A/N: Didn't think I was ever going to update this one...SO sorry for how long it took, and thank you so much for all the amazing reviews. I hope this was worth the wait...


Juliet was still holding Shawn's hand when Gus and Henry returned. She looked at Henry as he and Gus pulled up chairs next to hers. "Did you talk to Maddie?" Juliet asked quietly, her voice hitching even though she tried her best to hide it.

Henry nodded. "She's in New York at a conference but she said she would get here as soon as she could."

Neither Juliet or Gus said anything, and the three remained sitting in silence for the next few minutes, just watching Shawn breathe.

"It's weird seeing him so still," Gus said, breaking the silence.

Henry huffed out a laugh. "You're telling me. Kid hasn't stopped moving since the day he was born." Henry smiled, turning to face Shawn's best friend. "He's gonna be fine, Gus. You know him as well as I do. The kid's a fighter if I ever saw one."

Gus nodded, but Henry could see his eyes shone with worry and doubt. "Think the nurses will let us stay with him?" he asked, because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I think more than half the people in this hospital know Shawn," Henry said, happy when that coaxed a laugh from Juliet. "I think they'll pull some strings for us."

Gus nodded, satisfied. He could see Juliet trembling and he squeezed her hand. "You know Shawn used to cork his bat in Little League?"

Juliet looked at him, her expression incredulous. And she silently thanked Gus for trying to help take her mind off of Shawn's injury. "What 10-year-old even knows how to cork his bat?" she asked, turning the question over to Henry.

Henry threw his arms up in a gesture that said he had no clue. "I don't know how he learned half of the things he did. Clearly it wasn't from Gus." They all laughed at that. "He got in a lot of trouble as a kid."

"And as an adult," Juliet pointed out.

"Yet he always managed to get out of it," Gus this time. "He'll be fine," he declared, suddenly sure of it. "He'll be back to being a pain in the butt in no time."

"I have some good news," Doctor Henderson announced, addressing Juliet, Henry, and Gus. It had been almost four hours since they'd been allowed back to see Shawn, and he hadn't even so much as twitched. "The swelling in Shawn's brain seems to be decreasing on its own. As it stands right now, we don't believe Shawn will need to go in for surgery." The relief in the room was palpable.

"So he's going to be okay?" Henry asked eagerly.

"I believe so, yes. But he still has a long way to go. We're going to leave him on the respirator until he wakes up, and I don't anticipate that to be for several hours, if not longer. And he still has a very serious concussion that could take weeks to fully recover from."

"What sorts of symptoms will he have?" Juliet asked worriedly.

"Painful headaches, vertigo, and nausea, to name a few. But those will pass with time. Now, the three of you are welcome to stay with Shawn for now – seems he has a lot of friends in this hospital. But you should really try and get some rest. As I said, he probably won't be up for awhile."

"Okay, we will. Thanks, Doc," Henry said as Henderson left.

"I'm not going anywhere," Gus said firmly.

"Me either."

Henry sighed. "Yeah I didn't think you two would wanna leave. Better get comfortable, then. It's gonna be a long night."

The doctor was wrong. Shawn woke up in less than an hour, jolting awake so suddenly that Henry and Gus nearly jumped out of their skin. Juliet had offered to get coffee for the trio, so she was noticeably absent when Shawn's terrified eyes scanned the room.

Shawn never did anything half-way, and this was no exception. The pain in his head was excruciating and he gasped for breath, becoming more and more panicked when he felt the tube down his throat. Shawn reached his hands to pull out the obstruction, unaware of his father and Gus trying desperately to stop him.

"Shawn!" Henry yelled, putting his hands on Shawn's to try and stop him. Shawn didn't seem to hear Henry and he continued to struggle, so Henry tried another tactic. "Shawn I need you to listen to me. Think about where you are. Why are you here?"

Gus looked at Henry in surprise, knowing there was no way Shawn could answer. Still, the tactic seemed to have calmed him down a little and it was clear he was struggling to figure it out.

"Don't try to speak," Henry told him, knowing that Shawn most likely would. "Concentrate on my voice. Don't fight the machine – let it help you breathe." Henry waited a minute for Shawn to follow his instructions. "Good, Shawn. Now, where are you?"

Shawn's eyes scanned the room, taking in the steady beep of the machines and the mint green walls of Santa Barbara General. Henry stopped him before he could mouth the words. "The hospital. Good. You took a softball to the head, kid. Lucky for us, you've got a very hard head." Shawn closed his eyes, remembering everything with painful clarity. He let out a cry as his head throbbed with renewed intensity. Opening his eyes, he saw Gus standing by his bed, looking more scared than Shawn had ever seen him. He tried to bring a hand to his head, anything to stop the pain, but Henry stopped him again.

"You don't want to do that," he explained patiently. Shawn was having a hard time dealing with the pain and confusion, and he felt the wetness of tears on his face. Thatwassonotcool.

"Shawn?" it was the first thing Gus had said, and Shawn almost wished he hadn't heard the fear in his best friend's voice, knowing it was concern for him that had caused it.

"Gus?" Henry asked, turning to him. "Could you go get his doctor?" Gus nodded readily, taking one last look back at Shawn before rushing out to find Doctor Henderson.

Henry was trying to get Shawn to calm down again, worried that his son was in so much pain. Shawn's shoulders shook with sobs. Henry couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Shawn cry. Even though he knew this was a result of the concussion and the pain, it didn't make it any easier. He really hoped that Gus and Doctor Henderson would hurry up.

"Shawn?" Juliet's voice seemed to break through Shawn's haze for a moment, and he struggled to get a hold of himself. She quickly approached his bed, silently asking Henry if it was okay. Henry nodded, moving over so Juliet could sit next to him. "Hey," she said gently, wiping the tears from his face. "Good to see you awake, Shawn," Juliet said, smiling and reaching for his hand. Henry sat back, watching on in amazement as Shawn's breathing steadied and he calmed down.

By the time Gus returned with the doctor, Shawn was looking much better than he had when Gus had left. "I thought Gus here was joking when he told me you were awake," Henderson said, rounding Shawn's bed so that Juliet and Henry could stay seated by his side. He pulled out a penlight. "Just need to check your pupils," Henderson explained apologetically, knowing it would most-likely worsen Shawn's headache. The doctor seemed satisfied with the results, but Shawn was clearly in a considerable amount of pain and Gus could hear Juliet whispering comforting words to Shawn. "Okay, Shawn," Henderson said. "Frankly I'm amazed that you're awake. I'm going to increase your pain meds and order a sedative so you can get some rest," he told him, addressing Henry as well.

Shawn made a noise of protest, pointing to the tube in his throat. Henry laughed a little. "He wants to know when he can get the tube out," he translated.

"If you continue to improve, we'll take that out the next time you wake up. A nurse will be right in with the meds," he added before leaving.

As promised, a nurse was in to give Shawn his meds in no time. Within minutes, his eyes were closing, weighed down with exhaustion. "He should be out until the morning," she told the group. "You all should try and get some rest." Henry nodded, thanking the nurse as she left.

"Get some rest, Shawn," Henry told him, giving his son permission to sleep. Shawn couldn't have helped it anyway, he he closed his eyes and let the welcome pull of unconsciousness take him.


Probably one more chapter after this to wrap everything up...thanks for sticking with me, I'd love to hear what you think!