Thank you so much for your reviews. I seriously appreciate every single one of them. I know you are supposed to write for your own enjoyment but the fact that people actually get enjoyment in reading something I wrote is still mind-blowing. This story has taken on a life of its own but I am rolling with it if that is okay with you.

Disclaimer: I own the computer in which I am typing, but I do not own the characters in which I type about.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Henry didn't know how long he had been staring at the ceiling of his bedroom and to be honest, he didn't actually care. He glanced at the clock to his left and sighed, 3:47am, an ungodly hour to be awake. Unfortunately for him, sleep had evaded him ever since he was sent home from the hospital. He wanted to be near his son. He needed to be there for him. The only thing that stopped him from being on the receiving end of an armed escort out was Dr. Hansen's calm reassurance that nothing would be changing for at minimum the first day or two, and it had only been about half a day since Shawn was brought in. She encouraged him to get some sleep mostly for his own good. Henry was aware that she was perceptive enough to know that when Shawn was moved to a regular room, Henry would be taking up permanent residence beside him. In other words, being sent home was for his benefit, not Shawn's.

He could feel sleep pulling at him despite the knot that had taken up permanent residence in his gut. He wasn't sure when it happened, but the blissful embrace of sleep finally consumed him. However, when it only felt like minutes had passed, he was rudely awakened by his cellphone ringing. He guessed it would be Madeleine, since he had left her a voicemail earlier while she was still asleep due to the time difference. However, one look at the phone screen told him it wasn't, and the knot in his stomach tightened exponentially. Maybe it's nothing. He pressed the answer button, attempting to make his "Hello?" sound like it wasn't laced with pure anxiety. They wouldn't be calling if it was nothing.

"Mr. Spencer? This is Cottage Hospital. We have an update on your son, Shawn Spencer, and we need you need to come down here immediately."

Henry noticeably tensed at the tone of her voice. If it was good news, she would have said so, but she didn't, so that could only mean the update was bad. "What...what's happening?" he asked shakily.

"I cannot give specific details over the phone, but I can tell you he was taken back into surgery about thirty minutes ago. As soon as you get here, we can explain everything."

"Um, okay...okay, but is he okay? I mean, he's going to be okay, right? Nothing was supposed to change this soon. I thought..." His voice faded and Henry knew he sounded like he was panicking, which was fair, because he absolutely was panicking. All of his training on the force seemed to dissipate as his mind raced around the possible scenarios that could have gone wrong. What did they miss?

As he found himself once again racing toward the hospital for the second time in twelve hours, Henry wondered if he should be calling anyone. There is no training, no guidelines, no "normal" in this situation. There is no "right choice" here. Henry didn't know if he could live with himself if he called Gus, only to greet him at the hospital with the worst news possible. He felt the same for Juliet and Madeleine. No matter what awaited him at the hospital, he wasn't ready to place that burden of unknowing on others. Once he knew definitively what was going on he would make the necessary calls.

He pulled into Cottage Hospital, parking his massive truck haphazardly and without care as he jumped down from the cab and ran toward the entrance, not even taking the time to lock it. He arrived at the front desk with a breathless "Henry Spencer for Shawn Spencer. I...I just got a call."

"Yes, sir. I am the nurse that called you. Here," She gestured behind him, "let's go take a seat." Henry turned and saw the entire waiting room was empty and the wall clock said it was 4:30am. Too late for drunks and too early for commuter accidents. He sat down on the familiar vinyl seat against the wall and she sat across from him.

"Please..." He said desperately, and still slightly breathless, to his dismay, "Tell me my son is alright."

She looked at him sympathetically, her dark skin reflecting the synthetic lighting in the room, "He has been in surgery, which, if everything goes smoothly, will save him." Henry looked at her, slightly confused.

"I thought the first surgery did that job. What changed so suddenly?"

"Well, Dr. Hansen can go into more specifics but in my opinion, it was her quick thinking and persistence that even gave us the chance to save him...again. A few hours ago, Dr. Hansen was reviewing Shawn's X-rays and checking in on him. He was stable and nothing had changed, as expected. However, something was bothering Dr. Hansen. She was checking his neck and kept reviewing that X-ray and his head. She consulted the head surgeon on call, Dr. Peter Fong, who also reviewed the scans but dismissed her concerns. He is technically her supervisor and she technically should have listened to his advice, but instead she ordered an emergency CT scan for Shawn, much to Dr. Fong's disproval. There was even an argument between the two...he said she was wasting resources and doing more harm than good but she wouldn't have it. Once Shawn's CT scan was complete, Fong was at a loss for words and Hansen was calling for an OR room to be prepped immediately."

