Shawn shivered and woke up in a cold sweat. He pulled Juliet closer to him and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. Even her naturally soothing personality had no effect on him after this nightmare. Lovingly, he stroked her cheek, as if to make sure that she was real. Throughout the night, the two of them had barely caught a wink of sleep, because both were having awful dreams. Each would comfort the other as they silently cried, afraid of what could have been. Juliet recognized the stirring Shawn beside her and turned to face him.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
He shook his head and began to breathe normally at the sound of her voice. Shawn wrapped one arm tightly around her waist, as if to protect her from the inevitable evil. His other hand gripped hers and he kissed the top of her forehead. For a couple of moments, they just lie there in silence, Shawn trying to calm himself and Juliet allowing him time to collect his thoughts.
"Wanna' talk about it?"
"Yes."
Shawn's answer took her by surprise. Normally, he was very reserved, and would keep all forms of his inner most feelings to himself. Juliet would have been eager to help on an average day, but even she could barely comfort him after such a horrible day. The couple was especially shaken up, after almost losing each other and Gus. Jules stroked his hand, letting him know he could vent to her.
"It was awful."
He had to gather his thoughts as he relived the dream. It felt so real to him, and even after the dream, Shawn pinched himself to make sure he was awake. Once more, he kissed Juliet, this time on the lips, trying to portray how scared he was of losing her.
Mr. Yin injected the poison into his best friend. Gus looked over at Shawn with forgiving eyes and mouthed five words.
"It's not your fault Shawn."
Gus's last words were ones to comfort him. They were said selflessly, and even though he could have chosen anything to say, about how he loved his family, he chose to address Shawn. Even though he was dying, he tried to take care of Shawn. His heart sunk as he saw Gus's body reacting and there was nothing he could do about it.
But Shawn tried; he thrashed desperately around in his chair, screaming as loudly as he could. His best friend's mouth widened in pain and his eyes rolled back into his head. Mr. Yin laughed as Shawn balled, and tried to jerk himself free. His wrists had marks on them from the force he was exerting. He walked over and spun Shawn's head toward his lifeless buddy.
Gus, the one who had been there for as long as he remembered, the reliable one, was now limp in the chair. One of the only people that had ever understood Shawn had slipped from his grasp. Gus had so much to live for, he was an amazing friend, and he had almost gotten some chick to go out with him. And his personality was stunning. He was loyal and honest, and he never let anybody down. Shawn knew in his heart that he was the reason his best friend was dead, and he couldn't live with himself knowing that.
Shawn twirled his head around and spat at this heartless man. His reaction just triggered the older man's plan. He walked back over to his desk and retrieved a gun. Shawn had stopped moving about and he was sitting stiff and rigid in his chair. The cold metal barrel was pressed up against Shawn's temple and then he uttered two words.
"Do it."
He frowned, obviously wanting more of a struggle from Shawn. The door opened and Juliet scanned the room for her boyfriend. Mr. Yin pointed the gun towards her and smiled icily. He grumbled about how this was much more like it. He threatened to kill Shawn unless Juliet dropped her weapon. Immediately, she followed his every instruction, completely disregarding police protocol.
In a matter of seconds, she was kneeling next to Shawn. According to the psychopath, she was supposed to have a heartwarming speech, and both of them might live. Juliet stroked his hair reassuringly, and with all the love in her body she spoke as if nobody else was watching.
"Shawn, you are my life. I want you to know that. Ever since we met in that café, I've never guessed how real our relationship was. I'm sorry it took me five years to get it right, but we can make up for that now. I need you to know I love you. I always have. I love you Shawn Spencer."
Shawn opened his mouth to respond, eagerly agree with her, but a bullet flew from Yang's chamber and lodged itself in Juliet's temple. He laughed as Shawn screamed in pain, trying to hold Juliet's head in his hands, hoping she was still alive. But no pulse came from her, and a now eerie smile was still etched on her face. Shawn then looked around the room to see his two best friends in the entire world dead. And both of their deaths were his fault.
Juliet couldn't be dead. He hadn't gotten to tell her how he felt. How was that fair? The only woman he'd ever loved was sprawled across the floor. Shawn hadn't gotten to say how much he cared, or even how much he appreciated her. She'd always known, but now it could never be official. Life was no longer worth living now that both of them were deceased. Shawn bleakly stared at Yin and weakly told him he didn't wish to live. But he walked out of the room and into police custody, letting Shawn turn insane.
That was when Shawn woke up. He knew he would have killed himself if things had turned out like that today, but thankfully, everybody he loved remained unharmed. Shawn allowed tears to fall as he explained the dream in great detail to Juliet. He concluded solemnly.
"Both of my closest friends were killed because of me. Then he left me to live, to deal with your deaths, to cope with my own guilt. And I couldn't express how much I loved you guys. He murdered you before I got the chance to tell each of you. I love you so much Juliet."
Shawn was shaking as Juliet rocked him back and forth; sorry Shawn even had to dream such disturbing nightmares. After a half hour of holding each other, Juliet spoke tenderly, wiping his tears with her thumb pad. She then gently stroked his cheek.
"I love you too Shawn. It will get easier. Trust me."
As he stared into her eyes, for some reason, things seemed better, maybe even next to normal. He let out a few more tears and then kissed her, prepared to comfort her when she would unquestionably need it.
