Archie waited for Drew at the front entrance of Degrassi, and Drew could tell from the look on his grandpa's face that something was wrong.
"Grandpa, what's the matter?"
Archie placed his hand on Drew's left shoulder and said, "They admitted your dad into the hospital, kiddo."
Drew's eyes grew wide, and he asked, "Is mom there with him?"
"Yes, she is, and she wanted you to be there too if you're up to it."
Drew nodded, "Yes, I want to see my dad."
"Okay. I can take you."
Drew shook his head, "I knew something was wrong with him this morning. His eyes looked weird."
Archie asked, "They did?"
Drew nodded, "Yeah. It was like they couldn't focus."
"Head injuries are tricky, but the hospital is the best place for him." Archie said, "Just give me two minutes, and I can take you over there, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, grandpa."
Drew stood by the doors, and Oliver walked up to him. "Hey man, how's your dad?"
"He's back in the hospital." Drew's eyes filled with tears, "He's in bad shape."
Oliver didn't know what to say, "Wow. Drew, I'm so sorry."
Drew wiped his face and said, "Thanks, we're going over there now."
"Well, I hope he feels better soon." Oliver was about to walk out, then he turned to Drew and said, "Call me if you need me, okay?"
Drew nodded and said, "Okay."
Oliver walked outside, and Archie walked over to Drew, "Ready?"
"Yes."
"Let's go."
Manny stepped out of the elevator and looked at the signs. Room 416 was to the left, so she made her way down the hall.
Emma was in Sean's room, holding his hand. He had nodded off while she was making her calls. The doctor had given him a sedative so he could rest, and so far, it was working.
Manny whispered, "Hey, babe."
Emma wiped off her face, "Thank you for coming."
She looked at Sean and asked, "So how is he?"
"The injury is worse than they thought. And the doctors felt it would be better for him to be here so they can monitor him."
Manny nodded and walked over to Emma. "I'm sorry this is happening."
"I'm just so glad you're here right now."
"I hate that I have to leave you in a few days."
"You can't put your career on hold. This pilot is a big opportunity for you." Manny nodded, then Emma asked, "Did you tell Jay?"
"Yeah, he'll be over after he helps Pete close up the shop."
Emma stood up, "Let's go outside so we can talk."
They left Sean's room and closed his door so that he wouldn't be disturbed.
Manny looked at Emma and asked, "So how are you?"
"I'm terrified, Manny. Drew finally has his dad in his life, and I couldn't bear it if something happened to him."
Manny hugged her, "They will take good care of Sean here, Em. I know it."
"I hope so." She pulled away and wiped her face again. "I can't be a wreck when Drew gets here. He's scared enough as it is."
"Is Archie bringing him?"
Emma nodded, "Yep. They should be here any minute."
Manny looked down the hall and waved at Archie and Drew. "Perfect timing."
Drew jogged to his mom, "Where is he? Can I see him?"
Emma cupped Drew's face in her hands, "Sweetie, your dad is asleep so you can go in there but just be quiet." She fixed his hair and said, "The doctor gave him something to help with the pain and help him sleep."
"So, he won't have nightmares?"
Emma shook her head, "He shouldn't. No."
Drew nodded, "Good. So can I see him?"
"Yes," Emma linked arms with Drew, and they walked over to the door. She opened the door and let Drew walk in ahead of her.
He walked over to his father's bed and looked at him. Sean looked relaxed as he slept, and the swelling had gone down a bit on the left side of his face.
Emma joined Drew and asked, "Are you okay, kiddo?"
Drew nodded, "He looks better. Not as swollen."
Emma smiled, "Yeah, thank goodness, some wounds are healing."
"Just not the head wound, right?"
"It's just going to take a little longer." Emma wrapped her arm around Drew and rubbed his shoulder.
"Mom, let's wait to have my birthday party."
"Are you sure? You could still have some friends over this weekend if you want. To take your mind off this."
Drew shook his head and said, "I want dad to be there to celebrate with me, so if we have to wait until later this month or even April, that's fine."
Emma smiled at her son and kissed his cheek, "You're a good kid." Drew rolled his eyes, and she squeezed him, "You are."
