A Spine-Tingling Story - TDG Fanfic

Spoons Don't Mix With School

It was no secret that Ryan had done many more questionable things that the average teenager. Hell, he'd done more questionable things than the average resident of Ashdene Ridge, which was saying something.

But Mike thought, reading the contract that Ryan had somehow managed to acquire behind his back, that this had to top all of them. Even the time Ryan had put his job in jeopardy.

"... How did you even afford this?" he asked, after a full minute of awkward silence.

"Pro bono," Ryan explained. "I'm a teenager living in care, my allowance doesn't cover it and I'm dying, so he did it for free."

"What's going on?" May-Li asked, having just entered the office and sensing the tension in the air.

Mike gave Ryan a stern look, indicating that he should be the one to tell May-Li himself.

Ryan took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes and said, "I got a lawyer. He put together a contract allowing me to have the surgery I want without the doctors getting sued for it."

May-Li sighed. She thought he'd dropped the idea weeks ago, but clearly Ryan was more persistent than she'd thought. Honestly though, she couldn't say she was utterly surprised - it was very in keeping with Ryan's track record - and the lengths he would go to get what he wanted were both admirable and absurd. "How are we going to tell your doctor about this?" she asked in the end.

"My lawyer says he'll do it," Ryan explained. "He's the father of one of Dr Gareth's other patients."

"Well, we'll need to talk to him too," May-Li said. "Do you have his number or anything?"

Ryan pulled out the dog-eared business card and placed it on Mike's desk, forgetting briefly that it also had Finley's mobile number on the back. "It's all on there."

Mike sighed. "We'll need to discuss this ourselves first. You, go upstairs, get some rest. School tomorrow, you need to conserve your energy."

"No," Ryan said harshly, gripping the arm of the sofa. "You're not going to discuss this behind my back. This is my life, my body, my cancer. I deserve a say in what happens to me!" Sizzling hot anger suddenly bubbled to the surface.

May-Li sighed. "Fine, you can stay for this. Mike's right though, it's best you rest after. Save your spoons and all that."

"Spoons?" Mike frowned.

"Not important," Ryan dismissed. "Look, what even is there to discuss? You both know what I want and why I want it. Hell, you were supporting me before Dr Gareth said no. Now I can actually, legally, go through with it and suddenly you're against it?"

"We're not against it," Mike placated. "I can understand wanting to prolong your life and not letting cancer beat you. It's just that even if this surgery solves your problem, it'll leave several new ones in its wake. If you think what you're going through now is bad, your symptoms will be ten times worse after the operation. Can't walk, incontinent, your back will still hurt-"

"Except I won't die a horrible death in a few years if I have it," Ryan argued, losing his patience.

May-Li sighed. "Ryan ... I don't want you to think that we don't want the best for you, because we do, and that's why you shouldn't hide things from us and go behind our backs. That's gonna land you in trouble one day."

Wow, wonder what it's like to land in trouble? said Ryan's inner monologue, though he knew better to say it out loud.

"May-Li's right," Mike agreed. "You should've come to us, we could've sorted this out in a better way."