After the Episode: Second Chances

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Shining Time Station.

Authoresses Note: Hey everyone, this is the start of a little project that I'm doing. I want to do a one shot after every episode of STS, or at least try to get all of the really popular ones. They might not be directly related to the episode, or will contain a few linking themes, but I will try to make them flow as a one shot type of story occurring on a timeline directly after the episode that inspired them. They also won't be terribly long. I was originally going to start in order but I'm just going to work on it as I get inspiration. Any requests for episodes can be directed to me if you want to see something sooner.

It was a normal day at the Station, Stacy was at her desk, Billy was in his office mending some piece of equipment, and the kids were doing some homework on the benches near the arcade. Schemer burst through the door of the Station with the ever present air of self-importance that followed him. He was wheeling in a large box which was a noticeable change, because he usually made every effort possible to avoid bringing in his parcels for the arcade.

"Gather round children, I have a very important announcement about our future as baseball champions!" He said grandly.

"What's in the box Uncle Schemer?" Schemee asked as he looked up from his work.

"Well dear nephew, I will show you. Behold! The future in baseball pitching!" He yanked the box straight off to reveal a pitching machine.

"A pitching machine? What for?" Kara asked a little scornfully. "We have a pitcher."

"Yeah I'm with Kara, Uncle Schemer." Schemee agreed.

"You kids have no ambition." Schemer said with an annoyed huff. "Of course we have a pitcher, but this machine will be a good way to practice against something much faster. We can practice consistency."

"We don't need consistency." Schemee argued. "Real people aren't consistent, that's the whole point of baseball. You don't know what's going to happen next or what the next pitch will be, you have to be prepared for everything, not conditioned to some machine."

Stacy and Billy had been intrigued by the announcement. "I don't see the harm in maybe trying it out." Billy said, and Stacy nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Billy!" Schemer said and gestured to Billy from Schemee. "See Schemee! Billy gets it!"

"Okay, well I think we're going to head to the field a little early." Schemee said as the kids began to gather up their things.

"Good, we'll meet you there and show you how right I am!" Schemer retorted and wheeled the machine back out.

Baseball practice was just starting when Schemer wheeled in the pitching machine. The kids gathered around it curiously, save for Schemee who was stubbornly still on the bench with his arms folded across his chest.

"It's not going to replace practicing on a real pitcher. Which is what we're going to be facing in the games." Schemee explained, looking bored with his arms folded across his chest.

"That's enough of out you! Besides, machines like this are the future, one day pitchers won't be necessary with these babies around. That's why I want all of you to be proficient hitters." Schemer explained.

Schemee scoffed. "If you say so. How does it work?"

Schemer scuffed his foot on the ground. "Let's just put it into action and find out. Billy, I'll need you to set it up." He added offhandedly.

"Already did Schemer." Billy said with a knowing smile.

The kids got into a line and practiced batting at various speeds. After Schemee had hit a few balls, Schemer gave a quick tug on his uniform sleeve.

"Bleachers, now." He said briefly, with a jerk of his head towards the stands.

Schemee took off his helmet and cast it aside with his bat and followed him wordlessly. Schemer made his way halfway up the bleachers and took a seat. Schemee sat backwards on the bleacher immediately in front of his uncle, so that he could face him directly. Schemer observed him with a contemplative look on his face and didn't say anything at first. Schemee gave an annoyed sigh.

"Okay, I know what this is about." He threw up his hands in a dramatic gesture. "You're mad at what I said."

"I'm not mad, just disappointed with your attitude." Schemer said simply. "I'm just trying to help the team improve and like always you won't stand behind my ideas."

Schemee heaved another sigh. "Look, we have a pitcher, and I think we should practice with him. We'll get too focused on trying to win against a machine instead of trying to win against a real team if we focus on using the automatic pitcher too much."

"We won't only use the machine, but I want to make sure our pitchers can double as hitters if we needed a replacement hitter at any point." Schemer sounded annoyed now. "I know you think you know absolutely everything about coaching but if you could just support me for once it would be appreciated."

He got up to leave as Dan came up the bleachers. "Schemer, the machine is jammed and we can't get the ball out. Billy's suggesting that we take it apart."

"Oh for-," Schemer exclaimed irritably and gave a sharp look at Schemee, "Not a word from you."

Schemee put up his hands in mock defense, but obeyed. He watched as his Uncle moved down to the field to consult with Billy. The other kids were moving off the field and gathering up their belongings. He felt like now was a good time to go back his bag, practice was just about over. Remembering his discarded belongings on the field, he moved towards home base to collect them. He momentarily disregarded the helmets must be worn on the field at all times rule, because his was currently lying in near home plate. As he reached for it, he looked up to see his uncle and Billy still huddled over the machine, which was now whirring loudly. He grabbed his helmet, and stood up, only to hear a commotion occurring the machine. Smokey wisps were coming off of it and as he turned to get a better look at it a resounding BANG rang out and he felt his head explode in a world of pain.

