Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Glad I surprised you in the last chapter. This post looks more into Seth's side of the story. I hope you like it….I do like writing Seth for some reason.

The chapters after this might come a little slower. The first four chapters were already written before I started posting so that's why there's been an update every day! Thanks again for reading! Please keep reviewing!

Enjoy!

Family Wars

Stan arrived at the hospital 15 minutes after Mary and Seth after dealing with the situation at the house. He was pointed to a private waiting room and even before he opened the door, he could hear raised voice coming from inside. He sighed and took a minute to prepare himself before pushing open the door to find Mary and Seth glaring at each other; both of them shouting so loud that he couldn't make out what they were actually saying to each other.

"Enough!" Stan yelled, startling them both.

"Stan…" Mary started but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Just stop." He told her. "Both of you."

Seth turned and walked across the room, throwing himself into a chair and covered his face with hands.

"I just saw a nurse…" Stan continued this time quieter. "She said a doctor will be here in a few minutes to talk to us."

"Did she say how Marshall is?" Mary asked. "Is he going to be okay?"

"She didn't know."

"I swear to god if he's not okay…" Mary started to pace the room.

"He will be." Stan stated.

It was another 20 minutes of silence with Mary and Seth glaring at each other every now and then before the doctor walked into the room.

"You're the family of Marshall Mann?"

"Yes, I'm his father…" Seth jumped up from his seat to cross the room to him. "How is he?"

"Well, fortunately to knife wound did minimal damage…The blade came in contact with one of Marshall's ribs and chipped it but didn't penetrate the lung or cause any major damage….We were able to stop the bleeding with 28 stitches and we're replacing some of the blood he lost." He explained. "We also put in 6 stitches for the laceration on his neck."

"So, you think he'll be okay?" Mary asked. "Is he awake?"

The doctor sighed. "This is where things get complicated…"

"How?"

"You told the EMT that you thought it was possible that his drink was spiked?" He questioned, only continuing when they nodded. "We discovered a pretty high dosage of the drug Gamma Hydoxybutyrate…or GHB…"

"Isn't that a date rape drug?" Mary questioned.

"Yes, it is known to be uses in those kinds of cases." The doctor nodded. "Some of the side effects consist of drowsy-ness, vomiting, and respiratory distress…"

"Well, can you give him something to stop it?" She asked.

He gestured for them all to take a seat and sat beside Mary; turning so then could see the other two men as well.

"Marshall is on oxygen at the moment…"

"He needs help breathing?" Seth cut in.

"Sometimes when a person is unconscious, the muscles in the jaw can relax and that allows the tongue to obstruct the airway…We've inserted a tube to support breathing as well as keeping the airway clear." He explained the best he could. "It's likely to be removed as soon as he regains consciousness."

"So, he hasn't woken up yet?"

"No but that's pretty common with GHB…The effect could last 3 or more hours and since there is such a signification amount in his system it seems likely there will be quite a wait." He answered. "We've also got him on an IV drip to help get his fluid levels up."

"We just wait then?" Seth asked.

"We're monitoring him very closely, Sir in case of any complications but other than that, yes we just wait for him to wake up."

"What about after that?" Stan asked. "Will there be any lasting effects?"

"At this point it's difficult to tell and every patient is different but most suffer from vomiting, memory loss, and disorientation and there is a chance of seizures." He informed them. "But we'll deal with all that if and when we come to it…"

Mary let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples, trying to rid the headache that was starting.

"It may not seem like it now but considering the circumstances he's pretty lucky." The doctor tried to console them. "And while the next couple of days might be unpleasant, there is no reason to believe he won't make a full recovery."

"So, he's going to be okay?" Mary checked.

"Like I said earlier, as long as there are no complications then yes, he should be just fine." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Any idea when he'll be able to leave?"

"If the knife wound heals nicely then I would say three to five days."

"Thank you, doctor." Stan shook his hand.

"Someone will come by and let you know when you can see him." He gave them another small smile before heading out the room.

"Well, at least that's some good news." Stan turned to look at the other two. "Give him a few days and he'll be back on his feet."

"He shouldn't be here in the first place." Mary claimed and glared at Seth. "He shouldn't have been dragged into this!"

"You think I wanted this to happen?" Seth shot to his feet. "I tried to warn him…I tried to stop this!"

"You caused it!" Mary exclaimed. "Just because you couldn't keep it in your pants!"

Stan sighed loudly and rubbed his temples. There was no way this conversation was going to end well but he also knew that neither of them would be leaving any time soon or would back down.

"Look, you don't know anything about it and you should stay out of my family's business…"

"I got dragged into this!" Mary accused.

"This isn't helping anyone." Stan said diplomatically. "Do you really think Marshall is going to want to hear all this when he wakes up?"

"I'm going to get coffee." Mary pushed past her boss and out of the room.

Stan watched her go before looking back at Seth who was sat down again, head in his hands.

"Does your wife know?" Stan asked after a few seconds of silence.

"About Christina?"

"Actually, I was talking about Marshall getting hurt…"

"She's on her way here now."

"And about Christina?"

Seth just stared back at him, unwilling to discuss his private life.

"Look, I would much rather not get involved in your personal life at all but my inspector was hurt because of your affair…" Stan continued. "What you tell your wife is your own business but if you want my advice, if she doesn't know already, tell her before someone else does….You're not going to be able to keep this secret for much longer."

Seth hung his head, almost defeated. "She knows…She known for a long time."

