Gus flicked his nose with his thumb with a sultry grin and sauntered out onto the dance floor. He began swaying to the music and winking at chicks until one of them sidled up to him and winked back. She swayed her hips in his direction and he moved closer till he was dancing right with her. The lights of the night club wildly showered the room with dark rainbows, and the special lighting was making her long dark hair shine.

Her purple dress hugged her curves very nicely, and her silver hoop earrings sparkled in the lights coming up from the dance floor. Her eyes shone with lust as she joined her hands with his and they started moving to the beat together. This was just getting better and better for Gus.

Gus flashed an inviting grin and she swayed closer, drinking him in. "You heard about Pluto?" Gus asked in his most sexy voice. "That's messed up right?" She gave him a dark, beautiful smile like the goddess Athena and put her hands on his chest. "Very." The sound of her voice made Gus lose all focus. It was low, but it was oh so sexy, with just the slightest hint of suggestion. Gus made a low sound in between a laugh and a moan and leaned in until their noses were touching.

And then it all went sideways.

Suddenly there was shouting so loud it could be heard by all above the music. It snapped Gus out of his love trance and he pulled himself away from her eyes to see what it was. Then, out of the blue, a scream pierced the air, drawing even the goddess's attention. The haze of loud music over the room shattered when the sound of a gunshot pierced the ears of all present. The goddess' eyes narrowed when the crowd scattered and two men could be seen standing over a bleeding corpse with guns in their hands.

Gus grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to the other side of the room and crouched down behind the bar. He got her behind him, letting go of her hand, and pulled out his phone. He dialed Shawn faster than he thought was physically possible and muttered "Come on, come on, come on…" while twitching nervously until Shawn finally picked up.

"Gus?" Shawn sounded like a bear woken from its hibernation. "What could you possible want at this time of night? You know I need my beauty sleep, it's good for my hair."

Gus whispered harshly into the phone. "Shawn! I'm at the nightclub, and some guys just pulled out guns and shot somebody!"

Then Shawn's voice completely changed, and he no longer sounded sleepy. "What? Gus, get out of there now."

Gus looked around warily and saw the men starting to round up the people into a corner. "I can't Shawn, they're gonna find me any second now!"

"Okay, okay, I'm on my way!"

"No Shawn, call the cops!"

"Okay fine!" Gus huddled behind the bar in silence for a moment, and he almost thought Shawn had hung up. "And Gus?" Shawn added. "Don't get shot."

"I'll tr—"

"Hey you! Get out here now!" One of the men had seen them behind the bar and now had his gun aimed straight at the two of them. Gus heard Shawn call his name just before the man grabbed the phone out of his hand and threw it on the ground and crushed it with his boot. He waved his gun at Gus's face. "Now!" Eager to fulfill his promise to Shawn to not get shot, Gus scurried out of his hiding place and over to where all the other people were on the other side of the room, followed by the goddess, but she ended up on the other end of the group.

He got down on the floor with the others and one of the men sat down at the bar to keep an eye on everyone, and Gus starting looking around for a possible escape or diversion, finding none. But he did see the body of the dead man, whose torso was oozing blood all over the place, making Gus want to throw up. But, deciding he really didn't want to draw attention to himself, he was able to force it to stay in his stomach. He was actually quite proud of himself and made a mental note to tell Shawn later. But then his heart sank when he realized there was a chance he would never get the opportunity to do so. Why do I keep getting myself into these situations?

҉҉҉҉҉

One Hour Later

This guy was starting to drive Gus nuts. Not the one sitting at the bar, but the second man. He was pacing back and forth in front of the group, with a creepy, watchful, give-me-a-reason face. This was not how life was supposed to be for a run-of-the-mill pharmaceutical salesman. They weren't even demanding anything, just being creepy and evil in general. Gus had heard no sounds from outside, much less sounds from inside, so either the cops hadn't arrived yet or Shawn had gone the way of the idiot and not called them at all.

Gus made an oath to himself that if that was the case and one of them died because of it, he would smack Shawn so hard upside the head his hair gel would come off.

