Car-crash ((Ashley))

[ryan]

Ryan himself was a pureblood. Not the wealthiest family perhaps, but they got by nicely with his father being a professional quidditch player and mom the doctor of the team. With her sister engaged to a muggle-born curse-breaker she worked with Ryan only had a couple of sources to rely on for information about the muggle world. Marie’s fiancé who Ryan rather liked, muggle studies lesson and his friends who were muggle-born were pretty much the only sources for Ryan and even those he couldn’t always use. Yet here he was now. Walking down the street of muggle London. It was marvelous really. The way muggles managed to live and be so happy even without magic. In some ways Ryan couldn’t even understand how this was possible. Magic was so natural and common for herself – maybe it was his luck of imagination, but some of the things muggles came up with were fascinating. Their lamps for example. Ryan was just utterly fascinated by those. Just think about it for a moment. Something hanging form the ceiling and long way farther there’s a button. If you bush the button on the wall the lamp in the ceiling suddenly lights up. In some ways this could even compete with the wonders of magic.

Today had been a good day. Ashley had invited him over once again and they had spent a lovely day. Ryan liked Ashley’s family, especially her mother even if Ashley’s father was still a bit doubtful about Ryan. But Ryan completely understood that. Ashley was so amazing and special and fun and pretty that one couldn’t help but look after her. Ryan recalled a moment. They had gone outside to the backyard and during a snowball war that had sort of started in the middle of building a snow-man Ashley had shoved a handful of snow down his collar. The snow had been cold but Ryan had been happy to chase Ashley round the yard and tackling her to the ground and into a pile of snow for retaliation. Ashley just made you laugh along with her. She brightened up Ryan’s day and he knew he had fallen badly for Ashley. But who couldn’t love the energetic Hufflepuff 5th year?

Ryan laughed quietly as he thought back at the events of the day no matter how weird it might have looked to have someone walking down the street and laughing to himself. Ryan looked down in surprise when someone tugged on his sleeve having been so lost in his own thoughts that Ryan was now a bit surprised to see a small – about 6 year old girl looking up at him. “Mister. Can I pet your kitten, mister?” came the polite voice of the girl and Ryan smiled crouching lightly and holding Angel out towards the girl.
“Sure you can. Angel is very friendly,” Ryan replied with a smile towards the girl while glancing at the woman’s mother as well while the girls a bit pudgy hands took hold of angel as she giggled: “Angel? You are silly, kittens are not angels. They are kittens!” Ryan couldn’t help but laugh along with this innocent logic that made everything simple: “True, kittens aren’t angels in reality. But she was given to me by a very special girl for Christmas and Ashley does remind me of an angel. So I named the kitten after her.”

The girl giggled at Ryan’s explanation and Angel chose just this moment to sprint away as she got loose from between the girls hands. “I’ll get her!” the girl called happily skipping onto the road after the kitten who had stopped into the middle of it.
“Jacqueline! Watch out!” came the horrified shout from her mother and it was only a moment later when Ryan shared the fear as he understood that this car wouldn’t stop as fast or manage to pull aside like the Knight Bus could. Reacting without thinking much Ryan rushed forward and jumped his hands closing around Jacqueline’s shoulders who had frozen in the middle of the road with Angel back in her hands. Pushing the little girl aside Ryan turned his head and from there on everything seemed to go in slow motion. The car tried to break, it really did and for a moment Ryan could see the big and frightened eyes of the driver right before the car collided with Ryan’s knees. Everything was numb as Ryan flew backwards. All sound seemed to have stopped and the few snowflakes falling frozen in mid-air as Ryan didn’t feel anything. He didn’t feel anything up to the point when he fell on his back on the hard concrete and then world exploded into a mixture of white pain that soared through his entire being leaving no part untouched. And then there was nothing.

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“There’s pulse, but he has lost a lot of blood. Lift him to the car, we’ll have to rush him to the hospital.” Ryan could barely understand these words over the howling of a sirene and through someone crying. “Mommy, is he going to be alright? Will he be alright?” It sounded like Jacqueline. Why was Jacqueline crying? Someone shifted him just then and Ryan’s mind slipped back into bleak blackness.
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“No, I do not know who he is. Jacqueline just wanted to pet his cat and then the kitten ran onto the road. He saved my little girl’s life.”
“We found an address in his pocket and called. Mrs.Hill told me that she would be right over with her daughter Ashley. Do you know if they might be his relatives?”
“He spoke about some girl named Ashley who gave him the kitten Jacqueline is holding right now. I think Ashley might be his girlfriend.”
Ryan opened his eyes with a lot of effort feeling pain still souring through every part of his body. Where was he? What had happened?
“Hello, my name is doctor Karl Xavier. You are in Central Hospital. You were in a car-accident and we had to operate you. Do you understand? Could you tell me your name?” the man said rushing over to Ryan. Ryan stared at the ceiling blankly. The room was white. And there was something beeping and his legs. This was a muggle hospital. He owuld have to find a way to let the minsitry and through that his parents know where he was.
“Ashley,” Ryan whispered Ashley’s name the only coherent word he was able to croak out before everything started wavering again as Ryan’s eyes closed yet again as his mind blacked out yet again.


