Spark in the Dark

Chapter 38

Shawn had just a few errands to do before going to St. Thomas to see Abel. She ended up arriving at the hospital just before noon. Sitting in the rocking chair next to his incubator, she saw a children's book and picked it up to read to him. Shawn tried to do funny voices for the baby, but ended up just sounded ridiculous. She stuck with it, though, until she finished the book.

"Sorry, buddy. I honestly thought I would be better at that than I was." Shawn stood from the rocking chair to look at Abel. "Man, how rude am I? Here I am reading you a book and talking to you and you don't even know who I am. Let's fix that, shall we? I am your Aunt Shawn. I'm your daddy's bestest friend in the whole wide world. Now, he'll try to tell you that your Uncle Opie is his best friend, but don't listen to him. He's wrong. It's definitely me."

The door to the room opened and Gemma stepped in. She smiled at the site of Shawn talking to Abel.

"Hey, you're not saying anything bad to my grandson, are you?"

"Nope, we're just getting to know each other."

"Yea," Gemma said with a laugh. "Your Aunt Shawn here, Abel, will be the one who hooks you up with all the cute girls."

"Over my dead body. I'll be the one beating them away. You want someone to get you girls you can go to Tig for that."

"I said cute girls, not skanks," Gemma told her. "Tara said Wendy is awake."

"When she wasn't awake?"

"She ODed a couple days ago. They had her in some detox coma. I was thinking about going to talk to her. Want to come with?"

"I'm good. I think I will head to the cafeteria though. I need a drink. Want anything?"

"Coffee. Black, lots of sugar."

Gemma went one way down the hall and Shawn the other. Shawn hadn't spent much time in St. Thomas, normally she avoided the hospital at all costs, so she got a little lost on her way to the cafeteria. She turned a corner and saw Karen Oswald standing at a nurse's station. Karen did a double take at her, then turned towards her.

"Shawn," she said to get her attention, "what are you doing here?"

"My friend's son is here. I was visiting. Now, I'm looking for the cafeteria."

"Down the hall to the left. Before you go, Tristan actually asked to see you, but I didn't know how to get ahold of you. Would you mind?"

"No, of course not. Which room?"

Karen pointed and Shawn went in the door. Tristan looked up at her as she entered, but didn't say anything. Shawn hadn't noticed her busted lip the night before.

"Hey, kiddo. Heard you were looking for me," Shawn said as she took a seat in the chair next to her bed.

Tristan nodded. "I wanted to say thank you. Ya know, for finding me?"

"You don't have to thank me for that."

"I guess I'm just glad it was you. Not some stranger. When I was little, I always wished you were my big sister, not just my babysitter."

"You know, I actually have two little sisters. I don't get along with them very well. You would have been a much better little sister to have than them." Tristan smiled a little at Shawn, but then looked down. Shawn thought she looked like she could cry. "Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?"

"My mom says I shouldn't talk about it to anyone."

Tristan's statement pissed Shawn off, but she hid it. "Oh."

"Can I ask you something?" Shawn nodded. "Have you ever been... raped?"

Shawn stood from her chair and sat next to Tristan on the bed so she could hold her hand. "No, I haven't. I don't know what that's like. But I do know what it's like to be trapped inside your own head. It can feel very lonely. If you need to talk to someone, I'm here, ok? I won't tell your mom unless you want me to."

Tristan looked thoughtful for a moment. She nodded, mostly to herself, and looked at Shawn. She opened her mouth to say something, but the door to her room opened and Karen came in. Tristan closed her mouth, again, and looked back down.

"Everything ok?" Karen asked.

"Yes," Shawn answered. "I have to get going. Would it be alright if I stopped in again later?"

"That's fine with me. Tristan, you want Shawn to come back later?" Karen asked.

Tristan nodded and Shawn left. She followed Karen's directions to the cafeteria and got Gemma's coffee and decided to get a soda. She normally didn't drink that stuff, but felt like she needed the sugar rush. Plus, Gemma would think too much into it if all she drank was water.

Shawn was walking back to Abel's room when her cell phone rang. She set Gemma's coffee down on the counter of a nearby nurse's station to see who it was. She ignored a dirty look from the nurse sitting there as she answered her phone.

"Hey," Shawn greeted Juice.

"Hey, how you holding up?"

"I take it someone told you about last night?"

"Yea, the guys were talking about it," Juice admitted.

"I'm fine. Could have used a distraction when I got home last night, though."

"Sorry, we're were into it with the Irish."

"I don't want to know," Shawn said. She prefered to know as little as possible about what the club was up to.

"Fair enough. How about I come by tonight? I'll make it up to you?"

"Where are you now that you're talking so freely?"

"Me and Sack are out doing some shit for TM."

"I take it he doesn't know who you're talking to?"

"Nah, plus I'm a few feet away. He can't hear me."

"So, are you and him doing stuff for TM? Or is he doing stuff for TM and you're just there?"

"That's not very nice," Juice joked.

"The truth hurts."

"Hey, I got another call coming in. I'll see you tonight, alright?"

"Yea, ok... Hey, I want my pictures back!"

"Nope. They're mine now."

Juice hung up before she could say anything. Shawn put her phone back in her purse and picked up Gemma's coffee. With a nod to the nurse, who looked pissed at Shawn, she continued down the hall to Abel's room.