Like the summary says, this is a small collection of one-shots revolving around the incidents of Detective Conan episodes 188-192 (ish...sorry if the numbers aren't exact, it's been a little while since I watched them). If you don't want spoilers to those episodes, don't read this fic until you've watched them. That being said, you probably won't understand these fics unless you've seen those episodes.

For those who don't remember: It's the episodes revolving around the dragon cave incident and Haibara's first introduction to the prototype antidote, as well as Sonoko's play with Princess Heart and the Black Night. (It's so hard writing a little memory-summery without giving things away...)

Right now I only have three, and my third one is the absolute finale. But if anyone has ideas they'd like to share that could possibly entertain my inspiration...I'm trying to put this in chronological order, but things can always be moved around, right?

Anyway, enjoy!

In the Time that Followed

Visitors

Five hours under the knife. Almost twenty-four asleep. The hardest part was over and he'd managed to miss it. But it was there, on everyone's faces. Even the obnoxious Kogoro showed concern. The kids hovered outside of the room, forbidden from visiting him just yet. But Ran had sneaked them up to the floor and cracked the door open so they could wave and wish him well, and offer up the flowers they had gotten for him, with their parents' money and supervision.

There was a whole procession of cops, too. His room looked more like a menagerie by the end of the day than a hospital room. His mind was set at ease by one thing: They'd brought flowers instead of children's toys. He would have hated to have to pretend to like teddy bears and Yaiba figures right now. He didn't have the energy.

Naturally, all of his adult visitors had been allowed to enter and wish him well, but had also not been allowed to stay for more than a few minutes. Inspector Megure was an exception. He'd joined them for dinner. It was almost sickening watching the two men eat, and knowing that he couldn't. Sure, there was some food for him, but it was all planned out so as not to upset his system. Most of his nutrients were being fed to him through a tube in his arm.

It was more sickening to see Ran sitting there, munching on her own pre-planned meal. A nurse had noticed how pale she was looking and had fished up something to help her get by. She looked to be on the verge of joining him in the hospital at that moment. "The smell isn't too strong in here, is it?" Megure mused, glancing around at all the vases. Two on the nightstand, three under the window, and a dozen neatly arranged in a spare corner.

"I like it!" Conan cheered. "I didn't know so many people would worry about me…"

"Of course they would. You're a good kid, and a hero too."

"He's a troublesome brat," Kogoro corrected. "Always getting into trouble."

"Now, now." There was a knock just outside the door. Ran slipped over to answer it. Her face brightened a little at Conan's new visitor.

"I saw it in the paper this morning," the woman said gently. "But I just couldn't get away from work. How is he?"

"He's going to be fine," Ran said. Her tone was flat and hurting, and her mother wrapped her in an embrace.

"What's she doing here?" Kogoro hissed.

"I came to see how this adorable young man was," she hissed back, glancing around for a place to put her own addition to the garden.

"Here," Ran offered, taking the bouquet and starting at another corner.

"He's certainly not without well-wishers."

"The newspaper even forwarded dozens of emails that they received wishing him well," Kogoro spat. "A lot of people that saw him on past cases of mine. How did he get so popular?"

"If I saw that a kid I'd met had been shot, I'd probably send a card too. Don't be so mean." She went over and sat on the edge of the bed. Shinichi wanted to crawl away. Conan was deeply touched by her concern. "You are looking quite healthy though, for everything you've been through."

"I feel pretty good right now," he relayed to her. "The medicine is working really well."

"That's good." He glanced around at all of these faces. Every one of them was important to him in some way, in both forms. Something was missing though. Something, besides his concerns that Ran knew his identity, was weighing down his mind. Where were they? Surely Agasa had told them by now.

…X…X…

"Dad, I really don't think…"

"Ran, you have to go back to school!" Kogoro demanded. "The boy is fine. Look at him! He's not even pale!" Conan plugged away at the new game in his hands. At least there was something to keep his mind busy, off the more important things that he couldn't do anything about right now. "You've missed three days for that brat. You can't miss any more."

"But he needs someone! His parents haven't even come by to see him. What kind of family are they?"

"Don't worry, Ran-kun," Agasa said from behind her. "I'll be with him all day today."

"But, Professor…Dad…"

"Ran, I know you're worried about him," Kogoro said in a much gentler tone. "But failing out of school won't help him get better faster. And all of this staying here and worrying won't do you any good either. Go spend some time with your friends, and don't worry about him. He's in good hands and he's completely out of danger. All he has to do now is rest and get better."

"Yeah." She looked down at her feet. This boy, this child…Shinichi. She just knew it. He was hurting, and she tried her hardest to stay beside him at all times. Even though he looked up at her with those adorable eyes, she knew that behind them there just had to be the person that meant the most to her, drowning in white hospital sheets. It didn't matter who it was, getting shot was no simple thing. And even if this boy wasn't Shinichi, he was a big part of her world.

"Come on, I'll drive you." The two headed off, and Agasa slipped into the room.

"My, this place is nice," he commented. The garden had grown a little. Four more people had come by yesterday with flowers. Sonoko, the owner of the café below the detective agency, his elementary school teacher (who had also brought a package of get-well cards she'd had the class make), and even the principal and vice principal had come to wish him well.

