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Chapter Text

PROLOGUE

Santa Barbara 1986

Shawn and Gus (age 9) are playing cops and robbers quite loudly in the backyard when Shawn's dad comes home for lunch. Neither boy seems to notice and continue their loud game. Henry comes over and grabs Shawn.

"Whoa, Shawn! What did I tell you this morning?"

"Um, remember to put my cereal bowl in the sink when I finish breakfast?"

"And . . . ."

"And brush my teeth?"

"And . . . ."

"Um, stay out of the house?" Shawn smiles nervously.

Henry sighs and kneels in front of Shawn. "Yeah, but why did I tell you to stay out of the house?"

"Because Mom's sick and needs to sleep."

"And do you think that she can sleep when you two are making so much noise?"

"Maybe?"

"No, she can't. I'm surprised that she hasn't told you off yet. Why don't you guys go over to Gus' house and play?"

Gus shuffles over and answers, "Nobody's home at my house, Mr. Spencer. My parents dropped me off before going to work and Joy is at a friend's house for a birthday party playdate."

Henry sighs and stands up, "Okay, well, let's go eat lunch now. I'm assuming that neither of you have eaten yet?"

Shawn shakes his head, "Nope. You said to stay outside."

"Okay, you two set the picnic table while I go make some sandwiches." Shawn and Gus run towards the house. "And do it quietly!"

(20 minutes later)

Henry glances at his watch as they are finishing their sandwiches. "Shawn, I called Grandpa and he's going to watch you guys while I go back to work, Okay?"

Shawn and Gus nod their heads as they continue to eat.

"And I don't want you to give him any trouble. Remember that he's retired and can't go running after you guys as easily as I can."

"Okay dad," Shawn replied as he finished his milk.

"Good," Henry checks his watch again as he stands and starts to clean up. "He should be here in a few minutes and then I'm going back to work."

Shawn and Gus run away from the table, each grabbing a stick and start fighting, making lightsaber noises. Henry just shakes his head and goes inside.

Ten minutes later, after washing the dishes and checking on his wife, Henry walks outside to find Shawn and Gus sitting on the grass in front of Shawn's grandfather Allan as he's telling one of his gory war stories. Henry notices Gus looking nauseous while Shawn is totally captivated.

"Dad," Henry sighs as he walks over to them. "I think they're a little too young for that story." Henry nods towards Gus' wide eyes and pale complexion.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right." Allan laughs as he scratches the back of his head. "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Maddie still isn't feeling well, so they need to stay quiet." Henry looks up towards the second floor windows before checking his watch.

Allan snaps his fingers. "I know. I'll teach the boys sign language and Morse code. That way they can send messages across the yard or when they're supposed to be quiet."

Henry looks at Shawn and Gus who have started a thumb war after losing interest in the conversation. He sighs and heads back to his car. "Good luck Dad, you're going to need it."

CHAPTER 1

Santa Barbara 2010

Shawn sat on the floor of his bathroom, bouncing a tennis ball against the wall. He thought about all that had happened that day, and tried to figure out what he should do next.

"You know Mr. Spencer," Mr. Mancini begins before Shawn interrupts him.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you. My name is Shawn. Mr. Spencer is my father and I really don't like being mistaken for him."

"Mr. Spencer, just so that we're clear, if you tell the cops what you think happened, you might just find yourself attending a few funerals in the next couple weeks, capiche?"

Shawn bounced the ball even harder. He barely noticed the room getting darker as the sun set. His phone rang, but Shawn already knew who it was and what they would say.

"Shawn! Don't go in there without letting the cops know! What if something happens?!"

"Gus," Shawn sighs as he puts his helmet on the seat of his motorcycle, keeping his phone between his shoulder and ear. "I'm just going to ask a few questions. It's not like I'm accusing anyone of anything."

"This is the mafia that you're talking about! If they are behind the murder and they think that you're going to expose them, they could kill you and hide the body so nobody will ever find it!"

"Dude, you're over-reacting!" Shawn walks across the parking lot towards the warehouse's main door. "I mainly just want to look around, ask some general questions, and then skedaddle because I've got a lunch date in an hour. If I thought that it was even remotely dangerous, do you really think that I would come alone?"

"YES! Yes I do! You've done it before. You should at least call Juliet so that you'll have back up. Or at least a wire"

"Why? So that the mafia boss will get suspicious? Besides, if it is dangerous, I wouldn't want to get into any more trouble by having a wire. This way, I'm just a curious bystander. Dude, I gotta go. I'll call you later"

"Shawn! Don't you dare . . . ."

Shawn ends the call, putting his phone on silent as he knocks.

Once his phone stopped ringing, Shawn thought about the photos that Mr. Mancini had shown him.

"When were these taken?" Shawn sees photos of his Dad fishing alone, Gus asleep in bed, Juliet playing with her cats, even Lassiter cleaning his service weapon at home.

Mr. Mancini simply smiles and says, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I hope that we have an understanding?"

"I didn't even think to come by until an hour ago. . . ."

A loud banging at his front door jarred Shawn from his thoughts, making him miss the tennis ball. As he got up and stretched, he noticed that the room was completely dark, meaning that he had been sitting on the floor for several hours. Shawn sighed and unlocked his bathroom door before heading for the front door.

As Shawn neared the door, he saw that his dad was outside and he was looking a little pissed. Shawn sighed and opened the door. "Hi Dad," he mumbled.

"SHAWN! Why haven't you been answering your phone? Gus told me that he's been trying to reach you all day!" Henry yelled as he pushed his way in. He walked about 5 feet before turning back around to face Shawn with his hands on his hips.

"Why don't you come in," Shawn said sarcastically as he closed the door and leaned against it.

"Gus told me that you went down to the warehouses without back up to talk to the mob boss about a case! Are you insane?! Haven't I taught you anything? Don't get involved with the mafia, no matter what! You never know what's going to happen."

"Dad! I just went to talk and ask some questions."

"And how did that go?" Henry crossed his arms over his chest.

Shawn started to walk towards his kitchen and quietly answered, "It could have been worse."

"What the hell does that mean?" Henry followed him.

"It means that I didn't get any straight answers but that I walked away unscratched. In case you didn't notice, I'm still alive, no trips to the emergency room." Shawn opened the fridge and grabbed a container of pineapple slices and a can of root beer.

"You know that Gus was worried sick? He almost called the Police department to go looking for you when you wouldn't answer your phone."

Shawn sat at his table and started eating. "I sent him a text message."

Henry sat down across from him glaring. "Yeah, he showed me. It said 'I have to think, call me tomorrow or next week.' How do you think he feels? He's your best friend and he was worried about you."

"That's why I sent the text," Shawn mumbled around his soda can.

"Shawn! Can't you be serious for one minute?"

"Um, no, I don't think so."

"Shawn! This is the mafia we're talking about! Do you know how many witnesses and informants 'disappeared' before a case could go to trial against Mr. Mancini?"

Shawn tipped his chair back, lifting the front legs off the floor, "Um, I don't know, 80, 90%?"

"Shawn!"

"Dad! I don't want to go there, okay? I'm dropping the case!" Shawn got up and let the chair fall to the ground while he went to the fridge to grab a real beer.

Henry sat stunned. "What? When have you ever walked away from a case?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

"Shawn!"

"I know that I messed up, okay! Do you think that I want the mafia coming after my friends? After you? I'm not stupid."

"Shawn?" Henry looked closely at Shawn, who was leaning against the counter and staring at the floor. "Did Mancini make threats?"

"Mr. Spencer, I believe that it would be in your best interest, as well as for those around you, that you leave the city for a while. At least until the case is over."

Shawn shrugged his shoulder, still looking down, "Not in so many words. He showed me a few photos and made some suggestions. It wasn't hard to read between the lines."

Henry rubbed a hand across his face. "Shawn . . . ."

"You know what dad," Shawn put his almost full can in the sink before looking back at Henry. "I just remembered that I'm supposed to meet someone." Shawn headed towards the door.

"Shawn."

"You can stay as long as you want, just make sure to lock up." Shawn grabbed his jacket and helmet on his way out.

"Shawn! We're not done talking!" Henry hurried after him.

Shawn was starting up his motorcycle by the time his dad reached him. "Can you clean out my fridge and take out the garbage, I don't know when I'll be back."

"SHAWN!"

"Oh, and one more thing," Shawn turned towards his dad with a sad smile. "Take care Dad."

"Shawn don't," Henry pleaded as Shawn rode off into the night.

After standing outside for a few more minutes, Henry headed back inside to take any perishable food back to his house. Right before he reached the kitchen, he heard Shawn's phone go off. He stared at it, seeing that it was Juliet O'Hara calling. Gus said that Shawn was supposed to meet her for lunch earlier and had stood her up without even calling. He figured that he should let Gus know about Shawn leaving so he could break it to her gently. Hopefully Shawn will not stay away for too long.

"I hope you're not throwing something away," Henry sighed before heading into the kitchen. Less than 10 minutes later, he was out the door, locking it without looking back.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 2

It was nearing midnight before Shawn finally decided to stop for the night. Shawn was just driving North, not really paying attention to where he was headed, except away from Santa Barbara and his dad. Realizing that he hadn't eaten anything besides pineapple since 9am, Shawn found a pub near a motel that was open late. While he enjoyed his beer and fries, Shawn thought over what had happened a couple of days ago.

Shawn and Gus are leaving the Chief's office when they hear Juliet call, "Shawn, wait up."

"Jules, hey." Shawn and Juliet both smile and then look away awkwardly.

Gus clears his throat. "I'll be in the car, Shawn."

"Thanks man," Shawn replies, still looking at his shoes as Gus walks away.

"So," Shawn begins, looking everywhere but at Juliet's face. "Did you have a nice trip with Declan?"

"Yeah, it was . . . fun." Juliet takes a deep breath before looking up. "Shawn, can we talk privately for a minute?"

Shawn glances at his wrist, which is bare. "Listen, Jules, I've got a thing to go to and I really shouldn't leave Gus alone in the car too long."

"Shawn, please?"

Shawn finally looks up and sees all the different emotions competing on Juliet's face. "Okay, I can spare a few minutes."

Juliet gives him a nervous smile, nods, and leads the way to the empty conference room.

Shawn flagged down the waitress for another beer. He scanned the crowd, but didn't really see anything but Juliet.

Once they are inside the conference room, Juliet goes around and closes all the blinds.

Shawn begins, still not looking at her. "Jules, I . . . ."

"No, Shawn. Let me speak first." She takes a deep breath and starts pacing the room. "I know that our timing always seems to be off and that things keep getting in the way. When one of us is ready, the other one is involved with someone else. There always has been a bit of tension between us and then three weeks ago happened."

"Jules." Shawn sighs.

"No, I'm not done." Juliet walks up to Shawn and grabs both of his hands in hers. Both of them are staring at their joined hands. "I overheard you talking to Gus over the wire after they arrested Nadia. I wasn't entirely sure what to think. Then you showed up at Declan's house and were encouraging me to go on the trip, even though I saw how much that must have hurt you."

"No, I, um, I was, am very happy for you, for both of you."

"Shawn" Juliet sighs. She moves one of her hands to gently tilt his chin up so they are looking at each other. "I realized at that moment that I was in love with you. So I kissed you before I could talk myself out of it."

"Actually, I think that we kissed at the same time."

"No, Shawn, I definitely beat you to the punch."

"Hmm, I've heard it both ways." Shawn shrugs while Juliet giggles and smiles.

"And while I was gone, all I could think about was you. Declan tried to distract me with different activities, but my thoughts always came back to you. It didn't take him long to realize that and we left as just friends."

"Oh, Jules, I'm so sorry I ruined your vacation."

Juliet smiles again, moving her hand to caress his cheek. "Actually, it was good for me to get away and think, because now I know what I want." She takes a step closer so that they are less than half a foot apart.

"And, um, what, what would that be?" Shawn glances down at her lips before moving back to her eyes.

"Oh I think you know," she replies, moving closer.

"A pineapple smoothie?"

Juliet's smile gets even wider, "Yeah," Shawn frowns, "If you're the one bringing me one."

"I can bring you one everyday if you so wish."

"Yeah, that'll be great," Juliet whispers as they close the gap and kiss.

As Shawn stared down into his third pint of beer, he realized how stupid he was to not call Juliet before he left. No wonder Gus was worried. He finally got his chance to be with Juliet after pining over her for more than four years, and he blew it in one afternoon. Gus had probably told her by now that he left for an unknown amount of time. Hopefully she would not be too heartbroken over it. After all, it would have only been their second date, if you counted that night they were undercover at speed dating their first date.

Shawn sighed as he waved down the waitress so that he could pay his bill and leave. Maybe he'll leave Juliet a phone message before going to bed.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 3

Since it was already past 2am by the time Shawn got in his motel room, he figured it was way too late to be calling Juliet at home. So before leaving the next morning, he decided he would leave a message on her answering machine. As the phone rang, Shawn looked at the clock and noticed that it was only 7am, which meant Juliet was still home. Before he could hang up, he heard a sleepy voice answer the phone.

"Hello?" Shawn could tell that Juliet either had a cold or cried herself to sleep, he hoped for the former. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Before he could think of what to say, Juliet continued. "Look, whoever you are, I don't appreciate prank calls, especially at 7 o'clock in the morning. If you do it again, I'll have your number traced and then have you arrested for disturbing the peace. I'm hanging up now."

"Hey Jules," Shawn said in a small, nervous voice. He heard Juliet gasp before she replied.

"Shawn? Is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you? Gus said that you left town without even telling him. I've been trying to reach you."

"I know. I'm sorry. It was a last minute decision and I forgot to bring my phone with me."

"When are you coming back?"

Shawn sighed. He was really hoping that she wouldn't ask him that. "I honestly don't know. Maybe after a week or two. I promise that I will come back because I …" Shawn paused, afraid to complete that sentence.

"Because you, what, Shawn?"

"Because I, I miss you already."

Juliet sighed again, "I miss you too. Why didn't you call me yesterday to cancel? I waited a half hour for you to show up. Lassiter ended bringing me some food, saying he had a feeling you wouldn't show up after just 5 minutes."

"I'm sorry Jules. I . . ." Shawn gulped before plowing on with a half-truth. "I had a very disturbing vision which distracted me. I was sitting in my bathroom for hours in a sort of trance before my dad came by and snapped me out of it. Less than 15 minutes later, I was on the road. I know I keep saying it, but I am so sorry."

"I can't say that I completely forgive you, but I understand a little." Juliet sighed. "I was worried since you wouldn't answer your phone, and Gus even said that he hadn't heard from you in hours."

"I know and I'm sorry."

Juliet giggled, "Now you're sounding like McNab, apologizing all the time."

"Oh wow, you're right. I'm sor-sorry," Shawn blushed as he heard Juliet laugh again. "Maybe I shouldn't have drunk so much last night," Shawn muttered. Unfortunately, Juliet heard him and stopped laughing.

"You were drinking last night?" Juliet sounded very concerned.

"Only 3 pints and then I walked back to the motel, which was only a block away."

"Okay, as long as you weren't drinking and driving."

"Jules, my dad was a cop for over 25 years, which means that I've heard enough horror stories about drunk driving to last me a lifetime, maybe 5 lifetimes. I swear that I will never drink and drive."

"Good." There was an awkward pause between them before Juliet continued. "Look, I've got to get ready for work or else Carlton is gonna have my hide if I'm late."

"Give him my love."

"Don't you mean give him hell from you."

Shawn chuckled, "Yeah, that too. Maybe you should call him Lassie, just to annoy him."

Juliet giggled, "I don't know, if I'm late, I don't think I should antagonize him."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Shawn thought about what Mancini told him. "Hey Jules?"

"Yeah Shawn?"

"Be careful."

Juliet sniffled, "You too. Call me soon, please?"

"I'll try, but I don't know where I'll be or when I'll get the chance."

"As long as you let me know that you're okay, you can always just leave a message on my machine."

"Okay," Shawn smiled sadly. "I should probably go."

"Yeah me too," Juliet sniffled again before whispering, "I love you, Shawn."

"I, um," Shawn cleared his throat, "Ditto."

Juliet hesitated before choking out, "Bye."

"Bye Jules," Shawn whispered before slowly hanging up the phone. "I'm sorry."

Shawn sat there staring at the ceiling for another 10 minutes before finally getting up.

After checking out, Shawn headed to a diner for breakfast. He decided to use cash for now on so that his dad or Gus could not find him before he is ready. He went to an ATM and a department store to buy a few essentials.

Before leaving the city, Shawn stopped by the post office and sent Gus a letter, telling him that he needs time to think for a couple of weeks and to not worry. He said that he'll miss his friends and Psych too much to be away for long. He put Gus' credit card with it to show that he only has so much money on him, so Gus will definitely hear from him again.

"I'm sorry, Gus. I'm just trying to keep you safe." Shawn whispered as he got on his bike and continued on his way.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 4

*2 weeks later*

Henry was just finishing up his lunch when his thoughts turned to his son. After Gus received the letter and shared it with him, Henry went back to his normal worrying level. The last case that Shawn had helped with was wrapped up when a suicide note told about how he killed the other person. Henry and Lassiter both thought that it was too easy, but since there were no clues pointing elsewhere, they had to close the case.

As Henry was grabbing another beer from the fridge, the phone rang. Setting the unopened bottle on the counter, Henry answered on the third ring.

"Yeah"

"Hello, is this Henry Spencer?"

"Yes, it is. What can I do for you?" Henry leaned his back against the kitchen sink.

"This is Detective Fred Nelson with the Lincoln Police Department in Nebraska. I'm calling in regards to your son, Shawn Spencer."

Henry closed his eyes and rubbed his face, "Oh God, what has he done this time?"

"Well sir, we're not entirely sure."

Henry straightened at that and almost yelled back, "What do you mean you don't know?! Is he in the hospital? Has he been arrested? What?!"

"Sir, I need you to calm down."

Henry snorted angrily before he took a deep breath and sat down at the table. "Okay, tell me what you do know."

"Well, we believe that he was involved in an accident."

"What do you mean 'you believe'? Why don't you know?"

"When the police arrived at the scene, he was nowhere to be found."

Henry sighed, "Look, I'm an ex-cop, I've been to plenty of accident scenes. So, tell me everything you know."

"Okay. Two nights ago, a trucker was driving an 18-wheeler down the interstate around midnight. He fell asleep at the wheel and drifted across the road and crashed into a tree. A passing motorist stopped and called the police. Shortly after the officers arrived, they noticed skid marks not too far from where the big rig went off the road. They followed the tracks and noticed a slightly smashed motorcycle at the bottom of the embankment. When they reached it, there was no body, just footprints leading towards a dense patch of woods." The detective paused at this point.

Henry swallowed hard, "What else?"

"They found his helmet about 10 yards away with the visor cracked and bloody handprints."

"How …" Henry croaked before clearing his throat. "How do you know that it was Shawn?"

"Besides getting a hit on the serial number of the bike today, we came across your son's wallet. It was on the other end of the woods, on the side of the road near a bloody tire iron." The detective hesitated before taking a deep breath and continuing. "After checking all hospitals in a 50 mile radius, we have reason to believe that your son has been kidnapped."

An hour later, Henry sat in Chief Karen Vick's office, having just let her know about what happened.

Karen leaned back in her chair and silently observed Henry, noting how tired he looked. "Did the detective say what steps they are taking?"

"They issued an ABP yesterday and notified all hospitals within a 100 mile radius. If nothing turns up, they suggest that I fill out a missing persons report tomorrow." Henry looked down at his hands and whispered, "I knew that bike was bad news."

Karen got up and knelt in front of him, placing her hand over his. "Henry, he's a smart, stubborn, pain in the ass, just like his father." Karen smiled when he scoffed. "He can get through this, you taught him well. You'll see, he'll be back soon enough, bouncing off the walls, annoying the hell out of everyone." Henry nodded.

Karen stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Have you told anyone else about the developments?"

"No, I'm still in a state of shock. I guess I have to tell Gus and Madeleine. I should probably let O'Hara and Lassiter know. From what Gus has told me, Shawn had called O'Hara a few times since he left."

Karen nodded as Henry stood. "Let me break it to O'Hara and Lassiter, you've got enough on your plate."

Henry smiled sadly, "Thanks Karen."

She reached out and gave him a hug, "Just keep me informed. You and Shawn are practically family." Stepping back from him, she added, "And I expect you back at work Monday morning."

"Of course, Chief," Henry smirked before leaving.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 5

*3 years, 2 months and 5 days later*

Jake yawned as he pulled his taxi in front of the Santa Barbara Bus Depot. He had 20 minutes left in his shift and it would be easiest to pick someone up there. His wife had been getting on his case about taking extra shifts, but Jake kept explaining that she would appreciate it next month when they go off on a 3 day ski vacation for their 10 year wedding anniversary.

After a few minutes, Jake noticed a man stumbling along. He seemed distracted and unsteady, occasionally bumping into people and tripping over things. About 10 feet from his taxi, the man looked up and waved toward Jake. Jake took in the dirty t-shirt and ripped jeans that are at least 2 sizes too big and the man's long, unkempt hair. Right before the man reached the taxi, he tripped and stumbled into the front passenger door before falling to the ground.

Jake quickly got out and circled the taxi. Squatting next to him, Jake put a hand on his arm. "Are you okay, dude?"

The man flinched and backed away from the physical contact before placing a hand to his head. Closing his eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, he nodded.

Jake noticed plenty of scars and bruises all across the man's arms, neck and face. "Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

The man shook his head no. He sat up, leaning against the taxi, and dug into his jeans' pocket. He pulled out a $20 dollar bill and a scrap of paper and handed them to Jake. Jake took them and looked at the scrap of paper which had 'S B P D' scrawled across it in barely legible handwriting.

Jake looked at the man, who was staring back at him. "You want me to take you to the police station?"

The man nodded again and started to get up. Jake tried to give the man a hand but he flinched away and almost fell back to the ground, barely managing to grab a hold of the taxi.

Jake put his hands up in a surrendering manner, "Okay dude, no touching! Just let me get the door for you."

The man nodded and waited for Jake to open the door and back away before climbing into the back seat. He leaned his head back, taking deep breaths and rubbed his face with both his hands. Jake quickly shut the door, ran back around the taxi, and got in. As the car pulled away from the curb, Jake noted that he is supposed to be off duty in 8 minutes, but figured that his wife would understand once he explained.

During the short ride, Jake kept an eye on his passenger in the rear view mirror. The man was staring out the window, seemingly unaware of the scrutiny that he was receiving. By the time they reached the station, Jake has noticed several things: 1) the man was severely malnourished and possibly dehydrated; 2) his clothes most likely were not his own since he was practically swimming in them; 3) he had been beaten pretty badly; 4) and there was a possibility that he had lost his voice.

Once the taxi stopped, the man tried to immediately get out the door. Jake said, "Whoa whoa whoa," as he quickly got out and ran around the cab. The man braced his hands on the car frame as he got out and started walking towards the station's steps.

Closing the door, Jake stepped in front of him, causing the man to stop. "Hey, I still need to give you change."

The man shook his head no before trying to move around him.

"Please," Jake said as he moved back in front of him. "It wasn't even a $7 ride. I can't take all your money." Jake pulled out a $10 bill. "Please take this, it'll make me feel a lot better."

The man looked down at his feet for a moment before nodding his head and looking back up. He gave Jake a brief, but sad, smile as he accepted the money.

Jake pulled out a business card and handed it to him. "If you need another ride, even if you don't have any cash, have someone give me a call. Just have them say an angel needs a ride."

The man gave Jake a confused look. Jake shrugged and smiled before saying, "There's a story that says to be nice and hospitable to all in case you are entertaining angels."

The man's sad smile returned as he mouthed 'Thanks' and took the card.

Jake nodded and moved out of the man's way, "No problem." Jake continued to watch the man as he headed up the steps.

"Peace be with you," Jake whispered as he pulled out his phone. He dialed his wife to let her know that he was about to head back to dispatch and clock out.

Probational officer Rick Johnson sat at the front desk of the police station, staring out the doors. It was only his third day on the job, but he was getting the hang of it. Today was a slow crime day; week actually. Officer Allen even left him alone while she took her lunch break. His mind drifted to his personal life. His girlfriend Martha's family was having a birthday party for her father tonight. Rick hopes it will help get him on her family's good side. He plans to propose to Martha next weekend, exactly 5 years after they first met, but wants to get her family's blessing first.

As Rick contemplated how to get a private conversation with Martha's father, he noticed an odd looking man staggering up the precinct's steps. The man did not look well at all; he seemed to barely keep himself upright, his clothes and hair were a mess, and he appeared to be slightly out of it. Rick watched as the man paused near the doors to catch his breath before coming inside and up to the counter. As the man closed his eyes and took deep breaths, Rick wondered if he should call an ambulance or a more experienced officer.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Rick asked as friendly as he could, trying not to let his curiosity get the better of him.

The man nodded his head while opening his eyes. Rick saw relief and pain in the man's hazel eyes.

"Are you all right?"

He shook his head no, his breathing still a little fast.

"Should I call an ambulance?"

Shake no.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

The man straightened a bit and moved his hands rapidly. It took Rick a moment to realize that he was using sign language.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't understand."

The man sighed heavily and dropped his hands on the counter, tapping his fingers. His eyes roamed the room before they caught the bulletin board about five feet away. He stared at the left hand corner for a moment before stumbling over to it. He tore a piece of paper from the board and turned to come back to the counter. Unfortunately, he spun around too fast and swayed for a second before collapsing to the floor.

Rick quickly rounded the desk and yelled, "I need some help over here!" He knelt next to the man and checked his pulse and breathing, both seemed normal. Rick noticed that the man was a bit hot and sweaty, most likely a fever.

"What happened?"

Rick looked up to see Officer Buzz McNab standing next to him. "I don-don't know. He c-c-came in, seeming a bit weak and win-winded." Rick noted that he was talking fast and stuttering. "He indicated that he n-n-needed help but didn't want an ambulance. When I asked him what ha-happened, he tried signing to me but I only know about th-three words in sign language plus some of the alphabet. Then he noticed the b-b-board and walked over." Rick grabbed the paper that the man was still clutching and handed it to Buzz. "He g-gra-grabbed that but I guess-ss that he turned around to-too fast and got dizzy."

