I'm Not Sick I The O.C.

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own The O.C. or any of its characters. Everything belongs to FOX and Josh Schwartz.

Ryan's POV

I wanted to protest and I tried with the energy I could muster. But there wasn't much. I quickly succumbed, accepting that Sandy was not going to change his mind. I allowed him to help me to the car and I closed my eyes as Kirsten drove. I could tell Sandy and Kirsten were worried and that was confirmed when they insisted on going to the hospital. I felt scared, and not just because of my aversion to doctors and hospitals. I was worried about what could be wrong. If this truly was the flu, wouldn't I be feeling better by now? Sandy and Kirsten obviously knew that. I was almost certain Sandy knew more than he was wanting to tell me. I wanted to know. I would have asked, but I felt so tired and I wasn't sure if he would tell me anyways. He wouldn't want to worry me if he wasn't completely sure.

The drive to the hospital felt endless, though it was probably wasn't longer than ten minutes. I attempted to get up out of the car once we were parked. "Let me help you." Sandy came around to my door.

"I can walk." I insisted but regretted it almost instantly. My legs felt like jelly and I stumbled trying to get out of the car. Luckily, Sandy was quick enough to catch me. He gave me a look. I guess I should have known by now that wasn't a good idea.

"Just grab onto me." Sandy instructed. I threw my arm around his shoulder and shut my eyes, unable to keep them open as we walked by an ambulance with its lights flashing; they made my head hurt excruciatingly. He supported me as we walked into the hospital. "Can we get some help?" He called out. I opened my eyes a crack to see that we were being approached by a young woman, whom was likely one of the nurses on staff. She took one look at me and then signaled another nurse and a doctor over; they also brought a gurney.

"Our son…He's been sick for weeks and he just keeps getting worse." Sandy said as they had me lay down on the gurney and started heading back. "I am pretty sure he has…"

"What's your name?" I heard the doctor ask, cutting Sandy off.

"Ryan." I answered, weakly.

"Okay Ryan, can you tell me your symptoms?" I guess he wanted to hear it from me. I'd rather have had Sandy or Kirsten tell him. I shut my eyes again; the noise and bright lights were making my headache worse.

"Headache, fever, and he's thrown up quite a bit." Kirsten listed for me.

"He said his neck was hurting and I noticed a rash." Sandy added. "I think he might have meningitis."

"Was he ever vaccinated?"

"We don't…" Kirsten didn't know how to answer.

"No…" I managed to find my voice. "She never…wanted to spend…for them." My parents never wanted to take me or Trey to the doctors as far as I could remember. I couldn't remember as far back to when I was a baby but I was going to take a guess. The only time we ever went was to the emergency rooms when the beatings got really bad.

"We're his foster parents." Sandy probably didn't want the doctor to think they are neglectful.

"Okay, I am going to get him admitted and then have Natalie draw some blood first," I looked over as the nurse from before came over to my side. She instructed me to make a fist, which I did once I felt Sandy's hand on my shoulder. "Okay, just a pinch." I wanted to roll my eyes again. They always say that. She inserted it into my arm and took the blood. "Not too bad, right?" I nodded in response. It actually wasn't that bad. I've had nurses miss and bruise me before in the ER so this time wasn't as bad. Luckily, I wasn't as afraid of needles as Seth was.

After they took the blood, they brought me to a room and I got changed into a hospital gown. I was relieved when I could finally lay down in a bed again; even if it wasn't my own. I was exhausted. I wanted to pass out so I closed my eyes so I could attempt to rest; I really needed to sleep. But it was quickly interrupted by the doctor coming into the room.

"Did the blood test come back already?" I asked.

"No, not yet." The doctor answered. "But anyways, we're going to need to do another test. If it is meningitis, and you appear to have the symptoms that indicate so, the best way to test for it is to do a lumbar puncture." I did not like the sound of that.

"Is that the only way?" Kirsten asked and the doctor nodded.

"We'll administer an anesthetic first, but this will be rather uncomfortable." Well, at least he's honest. "I'm going to need your consent. And we could wait, but I'd suggest doing this as soon as possible, so we can start treating him."

"Just get it over with." I was felt scared but I knew there was no point in delaying. It had to be done and the sooner it was over the better.

The doctor came over after putting on a pair of gloves. They had me move over onto my side and then he moved my gown, placing something over me. It was probably to isolate the area he would be working. I flinched when I felt the doctor rub something cold on my lower back to prep the area. "Okay, I'm going to give you the anesthetic." He warned before doing so. I took a deep breath and let it out as I felt a sting. That wasn't too bad but I knew that was the easy part. "Okay Ryan, you're going to need to hold still for this." I didn't even realize I was shaking until then.

"Hey Ry," I looked at Sandy whom crouched down and placed a hand firmly on my upper back. "You're going to be okay. We're right here." I then felt Kirsten take one of my hands. It was comforting having them here with me. And I knew I was going to need them for this.

"I'm going to start." The doctor warned before he inserted the big needle.

Sandy had to hold me to still as the doctor began working it in. "You're okay. I got you." He said softly and I shut my eyes, giving everything I had to stay still. But it was difficult. I couldn't even describe how much this hurt. I would hate to know what this felt like without the anesthetic. Did it even do anything?

"Almost done." The doctor said. "I just have to get the fluid…" I wish he would stop talking and just finish up.

"You know if this were Seth, he probably could have rambled on about how much this sucks." Sandy said and I chuckled slightly.

"He probably would have passed out." I smiled slightly thinking about that. I could picture it easily. Kirsten and Sandy laughed. I guess they knew I had a point.

Eventually, he got what he needed and then went to go test it so they could figure out what medicine I needed. I didn't move. My back was killing me. "You're going to be okay." Sandy ran his hand through my hair briefly. "We'll be out of here before you know it."

"I'll hold you to that." I quipped.

Sandy chuckled slightly and then turned to Kirsten, as they both stood up. Were they leaving? I didn't want them too. It was stupid, but I didn't want to be here alone.

"I should probably call Seth, just so he knows." Kirsten stepped out of the room.

"You should try and get some rest." That I could manage; or at the very least I could try. I knew we had some time before the doctors would know for sure if I had meningitis.

"Sandy." I hoped it wouldn't be a bother. "Will you stay?"

"Of course." Sandy nodded. "I was just going to ask Kirsten if she would make a coffee run. We'll probably be here a while." I was half-surprised. Not completely, but I was still having to remind myself that they cared. I wasn't used to it; but I was grateful for it.