Disclaimer : I don't own anything so there!

A/N : Can you believe it's been nearly 2 ½ months since I even updated – WOW! Lol. I'm back though lol. Hope you all enjoy my new story!

Chapter 1

"C'mon Honey, say Aero plane". She urged her 4 year old son.

"Pane". He replied angered.

They'd been at it now 3 hours, 3 hours of lost patience, coaxing and a number of times of counting to 10. No matter what she tried, her son, wasn't in the mood for his 'lesson'. Aero Plane was one of many words that Shane still had yet to grasp. Not for lack of trying though. Speaking just didn't come as naturally to him, as it did to other 4 year olds.

Shane had been born with some form of disability. Doctors had queried it for years, but had misdiagnosed his exact 'problem' time and time again. Diagnosis' ranged from profound deafness to cerebral palsy, then to autism, and now they currently claimed it was attention deficit disorder. They seemed to be going around in circles, never getting a straight answer.

She had been a mere 20 when Shane had been born. Suffice to say, he wasn't exactly planned, a mistake if you like, but one she never regretted. Brett, Shane's father, obviously did and wanted nothing to do with his un-born child, never once offering a helping hand with money, the only thing he'd offered was to pay for an abortion, and even then he was pushing the boat out.. When Connie had declined his offer, he spitefully informed her, he would deny all knowledge of both her and the child. That was fine, she neither wanted or needed him around. However when Shane was born, she went to the trouble of informing him, that he had a son, only to be told he didn't care, and would fight her all the way if she even thought about filing for child support. With that in mind, Connie left Brett's name off the birth certificate all together.

Sometimes though she did wish things were different. Maybe if she and Brett had truly been in love, or Brett had at least been supportive, maybe then, things wouldn't be as difficult. But they weren't and she did her best to provide her son with all the things he needed. She'd even at one point, taken on an extra job so she'd be able to afford to send him to a special school, but after 6 months of gaining nothing, she pulled him out, deciding with help from a school teacher friend, she'd teach him herself.

For the majority of the day, she tried to teach Shane how to say certain words, often with the aid of candy for every time he got the word right or nearly right. It was hard, and she often felt like the big bad ogre in her son's life, but she also knew that she had to be. At night, she worked her fingers to the bone in a bar, whilst Shane slept soundly in the back room or on odd occasions, he'd stay at a friends. The job barely paid the bills, leaving her with a few dollars here and there.

Though her life was sparse in luxury's, she had a few very supportive friends, who helped her out often. When Shane first began having problems, Connie lost a number of friends that she'd gained through college, mainly because they had nothing in common with her anymore, they didn't see enough of each other due to her being unable to socialize with them, without her son in tow. Connie had long ago, learnt to judge people by how they treat Shane. Most people didn't give him the time of day because he was unable to converse with them, others just looked on at him, with pity in their eyes.

"One more time honey, then you can go and play". Connie pressed. "Say, Ae-ro Pl-ane". She broke the word down even more, to see if that had any effect.

"Pane". Shane responded with a very frustrated answer.

"Nice try baby". Connie leant forward and kissed her sons head in praise.

Though she knew she should continue until he said the word properly, She also knew he had tried his hardest on the other few words she'd forced upon him earlier that day. No matter what anyone said, her son, really did try, and though it may take a few days to fully grasp a new word, those few days weren't without their struggles.

"Knock, knock". A tall muscular body walked through the door slowly.

"Hey". Connie looked up, with some relief.

"You finished with the little guy for the day"? He asked, making sure he wasn't interrupting.

"Yeah, lesson abandoned for today". She replied. "You want a coffee". She lead the way to the kitchen.

"A coffee would be great". He sat himself down at the kitchen table. "So, you wouldn't believe whose back in town"?

"Who"? She asked with curiosity.

"The great Charlie Conway"! He opened the newspaper that Connie had left the table from this morning, to the sports page.

