Disclaimer: I don't own Psych!
Description: This takes place after Yin 3 in 2D. It's the Waffle Party that Shawn spoke of! It doesn't give any spoilers for the latest Season, because it goes AU from the end of the episode. It's pretty much just plain Shules Fluff.
Juliet sighed as she stared at the door to Shawn's apartment. She was trying to pull herself together before going inside to face Shawn. She knew it made him nervous when she was upset and she still hadn't gotten over the whole Yin event that had transpired the night before. She imagined the rambling that would occur at her sullenness and smiled slightly. He really did try, her boyfriend. She ran her hands through her hair and rolled her shoulders back before knocking on the door. She jumped a little as Shawn immediately opened the door as if he had been standing there the whole time.
"Jules!" Shawn exclaimed. He was smiling comically as his eyes raked over her. Suddenly the smile dropped dramatically.
"Juliet O'Hara, where are your PJ's?"
"I'm sorry… my PJ's?" Juliet responded, "As in pajamas?"
Shawn sighed loudly, "Yes Jules! PA-JA-MAS."
Juliet raised her eyebrows.
"Oh never mind, come in, come in," Shawn said his face broke into a smile, "I'll take care of it."
Shawn continued to stand in the doorway. "Shawn, you know you have to move… so I can come in," Juliet said hesitantly.
Shawn moved forward suddenly and scooped Juliet up into bridal position.
"Shawn!" Juliet shrieked, "Seriously?"
Shawn feigned surprise, "What? You didn't want to be picked up by the dashing, young fellow with the shining stead and carried away into the sunset?"
Juliet stared at Shawn in disbelief.
"You can't blame me for wanting to be close to a pretty girl, Jules," Shawn said with a sheepish smile.
Juliet just rolled her eyes and put her head on his shoulder. She had a feeling this was going to be a fun night, even if Shawn was overcompensating for the last couple of days that had been full of the grief that came along with dealing with Mr. Yin. Shawn finally put her down as he walked into his bedroom. Juliet raised her eyebrows once more. Shawn laughed, "Oh come on, Jules," he winked, "I'm just showing you to your pajamas."
He backed out of the room and closed the door leaving Juliet to look around the room confused. She spied a pile of clothes on the edge of the bed and smiled a little. She walked over, picked up the shirt, and covered up a snort. She was holding Shawn's Apple Jacks shirt in her hands. She quickly changed clothes into the shirt and an old pair of her pajama pants that she had left over, knowing it was be futile to resist Shawn's antics.
She walked into the kitchen to find Shawn standing at the kitchen counter holding a box of waffle mix. She stood in the doorway for a moment watching him as he read the instructions on the box. She loved those moments where Shawn didn't think anyone was paying attention; the moments where he didn't think he had to put up an act. His brow was pulled together and he was mouthing the directions as his eyes sped over the words quickly. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist in order to look over his shoulder at the instructions.
"Do you even have all the supplies Shawn?"
"Jules, I resent that!" He gasped, "Of course I have… this oily stuff."
Juliet sighed and moved away to look through the cabinets. This was going to be an interesting night.
Five broken eggs, three burnt waffles, and a small food fight later, Shawn and Juliet were sitting on his couch watching The Breakfast Club and laughing at the kids' antics.
"Oh come on," Juliet exclaimed, "Judd Nelson's hair is absolutely ridiculous in this movie!"
"Oh God, don't, Jules, just don't. That luscious mane is the epitome of awesomeness and you can't convince me otherwise."
"Something tells me I wouldn't want to see your high school pictures."
Shawn mumbled something and turned his head away from Juliet, trying to hide his face, which was rather hard considering she was leaning against him as he sat back against the armrest of the couch.
"Oh, God! You didn't?" Juliet was in hysterics by now.
"It was awesome! Don't diss the hair Jules."
Juliet continued to shake with laughter. By the time she had herself under control, Shawn was pouting behind her. Juliet chuckled at his expression as she turned around to face him.
