Guiding Light

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Summary: Shawn Farrell has a gift, but all gifts come at a price. Or maybe this is just a down side to his gift. There's only one way to find out.

A/n: Teeheehee… guys, the last chapter had nothing to do with anything… it was just my way of getting where I needed to be…

Disclaimer: The 4400 belongs to USA… if I owned it… COLLIER WOULDN'T HAVE DIED… and Shawn would totally get together with Liv…

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"You're Perfectly Fine"

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Once again, the daily routine took effect. Jordan came in that morning. Things were getting worse and worse at the Center. He was slipping. Forgetting little but important things that Shawn would remind him about.

But most of all, he just missed the kid. Shawn was like a son to him. He was always too busy to have to worry about having kids, or even having a kids, but Shawn... he acted like Jordan was his dad, not just his boss, co-worker, fellow 4400… Shawn didn't see it, but Jordan sure did.

That was why he was slowly deteriorating. He needed Shawn back. Even though he wouldn't openly admit that.

Slowly and silently Kyle walked in and Jordan didn't see him. Jordan was in a trance. Just staring at Shawn, as if he was willing him to wake up. As if just being there was going to wake him up. Kyle felt really out of place and wanted to leave, but something kept him there.

There was just something about the two of them. Shawn and Jordan. As much as Kyle didn't want to admit, Jordan had taken his place as Shawn's best friend. Just like Danny seemed to take Shawn's spot as Kyle's best friend.

But Danny wasn't Shawn.

Silently, Kyle turned and left, Collier never knowing that he wasn't there. Missing one day wouldn't do any difference. It wasn't like Shawn was ever going to know anything that was going on. Kyle didn't remember anything, why would Shawn?

Besides, he was gonna be late for class.

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Jordan lost track of time, as he just sat there in a daze. He didn't stop to think of why time seemed to slow down between when he arrived and when someone came and interrupted him. Susan also didn't show as early as she normally would have because she had a meeting with one of Danny's professors.

It ran over and when she got there, Jordan was still there.

Oh if this wasn't awkward.

Susan flinched slightly as the door slammed behind her. But it got Jordan to snap out of his daze. He was so lost in missing Shawn, that he had totally lost track of time.

He turned, expecting to see Kyle there, but came face to face with Susan. He had only ever met the woman twice before, and neither time had been that pleasant. In fact, he was trying to avoid Susan all together.

A glance at his watch told him that he had spent the entire morning there and missed many important meetings and lectures. But deep down, he didn't care.

"I'll… I'll be going," he said quickly getting up and heading for the door.

Susan stopped him. "I want to know the truth," she said bluntly. She had a disliking for the man, and everyone knew it. She didn't even bother to hide it.

"I've already told you the truth Susan, it isn't my fault if you don't believe me," he said, trying to move around her and get out of the room. It didn't work.

"Something happened at that Center and I want to know what happened. You were there when it happened. I just want some closure!"

Jordan was quite confused. He never expected Susan to be the one to flip at him. Tom had already done that. On multiple occasions.

"I already told you and Tom everything that happened, there is nothing more to tell. I'm just as worried as you are about Shawn…"

"Bull shit," Susan cursed angrily, cutting Jordan off. "You're just worried because he can't make you money while he's lying there in a coma."

"I never used Shawn. I never would use Shawn, ever," Jordan said, returning the cool voice that she had just used on him. "You are just looking for answers for which we don't even know the questions for. The only one who knows what happened is Shawn, and berating me isn't helping the situation any…"

Susan was stunned into silence. Collier did have a point.

Jordan took advantage of the situation and bolted past Susan. He had missed so much this morning with losing track of time. But he had a feeling that it was worth it. Yes, it was worth it.

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Unlike everyone else, Tom actually showed up early. Him and Diana had finally gotten a bit of a lead on what was going on with Shawn, so they were actually here on working hours. Tom hugged his sister as Diana just walked over to Shawn and studied him, a notebook under her arm.

"It just doesn't make any sense," she mused to herself.

"None of it does," Susan replied quietly.

"What doesn't make any sense is why Maia never said anything," Tom added.

Susan looked between Diana and Tom. "What?"

Slowly Diana pulled out the notebook and opened it. "Maia, my daughter, she's one of the 4400 too," she explained to a very confused Susan. "And like Shawn has his healing power, Maia, she can see the future…"

"So you mean your daughter saw all this coming?" Susan asked, a bit angry that Tom hadn't done anything to try and stop this.

