Chapter Text
Hayden and Jackie sat in the waiting room of a child psychologist’s office filling out forms. The twins' teacher had expressed some concerns to them about Ruby, and suggested they get her tested for ADHD so that she could get accommodations in class.
Hayden and Jackie had decided it couldn't hurt to get Emma tested too while they were at it, just in case, although everyone knew Ruby was the far more rambunctious of the two.
They were given paperwork to fill out while the girls did their testing, and they had decided to split the duties by kid, consulting each other on answers whenever they felt unsure. Hayden did Emma's paperwork while Jackie did Ruby's. Clearly Hayden had been overthinking his answers, because when Jackie asked for his opinion on a question she was already two whole forms ahead of him.
Hayden looked down to see the question Jackie was pointing at.
Is their voice unusual (e.g., overly adult, flat, or very monotonous)?
"Hm, no that definitely doesn’t fit Ruby." Hayden decided, unsure why Jackie had even asked.
"No, Hayd, does that remind you of anyone else?" Jackie pressed.
"...Shane?!"
"The one before that too… and honestly quite a few of these."
Hayden took the clipboard from Jackie and looked over each question with Shane in mind, and wow, damn near every question matched Shane in some way, aside from the clearly kid focused ones.
How had he never noticed this before? Shane? ADHD?
Stoic Shane, who was so attentive to little details, so routine oriented, and very much not hyperactive. Hayden was quite sure that his best friend was whatever the polar opposite of ADHD was.
It made even less sense if Ruby did in fact have it. She was basically the poster child for ADHD, and Shane often got quite overwhelmed with her hyperactivity if he was around her for too long.
Hayden gave the clipboard back to Jackie, dismissing the thought entirely. It just didn’t fit.
A week later Hayden and Jackie had the appointment to get the results, leaving the kids with a babysitter so there wouldn’t be any distractions.
“I’ll cut straight to the point. I've determined that Ruby does indeed have ADHD. I believe Emma might have it as well, but she doesn’t currently meet the diagnostic criteria. While I can’t provide an official diagnosis, I would recommend accommodating her as if she does have it. Now we did also have you fill out the screening forms for autism for both girls, just to rule it out. It’s standard procedure, and neither girl shows any signs–”
And shit.
Autism.
Was that the form that had fit Shane so well?
Hayden had no clue how he hadn’t picked up on it for all these years. Shane was just… Shane, but it all made so much more sense through his lens.
Did Shane know? He probably should, right?
He hadn’t realized that he stopped listening until Jackie nudged his knee. He quietly hoped that he hadn’t missed anything important.
The drive home was silent, Jackie only chirping up as she pulled into the driveway.
“Hey, you've been quiet, how are you doing with all this?"
“Fine, we already knew Ruby had ADHD and Emma probably didn't, nothing new, just confirmation…"
"I know. But you're thinking about Shane."
Hayden looked at his wife in awe, always amazed by just how well she could tell what he was thinking.
“Are you gonna talk to him about it?” Jackie asked
"I don't know if I can, what if he doesn't know?"
“Maybe understanding this part of himself would make life easier for him.” Jackie gave him a quick kiss before getting out of the car. “I don't think there's a right or wrong answer honey, just think about it, your heart will tell you what’s right."
Hayden stayed in the car for a while after that, this was definitely something Shane was meant to know.