Wrath and Emeralds - Chapter Eleven
Nov. 29th, 2010 05:26 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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Title: Wrath and Emeralds – 11/12
Chapter Rating: PG
Overall Rating: R
Warning(s): None
Summary: It’s dead.
Author's Notes: This hasn’t been beta’d yet, so please excuse any mistakes. ^^;
~~~
Colin’s fingers tapped against the polystyrene coffee cup in a teasing, taunting mantra. It was almost like his body was subconsciously ticking away every second that he waited.
Ryan had indeed been rushed straight into surgery once they had arrived, but Colin really didn’t want to linger for very long – the waiting room was almost full to the brim with people who would most certainly recognise him, associate him with the “missing” Ryan and start asking questions, good-natured or not.
For this reason, he had loitered near a pot plant by the entrance, tall enough to conceal him slightly from most of the pilgrims; still waiting for updates of loved ones. By the time a nurse had approached him with news, the majority of the plant’s leaves had been picked at and damaged by Colin’s fidgeting hand.
Much to his delight, she explained that the operation had gone well and that Ryan was in recovery. She had mentioned nothing to him about the virus or anything that they might’ve discovered about Ryan’s previous condition during the procedure, prompting Colin to let out a sigh of relief. It had appeared that the antidote was a success – Ryan was back to normal, in a human sense at least.
“Once we’ve moved him into his room, I’ll come back to let you know, okay?” she’d added, a comforting hand on his arm. He nodded and thanked her with a warm smile and then turned back to his coffee… that had now gone cold. Grimacing, he poured the rest into the plant pot sneakily and binned the polystyrene cup. Now that he had both hands free, the plant’s leaves stood no chance.
Casually, he looked across to the people in the waiting area, some there with young kids who were naturally growing restless. It was the small television that caught his attention next, mounted high onto the wall so that most people sitting would need to crane their necks in order to watch it. At the moment, it seemed to be showing some kind of chat show, Today’s celebrities were lost on someone like him, though – it seemed to him these days that people were becoming famous for no reason. If you’d bought a car from someone who knew someone who was friends with David Hasslehoff, then you were a celebrity.
Colin laughed at himself. I’m getting old, he thought.
After the show had ended, a newsflash suddenly appeared with ‘breaking news’ written in block capitals, underlined just in case people hadn’t seen it already. It was about Ryan.
‘News coming in from the last half hour: The Whose Line is it Anyway? star, Ryan Stiles, has been found alive, however he is currently being hospitalised for unknown injuries.’
It had only been a few hours since Ryan had arrived and already the press had gotten a whiff of it? Sometimes, Colin wondered if journalists were actually spies. Or maybe the hospital staff were moonlighting as journalists?
Before he could dwell too much on that, or before he charged over to switch the TV off in annoyance, the nurse returned with her shining ivory smile.
“Mister Mochrie? You’re friend his in his room now, but I’m afraid you can’t see him just yet. He needs a bit more time to come around, however I can take you to his room where you can wait outside with some more privacy.”
“Sure,” Colin responded and put his hands in his pockets, feeling a little embarrassed that he had slowly but surely almost destroyed his friend, the pot plant. “Thank you.”
It wasn’t until they were walking down a third corridor did Colin realise that the nurse had never asked him his name, which meant she was almost certainly a fan… or at least knew who he was.
The room was at the very end of one of the many corridors, and Colin was grateful that it was mostly out of the way of any prying eyes that may come snooping. There was a narrow window running down the length of the door and he simply couldn’t stop himself from taking a peek inside. Simply being told that Ryan was fine was not enough – he had to see him.
Against the light of the window, he could make out the still form of his best friend lying in the bed, not moving a muscle. The sight made Colin want to run in there, to touch Ryan, to just confirm that he was alive, but forced himself to wait. There was a doctor with Ryan, monitoring vital signs and checking the instruments by his bedside, so he knew that Ryan was in the best hands now.
He slumped backwards into a chair by the door and stared at the clean blue floor silently, willing away all negative thoughts of the past few hours. He was just sorry that there was no innocent plant nearby that he could slowly vandalize in his worry. He ran a hand over his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
“You look like you could do with one of these.”
