It was nearly noon. They had been sitting in the waiting room for close to six hours. Velma had cried herself to sleep. The blood had still been wet and had dried to his skin. They were connected, though only through a way they both despised. Shaggy found himself stroking her arm with his thumb, hopelessly attempting to calm her as she slept. He was glad at least one of them was able to sleep. By now, Fred was nearly catatonic. Both Shaggy and Velma had attempted to talk to him, but it was purely that. Talking to him. At him. To a brick wall. They were worried he had somehow lost the ability to speak.

About an hour into the wait, he had moved across the waiting room. Velma had suspected it was an attempt to isolate himself as much as possible. What else was there to think? Neither of them were entirely sure what Fred was thinking at that moment. His eyes had gone completely grey, almost inhuman.

As Shaggy contemplated trying to talk to Fred once more, he felt Velma stirring beside him. He looked down at her, seeing that tiny specs of blood had hardened onto her glasses as she had slept. Her eyes were still glossy, though she was more lucid than Fred. She pointed to the doorway, and began to stand. As she pushed herself up from the seat, she found herself losing balance. Shaggy caught her at her hips, standing behind her for extra protection. She tried not to blush, feeling the moment was completely inappropriate.

As they left the waiting room, their eyes were glued to Fred. He looked like he didn't even know where he was. Almost possessed. They felt bad for leaving him, even if they were just outside the door. The hallway was significantly colder than the waiting room, causing them both to shiver. Looking around, it was nearly impossible to tell where they were in the hospital. Each end of the hallway looked the same. Nurses were darting about, in and out of doors; occasionally glancing at them. Shaggy leaned into the wall. He was exhausted. He had been up for nearly 24 hours straight, most of them spent in a panic. Velma's expression said the same thing.

She looked over her shoulder before she began to speak. "Shaggy… I've been thinking."

He tried to laugh, to keep things normal. "Like, that's supposed to surprise me?" He sheepishly smiled.

She smiled briefly, then frowned. "We have to drop this case."

He suddenly felt like he'd been hit by a truck. In all the years they'd been investigating, not once had such a statement escaped Velma's lips. "Like- what?"

"You disagree?" Her tone seemed angry.

"No, like, not at all. It's just that, you've never said that before."

She sighed. "Shaggy, nothing's been this… Severe before."

"Like, what about the time Fred broke his leg?"

She had to agree with him somewhat. Yes, there had been plenty of injuries over the years. Plenty of hospital visits. Fred had broken his leg during an investigation at a ski resort several years back.

"Or the time the van crashed and we almost ended up in the Chicago River?"

That one was particularly painful. Fred and Daphne had competed on the show Talent Star, sending them to the Windy City. In the midst of the competition, they had ended up being chased through downtown Chicago by the culprit, who had crashed into their van to hard it nearly sent them through the side guard and into the river.

"Or the time the doctor told me I had to stop solving mysteries all together?"

The reminder of that crushed her. After one case, Shaggy had a panic attack, sending him to the emergency room. The doctor had recommended him to quit Mystery Inc.

"Shaggy. In all the years we've been friends, that there's been Mystery Inc., no one's died." The space went cold.

He was reminded once again that Daphne may not make it out of this mystery alive. She could be dead, right now. How would they know?

"Velma, Daphne's a fighter. She can't be… We can't assume…" His voice was cracking.

"I-I know. But, Shaggy. We can't go back. Next time, and you know this will happen again. First you, then Daphne? Next time, someone will die."

She was absolutely right. They had been lucky. They were all alive, for now.

"Okay."

It was as he said this that a nurse entered the waiting room. They both suddenly felt cold. Velma entered first with Shaggy trailing behind.

She had to be here for them. She was in scrubs, feet in surgical booties, hands in gloves, surgical mask covering her face. She stared at them, seemingly sizing them up before she engaged them. "Family of Daphne Blake?"

The color returned to Fred's eyes. He was instantly at the nurse's feet, looking near murderous with anxiety. Shaggy made his way to Fred's side, placing his hand on his shoulder. The blonde seemed to calm at this gesture, his body relaxing.

"Ms. Blake is in recovery-"

Velma let out a cry, hands at her face, corners of her mouth turned upwards. Shaggy felt his eyes tearing as well, though he could only smile. Fred's whole face was glowing, tears streaking down his face.

The nurse smiled, though she was completely unaware of the gang's bond, their friendship, and how much this simple sentence made to them.

"She just came out of surgery. She's stable, though she will be in the ICU for the night. Just a precaution. Now, if you'll come with me, I'll take you to her."

XxxxxX

Compared to the state she was in earlier that day, Daphne looked near perfect. She was still unconscious; it would take at least an hour for her to come out of the anesthesia. Even though she was bloody, her hair still shone. It was messy, but still angelic. She donned an oxygen cannula, with an IV in each arm. Sheets covered her from her midsection down. They were all afraid of the mess that was bandaged underneath. Fred held her hand, messaging it slowly. Velma was sure he was making sure she still had a pulse. Velma was staring at her, smiling, still breathing heavily, face still wet with tears. She had pulled a chair to the end of the bed, wrapping her finger around a toe. Shaggy was still in shock, brain running close to overload. He was standing next to the bed, hands in his pockets, glancing around at everyone.

