Shawn reluctantly opened the door to his house. He had barely stepped inside when Bo grabbed him by the shoulders and backed him against the wall. "Where have you been?" He asked angrily.

Shawn glared at him. "What are you going to do, hit me again!’

"Is that why you didn’t come home last night or even bother to call?" He paused to look at Shawn for some reaction, then continued. "You know that was an accident. Where were you last night?" Bo sternly asked again.

"It’s none of your business!" Shawn defiantly yelled.

Bo growled. "It is my business, when my one son stops breathing and is rushed to the hospital and I can’t reach my other son because I don’t know where he is."

Shawn’s anger fled. "JT? Is he alright?"

Bo didn’t answer for a minute.

"Tell me, he’s not …he’s not, dead?." Shawn’s voice broke.

Hope came out of the kitchen. "No, he’s going to be all right, but that doesn’t answer your fathers
question."

Shawn looked at her with tortured eyes. " Shawn, I was worried sick over both my sons last night. What were you thinking?" She paused, he swallowed heavily and shook his head. "When JT stopped breathing and we had to rush him to the hospital, I needed you. What if, what if he hadn’t gotten better, you weren’t even there."

Shawn’s dark eyes filled with tears and his head dropped. He started shaking.

"Honey?" Hope pushed Bo out of the way and put her arms around Shawn. "Hush, it’s ok now."

His reaction stunned them both. Shawn’s sobs were heart wrenching, he sank to the ground clutching Hope. She went down with him. "Shawn, calm down sweetie." Hope threw a worried look at Bo as Shawn was trembling violently.

Bo dropped down putting his hand on Shawn’s back. "Shawn? Come on son, take a deep breath. JT is ok."

Hope stroked her son’s dark hair, holding him close to her. Shawn had collapsed against her crying so hard he barely catch his breath. Hope had never seen him breakdown like this not even on the night they thought JT had died.

The heat radiating off him caught Hope’s attention. "Bo? Feel his forehead, he’s burning up. I think something is seriously wrong."

Bo stroked the damp hair from Shawn’s forehead. Gently grabbing his shoulders he pulled him back. "Son, I think you’ve got a fever, how long have you not been feeling well?"

Shawn managed to whisper between sobs "since yesterday."

"Shawn, come on take a deep breath, talk to us. Why are you crying? Is it because of JT, or because you’re not feeling well or did something else happen? Come on you were very upset when I ran into yesterday afternoon." Bo stroked Shawn’s face trying to reach out to him.

Shawn avoided eye contact and shook his head not wanting to answer any of the questions. Hope looked at her son’s tearstained face, almost dissolving herself, she pulled him close. Resting her cheek on his head, she stroked his hair and murmured reassurances that everything would be ok. After a few more gut wrenching sobs, he grew silent….too silent.

Bo looked at Hope and whispered, "We need to get him to the hospital."

Hope nodded.

"Come on Shawn, we need to find out why you have such a high fever."

Shawn felt so numb and tired and dizzy, he didn’t care what happened to him. He wiped his face and let Bo half carry him to the car. He felt extremely nauseous again. Hope got into the back seat beside him, holding him close. She had grabbed a cold cloth and dabbed his forehead, face and neck, finally resting it on the back of his neck.

"Where’s JT?" he whispered, anguished eyes looking at Hope.

"He’s fine, he’s still at the hospital, they wanted to keep him for 24 hours for observation."

"I’m sorry, I didn’t come home last night, I really am. I love JT and I would have been there for him." Shawn brokenly stated.

Hope kissed his forehead. "Shhhh he’s ok, lets focus on getting you better."

Hope was very concerned. Putting her hand to his forehead, he felt even hotter than before.
Bo kept looking back, while driving; his eyes met Hope’s worried gaze. They arrived at the hospital, Shawn was almost asleep and Bo carried him in. Dr. Wesley helped them into an examination room. He asked Bo and Hope to wait outside while he examined Shawn.

After awhile he came out. "I’m sorry to have to tell you this but all symptoms seem to imply that
Shawn has contracted meningitis. I will need to do a spinal tap to confirm. He has an extremely high fever, nausea and chills and a severe headache. It can be a contagious disease, so you or anyone he’s been in close contact with will need to be aware of symptoms.