Buzz took the paper and frowned when he noticed that it was a missing persons flyer from about 3 years ago. When he saw that it was of someone he considered a good friend, he looked back at the man on the floor. Buzz knelt on the other side of him from Rick and pushed the dirty, long hair away from the man's face. It only took him a moment before Buzz gasped and whispered, "Oh my god! Shawn?!"

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 6

Chief Karen Vick was on the phone talking to her husband. Since there was a reprieve in crime, she was using the time to her advantage. Her daughter was going to a sleepover tonight, so Karen and her husband were making arrangements to go out.

While discussing where to go for dinner, Buzz McNab entered her office without knocking. Sighing, she muttered "hang on," to her husband.

"Officer McNab!" Karen sternly called as she turned towards him, putting the call on hold. "What do you think you are doing?!" She had barely glanced at Rick Johnson, standing nervously by her door, when she noticed that Buzz was carrying someone who was clearly unconscious.

"I'm sorry Chief," Buzz was looking a bit flustered. "But this is really important." Without waiting for permission, he put the unconscious man on her sofa.

"Oh really?" Karen crossed her arms. While she wondered what or who was so important that had McNab acting completely out of character, she still had to maintain her authority. "You know I can have you officially reprimanded for this?"

Buzz stood up quickly and looked towards her with fear in his eyes, "Yes ma'am."

"Who is this and why did you bring him in here?" She noted Johnson leaving slowly, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Buzz shot a nervous look at the man on her couch and bit his lip. He took a deep breath, still easily intimidated by her. "Well Chief, I believe that he, this man, is Shawn, Shawn Spencer."

Karen glare softened instantly, going from Chief mode to Mother mode in a split second. Picking her phone back up, she said, "Honey, I've got to go. Rain check, okay? Bye." She stepped up to the couch while asking, "Are you sure?"

McNab nodded even though her back was to him. "Not 100% positive, I turned up after he passed out. But he grabbed Shawn's missing person's flyer before collapsing and you can see it in his face." McNab took a step closer while not invading Karen's personal space.

Staring at his face, Karen smoothed the man's forehead, brushing his hair aside. She frowned as she felt the slight heat radiating from him. Stepping back into Chief mode, she quickly walked to her door while saying, "McNab, call an ambulance and then get me a bottle of water." Sticking her head out the door, barely noting McNab slipping past her, she snapped, "O'Hara! Lassiter! In my office now!"

Karen grabbed a packet of hand wipes from her desk and knelt next to the couch as Juliet O'Hara and Carlton Lassiter entered.

"Chief?" They both answered in almost perfect unison while she started to clean his face.

"Detective Lassiter, I need you to call Henry Spencer and Mr. Guster and tell them to meet me at the hospital." She turned to see their puzzled faces, "We have reason to believe that Shawn Spencer has returned." She saw them both gasp before she turned back to the man on the couch.

Carlton nodded and darted out of the office towards his desk. Juliet was frozen, her eyes on the face that she hadn't seen in over three years.

"Mr. Spencer? Shawn, can you hear me?" Karen started calling out to him while she smoothed his hair. After a few seconds, he stirred. He did not make a sound, but lazily fixed his eyes on her face. A small smile appeared before he started coughing.

"O'Hara, help me lift him." Juliet immediately complied and they managed to get him into a sitting position, with Juliet on the couch behind him. When he finally calmed down, he leaned back against her, eyes closed, breathing heavily.

Buzz knocked on the door, hesitating before coming in. "Chief, the ambulance should be here in about 5 minutes. Here's some water." He handed over 2 bottles.

As Karen uncapped the first bottle, Shawn opened his eyes and saw Buzz. He smiled and mouthed "Buzz!" and held out his fist, even though his whole arm shook.

Buzz smiled widely and quickly finished the fist bump. "Hey Shawn! I'm so glad that you're back. I have a coupon for a pineapple smoothie with your name on it." Shawn's smile widened and Buzz laughed nervously.

Karen touched the side of Shawn's face as she brought the bottle towards him. "Shawn, I'm going to give you some water now, but only a little bit at a time, okay? We don't want you to choke." Shawn nodded and opened his mouth.

Juliet sat quietly behind Shawn, with his head on her shoulder, too afraid to say or do anything. Still slightly stunned, she did not notice Shawn's hand had found hers until she felt the slight squeezing of her fingers. She stared down at their hands intertwined before looking at his face. His eyes were closed, but he seemed calm and content. She smiled and squeezed back.

Carlton returned and hovered near the door, "Chief, I've notified Guster and he said that he'll be at the hospital within the hour. As for Spencer, I haven't been able to reach him. I believe he went fishing today, so I'm going to head over to the docks and try to locate him." He seemed somewhat unsure of himself, staring straight ahead, not once did he allow his eyes to stray towards the couch.

"That's fine Detective." Karen replied without looking at him. Carlton nodded and left to grab his jacket.

Karen continued to clean Shawn's face and hands. While she was wiping his chin, she realized that Shawn had yet to utter a single word. Frowning, she tilted his face towards her.

"Shawn," He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Shawn let go of Juliet's hand and started signing. Karen shook her head before replying, "I'm sorry, I don't understand." Shawn immediately dropped his hands and looked down.

Karen quickly grabbed a legal pad and a pencil and handed them over to him. "The ambulance is going to be here soon, but can you let me know anything, where you were, what happened?"

Shawn gripped the pencil with a shaky hand. He nervously looked at her before writing three words slowly. As he was handing the pad back, the paramedics came in and started to assess him. Juliet got up and went to stand with Buzz and the Chief.

As they were strapping him down to the stretcher, Shawn started to fidget and his breathing increased. "Mr. Spencer, you're going to have to calm down." One of the medics told him as they made sure he did not disrupt the various cords and wires. Shawn reached out his hand and looked towards Juliet, his eyes pleading with her.

Karen gently pushed Juliet forward, "Go with him, help calm him down. I'll meet you at the hospital"

Juliet nodded and grabbed his hand, smoothing his hair with her other one, "It's okay, Shawn. I'm right here, you're safe now. They're just trying to help."

Shawn nodded and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, his breathing and heart rate slowed down. "Okay, let's go." The second paramedic announced as they started moving.

Karen watched them go, Shawn holding tightly onto Juliet. Once they were out of sight and she was alone, she looked at the legal pad still in her hands. The handwriting was very messy, almost like her 7 year old wrote it. The words horrified her, not believing that someone could do such a thing to sweet, lovable Shawn.

She ripped the paper off the pad and locked it in her desk, before grabbing her coat and keys. As she left the station, those three words kept flashing through her head:

Kidnapped, tortured, raped.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 7

As Carlton Lassiter walked down the row of boats towards where Henry kept his, he could not stop thinking about how different Shawn looked. It was unbelievable that the dirty, pale, tired, skinny guy laying on Chief Vick's couch was once so vibrant, energetic, and an overall pain in the ass. The guy who could lighten up a room just by walking in, spouting some obscure 80's movie reference, flirting with almost anyone, and obsessing about pineapples and his hair.

Carlton shook his head, "Unbelievable," he mumbled to himself. "Spencer is not even back for an hour and he's already giving me a headache."

Looking up, he saw Henry unloading his boat. Henry had taken to going out fishing almost every other morning, weather permitting, for the past 3 years. "It helps me think," Henry told him one day. "Or, sometimes, not to think." Carlton tried to go with him whenever he had the time off work, knowing that the older man could use the company. They never say much, usually just enjoy the quietness of the open water.

Stopping about 5 feet from the boat, Carlton was still unsure about what to tell the older man. Fortunately, Henry started the conversation.

"Hey Carlton, I wish you could have come this morning. I got lucky and caught a couple of good sized halibut. I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight." He got off the boat and finally turned towards Carlton and noted the somewhat stoic expression. "What's wrong?"

Carlton sighed, remembering that Henry was constantly called a human lie detector. "It's Shawn."

Henry's face paled instantly, a hand covering his mouth. "What about him? Is he . . . ."

"Oh God, no. Henry, he's not dead," Carlton quickly reassured him. "He turned up at the station about a half hour ago. From what I heard, he walked in on his own but he does seem a bit off, so they're taking him to the hospital."

Henry nodded and started to gather up his things. "Okay, good. I'll, um, I'll just drop this stuff at the house and then head over." Henry seemed a bit distracted and kept dropping things.

Carlton put a hand on his arm. "Why don't I drive?"

Henry stared at Carlton for a few seconds, "Yeah, that'll probably be best."

Carlton let go of him and grabbed as many things as possible before leading the way to his car.

40 minutes later found Carlton leaning against the wall in the hospital waiting room, watching the others. Chief Vick was informing Henry and Gus about how Shawn looked while Juliet sat by herself, deep in thought.

The first couple of months after Shawn was declared a missing person, Juliet was a mess. She would barely sleep or eat, daily checking every John Doe case reported throughout the country. Carlton would try to take some of her workload, but before long it started to affect her in the field. Her reaction time was slower and she almost collapsed at a crime scene. The Chief put her on a mandatory vacation for a week and told Juliet to get herself back together or she would be on desk duty. Carlton checked on her a few times that week, bringing the occasional meal.

When Juliet returned to work, you could barely tell that anything had changed since before Shawn had left. The only indicator was when she would let her smile drop, usually when it was just her and Carlton, on their way to a crime scene or taking a lunch break. On her days off, she was often with Guster, usually just talking or watching movies.

Guster seemed to have taken Shawn's disappearance a lot better. He was used to Shawn being away for long periods of time, the only difference was that he had not received a single postcard or phone call since that first week. Guster was worried, but knew that Shawn could take care of himself. He had plenty of faith that Shawn would come back; he was even keeping the Psych office. Unfortunately, he was not able to keep Shawn's apartment as well, so most of Shawn's things went into storage, with a few making their way to Henry's house.

Henry never mentioned what he has of Shawn's. He did manage to retrieve Shawn's motorcycle from Nebraska, even had a mechanic fix it up and keep it in good condition. Carlton knew that Henry hated the motorcycle; would sometimes comment on whether Shawn would have gone missing if he had a real vehicle. Those were the times when Carlton just kept quiet, nodding his head, waiting for Henry to either continue on his rant or change the subject.

After about an hour of waiting, a doctor finally entered the waiting room. All five heads looked up when the doctor stopped. "Family for Shawn Spencer?"

Henry stood up very slowly, eager to see his son, yet still hesitant to hear the news. Karen continued to rub his arm as she stood next to him. He flashed her a grateful smile before addressing the doctor, "How's my son?"

The doctor glanced around the waiting room, seeing that only the six of them occupied the place. "Would you like to go someplace private to talk?"

"No," Henry instantly replied, shaking his head, "Whatever you have to say is going to get repeated to them anyways, so you might as well tell us all."

"Okay," the doctor replied as he sat down across from where Henry was standing, waiting for him to take a seat before continuing. "My name is Dr. Edward Thomlin and I'm the chief resident here. Shawn came in with multiple injuries, including bruised ribs and stab wounds. There is a slightly fresh wound across his abdomen, possibly only 3 days old, and it's infected. He currently has a fever of 102 and rising. He started panicking and became aggressive while we were assessing him, so he had to be sedated. He has a few broken bones in his left forearm. There is indication of an improperly healed break in his right leg. So we had to break the bones in his leg and reset them. He will have casts for a while. There was also indication of severe neck trauma, which damaged his larynx, so he won't be able to talk right now, if ever. He's currently on an antibiotic and painkillers."

Taking a deep breath, the doctor looked around at them all before asking, "Are there any questions?"

Henry, who had been staring at the floor the entire time, finally looked up, "When can we see him?"

"I can let you see him now for a few minutes. Shawn seemed to be on the brink of exhaustion, so even after the sedative wears off, he'll still be sleeping a lot." The doctor stood up and walked towards the hallway, waiting for the group to follow. Karen walked slightly next to Henry, hand on his back. Gus had his arm around Juliet, offering her some comfort while Carlton brought up the rear.

When the group entered the room, Carlton stayed by the door, still unsure of his position. He knew that O'Hara would want him there, always pushing him to be more sensitive.

As the doctor left, Karen excused herself and followed. She stopped him not too far from the room, and Carlton was able to hear their conversation.

"Doctor, I need to tell you something."

"Yes ma'am, are you his mother?"

Karen chuckled, "Oh no, just a family friend. I'm actually Karen Vick, Chief of Police. I occasionally employed Mr. Spencer."

"Of course, what can I do for you."

"I thought that it would be important to tell you what happened. Mr. Spencer showed up at the Police Station today after being declared a missing person for over three years."

"No wonder everyone is so worried."

"Yes, and before the ambulance took him away, Mr. Spencer wrote down a general description of what happened." Karen's voice got softer at this point and Carlton was barely able to make out what she said next. "He wrote that he was tortured and raped. I don't know how he's going to react once he's awake, so it might be beneficial to keep someone familiar to him nearby for the next couple of days."

"I understand. Unfortunately I have had rape victims before. I'll make a note in his chart and let the nurses know."

"Thank you so much."

Carlton was startled when he felt Juliet touch his arm. Looking in her eyes, he saw the concern and worry directed towards him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and replied, "Yeah, I just remembered that I have a report that I need to finish today." Carlton watched as Chief Vick walked back into the room and talked to Henry. "I'm going to head back to the station. Do you need a ride?"

Juliet looked Carlton over, trying to figure out what he was hiding. Finally, she nodded, "Sure, I'm just going to let Gus and Mr. Spencer know that we're leaving."

"Okay, I'll be by the elevators," Carlton replied before quickly leaving.

As he paced near the elevator, Carlton thought of some of the rape victims that he has had to interview in the past. Most of them never seem to be the same after such a traumatic event, usually very wary of new people and sometimes afraid of touch. Male victims seem to be traumatized the most, unsure of people of either gender and sometimes disgusted with themselves. Their families are also stressed out, not knowing what to do, afraid of setting off a panic attack.

Even though he never really liked the guy, Carlton knew that Spencer might be looking up to him more for protection. As he watched O'Hara and Chief Vick come down the hallway, Carlton made a vow to help Spencer in whatever way possible. He will need as many friends now than ever, and even though Carlton does not really consider him a friend, he is still a work colleague. Besides, some of the easy banter between them might help him recover.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 8

A few hours after the others left, Henry sat next to Shawn's bed and stared into space. He could not believe that this was his son. Shawn had lost at least 40 lbs, his hair was past his shoulders, and his skin was so pale, like he hadn't seen the sun in years. Karen had tried to prepare him before they were able to see Shawn, but there was no way to prepare for what he saw. He was left speechless, the first time in his life when it came to Shawn. He kept wishing for Shawn to wake up, hop out of the bed, and tell him that it was all just one big, sick joke.

He had barely heard what the doctor told him, something about multiple wounds and a few broken bones. The phrase "fever of 102 and raising" pushed its way through. Every so often a nurse would come in and check Shawn's temperature and other vitals. Once it reached 103, the nurses removed the sheets and hospital gown, leaving just a towel for modesty sake and even set up a screen in front of the door. A half hour ago, Henry started placing washcloths, dipped in cold water, across Shawn's chest and forehead, replacing them every 15 minutes.

Around 8, there was a knock at the door that tore Henry out of his thoughts. He took a look at his son, who was still sleeping, before getting up and moving around the screen to open the door. He was surprised to find Karen Vick standing off to the side. "Karen, what are you doing here? I thought you would be home by now."

Karen smiled, "I was on my way and thought that I would bring you some food." She held up a bag from the local sub shop. "I figured you haven't eaten since breakfast and could use something more substantial than hospital food."

"Thanks," Henry took the bag and stared at the floor.

"Henry," He looked back up at her. "Let me know if you need any help at all, even if it's just a food run. I'll be happy to do it, as well as at least half the force. Shawn will probably start receiving cards tomorrow. I know that McNab is anxious to stop by but I told people to wait a couple of days before visiting."

"Thank you Karen, I really appreciate it. I'll let you know when he's feeling up to visitors."

"Good night, Henry," Karen patted his arm. "And give Shawn my love."

Henry smiled sadly, "Sure thing. Good night." Henry watched Karen walk down the hallway and turn the corner before closing the door. He refreshed the washcloths on Shawn's face before sitting down to eat.

Around midnight, Henry was woken up by a strange rustling noise. Henry looked around and noticed that Shawn's eyes were open, but glazed over from the fever and sedative.

"It's okay, Shawn," Henry whispered as he stood up and pushed the nurse's call button. "You're safe." Henry touched Shawn's hand but Shawn immediately flinched away from him. If the guard rails were not up, Shawn would have fallen off the bed. "Shawn, you need to calm down. Come on, it's just Dad. You're safe now."

But Shawn did not seem to understand and his breathing and heart rate increased, setting off the alarms. A couple of nurses rushed in at that point, followed by Dr. Douglas. After failing to calm Shawn down, they administered another sedative. As the nurses left, Dr. Douglas made some notes in Shawn's chart while turning to Henry.

"I apologize for that Mr. Spencer, but we really didn't have any other choice. We can't risk him going into cardiac arrest, so we need to keep him as calm as possible. He should be more responsive once his temperature comes down. When Dr. Thomlin arrives in the morning, he will decide if a less powerful sedative is needed. If you need anything else, please let the nurses know."

"Thanks, doctor." Henry replied, smoothing Shawn's sweat-soaked hair back and replacing the washcloths that were disturbed. He figured that he should get more ice, but it could wait. Henry waited until he heard the door close behind the doctor before whispering, "Come on kid, stop scaring your old man. You need to beat this fever and wake up."

Shawn's fever peaked at 105 before it finally broke around 3am. Around dawn, some nurses came in to change the sheets and check Shawn's progress. Once they left, Henry decided that it was safe to get some breakfast, figuring that Shawn would not be waking up anytime soon. Getting out of his chair, he stretched while saying, "I'll be right back, kiddo." He patted Shawn's arm on his way out, not noticing the slight twitch of Shawn's face as he did so.

Ten minutes later, with a fresh cup of coffee in hand, Henry was walking back towards Shawn's room when he noticed all the activity around it. "Oh no!" He groaned as he hurried inside. One look around was all he needed to find out what happened. Shawn had woken up, but was agitated and had managed to pull out his IV. The doctors had to put the restraints on him so that he could not pull it out again.

"Shawn," Henry said as he got next to the bed, placing his coffee on the side table. Shawn looked at him with wide eyes, showing his fear but also his relief to find someone familiar. He continued to pull on the restraints while mouthing, "Dad, help."

"It's alright, you're safe now." Henry replied, stroking Shawn's hair. "You're in the hospital, you need to calm down so they can help you, kiddo." Henry looked over at Dr. Douglas, who was about to administer another sedative. "Can't you give him a minute, he just woke up and has no idea where he is."

"I'm sorry Mr. Spencer, but he needs to calm down."

"Then take off these damn restraints!" Henry yelled back. "He's not that strong right now, I'll hold him down if needed."

Dr. Douglas looked between Henry and the heart monitor, noticing that Shawn did calm down a little once his father came in. "Alright, but if he pulls out his IV again, or any other lines, I'll have to put them back on."

Almost as soon as the restraints were gone, Shawn immediately pulled his father into a tight hug and started sobbing. Henry barely managed to sit on the bed and regain his balance. "It's okay Shawn, I'm here and you're safe, you're home." Henry repeated his mantra while rubbing Shawn's back and smoothing his hair. Once everything was in place, the doctor and nurses slowly filed out, giving the father and son their space.

After a few minutes, Henry's back started to protest from the weird angle, so he reached over for the bed controls. Unfortunately, this disturbed Shawn, who tightened his hold on his father. "It's okay, kid. I'm just adjusting the bed so that I'm not as hunched over." Henry brought the bed to about a 75 degree angle and leaned back against it. Shawn immediately settled down against his father, arms around his waist and head buried in his father's shirt.

"It's okay," Henry continued his mantra, smoothing his son while trying to keep back his own tears. "I'm here and you're safe."

Around 8am, Gus stopped by on his way to work. He looked in the door's window before entering but was stopped by what he saw. Both Henry and Shawn are asleep on the bed with Shawn holding his father like a giant teddy bear. Not wanting to disturb them, Gus turned around, promising to himself to come back after work and not mention what he saw to either of them.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 9

"Excuse me, sir." Henry awoke from a slight shaking of his shoulder. "I'm sorry sir, but the doctor will be here in a few minutes. I thought that you would appreciate some time to wake up before he arrives."

Henry looked down and noticed that Shawn was still plastered to him. He rubbed his face, disturbing the blanket that one of the nurses had pulled over them. Shawn felt the movement and tightened his hold.

The nurse saw that and laughed. "You might also want to wake him while you're at it. Is there anything that you need?"

Henry looked over to his coffee cup, "Is there a chance that you can heat that up for me?"

The nurse smiled and picked up the cup, "Of course, I'll be right back."

Henry stretched again, trying not to disturb Shawn. He checked his watch and noted that it was almost 11. Henry waited until after the nurse returned with his coffee and left again, before shaking Shawn's shoulder, "Come on kid, time to get up."

Shawn's response was to snuggle down deeper under the blanket and into his father's shirt. "Shawn, come on, wakey, wakey."

Shawn stretched like a cat, but when he realized that his one hand was trapped, he stopped. He opened his eyes with a puzzled expression. When his eyes met his father's, he froze with wide, terrified eyes. Shawn immediately pushed away from his father, almost falling off the bed.

Henry instinctively grabbed Shawn's arm before he could fall, chuckling, "Relax, kid, it's fine."

Shawn looked down at the sheets and signed, "Sorry."

"Hey," Henry tilted his son's chin up and looked him in the eye. "It's okay. I understand, you were scared. But remember that you're safe now and I'm here for you. I'll do whatever is necessary, even if it means being your teddy bear." Shawn smiled shyly and nodded.

"Good," Henry smiled and started to get off the bed, but Shawn grabbed his arm before he could get one leg down.

"Shawn!" Henry reprimanded before he saw the scared look on his son's face. Taking a deep breath, Henry put his hand over Shawn's. "I'm just going to sit in the chair. The doctor will be here soon and he'll need some room to check you over, okay?"

Shawn nodded and let go, watching Henry's every move. Henry sighed and slowly got off the bed, moving the chair closer, all while keeping eye contact with his son.

"See," Henry said as he sat down, picking up his coffee. "I'm not going anywhere."

Shawn nodded and moved back to the center of the bed. He stared down at the blankets and started fingering his IV. Henry reached over a hand to stop him. "Hey, don't do that." Shawn nodded and played with the edge of the blanket instead. He then started shifting around on the bed.

"Shawn, are you okay?"

Shawn sighed before starting to sign again, looking embarrassed. "There's a very uncomfortable cord between my legs, if you know what I mean."

Henry looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, well. You were a bit out of it from a fever yesterday. They had to sedate you, so it was the only option." Shawn nodded again, still not looking at his father. "The doctor will probably have it taken out."

The door opened at this point, and Dr. Thomlin walked in and stopped at the foot of the bed. "Good Morning Mr. Spencer. Hello Shawn. I'm Doctor Edward Thomlin, I'm your main physician. I know that you can't talk, but I hear that you know sign language?" Shawn nodded. "Good, well our translator is unavailable right now, but if it's alright with you, can your dad stay and translate?" Shawn nodded again. "Good. I just need to check the surgical site."

As Thomlin moved the gown and bandages out of the way, Shawn started to fidget and his breathing increased. Noting his son's distress, Henry squeezed his hand. "Shawn, look at me." Shawn locked his wide, scared eyes with him. "You need to calm down. He's trying to help you. I 'm not gonna let anything else happen to you, okay?"

Shawn nodded, but his breathing was still fast. "Shawn, focus on me. Okay, now breathe in, then out." Henry demonstrated and brought Shawn's hand to rest on his chest. "In and out. In and out." After a few minutes, Shawn's breathing calmed down and he gave his dad a grateful smile.

Once he was done, Dr Thomlin took a seat next to Henry so that Shawn could see both of them. "Okay, first off, you came in with multiple wounds, some have healed, but the one on your abdomen was infected. Luckily, you didn't pull out any stitches during your busy night."

Shawn blushed at this and looked down. Henry reached over and rubbed his arm. "He's a bit embarrassed about how he woke up this morning, even though I told him I understand."

Dr. Thomlin smiled, "I agree, it's perfectly natural, after all you've been through Shawn, to seek some security." Shawn nodded again and started playing with the edge of the blanket, still not meeting anyone's eyes

Noting that Shawn did not want to talk about it, Thomlin moved on, "As you probably already noticed, we had to break and realign the bones in your right leg and cast both your leg and left arm. So you won't be walking for a while. I know that it will cause you some pain once the medication is decreased, but I want you to continue signing with your left hand. The exercise will help strengthen the muscle, but don't try to lift anything with it yet."

"Will he be able to use crutches?" Henry asked when the doctor paused.

Thomlin took a good long look at Shawn before shaking his head, "Right now, no. Shawn will have to rebuild some of his strength. He'll be in a wheelchair for a while, but can get up with assistance from other people for short trips, like to the bathroom. Once the cast on the arm comes off, then we'll ease him onto crutches, again having people spotting Shawn. As for his voice, only time will tell. There's been a lot of damage, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Shawn started signing and Thomlin waited for Henry to translate. Henry chuckled, before responding, "He wants to know when he can get rid of some of the tubes, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, yes, the Foley catheter. Well, assuming you don't relapse, I'll have one of the nurses take it out this afternoon. You still won't be able to get out of the bed for a few days, so you'll have to use a plastic urinal." Shawn maked a face, causing the doctor to laugh before continuing. "Do you have any other questions?"

Shawn looked up and started signing. Henry grinned at what he said while Shawn gave a pleading look.

"What?" Thomlin asked, puzzled.

"Shawn wants to know when he can have a pineapple smoothie since he's been promised at least one already. This kid loves his pineapple," Henry said with a smile.

"Well," Thomlin frowned, "We're going to start you on a liquid diet today. If all goes well, you'll be put on the BRAT diet tomorrow and hopefully have real food a few days later. So you have at least three more days before anything acidic like pineapple. Since you need to gain a lot of weight back, I'll allow people to bring in food for you starting that day, only if you behave yourself."

Shawn signed and then held up his hand like a scout. "He says he promises. Although in my opinion, you need to explain to him what behaving means since he likes to twist words around and find the loopholes."

Shawn turned to his father with a scandalized look on his face. "I do not!"

