Fic: Appendix
Feb. 6th, 2008 04:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missmara13For ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheekymice's FunFic Challenge. I wrote it like the day after I chose a prompt, but... yeah, I totally procrastinated about posting... whatever... lol
They should have known something was wrong when Ryan quietly turned down breakfast and coffee. But he said he was fine, just not hungry, and they sent him off to school.
His Physics teacher noticed something was wrong when Ryan's attention kept drifting during class, and asked him if he was feeling okay. He knew it had to be pretty bad when Ryan actually admitted that his stomach had been bothering him since the previous night.
The school nurse put it off as stress over a midterm Ryan had in the afternoon, or maybe even faking to try to get out of the test. Ryan denied it, and said he could wait until after school to do something.
At lunch, Summer realized something was wrong even though Seth didn't seem to notice, and she grabbed Ryan's arm when the group split up to go to class.
"You okay, Chino?"
"Yeah, fine," Ryan replied.
"You looked a little green at lunch and didn't eat anything," Summer pressed, one hand going to his forehead. "And you're hot."
Ryan forced a teasing smile onto his face. "Thanks, but don't let Seth here you say that."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Do you feel okay? Tell the truth."
Ryan sighed. "Stomach been bugging me, kinda sore, and I feel sick. But I've got a test, I can't miss it."
Summer nodded. "After school, while Seth has his stupid comic book club, I'm taking you to get checked out. The doctors know me, so if it's nothing they won't go blabbing to the Cohens, but if it's something you can get better. Deal?"
"Deal," Ryan agreed, just wanting to get away from her because he was feeling worse by the minute and he didn't want to get sick in front of her.
~~~
"Indigestion," the doctor said after a quick exam. "Take an antacid and Lay off the junk food," he added before giving a little wave of dismissal and walking out of the exam room.
Ryan pulled off the hospital gown and pulled his shirt and jacket back on before heading out to meet Summer in the waiting room. "Indigestion," he said tiredly. "Let's go before Seth starts thinking we ran off together."
"I'd totally run off with you in a second, Chino," Summer teased, linking her arm with his as they headed for the car.
~~~
They would have questioned Ryan's lack of appetite at dinner, but Seth was demanding their attention with his talk of creating his own comic with Zach, so Ryan was able to get by without them really noticing. As he cleared the table, Kirsten stopped him, a hand on his forehead. "You don't look so good, honey," she said. "And you feel warm."
"I'm okay," Ryan replied. "It was just a long day."
"Go get some rest, we'll see how you feel in the morning."
Ryan nodded and trudged out to the poolhouse, feeling Kirsten's worried gaze on his back the whole way.
~~~
Around 3am, Ryan woke up, the pain now on his right side and whimpered slightly as he tried to sit up and the pain just got worse.
"Ryan?"
Ryan opened his eyes and saw Kirsten's silhouette in the doorway. "Yeah?" he choked out, hoping he sounded normal.
Apparently, he didn't, because Kirsten immediately came to his side and sat on the edge of the bed, her hand to his forehead. "What's wrong?" she asked, pushing his sweat soaked hair off his forehead.
"Stomach," Ryan said. "It hurts really bad..."
"Where?" Kirsten asked. Ryan put his hand over his right side, and Kirsten nodded, her face showing her worry. "I'll go get Sandy and we'll take you to the hospital," she said. "Get you checked out and make sure everything's okay," she said.
"Went this afternoon," Ryan replied. "Doctor said it was indigestion."
"We'll get a second opinion," Kirsten said firmly.
~~~
When they got to the hospital, Kirsten demanded that someone see Ryan immediately. It was just chance that Neil Roberts was in the ER after doing a consult on an accident victim, and as a favor to Kirsten he examined Ryan. "Do you remember the name of the doctor who saw you?" Neil asked Ryan as he and the Cohens returned from talking in the hall.
Ryan shook his head. "Summer might, she drove me," he said.
"I'll ask in the morning," Neil said, offering Ryan a reassuring smile. "You're going to be fine," he added.
"What is it?" Ryan asked quietly.
Neil looked to Sandy and Kirsten for permission before explaining. "It looks like you've got appendicitis," he said. "We're going to need to take you into surgery."
"Do you have to?" Ryan asked.
Neil nodded and patted Ryan's arm. "Afraid so. Don't worry, it's completely routine, and I'll scrub in to keep an eye on things, okay? You trust me, right?"