"What did they find?" Henry asked, feeling like he was watching a thriller movie right at the climax, except this was different because the plot revolved around his son's dire health and unfortunately, he couldn't fast forward through the parts he didn't like.

"A blood clot was 98% formed in Shawn's carotid artery. Any longer, even an hour longer, and he would have had a stroke."

Henry exhaled sharply, placing his hand behind his head and shaking his head in disbelief. A stroke. As if the kid didn't have enough things to deal with. "But they found it in time, right? He should be okay?" Henry realized that "okay" was a loosely used term concerning Shawn.

"As I said before, as long as this surgery goes smoothly, he should suffer no ill-effects from the clot. I'm sure Dr. Hansen will be keeping an extremely close eye on him for the next week, however." She smiled slightly, her brown eyes twinkling, obviously filled with pride over the actions of her colleague.

"I don't think Shawn or I will have any problem with that." He returned her smile as she got up. She placed one hand on his shoulder. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. As soon as I have an update, you will be the first to know."

"Thank you so much." Henry replied, meaning every part of it. After she returned to the front desk, Henry relaxed slightly on the chair. Too early to call anyone, too early for breakfast, too early to visit Shawn. It's just too early. However, he got an idea.

"Excuse me," he said as he approached the familiar nurse, "Is there a computer I could use for a few minutes?" She pointed him in the right direction and he was soon launching Google on the desktop. He had been wanting to do some research since yesterday but obviously never had the time. No time like the present. He thought as he typed a name into the search bar.

"Dr. Lauren Hansen Santa Barbara"

What he found shocked him to his core. He thought he couldn't be in any more awe of the woman who had now saved his son's life twice, but he was very, very wrong. Suddenly, everything about her made sense.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Dr. Lauren Hansen looked at her patient as he was wheeled out of the OR (again) and into a recovery room. She removed her surgical mask and headed out the door to clean up. Once out in the hall, she bumped into an uncomfortable looking Dr. Peter Fong. She eyed him but did not say anything.

"Look Doctor..." He began, "I'm sorry about what happened. I thought..."

"You thought what? I was being too cautious? Overprotective? Caught in the past?" She snapped sharply, but quickly deflated and put up her steady countenance in defense. "Sorry...it's just been a long day." She said honestly.

"No, don't apologize. I was wrong. I won't doubt you again." He gave her a nod and allowed her to pass by him.

"You never should have." She said, mostly to herself and unsure if Fong heard; either way, she didn't care. She cleaned herself up and peaked into her patient's room, satisfied that he appeared to be settled and comfortable, before making her way to the waiting room. It almost felt like Groundhog Day to her as she approached the lone, worn-out man in the waiting area again. "Decided to come alone this time?"

Henry hadn't seen her approach, mostly due to his tiredness and the never-ending thoughts racing about his mind, but once he heard her he jumped out of his seat and looked at her in astonishment. Without thinking, he stepped forward and embraced her, which she returned, knowing how much he needed it and in all honesty, she needed it too. He pulled back awkwardly. "Is he...?" He winced.

"He's doing fine. As good as could be expected. We took care of the clot and have him on a small dose of blood thinners. We will continually monitor him for any more clots, but he is young and I am hoping that was the end of it."

Henry sighed in relief and looked at her. "I'm...sorry...about that." He said, gesturing to the impromptu hug that took place seconds earlier.

"Don't apologize, Mr. Spencer. You have been through a lot." She said sympathetically.

"Not nearly as much as you have."

"Oh, that thing with Dr. Fong was-"

"That's not what I am talking about."

"Oh." She looked at him, unsure how to process what he was saying, although he hadn't directly said it.

"All I can say is, you are an incredible person. You have sacrificed so much and this country owes you everything but instead here you are, giving back everything and saving lives. I cannot tell you how much I admire you and I can't even begin to imagine what you went through. I apologize...I did some research."

"No need to apologize..." She said, although evidently caught off guard. "Um...after reviewing Shawn's X-rays and visiting him, I just had that same feeling I had back then, and Shawn and him look so much alike...I knew I had to act or we would lose him. I wasn't going to let that happen again."