"Not exactly," Diana said. "You see, I just found Maia's diary. We all thought that her visions had stopped, but she was writing them down in her diary instead. So I read it. She didn't say anything about Shawn directly, but there was something that we all found very interesting…"

She paged through the diary trying to find the right page. She read the entry out loud as she scanned it with her finger. "All these gifts that people are getting… they should take them seriously… because all these gifts come with a price. It's already starting. They're not as simple to control as people think…"

Silence fell over the room. A thick silence. "And that means…?" Shawn's mother asked.

"We think that Shawn's healing ability… that it has a downside. That this is it…" Tom said.

"That… that doesn't make any sense!" Susan nearly shouted.

"Yes Susan, it does," Tom said, looking at his sister's worried face. "Collier's story… he was healing a sick teen… and he just fell over, had an attack, something unexplainable… the downside to his gift…"

Susan let what Tom said sink in. "But why him? And this girl, Maia, how do you know she's right?"

"Maia's never wrong…" Diana said. She knew that was a fact. Many of the things earlier in the diary had actually happened. Maia was never ever wrong.

"And how do you know that?" Susan asked, suspiciously.

"Because she's never been wrong before, there's barely any chance that what she's saying now is wrong…"

"Diana's right Susan… this little girl, she's never wrong. And it does all fit together…"

"So you're trying to tell me that… them… us… from the future, they took Shawn, and brought him back with this power, because he's supposed to use it to 'save the future' but since he used it wrongly he's in a coma… is that what you're trying to tell me."

"Basically," Diana said.

Susan took a deep breath, everyone could tell that she wasn't processing this as well as she wanted to.

Tom walked over to his sister and wrapped an arm around her. He felt bad for her, because he himself went through the same thing with Kyle. But at least Linda had been there for him. Susan had no one except Danny, and he wasn't much of a help.

"Does it say anything else, like if Shawn is gonna be okay?" she asked quietly.

Diana shook her head. "There's nothing else in there that relates to Shawn. I'm sorry."

Susan nodded.

"Don't worry, Shawn's a strong kid. He's been fine on his own for a year. A year Susan, he's not gonna let a little thing like this get in the way. He's gonna get up and be good old Shawn again. Just normal old Shawn…"

"Murmle Mermmy…"

He was about to say something else when Susan's eyes shot open. It took a second for what was going on to sink in. "SHAWN?" Susan shouted.

"Uncle Tommy…"

His voice was getting louder and clearer.

"I'll… I'll go get a doctor or something…" Diana said, leaving the room. She just felt wrong being there. She didn't know Shawn at all except for what Tom told her or what she read in the NTAC file.

Susan rushed to her son's side. She couldn't believe that Shawn was actually getting up, that he was okay. He was gonna be okay.

Shawn wasn't going to die.

"Uncle Tommy, I'm not dead… I'm not dead Uncle Tommy…"

"We know you're not dead Shawn, you're gonna be okay!" Tom said, his hand gripping his nephew's. He felt so relieved, so happy. And not just because Shawn was all right. Sure that was most of it, but now, maybe, they could get to the bottom of what happened.

Shawn's eyes shot open, a look of deep fear in them.

"I'm not dead!"

"No Shawn," his mother said quietly. "You're perfectly fine."

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A/n: Yeah, So Kyle killed Collier, but Collier got up and walked away because he isn't allowed to die because he is Billy Campbell… unless he goes back to the OC which would be cool because Carter was amazing, but Collier was better… and Shawn's speech… I had tears… not really but almost!

Believe it or not, this story is coming to a close. I just have to put an end to the loose edges.

PentagonMerlin - Yeah… because I have the outlines of a plot now, but no filler… so there will be some filler!

LostAngel2 - Shawn isn't dead. I can kill Seth, and I can kill Charlie… but Shawn is a totally different story… for now… and evil boss lady, are you sure? xD

Angelic Prefect - NO!

Saynt Jimmy - Who's not dead, what?

sarahofearth - Cliffhangers are my bestest friend! And 'Awakened' does describe perfectly what happened..

klnolan - thanks!

rach - I did? Oh yeah, I did… her like... one line?

Spice9 - Haha!