"Thanks."
A couple of hours later, Sean was still sleeping, and Archie was about to take Drew home.
Drew shook his head and looked at Sean, sleeping, "I don't want to go home yet. I want to be here when dad wakes up."
Emma said, "Sweetie, we're not sure when that'll be. He hadn't had a lot of sleep, and what the doctor gave him will help him catch up."
Drew pouted then said, "Fine."
"I will call you when he wakes up, okay? As long as it's before your bedtime."
"Okay."
"Now, please try to do your homework tonight. I know that it'll be hard to concentrate, but I don't want you to fall any further behind in your classes."
Drew nodded. "I'll try."
Archie said, "I'll hang out with him and help him if he needs it."
"Thanks, dad." Emma hugged Archie, "For everything."
"You're welcome." He pulled away and said, "Your mom will sleepover tonight."
Emma smiled, "Tell her she can sleep in my room."
"Will do. Call me if you need anything."
"I will."
Drew hugged his mom and said, "Don't forget to call me if he wakes up."
"I won't."
Drew and Archie walked out, and Emma sat back down in the chair next to Sean's bed.
Manny walked back in and said, "You need to eat something."
Emma shook her head, "I don't want to leave him."
"I'm not asking you to. I'm going to the cafeteria, and I'm getting something for you."
Emma smiled and said, "Thank you." She looked past Manny and asked, "Where's Jay?"
"He's on his way. He said he had a busy day and wanted to shower before he came over here."
Emma nodded.
"I'll be back in a bit."
"Thank you."
Manny winked at Emma and walked out.
Sean stirred a bit and called out Emma's name. "Emma."
"I'm right here."
Sean opened his eyes and focused on her, "Hey, gorgeous."
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired."
She kissed his hand, "The doctor gave you something so you could sleep."
He nodded, "Oh, okay."
"Drew was here earlier."
Sean sighed, "I'm sorry I missed him. Is he okay?"
"He's worried about you. We all are."
Sean nodded, "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."
He closed his eyes, "I'm so tired."
She rubbed his hand, "Go back to sleep. You'll feel better."
"Okay." He opened his eyes, focused on her again, and smiled, "I love you, Em."
She smiled back and said, "I love you too."
He fell asleep again, and she held onto his hand.
A few minutes later, Jay knocked on the door, and Emma smiled when he walked in. He looked at Sean and asked, "So how is he?"
"He just woke up for a few moments."
"Oh, yeah?"
Emma nodded and looked at Sean, "Yeah, I think he should sleep. It's better for him."
"Where's Manny?"
"She went down to get me something to eat."
Jay stood on the other side of the bed and looked at Sean, "Em, I was fucking terrified when I found him." Emma nodded. "He wouldn't wake up, and I thought the worst."
She shook her head and said, "I can't imagine what that was like for you."
"I was so relieved when he woke up."
Emma smiled and said, "I'm glad you were there, Jay."
He nodded, "Pete said that while Sean is in here, we will set up a buddy system, so no one closes the shop alone."
"You should keep that system after he gets better too."
Jay nodded. "We will."
Manny walked in, "Hey. I got you a salad."
"Thanks."
She handed it to Emma and walked over to Jay, "Are you okay?"
He nodded and stared at Sean.
Drew tried to do his homework, but he couldn't stop thinking about his dad.
Archie knocked on his door, "Drew?"
"Yeah, come in."
Archie walked into Drew's room and asked, "How's it going?"
Drew shook his head, "Not well. I can't concentrate at all."
Archie sat on the end of Drew's bed and said, "I don't blame you."
"I know mom wanted me to try to do my homework and I did, I really did."
Archie asked, "Do you want to stay home from school tomorrow?"
Drew asked, "You'll let me?"
Archie nodded, "You won't be able to concentrate there either."
"But, I already missed a day this week."
"It's okay. I can explain everything to your teachers, and they will give me your work for the weekend."
Drew said, "Thanks, grandpa. I really mean it."
"You're welcome. Just try to do something, so you're not so behind."
