After Fluey finally woke up, Big D called in the doctors immediately, as well as calling Coiley, Multi, Phyllis, and the girls, who raced over as fast as they could. After some tests and examinations, the doctors decided to take Fluey off the life support machines, but they were still leaving him in intensive care for the time being. He still had pneumonia, and the doctors wanted to keep Fluey in the hospital until his fever went down to the moderate category. The minute the doctors were finished, Phyllis, the other two Impossibles, and the three girls arrived. Danalleah immediately raced into the room, and flung her arms around Fluey's neck, crying.
"Oh, Fluey, I'm so glad you woke up!" she shouted, and she began smothering him with kisses.
"Yeah, you really scared us for a minute," Multi said. "You've been in a coma for nearly six weeks now."
"Six weeks?" Fluey repeated, as Danalleah continued kissing him. "Hmm. Remind me to go into a coma more often!"
"Excuse me?" Big D asked, giving Fluey a look.
"I'm just kidding, Big D!" Fluey shouted.
"Don't ever do that," Big D said. "Your sister and I were extremely worried about you, young man!"
"I'm sorry, chief," Fluey said. "It's just that . . . . . wait a minute. Did you just say my sister?"
"I did," Big D replied.
"But . . . . but I don't have a sister . . . . ." Fluey said, a little confused.
"You do," Phyllis said. "See, we had another family secret revealed. Big D's my grandfather, not my father. He just said he was my father because when I was born, it was considered a social stigma to have a child out of wedlock, and the fact that Jack was only sixteen when I was born didn't help matters, either."
"Oh," Fluey said, not sure he understood the explanation. "Well . . . . . I guess that explains the huge age gap between you guys. Hey, what happened to the Shadow, anyway?"
"We're not sure," Big D said. "He went over the cliff, but we're not sure if he survived the fall or not."
"The search party found his clothes, but not a body," Shawn said. "So that only means he might be dead, or he might be alive."
"One thing's for sure, until a body is found, I won't believe he's dead," Big D replied. "And, if he is still alive, I have no doubt he may try to go after either you, or Phyllis, again. But most likely, he'll come after you, Fluid."
"What makes you say that?" Fluey asked.
"You're not well," Big D went on. "It would be easier for him to capture you, due to the fact that you'll end up using up any strength you have struggling and attempting to fight back."
"That's why the chief's posted guards outside the door," Phyllis said.
"And until we positively identify the whereabouts of the Shadow," Big D continued, "I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you from him."
"I hate to interrupt," a doctor said, coming into the room. "But I suggest you all go now and let Franklin get some rest."
"Are you going to stay here again, chief?" Coiley asked.
"No, since he's off life support, I think it's time I head back and get some sleep," Big D said, patting Fluey's shoulder. "And I suggest you do the same, young man."
"Is that an order?" Fluey asked.
"Yes," Big D replied, tousling Fluey's hair a bit. Phyllis laughed, then leaned over, and gave Fluey's forehead a kiss.
"See you tomorrow, Fluey," she said. And with that, the group left. Fluey closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep. Upon leaving the room, Big D turned to the two agents on watch.
"I want to make this clear," he said to them. "I don't want anyone, other than the doctors, nurses, myself, or anyone else that has been here today entering that room. Agents Phelps, Johnson, and Rogers are also permitted, but only after checking their identification. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir!" the two agents shouted, saluting.
Big D nodded, and left the hospital. He was a little apprehensive leaving Fluey alone, just in case the Shadow was still at large, but there were two burly agents standing watch, anyway.
Around midnight, the doctor who had been handling the case was heading for the hospital parking lot, ready to call it a night. As he rounded a corner, a hand came out from the alley, clamped over the doctor's mouth, and pulled him into the shadows.
Moments later, the doctor stepped back out of the alley, and went back toward the hospital.
"Hello, doctor," a nurse said. "I thought you had left already."
"I forgot my keys," the doctor said, checking over a patient list. The nurse said nothing more, and the doctor went toward the elevator. Grabbing a nearby gurney, he began pushing it down the hallway toward ICU, and Fluey's room. He held out his identification for the guards to inspect.
"I want him moved to another room," the doctor explained. "He's well enough to be taken out of this section."
