A/N: Thank you, as always for the wonderful reviews. They keep me inspired.

Chapter 5

Shane's first couple weeks back home went similar with his family. His father, mother and sister all made an effort to take care of Shane and make sure he did not feel as though he was being left out. It was all very strange and hard for Shane to accept. What was wrong with his family? Were they abducted by aliens while he wasn't looking? While he was happy to be included and shown affection, he couldn't help wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.

That fear was playing through his mind at the dinner table, where he sat with Stephanie and Linda; Vince was gone at a show. Shane, who usually had a very healthy appetite, had barely touched his food. Instead, he was pushing it around the plate with his fork, distracted by his thoughts.

Linda sighed softly, reaching over to touch her son's arm gently. Shane looked up and offered Linda a small smile. "Shane, what's wrong? You've barely touched your food. Are you feeling okay?" Linda reached up, feeling Shane's forehead for a sign of fever.

Shane smiled more, shifting away from his mother's hand, blushing a little under her scrutiny. "Mom... I'm fine. I'm not sick."

Linda pulled her hand away once she was convinced that Shane did not have a fever, reaching for her glass of water. Before she took a drink, she asked, "So what is it? Something's troubling you."

Shane sighed, looking at his mother, deciding this was the opening he needed to ask some questions. "Mom can I ask you something?"

Linda smiled warmly, setting her fork down next to her plate, focusing her full attention on Shane. "Of course you can."

Shane met his mother's gaze, his brown eyes serious. "What happened... y'know, that night. The night of the accident."

Linda's smile faltered a bit. Even though she had prepared herself for the question, she was afraid of the fallout from her answer. She had no intention of lying to him. "Stephanie, could you please excuse us?"

Stephanie pouted - it's not like she didn't know what happened! "But moooom!"

Linda turned to her daughter, giving her a pointed look. "Stephanie Marie... go, now."

Stephanie sighed dramatically, exiting the dining room in a huff. Linda shook her head, turning her attention back to her son.

"Shane, you had been out past curfew. You came home and you were a little loud coming in. Your father was waiting for you. You know how he gets when he's here and you break the rules."

Shane nodded; he was more than aware of his father and his temper.

Linda's pause stretched out a little longer than was comfortable for Shane. His stomach sank. This couldn't be good. "Mom?" His tone gave away his anxiety.

Linda squeezed her son's hand reassuringly. "Shane, you and your father got into an argument..." She closed her eyes tightly, the scene replaying in her mind. She did not want to tell Shane his father hit him but she refused to omit information. "You yelled at him, he became enraged. Shane, he hit you. That's when you took off. You grabbed the keys from the rack and ran out the door... he couldn't stop you. Your dad tried..."

Shane could see how hard it was for his mother to relive what happened. He put his injured hand over his mother's, squeezing gently with his fingers. "Mom? It's okay... I'm okay." Shane assumed that it was her fear of hearing about the accident that was going through her mind. Before he could try to reassure her any further, he registered fully what his mother had said. "Wait... Dad hit me?"

Linda reluctantly nodded, watching Shane, trying to gauge his reaction. The shock was evident. "Yes, he did. Shane, he felt absolutely horrible about it. Especially after Stephanie told him how you felt."

Shane's eyes widen. "What do you mean 'Told him how I felt'?"

"Shane, we didn't know, baby. We didn't know..." Linda reached to stroke her son's cheek but he moved back.

His voice sounded small, scared. He asked the question although he suspected he already knew the answer. "What did she tell him?"

"She told your father that you didn't feel you were loved... that we didn't care about you. She also told us that she reinforced the idea. Shane, that is not in true in the least little bit. We love you so much." Linda attempted to reach for Shane again, slowly. This time he let Linda cup his cheek.

"Mom... don't. I wondered why everybody was acting so strange. You don't have to pretend for me..." Shane's words were a whisper, full of the anguish he's going through inside.

"Shane we're not pretending. We just didn't know how you felt. You never said anything to either of us."

Before Linda could continue, Shane stood up. "Can I please go to my room?" His eyes met Linda's again, pleading with his gaze.

As much as Linda didn't want to let Shane go until he understood how much she loved him, Linda agreed. "Yes, baby. You can go to your room. Please think about what I said, okay?"

Shane nodded and made a beeline out of the dining room as quickly as his sore body would allow, going up to his room, closing himself inside.

Linda watched him go, a small pit of fear growing in her stomach. She was afraid for her son's emotional well-being and she hoped that he would come to her if he needed anything.

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Shane closed the door quickly once he reached his bedroom. He locked the door, leaning back against it, closing his eyes. It was then that he allowed himself to really process the conversation with his mother. His dad hit him? Stephanie had told his parents that he felt unloved? Shane's eyes squeezed tighter as he fought off the sting of tears.

Shane walked over to his bed, grateful that he hadn't changed out of his pajamas today. He slid between the covers, pulling them up to his neck in an effort to make himself invisible. His thoughts went back to his family... Was it all an act? Did they feel guilty so they treated him better to assuage their guilt? He was so confused right now. He wanted to believe his mom, he really did. It's hard to erase feelings that stem from years of what Shane felt were clear signals.

Shane rubbed his forehead; man, he had a headache. He assumed that it was from all of the emotion of the last few minutes along with the way he practically sprinted up the stairs. Shane turned to his bedside table, reaching for the prescription pain medication that had come home with him from the hospital. He tapped two pills out into his palm, quickly swallowing them dry. Shane lay back down, curling up as much as his sore body would allow and tried to sleep.

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"Linda, why did you tell him all of that? He's still healing from the accident. What if he'd taken off again?" Vince was less than pleased when his wife had called him later that evening, telling him about the conversation she had with Shane and his reaction to it.

Linda sighed, rubbing her temple. "Vince, I wasn't going to lie to him. I wasn't going to leave things out. He would have found out and then what? He's having a hard time as it is believing that we love him. Imagine if he found out later that we hadn't been forthcoming with him. Any progress we would have made would have been out the window."

Vince thought about his wife's words. She's right, as much as he hated to admit it. "You're right, of course. But now he's locked exiled himself to his room. I just hope that after some contemplation he will see that we aren't simply placating him."

"I think it will take a lot more than one conversation and a couple of weeks of actually giving him what he had been lacking to convince him." Linda was about to speak again when a loud, fearful scream cut her off.

"Oh no..." She whispered, dropping the phone, effectively ending the conversation and going to the aid of her son.