"Yeah," Ryan said, though clearly he wasn't that reassured.
"I know all about Summer's so-called 'rage blackouts', and I'm not about to incur one by letting anything go wrong," Neil said, getting a small smile from Ryan. "A nurse will be by in a few minutes to get him ready to move to surgery," he added to Sandy and Kirsten before leaving them alone.
"I don't wanna have surgery," Ryan whispered.
"Too bad, you need it," Sandy replied. "It'll be okay, kid. And I promise, we'll pay more attention in the future. I can't believe we missed this."
"It's okay," Ryan said, trying to reassure him.
"No, it's really not," Kirsten said, stroking Ryan's hair. "And you better believe that doctor you saw earlier is going to get an earful when I get my hands on him," she added.
~~~
When Ryan woke up after surgery, he felt groggy, but the pain was gone, replaced by the familiar soreness that accompanied stitches. He turned his head and saw Sandy slumped in a chair, fast asleep, and Kirsten awake and flipping through a magazine, clearly not seeing any of it. "Hey," he whispered.
Kirsten looked up and smiled, leaning forehead to brush his hair off his forehead. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Better," Ryan said, nodding. "Am I okay?"
"Yeah, you are," Kirsten said. "You'll be in the hospital for a few days because your appendix burst right about as they started the surgery and they want to watch for signs of infection, but... you can go home in a few days."
"Good," Ryan replied tiredly.
"And until the stitches heal, you're staying in the guest room inside the house," Kirsten continued. "So we can keep a close eye on you."
"Okay," Ryan agreed, sighing softly as he fought to stay awake.
"Go back to sleep, honey," Kirsten said. "You'll want to be awake when Seth comes by after school so you can gloat about getting to miss school for a week or so."
Ryan laughed softly, but let himself began to drift off, dimly aware of Kirsten pulling up the covers so he wouldn't be cold. "Thanks for being here," he whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else when one of my boys is sick," Kirsten replied, kissing his forehead before sitting back in her seat and picking up the magazine again.
The End
The thing about being told by a doctor that it's indigestion and being sent home? Actually happened to the wife of a coworker of my mom's. She could have died because some doctor was an idiot.
cheekymice's FunFic Challenge. I wrote it like the day after I chose a prompt, but... yeah, I totally procrastinated about posting... whatever... lolThey should have known something was wrong when Ryan quietly turned down breakfast and coffee. But he said he was fine, just not hungry, and they sent him off to school.
His Physics teacher noticed something was wrong when Ryan's attention kept drifting during class, and asked him if he was feeling okay. He knew it had to be pretty bad when Ryan actually admitted that his stomach had been bothering him since the previous night.
The school nurse put it off as stress over a midterm Ryan had in the afternoon, or maybe even faking to try to get out of the test. Ryan denied it, and said he could wait until after school to do something.
At lunch, Summer realized something was wrong even though Seth didn't seem to notice, and she grabbed Ryan's arm when the group split up to go to class.
"You okay, Chino?"
"Yeah, fine," Ryan replied.
"You looked a little green at lunch and didn't eat anything," Summer pressed, one hand going to his forehead. "And you're hot."
Ryan forced a teasing smile onto his face. "Thanks, but don't let Seth here you say that."
Summer rolled her eyes. "Do you feel okay? Tell the truth."
Ryan sighed. "Stomach been bugging me, kinda sore, and I feel sick. But I've got a test, I can't miss it."
Summer nodded. "After school, while Seth has his stupid comic book club, I'm taking you to get checked out. The doctors know me, so if it's nothing they won't go blabbing to the Cohens, but if it's something you can get better. Deal?"
"Deal," Ryan agreed, just wanting to get away from her because he was feeling worse by the minute and he didn't want to get sick in front of her.
~~~
"Indigestion," the doctor said after a quick exam. "Take an antacid and Lay off the junk food," he added before giving a little wave of dismissal and walking out of the exam room.
Ryan pulled off the hospital gown and pulled his shirt and jacket back on before heading out to meet Summer in the waiting room. "Indigestion," he said tiredly. "Let's go before Seth starts thinking we ran off together."
"I'd totally run off with you in a second, Chino," Summer teased, linking her arm with his as they headed for the car.