((It's up. Ryan doens't know yet what happened to him so try to post with Ashley here, will you? *huggle*))

[Ashley Hill]

((Holy guacamoles! Longest post I've written in weeks. *Huggles* Ashley just doesn't know what to say.))

Ashley tied the front of her yellow robe tight as she walked down the empty hallway toward her room. She had just finished taking a shower and her hair lay in a messy dried pile of curls. Her mother was downstairs in the living room reading, enjoying her day off from work, so that meant Ben Hill was at the restaurant and Elina was filling in. Ryan had left about an hour ago after spending all morning together building a snowman and having snowball fights in the still chilly weather. Whenever Ashley was with Ryan it made her feel like nothing else really ever mattered and that he was the only boy she knew who completely took he breath away. To tell the truth he was really the first boy she really ever cared about so much. Growing up Ashley was one of the boys and they never really thought of her differently. When Ashley did have a crush on one of the boys they wouldn't think of her as maybe more than just a friend. But as you got older, you tend to change. Girls and boys didn't think they both had cooties and people changed to who they would be for the rest of their lives. That was what was happening to Ashley.

Reaching toward her bedroom, Ashley quietly walked inside, turning the lock on her door shut. Twirling all the way toward her bed, she began to put her clothes on for the evening. Tugging on a pair of light blue jeans on Ashley than pulled the long sleeved white and yellow stripped shirt on that she always wore lounging around the house. Plopping herself down on the bed, she jumped up and down slightly while pulling the yellow soccer socks on. A couple pictures caught her eye on the side table. One picture had her family portrait for the year, everyone all dressed up and smiling. Another picture had Ashley and Lenora hugging each other making weird faces toward the camera. Then finally the last picture was of Ryan and her in the student lounge. His arm was around her shoulder and they were both smiling. “Ashley, are you hungry?” Meredith called up the stares breaking Ashley of her trance. Quickly brushing her hair into smooth curls she yelled back, “Just a minute!” “Well when you’re ready there’s lunch meat in the refrigerator and some bread. You can fix yourself some sandwiches.” Ashley jumped off from her bed leaving the bedroom with both Shelby and Bandit following close behind her.

Slipping slightly on the wooden kitchen floor Ashley saw her mother sitting at the table with reading glasses on and a book set out in front of her. “When are Elina and dad going to come home?” Ash asked curiously while collecting everything she need for a sandwich in the refrigerator. Meredith set down the book on the table taking her glasses off and letting them hang around her neck. “They’re coming home near closing time, which is about ten. How was your day with Ryan?” Ashley eyed her mother with an upturned eyebrow while closing the door to the refrigerator with her foot. “Good. We spent most of the day outside in the snow.” Ashley said putting a couple of slices of meat on the bread, trying hard to suppress a smile. Once the sandwich was made, Ashley took a bite and began to speak after swallowing, “What did you do all day mom? I hope not reading or cleaning.” But just before her mother could speak the phone began to ring. Ashley watched as her mother picked it up while taking more bites of the sandwich. At first her mother’s voice was calm and as sweet as honey as it got all serious and shaky. That wasn’t good. It only meant bad news.

Meredith set the phone down in disbelief than looked at her daughter. Ashley felt her stomach form into a tight knot, what was wrong? “Honey we need to go to the hospital….Ryan got seriously ignored in a car-crash…” Meredith’s was soothing but trailed off toward the end. Ashley dropped her sandwich to the ground, her mouth almost hanging open. Bandit and Shelby launched out toward the un-occupied sandwich, eating the rest. She watched as her mother stood up from the table quickly heading toward where the stationary was kept. “First we have to tell his parents then we can head down….” Ashley couldn’t even understand her mother and ran out of the kitchen toward the mean hallway closet. Grabbing a heavy fleece white jacket, she pulled it on zipping the zipper at the front. Quickly slipping her feet into a pair of tennis shoes, she tied them quickly and reached out for a white knitted snow cap and was out the door. She slipped on the ice slightly on the drive way but caught her balance. Walking more carefully, but at a fast pace she opened the passenger side seat to the car and sat down inside. The car felt cold, and she was shacking all over with worry and cold. Clipping the end of the seat belt she stared out the window as her mother then got in on and started the car. It backed out slowly out of the driveway and down the road.