"It wasn't your fault, you did everything you could have back then."

"I try to tell myself that, but I always wonder 'what if?'" She said sadly.

"Well, if things went differently, it's possible you wouldn't be here, saving people, saving my son, every day. You need to remember that my only child is alive because of you."

"Thank you, Mr. Spencer."

"And, if this is inappropriate I sincerely apologize, but you remind me of myself and I know if I were you I'd need to hear it. I know you beat yourself up about what happened, but Michael would be proud of you." He gave her a soft smile, feeling wetness behind his eyes as he looked at the woman responsible for saving his son, who held so many demons behind her.

"Thank...thank you. I know he would." She stood up just as the first tear began to fall, but she shook it off and returned to her steely demeanor. "You will be able to see Shawn soon. I'm looking forward to actually meeting him. I can tell you care a great deal about him." She walked back behind the double doors as Henry still sat, debating if he should call anyone yet. He would have to tell Gus the whole story and he would rather do it in person.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Gus was not happy to be pulled from sleep at 6:00am, but he remembered the circumstances and flew out of bed in record time. Henry had given him a quick update and told him he wanted to talk to him more in person and also visit Shawn. Gus was out the door at 6:15 and arriving at the hospital soon after. He approached the desk and she pointed him in the direction of Shawn's room. He pulled up a chair next to a very tired looking Henry and a very unconscious looking Shawn, who now had gauze covering just below his right ear. Henry began explaining everything quietly to Gus, although not even a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerine plant could wake Shawn up.

Gus leaned back in disbelief. "So, because of her Shawn is alive."

"Yep."

"Wow. She is admirable."

"That's only half."

"Say what now?" Gus leaned forward again.

"She served two tours in Afghanistan as a field medic. She's the youngest in her family with four older brothers. She was serving alongside her brother Michael, who was older than her by two years, during her second tour. According to the reports I read, there was an ambush. Her brother pushed two of his comrades to safety but was caught in the crossfire when a grenade went off near him. He was completely out in the open and Dr. Hansen risked her life to carry him back to cover. Once he was being taken care of in a hospital, they insisted he only had a concussion, bruising, and some deep cuts from shrapnel. She wasn't convinced and did everything in her power to get him taken to a more advanced hospital. She wanted an MRI for his chest and abdomen but they dismissed her. He died two days later from internal blast injuries. He was awarded the Purple Heart and she was given a Medal of Valor."

Gus was stunned. "That's why she was so persistent about Shawn. Without her..." he didn't even want to finish that thought as he looked at his best friend beside him, listening to the reassuring steady beep of the heart monitor.

Henry cleared his throat after being caught up in the incredible story. "She said they have begun decreasing his drugs keeping him asleep. As long as the swelling doesn't get any worse, she will remove the stent and get him back to breathing on his own." Henry looked at his son, noting the swelling and bruising around his neck. Gus did his best to look at the parts of Shawn that still looked like Shawn, but those were few and far between. His right leg was unearthed from the blankets and his thigh was still piled with ice packs they rotated to his ankle every half hour. The incision in his thigh was wrapped and his whole leg was surrounded by padding to keep it in place. Bruising peeked out of the places not covered. His casted ankle was propped up and both Henry and Gus knew that a lime green cast was in Shawn's future.

Henry and Gus were relieved when a nurse came in to inform them that Shawn would be moved to a regular room today. Both of them had already been in the ICU for an hour and Henry had a suspicion that Dr. Hansen had pulled some strings so the rules would be slightly ignored for them. Once again, he was eternally grateful for the incredible doctor that his son was blessed with.

Gus decided to excuse himself and informed Henry that he'd give Juliet, Lassiter, and Chief Vick an update. Henry knew that Shawn's new room would probably be bustling with visitors before he knew it. His kid had that effect on people.

Until then, he was going to enjoy these few moments alone with his son, allowing the fact that Shawn could very well not be here right now sink in. He grasped Shawn's hand to ground himself, knowing that Shawn was truly in the best hands possible.

PSYCH~PSYCH~PSYCH

Extra points for anyone who got the movie reference in there!

How ya feeling? Want to keep going? I don't know how you feel but I love Dr. Hansen...I know she is my character but I have never invested this much time in an OC. I promise Lassie and Jules will come in too!

Pleeeaaaase review!