Fighting to go on

Chapter 30

**A/N Please read the note at the end of the chapter**         

          I woke up the next morning with Ryan wrapped around me. I shifted a little, trying to get more comfortable, and he woke up immediately. “Sam? You okay?”

            I let out a small grunt of pain as I rolled over to face him. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a little sore.”

            He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Do you want me to see if they can get you something for the pain?”

            I smiled softly at him. “Maybe in a bit. I don’t really want you to leave me right now.”

            He placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I’m not going anywhere angel.” He pulled me in closer to him. “Happy Birthday,” he murmured.

            I chuckled humorlessly. “Not exactly the day I had in mind.”

            “We’ll celebrate once Charlie is out of the hospital. Sound good?”

            “Yeah. Do you think we can go to his room so I can see him?”

            “I don’t see why not. But you’ll have to go in a wheelchair.” Ryan reached to the side of the bed and pushed the call button. “The nurse should be here in a moment and we’ll talk to her.”

            When the nurse came in, she smiled at the two of us. “What can I do for you?”

            “I want to go see my brother.”

            “Of course. I’ll go get a wheelchair. Be right back.”

            “I don’t really know why I need a wheelchair,” I grumbled.

            “Because you got knocked in the head pretty good and you’re going to be dizzy. I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself anymore,” Ryan replied.

            I sighed. “I guess that makes sense.”

            A few minutes later, the nurse was back with a wheelchair. Ryan lifted me off of the bed and placed me gently in the chair. The movement made me dizzy, so I didn’t even berate him for treating me like an invalid.

            He pushed the wheelchair out into the hallway and into an elevator. We got to the right floor and he steered me around a few corners. When he finally pushed me into the room, my breath caught in my throat. 

            Charlie was lying on the bed, unmoving. His face was covered in cuts and bruises. His left arm was encased in a plaster cast, as was his right ankle. The skin that I could see that wasn’t covered in injuries was deathly pale.

            Ryan wheeled me closer to the bed and I took Charlie’s hand in mine. “Charlie, it’s time to wake up now,” I said quietly.

            No response.

            The tears I’d been holding back started to trickle down my cheeks. “You need to wake up Charlie. You’ve been sleeping for too long already.” When I still got no response, I slumped forward and laid my forehead on the bed. “You can’t leave me too,” I said in a shaky voice.

            I felt myself being lifted up and a moment later I was settled on Ryan’s lap, his arms holding me securely. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, unable to hold back the sobs anymore.