Listen. If you guys follow me on AO3, you should know by now that I have a sporadic posting schedule. There's nothing to it. I literally. Just don't. It's awful. I need help.
When he wakes up, he feels like his throat is raw. His muscles still feel tight, but if he looks down, he can see his hands twitching every few seconds. It takes him a moment, but he remembers why he's in a hospital bed.
The memory slams him in the chest, and he immediately recoils. His chest rises and falls rapidly, his heart rate speeds up, and the twitches in his hands start getting more frequent.
A flurry of people rush into his room. His dad and Jules are on the medical team's heels. The doctor nods to the nurse and moves to stand at Shawn's bedside.
"Hey, Shawn?" the doctor says. "I'm Doctor Chek." Chek smiles warmly at him. "Listen, your heart rate is really high and we just want to make sure you're not going into shock. Can you tell me what you're thinking of right now?"
Shawn doesn't notice his body is shaking until his father maneuvers around the doctor and grabs his hand. "It's okay, Shawn, we're here."
Shawn gulps and licks his lips. "I- I remembered the- I remembered getting electrocuted."
Dr. Chek purses his lips and nods slowly. "That's completely understandable, Shawn, but I want you to think of something else, like your girlfriend or dogs or your favorite food."
Shawn perks up slightly and looks to Gus. "Pineapples?"
Gus smiles, sniffles, wipes his nose, and nods. "I can go get you a pineapple smoothie if you want, Shawn." He looks to Dr. Chek. "As long as that's okay."
Dr. Chek shrugs. "Go ahead, his body could probably use those nutrients."
Gus walks over, squeezes Shawn's other hand, and promises to get Shawn the best pineapple smoothie in Santa Barbara.
The rest of them wait for Gus to leave, and then Lassie steps forward, holding a paper grocery bag. "Here," he says roughly, passing it along to Shawn, "I thought it might make your stay a little easier."
Jules moves to Shawn's other side and helps him unload the gift bag. Lassie packed a new pair of pajamas (Shawn's mildly impressed that they're the right size), fuzzy socks, a fuzzy blanket, a deck of cards, miniature chess, and puzzle books.
Shawn looks up, and he would almost be too embarrassed to admit that Lassie's act of kindness made him cry, but he's not about living life like that anymore. He sniffles, nods at Lassie, and says, "Thanks, man, I– I can't tell you how much this means to me."
Lassie shrugs, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Gus insisted that we get you a fuzzy blanket, and Chief Vick picked out the fuzzy socks and the pajamas. O'Hara told us your size."
"Who got me the games?"
Lassie ducks his head sheepishly. "That was me. Your dad told us that you liked puzzles and games, so I thought it wouldn't be such a bad idea." He nods to the bag. "There's a get-well card in there. We wanted to get you flowers, but there weren't any good arrangements when we went in."
Shawn swallows past the lump in his throat. "Thanks, Lassie, that really– it really means a lot."
Lassie smiles at him. "Anytime, Shawn." He checks his watch and glances at Vick. "Uh, Chief, you want to see if the florist has anymore flower arrangements? I think Spencer's room could use a bit more color."
She smiles warmly at first Lassie, then Shawn. "Of course, Detective. Shawn, do you want us to get you some get-well balloons, too? It's no trouble."
Shawn glances around the room. "That– that would be nice, thank you."
"Get well, Mr. Spencer," she says, gently turning Lassie around and leading him out of the room.
Juliet wipes her eyes. "Here," she says, reaching onto the chair next to Shawn's bed. "I brought your present earlier." She passes a little stuffed koala to him. "I, uh…I better get going, Shawn, I have a lot of work to do and you probably want to spend time with your dad –" She moves to leave, but Shawn grabs her hand.
"Stay." The word is so simple, so gentle, almost like a plea.
Jules sits down.
Henry watches the moment pass between them and smiles softly to himself. I always knew the day would come when he loved a girl this much. Guess I just didn't expect it to happen this soon. He kisses his son's forehead. "I'll be back later, Shawn. I love you."
"I love you, too, Dad." Shawn waits until his father leaves the room (though, if Shawn is being completely honest, Henry's probably just standing outside in the hallway or as close as he can be), and then he turns to Juliet. "Jules, this wasn't your fault."
She grabs his hand. "I don't ever want to have to worry about you like that again."
"You won't have to. I promise, Jules, I will not get myself that in over my head ever again."
Her smile is watery. "You can't promise that."
He smiles softly in return. "Yeah, I can," he whispers, "I'm a psychic."
Her laugh is the most beautiful sound he's ever heard.