Obsession - Part Twelve

[rycolfan.livejournal.com]

Title - Obsession
Rating - NC-17
Pairing - I think you should know by now!
Summary - Ryan discovers the sinister side of fame...
Disclaimer - I only own the story...
Feedback - always brings a smile to my face!

For those of you patiently, or not so patiently, waiting for the next part.....here it is!  Only one more part to go! Feedback is always appreciated.......thanks for the love! x

Part Twelve

Drew, Greg, and Brad had seen Rachel being bundled into a police van and taken away a few minutes ago. Now all their attention was fixed worriedly on the house as they waited for news. They collectively held their breath when the door opened and Charlie was wheeled out, unconscious, with Paul beside him.

"Is Charlie gonna be ok?" Brad asked an officer who was passing by.

"I've heard it's just a bad concussion," the officer assured them, "he should be fine."

They barely had time to feel relieved before they heard an urgent shout from the house and two other paramedics rushed inside, Paul quickly following.

Everyone stared at the door anxiously, silently willing Ryan and Colin to walk out unharmed. After a few minutes a third paramedic rushed in with a stretcher and they all began to fear the worst.

"Why the hell can't someone tell us what's going on in there," Drew shouted in frustration.

The words had barely left his mouth when the door opened again. Their relief at seeing Ryan appear, apparently unharmed, quickly turned to shock as they saw Colin on the stretcher beside him, unconscious and deathly pale. There was an oxygen mask over his face and one of the paramedics was holding a saline bag up which was connected to a drip in Colin's arm. Ryan walked alongside him, his eyes never leaving Colin's face as he held his hand tightly.

"Oh God," Drew whispered fearfully. They all quickly moved towards the waiting ambulance to meet them.

"How bad is it?" Greg asked, looking down worriedly at Colin's pallid complexion as the group reached them.

Ryan looked up at him tearfully and shook his head, unable to speak, as Colin was carefully loaded into the back of the ambulance and he climbed in after him.

"He was hit by a stray bullet in the back," one of the paramedics replied from inside when Ryan didn't answer, "and he's lost a lot of blood."

"But he's gonna pull through right?" Brad asked fearfully.

"I'm afraid we won't know the full extent of the damage until we get him to Cedars-Sinai," the paramedic said as he climbed out and closed the doors. "We'll do all we can," he reassured them gently before hurrying to the front and getting in. A few seconds later the ambulance sped off, sirens blaring.

"Come on," Greg said after a moment, putting his arm around Drew who was still staring after it, "let's get to the hospital." 

xxxxx

They reached Cedars-Sinai to find it was besieged by the press and they had to fight their way through reporters to get inside, refusing to answer any questions.

When they eventually found Ryan, in a waiting area on the sixth floor, he was pacing up and down agitatedly. He looked up as they entered the room and stopped abruptly, looking grateful to have some company to distract him. Drew walked forward and pulled him into a hug, patting his back. "I'm glad you're ok buddy."

He gave Drew a quick smile as Greg and Brad each gave him a quick hug as well.

"Any news on Colin yet?" Drew asked hopefully.

"No," Ryan replied quietly, "he was taken straight into surgery when we arrived. They told me he could be in there for a few hours, depending on the internal damage." He sighed and dropped into one of the comfy chairs that were scattered around the room, turning his head away from them to stare out of the window.

"What happened? Who is Rachel" Greg asked as he sat down in the chair next to him, Drew and Brad sitting opposite.

Ryan looked at him. "You and Brad never met her, but you did Drew," he said, looking across at him.

"I did?" Drew replied with a frown.

"Remember the taping about a month ago when a girl was knocked down and hurt her ankle?" Ryan asked, looking at him meaningfully.

"Yeah," Drew replied, still looking puzzled before realization dawned on his face. "You gotta be kidding me....it was her?"

Ryan nodded and turned back to the window as Drew sat looking stunned. "I thought she looked familiar when they brought her out," Drew muttered, more to himself than anyone else. He looked back at Ryan,"It's always the quiet ones. I noticed at the time that she looked a bit smitten with you but geez...." he trailed off, shaking his head in amazement.

"So what went down in there?" Greg asked Ryan gently.

Ryan didn't answer immediately and Greg thought that maybe he didn't want to talk about it. He was just about to change the topic when he heard Ryan's voice.

"She was gonna kill him right in front of me," he whispered, still staring at the same point out of the window as Greg, Drew, and Brad listened intently. "I managed to convince her of my loyalty and got close enough to try to disarm her. We were both struggling for the gun when it went off and the bullet hit the wall. It must have ricochetted off it and hit Colin in the back but none of us realized. I managed to grab hold of the gun and call the police in, thinking it was finally all over."

He turned to look at Greg, tears glistening in his eyes. "He was fine Greg," he whispered. "One minute we were talking and the next....." he shook his head and let out a sob.

Greg put an arm around him comfortingly, "Hey, he's in the best hands now and he's a fighter. He's gonna be ok."

"Have you called Deb?" Drew asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Yeah, she and Luke are on their way," Ryan replied roughly, running a hand over his face. "It wasn't an easy conversation though," he sighed, "I got the distinct impression that she blames me for all of this."

"How can she possibly hold you responsible?" Brad asked, frowning in confusion.

Ryan threw his hands up and shrugged. "She still loves him, so I'm always gonna be the bad guy. I think she's hoping he'll come to his senses and go back to her."

"She's in cloud cuckoo land then," Greg remarked and Ryan flashed him a smile.

