something later.” He thrust the wallet back into his pocket, frowning slightly. He tried to remember the last time he had seen her eat.
“How’s Seth?” she asked quietly.
“He’s good. He told me to come back here. I left him sleeping in his room.”
She nodded and they both lapsed into silence, listening to the beeping that surrounded them.
Sandy noticed how the bruises tainting Ryan’s skin had deepened overnight, and looked even worse than the day before. His arms were covered in scratches and cuts from the rocks.
Ryan just lay there, oblivious to everything that was happening. The doctors said he was just sleeping and the machines signified that that was true, but it looked like he was dead.
Sandy heard a little sob come from Kirsten and he looked up at her, concerned. She immediately began clearing her throat and scrubbing at her eyes.
They needed to be strong for Ryan but inside Sandy knew, they were both holding on by very little.
“He’ll be alright. He’s a fighter,” Sandy soothed gently.
Kirsten gave quick jerking nods and sniffed. “He just looks so weak.” Her voice cracked, and she looked away from him.
Sandy nodded. “I know,” he whispered.
The door opened once again, and the doctor popped his head around it.
He came into the room and smiled at them.
“We just need to examine Ryan. Have you had breakfast yet? You could go down to the cafeteria and I’m sure by the time you get back, we’ll be finished.”
Sandy and Kirsten both looked at each other solemnly, but got up. Sandy faked a smile and rubbed Ryan’s arm gently.
He watched as Kirsten leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
xxx
The doctor waited till they had left before looking down at his notes and beginning the exam.
He made his way to the head of the bed and pulled out his pen light.
“Ryan, can you hear me Ryan?” He pulled open the kid’s eye lids one after the other to check his pupils.
When he didn’t respond, the doctor frowned slightly.
He sighed softly when Ryan still didn’t respond when he repeated his name. He moved on to check the kid’s lungs, the feeling of unease settling down on him.
He’d learnt long ago that medicine was different from person to person but he was surprised that this kid still wasn’t making any effort to wake up.
xxx
Sandy made his way back up to Ryan’s room. Kirsten had gone home to check on Seth and get a little sleep. He held a paperback book that he’d found in the gift shop that had looked like it could distract him from the machines and the situation for a little while.
He noticed that the doctor was still in the room and his heart began to beat a little faster.
He pushed open the door and the doctor looked up at him. “Oh, Mr Cohen. I’m not quite done yet with the exam but you can sit in here if you want.”
Sandy nodded but didn’t answer. The man had been in here for at least an hour. What could be taking so long?
He sat down and watched as the flashlight was shone into Ryan’s eyes.
“Is everything okay?” he asked nervously.
The doctor turned to him. “I’m not going to lie to you. I am a slightly concerned about how little Ryan is responding. Physically, he’s doing very well, but we should really be seeing him more responsive than this.”
Sandy must have looked as worried as he felt because the doctor quickly carried on. “Remember, it’s still early days. The accident only happened a couple of days ago, but I am worried that he could be more affected by the head injury than we originally thought. I’m going to order another CT scan and we’ll go from there to see if there’s anything more wrong.”
Sandy felt his stomach turn. “Could he have brain damage?” he asked.
“Like I told you previously, it is likely that when Ryan wakes up he’ll experience light or sound sensitivity, severe headaches, some memory loss… He may not remember the accident. With a head injury like this, he may pick up any of these side effects. We’ll cross whichever bridge occurs when we get to it.”
Sandy ran a hand over his face and sighed. How was he going to break this to Kirsten?
“Do you have any other questions? Someone will be up shortly to take him to radiology.”
“No,” Sandy whispered, and the doctor smiled at him.
“Don’t give up hope. He’ll wake up soon I’m sure.” He shook Sandy’s hand and left.
Sandy moved closer to the bed and smoothed Ryan’s hair off of his forehead.
“You’ll be okay Ryan. If you can hear me, you’re going to be fine.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.
xxx
Everything was dark.
He was surrounded by a deep, throbbing pain. Vaguely, he could hear someone talking, and an annoying beeping sound.
He didn’t want to risk moving, not wanting to provoke the pain.
The voice was becoming clearer, and it sounded an awful lot like Sandy. He tried to hear the words but they were too faint. He clung to the voice, the one soothing thing that he had.
He felt something touching his hair and he wondered if it was Sandy. But why would Sandy be touching his hair? Why would Sandy be with him? Was something wrong?
He felt himself beginning to panic a little. He wanted to open his eyes, to ask Sandy what was going on.
But he couldn’t.
All he could see was the darkness. The darkness wanted him to stay and didn’t want to release him.
He tried to moan, but no sound came out. He was trapped.
What the hell was going on?