"How about this?" She said as she ran her hands through his immaculately done hair, "I won't mention the hair if…" Juliet leant forward so her mouth was right next to Shawn's ear. Shawn smiled and ran his hands down her shoulders and captured her hands in a soft grip, "You go get me some more waffles."
"Jules," Shawn whined loudly, "That was just cruel."
"Why Shawn, I have no idea what you mean by that!" Juliet said playfully as she moved over to the other side of the couch so Shawn could wait on her. Shawn sighed and pretended to glare at her as he stood to go to the kitchen. Juliet mimicked a whip cracking as he turned, but smiled innocently as Shawn turned his head around quickly in disbelief.
"What was that!"
"What was what?" Juliet asked, tilting her head in an innocent manner.
Shawn shook his head and walked away, "The things I do for you woman."
Juliet laughed as she took control of the remote and switched settings in order to flip channels.
"I know I don't hear you turning off Breakfast Club!" Shawn shouted as he piled waffles onto a plate.
"Don't forget the chocolate chi-iiiiiii-ps!"
Shawn smiled as he walked over to refrigerator, not that he would admit to it, of course, but was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Who was calling him at home? Juliet walked into the doorway of the kitchen, "I didn't even know that you had a home phone."
"I didn't feel like disconnecting it," Shawn said absently as he walked over to answer it, "Hello?"
"Goose!"
"Mom!" Shawn exclaimed. Juliet looked up sharply and then gestured that she would be in the living room. Shawn nodded his head and gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to the phone, "Hey, how are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, Goose. I was calling to see how you were! I just wanted to check in after all that happened last night. It's actually more just reassuring myself…"
"Mom…," Shawn replied, "I'm fine. Really, I promise. Still in one piece. I also haven't had any strange concoctions injected into my body lately."
"Well, thank Heavens for that!" Maddie Spencer exclaimed, "Goose, I need you to be more careful! I don't want to have a heart attack anytime soon please."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Shawn said feeling slightly guilty at making his mother worry, "I'm taking it easy for a while. Scout's Honor! In fact, I am currently having a nice little waffle party! If I can find the chocolate chips…"
His mother laughed, "Well, tell Gus I said hello."
"Oh," Shawn hesitated, "Actually, Gus isn't here."
"You're throwing a waffle party by yourself?" Maddie said surprised.
"Umm, no," Shawn said slowly, "I'm actually here with my… my girlfriend."
There was silence on the other side of the line while Shawn mentally beat himself up. Of all the times to have a sudden growth in maturity levels, it was not in his best interest for it to be while talking to his mother. This could lead to events that he wasn't ready for; levels of commitment that he didn't particularly want to step into just yet. But then again… it was Jules. Shawn looked towards the living room, where he knew Juliet to be, and felt an involuntary smile creep onto his face that always came to visit whenever he thought of Jules. If there were anyone around that Shawn could take any kind of steps into the adult world with, it would be Juliet, right?
"Girlfriend?" Maddie questioned, "Did I hear that correctly?"
"Uh, yeah. You did, actually."
"Wow. Umm, well, how long have you two been seeing each other?"
"Uh, about six-ish months…"
"Shawn!" Maddie exclaimed, "You've been seeing this girl for six months and you haven't said anything?"
"Well, you know, give or take a few weeks."
"Being off a few weeks doesn't change anything! Alrighty then. That settles it."
"Settles what?" Shawn asked nervously.
"Our plans for tomorrow! I'll run to the grocery store and get your dad to through some steaks out on the grill for lunch, unless she's a vegetarian, that is."
"Uh, no," Shawn replied shocked, "She's not. Mom, what are you…?"
"Well, I have to meet her! Your father also! Come on, Goose, if you can admit to it, I think you can manage bringing her over for one little lunch."
"I'll- uhh- yeah, sure. I'll ask her, I suppose," Shawn replied, still shell-shocked that he was actually having this conversation.
