Brand New Day

Chapter 6
Chapter Six

A brief rap on his door draws Daniel’s attention to the slender figure entering his office. He takes one look at the intern’s hesitant expression and he knows. Dammit, he knows.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the man heaves a displeased sigh, and pauses a moment before muttering, "He’s here, isn’t he?"

"John down by security spotted him on his way up," Sophie relates with a grimace. "Called a second ago to say he was concerned that a certain boss’ nephew might pass out in the elevator. Apparently, he and a co-worker wagered that he won’t even make it to the fourth floor."

"That bad?"

She bites her lip, then nods. "That bad."

A rarity for her mild-mannered boss, he utters a few choice words, which she excuses given the circumstances. "I knew this would happen. He always does this when he‘s sick. Always." Irritation growing, he rubs the napes of his neck. "That boy is about as predictable as it gets."

“He should be entering the bullpen any second.”

Daniel‘s already moving. “I’ll be right there.”

…

By the time Ryder approaches his uncle‘s office, he can barely put one foot in front of the other.

And for the life of him, he just can’t seem to grasp why.

A piercing surge of pain cuts into the outskirts of his sockets, cramping around his temples, desperate and tenaciously resistant to standing down, as Ryder kneads his eyes with the heels of his hands, and narrowly draws in one - no, two - three deep breathes. The teen feels a chill along his spine where the pooled heat has dampened his mauve shirt, simmering fire and wrath, while the naked light stabs his eyes.

The collar of his tee is rough against the sensitive skin of his neck, while his muscles ache with every movement. But that’s nothing compared to the ripple of pain as his stomach constricts and tightens.

His ears are ringing. His hands are shaking. He feels so goddamn sick.

He still can’t feel his feet.

Then, out of nowhere, Daniel materializes right beside him, carefully steering him towards a chair, and wow, isn’t that handy?

"Hi, there, kiddo." His voice is nice and warm. And kind. Can’t forget kind. Why hasn’t he ever noticed that before? His uncle is really kind. "Didn’t expect to see here today."

Ryder shakes his head and squints as he tries to settle his disjointed thoughts.

"My feet, Dan," he babbles in an abrupt burst of recollection. "My feet - they don’t-they don’t work so good right now."

"Oh?" Daniel’s voice holds only polite interest as he struggles to reserve a straight face. "How so?"

"They’re all wobbly and sore and no good!" the distressed teen moans, wrinkling his nose. "They’re just no good, Dan!"

"I’m sure, they’re fine," the amused man tries to reassure.

"They’re not, though. I mean, look!" Without warning, he yanks off his shoe, chucks it aside, and angrily wiggles his toes. "Just look! It’s all wrong.”

To Daniel’s immense relief, Sophie chooses that moment to come to the rescue before he has the chance to dissolve into hysterics.

"How is he?" she asks in obvious concern as she dashes over. "What-" She pauses, steps slowing. "What is he doing?"

"Demonstrating the wrongness of his toes," Daniel claims miraculously steadily at the same time Ryder mournfully repeats, "Dan, my feet." He glances down at the young man that he is beginning to regard as his own son with his flaming cheeks and glassy eyes with teardrops weighing down on the lashes, and feels himself melt a bit on the inside.

"Hey, hey," he murmurs, crouching down and collecting the stray sneaker off the floor. "It’s alright. We’ll get your feet patched up in no time, you hear? But in the mean time, would a bandage suffice, do you think?"

Ryder hesitates, then nods, wiping his nose with his sleeve. If Dan thinks that’ll do the trick, then he’ll have to trust that it will.

Gently squeezing the back of the boy’s neck and grazing the ends of his hair with his thumb, he answers, "Well, okay then. Sophie, fetch the first aid kit, will you? Then we can be on our way."

The intern smiles at the two of them. "No problem."