so sorry for the long wait - but here it is! the final chapter!
enjoy!
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When I woke again, it was morning and Gus was sitting beside my bed, slumped in a hard plastic chair, looking bored.
"Hey, Buddy," I whispered.
Gus leaned forward. "Hey yourself," He said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"
I took a deep breath, wincing as pain ran through my ribs. "I've been better. But I'll live thanks to you."
I noticed that Gus, even though he was smiling, was avoiding looking me in the eye.
"Gus?"
Gus raised his head a bit, still avoiding eye contact. "Yeah?"
I sighed. "What's wrong?"
Gus was silent for a moment. Then he looked up, finally meeting my gaze.
"I-it sort of just hit me, just now," He began, looking at the floor again. "We almost died. We could have died Normally, when we're in those situations, I think about it the whole time and you laugh at me for panicking and everything turns out alright. But I didn't think, I just sort of did it, you know?"
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Gus, you were so brave," I said, feeling a lump in my throat. "Seriously. I wouldn't have made it without you."
I held out a limp fist. But Gus stood instead and hugged me gently but firmly. I hugged him right back and patted him on the back when he started to cry a little.
Movement from the doorway caught my eye and I saw Juliet and Lassie walking in with my dad right behind them.
Gus heard them and back quickly out of the hug, wiping at his eyes and sitting back in the chair.
"Jules! Lassie!" I smiled a little, but my voice sounded funny since I was currently trying to swallow the lump that was still in my throat.
"Shawn, how are you feeling?" Juliet asked, coming over to the side of the bed.
I gave a small half-shrug. "I'm hanging in there," I said.
Juliet gave my hand a gentle squeaze. "I'm so glad your okay."
"Guster, are you okay?"
I turned my head and saw Lassie walking closer to where Gus was sitting. Gus was still crying and trying unsuccesfully to hide it.
"I-I'm okay," Gus said, but one look at him told me otherwise.
"Gus, come here, Buddy," I said, suddenly feeling tired again.
Gus came closer, blinking hard. I knew he needed assurance that it was all going to be okay. I could almost see what was going on in his mind - he'd managed to forget everything around him because I had been in danger. And now he was going into shock because it had all come crashing down on him.
I reached out my hand and he took it. "Gus, it's okay. You did great, Buddy. You saved my life."
Gus took a deep breath, nodding. "Thanks, Shawn," He said quietly. "You saved mine too."
Lassie cleared his throat ans I looked up in time to see him roll his eyes. But there was a playful smile on his lips and Gus laughed a little and I did too.
"By the way, O'Hara and I have news for you. After we brought Goodard in, we grilled him, trying to find out what he was hiding. We got nowhere with it until Gus told us about the cabin you two were locked in."
"We searched that cabin and found millions of dollars worth of weed and crack that Goodard was going to sell on the black market," Juliet said.
I raised my eyebrows. "Wow, who knew, right?"
I looked at Gus, who already looked a little less upset. I gave him a little nod and he gave me one right back. He was okay. I was okay.
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THE END
I hope you liked the ending - I had a hard time trying to end it.
thank you all for all of the epic reviews! I am so glad for your support and your enjoyment of my story! stay tuned on my page for a new story coming soon! it's gonna be epic and have lots of whump so don't miss out! :)
