(I fixed some errors in chapter four and added a few missing lines. Thank you for reading. Now that Shawn is safe and sound we have to find the psycho that did this to him. This was a fluff break. The inner Psychopath isn't quit finished yet )
They waited and waited and waited some more. They took turns either yelling at nurses to give them information on Shawn or threatening them with their badges. No matter what they did the answer was always the same, "As soon as he is out of surgery a doctor will come and talk to you."
They all took turns stretching their legs and fetching coffee or food for the group. Even Juliet took the opportunity with, Buzz's help, to get some coffee. Lassiter and Henry never left the waiting room. Both men couldn't bare the thought of the doctor coming with information and them not be there. Henry staying was easy he was his Dad no one expected he would leave.
Lassiter now people wondered about his refusing to leave. He would never admit it to anyone but he thought of himself as Shawn's older brother. Shawn definitely had the pain in the butt younger brother role down pat. Lassiter felt responsible for keeping Shawn out of trouble and he was feeling guilty not seeing this trouble coming his way.
Juliet, Buzz, Gus and Vick all ended up falling asleep while Henry and Lassiter paced. It looked like they were walking century duty guarding the sleeping friends. After 12 long excruciating hours a very tired and bloody doctor appeared at the doors of the emergency room.
Since they were the only ones left in the waiting room the doctor knew whom they were waiting to hear about. He pulled up the chair in front of the group and he allowed them all a minute to get awake and alert enough to hear what he was about to tell them.
He began, "My Name is Doctor Weiss, I operated on Shawn. Let me begin by telling you that he is alive. (A collective sigh came from the group). I am not afraid to say, I am not sure why he is alive but he is real fighter. Let me start from the top with what we did to him and what was wrong. It is a crazy long list, He had a major concussion, that will be monitored and he should heal from it. The gash on his forehead from the pistol whipping is sewn up. He is severely dehydrated and he lost a ton of blood. When he came in he stopped breathing because his trachea collapsed and we had to do a tracheotomy on him. Do you have any questions so far?"
Henry rubbed his head and said, "Dear Lord we aren't even past the neck yet and he should have died three times all ready."
The Doctor agreed, "Your son is one of those once and a lifetime patients. One I will talk about forever."
Henry was getting agitated at the doctor's bunny trail and asked him to please continue.
The Doctor looked at Henry and apologized, "Shawn was shot in his stomach twice, and fortunately it didn't cause any real damage. He also had a burn on his stomach from where he was branded by his captor (shaking his head in disbelief). We bandaged it and treated it the best we could. He had a number of abrasions and lacerations that we cleaned. The things that will have to be fixed when he is stronger, months down the road, are his legs. The gunshots shattered his kneecaps and the bones in his legs had multiple breaks. When he recovers from his primary injuries he will likely be confined to a wheel chair till he is strong enough for surgery to fix his legs and he will have to undergo a double total knee replacement."
He waited for a minute to let all that he said sink in to the group. They were all a mixture of stunned, saddened and happy that he was at least alive.
The Doctor patted Henry's leg and said, "This is going to be a long road for your son but with the support it looks like he has, he should make a complete recovery given time, a lot of time."
Henry thanked the doctor and asked when they could see him. He told them, "Shawn is in ICU and he would allow Henry to stay, but the others could come in for a few minutes and then they would have to leave. It looks like you all need some rest. If I know Dad here he wont leave his son's side till he is wide awake and telling him to go home. Am I right?"
Everyone in the room began to snicker, the doctor had Henry pegged perfectly. The Doctor smiled and told the group that a nurse would be along shortly to get them. He gave them his card and told them he would be on call all night if they needed him.
About 30 minutes later a nurse came in and brought them to Shawn's room. The group walked in, no one knowing quite what to say at the sight of the normal exuberant young man lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a room full of equipment.
Buzz was overwhelmed he looked at Shawn and gave him a sad smile and then left to wait for the others in the waiting room. Karen wanted to pat him somewhere to let him know she was there but everywhere she tried to touch was either bandaged or broken. She pulled her hand back and just told Shawn, "Get better fast. That is an order) Then she softened and said, "We are all thinking about you." She squeezed Henry's arm and told him that there would be a guard on the room till we capture the psycho that did this.
Gus came over and gave his slightly curved hand a gentle fist bump. He told him, "Buddy, I am glad we have you back and you have a whole bunch of people that are going to be right here helping you. I will be at the front of the line with a smoothie for you. I love you buddy." He stopped at Henry and told him he would bring him some supplies from his house tomorrow. Henry thanked him.
Juliet got as close as she could get to Shawn and bent over and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. She whispered, "I love you so much Shawn, You are my forever." She straightened and hurried out of the room as fast as she could on one foot and crutches.
The only one left in the room was Lassiter. Looking intently at a spot on the floor he said, "I am sorry."
Henry looked at him puzzled, "Detective, what, in the world, are you sorry for. You are the one who led the way getting him back from that crazy person that took him."
Lassiter bit his bottom lip trying to stop the tears from falling from his eyes, "It is my job to keep Shawn safe, I should have seen this maniac coming from a mile away. I failed him and you."
Henry stood up and looked into Carlton's blue eyes that are now swimming in a sea of red. "Detective, I have lost count of how many times you have saved my son from his self. You always come in at the perfect moment and keep the crazy de jour from filling my son with bullets. This guy came from left field no one could have seen this coming. No one. You are a good detective and my son is lucky to work with you."
Lassiter weekly smiled, "Thank you, if you need anything, you call me okay, anything." Henry patted the detectives good arm, "Go home and get some rest Carton, you deserve it."
Henry tuned all the lights in the room off. Only a dim night-light over Shawn's bed was left on. Henry got settled in the plastic hospital chair. He looked at his son; so amazingly happy that he was alive and breathing and so worried how he would be when he finally woke up. Henry gently put his hand over Shawn's and quietly said, "Sleep well son, Daddy is here and Daddy isn't going anywhere till you show me those beautiful green eyes and tell me to get out. Then I probably wont leave then either. No matter what you have to go through while you recover, I will never leave your side. I love you Shawn and there isn't a prouder father than me. Sleep well and sweet dreams, you have already lived through the nightmare so you deserve some sweet dreams.