By the time we got to the hospital, Shawn was already in surgery. Henry was in the waiting room, pacing back and forth with the urgency of a man ready to spring into action on a moment's notice.

"How's he doing?" I asked the moment Juliet and I walked in, beating her to the question by half a breath.

Henry stopped pacing, blinking slowly as he forced himself out of his own head and back into reality. "Still breathing."

I nodded.

For the moment, that was enough.

He collapsed into a chair, finally letting the strain begin to take a visible toll.

Juliet and I didn't sit. We just stood in the middle of the waiting room like two statues, waiting for something to happen.

Waiting for someone to tell us Shawn was going to be okay and our lives could get back to normal.

Chief Vick came about ten minutes later. She immediately walked over to Henry, taking the seat next to him.

"What did the doctor's say?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged limply. "They won't know anything for a while."

She nodded, hesitating before pushing on with her real purpose for coming. "Henry…I need you to come back down to the station," she admitted finally, looking down at the floor so she wouldn't have to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry, but the DA can't indict the kid without your statement."

She glanced up at me, almost looking apologetic. "You, too, Mr. Guster. You both put the case together, and you were there when the kid confessed. We can't close this until…"

Henry shook his head, his feet anchoring themselves stubbornly to the floor. "I can't leave, Karen. Not now."

"It won't take long, Mr. Spencer." Juliet piped up, stepping forward. "And Shawn won't be awake for while. He won't even be out of surgery for at least another hour. I'll stay here until you get back, and I promise I'll call if I hear anything."

Henry hesitated, but Juliet was adamant. "I'm not going anywhere, Mr. Spencer. Trust me."

Henry raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't even blink. She just returned his sharp, incisive gaze with one of her own.

Finally, Henry stood up slowly. I recognized the slight half-nod he shot her as he followed Karen out of the hospital.

I don't think Juliet even noticed the gesture, but I knew what it meant. It was the same nod I had gotten on the first day of Kindergarten, when I had come home with Shawn after school. It meant that on some subliminal level he would never admit he had, Henry approved.

I followed them out to Karen's car, and we were back at the station in less than eight minutes.

"We can go into Room C," she told us, pointing us towards the interrogation rooms as she went in the other direction towards her office. "Give me one minute to call the DA, and I'll be right in to take your statements. I'll have you back at the hospital as soon as I can, Henry. I promise."

She disappeared into her office, and we walked down the familiar corridor to the interrogation room. As we passed Room A, however, Henry looked through the glass, freezing as he saw Mike Donovan inside. The kid was sitting alone, pale and trembling, his back to the door as he stared down at the floor.

I froze, too, watching Henry's face, trying to anticipate what he was going to do. His fists had already clenched into tight, white-knuckled balls and his breathing had suddenly slowed into a dull, controlled growl.

He took a step towards the door, and I instinctively grabbed his shoulder, knowing I was probably taking my life in my hands.

He whirled around, his shoulders trembling with silent rage.

"Gus. Let go."

He didn't shout it. It was the opposite of shouting, in fact. His voice was quiet, but I could hear the danger lurking in every pronounced syllable.

"But--"

"Gus." He snapped again, twisting my wrist painfully as he wrenched free of my grasp. "Let go."

He threw my hand aside and spun on his heel, slamming the door to the interrogation room behind him before I could even react. The sound reverberated off the walls like a gunshot. I wanted to go after him, to stop him from doing something stupid…but I just stood there, frozen in place, staring through the glass as he walked up behind the kid, who was still completely unaware of his presence.