GIVE THANKS TO SAVANNAH
Author's Note: This story is a take on why Shawn and Henry have had the relationship they have had. Note that Shawn is very out-of-character.
Shawn finds out the painful secret his father has been hiding.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Shawn demanded as he burst into the door.
Henry looked at his son Shawn and said, "No hello?"
"Don't give me, 'hello'," he said angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Henry looked puzzled. "Tell you what?"
"I was cleaning out the attic with Gus," he said, calmly. "And I came across a toy chest. I opened it up and found baby clothes. Girl baby clothes."
Henry looked pained.
Shawn kept his ground. "At first, I thought you and Mom were doing some sick joke on me until I found this." Shawn held up a newspaper clipping that was yellow with age.
Henry looked away. For a second, Shawn thought he had tears in his eyes but his anger kept him from being sympathetic. "This is a obituary. AN obituary with the name, 'Savannah Marie Spencer'. Birth date, April 24, 1975. The same as mine. Date of death: January 31, 1976. Tell me. Who is the person?"
Henry looked up and saw tears coming g down his face. Strangely, Shawn felt a hint of sympathy. He had never seen his dad cry. "Savannah was your twin sister."
Shawn looked shocked and sat down. "Twin sister? Twin sister," he said. "I had a twin sister."
Henry wiped his eyes and said, "Yeah, you had a twin sister. Savannah Marie. She was born five minutes before you. She was beautiful just like you were. Green eyes, big lips. Your mom and I were so happy. We had the little girl and little boy we always wanted."
"What happened to her? What happened to Savannah?" he asked, softy.
"I put you and your sister down for your afternoon nap," he explained. I cleaned the house and I went back to wake you two up to be feed. You woke up but Savannah didn't. I reached over to feel her breathe and she wasn't breathing. I called 911 and tried to do CPR but…she was dead."
"Crib death," Shawn said, his eyes welling up with tears.
"Better known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome," Henry said, wiping more tears.
Shawn felt tears roll down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly. "Is that why things went bad between you and Mom?" he asked.
Henry stood up and wiped his eyes, not bothering to look at Shawn. "Yeah, your mother never said so, but I think she blamed me for what happened since I was home and wasn't the best at children."
"I kind of figured as much," whispered Shawn.
"It created a wedge in our relationship that we couldn't fix," he explained. "Also, we were discussing whether or not to have any baby; not to replace Savannah, cause a human cannot be replaced. But, to give you a sibling. Someone to protect and teach and love."
Shawn looked at his hands, his mind going back to the days of his childhood when he wished for a little brother or little sister. He wouldn't like either, to tell the truth. A little brother would have been great to be buddies with, wrestle with, and teach. A little sister would have been awesome, too. Someone to protect when she was picked on and to protect when her boyfriend dumped her. Even now, Shawn still wondered what it would have been like to have a younger sibling. And he found out he had one. And she was dead.
"I cannot believe you kept this from me my whole life," Shawn responded, in a quiet yet hostile tone. " Why didn't you tell me? Huh? Why the hell did I have to find out through a freaking article?"
"Hey, don't blame me," he said, angrily. "How about asking your mom about her?"
Shawn stood up and said, "Mom's dead, Dad. Don't you remember, breast cancer? And besides, if I did ask her about Savannah, she would tell why I found the way I did. She is only one that ever gave a crap about me."
Shawn bolted for the door. Before he did, he turned away and said, "Is that why you and I never got along? Because your favorite child died?"
Henry looked hurt. "FYI, Shawn, I loved you and your sister the same."
"Bull crap," he said in disgust. He left and slammed the door.