Drabble
smc36 requested a drabble to keep her from being bored. I hope this is what she wanted.
disclaimer: I don't own anything, as you all should know
AN: I wrote this because smc36 asked for entertainment. I had to post it as soon as it was done, which means that it is neither very good, nor betad.
smc36 wanted Ryan to have a cold, so that's what she gets.
Cold
(I am so creative with the titles;)
"Hey Ryan, how are you on this wonderful morning? Come on man, you need to get up so I can tell you about the awesome date Summer and I had yesterday, you wouldn't believe how…Ryan?"
Seth finally put a stop to the seemingly endless string of words that was coming out of his mouth when he realized that the other boy's head was buried underneath a pillow. He didn't seem inclined to get up, if the fact that he wasn't moving was any indication.
"Ryan, are you ok? We're a little too old for hide and go seek, don't you think? Are you planning on getting out of there any time soon?"
At first he thought the muffled groan would be his only answer, but then Ryan slowly lifted the pillow and turned his head to face him.
"Damn. What's wrong with you? Not to offend you or anything, but you look like crap." He did. Bags under his red eyes, hair planted to his forehead with sweat, Ryan looked like he had been put through the ringer one time to many.
Ryan squinted against the light, trying to ignore the way it made his head throb with pain. "Seth? Is there anything you want? If not, I would really like to try going back to sleep." He didn't mean to sound so gruff, but he had spent the better part of the night coughing his lungs out and was desperate for some peace and quiet to catch up on the missed rest.
He watched, as Seth seemed to ponder the right answer to that question and apparently came to a conclusion.
"Sure, you do that. We can talk about Summer later, when you feel better. You'll have to be fully awake to really appreciate how- right, shutting up now" he interrupted himself at the glare of doom that Ryan threw in his direction. It was really effective.
Ryan closed his eyes again and pulled the blanket over his head, not even waiting for the soft click that indicated that Seth had left the pool house and closed the door behind himself.
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A cool hand on his forehead woke him from a fitful sleep. He instinctively pulled away, disoriented and not used to people waking him up like that. "It's just me Ryan"
His eyes focused on Kirsten, sitting at the edge of his bed. "You have a temperature honey. I need to take you to use the thermometer to see how bad it is."
"What?" He was still confused. What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be at work?
"It's Sunday, Ryan. And I'm here because Seth thinks you are sick, and I believe I have to agree with him"
He hadn't even realized that he had said that at loud. Wait, what? "I'm not sick. How should I have gotten sick? I didn't to anything"
"Ryan, you don't have to do anything to catch a cold, which considering how scratchy your voice is and how beat you are looking, is probably what you have. We should have expected it; everyone seems to be coming down with it lately. We are probably going to be next."
He opens his mouth to protest, put Kirsten just uses that opportunity to put the thermometer into it. The glare does not work nearly as good on her.
"Honey, I know you don't like this, neither would I if I were in your place, but you can't change the facts, so you will simply have to accept them. Everyone gets sick now and then, this is simply your turn. There is no need to make a big deal out of it."
He wanted to point out that she was the one who was fussing over him, but somehow he didn't think that would go over very well. Since he was feeling far to crappy to argue, he simply sank back into the pillow she had fluffed up and looked at her questioningly.
"Ok, I am going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer honestly. Just nod yes or no, alright?" She proceeded to list all kinds of symptoms, inquiring whether or not he had them. Yes to the headache, aching throat, coughing, sneezing and general icky-feeling. Fortunately, no to the stomachache and need to vomit. He really didn't need that.
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"Hey kid, can you wake up for a little while?" Sandy's voice caused him to open his eyes wearily.
After Kirsten's assessment of his state, she had brought him a cup of tea and a bagel, insisting that he had to have some breakfast before taking the cold-medicine she had brought along as well. He had briefly debated telling her that he didn't need cold-medicine, that he had always recovered without it, but then he had figured that might lead to a conversation he was not up for at the moment (not that he ever would be). So he had simply given in, taken what she gave him and then been relieved when she had told him to get some more sleep. Now, it seemed as if his break was over.
"Sorry to wake you, kiddo, but Kirsten insists that you need to eat something. Don't worry, she didn't cook."
The smell coming from the bowl Sandy was carrying was actually appetizing, at least as far as Ryan could tell. Sandy seemed to notice the way he tried (without success) to peer into it.
"It's chicken-noodle soup, made by Rosa especially for you. A time honoured classic for sick child- sick people."
Ryan knew what he had wanted to say at first, and threw in a glare for good measure, though it didn't keep him from reaching for the food. He tried not to feel guilty for causing extra work for the housekeeper. No success on that front, either. But the soup tasted great, despite the fact that his impaired sense of smell changed the taste a little. Rosa was a great cook. He would have to remember to thank her.
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When Seth came in with another bowl of soup in the evening, he was actually awake. He still didn't feel up to running around, but staring at the ceiling was getting kind of boring, so he welcomed the distraction.
He didn't like the places his mind kept going, doesn't want to remember the last time he had a cold. Dawn had not been the type to make soup for him, to insist that he stay in bed or to check up on him every hour to ask if he needed something. He didn't think they ever had any kind of cold-medicine at the house. He certainly had never gotten any. It was weird, how his perception of his old life kept changing, the longer he stayed with the Cohens. He had always known that his Dawn wasn't a picture perfect mother, put experiencing the seemingly effortless way in which the Cohens took care of him today really drove it home.
This was what it was supposed to be like, he had caught himself thinking. He had immediately felt guilty for even thinking that way, she was after all his mother, but the thought had come back unbidden, and his headache had kept him from pushing it to the back of his mind the way he usually did. Seth's arrival was a welcome distraction, as was the food.
"Wasn't there something you wanted to tell me? Something about Summer?" he asked after finishing as much of his soup as he could. He still had a headache and he knew he would probably have to stay in bed, against his will, for at least another day, but he is far more rested. Listening to Seth's ramble would be better than to listen to the voices in his head arguing over how exactly he was supposed to deal with all this.
He leaned back into the pillow as Seth proceeded to give him a detailed run-down of last night's events.
There you have it, smc36, a "Ryan has a cold" drabble for you. Hope you're a little less bored now.
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Seth was dead on...which I always appreciate.
Poor sick Ryan.
:o(
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That said, what are you doing reading my fic? You´re supposed to update!
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Knowing now that the Cohens are better parents.... *sigh.
Dawn sucks.
Thanks for the drabble.
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I hope you are going to have a better day today.
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(Anonymous) 2006-01-24 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)And yay! for Rosa (or at least her soup.) I miss her. Just like I miss so much other things from season 1. Sigh.
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having had an atrocious cold all week, which the husband has now caught, all I can say is very realistic!