Family Matters

Chapter 7: What Matters

A/N: Okay, this is the last chapter. I made sure to go through it this time. I have to admit that sometimes I get overly excited about posting the chapter and I forget to go through it and do my final check so I apologize for any mistakes that occurred in the last chapter. When I check for errors I'm usually quite good at it so I hope this chapter is grammatically better.

Officer Monroe arrived in the waiting room to see Daphne dozing with her head resting on Fred's shoulder. Fred had an arm wrapped around her shoulder and he appeared to be fighting to keep his eyes opened. Even though she was asleep Daphne looked far from peaceful. In a corner of the room Brianna and Caleb were sleeping on a sofa. Karen sat with a cup of coffee in one hand while she cradled Grace with her other arm. Shaggy was sitting with his elbows on his knees, using his arms to prop his head up while he stared at the floor. Scooby sat on the floor beside his master.

Officer Monroe walked into the middle of the otherwise deserted waiting room. Karen was the first to notice him "Officer Monroe," she greeted "Did you catch him?"

Shaggy's head popped up instantly at the question. Shaggy knew all too well who 'him' was.

"We've got him Ms. Marvin," Officer Monroe informed her "He's confessed to the charges of child abuse and the attack on Ms. Dinkley."

Karen and Shaggy both breathed sighs of relief knowing that that monster was off the streets. Officer Monroe's attention shifted to Shaggy next. He walked over and took a seat beside the young man, letting a hand rest on Scooby's head as he turned to face Shaggy.

Monroe cleared his throat "I just wanted to let you know that the rock that was thrown through your window was launched by some neighborhood kids testing out a homemade catapult," Monroe pulled two hotel key cards from his pocket and showed them to Shaggy "When Joyce bumped into you today it wasn't the first time that he took a key card from you. He was probably planning to try to take his nieces and nephew back but when the window broke and you switched rooms-"

"The first card he had was like useless," Shaggy finished. His mind went automatically back to the darkly clad figure in the hotel lobby that night before the window had broken. That had to have been Joyce.

"Has there been any news on Ms. Dinkley's condition?" Officer Monroe asked a few moments later.

Shaggy shook his head "She's like still in surgery," Shaggy replied.

Officer Monroe shook his head somberly before he rose to his feet "I just wanted to let you know that Joyce will be going to jail for a long time. We're looking at him for other crimes and his lawyer is advising him to take a plea deal. I have to be going. My superiors need me to check into a few leads on Joyce's recent activities. See you around."

Shaggy waved a wayward goodbye to Officer Monroe before returning to his forlorn position staring at the floor. It had been seven hours since Velma had arrived at the hospital and been taken to surgery. Shaggy wondered how much longer it would be before there was any news. At the moment he had to believe that no news was good news.

It was another two and a half hours before Doctor Garret appeared. Fred and Daphne were both fully awake by then, having had a cup of coffee each from the vending machine in the hallway. Fred shot up immediately and approached the doctor. Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby and Karen were quick to follow.

"First of all," Doctor Garret began "She's lost a lot of blood and eight of her ribs are broken. There was a lot of internal bleeding and her spleen had to be removed," he paused waiting for the information to sink in. Seeing the anxious looks on the faces around him he continued "She came through surgery just fine but she has a long recovery ahead of her. It will be at least another week before she can be released from the hospital."

"But, she's gonna be fine, right?" Shaggy asked nervously.

"It will take time," Doctor Garret stressed "But she will be just fine."

"Can we see her?" Daphne asked.

"She was actually quite insistent on that," Doctor Garret grinned "She'd barely come out of the OR when she was demanding to see the other members of Mystery Inc." Doctor Garret chuckled "She's one persistent young lady."

Fred and Daphne laughed but Shaggy and Scooby who would normally have forced a chuckle in a similar situation simply sighed in relief.