"Thank you, God. Thank you…" Fred was whispering to Daphne, internally praying that she would hear it.

Velma stood, making her way around Fred to the IV machine hooked to Daphne. She gently grasped one of the bags, searching for a label. She found it was only morphine, and the other was a blood transfusion. Looking to her best friend, she looked so pale, so weak. How were they going to recover? Not just Daphne, but all of them. She returned to her seat, gently grabbing at Shaggy's shirt.

"Like, what is it?" He was barely able to squeak at this point.

"Maybe after they transfer Daphne to a permanent room, one of us could get a change of clothes or something? Or food at least."

Shaggy wanted to smile, but deep down, he knew that Velma discussing such things were just clues to how severe everything was. "I'll, like, take care of it."

Conversation died down after that. All they could do was focus on Daphne. They had nearly lost her.

Their heads turned at the same time. They sensed a new presence with them. It was a new face. His scrubs were soaked in blood. He was still wearing a surgical mask and protective shield.

"Like, who the hell are you?" Shaggy's temper was due to sleep deprivation.

"I'm Dr. Stevens. I was Ms. Blake's main surgeon."

"H-how bad is it?" Fred was standing now, though he still kept a hand on Daphne.

"It was touch and go for most of the procedure. She flat-lined twice-"

"She died?" Fred's mouth was agape.

"Technically speaking… Yes. Her heart stopped twice. Purely from a lack of blood, her circulatory system had nothing to pump, and thus, shut down. We pumped her with 24 units of donor blood before we could stabilize her and begin repairing the damage- what did you say caused this, exactly?"

Velma grabbed the opportunity to explain. "We didn't. We found her bleeding. We're not sure what happened."

"Well, whatever did happen, she's very lucky to be alive." It was only then that they noticed the clipboard he was carrying. He moved closer to the monitor, recording vitals.

"Doctor, what damage was there, exactly?"

Dr. Stevens face darkened. He placed the clipboard on top of the monitor, and faced the gang. "Were you aware Ms. Blake was pregnant?" They nodded. "Unfortunately for her sake, when the placenta began to form, it formed attached in the wall of the uterus itself, not on the outer lining, which is where it develops normally. When she miscarried-"

"What." Fred looked murderous. Velma was afraid he might actually attack the doctor. "She… She lost the baby?"

The doctor's eyes widened. "My apologies, I was told you were already informed of that." Fred opened his mouth to attack this statement, but was cut off by Velma.

"Please excuse my friend, he's very distraught." Velma wasn't sure of what to say. She had never seen Fred act like this, but then again; Shaggy had never acted like this either… She shook herself mentally. There was time and place to think of Shaggy, and that wasn't now.

The doctor seemed to ignore her statement altogether, and continued explaining Daphne's diagnosis. "When she miscarried, her body attempted to discard the products of conception through the vagina, which can resemble the beginning stages of labor due simply to the fact that the uterus must contract complete the miscarriage. It was during this process that the placenta actually tore a hole in the uterus, causing the massive internal bleeding."

Velma was trying her hardest not to break out crying. She had seen plenty of medical shows, and read numerous reports, but a report wasn't Daphne.

"D-do you know what caused her to miscarry?"

"When we examined the uterus, and the products of conception, both were completely healthy. There really is no medical explanation for why this happened. We've run a toxicology report, and are waiting for the results, but that's really the only explanation."

Velma closed her eyes, letting it all wash over her. "T-thank you, d-doctor." She was trying to be strong for Fred's sake, for Daphne's sake. For her own sake. She turned back to Shaggy and Fred, eyes falling of Daphne once again. Fred no longer seemed upset, his face now bore the characteristics of anger and frustration. Neither Shaggy nor Velma were sure how to handle their friend at the moment.

Fred had both hands wrapped around Daphne's, seemingly holding on for dear life.

They could say nothing. What could they say? 'Oh, don't worry, you can always knock her up again!' That would be just fantastic.

They heard the curtains rustling behind them again. Two nurses stood before them, one with his face buried in a clipboard, the other standing beside him, smiling slightly. He first nurse flipped through the pages, then looked at them. "Daphne Blake?" Velma nodded, wiping her eyes. The nurses stepped forward, taking command of Daphne's bed, causing Fred to step back. The clipboard nurse looked up to Shaggy. "She'll be in the ICU. Room 713." They could hear the brake release, and Daphne was wheeled out of the room.

They stood back for several minutes, staring at each other, and at things around the room. Shaggy finally pulled out his phone, glancing at the time. It was nearly 2pm. "I'm gonna like, go check on Scooby and get some supplies. I'll be like, back soon." He scratched the back of his head, waiting for any response.

Though he was still looking at the floor, Fred was able to respond. "Sounds like a plan."