Well, this is my first one-shot, but I'm a Christmas maniac (no offense to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas) so I really want to show my version of a perfect Shules Christmas. And the next Monasteries chapter should be up soon... if I can figure out my password for my dad's computer. . That might be a problem. Also, I'm going to warn you, I'm a victim of Hulu, so I don't know if the episodes with Juliet's father have aired yet, and if so, I have no idea what the content is... so this is going to be pretty made up. But that's what fanfics are about, right? But let's enjoy this early Christmas present, shall we?
Disclaimer: I don't own Psych (unfortunately).
Ever since she'd been a child, Juliet O'Hara had known two things. One - someday, she'd be a detective that would solve the greatest crimes in the history of the universe, and two - Christmas was the best day of the year. It was the day her dad was home for certain - something that didn't always happen even on her birthday - and she would usually get glamorous gifts. Her dad would always find something absolutely perfect, yet still something that she would never have dreamed of getting. Juliet had been the girl that would get up at 3:00 AM to watch the Christmas special on their T.V., then wake up her parents to open presents.
But her favorite part of Christmas had always been giving presents. Making them, to be precise. Perhaps Juliet wasn't much of an artist, but she loved to find the perfect thing for everyone and to make it really her own. She would take anything - even if it was just one special photo - and make it into a work of art. Her parents would love the gifts, and they would really spend time to make Juliet feel special. Even if it was one day of the year, it meant something to her that they were a family. That they could be together, feel whole, for one day of the year.
So when she'd left her family, she'd sent them a Christmas card. Every year. They never responded, but somehow, she felt like it connected them. Through all that bitterness and anger, Juliet knew they appreciated that she still cared about that special day with them. And now... with Shawn... Shawn just made Christmas more special. Last year, he had made her the most perfect gift ever.
Jules remembered it so clearly. She'd bought him something stupid - a set of old 80's movies, the most obscure ones she could find. He had loved the present, and they had spent Christmas day laughing at the movies together, snuggled up on the couch. But Shawn's present had been a million times better, so much so that she had felt as though she had failed in some way. She had watched eagerly as he unwrapped his present, laughed (only a little) at his face as he jumped up in excitement, but then she'd see her gift.
He had bought her a new laptop. She wouldn't have been so amazed, until she'd opened it... it was covered in the sweetest messages, all written on thin slips of thin, clear plastic, so that they could slide to the side and say different things - depending, Shawn said, on her color-mood, for each was in a different color. And when she turned it on, she smiled at her username, "Shawn's Pony Girl" (long story), and typed in the first thing that came to mind - I love you, Shawn. At this, Jules had started crying, and Shawn had snatched the computer away and made her chase him around their house until they eventually landed on the bed and could only stare at each other, eyes filled with the love they felt.
This year, Jules had been determined to up his gift, so she'd made him what she *thought* was the perfect gift. It was his very own smoothie machine (which was somehow different from a regular blender by the fact that there was a slot for each ingredient), already set to pineapple. She'd managed to get it customized so that each of the four glasses that it would pour the smoothie into had its own little puzzle, which would give him a sweet message from her. That HAS to be the perfect gift, right? she thought, wrapping it carefully in their pineapple wrapping paper.
And then... it was Christmas morning. Juliet woke up promptly at 3:00 AM, when she and Shawn would go downstairs and watch the Christmas special on T.V., a tradition she had never been able to let go of. But something was off... "Shawn?" she wondered, realizing he wasn't in bed next to her, where he should've been.
Wait, what was that smell coming from the bathroom? Was that... vanilla? Jules cautiously stuck her feet out from under the covers, shivered, and tiptoed towards the bathroom. Cinnamon? What was this? As she pushed open the door, her eyes widened - the bathroom was filled with vanilla and cinnamon candles, the bathtub pre-filled with an assortment of Christmas-colored bubbles. Juliet was tempted to get in, but what about the Christmas special? And where was Shawn?
Then, she noticed a box peeking out from behind the sink. Juliet smiled and approached it, then noticed a strange contraption leading up to it. Kneeling down, she saw a card tucked into it. She grabbed the card and read, "Nuh-uh-uh. Not yet, my sweet Juliet. What's the password?" With a small giggle, she typed "Iloveyou,Shawn" into the computer, making the little device (something that made her wonder just HOW long Shawn had spent putting this together) retract so that she could pull out a... Juliet gasped. It was a T.V... a brand new one. Attached to the glamorous ribbon that was tied loosely around it was a card that said, "For my Christmas special."
Even though she knew it was probably bad for the technology, Juliet couldn't resist plugging it in to the prepared cables and sinking into the warm, foamy water. It was pretty much perfect... but where was Shawn?
After the hour was complete (which meant her Christmas special was over, and the water was growing chilly), Jules reluctantly climbed out and put on the ridiculous Christmas robe and slippers that she and Shawn had bought a few years ago, as a joke. Giggling, she headed down the stairs, catching a few snowflakes on her tongue.
This thought made her stop. Even in her foamy, sleepy stupor, Jules realized that there were definitely not supposed to be snowflakes inside. What was going on? "Shawn?" she called out, stepping into the living room, where her eyes widened in awe. Shawn must've been up all night, Jules thought.
For their living room looked as though it had transformed into a winter wonderland overnight. The Christmas tree they had put up so carefully the day after Thanksgiving still twinkled brightly, but beyond it Shawn had placed several more trees, covered with snow that was clearly being generated by a machine that was rather precariously installed on the two-story high ceiling. The snowflakes fluttered down over the evergreens, gently arranged around a small path that led to an arch, something that looked rather like a small rose arbor, complete with a large array of fake white roses - and a few snowy pineapples.
Juliet paused before stepping through the arch. She had a feeling she knew what was coming. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward, entering into their kitchen - at least, what used to be the kitchen. Now it looked like everything had been covered in an enormous amount of mistletoe, adorned with small golden pineapples. And there, grinning broadly, was Shawn.
"Hi Shawn," she said softly, approaching him. "This is... this is wonderful. But... what is this?"
Her breath caught in her throat as he slowly descended to one knee and pulled out a small box. Jules felt like she was suffocating as he opened the tiny box to reveal the most perfect ring she could've imagined. A large diamond sparkled on a simple silver band. Two smaller blue topaz gems glistened on either side. "Juliet O'Hara," Shawn began, "Will you marry me?"
Juliet felt the tears rolling down her face in thick torrents, making her unable to speak. She could only nod furiously and fall happily into Shawn's arms. He kissed her softly. "Is that a yes?" he asked, not even waiting for her to answer before slipping the ring onto her finger. Through bleary, tear-filled eyes, Jules saw the small pineapple etched onto the left blue topaz gem.
"Of course it is," she whispered finally. "I love you, Shawn."
"I love you, too, Jules," he told her, and they kissed again, snowflakes quietly fluttering around him.
Awwwww. I find my own little story so sweet. It's kind of crazy, yes, and perhaps impossible, and a little sad. But that's okay. Because it's Christmas (almost). And I'm kind of high on sugar. XD Have a wonderful holidays, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, or any other holiday!