XXX

Velma was lying in a bed in a private room. Her glasses were sitting on the table beside her. The blankets where pulled tight around her so that only her head was showing. The gang was taken aback by how pale she looked. Shaggy was the first to enter the room. He pulled a chair up right by the side of her bed and sat down. He took her hand in his as Scooby dropped into a sitting position by Shaggy's side.

"Ri Velma," Scooby whispered, craning his neck so that he could look directly in her face.

Velma smiled at him "Hey Scooby, hey Shaggy," she whispered.

"Like the rest of the gang's here too," Shaggy told her in a soft voice.

"Hi Fred, hi Daphne," Velma added with a wan smile as her free hand reached for her glasses. After a few seconds of feeling around the side table she located them and put them on.

"Hey Velma," Daphne said as she came further into the room "How are you feeling?"

Fred brought chairs over to the opposite side of the bed from where Shaggy and Scooby were for him and Daphne before taking a seat. He motioned to Daphne to take a seat beside him which she promptly did.

"I've felt better," Velma whispered in a weak sounding voice.

"I bet," Fred remarked. He earned himself 'you're not helping' looks from Shaggy, Daphne and Scooby for those words.

"Like they caught Chuck Joyce," Shaggy told Velma. He had already explained this all to Fred and Daphne earlier.

"That's good," Velma sighed.

"And Brianna, Caleb and Grace's aunt is here," Fred told her "Isn't that great news?" Again Shaggy Daphne and Scooby shot him the 'you're not helping look'. They hadn't wanted to tell Velma about that until a little later.

"Oh," Velma murmured "That's wonderful…" somehow she didn't sound nearly as excited about it as Fred did.

"Yeah," Fred continued, mistaking Velma's non excitement for exhaustion. "Now you don't have to worry about adopting them."

While Daphne and Scooby shot Fred the 'you're not helping' look again Shaggy just glared at him. "Like excuse me," he told Velma as he let go of her hand. He stood up and walked over to where Fred was sitting, yanking him up by his good arm. "Freddy, we like need to have a talk," Shaggy told the other young man as he dragged Fred into the hallway.

Daphne watched Fred and Shaggy leave "Jeepers, what do you think that was about?" she asked.

Velma closed her eyes "I really wanted to adopt those kids," she whispered "You know, I could have made it work."

"I knew you were attached to them," Daphne remarked "But when you said that you wanted to adopt them I just thought that was just you being you, you know, having a plan for everything. I didn't realize how invested you were in the idea."

Velma nodded slowly.

XXX

"Geez Shag," Fred said once they were standing in the hallway.

"You like crossed a line in there Fred," Shaggy told him "Velma really loves those kids and she like wanted to be with them forever. She wanted to be like their family."

Fred looked at his friend "I knew she was attached to them, we all are attached to them but I guess I didn't understand how attached…"

"Like, I guess you didn't," Shaggy replied, folding his arms.

"I just thought that she'd be relieved that they had someone to take care of them who was family," Fred said, feeling horrible about having said what he said to Velma.

"I'm sure she's like happy for them Fred," Shaggy shrugged "But you should have like been there when we did all that research on those adoption sites. She was like so excited about it. She was already like planning everything out."

Fred slumped against a wall "I didn't know she was so vested in this adoption thing…"

"Well, like she was," Shaggy said softly, letting his arms fall to his sides "And, like, so was I…"

XXX

"Well," Karen smiled as she slung one of the bags full of clothes that Shaggy and Velma had bought for the children over her shoulder "It looks like I won't have to do much in the way of shopping when we get back to California," she smiled as Daphne came out of one of the bedrooms carrying a bag of playthings.

"Yeah," Daphne returned Karen's smile "Make sure you take lots of pictures when you do get back."

"I will," Karen promised "We'll make sure to keep in touch…" she paused, looking down at the spot where Velma's blood was still visible on the carpet. The hotel staff had tried to clean it up but the stain stubbornly remained. Even faded it still reminded Karen of how far one of her new friends had been willing to go to protect her nieces and nephew.