In big letters, the headline read 'Charlie Conway, heads home to the Wilds'. Underneath it explained that 'the Minnesota born and bred Hockey player, had been signed to the Minnesota Wilds and would begin playing in a few weeks. It was an unexpected move, for the 25 year old star who had been playing for the New Jersey Devils for the passed 2 years'.

When Connie didn't answer, or show much interest in the subject, her friend took it upon himself to push the subject even further, hoping to get some kind of response.

"Didn't you hear me? Charlie's back in town". He repeated.

"Yeah, I heard you". She replied, though she continued in making him a drink of coffee and tidying the small kitchen.

"Once more with less enthusiasm"! He added sarcastically.

"Sorry, it's been a long day". She muttered. "But Fulton, what makes you think he's even gonna remember us"? She turned and looked him dead in the eye.

"Oh c'mon, it's pretty hard to forget us". He retaliated.

"Maybe". Connie answered loosely.

After a few minutes, they changed the subject. Though Connie knew Fulton could be right, she preferred not to raise her hopes. She'd learnt long ago, not to allow her hopes to be raised, as nearly always, were they dashed in some way or another. If Charlie did remember them, and try to get in touch, then that was a bonus, if not, she wouldn't be disappointed.

Fulton finished his coffee, before declaring it was time to get moving. He grabbed Shane's over night bag, before giving Connie a tight embrace, and herding Shane into his truck. Once a week, her friends had Shane over to stay, so at the very least Connie could either go out or have a break from motherhood. This week it was Fulton and Tammy's turn, and though she was always hesitant at depending on her friends, they always insisted, either that or they'd come and kidnap him.

Tonight, Connie had offered to work. Though Friday evening tended to be her night off, the offer of an extra shift meant more money, something of which she wasn't really at liberty to turn down. She stood on the porch and waved Fulton and Shane off, before heading back indoors, to ready herself for what she was sure was to be a laborious night of sleazy guys hitting on her as she pulled their pints.

When she arrived, the bar was still in it's warming up stage. This meant no rushing around for the time being, and things were pretty relaxed. The bar owner, Larry was stood at the far end of the bar, chatting to a regular, and Louise, was busy serving. Immediately Connie joined her, she was never one to stand around and watch others work, much like Larry was at times.

"Well would you looky here". Larry announced, though both Connie and Louise neither stopped nor showed interest. "You'll never in a million years guess whose moved back to town"?

"Charlie Conway, I know". Connie butted in, with a huge sigh and a roll of her eyes.

Larry, non the wiser to Connie's outburst, continued to inform people the news. He read a few paragraphs of the newspaper clipping out to the guy he was talking with, but his voice boomed enough for another dozen to hear.

"Hey, didn't you used to be like best friends with him"? Louise questioned, as they both headed to the till at the same time.

"Used to, is correct". Connie answered.

"What happened"?

"We just got older and grew apart".

After that, the night seemed to drag. The bar for some strange reason, didn't get as busy as it usually did, not that she was complaining. At the very least she wasn't run off her feet. At turned midnight, she stood in the chilly night air, beside Louise, as they both watched Larry lock up. That way they could all walk together to their cars. The 'buddy' system as Larry called it. Larry and Louise would walk her to her car, watch as she climbed in and get it started, before they'd both head to Larry's car. Louise, who couldn't drive, was taken home by Larry, as it was on the way, Connie, however was headed in the other direction.

15 minutes later, Connie was locking the front door behind herself, before heading straight up to bed. Normally, her tired body would have to be carrying Shane up the stairs to bed, before finally climbing into bed herself. But tonight, she was able to collapse straight into her own bed. Because she knew she didn't have Shane, she was able to fall easily into a deep slumber. Normally, she was a light sleeper, and could hear any little noise. She'd had to learn to, incase Shane got up in the night.