"You do too! You've been rebelling since the day you were born. I had to watch you just to make sure you went to sleep and even then you would be up 5 minutes after I left the room."

"That's creepy, you know. I think you were just looking for an excuse to yell at me."

"Shawn," Henry sighed, "This isn't the time or the place."

"You started it."

Henry turned back to Thomlin, who had an amused expression on his face. "I'm sorry Dr. Thomlin. As you can see, we're not always on the best of terms. Is there anything else that we need to know."

Thomlin looked back through the chart before answering, "Nope, that about covers it. I'll have one of the nurses place that order for a liquid diet. If either of you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." He stood up and offered his hand to Henry. "I suggest that you go home for an hour or so today and get changed. You smell like fish."

"Yeah, well. I was fishing when I got the news."

Shawn grinned widely at this as the doctor turned toward him with his hand out. "Shawn, I'll be back later."

Shawn's smile fell as he nervously reached out and quickly shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you." he signed as he ducked his head down.

"Yeah, thank you doctor." Henry repeated. Thomlin nodded as he left.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Shawn tried reaching for a cup of water, only to find his hand was shaking. He ended up knocking the empty cup on the floor.

"Here," Henry said as he stood to retrieve the cup. "Let me get that for you."

"Thanks." Shawn waited for his father to fill it and hand it to him. His father didn't release the cup, knowing that Shawn could not hold it steady enough. When he finished drinking, Shawn leaned back against the bed, closing his eyes.

Henry sat back in his seat and picked up a fishing magazine. After a couple of minutes, Shawn tried to get his attention by tapping the guardrail with his arm cast. "You know, you should be grateful that you are still on morphine or that would hurt a lot. Maybe I should find you a bell or something."

Shawn just rolled his eyes, "You should home and take a shower. You really do smell like fish."

"Are you sure?"

"That you smell like fish? Yes."

"Shawn!"

"I'll be fine. Just going to take a nap and eat lunch."

"Like you did so well with the water."

"Dad! I don't need a babysitter." Shawn stared down his dad, fingers moving faster. "I probably messed up your life enough. Worrying for years just for me to end up in the hospital. I've always been a screw up, you've said so plenty of times."

"Shawn" Henry began, seeing tears springing up in his son's eyes.

"Just go, Dad. I'll figure something out." Shawn dropped his hands and eyes to his lap, and played with the blanket.

Henry got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey," he tilted Shawn's head up. "I know you're not perfect, you never will be. But I accepted that you were different years ago. Like I told you earlier, I'm here for you. I'll do whatever in my power to keep you safe. No matter how many times you mess up, you're still my son, and I'll always be there for you. You got that?"

Shawn nodded, tears still falling across his face. "Thanks, dad."

"Come here," Henry pulled Shawn into a hug.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 10

Gus spent most of the morning thinking about Shawn and did not get any work done, so he went to the Psych office after lunch. The office was almost empty, most of the personal stuff was in storage with the things from Shawn's apartment, but they left the furniture. Gus struck a deal with the owners to spend less on rent to keep the space, and kept the lights and heating off until Shawn came back. Sometimes Gus came to reminisce and wonder how Shawn would have handled a situation. Juliet had stopped by a few times, but she said that it wasn't the same without Shawn.

Today, Gus tried to think only about some of their better times. But then the picture of Shawn laying extremely pale and beaten came to mind, followed by Shawn clinging to his father. He knew that Shawn and his father were not the physical type; he might have witnessed only 5 hugs between the two of them in almost 30 years of friendship; so he knew that Shawn must have been hurting terribly for Henry to be holding him like that.

Around 3pm, as Gus rode the elevator up to Shawn's room, he wondered what do you say to someone you haven't seen in 3 years? Your best friend who obviously went through something horrible. Do you act like nothing happened? Gus figured that he should take his cues from Shawn. Knowing him, Shawn would act like he had only been gone for a weekend.

Pausing outside the door, Gus looked in the window since he did not want to walk into a scene like earlier. To his immense relief, Shawn was sleeping again and Henry was reading a magazine. Taking a deep breath, Gus knocked on the door and walked in.

"Gus!" Henry greeted quietly. Gus could see the fatigue and worry already doing a number on him. "I'm so glad that you could make it."

"Hello Mr. Spencer." Gus stopped at the foot of the bed. "How's he doing?"

"Well," Henry sighed, looking back at his sleeping son. "Physically, he'll be fine. The only question is if or when he'll get his voice back."

"Wow, I can't imagine a quiet Shawn," Gus joked.

Henry smiled, "Yeah, I know. But he's still going about a mile a minute signing everything. A few times I could barely keep up. He would get writer's cramp if he had to write out everything, that's if you could read it in the first place."

Gus smiled and looked back at Shawn. "And how's he doing emotionally?"

Henry hung his head, "I don't know. He's slipped in a joke here and there, but he's nervous around the hospital staff. He freaks out if I try to go too far. Even when I went to the bathroom, I had to keep the door open and talk to him."

"Just give him time, he'll come around."

"Yeah, I hope so." Henry got up and stretched. "So how long are you visiting for?"

"Oh, I'm free all afternoon."

"Good. Then you wouldn't mind staying while I go home and change? Shawn and the doctor both think that I need to take a shower and get rid of the fish smell."

Gus laughed, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks," Henry grabbed his coat as he headed toward the door. "He might tap his arm cast on the railing to get your attention, so be alert. He's not supposed to be using that arm for anything more strenuous than signing. Other than that, don't treat him any different. He's still your best friend."

Gus stood there stun, surprised that Henry addressed the problem that had been floating at the back of his mind. He barely squeaked out a "See ya," before the door closed behind Henry.

Gus nervously stood by the foot of the bed before walking over and taking the seat Henry had previously vacated. After a few minutes of just fidgeting his hands, Gus picked up the remote and turned on the sports channel, hoping to catch a replay of last night's games.

An hour later, Gus just happened to look over at Shawn, and saw that he was getting restless. Turning off the TV, Gus moved closer to the bed. "Shawn?" he whispered cautiously. Shawn started flailing his arms about, like he was trying to fend someone off. "Shawn! Wake up, you're in the hospital." Gus noticed that Shawn was about to smack his good hand on the rail and he managed to grab it. Unfortunately, it seemed to agitate Shawn even more and Gus was unprepared for the casted arm taking a swing at him.

"OW!" Gus quickly released him and brought a hand to his check and stretched his jaw. He noticed that the cast left a scratch on his cheek and split his bottom lip. "Oh, hell no." Gus mumbled as he reached over and pushed both of Shawn's upper arms into the bed. "Shawn! You need to wake up, come on man!" Gus pleaded.

Shawn gasped as he opened his frighten eyes. When he recognized Gus, he relaxed and took deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Gus asked, still holding him down.

Shawn nodded as a few tears leaked down his face.

"Good," Gus released Shawn and started to straighten up, only to have Shawn pull him down into a hug. It only took Gus a moment to reciprocate, but by then he realized that Shawn had started crying. Unsure of what to do, Gus just tightened his hold.

After a few minutes, Shawn calmed down and broke the hug, laying back and looking away from Gus. Gus sat on the edge of the bed, trying to think of what to say next. He stared down at his hands and was about to get up when Shawn covered his hands with his own. He looked up to see Shawn grinning at him before moving his hands.

"I'm glad that you're here. I miss hanging out with you."

Gus smiled, "Me too."

Shawn held his right hand up and Gus completed his fist bump.

Shawn then reached over and started to raise the bed. Gus immediately got up and sat in the chair.

"What happened to your face?"

Gus reached up and touched his cheek, "Well, I could tell you that I was defending some girl's honor last night."

"I would call B.S. because that is fresh." Shawn looked down at his hands before looking up sheepishly, "I hit you?"

"Yeah. And with that cast, you've got a mean left hook"

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I probably should have known better than to grab your arm when you're half asleep."

"Where's my dad?"

"He left to go change. He mentioned smelling like fish?"

Shawn grinned and nodded his head, "Yeah. He was fishing yesterday and the doctor and I ganged up on him. He probably went home for a bubble baths."

"You know Shawn, real men take bubble baths."

"Wait, are you defending him? Don't tell me you take bubble baths?"

"No Shawn, I don't! But I do enjoy spending time in a hot tub, and it's almost the same thing."

"Dude, they are two totally different things, unless of course you go commando in the hot tub."

"Shawn, I would never go suitless in a hot tub."

"What if I paid you 50 bucks."

"You must be out of your damn mind! I don't care if you paid me a million dollars, there's no way in hell that I would go butt naked. . . ."

"Ahem," Gus and Shawn both turned towards the door and saw a nurse standing there. "I hate to interrupt what I assume is a very interesting conversation, but I need to check vitals."

Shawn ducked his head, trying not to smile, while Gus stood up. "I am so sorry Miss. We were just discussing hot tubs."

"It's okay," The nurse smiled as she walked over to Gus, turning his face a bit. "You've got a pretty nasty cut there, although I don't believe you need stitches. You probably just need to rinse it off and put some to ice it."

"Thanks," Gus replied sheepishly.

"No problem," She smiled and moved to the other side of the bed. "My name is Rose and I'll be your nurse for the afternoons and evenings So, Mr. Spencer, are you in any pain?"

Shawn shook his head before turning towards Gus and signing. Gus scoffed and repeated, "He says that it only hurts when he laughs real hard or takes too deep of breaths and that you should call him Shawn, since Mr. Spencer is the grumpy old bald guy who should be returning soon."

Rose chuckled as she took out the ear thermometer. "Alright, Shawn. But for future reference, I do understand sign language. There's another nurse, Marie, who also signs and she'll be around in the mornings to help you. I got reassigned to this floor just for you, so I hope that we get along."

"Thanks, I think we'll get along just fine. You have an excellent bedside manner."

"Why thank you Shawn." Rose smiled as she picked up the chart to write some notes down. "Do you need anything else?"

"How about a sponge bath?"

"Well, I think that you were supposed to get one this morning but they didn't have the heart to wake you. I can give you one this evening and change the sheets. I'll be back in a couple hours to check on you, so behave yourself." Rose left the room smiling.

Gus waited until she left before exclaiming, "I can't believe you! You've barely been in the hospital for a day and you're already flirting with the staff!"

"Dude! She's a total babe! And she got transferred just for me. I might as well show her my appreciation." Shawn grinned widely.

"By asking for a sponge bath? That's gross!" Gus leaned back and folded his arms.

Shawn rolled his eyes before replying. "Gus, I have a broken leg and arm, so I can't take a shower, which means sponge baths. I would rather get one from some hot nurse than some random nurse who might turn out to be an ugly guy."

"Yeah, well I guess that makes sense." Gus looked away guiltily, realizing that Shawn was just trying to make the best out of a bad situation, like he always does. A weird tapping sound made Gus look up, only to find Shawn banging his cast against the railing. "Shawn! You're not supposed to do that!"

"If you were looking at me, I wouldn't have to make noise to get your attention."

"Fine, I see your point."

"Where's my pineapple?"

"What? Why do you need a pineapple?"

Shawn rolls his eyes. "You're supposed to bring gifts to people who are in the hospital. Cards, balloons, teddy bears, pineapples."

"Only you bring people pineapples."

"Exactly! I expect people to return the favor and bring me pineapple!"

"I guess that makes sense. How about I bring you one tomorrow?"

"It's not sincere since I suggested it! You have to think of something else."

"Fine. But if you don't get any pineapple, don't come crying to me." Gus noticed that Shawn's movements were getting a bit sluggish and that he was trying to hide a yawn. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

"I've been sleeping for the better part of 24 hours. I just want," Shawn tried to stifle another yawn. "Want to hang out with my best friend, find out what's been going on."

"Shawn! You look like you're gonna crash any minute now. So news can wait a couple of hours, or even a day. I'm going to stick around until the end of visiting hours and then I'll be back tomorrow after lunch."

Shawn nodded his head. "Try to get Mr Grumpy pants to leave with you."

"There is no way I'm going up against your father. If he wants to stay all night, that's your problem."

"Scaredy cat."

"Damn straight."

Shawn lowered the bed and snuggled under the covers while Gus turned the TV back on. Less than five minutes later, Gus heard the tapping sound again. Sighing, Gus said, "Shawn!"

Shawn took a good look at Gus, all joking aside. "Thanks for always sticking with me."

"Shawn, you're my best friend, I'll always be there for you."

Shawn smiled, "Brothers for life."

Before Gus could respond, Shawn closed his eyes and turned his head away. Looking at the TV, Gus thought back to when they were ten:

"We're always going to be there for each other, right Shawn?"

"Of course Gus! Friends forever, Brothers for life! Nothing can separate us."

"You will always have my back?"

"Yeah, and you'll have mine."

"Except when it comes to your dad."

"What?! No! Gus, you have to help me against my dad!"

"No I don't. You must be crazy. Your dad scares me, always has, always will."

"Guusssss!"

"Nope, sorry."

"Gus, please!"

"Never gonna happen."

"SHAWN!"

"Uh-oh, here he comes. Gus?! Where are you going?"

"I'm going home. It's not my fault you broke the window."

"Gus! Don't be a scaredy cat!"

"SHAWN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Gus, please come back!"

"Bye!"

"At least let me stay at your house!"

"I'm not stupid. I'll see you at school Monday."

"But Gus, it's only Friday!"

"SHAWN! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT HERE! YOU LEFT OUT COOKIES AND TWO GLASSES OF MILK, STILL COLD! SHAWN!"

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 11

"You struggle, you get pain. Struggle = Pain. Stop fighting."

Every sentence was accented with a slap to his tied wrist, but Shawn couldn't help it. It was a natural response when someone was about to violate you.

"Come on, Shawnie. We're just having a little bit of fun," the boss muttered as he pushed into Shawn.

Shawn startled awake to find his dad leaning over him with a concerned and worried expression.

"Are you alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Shawn reminded himself: 'It's just a dream. I'm safe.' Shawn opened his mouth to reply only to have no noise come out. Remembering that he couldn't speak, he nodded his head and closed his eyes while trying to slow down his heart rate.

"You're okay, son," Henry whispered as he rubbed Shawn's arm. "Just keep breathing."

The boss rubs Shawn's arm as he prepares to get off him. "You did good today, Shawnie. Didn't fight back once. You're mine forever."

Shawn jerked away from his father's touch, falling off the other side of the bed and scurried as far away as he could, pulling the IV out of his arm.

"Woah, Shawn, calm down, it's just me, Dad."

Shawn sat against the wall and tried to pull himself into as tight of a ball as possible with a leg in a cast. One of his many mantras ran through his head: 'Please leave me alone, I'll be good. Leave me alone, leave me alone . . . .'

Henry hurried around the bed and stopped 5 feet away. "Shawn, look at me." He crouched down. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Come on kid, please look at me."

Ever so slowly, Shawn lifted his head. He noticed that his Dad seemed to be on the verge of tears. Sighing, Shawn leaned his head against the wall. 'He's not here, he's dead, he can't hurt me anymore.'

After a few quiet minutes, Henry stood up. "Shawn, do you think we can get you back into bed? The floor is cold and uncomfortable. Besides, if we wait too long, the meds are going to wear off, then you'll really be hurting."

Realizing that he was starting to shake from cold instead of nerves, Shawn opened his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and started to unfold himself. Henry slowly walked to Shawn's right side and crouched down. Shawn watched him warily, reminding himself 'it's just dad and he'll never hurt me.' Shawn still flinched when Henry touched his shoulder.

"Okay, Shawn. When you're ready, I want you to push up with just your left leg while I grab your right. Let me know if you get tired."

Shawn nodded again and put his right arm around his dad's shoulders while Henry held him around the waist. Taking another deep breath, Shawn pulled his left arm across his chest and pushed off the floor. Within seconds, Shawn was somewhat standing and started to feel dizzy. 'Please stop spinning room.'

"Shawn, are you okay?" Shawn closed his eyes, hoping for the feeling to pass. "Shawn?" Without opening his eyes, Shawn nodded and tightened his hold on his father's shoulder. "Okay, we're gonna take this slow. Try and put as much weight on me as you can."

Shawn tried to help as Henry practically dragged him. Halfway across the room, Shawn felt dizzy again. Before he could warn his dad, Shawn passed out.

Shawn warily blinked his eyes just before he felt a slight stabbing sensation in his hand. Shawn tried to jerk his hand away, but a pair of soft but strong hands prevented him.

"Now hang on just a minute, Shawn, I'm almost done. If you keep pulling out your IV, we might have to use restraints. You don't want that, do you?"

Seeing that nurse Marie was waiting for an answer, Shawn shook his head and signed, "Sorry."

"It's alright, I've had worse." Marie patted his hand before she released him and grabbed some tape. "I had one patient who was on dialysis and tore out those tubes, there was blood everywhere. We had to move him to a different room in order to clean up the mess." She smiled politely as she checked his vitals. "Now, I know that you missed breakfast, but would you like anything? I'm technically on break right now, so I can grab you something from the cafeteria."

Smiling sheepishly as his stomach growled, Shawn replied, "Sounds good. Pineapple?"

"You know that your doctor hasn't approved of pineapple or any other citrus fruits yet; but how about a bagel and a banana?"

" Okay."

"I'll be back in 10 minutes."

Once the door closed, Shawn looked over at Henry, who had an amused expression on his face. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just nice to see you still have that mischievous spark about you."

"Whatever." Shawn sighed, "What happened?"

"How much do you remember?

"Falling off bed, sitting on floor, you helping me up, and then nothing until waking up a few minutes ago."

Leaning forward in the chair, Henry stared at the floor before looking up. "You freaked and went into panic mode. You huddled into a ball in the corner. It took a couple of minutes before you were calm enough to get off the floor. Half way to the bed, you fainted. Luckily, I had a good enough hold on you that you didn't crash to the floor. It took a bit of maneuvering, but I eventually got you back on the bed. You were out for maybe 5 minutes. Scared the crap out of me."

" Sorry." Shawn lowered his head.

"Hey, it's alright." Henry reached over and squeezed his hand.

Nodding his head, Shawn looked towards his father and decided to change the subject, "What time is it?"

"It's a little after 9am."

"When do visiting hours start?"

"Around 11."

With a puzzled expression, Shawn asked, "Why are you here? Did you go home last night? Not good for someone your age, staying out all night"

"Shawn! I am not that old!" Henry shouted before seeing the impish grin on his son's face. "You little devil."

" You're too easy." Shawn's smile faded a bit, "I know you're not that old, I was testing you. But seriously, don't stay here all night, Go home and sleep. Chair must be killing your back."

"Hey, let me worry about me, you just need to concern yourself about getting better so you can go home."

"Yeah home," Shawn stared down at his lap, "Did you keep my apartment?"

"No, sorry, but after 6 months with no word, I figured that I'd just put your stuff in storage. Gus kept the Psych office, there's only really furniture in there, but I'll sometimes find him there, just thinking."

"Good thing I never convinced him to quit his second job."

"Technically, Psych was the second job since he had the pharmaceutical gig first, still has it."

"Whatever, the point is if he listened to me, he would have gone from having two somewhat steady jobs to being unemployed in less than a year." Shawn smiled sadly. "His parents would have surely hated me more. Maybe they were right, I am a bad influence."

"Shawn, look at me," Shawn slowly looked towards his father, fear and despair fighting for a place in his eyes. "You may not be the most responsible person, but you're a great friend. There hasn't been a day that Gus has ever regretted meeting you. You guys look out for each other, you're brothers."

"Thanks, Dad." Shawn's eyes shone with unshed tears.

Before either one could think of something else to say, the door opened, "Knock, knock," Marie called as she came in with a tray laden with food. "Sorry it took me so long, but I figured your dad could use some food as well."

"Well, thank you Marie," Henry replied as he took the tray from her.

"You're welcome," Marie smiled as she walked to the opposite side of the bed. "Now Shawn, be sure to eat a decent amount, you'll need your strength. The physical therapist will be by in about 45 minutes to start stretching your muscles so you can get out of here faster."

"But that means less days I get to spend with you," Shawn smiled cockily while his father shook his head and turned away.

Marie laughed and patted his arm. "Don't worry Deary, you'll have to come back at least twice a week for a month after you're discharged, especially once that cast on your leg comes off."

"Yeah, learning how to walk again, what fun . . . ."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 12

A little after 1pm, Carlton and Juliet pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Why exactly am I here again, O'Hara?" Carlton asked as he grabbed a bag of get well cards and gifts from people at the precinct.

Rolling her eyes, Juliet carried a pineapple smoothie in one hand and a bunch of balloons in the other. "Because Shawn is our friend and he can use as many of them as he can get."

Carlton scoffed at this, "Who said that we were ever friends? He's a pain in the ass who helped out on cases. If anything, I'd consider him a coworker, and I use that term loosely."

"Oh you can't mean that."

"I can and I do. The only reason I'm here right now is because you promised to buy me lunch everyday for a week if I came twice."

"Carlton," Juliet sighed and grabbed his arm to prevent him from going inside. "If I tell you the truth, will you please not mention it to anyone, especially Shawn and Gus?"

"Okay," Carlton crossed his arms as best he could with the bag of gifts.

"Well," Juliet bit her lip for second, trying to decide how to word it. "The truth is that I'm scared to be alone with him. He's not the same guy he was 3 years ago. He's been through something, something traumatic. Before the ambulance picked him up from the precinct, the Chief had him write down what happened to him. Unfortunately, he was whisked away before I had a chance to read it. I tried asking the Chief about it yesterday but she told me that it's nothing that I should concern myself with. There was this brief flash of emotion across her face when I asked, fear, despair, sadness, I'm not sure, it happened too fast. And it scares me that it's bad enough that she won't let me know." Juliet started crying and covered her mouth with one hand. "Knowing that something bad happened and that there's probably nothing I can do to help, it hurts so much. And I need you here so I don't fall apart in front of him like I'm doing right now." Juliet let loose a brief, sad laugh.

Feeling like he just kicked a puppy, Carlton reached over and pulled her into an awkward hug. "O'Har-Juliet. He's home and relatively okay. You're right, he's gonna need as many friends as he can get." Carlton sighed before continuing. "And even though he annoys the hell out of me, I have to admit that I do kind of, sort of consider him a friend and that I've missed him and his juvenile antics. But if anyone asks, I will deny it."

Juliet took a deep breath as she pulled away, nodding. "Thank you, Carlton." She smiled sadly and tried to dry her face. "Ugg, I haven't cried like that in years, I must look horrible."

"You do look a little bit like a raccoon."

"Carlton!" She swatted him on the arm, causing the balloons to hit him in the head.

"OW! A cute, not dead baby raccoon?" Carlton replied as he rubbed his arm.

"Better! Here, take these balloons and meet me by the elevators; I'm going to the ladies room to try and fix my make-up."

A few minutes later found Carlton and Juliet exiting the elevator.

"Now remember, be nice." Juliet said as they walked down the halls.

"I'll try, but I make no promises. I'm here because of you, not him. If he makes one crack about my hair, clothes, or anything else negative about me, I'm out of here and you can find your own way back to the station. Got it?"

Laughing slightly, Juliet patted his arm. "Fine, as long as you try."

"Don't forget that you promised me lunch, so we can only stay for a half hour."

"Okay, okay. Jeez Louise."

They stopped at the door and Carlton looked in the window. Trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, he knocked.

"What? What's so funny?" Juliet looked at Carlton curiously

"Oh, you'll see." Carlton grinned slightly as he opened the door for her. They were instantly greeted by Gus' shouting.

"Shawn! Stop fidgeting or I might nick your ear!"

Shawn was sitting up on the bed, a pile of slightly damp hair piled on his lap. Gus was next to the bed, with a pair of scissors in one hand and a chuck of Shawn's hair, freshly cut, in the other. While about half of his hair was down to his usual shortness, a fair amount on his right side still needed several inches cut off. Neither one of them seemed to have noticed that they had company as they continued their bickering.

"Eww! I don't want to look like Monet."

"What?"

"You know, Monet. That painter who cut off his ear and fed it to his dog."

"Shawn! That was Van Gogh, he cut off his ear lobe and gave it to a prostitute."

"I've heard it both ways."

"No, you haven't! They were two totally different . . . ."

"Ahem," Carlton cleared his throat loudly, finally getting the attention of the two guys. Juliet was smiling, seeming to enjoy the bickering, even though she could only understand Gus' part. Gus looked at the two detectives with wide eyes, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Shawn, on the other hand, was wearing a bright grin, even though it didn't reach his sad eyes.

"Oh, ah, hello Juliet, Lassiter. It's so nice to see you." Gus greeted nervously as he stepped back and put down the scissors.

Juliet walked over, placed the balloons by the chair, and gave Gus a hug. "Hey Gus."

"Guster. Spencer." Carlton nodded from his place by the door.

Juliet let go of Gus, stepped up to the bed and placed a hand over Shawn's, noting the slight flinch. "Hey Shawn, you're looking better, especially with your hair cut." She reached over and ran her figures through the shorter hair on his left side.

"Thanks!"

Gus crossed his arms, "He bugged me for 15 minutes before I agreed to cut his hair and then he refuses to sit still."

Shawn rolled his eyes, "It kept getting in my mouth and all tangled up. So not cool!"

"What?" Juliet asked as she turned toward Gus, not noticing as Carlton rolled his eyes.

Gus sighed, "He said that it kept tangling and getting in his way. But I still don't understand why he can't sit still for 10 minutes so I can cut it!"

"Dude, you don't have the best record for cutting hair."

"Even if I did have a bad track record, which I don't, why would you fidget and make it harder for me to get it right?!"

"It worked last time."

"What? Wait, are you talking about that picture day incident?"

Rolling his eyes, Shawn continued, "Yes!"

"Dude, we were 8 and you made me cut your hair before school."

"Exactly, and you did fine."

"No I didn't! You wanted a rat tail for some strange reason."

" Rat tails are awesome! Dude, I should have thought of that before you cut my hair!"

"You looked ridiculous! I didn't cut even at all, I somehow cut off half your eyebrow and you had to put a Band-Aid on a cut behind your ear."

"Totally worth it."

"Your Dad shaved your head and threw away the pictures, how was any of that worth all the trouble you got into?!"

"I had a one of a kind haircut for the class picture ."

"Oh, Sweet Justice, will you two SHUT UP!" Carlton practically yelled.