~~~
They would have questioned Ryan's lack of appetite at dinner, but Seth was demanding their attention with his talk of creating his own comic with Zach, so Ryan was able to get by without them really noticing. As he cleared the table, Kirsten stopped him, a hand on his forehead. "You don't look so good, honey," she said. "And you feel warm."
"I'm okay," Ryan replied. "It was just a long day."
"Go get some rest, we'll see how you feel in the morning."
Ryan nodded and trudged out to the poolhouse, feeling Kirsten's worried gaze on his back the whole way.
~~~
Around 3am, Ryan woke up, the pain now on his right side and whimpered slightly as he tried to sit up and the pain just got worse.
"Ryan?"
Ryan opened his eyes and saw Kirsten's silhouette in the doorway. "Yeah?" he choked out, hoping he sounded normal.
Apparently, he didn't, because Kirsten immediately came to his side and sat on the edge of the bed, her hand to his forehead. "What's wrong?" she asked, pushing his sweat soaked hair off his forehead.
"Stomach," Ryan said. "It hurts really bad..."
"Where?" Kirsten asked. Ryan put his hand over his right side, and Kirsten nodded, her face showing her worry. "I'll go get Sandy and we'll take you to the hospital," she said. "Get you checked out and make sure everything's okay," she said.
"Went this afternoon," Ryan replied. "Doctor said it was indigestion."
"We'll get a second opinion," Kirsten said firmly.
~~~
When they got to the hospital, Kirsten demanded that someone see Ryan immediately. It was just chance that Neil Roberts was in the ER after doing a consult on an accident victim, and as a favor to Kirsten he examined Ryan. "Do you remember the name of the doctor who saw you?" Neil asked Ryan as he and the Cohens returned from talking in the hall.
Ryan shook his head. "Summer might, she drove me," he said.
"I'll ask in the morning," Neil said, offering Ryan a reassuring smile. "You're going to be fine," he added.
"What is it?" Ryan asked quietly.
Neil looked to Sandy and Kirsten for permission before explaining. "It looks like you've got appendicitis," he said. "We're going to need to take you into surgery."
"Do you have to?" Ryan asked.
Neil nodded and patted Ryan's arm. "Afraid so. Don't worry, it's completely routine, and I'll scrub in to keep an eye on things, okay? You trust me, right?"
"Yeah," Ryan said, though clearly he wasn't that reassured.
"I know all about Summer's so-called 'rage blackouts', and I'm not about to incur one by letting anything go wrong," Neil said, getting a small smile from Ryan. "A nurse will be by in a few minutes to get him ready to move to surgery," he added to Sandy and Kirsten before leaving them alone.
"I don't wanna have surgery," Ryan whispered.
"Too bad, you need it," Sandy replied. "It'll be okay, kid. And I promise, we'll pay more attention in the future. I can't believe we missed this."
"It's okay," Ryan said, trying to reassure him.
"No, it's really not," Kirsten said, stroking Ryan's hair. "And you better believe that doctor you saw earlier is going to get an earful when I get my hands on him," she added.
~~~
When Ryan woke up after surgery, he felt groggy, but the pain was gone, replaced by the familiar soreness that accompanied stitches. He turned his head and saw Sandy slumped in a chair, fast asleep, and Kirsten awake and flipping through a magazine, clearly not seeing any of it. "Hey," he whispered.
Kirsten looked up and smiled, leaning forehead to brush his hair off his forehead. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Better," Ryan said, nodding. "Am I okay?"
"Yeah, you are," Kirsten said. "You'll be in the hospital for a few days because your appendix burst right about as they started the surgery and they want to watch for signs of infection, but... you can go home in a few days."
"Good," Ryan replied tiredly.
"And until the stitches heal, you're staying in the guest room inside the house," Kirsten continued. "So we can keep a close eye on you."
"Okay," Ryan agreed, sighing softly as he fought to stay awake.
"Go back to sleep, honey," Kirsten said. "You'll want to be awake when Seth comes by after school so you can gloat about getting to miss school for a week or so."
Ryan laughed softly, but let himself began to drift off, dimly aware of Kirsten pulling up the covers so he wouldn't be cold. "Thanks for being here," he whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else when one of my boys is sick," Kirsten replied, kissing his forehead before sitting back in her seat and picking up the magazine again.
The End
The thing about being told by a doctor that it's indigestion and being sent home? Actually happened to the wife of a coworker of my mom's. She could have died because some doctor was an idiot.
