Shades of Grey Chapter 2
Title: Shades of Grey Chapter 2
Author: TalliW
Characters: Stephen Hart, Tom Ryan, Nick Cutter, James Lester, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple, Jenny Lewis, Oliver Leek, Lyle, Finn, Helen Cutter, Ditzy
Rating: K+, T in later chapters
Disclaimer: Primeval is the property of Impossible Pictures. I write just for fun.
Lyle and Finn belong to Fredbassett.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the wonderful Fredbassett for beta duty.
Summary: Ryan has survived but he isn't the man he was. Can Stephen and Cutter manage to work together to help him? Perhaps Ryan has changed in more ways than it appears on first sight.
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Stephen was sure he had just rested his eyes for a moment and was stunned as nurses and doctors hurried into Ryan's room.
That only could mean two things. He didn't hear the horrible noise of the flat line so he hoped it was because Ryan had woken up.
He glanced at his watch and gulped, surprised. He had slept for over six hours slumped on a plastic chair. No wonder his back was killing him.
"When he arrived I thought he wouldn't make it and now, just a few hours later, he looks like he has just been in a nasty bar fight."
"Miracles do still happen, Dr. Tyson."
"But normally they don't occur in Gloucestershire."
"I heard the guy is a soldier, Special Forces. That's a tough sort. And I'm damned glad he's such a fighter. After that incident on the M5 I’ve already had enough fatalities for this week."
Stephen straightened himself up then headed for the two doctors. It seemed they had good news about Ryan.
But before Stephen could address the doctors, Ryan started yelling from inside the room and prompted the doctors to hurry back in.
Stephen caught a glimpse of wild flailing arms and legs before a nurse closed the door in his face. Two minutes later Ryan quietened. Stephen assumed he had been sedated again.
Sighing, Stephen leaned against the wall. The chances of being allowed to see Ryan had just got a lot more slim.
At least Ryan hadn't screamed in wild anguish this time. Stephen had clearly heard him utter something like a name.
Full of resolution, Stephen sat in the waiting area again and began watching Ryan's room. He would find a way to get in and help him. Ryan was calling out for someone. And, as soon he had learnt whom Ryan was demanding, he would make sure that someone got his or her arse into the hospital.
He just hoped Ryan wasn't wishing for Cutter. That would be more than he could stomach right now.
"Damn it," Stephen cursed under his breath. He had just opened the door to Ryan's hospital room, ready to slip in, when the ward sister showed up from the nurses lounge.
She fixed him with an frosty glare that would have made even more courageous men quiver in their boots. Stephen involuntarily shrunk backwards. But then he remembered why and for whom he was doing it, and stood his ground.
The ward sister raised her eyebrows when Stephen didn't turn tail and run. She had perfected that look especially for unreasonable patients and their visitors and usually it worked without fail.
"Ryan is a good friend of mine," Stephen declared softly. "Please can I see him? Just for a short moment?" He managed to look so desperate the ward nurse, for once, was moved.
"You have been here all night, haven't you? Well, I'll see what I can do. I have to clear it with the doctors fist."
When she returned from the doctor's lounge, she ushered Stephen into Ryan's room and even got him a chair.
"Doctor Tyson says it's fine with him. He thinks the presence of a friend might do the patient some good. Just don't upset him," she admonished then called a trainee nurse to keep an eye on him before she left the sick room.
Ryan wasn't hooked up on tubes any longer the way Cutter had described. He had his eyes closed and looked almost normal but for the red stains on his hair and a bruise from his temple down to his eye.
"He’s been awake for the last half an hour but he’s still very disorientated," the young nurse said shyly.
Stephen turned to her and smiled gratefully. "Thanks. But it looks like he’s sleeping now."
The nurse stepped closer and checked on Ryan. "No, he’s faking it. He’s been like that since the sedative stopped working. Probably afraid we’ll torture him with our needles again."
Stephen grinned politely at her weak attempt at a joke.
"Earlier he called a name. Could anyone actually understand what he was saying?"
"No, sorry. I was with another patient at the time. And the others were too busy trying to calm him down. You see he was trying to stand up. It took four nurses and two doctors to keep him in bed despite the sedative." The young nurse gazed nervously at Ryan. "He’s very strong. I'm glad he’s calmed down now."
Stephen took a closer look and could now see Ryan's eyelids fluttering faintly. So Ryan was listening carefully to every word.
Bending down over Ryan, Stephen whispered, "Ryan? Can you hear me? It's Stephen. Anything I can do for you? Call a friend maybe? Just tell me."
For several minutes nothing happened and Stephen slowly felt disappointment settle in.
"I want Robby. Where's Robby?" Ryan rasped suddenly, his eyes wide open.
"Robby?" Stephen was sure he never had heard Ryan or his men mention that name before. "Who's this Robby? If you tell me more about him I can find him and bring him here. I promise."
"He has long white ears and green trousers. And a white stumpy tail. He likes carrots."
"Robby is a rabbit?"
Ryan nodded frantically. "My rabbit."
"Didn't know you had time for a pet with this job," Stephen muttered under his breath.
"I want Robby. He always sleeps with me. I like his soft fur."
Stephen grimaced slightly. Ryan seemed to be full of surprises.
"Sorry, Ryan, I'm afraid animals aren't allowed in the hospital. The nurses would fry me if I showed up with a rabbit."
Ryan sniveled quietly. "But you promised."
The trainee nurse had followed the conversation and now cut in, "Wait a minute. A rabbit with green trousers? Perhaps he means a stuffed rabbit."
Ryan nodded again. "Granny gave Robby to me for my last birthday. All my friends were there. Andy and David and Mickey, Brian and Anthony. We played the whole afternoon in the garden. Granny had made popcorn and a big cake, with lots of icing."
Flooded with dread, Stephen asked quietly, "And how old are you now?"
Ryan smiled proudly. "I'm six and an half."
Stephen exchanged a worried look with the nurse.
"Oh dear. I’d better call the doctor," she said and bolted out of the room.