Like Old Times

11/16/04

Paul paced back and forth in the hallway outside of Shawn's hospital room. The moment he handed the form back o the nurse, the doctor walked over to him and ushered him to the hallway he was currently standing in. The same doctor and two nurses were hovering over his unconscious friend ever since, and that was nearly two hours ago. It was beyond visiting hours, but nobody had the guts to throw him out. Shane and Randy were sitting on the floor in the same hallway, having met up with Paul after Shane got stitched up.

"Are you trying to wear a hole in the floor?" Randy asked. He understood why Paul was nervous, but it was really starting to irritate him. Paul stopped pacing and turned to glare at Randy. "No. Why? Am I bothering you?" He snapped.

Randy glanced over at Shane, who inconspicuously nodded his head no. Randy looked back over at Paul. "No. I just think you need to calm down… You're going to over-excite yourself and wind up as a patient instead of 'just visiting.'" Randy replied. Paul scoffed and resumed pacing. "I don't give a damn about what you think, Orton. Keep your nose out of my business."

"Calm down, Paul." Shane warned. Paul glared at his brother in law. "Shut the fuck up, Shane." He growled. Randy threw his arms up in disgust, then jumped up and stormed over to Paul. "You seriously need to calm the fuck down. Shane and I are in this just as much as you are. You should at least relax enough to talk to the doctor… Looks like he's getting ready to come out here to talk to you… And please, don't be an asshole." Randy muttered.

Paul spun around to look in Shawn's hospital room. Randy was right, the doctor was about to leave the room. He was looking over at Paul every so often. Paul was preparing himself for a ton of ridiculous questions… Were doctors the dumbest people on the planet? Or did they just lack common sense? …Or was it both?

Paul watched as the doctor walked out of the room and over to where he, Randy and Shane were. Randy backed away from Paul and sat next to Shane again. The doctor looked around at everyone, then settled his eyes on Paul.

"I need to speak with you, Mr. Levesque," He stated. Paul sighed and looked over at Randy and Shane. They looked at him indifferently. Paul rolled his eyes at them and turned to look at the doctor. "I'm standing right here, doctor." He replied. The doctor narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. He once again glanced over at Randy and Shane. "Privately, Mr. Levesque… I need to speak with you privately."

Paul narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "These two men are just as willing to listen to what you have to say as I am. They're two of Shawn's closest friends… And I'd appreciate if you respect the fact they worked their asses off to help me with him for the last few months." He stated, struggling to get the words out without breaking down. The whole situation was starting to get to him… Wondering what the doctor wanted to talk to him in private about made him extremely nervous.

The doctor once again looked down at Shane and Randy, then looked back at Paul and sighed. "Okay, Mr. Levesque. Have it your way. We still need to get out of the hallway… Shall we relocate to your friends room?" He asked, gesturing behind him.

Paul, Randy and Shane walked into Shawn's hospital room with the doctor not so far behind. The two nurses were ushered out of the room and the door was shut not so long after. "Right. Now what is this about?" Paul asked, trying to sound nice. The doctor was really testing his patience. "This is about your friend, Mr. Levesque… How long as he been suffering from amnesia?"

"A little over two months… Why," Paul asked. The doctor raised a semi-concerned eyebrow and grabbed a hold of a clipboard. He shuffled through the papers and read over a few things, then looked back at Paul. "You don't find it strange that your friend collapsed out of nowhere?" He asked. Paul looked at Randy and Shane for a moment, then looked back at the doctor. "Of course I do, doctor no-name. Why else would I still be here trying to get some damn answers from you?" He replied.

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. I never introduced myself… I'm Doctor Hedberg. And your friend is a very interesting case, Mr. Levesque. It says here he suffered from a Grade III concussion on September 12th and is now suffering from retrograde amnesia… A doctor in Miami prescribed Amytal on October 7th. Does this sound right so far," Doctor Hedberg asked. Paul nodded his head yes. "Okay, good. Has Amytal been helping at all?"