TBC…
Thanks for reading :D
Word Count: 1,997
Rating: PG-13
Beta: erynnbeth Thank you :)
Summary: Well, I felt like writing some hurt/comfort and it involves Ryan, Seth, worried Sandy and Kirsten, the rover and a cliff
Previous chapters are here
Sandy watched Ryan’s chest rising and falling with each mechanical breath. He knew that Kirsten would be coming soon and he’d have to leave to be with Seth. He’d been sitting there for a couple of hours now and Ryan was still not making any effort to wake up.
He rubbed Ryan’s arm lightly with his hand. “Come on, Ryan. Please open your eyes, kid.”
The nurses came in every so often, but Ryan just lay there, oblivious to everything around him.
The doctors all said he was doing “as well as can be expected” but Sandy was sure that they should be seeing a little more life from Ryan by now. The kid had been through so much in his life and he’d always battled his way through. To see him so weak and fragile was heart breaking.
His face was so pale and the sight scared Sandy. He’d never seen anyone like this before. It felt like they’d all been caught up in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” or something.
The nurse had told him that Seth was doing very well and was being moved to a regular ward. He would most definitely be going home the next day. She had seemed surprised by the lack of enthusiasm in his reaction. It was great that Seth was fine, really it was, but Ryan was just so ill. He wasn’t able to feel enthusiastic about anything.
A knock on the door made him look up, and Kirsten stood in the doorway. Her blue eyes fixed on Ryan’s broken body and he could see her breath catch in her throat.
She came further into the room, and Sandy watched as she leaned down to kiss Ryan gently on the forehead.
“The doctors are all saying he’s doing well,” Sandy offered, needing to try and reassure her, and she nodded vaguely in his direction.
“Ryan…” she whispered, taking his hand gently and raising it slightly towards her. Sandy watched on sadly as he watched Kirsten try to keep a hold on her emotions. They were both so close to falling apart.
He stood up suddenly. “I should go and see Seth,” he said quietly, and she looked around at him, dazed, before nodding.
“I’ll see you later, kid.” He leaned over and gave Ryan’s hair a last ruffle before standing up and leaving the room.
He wandered down the corridors wondering where on earth Seth’s new room was. He pondered about asking someone but he couldn’t bear the verbal contact with them. He made his way instead to the men’s bathroom.
He pushed open the bathroom door and leaned against the sinks, holding himself up with his hands. He was the father of the family. It was up to him to be the strong one and hold everyone together. He had to be there for both of his sons and wife. How could this be happening to his family?
He knew he had to get back to Seth. Seth still didn’t know just how sick Ryan was. The door swung open as a short man walked in, and Sandy knew it was time.
He left the bathroom, and made his way to the nurse’s station.
xxx
Kirsten spoke softly to Ryan, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. If Ryan could hear her, she didn’t want him to know how scared she was. She didn’t want him to know how serious his condition was, in case it scared him as much as it was scaring her.
She followed the trail of tubes around Ryan’s body with her eyes and grimaced slightly. She couldn’t think about how much pain Ryan would be in when he finally did wake up.
Seth was so worried about Ryan. Every time he woke up he asked if there was any news. She hoped that Sandy would be able to give him some straight answers. She just couldn’t bear to speak out loud what was happening to Ryan and knowing Seth, he’d have a lot of questions.
The door opened and a nurse entered. She gave Kirsten a reassuring smile.
“Good Morning Mrs Cohen. I’ve just come to take Ryan’s vitals.”
She made her way up to Ryan’s bedside, pushing a little cart in front of her.
Kirsten watched as she took his temperature and checked his blood pressure.
“Is he alright?” She asked worriedly, and the nurse turned to her.
“He’s doing as well as we can expect from him right now, Mrs Cohen.” She’d heard that one before.
“The doctors are all expecting him to wake up either later today or tomorrow.” The nurse’s voice remained calm and Kirsten tried to believe what the woman was telling her.
The nurse checked Ryan pupils, and Kirsten frowned when Ryan didn’t even let out a little moan or flinch. Ryan always flinched whenever she or Sandy so much as patted him lightly on the back. For him to just lie there, while the nurse shone a light in his eyes, scared her more than she would admit.
The nurse obviously sensed her unease. “Don’t worry, he’s just tired and wants his rest.” She told her. “The doctor will be in soon to check on him as well. If you need anything, my name is Sam.”
She left the room, pushing her trolley before her, and Kirsten was once again left alone to her thoughts.
xxx
The next day, Sandy returned to Ryan’s room after dropping Seth off at the house. As had been predicted, Seth had been discharged that morning. He had insisted that he was alright and that his dad should go and be with Ryan rather than them both staying at home worrying.
He gave Kirsten a wane smile and she gave a faint nod back. “Have you eaten?” he asked her.
“Not yet.” Her hand covered Ryan’s, and she barely looked up at him.
“You should go grab something. I can stay here with Ryan.” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and held it out to her.