The voice startled him to attention, his head snapping up so harshly it almost twanged the muscles in his neck. A cup of coffee was being presented to him; on the other end of it was James Bryce.
“Oh… hi,” Colin said in surprise, accepting the beverage with a weak smile.
“Remember the last time we had coffee together,” Bryce began and then took a sip out of his own cup before continuing, “there were many home truths in the air.”
“That’s right,” agreed Colin, nodding slowly as his eyes drifted off into space with memories. “It seems like forever ago, now.”
Bryce leant against the wall opposite and gestured to the nearby door and the recovering form inside. “How is he?”
With a small shake of his head, Colin was back in the room. “Yeah… yeah they said he’s going to be fine. Those bullets took out a lot of blood though… his face was so pale when we got here.”
“I’m sorry this had to happen.” It was a long overdue apology, but he said it anyway. “Seven years and I never suspected Hunt at all… I should’ve paid more attention I suppose.”
“The doctors also said that, because this was a shooting, the police are going to be called so they can get a statement of what happened.” Colin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, closing his eyes.
Bryce nodded thoughtfully and then flicked his gaze both ways down the corridor before leaning in slightly, divulging a secret. “Why else do you think I’m here?” At first, Colin didn’t have a clue what the older man had meant by that, but after a moment of frowning whilst his eyebrow ascended into the heavens, he caught on to what was being said. “Naturally, they’ll want to know from Ryan’s words exactly what happened during his ‘abduction’, so I’ve been sent to get some statements.”
Bowing his head, Colin finally allowed a smile to grace his face. “You’ve done far too much for us, James.”
“It’s least I can do for you. Anyway, it’s you who’s been the strong one through all of this. Ryan’s had the best possible help in you.”
The Canadian shook his head in denial, the smile gone. “I almost got him killed.”
After taking a long swallow of coffee, Bryce continued. “You saved his life today, Colin. In fact you’ve done more for him over the past week or so than you think.” Colin looked up at him thoughtfully in slight confusion, prompting the other man to start laughing.
“It’s one thing to be brave enough to throw yourself at a live shotgun, but it’s another matter entirely that you stood by Ryan during this terrible time, not being fazed or disheartened by what the virus was changing him into. You believed in him and you didn’t turn your back on him, and that’s why Ryan is still alive – because he clung onto the lifeline that you gave him, simply by being you. That’s how to save a life.”
Colin stayed silent and allowed the words to sink in gradually, watching the small streams of steam float away from his coffee in fluid motions. It almost symbolised the way the tension and anxiety were being lifted away from his life, bit by bit.
At that moment, a doctor emerged from Ryan’s room, clipboard clutched under his arm and a pencil placed behind his ear. He was only a young man, however looked experienced beyond his years. Colin stood up and acknowledged him instantly. “Well?”
“The shot missed his heart by mere inches. He’s a very lucky man,” commented the doctor, adjusting his glasses slightly. Colin’s shoulders slumped in slight shock but more relief than anything else.
If I’d been a second too late…
Once the doctor had confirmed that Colin was allowed to go inside, he left, leaving the two men alone in the silent, pristine corridor. “I should be going,” Bryce said, just as Colin turned to enter the room. “I still have things to attend to before we can close this virus case for good. Paperwork, eh?”
Chuckling deeply, Colin extended his hand towards the other man with a gleam in his eyes. “Thank you. For everything you’ve done for us.”
Their hearty handshake was sealed by claps to the shoulders in the utmost respect and Bryce gave a knowing expression, his eyebrow raised. “This isn’t goodbye, Mister Mochrie. I’ll be in touch.”
~~~
Ryan was sitting up in the bed, his wound bandaged up nicely, and watching Colin enter the room with a smile. Colin obviously couldn't help but smile back at him, aided by the first-hand knowledge that Ryan seemed okay.
"Hi," he greeted as he approached Ryan's bedside, unsure of where to place himself.
"Hi," echoed Ryan and moved a hand toward Colin, seeking touch and comfort. Colin looked at that outstretched hand for a moment, wondering what it would signify if he returned the gesture before deciding that it didn't much matter and reached out to rub his thumb along the palm, curling his fingers around Ryan's affectionately.