"Yeah. Who knew Conan had so many friends?" He didn't look up from his game. Something was still missing in this room, and he didn't want to let his mind acknowledge it.

"Is there any room left in here for anything else?"

"Who else would send me flowers? Practically everyone in Japan has already sent their well-wishes. Who's left?"

"Don't tell me you forgot about us, Shin-kun!" an exasperated voice scolded. He jolted a little, pain sinking into his face at the action and the game dropping from his hands and slipping to the ground. He wrapped his free arm around his abdomen. "Oh! I'm sorry." She passed the vase in her arms to the professor and ran over to his bedside, slipping beside him and pulling her sunglasses off. "Are you alright?"

"Did you have to startle me like that?" he spat at the lady.

"Calm down, son," the man that had followed her said, settling a vase of his own in the corner before taking off his own minimal disguise. The tag on that one was from a fictional couple, the fake parents of this fake child. They wished their boy well but stated that they couldn't get away to come see him in the hospital, and they greatly regretted that.

"I'll go get some drinks!" Agasa cheered, departing from the room after leaving the true Kudo edition to Conan's Garden. Expensive flowers all tied up to outshine all the rest. Yusaku glanced around before shutting the door, and even double-checked the world outside the window.

"Just look at you," Yukiko sighed, wrapping her arms around him. "You're such a lucky kid, you know that? Oh, Shin-kun…"

"Mom, relax, I'm fine!"

"You don't look fine. You're in a hospital bed. Five hours in surgery, and you almost died?"

"Almost is the key word. I'm still alive. That's what counts." Yusaku smiled and leaned against the wall. Shinichi spared him a glance, but decided to let it drop. If he had been at 100%, he would have read into that little gesture, he would have dug into his father's emotions to find the truth. Right now he decided to just let things go.

"You really need to take better care of yourself. Your size now…" He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. This sort of exchange never happened, not since he had started school. Today was a different day.

"No matter what my size, I'm a trouble-magnet. I should have been more alert, but I let my guard down and this is what happens." He watched his father, who was blatantly keeping both eyes on the window. It was easy to surmise that Agasa was keeping an eye on the hallways. "You're running away from your editors again, aren't you?" The man tensed up, before putting on a smirk and sinking into the chair beside Conan's bed.

"No one knows that you're my son," he replied. "So dropping everything and coming to visit you would seem a bit strange to anyone else."

"If it was so much of a hassle then why did you do it?" He felt his mother rip herself away from him. His eyes flashed over to her and he cursed himself on the inside. The tears locked inside her eyes were poorly masked.

"Yusaku, are we really that horrible of parents that our only son would believe he was too much of a hassle to visit when we almost lost him forever?" The boy cringed.

"It would seem so," his father agreed. Shinichi cringed again.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that!" he attempted to put out. "You really could have just sent some flowers and not have had to put up with all of this sneaking around though." His parents shared one of those looks.

"If you want us to go you should just say so," Yukiko said, standing up and putting her sunglasses back on. "Geeze, all that trouble…Maybe we really should have taken Agasa-san's advice and just sent flowers from the Edogawa family."

"Don't be too upset, Yukiko," Yusaku said, hurrying to her side. "He's at that age where kids don't want to associate with their parents."

"Hey hey!" the boy shouted. "I never said I wanted you to leave." He looked down at his hands. Both parents glanced back at him, taking in the child before them. "It just would have been easier for you…" Two pairs of arms wrapped around his body, turning his face red.

"You're worth it," his mother told him.

"We do love you, son," his father added. Shinichi's mind spun in confusion. There were times when he was convinced he was just another piece of real estate for his parents. But deep down, he really knew that they loved him. That was the real reason they left him to his own devices, because it was what he wanted. It was always said that if you love something you have to be able to let it go.

"Thank you for coming in person."

…X…X…

"Hey, Agasa," he called to the old professor as he sipped at his juice.

"What it is, Shinichi?" the old man replied.

"How…how did you know I wanted to see them?"

"You're an amazing detective, but you're a poor actor to those that know you. Every time someone brought in flowers you looked more and more distraught."

"So you called them last night and asked them to come here?"

"Actually, I called because Ran was getting frustrated that Mrs. Edogawa was no were to be found while her son was 'fighting for his life' in the hospital. This case was all over the newspapers, so I assumed they already knew. Your father does tend to stay caught up on the news."

"They didn't know?"

"They've been really busy lately, not even having time for themselves."

"Is that so? I suppose coming to see me was just an excuse to get away, eh?"

"I doubt that, Shinichi."

"Oh? Why?"

"As soon as I asked the Edogawa's to send some flowers to Beika Hospital, Yukiko said something about getting the bags packed and hung up the phone. She didn't even wait to find out why. Yusaku stayed on just long enough to get some of the details, then he put the phone down. I think he meant to hang it up, but he didn't. Your mother…She was hysterical. She thought she'd lost you, Shinichi."

He tilted his head so that his glasses made his eyes unreadable. The emotionless hospital room was alive with his private garden. A vase full of flowers that's price tag had to rival his hospital bill had been situated on the nightstand, with a smaller vase beside it, so that people wouldn't think it too strange that the Edogawa boy had decided to keep the Kudos' gift closest to him as he healed. The room was complete now.