Gus and Shawn jumped again, forgetting that there were others in the room. Swallowing hard, Gus said, "I'm so sorry, Lassiter, Juliet. That was very rude of us."

Juliet smiled, she was too memorized by that mischievous sparkle in Shawn's eyes to realize what was going on. "It's okay, Gus. I was enjoying the show."

Before he could respond, Shawn tugged on Gus' shirt. "What?"

"When did he get here?"

Rolling his eyes, Gus turned toward the detectives, "Excuse us for a minute."

Juliet nodded and went over to empty the bag that Carlton brought in, while the Head Detective crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, glaring at the two idiots.

Shaking his head, Gus turned back to Shawn, "He's been here for a while."

"Really?"

"He came in with Juliet."

"Oh, He didn't say anything."

"He greeted us by name!"

"He must have been struck speechless at the sight of my awesome hair. He's jealous with his salt and pepper monstrosity."

"Okay, first, your hair is un-styled, uneven and in need of a shower. Second, he has never been jealous of your hair."

"He dreams about my perfect hair."

"SPENCER!"

Shawn looked at Carlton with an innocent expression.

Taking deep, angry breaths, Carlton took a couple steps toward the bed. Gus and Juliet retreated slightly away from the pair.

"Don't look at me like that, you know what you did." Carlton growled.

Shawn put on a slightly puzzled/questioning look.

"YOU!" Carlton snapped, rolling his eyes before angrily signing, "Don't insult me." Shawn and Gus looked at Carlton with equal looks of horror and shock. "Why would I be jealous of that train wreck."

Juliet laughed at the expressions on all of their faces. "Carlton, you sign?"

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Juliet. "Since I was 5. My grandfather was deaf." Giving the two idiots a smug look, he headed towards the door.

Stopping with his hand on the door, he looked at O'Hara, "You've got 10 minutes, I'll be in the car."

Walking out into the hallway with a smile, he muttered, "I finally left Spencer speechless, and all it takes is for him to lose his voice."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 13

Juliet's laughter brought Shawn and Gus out of their stupor.

"Oh My God, Shawn, Lassiter looked like he was going to kill you!"

"I know. Me being gone so long must have shrunk his sense of humor to smaller than before we met."

"Ahem," Juliet coughed politely. "You know, it's rude to talk in front of someone when they can't understand what you're saying. I was getting frustrated too. I would have said something but you two seemed to be having so much fun."

"Too bad Lassie didn't see it that way."

"'Too bad dog didn't see it that way?' Who's dog?" Gus asked, "Wait, are you calling Lassiter a dog? You know he'll kill you, and probably me by association, if he ever finds out."

Shawn rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Come on, dog is so much easier than spelling out all the letters in his name, even his nickname."

"Well, just don't do it in front of Lassiter."

"Fine!" Shawn pouted a second before turning towards Juliet. He waved hi to her.

Giggling, Juliet stepped closer to the bed. "Hi Shawn. Did you see all the stuff we brought with us? It's from everyone at the precinct. Chief doesn't think that you should have too many visitors too soon."

"Thanks."

"Yes, thank you Juliet. It was very nice of you to bring them down." Gus picked up a pineapple from the collection of gifts. "Look Shawn, and you've even got a couple of pineapples."

"Oh, that reminds me," Juliet grabbed the cup she came in with. "I brought you a pineapple smoothie." She handed it over.

"Thanks," Shawn replied before quickly taking a sip.

"Shawn!' Gus exclaimed, taking the cup from him. "You know that your doctor hasn't cleared you to have pineapple yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Juliet said regretfully and bit her lip.

"See what you did, I was just being polite." Shawn reached over and gave Juliet's hand a squeeze while grinning.

"Yeah, right, being polite. You've been begging anyone who would listen for pineapple."

"It's okay, I understand." Juliet checked her watch. "I've got about 5 minutes before Carlton tries to leave me here. Do you want me to finish cutting your hair."

Shawn nodded as Gus threw the smoothie in the trash.

Henry came back to the hospital a little after 6. Visiting hours would be ending soon and he wanted to see how Gus and Shawn were interacting. He knew that Gus was worried that Shawn had changed a lot, but Henry was sure that at least 75% of the old Shawn was still there.

When Henry walked into the room with a bag of food, he noticed several things. First, that Shawn's hair was cut (finally!) and he suspected that Gus had gotten some help doing it. Second, it didn't look like he touched the dinner tray and he'd seen the candy striper collecting them, so it had to have been there awhile. And the final thing he noticed was that both persons in the room were fast asleep with the television showing some 80's movie.

Henry was a bit reluctant to wake Shawn up since he was sleeping peacefully but figured that they should eat while the food was relatively warm. Placing the food on the cabinet, Henry decided to wake up Gus first.

"Gus! Come on kid, time to eat," Henry shook Gus' shoulder and got an immediate response.

"Oh, Mr. Spencer. Good Afternoon." Gus stretched in his chair.

"Good Evening Gus," Henry replied as he turned off the TV. "It's dinner time, I brought some home cooked fish and potato salad." He pointed to the bags of food. "Help yourself."

"Thank you, Mr. Spencer," Gus replied as he headed towards the food. "It smells delicious."

"You're welcome, Gus and you can call me Henry. I've known you almost your whole life."

"Which is exactly why you deserve all my respect."

"Whatever," Henry mumbled as he turned towards Shawn. "Shawn, time to get up. Wakey-wakey."

Shawn's response was to turn his head away.

"Come on kid. I know you can hear me. You need to eat."

Shawn tried to roll away from the voice. Unfortunately, he rolled onto his bad arm and the pain helped to wake him up. His face turned into a painful grimace and he clutched his arm to his chest while rolling back over.

Laughing, Henry replied, "Well, that's one way to wake you up."

Shawn opened his eyes enough to glare at his father.

Calming down, Henry asked, "Should I call a nurse to give you more pain medicine?" Shawn shook no. "Okay, then. I brought some dinner. Fish and potato salad." Henry walked over to make a plate for his son while Shawn used the bed controls to raise it.

As Henry was contemplating where to put the uneaten hospital food, a hospital worker came in. "Ah, looks like I made great timing tonight. I guess you didn't eat any," She said as she took the tray from Henry. Lifting the lid, she pulled a face. "Just between us, I don't think you would have wanted to eat this anyways. Hopefully you'll get something good for breakfast. Well, I'll see you tomorrow!" And she left just as quickly as she came in.

"Wow," Henry said, still standing next to Shawn's bed. "I don't think I've met a more talkative candy stripper."

"I know," Gus chimed in, a forgotten forkful of potato salad halfway to his mouth. "Usually they don't talk at all, almost like they're trying to be invisible."

When Henry turned back to Shawn, he saw that he was laughing. "What?"

Shaking his head, Shawn responded, "Nothing, I like her. She's refreshing."

"Just eat your food," Henry scolded as he grabbed his own plate and sat down.

After a few minutes of silent dining, Henry spoke up. "So, where'd all this stuff come from?"

"It's from the precinct. Juliet and Lassiter stopped by with it." Gus got up to get more food. "Did you know that Lassiter knows sign language?"

"Really?" Henry looked at Shawn who didn't seem to be listening to their conversation.

"Yeah, apparently his grandfather was deaf. I feel kind of bad now."

"Why, Shawn didn't say anything stupid, did he?"

Chuckling, Gus sat back down with his plate. "Of course he did, you know him. Shawn's hair was only halfway cut, unevenly too, and he still thought that his hair looked better than Lassiter's."

"I bet Carlton didn't like that."

"Oh hell no. He was so mad, I thought he was gonna shoot us! It was scary. Although, Juliet thought it was funny."

Laughing, Henry looked back at Shawn. "I would have loved to have seen that." Henry nudged Gus' arm. "Hmm, I guess all the excitement today wore him out."

Shawn was fast asleep with his chin resting on his chest. His right hand was still holding the fork next to the plate.

Shaking his head, Henry got up and started to rearrange Shawn and his bed into a more comfortable position. "Hopefully he'll have a peaceful night."

"Me too. You know he deserves it." Gus replied as he started to collect his things.

"Yeah," Henry whispered as he brushed Shawn's hair. He frowned at the slight clamminess of his son's forehead. 'God, I hope you're not getting sick again.'

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 14

Shawn woke up in the middle of the night a bit disoriented by the darkness. It took his brain about 5 seconds to kick into gear and assess the situation. 'Okay, I'm still in the hospital, my dad's sleeping in the chair, I'm curled on my right side and, oh boy! I think I'm gonna be sick!'

Shawn held his arms across his stomach while he tried to think. 'Bathroom: bad, too far. Nurses: won't get here soon enough. Dad: asleep but close enough to throw something at.'

Shawn reached over with his right hand, grabbed his mostly empty cup and threw it at his dad. It hit Henry in the thigh but got some of his shirt wet.

"Ow, Shawn!" Henry tried flecking water off while turning to look at Shawn. He froze at the slightly pained expression on his son's face. "Shawn are you okay?"

Shawn shook his head, covered his mouth and gestured that he felt like he was about to gag.

"Oh, okay, hang on." Henry replied as he quickly found the bedpan and moved to help Shawn sit up.

Shawn was barely upright when his stomach revolted.

"Easy there, you're okay." Henry held up Shawn by his shoulders.

When Shawn seemed to be done and sagged a bit, Henry gently guided him back against the bed and pushed the call button. When Henry moved the bed pan out of the way, Shawn turned back over into his previous almost fetal position.

Shawn closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on anything besides his protesting stomach or the smell of vomit in the air. He was so focused on trying to slow his breathing that he almost forgot about his father. That is, until Henry touched his forehead, causing Shawn to flinch.

"Whoa, easy kid! It's just me, just Dad." Henry moved his hand to Shawn's hair and started stroking it while his right hand found Shawn's wrapped around his side and gave a slight squeeze. Shawn returned the squeeze and held on somewhat tightly, a sure sign of how badly Shawn was feeling.

The door opened and a minute later a grandmotherly type nurse came in. "Hello, my name is Thelma," she said as she moved to the foot of the bed. "What seems to be the problem?"

Henry nodded down at his son who had yet to acknowledge another presence in the room besides a slight twitch of his closed eyes. "He's not feeling well. He vomited about 2 minutes ago. I placed the bedpan on the bathroom counter since I wasn't sure what the procedure was."

"Alright," Thelma said as she headed to the bathroom. She came back a minute later with the cleaned-out bedpan. "Next time, if you want, you can just dump it and rinse it out, unless there's blood, in which case someone needs to be notified immediately."

She rounded the bed and took out the ear thermometer. "I'm just going to take his vitals and then notify the on-call doctor."

"Do you need him to roll over?"

"No, if he's comfortable, then I see no problem keeping him where he is for now."

Shawn was so still during the brief vitals check that Henry would have thought that he was asleep if it wasn't for the occasional squeezes Henry's hand received.

"He has a slight fever, 99.7 degrees and his pulse is a little fast, but that's probably from the pain since he's due for more pain meds soon. Everything else seems okay. Just keep him as still and comfortable as possible and I'll be back soon with the doctor." Thelma smiled as she exited the room.

Henry sighed, removing his hand from Shawn's hair and taking a step back. Shawn's eyes snapped opened and he tightened his hold on his father's hand.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just pulling the chair closer so I can sit, okay?"

Shawn nodded his head and let go of his dad, keeping his eyes on him. Henry slowly reached back and snagged the chair's arm and dragged it forward. Once he was seated, he once again took his son's hand and started stroking his hair again.

Content that his dad wasn't leaving him, Shawn closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths.

Dr Douglas came in, followed by Thelma and picked up the chart. "Hello Mr. Spencer. Is he awake?"

"Yeah, I think so," Henry shook Shawn's hand a little. "Hey kid, the doctor's here."

Shawn slowly opened his eyes but refused to move any further.

"Hello Shawn. My name's Dr. Douglas. You probably don't remember me but I was here the first night after you were admitted. I'm just going to do a quick exam to make sure that the nausea isn't anything too serious, Okay?" Shawn nodded. "I'm gonna need you to roll onto your back."

The exam took less than 5 minutes but in that time, Shawn ended up vomiting two more times.

"Okay," Dr. Douglas commented as he wrote in Shawn's chart. "It looks like gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu. We're going to run a few tests to make sure it's nothing more serious. Unfortunately, it means that Shawn's going to be staying here for at least a few more days. I'm going to prescribe something to help fight the nausea."

He put the chart down and turned back to Shawn who was on his side again. "I suggest that you try and sleep as much as possible since you're still weak. I'll update Dr. Thomlin when he comes in. Let me know if anything changes."

Dr. Douglas nodded at Henry and left as Thelma came back in. "I need you to sit up Shawn so you can take this. Dad, you might want to help."

Henry stood and started to lift his son up. Shawn was too tired to complain and just let them have their way, hoping that he could go back to sleep soon.

After Shawn took the medicine, Henry helped him lay back on his side.

"He gets the next dose in about 8 hours, even if he throws it back up. So try and keep him as still as possible to give the medicine time to work. I hope you feel better soon, sweetie" Thelma gave them a small smile as she left.

Henry sat back down in his chair with a sigh and stared at his son. His eyes were tightly closed and his hair was damp. His breathing was a little fast and there were slight tremors running through his body.

Shawn held out his hand without opening his eyes. Henry gave a quick grin before grabbing the hand with both of his own.

"I'm right here kid, not going anywhere. Why don't you go to sleep?"

Shawn nodded his head and hunkered down deeper into the bed. Henry smoothed his son's forehead before closing his own eyes and leaning back into his chair.

Henry was almost asleep when he felt a slight tugging on his hand. He looked at his son, who's eyes were half open. Shawn gave a slight smile before mouthing "thank you" and promptly closing his eyes again.

"Anytime kid," Henry whispered as he tried to fall asleep again.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 15

When Gus came in with lunch, he knew something was up. He had been told that Shawn could go home as early as today, but that obviously wasn't happening. Shawn was laying on his side, holding his stomach while Henry was holding his hand.

Gus moved next to the foot of the bed slowly. "Hey, Shawn."

Shawn half opened his eyes and gave a small grimace.

"Hey Gus," Henry said as he turned his head toward Gus.

"Is something wrong?" Gus asked.

Shawn nodded as Henry responded, "Yeah, he's sick again. Nothing too serious, just have to wait it out."

As Gus moved closer, Shawn spotted the bag of food. He scrunched his face up and covered his mouth.

"Shawn?"

Henry got up and grabbed the bed pan that was on the side table. "Hang on kid." Henry wrapped his arm around Shawn's shoulders and sat him up with Henry sitting on the bed behind him.

Before Gus could ask what was wrong, Shawn vomited again. He would have fallen forward if Henry didn't have an arm around his chest.

"I, um, I'll be right ba-back," Gus stuttered before rushing to the bathroom.

5 minutes later, no longer feeling like he would toss his cookies, Gus came back in the room to find a nurse checking Shawn's vitals. Henry was standing near the bathroom door waiting for Gus with the bag of food he had dropped in his rush.

"Are you okay, Gus?"

"Yeah, I've just got a sympathetic gag reflex."

"If you say so." The nurse left the room and they watched Shawn turn back onto his side. "Why don't you go home Gus?"

"Oh, no Mr. Spencer. I was going to stay so that you can go home for a bit."

"Gus," Henry looked sternly at Gus. "We both know that you won't be much help to him today. I'll be fine. He's been sleeping most of the day anyways."

Gus looked back at Shawn, thinking about how he wasn't there for Shawn when he could have used someone.

Henry must have sensed his hesitation. "Gus, Shawn understands. He told me to tell you to go home. He doesn't want you to be any more uncomfortable. He should be better tomorrow."

"Okay," Gus took the bag of food and headed to the door. "I'll be back tomorrow after lunch, just in case."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know. Are we still on for movie night tonight? . . . I know, but it is Friday and we can invite Shawn next week. . . ."

Carlton tried not to listen in to Juliet's conversation, but it was a quiet day and he had nothing else to distract himself from the paperwork on his desk.

"Alright, I'll see there. Bye Gus." Juliet sighed as she put down the phone.

Carlton had worked with Juliet long enough to know that that sigh meant something was bothering her.

"So, what's wrong?" Carlton asked as he turned towards her.

She sighed again as she slouched down into her chair. "Gus called."

"Yes, and?" It was sometimes very hard to get important information out of her even though she could talk a mile a minute on things Carlton could care less about.

"Well, he went to see Shawn but apparently Shawn caught the stomach flu. Gus feels bad because it seems to be hitting Shawn pretty hard. He also feels bad about not giving Mr. Spencer time to go home and shower, nap or even eat." She sighed again. "I wish I knew sign language and I would go relieve Mr. Spencer for at least some time to eat lunch."

Juliet trailed off at that point and stared into space. Not knowing whether or not he was supposed to say something, Carlton turned back to his paperwork.

After about a minute of silence, Juliet turned her chair ever so slightly towards him. She slowly made her way over to his desk and leaned up against the side of it. Carlton pretended that he had not noticed any of it, for he had a feeling about what she was thinking.

"So, um Carlton. Are you doing anything today?" Juliet asked in her sweetest voice.

"If you're going to ask what I think you're going to ask, then the answer's no." Carlton replied, still staring at his paperwork but not taking anything in.

"Oh come on Carlton! I would do it if I knew sign language, and you know that Henry could use the break."

"No, I've already visited him yesterday and that's enough to last for a week, possibly a whole month."

"But you promised to go twice a week!"

"With you, yes." Carlton looked up at her and crossed his arms. "I never promised to babysit him by myself."

"Please Carlton!"

"No! My answer is final. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do." Carlton got up and headed to forensics to check on some lab results.

When Carlton came back 15 minutes later with the lab report, Juliet was sitting at her desk, looking a bit happier than when he left her. It confused him for a minute before he saw Chief Vick waving him into her office.

He went in silently since the Chief was on the phone.

"No! You will not bother him! . . . Because he is not a spectacle! . . . I know that, but he has been through enough, he does not need to be bombarded by the press! . . . Of course, if he wishes to work with the police again, then we'll be more than happy to have him, but we will not force it on him. . . No, you may not quote me! If I hear one whisper of any of your people bothering the Spencers, then I will make sure that they press charges! Good Day!"

She practically threw the phone down before turning to her head detective. "Anything new on the Spencer case?"

Carlton quickly looked down at the report in his hands, even though he already knew what it would say. "No. Forensics just finished testing the clothes that Spen-Shawn was wearing when he showed up. There's dried blood and semen that doesn't belong to Shawn, but also doesn't belong to anyone in the FBI's system."

Karen looked down before asking, "And the bus ticket? Did you or McNab get anything on that?"

Carlton shook his head. "Nothing helpful. It was purchased from Kearney, Nebraska with cash under his mother's maiden name. The person who sold him the ticket said that he felt so bad for Shawn that he didn't feel the need to ask for identification since he knew the name was false. He even gave him the discounted rate since he looked like he needed the money for food."

"Okay. When are you planning on taking Shawn's statement?" Karen leaned back and tapped a pen on the desk.

"What?" Carlton looked up shocked. "Why me? Why not O'Hara or McNab?"

"O'Hara isn't on the case because she'll get too emotionally involved. I only let McNab on the case because he wants to prove himself."

"But why me? Chief, come on! If McNab wants to prove himself, then let him."

Karen stood up, "This case is too important for the department and I don't want anything to go wrong. That's why I put my Head Detective in charge. Of course, I can put you on traffic patrol and let someone else take lead"

Karen let the threat hang in the air before continuing. "Besides, Mr. Spencer still isn't talking except through sign language. And since you are, shall we say, 'fluent' I need you to take his statement."

Carlton leaned back in his chair, and went through his options.

"Detective?"

"Okay, whatever you say Chief."

"Good! Now, I hear that Shawn is sick and that Henry probably hasn't had a chance to get out and eat all day. So I'd like you to take the rest of the day off and give Henry time to eat, possibly even let him go home and change. You can take Shawn's statement tomorrow if he's up to it." She walked across the room and opened the door.

"Yes, Chief." Carlton sighed as he went to get his coat.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 16

"You know, there are other ways to get house guests, you don't have to kidnap them and tie them to couches." Shawn says as he struggles against the restraints holding him to the couch.

"Don't you ever SHUT UP!" The boss yells at him.

"No, especially when it annoys my KIDNAPPERS!" Shawn yells back.

"ARG!" The boss picks up a pillow and runs towards him.

"What are you . . .?" Shawn begins to question before the pillow was placed over his face. He tries to breathe but he can't move.

Right before he falls unconscious, the pillow is removed, causing Shawn to gasp and wheeze.

"Do you understand what will happen if you don't stop talking?"

"I was never *gasp* good at *cough* following *cough* directions."

"Well, then maybe you need another lesson," the boss said as he places the pillow over Shawn's face again.

Shawn sat up with a gasp while his hands flew to his throat.

"Spencer, Spencer! You have to breathe!"

Shawn tried to take a deep breath but it just seemed to make his throat close up even more.

"Damn it, where are those nurses! Spencer, you're going to hyperventilate. You have to breathe and calm down."

He tried to concentrate on the voice but he couldn't get the images out of his head. He started gagging and one of his hands went to his stomach.

"Oh sweet justice, here."

Shawn felt a weight placed across his lap right before he vomited.

"What happened?" A new voice entered the room.

"I don't know, Spencer woke up and started having trouble breathing. And then, well…."

"Okay, we'll hook up the oxygen mask but we need to calm him down."

"I'm trying!" Shawn felt a hand lift his chin up. "Spencer, breathe! Damn it, open your eyes!"

Shawn opened his eyes to find a very stern looking Carlton staring at him.

"You need to calm down." The oxygen mask was placed over his face. Shawn immediately shoved it away.

"It's to help you breathe." Carlton said as he tried to replace the mask. Shawn scooted away from it while shaking his head.

Carlton grabbed his arm to prevent him from going too far. "Fine, no mask." He turned to the nurse. "Don't you have something else?"

"Yes. Here's a nasal cannula. If he doesn't calm down soon, I'll have to sedate him."

"Okay, just give me a minute." Carlton placed the tube around Shawn's nose. "Spencer, look at me."

Shawn reluctantly turned back to Carlton while gasping in air.

"Just do what I'm doing: in through the nose, out through the mouth. In and out. Block out everything else out. Just listen to my voice. In and out. In and out. That's it, just concentrate on your breathing."

As his breathing became more steady, Shawn felt himself being lowered back onto the bed. Shawn closed eyes as his heart rate came back down.

"He seems to be doing alright. He should keep the cannula on just in case. I'll empty this out and then let the doctor know. He should be here in a little while."

"Thank you."

Shawn listened to the nurse move around the room and into the bathroom. Once she was out of the room, Shawn ripped the nasal cannula off.

"You know, that's supposed to help you breathe."

Shawn took a deep breath while he raised the bed up. He sent a glare to his companion.

After a few minutes of silent scrutiny of each other, Carlton finally broke the silence. "Why didn't you want the oxygen mask on?"

Shawn looked away but he still answered. "It was suffocating."

"That doesn't make any sense. You know that it's there to help you." Carlton paused before lowering his voice. "What were you dreaming about?"

Shawn turned back at Carlton looking like a deer caught in headlights. "What do you mean?"

Carlton rolled his eyes before leaning forward in the chair. "I mean, what were you experiencing right before you woke up? You were tossing and turning for a good 5 minutes before you shot up and scared the crap out of me. Now I want to know what happened!"

Shawn just shrugged his shoulders and started playing with the edge of the blanket.

He heard Carlton sigh before he tried again. "Look, you're going to find out tomorrow anyways so I might as well tell you now." When he still didn't get a response, Carlton continued. "I've been put in charge of your investigation, which includes getting your statement on what you went through, so I'm going to find out anyways."

Shawn finally looked up at that with a terrified expression. He could see a bit of regret and compassion in Carlton's eyes but they were mainly masked by the stern detective attitude.

"Why do you need to know?" Shawn bit his lip and started fidgeting.

"Well, since you were declared a missing person with evidence of being kidnapped and tortured, it's standard operating procedures to look into it. The FBI wants to get involved, but so far Vick has managed to keep them at bay. She figured that you'd be more comfortable talking to people that you know."

"What about . . . ." Shawn let his sentence trail with a wave of his hand.

"O'Hara?" Shawn nodded. "The Chief thinks that she'll get too emotionally involved so she put me on lead with McNab helping out."

Shawn absently nodded his head, thinking about all the things that he went through. He shivered slightly before turning back to Carlton. "Will anyone else read my statement?"

"For now, it'll just be the Chief and I. Although if it goes to court, there will be a lot more people in the know. Vick is trying to keep it as quite as possible. Unfortunately, the press knows that you're in town and are trying to get some type of statement from you and those around you."

Shawn paled at those words.

"But Vick's got your back. She's already threatened lawsuits against them if they come anywhere near you."

Nodding, Shawn tried to stifle a yawn but failed. He burrowed into the blankets before asking, "Where's my dad?"

Carlton looked at his watch. "He left about an hour ago to eat and change. He should be back anytime now. Huh, I wonder where that doctor is?"

"Do not tell him about this."

"Tell who? The doctor?"

Shawn shook his head, "My dad. Do not tell him about the panic attack or about you having to take my statement. Come back tomorrow before lunch, I will get rid of him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he does not need to know what happened." 'No one does' Shawn added in his head. He lowered the bed back down and closed his eyes.

"Thanks dog."

"What? SPENCER! I am not a dog, you can not disrespect me like that! I am an officer of the law! The HEAD detective of the Santa Barbara POLICE Department! I could have you arrested . . . ."

Shawn just smiled as he drifted off to sleep, listening to Carlton's ranting.

"Are you even listening to me? I told the chief not to make me come, almost begged her, but would she listen? NO! Instead, she threatens my job . . . ."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 17

When Shawn woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was his dad. He looked so tired and ragged and old. He had thought about his dad over the last 3 years, wondering if he knew something was wrong, if he was looking for him, or if he had just given up on him. Gus had not shed much light on what they thought had happened to him, just said that he was here now and changed the subject. Shawn would have pressed, but he saw sadness and guilt flash across Gus' features. He knew that Gus had been hurting, there were enough clues.

Shawn missed his dad's 60th birthday, and he was gonna have so much fun planning that. He had been writing down ideas since his dad's 55th birthday. They varied from a quite, private party at the house to a crazy bash on the beach. He had some gag gifts already lined up, a walker and an ear trumpet.