Then, suddenly, the opportunity to do just that arose. He saw Shawn sneaking through the door in the dark corner and quietly make his way closer to the dudes with the guns. Gus's heart slammed against his chest as he watched Shawn get pretty far. Then it all crashed and burned. He was spotted.

"Hey!" The man at the bar jumped up and ran around the counter near where Shawn was and raised his gun threateningly. "You must be crazy to be coming in here." Shawn stood up slowly and raised his hands to about shoulder level, staring first at the gun then at the wielder. He swallowed thickly and replied "I wouldn't say crazy. Maybe an eccentric who looks good in jeans?" The man cocked the gun and grinned sadistically. "Shut up, twerp." Shawn seemed hardly even nervous as he continued.

"Oh come on, you can't possibly tell me you're just holding these people hostage for no reason. That's just ridiculous, a complete waste of time and energy that could have been put to much better use figuring out how to get away with that sweet armed robbery deal you had going."

Both men glared. "What do you know about that?" The second man questioned, his eye still not moving from the prisoners.

Shawn stared them down, still talking. "You heard from your buddy Phil that his mom had a big shipment of inheritance cash coming in and you wanted in on the action. Luckily for you, Phil didn't really like his mom that much, so he agreed to plan an elaborate heist to steal the dough and make it look like you weren't connected at all. But your first mistake was letting Phil's little brother in on the operation." He gestured to the corpse. "He actually did love his mom and already regretted stealing from her. He ratted you out, that's why Phil's mom was with the cash when she wasn't supposed to be, and she ended up dead. Phil's bro betrayed you, so you killed him too. Oh, by the way, next time you plan a heist, at least try to make it not so obvious so it'll at least be a challenge for me to catch you."

Gus's jaw almost fell open in surprise. Shawn was talking about the case they were currently working for the SBPD, the murder. They had only gotten that case yesterday. Man, he figured that out quick. Gus was pulled back out of his thoughts and back to awareness when the first man spoke back to Shawn.

"We'll take that under advisement." He sneered sarcastically. "Too bad you won't be around to catch us again." He raised the gun to Shawn's head and his face went scary cold.

Shawn just smiled at him. "You sure about that?"

Suddenly the room was a flurry of action as every door burst open and cops poured through. It was too much for Gus's brain and he could barely keep up with what was going on. The sounds of multiple gunshots filled the air, and most of the hostages covered their ears. Gus tried to focus on his best friend through the action and saw Shawn charge and tackle the first man. Gus couldn't see them clearly on the floor, but he could make out the scuffle in between all the legs. It was all over within seconds.

He saw Lassiter and Juliet cuff the murderers and officers secure the area. The hostages were being led out, but he stood and scanned the room for Shawn. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw his friend leaning against the bar, apparently searching the room as well. Gus crossed the room and was at his friend's side in seconds. Shawn saw him approaching and straightened, grinning.

"Gus! Are you okay?"

"I am now. Man, what are the odds of randomly being held hostage by the exact same murderers you're trying to catch?"

"It should never happen Gus; you're a lucky man to have witnessed it."

Gus frowned then. "Uh, no I'm not Shawn. I was a little busy with being held hostage."

"Semantics, Gus."

"No, it's not semantics Shawn!"

Shawn put on a hurt expression and waited for Gus to calm down. When he did, he looked back over at Shawn. He hesitated only for a moment before pulling his best friend into a rough hug. Shawn let out a surprised yelp, but hugged back. Gus moved his arms down to pull back, and suddenly Shawn hissed in pain. Gus immediately pulled away and frowned in concern. "Shawn?" Shawn gingerly probed with his fingers along his side, and then he winced and pulled his hand back, which now had blood on it.

"Crap." He muttered. Gus' eyes widened as his friend grimaced. "I guess he got me while we were fighting. The wonders of adrenaline, huh Gus?" Shawn gasped, clutching his side, and Gus caught him before he hit the counter. "Medic! We need a medic over here!" He shouted, thankfully getting Buzz's attention, who then ran off and was back in seconds with some paramedics. Gus helped Shawn lean against the counter while they waited, and he said. "It's okay Shawn, help is on the way." Shawn's eyes were screwed shut against the obvious pain he was in, and Gus was suddenly pulled away by Buzz to give the medics room to operate.

