Title: Late Night Therapy

Author: Sassy

Rating: G

Pairing: None

Disclaimer: I don't own Shawn nor do I own the idea of The 4400, but I do own Ambria.

Genre: Angst.

Summary: Set during the Pilot, The 4400 are still in quarantine. Shawn can't sleep, so he takes a walk around the room and ends up having a late night therapy session with another 4400. This idea popped into my head, thanks to the muses, and I couldn't focus on any of my other stories until I got this one written. So forgive me if it's dumb, at least my muse stopped bugging me about this one.

Late Night Therapy

Shawn Farrell sighed loudly and threw the pillow that had more cardboard-like qualities than pillow-like qualities down on the government-issue cot. He was so tired of quarantine. It was ridiculous. He wasn't contagious and he wasn't about to hurt anyone, unless they didn't let him out soon. All he wanted was to curl up in a ball in his own bed and sleep with his own soft pillow with his own comforter around him. He grunted, a loud noise in the otherwise silent common room. Homeland Security had split them up into different rooms, but each room held at least 500 beds. There were so many of them, they didn't have enough room for them. So 500 of the returnees got to share one big bedroom. It was obnoxious and not exactly conducive of privacy. It was long after midnight, so most of the returnees were asleep. The ones that were awake didn't speak, so not to disturb the ones trying to. Shawn decided he could get up and at least walk around if he were quiet. He walked slowly through one long row of beds, his eyes falling on all different ages and ethnicities of people. One little boy slept curled with a teddy bear, another set of twins that were about 28 slept facing each other. A big, Indian looking man lay on his stomach, his face almost completely covered by the pillow. Shawn wondered how for a moment how they were all connected. There was no real obvious connection between them, other than the fact they were all 4400. That's what the television was calling them. The 4400. It was an odd name that clumped them all together when in reality they were each very individual. He wondered if everyone would clump them into that group if they ever got out of there. Shawn glanced at one girl with short blond hair who appeared to be about 20. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady and deep. She was pretty and almost peaceful. He paused for a moment, as if to absorb that peace, but her eyes popped open.

"You're awake?" Shawn whispered.

"Yeah. This cot is not exactly comfort inducing." She smiled at him brightly, her white teeth shining almost eerily in the darkness that enveloped the room.

"I know. That's why I'm walking around. I'm Shawn Farrell."
"Ambria Dawson. I was taken in 1997. You?"

"2001."
"You made it into the next century. That's exciting."

"You did, too."

"I meant like you actually got to see the ball drop in Times Square for it, Dick Clark's oldie but goodie voice droning in the background."

Shawn smiled for almost the first time since he'd returned. He had mostly sat sullenly, wondering about where they had been and thinking about Kyle since that pleasant visit with Uncle Tommy.

"I did see that. Home with my family and everything."

Ambria sat up, lifting her knees to her chin, her back against the wall. She patted the side of the cot for Shawn to take a seat on. He did, not too reluctantly, but looked around the cot. People were sleeping around them.

"Oh, don't worry about them. They're out as soon as they fall asleep. Believe me, I know. He snores, she breathes way too heavily, and that one talks in her sleep."

Shawn laughed lightly as he made himself comfortable, or as comfortable as possible, in his new spot.

"Tell me about your family, Shawn."
"Did you wanna be a shrink before you left?"

"Naw. I just wanted to ask you-"

"I have my mom and my brother, Danny. My dad ran out on us when I was little. My mom's brother, Uncle Tommy and his wife, Linda, were around a lot before I was taken. Their son, Kyle, was my best friend. I was with him the night I was taken."

Ambria's eyes widened and Shawn noticed they were a startling blue.

"Do you remember things about when you were taken?"

Shawn bit on his lip nervously as he tried to recall his last moments with Kyle.

"We were drinking by the ocean. We had a bonfire and we were talking about my neighbor, Nikki."
"Girlfriend?"

"No. She's fourteen."
"Was."

"Yeah. Was. That's the last thing I remember. It's weird, isn't it? That I can't remember more."

"No. It's not. The last thing I remember was hanging out with my best friend, Gillian. She left to get something to drink and I was alone in my room, listening to the radio. Hanson was on, singing that song, MMMBop. They played that a lot in '97. Are they still around?"
"Sort of."