The sound of the door opening made them all turn to see Wayne enter, looking like he'd run the whole way there. He walked over to Ryan and hugged him. "I got here as fast as I could," he panted, trying to get his breath back. "How is he?"

"He's in surgery," Ryan replied somberly. "We haven't heard anything yet."

The door opened once again to reveal Jeff and Chip. "Man, this place is swarming with reporters," Chip exclaimed as he walked in, "we had to fight our way to the entrance." He put a hand on Ryan's back supportively as he reached him. "Any news yet?"

Ryan shook his head and Chip and Jeff went to sit next to Brad.

"You know it's already all over the news," Jeff remarked after a moment. "We saw people beginning to gather outside with cards and flowers."

"I'm not surprised," Greg replied, leaning back in his chair. "Colin's always been a firm favourite with the fans."

"Well he is adorable," Drew smiled, thinking back to that "scenes from a hat" moment.

"Yes he is," Ryan said quietly, getting up and walking to the window.

The minutes seemed to drag by as they all waited. Ryan continued to stare out of the window as the sun disappeared behind the LA skyline, refusing all offers of refreshment and any attempt to engage him in conversation. The others talked quietly amongst themselves, occasionally glancing his way worriedly.

As more and more time passed Ryan became increasingly convinced that it was going to be bad news, that fate would cruelly take Colin away from him. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the door open and jumped when a deep voice said, "Mr Stiles?"

It was the same doctor who'd met him on the way in. He was still dressed in his scrubs, holding a chart in his hand. Everyone else had jumped up when he'd entered and looked apprehensive as Ryan quickly moved towards him.

"How is he?" Ryan croaked, the others gathering around behind him.

"The surgery went very well," the surgeon replied with a reassuring smile. "The bullet damaged one of his kidneys which we had to remove, but that shouldn't cause any long term problems; the human body can function perfectly well with only one. He'd also lost a lot of blood so we had to give him a transfusion."

"But....he's gonna be ok?" Drew asked.

"He's been taken up to ICU where he'll stay for the next day or so but, barring complications, he should make a full recovery."

Ryan closed his eyes briefly and thanked God as everyone else let out a collective sigh of relief, smiling and hugging each other. "Can I see him?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course," the surgeon replied, "but he won't be conscious for a few hours." He looked down at his clipboard before continuing. "Mr Mochrie has you listed as next of kin which means there are a few forms you'll need to fill out, but that can wait for now. I'll have someone take you up, but no more than three of you at a time please."

"Thank you so much," Ryan said sincerely, shaking his hand before he left.

When a nurse popped her head in and asked who was going first, Ryan grabbed Greg and Drew and hurried after her.

xxxxx

 

An hour later, Greg and Wayne were sitting with Ryan at Colin's bedside when a nurse popped her head in.

"Excuse me, Mr Stiles?" she called, waiting for him to look at her. "I thought I'd let you know that Mr Mochrie's wife and son have arrived."

"Ex-wife," Ryan muttered irritably, turning back to Colin and stroking his hand gently as the nurse left.

Greg patted Ryan's arm sympathetically, "I guess that's our cue to leave," he said to Wayne who squeezed Colin's free hand and got up.

The door opened again to reveal Deb and Luke being shown in by the nurse. They both looked tired and worried, their eyes immediately flying to Colin's still form as they stood in the doorway. For a moment the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the machines which were monitoring Colin's vital signs.

"Let's go grab something to eat Wayne," Greg said, breaking the silence and moving out of their way as they approached slowly. He smiled at Ryan encouragingly before closing the door.

Deb didn't acknowledge Ryan's presence as she moved to Colin's bedside and stared down at his face, but Luke walked over to him and said, "Hey Uncle Ryan."

Ryan got up and pulled him into a hug. "Hey pal," he replied, patting his back. "Don't worry, your dad's gonna be just fine. He should be awake in a few hours."

Luke pulled back and smiled at him gratefully before turning to his dad and taking his hand gently.

"I see you walked away from this without a scratch on you," Deb said, throwing a dirty look at Ryan as she stroked Colin's face.

Ryan gritted his teeth, trying to keep calm for Luke's sake. "I was lucky," he replied stiffly.

Deb looked across at him sceptically and said, "More like you just saved your own skin."

"Mom!" Luke exclaimed in shock, turning away from his dad to look at her as Ryan felt fury bubble up within him. "It's not his fault."

"We don't know that honey," Deb replied defensively. "We've only heard his version of events."

Ryan's tenuous control over his temper snapped. "Do you honestly think I didn't do everything in my power to stop Col getting hurt," he said furiously. "I would have gladly stepped in front of that bullet to protect him, even at the cost of my own life." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing in a softer tone. "You may not believe me Deb but I love Colin more than anything else in this world and he loves me. You're just gonna have to deal with that."

Deb didn't answer but Ryan saw tears in her eyes as she looked back down at Colin before quickly leaving the room.

"I'm sorry Uncle Ryan," Luke said earnestly, turning to look at him, "mom didn't mean what she said. She just misses him a lot," he looked back down at his dad, "we both do."

"I can understand that," Ryan sighed, putting an arm around Luke's shoulders. "You know you can come and visit us anytime you want. I know your dad misses you too, and I always love having you around."

Luke smiled up at him. "Thanks. You know it's kinds nice to have a second dad." He looked back down as Ryan stared at him, amazed by his maturity and touched beyond words by his complete acceptance. He was certainly his father's son Ryan thought as he looked down at Colin's face with a soft smile.



To be continued....