The car ride to the hospital was silent. Neither Ashley nor her mother talked. The music wasn’t playing leaving Ashley drowned in thoughts. What if Ryan wasn’t ok? What if he didn’t make it? He would, he just had too. He was a strong person, even stronger than herself, but Ashley never was strong. They finally made it to the hospital. Ashley could see flashing lights of the ambulances unloading people. She closed her eyes for a second, as they parked and flung the door open. Slamming it shut she began to run closely behind her mother. They ran down the wide hallways of the hospital toward the sectary’s desk. She quickly gave them the room number and Ashley ran as fast as she could toward where it was. Reaching the room, Ashley was opened the door standing inside breathing hard. There was a middle-aged woman with a little girl holding Angel talking to the doctor. Meredith squeezed Ashley’s shoulders before walking up to the doctor and the other women. The little girl was staring at her with those big eyes which made Ash wont to cry. Biting her lip she looked back toward the bed where Ryan was. Slowly making her way over to his side, Ashley reached out for his hand, letting her thumb move softly over the top. His other hand was in an IV and there was beeping noises to measure his heart rate. “Ryan…” she said in a forced strong voice, but was still lacking its confidence. She hoped he would wake up so she knew he was alright. “My…my mom sent your parents an owl saying you were here in the hospital and that you were in an accident….”

[ryan]

Something was beeping through the haze his mind was floating in. He could hear voices and people speaking around him but it was all so… distant and unimportant. The rhythmical beeping sound keeping was pretty much the only thing holding him back from falling into complete darkness once more. It was almost like a light-house trying to pull him back into his own body. Ryan understood and heard Jacqueline’s voice and someone comforting her who sounded like her mother. Doctor Karl Xavier was there too. Ryan felt someone’s hand taking his into it as recognized Ashley’s voice as she spoke to him. Ryan would have smiled at his pretty girl but his whole body felt so numb as if there was no life left in it while he himself floated somewhere in the empty space that had somehow been fitted into his scull. His facial muscles simply couldn’t work. It was Ashley’s tone of voice rather that made Ryan ignore the dull throbbing in his body and try to lift his eye-brows still succeeding in it only half-way.

“Hy… Why…” Ryan croaked out and looked gratefully at the doctor who came over and helped him drink a bit through a straw before finishing the question to Ash, “Why so sad, angel?” Ryan blinked and looked at Jacqueline who had bounded over while holding onto tightly to Ryan’s cat.
“I can’t thank you enough. You saved my little girl’s life,” the mother told Ryan with a grateful smile tears brimming her eyes as Jacqueline nodded seriously, “I will take care of Angel.” “We left our contact data at the registration desk so you can come and collect your cat when you are well enough. But we’ll leave you to rest now,” Jacqueline’s mother said and Ryan felt his eyes closing again tiredly.
“Can you hear me, Ryan? May I call you Ryan?” the doctor asked now. Being to tired to open his eyes again Ryan squeezed Ashley’s hand lightly. Ashley might have understood and passed the message forward as after a moment doctor Xavier continued.
“The car-crash caused severe damage to your feet, especially the nerves at your knees, even if it was very brave of you to save that little girl. We tried to save as much as possible, but I’ll try a couple of things and I want you to told me when you feel it,” Ryan squeezed Ashley’s hand once again as a sign that he had understood. For quite a long time Ryan didn’t feel anything at all and he started to slip back into the floating sensation he had been in before. But then he felt something a little higher than his knee in his right leg and squeezed Ashley’s hand. And this way it worked. At some rare cases Ryan could feel something in his upper legs – above knee on left leg and above mid-thigh in his right leg – and when he did he squeezed Ashley’s hand.

“I’m afraid this is bad. We will have X-rays’ and full analyzes done, but as you are legally of the age to hear it already, I must be honest. While there is still a chance that your nerves might be at least partially restored with a lot of work, you will have stay in a wheelchair for at least a year I’m afraid,” the doctor said sounding rather uncomfortable. Ryan accepted the words. They didn’t sound very threatening. But maybe Ryan just didn’t understand everything. He didn’t have a clue what these ‘X-rays’ were. Tiredly opening his eyes again Ryan groaned quietly trying to shift himself as his vision was blurry as he tired to focus his gaze on Ashley. Hoping that she might translate the doctors words into something he understood as Ryan couldn’t very well tell the doctor that he was a wizard Ryan repeated the one word that seemed to be the key to this puzzle to Ash: “Wheelchair?”