Gus watched, feeling helpless, as they took Shawn into the ambulance, then rushed outside to the Blueberry and followed, forgetting everything but his best friend.

҉҉҉҉҉

Two Hours Later

Gus sat alone in the waiting room, since no one else but Buzz even knew Shawn got hurt. It had been a long while and he was starting to worry things were worse than he thought. Just then a woman who looked in charge came around the corner and spotted him. "You're here for Shawn Spencer?" She asked.

Gus stood up quick as a flash and replied. "Yes. How is he?"

The doctor lady smiled warmly at him. "I'm happy to say it wasn't at all as serious as it could have been. The bullet only grazed him. Not nearly as bad, but not any less painful. We'll be keeping him here for a few days, a week at most, to give it time to heal, but he should be just fine."

Gus exhaled heavily in relief, and smiled back at her. "Can I go see him?"

"Of course, as long as you like. He's up two floors, first door on the right."

"Thank you."

She nodded as he forced himself not to run to the elevator, but he couldn't help getting impatient while inside it. He was tapping his foot on the floor by the time it dinged and the doors opened. He exited, then took the right and found Shawn's room easily. He opened the door and peaked in. "Shawn?"

"Gus! Buddy!" Shawn was grinning at him and waving him in. "Don't just stand there, get in here you sweet dollop of chocolate perfection!"

Gus almost rolled his eyes as he entered and sat down next to Shawn's bed. "Did they pump you with drugs Shawn?"

"Duh. It's a hospital, not a game show. What were you even doing at the nightclub anyway?"

"Meeting girls Shawn, why else?"

"Really Gus? You're actually still trying?"

"Yes Shawn, I need love in my life."

"Oh I'm sure you'll find it in a nightclub where women go to cheat on their boyfriends." To that Gus rolled his eyes and muttered "Oh my gosh."

Suddenly Shawn's face was pinched in concentration and he was staring at his arms, more specifically the IV's. Gus's eyebrows creased in curiosity. "Shawn, what are you doing?"

A moment later, Shawn let out the breath he'd been holding and looked back at Gus. "You know I hate pointy things Gus, I was trying to make them go away. Besides, you didn't bring a pineapple." Gus sighed. Yep, still Shawn. "Shawn, I was a little busy waiting to see if you would live or die."

"Dude, it was in my side, not my chest. I wasn't gonna die."

"But it could have been worse, and you could've died, and it would've been my fault!"

Shawn's face went all serious as he realized what state his friend was in. "Gus, I'm okay. Even if it was worse, it would never be your fault. It would have been the dude with the gun's fault, 'cause he was the one who shot me. Even if you weren't the one being held there I would've gone in anyway, you know that." When Gus stared at the floor and didn't respond, Shawn pushed for it. "Riiiiiiiiight? Buddy? Little blinky?" He kept going until Gus couldn't help it and smiled. "There we go!" Shawn said, finally satisfied.

"Okay." Gus finally said. "You're right, it would've happened either way."

Shawn grinned. "Yes I am. And we would've laughed it off, just like you're about to right now."

Gus clicked his tongue. "Why do I have to be the one to laugh it off?" He demanded.

"Dude, I just got grazed by a bullet. You think I'm just gonna start laughing it up, which will hurt, and make them wanna drug me up even more?" Gus stared at his friend. He truly was completely unbothered by the fact he had just been shot hours before. Gus shook his head and smiled. Only Shawn.

Suddenly there were fingers snapping in his face. "Dude, snap out of it. I need you to go get pineapple smoothies." Gus rolled his eyes. "The things I do for you…" He muttered as he stood and opened the door. He looked back over his shoulder at his best friend, who was shooting him an utterly ridiculous grin, then left the room, heading outside to the Blueberry. On the way, Gus contemplated the whole situation and realized Shawn didn't have to fight the man with the gun. He could've just stepped back and let the cops take them down. He knew Shawn cared more deeply about the people closest to him than he would ever admit or show, and what Shawn did made him wonder how far he would actually go to save someone he loves. Shawn being Shawn, Gus hoped he'd never have to find out.

Gus got into the Blueberry and smiled. He truly had the best friend in the world.