She slept that deeply, she didn't wake until 10.30 the next morning, and even then it was because she awoke hearing a loud banging on the door. Before she'd even managed to become at the very least coherent, the banging stopped. After a few seconds, she had dragged herself from the bed, and made her way over to the window, hoping to catch her visitor in time, to tell them to hang on. Alas, by the time she'd got there, whoever it had been, was just pulling away in a shiny red sports car.

Immediately she thought it had simply been a sales person, as the car was typically a young sales mans car. She knew the type all too well. They'd turn up at her door, turning the charm on, even more so when they realized there was no Mr. Moreau living there. But when Shane made an appearance, the flirting went back to it's usual level, and the sales pitch really began.

Putting the visitor to the back of her mind, she retreated to the shower, to ready herself for collecting her son, in a little while. Within the hour, she had pulled up outside Fulton and Tammy's house. She could faintly hear Shane's voice, demanding whoever it was he was with to 'frow it'! She laughed gently. Ever since Fulton had taken it upon himself to teach her son how to play catch, he'd been addicted. Instead of heading through the front door, she crept round back, catching sight of her son and Fulton, long before they even noticed her presence.

"Oh hey". Fulton finally noticed her, after Shane had tossed the ball passed Fulton's reach. "The little guy's getting good, isn't he". He stated, after he'd pecked her cheek in greeting.

"Yeah, he really is". She answered, a tear entering her eye.

It was times like this that she did get slightly over emotional. It stemmed really from the fact, that not many people gave Shane the time of day, let alone the time to teach him something as simple as catching a ball.

"Hey, what's this"? He caught the sight of her lone tear.

"Sorry, it's just that… thank you. Thank you for doing what you're doing". She laughed gently at herself, as he pulled her into a hug.

"It should be me thanking you, for letting me spend time with the little guy".

"FROW IT"! Shane yelled impatiently.

"We both know that isn't true". Connie reminded him, as he backed away to play with Shane.

Connie headed up the back steps, where she waved to Tammy through the kitchen window. She let herself in, quietly incase Tammy had put Amber down for a nap. Looking at Tammy she looked as though she was young free and single, not a 25 year old mom, who'd given birth 3 months ago.

"Hey, Amber asleep"? Connie whispered as she entered.

"Yeah, but she's upstairs and out for the count". Tammy responded, her voice remaining low, but loud enough to be heard clearly.

"Has he been ok"? She asked of her son.

"As good as gold. It's been a pleasure to have him". Tammy responded. "Really". She added on the end.

Connie had always been slightly apprehensive about her friends having Shane over. Not because she was an overprotective mother, but mainly because she knew what hard work it was looking after him. He had to be watched, like an eagle watches it's prey. She was however always extremely grateful to them, when they insisted that they look after him at the very least once a week. She hated relying on them even more, now that they had Amber, but each time she'd told Fulton to have a break, he'd turned up anyway, almost demanding 'visitation' rights to her son.

Half an hour later, Fulton and Shane were still outside, and Connie and Tammy were sat having a girly chat at the kitchen table. The main topic of conversation, was Julie's recent wedding to Dean Portman. The two had been engaged for over 2 years, and Julie had finally managed to get Dean down the aisle.

"Well, I think it's time I got going. I think Shane's tired Fulton out enough for one day, don't you". Connie laughed as she stood.

"Hey, that's a good thing, I might actually get some peace this afternoon". Tammy chuckled.

"Well, thanks for having him". Connie hugged Tammy tightly.

"You're always more than welcome". Tammy returned the hug.

After another 10 minutes, Connie finally drove out of Tammy and Fulton's driveway. Shane, as always was sat strapped safely in the back seat, silently. She often wondered where he went, when he stared off into space. She wondered whether it was somewhere that other kids could understand him, where everyone spoke a language he could understand.

"Shane". Connie stated. She glanced in her mirror, watching for his reaction. "Do you want to go to the park"? She asked, once he'd looked up.

