A week had passed since Tom was admitted to the hospital and put into the induced coma. He had been taken off the respirator two days ago, but remained in the coma. Doug waited outside his room as Doctor Shepherd checked Tom over to see how he was recuperating. Doug had been waiting for close to twenty minutes when the door opened and the Doctor stepped out.
"How is he Doctor?" Doug asked impatiently.
The doctor gave Doug a smile and said, "His body is healing just fine. We've stopped the IV's that have been keeping him in a coma, so he should be coming out of it within the next couple of hours."
Doug was thrilled at the news and asked, "So he's going to be fine?"
Doctor Shepherd nodded and said, "Yeah, I expect him to be as good as new. His lung has healed nicely and he'll be a bit sore, but he's going to be just fine."
Doug thanked the doctor and went back into Tom's room. He wanted to be there for his friend when he woke up. He sat down in the chair that he had been keeping warm for the past week and let a smile slowly creep across his face. His best friend was going to be fine… back to his old self. With that, he closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Tom fought to open his eyes. He couldn't understand why it was such a struggle, but continued to fight. After what seemed like forever, he was able to open them just a bit. The bright lights hurt his eyes however and he quickly shut them again. Come on Tom, try to open them again and maybe it won't be so bad this time. Tom was able to open them again, quickly blinking to try to adjust to the blinding light. After a few seconds, he was able to tolerate the light and open his eyes fully. He looked around at his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. His gaze stopped at the familiar sight of his partner sleeping in a chair beside his bed. He wasn't sure if he could speak because his throat felt extremely dry, but opened his mouth and muttered, "D..Doug?"
Doug let out a bit of a sigh and then realized that he had heard something. He sat up in his chair and opened his eyes. He stretched his arms above his head to shrug off the effects of his slumber and that's when he noticed that Tom's eyes were open and staring at him. "Tommy? You're awake. How are you feeling?" He stood up and walked over to Tom's bedside.
Tom looked up at him, his vision clearly in focus now. "Where… am I?" He looked around the room once more and it dawned on him where he was. "Hospital?" he asked.
Doug nodded and said, "Yeah… do you remember what happened?" He looked at Tom and hoped that he could remember everything that had happened.
Tom was quiet for a moment. He tried to think about how he had gotten here and then the memories came flooding back to him. "Yeah… there was a fight in the park. I remember Craig pointing the gun at you and then hitting him. I don't remember anything after that." Tom pushed himself up a bit into a more comfortable position.
"You passed out after that. You were beat up pretty bad… I couldn't believe that you were still able to punch him out like that!" Doug looked at Tom, trying to tell if he was feeling okay. "They brought you here by ambulance and you were in surgery for a while." Tom looked at him for an explanation. "You have a punctured lung, broken ribs and a ruptured spleen."
Tom sank back into his pillow. "Oh…" He rubbed a hand over his face and continued, "How long have I been here?"
"A week… they put you into an induced coma so that your body could heal." Doug said. "So, how do you feel?"
"A little sore, but not too bad." Tom sighed and knew that he had to talk to Doug about something that was nagging him. "Um Doug, was I acting like Tom McQuaid or was I just dreaming?"
Doug let out a laugh as he said, "No, you weren't dreaming. Do you remember chasing John down the alley?" Tom nodded so Doug continued, "Well, he hit you over the head pretty hard and you ended up with amnesia."
Tom's jaw dropped and just about hit the floor. "Oh my god… please tell me that I didn't make an ass out of myself?" Doug couldn't help but laugh and this got a glare from his friend. "I did, didn't I?"
Doug nodded, "Just a little bit." He laughed again and continued, "For someone who doesn't like to play a McQuaid, you were sure acting the role." Tom brought his arm up and covered his eyes and groaned. "What exactly did I do?"
Doug took a deep breath and answered, "Well… do you want the truth?"
Tom moved his arm away from his face and said, "Yeah… no matter how bad it is."
Doug sighed and said, "Well, I caught you doing some coke in your apartment." Tom gasped and said, "Please tell me that you're making that up." Doug shook his head, "Sorry… wish I was. I also was with you when you bought some off of Craig."
Tom didn't want to hear anymore. "Shit… what am I going to do?" Doug put his hand on Tom's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. No one else knows except me, ok?"
"Yeah… I guess. But if you tell anyone Doug Penhall, I'll kick your ass." Doug laughed. "I'd like to see you try Tommy."
"Don't call me that!" Then Doug ducked out of the way as Tom threw his pillow at his head. "Open your mouth to anyone and I swear I will." He couldn't help but to laugh though as Doug threw it back at him.
"Was I really that bad?" Tom asked after the laughter died down.
"No… not too bad." Doug thought about something he had told himself earlier. "Although I did promise myself that if you got your memory back that we'd retire the McQuaids for good." This got a smirk out of Tom.
"Shit… I must have been really bad if you're willing to retire the McQuaid brothers!" Tom said as his laughter started again. Doug couldn't help but to join in.
Doug leaned in and gave Tom a hug. "What was that for?" Tom asked, looking at his partner for an explanation.
"It' really good to have you back Hanson."
"It's really good to be back Doug." Tom and Doug looked at each other and instantly knew what each other were thinking. They did the signature McQuaid handshake that they had done so many times in the past years. "Heh!" They yelled and then burst into laughter.
Doug sat back down in his chair while Tom readjusted his pillow. Yeah, it's really good to have you back Tom, Doug thought as he and Tom continued to talk about the events of the last few days. Doug knew that after the things that had happened the last few days, he'd definitely be glad to retire the Mcquaid Brothers. Actually, he hoped he'd never have to deal with Tom McQuaid again. He had his best friend and partner Tom Hanson back and that was just fine with him.
The End
Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave such nice reviews for my first fan fic. I've enjoyed reading them as much as I have writing this story. You've all been too kind and I look forward to subjecting another story to your reviews!