She laughed. "Hopefully singing better songs than MMMBop. That was the first song I thought of when we got back. Anyway, I was humming along to it, flipping through a magazine and then nothing. I have no memory of anything happening. I half expect Gillian to come up the stairs and bursting into my room with a Coke."

Shawn nodded knowingly.

"I feel that way. I keep waiting for us to go home and Uncle Tommy waiting to bust us for drinking."

Ambria tilted her head at him as if something important had just fallen into her head.

"Do you think things will be normal when we get to leave? Do you think we'll ever get to leave here?"

Shawn shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the position he wanted to be in. The tan suit they were forced to wear was itchy, not exactly designer cloth. He finally settled on lying on his stomach, his arms propping up his chin.

"I don't know. I think we'll leave here. I do. They can't keep us locked up forever. We haven't done anything wrong, so they can't legally hold us. I don't think.

"I think things will be different from what we remember, but our families are going to be happy we're back. I know my mom and Danny will be. I was close to my brother before and I miss him. I miss my friends too. I mean, I guess they're in college now, but they'll be glad I'm back."

"Yeah, they'll be glad, but won't things be different? You've been missing for three years and life went on without you. Just like life went on without me. Our families and friends are going to be different. Older, unlike us, more mature, unlike us.

"You and I are exactly the same as we were when we were taken, except the fact that we were taken. That will change us, too. We'll have to adjust to the change in the world. We'll have to adjust to how our friends and families have changed too. They had to move on without us. They probably thought we were dead, Shawn. I mean, if someone I knew had been missing for seven years, I would think they were dead. And while now they know we aren't dead, they'll have to get used to having us around again."

"That's a pretty dismal view of our return."

Ambria shrugged non-chalantly, as if her view was perfectly normal.

"I guess, but what do you expect? I don't know where I've been for the last seven years and then I'm going to be locked up in this room for who knows how long. I still feel and look like I'm 19, but really; I should be 26. But I'm not."

"I've been missing for three years, Ambria. I still look and feel like I'm seventeen. My friends are going to be in college and I still have another year of high school to complete, if and when we get out of here. My best friend, my cousin, is in a coma. He has been since the day I left. It's insane, but you can't lose hope. I can't. I have to hope things will be okay. Because if they aren't, I might go crazy. And think of the publicity that would bring us. One of The 4400 Crazy from Return."

"That is a horrible name they gave us. Like we're all one big person."

"That's what I thought."

"I'm more than a number."
"So am I."

"But I'm afraid that's what we're going to be when we get out there."

Shawn squeezed Ambria's arm, feeling like he'd known her for years. Maybe they had known each other and they didn't remember. He never would know.

"I'm scared of that, too. But I can't dwell on that. I have enough to think about with Kyle being in the coma, Uncle Tommy blaming me for what happened, and you know, controlling my violent urges I've had since the aliens screwed with my mind."

His face remained completely straight and Ambria watched him for a moment. Then, her face lit up and she pealed into laughter. He had never seen anyone laugh like that, but she seemed to appreciate his joke. He was glad he'd cracked it. A loud groan came from the bed next to them and then a stiff pillow hit him in the face.

"Shut up, already. I've been trying to sleep and I can't with all the schoolgirl giggles over there."

Shawn studied the burly man that had woken like a grizzly bear. He winked at Ambria.

"I guess he doesn't snore through everything." He whispered it quietly.

"I heard that. Now stop your yappin'."

Shawn pulled himself up reluctantly. He didn't want to go. He liked talking to Ambria. She understood everything he was thinking. And she was thinking the same thing. He smiled.

"Well, Dr. Dawson, I enjoyed this late night therapy session we've had."

"I think you were the doctor, Shawn, not me."

"Hey, if you ever need to talk, my cot's that way."

"I'll try visiting it sometime."

The man grunted. "This is really a touching conversation, but will you go, Shawn," He drawled Shawn's name, "before there are hugs."

"I'm leaving, man. Sorry."

He smiled again at Ambria, surprised at how often she made him want to smile. She was pretty cool to talk to. She watched him leave; he could feel her eyes on him. As he crawled back into his cardboard cot, he thought about the situation they were in. Maybe it wasn't horrible being in this room with 499 of his closest friends. Because they were all going through the same thing he was. Even if they didn't all talk about it in late night therapy sessions.