The happy Snubbull in his lap made it hard for Shaun's ire to rise above tepid frustration. It helped that Carter wasn't actively going on about how he hadn't killed Ethan again. Shaun knew what he saw, and he saw his dad walk out the warehouse door with his hands raised. He saw his dad gesture back at him to stay back and stay still. He saw his dad silhouetted by the helicopter beam, and then he saw his dad get shot.

As far as Shaun knew, the police had never bothered looking for him. It was only his dad who knew where to find him.

He knew his dad was dead when he laid his head on his chest and didn't hear his heartbeat, but he refused to believe it until he woke up in the hospital the next day and his mom broke down crying when he asked where his dad was.

Shaun was silent for a long moment. He looked down at the Snubbull in his lap, and then over at his Pichu and Floatzel.

"Who would've saved me if you'd shot my dad before he found me?"

Yeah he's not talking about his most recent near-drowning anymore.