Over the years, Stan's path had crossed with Seth's but he didn't know whether they could be classed as friends but he couldn't help but feel a little pity for the other man. He sighed and sat down next to him.

"Does Marshall know?"

"No." He shook his head. "We decided it was best if none of the boys knew...We didn't see any sense in hurting them to."

"You know, he'll probably find out now, right?" Stan looked at him. "He's going to want to know why this happened and I won't lie to him about Christina's motives."

"He's going to hate me."

"Maybe for a little while but the Marshall I know if a pretty forgiving guy."

"Not for something like this…" Seth whispered. "We've always struggled… I mean, we're so different and he has always been closer to his mother and I've hurt her…"

"Yeah but you're his father." Stan consoled. "He followed in your footsteps…"

"He's followed in my family's footsteps." Seth corrected.

"Look, what's done is done…All you can do is talk to him when he's well enough and you hope that he understands."

"That's a problem then because I don't think I even understand what happened." Seth pushed himself to his feet. "It was the most stupid thing I've ever done…"

"We all make mistakes…"

"My wife, Jenna…She's the love of my life and always has been since I was 19…We met in the college library…She told me off for talking with my friends too loudly…" He smiled at the memory but then frowned. "We have a good marriage…never had very many problems and after 47 years of being together…45 of them being married, I cannot believe I risked it all."

"Why did you?" Stan couldn't help but ask.

"It's complicated."

"Well, Marshall and probably your other boys will ask the same question…If you have any hope of moving past this, you need a better explanation then that."

"I just… I guess I just realized I wasn't this young guy kicking down doors and chasing fugitives anymore." He sat down again.

"Come on, you're still considered one of the best of the fugitive task force."

"Yeah, that's because of all my experience."

"You think that's a bad thing?"

"No, it's not that." Seth shook his head a little. "People started to ask me when I was going to retire and I thought they were crazy, there was no way I was ready for that….then I looked around and suddenly realized how much had changed…my wife was retired, happily enjoying not working… my three boys were all grown up leading their own lives, all having successful careers….none of them needing me like they used to…"

"That's life for you."

"Yeah….I just….I don't know when it moved on without me." He continued. "Then there was Christina…There was a team of us tracking these two brothers down…We got word that they split up, so three members of the team went after the one guy…Christina and I went after the other…I should have called for more back up but I guess I wanted to prove I still had it…that I could still do the job."

Stan stay silent, knowing that there was no need for him to say anything. Seth knew the mistakes he made and didn't need someone else pointing them out.

"The first night we talked…She told me about how her father was in Marshal service and the stories she heard growing up…We spent all night talking." He sighed. "I don't know how I let it happen…I don't know how it went from talking in a bar over a few drinks to being in my hotel room…"

He trailed off and Stan didn't need him to finish the sentence to know what he was going to say.

"She was this young attractive woman, who was interested in me…I stupidly fell for it." He hung his head.

"How long did it go on for?"

"We caught the guy after four days of being on the road…as soon as I got back home, realized what I had actually done…Told her it meant nothing and she seemed okay with that but my actions made me question my life…None of the boys were around and Jenna was busy with her new hobbies she had taken up since her retirement." He continued. "I found myself spending time with Christina then after a couple of weeks, Jenna figured it out…She left me and went to stay with her sister for two weeks."

"But she came back?"

"Yeah, I begged and pleaded with her to give me a second chance…Things haven't been the same but I know I got a lot of making up to do."

"What happened with Christina after you ended it?"

"She wouldn't let it go…I guess, she thought there was more to it than it was." He sighed. "I should have never let it get that far... She started to make mistakes on the job because of it all and she is suspended pending an investigation."

"So, she decided to get even by going after Marshall?"

"I don't know what she was thinking this would achieve." Seth admitted. "I don't know whether she just wanted my attention or something else?"

"Like she thought she was doing you a favor?"

Seth glared at him. "There is nothing in this world that means more to me then my kids."

"I know that." Stan stated. "But she seemed to think that you and Marshall had problems."

"They're my problems…It's always bothered me that I don't get on as well with him as I do his brothers but I would never want anything like this to happen." He insisted and then sighed. "I talked to her about Marshall…Told her how he got shot last year…How he never let us know until after he was out of hospital."

"He didn't want to worry you." Stan explained quickly.

"He's our son…He shouldn't have to worry about us worrying." Seth claimed. "But that's always been the way…Jenna was upset when he did eventually tell us…She said it was my fault, that he was so worried about disappointing me…about not living up to my expectations…"

"After everything that has happened today, now is the perfect opportunity to deal with it." Stan told him. "If it is true, then you know Marshall won't come to you about it…You'll have to make the first move…You'll have a lot of making up to do once he finds out about Christina, you might as well do it properly or you really will lose him."

Seth sighed. "I think it might just be too late for that…"

"It will be if you don't even try." Stan said as he stood up. "I need to get back to the office…"

"Let me know if there anything I can do to help." Seth also got to his feet. "I can't stand just sit around here waiting."

Stan wanted to tell him that this was best place for him to be; that if he had any hope in making things right with his family was to stay here and work it out but he knew it wasn't his place. "I'll keep you updated."

"Thanks, Stan…For everything."

"Just do me a favor… play nice with Mary?" Stan asked. "Marshall and her care a lot about each other…Until she gets to see he's alright for herself, she'll be going crazy."

Seth almost reminded him that Marshall was his son and Mary was only his partner but decided against it considering why this had happened. "I'll try my best."

TBC

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