Now, he has to figure out how to make it up to the old man. While running through different ideas, including a fishing trip and a season pass to the gun range, the candy stripper came in with his breakfast. "Hey sweetie. I heard that you were sick yesterday?"

Shawn nodded his head as he raised the bed up. Henry quietly stirred.

"Well, unfortunately you're back on the BRAT diet. It's not too bad for breakfast, banana, toast and applesauce. Unfortunately, you only get a choice of tea or plain water to drink."

Shawn made a face as the candy stripper pulled the tray and table across the bed.

She laughed and patted his hand, "I know, but it will get better. You can't stay here forever."

"I'm surprised that he hasn't signed himself out AMA yet," Henry remarked as he got up and stretched. The candy stripper laughed as she left the room

Shawn sent a glare at his father before replying, "If I could leave, I would, but I know that I need to stay."

"Yes, you do. You also need to eat, so dig in. I'm gonna get some coffee, I'll be right back."

It ended up being a busy morning for Shawn. Shortly after breakfast, Shawn was taken to radiology to get x-rays of his arm and leg. His stitches were finally removed along with most of his bandages. The physical therapist stopped by and made him try and stand on his one leg as long as possible.

So by the time 10 o'clock rolled around, Shawn was ready for a nap. But they still had to wait for his doctor. Releasing a yawn, Shawn turned towards Henry.

"You should go home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll be fine. I'm tired and will sleep all day."

"What if you need something?"

"That's what nurses are for. Besides, Lassie is stopping by today."

"Again? I thought he didn't like you?" Henry crossed his arms are stared at his son suspiciously.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "The Chief's making him. Part of a social outreach program, making him work on his social skills."

"What about Detective O'Hara?"

"She might come too." Shawn turned away from his father, knowing that he couldn't get away with too much lying.

"Okay, I know that you're lying about O'Hara but not about Lassiter." Henry paused, trying to figure out what was going on. "But since you won't tell me the real reason, I'll play along. I've got some errands to run anyway since you'll be coming home soon. I'll be back by dinner."

"You don't need to stay the night."

"I told you before, let me worry about myself. It's only one more night."

"Fine." Shawn crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He knew that the conversation could have gone better but at least his dad was leaving. Shawn did not even realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt his shoulder being shaken.

"Shawn, the doctor's here."

He opened his eyes to find Doctor Thomlin checking his vitals. Shawn nodded as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

After a few minutes, the doctor sat down next to Henry with the chart in his hands.

"Okay, Shawn, I've got mostly good news, a few bits of bad. First, the best news: You can go home tomorrow."

Shawn smiled at that as Henry sighed, "Wow, that's great. Thank you doctor."

"No problem," Thomlin replied, smiling at both of the Spencer men's relieved faces. "The only down side is that Shawn will have to take a wheelchair with him. I don't want him completely on crutches with that sore arm but he can use one crutch for short distances around the house."

Shawn looked at his father and started signing, "When do the casts come off?"

After Henry repeated, the doctor continued, "Tomorrow morning we'll take off the arm cast but you'll get a brace that you can take off periodically. Basically the same restrictions apply, although to start with I want you to take it off when you're eating. Your leg cast will stay on for at least another two weeks but it is waterproof so you can take baths and eventually showers on your own."

Shawn tired to stop a yawn but was unsuccessful. Both Henry and Thomlin laughed at the attempt. "I can see that you're tired, so let me just finish up. Since we took out the IV this morning, you'll be getting pain pills. One of them is quite strong and will probably knock you out for a few hours after taking it. Do you have any questions?"

Shawn shook his head and closed his eyes. Henry turned to the doctor. "Will he be cleared for any types of food?"

"Yes, including pineapples. Just make sure that he eats full servings. Some of the medication might make him lose his appetite but he needs to eat, both for the nutrients and to regain weight."

"Okay, no problem."

After a few seconds of silence, Thomlin stood up. "I'll have all of this in the take home packet along with some physical therapy exercises. Have a nice day gentlemen."

Henry stood up and shook his hand, "Thanks doc."

Shawn just raised his hand as he snuggled down into his blankets. Thomlin laughed as he left the room.

Henry walked over and touched his son's shoulder, "Hey kid."

Shawn half opened his eyes as he waited for his old man to continue.

"I'm gonna leave now. Make sure you get some rest and don't give Carlton a hard time."

Shawn nodded before turning over on his side.

He waited a few minutes after his dad left before sitting up and pushing the call button. He took out a sheet of paper and a pencil and started writing a note. He was a bit chagrinned to see how messy his handwriting was, but at least it was still legible.

Marie came in as he was finishing the note. "What can I do for you today, Shawn?" She smiled sweetly as she stopped near the foot of the bed.

Shawn returned the smile as he passed her a note. "I need someone to make a phone call. All the information is on the paper."

"Alright, I can do that right now. Do you need anything else?"

Shawn shook his head as he leaned back against the bed.

"Alright, just let me know."

Shawn smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

Carlton was just about ready to leave for lunch when his desk phone rang. "Lassiter," he barked.

A sweet voice answered him. "Hello, My name is Marie from Santa Barbara General. Is this Detective Lassie?"

Carlton growled, instantly knowing who put her up to this. "Yes, but most sane people call me Lassiter."

"Oh, I apologize, I didn't know. I'm calling on behalf of Shawn Spencer."

Carlton rolled his eyes, "Yes, I figured that out."

"Well, he wanted me to let you know that he's ready and you can bring your burrito with you as long as you get him one too."

Carlton was speechless. He had only decided an hour ago that he was going to get Mexican and he had not told anyone that. He never believed that Spencer was psychic but who knows.

"Hello?" Marie asked hesitantly.

"Okay. I'll be there in about a half hour. Are there any restrictions on his diet?"

"Not really, just don't get him anything too spicy."

"Right, thanks. Bye." Carlton hung up the phone before going to the Chief's office to let her know where he was going.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 18

When Carlton entered the hospital room, he found Shawn fast asleep.

"Figures. At least I'll get a quiet lunch." Carlton sighed as he took a seat and started on his meal.

He was almost done when he noticed Shawn starting to wake up. Carlton put his food down and crossed his arms.

"About time you woke up, I haven't got all day."

Shawn yawned as he answered. "Yeah you do. With the slow crime month, my case takes priority, right?"

"Unfortunately yes. It doesn't mean that I have to enjoy spending time with you."

Shawn just smiled in return. He raised the bed and rubbed his eyes. "Did you bring me any food?"

Shaking his head, Carlton passed the bag of food. "Against my better judgment, I did. How did you know that I was getting Mexican?"

Shawn just lifted his cast arm to his temple as he opened the bag.

Carlton scoffed, "You know that I never believed in that mumble jumble. Why can't you give a reasonable answer?"

Shawn just shrugged his shoulders as he dug in. He honestly did not know why he picked burritos, but figured that since Lassie had Italian and fast-food the previous two days, then Mexican would be the next logical option. Besides, it just felt like a good way to tease Lassie if he happened to be right.

Carlton rolled his eyes and decided to let the subject drop for now. Might as well hold off the headache as long as possible.

When they were both done eating, Carlton took the tray table and placed it at the end of the bed. He then picked up his briefcase and took out a camcorder with a detachable microphone.

No longer able to contain his curiosity, Shawn rang the small bell that his father had brought him the day before.

Carlton growled as he turned around, "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm recording your statement." Carlton turned back around and continued setting up the camera. "Since I obviously can't use a tape recorder, this will have to do."

There were a few moments of silence before Carlton was satisfied with the camera and moved back to his seat, taking out his notepad, a pencil, and the remote for the camera.

Turning to face Shawn, Carlton asked, "Are there any questions?"

Shawn shoot a warily look at the camera before asking, "Nobody else will see this?"

Seeing the pure vulnerability and slight terror on Shawn's face, Carlton looked him straight in the eye before replying, "Only those who absolutely have to see it, maybe 1 or 2 other people to make sure that I transcribed it correctly."

Shawn nodded his head, "Do I have to tell you everything that happened?"

"No, but the more details the better. If an event happened more than once, you don't have to describe it every time, just let me know that it was a more often occurrence." Sensing that Shawn was still nervous, Carlton said, "We can began whenever you're ready."

After a few minutes, Shawn nodded his head and shifted as he got comfortable.

Making sure that the microphone was close enough to himself, Carlton picked up the remote and pressed play.

"This is Head Detective Carlton Lassiter of the SBPD interviewing Shawn Spencer on Saturday January 11, 2014, 12:43 PM." Readjusting his notebook, he continued. "What do you remember of the accident that occurred on the night of November 1st, 2010?"

Shawn closed his eyes before answering, "I had left Iowa, finally heading back home. The traffic was very sparse and it had been raining all day. I tried to wipe some of the water off my visor. When I brought my hand down, I saw a big rig heading right towards me. I tired to get out of the way, but my tires skidded on the wet pavement. My bike hit the guardrail and I flipped over it."

Shawn paused as he shook his head, "I must have blacked out shortly after that and the rest is a bit hazy. I think I hit my head and hurt my arm. I remember walking through the woods, and come across a road. There was a person changing their tire not too far away. I think I offered to help in exchange for a ride. I turned around for a second and then everything went black."

Shawn opened his eyes, giving Carlton a sad smile. Carlton swallowed and looked down at his notes.

"So, um, what else do you remember?" Carlton asked, looking back up.

Closing his eyes, Shawn continued, "I was still pretty out of it, but when I first woke up, I heard arguing. . . ."

X

X

X

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? KIDNAPPING SOMEONE OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD! HE COULD BE  A COMPLETE PSYCHO OR A COP!"

"Would you calm down! I checked his wallet, he's a psychic consultant from California."

The yelling made his head throb as Shawn slowly opened his eyes. He found that he was gagged, lying on his side, with his arms and ankles immobilized. While cataloguing the rest of his injuries, Shawn tried to listen to the conversation happening some 10-15 feet behind him.

"Oh, that's just great! Who do you think he consultants for? Most likely the cops, which means that they'll be looking extra hard for him."

"But I left no clues! There was no one around, he was just wandering."

"Really? Then where's his wallet? He looks like he's been in an accident. Where's his vehicle? Someone is going to know that he was in the area and start looking at the hospitals. Are you going to be able to keep your cool when they come by?"

"I'm more than capable of lying to the police."

"If you get caught, then you're on your own, I'll deny everything. I even got the perfect alibi: My girlfriend and I are supposed to be out camping over 100 miles away for a week. Unfortunately, she got sick, but she'll still back me up."

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll take all the blame if, and I mean if, I get found out."

"Good. Now introduce me to our new houseguest."

Hearing the two sets of footprints approaching, Shawn quickly closed his eyes and went limp. A swift kick to the gut made Shawn open his eyes.

"Oh good, your sleeping beauty is awake."

"His name is Shawn! Hey Shawnie, it's nice of you to join us."

Shawn looked up to see two hulking figures standing in front of him. The light was behind them so the only thing that he could distinguish was that they both had short, dark, curly hair, obviously brothers.

The bigger of the two snorted and walked away. "Remember, if you get caught, I was never here."

"Yeah, yeah whatever dude." He crouched down in front of Shawn and stroked his cheek. Shawn tried to scoot away but the man just grabbed his shoulder.

"Tsk, Tsk Shawnie. We're going to have so much fun together; but first, I guess you have to learn some of the rules." He stood up and took a step back. "Lesson number one, you resist in any way, you get pain."

Shawn barely registered the shoe coming for his head before everything went black again.

X

X

X

"Over the course of the next few months, they would take turns beating the crap out of me." Shawn tried to shake the images out of his head. "They cracked more than half of my ribs and left hundreds of bruises. But they always avoided my face, saying that they needed something to look at." Shawn wiped a stray tear away as he looked at Carlton.

Unable to return the gaze, Carlton looked at his notes. "Did they ever explain why they took you?"

Shawn started silently laughing, "Yeah, they told me and I will never forget that day, it was one of the worse of my life. I had been there about a month and this was right after one of my lessons. They only had two pieces of furniture in the room, a workbench with all their torture devices and a couch with many different straps to hold me to it in several positions. They had just strapped me down on my back when I asked the question. . . ."

X

X

X

"So, why are you doing this? Am I the first, or one of many?" Shawn hated how weak his voice was, but he really wanted to know the answer. He figured that he was probably the second, but you could never tell with psychos.

The boss laughed as he sat next to Shawn's hip and stroked his hair. Trying not to flinch, Shawn closed his eyes.

"Ah, you are getting better. If you must know, you are my sixth but you are lasting longer than the others. Maybe you'll be my last, since I do like you a lot Shawnie."

"I'm flattered," Shawn opened his eyes to glared at him, and tried to ignore the rough fingers stroking his hair. "But you never answered my first question, why do you kidnap and torture people?"

"Because it's fun," The Boss answered simply, as if asked the temperature outside. "And interesting to see how much quicker some people crack than others."

"What happened to the others?" Shawn swallowed dryly.

The Boss chuckled lightly, "They're around, or should I say, underground? Two of them starved themselves, one suffocated, and one got his neck broken. The last one tried to escape, failed and managed to stab me, so I stabbed her." He took off his shirt and traced a three inch scar on his left side. "Got me in the spleen, had to get it taken out."

The boss continued to trace his scar for a few seconds before moving his hand south. Seeing where the hand was going, Shawn closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"Aw, Shawnie, you know you want to join in the fun." The boss' other hand slid under Shawn's shirt to rub his stomach.

"No, I'm positive that I don't," Shawn tried to move his hands, but they were still cuffed above his head.

"Now Shawnie, you know the rules: Struggle equals pain. I usually don't wait this long before taking what I want, so I've got a lot of frustration to work out. You don't want to make it any harder on yourself than it already will be, now do you?"

Shawn stilled almost instantly, "No, but not doing it at all will be the least painful, so why don't we just call it a day?"

"But Shawnie, where's the fun in that?" The boss's hand moved lower and started undoing the drawstring on Shawn's pajama pants.

"There's plenty of fun in just taking naps, I personally love naps, they're my second favorite part of the day, favorite being eating dessert before dinner."

"No, this is definitely my favorite activity." The Boss leaned forward and turned Shawn's face towards him so that their lips were mere inches apart. "And I intend to enjoy it as often as I like." He smashed their lips together as his hand slipped under Shawn's waistband.

X

X

X

Tears falling freely down his face, Shawn continued, "It was one of the most painful experiences I've ever had." Shawn's movements started to get choppy as his whole body was racked with sobs. "He raped me at least every other day for the next 3 years, sometimes more often on holidays."

Trying to stay professional, Carlton cleared his throat. "Why don't we take a break?"

Shawn nodded as he turned on his side away from Carlton.

Carlton quickly turned the camera towards him. "Taking a break at 2:08 PM."

Not quite sure of what he should do next, Carlton circled the bed and crouched down so that he was not towering over Shawn. "Do you want me to call someone? Your father? Guster? A Nurse?"

Shawn shook his head and pulled the blanket over his head.

Sighing, Carlton put his left hand on the guardrail to stand up. About halfway up, he felt a weight on his hand. Looking down, Carlton found that Shawn had snuck his right hand out of the blankets and grasped Carlton's left.

Hoping that no one comes into the room anytime soon, especially O'Hara, Carlton gently patted Shawn's hand with his right. "It's okay, you're safe here."

After a few failed attempts to get his hand released, Carlton gave up and grabbed the nearest chair. He was prepared to glare at any person, nurse or visitor alike, who would try to disturb Shawn before he was ready to face the world again. So, he mentally ran through all the different gun models that were on the market as he waited.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 19

Shawn had finally fallen asleep an hour ago and Carlton had been able to get his hand back. Nurse Rose had came in for a vitals check and said to let her know when Shawn awoke so that he can get his next dose of pain pills. They would have a half hour tops before the drugs pulled him back under so Carlton was going through the case file to see if there was anything in there that needed clarification.

Unfortunately, the only new thing since Carlton updated Chief Vick the previous day was the statement of the cab driver who had dropped Shawn off at the police station. The cab driver, Jake, wasn't able to tell them anything new, although he was pleased that Shawn was doing well, as noted by McNab.

Carlton's phone went off, startling him so much that the files spilled on the floor. Carlton answered quickly, trying not to disturb Shawn's sleep.

"Lassiter," Carlton quietly barked as he gathered up the file.

"Carlton, I was just calling to check on my son."

Placing the files in his seat, Carlton quietly slipped out into the hallway. "Henry, he's fine, sleeping right now. How did you know that I was with him?"

"He told me some cock and bull story about the Chief making you come to work on your social skills. Now I figured that Karen is making you spend time with him but for a different reason. Would you mind filling me in on why you are there?"

Carlton sighed before continuing. "I'm taking his statement."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. Afraid that the call had been dropped, Carlton checked his screen before asking, "Henry?"

"Damn," Henry whispered. "I wish he would have told me, he must be a mess."

Carlton leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "Yeah, he broke down after a little more than an hour. But he didn't want you to be in the room to hear everything. He's too embarrassed about what happened, most victims are. I'm a little surprised about how much detail he was able to give. I mean, in most cases, the traumatic event is ingrained in a victim's memory, but he was able to give me details about every little thing. It's a bit frightening, makes you wonder how he's able to sleep at all."

"Yeah," Henry sighed defeatedly. Carlton felt like he was missing something but before he could ask, Henry spoke again. "How much longer do you think you will be?"

"It depends on how much he remembers and what he wants to share. But I won't push him. If he needs a break, then I'll stop for the day and pick it up tomorrow."

"He's being released tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh, okay. Then I'll probably be by sometime Monday or Tuesday after lunch."

"Alright, but only if you have lunch with us first."

Carlton stood up straight at that, "What? No! I couldn't intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding. Besides, more than 12 hours in the house together, we'll need someone to break the tension. I've got a few errands that I couldn't get done today that I'll need to do."

"But what about Guster?"

"Gus is a pushover, and you know it. Shawn would probably convince him to take him out and about within an hour of being released. At least you'll push back and stand your ground."

Sighing, Carlton rubbed his forehead, "Okay, fine, but I'm not staying for dinner!"

"Deal. But how about dinner tonight? I was going to make steak and baked potatoes with pineapple upside-down cake."

"Fine, whatever." Looking at his watch, Carlton moved back to Shawn's room. "Listen, I've got to go."

"Alright, I'll be there around 5:30, but call me if I'm needed sooner, got that detective?"

"Yes sir. Good bye," Carlton said as he opened the door.

He missed Henry's farewell as he spotted Shawn sitting on the edge of the bed, reading his case file.

Marching across the room, Carlton snatched the case file from Shawn's file, "Sweet Justice Spencer! You're not suppose to be looking at that!"

Shawn shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Sorry, but you shouldn't have left it out where I could reach if you didn't want me to read it." He gave Carlton a cheeky smile as he scooted back against the bed.

Placing the file in his briefcase, Carlton sat down and crossed his arms. "Your father just called me."

Looking like a deer in headlights, Shawn paused in rearranging the blanket to try and see if Carlton was bluffing. Seeing no signs to the contrary, Shawn sighed, "What did he want?"

"He wanted to know why I was really here. He then invited me to stay for dinner tonight and stop by Monday for lunch."

Nodding his head, Shawn asked, "And what did you tell him?"

"Yes to both meals and the truth about why I'm here."

Shawn closed his eyes and banged his head against the pillows. "Why did you do that? Now he'll want to know what happened and then sit in for the rest of my statement."

"No," Carlton said. Shawn's head popped up quickly with a questioning look in his eyes. "He understands that you don't want him to hear it, doesn't like it but he understands. He'll be here in less than 2 hours, so do you want to continue?"

Looking down at his lap, Shawn nodded.

Carlton got up and moved the camera back into position. "Oh, the nurse said that you were due for another dose of pain pills. She said that they'll make you drowsy and fall asleep within a half hour. Do you want them now?"

Shawn shook his head before looking up, "Maybe in an hour."

Carlton nodded as he finished making sure that everything was ready. Sitting back down, Carlton asked, "Ready?"

Closing his eyes for a second, Shawn nodded.

Pressing record on the remote, Carlton stated, "This is Detective Lassiter continuing interview on the same date at 3:39 PM." Releasing a cough, Carlton looked at Shawn, "What can you tell me about your captors?"

Sighing, Shawn shrugged his shoulders, "I never learned their names. They were obviously brothers in their late 30's and only referred to each other as brother or dude. I nicknamed them Boss and Enforcer since the one who kidnapped me seemed to be calling the shots and the other one liked administrating the punishment."

Closing his eyes, Shawn continued, "The Boss was the same height as me, 5 foot 10 inches. Short, brown, curly hair. Slightly tanned skin and approximately 180 pounds. His brother is younger but taller and more muscular, about 6 foot 2 and 210 pounds. Black, curly hair, although usually buzz cut. Moderately tanned skin. The boss worked in a hospital as either an orderly or in the kitchen. The enforcer was some type of coach or trainer, he usually wore sweats and had a whistle and stopwatch."

Opening his eyes, Shawn stared at Carlton without really seeing him. "They were the only two living things that I saw for 3 years. 3 whole years. Can you imagine how lonely that gets? Especially when you lose your voice after only 6 months and neither of them understand sign language. When they would leave me alone, I would retreat into my mind. Think of home and all my friends and family. Remember the good times, all the jokes and adventures. I must have ran thru everything a dozen times."

Closing his eyes and letting his head fall back, Shawn continued. "On the bad days, and I mean the really horrible days when I thought it would be better if they just killed me, I wondered what everyone was doing. If they had thought that I had purposely disappeared and didn't want to be found. Or if anyone was looking for me, and if so, how long until they gave up? Did I mess anyone's life up by leaving and never coming back? Or would it be better if I never did come back. Just waste away in that basement until they got bored of me. Part of me still believes that I never should have come back."

Not believing his eyes, Carlton sat in stunned silence as he replayed the last few seconds. Forgetting that the camera was still on Shawn, Carlton quickly got up, crossed to the bed and grabbed the front of Shawn's hospital gown with both hands. Shawn's eyes instantly popped open as he was pulled within 6 inches of Carlton's face.

"Now you listen to me, Spencer" Carlton growled as he shook the fake psychic slightly. "Don't you ever think that again! Your father, Guster and O'Hara were a complete mess after you had gone missing. We had gotten the news about the accident and the suspected kidnapping 2 days after the fact and they all but fell apart in their own ways. Your father became a lot more introverted and anti-social. I sometimes had to persuade him to go fishing once a week just to get him out of the house and to eat something that wasn't from a can. O'Hara almost lost her job and risked her health looking through John Doe cases across the country looking for you. On the outside, Guster seemed to be doing the best, but his spirit was gone. He might have been spending more time at work but his productiveness went down."

Carlton's voice was steadily growing louder, "But since you've come back, they've all improved. I heard O'Hara laugh for the first time in years at lunch the other day. Guster actually completed his route in a new record time and has also been laughing and joking. As for your father, well, I saw him actually smile yesterday. A genuine smile! I don't think I've ever seen him smile, even before you left. So don't you dare say that it might have been better if you never returned. Do you understand me?" He was almost yelling at this point and shook Shawn a little harder when he didn't get a response right away.

Tears slightly falling down his cheeks, Shawn nodded his head.

"Good!" Carlton let go of the front of Shawn's shirt and pulled him into a hug.

That undid Shawn completely. He grabbed Carlton's shirt in vice-like grips and sobbed into his shoulder. Carlton silently stood there, holding Shawn up and rubbing his back.

After a few minutes, Shawn finally let go and slumped against the bed, wiping his eyes and cheeks. Carlton coughed as he took a step back.

"If you tell anyone about that, I will kill you in your sleep."

Shawn smiled as he pressed the nurses' call button. "Then you better erase the evidence off of the camera."

Carlton's face paled as he turned toward the camcorder. "Oh crap! I can't believe that I forgot to turn it off" Quickly picking the device up, Carlton pressed stop and opened the playback menu. "And of course, I can't delete that part without deleting the whole thing. Sweet justice, what am I going to do?"

Nurse Rose came in at that point to find a huge grin on Shawn's face and a frustrated scowl on Carlton's. "Oh no, what did you do to him, Shawn?" Rose put her hands on her hips.

Shawn spread his hands as Carlton answered, "It wasn't his fault, it was mine! I left the camera recording and it caught something that I'd rather not have viewed."

"Well, if that's all, you can go through and put a break in the footage you got and delete it separately." Rose said as she started the vitals check.

"Really?" Carlton asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but you usually need to do it on the computer."

Carlton sighed as he sat down. "Figures. I'll just have to not let it out of my sight until I can upload them."

"I'm sure that it can't be too bad?" Rose asked as she wrote in Shawn's chart.

"Yes it can and it is." Shawn rolled his eyes as Carlton continued. "Hey! You're the one who was worried about who would be seeing it!" Carlton pointed as Shawn's smile fell.

"Alright you two, that's enough for now. So Shawn, would you like your pain medication now?"

"Yes please!" Shawn responded with a vigorous head nod.

Laughing, Rose patted his hand as she turned to leave. "Alright I'll be right back. You two behave now, you hear?"

"Yes Ma'am," Carlton mumbled as she left. Checking his watch, he turned to Shawn. "Your father will be here in about an hour. Why don't you take a nap since the pills will knock you out anyways."

"Yes Mother," Shawn replied with a mock salute.

"Spencer!"

"Sorry!" Shawn sighed before adding, "Seriously, thanks. I appreciate everything."

"No problem," Carlton replied, picking up his notes, as Rose re-entered.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 20

The sight that met Henry as he entered Shawn's room at 5:30 on the dot made him laugh. "Even when you're not 100% you're still wearing people out," Henry whispered. Carlton was half falling out of his chair with his notepad clutched loosely in his hand.

Chuckling, Henry placed the food on the cabinet. He was about to wake Carlton up when he noticed the camcorder sitting on the food tray. Making sure that both occupants were still fast asleep, Henry picked up the camcorder and turned it on. The disk only had two entries, so picking the first one, Henry pressed play, making sure the volume was low.

It immediately showed a nervous looking Shawn staring at the camera followed by Carlton's voice:

"This is Head Detective Carlton Lassiter of the SBPD interviewing Shawn Spencer on Saturday January 11, 2014, 12:43 PM. What do you remember of the accident the occurred on the night of November 1st, 2010?"

