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He couldn't remember what he was doing back then.
Although, knowing Ray, he was probably slacking off.
But he remembered well when the phone rang.
"Hello?" He asked, voice a little bored while trying to arrange a Rubik's cube. He stole it from Schwoz, eager to prove to him that he could put it together. (Schwoz didn't believe that).
"Mr. Raymond Manchester?" the voice asked and Ray paused. Not many people call him by his full name, unless it was his father or a very annoyed Selena Harris, and Ray didn't like upsetting her.
But it was neither his old man nor Selena.
Plus neither of them would say "Mr." so it made him all the more curious.
"Um, yes?"
"I'm calling from Wildflower Hospital in Swellview, Henry Hart has had an accident and you're listed as his emergency contact so it's my duty to notify you," the woman said and Ray shoot up from his chair.
Henry?! Emergency contact?? ACCIDENT?!
"Mr. Manchester?"
Oops, guess he didn't answer for too long.
He shook his head.
"Yes, I'm here, um, can you give me the address?" he asked, but immediately scolded himself in his mind because, this was the hospital where Selena worked. However, the woman nodded and gave him the address, when she finished, Ray quickly thanked her and hung up.
He put on his pants and shoes, grabbing his car keys on the way, and ran out of the Mancave.
[***]
Ray never liked coming to the hospital, even when he visited Selena. The smell, the atmosphere, people, made him feel uncomfortable.
However, the hospital where his girlfriend worked was the second hospital in Swellview. Most people chose the first one, which was closer to the border of the city therefore this one was generally not crowded.
However, today when he entered the building, for a moment he was sure he had the wrong address because he had never seen so many people here in his life.
He swallowed, not knowing what to expect.
For a moment he stood still and wondered what to do next, when he heard a familiar voice.
"...Doctor is this a joke?!"
He frowned and walked closer.
That voice turned out to be none other than his sidekick’s mother, Kris Hart. The woman was in tears, and her husband was embracing her, also having a worried look on his face himself.
Next to the couple stood Ray's girlfriend, Dr. Selena Harris. The woman sighed.
"Mrs. Hart, I understand what you are going through-"
"I sincerely doubt it, you don't have children," Kris replied, and Ray saw Selena clench her jaw for a second, wincing slightly himself. He knew that the topic of children pained Selena, because before she was with Ray, she had a miscarriage.
Selena took a deep breath.
"Mrs. Hart-"
"This must be some kind of joke. This is my son!" Kris said again.
Selena sighed.
"I know that," she replied calmly, "but these are the rules. "
This time Kris clenched her jaw.
"What kind of rules are that?! I can find out what's wrong with my daughter, but not with my son!?"
Selena rubbed her forehead. Ray could see that she started to get irritated by the conversation with Henry's mother, and honestly?
He wasn’t surprised.
"Mrs. Hart, it’s not my fault that Henry did not choose you as his emergency contact," she explained again, forcing herself to use a calm tone.
Ray paused. Oh.
That's what this whole affair was about.
If he hadn't been so worried about his kid he would have felt touched that the kid had chosen him as his emergency contact.
But now he shook his head and decided to approach the Harts and Selena.
"Sel!" he spoke up and all three heads turned toward him.
A look of relief appeared on Selena's face.
"Ray..."
Kris instead sent him a look he didn’t know how to describe. She folded her arms over her chest.
"Seriously? That’s his boss."
This time Ray sighed, and Selena rubbed her forehead.
He never thought this woman could be so dumb.
"Do you really want to talk about it now?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was annoyed. He kinda understood the woman's frustration, but it wasn't Selena's fault.
Kris opened her mouth to answer him, but was interrupted by Jake, who spoke up for the first time since Ray showed up.
"Honey...maybe let's go to Piper."
The woman hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and let her husband pull her away from Ray and Selena.
That's when Ray realized what Jake had said, and his chest tightened slightly. Piper was here too-?
When the Harts left, Ray turned back to his girlfriend.
"Hey."
"Hey..."
He kissed her briefly, wrapping his arms around her waist. Selena put her arms around his neck. Usually, she scolded him for kissing her during her working hours, but now he knew they both needed it. After a moment, he pulled away slightly and rested his forehead against hers, taking a few breaths, focusing on her touch.
When he was a little more sober in mind, he moved away, but still held the woman's waist.
"Sel...what happened?"
Selena sighed. She moved her hands to her boyfriend's shoulders.
"There was an accident. The school bus collided with a truck," she explained, stroking his arms. He knew she was doing this to keep herself from focusing on what she was saying. He gently stroked her hip "lots of kids injured, that's why we're so busy today."
He nodded.
"Any…deaths?" He asked even though he didn't want to know the answer, but fortunately Selena shook her head. Ray let the air out of his lungs. That’s something at least.
With that question behind him, he focused on what was most important. His grip on her waist tightened a bit.
"Selena-"
"He's alive, Ray. He's alive," she assured, moving one hand to his cheek. He drew in air through his nose. He's alive-
"How bad?" he asked. Selena hesitated. Ray felt his pulse quicken.
"Selena."
"I'm not in a position to tell you more," she replied, and her voice sounded like she was frustrated by it herself, and Ray knew she was. He knew that she also cared about Henry "I didn't operate on him. Just Piper."
Ray nodded. Of course.
"He’s a fighter, he'll pull through" she continued, tangling her hand in Ray's hair.