"Wonderful!" Shawn could practically see his mother's hands clap together, "Give me a call early in the morning and let me know for sure, will you? I'll have to get a quick start on that grocery run, so we can have the food ready by lunch time."
"Mom," Shawn replied, finally getting his bearings together, "Are you not flying out tonight?"
"Oh, no," Maddie said, "My flight was cancelled; something about bad weather up north. I was rather annoyed actually, but now it's the perfect excuse!"
"Right…" Shawn trailed off.
"Talk to your girl, Goose, and we'll see you tomorrow!"
"Bye, Mom. Love you."
"Love you, too, Sweetie."
Shawn hung up the phone and sighed, leaning his forehead against the wall, resisting the impulse to beat his skull into it. What had he just done? He'd just landed himself into the biggest sinkhole of all time. Forget introducing the girlfriend, he was introducing Juliet O'Hara, SPBD Detective, to his father. This could go one of two ways. He was either about to be screwed to Hell and back, or about to gain a huge ally in hiding his relationship from the department. In addition, his father was one person that he'd never been able to successfully read, so he wouldn't have a heads up until it was too late.
"Shawn?" Shawn looked up to see Juliet standing hesitantly in the doorway, "Did I just hear you… acknowledge our relationship whilst on the phone with your parents?"
Shawn froze. He hadn't even thought about how this was going to go over with Juliet. He quickly crossed the kitchen, wrapped Juliet up in his arms, and buried his face in her shoulder.
"Woah, Shawn, what's up?"
"I'm holding onto you while I still can."
Juliet laughed slightly, "What are you talking about?"
"This can go one of two way: You'll either be fine with it, but my father will chase you away faster than Gus can run away from a haunted building, or you're going to be so pissed you'll storm out of here and never speak to me again, except for when you speak at my funeral, over my dead body, as you pretend to be the grieving girlfriend that lost her man in a tragic home fire that you swear you didn't start and the police believe you, because of your wily ways that can seduce even the purest of men."
"Shawn what are you- What did you and your mother talk about?"
"Shwansyutocomoverfoluch," Shawn mumbled, still hiding in Juliet's hair.
"Shawn," Juliet sighed, "I don't speak gibberish or, for that matter, whatever that language is that you and Gus speak."
Shawn sighed and pulled away from his girlfriend. He brought on hand up to fiddle with the ends of her hair and avoided her eyes.
"To answer your question… yes, you may have probably heard me have a slight random moment of maturity, or insanity, whichever you prefer, where I told my mother that I had my girlfriend over."
Juliet let a smile slowly creep onto her face, "Shawn…"
"And she may or may not have declared that since we had been seeing each other for so long, it was time for you to attend a… family lunch. If you can even call it that, that is."
Juliet stared at Shawn for a few moments before letting out a very uncharacteristic squeal and launching herself into his arms, "Shawn! I can't believe- I mean, I just," She trailed off as she started laughing.
Shawn stared at Juliet suddenly worried for sanity, "Jules, did I break you?"
Juliet calmed down, but continued to smile widely at her boyfriend, "No Shawn, it's not that, I just- I'm really happy right now."
Shawn tilted his head, but started to smile, "Well, I'm glad I can put that deliriously insane smile on your face, but… what exactly did I do?"
"Nothing Shawn," Juliet shook her head, "I just can't wait to meet your parents. As your girlfriend, that is."
Shawn opened the little white gate that resided in front of his fathers' home and dramatically gestured for Juliet to enter the premises. He stopped short, however, when Juliet shot him a painful looking smile as she stepped passed him.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up," Shawn said as he grabbed Juliet's arm and turned her to face him, "What's with the face?"
"What?" Juliet replied in a high pitched voice.
"You look like your marching to your death," Shawn stated, "And I know that can't possibly be true, because no one is humming The Death March."
Juliet was undeterred, "I guess I'm just a little nervous."
Shawn blinked, "What? Jules, you've already met my dad; in fact, you know him quite well. And my mom's gonna love you; trust me."
