A/N: Thank you to all who have been reading and especially to those leaving reviews! It makes my day to see them come through.

Chapter 3

Vince and Linda sat in the waiting room of the hospital, a sleeping Stephanie on the seat next to Linda, her head in her mother's lap. Vince, meanwhile, paced the small space while they waited on word on Shane's condition. Linda watched Vince sadly, knowing that there was not a thing she could say to calm him. His guilt was written all over his face and Linda knew that it would only begin to heal once he saw that Shane was okay.

Linda had been very angry to take in the exchange between Vince and Shane earlier that night. Shane was clearly out of line, that was no secret; but the way Vince responded to Shane's actions had Linda furious beyond belief. It was all she could do when Vince woke her and told her the news to stop herself from lashing out at Vince. Deep down she knew that it would not help their situation for her to let her emotions get the better of her. Cooler heads needed to prevail... especially for Stephanie's sake.

Three long hours passed before a doctor came into the waiting room to address Vince and Linda. Vince's pacing stopped immediately upon catching sight of the doctor and he walked over, asking abruptly, "My son... how is my son?"

The doctor started out by introducing himself. "Mr. McMahon, I presume?" Vince nodded and the doctor continued. "I am Dr. Masterson and I have been taking care of your son." Dr. Masterson paused; it had been a long four-hour stint in the ER to get Shane stabilized.

Vince opened his mouth to insist the doctor continue when he spoke up again. "I can't say he's out of the woods yet, but your son is holding his own. When he was brought in Shane was in pretty rough shape. He had sustained a head injury, presumably from his ejection from the automobile. It appeared he had not been wearing a seat belt."

Linda closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip; her son could have been killed tonight. It was all she could do to keep the tears at bay. She had to keep her thoughts positive. Shane's alive... and she'd be damned if he didn't make it through this.

"Shane has not regained consciousness since he arrived at the ER. We did some CT scans and he has some evident swelling on the brain. It was not severe enough to call for surgery but we are treating it with medications designed to reduce the edema."

Vince nodded, wanting the doctor to continue. As the doctor's explanation of Shane's injuries continued, he walked over and sat down next to Linda, taking her free hand in his. He laced his fingers with hers, hoping to give her some sort of comfort. He felt lucky that she hadn't pushed him away. In her place, Vince is sure he would have cast himself away. It's a good thing his wife is not like him.

"His other injuries are relatively minor in comparison. He suffered a broken left wrist, three fractured ribs and a lacerated liver. There was some internal bleeding along with the injury to the liver. We have been monitoring it and it appears that the wound is healing itself, as they tend to do. We hold a positive outlook for Shane to make a full recovery, pending an examination upon him regaining consciousness."

Vince hadn't realized he had been holding his breath until he let out the long, relieved sigh upon hearing the words the doctor spoke. Was it possible? Was his son going to be alright? He glanced at his wife, who had a small, hopeful smile on her face. "Vince. He's going to be alright; Shane's going to pull through this."

Vince's attention turned to Dr. Masterson again when the doctor asked if they had any further questions. Vince could only think of one. "Can I see my boy?"

Dr. Masterson nodded. "Of course. They will have him in a room shortly and you and your wife can go see him. One at a time though."

Both Vince and Linda could live with that.

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Within an hour, Linda returned to the waiting room where Vince was waiting with Stephanie. Vince had opted to let Linda go see Shane first. When she returned her eyes were red-rimmed but they still held hope in them. That was a good sign.

Vince stood upon Linda's return to sit with Stephanie, who was still curled up asleep. He let out a soft sigh and wiped his hands on his pants before heading down the hall to Shane's room. He paused outside the door. He could hear the beeping of the monitor hooked up to Shane. Vince realized he was scared. He was absolutely petrified to walk in there and see how Shane looked; how his fight with his son had hurt him physically. Despite his fear, Vince pushed forward, walking into the room.

His eyes landed on Shane's still form on the bed. That was the first thing that stood out to Vince. Shane was still. That was so uncharacteristic of his son. Shane was always moving around, always active. His son was the child who knew no fear; his daredevil. The boy had given him more than one scare over the course of his short life. But nothing like this.

Vince sat down in the chair at Shane's bedside, watching the rise and fall of Shane's chest. It was easier than looking at how small his son looked in the bed or how pale his face was. Vince reached out and grasped Shane's hand carefully, the undamaged one. The warmth of his son's hand reassured him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vince spoke.

"Shane. Shane, it's Dad." A pause, then his soft words continued. "I am so sorry about everything, Shane. I didn't know... about your feelings. About what your sister had told you. I want you to know that there is nothing further from the truth. Your mother and I love you just as much as we love your sister..."

Vince reached up with his free hand, pressing them against his eyes. He felt the sting of tears but did not want to let them fall. He had to be strong for Shane right now. "Shane... you are my son. There's nothing you could ever do to change my feelings for you. I'm so, so proud of you. The minute I held you for the first time I was so proud to have this... this tiny little boy with brown eyes just like mine. I knew you would accomplish great things. And you have... so far you have. There is a lot more for you to do though, Shane. That's why you have to get through this..."

Vince's voice cracked on those last words and he had to stop talking. He rested his forehead on the bed next to Shane and listened to his breathing, to the sound of the heartbeat coming from the monitor. His son was alive and he had to hold onto that.

And that's Chapter 3! I'm sorry for leaving it there but the chapter would have been out of control if I had continued, I think. As always, thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts! :)