Fires Aren't Your Friend

Part 4

By the time he was able to leave the scene, Carlton was borderline murderous, he was so angry. He had had to spend thirty minutes talking to the fire chief about what had happened, what he saw inside the building, and whether or not someone else could be in there. Before he had to suffer through that waste of time, he had gotten berated by Chief Vick for going into a burning building and for not waiting for back up.

When all of that had been squared away, he had gotten his hand bandaged by a paramedic because of a mild burn. Then he had gotten into the Crown Vic and just before he left he heard Chief Vick say "Good work, detective." That had lessened his anger only by a bit. Carlton just tried to focus on making it to the hospital without killing every slow driver that cut him off. He was sure that some Higher Power was testing him. Thankfully, he made it to the hospital without resorting to violence.

"Excuse me, I'm detective Carlton Lassiter," Carlton said as he flashed his badge to a nearby nurse. "I need to talk to the man who was brought in about an hour ago from the building fire on Cress Road."

The nurse seemed to think about it for a minute before her eyes brightened. "Oh! You mean, Shawn?"

Carlton had to grind his teeth together to stop himself from growling at the nurse. "That must be him," he lied. "What's the room number?"

"Oh, he's just right down the hall here. Follow me," she said happily. The detective followed her to Shawn's room. "Shawn, you have a visitor," she called into the room softly and moved to the side so Carlton could enter. A quiet sound of acceptance met his ears as he entered the hospital room.

He heard the door close behind him and was thankful that they had some privacy. Carlton walked to the side of Shawn's bed and took in the younger man's form as he lay there in the bed with his eyes closed.

"Hey Carlton," Shawn said quietly when he opened his eyes and looked up at the detective.

"Hey," Carlton replied softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Stir-crazy! I hate hospitals."

Carlton smiled at the whining tone in Shawn's voice. He couldn't tear his eyes off of the younger man. He looked so small and pale in the hospital bed. "What did the doctor say?" Carlton asked him.

"Nothing serious. I just have a mild case on smoke inhalation. They had me on oxygen for half an hour after I woke up and everything seems to be okay," Shawn said in a casual tone. As if he was just talking about the weather and not something that could have killed him. "I just have to be aware of any changes over the next twenty-four hours and if something changes I have to come back."

Carlton had to keep his hands clenched at his sides to stop himself from reaching out for Shawn. He just wanted to make sure that he was really okay. As if reading his mind, Shawn shifted over in the hospital bed then reached out and pulled Carlton until the detective sat down on the bed. As soon as Carlton was settled, Shawn snuggled into his side. He smiled when he felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him closer.

"Shawn," Carlton started. "I was so... terrified when I got to the Psych office and saw it up in flames and I knew you were in there." Shawn was alive and safe, but the fear still lingered with Carlton as they sat there together.

"I'm sorry, even though I didn't start the damn fire or anything but I'm still sorry I worried you."

Carlton smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to Shawn's forehead. "S'ok. Can you tell me what happened?"