Shawn closed his eyes before answering, "I had left Iowa, finally heading back home. The traffic was very sparse and it had been raining all day. I tried to wipe some of the water off my visor. When I brought my hand down, I saw a big rig heading right towards me. I tired to get out of the way, but my tires skidded on the wet pavement. My bike hit the guardrail and I flipped over it."

Shawn paused as he shook his head, "I must have blackout shortly after that and the rest is a bit hazy. I think I hit my head and hurt my arm. I remember walking through the woods, eventually coming across a road. There was a person changing their tire not too far away. I think I offered to help in exchange for a ride. I turned around for a second and then everything went blank."

Fast-forwarding a bit, Henry leaned up against the wall.

". . . When I tried to get away from him, he grabbed my shoulder saying that we were going to have so much fun together, but I had to learn the rules. Lesson number one was that if I resisted, I got pain. So he got up and swung his foot at me."

Henry shook his head as he fast-forward. When he noticed tears starting to fall on Shawn's face, he pressed play.

". . . I asked him if we could just call it a day. He laughed at me and asked what the fun in that would be. He started working on getting my pants untied. I told him that naps were my second favorite part of the day, beaten only by dessert before dinner. He smiled at me, telling me that we were about to do his favorite activity and that he was going to enjoy it as often as he could. Then he kissed me again as he slid my pants down. . . ."

Looking towards the bed to make sure Shawn was still asleep, Henry stopped it and opened the next entry. Once again, it opened to Shawn, looking more tired than before.

"This is Detective Lassiter continuing interview on the same date at 3:39 PM." A slight cough, "What can you tell me about your captors?"

Fast-forwarding, he saw Shawn looking more and more weary before looking completely dejected. He pressed play just in time to see Shawn sign: "Part of me still believes that I never should have come back."

Slightly stunned, it took Henry a moment to realize that the Carlton on the disk had gotten up and was grabbing Shawn by the front of his shirt. He couldn't hear what Carlton said at first, but it was obviously impacting Shawn. Eventually he heard:

"But since you've come back, they've all improved. I heard O'Hara laugh for the first time in years at lunch the other day. Guster actually completed his route in a new record time and has also been laughing and joking. As for your father, well, I saw him actually smile yesterday. A genuine smile! I don't think I've ever seen him smile, even before you left. So don't you dare say that it might have been better if you never returned. Do you understand me?"

Than Henry saw something that he never thought he'd ever see: Carlton pulling his son into a hug and Shawn clinging to Carlton almost as tightly as Shawn had held him that first morning days ago.

With tears in his eyes, Henry looked toward the bed to see that Shawn was awake and watching him with nervous eyes. Quickly turning the camcorder off and setting it down, Henry crossed the room and hugged his son.

"I am so glad that you are back, don't ever think that it's not true. If I could, I would go back in time and trade places with you." He felt Shawn shake his head against Henry's slowly dampening shirt. "Yes, I would. I would do anything for you."

After a few minutes, Henry leaned back and grabbed his son by the shoulders. "Are you okay now?"

Shawn nodded as he wiped his eyes before signing, "Did you bring me any pineapple?"

Henry couldn't help it, he burst out laughing, waking up Carlton in the process. "Yes, I did. But you have to eat your dinner first."

Shawn pouted, causing Henry to laugh again, slightly quieter. He patted Shawn's cheek as he backed away and went to the food.

"Okay, maybe you don't have to eat all of it, but more than half okay?" Henry looked over his shoulder to see Shawn nod his head.

Carlton yawned as he got up and stretched. "Personally, I think that he should eat all of his dinner before getting dessert. And if he doesn't finish, I should get his share."

Shawn stuck out his tongue as he raised his bed.

Laughing, Henry served the food onto 3 plates, making Shawn's servings half as big. Once Carlton had packed up his things, Henry grabbed Shawn's plate and moved the tray table over his son's lap before putting the food down.

Seeing that the pieces were already cut into bite sized pieces, Shawn gave his father a grateful smile before digging in.

While everyone was eating, silence reigned for a few minutes before Henry spoke up. "So, I've got the house pretty much ready with paths cleared for a wheelchair. I figured that until you get the okay for crutches, you can sleep on the couch. Now, I know it's not the most comfortable but. . . ."

Henry looked up to see Shawn looking terrified. He sensed that Carlton was silently watching, waiting for what would happen next. "What? Did I miss something? Is there something wrong with the couch?"

Shawn looked away and pushed his tray away clumsily, causing it fall to the floor. But Shawn did not seem to notice, as he was slowly curling into the fetal position, shaking his head in the process.

"Shawn? What's wrong?" As Henry moved to get up, Carlton grabbed his arm. "WHAT?" Henry snapped.

Swallowing, Carlton hurriedly explained, "He was basically strapped to a couch for over 3 years, so I guess the very thought of going back onto one is terrifying."

"Aw, kid," Henry sighed as he slowly got up and lowered the guardrail. He sat on the side of the bed and rubbed his son's shoulder. "Hey, kid. It's okay, we'll figure something out. If I have to, I'll drag your butt up and down the stairs everyday. I'll even move the couch to the garage so that you don't even have to see it, okay?"

Shawn nodded as he tried to catch his breath. Henry continued to rub Shawn's shoulder until his breathing slowed.

Once Shawn started to sit back up, Carlton coughed to get their attention. "I've, a, I've got a one-floor house with a spare bedroom. If you want, you can stay at my house for the next week and I can just crash at the station or something."

"No, we couldn't do that to you, Carlton." Henry said as he rubbed Shawn's back.

"Do you still have the roll away bed in the attic?" Shawn asked.

Henry looked at Shawn confusedly for a second before the realization hit him. "Yes! From when Gus use to sleepover all the time! We can put that in the living and move the couch to the garage. It'll be a tight fit, but it should work!" Turning toward Carlton, Henry asked, "Do you think that you can stop by with me tonight to move the furniture?"

"Yeah, sure. Are you going to call Guster to help as well."

Henry sighed as he looked as his son. "Yeah, I'm not as young as I use to be and I'd rather not accidentally throw out my back lifting that heavy stuff. I guess I'll be more of a coordinator."

"Okay."

"That was good thinking kid, I totally forgot about that bed."

Shawn smiled as he looked toward Carlton, but his smiled faded as he caught sight of Carlton's plate. Looking at his dad, Shawn asked, "Can I still have dessert even though I knocked over my food?"

Henry looked at the mess on the floor before sighing, "I guess, I mean you did eat half of it and it was sort of my fault that you spilled it." Henry got off the bed and went back to his seat before adding, "As soon as I'm done with my plate, I'll get out dessert."

Shawn looked at him stunned.

"Hey! I never said that you would get it right away. Patience is a virtue."

Carlton snorted into his plate as Shawn crossed his arms and proceeded to pout for the next 10 minutes as Henry slowly finished his food.

Henry stood up slowly and stretched before saying, "You know, I should probably clean up that food on the floor before a nurse comes in and trips on it."

Seeing the daggers in Shawn's eyes, Carlton spoke up, "I'll get that, Henry. You should probably feed your son before he explodes."

Laughing, Henry headed towards the bag of food. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Henry blocked Shawn's view off the dessert as he cut it up and put them on separate plates. Seeing the pure joy on Shawn's face as he brought the food to him, Henry couldn't help but smile.

"Now, remember to chew, not inhale it! We don't need you staying any more days just for choking on food."

Nodding his head, Shawn took the fork and just smelled the pineapple upside-down cake for a few seconds before digging in and savoring the taste.

Laughing, Henry grabbed his and Carlton's slices before sitting down. "I'm surprised that he didn't make a bigger deal out of this since it's the first time that he's had pineapple since he's been here, probably longer."

"Yeah, I can't believe how quiet he's being," Carlton commented as he started on his own slice.

"Me neither." Henry was about to take a bite when he noticed Shawn holding out his plate, looking expectantly at his father. "What? You want more?"

Shawn nodded as he flapped his plate a little. Sighing, Henry got up and placed two more slices on the plate. "That's all you're getting, so don't you dare ask again."

Smiling, Shawn took the plate and repeated the process of savoring each bite.

Shaking his head, Henry sat back down. "There's one more piece if you want it Carlton. I've got plenty more at the house, I got a feeling he'll finish it before Monday night."

Carlton laughed as he got up to claim the last piece before Shawn tried to ask for it.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 21

The next morning went by so fast, and before Shawn knew it, it was after 2pm and he was given the okay to get dressed. Unfortunately, Shawn was still nearly 50 lbs lighter than he was 3 years ago, so he had to put on old sweatpants and a t-shirt from high school that were still too big for him, making him look like a little kid wearing big brothers' clothes. Fiddling with his new wrist brace, Shawn waited impatiently on the side of the bed for Rose to bring him his so-called walking papers and a wheelchair that they would be borrowing for the next week or so. Henry was looking through a fishing magazine while Gus was rearranging the bags of gifts for the hundredth time.

"Will you two just relax," Henry calmly asked as he flipped the pages. "They'll be here, Shawn's not the only patient you know, or the most important."

"But you promised us food."

Henry laughed."Yeah, for dinner. You just ate lunch two hours ago."

"Exactly, two hours! Which means that it's snack time." Shawn's stomach decided that that was the perfect time to growl.

"Why don't you have some pineapple." Juliet had sent over some freshly diced pineapple that morning along with pineapple muffins, which Shawn had eaten right away, after offering his father one, of course.

Still pouting, Shawn held his hand out to Gus who promptly put the small container in his hand.

"You know Shawn, at the rate you're going, you might start sweating pure pineapple juice," Gus said as he made sure that the balloons where tied securely to the heavier bag.

Shawn just smiled widely as he father remarked, "Don't give him anymore ideas, he has enough of them as it is."

Shawn was just finishing off the pineapple when Rose enter with the wheelchair.

"Good Afternoon everyone! Shawn, here is your new set of wheels! Dad, I'm gonna need you to sign the contract saying that you'll return it when the doctor deems it no longer necessary." Rose pulled out the packet of papers and slowly handed each set to Henry. "Here are his medication instructions. His prescriptions should last him until his next doctor's appointment. Here are a list of do's and don'ts of wheelchairs." Looking towards Shawn, she said, "Sorry deary, no street racing or hanging on the back of someone's vehicle!"

She smiled at Shawn's pout. Turning back to Henry, she continued, "This says what he should be working on physical therapy-wise, at least 30 minutes a day. This is the list of symptoms that you should look for, when in doubt, call a doctor. And last, but certainly not least, I need Shawn to sign his release papers."

Even though his handwriting still very sloppy, Shawn was more than happy to sign it.

"Alright then, let's get you in this wheelchair!" Rose reached over and lowered the bed so that Shawn's feet were touching the floor. Than Gus put the house slippers on Shawn's feet, since sneakers would be too much hassle and he was not going far. With Gus and Rose on either side, Shawn slowly put his weight on his left leg and stood up from the bed.

Henry watched as Shawn seemed to sway a little and closed his eyes. "Hey kid, are you alright?" Shawn nodded before opening his eyes and tried to pivot on his good leg.

Unfortunately, he lost his balance and would have landed on the floor if it wasn't for the 3 pairs of hands that caught him.

"Okay Shawn," Rose commented from his left once they got him straightened up. "We're just going to move the chair forward a bit and then you can sit. Don't move until we tell you to, okay?" She waited until Shawn nodded before asking, "Hey dad, can you get the chair?"

Henry, who was in front of Shawn nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Shawn's leg was starting to buckle when he finally got the order to sit. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.

"That was only the easy part," Rose said as she placed some of his things on his lap. "I hear that you have a couple of steps to try when you get home."

Shawn grimaced but didn't open his eyes.

Laughing, Henry clapped Shawn's shoulder. "I guess he should rest up before we get there, maybe let him sleep in the wheelchair for an hour or so."

Shawn sat up at that, glaring at his father, "No, I am so ready to go home!" Turning to Rose, he added, "No offense."

Laughing, Rose bent down and kissed him on the cheek. "None taken, sweetheart! Just be sure that you come and visit me. I'm being transferred back to pediatrics and work the afternoons."

Shawn smiled and nodded as Rose walked around the wheelchair and grabbed the handles. "Are we all set?"

"Yes Ma'am," Henry replied as he picked up a couple of the bags and held the door open.

When they pulled into the driveway at the Spencer house half an hour later, Shawn was fast asleep on his dad's shoulder. Taking the keys out of ignition, Henry observed Shawn for a minute before handing the keys to Gus.

"Here, can you take the stuff inside. You can leave them on the kitchen table. I want to give him a few more minutes."

"Okay, Mr. Spencer," Gus replied as he got out of the truck as quietly as possible.

"Gus!" Henry started to correct him again before sighing, "Never mind."

Gus smiled before shutting the door and rounding to the tailgate.

Once everything was inside and Gus had the wheelchair out and ready to go, Henry gently shook his son's shoulder.

"Come on Shawn, wakey wakey." Shawn just shook his head and folded his arms.

"You know, the sooner you wake up, the sooner you can get some pineapple upside-down cake."

Opening his eyes to glare at his father, Shawn finally started to move and stretch.

Henry opened his door and climbed out before turning back to Shawn. "Now, what side to you want to get out on?"

Shawn looked from his leg cast to each door and back again before pointing towards his dad. Nodding, Henry reach inside and took Shawn's left elbow as Shawn slowly slid closer. Once Shawn's legs were dangling out the door, Henry moved to Shawn's right, wrapped one arm around Shawn's waist and the other under Shawn's knee as Gus did the same on the other side.

"Now, let us do all the work. We don't need you falling because you're tired. Besides, you'll get you're turn when you climb the steps. Got it?"

Shawn rolled his eyes before nodding and gripping each man's shoulder. Taking that as a "ready," Henry nodded to Gus as they began to move him.

Once Shawn was seated, Henry took the handles as he commented, "As much as I appreciate how light you are to lift right now, you really need to gain some weight."

Shawn nodded as a yawn split his face.

Laughing, Henry started toward the front of the house. "Come on kid, before you fall asleep in the wheelchair."

Before they got to the porch, Shawn stopped his father, "Can I sit on the beach?"

"No, I don't think that the wheelchair does well on the beach and I don't want sand tracked all through my house!"

"Can I at least sit at the edge of the yard and watch the waves?"

Seeing the somewhat desperate look on Shawn's face, Henry sighed as he started for the gate. "Fine, but only for 10 minutes! I don't want you out in the sun too long! You skin isn't accustom to that much sunlight anymore and you'll get a burn!"

Shawn nodded as Henry stopped him under a tree. "I'll be inside putting things away. Let me know if you want to come in early."

Shawn saluted before staring out into the ocean. Gus stood by awkwardly for a few moments before sitting down on the grass next to Shawn.

Seeing Shawn shifting in the corner of his eyes, Gus turned to see Shawn swaying to some distant music from a radio on the beach. Gus smiled as he saw the peaceful expression on Shawn's face.

Without opening his eyes, Shawn signed, "I missed this. The ocean, clean air, companionship."

"Yeah," Gus sighed as he looked down. "I missed you too. Hanging out with Juliet just isn't the same."

Shawn held out his fist and Gus obediently met it with his own.

They sat out there for a few more minutes in silence before Henry came out and announced that Shawn's 10 minutes was over 3 minutes ago.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 22

Shawn ended up taking a 2 hour nap and Henry was considering not taking him out for dinner, but Shawn guilted Henry into it.

Once Shawn was in the wheelchair in the parking lot of the restaurant, Henry gave Shawn one more chance to go home.

"I told you, I've been cooped up too long. I want to get out and people watch."

Sighing, Henry walked around and started pushing Shawn forward, mumbling, "Don't say that I didn't warn you."

Shawn gave Henry a confused look while an exiting couple held the door open for them. Seeing Gus waiting near the hostess stand, Shawn signed, "What is going on?"

Gus just shrugged his shoulders before leading the way to the back patio.

Getting even more suspicious with each passing moment, Shawn started processing everything that had happened in the past hour. Realizing that he recognized several cars in the parking lot, Shawn was about to tell his dad to take him home when Gus opened the doors and a shout of "SURPRISE" meet Shawn's ears.

"Sorry kid," Henry mumbled when he saw the panic flash across Shawn's face before it lit up and a huge grin took over. If anything, Shawn was good at faking a mood.

Shawn smiled at the small crowd of familiar faces. There was Chief Vick and her husband, Buzz and Francine McNab, Woody, Juliet, and Carlton.

Juliet stepped forward, "Shawn, we just wanted to show you our appreciation for you and to let you know that we're glad that you're back." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

As she started to straighten up, Shawn gently took her hand and rubbed the back of it. When she was looking at him, Shawn mouthed 'Thanks Jules.'

Smiling, Juliet stepped back. Gus announced, "Shall we sit, then?"

Shawn nodded. As people turned to head back to the table, Shawn turned toward his father questionably.

Henry just shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was all Gus and Juliet. I had nothing to do with it."

Shawn nodded as his father brought him over to the circular table. Henry and Gus sat on either side of Shawn with Juliet and Carlton across from them. Woody and the McNabs sat on Gus' right while the Vicks sat on Henry's left.

After the drink orders were taken, silence reigned for a few minutes before Woody spoke up, "You know Shawn, I sure missed our conversations. You are one of the few people who get my, shall we say, unique sense of humor."

Most of the people at the table laughed at the comment, knowing to what he was referring to.

Shawn smiled and signed, "I missed you too." Waiting until after Gus translated, Shawn continued, "How is your wife?"

"Ex-wife," Woody smiled and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know how we lasted so long. I guess I was just too nice on her. The divorce went smoothly, she only wanted half my money, the house and her car. At least she didn't try to take any of my reptiles or my skull collection."

Shawn smiled at the way Gus seemed to pale a bit. He turned to Buzz and asked, "So, how is little boy cat?"

"Shawn! It's a girl cat! How many times do I have to tell you?" Gus cut in before anyone could translate.

"I've heard it both ways," Shawn replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Only because you thought that it was a boy cat and kept introducing her as such."

"Guys, can you do this some other time?" Henry asked as their drinks arrived and the waitress took their meal orders.

For awhile, everyone was sharing stories about what happened over the past 3 years, eventually running through some of the various stunts Shawn pulled while working with the SBPD.

"Personally," Juliet chimed in as she finished her pasta. "I think I missed the rivalry between Shawn and Carlton, always keeping each other on their toes."

"Or in some cases, stomping on each other's toes," Gus commented as he took a sip.

Everyone around the table laughed at that, even Carlton smiled a little.

"So Shawn," Karen asked once the laughter died down. "Will you be working with the SBPD again?"

Shawn turned toward Gus and shrugged his shoulders. "What do you think?"

"I kind of missed it," Gus replied quietly as everyone waited to hear Shawn's answer.

"I miss it too. But I don't know since it'll be too dangerous if my voice doesn't come back." Shawn bit his lip as he waited for Gus to reply.

"Okay," Gus turned back to the Chief and everyone else. "Shawn and I would be glad to come back, but we will need some more time to think it through and discuss it."

Shawn smiled and nodded his head.

Karen smiled as well, knowing how much Shawn would love to come back. "Alright. Well, my office is always open for when you make your decision. Just, please knock first."

Laughing, Shawn saluted the chief.

Karen's cell phone rang at that moment and she excused herself to answer it.

Juliet added, "Well, I for one can't wait for you to get back on your feet again, Shawn. It just isn't the same without you. Even if you don't come back to work with us, I think that you should still come and visit the station."

"As long as you aren't disturbing people's work," Carlton mumbled into his drink.

Shawn turned to Carlton with a smile, "Is that an implied compliment, dude?"

"No, it is not. I just don't need you messing up people's work."

"I agree with Lassiter," Vick replied as she came back to the table and started to go through her purse. "As long as you don't disrupt my officers, I don't see why you can't visit." Pulling on her coat, she clapped her husband on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, we have to go pick up Iris. I'll see most of you at work. Get better soon, Shawn."

Woody stood up too. "I've got to go as well. A couple of standard autopsies await me and I've already put them off a couple hours. Please feel free to visit Shawn."

A variety of goodbyes were exchanged as they left. Buzz and his wife left shortly afterwards. After the waitress took dessert orders, Juliet spoke, "So, I'm just curious. Carlton said that his grandfather was deaf and that's why he learned sign language, but why did you learn Shawn? If you don't mind me asking."

Shawn just smiled and was about to respond when Henry jumped in. "It was partly my doing."

"Really?" Juliet looked quickly from Shawn's suspicious expression to Henry's calm one. "How so?"

"Well, one day Madeleine was sick, had the flu or something and I told Shawn to stay out of the house and be quiet. Of course, knowing Shawn, he only does half of it. Granted, he's only 9 at the time. Anyways, I come home for lunch and I find not only Shawn but also Gus playing in the backyard, very loudly I might add. Since I obviously can't leave the two of them alone, I call my father."

Henry took another sip of his water before continuing. "So he shows up and I head in to check on Maddie. When I come back out to say goodbye, Dad's telling them this really gory war story. I told Dad that the idea was to keep them quiet but not to gross them out. So my dad suggests to teach them sign language. I tell him have at and leave for work."

Henry turned to look at Shawn, who is busy playing with his cup. "I come home for dinner and Shawn is quietly reading this sign language book. Now, I've never seen Shawn open a book before that wasn't required reading, so I ask my dad what did he do? He laughed and said that he just showed Shawn how much fun sending messages without talking was and got hooked. They had even visited the library. I think it might have been the first time Shawn went voluntarily. So whenever my dad would come over, Shawn would ask him to help him practice. High School rolls around and Shawn is able to take a senior sign language class as a freshmen." Henry reached over and patted Shawn's shoulder. "But a week before the year is over, my dad dies of a heart attack. Shawn stops signing, would have failed the class if he wasn't going into that last week with an A."

Silence reigned the table until the waitress showed up with their dessert orders: a brownie sundae for Juliet, sherbet for Gus and a banana split with extra pineapples for Shawn.

"So, you were close to your grandfather Shawn?" Juliet asked as she poked at her melting ice cream.

Nodding his head, Shawn signed, "He taught me how to girl watch at the age of 10."

"SHAWN!" Henry exclaimed as Gus and Carlton looked away. Shawn just smiled cheekily and ate his dessert.

"What? What did he say?" Juliet asked with a smile tugging on her lips.

"My son is just being a smartass." Henry said sternly at his son.

"I figured that much, but what did he say?" Juliet looked to Gus and then Carlton for help.

Carlton sighed as he mumbled, "His grandfather taught him how to girl watch at the age of 10."

"Shawn!" Juliet tried not to laugh, especially when he looked at her innocently.

"But it's the truth."

"Just because it's true, doesn't mean that you have to repeat it in polite company." Henry replied as he took another sip.

"Polite company? These are my friends, dad. And Lassie."

"Watch it, Spencer!" Carlton growled when Shawn referred to him as a dog again.

"Alright, that's enough Shawn. Just finish your food." Henry reprimanded as he asked for the check.

"I'm not a little kid," Shawn pouted.

Henry looked over Shawn for a second, "Oh yeah? Then stop acting like one."

Shawn held up his hands in a 'W' before digging into his food. The rest of the table laughed as the waitress brought over their checks.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 23

Sunlight hitting his face woke Shawn up the next morning as his father opened all the curtains in the living room. Shawn threw his arm over his eyes as his father started talking.

"Come on, kid. It's time to get up. Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes."

Shawn pulled the blanket over his head and rolled over.

Laughing, Henry walked into the kitchen and called back, "You've got 5 minutes before I dump a bucket of water on you."

Sighing, Shawn pushed the blanket off and stared at the ceiling, letting his eyes adjust to the light, reflecting about the night before.

After dinner, Gus had come over and they watched The Goonies. Just like old times, they goofed off and had some mini fights over actors and food. By the time the movie was over, Shawn was exhausted. He would have fallen asleep in the armchair but his dad insisted that he get in the roll-away bed.

Shawn sat up and stretched. His dad said that they would go shopping today to get him some pants and shirts that actually fit. That was probably why he was making Shawn get up so early, so they could beat most of the crowds at the mall.

As Shawn was swinging his legs to the side of the bed, Henry came back in. "Oh good, you're getting up. I really didn't want to get my living room floor wet."

Rolling his eyes, Shawn signed, "Thanks Dad. Nice to know you care."

"Yeah, well the carpet would take forever to dry." Henry moved the wheelchair closer to the bed and helped Shawn into it.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, where thankfully Henry had left him alone, Shawn was wheeled up to the table. Shawn was taking a sip from a glass of orange juice when Henry placed the plate in front of him.

"There you go kid, Strawberry Pancakes, just like Grandma use to. . . Shawn, are you okay?" Henry quickly grabbed the glass from Shawn's shaking hands.

"Shawn?" Henry crouched down to look at Shawn's face, which had paled noticeably, when he didn't get a response.

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"Hey Shawnie, do you like Strawberries?" The boss asked from his spot by the door, holding a giant bowl of strawberries.

Shawn took a deep breath before wheezing out, "Yeah, they're alright *cough cough* but I prefer pineapple." Shawn's voice was getting weaker with each passing day. Sometimes, he could barely squeak anything out. Maybe if they would quit with the dog collar, it would get better. Although, if he had learned not to scream while being tortured, they might not have to use the collar to silence him.

"Hmm, I'm not a fan of pineapples, but I do love strawberries, they're my favorite. My brother gets annoyed at how fast I go through them, but at least it's a healthy addiction." The Boss walked up to Shawn and waved a strawberry in front of Shawn's face. "Do you want some?"

Shawn's mouth started to water instantly, he hadn't had anything sweet since he was captured. Nodding his head, Shawn hoarsely replied, "Yeah."

The Boss smiled wickedly before taking a handful and shoving them in Shawn's mouth. "Then enjoy."

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Shawn came back to reality with a gasp and his hands covering his mouth. He found his dad staring at his worriedly, hands on his shoulders.

"Are you okay, kid?"Shawn nodded, crossing his arms on the table and lowered his head on top of them.

Looking Shawn over, Henry asked, "What was it? Did you remember something?"

Shawn nodded and waved a hand in the general direction of the plate on the table. Glancing at it, Henry asked, "Was it the pancakes? You don't want pancakes?"

Shawn shook his head and waved again. Henry looked at the plate confusedly for a minute, since there was nothing else on the plate. He ran through what he said before it clicked.