“How do you feel?” His gaze stayed on their joined hands as he asked.
“Like I’ve been shot in the chest,” Ryan answered bluntly, grinning. The words made Colin’s attention shift to the mass of white cloth upon his shoulder and pectoral – the sight of it was almost too much information to take in, so Colin couldn’t stop himself as he started to cry, his lungs jerking as sobs emerged. Ryan’s eyes widened at the sight and brought over his other hand in order to hold Colin more firmly, but Colin pulled away and sank into the nearby chair.
“Col…” Ryan began but the words died away when he could think of nothing to say.
“I’m sorry, Ry.” He swallowed heavily and grasped Ryan’s hand again, shuffling his seat closer to the bed. “Just overwhelmed, I guess.”
They each watched their hands in silence, admiring how well the fingers linked and how snugly they sat unmoving. Colin sniffed again, quickly running a sleeve over his tired, wet eyes – he felt exhausted beyond belief.
Ryan squeezed his hand slightly. “It’s all over now, Colin. Everything’s okay.”
“I know,” Colin sighed, “but I was just remembering the first time you… first time you changed… and how scared I was. For you, I mean.” He looked up into Ryan’s eyes and held the gaze as he continued. “After everything that’s happened, I’m not sure I can leave you again.”
“Yeah,” murmured Ryan, “I don’t want to go on without you either.”
Colin coughed a little as the memory of what they had done in the shower together decided to play out in his mind in vivid technicolor. Hastily, he changed the subject. “They, uh… gave me some forms to fill in whilst I waited. It asked who your next of kin was and I wasn’t sure who to write down. I was gonna put Pat, but… well, I left it blank.” He was fidgeting again, something that Ryan caught onto. He could sense what his friend was being plagued by – he didn’t need any special virus in order to read Colin like a book. That came naturally like breathing.
“I don’t regret it, you know,” he shook his head slightly, watching as Colin sniffed quietly once more. “What we did yesterday… perhaps it was a bit impulsive, but the sentiment is there. I care about you, Colin.”
“Had you ever… done it before?” Colin had to admit he was curious. The skill Ryan had used on him definitely didn’t come from spur of the moment.
He nodded, shrugging slightly. “Just once; a long time ago, way back when we were in Second City. Do you remember that warm-up guy we used to have?”
Colin’s jaw dropped, but in amusement rather than utter shock. “No way, really? That guy in the Hawaiian shirts?”
“I always thought those shirts were his way of compensating for something. Turns out, they weren’t.”
Both men started to giggle like schoolboys and Colin had the sudden urge to kick off his shoes and relax. The atmosphere had gotten a lot more homely. “Man, how come you never told me about that?”
“It’s not the sort of thing I mention casually to friends,” the tall man joked and tugged up the covers on his bed a little higher. “Wow, no more morphine for me. I’m getting giddy.”
“What’s going to happen now?” The question left Colin’s lips before he could think about it.
Ryan looked back at him with a confused frown, brow furrowed as he thought it over seriously. “I still love her,” he replied adamantly as if Colin had doubted him. “But…”
“But?” the Canadian prompted, leaning forward slightly.
“Exactly.”
It seemed that Ryan was battling with more inner turmoil than Colin had first thought. Without word or worry, he stood, slipped out of his shoes and lay down next to Ryan on the bed, mindful of the restricted space the single mattress provided. Ryan leaned into him instantly and used Colin’s shoulder as a pillow.
The older man breathed in the scent of him, allowing his brain to register Ryan’s presence in the greatest possible way – using all his senses. “I’m just glad you’re alright, Ryan,” he whispered into Ryan’s hair and closed his eyes in peace. “Don’t scare me again, okay?”
“I’ll try,” Ryan replied, amused. “Thank you, Col.” After a moment’s more silence, he spoke again. “Do you think… we could work? If we were, you know, together?”
At hearing no reply, Ryan lifted his head and turned to Colin in question but found the man fast asleep, drawing long slow breaths peacefully as all the anxious hype at long last came to a slow, pleasing halt.
Ryan smirked at the sight and settled down to join him in the Land of Nod, realising that now the virus had gone his emotions were no longer restricted to anger and terror.
Freedom… he thought to himself with a smile.
To be continued…