Schemer and Billy had shielded their faces as the machine acted up but the cry of "Schemee!" from Dan made them whip their heads towards home plate. Schemee had been right in the line of fire from the machine, which had violently ejected a ball at high speed. To his misfortune, Dan's warning came too late and the ball hit him straight in the right temple. The force and pain knocked him off his feet and he fell hard to the ground, skidded backwards on his side. He lay facing away from Schemer and Billy, who were rushing towards him in a panic, and clutched the sides of his head, which was agonizingly throbbing. Within seconds, the three reached him and he felt several pairs of hands gripping him.

"Dan, go call 911 immediately and after that tell your aunt to make sure the other kids stay away from the field." Billy calmly told Dan, taking control of the situation.

After Dan hurriedly left, he turned to a distraught Schemer. "Schemer, I need a towel and the first aid kit." Schemee felt one pair of hands unclasp his arm and shoulder and his Uncle hurried off while looking nervously back.

Billy gently gripped Schemee's hand covering the right side of his head. Schemee whimpered in pain and tried to resist, but Billy firmly but gently removed it. "Come on Schemee, I need to see what happened. It's all going to be okay, don't worry." He said softly.

Schemee relented and allowed him to remove his very tense hand off of his head. As soon as he let go, he felt his whole body relax and start feeling heavy. He breathed shaky gasps, as he felt his head spinning. Tears had mixed with the dirt and he could feel it caking the side of his face that was pressed into the diamond. There was a warm sensation of dripping liquid along the other side of his face and he slowly opened his eyes. He was seeing stars and the light hurt his eyes, but after blinking slowly he tried to get a better view of his hand. It was covered in blood, his blood, and he could feel more flowing in rivulets down the side of his face.

"How bad is it?" He choked out, but regretting opening his mouth due to the nausea he was starting to experience.

"You're going to be okay, the ambulance is coming and we'll take care of you in the meantime." He said softly.

Normally this wouldn't have been a very reassuring response, but a numb feeling was spreading throughout Schemee's mind and he wasn't as concerned as he probably should have been. He wasn't even bothered by the blood.

Schemer had returned in less than a minute, but with Schemee losing his grip on consciousness it felt much longer. Schemer and Billy made brief eye contact before Schemer looking down at the wound, flinching. Billy could tell Schemer's hands were shaking and he probably needed some reassurance but there would be time for that after Schemee was in the clear, because at this point he couldn't give much reassurance anyways.

"Keep him awake, he's starting to drift off." Billy said calmly and clapped Schemer gently on the shoulder. It shook him out of his shell shocked state. He gripped Schemee's shoulders and kneeled down before leaning into a half laying position on his side.

"Hey, Schemee." He said gravelly, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Schemee's eyes were fluttering weakly. "You need to stay awake. This is very important." He gave him a small shake and his eyes fluttered open once more, albeit looking unfocused.

"Uncle Schemer, why are you lying in the dirt?" He whispered, giving him a lopsided grin. Without warning he started giggling, apparently at nothing. Schemer looked to Billy, who was currently trying to staunch the bleeding, with a stricken expression.

"He's getting delirious, it was a hard hit." Billy explained gravely, while focused on the task at hand. "The ambulance should be here soon, we just need to keep him stable until they take over."

"Billy, Is... How bad is it?" He asked with dread in his voice. Billy looked up feeling slightly exasperated but felt guilty immediately when he looked at Schemer. He could almost see the fear radiating off him, and for a second imagined that it was his own nephew, Kit, in Schemee's position, and understood the internal anguish that Schemer was feeling.

"To be honest, I don't know from looking. But he will be okay, head injuries are serious, but not uncommon. And he'll be getting immediate help." He explained in a soft voice, Schemer nodded seriously and looked down. Schemee had grasped at Schemer's hand and was shaking.

"I'm really cold." He said with a shudder.

Without a word, Schemer draped his suit jacket over his nephew's shoulders. Schemee had a slightly more lucid moment. "You're going to get it covered in blood." He slurred. Which was true, the three of them were already wearing it. Billy had fortunately been able to stop the flow with the bandages.

"It doesn't matter, trust me." Schemer sat up straighter. "Please stay with me." He half-pleaded.

"I can't go anywhere, so I have to stay." Schemee muttered, the double meaning lost in his hazy state.

He gripped his nephew's hand with a pained expression on his face. At that moment, Stacy rushed over to the trio.

