Chapter 1: Big Hair, Big Heart and a Small Holiday

Note: the characters of Psych are not my creation and credited respectively to the series' creators and copyright staff. Yet, the story/plot presented is my own creation.

Juliet was having a bad hair day...a very bad hair day.

It had been one thing when she overslept that morning, but while she was able to arrive at the SBPD on time, the only thing that was otherwise off from a normal day was that her hair had not cooperated with her. Shampoo and Conditioner? Check. Hairdryer? Check. Comb and Brush? Check. Somehow, whether it was something her nephews did when coming to visit over their break or just a random mishap in general, her conditioner had smelled funny, and when she had dried her hair...it came out in one big poofy mess. She tried to pin it up in a bun to minimize the tangled mess, but the pins could barely hold in the rigid strands.

"Ugh, this is so not fair, Detective Lassiter will really be angry if I don't get to the office in time. But I can't just walk out the door looking like this!"

She had dug fervently that morning through her closet to find something to cover it, and came across an old hat that used to belong to her grandfather, a 30s era styled hat. Old, but stylish enough to match her new police uniform. Did the SBPD have a policy against hats? She didn't remember, but she didn't think twice about it when she saw the clock on the wall and grabbed her cup of coffee before heading out the door.

The first thing that Lassiter saw was the hat. Not even a hello, or a brief assertion of what she should do for that day, Juliet noted, only the sharp look of his glowing eyes and familiar scowl oriented toward the top of her head.

"O'Hara, may I remind you that it's not even remotely professional to wear hats inside of the office? You look like a criminal wearing that."

Juliet cringed and gingerly pulled on the sides of the hat. "I...don't think I want to take this off anytime soon. Can I just wear it for today?"

"What, Lassie, you didn't know? It's International Hat Day. And might I say the lovely Juliet is celebrating it proudly. Gangster style."

Juliet turned to the interrupting voice behind her to see Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster strolling in at approximately 8:30 AM. Shawn wore a blue cap with a picture of a pineapple on the front, and the phrase "Pineapples are fun" in cursive embroidered under the image. "I had this one made myself. I had Gus's made custom too." Gus gave Shawn a crude glance and nudge in the ribs. Juliet almost felt sorry for him because he was wearing a red and white beanie with a matching sweater and blue jeans. Juliet noted it made him look like a race jockey crossed with a kid in Willy Wonka's candy factory.

"Shawn, I don't know how you convinced me to wear something as ridiculous as this today, Hat day isn't even international, it's national. By the way, did you use the money I gave you to buy supplies for the Psych office on this? What did I tell you about prioritizing our work, Shawn?"

"It was a necessary supply, Gus. It's Hat Day...Hat Day! Do you know how many times a year that comes around? Once. Like Christmas or Easter. We need to celebrate it in style."

"Shawn, this is not style. This is torture." Gus pointed to the top of the beanie. "I have to go to the office today and I don't have time to change after our meeting with the chief this morning. What are the people in my office going to think? I have two clients I have to deliver to. I'll be a laughing stock."

"Well, at least you'll have the dignity to say that you remembered the holiday and are sporting it proudly. Tell them it's your religion."

"I can't think of any religion that includes beanie hats and striped sweaters, Shawn."

"At least it's not as bad as the pullover sweaters you used to wear."

Juliet stifled a giggle as she saw the two friends arguing. But Lassiter seemed to go without a hitch.

"Well, it's not like I care what you two do since you're civilians, but in the SBPD, we carry a level of professionalism, unlike the two children I'm looking at right now. And O'Hara has a responsibility to look professional as a cop, so NO hats."

Lassiter took the edge of Juliet's hat and lifted it off couldn't hide her shock as he did, and hair spilled over her face in a tangled mass. Shawn raised his eyebrows in amusement, and Gus's frown turned into a look of concern. She didn't even want to turn around to see what Lassiter's face looked like. From the look on Shawn's face as he glanced at Lassiter, it must have been funny, because he uttered a deep chuckle from his throat.

"Well, Jules, I think that you could be in the company of some famous big hair: Slash, Gene Simmons, Steve Tyler, Bon Jovi..."

Gus nudged him again. "Shawn! That's not helping."

Juliet wanted to cry, but she bit on her bottom lip to keep the tears from coming and turned around to face Lassiter, to try to get her hat back with as professional of a face that she could muster. Not that it would be possible with a tangled mass of hair adorning her head and falling over into her face.

To her surprise, Lassiter had the hat held out in his hands, and looked embarrassingly from side to side. Was he...blushing?

"On second thought, keep the hat on, just don't tell the Chief."

"See, Lassie has a soft side too, Jules. It might seem like he has a small heart, but he has a big one just as big as your hair right now. Don't worry, we'll keep your love for 80s hair bands and role-playing secret." Juliet shot Shawn a glance and rolled her eyes. She thanked Lassiter and tried her best to fit the hat back over her hair. When she had covered it, as if by chance, Chief Vick walked by where all four of them were narrowed her eyebrows. "Why aren't you all assembled in my office? And what's with the hats?"

All four of them answered quickly. "Hat Day."