Claire has had enough with how heartbroken Shaun is and confronts Lea.
As Claire stood there and watched the sedation take over Shaun's consciousness, from the latest meltdown that no one, not even Dr. Glassman could break him out of. They were given no choice but to sedate him. As his eyes closed, something inside of Claire snapped and before she knew it she walking to the IT department, to the source of this, Lea.
As soon as she reached Lea's office she just stormed in and sat down. She caught Lea's attention, and she saw the shock on who she thought was her friends face. "We need to talk about Shaun, and you can say that you don't have time or whatever, but I am not leaving until you hear what I have to say"
So, Lea sat back and gave Claire her full attention.
"Do you care about Shaun at all?"
"Yes, of course I do, but it's more complicated than that."
"Do you love him?" Before Lea could speak, Claire reworded her question, "Do you love him in the same way he loves you?"
Lea sighing, "Yes, I do. But, I've been told by the guys that I have dated lately that I am hard to be with, and after what happened between him and Carly I couldn't do that him. I don't want to lose him."
"Lea, you're losing him regardless." That made Lea look up and start crying. "He was terrified of telling you how he really felt because he knew if you didn't feel the same, then he could no longer be friends with you. I'm not sure what you've heard through the gossip halls but it's not as black and white as you think it is. Shaun tried so hard to make her happy, but no matter what he did, she would still get mad at him. I'm sure you don't want to hear this but the first time they slept together, she got mad at him, because he didn't make sure she was satisfied. Then after your trip to Wyoming with him, all of a sudden Carly is issuing him ultimatums, you and I both know that is not how Shaun works, but he still tried, it's why he asked you to move out. I'm not entirely sure on all the details, I just know what Shaun told me, that Carly told him that she could no longer be with him because he didn't love her, he loved you, and she could no longer pretend it was true."
Lea just sat there for a minute processing all of this. She had agreed to move out because she thought it would make his relationship with Carly better but apparently that was just the beginning of the end for them.
"Lea, he is beyond devastated about losing you. He was sad when Carly broke up with him, but with you it's like he has just given up. He called off work three days in a row and I went to his apartment and you know what I found? A person who didn't care about anything, he smelled like he had not showered in days and he hadn't shaved and the apartment was trashed. Uneaten food, half eaten food, and he just sat on the couch underneath the blanket saying he wished he was normal. I convinced him to come back to work because I thought getting back into his routine was what he needed, but I was wrong."
"What do you mean you were wrong?"
"When we all met Shaun before he even started at the hospital officially, he could be rude about what he thought, but he tried to be careful so he did not lose his job and now that care is gone, it's like he doesn't care about his job at all. We got called to the ER and at first I thought everything was ok, but then someone said something and the next thing I know Shauns on the ground in tears, completely disassociated from what was going on. He just kept repeating over and over again, It should have been me, not you. No one wants me but they wanted you, so it should have been me. We had to page Dr. Glassman, and when he heard what Shaun was saying he just started saying no that's not true Shaun, but nothing worked."
Lea stood up, "I need to fix this, I need to go talk to him. Maybe I can break him out of this. I will tell him Im afraid and I just need some time and beg him not to give up on our friendship."
"Lea, talking to Shaun right now is the worst thing you could do right now, not to mention a waste of energy. What you need to do is give him some space. But what on earth are you afraid of? I know you're a very social person, you worked your way into our group and at first we just liked how good you were with Shaun but then we got to know you better. Are you afraid of what everyone will think of you of they knew you loved a man with autism? Because news flash girl, we already know you love him. What has changed for at least me is I thought you were stronger than this, I didn't think you were so prejudiced about something like this. Right now in this moment, you are no better than the rest of us when met Shaun, all we saw was his autism and didn't think he was fit to be a doctor but he proved all of us wrong, and I hate to say but you are acting no better than his parents do, not wanting because he is autistic. We all thought you were better than that." Claire stopped for a second to think about what to say next. "I think that there is a part of you that is scared that if you take this chance, that it won't work but I also think that what really scares you is the thought that Shaun is who you're meant to spend the rest of your life with. That maybe for the first time, it could all work out."
Lea thinks about all of this and something in her snaps. "You're right Claire. I need to go right now and tell him the truth and for once not give up."
"Lea, you literally cannot talk to him right now. He is heavily sedated, it was the only way to calm him down. Give this a few days to sink in and really think so you're not acting out of impulse, he deserves more than that. He deserves to be loved."
"Ok, ok, you're right. I am scared to give being with him a chance and it not working and losing my friend but if I'm going to lose him if I don't, than I owe it to both of us."
Over the next few days Lea would see glimpses of Shaun as he was leaving or coming to work. Each time she wanted to go him but she would see no glint in his eyes and knew he was just going through the motions of just trying to present. As she was leaving she saw a poster for a cancer charity event at a local brewery and decided to go to it tomorrow afternoon and have a drink or two. Everything with Shaun has her stressed out and she knows she needs to be calm and level headed to talk to him, just in case, he rejects her this time, sayings it's too late. Lea shakes her head, fear got her into this.