Juliet was not convinced, "Yes Shawn, I know your dad pretty well, which is why I'm concerned about his reaction. What if he decides he needs to inform the Chief of our relationship? He does technically work for her, and then your mom is obvious very important to you, which means I really want her to like me, but she might not approve of the situation either! She does work with the police a lot-"
"Jules, Jules!" Shawn framed her face with his hands, looking surprisingly serious, "It'll be okay; I promise. Even if my dad doesn't approve of keeping us a secret, he'll respect our decision until it becomes a problem for the department, and my mom will be happy as long as I am."
Juliet closed her eyes and took a deep breath while Shawn released her face and ran his hands down her arms until he had captured her hands.
"You okay?" Shawn asked quietly as Juliet opened her eyes.
Juliet smiled and started walking towards the house, dragging Shawn along with her.
"You know," she said, "You're acting suspiciously calm today."
Shawn knocked on the door of his childhood home, "Well, no one ever said I couldn't be nervous!"
However, before Juliet could answer, the front door was opening to reveal Madeline Spencer.
"Goose!", Maddie exclaimed, all eyes for Shawn, as she gathered him up in a hug. But the minute she stepped back her eyes widened in surprise, "Detective…"
Juliet shot her a small smile and whispered, "Juliet."
Maddie's expression softened, "Juliet, of course. How are you?"
"I'm fine," she replied.
"I had been wondering; I know you had a bad experience involving Yin-"
"Mom," Shawn interjected.
"Oh, no! It's fine, really," Juliet exclaimed looking from Shawn to his mother and back, "I'm just glad it's finally over."
Shawn's expression didn't lightened, but he gave Juliet's hand a squeeze while remembering her words from yesterday, "I could quite possibly be elated very soon, but part of me just feels like we are just marking time until the next crazy rolls in" (1).
Maddie smiled, "Yes, well, we all are. Oh, come in, come in! Shawn, your father is out back grilling up some steaks, why don't you go see if he needs anything? Juliet and I will handle the kitchen."
Shawn blinked before looking over at Juliet as if for permission. Madeline raised her eyebrows at the display and tried to cover up a smile by turning around to head for the kitchen while Juliet shot Shawn a grin and jerked her head towards the back of the house.
"Go," she whispered, "I'll be fine. We're all good."
Shawn squeezed her hand a final time before letting go and heading towards the backyard. He found his father muttering to himself over the grill. He was wearing a nice button down, which meant his mother must have forbade him from wearing any kind of ridiculous fishing shirt. Shawn took a deep breath before walking towards the grill.
"Heya Pops!" He tried.
His father looked up from his work and shot him a glare before turning back, "So, how'd you manage to keep her a secret for six months?"
Shawn shrugged, "She's pretty crafty."
Henry looked up in surprise; that wasn't the reply he had been expecting. He studied his son for a moment, taking in the nervous shoulders that contrasted with the carefree grin on his face and the sparkle in his eyes. Henry narrowed his eyes, "Well, don't just stand there. Come grab some plates so we can get this inside before my masterpieces turn into bug food."
Shawn bit back a retort, even he knew it was a bad idea to insult his fathers' steaks, as he picked up a plate and followed his dad to the house.
"So, where did you meet this girl?" Henry asked gruffly.
"Well, actually, we met at this little food joint on main."
His father looked back at him, "Please tell me it's not another waitress."
Shawn scoffed, but didn't have time to answer his father before they stepped into the doorway of the kitchen. The inhabitants of the room had yet to notice their arrival, so Shawn cleared his throat making Juliet and his mother look up and take in Henrys prone form and Shawn's uncomfortable expression. Juliet froze and tried to shoot Henry a small smile.
"Juliet," Henry wheezed.
"Hi," she replied.
Henry sighed and set his plate down on the table, "Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming."
"Well, I didn't!" Madeline exclaimed, "Why was I not informed?"
"Honestly, I never thought Shawn would get her attention," Henry smirked.