Drew nodded, "I will."
Archie stood up and said, "Your grandma will be here with you tonight."
"Do you know if dad woke up at all?"
Archie shook his head, "I don't know, but your mom did say she'd call you if he did."
"Can I see him tomorrow?"
"Of course. Someone will take you there in the morning." Archie stood up and said, "Either grandma or Aunt Manny."
Drew nodded. "Thanks again."
"No problem." Archie walked out of Drew's room and closed his door.
Manny and Jay stayed with Emma for a few hours.
"Em, are you going to stay here?"
She nodded.
"Who's with Drew?"
"My mom is sleeping over."
"Do you need me to stay at Jay's?"
Emma shook her head and said, "No, you can stay in the basement if you want." Emma looked at Jay and said, "You too."
Jay smiled and asked, "Do you need us to bring you anything tomorrow? I can drop stuff off before work."
"I'm okay for now. Thanks." She looked at Manny and said, "Drew is staying home from school tomorrow, so if you can bring him here, that would be great."
"Of course." Manny hugged her and said, "Let us know if you change your mind about us bringing you something, okay?"
Emma nodded, "I'm sorry he didn't wake up while you were here."
Jay looked at Sean and said, "It's better that he sleeps, right?"
"Yeah." Emma held Sean's hand. "But I wish he'd wake up so I know he's okay."
Manny placed her hand on Emma's shoulder. "He will."
The hospital allowed Emma to stay in Sean's room, and they set up a cot for her. She kissed Sean before she got settled in the cot, and she fell asleep within minutes. A few minutes later, Sean stirred and looked around. He forgot where he was at first, and then Sean saw Emma lying down, saw the IV in his arm, and he remembered. He watched her sleep for a little while, but he couldn't keep his eyes open and fell back to sleep.
Drew lay awake in his bed. He checked his clock, and it was nearly 2 a.m. He wondered what was happening with his dad, but he had no way of finding out. He turned over and tried to fall asleep.
Emma woke up early in the morning when a nurse came in to check up on Sean.
The nurse smiled at her and apologized, "I'm sorry if I woke you."
"It's okay." Emma sat up, "I'm not sleeping a lot these days, anyway."
"He's looking a lot better."
Emma nodded. "Yeah, I just wish the head wound would heal a little quicker."
"These things take time." The nurse wrote some stuff down, "But so far, so good."
Emma stood up and walked over to Sean, "That's good to hear."
"I can come by later and bring you some breakfast if you like."
"Oh, that's okay. I can go to the cafeteria, but thank you for the offer."
"You're welcome."
When the nurse walked out, Emma got into the bed with Sean and snuggled up against him. He stirred, looked at her, and asked, "Emma? Is that you?"
"Yeah, hi. How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"Can you tell your dad I'm sorry for stealing his laptop?"
Emma cocked her head to the side and asked, "What?"
"I was a jerk, Em. I was mad at you, I wasn't thinking straight, and I took Snake's laptop. So please tell him I'm sorry. Okay?"
Emma held his hand and said, "Okay."
"I'll spend all summer making it up to both of you, I swear."
Emma smiled, "I know you will, Sean."
"Good." He looked at her and said, "I'm so tired, Em. Would you mind if I went to sleep again?"
"Not at all."
"Okay. I still love you. You know that, right?"
Emma nodded and smiled.
"Good." Sean closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Emma couldn't believe what just happened and hoped it wasn't a sign that Sean's head wound was getting worse. She stayed in bed with him for another hour but got up when the nurse came back in.
"Good morning."
"Hi."
The nurse asked, "Did he wake up?"
"He did."
"That's good."
Emma shrugged, "I don't know. He thought he was 15 again."
The nurse looked at her, "He did?"
Emma nodded and looked at Sean, "He apologized for something he did back in high school and thought he had just done it."
"It's probably the meds. Not the head injury. They make you kind of loopy."
"I really hope so."
"Don't worry. He's healing well and being sedated is helping." The nurse checked his wound and said, "He may just be a little out of sorts because of the meds so don't be alarmed if something like that happens again."
Emma nodded, "Thanks."