"The ambulance is here, they're taking the stretcher out now." She said breathlessly, having run over, and sadly eyed Schemee's prone body.

The three adults watched him be loaded into the ambulance. As it sped off, sirens blaring and lights flashing, Schemer briskly walked to his car without a word.

"Schemer wait!" Stacy called as Billy followed her. He turned sharply just as he reached his car.

"I'm sorry, I can't. Thanks for your help, but I have to go follow." He said with panic, it was bad enough having to witness his nephew suffering from his injuries, but not seeing and knowing what was happening was far worse.

"Change out of your shirt first. I'll meet you there after I go change." Billy said, and tossed Schemer his coaching shirt. Schemer hadn't noticed that his white dress shirt was stained copper. He swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded.

"I'll be there soon too. I just want to go check on Dan and the kids. Don't worry, I know it's easier said than done but everything will be okay." Stacy promised and gave him a quick hug.

"Yeah, thanks." Schemer managed to say, before speeding off in his car after the ambulance.

The hospital wait was agonizing. Every time a doctor or nurse passed by Schemer's heart skipped a beat. He remained silent for the most part, internally playing over the day's events in his head. Billy and Stacy had an idea that his grief was slightly more than Schemee's injuries, and might include guilt. But they didn't want to bring it up until after they had heard some news, hopefully good news at that.

"Mr. Schemer?" A female nurse questioned, coming by with a clipboard. Schemer, who had been sitting with his elbows resting on his knees, and his chin resting on his elbows whilst staring into space, shot up.

"Yes? That's me." He said nervously.

"The doctor is ready to speak with you now." She said kindly, but her demeanor gave nothing away. He rose slowly and gave Billy and Stacy a final look before turning to follow her. They reached a small tucked away room and she gestured that he should enter. A doctor was seated in a chair across from the door.

"Mr. Schemer is it? Please have a seat." He swept his arm. "I'd rather not keep you worried any longer, your nephew will make a full recovery and he was quite fortunate to arrive here so quickly."

Schemer felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He heaved a sigh and closed and opened his eyes slowly. "Thank you, how is he doing?" He asked cautiously.

"We're monitoring him right now, he'll be in pain mind you, but everything should heal with a little bit of help. He was struck extremely hard, and had a small linear skull fracture under the broken skin, but he was very fortunate to avoid brain damage, apparently he has a thick skull."

"You have no idea." Schemer mumbled, still feeling the relief wash over him.

"He's a little weak from blood loss and his memory is slightly fuzzy. The impact site required seven stitches and will have a scar underneath his hair unfortunately, but I'd say that he escaped relatively unscathed. He has a fairly serious concussion, but we were more concerned about a contusion, which he fortunately does not have and he will make a full recovery." The doctor explained.

Schemer felt uneasy about the extent of the injury, because it was still serious enough. The incident had shook him to his core, the state that he had seen Schemee in on the field was still very fresh in his mind and he would likely remember it for a long time. "Will I be able to see him soon?"

"Soon. We're testing him for vision and hearing loss but we're optimistic. It could have been much worse."

Vision loss struck a nerve with Schemer. He thanked the doctor, and was assured that they would come find him once they were ready to let him in. He left to find Stacy and Billy, though the feelings of guilt were bubbling up much more actively. They stood up to meet him as he approached.

"He's okay." He said simply to put them at ease quickly, similar to what the doctor had done for him. They visibly relaxed and he allowed himself a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" Billy asked. "You've been sitting in a hospital for seven hours, lost in your thoughts."

The smile slipped from his face. "Fine. I feel fine." He claimed without much enthusiasm.

"Schemer, you can tell us how it feels. We both have nephews, we will try to understand." Stacy said gently.

"Well it's just..." He heaved a sigh and looked away, before throwing himself down in a chair, covering his mouth with his hand. After gathering his thoughts he gestured lightly with his hands. "I just haven't ever came that close to feeling like I could lose him. It was terrifying, and I... I know it's all my fault."

There is was, the admission of guilt. They slid down on either side of him. "Schemer, you didn't ever intend for anything to happen. It's not like bringing a pitching machine onto the field was a danger in itself. Just because you had opposing viewpoints on it, and this incident might make it seem like yours was wrong, doesn't mean that this was more than a terrible accident." Stacy explained. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"What if it was worse? It could have been so much more tragic. The doctor said he could have had a contusion if it had hit harder. His skull is fractured, and they're testing him for vision loss right now. They said it's not likely, but if it gets worse over time I'll always feel responsible. I can't handle the thought of him going through what I did." He looked at each of them individually. "You know how my father was violent?"

Billy felt a sinking feeling in his chest, they knew parts of Schemer's family history and it wasn't terribly happy.