"Shawn said it was… I mean… He would remember bits and pieces of things. He'd describe them to me exactly as they happened, then ask when it occurred and the reasoning behind it. You see, he's very confused about a lot of his memories… We're professional wrestlers with the WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. I think he's confusing his identity as a person with his character on television. Other than that, he seems to be okay… I mean… He never really… Acts funny… Although he did change as a person from the things he's remembering to now. He's a born again Christian… But he can't seem to remember that."

Doctor Hedberg nodded his head, as if trying to put everything together and make sense of it. "Okay, so he remembers things about his career. That's good. How about his family? It says here he's married. Did he encounter his wife at all?" He asked. Paul nodded his head yes. "Yeah, he did, actually. I was with him. He seemed perfectly normal towards his wife and his young son. He was gentle, caring and loving. There was no real difference from how he would usually act… Except there was a strange look in his eyes… Kinda like he was distant, but there at the same time."

Doctor Hedberg once again nodded his head. "I know exactly what you mean. I've heard that description from a lot of people who are going through a similar situation. I have one last question for you… And I know you're not going to like it, mostly because I'm not going to like asking it. But it has to be answered, so please don't ignore it. Do you know if Shawn has been… Overdosing on Amytal?"

Paul's eyes widened. "What the fuck did you just say?" He shouted. He went to storm over to Doctor Hedberg, but Randy and Shane grabbed a hold of him and prevented him from doing so. "Calm down, Paul!" Randy shouted. Doctor Hedberg walked over to them. "Relax, Mr. Levesque. I'm not saying Shawn did overdose; it's just standard procedure to question it… Especially when the patient is unresponsive after collapsing for no reason whatsoever. I mean no offense, Mr. Levesque. Believe me."

Paul stopped struggling against Randy and Shane. They released his arms, but stood at his sides in case he had other ideas. "Okay… I'm sorry… No, I don't know if Shawn has been overdosing on Amytal. I would highly doubt it, since he always complains about having to take it. He never really liked taking prescription medicine after overdosing on pain killers years ago…" Paul let his eyes settle on the floor. "So this is a very touchy subject with you. I apologize, Mr. Levesque. I honestly didn't know… Anyway, I just wanted to tell you gentlemen that we have no idea why he passed out, nor do we know when he's going to wake up. I apologize for being so blunt, but there's no other nice way to break it down for you. I'll be down the hall if you need me… Once again, I'm sorry for what I said." Doctor Hedberg looked each man in the eyes, then left the room and shut the door behind him.

"…What now..?" Randy asked. Paul shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Orton. I guess we wait around until he wakes up…" Paul replied. He sat down in the chair that was placed next to Shawn's bed and looked at his friend. He hated seeing Shawn unconscious, despite the fact he looked extremely innocent. Shane looked around the room with disinterested eyes… Did all hospitals have to look the same?

Shane settled his eyes on Shawn and noticed his face scrunched up. "Paul!" Shane shouted, making Paul look back at Shane, only to be directed to turn around and look at Shawn again. Shawn slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Oh… My God... Are you okay, Shawn? What happened?" Paul asked. Shawn raised a confused eyebrow at Paul. "What are you talking about?"

"What else would I be talking about, Shawn? You passed out and hit your head. Are you okay?" Paul asked. Something was different about Shawn. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew something changed. He looked Shawn in the eyes and saw the difference… The dark cloud that hung over them for the passed two months was gone. Shawn's eyes were as clear as crystal.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Paul… Are you sure you're okay," Shawn asked. He looked over at Shane and Randy and once again raised a confused eyebrow. "What happened to your face, Shane?" He asked, his eyes widening in slight horror. Shane and Randy turned to look at one another. They looked back at Shawn with their eyebrows raised.

"Shawn… Is that you?" Paul asked. Shawn turned to look at Paul, once again giving his best friend his full attention.

"Of course it is, weirdo! Who else would it be?"

A/N: There ya have it. Not too long or painful. Hope you liked it.