[Ashley Hill]

Everything was quiet in Ashley's mind. The only noise she could hear was the sound of the machine and the voices of the doctor, Meredith, and the little girl’s mother. Her thumb continued to glide smoothly over the top of Ryan's hand. Ashley had to bit her bottom lip from crying. She had to be strong for him, just as he would if the situation was flipped. Continuing the smooth motion over Ryan's hand, Ashley looked toward the little girl by her mother's side. The girl was holding Angel tightly, and surprisingly the kitten didn't dare move. Smiling lightly at her she turned back toward the doctor who was deep in conversation with her mother. How were Ryan's parents going to come to the hospital and see their only son? Maybe Marie’s fiancé would help him, since he was a muggle-born wizard. Ashley had never met Ryan's family, only heard about them. But he did come from a whole other world full of magic, where Ashley first grew up in the muggle world not knowing her mother was a witch until Elina got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

Noticing Ryan stir next to her, Ashley gazed as he moved his eyebrows slightly, he was obviously in a lot of pain. Then he spoke, which made her sigh with relief knowing he was okay. Everyone who was inside the room seemed to noticed, becoming deafly quiet. It was the same kind of quietness she felt when driving to the hospital. The doctor who Meredith had been talking to earlier rushed over to the other side of Ryan letting him take a sip of fresh water. Biting her lower lip once again, Ashley looked away toward her mother who had a tiring look to her face. Ryan spoke to the little girl and Ashley watched calmly as the woman spoke. She was saying something of Ryan saving her daughters life. Meredith was thanking the woman about helping Ryan and staying with him. Ashley nodded her head, still speechless. Ryan had saved the life of that little girl. He was most certainly the superhero which they made up at the Halloween Ball.

The mother and daughter than left the room and Ashley turned her full attention on Ryan, who had his eyes closed once again. Doctor Xavier was talking on what state of condition her boyfriend was in. Ashley had to close her eyes for second at the news but reopened them as she felt a light squeeze on her hand. Nodding her head toward the doctor in approval that Ryan understood everything he said. Watching carefully as he began to touch certain areas of Ryan’s leg. When she didn’t feel a squeeze of her hand, Ashley would shake her head and whisper a little no out speaking for Ryan. Soon as Doctor Xavier began to move in the area above his knee, Ashley shacked her and whisper yes just as she did before. This whole exam frightened Ash. Could Ryan ever walk again? Would he be crippled for the rest of his life? Either way, she would still love him even though he could never be a normal teenager.

As all the information Doctor Xavier needed he started out stating bad news. The whole sentence the doctor said was full of bad news, expect for one little part. There might be hope that Ryan could walk again. Feel more tears build up in her eyes; Ashley looked at Ryan’s calm face. He didn’t understand what the doctor meant by any of the muggle terms. Seeing his slowly flutter open she bit her lip as her asked her what a ‘wheelchair’ meant. Could she even tell him what that word meant without bursting out in tears? She would have too. Taking a deep breath Ashley began to explain, “Ryan…A wheelchair is sort of like a chair only that it has two wheels on each side of it. People who can’t walk use it to get it again. They will have to x-ray your legs with this machine that takes a picture of your bones. It won’t hurt at all…” As soon as she finished, Ashley ruffled Ryan’s hair back and smiled lightly. It was just like what her mother always did when she or Elina were sick. Feeling a couple of tears glide down her checks, she brushed them away with the tip of the fleece coat. She couldn’t cry, not right now. But they just kept falling one by one.

[ryan]

Ashley explained the words. Ryan thought briefly that she should have not used such terms as they might make the doctor suspicious. Then again it would most likely be noted off as Ashley trying to explain it all in a way that would be understandable for his medicine-fogged brain. Only then did Ryan try to soak in the meaning of her words. People who can’t walk. Did… Did this mean that he wouldn’t walk again? Ryan eyes widened as little fear crept into them. He would not be able to stand up and walk again? Not play football or run or fly on his broom? Ryan looked at Ashley trying to find some reassurance that he had not understood correctly and at the same time trying to shield his fear and be strong, because in some part of him he knew that what Ashley said was true. He would not walk again.

“I… I’m…,” Ryan closed his eyes unable to really say anything. What more was there to say? There were tales that could be told without ever saying a word. Words that came out of pain hurt. They hurt you and they hurt others who they were directed. It was better if those words stayed asleep. All of the story was visible if you just looked at Ryan – everything was visible. “Don’t cry,” Ryan croaked out opening his eyes again with some trouble as he looked at Ash. He didn’t want to cause such sadness to her – his angel! Ryan looked into Ashley’s eyes his eyes silently ask Ash not to ask. To allow Ryan to be silent today. That he would not have to say a word today… not yet.
Closing his eyes Ryan had to fight with himself. Fight to push back memories. Memories of the things he loved and liked. Sports, hanging out with friends would be a lot harder cause Ryan didn’t want to hold them down. He didn’t want his friends have to make plans that revolved his ‘wheelchair’ either. He just… he wouldn’t get his life back after this. He just… his body was still in the middle of pain and shock to understand fully what had happened, he didn’t want to worry Ash any more and so Ryan closed his eyes. Giving into the pull of medicine and his body Ryan’s mind slipped back into nothingness.

((Thank you SO much for working with me through this post. I got all I needed from here! *huggles tightly*))