Schemer gave a mirthless smile and exhaled sharply before running his hand over his curl and sweeping it back. A jagged scar ran about three inches underneath it, the hair and curl were styled so that they covered it up. "He did this in an... episode. I had similar injuries to Schemee but have had chronic vision loss in my right eye. It's only been getting worse, and I'm hoping that he doesn't have any lasting effects."

"I'm sorry Schemer." Stacy said regretfully.

"It's fine, it doesn't bother me like it used to. But the thought of him carrying a similar scar in nearly the same spot and potentially the same effects as me is awful for me to think about. I am not my father, I know that, and I couldn't be him if I tried. But I the fact that I'm responsible for doing almost the same thing to Schemee makes me sick." He looked away. "I didn't mean to, but it still happened."

"You're right." Billy said, and the two looked at him curiously. "You're not your father. But you can't use this as a parallel. It's not at all. The outcome was similar, but the actions to get there were way different. And the remorse you show now places you way above your father, and this wasn't even something that was directly your fault."

Schemer looked contemplative. "I guess you're right." He conceded finally.

"Mr. Schemer, the doctors are done with your nephew, you can go see him now." The nurse returned with a smile. He smiled properly for the first time since earlier that day and turned to his friends before he followed her.

"Thank you for everything." He said gratefully. "I owe you guys a lot, and I'm sure you want to get back."

"We'll go make sure the team knows he's okay." Stacy said with a smile. They bid their goodbyes and Schemer made his way into his nephew's room. He was propped up, with most of his head bandaged up. Schemer's smile fell and he closed the gap between the bed and the door in a few long strides. He half sat on the bed so that he could face his nephew better.

"I told you that the machine was no good." Schemee said with a raspy voice, but smirked at his Uncle.

Schemer didn't smile in return, he just pulled his nephew into a tight embrace.

"It's okay Uncle Schemer, I'm fine!" He exclaimed, but hugged back with his one arm that wasn't hooked up to a drip.

"You didn't look fine." Schemer said honestly as they released. "If I never feel that way again I will be happy. How do you feel now?"

Schemee shrugged, feeling slightly ashamed for his Uncle's worrying. "Okay, my head hurts a lot and I've been feeling sick, but they want to keep me here a few days to monitor me. They've been giving me painkillers for when the pain gets too bad but they try to limit how much I can take."

"Good, I'm so glad it wasn't any worse than it was. It's bad enough now, but you could have been in serious trouble." He looked concerned just thinking about it.

"Look Uncle Schemer, I should have had my helmet on. It's not the machine's fault, except for the fact that it broke down, or yours." Schemee tried to reason.

"It's not your fault, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you though. I was too focused on what I wanted to do and I didn't want to hear any other sides." He turned his head away with embarrassment.

"Uncle, do you honestly think I want you to keep beating yourself up over this? I know that you never would have intended for this to happen. I wouldn't ever think for a second that someone who was willing to lay down in the dirt beside me and get covered in my blood would do anything that wasn't in my best interest. I remember that, and I appreciate it. Because it was one of the scariest moments of my life and having you there beside me was the only thing that made it bearable." Schemee confessed, feeling serious.

Schemer was stunned. Schemee had just justified everything that Billy and Stacy had told him and had completely destroyed any thoughts that he was similar to his father. His father hadn't stayed by his side, he went through it with his mother who was simply another innocent person involved. But the thought of letting Schemee go through this alone was foreign to him, it wasn't even a consideration he would have entertained. His throat felt tight for a moment and he had to let it sink in.

"You okay?" Schemee asked with concern.

Schemer gave a small smile, still looking away. "Yes, I think so. You?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. By the way, we're going to match now. My scar will be in the same place as yours." He pointed out.

Schemer looked at him with shock. "You know about my scar?" He brushed his fingers lightly over it.

Schemee scoffed. "I've lived with you for over ten years, I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed it at some point in that time. I never brought it up, seemed like you were hiding it."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. You're almost as good of a schemer as I am. Maybe one day you'll match me." He bragged.

Schemee laughed. "But seriously, how did you get it?"

Schemer's smile dropped a fraction. Was he ready to know? He hadn't any desire to burden him about it while he was younger. But he was asking, and maybe understanding it would make them a stronger team when it came to coaching baseball. Schemee was his team captain, maybe they could see eye to eye a little better over it.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Schemee pointed out, noticing the pause that had fallen.

"No, I will. But you have to promise me something. You will return to the team only if you want to, and only when you are ready. No sooner than when the doctor gives you the all clear, and I will not force you in. And you must be very careful and help make sure this never happens again. In return, I'm going to trust you more when it comes to your opinions on the field. Deal?" He offered his hand.

"Deal." Schemee said with a smile.