Disclaimer: I do not own Psych, its characters, or story. It was created by Steve Franks and runs on the USA network. This is a work of fan fiction only.

Published: 12/16/08

Edited: 9/2/13 – spelling and grammar, no major changes.

The Christmas Chase

1987

Henry smiled as he watched Shawn tighten the last bolt on the brand new bike. He enjoyed watching the boy as he worked. And he knew it had been worth it making his son solve a puzzle before he could have the bike. Henry was rather pleased with the end result. He knew that Shawn would thank him one day for teaching him to think, just as he knew that earning something made it worth that much more for Shawn.

"Dad, it's done, can I ride it now?"

"There's something you need first."

"What?"

"Think Shawn." Henry watched as his son raised a hand to his temple and squinted his eyes. It was an intriguing habit, certainly wasn't one of Henry's, but he wasn't going to complain. The habit was an indicator that the boy was actually concentrating, and as long he had that habit Henry would always know when Shawn was paying attention.

"What is it dad, every thing's put together, I even put the reflectors on, see?" he pointed at a plate of shiny red plastic that had been attached upside down to the back of the bike.

"Check the manual."

"But?"

"Shawn." Shawn sighed and pulled out the manual. Henry knew that stubborn look on his son's face. His wife claimed Shawn got it from him. Henry wasn't so sure. It was the look that said the boy was sure he'd done everything regardless of what the manual said, and sure enough after a few minutes Shawn dropped the little book to the ground and glared at his dad.

"It's all there dad. I did it all!"

"Did you check the operation instructions?"

"Dad, I know how to ride a bike." Henry only raised an eyebrow at his son, and Shawn rolled his eyes, but bent down to pick up the manual again. A small index card had been taped to the first page of the instructions and Shawn pulled it out and held it up.

"What's this?"

"What does it look like?"

"An index card, left corner torn. It was taped to the page about safety equipment . . . awe dad, you're not going to make me wear a helmet are you?"

"What do you think?"

"But I don't even have a helmet . . . my old one is all busted up."

"A fact that's easily remedied. In fact, I already took care of it. You just have to find it."

"Find it?"

"Shawn, your helmet is hidden somewhere inside this house. I can't let you ride your bike without it, and you can't wear it until it's found. Now think, I've already given you a clue." Henry watched as Shawn stared at the index card for a moment before his expression suddenly brightened.

"Mom's desk!" he shouted before running off to find the hidden gift. Henry chuckled. It wouldn't be that easy, there were several more clues to be found and solved. By the time Shawn actually found the helmet, Henry would have had the time he needed to go over Shawn's handy work and make sure the bike really had been put together correctly.

Present Day

Shawn reached into the box Henry was currently holding. "I got you the Psych iPhone skin . . . silly me you don't have an iPhone, so I'll just keep it for my new one."

Henry was momentarily speechless as his son pulled out a bright green phone cover with his company name scrawled across it in white letters. "And my winning streak continues."

Shawn stood up leaving his father on the couch still unable to speak. "Merry Christmas." He muttered before leaving the room. Henry stared after him. When had he gone wrong? Surely he wasn't losing his edge so much that his son had not only found out what gift he had bought for him, (as he had last year) but managed to duplicate Henry's wrapping job down to the last detail, including the extra surprise package. He wasn't losing his touch, Shawn was just getting better. Yeah, that had to be it. Gone were the days when he could stump a little boy with an index card taped to the instruction manual. Here he was on Christmas out quite a bit of money, and without a present in exchange.

Henry sighed and tossed the package down on the coffee table. The box skidded over the edge and landed on the floor. Something fell out. Curious Henry got up and bent to grab the fallen object. A simple, triple folded piece of notebook paper. Henry unfolded it. Shawn's handwriting was all over one side.

Dad,
If you're reading this I obviously won, again.
Anyway your real present is hidden somewhere inside your house.
Good luck finding it.
Shawn

Henry crumpled the paper up in his fist and frowned. If his son wanted to play this game, then he would play, but he was going to play by his own rules. The notebook paper indicated the desk, the same exact scavenger hunt he had sent Shawn on as a child. Henry was well aware of Shawn's memory. He had no doubt his son had recreated the scavenger hunt exactly as it had originally been planned. Although with Henry's divorce various pieces of furniture had been removed or rearranged. That wouldn't matter much. The original hiding place hadn't changed since the time when Shawn was a kid. Henry headed straight for it having no intention of following every clue and wasting a whole hour of his holiday.

Two minutes later Henry stood in his attic staring at the shelf beneath the small window. There was nothing there, but then, knowing Shawn . . . Henry turned and spotted it behind him along the other wall. There on floor directly opposite the shelf was a small box wrapped in blue paper covered with pineapples. He bent down and picked it up. Tearing the paper off, he opened the box, and pulled out an iPhone. It was plain and simple. Definitely not the exact same he one had gotten Shawn, but he wasn't disappointed, at least not in the gift. Turning the iPhone on he dialed his son's number and waited for his answer.

"Shawn!" he started when he heard the answering click, not even waiting for his son to say anything. "Nice try, but guess what, I found it."

"I knew I should have hidden it in the electrical box," was the cocky reply from the other end.

"Shawn, the rules were that we got to see and guess what our presents were a week ago, hiding the original gift was a blatant violation of . . ."

"Dad relax, I did show you the gift. I simply took apart the wrapping and switched it for the phone cover. Besides, you were the one who tried the whole surprise package deal."

Henry hit the off button. Shawn had a point. Not that he was ever going to hear Henry admit it.

End