so so sorry this took so long but here it is!

enjoy!

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I woke up again when as the EMTs were wheeling me into the ER. Eveything was moving so fast and the edges of my vision were dark, making it seem like I was looking through a telescope. Voices echoed all around me and faces looked down at me. I didn't reconise any of them and suddenly I was scared. Gus. Where was Gus?

I tried to sit up, but hands pressed me back down. I felt myself fading again and tried to fight it, but I was too exhausted, too spent. I gave up, letting the darkness consume me.

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Someone was holding my hand. I could feel it rather than see it, and as I came slowly awake, all of my attention became focused on that other hand. It was too small for Juliet, and too worn for Gus...

My eyes slowly opened, and I let out a little moan when the light invaded them. I blinked rapidly, taking in my surroundings - bare white walls, bare white ceiling. I was laying in a bed, my left arm in a sling draped over my chest.

"Shawn? Oh, thank God your awake."

I turned my head slowly and saw Dad sitting in a chair beside the bed. He was the one holding my hand and he looked tired. Beside him in another chair, Gus was slumped in an uncomfortable looking position, sleeping. There were bandages on parts of his hands and arms and head and he was wearing ugly green scrubs.

"What - " I began, but ended up coughing. My throat was terribly dry and rough and I tried to swallow, but discovered that I couldn't.

"Here."

Dad let go of my hand and reached for something beside the bed. Something touched my lips and I opened my mouth as I felt something cold. Ice. I swallowed then, washing away the dryness.

"Better?" Dad said, hovering over me a little bit.

I nodded.

"What happened?" I whispered.

Dad sighed, leaning back in his chair. "What was the last thing you remember?"

I looked down at my feet. They were heavily bandaged and I saw bandages on my arms and hands as well. And then everything came back to me with sudden clarity. The quicksand, Goodard capturing us, the long walk, the cabin, my bleeding feet. More walking. The tumble down the hill. The showdown on the highway. "I passed out. On the highway," I whispered.

"Yeah. Juliet told me," Dad said, rubbing his eyes. "It was dumb luck that she and Lassiter happened to be going along that stretch of road right then. But they had seen Gus' car parked about 5 miles from there an they figured something was up after you didn't anwer your phone."

"So no one knew we were missing until then?" I asked.

Dad smirked. "I wasn't surprised when you didn't show up yesterday to clean my garage." His smiled faded. "But when Juliet called about finding Gus' car and not being able to get ahold of you, I, sort of, you know, got worried."

I glanced back at Gus, who was still sleeping. "Why am I the only one in a hospital bed? What about Gus?"

Dad sighed again. "When they brought you both in, you were in much more critical condition. Gus only really got bumps and bruises. But you...well, Gus told me all that happened. You both were a bit dehydrated, but they found mud in your lungs and that complicated things. You also fractured a few ribs and there was the broken wrist and the soles of your feet are shredded up pretty badly and your right one had a large pebble stuck in it, which they removed."

I lay there silently for a moment, trying to digest this information. I had a million questions, but before I could speak, Gus stirred and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Shawn!" He cried, stumbling over to the side of the bed.

"Hey Buddy," I whispered. "Are you okay?"

Gus nodded. "Just a few scrapes," He said, feeling one of the larger bandages on his head. "I was worried about you when you passed out and all."

I shut my eyes for a second, thinking. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Since yesterday when they brought you in," Dad said quietly.

"Really?" I said sleepily. "Then why am I still so tired?"

"You had a crazy last couple of days, kid. Go ahead, sleep. You look exhausted."

I nodded and leaned back into the pillows. I meant to say something more, but the pull of unconsciousness was too strong. I let it take me and I was asleep in no time.

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more coming soon! stay tuned!