"Strawberries?" Shawn nodded. "You don't want Strawberries?"

Shawn nodded before lifting his head and signing, "He used to shove them down my throat."

Sighing, Henry stood up and patted Shawn's shoulder, "Okay, I understand." He grabbed the plate and dumped it and the rest of the pancakes before opening the fridge. "How about bacon and eggs?"

Henry looked over his shoulder to see Shawn nodding his head, looking dejected, before putting his head on the table again.

Placing the eggs, bacon and butter on the counter, Henry walked over to Shawn and gently tilted his head up. "Hey, it's not your fault, stop beating yourself up. The only way for things to get better is if you stop blaming yourself and just try to live your life, okay?"

Shawn nodded and gave his dad a small smile.

Henry ruffled Shawn's hair a bit, only to get his hand swatted away. Laughing, Henry returned to the stove. "Just give me 5 minutes to cook these."

By the time that they left the first store, Shawn was already tired. They spent over an hour trying on pants, having Shawn stand up and sit down. It was draining and embarrassing since it was his dad helping him. If only Gus was able to get the day off, at least they could have laughed and had a good time.

As they entered the next store's men's section, Henry stopped the wheelchair and circled around to face Shawn. "So kid, what type of shirts were you thinking of?"

Yawning, Shawn replied, "I don't know. How about a few solid colored tees and then a few button up, long sleeved ones. You go pick them out and I'll take a nap."

"Come on kid, you've got to try them on. At least you won't have to stand up every time. Besides, you don't want to look like a bum."

Eyeing Henry's bright Hawaiian-like shirt, cargo shorts and sandals, Shawn replied, "Says the guy wearing a shirt that can blind people."

"Shawn! I know this is boring and I know that you're tired. I also know that in a couple of days, you'll be complaining that nothing fits you. So either cooperate now or I'll go pick out a few 'blinding' shirts for you to wear."

Shawn sighed as he glared at his father's shirt. "Fine. Make it quick."

Nodding, Henry rolled Shawn toward the shirts that he wanted.

Henry was out on the porch, staring off into the distance. It took him a few seconds to realize he wasn't alone and that Carlton Lassiter was standing at the bottom of the steps, observing him.

"Hey Carlton," He greeted as he gestured to the seat next to him. Looking at his watch, he noted that it was only 11:30. "You're early, I wasn't expecting you for another hour."

Carlton shrugged his shoulders as he sat down. "Not much going on, so the Chief said that I could leave early." Glancing around the porch, he asked, "Where's Spen-Shawn?"

"Sleeping," Henry turned to look across the lawn. "We went to mall to buy him some clothes and it wore him out. I was suppose to wake him up before you got here, but," Henry shrugged before getting to his feet. "Probably should do that now, before he gets mad at me for letting him sleep while you were here."

"But it's not your fault." Carlton said as he started to stand up as well.

Henry held out his hands. "It's okay, you stay here. It might not be my fault but I should still give him some dignity."

As Henry opened the door, he saw movement in the dark room. Before his eyes could adjust, he heard a loud thud followed by a softer one.

"Shawn?" Henry questioned as he moved to the bed. He found Shawn, sprawled on his front, his left arm pinned under his body. Henry quickly knelt next to Shawn and turned him over. "Are you okay kid?"

Eyes squeezed shut in pain and arm tight against chest, Shawn nodded.

Sighing, Henry gently tried to examine Shawn's arm. "Let me see." Shawn tried to pull his arm away but his dad just held on tighter.

"Hang on a moment, kid." Looking up, Henry noticed that Carlton was standing just inside the door. "Carlton! Can you get me a bag of frozen vegetables and a towel."

While Carlton hurried off to the kitchen, Henry turned back to Shawn, who seemed to be concentrating on his breathing. "Kid, open your eyes. I need you to answer some questions."

Getting only a half squint in reply, Henry asked, "Does anything else hurt?" Head shake no. "Did you hit your head?"

"I'm fine, help me up." Shawn signed as he started to bring his good leg up for traction.

"Alright, just hold your horses. Carlton, can you give us a hand?" Henry called as he heard Carlton reentered the room.

They quickly got Shawn off the floor and sitting on the side of the bed, where Shawn immediately leaned forward and continued to clutch his arm to his chest.

Henry sat next to Shawn, placing the bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel on his other side. "Shawn, let me see your arm."

Sighing, Shawn held out his arm as his father carefully took off his brace and started to examine it.

After a minute, Henry placed the frozen vegetables on Shawn's arm, stating, "Well, it doesn't seem like you did any serious damage. You might get a bruise, but that's about it. What were you doing, anyways?"

Shawn shook his head. He picked up his hands like he was about to sign, but then thought better of it and put them down. Henry quickly grabbed the notepad and pen off the floor and handed them over. Shawn smiled and began writing sloppily.

Henry read it over his shoulder, "'I was looking for the bell.' Didn't you tie it to a string?" Henry reached around Shawn to pick up the string hanging off the frame of the bed. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you still want to finish your statement today?"

Shawn nodded and wrote some more. When he was done , he handed the notepad to Henry who laughed before reading, 'I'm fine, tired. Get it over with. Lunch first, want pineapples.'

"You're always craving pineapples, kid." Henry says with a smile. "I was just going to do cold sandwiches and potato salad, is that okay with you Carlton?"

Startled from his perch by the door, Carlton replies, "Yes, sir, it's fine."

"Good," Henry patted Shawn's shoulder before standing up. "I'm going to give you a few minutes to wake up a bit and then we'll eat out on the porch. Carlton, you want to give me a hand in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Carlton quickly followed Henry out of the room.

Once they were out of sight of the living room, Henry turned to Carlton. "Don't push him today, he still seems a bit out of it."

"He'll be fine Henry, and I'll be sure to stop if he needs too."

Nodding, Henry opened the fridge. "Good. I've got to run a few more errands today, shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 hours."

"Wha-what?" Carlton nervously looked towards the living room. "You can't leave us alone for that long!"

Henry sighed, "You did fine at the hospital."

"Yeah, when there were doctors and nurses around who could be there in a minute or less."

"Carlton, you'll be fine and he'll beat  fine. I won't be gone long. If needed, you can call me and I'll be here in 15 minutes. But nothing's going to go wrong."

"Except maybe me strangling him."

Laughing, Henry started slicing tomatoes, "See, like I said, it'll be fine. You'll see."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 24

Checking to make sure that everything was set up right, Carlton looked to Shawn who was sitting in an armchair across from him. "You ready?"

Seeing Shawn nod, Carlton started the camera. "This is Head Detective Carlton Lassiter of the SBPD continuing the interview of Shawn Spencer on Monday, January 13th, 2014 at 12:35pm."

Picking up his notebook, Carlton looked Shawn in the eyes and asked, "How did you escape?"

Shawn smiled slightly as he rubbed where the stitches were on his stomach a few days ago. Closing his eyes, Shawn began, "It was sometime after dark on the second and I had not seen either of them for almost three days. It was usually like that for holidays. They left a gallon of water with a straw attached, but that's it. The Boss came in, completely drunk and fell on top of me. . . ."

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Giggling, the Boss brushed Shawn's hair out of the way. "Hey Shawnie! You missed all the awesome parties. And I didn't get my kiss!"

He leaned forward and smashed their lips together. Shawn had learned not to resist but that didn't mean that he had to like it. When the request was made, Shawn obediently opened his mouth but that's all.

After a few minutes of the stench of alcohol trying to get down his throat, the Boss finally pulled backed. "Oh, you're no fun! It's much better if both parties participate. I'll give you one more chance before I start punishing you!" He took a switchblade out of his pocket and waved it in front of Shawn's eyes before kissing him again.

This time, having no choice, Shawn moved his lips half-heartedly, tears silently falling down his cheek.

Pulling back, the Boss grinned, "Now that's a kiss! *Hiccup* Let's get this party started! My baby brother *hiccup* won't be home until Sunday Night, so we got the place to ourselves for 3 whole days! Isn't that *hiccup* wonderful? I even got us some champagne! The host didn't even notice that I took 3 bottles home! *hiccup* I'll be right back."

The boss got off Shawn and headed up the stairs. Figuring that he was going to l have champagne shoved down his throat on an empty stomach, Shawn tried to drink as much water as he could to help fight dehydration.

Stumbling down the stairs, the Boss appeared with the 3 bottles and a small carton of strawberries. Still giggling, the boss fell heavily on the floor near Shawn's head. "Oopsies, that hurt. *hiccup* Oh well."

Shawn stared at the ceiling, trying to imagine that he was at home, sitting in the Psych office, goofing off. He could almost feel the paper basketballs, smell the pineapple, hear the people walking outside. . . .

A strawberry being shoved on to his mouth brought Shawn back to present.

"Here, *hiccup* it's suppose to bring out the flavor of the champagne or something. *Hiccup* I saw it in a movie once, *hiccup* I think."

Shawn obediently ate the strawberry, wishing once again that he was allergic to them.

Satisfied that Shawn ate the strawberry, the boss gave him another one as he opened the first champagne bottle. He giggled as the cork popped out and the liquid started pouring out. He quickly tried to save as much champagne as he could by putting the bottle in his mouth. Shawn watched with slight fascination as he appeared to chug more than half of the bottle.

After a small shake of his head, the boss placed the bottle at Shawn's lips, tilting it upwards with a slurred, "Drink."

Trying not to choke, Shawn drank as fast as he could, but some of it spilled, trailing down his cheeks, his neck and pooling under his shoulders, making them cold.

Shawn's shivering made the Boss laugh and take another huge gulp. "Not used to alcohol, *hiccup* are you, Shawnie? That's okay, more for me. Now, *hiccup* do you want some more strawberries?"

Shawn shook his head, trying to clear his quickly fogging mind. He now understood his father's warning about drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. Shawn vaguely wondered what his dad would say about drinking alcohol after no food for 3 days.

Before he could think of the key lecture points, his mouth was captured again by the Boss. Hoping not to gain any more injuries, Shawn quickly responded as subtly as possible.

The Boss leaned back on his haunches and observed Shawn for a minute before pulling out his keys. "I don't think *hiccup* that you need to be tied up tonight. It'll be *hiccup* much more comfortable on this rug here. *Hiccup* Let me get a few pillows, hang on. *hiccup*"

As the Boss staggered to the other room, Shawn closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. Still a bit affected from the alcohol, Shawn was slow to react to the slap to his face and the subsequent yell in his ear, "Stay awake now, Shawnie."

Giggling, the Boss put a few pillows down before undoing all the straps. Once his hands were free, Shawn tried to throw a punch with his left hand, but in his weakened and now alcohol-added state, he barely grazed the other man's chin.

The boss laughed as he grabbed Shawn's arm and twisted. "That was very bad of you Shawnie. *hiccup* Now, we'll have to have a lesson before we can have fun!" He pouted as he took out his knife with his other hand and preceded to cut across Shawn's abdomen.

Shawn's face screwed up in pain and his back arched. The cut was a bit deeper than usual, probably because of the Boss' inebriated state, but it helped to clear Shawn's mind enough to assess the situation. With all limbs except his right leg freed, Shawn proceeded to roll over and knock both of them onto the floor.

The Boss' body hit the floor with a resounding thud. Trying to breathe through the pain in his abdomen, Shawn lifted his head enough to see the Boss staring sightlessly at the ceiling, blood pooling under his head and the knife somehow sticking out of his chest.

Trying unsuccessfully to get his right leg free, Shawn put his head down on his arm, deciding that he would just take a quick nap first.

X

X

X

Turning toward Carlton, Shawn smiled sadly. "I was so out of it from pain, alcohol and lack of food, I didn't even care that I had just killed my captor. How bad of a person does that make me?"

Shaking his head, Carlton replied quietly, "You're not a bad person, it was self-defense and an accident. If anything, it was his own damn fault, if he wasn't so intoxicated, he might have been able to catch himself."

Shawn shrugged his shoulder as he checked the clock on the cable box. 1:08. His dad said that he would be back by 3 and that Gus was coming for dinner after work. Maybe they could go for a drive, just Gus and him. Even if it's just to the Dairy Queen drive thru.

"Do you want to continue?" Carlton asked. Slightly startled out of his thoughts, Shawn looked at Carlton confused for a few seconds. "Do you want to continue the interview?"

Nodding his head, Shawn stretched his arms before starting again. "I don't know how long I was asleep, could have been a couple of hours, or maybe half a day. All I know is that it was bright outside, sometime before midday. I was half laying on the Boss' legs with my head on one of the pillows. The smell was unpleasant, not only from the dead body, but I guess my bladder couldn't wait for me to wake up, so it emptied itself. The cut on my abdomen was right up against the Boss' thigh, so thankfully it had stopped bleeding while I was sleeping or else I might have bled to death. Realizing that my leg was still strapped to the couch, I started looking for the keys. . . ."

X

X

X

He eventually found the keys on the other side of the dead body from Shawn's head, so he had to carefully crawl over the dead body without twisting his leg too much.

Once his leg was free, Shawn leaned his back against the couch. Noticing that his abdomen had started bleeding again, Shawn pulled off his baggy shirt and clumsily tied it around his middle, pressing his injured left arm across it.

Since the Enforcer would not be returning for a few days and the Boss was as dead as a doornail, Shawn closed his eyes and took a nap.

Waking up a few hours later, Shawn noticed that the sun was going down and that he was cold. Remembering that his captors kept his spare clothes on the workbench, Shawn slowly stood up and limped over, trying not to shiver from walking barefoot on the cold floor.

Quickly pulling on his t-shirt that he once considered lucky, as well as a long sleeved shirt, Shawn sat down on the cold floor to change his pants. Realizing that his once perfect fit pants were now several sizes too big, Shawn glanced at the dead body. It was wearing a belt that was just barely big enough for its waist and hopefully would fit Shawn well enough that he would not trip.

Slowly walking forward while holding his pants up, Shawn tried to steady his breathing. The mantra, 'He's dead, he can't hurt me anymore' was running through his head as he got closer.

Kneeling next to the body, Shawn quickly unbuckled and removed the belt. After a second of hesitation, Shawn dug his hand into the pants pocket and found a money clip with close to three hundred dollars as well as the car keys.

Climbing the stairs as carefully as possible since his legs were not used to walking much, Shawn opened the door into a nice looking kitchen. It did not look like they cooked much except the occasional microwavable dinners.

Opening the fridge, Shawn grabbed a couple bottles of water. All of the apples looked rotten, so he grabbed a slightly brown banana. He then moved to the panty and found it almost as empty as the fridge. He grabbed the almost empty jar of peanut butter and a package of crackers.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Shawn put his head down, trying to catch his breath. He was so tired even though he had been awake for less than an hour. He quickly ate the banana and drank half a bottle of water.

Getting up from the table, Shawn headed to the front door. Right before grabbing the handle, he noticed a pair of boots. Sitting down, Shawn picked up the boots and realized that they were his. The Boss must have been wearing them all this time. Slipping the boots on, he could tell that the Boss wore them a lot. Shawn had bought them barely a month before they had captured him and now they seemed to have conformed to the Boss' feet.

Shaking his head, Shawn got up and exited through the door. Looking around the somewhat deserted neighborhood, Shawn noticed that more than half of the houses were for sale, including the two on either side of his captors.

Seeing no one coming down the street, Shawn quickly got into the Jeep parked in the driveway and started driving. All Shawn wanted to do was put as much distance between himself and the house as possible.

X

X

X

"I just drove around aimlessly for a while. Eventually, I found the bus station and bought a ticket. I used my mother's maiden name just in case the Enforcer came home early. The ticket attendant was nice, gave me a discount. The bus didn't leave until midnight, so I slept some more." Shawn looked at Carlton as he finished. "Luckily, I didn't come across any trouble on the buses, people mainly left me alone except to let me know when we were stopping for food. When I got to Santa Barbara, I got a taxi straight to the police station since I wasn't sure if my father would be home in the middle of the day."

"Okay, um." Carlton glanced at his notes. "Is there anything else you could think of that I would need to know at this time?"

Shawn shook his head no.

Carlton nodded and turned the camera towards him. "End of interview at 1:52PM."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 25

Henry was standing at the kitchen sink, listening for the familiar sound of Gus' Echo to pull into his driveway. Shawn had convinced them to let him go for a drive, stopping to get some ice cream on the way. That was over two hours ago and Henry was getting worried. Sure, he trusted Gus, he is a very responsible, level headed young man, except when it comes to Shawn. And since Shawn had been gone for over 3 years, Gus' resistance to Shawn's charms had weakened.

Henry was just about to clean the oven for the third time this week when he heard a car pull up. Glancing out the window, Henry quickly went outside to help. He found Gus opening the back door and taking out the wheelchair.

"Hey Gus! How'd it go?" He peered through the windshield as he approached. Shawn was fast asleep with his head leaning against the slightly opened window.

"It was okay, Mr. Spencer. It was a bit disconcerting at first with him being so quiet. Mostly, we stayed near the ocean. We stopped at the boardwalk and enjoyed some ice cream."

"He didn't try to make you do anything stupid, did he?" Henry put his hand through the window and gently stroked Shawn's hair. Shawn just unconsciously rolled his head away and faced the driver's side.

Chuckling, Gus replied, "Well, he tried to get me to bring him out onto the surf but I told him that I didn't want sand in my new shoes and that last time you vetoed the idea. He took his pills about a half hour ago, so I don't know how responsive he'll be."

"Okay." Henry opened the car door quietly, "Let's get him inside before it gets too cold. Shawn, come on, time to wake up."

Henry shook Shawn's shoulder but he refused to wake up. Sighing, Henry reached over and undid the seatbelt. When Shawn still refused to wake up, Henry gently picked him up and put him in the wheelchair.

They managed to get Shawn into the bed without him waking. He wished Gus a goodnight and tucked Shawn in before going outside to watch the sun go down.

A couple of hours and a few beers later, Henry was lightly dozing when he heard a soft rustling noise coming from inside. Scanning the perimeter, Henry quickly and quietly entered the house. He found Shawn thrashing side to side, arms tangled up in the sheets. He seemed to be getting more and more agitated with each second so Henry quickly crossed the room and gently held down his arms.

"Shawn, Shawn! You need to calm down and wake up!" Henry sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Shawn's forehead to still him. "Kid, come on."

Shawn's eyes opened with a gasp. As soon as he saw his father, he relaxed and closed his eyes. "Dad." he croaked.

"Shawn? Did you just . . . ?"

Shawn opened his eyes again and looked at his dad questionably. He licked his lips before trying again. "Dad," Shawn said a bit quieter and weaker, but it was still there.

"Oh God, kid." Henry said as he pulled Shawn up into a hug. "I thought that I'd never hear your voice again."

Shawn nodded as he held tight onto his dad, tears silently falling.

They stayed in the hug for a good 5 minutes before Shawn coughed lightly and started pulling away.

Henry was beaming as he sat back staring at his son. "I'm glad you're getting better, kid." Henry patted Shawn's shoulder.

"Thanks Dad," Shawn tried to say but it came out quiet and broken. Shawn sighed and rubbed his throat.

"Don't worry kid, you just have to get used to talking again, just like walking, you've got to practice."

Shawn nodded as he sat up straighter, then signed, "Can I get some water?"

"Sure," Henry stood up and went to the kitchen. When he came back with a glass, Shawn was sitting on the edge of the bed, reaching for his crutches.

"Where are you going? Because you know that the doctor hasn't cleared you for walking by yourself yet." Henry handed over the water.

Rolling his eyes, Shawn took a couple of sips before putting it down and signing, "I was hoping to go the bathroom. I was waiting for you to come back."

"Okay," Henry said as he went to turn on the lights, including the one in the bathroom. "Did you want to take a bath?"

Shawn looked towards the stairs and had to think about it for a minute. He had not washed besides a washcloth across his arms and face since he left the hospital, but it meant going upstairs since they only had a half bath downstairs.

Setting the crutch down, Shawn sighed, "Sure. Might as well use the wheelchair to the steps."

As they were going up the steps, Henry was on Shawn's left with his arm around Shawn's waist. Shawn had his left arm around his father's shoulders and was gripping the railing. When they got to the top, Shawn was leaning heavily on his father.

"Come on, kid, ten more feet." Shawn nodded his head as his father kept walking forward. As soon as they got into the bathroom, Shawn collapsed on the toilet, forearms on thighs and head down.

Laughing, Henry said, "You know, it works a lot better if the lid is up and with a few pieces of clothing down."

Shawn lifted his head enough to send his father glare.

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna grab you some clean clothes. Just, bang on the door or something if you need me, okay?"

Shawn nodded as he closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath.

While Shawn was bathing, Henry went downstairs to lock up and turn the lights off. He also grabbed Shawn's medication and bell.

After about 15 minutes, Henry was getting worried. He knocked on the bathroom door. "Shawn? Is everything alright? Knock on the wall once for yes, two for no." Two knocks. "Do you want me to come in?" One knock. "Okay."

Henry opened the door to find Shawn sitting on the edge of the tub with one hand holding a towel tightly around his waist. His legs were still in the tub and his other hand was leaning against the wall. Henry carefully helped Shawn back onto the lid of the toilet seat.

As Shawn was getting dressed, Henry went into Shawn's room and made sure things were ready. He had changed the sheets and moved some of the clutter a couple days ago so there was not much to do now except pulling back the blankets and sheets.

When Henry knocked and entered the bathroom again, Shawn was straining his neck to see himself in the mirror while fiddling with his hair. Laughing, Henry patted Shawn's shoulder, "I don't think you need to worry too much about your hair, you're just going to bed."

Shawn ruffed his hair so that it looked messier. "You just don't understand because you don't have awesome hair like me."

"If you say so, kid. Come on, let's get you to bed."

"But I just woke up," Shawn signed as he tried to stop a yawn.

"Yeah, well, I'm tired so you can just watch TV until you fall asleep again."

"Okay, old man." Shawn started to stand up as his father moved in.

"Yeah, well remember that the next time you end up in the hospital."

Shawn looked down guiltily as Henry took his arm. Sighing, Henry tilted Shawn's head up so that Shawn had no choice but to look his father in the eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad that you're here and that I can help. I'm just tired and cranky, I would have snapped at you about anything, okay? It's not your fault, you just got dealt a bad hand."

Shawn rolled his eyes before croaking out, "Try a couple of hands."

Chuckling, Henry patted Shawn's cheek, "Yeah, that too. Come on, before I get too much older and can't help you down the hall at all."

Shawn smiled and turned towards the door. They were almost to Shawn's bedroom door when Shawn looked at his dad quizzically.

"What?" Henry asked as he continued walking, almost having to drag Shawn a bit. "I told you that I was tired. I don't want to risk either one of us falling down the stairs, it was bad enough coming up."

Shawn nodded as he went back to concentrating on his walking, or hopping, whatever you wanted to call it.

As Shawn got situated in his bed, Henry walked over and turned on the TV. "Well, it looks like Breakfast Club is already in the VCR. Do you just want to watch that?"

Shawn nodded so Henry pressed play. He handed Shawn the remote and wished him a goodnight. As he was turning to leave, Shawn grabbed his arm.

"What, Shawn?" Henry tried not to let his tiredness affect his voice too much, but Shawn heard the fatigue anyways.

Shawn looked his father up and down closely before croaking, "Thanks."

"It's just a movie kid."

Shawn shook his head, "For everything."

It took Henry a moment before he patted Shawn's hand and muttered, "That's what dads are for, looking after their kids."

Shawn smiled and let go of his dad before turning back to the movie that he'd seen dozens, if not hundreds of times.

Henry silently walked to the door and right before he turned out the light, he whispered, "Goodnight kid."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 26

Shawn was enjoying the sunshine and the wind fluttering across his face as he sat in one of the chairs on the porch. His dad was inside making dinner and Gus had fallen asleep during a movie.

Deciding that Gus needed his sleep, Shawn tried to hobble with one crutch to the porch. He was almost to the door when he heard his dad enter the house with groceries. His hand was on the handle when his dad gently touched his back and gave him a stern look before opening the door and helping Shawn into one of the porch chairs.

Shawn had gotten a short lecture about how stupid he was to only use one crutch without anyone to spot him, especially when he hadn't even been cleared for two crutches on his own. Henry had lost steam after 5 minutes, probably from seeing the peaceful expression on Shawn's face. It was the most normal things had felt in a long time. Henry sighed and patted Shawn's shoulder, telling him that he could stay outside until dinner as long as he put sunblock on.

So here Shawn was, an hour later with his eyes closed, listening to the waves in the distance. He was so content and out of it that he did not even know that he had company until said company coughed. Shawn opened his eyes slowly to find Carlton standing awkwardly at the top of the steps, clutching a folder in his right hand, his sunglasses in the other.

"Lassie!" Shawn exclaimed.

Carlton was thrown off a bit, not only by the nickname, but also by the way that Shawn had said it, almost like it was 4 years ago. "Spencer. I see that you're doing better."

Shawn nodded then croaked out, "Have you come to jailbreak me?" Except the only clear words were "have … come … break me."

Carlton frowned a bit before he figured out his meaning. "No, I just came by to have you sign your statement." A brief flicker of fear flashed across Shawn's features. "I promise that no one else has seen it, I typed it up myself. It took all day, but I had nothing better to do."

Shawn nodded and held out his hand. While Shawn was reading the document, Henry had come out to investigate.

"Ah, Carlton. It's so nice to see you again. Would you like to join us for dinner?" Henry clapped Carlton on the shoulder

"I can't. I really need to get back to the station tonight and have some paperwork filed."

"Oh come on! What's a half hour going to do?"

"Besides having Spen-Shawn drive me insane?" Carlton questioned as he took a step back from the pair.

"Come on Lassie," Shawn croaked as he signed the last page and closed the folder.

Ignoring the conversation with Henry for a minute, Carlton looked at Shawn quizzically, "You're finished already?"

"Speed-reader," Shawn said, his voice becoming more hoarse.

Carlton picked up the folder while Henry sighed, "Shawn, what did I tell you about talking?! Only when you have to and stop when it starts to hurt."

Shawn raised his hands in surrender before signing, "Is dinner done yet?"

"Yes, it's just resting for a moment." Henry turned towards Carlton, "Gus is inside setting the table if you want to help him."

Looking between the two Spencers, Carlton sighed before heading inside. "Fine, I'll stay, but no more than an hour."

