Like Old Times
Wednesday, 9/15/04

The sun was starting to set in Portland, Oregon when Paul and Shawn hopped in Paul's car to head back to the hospital. Paul knew in his mind that the amnesia was starting to take a toll on Shawn, as the other man seemed absolutely frustrated with the many things that had changed over the years. He was grumpy and constantly looked exhausted, so Paul called the doctor that admitted Shawn to the hospital following his match at Unforgiven. The doctor suggested Paul bring Shawn back in for a check-up, so that's what he was going to do.

"This is fucking stupid," Shawn remarked, especially once Paul forced him to sit down in the waiting room. "If they knew what the problem was, they would have told you on Sunday."

"Watch your language, Shawn," Paul commented, turning to look the older man in the eyes. "And, I told you, this is just a check-up to make sure you're alright."

"I haven't died yet, so that means I'm fine."

Paul opened his mouth to respond, but the two were ushered into an examining room. The doctor from Sunday night walked in with a clipboard in his hands. "Hello, there! I'm Doctor Huffman. It's great seeing you guys again," He stated, looking back and forth between the two, then narrowed his eyes slightly as he lowered the clipboard. "Goodness! What happened to your forehead, Shawn?"

Shawn quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh..? Oh, the bruise. Got into a bit of a fistfight on Monday."

"Ah," Doctor Huffman looked at Paul. "And I'm going to assume you were part of the fistfight as well, Mr. Levesque?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Not against him, though."

Doctor Huffman sighed, then made a few notes. "Okay, take a seat, Mr. Hickenbottom."

At the mention of his last name, Shawn narrowed his eyes angrily, muttering under his breath as he sat down on the examining bench. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked anywhere in the room but at Doctor Huffman.

Paul watched the childish behavior for a few moments before losing his patience. He walked over to Shawn and smacked his shoulder. "Act your age, not your damn shoe size."

Shawn straightened up. "Sorry," He remarked, then looked at Doctor Huffman. "What?"

Doctor Huffman watched the exchange between the two friends with a quirked eyebrow. He knew from the moment he saw them on Sunday night that they had a strange friendship, and now he could see they more or less acted like brothers. When he realized Shawn was staring at him, he cleared his throat. "Ahem, nothing. Would you rather me call you Shawn instead of your surname?"

"Yes, please."

"Do you know what today is?"

"The fifteenth?" Shawn snapped.

"Tell me… How are you feeling?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Are you getting any headaches?"

The look on Shawn's face told him he wasn't amused in the slightest. "From these stupid ass questions or in general?"

Paul groaned and rolled his eyes. "Shawn!"

"What? It's the truth."

Doctor Huffman sighed. "In general, Shawn."

"Well… Maybe..?"

"Are they normal?" Doctor Huffman asked.

"Doc, seven years ago seems like it was just yesterday to me, and I'm not kidding around when I say that. Describe 'normal.'"

"I wish I could, Shawn," Doctor Huffman paused for a moment to write some notes. "What's the last thing you remember before Sunday night?"

Shawn opened his mouth to respond, but found it hard to come up with an answer. He shut his mouth and shrugged his shoulders, allowing the room to fall into an awkward silence.

"Could I talk to you in the hall for a second, doc?" Paul asked.

With a short nod, Doctor Huffman and Paul relocated into the hallway, leaving Shawn alone to his thoughts. "Yes, Mr. Levesque?"

"Shawn means a lot to me, as you know. We've been best friends for ages now, and I can't figure out a way to tell him about the—"

Doctor Huffman watched Paul for a few moments, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's difficult, Mr. Levesque, to watch someone you care about go through this… Let's face it, though. It could be far worse. He could have lost everything."

Paul huffed in mild annoyance. "I can't imagine that. Seeing him forget the last seven years is far enough for me… I mean… I don't know what to tell him. We keep dancing around it whenever he asks about something. He knows he had a concussion, so I'm guessing he assumes it's a part of PCS."

"You mean you haven't spoken to him about it?"

"No, not really. I don't know how to approach the subject. Vince, our boss, made it pretty clear he didn't want Shawn to know the diagnosis. Shawn is agitated, doc. What's even worse is he's back to the person he was seven years ago… Believe me, that Shawn isn't easy to get used to at all, and it's really really bad for the company now that he's back."

"You mean he doesn't know what year it is?"

"No, no! He knows what year it is! He just… Has no memory between 1997 and when he woke up here on Sunday night. He keeps saying '1997 felt like yesterday to me,' but he understands it's 2004."

Doctor Huffman quirked a confused eyebrow. "You're sure he completely understands?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Him saying he understands seven years has passed in what feels like twenty-four hours to him and him actually comprehending the fact things are completely different because seven years has gone by are two completely different things."

Paul blinked. "I don't even understand the difference."

"Okay, look at it this way… When you explain something to a child and they nod their head eagerly and run off like nothing happened, what does that tell you?"

"That they weren't paying attention and it didn't seep in..?"

"Correct. But when you sit a child down and explain everything to them, they look you in the eyes and tell you they understand and they walk away calmly… That means?"

"They understood completely."

"Correct. That's what you need to do with Shawn. You need to sit him down and explain everything so he has a better grasp of it. If you're saying he was a completely different person in 1997 than he is now, it would be in your best interest to be stern with him and make sure he definitely understands what's going on. You don't want him to go out there and possibly get hurt because he didn't know something drastic happened to him in the seven years he forgot, do you?"

"No. I don't. That's the last thing I want… You're right, doc. I'll have a chat with our boss and see what he thinks."

"Maybe it would be best for you to just have this conversation with Shawn. Although Mr. McMahon seems nice, I don't think he has Shawn's best interest in mind by keeping this a secret from him. Is there anyone else in a corporate position you could talk to?"

Paul nodded. "Vince's son is pretty level-headed."

"Good, talk it over with him, then. In any case, the two of you can leave now. If something happens while you're on the road in another state, please give me a call and I'll fax over his paperwork from Sunday night."

"Thanks so much, doc."

"You're very welcome. Mr. Levesque. Good luck with him."