Daphne had fallen silent as well, her eyes going to the same spot on the carpet. It had been nearly a week since that afternoon when Shaggy had found Velma lying on the floor so near death. Shaggy and Scooby had refused to set foot in the hotel room since and Daphne didn't blame them. She and Fred had taken up residence in the back of the Mystery Machine rather than be forced to walk past the place where one of their friends had almost died.

Karen had taken the children to a different hotel. Daphne and Karen had come to the room today to pack up the rest of the children's belongings so that they could leave. Karen's car was now repaired and she was eager to get the children back to her home in California and get them settled in.

"I think that's everything," Daphne finally said as she tore her gaze away from the carpet.

"Right," Karen nodded as she also shifted her gaze "Let's get these bags down to the car. I bet Fred is wondering what's taking us so long."

Daphne laughed then "The boy has no idea how to pack," she replied "If it were up to him half of everything he owns would be forgotten at every stop."

Karen giggled "Let's go," she lead the way out of the room and down to where Fred was waiting sitting in the driver's seat of Karen's car, keeping a watch on the three children as they napped in their car seats. Daphne and Karen loaded the bags into the back end of Karen's car before Karen took Fred's place at the wheel of the car "See you at the hospital," she told them. Fred and Daphne got into the Mystery Machine and followed Karen's car.

XXX

Shaggy stood beside Velma as she walked through the halls of the hospital. She was getting used to walking again per doctor's orders and she was finding herself a little shaky. Scooby was stood at her other side, offering support when she wavered in that direction. Velma took a few steps and found herself leaning against Shaggy. Shaggy's arms gently wrapped around her, careful not to hurt her broken ribs.

"Like, maybe that's enough for today?" Shaggy suggested, looking back down the hall in the direction of Velma's room.

"No, I think I have a few more steps in me," Velma replied, in spite of herself moving closer to Shaggy "If I'm gonna get out of here tomorrow I'd better make sure I can make it out of the front door."

Shaggy shook his head but agreed nonetheless "Like just a few more steps," he conceded.

A few more steps turned into the three of them circling all around the floor and ending up at the elevators. Velma paused to rest, leaning on Shaggy for support again. "That's definitely enough for today," she remarked.

"Like, sounds good to me," Shaggy smiled down at her.

Just then the elevator doors opened "Velma!" two little voices squealed as the owners of the voices ran forward to embrace her.

Velma smiled down at Brianna and Caleb "Hi you two," she replied as Shaggy, Scooby and Karen tried to keep the children from causing her any undo discomfort.

"Remember what we talked about?" Karen asked her niece and nephew softly "We have to be gentle because Velma's not feeling well."

Brianna and Caleb nodded before hugging Velma's legs.

Shaggy picked up Caleb and tickled the little boy "Like how are you doing little man?" he asked.

"Good," Caleb replied.

Eventually the group made its way to Velma's room. Shaggy helped Velma back into bed and the others settled themselves around the room. Karen gently placed Grace on Velma's chest before sitting in a nearby chair with Brianna on her lap. Fred and Daphne took seats at the foot of the bed. Shaggy sat in a chair beside the head of Velma's bed with Caleb on his lap. Scooby roamed the room, nuzzling every person in turn as a sort of reassurance to himself.

"So you'll be heading back to California today?" Velma asked sounding a bit saddened.

"Yep," Karen replied "I wanted to get Brianna and Caleb enrolled in school there. Also, my neighbor is having a barbecue tomorrow and she has a daughter Brianna's age."

"So like you'll keep in touch right?" Shaggy inquired.

"Of course," Karen smiled "I'll be sure to send you guys plenty of pictures and I hope you'll come visit us."

"Just try and keep us away," Daphne grinned as Brianna slid off of her aunt's lap and went over to give Scooby a big hug.

Karen and the children stayed for another half hour before it was time to leave. Fred and Daphne walked with them down to Karen's car. Scooby trotted after them in hopes of one final goodbye to the children. This left Shaggy and Velma alone.