She shook her head. “No, I’ll get something later.” He thrust the wallet back into his pocket, frowning slightly. He tried to remember the last time he had seen her eat.
“How’s Seth?” she asked quietly.
“He’s good. He told me to come back here. I left him sleeping in his room.”
She nodded and they both lapsed into silence, listening to the beeping that surrounded them.
Sandy noticed how the bruises tainting Ryan’s skin had deepened overnight, and looked even worse than the day before. His arms were covered in scratches and cuts from the rocks.
Ryan just lay there, oblivious to everything that was happening. The doctors said he was just sleeping and the machines signified that that was true, but it looked like he was dead.
Sandy heard a little sob come from Kirsten and he looked up at her, concerned. She immediately began clearing her throat and scrubbing at her eyes.
They needed to be strong for Ryan but inside Sandy knew, they were both holding on by very little.
“He’ll be alright. He’s a fighter,” Sandy soothed gently.
Kirsten gave quick jerking nods and sniffed. “He just looks so weak.” Her voice cracked, and she looked away from him.
Sandy nodded. “I know,” he whispered.
The door opened once again, and the doctor popped his head around it.
He came into the room and smiled at them.
“We just need to examine Ryan. Have you had breakfast yet? You could go down to the cafeteria and I’m sure by the time you get back, we’ll be finished.”
Sandy and Kirsten both looked at each other solemnly, but got up. Sandy faked a smile and rubbed Ryan’s arm gently.
He watched as Kirsten leaned down and kissed him on the forehead.
xxx
The doctor waited till they had left before looking down at his notes and beginning the exam.
He made his way to the head of the bed and pulled out his pen light.
“Ryan, can you hear me Ryan?” He pulled open the kid’s eye lids one after the other to check his pupils.
When he didn’t respond, the doctor frowned slightly.
He sighed softly when Ryan still didn’t respond when he repeated his name. He moved on to check the kid’s lungs, the feeling of unease settling down on him.
He’d learnt long ago that medicine was different from person to person but he was surprised that this kid still wasn’t making any effort to wake up.
xxx
Sandy made his way back up to Ryan’s room. Kirsten had gone home to check on Seth and get a little sleep. He held a paperback book that he’d found in the gift shop that had looked like it could distract him from the machines and the situation for a little while.
He noticed that the doctor was still in the room and his heart began to beat a little faster.
He pushed open the door and the doctor looked up at him. “Oh, Mr Cohen. I’m not quite done yet with the exam but you can sit in here if you want.”
Sandy nodded but didn’t answer. The man had been in here for at least an hour. What could be taking so long?
He sat down and watched as the flashlight was shone into Ryan’s eyes.
“Is everything okay?” he asked nervously.
The doctor turned to him. “I’m not going to lie to you. I am a slightly concerned about how little Ryan is responding. Physically, he’s doing very well, but we should really be seeing him more responsive than this.”
Sandy must have looked as worried as he felt because the doctor quickly carried on. “Remember, it’s still early days. The accident only happened a couple of days ago, but I am worried that he could be more affected by the head injury than we originally thought. I’m going to order another CT scan and we’ll go from there to see if there’s anything more wrong.”
Sandy felt his stomach turn. “Could he have brain damage?” he asked.
“Like I told you previously, it is likely that when Ryan wakes up he’ll experience light or sound sensitivity, severe headaches, some memory loss… He may not remember the accident. With a head injury like this, he may pick up any of these side effects. We’ll cross whichever bridge occurs when we get to it.”
Sandy ran a hand over his face and sighed. How was he going to break this to Kirsten?
“Do you have any other questions? Someone will be up shortly to take him to radiology.”
“No,” Sandy whispered, and the doctor smiled at him.
“Don’t give up hope. He’ll wake up soon I’m sure.” He shook Sandy’s hand and left.
Sandy moved closer to the bed and smoothed Ryan’s hair off of his forehead.
“You’ll be okay Ryan. If you can hear me, you’re going to be fine.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.
xxx
Everything was dark.
He was surrounded by a deep, throbbing pain. Vaguely, he could hear someone talking, and an annoying beeping sound.
He didn’t want to risk moving, not wanting to provoke the pain.
The voice was becoming clearer, and it sounded an awful lot like Sandy. He tried to hear the words but they were too faint. He clung to the voice, the one soothing thing that he had.
He felt something touching his hair and he wondered if it was Sandy. But why would Sandy be touching his hair? Why would Sandy be with him? Was something wrong?
He felt himself beginning to panic a little. He wanted to open his eyes, to ask Sandy what was going on.
But he couldn’t.
All he could see was the darkness. The darkness wanted him to stay and didn’t want to release him.
He tried to moan, but no sound came out. He was trapped.
What the hell was going on?
TBC…
Thanks for reading :D