The guards nodded, and allowed the doctor to go into the room. Once inside, the doctor turned on the light so he could see what he was doing, and then closed the door.
"This isn't going to be easy," he said. He went straight for the metal stand connected to the IV going into Fluey's arm. He slowly began to remove the needle.
Fluey began stirring, wincing a bit at the sudden painful sensation in his hand. He groaned, and slowly opened his eyes, only to find a doctor standing there, trying to remove the IV.
"What are you doing?" he asked, a little confused. The doctor finally got the tube out, and pulled a handkerchief and a bottle out of his coat.
"That's for me to know and you to find out, little one," the doctor said, pouring the contents of the bottle onto the handkerchief. Fluey immediately recognized the voice, and gasped.
"The Shadow!" he shouted. "Somebody hel--"
Before Fluey could finish the call for help, the Shadow pressed his handkerchief over Fluey's nose and mouth. Fluey struggled and tried to pull away before he could lose consciousness, but it was no use. He was out like a light in a matter of seconds. The Shadow laughed, and lifted Fluey onto the gurney. He was about to leave the room, when suddenly, he found himself face to face with Big D.
"Going somewhere, doctor?" he asked. He reached forward, and ripped the false beard and mustache off the alleged doctor, as well as the toupee he was wearing.
"I assume you must be the Shadow," he said.
"Drat you, Dawson!" the Shadow shouted. "How did you find out?!"
"Simple. I decided to come back here to keep an eye on Fluid myself. I came across an alley where I had found the doctor who had been managing this case there, bound and gagged, and I talked to the guards I had posted outside."
Before the Shadow could say anything more, Big D back flipped, and gave the Shadow a karate chop to the stomach, and a hard left cross to the jaw. The Shadow was unprepared for the attack, and he ended up stumbling backwards into the wall. But he wasn't licked yet. He grabbed a nearby tray of doctor's instruments and hurled it at Big D. Big D ducked, but managed to reach up and grab a syringe, filled with some kind of liquid. He took careful aim, and tossed it. The Shadow saw it coming, and he ducked.
"You missed, Dawson!" he laughed. Suddenly, he felt something jab him in the rear end, like a needle. He backed into the wall, which pushed down on the plunger, injecting the liquid into the Shadow's system. And, as luck would have it, the syringe happened to be filled with a sedative.
"Goodnight," the Shadow groaned, and he fell to the floor, flat on his face.
"The ol' Australian Boomerang throw works every time," Big D said, smugly, handcuffing the Shadow behind his back. Then he pulled the criminal to his feet, and handed him over to the two guards.
"Lock him up and throw away the key!" he shouted. "And put him some place where he can't escape!"
"Yes sir!" the two guards shouted, saluting. Once they left, Big D walked over to the gurney, lifted Fluey off it, carried him back to the bed, and re-attached the IV. Fluey then slowly began coming to.
"Ooohh . . . . ." he moaned, looking up at the chief. "What . . . . . happened?"
"Take it easy, you're all right now," Big D said, stroking his grandson's hair. Fluey then remembered something, and sat up in bed so fast, he nearly yanked the IV tube out of his hand.
"The Shadow!" he shouted. "The . . . . the Shadow was in here and he . . . . ."
"I know, I know," Big D said, calmly, gently pushing Fluey back down into bed. He then wrung out a washcloth from a nearby basin of water and pressed it against Fluey's forehead. "It's been taken care of."
"It has? But . . . . but how did you know to come here, chief? I didn't get a chance to call for help before the Shadow chloroformed me."
"Well, ever since the Shadow made his first appearance weeks ago, I've turned into a bit of a mother hen. I found I couldn't relax, so I came back to check on you. And it's a good thing I did!"
"Yeah, that's for sure."
"And with any luck, now that I've finally captured him, we'll be able to put him away for good."
"Don't sweat it, chief. I'm ready, willing, and able to testify against him. One look at my shoulder, and they'll send him up the river."
Big D merely nodded, and pulled up a chair, prepared to face another all nighter if he had to. A couple of doctors came into the room to make sure everything was all right. One of them gave Fluey a sleeping pill to help him relax after everything that had happened that night. Slowly, he fell into a deep sleep. Big D just stroked his hair, happy to finally see things getting back to normal.
The End