Fandom: Psych

Title: Five Things Henry Never Told His Son

Author: Olivia Sutton

Catloging Info: Drabble, Angst

Rating: PG-13/Teen

Spoilers: None.

Season: Pre-Season

Feedback: Yes, please.

Archive: Fanfic Net, Psychfic, otherwise please ask.

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych, and I'm not making any profit from this. This is for the enjoyment of other fans. Feedback and reviews are most welcome.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AN: Inspired by "Five Things Shawn Never Told His Father" by Katikat, with permission of original author. Katikat's fic can be found both on wwwdotfanfictiondotnet and on Live Journal. Comments, reviews, etc are most welcome. Also, and I don't normally do this, but if anyone's interested in developing these ideas into longer fics, please, please e-mail me via this site and we'll talk.

Summary: Sometimes parents just don't tell their kids everything.

Five Things Henry Never Told His Son

1. Henry never told his son that Shawn had been a premature birth and had nearly died. Henry remembered watching through glass the tiny, tiny pink baby with tubes and wires stuck everywhere, and not even being able to touch the infant. That Shawn had managed to survive had been a miracle. To Henry once it was clear his infant son wouldn't only survive but thrive, he thought it wasn't important to explain to Shawn the truth about his birth.

2. Henry never told Shawn he had been shot on duty. The bullet had been aimed straight for his heart and if he hadn't been wearing a bullet-proof vest he wouldn't have survived. His wife had given him hell for it, but fortunately Shawn had been at the Gusters that night. As to his wife, Henry shrugged off her screaming, knowing it was motivated by worry.

3. Henry never told Shawn that he had wanted a large family, three or four kids, maybe. But as his marriage grew colder, his wife's silences longer, or, by contrast her screams louder, gradually Henry knew more children wouldn't be forthcoming. And considering how difficult Helena's pregnancy with Shawn had been, he realized everything had a silver lining. But he still missed holding a small child on his knee, or that unique baby smell.

4. Henry never told Shawn how scared he had been when Shawn had developed meningococcal meningitis when he was only a year old. He son had been burning up with fever, but it had taken the doctors dayss to discover what was wrong. Eventually, the bacterial meningitis had been diagnosed, IV antibiotics prescribed, and after a few days in the hospital, Shawn had recovered. But Henry had been terrified the entire time that he would lose his only child.

5. Henry never told Shawn the real reason he had limited contact between Shawn and his grandfather, Henry's father. The man was abusive, plain and simple, and Henry didn't want Shawn exposed to that. Of course, Shawn yelled, screamed and complained about 'not having a grandfather like other kids', but Henry turned a deaf ear to the complaints, considering it better than the alternative. When Henry Senior had passed away during Shawn's junior year of high school, Henry had considered it a blessing in disguise.