Selena's words and touch calmed him down a bit because she was right. He was a fighter. His sidekick. His kid. His little Kiddo Danger.
He sighed quietly, resting his forehead against hers again. He was half-aware that they were both still standing in the middle of the hospital corridor, but he didn't care. Selena started humming softly.
He focused on the way her fingers ran through his curls and on her soft voice, his thoughts still with the kid in the hospital room. Suddenly he laughed quietly.
"The kid chose me as his emergency contact."
Selena also laughed lightly.
"And what did you expect, baby? He chose someone who cares about him."
And that actually hit him.
[***]
A few hours later when he learned that Henry was stable and will pull through, Ray almost fell to the floor (really).
He hesitated for a moment, but Selena literally pulled him by the arm into the room where the kid was.
Henry was conscious (Ray didn't realize how relieved he felt to see Henry's chocolate eyes opened-). He had a Band-Aid on his forehead, his blond hair, which had been arranged on a daily basis, was now flat and a few strands were falling over his eyes (he looked adorable) (not that Ray was going to tell him that, nuh uh-), he had his leg in a cast and his wrist wrapped in a bandage, and the hospital gown he was wearing made Ray's chest tighten, but the most important thing was that the boy was alive.
That was what he had to hold on to because otherwise he was afraid he would go crazy.
Henry looked up when the door from the room opened and saw Selena first.
"Dr. Harris..." he spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse.
Selena smiled warmly at him and entered the room.
"Hey, Hen. How are you feeling?"
Henry shrugged and smiled gently in that boyish way of his. God Ray loved this kid.
"I had worse"
Selena shook her head, amused.
"How did I know you were going to say that?"
Then Ray closed the door and the kid's gaze shifted to the door again and now there was something different in his eyes.
"Ray-"
He smiled slightly.
"Hey, kid..."
Henry sat up straight, wincing slightly as he propped himself up using the wrong wrist. Ray entered the room and sat down in a chair next to the bed.
He took another look at his sidekick and his chest tightened. Ouch-?
He must have made a weird face because Henry frowned and Selena moved closer.
"What?" he asked them both.
Henry tilted his head.
"You okay?"
Ray rubbed his chest with a slight grimace.
"I think I'm having a panic attack," he replied, "or a heart attack."
Henry opened his eyes wider and Ray felt a little bad that this amused him.
Selena rolled her eyes.
"You're not having a heart attack, don't scare the poor kid," she said. Still, she grabbed his wrist and checked his pulse reflexively then rolled her eyes again and flicked his forehead.
"Ouch-Selena-"
She winked at him, and Henry laughed, and Ray decided that it was worth it.
"You could be in a bit of shock, but you definitely aren’t having a heart attack," she added. This time Ray rolled his eyes.
Before anyone could say anything more, Kris burst into the room, followed shortly after by Jake. Kris ran her eyes over everyone and when her eyes stopped on Henry, she sobbed quietly.
"Henry."
The kid smiled uncertainly.
"Hi, mom."
Ray stood up, letting her sit on the chair. He saw the look in the boy's eyes at which his breath was cut off for a second, but he stifled all feelings. After all, this was Henry's mother, his father, and Ray was just
his boss.
Nothing in particular happened for a few minutes. Only Kris was fussing over the kid.
Then she frowned, looking at her son.
"Henry, why is your boss listed as your emergency contact?"
Henry opened his eyes wider.
"Um..."
The ekg monitor started beeping louder, suggesting a faster pulse. Ray glanced at the monitor worriedly. Selena frowned.
"That's right, son," Jake spoke up, "both your mother and I are not happy about this."
"Uhh...but I-"
Selena put her hands on her hips. Nope. That's definitely not going to happen.
She clapped her hands.
"Alright, I think that's enough excitement for now. Henry needs to rest, he should not stress himself unnecessarily," she announced, and Ray saw the teenager send her a grateful look.
He himself smiled gently. Yes this was definitely the woman he loved.
Henry's mother opened her mouth to say something, but Selena sent her a look, which immediately silenced the woman. Resigned, she retreated with Jake, Selena right behind them.
Ray also started to head after them because a must is a must.
"Ray" he heard and stopped. Selena looked at him, at Henry, then kissed Ray on the cheek, winked at him and followed after the Harts.
He smiled gently and returned back to his chair.
"So," he began, "emergency contact, huh?"
The boy sighed.
"Yeah."
Ray snorted.
"How that actually happened? I want to know the story for the reason your folks stopped liking me"
The kid snorted.
"It all just kinda happened. This one time when Dr. Harris was patching me up she asked why I didn't have any emergency contact, I said I didn't really know and she started asking who I would put in because I should and somehow I stupidly sputtered out you, but I didn't think she would actually put you in," he explained then groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillow.
Ray smiled fondly. Dumbass.
"Mover over a bit, kid," he replied. Henry blinked, but moved. Ray sat on the teenager's bed after which he pulled him close in a half-hug. The kid tensed up for a moment, but quickly relaxed.
He kissed Henry's hair and took a deep breath. He's alive. He'll recover.
"I'm glad you're okay, Hen," he said, holding the kid close to him. Henry leaned in (as much as he could).
"And I'm glad you're here, Ray," he replied.
Ray smiled gently and kissed the boy's hair once more.
Because as Selena said,
he drew the kid even closer
The kid chose someone who cares about him.