The Middle

Pat stayed with Ryan and I for most of the day. He had the day off. Ryan said he had a secret to tell Pat before he left and asked me to leave the room for a few minutes. I rolled my eyes and walked out. I took this as my chance to talk to Nat. I saw that she was sitting at the nurses’ desk.

“Hey Nat, I have a question.”

She smiled at me and nodded. “Sure, Claire. What is it?”

“I was wondering if there was any way that I could take Ryan out of the hospital for the day? On Thursday, actually. I know that the doc said he couldn’t leave, but this would mean the world to him.”

Nat had a look of confusion and sympathy on her face.

“Well, Claire, Thursday is tomorrow, right?”

My eyes went wide. I had totally lost track of the days.

“Oh my, I forgot. I’m really sorry, Nat. I just really wanted to surprise him with this. I don’t want to tell Pat that we’re going either.”

Nat shook her head.

“Let me look at his vitals and see when his next chemo appointment is.”

I nodded and leaned on the counter of the desk for her to come back.

I really hope that I can make this happen for Ryan. It would make him so happy. I thought.

A few minutes later, Nat re-appeared.

“Okay, his next appointment isn’t until Saturday. How long will you be taking him out for?”

I squealed with joy.

“Oh my god, thank you so much. He’ll only be out for 4 hours tops. I promise I will have back at a decent time. I just want him to see the game.”

Nat nodded.

“Okay, I checked with the doctor and he said he would be allowed out for a total of 6 hours, so you should be safe.”

I jumped up and down like a little kid. I was so happy to be able to do this for Ryan. I ran around the desk and gave Nat a huge hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I will pay you back for everything you’ve done for me and Ryan.”

Nat smiled and laughed lightly.

“Please, just go and have fun with Ryan. Seeing the smiles on both of your faces is payment enough for me.”

I smiled and skipped back to Ryan’s room. I knocked on the door and stuck my head in to see if it was okay for me to come back in. I saw the most adorable sight. Pat was sitting on Ryan’s bed watching tv, while Ryan was curled up beside him sleeping. Pat looked over at me and smiled.

“Hey, you didn’t have to stay.”

Pat shook his head.

“Oh, it’s no problem. He just fell asleep a few minutes ago.”

I quietly looked at Ryan as Pat was climbing off the bed.

“He really likes you, you know. I feared this would happen. He’s getting attached.”

Pat came around the bed and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Claire. I’ve been here, haven’t I? I’m not going anywhere. I wish you would believe me.”

“Yea, I want to Patrick, and honestly, after the last 24 hours, I’m starting too, really. It just sucks that your surprise for Ryan can’t happen tomorrow like you planned.”

I walked Pat out to the front doors of the hospital. He turned to me.

“Oh, before I forget, here.”

I looked down in my hand. Two tickets for tomorrow night’s game.

“Oh, Pat. I told you, we can’t go. Ryan can’t leave the hospital.”

“I know, but I just wanted you to have them. Just to prove that I’m not like the others.”

It took me a second to clue in to what he meant, but when it hit me I pulled him into a huge hug.

“Thank you, Pat. Seriously, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten through the last 24 hours if it hadn’t been for you.”

He kissed my forehead and walked away. He turned and waved at me just before he left my sight.

I walked back to Ryan’s room. I looked down at the tickets in my hand and couldn’t keep the huge grin off of my face. All I had to worry about at this point was if Pat was going to come and visit Ryan before the game or not. But I quickly remembered how I could fix that. Just as I pulled out my phone, it was signaling that I had received a text message. It was, of course, from Pat.

Hey, I was going to come visit Ryan before the game tomorrow, is that okay?

I chuckled to myself as I typed my reply.

Ryan actually has a bunch of tests tomorrow. You’d have to call before you come to see if he’s in his room and is awake.

Oh. Okay. Well I’m going on a road trip after tomorrow night’s game, so I don’t think I’ll be able to see him before I go.

I sighed. I wasn’t sure how Ryan was going to handle that. I had hoped that Pat would at least phone as much as he could.

Oh. I didn’t know about that. I’ll see what I can do and get back to you, okay?

Yea, okay. Thanks Claire. Oh hey, before I forget, are you gonna be able to stay at the hospital tonight? Or do you need a place to crash?

I looked around to see if there were any nurses around. Other than Nat, I didn’t see any. I walked up to Nat and asked her.

“Hey Nat, am I allowed to spend the night here?”

She nodded her head.

“Yes, just as long as you are up and make the bed look like you didn’t sleep in it by 9.”

I smiled then looked back down at my phone.

Thanks for the offer, Pat, but I’m allowed to stay here tonight.

I walked into Ryan’s room. I walked over to the side of his bed and tucked him in. I placed a kiss on his forehead before climbing into bed myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Next morning

I didn’t get up in time before the lady that came in to give Ryan his breakfast.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to be sleeping in here!” I jumped out of bed. I looked over apologetically at the lady.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t like to be away from a lot. I sleep here sometimes. But I completely understand if it’s not allowed. It won’t happen again.”

She stuck her nose in the air.

“I certainly hope not. It would look back on the staff of this hospital, you know? And if I catch you sleeping in here again, I can ban you from visits for a week!”

My jaw dropped as I was making the bed that I just got out of.

“Excuse me? You can’t tell me when I can or can’t come visit my little brother.”

She clearly didn’t like my tone all that much. With every word, I took a step closer to her until she had her back against the door.

“Oh, okay. I’m sorry. I’m having a bad morning, my boyfriend just dumped me.”

“Well, with an attitude like that, I can’t say I blame him.”

Both me and the “breakfast lady” turned and saw Ryan look up at us with a look of pride.

“I’m sorry, but you just treated my big sister like crap. I’m surprised you have any friends at all talking like that.”

I smirked at my little brother. I was proud that he was standing up for what he believed in, even if this seemed a small, petty thing.

The lady left the room, but not before apologizing to the both Ryan and myself. I turned to Ryan and jumped on his bed with a big smile on my face.

“So, what do you say to finishing your breakfast then we play some NHL 12?”

He nodded his head and went back to eating his breakfast. He loved his video games. He knew I didn’t like them very much, but he had been asking me to play for a while now. So, since I knew what was coming up later in the day, I figured I’d give him an entire day that he’d never forget.