Shaking his head, Henry turned to his son. "Why do you always have to bait him? He's an okay guy once you get to know him."

Shawn nodded as he signed, "I know. And it's fun trying to get him to either lose his temper or smile, whichever he needs at the moment."

Sighing, Henry stepped forward and helped Shawn stand up. "Just make sure you don't push him too hard. He carries a gun, remember?"

"I know," Shawn croaked as they started their slow trek inside.

"SHAWN!" Henry was glaring at his son while Gus was quietly laughing and Carlton was silently shaking his head. Shawn was trying to keep a straight face, which was proving to be difficult with a handlebar mustache made of spaghetti sauce on his face.

"You need to wipe that sauce off of your face and grow up." Henry looked back at his plate as he picked up his fork.

"But I don't wanna!" Shawn whined as he crossed his arms and pouted, making Gus cover his mouth in an attempt to stop laughing.

"Dammit Shawn!" Henry exclaimed as he hit his hand on the table. "If you want to act like a child, then I'll treat you like one! Stop playing with your food or you won't get any dessert! And if you misbehave again, I'll send you to your room for the rest of the evening. Is that what you want?!"

Shawn hung his head and stared at his lap. Gus and Carlton were both looking anywhere but at the two Spencers.

Sighing, Henry said, "Can you two give us a minute?"

"Yes sir." "Yes Mr. Spencer." They answered him as they quickly got up and left.

Once the door was shut, Henry rubbed his face. "Shawn." No response. "Shawn?" Henry looked over to find Shawn still not looking up. "Shawn. Can you please look at me?"

Slowly, Shawn lifted his head and stared at his father. Henry could tell that Shawn was on the verge of crying. "Sorry dad." Shawn croaked out.

"Geez kid, it's not your fault. I'm the one who should be sorry." Henry reached out and gently squeezed Shawn's shoulder, noting the slight flinch that met him. "I think that the stress is getting to me. I'm glad that you're starting to act more like your old self but this was not the time or the place for that." Shawn slowly nodded and swept a hand thru his hair. "I think that we need some time away from each other."

Seeing Shawn's slightly panicked expression, Henry gave Shawn's shoulder another squeeze. "I don't mean that you should move out or anything, not until you're ready. I just think that more than a couple hours apart. How about tomorrow, after your doctor's appointment, you hang out with Gus all afternoon, go visit places, have dinner."

Shawn smiled and signed, "You just want me out of your hair, if you had any, so that you could go fishing."

"Well, that would be a plus." Henry chuckled. "Although, you can always go fishing with me if you want."

Shawn shook his head, "No thank you. I rather not smell like fish for hours on end. It's bad enough that you are going to smell like it. You'll probably make me help scale and gut the fish."

"Fine, it's your loss." Henry moved his hand to Shawn's hair and gently stroked it. "I'm glad that you're here, kid."

Shawn smiled again. "Me too, Dad."

After a few more seconds of silence, Henry stood up. "I should probably sound the all-clear before they think something bad happened. And wipe that sauce off your face."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 27

Juliet was tapping her pen and staring into space. There was not a lot of paperwork to do, just the occasional car accident scene that they had been called to, but she could not concentrate. Her mind kept drifting to Shawn and how he must be doing. She had not seen him since the evening that he was released. And before that, she had only been by twice, once with Carlton and then while Henry was there.

Before Shawn had left town, they were testing out the waters of a relationship. They had quite a few barriers to get past back then, but now there were a few more to deal with and Juliet had no idea what to do. She would love to try again but so far she had not even had a private conversation with him since he got back.

Juliet looked over at Carlton who was going through some paperwork, most likely working on Shawn's case. Juliet had tried to get on the case, but the chief would not let her. And whenever she offered to help file paperwork or whatever, Carlton would tell her that he had it. Buzz was even being tight lipped about it, although Juliet noticed that Carlton was even keeping some things away from him as well.

Yesterday, before lunch, Juliet went in search of Carlton to ask if he wanted any lunch. He was in one of the seldom used storage rooms with a portable DVD player and his laptop. Right before she knocked, Juliet looked in the window and glanced at the screen.

What she saw broke her heart. Shawn was basically falling apart. She saw him nod, apparently answering something the Carlton on the tape had said and then rolling onto his side into the fetal position. Juliet glanced at the Carlton sitting in the room. He stared into space for a minute before shaking his head and typing some more.

Unable to confront her partner, Juliet had quickly left the station and taken a long lunch break. She was halfway to the Spencer's household when she realized what she was doing and pulled the car over. She did not think that she could face Shawn right now, especially with her emotions all over the place. She ended up on the boardwalk near the old Psych office. She never did eat lunch; almost didn't return to the office if it was not for Buzz calling her to ask her a simple paperwork question.

"O'Hara!"

Startled, Juliet's pen went flying as she blinked and noticed that Carlton was standing right in front of her looking concerned.

"Yeah Carlton?"

"Are you alright? You've been staring into space for at least the past five minutes. It's been a bit unnerving, especially since you were staring towards me."

Juliet laughed as she slouched back in her chair. "Yeah, I'm fine Carlton. I was just thinking about Shawn."

Carlton scoffed as he walked back to his desk. "Join the club," he muttered.

Juliet stared at him for a few seconds before walking over and leaning against his desk. "So, have you seen Shawn recently?" She tried to ask casually, but by the look he was giving her, he obviously saw through her act.

"Yes, I stopped by yesterday after work; ended up staying for dinner. Big mistake." Carlton shook his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"Really?" Juliet smiled slyly.

"Yes! He's definitely acting like his old self, including being a pain in my ass."

"Oh, you know you missed that." Juliet patted his shoulder.

"Maybe a little but I don't want to have dinner with just his father and him again, even if Guster is there."

Juliet laughed before looking down at her shoes. "Has he, I mean." Juliet cleared her throat before trying again. "Does he mention me?"

"O'Hara," Carlton sighed.

"I was just, um just curious about whether or not I should stop by on my way home from work or something. . . ."

"O'Hara…."

". . . . You know, just to check in or something."

"Juliet!" Carlton touched her arm.

"Yeah?" She was a bit startled by both his touch and the use of her first name.

"Why don't you ask him yourself."

"What?" Juliet looked at him questionably. Carlton nodded his head towards something behind her.

Turning around, Juliet's eyes focused on the small group of people halfway between the front desk and the chief's office. Juliet took a couple steps forward before someone moved and she was able to see the two people in the middle.

"Shawn," She gasped as their eyes locked. Shawn's grin got even bigger as he started forward on his crutches.

"Hey Jules!" She heard him croak.

Her hand flew to her mouth. "Shawn!"

Shawn was about 5 feet away from her when one of his crutches caught on the corner of the chief's office. Juliet and Gus quickly moved to catch him before he fell, but he still hissed from pain as his right leg hit the floor.

"Oh my gosh, Shawn, are you alright?" Juliet asked quickly as they straightened him up. Shawn nodded while his eyes were screwed up in pain.

"Here," a gruff voice said. Juliet looked over to see Carlton bringing his chair around so that Shawn could sit.

Once they got him settled behind Juliet's desk, Carlton having to borrow Juliet's chair so he could get back to work, Shawn opened his eyes and smiled. "Hey."

Giggling, Juliet sat on the edge of her desk. "Hey yourself. I see that you still know how to make an entrance." Nodding, Shawn took Juliet's hand. Both of their faces were covered by giant smiles.

Gus, feeling a bit left out, coughed and said, "Well, as interesting as this conversation is, I'm going to see how Buzz is doing."

"See ya," Shawn muttered, still staring at Juliet as Gus walked off.

After a few minutes of silently staring, Juliet coughed and looked at the crutches leaning against her desk. "I see that you lost your wheels."

"Yep, although I was told that if I go to, let's say the mall or a museum, some place where there's a lot of walking involved, that I should use the wheelchair instead. At least until my physical therapist clears me. I'm not supposed to be up for more than 5 minutes at a time." Shawn's voice was sort of weaving in and out, but Juliet got the gist of it.

Smiling, Juliet touched his cheek. "I'm glad that you got your voice back."

"So I've heard." Shawn leaned into her touch.

"It was weird not hearing your voice, but knowing that you were trying to say something."

Nodding his head, Shawn replied, "It's just not the same, having someone interpret your jokes, especially since there isn't always an exact sign for certain words."

Juliet nodded as her hand moved to his hair. They were silent for a few moments when there was a hustle of activity throughout the bullpen.

"Huh, I wonder what's happening?" Juliet said as a few officers started hurrying to the front doors.

Gus was just rejoining them when they heard, "DETECTIVES!" They turned as one to see Chief Vick leaving her office quickly. "Detectives, I need you to go down to the Marina. There was a shooting, at least one unconfirmed dead, 5 injured. Make sure that you get a police line up and keep the press at bay, you know they'll be biting to get a good, juicy story."

Carlton was putting on his jacket and checking his gun while Juliet was collecting her things. She paused a moment and said, "I'll try to stop by your house tonight, will that be okay? Shawn?" Shawn was staring, horrified, at the Chief as she gave more instructions. "Shawn?"

"Juliet, I think that will be fine." Gus answered as he looked worriedly at Shawn. "We'll see you later."

"Okay," Juliet said as she started towards the door. "Bye Shawn."

Once Juliet was out of sight, Gus knelt down in front of Shawn. "Shawn? Are you okay, man?"

Shawn just shook his head as he continued to stare. Karen noticed his gaze and walked over. "Mr. Spencer, is everything alright?"

"My Dad," Shawn whispered.

"I'm sorry? Shawn, is everything alright?" Karen also knelt in front of him and touched his arm which was shaking.

Shawn shook his head before licking his lips and looking her in the eyes. "My dad's at the Marina. He should have gotten there about 10 minutes ago."

Gus' eyes widened as he quickly stood up and dialed Henry's cell phone.

"Shawn," Karen said soothingly. "That doesn't mean that he's been shot."

"I just have this feeling. . . ."

"A psychic feeling?" Karen asked with a small smile.

Shawn looked at her questionably when an officer came up, waving a piece of paper.

"Chief, dispatch just called. They said that they received a call about a minute before shots were fired, requesting back up."

Standing up, Karen held out her hand for the paper. "Who called it in?"

The officer gulped as he looked towards Shawn. "Henry Spencer, ma'am."

Shawn looked quickly at Gus who was looking a little sick. He lowered his phone and whispered "He's not answering."

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 28

"Gus, come on! Go faster!" Shawn was practically bouncing in his seat as Gus drove towards the Marina.

"I'm going as fast as I can Shawn!" Gus said as he turned a corner.

"No you're not! Because if you were. . . You would be going . . . more than 10 miles . . . Over the speed limit." Shawn's breathing was in shorter and quicker breaths.

"Just because the chief told the police to let us through, doesn't mean that we won't get in an accident." Gus looked over to see Shawn clutching at his jeans as he struggled to breath. "Shawn, you need to calm down. Your dad is fine."

"Then why didn't . . . he answer?" Shawn closed his eyes as he tried to take deeper breaths.

"Maybe he didn't hear it over all the noise or he dropped it somewhere."

"Or maybe he got shot . . . and can't reach his phone."

"Shawn, just calm down. Look, we're here." Gus pulled into the parking lot and started to make their way through the throng of news crews and bystanders.

Gus was just parking his car when he heard Shawn gasp. "What? What is it?"

Shawn pointed out the windshield. "It's my dad's truck and the side window has a bullet hole in it."

Before Gus could reply, Shawn was already opening the door and trying to get his crutches out. Gus quickly rounded the car and helped him. Shawn gave Gus a grateful smile before heading towards his dad's truck.

"He's not here." Shawn said as he looked through the driver's side door. "Do you think … that they already took him to the hospital...or, or the morgue." Shawn barely whispered the last part.

Taking a deep breath, Gus stood in front of Shawn and took both his shoulders. "I'm telling you that your dad is fine. There is no blood inside the cab, which means he either wasn't in the truck when the bullet went through or he ducked. Either way, you need to calm down. You're not helping anyone by getting yourself worked up."

Shawn shook his head, trying to stop the tears. "I know, but I just...just got this feeling that something happened. And . . . And I don't know what I'll do without him, Gus." Shawn's breath started coming in gasps again. "I can't . . . I can't lose him . . . . We need to find him . . . I need to see him . . . I -"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE DAMN HOSPITAL!"

Gus felt Shawn relax a bit before stumbling towards the yelling coming from about 50 feet to their left.

"HENRY! You need to listen to the paramedics! You need stitches and to get your head looked at. You could have a serious concussion"

"I'm not an imbecile, Carlton! I know the damn risks! Now tell them to BACK OFF!"

One of the paramedics moved slightly and Shawn was able to see his father sitting against a streetlight pole. He had his right hand behind his head holding an ice pack and a paramedic was wrapping gauze around his left biceps.

"Dad!" Shawn breathed when he saw him.

As if sensing his son, Henry turned and stared at Shawn confusedly, "Shawn?! What are you doing here?"

"Dad!" Shawn said a little louder. When he was about 5 feet away, he dropped his crutches, hopping the last few feet, and flung his arms around his father.

"Whoa, kid. What's wrong?" Henry said as he wrapped his uninjured arm around him. While Shawn tried to catch his breath, Henry looked at Gus questionably.

"We were at the station when the call came in. He's been worried sick the whole time, especially when you never answered your phone." Gus looked at the ground.

"Ah kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." He looked at the paramedic still hovering. "Can you please just back off and give us a minute?" Henry snapped. The paramedic quickly nodded and went to treat other, more cooperative patients.

After a few minutes, Carlton coughed, causing Henry to glare at him. "You really do need to go to the hospital Henry."

Sighing, Henry looked down at Shawn, who's breathing was evening out but was still shaking and holding him tight. "Fine! But I'm not going in a damn ambulance and I'm not spending the night!"

Seeing Carlton nod, Henry shook Shawn gently. "Come on, kid. We need to get up. Gus, Carlton, can you give us a hand?"

Gus and Carlton slowly lifted Shawn up, who then sagged against Gus as Carlton picked up the crutches. When Carlton helped Henry up, Henry swayed a little and put a hand to his head. "Whoa."

"I still think that you should go in an ambulance." Carlton said as he kept a hand on Henry's back.

"I'm fine! I just got up too fast. I'm going to the hospital, isn't that enough for you people?! Come on, Gus. Lead on."

"Me?" Gus squeaked as all 3 pairs of eyes looked at him.

"Well, I shouldn't be driving myself to the hospital with a possible concussion. Besides, my truck is part of the crime scene."

Nodding, Gus turned and headed to his car with Shawn sticking unusually close to his father.

The waiting room was not too crowded. There were a dozen or so other people before them and they seemed to be going back somewhat quickly. After only an hour of waiting, a majority of the people had been taken back. Shawn was sitting unusually still on Henry's right, holding his hand somewhat tightly. When Gus asked if Shawn would go with him to the cafeteria for some coffee, Shawn had shook his head and continued to stare at the nurse's station.

When Gus returned, Shawn had fallen asleep with his head on his father's shoulder. Gus sat down on the other side of Henry and silently sipped his coffee. After a couple minutes, Gus leaned forward and cleared his throat.

"So, has he said anything yet?"

Henry shook his head as he looked at Shawn's hand in his. "Not since we left the Marina." Henry raised his other hand to rub his face when he grimaced from the pain of the bullet wound. "I really hope that this doesn't set him back too much. He was finally acting like his old self again. I hate seeing him hurting"

"Yeah." Gus whispered as he brought his cup back up.

After another 10 minutes of waiting, a nurse came out with a clipboard, "Henry Spencer."

"Here," Henry gruffly answered as he turned towards his son. "Shawn, I've got to go now."

Shawn blearily opened his eyes and looked around a moment before nodding and moving to sit up.

"Kid, you have got to let go of my hand."

Shawn shook his head as he tightened his hold.

Sighing, Henry said quietly, "Come on Shawn. The sooner you let go, the sooner I can get checked out, which means the sooner we can leave, got it?"

Shawn opened his mouth a few times, trying to speak, but only "Don't leave" came out.

Sighing, Henry asked, "Did you want to come with me?"

Shawn nodded with a sad, scared look on his face.

Henry turned towards the nurse. "Is it okay if he comes with me? He's a bit shook up over what happened."

Smiling sweetly, the nurse replied, "Of course he can. But if needed, he'll have to leave when the doctor says so."

"That's not a problem," Henry replied as he turned back to Shawn who was already on his feet. "Come on kid," Henry said as he rubbed Shawn's back.

When they got back to the curtain area, Henry had Shawn sit down on the side of bed right away, since he looked like he was about to fall over, before sitting next to him.

The Nurse smiled as she started taking Henry's vital signs. "So, can you tell me what happened?"

Henry nodded and patted Shawn's hand reassuringly before starting, "I had just pulled up at the Marina when I saw this one guy holding a gun up to another guy. I called it in and grabbed my gun from the glove box. I confronted the gunman and he just started shooting off randomly, managed to get me in the arm. I hit him a couple times before I fell and hit my head."

Henry looked over at Shawn, who seemed to get more agitated as the short tale went on. "It's okay kid, I'm right here." Shawn nodded and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

The nurse smiled as she wrote on Henry's chart. "Well, I'm glad that you're alright. A doctor should be by in a few minutes."

They sat in silence until the doctor came. "Ah, Henry, Shawn. What an unexpected surprise," Doctor Thomlin said as he pulled a stool up to the bed. "I hear that you have a gun shot wound. Is that correct Henry?"

"It's more of a graze. The paramedics said that the bullet never went into my arm, but it tore through enough of my skin that I need stitches."

Dr. Thomlin nodded as he reached up and started taking the bandages off. "And what about Shawn? Anything happen to him?"

"No, he wasn't there. He heard about the shooting and got a bit freaked out when I didn't answer my phone." Henry squeezed Shawn's hand as Shawn put his head on his father's shoulder and watched the doctor.

Having lifted the final layer of gauze, Dr. Thomlin inspected the area. "Well, I agree that it just seems to need stitches, so I'll do that right now. I'll be right back" The doctor got up and left the curtain area.

"See Shawn, I told you that I'm fine."

Shawn nodded as his eyes started to close. Laughing, Henry said, "So much for a quiet day of fishing. This will probably keep me away for at least a week."

"Actually, only 4 days," Thomlin said as he came back. "That's if it doesn't get infected. Now, I'm just going to give you a local sedative, just enough to numb the immediate area. This will only take about 5 minutes. Try and keep still."

By the time he was finished, Shawn was asleep and starting to drool. "I heard that you also hit your head?"

"Yes, but I don't have a concussion since I'm not experiencing any of the symptoms."

"Okay, just let me check to make sure." Thomlin proceeded to inspect the bump and check Henry's eyes. "You're right, no signs of a concussion. But if any symptoms turn up, I want you to come back, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks doctor." Henry looked down at Shawn. "Do you think that we can get a wheelchair for him? I don't want him walking when he's this tired."

Laughing, Thomlin wrote in Henry's chart. "I agree. Just let me get these filed and I'll have a nurse come by with instructions and a wheelchair." Thomlin was just about to exit when he turned around, "Oh, and have you talked to him about seeing a therapist yet?"

"I mentioned it at lunch and he seemed to baulk at the idea. I think that it would be good for him, but I don't want to push him away. I've done that enough times in the past." Henry stroked Shawn's hair.

"Well, I still think that he should go, even if it's in a group setting. There are plenty of clinics around that can help."

"Okay, thank you doctor."

"No problem, take care Henry." Thomlin smiled as he left.

Henry silently stroked Shawn's hair. "What am I going to do with you kid?"

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 29

When they pulled up to the Spencer house, Shawn was once again asleep, sprawled out on the back seat.

Passing the food containers to Gus, Henry asked, "Could you get the wheelchair, Gus?"

"Yes sir," Gus replied as he quickly opened his door.

Shaking his head, Henry looked over his shoulder. Shawn had his arms crossed and his head leaning against the back of the seat. Henry rubbed the bandages on his arm, thinking about the scared, no terrified expression that was on his son's face at the Marina.

While Henry was looking out the window, wondering how to get the kid to go to therapy, he heard a whimper come from the back seat. Turning around, Henry saw Shawn becoming restless with a pained expression on his face.

"Shawn?" Henry shifted in order to reach Shawn, when his bullet wound brushed against the seat. Hissing in pain, Henry got out of the car and opened the door at Shawn's feet. Being mindful of Shawn's cast, Henry slid in and gently tapped Shawn's cheek. "Shawn? Come on kid, wake up, it's just a dream."

Shawn woke with a gasp. He tried to back away from the person hovering over him, only to smack his head on the window.

"Ow, are you okay?" Henry asked as he leaned back a bit.

Seeing that it was just his dad, Shawn relaxed, left hand rubbing the back of his head. Sending a glare to his father, Shawn replied, "I'm fine. I love waking up somewhat disoriented and hitting my head."

"Okay, okay!" Henry held up his hands as he leaned against the seatback. "I'll make sure that you can't hurt yourself the next time I try to wake you up from a nightmare."

Shawn looked down for a minute before reaching out a hand to gently touch his dad's bandage. "I'm sorry, you're just trying to help."

"It's okay kid." Henry patted Shawn's knee before they lapsed into silence. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Shawn asked as he shifted forward and looked out the window.

"Whatever is on your mind. What happened today at the Marina, your, um kidnapping, how you're feeling about everything."

"Wait a minute," Shawn turned and gave his dad a skeptical look. "Feelings? Really? Have you been watching Dr. Phil again?"

"I just," Henry sighed. "You've been through something traumatic and it's obviously affecting you. Since you don't want to go to therapy, I thought maybe you would feel more comfortable talking to me."

"Dad, no offense, but I think I'd rather talk to Lassie; it would be less awkward. It was more Mom's area of expertise, anyways." Shawn turned back to the window.

"Well, what about her?" Henry asked quietly.

"What?"

"What about talking to your mom."

"In case you didn't notice dad, she's not here and I haven't talked to her in years. I don't even think that she knows that I was gone."

"Yes she did, because I called her 3 years ago and I called her again the day after you came back."

"What?" Shawn turned back around to glare at his father. "Dad, if I wanted her to know, I would have called her."

"Really, with what voice? You were a mess and I had no idea what to do. She's been helping me get through this."

"You could have asked me what I thought about it first."

"She has a right to know what's happening."

"Yeah, well. Be sure to ask me next time."

"You should call her, she wants to hear from you."

"I can't," Shawn whispered. He turned back to the window before quietly asking "Why are we still in the car? And where's Gus?"

"He's supposed to be getting the wheelchair, but it's been over 5 minutes."

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"You said he's looking for the wheelchair?" Henry looked over to see Shawn was trying to keep a smirk off his face.

"Yeah. Why, did you do something with it?"

"Didn't you leave it in the back of the truck since we went out to lunch and Gus got me from there?"

Henry looked at his son for a few seconds before sighing, "Oh, God." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He felt the seat shaking and glanced over seeing Shawn trying unsuccessfully to stop laughing. "Shawn, that's not funny." His son's smile only seemed to get bigger. "Shawn, I'm serious, it's not . . . . Oh hell, it is sort of funny."

Shawn's mask broke completely and he doubled over, laughing really loudly. Seeing such a reaction from his son made Henry smile and chuckle lightly.

It was at this point that Gus appeared at Henry's side. "Uh, Mr. Spencer, I can't find the wheelchair." Shawn, if possible, started laughing even harder. Giving his friend a weird look, Gus continued, "I, um, I looked everywhere, even upstairs. Couldn't find it."

Shaking his head, Henry replied, "I'm sorry Gus. Apparently we left it in the back of the truck, which is still at the Marina."

"Oh," Gus looked a bit confused while looking at Shawn. "Is that why he's laughing so hard?"

"Yeah. Apparently, it's the funniest thing in the world."

Laughter abating, Shawn lifted his head. Gasping, he replied, "No, the funniest thing . . . in the world was . . . seeing Lassie's face when . . . he realized he forgot . . . To turn off the camera . . . After his pep talk . . . And subsequent . . . hugging session." Shawn's face broke out into a big grin as he wiped his cheeks as tears started to fall.

"Well, let's see how funny everything is after you attempt to climb the steps to the back door by yourself." Henry said as he nodded at the back of the house.

Shawn's face fell most of the way as he stared at his father. "What! In case you've forgotten, I haven't been cleared to take stairs by myself."

"You're the one sitting here laughing while the food is inside getting cold. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. So you can either continue your laughing session by yourself, or come inside and eat. Your choice."

Shawn stared at his father for a few seconds before shaking his head and opening his door. "Killjoy."

Turning to Gus, Henry said, "Would you mind helping him. I'll be inside, setting the table."

The next morning, Shawn was sitting alone in the living room with the TV on a news channel. They were talking about the shooting at the Marina and how an undisclosed former police officer managed to prevent things from getting too out of hand. Shawn silently thanked the Chief and Lassiter, knowing that if they had told who it was, there would have been reporters hounding them, something that Shawn was still not ready for.

It was still early, the sun wasn't even up and it would be at least an hour before his dad got up. But Shawn wasn't watching the news, he was fiddling with the new cell phone that his dad had gotten him before lunch the previous day. Last night, he had added the 10 or so numbers that he usually called, including a few delivery places. He even called Juliet and asked her for a rain check, possibly dinner alone.

Right now, he was debating whether or not to make a phone call. It was way overdue and, since the conversation in the car, Shawn was even more inclined to make it. He knew it was early, but figured that they would pick up anyways.

After watching the news station run through the main story again, Shawn finally hit speed dial 7 and waited for the call to connect. It only took 3 rings before the person on the other line picked up.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered.

Taking a deep breath, Shawn said shakily, "Hey Mom, how's it going?"

SEQUEL PREVIEW

"Hey Maddie, it's Henry. I know that we've been playing a weird sort of phone tag, never seeming to catch each other and I'm sorry about that. *sigh* Listen, something happened and I really think that you need to get down here. It's Shawn and this isn't something that I should be saying on the phone, let alone leaving on an answering machine. Besides, the kid told me that I wasn't allowed to let you know what was happening without his permission. You know how stubborn he can be, just like me right? Anyways, like I said, you really need to get here, Shawn's really hurting and I don't think that I'll be enough this time. I'll explain everything once you get here. *sigh* I got to get back. Just, please come. Bye."