"Hey!" Shawn complained while Juliet tried to muffle her laughter by putting a hand over her face.
Madeline smiled, "Apparently he did somehow; I get the feeling that will be an interesting story.
Juliet returned the grin, "It is a pretty nice one."
The four had made their way through dinner and Shawn had been tortured with several childhood stories before the question came up again.
"Okay," Henry said, putting down his drink, "I have to know; how'd he do it? He's been chasing after you for years. How'd he finally get his way?"
Juliet laughed a little, "Well, he had several nice speeches, of course."
"Hey now," Shawn interrupted, "This is classified information."
"Oh, hush Goose," Maddie said, "I want to hear."
"Alright, but I don't guarantee you'll be given the right to choose your own way of execution. It'll probably be left up to the judge; and he's one hard pineapple, just so you know."
Juliet rolled her eyes and continued, "It really all boiled down to this one thing," she said, "It's kind of embarrassing, because it really was cheesy, but I don't think Shawn knows how to do it any other way."
"Hey! What is this," Shawn asked, "Pick on Shawn Day?"
Henry opened his mouth, but Juliet beat him to it, "Of course it is; yesterday was Pineapple Appreciation Day, correct? Remember, you appoint a day, I appoint a day, and so on? This is my favorite day yet!"
Shawn pouted, but Juliet just laughed and squeezed his thigh. Shawn captured her hand so she couldn't pull away and leaned his head down to touch hers momentarily. Henry narrowed his eyes at the interaction, but didn't say anything.
"He said his motorcycle was the purest form of freedom he'd ever experienced… but that I made him think about getting a car," Juliet finally finished, looking over at Shawn's parents.
Henry's expression showed his shock momentarily before he reeled it in and closed himself off. Madeline also looked shocked before a smile slowly overtook her face.
"Well," she said, "Isn't that something?"
Shawn and Henry watched from the patio as Maddie lead Juliet around the backyard pointing out some of Shawn's failed projects, such as the restored dog house, and even some things that she herself had done that Henry had kept over the years. Shawn watched Juliet's face light up as she followed his mother through his childhood years and smiled.
"You better not be messing her around," Henrys gruff voice broke through the silence.
"I'm not," Shawn replied uncharacteristically soft.
Henry sighed, "You know, for some reason, I actually believe you."
Shawn, although hopeful, had not been expecting this, "Really?"
Henry gave him a look, but continued, "You don't take credit for anything she may have done; you don't flamboyantly declare how amazing you are, but instead talk about her; you're a lot more… expressive with her than you've ever been."
"Yeah dad," Shawn said muttering to the ground, "I get it. Shawn's gone soft."
"I'm just saying that Juliet seems to bring out the best in you," Henry was totally focused on Shawn, "and that's not something I was sure you were going to find."
"I guess it's a good thing I have low standards then, huh?"
Juliet and Madeline had snuck up on them in the midst of their conversation. Juliet smiled as she teased Shawn.
"Psh, please. I have the highest all time low standard record ever," Shawn replied.
"Shawn, that doesn't make any sense," Juliet said.
"You don't make any sense," Shawn countered.
Juliet and Henry both rolled their eyes.
"Just please tell me you two have this under control," Henry requested.
"Hmm," Juliet hummed as she walked over to touch Shawn's arm, "I think this is what you would call a code 113 (2)."
Henry snorted as Maddie tried to cover up her laughter. Shawn busted up and gathered Juliet in his arms. Juliet smiled at all the happy faces around her and leaned her head on Shawn's shoulder. Maybe this could really work out after all.
Hey Guys! Okay so 1. This quote is from Yin in 3D at the very end of the episode when Juliet and Shawn are speaking. 2. I couldn't find a real police code, so I just made this one up. It means 'situation out of control' or something along those lines in the new Haley Code Book. I hope you enjoyed! And for those of you who are reading my HP story, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm working on it, but I'm having some serious computer issues. It'll be up soon! I promise! Thank you!