I do not own Psych or any of its characters. All other publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
I know Shassie Week was awhile ago, but I didn't find out about it until late. Then my new job and getting sick got in the way of writing this. But I still wanted to share it with everybody and hoped you would forgive me for being late.
I read something similarish to this once, but I put my own twist on it. To me, it seems incredibly obvious if you look at how Shawn acts in the earlier seasons.
Enjoy.
Carlton looked over the case file. Someone had broken into the Stevens' residence and stolen a collection of rare, first edition books. The thief had also killed the Stevens' housekeeper, who Carlton suspected had interrupted the theft. The alarm had been tripped and police arrived less than ten minutes later, but the killer was already gone.
Carlton suspected it was an inside job. The residence was large, and for the thief to have gotten in and out so quickly meant he had to have known exactly where the books were being kept. The husband had just taken out a new insurance policy on the books, making him the most likely suspect. Problem was, he had an alibi. But Carlton was still sure he was involved somehow. He'd have to look more closely into Mr. Stevens' friends and family to see if he could find an accomplice.
He would also alert local pawn shops and used book stores in case any of the stolen books turned up. For that he would need a detailed list of which books were stolen.
He reached for a pencil to make a note to call Mr. Stevens about the books, but couldn't find one sitting on his desk. He slid open his drawer and reached inside. He was still focused on the file so took him a few seconds to realize something was missing. Several somethings in fact. A quick search proved his desk was devoid of every pen, pencil, marker and highlighter. Even the crayons he kept on hand in case he had to distract children were missing.
Someone had removed every single writing utensil from his desk and he had a pretty good idea who it was.
Slamming the drawer shut, he got up and headed over to O'Hara's desk. His partner was working on something on her computer, but looked up when he stopped next to her. "Need something, Carlton?"
"Could I borrow a pen?" he asked. "Somehow all of mine seem to have disappeared."
O'Hara tried to hide a smile. "Of course." She held a bright pink pen out to him. He took it reluctantly, hoping the ink wouldn't be as eye-watering as the outer cover. "It's not going to bite," she said teasingly.
"It's pink." The ink proved to be a normal black color. He quickly made his notes and handed it back to her. He'd check the supply room later to see if the hoarders had left anything. He didn't know why anyone needed twelve boxes of pencils but he was tired of the looks he got when he complained to the station manager about it.
"It wouldn't make you any less of a man to use it," O'Hara said, dropping it back into the cup on her desk with the others.
"I'll pass."
O'Hara gave him a suffering look but let the matter drop. "I don't remember seeing Shawn around today," she said instead.
"He probably snuck in while we were down in interrogation," Carlton said irritably. "Even when I don't see him, Spencer still manages to be an insufferable pain in the ass."
"I think it's kind of cute," O'Hara said with a grin. "It reminds me of this boy I knew in grade school. He would pull my hair, put frogs in my backpack, and steal my notebooks. He didn't stop until my brothers had a talk with him."
Carlton winced. O'Hara talked about her brothers a lot and he didn't envy that kid. "Did he ever say why he was picking on you so much?" Maybe he could get some insight into why Spencer had become so fixated on him.
To his surprise, O'Hara started to blush. "It turned out he had a crush on me."
There was a pregnant pause, during which time O'Hara refused to look anywhere near him.
"Are you implying Spencer has a crush on me?" Carlton asked incredulously.
O'Hara laughed nervously. "Of course not. It must be something else. I mean, Shawn's straight, so it wouldn't make any sense." She didn't sound very convincing and she still wouldn't look at him.
Carlton sighed in disgust. "How about instead of indulging in deranged fantasies, you concentrate on this case?" He thrust the file at her. "Contact Mr. Stevens and get a detailed list of all the books that were stolen."
"Right away." She took the file, giving him a quick, uncertain glance before reaching for the phone.
Carlton shook his head. His partner was out of her mind. There was no way Spencer had a crush on him.
He headed towards the supply room. Hopefully he would get lucky and there would be something left in there. He thought he remembered seeing a couple of boxes left last week when he had to replace his stapler. Yet another thing Spencer had stolen from him. He wondered why the psychic only stole things from him and never anybody else. Maybe Spencer really did have a thing for him.
"Get real, Carlton," he muttered. He went into the room, quickly locating the pens right where he remembered them.
The whole thing was stupid. Spencer couldn't like him. All those flirty looks and sly comments were just a joke.
Right?
They had to be. If not, then Spencer definitely had a crush on him. And he certainly didn't want that.
Right?
He froze there, box in hand, at the realization maybe he wouldn't mind if Spencer was interested in him. It wouldn't be the first guy he had been attracted to, or even the first one he dated. Spencer was certainly good looking and he suspected a lot smarter than he acted. Spencer was funny, even if he refused to laugh at his jokes most of the time out of principle. If he didn't act so immature most of the time, he would be just the sort of guy Carlton could see himself falling for.
In a daze, Carlton walked back to his desk. He threw the pens into his drawer and just sat there, staring blankly at its surface. He prayed Spencer would remain absent for the rest of the day. He honestly did not know how he would react if he saw the man right now.
"Carlton?"
He jumped, looking up to see O'Hara standing there, frowning at him. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he croaked. He cleared his throat and pointed at the folder in her hand. "You get that list?"
"Yes. I assume you want it passed around so see if any of the stolen merchandise shows up?" she asked.
He was glad he had a partner he didn't need to spell things out to, even if she had put this stupid crush idea in his head in the first place. "Yes. Also keep an eye on eBay and Craigslist. The really rare books he'll have to go to a dealer for but the less valuable stuff he may try to dump anonymously online."
"Good idea. I'll make copies for us to pass out." She hesitated before leaving, looking at him with concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, O'Hara, so quit asking," he snapped irritably. "I want to check on the neighbors, see if they saw anything suspicious. We'll head out as soon as you're done." He grabbed his coffee cup and headed for the break room. Once he was out of sight, he sighed, leaning against the counter.
He needed to get things wrapped up quick so he could go home, open up a bottle of Jack Daniels, and figure out what he's supposed to do now.
I have the next part mostly written. I hope to have it up soon, depending on how work and life go this week.