"Yes. Ark". He answered enthusiastically.

She wasn't sure whether he actually knew what she had asked, but at the very least he'd responded, something a year ago, he wouldn't have. She pulled into the parking lot, before going and helping her son climb from the car. He began making a mad dash toward the climbing frame, before she grasped his hand tightly, holding him by her side. When they were closer, she stopped and knelt in front of him.

"Shane, be very careful, ok". She warned him.

She knew enough that he would have understood non of what she had just said, but she hoped that her slow steady tone was enough to calm him. She reluctantly let go of his hand, immediately of which, he dashed toward the jungle Jim. Bringing him to the park always made her extremely nervous, as there were so many dangers around. Something as simple as a climbing frame to one child, was treacherous to Shane. He wasn't able to judge what was safe and unsafe, so in turn Connie had to do that for him.

Parent's looked on at her in distaste as she stood close by, biting her nails to the quick, in apprehension. Children giggled as he played on his own, while every other child seemed to play together. All this never fazed Shane, Connie however felt sick to her stomach each time she even thought about bringing him here. But she also knew that this was one of few places he'd burn all that energy away, plus hopefully he may learn to play with others.

"Connie". A voice from behind. "Hi how are you"? It was one of her neighbors, Sheila.

"Hi, I'm good thanks". She responded, turning briefly to check on Shane. "What brings you down here"? She knew Sheila's two children had grown too old by now for her to accompany them here.

"Oh, I'm minding my sisters two children for the weekend, Jason and Kimberly. We were just heading on home". Sheila informed her. "I forgot how tiring it was looking after a 7 and 9 year"… A loud thud made Connie spin round hastily.

"Shane! Oh my God". Connie dashed toward where her son had fallen.

At first glance, you'd have thought he was fine, Connie however knew different. Instinct had shown her many times when her son had been hurt. At times it could be impossible to tell, since Shane didn't know how to cry out loud. When and if he cried, the only way you could tell was by the big round tears that streamed down his face.

Connie immediately picked him up in her arms, where he gripped her as though his life depended on it. On his forehead just above his hairline was a gash, blood steadily oozing out from it.

"It's ok baby, mommy's here". She soothed him, hoping to help herself calm too.

"Is he ok"? Sheila rushed to her aid. "Oh my goodness. That's a bad cut. I think that may need seeing too".

"I um, I've got to get him to a hospital". Her common sense was telling her to remain calm, but her motherly instincts were telling her, to get him straight to a hospital.

As quickly as she could manage, she climbed to her feet, and began walking speedily across the park to where she'd parked. She knew there was something wrong, as Shane was pale, and though he was always in general quiet, he was too quiet for her liking.

When she got him to the car, she gently placed him in the front seat, where she knew she could see him better from her position behind the wheel. Blood was now dripping gently onto his shirt, and she knew, she had to get something to apply pressure with. She searched frantically, before ripping her jacket off, then her sweat shirt. She wrapped her sweat shirt around his shoulders, and placed one of the sleeves over the cut.

"Shane, hold that there for Mommy". She told her son gently, though she had to physically place his hand where she wanted it.

When she was sure he was strapped in securely, she dashed around to the drivers door, and climbed hastily in, where she placed her hand over Shane's applying even more pressure. Within seconds, she was speeding down the streets, following the signs for the nearest hospital. She hadn't noticed the tears pouring down her cheeks.

"No, Shane, don't go to sleep, stay awake baby". She told him, when she noticed him beginning to doze off. For the rest of the journey, she had to keep telling him to stay awake.

Finally they arrived at the hospital, though parking was atrocious, and they wouldn't be anywhere near the ER. She searched once more, before vowing she'd just park anywhere. She finally squeezed into one, before running around to get Shane out from the other side. She un-strapped him and began picking him up, keeping her sweater wrapped around him.

"CONNIE"? A voice yelled.

So what do you think? PLEASE R&R!