"I can't wait to get out of this place," Velma said quietly "I hate hospitals."

Shaggy nodded "Yeah, like me too," he agreed.

Velma turned to look at Shaggy "I'm glad you're here," she said, extending a hand towards him.

Shaggy took her hand and smiled "I like wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he told her.

Velma looked confused for a moment "You just said you hated hospitals."

Shaggy laughed "Velma, you're like the smart one, I like shouldn't have to explain to you that it's being with you that I like even if we're in a hospital."

Velma laughed and hid her face as a blush crept over her cheeks "I guess I should have figured that one out huh?"

"Like, it's okay," Shaggy told her.

Velma grinned, looking up at him again "I can't wait to get home though," she told him.

"Like me either," he replied "So, like I was wondering…" he trailed off.

"What is it Shaggy?" Velma inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Like when we get home…?" Shaggy began "Like, maybe, you could move all of your stuff into my room?"

Velma chuckled "My room is already across the hall from yours," she reminded him.

"Yeah," Shaggy nodded "But like I thought that maybe…" he trailed off.

Velma realized the meaning behind Shaggy's words "Oh…" she murmured "Shaggy, I…" she didn't know how to tell him that she thought things were going too fast.

Shaggy looked away for a moment "Like I thought that…"

Velma felt incredibly awkward "Shaggy," she began "I realy like you a lot… but I really don't feel ready to… you know…"

"Oh," Shaggy exclaimed "No, like I wasn't talking about… I was just like suggesting that we share my room. It's like bigger than yours and Scooby doesn't take up that much space and like…"

Velma sighed in relief "I'll think about it Shaggy," she told him with a smile.

XXX

Velma sat in the back of the Mystery Machine listening to Daphne and Fred arguing. She had just been released from the hospital earlier that day and the gang was ready to head back to Coolsville. Velma closed her eyes and tried to relax.

"You better believe you're not going to be driving with one of your arms still in a cast," Daphne was saying to Fred.

"Well, you can't drive," Fred agrued.

"And why is that?" Daphne asked. Fred opened his mouth to speak but Daphne cut him off "If the next words out of your mouth are 'because you're a girl' you can just walk all the way back to Ohio!"

"That's not what I was going to say," Fred protested "I was going to say that you've never driven the Mystery Machine before."

"Not that you know of," Daphne laughed as she jumped in the driver's seat. Fred begrudgingly took the passenger's seat and they were soon underway.

It was an hour later that Shaggy tapped Velma on the shoulder. She turned to look at him "Like, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"A little sore," she admitted "The pain medication is very helpful though."

Shaggy smiled at her "Like I'm glad that you're not in too much pain." He scooted closer to her and dropped an arm around her waist.

Velma leaned against him and he shifted so that she could be more comfortable. Before she knew it she was asleep. Shaggy looked down at her and smiled. He dropped a kiss to her forehead. Those pain pills must have been pretty strong, he thought to himself as he watched her sleep. Scooby Doo made his way over and nestled himself down beside Velma.

Shaggy smiled to himself. They had come through this vacation a little worse for wear than they usually did but they had come through it just the same. At the end of the day, he still had his friends, his family, and that was all that mattered. He pressed another soft kiss to Velma's forehead as he thought to himself that things could only get better.

THE END

A/N: So that was the end of "Family Matters" I'm currently working on a sequel entitled "Mysteries and Miracles" which will be more along the lines of a regular Scooby Doo episode/movie only with the characters having been changed by the experiences of this story. I don't have an ETA on the sequel but keep an eye out. I'd like to take this time to thank some of my more loyal reviewers. Daphnefred4ever your reviews are so delightful to read and they really bring me a great deal of joy, you're the reason I posted this whole thing in like three days. SpongeAddict, you are a true, blue, loyal reader. RussM, you're encouragement means the world to me. To anyone who I missed, I apologize but I don't always remember everyone off the top of my head.