by me
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The first day of tryouts goes well for Damien.
Notes: I don't know where the AngstyRyan muse came from, but part 4 is his POV and man, he whines a lot. I dunno...I really like his character suddenly.
I stood for a moment at the opening in the fence, watching the rest of the people trying out mess around. They all pretty much knew each other, though I assumed there were a few freshmen that didn�t. I fingered my glove nervously, looking down at myself. I wore my socks high, with my pants bunched at the knees, old-fashioned style. Only the front of my ratty SFHS t-shirt was tucked into my pants, and my A�s cap was a faded green.
I started as Kyle tapped me on the shoulder. �Come on, throw with me,� he said with a grin. I followed him onto the field, and I relaxed as he started introducing me to people. It helped that he didn�t say anything about our session last night, not mentioning that I hurt his hand with my fastball, which was nice. No need to increase the pressure to perform.
The first day was pretty informal, mostly running stuff with a little hitting before we broke into positions. I�m not a great hitter or anything, but I�m proficient, and I can lay down a sac-bunt like nobody�s business. Practice was short, though more work was promised to us as the week of tryouts ran on. I didn�t bother to change clothes, just slipped off my spikes and stuffed them into my bag with my glove. �What are you up to,� I asked Kyle, who seemed to be hurrying a lot.
�My sister�s got a hockey game, I�ve got to take her.� He paused. �Want to go?�
�I�d love to,� I told him. �But Ryan�s on 12-12 today, and I�m going over there to eat with him.� He looked disappointed, and I asked him when her next game was.
�Same time next week.�
�I�d love to go then. If it�s ok.�
�Course,� he said, grin back in place. �See ya tomorrow, then. Good practice today.�
�You too,� I said, and headed home.
I showered and changed and jumped on a Duke Transit bus to the medical center. I found Pediatrics easily enough � all hospitals are pretty much the same, and Ryan�s worked in one as long as I can remember. �I�m looking for Dr. Connolly,� I told the nurse manning the station, and she looked over me quickly.
�Dr. Connolly is busy right now, if you could have a seat I�ll-�
�It�s ok, Janet, this is my son,� Ryan appeared in time to save me a wait. �Damien, my head nurse.� He turned back to her. �I�m going to dinner. Beep me if anything on Lauren Baker changes, ok?�
�You got it,� she said, and I followed Ryan down to the cafeteria. Hospital food�s pretty bad, but I guess you get used to it eventually.
�How was your tryout today?�
�Fine,� I shrugged. �How was work?�
�Wonderful as always,� he said, only kidding slightly. I know he loves it, but working with sick kids all the time can be trying.
We were quiet for a moment. �Dame, I...I never told you how I met your father, did I?�
Well, this was new. He didn�t talk about Dad much. Actually, he didn�t talk about him at all. �No...�
�It was in a hospital. I was an intern in pediatrics at San Fran General and I was on my first night on the ER rotation. It was late, almost midnight, and right before my shift ended they gave me another case, a baby spiking a fever of 104. I walked into the room, and there was your dad, still wearing his uniform, holding you. He looked up at me, and our eyes met...� He trailed off, half-smiling. �I guess you don�t want to hear all that.�
�No,� I said quickly. �I actually do. You...you never talk about him. I remember, of course, but I still wish you would.�
�He was so worried about you,� he continued softly. �And so exhausted, he�d come off his shift, realized how sick you were, and brought you straight in. You were dehydrated and had a bad cold, so I ran an IV and gave you some Tylenol and you fell right asleep. I told him I�d finish up the paperwork and left, fully expecting to come back and give him a lecture on proper child care. I went back, and he was asleep in the chair.� He smiled again. �I think I fell in love right there.�
�That quickly?�
�It happens, you know,� he said, rolling his eyes at me. �Anyway, I woke him up, and instead of lecturing I just asked him how a 12 month old got dehydrated. He couldn�t tell me, just apologized a bunch, and left.�
�So, then what happened?�
�I caught him, of course. Asked him to dinner. Said I was curious about why a young cop had a 12 month old son and no wedding ring. He agreed, and that was it.�
�Wow,� I murmured, glancing at him. He had a faraway look in his eyes. �You...you really miss him, don�t you?�
His smile was a little sadder this time. �You�d think I could get over it after 10 years, huh? You�ve done quite a bit better than me.�
�I was young. I imagine it was harder for you. I don�t know...I guess I never realized just how�how devastating it was for you.�
�I still miss him. Ten years, and I still do. I think it�s pathetic.�
I laughed a little, shaking my head. �No...you just loved him a lot. Though maybe...you should make some effort to, you know, date.�
�You�re telling me this?�
We laughed again before he sighed. �I see so much of him in you. I mean, you do look like him, a little, but you have so many of the same habits...it�s weird. You have his passion, too, his drive to succeed and do the best he can in everything. I�m sorry...I�m sorry you didn�t have a father to raise you.�
I wondered what kind of cases he�d had today to bring all this to the surface. We had a good relationship, but we�d never talked about any of this before. �I did,� I told him emphatically. �You are my father, Ryan. Jesus, you know that.�
He nodded with a smile, and glanced at his beeper. �I better go. I�ll see you in the morning.� He took his white coat off the back of the chair and left the cafeteria.
Sighing, I glanced at my watch. It was only 7:00. I wondered what time Kyle�s sister started playing and decided I had time to try to find the place. Twenty minutes and a friendly bus driver later, I reached the Cooler and wandered inside among the hockey parents. There weren�t a lot of spectators there, obviously, and I spotted Kyle sitting by himself at the top corner, watching little kids skate around. They seemed to be falling down a lot. I plopped down next to him. �Hi.�
He looked up at me, startled, and grinned when he realized who it was. �Hey, how�d you get here?�
�Took a bus.�
�Ok. Well, cool. You didn�t have to come.�
I shrugged. �I haven�t watched a lot of hockey.�
�I hadn�t either, before Liz started playing. I watch it on TV, now, it�s a cool sport.�
I directed my attention to the game. �Where�s your sister?�
�Um...number 26.�
She seemed to be one of the better players, steady on her feet, and fast. �Is that a boy she just scored on?�
�Yeah,� he grinned. �They�re mostly boys, though every team has a couple girls on it. It�s a coed league.�
�Cool,� I said, as Kyle cheered his sister�s goal. He sat back down next to me, a little closer than he was before, so our legs were brushing. I didn�t complain.
TBC...