The nurse asked again, "Are you sure you don't want breakfast? I can bring you something."
Emma smiled and said, "My friends will be coming in a bit. I can get something then."
"Okay."
The nurse walked out, and Emma sat down next to Sean. She caressed the right side of his face, and he moved his face against her hand. "Sean?"
He opened his eyes and smiled, "Hi, gorgeous."
"Hi, how are you feeling?"
"Okay. I'm exhausted." He looked at her, "How long have I been here?"
"Just a day. Not too long."
"It feels like I've been here for years."
"It's the meds."
He nodded and asked, "How's Drew? Is it his birthday yet?"
"Yes."
Sean closed his eyes and said, "I can't believe I'm missing it."
"Don't worry, babe. He understands. He just wants you to feel better. We all do."
He nodded and opened his eyes again, "When I get out of here, after we celebrate Drew's birthday, I want to get married as soon as possible."
Emma smiled, "Really?"
Sean nodded, "Yes. I already know which ring I want to give you." He looked at her and said, "I probably shouldn't have said that huh?"
Emma laughed, "It's fine. Don't worry."
"I guess we can blame the head injury."
"Sean!"
He smiled, "I'm going back to sleep."
"Okay." She kissed him and smiled, "I love you."
"I love you too." He closed his eyes, and she watched him sleep for a little while.
Jay dropped off Manny and Drew at the hospital early in the morning, and they went straight to Sean's room. Manny knocked on the door, opened it, and saw Emma and Sean asleep in his bed. She turned to Drew, put her finger to her mouth, and he nodded. Manny smiled at the sight of them and quietly walked over to the chair next to the bed. Drew looked at his parents and walked over to Sean's bed. He looked at Manny and whispered, "They really do love each other a lot."
Manny smiled and nodded, "They certainly do."
A few minutes later, Emma woke up.
Manny whispered, "Good morning."
Emma smiled and sat up, "Hi." She looked at Drew and reached out her hand, "Come here, sweetie. Happy Birthday."
"Thanks." He walked around to the other side of the bed, stood next to his parents and asked, "How is he?"
"He's okay. He's sleeping a lot."
"Is that good?"
Emma nodded, "The nurse says he's healing well."
Manny asked, "Did you eat yet?"
Emma shook her head, "No, and I need coffee badly."
"You also need to go home, shower, and change."
Emma shook her head again and said, "No, I don't want to leave him."
"It will only be for a little while, and we can stay with him while you're gone. It'll be fine."
Emma looked at Drew, who nodded and said, "I don't mind staying here, mom."
She smiled at her son and said, "Okay." Then asked Manny, "How am I getting home?"
Manny said, "We can order an Uber for you."
Emma nodded, "Right, and then I can bring my car here later."
"See? Perfect."
Emma got off the bed, and Sean stirred, "Em?" He opened his eyes and saw Drew, "Hey buddy, how are you?"
Drew said, "Forget about me. How are you?"
"Pretty exhausted, but my head doesn't hurt anymore."
Drew smiled and said, "That's good."
"I'm glad you're here." Sean reached out and held Drew's hand.
Drew said, "You look better."
Sean said, "Oh yeah? Is my face not as swollen?" Drew nodded. "So, I'm not as ugly as I was a couple of days ago?"
Emma scoffed, "As if you could be ugly."
Sean joked, "I don't know. I was looking pretty rough there."
Drew shook his head.
Emma looked at Sean and said, "I was heading home just to shower and change."
"Yeah, I didn't want to tell you, but you were smelling ripe, Em."
"Sean!"
"I'm kidding." He yawned and said, "I'm tired again."
Emma caressed his face and said, "Go back to sleep. We'll be here when you wake up."
"Okay," Sean looked at Emma and Drew and said, "I really love you guys."
Drew smiled and said, "We love you too, dad."
Sean smiled then said, "Oh, and Happy Birthday, kiddo."
"Thanks, dad."
Sean closed his eyes and went back to sleep
Emma wiped a tear from her face and took a deep breath, "I'm glad you were here for that."
Drew hugged his mother and said, "Me too."
