Summary: She'll never stop coming by every day.
Never stop caring.
Or wishing.
Or hoping.
ANGST WARNING!
"Your Mom came by today."
She rung out the washcloth so it wasn't dripping and then resumed the gentle strokes of the soft cotton along his leg.
"Did she tell you about her new job? She's in LA now. She said it was so she could come by and help sometimes. I told her that it wasn't necessary, but that I appreciate the thought anyway."
Setting the cloth back in the bowl, she took the drying towel and briskly, but gently rubbed his skin dry as she continued to talk about Madeline and how they talked a lot more now.
She folded the sheet and blanket back down over his feet, patted his leg, and picked up the bowl of cooling, dirty water.
"Be right back, Shawn. We need fresh water."
The corridor was quiet this time of day, early afternoon being one of the natural lulls in the daily stream of visitors, and she only had to say hi to a few familiar faces as she made her way to the sink where she could rinse out the bowl and refill it with fresh water, nice and warm.
She didn't have to come here, of course. There was a sink in the room with soap she could use.
But she liked this soap better. It smelled more . . . Shawnish.
And none of the nurses minded.
Cloth rinsed and bowl refilled, she returned to the room.
"I'm back," she said. He didn't answer—he never did—but they said it was good for her to talk to him, that he could hear her even if he didn't appear to.
It also kept her sane.
She wasn't used to him being this still. Not even after all this time.
The next part was a little harder, but she'd had enough practice that she'd figured out the tricks.
First she had to raise the side guard and line it with pillows, meanwhile telling Shawn about how his Dad had taken his cooking hobby to the next level and was teaching community classes though UCSB.
"You ought to see him. His first class was six people, but it keeps growing every week. They said they're cutting him off at twenty per class and won't let him add a second class until this session is over. He's like Emeril with more fishing and cop jokes," she said with a soft laugh.
She rolled Shawn onto his side, making sure his head was on top of the pillow by it and that he wasn't being accidentally smothered.
Retrieving the cloth she washed his back from his neck to his knees, methodically and carefully, continuing the updates on Henry and pausing every now and again to examine spots that looked like they might be developing a bedsore.
"Looks like you get a massage today," she informed him. "You know, if this is all a ruse to get regular massages, you're being an idiot. All you have to do is ask. Any excuse to touch you is a good one in my book."
She finished his back and dried him carefully, then rolled him back into the supine position.
"Be right back," she told him, and went to fetch another round of clean, soapy water.
"Hi Juliet!"
"Hi, Rebecca," she said and smiled at the little wheel-chair bound girl who was making her afternoon rounds of the long-term care ward.
Technically she should be in the Pediatrics unit, but she said it was too boring there and none of the kids ever wanted to talk. Juliet didn't understand that at all.
Rebecca was such a friendly girl that most every patient that could in this area of the hospital would talk to her and even welcomed her visits. They'd made her an honorary candy-striper for her efforts and she wore her little smock and badge with pride as she visited everyone.
She would be sorely missed when her time came to go.
Juliet just wished that her projected six months would end someplace happier than the local cemetary, but Rebecca said that she had a grandmother waiting for her in Heaven and she couldn't keep her waiting. They were going to bake cookies for all the Angels, she said.
Juliet thought the Angels were going to be pretty lucky in six months' time.
Rebecca eyed the bowl. "Is it Shawn's bath time now?"
"Yep."
"Can I come see him later?"
Juliet's smile widened. "I think he'd like that Rebecca. You can read him the next chapter of Mossflower if you're up to it. I probably won't be there, but either Gus or Henry will be."
Rebecca's grin grew wide enough to cause her eyes to crinkle at the corners. "Okay! See you later, Juliet!" she said and wheeled into the room of Mr. Peterson with a cheery hello.
Juliet hummed as she refilled the basin and then headed back to Shawn once more.
"I'm back," she said, shutting the door behind her and flipping the lock.
She didn't want any intruders popping in for this last part of his bath. Though he'd probably just waggle his eyebrows and make a joke about not being ashamed of his body.
She chuckled at the notion, then flipped the blankets up over his chest. She hummed softly as she did this, always thinking it was a little weird to talk about anything or anyone while she was washing Shawn's private areas. He would probably be chatting up a storm if he were able to, trying to appear as though it didn't bother him even as she knew it did.
Once the task was finished she dried and re-covered him, then dumped the last of the water in the sink in his room and rinsed the bowl. She put the wash cloth in the laundry bag and washed her hands, then returned to Shawn's bedside.
She hitched up one hip on the bed and squirted some of the medicated lotion for his massages into her palm and started on his chest.
"Lassiter said last week that he missed having you around. I don't think he meant me to hear it, which is silly. I already knew it anyway." She snorted. "Like anyone could not miss you." Then she bobbed her head. "Well, the criminals of Santa Barbara don't, I'm sure. But who cares what they think?"
She told him how Lassie was looking at buying a new couch and being awfully girly about it, rejecting many candidates because they didn't match the rest of his furniture.
"Gus told him that he needed to stop whining and just pick one." She laughed. "Surprised us all with that." Her head tilted as she swapped the blankets to cover his upper body and reveal his legs. "Surprised himself, I think."
She followed the segue into what Gus was doing, the nice girl he'd met and how she seemed very sweet and all around perfect for Gus.
"I know he wants your opinion." She glanced at the closed eyes and relaxed face on the pillow. "You could always wake up and give it to him. I think you'd like her."
She wiped off her hands and repeated the maneuver from before to expose Shawn's back, sitting on the edge of the bed again to rub the lotion in.
She frowned, having nothing else to report but her least favorite part of the day's updates.
"Chief is getting pressure from above to cut back the resources on your case." She rolled her eyes. "Because two whole detectives who also maintain a full case load are just so many wasted resources."
She snorted. "I think Chief continues to let us work because she knows we wouldn't stop even if she ordered us to."
She rubbed in the last of the leftover lotion into his shoulders and rested her chin on his bicep, sighing.
"It would be a lot easier if you'd wake up and tell us what happened," she said, both chiding and yet wistful. "We're running out of leads and no closer to any answers. We could use your help, Psychic."
She brushed a kiss to his skin and then pulled away, rolling him onto his back and tucking him in once more.
She got up and unlocked the door so the nurses could come in if they needed to, then glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes until Lassiter would be there to pick her up for the end of her 'lunch' break.
She sat on the bed and swung her legs up, curling up by Shawn's side, her head on his shoulder.
"I miss you," she said softly. "I wish you'd come back to me."
Shawn said nothing, lying there as he had for the last two months, for all appearances asleep, but never waking up.
Juliet snuggled in and fell silent herself, her tears sliding soundlessly over her cheeks to wet his shoulder as she waited, and wished, and prayed for her husband to return to her.
Review, plz&thx.